San Angelo City Council

2-3-15

The Highlight from February 3:

Why are all there people here?

Many of us in the City Council meeting on Tuesday were wondering why there was such a large crowd once again in the meeting. For a moment, it felt like previous Council meetings when the frac sand issue was being discussed. Was this an overflow from that meeting the day before?

It became very clear, very quickly, why the crowd was there. They were angry, caught off guard about a potentially new neighbor, and they were wanting to blame someone for the unsettledness, fear, and anxiety they were feeling. Their Council member was about to hear more than ear-full of complaints from them.

The agenda item they were there to protest had to do with allowing a developer to receive a tax credit of about $14,000+ on an eighty (80) unit complex he is proposing to build for low-to-moderate income citizens in their backyard. The single family residential area has a mid-range of $250,000+ homes. Having received this news late the evening before this meeting, most of the attendees from that neighborhood were not happy.

The video clip from that particular agenda item is being provided for you to listen to the discussion. Thanks to one of the citizens who spoke up during public discussion on this item, the City of San Angelo is having a Townhall Meeting for all the stakeholders and other citizens to attend and voice their opinions. Click on photo for video.

Here's the information on that upcoming meeting:

Town hall on affordable housing proposal

· Date: 02/12/2015 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

· Location: City Council chambers, McNease Convention Center, 501 Rio Concho Drive, San Angelo

A town hall meeting to provide information and answer questions about a proposed affordable housing complex that would be built at 2900 Valleyview Boulevard will be conducted from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, in the McNease Convention Center.

The City Council on Tuesday asked that a forum be held after nearby residents said they were unaware of the details of the proposed development. LDG Development is pursuing low-income housing tax credits to build an 80-unit apartment complex for low- and moderate-income families. LDG is competing with similar projects in Midland and Odessa to earn the tax credits.

LDG will outline its plans for the project at the public forum and will take questions from the public. City officials will also be available to answer questions.

The forum will be conducted in the City Council chambers at the Convention Center, 501 Rio Concho Drive. It will air live at cosatx.us/watch and will be rebroadcast on SATV, Suddenlink channel 17, at times to be determined.

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If you are interested in voicing your opinion, you will need to be present. The option to watch it live via your computer is great for those who want the information but do not intend to speak.