Josie is Looking for Her Forever Home

Josie is a 2 year old female Boxer mix who weighs 45 pounds.  She was found as a stray in fair condition.

It appeared that she had just had puppies, but no puppies were ever found.

She was very skittish at first, but with a little food she was coaxed to accept her foster caregivers.

Josie is sweet and playful.  She loves playing with toys and bones and will entertain herself with various things.  She is very affectionate and wants to be loved on all the time.  She will cuddle and loves attention and would be very content having her belly rubbed all day long.

Josie is being crate- and house-trained.  She walks on a lead.  She is tolerant of the neighborhood kids petting her on her walks, but it is not known how she would react to toddlers.  Her foster home has two cats, and she has never shown any aggression toward them.  Josie can be very protective of her new foster family and house, though she is well-behaved when out of her territory.  Ideally, she should be the only dog in the home and get lots of attention from her family.

If you would like more information about Josie, contact the Helotes Humane Society at 210-422-6242 or by email at hhsanimals@yahoo.com.

Please visit their website at www.hhsanimals.org to see pictures and get information on their other animals.

All HHS animals receive vaccinations, testing, and altering appropriate for their ages, and all pets are microchipped prior to placement.

Laboratory testing continues to show elevated levels of PCBs in fish tissue.  A smaller section of the creek has been under advisory since 2003.

The DSHS notes that elevated levels of PCBs in fish do not pose a health risk for people swimming in the creek.

For more information, visit the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD)page on Fish Consumption Bans & Advisories.

Jon believed strongly that all children need to establish a connection with nature, increasingly so in our highly technological world.  He also knew that the healing of children who have been hurt in some way is furthered when they have the opportunity to enjoy a natural environment.

With that in mind, this memorial fund has been designated for two specific purposes:

- Caring for the natural environment (trees and other vegetation) at the Residential Treatment Center, located on a beautiful property where abused children ages 5 to 12 can heal in the peace of a park-like setting, and

- Funding activities for the children, activities which focus specifically on nature or the environment.  Those activities would include, for example, field trips to local nature centers, botanical gardens, or parks and outdoor classes and other educational programs focusing on nature and the environment.

Those wanting to honor Jon’s memory can do so by donating to his memorial fund.  Checks can be made out to The Children’s Shelter, noting the ‘Jonathan S. Allan Memorial Fund’ on the memo line.

Checks should be mailed to The Children’s Shelter, 2939 West Woodlawn, San Antonio, Texas 78228.

HHS Opens Second Chances Thrift Shop in Old Town Helotes

The shop is located at 14837 Old Bandera Road, where Scenic Loop Road meets Old Bandera Road (across Antonio Drive from the First Baptist Church).  As of now, the hours of operation will be Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Drop  by and see the shop and meet the HHS volunteers who run it.

Second Chances supports the many goals and activities of the HHS.  They have placed over 600 animals in forever homes since incorporating in 2008.  They also operate a pet food bank, feeding/supporting over 1,000 animals.  Over 64,000 pounds of food have been distributed to families with financial issues, the Helotes Senior Center, the Battered Women’s Center, and more.  HHS also provides low cost/free spays and neuters.

If you are interested in donating items to the HHS for the thrift shop, they list the following as things they would be interested in receiving:

Decorative items and artwork
Jewelry
Small working appliances
Books
Clean clothing in good condition
Collectibles
Antiques
New/unused pet items/supplies
Gift ware
Furniture

They would also welcome shelving or display cases.  Think of them when you are cleaning out your closets or your garage.  Before dropping anything off at the thrift shop, please contact Melanie Marx at 210-695-3741 or Janice MacRossin at 210-218-0835.

Currently all animals are housed in foster homes provided by volunteers.  If you would like to volunteer to work at the thrift shop, become a foster for the HHS, or make a donation, you can call them at 210-422-6242 or email them at hhsanimals@yahoo.com.  Monetary donations can also be mailed to P.O. Box 908, Helotes, Texas 78023.  You can also visit their website at www.hhsanimals.org.

In an article I posted to this website back in February, entitled “Do We Have a Part-time City Council?,” I commented that it seemed that a pattern of cancelling Council meetings was emerging.  I now think it has become a pattern carved in stone, business as usual.

The Helotes City Council is supposed to meet on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month, but they have met only once a month since last October, except for March when they did meet the regularly-scheduled two meetings.  That means that in the past 9 months they have had only 10 meetings, instead of the normal 18.

City staff assures us that the meetings were cancelled because there was no City business to discuss.  But I ask now as I asked before, is there really nothing going on in our City?  Is there really nothing happening that our elected Council members need to know?  Are there really no decisions required of them?

