One of the speakers, Vicky Prater, who has been one of the leaders of an organized group opposing the power plants, told the council she appreciated them for the Town Hall meeting held at The Palace Theatre on March 11, 2008, but was concerned city officials failed to mention that the proposed plants don’t have to use water to cool down the gas powered turbines.

“The power plants do not need water to operate,” Prater said. “They do not want to use the system called “dry cool” because it costs more. It’s OK for them to charge us 40 percent more for electricity, while taking our free water rights away, but they had rather not pay the electric bill for dry cool! It would hurt their profit margin. Does anyone here feel sorry for them?”

Several members of the audience responded to her question by saying, “No!”Prater said she was pleased to find out State Representative Byron Cook kept his word, and indeed made a visit to TCEQ concerning air monitors in Navarro County.“It was very nice to find out the power plant lobbyists can’t buy the whole capital out with their “dirty money” … some will not sell their souls for it.”

Mayor C.L. “Buster” Brown felt he had heard enough power plant talk at that point and informed Prater she had exceeded her three minutes to talk.“I want to ask you to sit down,” Mayor Brown said, “because you’ve been way over your three minutes. We listened to you for over four hours the other night. So please, we’re not fixing to sign any water contracts.”

“We certainly take that into great relief,” Prater said, in closing.On the regular agenda, council members received public hearings in regards to several items related to ordinances, including one case of an appeal concerning a used car lot wanting to locate in the 1100 block of West Seventh Avenue.

The Planning and Zoning Board denied the owner of the proposed car lot, Matthew Lewis, DBA Straight Up Motor, back in February after he was told it was not in the spirit of the Master Plan by one of the board members.

The location was once a used car lot and is presently used by a local sign maker.

Lewis left the meeting pleased with the final outcome as the City Council overturned the Planning and Zoning Boards decision by a vote of 4-0; Councilman Randy Dill recused himself from the decision as the ordinance was passed.

Dill recused himself for two of the three ordinances that passed during the course of the meeting with no explanation given by the councilman, while the rest of the council voted to pass ordinances to change the zoning from General Retail (GR) to Commercial (C) on Block 1550, Lots 1-3 for the purpose of opening a sand/gravel lot; known as 4728, 4734, and 4738 West Highway 31. The final ordinance passed granted a request for Specific Use Permit for the purpose of opening a towing/auto storage facility on Blocks 1331-1337 Acres 4.28; known as 1900 South Business 45.

The council also approved the following resolutions: 

·         Specific Use Permit for an accessory building over 120 square feet for permanent use on Block 1582, Lot 3; known as 5251 West Highway 31.

·         Granted Navarro County Electric Cooperative, Inc. a shared easement for underground electric service exclusive for the City of Corsicana.

·         Granted a 10’ utility easement to Navarro County Electric Cooperative, Inc.

·         Approved the condemnation of certain properties for construction of the raw water transmission line from Richland-Chambers to Lake Halbert.

·         Approved the cancellation of the May 10, 2008 General/Special Election for Council Member, Pct. 2 and City Attorney.

·         Awarded the bid for Joint and Crack Seal. The Joint and Crack Seal bid was given to Mike Benton Enterprises, LLC for approximately 25,000 pounds of asphaltic material to be placed on various city streets in the amount of $1.43 per pound as it is well within the industry standards.

Mayor Brown made two appointments, Stacey Smith and Thaddeus Miller, to the Heritage Preservation Commission.

Smith will serve through 2009, and Miller will serve through 2010.

Smith is replacing Brena Duren, who resigned from the commission, while Miller is filling a spot left open from the previous year.

The City Council adjourned to closed session to discuss a real estate issue at the end of the meeting.

After a few minutes, council members returned and Mayor Brown announced the acceptance of property owned by a local non-profit agency called the Dream Center.

The Dream Center, presently located next to the Navarro County Courthouse, was given the property (formerly Corsicana Nursing Home) by the previous owners in hopes of refurbishing the building and moving the center to that location.

City Manager Connie Standridge said renovation efforts by the center were just too much to handle, citing cost of repairs and ongoing vandalism as some of the reasons to turn loose of the property.

“Vandals have almost destroyed the building,” said Standridge.

The building’s condition had also been brought to the attention of the Planning and Zoning Board where they voted that the structure was unsafe for habitation.

Financial reasons seemed to be another key factor in the Dream Center’s decision to turn the property over to the city as well.

By doing so, it relieved the center of having to pay back taxes and demolition cost on the property.

Standridge said the city would demolish the structure as soon as surveys are completed and test results comeback to determine the amount of asbestos, if any, is located inside the structure.

“This isn’t something that will happen overnight,” Standridge said. “It’s going to take some time … either way, it’s going to be demolished because it has been condemned ... it’s an unusual situation.”

Standridge went on to say the location could be considered as a possibility for the new fire station, and added that it sits in a crucial area for that section of the city.

“Ideal for the new fire station,” Standridge said, “We’re evaluating the location at this point to see if it would work.”

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