September 2021
CITY NEWSLETTER
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Adopted Budget & Notice of Tax Rate |
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Robinson City Council voted to adopt the FY 2021-2022 Budget and the 2021 Tax Rate at their Special Called Meeting held on August 24th. This year’s budget decreases the property tax rate to 50.7 cents per $100 valuation, which is 2.67 cents lower than the current rate, with no increase to water or sewer rates. The adopted budget will take effect on October 1, 2021, and will focus on:
- Promoting Economic Development
- Continuing to Improve Infrastructure - street + water utilities + wastewater utilities
- Attracting & Retaining Qualified Employees
- Advancing Customer Service
- Enhancing the City’s Appearance
- Improving Technology
- Ongoing efforts to continue Building the City's Brand and Image
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CITY OF ROBINSON ADOPTED A TAX RATE THAT WILL RAISE MORE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS THAN LAST YEAR'S TAX RATE.
THE TAX RATE WILL EFFECTIVELY BE RAISED BY 4.06 PERCENT AND WILL RAISE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS ON A $100,000 HOME BY APPROXIMATELY $-11.12.
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Food Safety Education Month |
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Did you know roughly 1 in 6 Americans get sick from foodborne illnesses a year? That’s nearly 48 million cases! Out of these cases, around 128,000 ends up hospitalized, and 3,000 end in death. While you should always practice safe food handling habits all year, now is a great time to remind ourselves of these habits because September is Food Safety Education Month.
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Quick Tips: Before touching any food, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Wash fruits and veggies before peeling or eating them. Always use a separate cutting board and knife for produce and raw meat, and then wash them with warm soapy water. Use a meat thermometer to help you check that the meat is cooked to the appropriate temperature. Keep your fridge between 32 and 40 degrees and your freezer at or below 0 degrees. Refrigerate milk, eggs, produce, and meats within 2 hours (or 1 hour if the temperature is over 90 degrees). Throw out any perishable food that is left unrefrigerated for two hours.
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Signs of Food Poisoning: Food poisoning is a common term used when someone consumes contaminated food or drink and becomes ill. Food poisoning can range from mild to severe cases. Depending on the particular case, symptoms may appear within few hours or take as long as a couple of days. The most common symptoms include an upset stomach, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. Drink plenty of fluids to ensure you do not become dehydrated. If you begin having more severe symptoms, such as bloody diarrhea, high fever, frequent vomiting, or signs of dehydration, you should see your doctor. People who have a higher risk of food poisoning are adults 65 or older, children under 5, those with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women.
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Food Safety and Power Outages: Power outages happen. How long can food in the fridge and freezer last without having power? That depends. If you keep the doors closed, food can last up to four hours in the refrigerator, 24 hours in a half-filled freezer, and 48 hours in a full freezer. If you have a cooler and ice packs, you can place the food in the cooler with ice or frozen gel packs. NEVER taste food to see if it’s still good. The best practice is “when in doubt, throw it out.” If any food starts to have an unusual odor, color, or texture, throw it out.
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Avoid Foodborne Illnesses by Cleaning Your Fridge: Germs from spoiled or recalled food can spread onto surfaces in your fridge. Throw away rotten or recalled food, along with any food the “bad” food was stored with or touching. Any containers the food was stored in should be washed with hot soapy water. Take out all other food so you can remove the shelves and drawers and any other removable parts. Wash all surfaces with hot soapy water and dry with a clean towel, including the walls of the fridge. Return all removable parts and food to the refrigerator.
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Safety with Fruits and Veggies: Fruits and veggies are healthy, but if handled wrong can cause you to become ill. When picking out produce, try to avoid items with bruises or damaged spots unless you plan on cooking them. If you opt for precut fruits or veggies, select ones that have been refrigerated and keep them refrigerated when you get home. Never mix your produce with raw meat, either in the shopping basket, bags, or when storing at home. Always wash your produce before you eat it.
