The San Marcos City Council voted against relocating the city post office and expanded a law enforcement information center at its regular Oct. 7 meeting.
The council approved a resolution opposing relocation of the U.S. Postal Service’s retail services from the current San Marcos Post Office located at 210 South Stagecoach Trail to a new location at 900 Bugg Lane.
The resolution comes after San Marcos citizens expressed concerns about the accessibility of the new location, primarily because of its position near a high-traffic intersection and in an area prone to flooding.
The council approved the addition of five new police departments to the Interlocal Cooperation Agreement for the Austin Regional Intelligence Center. This agreement allows partner law enforcement agencies to share information with one another. Councilmember Maxfield Baker voiced concerns about the potential misuse of ARIC, but ultimately voted in favor of the agreement.
“My fear is that they could weaponize organizations like this against our citizens that are involved in Black Lives Matter protests or any form of free speech,” Baker said.
In other business, councilmembers approved a resolution extending the city’s contract with Texas Disposal Systems for an additional five years.
The council postponed approval of a Developer Agreement with Rattler Road Storage to annex and develop approximately 3.5 acres of land located on the north side of Rattler Road after several councilmembers, including Councilmember Mark Rockeymoore, brought up concerns about the land’s proximity to San Marcos High School.
“We only have one high school, and this is going to put a storage facility right next to it,” Rockeymoore said. “We have students who walk by there each and every day.”
On the first of two readings, the council approved an ordinance reducing the speed limit along the 500-1200 blocks of Burleson Street between Moore Street and Prospect Street from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour.
The council postponed discussion on the creation of a committee charged with helping guide the city’s Comprehensive Plan Rewrite until the Oct. 20 meeting due to time concerns.
The council was set to begin reviewing applications for the ad hoc committee being formed to review SMPD’s use of force policies but voted to postpone the matter until the Oct. 20 meeting and discussed waiting until the new chief of police is selected so they may be involved in the process.
San Marcos City Council meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month over Zoom; meeting recordings and agendas can be viewed on its website. Residents who wish to speak during the citizen comment or public hearing periods should email [email protected] no later than noon on the day of the meeting.