The new members of the city council started their terms by tackling a hot item on the agenda, the issue concerning the location of the Llano Skate Park.

The skate park committee had narrowed suggestions to three locations; Grenwelge Park, Badu Park, and behind the Fire Hall.

The committee had submited a list of pros and cons of each location hoping that their first choice would be approved by the council.

Grenwelge Park is probably the best site for the skate park because it has the best terrain but right now the committee is willing to go with anything, just to give the kids a place to skate,” said Eugene Long, committee chairman.

A couple of citzens voiced their concerns and suggestions about the prospective locations of the park.

Mark Sewell voiced his concern that the park was too close to the bridge and would be dangerous for the skaters.

He said for the kids to skate at Grenwelge Park, they would have to cross the street by Nailhead Spur, which is very dangerous.

He also voiced that skateboarding is a dangerous sport and that people who pass by the park should not be the only supervision to the park.

Nita Fields, who was asked to serve on the Llano Skate Park Committee, answered Sewell’s concerns about how the committee is considering the other locations suggested.

“We are not hung up on Grenwelge Park, even though that is our first preference,” said Fields. “The main thing is we would like to see an organized place where the kids can skate that will get them off the streets, off people’s parking lots, and off the sidewalks; where they have a place to practice this sport in a safe manner.”

Fields explained the reason for choosing Grenwelge was that the sport takes place outdoors and the kids would get hot and will need access to water. These locations already have the needed facilities.

She went on to say that the locations were centrally located, allowing parents to easily drop kids off and pick them up again.

Alderwoman LaNell McKinney agreed with Fields that the locations were ideal and parents who drop their kids off and pick them up would be the supervision needed for the park.

Bill Miller and John Smith voiced their concerns that if the skate park were located at Grenwelge Park, it would not benefit and might even hurt the community.

Miller also said that since the park would be visible from the bridge that if one of the kids “wiped-out” that it would probably be distracting to the drivers.

Mayor Roger Pinckney said he had recieved phone calls from Buttery’s that the location behind the fire hall would not be a good place because the trucks are always coming and going from the warehouse.

Mayor Pinckney expressed his choice would be the location at Badu Park.

Alderman Mike Hazel said he didn’t like the Badu Park location because access for the ambulance would be almost impossible during certain times of the day, also registered sex offenders live in that area, and he, personally, would have an issue with putting kids in that area.

Alderman Mike Reagor liked the location behind the fire hall because other sporting events had been held there, but he thought the Badu Park would be a better choice.

Alderman Reagor made a motion to use Badu Park as a first option and if things didn’t work out engineering-wise then other options would have to be considered.

The motion passed 3-2. Mike Reagor, Cheryl Crabtree, and LaNell McKinney voted for the Badu Park location and Mike Hazel and Eddie Stefan were opposed.

Another item was a proclamation for the Million Word Reader Project at Llano Schools. This project was an effort to promote the importance of reading. Twenty students read a million words or more, four read two million words plus and one read three million words plus. The students who met the goals were: Blake Ashely, Nicole Kohn, Justyn Tedder, Cooper Montgomery, Raychel Beasley, Jason Hinton, Ashely Roberts, Colton Center, Kenna Willis, Evan Wheeler, Kortney Kelso, Baylee Glover, Shelby McIntosh, Cole Polley, Rachel Mithofer, Kathryn Cunningham, Collin Carter, Joseph Pirie, Alexis Shaw, and Kierra Gray.

Along with a new council, a new time was approved for the regularly scheduled meetings. The Llano City Council will now meet at 5:30 p.m. instead of 5 p.m.

The city council also approved Cheryl Crabtree to be appointed as Mayor Pro Tem, since she had served in that position before.

Another item on the agenda was to grant a request of $2,500 from the Hotel/Motel tax fund to spend on advertising for the 2008 Llano County Rodeo.

Lynda Kuder, finance director, told Mayor Pinckney that only $2,000 remained unallocated in the hotel/motel tax funds and that only $1,000 could be allocated for the rodeo. The council approved giving $1,000 to the rodeo.

The council also approved a motion to appoint Ervin Light, Jr. to fill the vacancy for the Llano Planning/Zoning Board. Eddie Stefan was also appointed the be the City Council Representative on the Personnel Working Group.

A time limit for business sign removal was up for discussion on the agenda. The council discussed that when a store goes out of business the owner must remove the sign on the building in a timely manner.

The last issue to be discussed and considered is future uses for the Ford Street property. Alderwoman McKinney suggested that the property be turned into a public rest area and an information center with directions to different business and restaurants around Llano. She also discussed the possiblity of using the property as a parking lot. Even though this issue was discussed in depth, the item was tabled.