Pictured, from left to right, are: Margaret D. “Meg” Voelter, LCRA board member; Joseph Lamer; city commissioner; Lori A. Berger, LCRA board member; Kenneth Stojanik, city commissioner; Byron Balke, Bluebonnet Board assistant secretary/treasurer; Matt Mikulenka, mayor of Ellinger; and Mark Johnson, Bluebonnet community representative.
A $18,300 grant from Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River Authority will help the newly incorporated City of Ellinger establish its first city hall.
The Community Development Partnership grant, paired with matching funds of $4,575, will allow the Fayette County community of about 200 residents to purchase a portable building to house city records and act as a hub for city-related business. The grant also will cover the costs of creating a gravel pad for the building, establishing electrical service to it and making the site accessible to disabled visitors.
“We can’t keep city records effectively in our own houses,” said City Commissioner Joseph Lamer, who was elected in November when voters approved incorporating Ellinger as a Type C municipality governed by a mayor and two commissioners. “We’ve got to keep the paperwork somewhere and have a place where people can come in and access the information. This building will function as a meeting place and a source of information for our residents. I think it gives the city a home.”
Lamer said the new city hall will include desks for him – he’s also the city secretary – and fellow commissioner Kenneth Stojanik, who also serves as the city treasurer.
“Believe me, if it wasn’t for this grant, we wouldn’t even be talking about a building,” Lamer said. “This is something that’s going to be city hall for 20 or 30 years at least. If we aren’t in there in six months, I’ll be disappointed.”
The community grant is one of seven grants being awarded by Bluebonnet and the LCRA through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.
Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in July. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.