Issue #8
VARIANCES PULLED
For the second time this year, the developer of The Enclave at Riverbend has withdrawn variance requests for the proposed 114-home subdivision.
In January the developer requested blanket variances that would increase the maximum size of the home on every lot and increase the percentage of the lot that can be covered from 40% to 50%.
Both were denied by Planning and Zoning, and City Council.
Those amended variances were brought back to P&Z Tuesday. Read what changes were made and what concerns the commissioners still have in our latest news article.
"I get that this was developed in a way that it's going to put more homes in Smithville. But I don't understand why we should bend and break our ordinances to match what the builder wants.”
~Planning and Zoning Chairman Garrett Gutierrez
Coach of the Week
While we (im)patiently wait for MLB’s Opening Day (22 days!) the high school baseball season is well underway. And Smithville’s head baseball coach Caleb Murrile is already racking up awards.
We sat down with Coach M, as the kids call him, to discuss earning Coach of the Week honors, his coaching philosophy, and why his players have to do pushups if they make an errant throw in our latest story.
Sonic in Smithville
Sonic’s cherry limeades and chili cheese coneys are headed to Smithville — as soon as interest rates drop.
Find out what familiar face is opening the new Truck Stop at FM 153, and when we can expect to fill up on tater tots and foot-longs in our latest development brief.
Downtown Construction
We’re all getting used to driving into downtown and navigating the uneven roads, unpaved edges, and mud or dust (depending on the weather). But why are they even torn up in the first place?
We spoke with the City Manager to get your answer, and spoke with some businesses about the impact in a news article from late last week.
Support Local Journalism
We’ve received a lot of emails asking how to support our journalism, so this week we’ve added a tip jar to our newsletter.
We appreciate any support you can give, so if you don’t have the means, please don’t stress! (Egg prices are stressful enough) You can also support our work by forwarding this email to a friend and sharing our articles on Facebook.
Opening Day
This Saturday the Smithville Little League will hold their Opening Day ceremonies. They will have food and equipment vendors on site and a great lineup of activities for the kids.
10a: Presentation of Teams (parade)
11a: Fastest base running
11:30a: Fastest pitch (with a radar gun!)
Noon: Home Run Derby
There will also be an adult home run derby after the kids, and our publisher will be on site to swing for the fences. Come say hi!
From the Publisher:
I went to the city’s website last Wednesday afternoon, and when I scrolled through the “Latest News” section, I noticed a new addition: State of the City
My heart dropped, and a moment of sheer terror set in.
The State of the City is, much like the State of the Union at the federal level, one of the biggest policy speeches of the year. It’s where leaders celebrate their accomplishments of the past year and define their vision moving forward.
How did I miss that this was happening?
I’m signed up for every Notify Me the city sends out.
There were no notices about the speech.
I checked the calendar on the city website.
There wasn’t anything for that day.
I checked the city’s Facebook page.
No mention of the city manager giving a State of the City or any way to stream it.
I pulled up February’s City Manager’s Report, and sure enough, the very last line of the report:
In journalism, we call that “burying the lede.”
And as a reporter, buried or not, it’s my job to make sure I not only know what’s going on but am there to cover it. I didn’t do that, Smithville, and that’s a huge miss I have to own up to.
One of the biggest complaints I’ve heard in Smithville is that “no one knows what’s going on.” It is, in fact, the main reason I started Smithville Texas News.
The irony of me not being aware of not just an event, but the biggest policy speech of the year, is not lost on me.
And I can’t get past the fact that the only way I — or any resident of Smithville — could know what their tax dollars had gone to or will be going to is if we could take a day off in the middle of the workweek and pay $30.
How did no one from the city, an elected official or someone from the chamber not think about marketing this to every tax-paying resident? Not stream it live or record it for the city’s YouTube channel?
To be clear, I don’t think this was malicious. I don’t think anyone sat around and thought about how to keep the information from the public or the press. But how much time was spent ensuring every tay-paying resident had access to this event?
When you have failures — and I consider this my failure as well — the only thing you can do is take the lesson and move forward. I’ve signed up for the chamber newsletter to get a visual on their events, and I’m working with the city manager to write stories about what he shared in this critical report to the public.
This community has been clear about its desire for better communication. So I hope the city, chamber and our elected officials take this opportunity to review their communications strategy so not only the press, but every resident can be informed in the future.
Looking forward to see what we can build together,
~K
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Kristen Meriwether
Publisher, SmithvilleTexasNews.com
Kristen@smithvilletexasnews.com
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Follow us on X @NewsSmithville
