The following was posted on January 26, 2023, by James Connor, a member of the Kennedale City Council, following a special meeting of the Kennedale City Council. He covers the call for a moratorium on apartment construction in Kennedale, road construction, recent hirings, short-term home rentals, and concerns over fire/safety inspections as KISD.
Alright guys and gals, your weekly update is here.
First of all, tonight your City Council did pass the second vote unanimously, it is now in effect for the acceptance of applications or the issuance of permits for development in MF Multi-Family Residential and TH Townhome zoning districts in the City of Kennedale. If anyone would like more information on this please email me or contact me through other channels including here.
We have received a preliminary report from Debbie Reid, our CPA who we hired to help with the financials. She was able to find 9 discrepancies between the adopted budget and the software. She identified these as simple fixes. All the money is there. These were described as coding and formatting errors. We will continue to use Ms. Reid for continued Financial Accountability until a new Finance Director can be found.
Our new Public Works director was hired and has already started. His name is Kristian Sugrim. His bio will be read at the next regular council meeting. If you see him, welcome him to Kennedale.
We are combining 3 events into one. We will have our Kid Fish, Bark in the Park, and our new BBQ Cook-Off on, Saturday, May 17th. Look for more information coming soon. We will also partner with Kennedale Moms of Color for the 2nd Annual Juneteenth Freedom Day Parade. More details will be coming.
South New Hope Rd is still under construction and the projected completion date is unknown (maybe July). They are currently waiting on AT&T to move fiber lines for the past 6 weeks.
We voted 4-1 (I abstained as I live in the area) in favor of Bristow Contracting LLC for the construction of Tarrant County’s Sewer Improvements for the 3rd Street project.
Street construction in the Old Town District is coming to an end. 4th, 5th, and Broadway are almost done. Jonah Rd was also completed earlier this month. More are slated to occur in Spring and Summer. WE ARE NOT DONE! We are working off a list from 2010 and there may be more discussion about streets and the priority order in the coming months.
We approved an update to our agreement between the Tarrant County Emergency Services District No. 1 and the City of Kennedale for American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Recovery Funds for a second ambulance and equipment plus an additional $150,000 for Personal Protective Equipment. This is a grant and is costing the city nothing.
We also approved a Resolution supporting a grant application by the Police Department for Bullet Resistant Shields. Again, this is a grant and costs the city nothing.
There was talk over “Short-Term Rentals” also known as Airbnb’s and Vrbo’s. We are currently looking at city ordinances to see what is enforceable and what isn’t.
Finally, I have received an email about some of our schools being out of compliance with their fire/safety inspections. I have sent an email to a couple of board members who have yet to reach back out to me about this. Year after year, many of the same citations keep appearing. We are spending tax dollars on these inspections and the district clearly isn’t making the needed corrections. I hope this isn’t an ongoing problem and it can be corrected sooner rather than later for the safety and welfare of the district and the students and faculty.
That is it for now.
Questions or Concerns?? Email me at [email protected] or call me at 682-201-8369.
Leave a comment or DM me directly.
Thank you,
James Connor Kennedale City Council
