Let’s keep the momentum we’ve built going by re-electing Bert Echterling for Mayor of the City of Robinson, Texas on Tuesday, Nov 5, 2024.
Why I’m Seeking Re-election
Rooted in Robinson, Committed to its Future
Born and raised right here in Robinson, I’m a proud graduate of Robinson High School and have attended McLennan Community College. This community has shaped me, and I’ve dedicated my life to giving back to it. From serving on various boards and committees to my current roles as Mayor and a local business owner, my commitment to Robinson runs deep.
My wife Charis and I are raising our four children here, all of who have attended Robinson schools. We’re invested in this town’s future, not just for our family, but for all families.
A Vision for Robinson’s Future
I believe Robinson is the best town in the world, and I’m committed to keeping it that way. My extensive experience in city government, coupled with my background as a local entrepreneur and REALTOR®, gives me a unique understanding of our town’s needs and potential.
My approach to city planning is straightforward and comprehensive: we need to invest in our infrastructure today to ensure a thriving Robinson for generations to come. This means improving our roads and schools, attracting new businesses, and creating opportunities for our residents, all while keeping taxes low.
Leadership You Can Trust
As your Mayor since 2015 and a City Councilman since 2006, I’ve always prioritized open, honest communication and a tireless work ethic. I won’t make promises I can’t keep, and I’ll always put the needs of Robinson first.
I’m running for re-election because I believe in Robinson’s future. With your support, I’ll continue to work hard to ensure our town thrives, providing a safe, prosperous community for all who call it home.
Together, We’ll Build a Brighter Future for Robinson
I’m dedicated to serving our town with honesty, integrity, and a tireless work ethic. With your support, we’ll continue to make Robinson the best place to call home.
Public Safety
Keeping Robinson safe is my unwavering commitment. We’ll continue to invest in our police and fire departments, ensuring they have the resources and training necessary to protect our community. We’ll also focus on proactive measures like community policing and crime prevention programs.
Smart Growth & Economic Development
We’ll pursue thoughtful growth that benefits all residents. This means improving our roads and schools, and creating opportunities for our residents, all while keeping taxes low. We keep taxes low by thoughtfully attracting new businesses. We’ll prioritize responsible development that enhances our community, not overwhelms it.
Infrastructure & City Planning
Maintaining and improving our roads, utilities, and public spaces is essential for a thriving Robinson. We’ll prioritize infrastructure projects that support our growth and enhance our quality of life, ensuring Robinson remains a beautiful and well-maintained town for generations to come.
Supporting Our Youth
Our children are Robinson’s future. We’ll work closely with schools and community organizations to provide top-notch educational and recreational opportunities. We’ll also focus on fostering leadership and civic engagement among our young people, empowering them to shape Robinson’s future.
Quality of Life
I’m committed to making Robinson an even better place to live, work, and raise a family. We’ll partner with local organizations to expand opportunities in arts, recreation, education, and community service.
Fiscal Responsibility
I’ll continue to manage our city’s finances with integrity and transparency. We’ll make smart investments that benefit the entire community, while always being mindful of the burden on taxpayers.
Accomplishments & Initiatives
CITY MANAGER
When Bert took office, we needed a city manager, as the City had been without one for a few months. He narrowed the list of over 50 applicants to 3, and we, as a council, decided on Craig Lemin’s likings. Craig is a blessing to our town, as he comes from Azle, where he was its city manager and a previous police chief. His knowledge and resolution were, and are, the assets Robinson needed.
TIRZ (TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE)
A TIRZ tool enables local governments to fund development projects and infrastructure improvements in a specific area. The funds for these projects come from the increased tax revenue generated by development in the region, which is deposited into a Tax Increment Fund (TIF).
Shortly after City Manager Craig Lemin was onboarded, Bert discussed the need for economic development and TIRZs in Robinson as the funding mechanism for sustained and prosperous growth.
As a result, the City contracted a firm in Ft. Worth, and a year later, plans for the first TIRZ were finalized. This is what allowed Robinson to attract Walmart’s milk processing plant. TIRZ1 is still in its infancy and will continue to help drive additional development in the future.
Bert’s vision for a second TIRZ is to create a downtown area with a town square and a multi-use facility.
Bert’s vision for a second TIRZ is to create a downtown area with a town square and a multi-use facility.
RELATIONSHIPS
For years, Robinson did not have great relationships with surrounding agencies. Bert has worked diligently to foster healthy relationships with the county, the City of Waco, the Greater Waco Chamber, MPO, and the Waco Industrial Foundation (WIF) while keeping Robinson first.
The $12M Safe Routes 4 All grant Robinson recently received is a testament to our relationship with the MPO. This grant will increase traffic safety by improving signage and lighting and will fund a study for safe routes to school for our children.
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
Water infrastructure has also been a high priority, as much of the City needs old lines replaced and/or upgraded to enable future growth.
The City also recently purchased property to grow the holding capacity, ensuring Robinson’s residents have water for decades.
In addition to details on street repair, the City of Robinson website also provides detailed information and plans for all improvements involving water and wastewater projects: https://www.robinsontexas.org/370/Upgrading-Robinson.
STREETS
Bert has stressed the need to fix potholes and address drainage and infrastructure while performing street upgrades and repairs.
Knowing the City didn’t have the budget or workforce to repair all the streets, Bert, along with the council, city personnel, the county (with the help of Commissioner Jim Smith), and third-party contractors, comprised a multi-pronged plan to begin addressing street maintenance and repairs.
