Lake Wichita Revitalization Committee Minutes - 12/12/2023 • MINUTES
LAKE WICHITA REVITALIZATION COMMITTEE
December 12, 2023
PRESENT:
David Coleman, Chair I Members
Steve Gamer, Vice Chair
Mike Battaglino, City Council Rep
Matt Marrs
Austin Cobb
John Pezzano
Sharon Roach
Blake Jurecek, Asst City Manager •Staff
Wes Duffer, TP&W •Guests
ABSENT: Alison Sanders. Alicia Castillo, Adam Arruda, Rick Hernandez
1. Call to Order: David called the meeting to order at 1:03 and stated that Mike
Battaglino was elected to City Council District 4, and is now our City Council
Representative on the Committee. Also, Kari Shaw resigned from the Committee due to
work commitments. This leaves us with two vacancies: The Park Board Representative
and a Resident of Wichita Falls Representative.
2. Approval of Minutes: October meeting minutes were approved unanimously.
3. Project Updates:
3.a. Veteran's Plaza Project:
Regarding the marker to honor Thomas W Fowler, David stated that he wrote a check to
Marrs Patriot Construction for$4,200 for construction of the marker. The location was
approved, between the start of the walkway and the sidewalk leading down to the Circle
Trail. However, Terry Points requested that area be filled with a concrete slab to make
grounds maintenance easier, and an additional cost of up to$500 was approved, if
necessary.
David mentioned the parking lot repaving project is well underway, and the contractor is
trying to finish by the end of December, but that's not looking very likely.
3.b. Lake Deepening:
David provided copies of the letter signed by Mayor Short to the USAGE that starts the
process for the USACE to add the Lake Wichita project to their workload, and when funds
are available, they will pay up to $50,000 for a study to formalize the Federal Interest
Determination (FID). If the FID is positive,the next stage will be the USACE will
determine the cost to complete a Feasibility Study and Cost Share Agreement. This
phase could require a local cost share, depending on the complexity of the Study, so
December 12, 2023
� • •
another City Council decision would be required before proceeding to this stage. At this
point, many details of project costs and cost shares would be known.
Steve asked whether a project is feasible to excavate portions of Pelican's Point, and
build it up in the middle to make the area an attraction. David will check the maps to see
if this area is classified as Wetlands.
3.c. Parks Master Plan: Blake stated that the City's contract for a Parks Master Plan was
awarded to Half&Associates, and they have started their fact finding stage, but the
LWRC will be able to provide input to the consultant in the near future.
4. Discussion of Brick Sales and Fundraising Initiatives: David stated we now have
22 engraving orders, and these have been sent to Austin Stone& Monument, but we
must wait for the parking lot repaving to complete before doing the engraving work.
Revenue from these orders is $3,800 and the engraving cost will be approximately half of
this amount.
David stated that he is now a Signer on the Wells Fargo checking account, and he
successfully transferred the PayPal account balance of$23,768.85 to the WF Account.
This makes the WF account balance $30,979.00 with pending obligations of$4,200 to
MPC and $3,877.50 to the City of Lakeside City for the boat ramp dredging. We also
have a balance of approximately $6,000 in the City of Wichita Falls account, left over
from construction of the Veterans Plaza, and Blake said he would find out the exact
amount.
5. Consideration of new member applications: The group reviewed the two
applications we have received, and voted to recommend one of them to City Council.
However, City Council will not consider our Board appointments until January 16, so
more discussion on this matter will take place at the LWRC meeting on January 9th when
more is known regarding membership of the Park Board.
6. Nomination and Election of Officers: The following Officers were nominated and
unanimously selected:
a. Chair: Austin Cobb
b. Vice Chair: Steve Gamer
c. Secretary/Treasurer: David Coleman
7. Other Business Matters: The group unanimously agreed to change the meeting time
to 11:30, remaining on the second Tuesdays. Mike Battaglino announced he will hold a
District 4 Town Hall at the American Legion Post 169 on Monday, 22 January at 5:00 pm.
8. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 1:40 pm.
(1\f\ 41-- I_
Austin Cobb, Chair Date
December 12, 2023