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Hewitt council approves two rezoning ordinances, confirms board appointments and shifts Jan. meeting
Summary
The Hewitt City Council approved two rezoning ordinances affecting parcels near West Warren and Ritchie Road, confirmed library board and civil service appointments, approved minutes and moved its Jan. 20 meeting to Jan. 21. Public hearings on the rezones drew no speakers, and staff briefed the council on utility and transportation projects.
The Hewitt City Council on an evening in January approved two rezoning ordinances affecting properties near West Warren and Ritchie Road and completed a series of administrative actions including board appointments, approval of meeting minutes and rescheduling its next regular meeting to Jan. 21.
The rezoning requests were presented as Ordinance 2025-1 and Ordinance 2025-02, both submitted by Vargas Development Services LLC and recommended for approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Ordinance 2025-1 would rezone a 0.88-acre portion of a 12.855-acre tract in the Ocampo C survey (Abstract 32) from R-1 single-family residential to R-1G garden-home district. Councilmember Dr. Bruce moved to approve Ordinance 2025-1; Councilmember Turner seconded. The motion passed 4-2.
Ordinance 2025-02 would rezone a 5.98-acre portion of a 19.202-acre tract in the same Ocampo C survey from R-1 single-family residential to R-1G garden-home district. Councilmember Turner moved to approve Ordinance 2025-02; Councilmember Stevens seconded. That motion also passed 4-2. The council opened public hearings for both rezoning items and recorded no speakers in favor or opposition before closing each hearing.
The council approved several consent- and personnel-related actions by unanimous vote. Councilmember McCallie moved and Councilmember Potter seconded approval of the minutes of the Dec. 9, 2024 regular meeting; the minutes were adopted 6-0. Councilmember Turner moved and Dr. Bruce seconded appointments of Caitlin Miller and Linda O'Neil to the library board for two-year terms ending December 2026; the appointments passed 6-0.
The council also confirmed the reappointment of Tom Mattern to the Civil Service Commission for a three-year term beginning Jan. 1. City staff cited Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government Code as the statutory basis for civil service appointment confirmations. The reappointment carried 6-0.
Council voted 6-0 to reschedule the regularly scheduled Jan. 20, 2025 meeting to Jan. 21, 2025 because Jan. 20 is a recognized holiday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day).
Staff briefings during the meeting included the city engineer's monthly update on utility, street and drainage projects. The engineer reported ongoing work on the Commerce Park plant (tank walls erected; roof panels being installed) and preliminary work for Lift Station No. 4 to verify elevations and potential conflicts for a future force main tie-in with the City of Waco. The East Wall and Briarfield transportation project is in the conflict-detection phase while fiber-optic crews install lines in the area; bids for that project are expected to be advertised within a month.
The council received the financial statements ending Nov. 30, 2024 for review; staff said the statements had been distributed electronically on Dec. 5, 2024. City staff also reminded the council that the City of Hewitt will hold a general and special election on May 3, 2025. The first day to file for a place on the ballot is Jan. 15, 2025; the last day to file is Feb. 14, 2025.
The council recessed into executive session for a personnel evaluation of the city manager under Texas Government Code section 551.074 and later reconvened; no final action from the executive session was reported in the public portion of the meeting.
The council's next scheduled regular meeting will occur on Jan. 21, 2025.
