Bill Sinor will face off against and for the Kyle mayoral seat. The Hays Free Press asked Kyle City Council candidates the following questions. Answers are printed below.
1. What is the biggest issue the city faces and how do you plan to address it?
The biggest issue is growth. We are located in the fastest growing county in Texas and the United States. And we are one of the fastest growing cities along the I-35 corridor. Even our school district is growing fast! Our uncontrolled and unbridled growth has caused a myriad of the problems we now face.
Rapid, uncontrolled growth has caused problems with our water and wastewater systems, our roads, our budget, our high tax rate and fees, and our debt. We need to plan better, rather than just plugging the holes. We need an annexation plan. Not now, but yesterday.
2. What do you bring to the table that your opponents don’t?
I’ve lived in Kyle longer than any other opponent except for one (Sanchez). I’ve watched the city grow over a long period of time and I’ve witnessed many of our successes, as well as our mistakes, as a city. I’ve learned from that. I’ve also participated in a wide-range of different committees and activities of the city over the years as a citizen, including serving on the Mobility/Transportation Committee, attending the 2009 Comprehensive Plan Community Workshops, and graduating from the Citizens Police Academy. Since I’m not a career politician, I can bring a fresh perspective to the problems facing our city.
3. Do you think Kyle is a fiscally responsible city?
No. Absolutely not. We have the highest tax rate of any city in Hays County.
Our debt as of October 1 was approximately $85 million. And that is for principal only. It doesn’t count interest. The city is issuing new debt of almost $9 million this month for our water infrastructure. And this is just a portion of the $60 million we will be expected to issue over the next 5 years. I do not believe we have been given a straight answer on the cost to the taxpayers for the expansion of the wastewater plant, but we must pay for it.
4. What are your thoughts on the current state of Kyle roads?
The roads are a mess. I remember back when they all promised us that Bunton Road would be done first because of the safety for our children at Lehman High School. But instead, they built the extension of Marketplace first.
5. Is Kyle managing its growth responsibly?
No. The City of Kyle has no annexation plan. This fact comes up every time the city annexes property. We should be focusing on building out the existing centers of town where we have existing water and wastewater infrastructure rather than encouraging costly sprawl in places where there are no roads, no water pipelines, no wastewater lines. This would also let us repair or replace older lines. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big believer in private property rights. If you have land on the edges of Kyle and you want to develop it, I believe you have that right. Just don’t expect the taxpayers of Kyle to be giving you tax incentives and a bunch of perks to do it.
6. Does Kyle have a diverse housing market? If not, how can that be fixed?
I believe we do have a diverse housing market, including more apartment complexes now and even housing specifically geared towards seniors. We are even seeing some apartments over offices and retail downtown. We do not have a great many “executive” or country club subdivisions. But I don’t know if that demand exists right now. It’s really not up to city government to determine what kind of housing should be built. That’s up to the market. Trust me, developers are not going to invest millions of dollars into a product that will not sell. And I’m pretty certain they know more about market forces than the people at City Hall.
7. What are types of industry should Kyle focus on bringing to town?
Kyle needs jobs that pay decent wages. Everyone has been saying this for years, but we still don’t have a large employer that fits this description. Maybe “bringing jobs to town” really isn’t a function of city government. That is usually what chambers of commerce, industrial development boards, and economic development corporations do best. As far as manufacturing goes, we should avoid those that use too much water. It’s just too expensive for us. At one point, the city was discussing medical technology as a focus. And, I’ve heard that call centers and warehouses, like Amazon, really don’t provide well-paying jobs.
8. Does Kyle have a problem with its utility billing system?
It would appear so. Now, I live in the Waterleaf subdivision and we are on County Line for water. But we are still billed by the City of Kyle for trash and wastewater. But I have heard many horror stories while I have been campaigning about unreasonably high water bills from Kyle. And the people I spoke with were not satisfied with the answers they received from the Utility billing Department. I know that the council recently received a report on this issue. But I think the council failed to ask enough questions.
9. What was your favorite TV show growing up?
That’s an easy question. M*A*S*H