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How to Grill Safely: Planning a grill out? When shopping for all the necessities, grab the raw meat last and keep it separate from the other food in your basket and the bags. Keep all the raw meat chilled until you are ready to grill. If you are transporting the meat somewhere else, keep it in an insulated cooler. Remember to wash your hands with soap before AND after handling the raw meat. You should also wash work surfaces, utensils, and the grill before AND after cooking. Be sure to cook the meat to the correct temperature to kill harmful bacteria (most meats need to reach 145 degrees, while poultry and ground meat should reach 160 degrees). Avoid cross-contamination by throwing out marinades or sauces that have touched juices from the raw meat. Finally, be sure to place cooked meat on a clean plate.
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Election Dates and Information |
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The deadline to file for a City Council seat was August 16, 2021.
- Place 5: Candidates include Mike Baker & Brittany McLean
- Councilmembers Jimmy Rogers, Place 1 and Steve Janics, Place 3: both ran unopposed and will not be included on the November 2 election ballot.
- Last day to register to vote: October 4
- First Day of Early Voting by Personal Appearance: October 18
- Last Day to Apply for Ballot by Mail (Received, not Postmarked): October 22
- Last Day of Early Voting by Personal Appearance: October 29
- Last day to Receive Ballot by Mail: November 2 at 7:00 p.m. OR November 3 at 5:00 p.m. if carrier envelope is postmarked by 7:00 p.m. at the location of the election on Election Day (unless overseas or military deadlines apply).
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Robinson Family Fun Day Canceled |
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After much thought and genuine debate, we, as a city, have decided it is in the best interest of our community to cancel the Family Fun Day set for September 11, 2021. With the rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in our area, the weekly pleas from the local health district, and after the press conference on August 25 with Waco's Mayor Meek, we as a city cannot consciously host an event when COVID-19 is overwhelming our community. Especially since our event focuses on families, many of whom have children that are not old enough for the vaccine.
As we began planning for this event, effects from COVID-19 appeared to be improving. However, that is no longer the case with this new Delta variant. As much as we wanted an opportunity to bring our community together, we cannot risk the chance of it adding to the challenges already being faced by our healthcare systems and loved ones. It’s just not worth putting our community at further risk.
As Mayor Meek mentioned, “Our healthcare staff, nurses and physicians are exhausted and stretched thin. This is not about politics. This is about the very real possibility that we will soon not be able to care for those needing critical care.”
Summary from Mayor Meek’s Press Conference:
- 92.4% of hospitalized COVID patients in Waco are unvaccinated
- There are more ventilators in Waco being used this week than at ANY other time during the pandemic.
- ALL 54 ICU beds at Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest and Providence are in use, as they all work to convert more for use.
- As of Friday, August 20th our seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases was 171 (this will soon exceed January’s record levels if things do not improve immediately).
- On Sunday, August 22nd the Waco area surpassed our capacity for storing bodies of the community members we have lost, requiring a refrigerated morgue truck to be set up to add additional capacity. At that time, the truck was storing 12 of our deceased.
- At the request of the local hospitals, our office of emergency management has, and continues to request state assistance for increased hospital staffing.
The Waco McLennan County Health District is asking individuals to get tested if they have any symptoms, wear masks in public, avoid crowds and gatherings, and consider getting vaccinated. All the resources you need are at covidwaco.com.
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The Delta variant is highly contagious and impacts more (and younger) people than previous variants. The percentage of people hospitalized for COVID-19 has almost doubled in the 20–49-year-old age group.
A recent CDC study showed that someone who gets COVID-19 is 29.2 times more likely to be hospitalized if they are unvaccinated. More COVID-19 cases will continue to lead to more hospitalizations. Please, make a plan to get vaccinated to protect yourself and your community.
Find more information about local vaccine clinics or sign up to get your vaccine at CovidWaco.com.
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Ordinance Addressing Vehicles Parking on Residential Lots |
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The city council recently approved ordinance 2021-027, which amends Ch. 18 Article IV of the city’s code of ordinances addressing vehicle parking on residential lots. The ordinance bans parking or stopping of a vehicle on unimproved surfaces for any street yard (typically the front yard) or side yard. Prior to this ordinance, parking on residential lots was enforced through zoning ordinances. |
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Things to know:
- The ordinance applies to private property less than five acres in size and used for single-family residential purposes.
