Aledo: Council approves library study

Parks of Aledo resident Jaymes Seals holds up the flyer that was mailed to him and his neighbors regarding the potential moving of a registered sex offender from one house to another in the neighborhood.

Alex Hoben/The Community News

The proposal was submitted by ZacTax, an analytic platform for local governments. The study, according to the proposal submitted to the council, would focus on six main topics:

• Operating costs (five-year projection): Develop a FY25 baseline for detailed annual operating cost and estimates over a five-year horizon. This will include staffing, utilities, maintenance, programming, and other operational expenses to predict recurring costs.
• Capital costs (five-year projection): Prepare a baseline FY25 and five-year capital cost estimate that accounts for building construction, furnishing, equipment, technology, and future capital replacement needs.
• Revenue potential: Find potential revenue streams over five years.
• Revenue from sale of existing building: Looking at the potential market value and sale revenue from the current library facility, which can provide a financial offset that can be applied toward the new project.
• Benchmarking analysis: Benchmark staffing, collections, materials, programming, and budget against 5–10 peer city libraries (the list will be provided by Aledo, which will provide the city with a comparative framework to identify efficiencies or gaps.
• Tax rate impact scenarios: Model two funding scenarios: one that identifies the minimum tax rate needed to maintain core services, and another that reflects the rate required to support enhanced services.

According to ZacTax, “Our team is comprised of former city managers, finance directors, auditors, and planners, and we bring decades of real-world city management experience to our consulting services. Our fundamental purpose is to help cities make better decisions and become more fiscally healthy.”

This scope comes after council member Todd Covington requested a library feasibility study be conducted due to concerns about the library’s increasing budget with the lowering of county and surrounding cities’ contributions.

Interim City Manager Mark McDaniel said he believes the scope of the study is thorough and covers what the council asked to be included in it.

City members speak at meeting

Aledo citizens came to speak in support of the library including Katie Cline and her daughter, Hollis Turner. Turner said she believes the library is a major reason why she got a 100 percentile on her reading STAAR test last year and that it has helped grow her knowledge.

“The library has benefited me greatly over the years,” she said. “Me and my brother have checked out hundreds of books, and I’ve grown to be an avid reader. I’ve loved to go to activities and read there, and I’m so excited for the new library to open.”

Cline said she would like the council to give the library the benefit of the doubt, since she sees it as a community space. She said that she teaches mahjong in the library at no cost and with new residents in Aledo, she sees how it can be a place for moms to meet through events like mahjong.

“Events at the library benefit so many people to make friendships and to make the Aledo community stronger,” Cline said.

James Dittrich, an Aledo resident for 13 years, also spoke for the library at the meeting. He said that as a former treasurer when it was the East Parker County Library, he has in-depth knowledge about the library and services it provides.

He knows that the council has to balance the needs of the community and also meet the budgets they have set and asked the council to consider more than the aspects of the library that can come quantitatively.

“It’s not all on the bottom line,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be in the black at the end of the day. There are things that matter to your citizens such as this.”

Aledo resident Susan Houghtalin also spoke about her concerns about how the square footage of the new city hall was being used in comparison to the old building’s design. She cited how the priority changed from giving city staff enough space to making the library a priority, specifically with the library taking up the first floor, which she said the residents didn’t agree to go into debt for.

She suggested instead to remodel the Aledo Community Center and turn it into the new library space, after the feasibility study for the library is conducted.

“I realize it appears the city is at a point of no return regarding the city hall, but we have to stop and reevaluate the use of this space, even if the outcome is going to cost more money,” Houghtalin said.

Jaymes Seals, a Parks of Aledo resident, also spoke to the council with concerns over a piece of mail he and other Parks residents received regarding the potential move of a convicted sex offender in the Parks neighborhood.

He said that he was able to speak to Police Chief Carol Riddle to understand the situation but wanted to bring it to the council’s attention. He asked the city to require for events like Halloween a sign in front of any offender’s house to indicate that they live there to ensure no children go to the door.

Other council business

In other council news, the action item regarding the annual Citizen Board and Commission appointments was tabled for a later meeting.

The city approved an ordinance about the Texas Municipal Retirement System, increasing the employee rate from seven to eight percent, as suggested in the budget.

A preliminary plat establishing the Parkside Subdivision, lots 1-15 was approved. This will be a public street according to the developer.

The city approved the Aledo employee benefits packages, including life insurance services, for the 2025-26 plan year. For healthcare, the city switched from Aetna, to United Healthcare after the Aetna plan showed a 42% increase. According to Erika Cooper-Bateman, assistant to the City Manager, with United Healthcare staff will have the least amount of disruption to their coverage, and there will only be an 11% increase compared to the 42% if they were to stay with Aetna.

For life insurance, the staff recommended a switch to Hartford, which is more cost-effective and provides for more robust benefits.

The council also adopted the strategic goals and priorities that were discussed in their council retreat.

The consent agenda was passed in full, and no action was taken out of executive session.