The City Council in West Orange took steps Thursday in a called meeting to apply for a Texas Community Development Block Grant. The special called session was held in place of the regular council meeting which was cancelled on Monday of this week.
The council followed the recommendations of a selection committee to use Gary R. Traylor & Associates as the grant administrator as well as Schaumburg & Polk as the engineers if West Orange receives the TCDB grant. Mayor Roy McDonald explained the reason for Thursday’s action is part of the normal grant application procedure. Traylor & Associates will oversee the application process while Schaumburg & Polk will prepare the design for whatever the project is and then ensure the details the engineering firm stated are done properly.
A Code of Conduct Policy for an existing block grant was adopted by the council. City Secretary Theresa Van Meter was authorized to open a checking account with First Financial Bank for necessary transactions involved with the current block grant. Van Meter, Mayor McDonald, Mayor Pro-Tem Shirley Bonnin, and Mike Stelly were designated authorized signatories on the account.
Incoming County Tax Assessor-Collector Karen Fisher was nominated by West Orange to fill a vacancy on the board of directors for the Orange County Appraisal District. The vacancy will be caused by the retirement of Lynda Gunstream as tax assessor-collector at the end of December.
The City Council approved a resolution affirming five fair housing procedures and policies in West Orange. The month of January 2017 was proclaimed Fair Housing Month by the council.
Thursday’s called session will be the last West Orange City Council meeting of the year. The meetings normally held the fourth Monday of December and the second Monday in January have both been cancelled. The next scheduled meeting of the City Council will be Monday, January 23, 2017, at 5:00 PM in the West Orange Community Center.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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