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Eagle Lake City Council approved a new ordinance aimed at reducing kids on scooters in the streets, reviewed a demo for a new public notification software and more during its meeting, Tuesday, April 14.
Scooter ordinance
The council approved an amendment to a city ordinance regarding motor- assisted scooters that will prohibit their usage on city sidewalks, parks and on streets with speed limits more than 35 miles per hour. City Manager Charles Tink Jackson said the amendment aims to reduce the number of children dangerously playing in the streets that have resulted in complaints from residents and city staff.
“Under this ordinance, it allows them to ride on a street that the speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less, so they couldn’t be on [Highway 90], McCarty,” Jackson said. “…And they have to stay on the right side of the road. They can’t be in the middle of the road or the middle of a lane.”
Jackson clarified that children riding motorized scooters must abide by traffic laws and street closures. He said an ordinance violation would result in a $500 fine. Jackson and councilmember Billy Sosa both said the ordinance and fines reduce the risk of a child fatality.
Public notifications
At the request of councilmember Amy Maxwell, saleswoman Emily Goczan presented a demo on GOGov, a software for local governments to send notifications, present city resources, facilitate requests and licensing forms and more. Maxwell proposed the topic of a public notification system at the last council meeting and introduced the topic again.
“I think it’s something that’s much needed in our community, especially because we don’t have a newspaper and we don’t really have a way to communicate any information about the city if it’s government-related or if it’s event-related or business- related,” Maxwell said.
GOGov wi l l create a city-branded mobile app for Eagle Lake with an extensive notification system and applets, or built-in website pages featuring city information, public forms, event details, maps and more. The app would be free for all to download on IOS or Android and utilize. Push notifications would not require creating an account, but text, phone call or email notifications would require registration to store contact information and customize notification settings and groups.
“I don’t have Facebook, so I don’t get any of the information from Eagle Lake, so this would be a good idea,” Maria Castillo, a resident in the audience, said. “…I’d get to know what’s going on, and it’s awesome that they would give you reminders for the city council meetings.”
The city currently utilizes different software for residents to receive notifications and pay their water bills, but it does not include the same level of features or notification options. GOGov would cost the city around $4,300 from an undecided existing fund. City Secretary Lina Ferguson said she wanted to present another vendor, TextMyGov, for consideration at the next meeting, and the council agreed.
Staffing
Sosa and Jackson debated about Sosa’s request for assistance from the city’s public works department for maintaining the city-owned golf course. Sosa requested one public works employee to work on the course one day per week for however many hours the worker could be available. The city provides the course with $65,000 a year for funding maintenance and other work, but Sosa said the amount does not stretch far enough.
“We are having more and more tournaments out there because of the condition of the golf course, and we are doing it with zero employees from the city – volunteer work,” Sosa said. “…It’s making money but not to suffice our fuel, fertilizer, manpower…We need a little bit more thought.”
Jackson provided the council with a memo of his thoughts and shared his overall opinion. He noted that public works added 40 acres of land to maintain last year and will gain around 70 more acres once the land swap finalizes.
“Those guys have got more on their plate than they can handle as it is, and now we are asking them to do something else,” Jackson said.
Jackson said the public works department has an agreement to mow three times a year, but Sosa said the city has never followed through. Sosa said the operators are considering raising the fees but are afraid of scaring off players. The council agreed the golf course should strive to be self-sustaining, and Sosa asked for the city to demonstrate intent and effort towards helping.
Earlier, Maxwell proposed creating a part-time airport manager position to promote economic development, facilitate grants and more. The position would theoretical ly be added in the next fiscal year and after the land swap is finalized. Jackson countered that future grants and projects have been planned or will be managed by the Texas Department of Transportation. Councilmember Randy Turner suggested partnering with a local college or utilizing an internship program to fill the position. Kelley and council agreed that the airport’s primary focus should be filling its empty hangars.
Other
The installation of a traffic light on Highway 90 and McCarty Lane is pending a small land purchase from the Dairy Queen. After the land purchase, the city will move a fire hydrant and reroute an existing water line. Jackson estimated construction to begin in March 2027.
The Eagle Lake Community Garden will be tidied up for the spring season on Saturday, April 25. Volunteers will construct a new storage shed, prune winter overgrowth and plant produce.
The council discussed creating architectural design standards brought up by Turner. After consulting with the city attorney, Jackson said the city can designate specific areas based on architectural type, cultural construction components or historical significance. He encouraged council members to start considering specific areas to designate.
The council received updated scopes of work to turn the old bank building into a new city office space that would go to bid pending approval. Maxwell wanted to review the documents more closely, so no action was taken.
