09.03.19 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes September 3, 2019 Roland Saucedo, spoke on items #20, 21, & 22 as the Vice Chair of the Neighborhood Commission. He stated that multiple citizens have brought these items forward to the Commission. He stated that there are many school zones that have the speed display signs. He provided the benefits to having those signs in these areas. He provided that as we grow we have to make sure that our children are protected. He stated the other item is in regards to the Heritage Trees and spoke about the number of trees that are being butchered. He reviewed the benefits of the trees and asks that the council take it seriously and to follow-up and follow through on this. He stated that he doesn't want this to wait until next year, we must protect and define what a Heritage Tree is. Kelly Stone, read a historical marker that is posted on Thompson's Island behind the Woods Apartments. "William A. Thompson brought his family and slaves to Texas from Louisiana in 1850. They established plantations in Caldwell and Hays Counties. With slave labor, the family built a mill on the San Marcos River near this site. Construction and operations of the Mill resulted in the creation of three land masses in the river channel which became known as Thompson's Island. The land remained in the family for generations, and the mill, which provided power for local lumber operations and a cotton gin, became an important element in the area's economy." She read a portion of the guest column written by Jordan Buckley on February 3, 2019 in the San Marcos Daily Record. "City Council delayed the fate of Cape's Dam & Mill Race this week, but a glaringly disturbing question emerged: are the loudest advocates of Local Historic Landmark status correct on the local history?" She continued reading "On Wednesday, a Hays County Historical Commissioner proclaimed on a popular community facebook page that enslaved labor did not play a role. "Juneteenth celebrates June 19th, 1865 when word of the ending of slavery reached Texas. Note: 1865. Capes Dam was built in 1867. Just thought if it was important that facts be out there, you should say `what are believed to be former slaves.' Without specific names to check on the 1850/1860 and 1870 censuses, there is no way to prove that they had ever been slaves. They could have been free men of color," she declared. Curiously, yet another Texas Historical Commission monument, on Conway Drive, for the Thompson's Island Homeplace, reiterates the role enslavement played in harnessing the river to build mills: "William Alexander Thompson (1803-1879) made an agreement with neighbors in 1850 to use the San Marcos River for irrigation and as a source of energy. He and his sons William A. and James used slave labor to build a gristmill, sawmill and cotton gin." She continued, "Ms. Thompson Rich, who lived on the family property until late in her life and died in 2010, chronicled in a separate historical account City of San Marcos Page 3