FOR MDD board member removed from office

The Fair Oaks Ranch City Council voted to remove Rene Gallegos from his Place 3 seat on the city’s Municipal Development District Board of Directors, but the reason seems far from nefarious.

While no reason was given for the removal at the FOR council meeting last week, Place 4 Councilmember Laura Koerner said he simply was removed because he failed to sign his oath of office, making him ineligible to serve on the board under state law.

In an interview with Gallegos, he explained that he had scheduling conflicts that made it challenging for him to serve on the MDD Board. Beyond his role with the city, Gallegos also serves as the president of the Fair Oaks Ranch Homeowners’ Association, which Gallegos indicated takes a lot of his time.

Gallegos also served on the Leon Springs Volunteer Fire Department Board of Directors, but a fellow board member indicated he had been on the verge of losing his seat as he failed to attend the monthly meetings. A representative from the volunteer fire department confirmed Monday morning that Gallegos resigned from his posi tion on the board over the weekend, seeking to focus on his FORHA presidency.

Due to his scheduling conflicts, Gallegos said he planned to “circle back” with FOR officials and staff to see if another FORHA member could take his place on the MDD board.

The MDD board was officially formed in 2011 by public vote, collecting .5 percent of the sales tax accrued in the city limits to finance projects that benefit the city and district. When the city was seemingly going to construct a new city hall, the MDD board voted to offer up several hundreds of thousands to go towards the project.

However, after city staff and officials found the cost to construct the city hall building would far exceed the amount originally budgeted, the project has remained in limbo. The city council voted to hold on the new construction and opted to renovate the existing city hall first, turning the space into more office spaces for city staff. Updates on this project have remained radio silent as well.