Anahuac talks sewage, policies, ordinances

ANAHUAC— Anahuac City Council recently discussed ongoing water and sewage projects, details on the golf cart and zoning ordinances and updating policies and procedures.

The council held a regular meeting on Monday, March 10, primarily discussing updates on various projects.

Updates were given for the GLO CDBG-MIT Water Treatment Improvement Project, CWSRF Sanitary Sewer System Improvement Project and the Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion Project.

The council created a policy committee of Mayor Pro Tem Janice Jircik and Alderwoman Meredith Turner-Croyle to review and update or add policies as needed. City employees will be consulted on these policies regarding specific departments. The committee will focus on policies regarding IT, security cameras, social media and more.

As for the employee handbook and code of conduct, Jircik suggested that the council review the changes and bring the item back to the next regular meeting.

After talking with City Attorney Richard Baker, Jircik suggested City Administrator Kenneth Kathan acquire a written agreement with the Chambers County Sheriff's Office for the golf cart ordinance. Kathan previously spoke with the department prior to passing the ordinance to ensure the ordinance is in line with the department and state laws.

An update was provided on the zoning ordinance.

"I've been flooded with phone calls and emails and texts," Kathan said. "There are a number of those properties that are mismarked. From the time it was previously done until now, there's been a lot of changes in the city."

Kathan said he is up to 16 right now for locations needing to be remarked.

Alderman Nathan Trahan suggested labeling the properties as multiuse. Kathan replied by saying it has to be residential or commercial.

"It has to be one or the other," Kathan said. "Having said all that, there are ways around it. It's legal, but I just need to talk with the other zoning boards."

Kathan will bring an Excel sheet to the next regular meeting so the council can look at the changes.

After the update, there was some lighthearted banter between the council and Kathan.

"Put that on my list with everything else," Kathan said.

"How high is that on your list," Jircik asked.

"Now that you said that, very high," Kathan replied.

"I would say top three," Trahan said, adding to the banter.

At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Charles Hightower read a proclamation declaring April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. In attendance were Bay Area Turning Point Victim Advocates Morgan Holman and Jarnae Williams.

“Statistics show one in four women and one in 26 men will be sexually assaulted or attempted sexual assault in their lifetime,” Hightower said, reading the proclamation. “Child sexual abuse prevention must be a priority to confront the reality that one in six boys and one in four girls will experience a sexual assault before the age of 18.”

Bay Area Turning Point works with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. The non-profit’s vision is “peace for every woman, every child, every man...every day.”

“We must work together to educate our community about sexual violence, prevention, supporting survivors and speaking out against harmful attitudes and actions,” Hightower said.

For more information on the organization, call 281-338-7600 or by visiting the website at www.bayareaturningpoint.com. The 24-hour crisis hotline is 281-286-2525.