Sugar Land City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to ratify City Manager Allen Bogard’s appointment of Mary Ann Powell as city attorney.
Powell will take her position with the city on October 1. She replaces Joe Morris, who resigned as city attorney in February. Eugenia Cano has served as acting city attorney in the interim.
"Sugar Land is a cutting edge city with a robust economy," Powell said. "I work best in this type of an environment, where I can challenge both my staff and myself to better serve our client, the city.” News Release
Powell has served as city attorney in Missouri City, and most recently served as first assistant attorney in College Station.
The city council voted 6-1, with Donald Smithers opposed, to approve the final reading of an ordinance granting a conditional use permit for the expansion of a car dealership at 15625 Southwest Freeway.
The permit will allows Mercedes Benz of Sugar Land to expand its dealership to include a parking garage for new and used cars, a body and upholstery service repair shop and paint shop.
The city council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution formalizing the city’s continuing membership in the Gulf Coast Coalition of Cities.
“The City of Sugar Land has worked with an informal coalition of cities to intervene on behalf of its residents into the rate proceedings at the Public Utility Commission and the Railroad Commission for electric and gas rates and rules,” Cano said. “This coalition, Gulf Coast Coalition of Cities, has begun to see the need for a more formal structure in order to allow the cities to intervene in rate cases in a timely fashion.“
The city will pay a $0.15 per capita participation fee for its membership. The fees will be used to reimburse costs in utility rate matters that are not reimbursed under law by the utility.
The city council voted unanimously to award a $512,169 contract to Jerdon Holding, LLC for construction of a roundabout and landscape improvements at Lexington Boulevard and Oxbow Drive.
The city council held budget hearings on the city’s proposed FY2013 Budget and the proposed 2012 property tax rate.
The city is proposing a tax rate of $0.30895 per $100 valuation to generate revenues to support the proposed budget. The rate exceeds the city’s 2012 effective rate of $0.30278 per $100 valuation, which is the amount the city would need to levy to draw revenues equal to the previous fiscal year.
“The proposed 2012 tax rate of 30.895 cents will result in an increase to the average tax bill of $21 per year over 2010 and $5.25 more than the 2009 average tax bill,” Director of Budget and Research Jennifer Brown said.
The city’s 2011 property tax rate was $0.30245 per $100 valuation.
All other items were approved by unanimous vote. All members were present, with Mayor James Thompson leaving the meeting early and not voting on two items – first consideration of a zoning change at 16.42 acres at U.S. Highway 59 and University Boulevard and a request to drill a replacement non-potable water well at 823 Sugar Creek Boulvard. Agenda