CITY& COUNTY
News from Hollywood Park, Shavano Park & Bexar County
Warming shelters among local preparations for wintryweather SANANTONIO Area warming
Antonio area either day. NWS said the local highs for Feb. 3 and 4 reached 38 degrees and 43 degrees, respectively, while lows were 24 degrees and 21 degrees, respectively. NWS also recorded 1.53 inches of rain, which turned into freezing precipitation and ice across parts of the area. San Antonio and Bexar County governments geared up for both weather events by opening a total of 10 public warming shelters, including the Hamilton Community Center at 10700 Nacogdoches Road, and the Emergency Services District No. 3 re station at 23103 Bulverde Road. Michelle Vigil, public a airs man- ager with the city of San Antonio’s communications and engagement department, said 32 residents and three pets visited the city’s warming shelters during the two cold snaps. Tom Peine, county assistant public information o cer, said two people visited the county’s warming shelters in January and 20 was the highest number of visitors to the warming
shelters were opened, schools were closed, roads were treated, and local utilities made their preparations ahead of two cold snaps that hit Texas in January and February. Two strong cold fronts each brought freezing temperatures and ice during two periods—Jan. 20 and 21, and Feb. 10 and 11. In each case, the city of San Anto- nio, Bexar County, San Antonio Water System and CPS Energy announced various ways they were preparing ahead of the wintry weather. Local government agencies and utilities received criticism for their responses to the winter storm that a ected Texas and the South and Central Plains in February 2021. The late January 2022 cold front produced a midday high temperature Jan. 20 of 46 degrees Fahrenheit and a low of 32 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. On Jan. 21, the high reached 53 degrees and the low was 32. NWS recorded no precipitation in the San
A Texas Department of Transportation crew treats a portion of the Loop 1604 and I 35 interchange Jan. 19 ahead of a freeze that hit the San Antonio area Jan. 20 21.
COURTESY TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
centers overnight Feb. 3. Addition- ally, the city worked with nonpro t partners to help shelter homeless individuals across ve sites during the cold snaps. Vigil said it was critical for the city to partner with other local agencies to publicize vital information as quickly as possible. Other preparations included the Texas Department of Transporta- tion pretreating state-maintained roadways, and CPS Energy texting, emailing or calling customers. City o cials said CPS Energy responded to more than 20 outages in January and 160-plus outages in
February, adding that outages were caused by the weather, and most were resolved within a few hours. SAWS used its website and social media to urge customers to protect their water pipes. VIA Metropolitan Transit o ered fare-free rides for people who sought to visit a public warming shelter. The city of Shavano Park urged residents with smartphones to use the town’s new TextMyGov texting service and stay tuned for emergency messages during both weather events. Hollywood Park brie y turned its City Hall into a warming center Feb. 3.
ShavanoPark shoring up food truck, park regulations SHAVANO PARK Shavano Park City Council voted Jan. 24 to pass the rst reading of an ordi- nance that proposes regulations on mobile food units and mobile food courts. THIS TAKES RESOURCES TO DO, ANDWE GET
SanAntonio calls for $1.2Bbond vote SAN ANTONIO City Council on Feb. 10 approved setting a $1.2 billion bond vote mostly to fund infrastructure improvements citywide during the May 7 local elections. City o cials said the bond is split into six propositions: streets, bridges and sidewalks; drainage and ood control; parks, recreation and open space—$271.9 million; library and cultural facilities; public safety and health facili- ties—$78.2 million; and a ordable housing. Local o cials said more than half of the total bond package will be dedicated toward improv- ing existing roads and drainage features, and that no property tax increase is proposed to fund an approved bond. Early voting will be held April 25-May 3, according to the state’s May 7 election calendar. “If approved by voters, these infrastructure improvements would be made without increas- ing the city’s property tax rate,” City Manager Erik Walsh said. COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
The council will consider a second and nal reading of the ordinance at its regular monthly meeting on Feb. 28. No food truck courts are presently in Shavano Park. According to city o cials, the goal of the new ordinance is to establish performance standards for dedicated food truck parks while prohibiting pop-up gatherings of food trucks from appearing in vacant parking lots. Many council members said they were ne permitting food trucks to occasionally operate in town. But they disagreed with letting in perma- nent mobile food courts because they felt little to no sales tax revenue would be generated at such establishments. Nearby area cities such as New Braunfels have dedicated regulations for food truck courts, and others make no mention of mobile food operations.
NOBENEFIT. SHAVANO PARK CITY COUNCIL MEMBER PETE MILLER SAID OF ANY POSSIBILITY OF THE CITY PERMITTING A PERMANENT FOOD TRUCK PARK IN THE FUTURE
Council Member Pete Miller said he is not opposed to food trucks, but that Shavano Park would not stand to gain much from providing food truck operators a permanent presence because the mobile kitchens do not generate sales tax revenue for the city. “This takes resources to do, and we get no bene t,” Miller said of allowing a permanent food truck park.
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