Min 04/04/1995 853
Wichita Falls,Texas
Memorial Auditorium Building
April 4, 1995
Items 1 & 2
The City Council of the City of Wichita Falls, Texas, met
in regular session on the above date in the Council Room of the
Memorial Auditorium Building at 8: 30 o'clock a.m. , with the
following members present:
Michael Lam - Mayor
Leon Mallonee - Councilors
Terrance E. Loughry -
Angus Thompson -
Bill Daniel -
J.W. Martin -
Harold Hawkins -
James Berzina - City Manager
Gregory Humbach - City Attorney
Lydia Torres - City Clerk
Mayor Lam called the meeting to order.
The invocation was given by Rev. Paul Cunningham, Fain
Presbyterian Church.
Item 3a
Debra Sansing, Traffic Engineering Department, was honored
as Employee of the Month for April. Mayor Lam presented her
with a plaque, City of Wichita Falls pin, a check, bus tickets,
and tickets to a theatre and dinner.
Mayor Lam proclaimed April 9, 1995 as Former Prisoner of
War Day in Wichita Falls.
Mayor explained that Mr. Dave Clark had the opportunity to
participate in a Planning Exchange Program sponsored by the
American Planning Association and Royal Town Planning Institute.
He spent two weeks in the borough of Stockport, Great Britain
where he was hosted by Mr. Colin Parry. Now as the second half
of that exchange, Mr. Parry from Stockport is completing his two
weeks here in Wichita Falls and is being hosted by Mr. Clark.
Mayor Lam presented Mr. Parry with an Ambassador of Good Will
Citation. Mr. Parry expressed his appreciation and delight in
being able to spend time here in Wichita Falls. Mr. Parry
presented the Mayor with a plaque from Stockport.
Item 4a
Moved by Councilor Martin that the minutes of March 21,
1995 meeting be approved with correction to Item 8b.
Motion seconded by Councilor Mallonee and carried by the
following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lam, Councilors Mallonee, Loughry,
Thompson, Daniel, Martin, and Hawkins
Nays: None
854
Item 5a-7d
Councilor Hawkins suggested that Staff continue to provide
Council the comparison between previous year ' s bid and present
bid.
Councilor Martin requested that Item 5a be brought down.
Moved by Councilor Thompson that the consent agenda be
approved with the deletion of Item 5a.
Motion seconded by Councilor Mallonee and carried by the
following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lam, Councilors Mallonee, Loughry,
Thompson, Daniel, Martin, and Hawkins
Nays: None
Item 5b
The bid for City' s annual supply of lubrication products
was awarded to Western Marketing, Inc. , in the amount of
$40, 571. 70 .
Item 5c
RESOLUTION NO. 48-95
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA
FALLS ACCEPTING BID FOR EXCESS PROPERTY AT 1225
MIDWESTERN PARKWAY AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO
EXECUTE THE DEED TO CONVEY TITLE; FINDING AND
DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION
WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Item 5d
The bid for a trailer mounted catch basin vacuum unit was
awarded to Jay' s Inc. , in the amount of $40,405 . 00
Item 6a
RESOLUTION NO. 49-95
RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT PROJECT TO REPLACE AERATION BASIN
GAS PIPING AT RIVER ROAD WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
AND AUTHORIZE FINAL PAYMENT TO CONTRACTOR
Item 7a-7d
Minutes of the meetings of the following boards and
commissions were received.
a. Planning and Zoning Commission March 8, 1995
b. Tax Increment Financing Board, March 9, 1995.
c. Library Advisory Board, February 28 , 1995
d. Fire Fighters and Police Officers Civil Service
Commission, March 21 , 1995
Item 5a
Moved by Councilor Martin that the bid for City' s annual
requirement of automotive filters and canisters be awarded to
Stewart Stevenson Services, Inc. , in the amount of $36,886 . 24 .
Motion seconded by Councilor Hawkins.
Councilor Martin asked, as a point of information, if these
were quality filters because of the discrepancy in the amount of
money on the filters which were bid. Mr. Parker responded that
they are AC Delco and that the disparity is based on what they
are giving us on the discount rate. Councilor Hawkins asked if
this included the disposal of the filters. Mr. Parker replied
855
Item 5a, cont'd.
that they have their own machine, therefore, they dispose of
the filters themselves.
