Megan Navarro
DRIPPING SPRINGS — Dripping Springs City Council went back to the drawing board at its Tuesday, June 2, meeting on who would serve as the next mayor pro tem.
This follows council member Ana Grace Husted’s motion to appoint Geoffrey Tahuahua as mayor pro tem for a one-year term at the previous meeting, held May 19, with a nearly unanimous vote, except for council member Taline Manassian, who has served as mayor pro tem for multiple terms. The appointment is a requirement for the governing body — as Husted was newly elected to the dais — at its first meeting or soon thereafter.
Two weeks later at its next meeting, another item, sponsored by council member Sherrie Parks, was brought forward to reconsider the motion.
“After our last meeting, we rushed through the last item super fast and no discussion was held and, upon reflection, I thought it was super important to have a discussion about who we appoint as mayor pro tem,” Parks said.
She added that she is appreciative that Tahuahua is willing to step up to serve in the position, but she has concerns about the various responsibilities he has on his plate, including the Hays County judge race, his job and family.
Tahuahua shared that, despite his busy schedule, he wanted to fill that role for the reason that he was elected: to put forth change.
The word “change” was then echoed by Husted, who explained that’s what constituents in both the city limits and extraterritorial jurisdiction want to see. One of the ways that can be accomplished is by looking at the leadership roles on city council, she added.
“... When I made the motion for Geoffrey, I want to make it clear that in no way was I disrespecting mayor pro tem Manassian. I think she has done a wonderful job over the years and has served the role greatly, but I do think in the natural progression of any position serving in it for a certain amount of time, you almost peak in your effectiveness to do that job. In my mind, six years, I think at that point, it's time to see new fresh leadership in that position and that’s step one in sort of enacting the change that we've heard from citizens that we want to see.”
Mayor Bill Foulds clarified that the mayor pro tem does work closely with him in that role, but does not have any more authority, power or access than the rest of city council. According to the American Legal Publishing Code Library, the mayor pro tem performs the duties of the mayor during their absence or inability to do so.
Foulds added that just because someone is in that role for six years, that doesn’t mean that it’s time to move on.
As for the initial motion to have Tahuahua as mayor pro tem, Foulds felt like the recommendation was not in the best interest of the city, while also noting that it would be harder for them to work together and sharing concerns of potential conflict.
“I want to have separation and transparency. I feel like I have more separation, more transparency and more respect from the citizens by having Taline or someone else sitting up here with me,” the mayor said. “There is a lot of mumbling in the city that will make it harder, I think, to go with Mr. Tahuahua.”
Then, Manassian voiced the opposition she had when Husted was running to be on city council, questioning her ability to remain independent, as she currently works for Tahuahua.
“So, we now have two lobbyists for builders and contractors on this body and one of them works for the other and that causes me tremendous concern for us as a city and I think it compromises our integrity,” she said.
Tahuahua confirmed that he and Husted are colleagues — comparing the situation to Manassian having other partners inside of her law firm. While there are questions that were raised of potential conflict to remain independent, Tahuahua said that could be said for conversations between any of the council members and not just those between him and Husted.
Council member Travis Crow, who seconded the initial motion, shared that he has been “disappointed with the city, with the way we are heading” and in order to best serve the citizens, there needs to be a better working relationship to move forward.
“Ana Grace was elected by the public,” Crow said. “They made a choice and I respect that. I might not like that you and Geoffrey work together, but I have to have faith that y’all will not go behind the scenes and you will do the right thing because that’s your job.”
He added that having these difficult conversations is important and the individual council members should not take them personally: “I don’t want us all to agree all the time because I don’t think we serve the city all agreeing.”
Husted then echoed Crow’s points, sharing that she is her own person and the priorities that she has for the city — of which were in her candidacy during the May election — did not overlap with her day job. However, Husted said, if there was anything that came before council on an agenda that she or others felt like were a conflict of interest, she would excuse herself.
“I have been involved with the city for over two years now. I've been attending city council meetings. I've been attending multiple committee meetings. I've already been [having] conversations with staff about ideas that I have and I do care for the community. So, I resent the claim that I'm only here because of the will of someone else and because I don't care about this community,” she emphasized. “I'm excited to be here. I'm excited to work. I think I've already proven that. I don't think I need to prove it any further. And it disappoints me that those feelings are still alive because like Travis said, I hope that now that I'm here, we would have the trust in each other to drop that and continue to move forward and and work for what we're elected for, which is what is best for the citizens here.”
With a motion to reconsider on the table, Husted said that she would support Parks to be mayor pro tem if the mayor felt comfortable working with her.
The mayor explained that he works with Parks a lot and while he has a “great deal of respect” for her, he felt like it would be better to continue the relationship with Manassian because she brings a completely different point of view.
“[Parks] and I tend to be more on the same page and I think having [Manassian] balance that out keeps me a little bit in checkmate,” Foulds said. “I think that's a good thing and that would be my only reservation.”
Council unanimously voted to reconsider the motion for mayor pro tem.
Then, ultimately, council voted 3-2, with Tahuahua and Husted opposed, to appoint Manassian to serve as mayor pro tem for a one-year term.
Road maintenance
From 2022 to 2026, the city’s Maintenance Department has been completing annual mill and overlay — a resurfacing process for asphalt roads — projects related to the five-year maintenance plan. Prior to that, the city did not have a lot of “preventative maintenance,” explained Riley Sublett, maintenance director, before city council.
Sublett stated that the previous five-year plan, up to 2026, has been completed with the following projects and contractual, or budgeted, numbers:
• Fiscal year 2022 at $160,000: Mercer Street
• FY 2023 at $541,000: Sportsplex Drive
• FY 2024 at $474,000: Old Highway 290, Bonnie Drive, Judy Drive and Retha Drive
• FY 2025 at $586,000: Post Oak Drive, Roanoak Drive and Butler Ranch Road
• FY 2026 at $635,000 (budgeted and in progress): Rob Shelton Boulevard and Rambo Lodge parking lot
“As we wait for roadways to be fixed, the more we wait, the more expensive it gets,” Sublett said. “The reason why this is important is the more we wait and the more we push off maintenance, the more money we are going to be spending.”
The new five-year roadway maintenance plan for 2027 through 2031 will include the following projects:
• FY 2027: Grand Prairie Circle, Grand Prairie Circle (loop) and Goodnight Trail
• FY 2028: Broken Lance Drive
• FY 2029: Oak Springs Drive, Bob White Cove, Springlake Drive and entrance of Founders Ridge
• FY 2030: Neighborhood streets in The Woods, Springwood, Blue Ridge and Hidden Springs, along with Arrowhead Boulevard
• FY 2031: Neighborhood streets in Founders Ridge, Legacy Trails and Cortaro, along with Sports Park Road, Sportsplex Drive, EMS Drive and Peabody Place
The majority of the projects will include mill and overlay and spot repairs, specifically for 2027-2029. The total estimated budget for the new maintenance plan is $3,004,000 and is broken up as follows for each year: $664,000 for 2027, $727,000 for 2028, $750,000 for 2029, $453,000 for 2030 and $410,000 for 2031.
Crow said that the city took an active role in saying it would repair these roads because they were neglected for a long time, so a five-year plan was created in order to budget annually for the projects.
However, he shared that the city may need to extend the plan to seven years as a cost-saving measure.
“That’s kind of the whole point of preventative maintenance, is to keep us out of this position … We were doing $4 per [square] yard and if we wait five years, now we are doing $40 a square yard for mill and overlay,” Sublett responded.
Ultimately, council unanimously approved the five-year roadway maintenance plan for 2027-2031.
Dripping Springs City Council meets next at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 16.
