By Anton Riecher
During a regular meeting of the Lytle City Council Monday, Mayor Ruben Gonzalez asked members to re-evaluate the current ranking of council priorities for consideration during fiscal year 2025-2026.
“Some of these have actually been on here for years,” Gonzalez said. “Some have already been worked on, maybe taken care of, but they are still priorities based on the rankings. We’ve got to look at them individually.”
The current priorities, as officially ranked by the council, include:
Stormwater and drainage,
Water infrastructure repairs and replacement,
Replacement or maintenance of water valves around the city,
Comprehensive plan (the current plan expires this year) and code updates completion,
Wastewater treatment plant,
New water well.
Miscellaneous street paving.
Each alderman listed their priority rankings…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!
Category: Lytle City Council Meetings
Lytle council faces tough decisions on wastewater rate hike in next five years
Matthew Garrett, managing director of client relations for NewGen, offered the council rate projections for the future.
By Anton Riecher
With the number of water and sewer customers expected to grow by 700 connections in the next five years, the Lytle City Council reviewed a presentation on recommended rate projections offered by a consulting firm specializing in public sector finances.
Based on the June 16 presentation by NewGen Strategies and Solutions, Mayor Ruben Gonzalez said the council will most likely keep water rates at their present levels. However, wastewater and sewer rates may see a percentage increase in collection fees in order to fund more than $15.3 million in infrastructure expansion.
Gonzalez said the presentation drove home two important points. The first involves water.
“Basically our city is on track and where we need to be in the sense that we already had some of the major projects funded,” Gonzalez said.
Unfortunately, the second point, expansion of wastewater infrastructure, needs to be a focus of concern, he said.
“That one needed to be targeted,” Gonzalez said. “With this presentation we’re getting it down in black and white what we need to do in the near future.”
Matthew Garrett, managing director of client relations for NewGen, offered the council rate projections for the future, recommendations and “thoughts to be considered taking action in the future based on our input.”
“Obviously, the utility fund is an enterprise fund,” Garrett said. “We’d like it to be self-sufficent.”
Garrett’s entire presentation and 2025-2026 budget proposals by several city department is included in video coverage posted by the Devine News’ YouTube channel.
Lytle council reviews local water restrictions in place
Catherine Vaughn, new president of the Greater Lytle Area Chamber of Commerce, delivered an update on chamber activities to the Lytle City Council during a regular session meeting Monday.
By Anton Riecher
Meeting in regular session Monday, the Lytle City Council discussed the need to remind residents of the different restrictions that take effect at the various levels of water restriction invoked by the Edwards Aquifer Authority.
Meadows said the issue was brought home recently when EAA rescinded Stage 5 water restrictions only days after putting them in place.
“Since we are having this kind of back and forth we just wanted to again bring forth those measures that we have provided, making sure we are speaking about them and being transparent about the items listed,” he said.
For example, residential swimming pools require a permit from the city. At Stage 5, a request made to permit a swimming pool is automatically rejected, Meadows said. However, at Stage 4, a residential pool is allowed to operate but water must come from a source separate from the city water system, i.e., a private well.
After more than a year at Stage 4 in Lytle, city residents sometimes tend to…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!
Executive session…Lytle secures deal for future water needs for city
By Anton Riecher
Following a executive session, the Lytle City Council approved an agreement with the Nueces River Authority for the purchase of future water needs for the city. Travis Pruski, chief operating officer with NRA, said the sale is part of a project to provide nearly 40 million gallons to small water districts south of San Antonio.
“This is extremely important to us and to the region,” Pruski said. “We call it internally our South Texas moonshot.”
Other communities expected to be included in the project include Castroville, Hondo and Jourdanton, he said…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!
Lytle approves development agreement for hyperscaler project
By Anton Riecher
At a May 28 special meeting, the Lytle City Council voted unanimously to approve a development agreement with Rowan Digital Infrastructure as the latest step in the planned construction of a $500 million large scale build-to-suit data center slated to bring nearly 600 construction jobs to the community this summer.
“Obviously we’ve been working really closely for the last few months on multiple phases of the development that’s going to occur for the data center,” said City Administrator Zachary Meadows. “This is the next step, an actual development agreement laying out certain terms.”
The agreement lays out a schedule for annexation of the 440-acre project site located in the city’s extra territorial jurisdiction near the Coal Mine neighborhood. ETJ refers to an area surrounding the city’s corporate limits where it has powers related to land development and annexation, but not full municipal services.
According to Meadows, the agreement would impose a “carbon copy” of Lytle’s zoning regulations for industrial districts on the project. The agreement also…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!