It is also essential for Bert and council members to have a fair and objective process for allocating available funds to street repairs. To accomplish this, the engineer examines each road based on condition and use (traffic volume), keeping repair prioritization out of the hands of city officials such as council members and mayors.
As streets and roads are continuously and systematically evaluated, the engineer and engineer periodically update the rankings.
Since 2018, under Bert’s leadership, all street repairs and costs have been published on the City’s website, including every detail, down to the engineered drawings of the work that is being done: https://www.robinsontexas.org/644/Street-Maintenance-and-Repairs
SEE for immediate patch repair needs or any other need or concern. CLICK. FIX was implemented in August of 2024.
In his mayoral capacity, Bert has continued to build relationships and focus on mechanisms to increase the City’s street repair budget, such as bonding as often as possible and maintaining a very high city credit score, which allows the City to borrow at great rates.
SEE. CLICK. FIX
The City of Robinson’s SeeClickFix App helps residents reach the City online or via their smartphone or tablet to report issues/concerns or repair requests for any and everything related to:
City Facilities
Code Compliance
Streets
Parks
Wastewater
Solid Waste
Police Department
Water
Animal
Welfare
Lights
Signs
and Power Outages or Installations
The City of Robinson has addressed thousands of citizens’ concerns using this app.
Over the last several years, we have increased the funding by 80%. We are funding the new engine that is already in possession and will receive our first ladder truck next year. This is needed for the more prominent buildings being constructed and helps our rating for insurance rates for our homeowners.
HWY 77 BEAUTIFICATION
Bert has been a huge proponent of “cleaning up 77” – initiated by a complete city rezoning. This slow process is sensitive to the residential uses currently in place.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Procuring new business to come to our town has been strategic priority with much success in the last several years. Bert and city leaders continue to collaborate with several other businesses and industries whose identities are protected by confidentiality agreements, but the opportunities are “very exciting”!!
A few of the businesses welcomed Robinson during Bert’s tenure:
Anytime Fitness
Bare Arms brewery coming early 2025 will offer the area’s best Biergarten!
Encompass Health
La Cocina
Las Tapatias
Marco’s
Metal Finishing Solutions (finishes parts for Tesla in Austin)
McDonalds
Taco Bell
Tejun
Walmart Milk Processing Plant, one of five in the United States, sources milk from local regional dairy farmers and will provide milk to more than 700 stores in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas
PEPLOW PARK
Bert was on the founding park committee that provided the much-enjoyed Peplow Park.
Bert led procurement with the generous help from a previous Robinson resident, Ray Lewis, and on a Saturday physically laid the stones for the original park sign; and he is currently working on another grant to help grow the park, mainly for a splash pad, coverings, and ADA accessibility.
FAQ’s
Why can’t all the roads be fixed more quickly?
Each year the city prepares for its road repair program. Some streets require much more infrastructure repair than others. The City Council can only vote to spend so much money each year. For more information about road repair schedules, go to https://www.robinsontexas.org/644/Street-Maintenance-and-Repairs
Why are roads sometimes only patched instead of redone?
Potholes need immediate attention. Patching helps keep the road drivable until it gets to its reclamation point.
Where can Robinson residents find information about which streets are being repaired and when?
It is important to Bert and council members that there is a fair and objective process for the allocation of available funds to street repairs. To accomplish this, each road is examined by the Engineer and ranked based on condition and use (traffic volume), keeping repair prioritization out of the hands of city officials such as council members and mayors.
As streets and roads are continuously and systematically evaluated, the engineer and City Manager periodically update the rankings accordingly and present them to the city council.
Another important note is that Robinson is still dealing with the damage from the major freeze in 2021, which caused significant damage to our roads, requiring unplanned repairs. The reason is that water gets under the road and expands as it freezes, and once it melts the roads have a disrupted surface which is easily crumbled by traffic in its weakest areas, creating potholes.
How can Roinson residents request a street repair?
Implementation of the City of Robinson’s SeeClickFix App helps residents reach the City online or via their smartphone or tablet to report issues/concerns or repair requests for any and everything related to:
City Facilities
Code Compliance
Streets
Parks
Wastewater
Solid Waste
Police Department
Water
Animal Welfare
Lights, Signs, & Power Outages or Installations
More than 8,700 issues fixed via this app to date.
You can also download the app to your smart device:
Where can Robinson residents find city announcments and general informatioin about current events?
Is it a conflict of interest for a Mayor to also be a local business owner?
No; Bert, as any official should, recuses himself from discussing, debating, or voting on any decision or motion which may be a conflict of interest.
Additionally, being that the position of Mayor is a voluntary, uncompensated role, anyone who holds that position will have an independent source of income; and it stands to reason that an individual with demonstrated success running a business would be well-suited to serve the city in the capacity of Mayor.
That said, independent of civic involvement, it’s more beneficial for the City of Robinson to have that individual’s business as opposed to another municipality.
How do the current Mayor and City Council handle potential conflicts of intereest?
If a particular council person holds an interest of 10% or greater in any item on the agenda, they must recuse themselves from commenting and voting. They are typically recused at the time of the item, therefore not giving any impression to others to vote a certain way.
Let’s Talk About Robinson’s Future
Bert Echterling is committed to hearing from you. Whether you have a question, a suggestion, or want to lend a hand, your voice matters. Let’s talk about Robinson’s future together.
