Amarillo City Council is set to consider just over $13 million in spending on Tuesday. The meeting, which will be the first since Mayor Ginger Nelson announced she will not seek another term in May, includes agenda items for a $3.3 million economic incentives package to Jax Transport via the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation and a $2.2 million deal with Amarillo Utility Contractors for water main replacement and railroad removal of some sections of railroad downtown.

All items other than the Jax Transport economic incentive package are on the consent agenda, meaning they will likely all be passed in bulk with a single vote. A table breaking down the spending items can be found at the end of this article.

There are also three planning and zoning related items on the regular agenda. First up will be a rezoning of an empty plot of land at Northeast 7th and Mirror, from multifamily housing to a planned development district for a new and used auto sales lot. This comes after months of back and forth between the city and local business owner Marcelino Alvarado. Delays in final approval seem to in part stem from the reduced frequency of council meetings following the passage of Proposition C in 2020.

The other two planning and zoning related items are a requested vacation of a city alleyway along the east side of the 4301 SW 45th Ave (formerly Hastings Entertainment) and the donation of land just to the south to replace the vacated alleyway. The requested alleyway vacation would be used to facilitate a drive-thru lane for a proposed restaurant. The proposed vacation was denied by a 5-0 vote of the Planning and Zoning Commission, with one member abstaining. City Council is taking up the issue as the requestor has appealed the decision.

Aside from spending items, other notable items in the nearly 400 page agenda packet include a 20 year extension of the downtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, final approval of a new Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone near Interstate 27 and Loop 335, and the establishment of a sister-city relationship with Dnipro, Ukraine.

The agenda also includes an executive session which will not be open to the public to consider purchases of downtown property. Notably absent from the executive session is a discussion of the lawsuit against the city government won by Alex Fairly earlier this year, despite signs the city may be preparing an appeal.

The meeting is scheduled for 1:00 pm on Tuesday, December 13th at City Hall. To sign up to speak during the public address period, click here. To download the full agenda, click here. To view a full list of spending items, view the table below: