Floydada City Hall at sunrise. (Ryan Crowe/FCR)
FLOYDADA – It took 10 minutes between the time Mayor Bobby Gilliland called the meeting to order and Councilwoman Dana Crossland moved to ‘pay all the bills’ for the Floydada City Council to take care of business Tuesday night.
The council approved a public hearing on a variance request by Jon Nielson to add a barn to his property at 901 S. Garrison. Councilman Gabe DeLaFuente asked if the city’s Planning & Zoning Committee had approved the move before the vote, which they had unanimously. The council then also approved the variance unanimously.
City Manager Darrell Gooch then gave the council an update on the city’s recent Insurance Services Office (ISO) risk assessment, with Gooch telling the council the city did well enough to have their ISO Rating be raised a classification. Municipalities use their ratings to negotiate insurance rates, and a higher classification generally means lower rates. Gooch said he was told by ISO representatives that it was rare for a city Floydada’s size to have such a rating, and that efforts by the city to replace fire hydrants and having a new pumper truck very much helped in their decision. “Only cities that have full-time fire departments get higher ratings than we were given.”
Gooch also told the council city workers had passed a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) landfill inspection this week, something they had been working on for the last few weeks. He said inspectors found very few minor concerns, and that the landfill remains operational.
The Council adjourned with Mayor Gilliland saying “Peace and harmony prevails” in the city. The next City Council meeting will take place on November 15 at 6:30 p.m. at Floydada City Hall.
