Killeen City Council Meeting - March 4, 2025
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Killeen City Council Meeting - March 4, 2025
The Killeen City Council met on March 4, 2025, at 3:00 PM in City Council Chambers. The meeting included a work session and a regular session. Council discussed a golf course update, a funding request from the Innovation Black Chamber of Commerce (IBCC), and a Flock safety camera system procurement. Appointments for the Executive Director of Development Services and City Engineer as department head were approved. A public hearing was held on a zoning request. The council also entered executive session to discuss pending litigation with Oncor Electric.
Consent Calendar
- MN-25-006: Approved minutes of the February 18, 2025 regular city council meeting.
- RS-25-029: Authorized procurement of a Flock Safety Camera System from Flock Group, Inc. in the amount of $488,250, utilizing a $400,000 grant from the Texas Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority (SB 244 catalytic converter grant) and $100,000 in city and state forfeiture funds. Approved unanimously.
- RS-25-030: Approved appointment of Wallace Mesher as Executive Director of Development Services. Approved unanimously.
- RS-25-031: Approved appointment of Andrew Zegers as City Engineer and department head of the newly established Engineering Department. Approved unanimously.
- RS-25-032: Awarded RFP#25-10 for Killeen Civic and Conference Center Mixed Beverage Service to Let Us Do the Cooking, LLC, at $105,000 annually for an initial three-year term with three optional one-year renewals. Approved unanimously.
- OR-25-005: Declared an unopposed candidate and cancelled the May 3, 2025 general election in District 3, certifying Nina Cobb as elected. Approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mr. Price: Expressed concerns about Fourth Amendment implications of Flock cameras under the Carpenter doctrine, warning of potential legal challenges similar to red light cameras. Also questioned a city employee bidding on the mixed beverage contract (later corrected as not a city employee). Congratulated Councilmember Cobb but urged better voter outreach.
- Mrs. Bryell: Criticized the council for making a motion of direction on IBCC without citizen input. Proposed restructuring the KEDC board to include IBCC, Hispanic Chamber, Korean Merchants, Downtown Merchants, and Planning & Zoning chair. Opposed funding the golf course improvements due to bond costs. Urged dropping the Oncor lawsuit.
- Mr. Fernino: Strongly supported IBCC funding, suggesting defunding KEDC and reallocating funds. Objected to the appointment of Wallace Mesher as Executive Director, questioning her qualifications and citing a previous termination from Hutto. Also alleged the mayor’s military record is inaccurate.
- Mr. Carpenter: Supported IBCC funding, criticizing the council for delaying. Questioned the transfer of park land to the golf course without Parks Board discussion. Stated District 3 has no active projects. Alleged sanitation workers are not reimbursed for shots (denied by staff). Accused council of excessive travel.
- Ms. Hawley: Spoke in support of IBCC as a small business owner, citing mentorship, AI certification courses, and networking opportunities that helped her business.
- Mr. Webb: Expressed support for IBCC, emphasizing its role in AI education and community development. Called the lack of a grocery store on the north side a state of emergency.
- Mr. Dadamo (applicant): Expressed thanks for considering the zoning request for his retirement property.
- Ms. Brown: Supported the zoning request (PH-25-009) as incremental change fitting the comprehensive plan.
Discussion Items
- Golf Course Update (PR-25-008): Chris Osborne, General Manager of Stone Tree Golf Club, reported financial improvements. In FY24, the course made a profit of $112,000, compared to a loss of $245,000 in 2019. Projected profit for FY25 is $60,000, impacted by planned bunker and irrigation improvements starting October 2025. Clubhouse renovations (paint, windows, siding) are planned for late spring. Agronomic plans include aeration, verticutting, and tree trimming. Community programs include First Tee, junior golf, and partnerships with KISD. Customer ratings average 4.07 stars on Golf Advisor. Council members praised the turnaround and discussed membership trends and youth outreach.
- IBCC Update and Funding Request (DS-25-004): Ronnie Russell, President of the Innovation Black Chamber of Commerce, presented an update and requested $250,000 annually. He highlighted IBCC’s role in economic development, including bringing 19.6% of 62 new downtown businesses, over 300 members, and partnerships with Meta, Google, and Canva. IBCC also facilitated over $750,000 in deposits/transfers. The funding would cover program services (45%), admin/planning (25%), marketing (15%), and market research (15%). Russell offered services including monthly town halls, marketing via KRGN radio, and support for a grocery store on the north side. Council discussed funding mechanisms, including a potential increase to the KEDC budget with a designated amount for IBCC. Councilmember Boyd proposed adding an IBCC seat to KEDC. Councilmember Adams noted IBCC was already voted as an ex officio member but not implemented. After debate, Councilmember Boyd made a motion of direction to add an additional seat on the KEDC Board of Directors for the president of IBCC. The motion was seconded and passed 7-0.
