MIDLOTHIAN—The Midlothian City Council read a proclamation designating April as Community Kindness Month at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Mayor Justin Coffman said the idea for a citywide proclamation declaring April as Kindness Month in the City of Midlothian encourages all citizens to show random acts of kindness and to support one another throughout the community.
“We have a great partnership with our ISD, our Chamber of Commerce, our Library, and our Senior Citizens Center, who are all taking action to support this idea of a community-wide kindness campaign,” Coffman said. There are opportunities to nominate people who have shown acts of kindness, and they can potentially win prizes, so as the mayor, I encourage anyone and everyone to be kind all year long, but also throughout the month of April.”
The proclamation encouraged the “Kindness Eclipses All” program, suggesting the importance of kindness as a “go-to” behavior in homes, schools, and businesses throughout the community.
Place 6 councilmember Hud Hartson said, “Inspired by Galatians 5:13, I will say this about kindness; the citizens of the United States have tremendous freedoms, but we should not take these freedoms for granted. Use our freedoms to serve one another with kindness.”
Pattillo, Brown, & Hill, LLP representatives presented the city’s FY 2022-2023 financial audit to the council.
Jane Voisard, a local resident and volunteer with Midlothian Breathe, has concerns about the city’s air quality. She noted, “Since the city has a specific concern for the health of the unborn, please have that same concern for the born in regard to air quality.” Voisard emphasized that air quality impacts everyone’s health and that Ellis County has the highest concentration of pollutants in the North Texas region.
She explained to the council that the official TCEQ monitor for the area had been out of commission for two years. It was taken down due to construction on the former site. That monitor catches the data about the pollutants people breathe, and that data is used to protect public health. The state agency recently found a new site for the monitor and is ready to put the construction out for bid. Her request is that the council help with the city’s expediting of the process to have the new monitor installed and up and running by the end of the summer.
Recap Of March 26, 2024, City Council Agenda Items
Consent agenda items passed 7 – 0 including the minutes from the City Council meeting of March 12, 2024, an act to authorize an auction to sell miscellaneous items that are outdated, broken, or beyond economic repair in the city, an act to sign an Interlocal Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with the City of Marshall, a resolution adopting a plat checklist in compliance with state law, and an agreement with Sovrex, LLC from Houston, Texas for the 2023- 2024 Fire Hydrant Annual Contract Program in the amount of $54,681.
Three public hearings were on the agenda; one regarding a zoning change to allow for the construction of two hotel buildings at the northeast corner of Methodist Way and U.S. Highway 287 Service Road was postponed until the April 9 meeting.
A second public hearing ordinance change failed regarding the zoning of 19.937 acres on the north side of U.S. Highway 67, situated about 370 feet north of Church Street. This item requested that a Planned Development District for mixed-use retail and commercial uses be rezoned to a Planned Development District for commercial uses.
The motion to approve failed, with Mayor Coffman, Mayor Pro Tem Clark Wickliffe, Place 5 Ed Garder, and Place 6 Hartson voting no.
A public hearing for an ordinance amending the city of Midlothian Zoning Ordinance by amending “Home Occupations” relating to the regulation of Home Occupations deleting the definition was tabled for a future meeting.
Midlothian Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan Discussed
Three items were on the regular agenda for discussion, including the city’s draft Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plans and potential amendments to the City’s adopted “Landscape and Lawn Irrigation Conservation” ordinance.
It was suggested that any water restriction implementations be done in small steps. The water restriction highlights were implementing a twice-per-week watering schedule from June to September and restricting sodding and seeding in common open space areas during summer months.
Place 2 Mike Rodgers asked about the projected outgrowth in the next few years and said, “I don’t see how we will ever have time to sit because water is one of our greatest assets that we need to continue to be ahead of on this.”
A long-range plan for the city’s future water is being developed, and Mayor Coffman said he did not want to put too much restraint on the item for this year.
Editor’s Note: The City of Midlothian is required to update its Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plans at least every five years. The plans are intended to develop strategies to reduce water consumption from levels that would prevail without conservation efforts; reduce the loss and waste of water; improve efficiency in the use of water; document the level of recycling and reuse in the water supply; extend the life of current water supplies, regulate non-essential water usage during times of water supply shortages or other water supply emergency conditions, and raise public awareness. The City is seeking public review and comment on the draft plans. To read the drafts, visit https://www.midlothian.tx.us/…/DRAFT-Water-Conservation…
Comments may be submitted to Engineering@midlothian.tx.us