Motion carried unanimously by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lam, Councilors Mallonee, Loughry,
Thompson, Daniel, Martin, and Hawkins
Nays: None
Item 8a
A public hearing was held on a hazardous structure. Mayor
declared the public hearing open.
Lloyd Nelms is owner of the property at 4723 Cape Cod.
After being asked where he resided, Mr. Nelms stated that he is
staying at his parents home at 3307 Seymour Rd.
Mayor informed that complaints from the neighborhood had
been received on this structure which had been damaged by a
fire. Mayor asked Mr. Nelms the status of restoring the
structure to its original state; his sequence of events and his
plans.
Mr. Nelms replied that he has been working on it for the
past three months and has been cleaning the property, which is
pretty much cleared up. He has one more truck load to have the
interior cleaned up. The back portion of the house is still
standing and it is sound. Everything that is dangerous is down,
and it is secured completely. He has pictures to show how it
was done.
Councilor Martin asked Mr. Nelms when he had secured the
building. Mr. Nelms informed that it was completely secured
within the last four or five days. Councilor Martin asked if it
had sat there since November until this past weekend before he
did anything on it. Mr. Nelms answered in the affirmative,
however he said that he had been working on it since before
Christmas. The permit was secured 11/23/94.
Councilor Mallonee asked Mr. Nelms when he was notified of
this hearing. He replied that Councilor Hawkins notified him
Saturday morning at 9: 30 that it was on the Agenda, otherwise,
he would not have been aware of the meeting.
He is doing the work himself, except for the air
conditioning and brick work.
Councilor Martin wanted to make the point that Mr. Nelms
had obtained a permit in November 1994 and the building should
have been secured at that time. However, it sat there unsecured
from November, 1994 until this weekend when he found out that it
was going to be torn down.
Mr. Nelms commented that he had secured it according to
Code. Councilor Martin asked him why he had waited so long to
secure it. Mr. Nelms replied that it only had a six foot
opening which he was using to remove debris and to be able to
see.
Mayor asked Mr. Nelms what his plans were. Mr. Nelms said
that this week he plans to get the rest of the roof down on the
rear structure, and within the next ten days to two weeks he
will start to put the roof back on it. Mayor asked for a
completion date. Mr. Nelms stated that he plans to have it in
the dry within the next 30 to 45 or 60 days. Councilor Mallonee
asked if he was allowed a thirty day extension would there be a
substantial improvement. He responded that if everything goes
alright, he should have the roof on it and looking pretty good,
and within forty-five to sixty days he is hoping to have the
brick and everything on it.
856
Item 8a, cont 'd.
Councilor Mallonee asked when the house had originally
burned, and Mr. King informed that it was March 8 , 1994. He
settled with the insurance company in November, 1994, but could
not do anything until the investigations were completed.
Councilor Mallonee was in favor of allowing Mr. Nelms a
thirty day extension with the contingency that there be
substantial improvement within that time.
Mayor told Mr. Nelms that the neighbors have had their cup
full, and they want to see something happen. They feel they
have been patient enough and it is time to have the neighborhood
restored back to the way it was before the fire, and I think the
Council feels the same way. The Mayor didn' t have a problem
with reviewing this case within thirty days.
Councilor Hawkins asked if Staff could be directed to bring
a report within thirty days and notify Mr. Nelms by phone, in
addition to mailing the information to him. We have to have
communication between our Staff and our citizens or we are in
trouble.
Dorothy Redding, 4725 Cape Cod, lives next to the burnt
structure. It is their feeling that the homeowner has the
responsibility to take care of the neighborhood, but if the
homeowner fails to do so, then they expect the Council and
elected officials to step in and have something done. They are
concerned that nothing is going to be done to the structure
since that has been the case in the past. She asked Council to
do something to help their neighborhood look nice and that
Council try to do something from their side. She said that the
Council was their only hope. She commented that the insurance
had paid Mr. Nelms in November and he should have secured the
building and done something by December and he did not.
Billie Hicks, stated she owns the property next to Mrs.
Redding and she agrees with everything she said. Mr. Nelms has
not made any effort to do anything with the property.
Councilor Martin said that he agrees with the neighbors.
They have contacted Mr. Nelms on numerous occasions, and he has
tried to do everything he could through Code Enforcement. Mr.
Nelms was given an extension in November, 1994 to obtain a
permit, however, he has done nothing on the structure until this
weekend. He does not think that Mr. Nelms has acted in good
faith and he is in favor of having the structure demolished.