- Flock Safety Camera System (RS-25-029): Chief Lopez presented the system for automated license plate recognition. Total cost $488,250, with 80% ($400,000) from a state grant and 20% ($100,000) from city/state forfeiture funds. The system captures license plates, vehicle make/model/color, and integrates with law enforcement databases. It does not collect personal data or track individuals. Records are retained for 30 days. Council discussed privacy, audit trails, and strategic placement on public property. The camera is bias-free and designed to solve 12% of crimes nationally. Approved unanimously.
- Appointment of Executive Director of Development Services (RS-25-030): The city manager recommended Wallace Mesher, who has over 10 years of experience in Texas municipalities, including as Director of Planning in Killeen. Her qualifications include a Bachelor's in Architecture and a Master's in Historic Preservation. Council expressed support for her experience and collaborative approach. Approved.
- Appointment of City Engineer as Department Head (RS-25-031): Andrew Zegers was promoted to department head of the newly standalone Engineering Department. The reorganization moves GIS from IT and BPAP Fog from water/sewer under engineering. No additional cost. Council noted his leadership on over $250 million in projects. Approved.
- Mixed Beverage Service Contract (RS-25-032): City staff reported improvements to inventory controls, reducing unexplained losses to 2-5% range, setting a 20% cost of goods sold target. Two proposals received; Let Us Do the Cooking was recommended. Approved.
- Ordinance Cancelling Election District 3 (OR-25-005): Nina Cobb was unopposed; election cancelled per Texas Election Code. Councilmember Boyd noted the opportunity for others to file was open. Cobb thanked the council and staff. Approved.
- Public Hearing – Zoning (PH-25-009): Request to rezone 2.161 acres at 945 Schrader Road from Agricultural to Agricultural Single-Family Residential (A-R1) to build a single-family home. Staff and Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval. One response in opposition cited infrastructure concerns. The applicant spoke in favor. After public hearing, council approved unanimously 7-0.
- Executive Session (DS-25-006): Council convened in closed session at 5:52 PM to discuss pending litigation: City of Killeen v. Oncor Electric regarding the city’s street light system. No action was taken publicly after the session.
Key Outcomes
- Consent agenda approved unanimously (7-0).
- Motion of direction passed 7-0 to add an additional seat on the KEDC Board of Directors for the president of the Innovation Black Chamber of Commerce.
- Flock Safety Camera System procurement approved unanimously.
- Wallace Mesher appointed as Executive Director of Development Services.
- Andrew Zegers appointed as City Engineer/department head.
- Mixed beverage service contract awarded to Let Us Do the Cooking, LLC.
- Election in District 3 cancelled; Nina Cobb declared elected.
- Zoning request (945 Schrader Road) approved 7-0.
- No formal action taken on the Oncor litigation after executive session.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for attending today's uh workshop council slash council meeting. Let the record show that all council members are present. If you have any cellular device, would you please put it on mute? And if you have to take a phone call, you can take it outside. Thank you. We will have the invocation by Mr Solomon, Councilmember Solomon, and we will have the pledge of allegiance by me. Please rise. Father, we want to thank you for this day. This is the day you made, and we thank you for this time. This meeting, we pray your guidance on our on this council. We pray your wisdom. We thank you for this city, this great city of Galene. We pray for every citizen that's in the city, Lord, every resident. All over the country, Father. We pray for every uh all of our military and their families. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Councilman Solomon. Councilmember Adams. Councilmember Board. All in favor, yes. All opposed, no. You have three times to speak for three minutes. Madam Secretary. PR twenty-five zero zero eight. Receive golf course update. Thank you. Mr. Ozboy. Good afternoon, sir. Good afternoon, Madam Mayor. City Council members, city managers, staff, and residents. I'm Chris Osborne. I'm the general manager at Stone Tree Golf Club. And I appreciate the opportunity to provide an update on our operations. Today I'll walk you through the golf courses financial performance for FY24, discuss key facility improvements and agronomic plans for FY25, and highlight the value of our partnership with the Clean community. There you go. Stone Tree staff works closely with the City of Clean representatives to keep things running smoothly. We meet every two weeks and stay so we can stay on the same page. We desire to start a collaborative marketing program to get more people from the community out to enjoy the course. So far this year, Stone Tree is doing great. More people are playing than we expected, bringing in extra money, and at the same time we're spending less than planned. Instead of losing like we losing money like we budgeted, we're actually coming out ahead by over $19,000. Things are looking really good. Sorry. Stone Tree has come a long way financially. In 2019, we were losing nearly $245,000 a year. By 2022, we broke even, and the last year we made over $112,000 in profit. This year we expect to stay in good financial shape with the projected profit of about $60,000. This shows the course is doing much better and moving in the right direction.
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