Alderman Bob Thomas suggested at Monday’s meeting that council have its own travel and training budget. He pointed out that historically, aldermen have depended on the mayor’s budget for attending Municipal League conferences, for example. Thomas said he paid his own way in the past because he does not think the mayor gets to decide if an alderman can go to training. Aldermen agreed they could address this issue during upcoming budget discussions.
B&Bs more than just a bed
Chair Pat Lujan of the Planning Commission addressed aldermen on recommended changes to City Code regarding Bed & Breakfasts. Council quickly realized they did not have the document Lujan referenced, so they agreed to table discussion until the next meeting so that everyone would be reading from the same page.
However, during Public Comments, Barbara Gavron commented she is hearing that the R-1 zone will become totally residential, and that is not what it was built for. She maintained there is plenty housing in town, but B&Bs are disappearing, and without B&Bs, restaurants will disappear as well. She said the town already has enough regulations for B&Bs.
Sandra Smith said B&B owners take dilapidated properties and fix them up, and B&Bs are an asset to the community. She contended B&Bs bring the “upper end guests” to town and without them restaurants are bound to suffer.
Paying for the judge
Aldermen passed Resolution 692, which authorizes the mayor to execute a proportionate share agreement for paying for the district court judge. The city will be paying $8,378 annually, which is less that it had been paying.
Next meeting will be Monday, Nov. 14, at 6 p.m.