Councilor Loughry agrees with Councilor Martin, but Mr.
Nelms has never been contacted by Code. It may be an eyesore to
the neighborhood, but I have been complaining about a house that
people have been complaining about on Fillmore Street off
Seymour Highway and practically nothing has been done about it.
The first I heard about this structure was Thursday. Maybe now
with a little bit of pressure from the City the man will get
going on it.
Mr. Martin said that he had spoken to Staff, and they have
done everything they could on this legally and have worked with
the gentleman on it.
Mr. King informed that notification had been sent to Mr.
Nelms to the only address they had which is 4723 Cape Cod. Mr.
Clark stated that Mr. Nelms did not register his address.
Mr. Nelms stated that he had obtained a permit on November.
23 , 1994 and had gone by Mr. King' s office and had shown it to
his secretary, Mrs. Duncan. I gave them my address and phone
number, which has not changed. He said the only notice he
received was for the City Council meeting in November. He
requested, that if he was granted an extension, that someone be
put in charge of over-seeing this situation because he is having
857
Item 8a, cont'd.
sabotage at the structure and it is not being done by kids. He
mentioned a situation where a bolt lock was cut off his gate.
No one else wished to be heard. Mayor closed the public
hearing.
Moved by Councilor Martin that proposed ordinance be passed
to have the property at 4723 Cape Cod demolished by the property
owner.
Motion seconded by Councilor Thompson.
Councilor Thompson stated that the Council had acted in
good faith and had given one extension, but he does not think
that Mr. Nelms has acted in good faith. Councilor Thompson was
concerned that If Mr. Nelms was given another extension, Council
would have an obligation to do the same for others who are
unable to fulfill their commitment. He wanted to know, in this
rase how long this would go on. I think the neighbors have a
good point, something could have been done before now. He felt
like the question was if the structure would be restored.
Councilor Mallonee suggested giving him a thirty day
extension and see if there is substantial progress, and if not
it can be demolished.
Councilor Thompson withdrew his second.
Councilor Daniel seconded Councilor Martin' s motion.
Councilor Daniel said that if Mr. Nelms was interested in a
thirty day extension, to explain exactly what he plans to
accomplish within that time.
Mr. Nelms said he would tear off the back part of the house
and get a roof started. He said he would like to have it in the
dry, but would be unable to do some other things. Councilor
Daniel asked what it would take to guarantee he could have it in
the dry. Mr. Nelms said that within forty-five to sixty days he
could make the changes he wants and he could have it done.
Councilor Hawkins asked Mr. Nelms if within forty-five days
he could have the roof on the house, the structure secured and
have an electrical pole with service. Mr. Nelms said he could.
Councilor Hawkins informed Mr. Nelms that if this was approved,
he would be expected to insure that it remained secured
regardless of what the neighbors may do. Mr. Nelms agreed and
said if something happened he would repair it.
Councilor Hawkins suggested giving him forty-five days,
after which Mr. King will make a recommendation, and Council
will listen strongly to his recommendation.
Councilor Martin was still concerned that the structure was
left for such a long time without being secured. Nothing was
done until he found out it was going to be torn down. City
Council has acted in good faith and has gone far enough in this
issue, particularly concerning the neighbors. He could have
fixed him a door to get the place cleaned out long before now.
City Manager made a couple of comments for clarification.
Mr. Nelms has forty-five days to see how much of this is done,
and that includes securing the structure. Mayor stated that
during the demolition and repair the structure has to remain
secured. City Manager commented that Staff had communicated with
Mr. Nelms and Staff was not going to baby-sit him. He knows
today what the timetable is and he needs to mark his calendar.
858
Item 8a, cont 'd.
Motion failed by the following vote.
Ayes: Councilor Martin
Nays: Mayor Lam, Councilors Mallonee, Loughry,
Thompson, Daniel, and Hawkins
Moved by Councilor Daniel that the property owner be given
an additional forty-five days to secure the house and bring it
into a dry condition, which would mean rafters joists, decking
and at least felt on top of the house if not shingles, and that
it remain secured throughout this time. At the end of the forty-
five days Mr. King is to report back to the Council on the
progress.
Motion seconded by Councilor Mallonee and carried by the
following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lam, Councilors Mallonee, Loughry,
Thompson, Daniel, and Hawkins
Nays : Councilor Martin
Item 8b
A public hearing was held on Vista Cablevision, Inc. ' s
request for revision of cable rates and charges.
