By Amira Van Leeuwen
KYLE — Ethics was brought into question at Tuesday’s Kyle City Council meeting.
The Kyle City Council met Tuesday, Aug. 2 , where council members discussed the city's ethics ordinance and approved various agenda items including a one-year landscaping contract for maintenance at Heroes Memorial Park and the authorization for the Kyle Police Department to execute an agreement with LexisNexis Coplogic Solutions, Inc. to provide online citizen reporting.
After conducting research, council member Yvonne Flores-Cale said the current ethics ordinance should be easier to read, understand and provide an accessible process for people to utilize. She opted to send the ordinance back to the ethics committee to review and update – Flores-Cale also said that she would like to see a form with the required information, affidavit and clarified definitions.
“Currently, after a complaint is filed, there is no follow-up from the city, ethics committee, or ethics attorney. The only point of contact is our city secretary, which means she is responsible for all the follow-ups when people call back,” Flores-Cale said.
Overall, Mayor Travis Mitchell agreed with Flores-Cale – but was unsure of the council’s role in it.
“I have thoughts about all this, but I don’t know that we’re that right [governing] body,” Mitchell said.
Flores-Cale motioned to direct the ethics committee to review and update the city’s ethics ordinance including verbiage regarding notification/updates after the committee hears a complaint – the item passed 6-0.
Several other agenda items were also approved.
Additionally, council members discussed Costco’s request to temporarily waive Section 23-60 of the City’s Code Ordinances, which restricts construction activity that generates noise within 600 feet of residential structures from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. at 19086 I-35. For approximately 12 days, beginning in September, workers will start at 2 a.m. to avoid extreme heat.
Mayor Mitchell thought the construction would work well and “shouldn’t be overly disruptive to any residents.”
District 5 Council Member Daniela Parsley questioned if residents around the area would be notified of this noise disturbance. Assistant City Manager Amber Lewis said they would work with the contractor to ensure residents in the area would be given ample notice of the construction.
“I know everyone’s excited about Costco, so let’s get this done,” said Robert Rizo, Mayor Pro Tem.
Mitchell motioned to approve, and the item passed unanimously 6-0.
