Alice Council Approves Rezoning, Police Contract, Regional Water Agreement

The Alice City Council met December 2 and approved a series of routine and substantive items that touch housing, public safety and utility operations. The council rezoned Jesus Lopez Addition Number 1, Lot 1, Block 2 at the corner of Cecilia and S. Reynolds from V1 to R1 to permit single family use after a public hearing in which staff reported notices were mailed to nearby property owners and no objections were returned. The zoning change clears the way for residential development on a currently unimproved parcel, affecting neighborhood planning and future property tax considerations.

Council members ratified a two year collective bargaining agreement between the city and the Alice Police Officers Association covering fiscal years 2026 to 2028. The contract provides pay increases, imposes stricter testing requirements, and contains a reappointment provision that allows returning officers to retain prior years of service under specified conditions. The agreement carries implications for the city budget, officer retention and standards for recruitment and reappointment.

On intergovernmental cooperation, the council executed an interlocal memorandum of understanding with the Texas Department of Public Safety to formalize mutual assistance, and approved a regional interlocal with Corpus Christi, Beeville and Mathis to share engineering, testing and emergency water and wastewater resources. The regional arrangement allows smaller cities to access Corpus Christi engineering and testing capacity for well design and emergency testing. Council discussion flagged governance issues, noting that project level letters or manager level commitments that exceed the city manager s authority will return to council for review and approval.

The council authorized staff to apply for an Office of the Governor grant of approximately $66,000 to outfit six patrol vehicles with bullet resistant components. It also approved awards for chemical supply contracts for chlorine and sulfur dioxide under IFB 2025 004, with staff recommending PVS DX and Chemtrade as vendors. Most items passed by voice vote and the meeting concluded with routine business and a holiday adjournment.

These decisions will affect local public finance, public safety capabilities and the operational resilience of water systems. The regional interlocal in particular expands technical capacity for emergency testing but underscores the need for clear council oversight when manager level commitments cross predefined thresholds.