Mayor asked the City Attorney for a briefing on this.
City Attorney stated that Vista Cablevision was requesting
some adjustments in their basic service charges. They are asking
for a 20 reduction on their basic service, a $ . 50 increase on
the remote control device, and rate decrease on their service
charge for service upgrades. There are some additional rate
adjustments on their second tier charges which Council does not
have regulatory consent or approval over.
Mayor declared the public hearing open.
Councilor Martin wanted to know the reason for the $ . 50
increase on the remote control.
Bert Bucher, 4225 Seymour Road, General Manager of Vista
Cablevision, replied that they have had to purchase substantial
numbers of remote controls because more and more people are
wanting them. This whole formula is based on cost less
depreciation. When you purchase 400-500 remote controls at
$8 . 00 each in six to eight months, that puts that amount of
money in the capitalization pool. Then you take the formula set
up by FCC and the new rate is created. Same thing happened on
terminals; they went up because the demand went up. Any time you
add more money in the cost of a product, the rate of return is
figured by this particular formula. The reason the basic rate
went down two cents was because we added more customers. The
basic amount of money that was used to service, etc. remained
pretty constant.
Councilor Martin asked if remote control was required. Mr.
Bucher replied that it was optional. There is a converter box
that can be used.
No one else wished to be heard. Mayor closed the public
hearing.
859
Item 9a
ORDINANCE NO. 36-95
ORDINANCE WAIVING APPENDIX A, SUBDIVISION SECTION 9
(B) ( 2 ) (a) OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES WITH RESPECT TO
PLACING CURB AND GUTTER ON THE NORTH SIDE OF PECANWAY
DRIVE, ADJACENT TO THE SOUTH LINES OF LOTS 1, 2, AND
3 , BLOCK 2 , HEINERT ADDITION.
Moved by Councilor Thompson that Ordinance No. 36-95 be
passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Daniel and carried by the
following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lam, Councilors Mallonee, Loughry,
Thompson, Daniel, Martin, and Hawkins.
Nays: None
Item 9b
ORDINANCE NO. 37-95
ORDINANCE REZONING FROM MOBILE HOME RESIDENTIAL TO
GENERAL COMMERCIAL A 0. 31 ACRE TRACT OUT OF A PORTION
OF LOT 3 , A.R. HILL SUBDIVISION, ABSTRACT 344, WICHITA
FALLS,TEXAS, ALSO KNOWN AS 3411 SHEPPARD ACCESS ROAD
(CASE R 95-04) ; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE
MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO
THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Hawkins that Ordinance No. 37-95 be
passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Mallonee.
Councilor Hawkins corrected the Planning and Zoning
Commission Minutes to reflect the name of Mr. Tory Perez as
being Mr. Torresperez .
Motion carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lam, Councilors Mallonee, Loughry,
Thompson, Daniel, Martin, and Hawkins.
Nays: None
Item 9c
ORDINANCE NO. 38-95
ORDINANCE MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FROM THE TAX INCREMENT
FINANCING (TIF) FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $75,000 TO
HEATH & HOUSE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC. FOR
LANDSCAPING AND EXTERIOR ENHANCEMENTS AT 401 BROAD
STREET; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT
WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Martin that Ordinance No. 38-95 be
passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Thompson and carried by the
following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lam, Councilors Mallonee, Loughry,
Thompson, Daniel, Martin, and Hawkins.
Nays: None
860
Item 9d
ORDINANCE NO. 39-95
ORDINANCE APPROPRIATING FUNDS FROM GENERAL FUND EQUITY
FOR THE CITY'S ESCROW PORTION OF THE RECONSTRUCTION OF
CALL FIELD ROAD BETWEEN KEMP AND LAWRENCE ROAD, AND
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF LAWRENCE ROAD BETWEEN CALL FIELD
AND KELL; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT
WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Thompson that Ordinance No. 39-95 be
passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Mallonee and carried by the
following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lam, Councilors Mallonee, Loughry,
Thompson, Daniel, Martin, and Hawkins
Nays: None
Item 10a
RESOLUTION NO. 50-95
RESOLUTION APPROVING THE PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT
FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF CALL FIELD ROAD
Moved by Councilor Thompson that Resolution No. 50-95 be
passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Hawkins and carried by the
following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lam, Councilors Mallonee, Loughry,
Thompson, Daniel, Martin, and Hawkins
Nays: None
Item 10b
RESOLUTION NO. 51-95
RESOLUTION APPROVING THE PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT
FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF LAWRENCE ROAD
Moved by Councilor Thompson that Resolution No. 51-95 be
passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Mallonee and carried by the
following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lam, Councilors Mallonee, Loughry,
Thompson, Daniel, and Martin
Nays: Councilor Hawkins
Item 11a
Moved by Councilor Martin that bid for the City' s annual
supply of low lead and diesel fuels be awarded to Grozier Mann
Oil Company.
