City Manager's Blog

TML Resolutions Committee

October 21, 2016
Dear Citizens,

Councilor Jim ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald and City Attorney Mick McKamie are both part of the Texas Municipal League (TML) Resolutions Committee that met prior to this years Annual Conference. The purpose of the Resolutions Committee is to look at upcoming legislative matters and other elements that impact cities in Texas and determine TML’s stance on the topic(s).

A list of this years ‘Resolutions’ can be found on this link.

Fitz can also be contacted if you would like to hear his perspective on the meeting.

Thank you and have a great day in Alpine.

Erik Zimmer, City Manager

TML 2016 Resolutions Committee Output

Thank You For The Help

October 17, 2016
Dear Community,

I wanted to take a few moments to thank all those who have helped with the search for Ms. Zuzu Verk. There were many volunteers out walking/searching through Alpine and the surrounding areas. It’s a real tribute to the caring sense of our community. My thoughts and prayers go out to her parents, family and friends.

Special thanks to our local Police Department, Sheriff’s Department, EOC team, and Fire Department for their work and efforts through the past week.

If anyone has additional information on the case, please call 432.837.3486.

Kindest Regards,

Erik Zimmer, City Manager

New Complaint-Contact Form

September 28, 2016
Dear Citizens,

As we shared at one of our recent Council Meetings, our staff was developing a ‘Complaint-Contact’ Form for ease of use for our Citizens. The form is designed to help citizens voice a concern using our website and also help Staff and Council keep a consolidated record data-base of the submissions.

I think you will find the form easy to use with helpful dropdowns – there is even an option to add an image.

We sincerely hope you find the form useful and we appreciate any comments on the enhancement of the design.

We will have a direct link to the form on the front page of our City website or you can click here for access.

Thank you and have a wonderful day here in Alpine,

Erik Zimmer, City Manager

Thank You To Many Local Businesses

September 12, 2016
Dear Citizens,

Last Thursday was a difficult day for our community and one that will resonate for all those involved and impacted. As our law enforcement was working through the incidents at the high school, we had other threats posing danger at our University and Hospital.

The City was able to open the Civic Center and provide a place for our University Students to go that lived on campus and were stranded from their dorms. Many local businesses and individuals reached out to provide food and items of comfort for the students.

We’d like to thank: Ben E. Keith, True Value (Bob Ward), Porters (both Stores and Employees), The Triangle, Frito Lay (David Pallenez), Quality Inn, McDonald’s, City of Presidio EMS, Subway, American Red Cross, McCoys, Aramark and countless others offering places to stay for students. If I have forgotten to mention anyone, I sincerely apologize.

I am personally grateful to all of our Law Enforcement for their quick responsiveness and decisive actions. Please support our parents, teachers, administrators and school district as they navigate through the healing process with our children.

Erik M. Zimmer, City Manager

Vision Plan

September 7, 2016
Dear Citizens,

At last evenings City Council meeting, Councilor Stephens and I discussed the progress that has been made towards the creation of the Vision Plan for our community.

Click HERE to download a full copy of the Vision Plan.

In the upcoming days we will be also adding a video presentation to the website showing the vision 3D.

Many thanks go to our partners as the Small Business Development Center and the Individuals involved from UTSA.

We plan on having a town hall meeting / open forum to review the materials in the upcoming month and seek community participation in the implementation phases.

Thank you for all you do for our community.

Erik Zimmer, City Manager

High Grass, Weeds & Vegetation – pt 2

September 7, 2016
Dear Citizens,

Last July I published a blog related to high weeds and vegetation to address several calls and comments we had been receiving at City Hall. This year we have again been blessed with quite a bit of moisture which has caused our grasses and vegetation to flourish. I’ve been asked to re-publish the blog in an effort to help keep this top-of-mind with our community.

Citizens of Alpine,

Our community has been blessed this year with tremendous rainfall. In fact, we have received a little over 11.71 inches of precipitation in 2015. The area typically averages 15.4 inches of precipitation annually, so we are well on a pace to exceed the average.

