MIDLOTHIAN – The Midlothian City Council opened its meeting Tuesday with a presentation from the Community Health and Safety Council at Methodist Mansfield honoring Captain Ryan Hudson from the Midlothian Fire Department.
Hudson received the Community Health Hero award after being recognized for donating his kidney to an Ellis County resident in the spring.
A representative from the hospital said Hudson reached out in April about a woman in the area who needed a kidney transplant, and no one in her family was able to help. Hudson donated his kidney on June 26, going “above and beyond.”
Hudson gave a huge thank you to the hospital staff: “When I started this process, everything was going good, and then the door got slammed shut. I reached out to Karen, and she was able to reach out to some doctors she knew at Methodist Dallas. Then the doors were open again, and there was a slim chance. I was a match, and it worked out great.”
Midlothian Fire Chief Dale McCaskill commended Hudson and added, “Very few have had the option or ability to give a part of us to somebody so they can have a better quality of life, and that is the epitome of doing the right thing and being unselfish. I am thankful to have him as a part of our organization.”
Councilmember Place 1 Allen Moorman pulled one item on the consent agenda for further discussion. The item was to pass a resolution adopting the Covered Applications and Prohibited Technology Policy, which bans TikTok from all City-owned and issued devices in accordance with new legislative requirements for the state.
Moorman was told this ban was for not only TikTok but also any Byte Dance application on city-owned and issued devices.
The item passed 6 -1, with Moorman voting against it.
The other consent agenda items passed 7 – 0, including the minutes from the City Council meetings of October 22 and November 1, 2024; a resolution authorizing the Ellis County Toy Run, an annual event hosted by the Gryphons Motorcycle Club of Ellis County, on Sunday, December 8, 2024; an Interlocal Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with the City of Celina; an Interlocal Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with the City of McKinney; an Interlocal Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with the City of Richardson, the purchase of three Federal Signal Outdoor Warning Sirens from Goddard Enterprises in the amount of $108,000; the purchase and installation of two custom storage compartments from Dana Safety Supply in Fort Worth for two CVE Trucks in the amount of $12,710.00; and a 36-month fair market value lease with Dell Computers for 48 laptops and 58 desktops. This lease is part of the City’s computer replacement program as approved in the Capital Equipment Program and the FY 2024-25 Budget.
The first public hearing on the agenda for an amendment to an existing Specific Use Permit (SUP) for Love’s Truck Stop at 1501 West U.S. Highway 287 was continued at the request of the applicant.
A public hearing to act upon an ordinance granting a Specific Use Permit (SUP) for a truck terminal facility in the Midwest Industrial Park at 2200 North Highway 67 and presently zoned Light Industrial (LI) District passed 7 – 0.
Staff noted this had been approved for everything other than onsite maintenance in 2008. Staff notes indicated there is no new building being proposed, or expansion of the existing building being requested. The applicant is asking to add parking area and to be allowed to perform onsite maintenance for their fleet vehicles. The City’s zoning ordinance requires a SUP for a Truck Storage, Maintenance, and Garage Facility in LI.
Another public hearing passed 7 – 0 for an ordinance amending the zoning from Agricultural (A) to a Planned Development (PD) zoning district to allow for General Professional (GP) use and development on 2.86 acres located on the south side of FM 1387 known by street numbers: 2330, 2428, 2468, 2498, and 2628.
The first regular item, a Right of Way Use License Hold Harmless Agreement to allow for a grease trap and sample well on two on-street parking spaces along West Avenue F for nonresidential use for the Lawson Building within Planned Development District No. 148 at 301 West Main Street, was continued to the next council meeting.
Item 2024-449 passed 7 – 0 to name the street at the new Midlothian Public Safety and Municipal Court facility George Raffield Jr. Way. Raffield, Jr. served with the Midlothian Police Department for one year before he died in the line of duty.
Item 2024-450 passed 7 – 0 for an agreement amending the architectural design agreement with Hoefer Welker, LLC for the Public Safety Memorial Design to be placed at the Public Safety and Courts Building in the amount of $84,500 and, item 2024-451 also passed 7 – 0 for an Agreement for Professional Services with Enprotec/Hibbs & Todd, Inc. for engineering design and other related professional services associated with a new ground storage tank at the Auger Water Treatment Plant (WTP No. 2) for $192,140.
Item 2024-452 for an Agreement for Professional Services with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. for engineering and other related professional services associated with Phase 1 of the relocation of existing City utilities along FM 1387, from Midlothian Parkway to Longbranch Road for $125,000 passed 7 – 0 and, item 2024-453 passed 7 – 0 to act upon the refurbishment of a 2013 Pierce-Custom Dash CF PUC Pumper at a price of $253,055.77, which includes $15,000 in contingency.
Item 2024-454 was tabled until the December 10 meeting for a resolution of votes cast to elect directors for the Ellis Appraisal District for the year 2025.
Item 2024-455 to approve an Agreement for the Sale and Delivery of Treated Water to the Mountain Peak Special Utility District by the City of Midlothian, and an amendment stipulating Article 5 of the delivery agreement reflects the charges for water consistent with billing and method payments with the city bearing no cost for the transfer of provisions passed 5 -2 with Moorman and Mayor Pro-Tem Clark Wickliffe voting no.
Both Wickliffe and Moorman also voted no to consider and act upon a Development Agreement between the City of Midlothian and Circle S. Midlothian, LLC, Buffalo Hills Development, LLC, and Miskimon Management III, LLC, a Texas limited liability company and a petition for the inclusion of land into the City’s extra territorial jurisdiction submitted by Circle S Midlothian LLC.; and a resolution consenting to the creation of the Circle S North, Middle, East and West Municipal Utility Districts of Ellis County. The item passed 5 – 2.
