The Bastrop City Council is poised to adopt a new ordinance to regulate electric bicycle, GPS-equipped bicycle and motor-assisted scooter services in the city.
The City Council on May 25 voted 4-0 to approve the first reading of the ordinance, which would go into effect should it pass a second vote June 8.
Only four members of the council were present during the May 25 meeting to vote on the ordinance. Council Member Bill Peterson was absent due to illness.
The ordinance, as crafted by Police Chief Clint Nagy, defines how and where these modes of transportation can be used in the city, while also providing guidelines for companies that seek to provide electric bicycle, GPS-equipped bicycle or motor-assisted scooter services in Bastrop.
Construction on Bastrop s $395,000 planned skate park in Fisherman s Park is about 30% complete, Assistant City Manager Rebecca Gleason told the council at its May 11 meeting as part of an update on public infrastructure projects.
The first phase of the skate park s construction process features about 5,000 square feet of poured concrete in Fisherman’s Park.
The city awarded the skate park s construction project to Artisan Concrete Services last year. Construction began in March and is scheduled to be finished this summer, according to city documents.
The City Council opted in October to move forward with plans for the skate park despite a construction cost increase of about $100,000. The cost increase came after a geo-tech report performed as part of the design process determined the need for remediation to existing soils at the project site, inflating the project s cost from $289,000 to about $395,000, with all skate park features included.
The city of Bastrop is projecting a hotel occupancy tax revenue shortfall of more than $500,000 this fiscal year compared to initial budget forecasts, leading the City Council to discuss potential cost cutting measures and possible policy changes.
City Manager Paul Hofmann and Finance Director Tracy Waldron presented the stark financial picture during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. Hotel tax funds may only be used to directly promote tourism and the convention/hotel industry, as per the state comptroller s office.
The city, in its approved fiscal year 2021 budget, projected it would collect about $2.26 million in hotel tax revenue. Officials, however, have updated the budget forecast and have lowered the city s expected revenue to about $1.72 million, a $543,400 decline from the initial estimation. Officials are now left scrambling for ways to close the gap.
The Bastrop Economic Development Corporation’s chief executive officer, who was fired last month without cause, has withdrawn a whistleblower lawsuit he filed March 24 against the city of Bastrop, Mayor Connie Schroeder, the economic development corporation and the corporation’s chairwoman, Kathryn Nash.
“As a lawyer that has been doing this for 15 years, I know the emotional toll that lawsuits can put on people, said Cameron Cox, the BEDC’s ousted CEO who also is an attorney. And at the end of the day, it’s not a ton of money. I have a job as a lawyer and I just want to move on.