Along with the increased levels of moisture come more aggressive growth of vegetation and weeds. One of the challenges our Code Enforcement officer continues to face is the communication back to property owners to help keep their weeds down and yards maintained. Not only does this help present a better aesthetic appeal, it also helps cut down on wild animal and reptile nesting, plus assists with fire prevention.

One of the common questions that presents itself at City Hall is the responsibility of the parkways and roadways adjacent to homes and businesses. The specific Ordinance that Alpine has adopted is 54-203 and can be found on our City Website (http://cityofalpine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Chapter-54-HEALTH-AND-SANITATION.pdf). Within that section, our governing body has outlined that: ‘A person has committed an offense if the person owns, occupies, or controls any real property and fails to maintain the parkway adjacent to the property free of weeds and grass that exceed an average of 12 inches in height.” The City does not maintain a staff that mows parkways adjacent to personal and commercial property, rather has enacted ordinance and tax structure to allow for property owners to maintain their own and keep the tax levels down.

We ask that all property owners and citizens take the time to review the ordinance and help to improve the aesthetics and safety in the community by adhering to the adopted law.

Thank you and please feel free to reach out to City staff or your elected representative for further dialogue on this topic.

Have a great rest of the week,

Erik Zimmer, City Manager

Hometown Hero

August 26, 2016
Dear Citizens,

As football seasons opens today for the Alpine High School Fighting Bucks, it’s fun to think about the Bake Turner days of yesteryear. Texas Music Magazine had a wonderful article about him in this summer’s issue prior to Viva Big Bend. I’ve attached a copy of the article for those who have not seen it.

Bake is one of the good guys. For those of us who get to interact with him, he’s such a great community steward and Alpine advocate.

Go Bucks! We hope the season and prosperous and injury-free.

Erik Zimmer, City Manager

Viva Big Bend

August 17, 2016
Dear Citizens,

We’ve had another great year with Viva Big Bend here in Alpine, Marfa, Ft. Davis and Marathon. Over 3000 people descended upon the communities for the long weekend filled with great music and events.

Stewart Ramser, the Event Coordinator and Alpine Tourism Director, should be commended for the wonderful job he has done in building this event up over the last five years. He presented the following set of slides at last nights City Council meeting. There are a couple of embedded videos in the slides, so don’t forget to click on those links.

Thanks again to all those who participated – whether you were a business, vendor or patron. We appreciate the community involvement.

Have a great week!

Erik Zimmer, City Manager

Proposed Budget – Fiscal Year 2016-17

August 11, 2016
Dear Citizens,

A copy of this years proposed budget is available on our City website or by clicking here. Once on the website, there are other supporting articles and notices for you to peruse/review.

If you have any questions on the budget, please be sure to reach out to City Hall and ask for me or Megan.

We’ve had much better attendance at this year’s budget workshops and continue to welcome input and the discussions through the annual budgeting process.

There is never enough money to accomplish all the tasks, but we certainly believe the focus on the conditions of our City streets and paying down our debt are critical.

Thank you for your support, involvement and appreciation for our community!

Erik Zimmer, City Manager

Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) Funding Applications

August 10, 2016
Dear Citizens,

Our annual applications for the HOT Funding has been posted on the front page of our website or by clicking on this link. Please download if you are planning on applying this year or pass this note on to someone else who is considering.

We continue to have a thriving tourism program in Alpine and have welcomed many visitors this year. The HOT fund allows us to expand our reach through aggressive advertising programs and incubation of new and upgraded events attracting new people to our community.

Included in the packet is our cover letter, the application itself and the state guidelines we follow. Stuart and Chris will also host another meeting this fall outlining how our general tourism advertising program can be utilized to create a greater sense of energy and enthusiasm regarding all of our events.

Have a super rest of the week in Alpine. I hope you are enjoying the rain as much as I am.

Erik Zimmer, City Manager

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