04281997 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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l40 - Regular Meeting April 28, 1997 . Page 12 CVB is currently almost out of this money for advertising and promoting special events which do draw tourists to the City and still have one more of the funding meetings left. Ms. Hughson stated there are certain things the money can be spent on such as keys to the City to be used sparingly. Mayor Pro-Tem Hernandez asked if these were appropriate expenditures. Mr. Taylor stated they were. Mr. Mihalkanin stated he agrees with Ms. Hughson and he thinks the City can expend the monies a lot farther. On roll call, the following vote was recorded: AYE: Hart, Hernandez, Guerra, Cox NAY: Hughson, Mihalkanin Motion passed. Mayor Pro-Tem Hernandez introduced for discussion building permitting issues raised by Mr. Felix Reyna. Mr. Guerra requested the Council give Mr. Reyna the opportunity to give them his information and for the Council to shy away from he said/she said dialogue and then give staff the opportunity to do so also. Mr. Felix Reyna stated he wanted to speak about the building permits and the method of operating by the Planning Department. Mr. Reyna stated he had come in about a year ago and told the Council he was from Killeen, Texas and his purpose for building a home in San Marcos was for his kids to attend school at SWT. Mr. Reyna stated he had asked the City what he needed to do in order to obtain a permit. Mr. Reyna stated the City gave him instructions to make a plan of the house and gave him a diagram of the requirements. Mr. Reyna stated he had complied and had drafted everything which was required. Mr. Reyna stated when he returned Mr. Parris told him the information was there but Mr. Reyna was not an architect and he could not accept it. Mr. Reyna stated he then debated it and gave up and went to obtain plans by an architect and submitted them again. Mr. Reyna stated Mr. Parris again returned the plans with red marks. Mr. Reyna stated Mr. Parris then placed citations on his lot and the citations say he needed a permit to ,identify the lot when he was cutting the yard to look for his posts. Mr. Reyna stated Mr. Parris issued him a citation with a white letter stating this. Mr. Reyna stated he did not know what Mr. Parris meant and he continued cutting the yard and started pruning his trees. Mr. Reyna stated Mr. Parris again came by and issued him another citation because he was pruning out of season and could not do any pruning. Mr. Reyna stated he continued with his pruning and then noticed a dead tree between his property and the City's line. Mr. Reyna stated he had to remove the tree because it was on his side of the property where he was building his home. Mr. Reyna stated he cut down the tree and he received another letter from Mr. Parris asking him to remove the dead tree from City property. Mr. Reyna stated he had someone from Parks and Recreation to exterminate the tree because of a bee hive so he could remove it. Mr. Reyna stated the Planning Department sold him the permits to build his house and for him to get his electricity. Mr. Reyna stated he then bought dirt to fill his lot after Mr. Parris had mentioned that his house needed to be elevated about 30 inches high. Mr. Reyna stated he received another letter from Mr. Parris about his land site and the dirt he had placed on his lot could not be used. Mr. Reyna stated he debated with the City for about 4 months. Mr. Reyna stated he then hired a contractor to dig out the dirt and fill it with red sand. Mr. Reyna stated he was cited for his identification on his street because it was not properly facing the street. Mr. Reyna stated he corrected it and then was told the electrical pole did not meet the electrical code requirements. Mr. Reyna stated when he was building his house the inspector had come in and red tagged his job. Mr. Reyna stated when the permits were issued he also had to sign a statement saying he was the homeowner. Mr. Reyna made a revision and he bought a contractor's license and told them if he could not do the job he would find someone to help him. Mr. Reyna was told he had violated various codes. Mr. Reyna stated he had come in on January 22 and submitted the prints and the department made a lot of revisions and he thought he was a step ahead after he had hired an architect and then they gave him a list of all the revisions. Mr. Reyna stated he went through the plans with Mr. Theriot and Mr. McMillan and agreed to change everything. Mr. Reyna stated he then came to pick up his prints and several pieces were missing and they could not find his letter he had attested. Mr. Reyna stated he then met with Mr. Mark Taylor and they agreed the problem was lack of communication and he suggested Mr.