I still feel, as I expressed in my February article, that there is less to bring to the attention of Council members, and thus to the public, because the Mayor and/or the City Administrator have frequently been authorized by Council to negotiate, or execute, or resolve, or administer and oversee, or implement, or expend budgeted monies.

Council members are routinely giving the Mayor and the City Administrator the authority to “handle it,” whatever “it” is.  While I’m sure that is infinitely more convenient and less labor intensive for the Council members, it also means that there are fewer eyes reviewing what’s going on and fewer elected officials doing their due diligence by overseeing the City’s business.

Is anyone but me wondering what’s going on that we, the voting public, don’t know about?  Fewer committees, fewer Council meetings, and less citizen involvement can only lead to less transparency in our City government and less accountability for our elected officials.

Maybe I’m the only one who sees a problem here?

I love teaching, but I do that for the students.  I love my family members and sharing all their special moments, but my bottle-babies I foster for myself.

When they stare up at me, the only mother they know, with loving eyes, I forget the sleep deprivation, the constant cleaning and laundry, and the intense sorrow when one doesn’t make it.  Each little kitten is a bundle of love and trust, a beacon of hope for the future, and a way to pay back the world for all the joys cats have brought me throughout my life.

Fostering animals is the hardest job you’ll ever love!  They come to you at the most inconvenient times.  Many are dirty, infested, and sick.  Few are really healthy, and all are hungry.  Some arrive in boxes, sacks, and cages.  Others just wander in, having been dumped in your neighborhood.

The one thing they have in common is need – for warmth, protection, food, and love.  So I gather them in and try to save them.  No matter how much I give of myself to their rescue and rehabilitation, they give me back more in return.  I make a difference in their lives, even for the ones that don’t survive.  Especially for them, because I provided the only comfort and love they ever knew.

Give me the helpless, the lost, the homeless wee ones struggling just to live, the innocent refuse of an uncaring society.  Send these, the weak, abandoned lives, to me.  I offer warmth, care, hope, and love.  They are so tiny, and I am just one rescue worker in a city that doesn’t seem to care.

But I care.  I know it’s the right thing to do, and when I see one of my babies adopted and settled in its “forever home,” I experience enormous satisfaction and joy.

What began in anxiety and concern ends as a purr-fect day.  I am energized and strengthened by each foster experience, and I rededicate myself to rescue work.

Try it.  I say again, fostering animals is the hardest job you’ll ever love.

(Editor:  Mary Finch is on the Helotes Humane Society’s Board of Directors.  Above, she has eloquently shared her thoughts and feelings on the satisfaction and joy she receives from fostering rescued kittens.  If you would like to become a foster to rescued animals, please contact the Helotes Humane Society at 210-422-6242.  You can also visit their website at www.hhsanimals.org.)

The Mayor reported that over 100 people have signed up to participate in the annual Volunteer Day, which is scheduled for June 12, 2010.  These volunteers will fill potholes, trim trees, work on finishing the City Park playground, pick up trash, etc.  Both breakfast and lunch will be provided to those participating.

“Movie Night at the Park” has returned for the summer.  It is held on the municipal grounds on the third Friday of each month, beginning June 18, 2010, at dusk.  Around 7 p.m., the City Band will perform.  The movie this month will be “Shorts.”

The Police and Fire Stations are essentially completed.  They are still working on a few minor items.  Approximately 95% of the furniture has been delivered.  The computers should be up and running by the end of June.  A dedication ceremony has been scheduled for Sunday, July 11, 2010, at 2 p.m.  There will be a City Band concert, and refreshments will be served.  The City Park playground will be dedicated on the same day.

The following items were on the Consent Agenda and were unanimously approved by Council:

The minutes of the May 13, 2010, Council meeting.

The bi-weekly Revenue and Expenditure Report.

The final amended plat for Wind Gate Run Subdivision on Hausman Road.  I think that this was just to correct errors or omissions on the original plat.

City Council liaisons to boards/committees/commissions:

Board of Adjustment:  Gary Johnson
Ethics Commission:  Rich Whitehead
Economic Development Corporation:  Ed Villanueva
Parks and Recreation Committee:  Cynthia Massey
Planning and Zoning Commission:  David Legendre

The FY 2011 Budget Calendar (this calendar will be presented in another article on this site entitled “FY 2011 Budget Process.”)

Accepted the resignation of Scott Muenz, the Chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee.  His resignation was submitted on April 12, 2010.  I wonder why the delay in accepting it?  If you are interested in serving on the Parks and Recreation Committee, now’s the time to apply.

