John T. Floores and Willie Nelson
www.mysanantonio.com
by Cori Smelker
In an unanimous vote taken on Thursday, the Helotes City Council voted to designate part of Old Bandera Road as “Willie Nelson Way.”
The designation, more of an honorarium than a street name change, will not require address changes for those who reside or conduct their business on the thoroughfare.
John T. Floore Country Store is where country music legend Willie Nelson, among other country stars, got his start, and because of the close ties of Nelson to the community, the City Council wanted to honor him in some way.
Mayor Schoolcraft commented that the council would coordinate the dedication of Willie Nelson Way with the dedication of Old Town.
Councilmember Cynthia Massey noted that people might get confused if a street had more than one name. Mayor Schoolcraft said that with the street not officially changing name, and with the Willie Nelson Way street sign different from the official street sign, confusion should be minimal.
Massey said the city’s historical board is very excited about bringing the public’s attention to the rich history of Helotes in country music. “From a marketing standpoint, this is an excellent idea,” Massey concluded before the resolution was passed.
Also at the regularly scheduled meeting, Schoolcraft gave an update about ongoing projects, such as right-of-way clearing, the Helotes City playground and the Police and Fire Station. He said the city park is on track for a February opening date, weather permitting. “All the equipment has been installed,” he said. The main issue now is to get the “fall zones” issued, to ensure all safety measures are met.
The council voted unanimously to apply current sidewalk ordinances to residential subdivisions that are being platted, but will only apply to publicly dedicated streets. Exceptions will be made if developers create walking trails in lieu of sidewalks or the city engineer determines that sidewalks will interfere with drainage/run off.
There was some concern with the vagueness of the ordinance’s wording, especially regarding the need to approve repairs each time a sidewalk required them. All the council members believed that was overkill.
Discussion centered around wording of the ordinance, but once the ordinance was amended, the motion passed.