Motion seconded by Councilor Mallonee and carried by the
following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lam, Councilors Mallonee, Loughry,
Thompson, Daniel, Martin, and Hawkins
Nays: None
861
Item 11b
Moved by Councilor Hawkins that bid for two pumper fire
trucks be awarded to Quality Manufacturing, Inc. , in the amount
of $490,872 . 00.
Motion seconded by Councilor Martin and carried by the
following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lam, Councilors Mallonee, Loughry,
Thompson, Daniel, Martin and Hawkins
Nays: None
Item llc
RESOLUTION NO. 52-95
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA
FALLS, TEXAS, APPROVING SHERWIN-WILLIAMS AS THE LOW
BIDDER TO PROVIDE PAINT FOR THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
BLOCK GRANT' S PAINTING PROGRAM AND AUTHORIZING THE
CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH SHERWIN-
WILLIAMS FOR THIS PURPOSE; FINDING AND DETERMINING
THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED
WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW.
Moved by Councilor Martin that Resolution No. 52-95 be
passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Mallonee and carried by the
following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lam, Councilors Mallonee, Loughry,
Thompson, Daniel, Martin, and Hawkins.
Nays: None
Item 12a
Mr. Vernal Huffines, 4714 Tortuga Trail, representing
Mathis, West, Huffines, formally presented the Audit Report.
Mr. Huffines stated that the report included a Certificate
of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for last
year' s report and out of the 35 , 934 city units who are required
to submit this report only 3 . 45% receive this certificate. He
expressed pride in the City receiving this Certificate.
In their opinion, the City of Wichita Falls ' financial
statements do present fairly, in all material respects, the
financial position of the City and results of its operation in
cash flows for the year which ended September, 1994 .
The General Fund did quite well. There was an increase in
your overall equity of $4. 9 million which is quite a bit. Under
Revenues and Expenditures, General Fund had an excess of
revenues over expenditures of $2 . 6 million. Revenues did exceed
expenditures by $1. 8 million before other financing and $2. 6
million overall. A big part of this is increase in sales tax
revenues of almost $350, 000, increase in franchise and other
taxes of $980,000, and increase in ad valorem taxes of
approximately $450,000. The ad valorem taxes was without an
increase in right primarily due to an increase in assessed
values on which we apply the rates.
All funds show an excess of revenue over expenditures for
the year, which is quite unusual. The major item is the City' s
budget in advance and then the actual performance of the City
for the year, and then the favorable and unfavorable variances.
We had budgets in the General Fund of $1,732,000 deficit and we
actually ended up with $1, 820,000 excess revenues for favorable
variances of $3 . 5 million.
862
Item 12a, cont'd.
Proprietary Fund types which operate like a business, you
will find had a $1, 380, 000 profit. We had increases in our fees
last year because of the anticipated landfill increase. After
everything you still had a good increase in profits in that
area.
He pointed out the cash and short term investments, and
stated that MPEC schewed some of these things last year. The
money raised last year for MPEC was in the financial statement,
and this year we transferred that to the separate entity. If
you included the MPEC cash that is titled Wichita Falls
Contribution, you would have an increase. At the end of the
year you would have $8 million in cash in MPEC Entity that
belonged to the City of Wichita Falls. In Actual Non-Designated
Operating Funds our cash is still okay.
Liabilities were reduced by $4. 5 million which had to do
with the turnover of the tax collection fund to the County,
which was $2 . 5 million. Also included in the $4 . 5 million
reduction was $1 . 4 million reduction in our bond indebtedness
and other indebtedness.
Mayor stated that Council wanted a public assessment from
Mr. Huffines regarding accounting functions of the City. Mr.
Huffines replied that the City of Wichita Falls is in good
hands. There have been a lot of man hours taken from the
Finance Division in reorganizing and deleting the tax collection
function, and Mr. Clark has increased City grants considerably,
taking one person from Finance to Planning. That leaves only two
professionals in Finance for a City and budget of this size.
