(New topics will be added periodically)
It is important for residents to understand the terminology used when Council, City Manager and Bexar Co. refer to our property tax rates. The link below provides information extracted from the Bexar County website (01.21.2024) which compares tax rates of Universal City to surrounding cities.
Through an ORR our City provided raw data for Convention Center utilization for 1467 days of operation between 2018-2022. The link provides a snapshot of Convention Center Utilization for the reported period. During the reporting period, the Convention Center hosted 644 events (43.9% overall utilization). 55% were corporate events, 26% were weddings, and 19% personal events (examples: birthdays, the celebration of life, etc.).
Neither the Council nor the Parks Committee was presented with a summary of Snowfest information in 2023. The information in the link below was derived from an Open Records Request and presented to the Council and Parks Committee. The analysis is limited to the information provided by the City.
25 May 2021 Survey Team Findings:
Council Meetings: The Resident was onsite during the sewer (2021) survey and made multiple presentations at Citizens to be Heard regarding our City’s sewer infrastructure needs.
22 Mar 2023 City stated in writing: “There are no collapsed sewer lines within your neighborhood or anywhere else in Universal City.”
28 Mar 2023 Met with the Director of Public Works who seemed for the first time review the 2021 survey video. Public works states the video shows a “break” rather than a “collapse” stating some water is still flowing. At that time the City committed to a “spot repair”, however, no work order was issued and the status of the sewer upstream from the break/collapse has yet to be determined. No work order issued at this time.
12 May 2023 Follow-up with the City: “We haven’t forgotten about the sewer line repair work. The sewer line is still flowing without any backup and will address the spot repair as soon as time allow for my Utility crews. No work order issued at this time.
24 Jan 2024 Work order status: No work order issued at this time.
08 Feb 2024 Repair completed. This repair was started after a 6-foot sinkhole was identified 95-100 feet upstream from this site which was a separate city sewer line problem. (See sinkhole video)
Resident note: The collapse is 105 feet downstream from the manhole in which the survey could not be performed due to packed debris, therefore flowing water seeping through the collapse does not mean that sewage is not backing up into residents' lines. Multiple sags and fractures were noted in the survey between these manholes. Approximately 30% of sewer lines in our City are greater than 50 years old and of the old clay tile.
Note: Time to repair: From sewer survey (2.7 years). From commitment to “spot repair” (314 days, 10.5 months).
Recommendation: If a work order is not issued at the time a problem is identified, residents should be provided with a dated "ticket number" for follow-up and a time frame to address the issue. If Public Works is unable to handle the issue in a timely fashion, alternatives to Public Works solutions should be presented to the Council or addressed by the City Manager.