TYLER (TYLER MORNING TELEGRAPH) - City Council members are expected Wednesday to
adopt a joint resolution to hold elections with Tyler ISD, Whitehouse
and Smith County on May 11.
The city will hold an election, not only to fill Jason Wright's seat in District 6, but for two other seats as well.
Sam
Mezayek, of District 1, and Mark Whatley, of District 5 East, will be
up for re-election in May in uncontested races. John Nix, 33, a Lubbock
native who has lived in Tyler since 2001, will run for the vacated
District 6 seat. Mezayek has not yet filed his paperwork to run again in
his district, Assistant City Manager Susan Guthrie said. Ralph Caraway,
who represents District 3, will not run again because of term limits,
and Edward Don "Ed" Moore, 65, filed in January to run for that seat.
Karen
Nelson, elections administrator for Smith County, said Monday the
county does not have any scheduled elections for May at this time, but
that could change after March 1.
Municipalities
within the county have until March 1 to call an election and file for a
place on the ballot, she said. "Therefore, I will not know which
entities may or may not be able to cancel their election due to no
candidates filing, until after this date," Ms. Nelson said.
Three
seats on the Tyler ISD school board are open for election. They are
District 1 held by Eleno Licea; District 3 held by Therelee Washington;
and District 6 held by Michelle Carr.
No one had filed for the positions as of Monday, board secretary Gina Orr said. The deadline to file is 5 p.m. March 1.
In
addition, TISD is expected to have a bond election on the ballot. The
board is scheduled to vote on whether to call a bond election during a
Feb. 21 meeting.
The Whitehouse
petition to allow beer and wine sales for off-premise consumption will
go before voters in May, except for Justice of the Peace Precinct 1.
Whitehouse ISD also will have an election for two school board
positions, according to information from the district. Kevin Cashion
will run for Place 6, and Vince Primo will run for Place 7 in the board
of trustees.
OTHER ITEMS
More affordable housing may soon come to the
northwest side of Tyler if city council members decide to lend support
to the developer's application to a state housing agency on Wednesday at
the meeting.
The development,
called Saige Meadows, is expected be at the corner of U.S. Highway 69
north and Experimental Station Road, in northwest Tyler. The council
will see a presentation from representatives of Pinnacle Housing for the
proposed 90 to 95 unit complex, which may include a playground and a
pool or splash pad, according to information provided by the city.
Established
in 1997, Pinnacle Housing Group is a full-service real estate
development company that builds affordable housing in the Southeast
United States' urban centers, suburban areas and rural communities,
according to its website. Pinnacle develops, builds, leases and owns
affordably priced, luxury-styled apartment homes, its website stated.
According
to the agenda, the council will consider a resolution supporting the
complex as its makes its application to the Texas Department of
Community and Housing Affairs for development.
The
city's municipal rose garden also may receive a new restroom and some
drainage work at a cost of $39,550, the agenda stated. A portion of that
cost, $15,000, comes from a donation from the Texas Rose Festival, and
the remainder will come from the city's half-cent sales tax fund.
The city council will meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Liberty Hall, 103 E. Erwin St.
Staff Writer Emily Guevara contributed to this report.
