City Council

CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES CITY OF ODESSA, TEXAS September 12, 2023 On September 12, 2023, a work session meeting of the Odessa City Council was held at 3:02 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; John Beckmeyer, 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: Mayor Joven expressed condolences on behalf of the City to Council member Matta and the Ramirez family for the loss of his nephew. Council member Matta gave the invocation. Discuss purchase of Tahoe’s for Police Department. Chris Adams, Director of Equipment Services, stated that 15 Tahoes would be purchased for the Police Department for $1,222,792.50. There would be a rebate. The replaced units would be sold at auction which were replaced on a five-year schedule. Discuss amending the Odessa City Code Chapter 2 “Animal Control”. Kelley Hendricks, Animal Control Manager, stated that Animal Services would be separated from the Police Department. She stated that issues with animal services was the pay for employees and the euthanasia. The private animal sale was not enforced. The animal population needed to be controlled with vaccination, microchipping and accountability. The veterinarian guidelines were followed. The amended ordinance included mandatory microchipping, spade and neutering. The separation from the Police Department would improve the quality of life. Police Chief Mike Gerke supported the separation. Discuss renewal of software maintenance between the City of Odessa and Tyler Technologies, Inc. for the Tyler Munis Enterprise resource planning software license and application for $118,593.94. Tony Flores, Director of IT, stated that the software term and dates were changed to the end of the calendar year to streamline the renewal of the software. The renewal cost was $118,593.94. Discuss reallocation of $10,378 Community Development Block Grant funds to fund a vacant lot mowing program. Merita Sandoval, Director of Community Development, stated that the City charged a lien against the properties that had its lot mowed. She recommended a contractor be hired to mow lots. The lots would be identified by the code enforcement officers. The allocation of $10,378 would be used for mowing lots and address code issues. The cost was about $500 to $600 a lot. Council Work Session Minutes September 12, 2023 Page 2 Discuss request from Meals on Wheels for extension of time to expend CARES funds. Mrs. Sandoval stated that Meals on Wheels requested an extension of time to expend funds to pay for meals. Discuss a five-year contract with RATP Dev. and EZ Rider. Doug Provance, General Manager of EZ Rider, stated that the contract was for management services to run the transit. The district paid for the cost of the contract with no burden on the City. Discuss a 90-day extension of 2019 MOUTD transit services contract. Mr. Jones stated that the 90-day extension was for no interruption of transit service. Discuss Ector County Utility District (ECUD) wholesale water rate for 2023-2024 on a month-to-month basis until further notice. Kevin Niles, Director of Utilities, stated that there was a water supply contract with ECUD for the purpose of resale. The contract used the rate model in the contract which was agreed by ECUD to determine the calculated water wholesale rate. The ECUD contract may be invalid and recommend renewal on a month-to month basis at the current rate of 3.83/1000. Mayor Joven stated that there were plant upgrades which were necessary to continue the delivery of the water. Discuss the personnel policies manual update. Charles Hurst, Director of Human Resources, stated that Marichi was contracted to update the personnel policies manual. Updates were made by removing outdated and non-applicable policies. The next step was to develop an employee handbook. The manual was under review with the City Manager. . Mayor Joven stated that there were polices from 1998, 2002 and 2008. He asked why the delay as it was to be completed by August. He asked what was given out to the new employees. Mr. Hurst stated that the vendor was not working on the project exclusively and had health issues. Human Resources had staffing challenges and there were other priorities more pressing. He stated that there was no deadline for the manual. Mayor Joven stated that there were no procedures, and a book was needed for the entire organization and needed to be completed. Mr. Hurst stated that there were personnel polices in the administration manual. He would work to meet the deadline. The vendor was a one-person business. Mr. Hurst needed more people to work on the project. Mayor Joven asked that Council be kept updated on the progress. Discuss the ARPA funds and the uses for allocation. Mr. Boles stated that ARPA funds needed to be obligated by December 31, 2024 and spent by December 31, 2026. Road projects needed to be spent by September 31, 2026. Mayor Joven asked for a list of projects and be diligent in completion for the road projects. The Council would have a workshop to discuss the projects in detail. 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 Council Work Session Minutes September 12, 2023 Page 3 The meeting adjourned at 4:13 p.m. ATTEST: APPROVED: Norma Aguilar-Grimaldo, TRMC, CMC Javier Joven City Secretary Mayor