A Request for Proposal (RFP) for Emergency Medical Services – Response and Transport.  During the budget process, EMS services and available providers are routinely discussed.  Every year Council considers contracting with someone other than the City of San Antonio, but there has never been enough information available to them to make an informed decision.  They always say that “next year” they will have done more research.  It looks like this is an attempt to have more data available for their consideration.

An amendment to the City’s Alcoholic Beverages permit fees ordinance changing the municipal alcoholic beverage permit from an annual to a biennial permit, establishing the same terms as those stipulated within State law.

A Dispatch Services Contract between the City of Helotes and the City of Leon Valley for police dispatching services payable on a month-to-month basis beginning October 1, 2010, in anticipation of commencing internal dispatching services during FY 2011.  Mayor Schoolcraft was authorized to execute the contract.

A resolution authorizing the closure of a portion of Old Bandera Road (between Scenic Loop Road and the Helotes Creek bridge) from 3 p.m. on Friday, September 3, until 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 4, 2010, for The MarketPlace at Old Town Helotes and an associated barbeque cook-off.  A letter that went out to all owners of property in Old Town Helotes stated, “Provisions will be made for businesses and residents to have access to their properties during the road closure.”

The first item on the agenda for individual consideration was discussion and action on rescheduling the Council meetings in November.  The first meeting in November falls on Veterans Day and the second on Thanksgiving.  Council voted to schedule only one meeting in November (which is what is done every year).  It will be held on Thursday, November 18, 2010.

The second item for individual consideration was discussion and action on variance requests for BC’s Golf Ranch, which will be located at 16023 and 16097 E. Bandera Road.  The owner has requested variances to the requirement for stormwater detention or fee-in-lieu of detention, the requirement for the dedication of right-of-way along Highway 16, and the requirement for municipal approval and recordation of a plat before the issuance of a building permit.

Because of the minimum amount of impervious cover, the City Engineer recommended that “the proposed improvements for BC’s Golf Ranch be exempt from the requirement for a detention facility or the payment of a fee-in-lieu of detention, which would have been approximately $87,000.

Typically, developments along Bandera Road are granted variances to the 20-foot right-of-way dedication because TXDoT already has sufficient right-of-way along Bandera Road for future expansion.  City Staff recommended that this variance also be granted for BC’s Golf Ranch.

The third variance request states that BC’s Golf Ranch should be exempt from platting requirements because the Local Government Code states that “a division of land under this subsection does not include a division of land into parts greater than five acres, where each part has access and no public improvement is being dedicated.”  In this case, both tracts of land are greater than 5 acres, each has access to Bandera Road, and no public improvement (such as a drainage facility) is required.

All three variance requests were unanimously approved by Council.

The last item on the agenda was the selection of a Mayor Pro Tem.  David Legendre has been serving as the Mayor Pro Tem for the last year and told Mayor Schoolcraft that he would be interested in serving again during the next term.  Ed Villanueva also announced that he would like to serve as the Mayor Pro Tem.  Gary Johnson nominated Villanueva, and Cynthia Massey seconded the nomination.  As stated above Whitehead and Legendre were absent, so there were no further nominations.  Villanueva was elected by a unanimous vote and will serve as the Mayor Pro Tem until the next election in May/June 2011.  I guess Legendre learned that he should not be absent.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:19 p.m.  (Yes, 7:19 p.m.  All of the above took place in 19 minutes.)

By June 25, 2010, the City Administrator will send budget forms to all City department heads for their review and completion, establishing expenditures per department.

Those completed forms/budget requests will be returned to the City Administrator by July 16, 2010. 

During the week of July 19, 2010, the department heads will meet with the City Administrator, City Treasurer, and Mayor for further consideration of the departmental requests.  Then the City Administrator, Treasurer, and Mayor will meet to consider the requests and finalize the proposed FY 2011 budget.

At the August 12, 2010, Council meeting, the proposed FY 2011 budget will be presented to City Council.

On August 26,  September 9, and September 23, 2010, public hearings will be held on the proposed FY 2011 budget, including the proposed EDC budget, and on the proposed tax rate.

On September 23, 2010, Council will adopt the City’s FY 2011 budget, the EDC’s approved budget, and the proposed tax rate.

If you have any interest in how your tax money is being spent, please plan to attend the above-listed public hearings and make your opinions known.

New Helotes Fire Station

A dedication ceremony for the new Helotes Police and Fire Stations has been scheduled for Sunday, July 11, 2010, at 2 p.m.  There will be a City Band concert, and refreshments will be served.  The City Park playground will be dedicated on the same day.

Helotes City Park Playground Near Completion