Published: July 03, 2008 11:39 am         

PS solves car woes

Council votes to amend ordinance

PAYNE SPRINGS — The city council’s problem with police cruisers just kept getting more and more complicated.

Then all of a sudden the problem was solved — maybe.

The council, you’ll recall, had recently agreed to swap its three non-running vehicles for one 2005 Ford Crown Victoria.

By the time the council approved the deal, however, the owner of the car, Christopher Reed, had put additional work into his vehicle and needed $1,000 to make the deal.

So much for the even swap.

But that was minor compared to the one that came up during Monday’s meeting; the fact that the city couldn’t make the swap until it retired a $43,874.45 loan in which the cars had been used as collateral.

Nevertheless, the council took the bull by the horn and voted unanimously to retire the debt, secure the titles on the vehicles, agree to the $1,000 payment to Reed, hoping still to acquire the used 2005 Crown Victoria 120,000 miles on it.

The ball is now back in Reed’s court. The council made it clear, this was it’s final offer.

The other police cruiser — the one still out on the street when it’s running — has what Mayor J.T. Noble described as a “rod knocking.”

The city council even voted unanimously to repair, or replace, the engine in that vehicle.

Payne Springs hired its second police officer two weeks ago in Sarah Garcia. If everything works out right, the city will have a cruiser for each officer.

The council had recently discussed the option of seeking bids on a new pickup truck to be used for police work, but no mention was made of it at the specially-called meeting.

Charles Stiff contributed to this story.





COUNCIL APPROVES AMENDMENT TO CONTROL DRILLING.

The council also voted in its special meeting Monday night to amend its oil and gas well, and mineral excavation ordinance.

The new ordinance makes it clear that the city has jurisdiction outside of its city limits for up to one half mile. That jurisdictions based on the state’s extra territorial jurisdiction laws concerning cities with less than 5,000 residents, such as Payne Springs.

The action was prompted by recent news that Black Brush Oil Company in San Antonio, plans to apply for a drilling permits for two locations that would allow the company to go after an anticipated millions of barrels of oil underneath Cedar Creek Lake.

Oil company representatives confirmed those plans when contacted by the Cedar Creek Pilot last week.

But no permit can be issued without the approval of the Texas Railroad Commission.

One of the proposed locations for the spud to one of t hose well is located about 27 feet outside the Payne Springs city limit, according to Mayor J.T. Nobles.

     

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