There is no fat in the budget.
Mr. Huffines commented that they had to do a little bit
more, of what they consider as clean up work, than what they
felt they had contracted to do. They hope that can get better in
the future. Overall, the City is in good hands; there are no
major leaks anywhere in our testing. We think that you and City
Staff deserve a great deal of credit for the fiscal
responsibility and restraint that you have shown in operating
the City. He thanked the Print Shop for the excellent job of
printing the report.
Councilor Martin asked Mr. Huffines if the personnel
shortage in the Accounting Department were remedied, would that
take care of the recommendations made by the them. Mr.
Huffines said this had been discussed and some areas were
identified where more hours and expertise need to be applied. A
plan is being worked on to get one of the accountants assigned
to the grant area to give a few more hours in Finance.
Councilor Hawkins agreed that Finance was working
shorthanded, however, he also thought that some of the
secretaries were doing bookkeeping jobs instead of bookkeepers.
We lump secretarial and bookkeeping jobs together and assume
that they have had the necessary training, and it is not always
true. He expressed his appreciation to Mr. Werner for the good
job he has done in providing a financial department where the
City can be financially secure and not have to raise taxes. He
hopes that the City Manager will take a strong look at that
situation.
Mayor thanked Mr. Huffines for the professional job that he
and his staff have done and for the presentation of the City' s
Audit Report.
Item 12b
Giola Ozuna, 2938 Elliott, mentioned a seminar she had
attended Saturday at the Sheraton and how she benefitted from
it.
863
Item 12c
Councilor Thompson wanted to know the status of Roby
Christi ' s request on TIF expanding to Berend' s Landing. City
Manager replied that the TIF Board was asked to review another
request to expand the district to the south part of it and they
have refused making a recommendation on that. However, they
have indicated strongly that they do not wish to extend the
boundaries at this time. I do not know whether the specific
request on Berend' s Landing will be reconsidered or if they will
leave it with the Council to decide.
Councilor Thompson inquired on the progress of the sewer
inspection. City Manager stated that there would be a report on
that later this morning.
Councilor Thompson asked about adding the water to Lake
Wichita, and wanted to know when that was going to be done.
City Manager replied that they are trying to time that project
so that water is not put in the lake until the contractor has
completed his job and is out of there. Mr. Bonnett said that he
thought the completion date was the latter part of September.
Councilor Hawkins wanted staff to consider additional signs
to recognize Sheppard Air Force Base and Midwestern State
University at the entrance of the City. He also asked that Staff
look at the possibility of naming a boulevard or street after
Lloyd Ruby and Eddie Hill, in order to recognize them for their
accomplishments. Councilor Hawkins commended the Convention and
Visitors Bureau for an outstanding job of bringing conventions
here, and mentioned that they had brought the National Narcotic
Detection Dog Association here, which was presently at the
Sheraton.
Councilor Hawkins mentioned the dates of the Great Texas
Trashoff here in Wichita Falls which began April 1 on Pearlie
Drive. The other dates for big items pick up are April 8 at
Scotland Park, April 19 at Armory Road between 34th and 35th
Streets, April 22 at Jalonic Park, May 6 at Kiwanis Park, and
May 13 at Seymour Highway and Beverly.
Councilor Hawkins mentioned the tragic loss in the Hispanic
community of Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla Perez who was shot
in Corpus Christi. Our local hispanic community grieves this
young lady whose loss is being compared to such greats as Elvis
Presley, Buddy Holly and a few others. Our hearts go out to the
Hispanic community for losing such a treasure as that.
Councilor Daniel echoed what Mr. Hawkins said about the
Convention and Visitors Bureau, and he added that they are the
most important and most successful groups we have in the City' s
infrastructure. They are constantly working long hours to bring
conventions and meetings to Wichita Falls, and he commended them
for a good job.
Councilor Martin hopes that Council has not set a dangerous
precedent this morning in continuing these extensions on
hazardous structures. He said that if extensions are issued,
continued progress should be required instead of substantial
progress.
Councilor Loughry passed out a handout and addressed the
graffiti in the City. He asked that Staff look into this
problem and prepare an ordinance, if one is not in existence.
Councilor Loughry asked that lighting and parking be looked
into for a park in Westover Hills bordered by west and east
Wenonah. He asked that Staff look at the petition submitted to
him by the neighborhood watch group, relating to this park.
