New equipment, accolades, zoning ordinances top latest Collinsville city council agenda

Monday night’s Collinsville City Council meeting kicked off with a plea from Public Works Director Gabriel Mason for equipment he feels the city needs.

As he approached the podium, anyone could see it had been a tough day for Mason – his bare legs were covered in mud; his face, neck and hands dirt besmudged. He proceeded to tell the council about a project the city workers began at 9:00 that morning in the 600 block of Woodland Street to address a water leak.

After having shut off the water and digging into the ground, the team discovered water bubbling up from beneath a 50-year-old tree with an “impressive” root system. He said his team struggled for hours, trying to work through the tree’s roots while avoiding Frontier and Nortex lines running through the area, and they could soon see that they would be working through the night.

Eventually, Mark Patterson offered to loan the men his hydrovac, an industrial pressure washer with a four-inch vacuum. The machine was able to tunnel beneath the tree and clear an eight-foot long path through the maze of roots that were thwarting the men’s efforts.

“It took three people five hours to get a quarter of the way done,” Mason said. “Within two hours of having the right equipment, the line is repaired and the water is up and running.”

Mason explained that this sort of situation doesn’t happen all of the time, but when it does, having the right equipment is crucial to not only allowing the workers to do their job, but to helping the citizens more effectively and efficiently. 

He beseeched the council to reconsider his request for new equipment for the public works department (first presented in the July 16 budget workshop), assuring the council it wasn’t a frivolous request.

“Please, consider this as you continue your deliberations and budget discussions,” Mason said. 

Council asked him to please share photos and videos of the project with City Administrator Dannielle Talley so the group could further discuss the need for equipment. It is anticipated that council will present its final decision at another budget workshop on July 23.

Next on the agenda, the council received a presentation from Tom Ohm, who recently went through the permitting process for the groundbreaking of the Collinsville United Methodist Church Family Outreach Center (see photos on page 10 of this issue).

Ohm wanted to share his experience with the council, which as it turned out, had been wonderful from start to finish. He praised each city employee he interacted with at every step. From meeting with Permit Clerk Lydia Barnes and Finance Director Karla Young to City Administrator Dannielle Talley and City Planning Consultant Helen-Eve Beadle, Ohm (who began working in the construction industry in his late teens) found each employee to be exceptionally friendly, helpful and encouraging as they assisted him in navigating the process.

“A city can either grow or it can die,” Ohm said. “It’s all about how you manage that growth. I want to congratulate you (the city) on how you’re controlling the growth for Collinsville. You’re doing it the right way.”

Ohm also thanked the city staff and council for their role in the church’s successful groundbreaking.

“We couldn’t have done it without you,” he said.

In department head reports, Vicky Norvell said the Collinsville Park Association is working on maintenance projects in the fall for the city’s two parks, and plans to hold its annual Trunk or Treat event. A kickball tournament that didn’t come to fruition earlier this year will be planned for the fall when the weather is cooler.

Collinsville Area Chamber of Commerce President Marva Worsham reported the chamber is in the throes of planning the city’s annual Pioneer Day festival for Sept. 20. Main Stage entertainment has been secured and the car show, parade and vendor booths are coming together. Thanks to an outpouring of corporate sponsors this year, the kids’ area will be bigger and better than ever.

“Thanks to our sponsors, we have $4,000 more to spend on the kids’ area than we’ve had in the past,” event coordinator Austin Lewter said.

The chamber is always looking for volunteers, especially to make Pioneer Day a success. Join their upcoming meeting next Wednesday, July 30 in the Annex Building to learn how you can help.

Sheryl Reed with the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) said Civic Connection Group has provided an outline for a business plan, and the EDC will compare it to the comprehensive plan the council recently approved. Once they see how the two work together, the EDC will put all of that into a strategic plan. The EDC is also working on a revamp of its website with a focus on attracting services and creating events that benefit Collinsville residents and increase sales tax revenue. 

The council then held two public hearings. The first involved an amendment to zoning ordinances that would allow the city to adopt two new zoning district categories and determine their uses.

Beadle explained that developers are approaching the city about creating residential subdivisions, but due to zoning limitations, there isn’t much the city can offer. By creating two new zoning districts (one for single-family residential and one for single-family patio homes), the city has more opportunity for future growth.

The Planning and Zoning (P&Z) board had already reviewed the amendment and recommended it for the city council’s approval, with one caveat. They requested the city add zoning for a food truck park, event venue and drive-through restaurant all downtown. Because this stipulation was not included in the original newspaper advertisement alerting the public about the hearing, it could not be part of this week’s meeting discussion. The council will address this in the future.

The public hearing (in which nobody contested) closed and the council approved the amendment.

A second hearing began for the amendment of a code of ordinances regarding development regulations (setbacks, lot area, dwelling size, etc.). Essentially, the current land map is outdated and contradictory, so Beadle’s team cleaned it up and provided more thorough standards for multi-family dwellings like duplexes and town homes.

Again, the P&Z board recommended the council approve the amendment but asked staff to work with the city attorney to exempt existing lots. Alderman Jessica Orsburn voiced concerns about mandatory replating but was told that was a separate issue and not part of this hearing. The council approved the amendment.

The council also approved the following:
- Texas Division of Emergency Management sub-grant for hazard mitigation (this would help purchase a generator for the Broadway well, one of the city’s largest producing wells)
- Interlocal agreement between the city and BuyBoard to ensure best rates when the city purchases equipment
- Move the City of Collinsville Police Seizure and City of Collinsville K-9 accounts from South State Bank to 4U Credit Union
- Amend water and sewer rates effective July 21, 2025
- Accept the resignation of Melissa Scott as an EDC director and approve Chris Black into that role
- Disclosure agreement between Hilltop Securities who handles all of the regulations for bond submission documentation

The council entered into Executive Session at 7:53 p.m. The only action taken was to approve a policy regarding the City Administrator’s compensation and job description.