ORD 2011-45 - Calling 11-8-2011 Election Mayor - Wards - Parkland - TRA Plant 08-16-2011ORDINANCE NO. 2011-45
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS,
ORDERING A MUNICIPAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON THE 8TH DAY OF NOVEMBER
2011, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ELECTING A MAYOR AT- LARGE, FOUR
COUNCILMEMBERS, ONE FROM EACH OF THE CITY'S FOUR WARDS, ONE, TWO,
THREE AND FOUR; AND FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUBMITTING TO THE QUALIFIED
VOTERS OF THE CITY TWO PROPOSITIONS; (1) AUTHORIZING CITY COUNCIL TO
ADOPT A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS BY THE TRINITY
RIVER AUTHORITY TO EXPAND THE CITY'S WATER FACILITIES; AND (2) FOR THE
PURPOSES OF AUTHORIZING THE EXCHANGE OF PARK PROPERTY FOR PRIVATE
PROPERTY; DESIGNATING THE PLACES AND MANNER OF HOLDING THE
ELECTION; AND PROVIDING FOR THE POSTING AND PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.
Whereas the voters of the City of Huntsville previously authorized the moving of the election
of Councilmembers from May to November; and
Whereas the City is required to order a municipal election to be held in November for the
purpose of electing a Mayor at -large and four Councilmembers; and
Whereas the City Charter, Section 6.09, provides that the City may by ordinance or resolution
call special elections as authorized by the laws of the State of Texas and by the City Charter; and
Whereas the City Council of the City of Huntsville has determined that it is advisable to
expand the City water facilities; and
Whereas pursuant to the contract between the City and Trinity River Authority ( "TRA ") if
the City wishes to expand the existing water facilities the City must pass a resolution authorizing the
TRA to issue additional bonds; and
Whereas the City Council of the City of Huntsville has deemed it advisable to call an election
for the purposes of authorizing the City Council to adopt a resolution approving the issuance of bonds
by the Trinity River Authority to expand the City's water facilities; and
Whereas the City Council has determined there is an encroachment of private party onto
public park property;
Whereas the City Council has deemed it advisable to exchange 0.122 acre of Eastham-
Thomason Park property for 0.037 acres of private property to resolve the encroachment and to
amend the boundaries of the Park; and
Whereas the City Charter, Section 14.13 requires that the sale of any public park land be
submitted to a vote of the qualified voters of the City; and
Whereas it is officially found and determined that the meeting at which this Ordinance is
being adopted was open to the public, and public notice of the time, place and purpose of the meeting
was given, as all required by Chapter 551, Government Code, as amended.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS, that:
SECTION 1: The facts and matters set forth in the preamble of this Ordinance are found to be true
and correct and are hereby adopted, ratified, and confirmed.
SECTION 2. The regular municipal election of the City of Huntsville, prescribed by Section 6.01 of the City
Charter, shall be held between the hours of seven (7:00) o'clock a.m. and seven (7:00) o'clock p.m. on the 8th
day of November 2011, in the City, for the purpose of electing a Mayor At -Large and four Councilmembers,
one from each of the City's four wards: (1) one, (2) two, (3) three, and (4) four.
SECTION 3. The City is hereby divided into seven (7) election precincts. The polling places for these
election precincts shall be as follows:
Precinct Polling Place
101/102 Walker County Annex; 1301 Sam Houston Avenue, Ste. 101
201/206 First Presbyterian Church; 1801 19th Street
205 Elkins Lake Conference Center; 634 Cherry Hills
301 Huntsville ISD Transportation Building; 95 Martin Luther King
401 University Heights Baptist Church; 2400 Sycamore Avenue
SECTION 4. This election shall be held in accordance with, and shall be governed by, the election laws of
the State of Texas. In all City elections, the Mayor, City Secretary or City Council shall do and perform each
act as in other elections required to be done and performed, respectively, by the County Judge, the County
Clerk, or the Commissioners' Court.
SECTION 5. A Mayor shall be selected for the City at -large by a majority vote of the registered voters of
the City. The Mayor elected shall hold office for a period of two (2) years.
SECTION 6. One Councilmember shall be selected from each of the respective ward numbers one (1), two
(2), three (3), and four (4) of the City by a majority vote of the registered voters residing within that ward. The
Councilmembers to be elected shall hold office for a period of two (2) years.
SECTION 7. The Mayor and each of the four Councilmembers shall be citizens of the United States,
qualified and registered voters of the State of Texas, residents within the present corporate limits of Huntsville
for at least twelve months immediately preceding the election, and current in payment of taxes and assessments
due to the City.
SECTION 8. Any eligible and qualified person may have his name upon the official ballot as an
independent candidate by submitting an application, which, in accordance with Texas Election Code Section
141.031, must be in writing and be signed and sworn to by the candidate and indicate the date that the
candidate swears to the application. The application shall include: the candidate's name; the candidate's
occupation; the office sought, including the ward or place number, if any; a statement that the candidate is a
United States citizen; a statement that the candidate has not been determined mentally incompetent by a final
judgment of a court; a statement that the candidate has not been finally convicted of a felony from which the
candidate has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities; the candidate's date of
birth; the candidate's residence address or, if the residence has no address, the address at which the candidate
receives mail and a concise description of the location of the candidate's residence; the candidate's length of
continuous residence in the state and in the territory from which the office sought is elected as of the date the
candidate swears to the application; a statement that the candidate is aware of the nepotism law, Texas
Government Code Chapter 573; and the statement: "I, , of Walker County, Texas, being a
candidate for the office of Councilmember, swear that I will support and defend the constitution and laws of
the United States and of the State of Texas." Such application may be filed with the Mayor or City Secretary
beginning on August 8, 2011 and must be filed not later than 5:OOpm on September 7, 2011.