Mayor directed the Parks Department to look into this and
to give Council some ideas of what can be done, keeping in mind
864
Item 12c, cont'd.
that we are not talking about a regional park but a neighborhood
park.
Item 12d
City Manager stated that the Sanitary Sewer Evaluation
Survey report was in a preliminary stage but enough information
has been gathered where it can be presented to Council.
Mr. Bonnett reminded Council that there is an EPA discharge
permit for our two water plants. In 1988 we were issued an
administrative order because of overflows from our sanitary
sewer system. We addressed that order by the construction of
Holliday Creek trunk line. In 1993 EPA Region VI issued another
administrative order, a show cause order, which required us to
go into a sanitary sewer evaluation survey. We are on target in
terms of the timing, which requires us to have the computer
model of our system calibrated by April, 1995. We thought it was
appropriate to make a brief report to you at this time. We are
required to have the final report in to EPA by August, 1995 and
we are to commence construction at end of 1995 and to end the
recap program by 1999.
Mr. Kerry Maroney of Biggs & Matthews gave the following
report. We will begin by looking at the existing system. All of
the flow monitoring, the smoke testing and all the televising
has been completed. All that was done to get to the milestone of
the computer model and to be able to calculate and assimilate
the system under various conditions, which is a requirement of
EPA.
Mr. Maroney referred to the visual aid of the model system.
The first one is a dry weather flow. They modeled all ten inch
lines and larger for the presentation, and color coded all of
the model system. Dry weather flow refers to a typical day
where there has not been a rain event within two or three weeks
prior to that time. This will be a typical flow into your waste
water treatment plant and throughout the network of your waste
water system. All red lines are at capacity. In general, you
will see those lines running at capacity around City Hall and at
Iowa Park Road and Industrial. Various spotted lines around
north of Southwest Parkway and around Certainteed are at 70o to
100o capacity in dry weather flow. Dry weather flow can be
conveyed without overflows at this point and time, therefore,
you do not have a problem with overflows.
The next thing we looked at were two year and five year
storms. These are two rain events that we projected from the
rain events which we had in the model, the flow monitoring part
of it. We projected two year and five year rain events. The
two year rain event means that you have a 50o chance of getting
about 3 . 8 inches in a 24 hour period in any given year. After
detecting all the source defects through smoke testing and
television, we arbitrarily selected 40o as a figure to get rid
of inflow out of the system, which EPA thinks is semi-
reasonable. Mr. Maroney referred to a second visual aid of the
model system and stated that if 40 0 of the detected inflow was
taken out of the system on a two year storm, this is what you
are going to be looking at. Now what you see are lines running
at capacity on Burk Road during a two year rain event. You have
increased an area north of Old Iowa Park Road which is now at
capacity. Also, the thirty-six inch line going to the plant is
at capacity. In addition, the Arizona trunk main which runs
north of Midwestern State University and ties in at Midwestern
Parkway is at capacity during that storm event. Also at
Certainteed there is additional inflow capacity coming in. This
is after you have spent dollars to rehab the system, and
assuming you have removed 400 of the detected inflows. This is a
two year storm with 3 . 8 inches of rain during a 24 hour period.
The five year storm was run and is a guideline that EPA has
used. It is at 5 inches within a 24 hour period. We reduced
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Item 12d, cont 'd.
that inflow by 40% and ran the model again, and at that point
everything begins to fill up and go to capacity. At the five
year event with 40% inflow reduction you have 31% of your model
system at capacity and an additional 12% at 70%. When you get
to 70% you need to start looking at doing something with the
line. You are looking at 40% or 45% that is at capacity during
a five year storm.
Those are the three events we have modeled to date. We ran
some very preliminary numbers on reducing that inflow based on
the defects we found. We think that you are looking at a range
of from $10 million to $15 million to possibly reduce that
defect. We did not look at solving some capacity problems
because we are not at that stage yet. We have about five months
left in the study and from this point there will be nothing more
than analysis, scenarios, and dealing with EPA to see how much
flexibility there is with them.
We had one good rain event just under two inches in a 24
hour period. We were able to model that and get good flow
readings and were able to calibrate our model based on that. We
know we are able to pass a two inch storm which is about
something less than a one year storm, but we were able to pass
that without an overflow. If you cannot pass the two year storm
without overflow, then obviously you cannot pass the five year
storm without overflow.
