The August meetings · City Council, P&Z and EDC
What happened at City Hall this month, for folks who'd rather not read 13 pages of minutes. Short version: somebody caught a typo worth fifty grand, food trucks got rules, and Chick-fil-A has been looking around town.
Story of the month
$56,000 → $5,600
While going over next year's budget, the council found a clerical error: the Municipal Court Clerk fees line said $56,000 when it should have said $5,600. Fixing it freed up about $50,000. The council agreed to send $40,000 of it to the Nevada Volunteer Fire Department as a donation, and most of the rest (about $9,000–10,000) to community events, bringing that budget to about $11,500.
This was a budget discussion, not the final vote. The budget came up for adoption on September 8.
City Council · Tuesday, August 4 · 7:05 to 9:37 PM
A little lower than last year's $0.221460. See the box below for what it means for a typical bill.
Moved by Mike Laye, seconded by Amanda Wilson.
The Mobile Food Vendor ordinance passed after a rewrite in July that cleared up where trucks may set up in residential areas.
Moved by Amanda Wilson, seconded by Mike Laye.
102 Center Street was rezoned to Neighborhood Service for a trading card, sports card and collectibles shop. The plan includes kids' activities and maybe a fall pumpkin patch. The EDC already has a ribbon cutting on its to-do list.
Moved by Mike Laye, seconded by Amanda Wilson. P&Z recommended it 4–0 on July 28.
A new Texas law requires every city to allow manufactured homes in at least one residential zone. The council chose the quarter-acre single-family district because it is the smallest and most built-out, so few lots are left where this could happen. Septic, setback and lot-size rules still apply.
Moved by Mike Laye, seconded by Paul Baker.
The city hired Strategos Commercial Power Consulting to handle its electricity rates.
Moved by Mike Laye, seconded by Paul Baker.
The council turned down a petition to release land from the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) and a petition to disannex land from the city.
ETJ: moved by Mike Laye, seconded by Derrick Little. Disannexation: moved by Mike Laye, seconded by Paul Baker.
The council ended its agreement with Collin County for rebuilding Eugene Lane, so the city will do the project itself. To pay for it, the city will dip into its savings. According to the August 4 minutes, the proposed budget would draw about $1.2 million from savings, most of it for this road. That's money saved up over past years, not extra tax collected this year.
Moved by Amanda Wilson, seconded by Derrick Little.
Side-setback variances for carports on Amber Lane and Cedar Elm Lane. Neighbors spoke in favor.
Amber Lane: moved by Amanda Wilson, seconded by Clayton Laughter.
Draft idea: a resident asks, the city sets its speed sign on the street for 30 days, and the results decide who pays. A real hazard means the city pays, a moderate one means shared cost, and below the line the requester pays. It goes to the council's Q3 strategy meeting next.
Mayor Deering said he did not support the city joining, and suggested the EDC could join on its own. (It did vote to; see the EDC section.)
Your tax bill
From the taxpayer impact statement on the September 8 agenda, for the median-valued homestead in town:
| Year | Median home | Rate per $100 | Est. city tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last year (2025) | $439,485 | 0.221460 | $973.28 |
| This year (2026) | $435,755 | 0.219135 | $954.89 |
About $18 less for the typical home. In state-law terms the new rate is still above the "no-new-revenue" rate (0.209403), so it officially counts as a tax increase: total city property tax goes up $25,800 (4.91%), and $7,249 of that comes from new homes added to the rolls.
Eugene Lane watch
Anyone who drives Eugene Lane knows it. Low cars scrape, trucks rattle, and the potholes come back faster than they get patched. Help is on the way.
We'll update this box every issue until the new pavement is down. Your shock absorbers thank the council in advance.
Around City Hall
Repairs on East Street, West Street, Eugene Lane and CR 591/592. CR 589 needs about 10 tons of asphalt. A quote for East Street was due the next day, and the downtown drainage project is underway.
The city attorney is finishing a contract to use the Collin County jail for municipal court cases.
The council talked about billing property owners for enforcement costs. More review to come.
Planning & Zoning · Tuesday, July 28
EDC President Bruce Mathews briefed P&Z on the city's retail recruiter. They pitched Nevada at a national retail convention in Las Vegas and contacted about 20 companies. The number one reason companies passed: no public sewer system.
The fix in the works is a federal Economic Development Administration grant. The grant firm says applications like ours succeed about 95% of the time. The project is estimated at $5–6 million, and the government would pay 80%. The EDC plans to cover the city's 20% share with a bank loan repaid from grant reimbursements. A decision could come by Thanksgiving, or early January at the latest.
