NEWS
Bowie expects difficult budget year due to infrastructure needs
By BARBARA GREEN
Bowie city council members spent three and a half hours Tuesday night in their first budget workshop reviewing figures, data and explanations about where the city budget may be heading for the next fiscal year.
Mayor Larry Slack told the group there will certainly be some tough decisions due to some major infrastructure problems that need to be addressed.
“We will have to see if we can work it in the budget or do something else. We need to let the staff know a direction,” said the mayor.
Department heads received a memo directing them to return their department requests to the city manager by June 15 in order to prepare the budget proposal by July 15, as required by the city charter.
Slack told the council he expects a difficult budget year so he wants the council to have all the time and information it needs to make decisions.
The pressing infrastructure problems came to the forefront this week as heavy rain filled runoff drains, especially in the flow that runs from State Highway 59 near Allsup’s east to Kiwanis Park and then toward Lamb, Rock and Patterson.
Read the full story in the weekend News.
Pictured: Heavy rains continue to cause deterioration in an aging drainage system that serves a large residential area in Bowie. This portion of Lamb Street at Nelson has been closed due to collapse of the street at the culvert. (Photo by Barbara Green)
Members of the Bowie City Council will face a brief agenda when they meet at 6 p.m. on Oct. 13 in the council chambers.
Following routine reports and consent agenda items, the council will consider a resolution authorizing submission of the city’s 2027/2028 Texas Community Development Block Grant application to the Texas Department of Agriculture.
Then council members will consider approving Bob Blackburn for appointment as a reserve police officer with the Bowie Police Department.
Following an executive session, the council will discuss and potentially take action regarding the annual employment evaluations and duties of both the City Secretary and the Municipal Court Judge.
After nearly three months of no rain, Mother Nature brought the showers this past week.
Downtown Bowie rain reports varied from 7 to 8 inches, while the Saint Jo area reported a 10-inch total. The city water plant in Bowie reported 5.55 inches on Sept. 30 with 1.6 Oct. 1-3.
Nocona saw a total of 6.31 inches of rain across Sept. 26 to Oct. 3.
On Oct. 6, Lake Amon G. Carter saw a level of 917.39 mean sea level rising to 81.31% full. Just one week earlier the lake was 73.6% full, while one year ago it was 94.01%. The lake is full at 920msl.
Lake Nocona was 73.7% full at 823.02 on Oct 6. One week earlier it was 70.41% full and one year ago it was 92.41%. The lake is full at 827.5 msl.
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
One Montague County City has joined the battle against any data centers being built in this county and there is a petition drive underway to urge the commissioner’s court to keep data centers out of Montague County.
At a Sept. 28 called meeting of the Saint Jo City Council, officials unanimously approved a resolution stating its opposition to the “siting, permitting, construction or operation of data centers and similar hyperscale computing facilities within the city limits or the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.”
City Secretary Debbie Dennis said several citizens approached Councilor Jack Dunn about their data center concerns and he helped prepare a resolution. The council gave unanimous support.
Read the full story in your Thursday Bowie News.
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