By George Slaughter
This map shows where the 20 new electronic license plate readers will be placed – courtesy Katy Police Department
Katy Police Chief Noe Diaz said his department essentially added 20 new police officers through a Katy City Council-approved purchase of 20 electronic license plate readers Monday night.
Diaz said the readers are to help police share information with neighboring cities and counties. They would capture license plate information and are advanced enough to identify vehicle makes and colors. Diaz said the readers would be installed in business areas around the city. He said the readers would be operational within 4-6 weeks.
The readers cost $2,000 per unit, totaling $40,000, but Diaz said in a memo to the council that the additional $6,000 requested allows flexibility should there be a need for three additional readers.
Diaz said the $46,000 cost will be funded by the police department budget by eliminating one vacant for position for a police officer which provides a savings of approximately $55,000.
In response to a question from Ward A Council Member Frank Carroll, Mayor Bill Hastings said the readers were not a revenue-generating tool for the city.
“These are not to be confused with a revenue source,” Mayor Bill Hastings said. “These are not the red-light cameras.”
Katy Market Days Approved
The council Monday approved street closure requests for the Katy Market Days, which set for the third Saturday of March, and for May through November. The Market Day and Car Show is set for April 18. The Monthly Market Day and Special Evening events are set for April 25 and August 20. The 2020 Katy Old Fashioned Christmas Festival is set for December 5.
Setting the dates is not a high-attention item on the council agenda, but the Katy Market Days are important for downtown Katy and the businesses there.
“Katy Market Days envisions what the city wants downtown to be,” Mayor Pro Tem and Council Member-at-Large Chris Harris said. “it’s an organization of downtown business owners and they’re keeping that small-town tradition of Katy alive and the city decided to support them. Downtown is a top priority for the city.”
Other Actions Taken
In other action Monday, the council:
- Approved a special use permit request from the Jesus Rescue International Church, 6193 Highway Blvd., Suite 201, to operate in a zoned general business district.
- Approved a special use permit request from the Aristoi Classical Academy, 5618 11th, to operate in a zoned commercial district.
- Reviewed the bank statement and check register through December 31, as well as the 2018-2019 fourth quarter 2019-2020 first quarter investment reports.
- Approved the December 9 meeting minutes.
- Approved Jeff & Brede’s Triathlon, set for June 28.
- Approved a request for the city to pay monthly operating costs for street lights in Young Ranch. The request came from Charter Development Partners.
- Approved a 15-acre final plat for the Falls at Green Meadows, in Waller County.
- Authorized the mayor to sign a second amendment to the interlocal agreement with Fort Bend County.
- Awarded a $119,714 bid for the Goldeneye storm sewer project to HTI Construction, Inc., of Rosenberg.
- Awarded a $1,246,391 bid for a 500,000-gallon elevated storage tank at Water Plant #72 to Maguire Iron, Inc., of Sioux Falls, S.D.
- Awarded a $1,061,160 bid for a one-million-gallon ground storage tank at Water Plant #72 to Schier Construction Company, Inc., of Houston.
- Authorized the mayor to sign short-form blanket easements between CenterPoint Energy and the city.
- Authorized the mayor to sign a commercial development agreement with Davoody M & J, LLC.
- Passed an ordinance to reduce the number of monthly meetings of the Keep Katy Beautiful board to one per month.
- Appointed two City of Katy representatives Adrienne Davitz, a homemaker and former Katy school teacher, and Linda Mikeska, a retired secretary, to the Katy Heritage Park board.
- Updated the city’s employee classifications to add a facilities coordinator and updating the pay range and wage-hour exemption schedule.