At the recent Kempner City Council meeting, City Secretary Frances Spinney administered the oath of office and statement of election to Mayor Gene Isenhour. He will serve another four-year term in the post.

Isenhour then administered the oath of office to Place 1 Councilman Paul Cook and Place 5 Councilwoman Melba Vandeveer.

Isenhour, Cook and Mrs. Vandeveer filed for re-election without any opposition for their seats.

The mayor then administered the oath of office to presiding Municipal Judge Yolanda Cortes-Mares, Administrative Judge Mrs. Spinney and Police Chief David Sheedy.

All three will serve an additional term of office.

In other business, Cook was reelected mayor pro tem, and Lampasas Bookkeeping and Tax Service was designated the city’s official accounting firm. Barney Knight and Associates was selected as the city’s attorney, and The National Banks of Central Texas was designated the city’s official bank.

Also, the council approved the second reading of an ordinance annexing 1.8 acres into the corporate city limits at the request of the property owner. The first reading came at a May 18 special meeting.

The new Dollar General store is situated on the property, located east of the downtown area and north of U.S. Highway 190.

In other action, the council amended the speed limit ordinance to reduce the speed limit on Cheyenne, Cherokee and Comanche streets from 30 miles per hour to 20 mph.

“We have received many complaints about vehicles speeding on these streets and property damage from people driving too fast,” Isenhour said.

Kempner resident Robert Walkup addressed the council to express concern about a non-resident neighbor on Jackrabbit Lane who has junk cars on the property. The land needs to be cleaned up and mowed, Walkup said.

“I have been trying to get him to clean up the property for over six years,” he said.

Walkup said an abandoned mobile home sits on the property, and at one time there were about 30 junked vehicles, however some have been removed. He requested assistance from the city to solve the problem.

Mrs. Spinney said the city has contacted the landowner several times, and citations have been issued, but he has not paid them nor cleaned up the lot.

Isenhour said local ordinances state the city can clean up the lot and bill the owner, then place a lien on the property.

“The city would not have to have a bunch of ordinances if everyone was a good neighbor,” the mayor said.

Isenhour also reported on a recent Texas Department of Transportation meeting he attended on upcoming TxDOT projects in Lampasas County. Projects in the Kempner area include installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of Big Divide Road and U.S. 190, and widening of FM 2657.

Many people use the Big Divide Road intersection to access Taylor Creek Elementary School. The signal lights are scheduled for 2011 at a cost of $125,000.

Construction on the FM 2657 widening project also is scheduled to begin in the next year or so.

In an update on the city park, Isenhour said Kempner recently received a $5,000 anonymous donation for construction of picnic tables in the park. An additional $8,000 is needed to construct all the planned picnic facilities.

Kempner City Council will meet next tonight for a regular meeting at 7 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers.