City Council

CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES CITY OF ODESSA, TEXAS August 8, 2023 On August 8, 2023, a work session meeting of the Odessa City Council was held at 3:01 p.m., Council Chamber, fifth floor, City Hall, 411 W. 8th St., Odessa, Texas. City Council present: Mayor Javier Joven; Council members: Mark Matta, District One; Steven P. Thompson, District Two; Gilbert Vasquez, District Three; Greg Connell, District Four; Chris Hanie, District Five; and Denise Swanner, At-Large. Staff present: Norma Aguilar-Grimaldo, City Secretary; Agapito Bernal, Interim City Manager; Dan Jones, City Attorney; and other members of City staff. A quorum being present, Mayor Joven called the meeting to order, and the following proceedings were held: Council member Vasquez gave the invocation. SiFi Project update. Shawn Parker, SiFi Networks, introduced Dennis McClenic, SiFi area manager. Mr. Parker provided the project overview as Odessa a fiber city. The fiber would be to the homes. Multiple providers would share the fiber. Odessa would be a platform for a smart city. Mr. McClenic reviewed the milestones completed. The HUT/cabinet locations and construction partners were identified, and the dark fiber agreement was signed. He reviewed the milestones remaining that included working with Public Works, final design, point of contact and finalize funding. Construction would be two to three years. Mr. Parker explained the technology and micro trenching process. The underserved areas of the city would be served first with the direction from the City. Mr. Bernal would be the point of contact. Mr. Parker discussed the smart cities agreement which was to build up as a smart city. It would identify the points in the city including pump stations, city buildings, and intersections. The fiber construction was only in the incorporated city limits. Mr. McClenic stated that local contractors would be used if possible. The development agreement that was in place had a two year window before construction. Discuss the purchase of seven 2025 Volvo VHD with Kann side load trucks. Chris Adams, Director of Equipment Services, stated that the purchase was for seven trash trucks for a cost of $2,205,197. Discuss approval of the 2023-2024 budget for the Emergency Communication District of Ector County. Mike Gerke, Police Chief, stated that Emergency Communication 911 funds were from taxes. The City did not provide any funds. The budget provided for the operations cost of 9-1-1 calls to dispatch. Discuss, installing a fiber line from the City of Odessa radio core to the Midland County radio core. Chief Gerke stated that the fiber line would connect with the Fire, Police and Sheriff’s Office in communication with Midland. The cost for the construction and five years of maintenance was $163,000. Russell KNeese explained the regional radio system and its dynamic system resilience operation. There were two cores and it would operate if there was a failure. The law was not violated if the communication was encrypted. Council Work Session Minutes August 8, 2023 Page 2 Mr. Kneese stated that the first responders would benefit from the system. The mobile and portable coverage maps were reviewed. Discuss purchasing Cityworks asset management software and implementation by NewEdge Services, LLC. Tom Kerr, Director of Public Works, stated that there was a need of an asset management program to monitor and manage the assets. He recommended Cityworks that would track issues and maintenance of assets. The cost was $381,153 over a five year implementation plus an annual maintenance. The cost for five years was $1 million which would be paid out of the Street and Water and Sewer Funds. He explained the software’s capabilities. Mayor Joven was concerned taking the funds form the Street and Water and Sewer Funds. Kevin Niles, Director of Utilities, supported the software as it would track and manage the assets. Council member Vasquez asked to explore other funding options. Council member Thompson asked if ARPA funds could be used. Seth Boles, Interim Finance Director, would research. Council member Thompson asked for a Cityworks presentation. Mayor Joven asked how it would be implemented with the current Munis system. Tony Flores, IT Director, stated that the Munis asset management module was a new product and the City had not purchased the module. Mr. Bernal stated that MGO was used in the City with other departments which worked well. Mayor Joven asked for more information on the software programs and the use of ARPA funds. Mr. Niles stated that a system was needed as it was detrimental to the city without a system. Discuss rejection of proposal for the sale of property - Downtown. Elizabeth Prieto, Downtown Executive Director, asked that the bid be rejected for 5ht and Grant as only one bid was received. The proposal would be resent for bids. Discuss the lease of the soccer fields and building located at 4819 N. Everglade, Odessa, Texas, Ector County, to the Odessa Soccer Association. The use of the City property for providing recreational activities will fulfill a public need in the community. Mr. Jones stated that the lease with the Odessa Soccer Association (OSA) included a payment of 10% to the City of its yearly membership, yearly concession sales, and a $2,500 monthly payment for one year. Tom Martinez needed time to review the lease and evaluate the fees. He wanted two weeks to review. Mayor Joven stated that OSA wanted to be part of the discussions so there would be no misinterpretation of communication. He stated that the issue was the green space. Council member Thompson asked for the redline by August 19. Mr. Jones stated that a map should be reviewed as soccer would be on the East of the park and not by the pool. Mayor Joven stated that the west part of the park would be returned to green space and soccer would not be on the high traffic areas of the park. Council member Vasquez asked why Comanche Park could not be utilized for soccer. He stated that the Council was not against soccer. He stated that the frustrations should be focused on the people that gave the use of the park. Council member Thompson stated that OSA wanted something for nothing. He stated that the sports complex would be built for all the different sports including soccer. Mr. Martinez stated that the OSA made between $5,000 to $10,000 a season. Mayor Joven stated that the taxpayers were subsidizing. He asked for the attorneys to work on the lease agreement and return the changes redlined. The cost needed to be shared to be used back to the fields. A common ground was needed to move forward. Discuss the request to renew the yearly service agreement with Motorola Mach Alert. Cody Ritchie, Assistant Fire Chief, stated that Motorola Mach Alert notified all stations of incidents. The cost was $76,234.76. Council Work Session Minutes August 8, 2023 Page 3 Discuss the Parks budget request. Max Reyes, Director of Parks and Recreation, reviewed the supplemental budget parks requests. Each of the project requests were discussed. Council had a consensus to remove the conversion of the courts at the aquatic centers, not convert the tennis court to futsal court at McKinney and not purchase the mower. The other requested items would be included in the budget. Discuss the Golf Course Fund. Mr. Boles asked the needs for the golf course. Council member Thompson stated that the pump house and irrigation system was needed. Mr. Bernal stated that $1 million from the 2019 Certificates of Obligation would be transferred for the pump house project. Any other issues would be brought to Council. Council member Thompson stated that the solar light for the parking lot was approved. He stated that the golf course was a revenue generator. Motion was made by Council member Swanner and seconded by Council member Vasquez to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved by the following vote: Aye: Joven, Matta, Thompson, Vasquez, Connell, Hanie, and Swanner Nay: None The meeting adjourned at 5:24 p.m. ATTEST: APPROVED: Norma Aguilar-Grimaldo, TRMC, CMC Javier Joven City Secretary Mayor