by WES FERGUSON
Jose Montoya, a retired Air Force senior master sergeant, will face ex-Mayor Bobby Lane in an election to fill the open seat on the Buda City Council.
The election is Nov. 8. Early voting has already begun.
Montoya said that smart development and affordable access to water were two of the most important issues facing the town.
“I want to make sure that Buda has smart growth, and by that I mean that we don’t run into the same problem that Kyle has gotten into by expanding too fast, too soon,” he said.
After retiring from the Air Force, Montoya worked for the Texas Youth Commission and Texas Rehabilitation Commission. He has lived in Buda since 2004 and serves on the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustments and Appeals and Home Rule Charter Review Committee.
Montoya said he wants Buda to maintain its small-town feel, although he knows that growth is inevitable.
“It’s going to happen whether we want it or not, but we can be smart about it,” he said. “We can have controlled growth that benefits everybody.”
Lane was out of town and unavailable for comment this week. A council member for nearly a decade, Lane served one term as mayor before he was narrowly defeated by Sarah Mangham this past spring.
The Place 6 seat on the City Council was vacated when Councilman Scott Dodd announced that he was moving to Belton.
Lane has said his goals are to ensure that Buda’s budget remains sound while maintaining an extremely low tax rate. He also said he would work to ensure access to safe and adequate drinking water.