Lytle pressures AT&T for credit due; goes into executive session to discuss water billing and acquisition/condemnation proceeding
By Anton Riecher
An ongoing struggle with AT&T regarding credit due following the cancellation of internet communication services with the city of Lytle may require legal intervention in the future, the Lytle City Council learned Monday.
Frontera Concepts president John Garza told the council that AT&T has not been forthcoming with billing credit due after the city opted to move internet communication to Rise Broadband last July. Frontera handles IT support for the city.
“We’ve made no progress up to this point other than we have submitted every piece of documentation we can possibility submit to them,” Garza said.…
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Lytle council approves Project Cinco 80% tax incentive
By Anton Riecher
An 80 percent tax abatement on real and personal property associated with the proposed Project Cinco hyperscaler data center located in the city of Lytle’s extra territorial jurisdiction was unanimously approved by the Lytle City Council Monday.
J.P. Newmann, representing Rowan Digital Infrastructure, issued the following statement after the vote.
“Rowan’s Cinco Project represents a transformational investment in the Lytle community, and we are thrilled by the city council’s vote of confidence in our project,” said Martin Romo, senior director of economic development and external affairs. “With this approved agreement, Rowan looks forward to continuing our work with local leaders to redefine digital infrastructure development and unlock tens of millions of dollars in direct economic benefit to this community.”
On a motion by District 3 Alderman David Emery, seconded by District 4 Alderman Michael Rodriguez, the council voted 5-0 to approve the abatement agreement.
However, Emery asked that the city’s legal staff review the abatement agreement before final action to make certain any reference to an original request for a 100 percent tax abatement on personal property be removed from the final document.
The abatement agreement covers the first 10 year of operation…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!
Lytle votes to update water, sewer mapping
By Anton Riecher
An agreement with an engineering consultant to update mapping of the water and sewer system in Lytle was approved by the city council Monday during its regular monthly meeting.
On a motion by District 3 Alderman David Emery, seconded by District 4 Alderman Michael Rodriguez, the council approved an agreement with San Antonio-based Cobb, Fendley & Associates for phase one of a two-phase project to update the city’s capital improvement plan.
City Administrator Zachary Meadows said the first phase will cover general mapping of the city’s water and sewer…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get INSTANT online access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!
Lytle council authorizes eminent domain in town citing “public necessity” in 3-0 vote
By Anton Riecher
This Monday, the Lytle City Council declared a “public necessity” to acquire right-of-way property along Railroad and McDonald streets for a new 12-inch water main. The action authorizes the city staff to move forward with eminent domain proceedings if the property cannot be acquired through purchase negotiations.
“We have sent initial offers for some easements that we need to acquire along that route because of the amount of utilities that are in this particular project,” City Administrator Zachary Meadows said…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get INSTANT online access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!
Project Cinco reinvestment zone approved by Lytle council
By Anton Riecher
Property expected to be home to the proposed Project Cinco data center was designated a reinvestment zone by the Lytle City Council during a March 26 special meeting, the initial move required in anticipated tax abatement action set for April.
No comments were addressed to the council during the public hearing required before the reinvestment zone vote.
City Administrator Zachary Meadows said establishing the reinvestment zone for the 440-acre site near the Coal Mine neighborhood is required under the Texas Tax Code.
“This is the first step in the request by Rowan Digital for purposes of pursuing an eventual tax abatement under (Section) 312,” he said.
On a motion by District 4 Alderman Michael Rodriguez, seconded by District 2 Alderman Richard Hughes, the council voted 4-0 to approve the reinvestment zone. District 3 Alderman David Emery was absent for the vote.
Meadows suggested that the city council serve as the board of directors for the reinvestment zone.
Project Cinco is described as a “hyperscaler” undertaking – a large scale build-to-suit data center that will provide data storage and Cloud computing services to millions of users. Rowan hopes to break ground on its $500 million facility this summer, bringing nearly 600 construction jobs to the community.
The council voted in January to extend the city extraterritorial jurisdiction to include the Project Cinco property. ETJ refers to an area surrounding the city’s corporate limits where it has powers related to land development and annexation, but not full municipal services.
Plans announced by Rowan call for requesting the city annex the property into the city limits proper.
In December, Medina County commissioners unanimously approved an 80 percent property tax break covering the initial 10 years of Project Cinco. Rowan predicts that the facility will yield a $3.6 billion economic impact on Medina County over 20 years.
It is also expected to yield tens of millions in tax revenue shared by Medina County, the city of Lytle, the Lytle and Natalia school districts and other local authorities. School districts may not enter into abatement agreements.
Action on the actual Lytle tax abatement is scheduled for April 28, Meadows said…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING AT www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get INSTANT access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!