It is easy to fall in love with November in Nolanville. The cooler weather signals the beginning of many holiday festivities and makes it perfect for enjoying the outdoors. Now is a perfect time to visit and enjoy the City’s newest outdoor recreation area, the Avenue G Skate Path. Located near City Hall, this new sidewalk with skate-able elements has already seen its fair share of bike, skateboard, and roller blading enthusiasts.
As we head into the holiday season, I urge you to keep in mind our friends and neighbors who may be constrained during these times. The City continues to work hard on initiatives toward stable, affordable, and healthy housing. Our community members can do their part by looking out for their neighbors. Simple acts of kindness such as donating to the food Pantry, contributing to a utility bill for someone going through a crisis, or helping someone with an essential home repair will make an impact locally and truly demonstrate that we are a community that cares.
Finally, I want to take a minute and recognize the Nolanville Fire Department on completing their first month of service to our residents and community. As your mayor, it is inspiring to witness the dedication and commitment exhibited by our City Staff and Fire Chief, Robert Cunningham, in ensuring the seamless launch of our new fire department. Let us continue to support them as they work to protect our community. Together we make Nolanville a safe and great place to live!
Dear Residents of Nolanville,
I hope this letter finds you enjoying the summer season as much as I am. As Mayor of our wonderful city, I wanted to share some exciting news about the upcoming events and developments taking place. With summer in full swing, our dedicated staff members are diligently preparing for this year's Fox Trot 5K and Train Whistle Jamboree, both of which will transport us back to the roaring 20s with their captivating theme. There is still time to sign up to run, jog or walk in this year’s 5K and registration can be found at Fox Trot - CENTEX Race Series (runsignup.com). Both of these events promise to be a delightful experience for all participants.
In addition, I am pleased to announce that Nolanville continues to grow and thrive economically. We have recently welcomed three new businesses to our city, Sura Korean and Sushi, The Cookie Plug and Legacy Beach Therapies. Additionally, there are more ventures in the works. It's an encouraging sign of progress and growth for our community.
I am delighted to share that our new City Gateway signs are nearing completion. These signs were a joint project between the City and the Nolanville Economic Development Corporation and serve as a warm welcome to all who travel down I-14 to or through Nolanville. They are a testament to our commitment to creating a vibrant and inviting atmosphere for residents and visitors alike.
Lastly, we are about to conclude the final part of our Texas Parks and Wildlife Park grant, which will bring new playground equipment to Monarch Park. To celebrate this achievement, we will soon be organizing a ribbon-cutting ceremony in September. This is expected to be our final large project for our beloved park. This means we can focus our grant efforts into other greenspaces in the City, beginning with Fox Park on 10th Street beginning in October.
As always, I am grateful for your continued support and enthusiasm for our community. Let's embrace the summer spirit together and make these upcoming events and developments memorable for years to come.
Andy Williams
Mayor of Nolanville
Our annual budget results from the combined efforts of the City Council, Management, and Department Heads to allocate the City's financial resources to meet municipal government functions, responsibilities, and goals established by the Nolanville Community in its Comprehensive Plan. While the primary purpose of the budget is to maintain existing levels of service, the staff remains focused on adapting capabilities to serve our rapidly growing community best. The proposed budget can be reviewed at: https://www.nolanvilletx.gov/page/Financial%20Transparency You can provide comments to a Councilmember or at a regular meeting on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month in July before it is approved.
Current Year’s Fiscal Accomplishments
The City was fortunate to sustain the momentum of receiving grant funding which led to a year consisting of project execution. Two TxDOT funded projects are currently under construction which are named 439 Connectivity and Old Nolanville Road Bridge Project. Both projects prioritize human powered transportation and fill in gaps to our existing sidewalk inventory, connecting pedestrian traffic to safe access along Main Street. The Governor’s Community Achievement Award consisting of $130,000 in landscaping was awarded in May and plans are to enhance the Wonderpass to showcase our love for Public Art and our Community. Many thanks to our volunteers and Keep Nolanville Beautiful for this amazing accomplishment.
The fourth Texas Parks & Wildlife (TPW) funded project for Monarch Park was completed during Fiscal Year 22-23 which provided replacement for playground equipment, pavilion and other amenities. The City was notified an additional award from TPW to rehabilitate the playground, add an obstacle course and also includes a new skate park to Fox Park for FY 23-24. The SMART Museum (previously JW Sims Community Center) renovation is nearly complete utilizing American Rescue funding. Programming is underway to make this a regional resource to promote environmental sustainability and protection with the use of technology. Exhibits will provide linkage to career exploration within our local educational institutions. Texas A&M-Central Texas and Central Texas College have shown overwhelming support and interest in the project. The Economic Development Corporation will assist in propelling this as a regional asset that not only provides economic benefit but also a point of pride for the community.
More information on objectives for these projects can be found in the Capital Improvement Plan that is included in the budget.
I can’t think of any one item that makes me more proud of the accomplishments on Main Street than seeing a swarm of Monarchs trading places on Greg’s Blue Mist Flowers during migration. The migration of the monarch is one of the most remarkable phenomena in the natural world, and interstate 35 falls within the central flyway.
The monarch population has declined by approximately 90 percent since the 1990s. National awareness of this decline is one of the reasons that we hold a Monarch Festival in the Spring during migration and have named our largest park after this beautiful species.
Please join us in the park to dawn on your wings, participate in our color run, and plant nectar plants in the scent garden.
If you are interested in planting suitable habitat to help conservation efforts, you can you the guide from the National Wildlife Federation at the following link:
https://www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/About/Native-Plants/Monarch-Nectar-Guides
The Texas weather has remained consistently inconsistent, but there is still no place we would rather be!
The winter weather came and went. Fortunately, we are well-practiced in the art of remote operations during dangerous driving conditions. With this being our third ice-related weather event in as many years, we already have techniques and procedures for preparing the community for this type of weather. We sent out early tips regarding weatherizing exposed pipes and irrigation at home. We began sanding bridges in advance and have post-cleanup procedures in place for fallen limbs and lines. City Staff knew their role and performed it well. That goes for our other essential services providers Central Bell County Fire & Rescue, Acadian Ambulance, and of course, WCID #3. The entire Nolanville Community can agree that we are very fortunate to have these critical working relationships during times of distress. Thank you for doing the routine tasks well so that when inclement weather returns, we are always ready.
Nolanville Blue Christmas activities were a great time this year, and I hope you were able to join us for the fun.
This year, stability in the housing market came to the forefront. We saw median average home prices skyrocket, and available inventory became practically non-existent. It made us assess where we stand on ensuring that our community members don't become homeless because of unforeseen circumstances. That is why the stable home advisory committee was formed, and we consult with the council on various objectives to prevent homelessness. We will keep a pulse on actions taken within the region on this topic and intend to collaborate on these efforts.
We have heard testimonies during Council meetings over rental conditions in one of our neighborhoods. Council and Staff were able to formulate a plan quickly to prevent the future abuse of rent-to-own properties through required inspections during all future transactions. Thank you to the brave residents that were willing to express the hardships that they were experiencing so we could better understand.
We should all be thankful for warm houses and the ability to take care of family. Additionally, when we are blessed in this way, it is appropriate to check on our neighbors and ensure that we have each other's back during hard times. Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
November in Texas is truly one of the best months of the year and is also my Birthday month. The cooler weather signals the beginning of many holiday festivities and makes it perfect for enjoying the outdoors.
While we gear up for the season, let’s keep in mind those that are less fortunate and may be constrained during these times. The City is working on initiatives toward stable, affordable, and healthy housing. Our community members can do their part by looking out for their neighbors. Simple acts of kindness such as donating to the food pantry, contributing to a utility bill for someone going through a crisis, or helping someone with an essential home repair will make an impact locally and truly demonstrate that we are a community that cares. Learn more about the City’s Stable Housing Committee (Resolution drafted, available soon!).
On that same note, Make a Difference Day is November 5th. We’ll have a jam-packed day of community service projects to include tree planting, litter clean up, and assisting with bulk drop off.
The cooler temperatures are on their way, and we look forward to enjoying the great outdoors with the Community. On October 4th, make sure you take a moment to get to know your neighbors, meet your Police Officers and give your Political Representatives feedback on the City.
National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer and more caring places to live. You can meet us at Monarch Park that night or set up your grill at the house; invite the neighbors.
The best way to prevent crime and keep Nolanville "A Great Place to Live" is to know your neighbors and surroundings.
As I talk about our upcoming event, I can't help but send a huge thank you to those that made our last events, the Fox Trot 5K & Train Whistle Jamboree, a huge success. Thank you to all the City Staff, dedicated volunteers, and community sponsors who put their hearts and souls into that day. Without you, all these wonderful community events could never occur.
Finally, there are many ways to provide your feedback to enhance the Community. One of the most direct ways is to come to a City Council meeting; I promise that you will be greeted by serval Councilmembers and Staff eager to get to know more citizens of our great City that strives to maintain our small-town charm.
It is an honor to serve as the Mayor for Nolanville and to live in a City that is home to so many of our active duty and retired military, similar to myself. The Council and I strive to continuously improve the quality of life in Nolanville in order maintain our small-town atmosphere.
We have made some great strides in pride and place identification. Our pedestrian mobility improved and increased the safety in one of our more established areas. Avenue H and Mesquite Street increased capacity through the addition of bike lanes and sidewalks. Neighborhood identification was added, as well as bus shelter areas. You’ll notice some traffic island along Mesquite that are meant to slow down drivers that are traveling to the City’s largest park. The combination of these elements are considered “Complete Streets” and is how we intend to approach every project. We will move construction to Northwest side of the City in September, adding sidewalks to connect to Main Street, directing walkers off of the Spur and onto a safer route.
The Staff is gearing up to host the Annual Fox Trot and Jamboree on September 24th. Please save the date and spend time getting to know your neighbors.
If you are looking to make a difference in the community, November 5th is our designated “Make a Difference Day.” There will be planned activities to enhance pocket parks on St. John Street and Ryan Circle. If you would like to take part or host an event in your area, let us know by calling 254 698 6335. Lastly, if you would like to see someone in your community recognized, send me their information to cityhall@nolanvilletx.gov
Straight from the Mayors desk, right to your fingertips! Stay tuned for the Mayors corner, a monthly note from the Mayor of Nolanville, Andy Williams.