Councilor Hawkins mentioned the three sewer cleaning
machines which were purchased and when this was begun the sewer
line was a lot dirtier than had been anticipated. Mr. Bonnett
stated that it was not necessarily dirtier than anticipated,
however, they did know it was dirty. They did find a
significant amount of sedimentation in the lines that reduce the
capacity, and this is fairly easy to fix because two of those
three machines, under the administrative order, will be
dedicated to maintenance. He added that the numbers that are on
the models on these visuals presume a clean line. The computer
has been instructed to presume a clean line, therefore, the
ratios are a absolutely pristine system. We all recognize that
we have a less than pristine system.
Mr. Bonnett informed that presently they were using
existing equipment, but the first unit of the new equipment
would be coming on line in October.
Councilor Thompson asked when Council would be able to see
a model of what will actually be. Mr. Bonnett replied that they
have been directed by administrative order to have a clean
system within three Tears. They must go on this aggressive
cleaning program and get as close as humanly possible to what
the computer has modeled. In other words, we have to get rid of
those lines that are 10% or 15% full of sediment. We have to
insure that those siphons are open; all of that has to be done
in a systematic process. Therefore, we will not be modeling the
existing system as it sits.
Mayor said we are already under order to clean it out.
Every day is a new day in EPA as communities come forward with
all sorts of costs everyday and it could be defined as a fluid
situation. Mayor wanted to know what the new requirements were
going to be after we have a clean system. We are going to do our
homework without making any decisions to correct this before we
know what we are forced with. However, we will still be cleaning
it. Mr. Bonnett added that we are going to move forward with a
cleaning program as directed. We see little or no flexibility
in terms of the EPA' s position on removal of the inflow and we
are looking at a $10 million estimate to remove that inflow. In
addition to that, nationally, we are looking at a system cost of
$10-$20 per lineal foot of system to get the discharges stopped
on a two year event. That is a pretty wide span and we are not
prepared to give you a hard cost yet. We are looking at about
million lineal feet of sanitary sewer system. These are
� . 5 it Y Y
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Item 12d, cont'd.
reference numbers and we are looking at something on the order
of magnitude, if we meet national average, of $25 to $50 million
and this is inclusive of the $10 million. We are not there yet
and these are just reference numbers.
City Manager wanted to know if once all our data is
gathered and we meet with them, will EPA look at all the cost
figures and goals for the system. Mr. Bonnett replied that in
the administrative order they have added a section where we go
back and coordinate with them to negotiate a series of
milestones. We are anticipating meeting with them and making
same presentation as Mr. Maroney has made to you and discuss
what is reasonable.
Councilor Daniel asked if EPA' s main concern was hydraulic
overload at the plant. Mr. Bonnett replied that it was
discharge in the system. Councilor Daniel restated that is
where the sewer is actually surcharge and overflows in the
streets. Mr. Bonnett said that technically it was where the
hydraulic grade line gets up above the manhole.
Councilor Martin said he still saw no relief on present
unfunded mandates, only on future mandates. Mr. Bonnett stated
EPA memoranda indicate that they plan on standing hard and fast
on their regulatory status, and they consider that the changes
in Washington pertain only to future mandates.
Councilor Hawkins is concerned with the lines that are
already running at 100o and he wanted to know if this was the
case even if they were clean. Mr. Maroney answered in the
affirmative. Councilor Hawkins stated that MPEC was going to be
on one of the lines, the area this side of the river, and he
wanted to know if the houses which were removed out there had a
positive impact on this. Mr. Bonnett responded that it really
had not because what you have is a given storm and you have a
measured flow and you know the grade of the sanitary sewer. The
model system you see here is with those houses gone. This
applies also to dry weather conditions. Mayor commented that
the houses were not the problem, that it was something up
stream. Mr. Maroney stated that it was a combination of
contribution up stream and also the infrastructure itself, being
too flat a grade or reverse grade or some other problem within
the system.
Mr. Bonnett concluded that what we have is a system that
has been put together over 80 years. There has not been an
aggressive program to keep the system' s arteries at the right
size for the development that has gone on up stream, and that is
what we are looking at. That is the story we are seeing coming
down on the computer.
City Manager said that they would make periodic reports
back to Council as they get closer to the EPA stage of this.
The City Council adjourned at 10: 35 a.m.
PASSED AND APPROVED this day of ,
1995 .
Michael Lam, Mayor
ATTEST:
Ly Torres
Cit Clerk