March 23, 2007 10:32 pm
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By Tommy Mann Jr.
The Orange Leader
VIDOR — City council members approved the sale of a tax trust property at Thursday’s council meeting which has been a hot topic of debate for several months.
The vacant property was sold to Southeast Texas Enterprises, Inc. for a bid of $11,000. Originally Sam Paradice, a Vidor real estate investor, offered a bid of approximately $5,500 last fall.
At the time, the City of Vidor declined the bid although six of the other seven involved taxing entities owed money from that property had already approved Paradice’s bid.
Instead, some of the city council members came up with the idea to see if it was possible to donate the property to non-profit groups such as Habitat for Humanity or Nehemiah’s Vision and let them build a new house to be added onto the tax roll at a later date.
The dispute between the city of Vidor and Paradice escalated to the point where the legalities of the move were discussed and came before the Orange County commissioners.
However, Thursday’s approval of releasing the property to Southeast Texas Enterprises resolves the situation.
In other news, City Manager Ricky Jorgensen council approved the list of streets for the 2007 road rehabilitation project.
“We’ve decided on five streets, plus an alternative at this time,” Jorgensen said. “We have approved $283,377 towards this project for Vaughn Lane, Southdale Street, Moore Street, Ward Street and Burt Street.”
Jorgensen said Laura Lane had been selected as an alternate street for the project in case things change and one street is not included. He also said the city has set aside another 7 percent or $17,304 as a contingency in case bids come back too high.
Jorgensen said the streets will be made of asphalt and paving is expected to begin in late May or early June and be completed by the time school starts in summer.
In more city news, the city and Randall Scott Architects, Inc. agreed on architectural services for the Vidor City Hall Project.
“The city attorney is going to look over the contract, which is expected to go in front of council at our next meeting on April 12th,” Jorgensen said. “We’re still looking for a site and we hope to have a list we can narrow down to a couple of potential sites by then too.”
Also at Thursday’s meeting, council members re-adopted the curfew and compulsory school attendance ordinance for minors.
According to information provided by the Vidor Police Department, the ordinance pertains to minors under the age of 17.
Created in 1994, the ordinance restricts minors from being in public between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily Sunday through Thursday, and then from 12:30 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
A parent or guardian can be charged for the offense if knowingly permitting or having insufficient control over the minor if the child is within city limits during curfew hours and does not meet criteria which allow such a presence.
This includes if the child is accompanied by a parent or guardian or authorized adult, involved in an emergency, engaged in employment activity or going to or returning from employment without detour or stopping, attending a school or religious event supervised by adults, married or on the sidewalk abutting the minor’s residence or neighbors residence if the neighbor did not complain.
The compulsory school attendance section of the ordinance prohibits minors between the ages of six and 16 from being “any place within the city” except at school between the hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., unless the student is accompanied by a parent or guardian or has a written note from school authorities excusing the student.
Violating this ordinance is a Class C misdemeanor and punishable by a fine not to exceed $500.
Reach this reporter at 409-883-3571, ext. 2619 or tmann@orangeleader.com
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