Council: new court is for basketball only

By JOHN DANIEL GARCIA

MARFA – City council members Thursday unanimously voted on passing Ordinance 12-04, which prohibits skateboards, roller skates, rollerblades, bicycles, and any activity other basketball at the newly constructed court at Coffield Park.

“This is not targeted at skateboarders,” said Attorney Teresa Todd about the ordinance. “We have to do everything we can to protect our investment.”

The ordinance was passed due to a law in which signs cannot be posted at public parks without an enforceable law. The view of the council was to protect and insure the maximum life span of the basketball court.

Anyone caught violating the ordinance will be found guilty of a Class C misdemeanor and will be fined up to $500 per offense. The ordinance will also ban alcohol and glass bottles at the park.

The City Council also asked that those interested in skating and other activities attend Parks and Recration Board meetings to give ideas for future projects.

An exemption to the ordinance concerning non-basketball events that will not damage the surface of the court, with permission from the Parks Board, was also passed.

In other business, the council passed an end-of-year budget auditing requested by the City’s accountant. They plan to move government funds from administration and other non-enterprise funds to other departments in order to balance the city’s deficits. Enterprise funds such as sewage and sale of water will not be touched.

Minerva Lopez has also been appointed the new tourism director in Marfa. Lopez has been the interim director following the departure of Terry “Tex” Toler. Applications for a full-time Assistant Tourism Director will be accepted shortly.

The council also approved a measure to host dispatcher and nutrition director training courses at the Casner Room at City Hall. The training courses typically take place in Van Horn, but a change of venue was requested by Culberson County due to poor turnouts from Presidio County. The dispatch training will last five days in November and the Nutrition Director training will last one day and the date has not yet been set. Cooks at the Nutrition Centers are also urged to attend.