Massengale Talks Citibus, Citizen Feedback on the Park, and ERCOT

Wednesday on KFYO Mornings with Dave King and Matt Martin, Lubbock City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Steve Massengale joined Dave and Matt to talk about last night's city council meeting, changes to Citibus, a way for citizens to give feedback on the new park, police substations and budgets, the move to ERCOT, and more.

Councilman Massengale started by talking about last night's city council meeting where they discussed several topics including Citibus, the new park, and making Lubbock a film friendly city. Starting with Citibus, Massengale explained that Citibus routes have been the same for years and years, and so, last night, Citibus leadership presented to the City Council some new routes that they think will benefit parts of the city that are not currently serviced. On top of this, they have launched a microtransit system in the form of the "Citibus On-Demand" app on the apple and android stores, that would allow you to get a ride much like you would with apps like Uber, but functioning a bit more like a traditional bus.

Shifting the topic to the park that the city council has discussed building downtown, Dave King brought up that there has been a bit of pushback from the KFYO audience, where some believe that the park could have a homeless issue. Massengale said that, while homelessness in Lubbock is not nearly as big of an issue as it is in other cities, it is still an issue that is always on the Council's mind. Despite this, he does not think potential homeless issues are a sufficient reason to not have a park. Massengale thinks that it will be a nice park, as they have some good space to work with, and reminds us that the park hasn't actually passed yet. To coincide with this, the Councilman said that for the next 2 weeks, the public will have a chance to give their input on the park by visiting lubbockcivicpark.org where they can give see the preliminary design for the park, and give suggestions on what they would like to see, and give feedback if they are not pleased. "This is everyone's opportunity to get some input in to the committee to consider," Steve said.

Another topic that was discussed was the continued plan for Lubbock to join ERCOT, despite the various problems that have been recently demonstrated in Texas. Massengale explained that Lubbock is still on track to join ERCOT, but that the city council is watching closely what happens in Austin, especially after the CEO of ERCOT was recently terminated. On top of this, Massengale was able to meet personally with the Lieutenant Governor, who assured him that they were doing all they can to fix the problems. The Councilman said that he thinks our state leadership is committed to fixing the problems, and he believes that Lubbock will see an ERCOT that is stronger than it was by the time we join it.

Watch the full interview with Steve Massengale in the video above.

KFYO Mornings with Dave King & Matt Martin airs weekday mornings live, from 6:00 AM to 8:30 AM on News/Talk 95.1 FM and 790 AM KFYO, online at KFYO.com, & on the free KFYO app.