- Single-family residential properties 5 acres or more are not required to have asphalt or concrete driveway.
- An improved hard surface means either asphalt or concrete.
- The reason for the change is to make the ordinance clearer and easier to locate.
- This ordinance is NOT intended to prevent parking on the original driveway established when the residence was constructed, nor does it intend to prevent the temporary stopping or parking of a vehicle for temporary loading and unloading.
It’s important to understand that the city handles all reports of non-compliance on a case-by-case basis and will work directly with the property owner regarding any issues. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact our Code Compliance Officer at (254) 662-1415 or by email.
Find more frequently addressed code compliance issues as well as others related to parking here.
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The City Council will meet in person and virtually for the September City Council Meeting.
The meeting agenda and packet can be found online here. Para la agenda en español, visite este sitio web, aqui.
The telephone and video meeting will be hosted through GoToMeeting. The City has set up a section on our website to provide instructions on how to both view and submit a public comment for the meeting and navigate the virtual event. The access code and toll-free number will be provided in the agenda.
Public comment will only be allowed via telephone or video conference via GoToMeeting if choosing to attend remotely. All speakers must register to speak at least two hours in advance of the meeting. All public comments will occur at the beginning of the meeting under the public comment item. Speakers must call in at least 15 minutes prior to the meeting starting in order to speak. Written comments may also be submitted two hours in advance of the meeting. To register to speak or to submit written comments, please email the City Secretary, Misty Cryer.
An audio recording of the virtual meeting will be made available to the public in accordance with the Open Meetings Act upon written request.
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City offices will be closed on September 6, 2021, in observance of Labor Day. Solid Waste will run as normal.
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Dove season starts on September 1st and to make sure that everyone has a safe enjoyable one we have highlighted a few things from the code of ordinances to keep in mind:
- Hunters must be on 50+ acres and remain 1000 feet away from any structures or roadways.
- Hunters do not have to own the 50+ acres but do have to have permission from the owner(s) to hunt on the property.
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Recycling is picked up every other week on your designated collection day. Can't keep track of which week is a recycle week? Download the Recycle Coach app today and never miss recycle week again!
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Bulk/Brush Day is September 11th from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 5158 South 12th Street, Robinson, TX. City staff will NOT be available to help place bulk items in the containers so make sure to bring enough help to get items in the 40-yard roll-off.
Reminder: customers have the option to set bulk/brush items at their curb to be collected weekly, during their normal collection day. For hazardous materials, customers may use the At Your Door Special Hazardous Waste Collection offered monthly with their Waste Management services. |
The city is searching for residents interested in filling vacancies on the Planning & Zoning Commission. Interested residents can find more info here.
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The City of Robinson is looking for a Utility Operator to join our culture that values community, service, innovation, professionalism, integrity, leadership, and fiscal responsibility.
Love where you Connect. Grow. Live.
For more information on the jobs, and to apply, visit our website.
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The City of Robinson is now on Instagram! Search our handle (@cityofrobinson) and give us a follow!
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Search for Executive Director for the Shepherd’s Heart Food Pantry
Shepherd’s Heart Robinson Food Pantry is a faith-based non-profit organization seeking an Executive Director whose heart is close to the Lord and has a deep desire to serve our community. Ideally, this person would be a retired individual with previous management experience. They will work closely with the Board of Directors to maintain and oversee day-to-day operations, write a quarterly newsletter, and much more. If interested, please email John Johanson at robinsonfoodpantry@gmail.com.
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Dorothy Ekvall Day
On August 24th, Mrs. Dorothy Ekvall celebrated her 100th birthday! She celebrated this momentous occasion on August 23rd at the Senior Center with Mayor Echterling presenting her with a proclamation in her honor, proclaiming August 24th “DOROTHY EKVALL DAY”.
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You can always reach us by phone during business hours by calling (254) 662-1415.
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