Lancaster City Council passes loitering ordinance

by Bill Conrad of Lancaster TODAY

The Lancaster City Council unanimously passed a no loitering ordinance at its meeting Nov. 10.

The ordinance was prepared by Lancaster Police Chief Keith Humphrey as a way to handle crowds of people who have been gathering around the city, specifically at the movie theater located at Pleasant Run Road and I-35.

In documents provided to the council, Humphrey said that loitering can lead to other problems. He said his department had responded to more than 60 calls since May 2008 concerning groups who were “causing disturbances, fighting, gathering aimlessly without a purpose, moving slowly about and impeding vehicular and pedestrian traffic.”

Under the new ordinance, which goes into effect immediately, people found guilty of loitering will be subject to a fine not to exceed $500.

The council also unanimously awarded a bid in the amount of $3.5 million to J. R. Sheldon & Co. for the expansion of the Ames Pump Station.

The expansion became necessary when the Texas Commission of Environment Quality found a deficiency in pumping capacity. The expansion includes construction of two 5,500 gallons-per-minute pumps. Council documents said that a reimbursement resolution was passed in February 2008 to cover this purchase from a future sale of bonds.

Council also passed a three-year annexation plan, which allows the city to proceed with the necessary steps to prepare for annexation of territory lying within the cities extra-territorial jurisdiction. The council approved the plan after holding a public hearing, at which no members of the public spoke.

The first scheduled annexation will be 2.9 square miles in November 2011, followed by 3.28 square miles in November 2012 and the remainder of the land in November 2013.

The final item on the council's agenda was the approval of a resolution denying the requested rate increase from Oncor Electric Company. A hearing will now be held regarding the rate increase.

Oncor filed an application in June 2008 to raise electric rates by $275 million, or an average of $60 per residential customer according to Lancaster Assistant City Manager Opal Mauldin Robertson.

The city is part of the Oncor Cities Steering Committee, a 146-city, which helps cities negotiate rates with Oncor.

The hearing regarding the rate increase will be held in January 2009.