Council approves downtown purchases

KYLE — On Monday, Nov. 20, Kyle City Council approved the purchase of three downtown buildings, as well as a Property Improvement Plan to help residents who cannot afford or are not able to make repairs to their home.

In a 7-0 vote, council voted to approve resolutions to purchase and close on the Kyle Automotive, Cash Box Pawn and Kyle Carwash properties for a total of $3.4 million, plus closing costs.

According to Alison Kelly, communications manager, the offers have not been accepted by the landowners, so final numbers are not yet available, but the city did seek out property appraisals.

The Hays Central Appraisal District listed the taxable value as follows:  Kyle Automotive Service Center at $116,260; Cash Box Pawn at $34,224; and the Kyle Carwash at $237,480.

Although Kelly said that the city currently has no plans for the buildings, their fate could be similar to three other downtown buildings that the city has recently acquired. The former animal control office, located at 300 W. Center St., former police station, located at 103 S. Front St. and former VFW, located at 111 S. Front St. are to be demolished beginning mid-December.

Following this discussion, council member Bear Heiser presented an item that would bring back the Property Improvement Program (PIP). The program would partner with local churches, nonprofits and other residents to provide repairs for those who are financially or physically unable to.

“I've kind of been looking around more and more lately to see what other cities are doing to see what we can learn from them to try to create a higher quality of life for our residents,” said Heiser. “One of those things was a [PIP].”

According to Heiser, anyone could be considered for the program. He also agreed to add wording that included searching for grants to fund the program, per council member Ashlee Bradshaw’s request.

Council member Robert Rizo supported the idea, but insisted that there should be oversight from an individual in the city to ensure that “the dollars are going where we want them to go.”

Heiser listed off a few examples of repairs that would not be done to eliminate a margin of error, such as repairs that are done for niceties, exterior repairs, fences, trees, shrubs and patios would not be worked on above the first story and no foundation, plumbing, roofing, concrete, electrical or interior work would be done. This comes after several council members were concerned about the possible liability that would come with supporting home repairs.

A motion was made to direct staff to bring back a PIP and look for potential grants to fund a budget for the potential program. It passed 7-0.

Kyle City Council will meet again on Dec. 5.