STATE OF TEXAS             )( )(
                                                                                 COUNTY OF RUNNELS    )( )(
	                CITY OF BALLINGER        )( )(

	On this the 3rd day of May 2021 the Ballinger City Council met in regular session at 5:30 p.m., in the Council Chamber of City Hall located at 700 Railroad Avenue with the following members present:

	         Dawni Seymore                    Mayor
                    Absent                                  Council Member # 1
                    Richard “Rick” Morrish         Mayor Pro-tem
	         Ryan Lange                          Council Member #3
                    Steven Gray, Jr.      	           Council Member # 4

	City Staff:

	         Bonita Shields                       City Secretary
	         Brian Frieda                          City Manager
	         Sharon Sneed Hicks             City Attorney
	         Ray Cornutt                           Chief of Police
	          Chad Mercer			 Code Enforcement
	         John Pierik III	                       Finance Director
	     	     	
	Others present: Chad Hardy, Christi Langston- Citizens.

	CALL TO ORDER:
Mayor Dawni Seymore called the meeting to order at  5:48 p.m.

PRAYER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
	Council Member Rick Morrish was asked to lead the group in a word of prayer and the pledge of allegiance and pledge to the Texas flag.

	PUBLIC HEARINGS & PUBLIC COMMENTS:
	None

	CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE APRIL 19, 2021 MEETING:
	Council Member  Ryan Lange made the motion to approve the minutes of the April 19,2021 meeting. Second by Council  Member Steven Gray, Jr. and was unanimously approved.

	CITY COUNCIL MAY DISCUSS, CONSIDER AND TAKE ACTION TO DESIGNATE ROBIN BURGESS TO FIGURE THE NO NEW REVENUE TAX RATE AND VOTER’S APPROVAL TAX RATE FOR THE CITY OF BALLINGER’S TAX YEAR 2021:
	Steven Gray, Jr. made the motion to designate Robin Burgess, Runnels County tax collector, to figure the new revenue and voter’s approval tax rates for 2021 City taxes. Second by Council Member Ryan Lange and was unanimously approved.

	CITY COUNCIL WILL RECEIVE THE CURRENT FINANICAL REPORT:
	John Pierik III presented the Council with the following worksheet to show the financial status of the six-week averaging ledger balances for the City.

	John also reported that the resolution that was passed at the last meeting gave the auditors the access they needed to the City’s financial records at Keystone Bank to finish up the audit for the 2019 fiscal year. This audit should be completed within the next 30 days. He has sent out RFPs to the local banks for a depository contract and should hear back from them soon. The city currently has a total of five-six position that need to be filled in the street, park, and water distribution departments. 

	CITY COUNCIL WILL RECEIVE  THE CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:
	Brian Freida reported that the 2nd water line project has ran into problem with old lines that were killed off, old cast line that were never capped off and having to take time to make sure these lines are not serving any customers. The project is on schedule and could possibly be complete before the scheduled due date.
	The Street paving project is going good also. They started working on Broad Avenue to East and will continue to 2nd Street once the water line replacement project is complete.
	The American Recovery plan program from Covid-19 has approximately $794,000 allocated for the City. The City is considered under 50,000 population  a non-entitlement city and all funds will be distributed to the City through the State and should be used by 2024. The funds will have to be used for infrastructure improvements and broadband updates. He would like to get community input on what they would like to see the monies used for.
	Two employees have taken the proper class to be certified pool operator and there will be one more employee to take the course.

	EXECUTIVE SESSION:
	The Council met closed session pursuant to the Government Code Section 551.074 Personnel matters to consider appointment of a Director of Public Works for the City as nominated by the City Manager. The Council convened into executive session at 5:48 p.m.

	RECONVENE AND TAKE ACTION, IF NEEDED FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION:
	The Council reconvened into regular session at 5:58 p.m., Comm Ryan Lange made the motion to accept the recommendation of City Manager Brian Frieda to hire Rebecca Springer as the Director of Public Works. Second by Council Member Steve Gray, Jr. and was unanimously approved.

	ADJOURN:
	Council Member Ryan Lange made the motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:00 p.m. Second by Council Member Steve Gray, Jr. and was unanimously approved.
			_________________
		     Dawni Seymore
                                                                                      Mayor

ATTEST:

______________
Bonita F. Shields
City Secretary