SECTION 9. Municipal Election of Mayor and four Councilmembers. The order in which the names of
the candidates are to be printed on the ballot shall be determined by a drawing of the City Secretary as
provided by section 52.094 of the Texas Election Code.
The form of the ballot for the election shall be as follows:
OFFICIAL BALLOT
Regular Election
City of Huntsville, Texas
November 8, 2011
INSTRUCTION NOTE: Vote for the candidate of your choice in each race by placing an "X" in
the square beside the candidate's name.
Mayor (Vote for one)
❑ (candidate name)
❑ (candidate name)
Councilmember, Ward Number One (Vote for one)
❑ (candidate name)
❑ (candidate name)
Councilmember, Ward Number Two (Vote for one)
❑ (candidate name)
❑ (candidate name)
Councilmember, Ward Number Three (Vote for one)
❑ (candidate name)
❑ (candidate name)
Councilmember, Ward Number Four (Vote for one)
❑ (candidate name)
❑ (candidate name)
SECTION 10. On such ballot for the regular municipal election there shall appear the ballot language
for the following two propositions, with the provision permitting voters to vote "For" or "Against" on
each proposition. Such propositions shall provide as follows:
PROPOSITION NO. 1 AND BALLOT LANGUAGE FOR PROPOSITION NO. 1
FOR
AGAINST
FOR
Shall the City Council of the City of Huntsville be authorized
to adopt a resolution approving the issuance of bonds by the
Trinity River Authority for water treatment plant
improvements?
PROPOSITION NO. 2 AND BALLOT LANGUAGE FOR PROPOSITION NO. 2
The exchange of 0.122 acre of Eastham- Thomason Park Property
from the City of Huntsville, Texas, to Maria Del Carmen Martinez
for 0.037 acre to resolve encroachment and amend boundaries of
Park.
AGAINST
SECTION 11. Dee Brimer, Walker County Deputy Elections Administrator, is hereby appointed as
Deputy Early Voting Clerk, and the Walker County Annex, 1301 Sam Houston Avenue, Suite 101,
Huntsville, Texas 77340, is hereby designated as the place for early voting for the election. During the
lawful early voting period, such clerk shall keep such place for early voting open for early voting from
8:OOam - 5:OOpm, Monday through Friday, from October 24, 2011 to November 4, 2011, with extended
hours from 7:OOam - 7:OOpm on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 and on Tuesday, November 1, 2011; except
official state holidays.
SECTION 12. The Mayor and City Secretary are hereby directed to give notice of the election by:
a) causing said notice of such election to be published at least forty (40) days prior to the
date of such election in the newspaper;
b) by publishing the notice at least one time, not more than thirty (30) days nor less than ten
(10) days before the election, in the newspaper;
c) by filing with the City Secretary, for posting, a copy of said notice at least twenty -one
(21) days before the election; and
d) by posting at City Hall and the Walker County Courthouse bulletin boards notice of the
election at least twenty -one (21) days before the election.
The Mayor and City Secretary shall file with the City Secretary a copy of the notice as published, together
with the name of the newspaper and the dates of publication.
SECTION 13. It is further found and determined that in accordance with the order of this governing body
the City Secretary posted written notice of the date, place and subject of this meeting on the bulletin board
located in the City Hall, a place convenient and readily accessible to the general public, and such notice
having been so posted and remaining posted continuously for at least seventy -two (72) hours preceding the
scheduled time of such meeting. A copy of the return of such posting shall be attached to the minutes of this
meeting and shall be made a part thereof for all intents and purposes.
SECTION 14. That the Mayor and/or the City Secretary of the City of Huntsville are hereby authorized
to execute and/or issue, for an on behalf of the City, such orders, documents and forms as may, from time
to time, be promulgated by the Secretary of State of the State of Texas in conjunction with the election
herein ordained.
SECTION 15. The Mayor and/or the City Secretary and the attorney for the City are hereby authorized
and directed to make any filings required by the Federal Voting Rights Act. The Mayor and/or the City
Secretary and the attorney for the City are further authorized and directed to take any action necessary to
comply with the provisions of the Texas Elections Code, the Federal Voting Rights Act and the terms and
provisions of any Election Services Contract(s) and the Joint Election Agreement(s) in carrying out the
provisions of this Ordinance, whether or not expressly authorized herein.
SECTION 16. The City Secretary and Mayor are hereby authorized to perform all duties and take all
actions as required by any joint election agreement(s) and/or the contract(s) for election services and
election agreement that may be authorized by City Council after the passage of this Ordinance.
SECTION 17. This ordinance shall take effect from and after its passage.
PASSED AND APPROVED this 16th day of August 2011.
VE
S TO FORM:
rd Schneider, City Attorney