Where the pipe would go, from the EDC's July minutes: about 2.5 miles of sewer line, west to east from the Post Office to the east city limits, and north to south from the high school down to FM 6, with a treatment plant at the east end of town.
P&Z also recommended the Center Street card shop rezoning 4–0, after checking parking, ADA access and fire code. Coming up for P&Z: zoning ordinance amendments, a strategic master plan and updates to the Future Land Use Map.
Economic Development Corporation · Tuesday, August 11
The whole story in the minutes is one line: Chick-fil-A "visited Nevada and will visit again to meet Nevada City Council." The minutes don't say who came, what they looked at, or whether a particular site is in mind. Nothing is promised.
Read it alongside the sewer story above. National chains keep telling our recruiter that the missing piece is sewer, so a second visit to meet the council probably means they're watching how that grant turns out. That part is our guess, not something from the minutes.
Want to know more? The EDC meets Tuesday, October 13, at 7 PM at City Hall, with "Retail Strategies update" on the agenda and time for public comment. Bruce Mathews is the person to ask.
The recruiter set up an online "base camp" with all of the town's info for retailers, and will pitch Nevada at the Retail Live conference. Bruce Mathews gave them 20 companies to go after.
Requests for a grant administrator and an engineering firm went out through the city secretary.
An EDC member will join the Lavon Area Chamber of Commerce.
Amanda Wilson and Noah Samuel stepped down from the EDC board (Noah is moving to Indiana). Travis Wilson was voted on to fill a seat, pending council approval.
Fire department corner
Chief Chavez Wilson wasn't able to attend, so there was no fire report this month. When the chief reports to the council, we'll share his call numbers here.
When someone in Nevada calls 911 at 3 AM, the people who show up are our neighbors. They leave dinner, family and sleep to do it. That covers wrecks on SH 78 and FM 6, grass fires, a neighbor who has fallen and can't get up, and a lot of medical calls. They have to be ready for all of it. The council's $40,000 donation is a good start, and in July Mayor Deering arranged a donation of scrap fire hydrants for the station to use as a barrier along its property line. The rest of us can say thank you when we see them. If you see the truck go by, give them a wave.
On deck
Budget and tax rate adoption, with public hearings on both.
Fire protection agreement with Collin County ESD No. 1. The district budgeted $5.25 million for fire service contracts and volunteer departments.
A $750,000 Texas Department of Agriculture grant for water, sewer, streets or drainage, with only a 2% city match.
Fences: a second look at the rule that fence materials must be uniform.
Animal shelter: a revised agreement with Collin County, with an updated fee schedule.
Travis Wilson's EDC appointment, and a carport variance on Cedar Elm Lane.
What happened on Sept 8 will be in next issue, once those minutes are posted. The October 6 council meeting was cancelled for lack of a quorum. The EDC meets Tuesday, October 13, at 7 PM at City Hall. On the agenda: retail recruiting, the grant and an EDC logo.
Thank-you board
Made seven of the motions on August 4, from the tax rate to the card shop to keeping Nevada in one piece. A long night in a seat that doesn't pay.
Seconded the energy consultant, the manufactured-housing fix and the disannexation denial. Steady hands on the hard ones.
Seconded the Amber Lane carport, and back in July he moved to create the Keep Nevada Beautiful commission. Thanks for both.
Walked the council through next year's budget and found the fire station its hydrant barrier.
As Mayor Pro Tem she moved the food truck ordinance and the motion ending the county's Eugene Lane agreement, and keeps recruiting neighbors for Keep Nevada Beautiful, P&Z and the EDC. She also served on the EDC board until August.
Seconded four motions on August 4, including turning down the ETJ release petition and ending the county agreement so the city can rebuild Eugene Lane itself.
The EDC president is behind the sewer grant push, the 20-company retail list and that Chick-fil-A visit. He also leads the invocation at council meetings.
Chaired a two-hour P&Z meeting on July 28, signs the EDC minutes as its secretary, and gives the P&Z report at council. Three hats, all volunteer.
Potholes tracked, grant notices posted, three boards' agendas and minutes kept, and the paperwork that makes all of the above possible. The city office keeps this town running.
And thank you to everyone who volunteers their time: the Mayor and City Council (all unpaid), the P&Z commissioners (Russell Newton, Anthony Moschella, Rex Adams and Travis Wilson), the EDC board (Bruce Mathews, Rocky Turner, Walt Newell, Amanda Saucedo, Russell Newton, Travis Wilson, and Amanda Wilson and Noah Samuel for their service). And thank you to the firefighters of the Nevada Volunteer Fire Department for always showing up.