On Tuesday, Aug. 24, the Kerrville City Council met at Kerrville City Hall at 701 Main St. At the meeting, the council discussed a proposed disaster rate for property tax in 2027, the future of Granger MacDonald Park and the new 2027 budget.
The park question, the most contentious debate of the evening, was the last item on the agenda.
Thompson Drive Partners, which granted the land to the city with the stipulation that it was to be made into a park eight years ago, formally asked the council to consider the property and project abandoned. Once the council made the declaration, the land would return to Thompson Drive Partners, which would then donate it to the Upper Guadalupe River Center Foundation. The foundation would then promise to keep the area a public park with free access to the river.
This arrangement, however, was only one of three options Assistant City Manager Michael Hornes presented to the council.
“The first option,” he said, “is you can tell us to do nothing and wait the six months like you’ve already planned to decide on releasing those grant funds. Second, you could hand the deed to the land over to the UGRC Foundation directly. The third option is to declare the park abandoned and have it go back to Thompson Drive Partners, who would then give it to the UGRC development.”
Four members of the public spoke, including Layng Guerriero of the UGRC Foundation and former Mayor Judy Eychner.
“We’ve been waiting for this project eight years,” Guerriero said. “We’ve talked to Thompson Drive Partners, and they’ve said they will donate this to us with the stipulation that it becomes a park. We’ve got enough of our own funds to do it. We’re ready to go.”
However, two Kerrville residents urged caution about giving the property back to Thompson Drive Partners.
“I have every faith that the current URGC board and the Thompson Drive Partners intend to run this as a public park,” resident Barbara Ferguson said. “But boards change for nonprofits and companies. What happens 10, 20, 50 years down the line when maybe a new board has other ideas?”
Council member Crystal Smith shared Ferguson’s view.
“I’m thinking of our residents 50 years out,” she said. “And if we abandon the property and give it to a company, we have no guarantee what the company will do with it. But, if we give it to the UGRC Foundation, we can stipulate that it must be made into a public park.”
While members of the UGRC Foundation said they would prefer the property to be abandoned and given back to Thompson Drive Partners, the council came to a consensus to deed the land directly to the UGRC Foundation. They directed staff to pursue that avenue.
2027 BUDGET
Julie Behrens, director of finance, presented the proposed budget for 2027. For the second year, the finance department has asked all city government departments to focus on zero-based budgets. That means each department has, for 2027, budgeted to operate at or below the cost of operating for the 2026 year.
Departments were permitted to make some adjustments for rising personnel costs. Personnel costs remain the highest expense in the city budget at 71%.
The 2027 budget for the city’s general fund will rise by 4.24% due to rising healthcare costs, flood recovery and employee overtime due to flooding.
Council approved the 2027 budget unanimously.
The budget was calculated with the property tax rate at the no new revenue level of $0.58 per $100 of property valuation. Council was asked whether to adopt this rate as the proposed rate or adopt the disaster rate at $0.60 per $100 valuation.
At the meeting, council members were asked to schedule a public hearing on Sept. 8 to present their proposed rate to the public. If the council proposed the lower rate, there would be no opportunity to raise the rate, despite any
feedback at the public hearing. If, however, they proposed the higher rate, that rate could be lowered before implementation based on public feedback.
The council voted unanimously to propose the higher tax rate at a public meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8. At that time, they will receive public feedback on the proposed rate and take further action.
FLOOD ISSUES
During the citizens forum, Kerrville residents spoke about continued frustration with flood debris, city communication and lack of a federal disaster declaration.
Resident Janie Morales lamented the lack of communication on what residents should do regarding mold and additional damage they may find to their homes.
“I completed the Texas Division of Emergency Management assessment,” she said. “I reported the damage I had. I’ve since found additional damage to my home. I don’t know where to report that damage. I called Kerrville Public Works last Thursday to ask who I needed to report that damage to. I still have not received an answer.”
While Morales spoke of receiving emergency funds through a grant from the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country and Light on the Hill, she said, “The need is far greater than the amount I was approved for… we need guidance, we need assistance. We need FEMA… we want to feel safe in our homes again. We just need help getting there.”
Resident Amy Espinoza also expressed frustration with the priority the city places on public projects, including bridges and parks, in the wake of the flood when homes need to be rebuilt.
“We need the bridges. I get that. And the parks are public, I get that, too,” she said. “But what good is a prettier park when my nieces and nephews don’t have
a home to go back to? We need to not focus so much on things we can rebuild later. We need to focus on people’s homes.”
Bud Bolton, a former resident of Ingram who now lives on Lois Street in Kerrville, discussed drainage problems in his neighborhood.
“That drain that takes in the water is about 28 inches,” he said. “Every time it rains there, we have flooding. That’s not a river problem. That’s a drainage problem.”
He urged the council to be “our voice to TxDOT and the state to get new, better drainage systems in place.”
Jacob Shively, who said he is still repairing five rental houses in the Lois Street area, again pleaded for assistance from FEMA and timely debris cleanup from the city.
OTHER DISCUSSIONS
Kevin Morales brought up concerns about Automatic License Plate Readers and their use in Kerrville.
Denny Foster introduced the Love Where You Live program that encourages spending local dollars in local stores and businesses.
Finally, Jan Pieraccini announced this year’s Field of Honor would open on the evening of Friday, Sept. 11, with a grand opening ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 12. Mayor Joe Herring Jr. will be among the speakers at the ceremony.
The new changes to building ordinances were unanimously approved upon their second reading.
Several board appointments were made at the end of the meeting, including Regina Gordon to the Library Advisory Board, Katie Kane to the Planning and Zoning Commission and Kyle Reeves to the Building Board of Adjustment and Appeals.
The next Kerrville City Council meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8. The meeting is public, and residents who submit a speaker form before the meeting may speak at the residents’ forum.
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