The Sept. 17 packet: a 77-foot variance for Aledo Shell, the golf cart and e-bike rules in full, a $20 food truck registration and $300 short-term rental permits on the table, and the Sept. 3 minutes with the Oncor, Axon and Robert Street votes

Item 8a, the public hearing. The city secretary's memo says Aledo Shell contacted her office about an initial application for a Wine and Malt Beverage Retail Dealer's Off-Premise Permit. Section 14-137 prohibits the sale of alcohol within 300 feet of a school, hospital or church, measured in a direct line from property line to property line; the memo says the store is located across the street from Aledo Middle School and Vandagriff Elementary and that the distance is approximately 77 feet. Section 14-137(f) lets the council allow a variance if it makes the findings the code requires. The attachments are the Sept. 1 variance request, the application and a 300-foot buffer list.

Items 9a and 9b, the ordinances. Police Chief Carol Riddle's memo says Ordinance 2026-O-24, drafted after the council's Sept. 3 direction, would allow golf carts on highways with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or less, operated by a licensed driver, and would require what state law lists: a license plate from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, two working headlamps and two tail lamps, reflectors, an operational parking brake, mirrors, a slow-moving-vehicle emblem and proof of financial responsibility; it limits riders to the number of seats and addresses farm-to-market roads and roads that are part of the state highway system. Ordinance 2026-O-25 would require riders under 17 to wear a helmet on a bicycle or e-bike, sets parental accountability for offenses by juveniles and references the state rules on e-bike operation and right-of-way. The chief recommends approval of both.

The work session. City Manager Candice Edmondson's memo says the draft food truck ordinance, prepared after the July 16 discussion, would create an annual city registration for individual trucks with requirements on location, parking, signage, noise, waste, insurance and operations, keep food truck parks under a Specific Use Permit, site plan and certificate of occupancy, and leaves policy questions for the council: whether individual trucks may operate outside food truck parks and where, minimum lot sizes, and a proposed $20 annual registration fee. The FY 2027 fee schedule memo says new fees are marked in green, revisions in yellow and removals in red; the draft lists a short-term rental application fee of $100, a permit of $300, a renewal of $150 and inspections at $65, and a $100 contractor registration.

The minutes. The Sept. 3 minutes, on the consent agenda for approval, record that Ordinance 2026-O-23, rezoning 0.242 acres at 112 Robert Street from R-2 to C-2, passed with Todd Covington dissenting; that Resolution 2026-R-15, membership in the Oncor Cities Steering Committee, passed unanimously; that the professional services agreement with Axon Enterprises passed with Covington dissenting; that Covington pulled item 6d from the consent agenda for discussion before the amended consent agenda passed unanimously; and that two residents, Michael Colvard and Brian Trice, addressed the council on golf carts, bicycles and e-bikes. The closed-session memo lists Aledo and Fort Worth vs. Willow Park, the Capital Lane Advisors proposal, Dean Ranch development standards and downtown development for consultation with the attorney.

Read: The packet (PDF, 93 pages) · The agenda, item by item · Sept. 3: golf carts, e-bikes and the water agency · Dean Ranch: the development, the case, every vote

What you can do. The Shell variance is a public hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aledo Municipal Complex, 200 Old Annetta Rd.; the work session on food trucks and fees is discussion only, and citizens may speak on either during citizen appearances after signing in.

The consent agenda should carry the Sept. 3 minutes, which will show the votes on the $932,729 FM 1187 design contract and the sheriff's-office renewal.

Where it stands: Raised by the police chief June 4; work session Sept. 3. Ordinance No. 2026-O-24 (golf carts, ATVs, off-road, utility and recreational off-road vehicles) and Ordinance No. 2026-O-25 (bicycles and e-bikes) are on the Sept. 17 agenda for approval; the Sept. 3 minutes were not posted as of Sept. 13.

Source: City of Aledo, Regular City Council Meeting, September 17, 2026, Agenda Packet (93 pages, CivicClerk file 3273): staff memos for items 4a, 4b, 7b, 8a, 9a, 9b and 12; draft ordinances; FY 2026-2027 fee schedule; minutes of September 3, 2026. Read Sept. 16.