Bell County on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the City of Killeen, claiming a marijuana ordinance approved by voters creates a difficult dilemma for municipal police officers.
The Killeen City Council expected to vote Tuesday on whether to spend $100,000 as a contribution to the new traffic light that is up and running at the intersection of Golden Gate Drive and Clear Creek Road in west Killeen.
Last week, the item was brought to the council during its workshop meeting and there was a lengthy discussion about whether the council should have to pay anything for a project that is already complete.
Bubba Purser, a well-known local developer, paid for the light at around $420,000 and is asking the council to contribute $100,000 back to him. He said it is only equitable for the council to pay him that amount because they are going to get a light that they would have had to build in the future for âa quarter on the dollar.â
Tuesdayâs Killeen Council meeting, which should have had a relatively full agenda, in fact lasted only 20 minutes, with over a third of originally scheduled items pulled from discussion.
As the 5 p.m. meeting got underway, Mayor Pro Tem Shirley Fleming made a motion to pull all discussion items â nine in total â plus the public hearing from the agenda.
The council unanimously agreed to Flemingâs motion.
This left only the consent agenda items, which were then approved unanimously. A request for a future agenda item, regarding the mayor usurping his authority, was also not discussed.
Mayor Jose Segarra said the items were pulled because 72 hours notice is required between when an item is discussed and when it was voted on.
Having to reschedule due to last weekâs winter weather system, the Killeen City Council is planning to hold its workshop meeting on Monday, followed by a regular council meeting on Tuesday.
Two issues related to impact fees, a long running issue for the council, are set to be discussed at the workshop meeting. These include a presentation on land use assumptions for such fees, as well as how they relate to the Capital Improvement Plan.
A public hearing on these issues has tentatively been set for March 9.
Charged to developers and builders, impact fees help municipalities recoup costs of building roads and infrastructure up to new developments and structures.