Mission City Council highlights — cats, ordinances, beautification
At the Aug. 8 Mission City Council meeting, city leaders accepted a donation to benefit local cats, approved ordinances that affect homeowners and business owners and awarded a contract to help beautify the city.
ORDINANCES
The council adopted ordinance No. 5207, which pertains to mobile food units.
Planning Director Susie De Luna said many mobile food unit owners are interested in occupying a spot at the Mission Food Park at the CEED, but they want help from the city to open their business a little bit faster.
Previously, food truck owners had to go through a five-week process to acquire a conditional use permit to secure a spot. However, with the new ordinance, business owners no longer need to go through the lengthy process.
Applicants still need to obtain a business license to meet the building, fire and health codes, but the Center for Education and Economic Development’s conditional use permit will act as an umbrella permit for the trucks in that area.
“Our current food park here at the CEED building had 10 food trucks and six of them left to a different location, so we are down to four,” City Manager Randy Perez said. “However, the new ones that want to come in have to wait the five-week process, and we want to expedite so we can fill in those vacancies [at] the food park at an expedited manner.”
Mission City Council also adopted ordinance No. 5208, which pertains to carports.
On July 18, city leaders held a workshop to discuss the previous carport ordinance. After staff researched nearby cities, they decided to allow fabric-like materials such as tarp or canvas for coverings. The stipulation is homeowners must keep the structure maintained at all times and meet the required dimensions and front setbacks.
BEAUTIFICATION
The city awarded a contract to Belmares Lawncare Services to maintain the palm trees in the area. The Donna-based company was the lowest of five bidders that met all the specifications. They will be responsible for treating city-owned properties, right-of-ways, parks and all city facilities.
Although the city has a maintenance department to preserve city properties and facilities, due to a lack of manpower they routinely outsource the work to a third party to better keep up with the care.
The contract with Belmares is for one year, with the option to renew for two additional one-year terms. The estimated cost is $25,000.
CATS
Local philanthropist Wanda Boush donated $12,000 to the City of Mission Animal Shelter. She requested the money go toward enclosing the cat barn to provide a more climate-controlled environment and keep the animals safe from the weather and heat.
Boush has endowment scholarships established at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine. She is also a sponsor for the Valley Symphony Orchestra.
On May 15, Boush celebrated her 100th birthday. In honor of the donor, the city of Mission will name the cat barn at the city animal shelter Wanda’s Kitty Corner.
