Council tables talk about mobile home placement

Diboll City Council members put off a decision on amending the city's mobile home ordinance after extensive discussion of a woman's request to place a mobile home on property in the city.

Currently, new mobile homes are not allowed within the city limits, but Linda Bowman is asking to be allowed to place a mobile home "temporarily" for her college-age daughter to live in. She said she could not commit to a specific time period but said she did not intend the placement to be permanent. Bowman said she lives on nine acres that are part of a larger property inherited by her and her siblings from her grandparents.

The ordinance amendment presented to council would allow mobile homes to be placed on a minimum of five acres of property. City Attorney Jimmy Cassels stressed that the change would apply to anyone with five acres.

Council members ultimately decided unanimously to put off a decision until next month while they consider the full ramifications of the change.

In other business, council approved a request from Flowers Wrecker Service for increases in the fees it charges for city callouts. Rising insurance and fuel costs, as well as increases in other costs, brought about the request, said a representative of

the wrecker service. Council approved increasing rates of from $95 to $110 for towing a vehicle after an arrest; from $125 to $150 for wrecks; and from $15 to $20 a day for storage. The wrecker service also wanted to impose a fee for releasing an impounded vehicle after business hours but Texas Department of Transportation regulations forbid that and it was not approved.

Council appointed Mayor Bill Brown as city representative to the Deep East Texas Council of Governments. Councilman Gandy Stubblefield was the representative last year but said if anyone else wanted the job, he could have it. Brown offered if no one else was interested and quickly won unanimous endorsement.

A contract with American Municipal Services to collect unpaid traffic fines was approved. The company collects "hard-to-collect" debts and has gotten good reviews from cities that have used them, City Manager Kenneth Williams said. The company will receive 17 percent of the amount of old debts and 30 percent for newer debt. Williams said Diboll City Judge R.G. Bowers has estimated nearly $1 million in unpaid fines may be outstanding.

In the public comments part of the meeting, former Councilman Bo Smith rose to say that while he supports the idea of Diboll gaining a city charter and becoming a home rule city, he opposes the charter to go before the voters May 10.

Smith opposes a provision stating a city manager may receive no more than a three-year contract on the grounds that Diboll city managers historically have not worked under contracts. He also does not like the "ax-grinder" provision of the charter, which requires a city employee who quits a post to wait a year before running for a council seat, and a council member to wait a year after his term ends or he leaves the council to seek a city job.

Morris Tate, a home rule commission member, and Cassels both explained the commission's reasoning behind the provisions but Smith didn't buy any of it. Cassels said "times have changed" and city manager prospects demand a contract these days. The "ax-grinder" rule provides a "cooling off period" if a specific conflict or opportunity arises for an individual. That provision is in almost all city charters that the commission studied, Cassels said.

Smith replied that those provisions might be fine for other cities, but "maybe we need to think about Diboll."