Published: July 02, 2008 05:39 pm            

Bullard mayor stepping down

Special to The Progress

A.W. Hines announced Tuesday he is stepping down as mayor of Bullard effective Aug. 1.

Hines said he made the decision to resign a month ago. He said he has done everything he has set out to do as mayor and now he’s satisfied that the leadership of the city will continue in what he sees as the positive direction it has been going in the last several years.

“This is not a decision I made lightly,” Hines said. “I spent hours of introspection and prayer, but I’d never leave if I didn’t know the city was on the right track with capable leaders in place to keep us going in the direction we’ve been headed.”

The City Council will appoint an interim mayor in August to finish Hines’ term. Bullard will vote on a mayor in May 2009.

Hines began his municipal service as a council member in 2004 and was re-elected in 2006. In 2007 he ran unopposed for mayor.

“The reason I ran initially was simple,” Hines said. “Although I develop property in several areas of the state, Bullard really felt like home, and I felt it my duty to help improve it.”

Even though Hines was a developer, he was instrumental in laying down more regulations and inspection requirement, all of which affected his own project, Pecan Valley Ranch.

He and the council also spread these regulations to the city’s extra territorial jurisdiction — the portion of land outside the city limits that most people realize will one day soon be annexed to the city.

“As a developer — with projects all over Texas — I adhere to many rules, none of which I saw when I started in Bullard,” Hines said.



How it began

“You have people who think they bought their dream house only a few years ago,” he said. “But in a time when no one was watching, some got by with shoddy building, plumbing and more.

“In 20 years, homeowners will watch these houses collapse,” Hines said.

That’s why one of Hines’ first priorities was to get strong codes in place to protect both the city and home buyers.

“They are by no means stringent,” he said. “In fact, much of it was based on the city of Tyler’s rules.

Hines included in the code that all new streets, curbs and gutters meet or exceed the new standards of the codes. The code now requires an engineer be hired to inspect all facets of construction and the developer is responsible for all associated costs.

With property so hot in Bullard and its ETJ, he said it’s imperative to uphold strong standards.

And with so many first-time developers in the mix, Hines and the council put an ordinance in place to relieve the city of any completion of a subdivision’s streets — just in case the developer cannot do so. The ordinance requires a maintenance bond on the streets also.

“We don’t want our taxpayers paying for what could potentially be a failure on the part of the developer,” Hines said. “What this does is protect Bullard citizens – which is our sworn duty and responsibility.”

Bullard continues to experience exploding growth, and it’s been left to this council to see that both current and future citizens are accommodated.

“In 2006, the city council directed our City Manager, Larry Morgan, to borrow $3 million to both meet and surpass the current water needs and to buy a new package wastewater facility to do the same,” Hines said.

In his tenure, Hines also saw the voters see the importance of and implement the half-cent sales tax.

“Most cities don’t pass this measure the first time it’s brought before the voters,” Hines said. “I believe for Bullard its success can be laid strictly at the feet of informed and smart voters.”

The tax is used for economic development, and most every city in the state has one in place.

“Why would we want to help the economic development of other cities such at Tyler when we weren’t helping ourselves,” Hines said. “The voters knew this and acted upon it.”

The economic development corporation funded by the tax is working to open up the Highway 69 corridor for more retail growth potential. The group’s first project has been to agree to help finance the matching portion of a grant funded by the Texas Department of Agriculture.

“Bullard was aggressive in its approach for this grant, and we came in sixth out of 60 applicants,” Hines said. “Not only will this grant provide first-time sewer for more than 130 citizens in the Rollingwood Hills subdivision,” he said, “but — in taking these sewer lines across Highway 69 — give more potential retail development in that area.”

“This is why we chose to fund the city’s portion of the grant,” said EDC President Clay Thompson. “When we’re able to provide the needed infrastructure to that area, the EDC board realizes that opens the doors to significant retail growth.”



What’s to come

Hines still has a vision for the future of Bullard — even though his official duty is ending.

And he said he believes the council is smart, capable and ready for the future challenges.

“It’s time now for the council to keep working on a master street plan and develop a master development plan – including future zoning for increased traffic flow,” he said.

Hines also asserted the time is now to look for land on which to put the new sewage package plant.

And he touched on what all citizens are concerned about — taxes.

“We all realize the importance of keeping taxes as low as possible — both the school district and the city — but not doing it in a way that makes us unprepared for growth or hurts city services,” he said.

The solution is not in never spending money. It’s to do so wisely, and tap other resources, he said.

“We now have a growing tax base, and we don’t expect that to end soon,” he said. “With a growing tax base, the burden is not completely on current residents, but is spread to all those who are moving here.”

Hines knows he and his other council members can leave a legacy of which the citizens can be proud.

But for him, it’s time to go back to his other home — where his grandson Kash recently relocated to work with Hines’ son Rick. The group will be doing what comes naturally — developing property.

“There’s still a piece of me that will remain here in Bullard, and I still care deeply about the community and the citizens who embraced me as one of their own,” he said.

        

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