City Council

CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES CITY OF ODESSA, TEXAS January 21, 2020 On January 21, 2020, a work session meeting of the Odessa City Council was held at 4:30 p.m. in the fifth floor conference room, City Hall, 411 West 8th Street, Odessa, Texas. City Council present: Council members: Malcolm Hamilton, District One; Dewey Bryant, District Two and Detra White, District Three; Tom Sprawls, District Four; Mari Willis, District Five; and Peggy Dean, At-Large. City Council absent: Mayor David R. Turner. Others present: Michael Marrero, City Manager; Norma Aguilar-Grimaldo, City Secretary; Natasha Brooks, City Attorney; Phillip Urrutia, Assistant City Manager; Cindy Muncy, Interim Assistant City Manager; and other members of City staff. Mayor Pro Tem Dean called the meeting to order and the following proceedings were held: Council member Willis gave the invocation. G-200 Texas Public Officials Workshop. Joey White, Assistant Fire Chief, stated that the three-hour workshop was for public officials on basic emergency management that was required. Public officials provided a support and advisory role with emergency management situations that assist top management. He provided the dates that the workshop was offered. Purchase of traffic signal equipment. Hal Feldman, Traffic Engineer, stated that the purchase of 13 traffic cabinets would cost $191,620. He was being proactive in maintenance. Some of the replacements were wrapped with art. Council member Bryant asked that the wrapped cabinet replacement be rewrapped. The City had 130 traffic cabinets and a percentage would be replaced each year. Apply for and accept funds from the 2020 HIDTA Grant. Mike Gerke, Police Chief, stated that the high intensity grant was for $29,300 with no cash match. The grant would be used on overtime and provides that other law enforcement agencies work together. Accept donation from Randi Spenser, Randi’s Cocoa 4 COPS. Chief Gerke stated that Randi Spenser donated $10,596.22 to the K-9 unit. Over three years, she has donated about $35,000 from hot chocolate donations during the Christmas season. She requested that $6,000 be set aside for one of the K-9’s medical treatment. In the past, the funds have been used for vests, equipment and a dog purchase. Contract renewal for tire replacement and repair. Mr. Urrutia stated that the contract renewal was with Southern Tire Mart that placed a tire facility at the City shop. The contract was for services at $174,000 at a one-year renewal. Other vendors were contacted but with the City’s diverse in heavy and light fleet, there was only one bidder. Council member Bryant recommended that the contract was more beneficial for two years. Work Session Minutes January 21, 2020 Page 2 PSA with JSA Architects to provide design services for rehab of City building. Mr. Urrutia stated that the rehab work was for $159,000 at 307 N. Lee. The rehab will be for office space and storage. The services would include programming with space. Mr. Marrero stated that the property was purchased five years ago. Departments would be identified that need space primarily Public Works and Community Development. A traffic study would be conducted for a single lane to provide parking. The design funds was part of the Certificates of Obligation. Cruz Castillo, JSA Architects, stated that it was a sound building. Purchase automated side load refuse truck for Solid Waste. Mr. Urrutia stated that trucks would be purchased from Peterbilt, which pick up the 96-gallon carts. The purchase would add one additional truck to the current fleet of three. With the new construction of homes, more carts were added. Purchase side load refuse truck for Solid Waste. Mr. Urrutia stated that the truck purchase was for three side load trucks used to pick up dumpsters for $764,550. The replacement trucks will be disposed on the online auction. Potential Downtown Demolition and Parking Project. Mr. Urrutia stated that there were two proposed buildings at 222 E. 4th St., Odessa American, and 221 E. 4th St. old tire shop, to be demolished. The tire shop building would provide additional 50 parking spaces, as parking was an issue. With the demolition of the Odessa American building, it would be ready for future development. The buildings have asbestos and roof leaks. The Odessa American building was built in 1959 and the City paid $1.6 million. The appraised value was $894,481. He provided pictures of the buildings. Council member Hamilton suggested of paying parking spaces. A lease agreement would provide funds, as it was a valuable need. He asked if that was being considered. Mr. Marrero stated that the intent was to provide for adequate parking. Both buildings were deemed unsafe. The demo cost for the two buildings was $477,525. With the additional parking lot, backfill and other, it had a total cost of $865,000. The funding was reviewed. The additional funds needed of $205,000 would be from the Certificates of Obligation. Public Art Ordinance. Mr. Marrero stated that art could be enhanced throughout the City with a Public Art Ordinance by allocating a percentage toward art on projects. The art would be incorporated in the facilities. He proposed a 1% of capital projects be preserved for arts. Randy Ham, Odessa Arts Executive Director thanked the support of Council for the Odessa Spire as it has brought pride to the community. He highlighted the arts successes that included the traffic boxes, community art gallery, Tom Lea mural restoration and private investment art. He unveiled the art piece that would be at the First Basin Credit Union. He stated that public art was an investment in the community and provided tourism and development. He provided information on El Paso’s art ordinance. He explained the commissioning process with the community’s vision. Mr. Marrero stated it would improve the quality of space on public facilities but the project would not be sacrificed for the art. The designation would be for public projects where art was appropriate. Mr. Castillo explained the percentage process and how the funds were earmarked. The art would be integrated in the building. Water Treatment Plant Improvements. Tom Kerr, Director of Utilities, reported that the preliminary design plant improvements was completed. Hutch Musallam, Carollo Engineers, provided a project update. A condition assessment of the Water Treatment Plant was Work Session Minutes January 21, 2020 Page 3 conducted in 2017 to assess the conditions. Numerous areas were identified for improvement including water quality. An Advanced Water Treatment Facility (AWTF) was proposed to reduce water hardness and improve quality. The AWTF preliminary design report was completed but placed on hold due to financial factors. With the AWTF deferred, the project shifted focus on improving the Water Treatment Plant condition, capacity and reliability. Improvements included maintaining a 55 MGD reliable capacity, address condition assessment recommendations and allowing for plant expansions and process upgrades. He reviewed the needed improvements. Improvements included the filters and if renovated would need to be brought up to code. He provided recommendations to the filter modifications. Mr. Kerr stated that the filters were over 20 years old. The plant capacity was an issue as new growth with apartments and houses built. Mr. Musallam made recommendations to the chemical feed and storage improvements. He explained the chemical building and tank farm and the undersized chlorine facilities. He proposed facility improvements. Another assessment was the Plant 1 Flocculation and Sedimentation Basins. The equipment required replacement and structural rehab. There was poor design and construction. He reviewed the evaluation of the basins. He stated that there were technological advances that could be implemented to improve plant performance and revitalize the aging facility. Mr. Kerr explained the plate settlers to be more efficient. Mr. Musallam recommended replacing the Plant 1 basins with high rate clarifiers. The improvements would allow the City to repurpose the land in the future for expansion. Mr. Kerr stated it would allow for long term planning and growth. The project schedule was reviewed including design, bid phase and constructing with a completion of December 2023. Mr. Musallam outlined the projected costs for the plant improvements with a total of $95 million. The last plant renovation was in 1964. The demand of water was increasing. Mr. Kerr stated that Gardendale added 500,000 MGD and was planning to grow. The funds spent over the last four years were reviewed. Most of the funds would be spent in 2021, as it would be construction expenses. He reviewed the construction schedule. The design would take about 12-13 months to complete. There was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 6:21 p.m. ATTEST: APPROVED: Norma Aguilar-Grimaldo, TRMC, CMC Peggy Dean City Secretary Mayor Pro Tem