By Megan Wehring
Kyle City Council voted 6-1 at a special meeting Aug. 25 to rescind their previous vote to rename a portion of FM 150 from Rebel Drive to Fajita Drive and unanimously voted to remove Rebel Drive as the street name. The highway will be designated as West Ranch to Market Road 150 until a new name is assigned.
In the 2020-2021 budget, the city council approved for $5,346 to be set aside for grant funds to the residents who may be impacted by the future renaming of the road. Previously at the Aug. 18 meeting, council member Tracy Scheel said businesses may face costs if the Rebel name was to be removed.
“I do understand that it is going to cost them money to do this,” Scheel said. “All of their marketing material, their letterheads, all of that is going to have to change. I know that is going to come at a cost to the businesses. While I appreciate that, I do agree that the name needs to change.”
Council will reconvene Sept. 1 for a second reading to remove the street name Rebel Drive. An Ad Hoc committee will also be formed to make recommendations for the new street name.
“That committee should comprise a diverse group,” council member Alex Villalobos said. “Business owners, property and land owners off of that area and also across the city as well. Just to make sure we have representation to ensure we are seeing everything and we are addressing all the different probabilities of expense.”
Widely spread across social media, public outcry was raised against the city council’s original decision to have Fajita Drive as the new name. Residents also had the chance to voice their concerns during a public hearing at the special meeting Aug. 25.
Within the 20 years she has been a member of the community, Kyle resident Jamie Fulenwider said she has never understood the true brand of the city.
“We proclaimed ourselves to be the Pie Capital of Texas even though we only had one pie shop,” Fulenwider said. “And now we are naming roads and structures Fajita Drive and Fajita Fields. I don’t understand the fascination we have with identifying our city to food items and I’m having a hard time understanding how pie and fajitas connect.”
David Abdel, candidate for Mayor of Kyle, said the city council should have involved the public more on the agenda item.
“The will of the people should be consulted at every step of the way and heard before decisions are made not in a restorative way this meeting comes to be,” Abdel said. “This is damage control.”
While the new street has not been chosen yet, residents can continue to use the Rebel Drive address until then. Kyle City Council will have a regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Sept. 1 that the public will be able to access.
On social media, some had expressed the desire that Hays High School students, who will choose a new mascot to replace the Rebel this fall, should have some input into the process. None of the council members addressed that possibility during the special meeting.
