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2004 03 03 WS MinutesId 59 MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN March 3, 2004 The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas, met in work session on March 3, 2004, at 2:30 p.m. in the Hullum Conference Room of Baytown City Hall, 2401 Market Street, Baytown, Texas, with the following in attendance: Ronnie Anderson Don Murray Mercedes Renteria III Pete C. Alfaro Gary Jackson Bob Leiper Ignacio Ramirez, Sr. Doreen Anderson Commissioner Sylvia Garcia Roel Garcia Oliver Spellman Olga Rodriguez Kim Harrison Council Member Council Member Council Member Mayor City Manager Assistant City Manager City Attorney Administrative Support Commissioner Precinct 2 Deputy Commissioner of Infrastructure Deputy Commission of Operations Economic Development Community Liaison The meeting was opened with a quorum present after which the following business was conducted: Discuss Harris County and City of Baytown projects, issues and concerns. Commissioner Garcia introduced her Senior Staff, Roel Garcia, Deputy Commissioner of Infrastructure, Oliver Spellman, Deputy Commissioner of Operations, Olga Rodriguez, Economic Development Issues, and Kim Harrison, Community Liaison. Roel Garcia gave a brief update on the following projects: Garth Road, Raccoon Drive, Kilgore Road and the Flood Control Project with the Goose Creek Channel, and Detention Pond Improvement. Garth Road Project - At the end of December the consultants submitted their final drawings with the revisions to the outfall ditch. The consultants were required to revise and redo the design of the outfall ditch to accommodate the drainage in the area. One of the remaining hurdles is acquisition of right -of -way for storm water drainage. The Corps of Engineers is reviewing the environmental statements, prepared by Crouch Consultants, which were submitted in February. The Corps of Engineers historically takes four to six months to complete the environmental review. Once that is done Harris County will submit bids for construction. It is projected that the invitation to bid will be advertised at the end of the calendar year. Construction will last 15 months with completion in third quarter of 2006. Page 2 of 3 W Minutes of the Work Session — March 3, 2004 Raccoon Drive - The engineering group met with the consultants in February to discuss revised 1 drainage map. The issue is determining proper placement of a detention pond. The placement decision will be made by the City of Baytown and the consultant. If all goes well, advertisement for bids will take place in the second quarter of 2005. Construction of the project will take approximately 12 months, with completion in the second or third quarter of 2006. Kilgore Road — This project is on the project list of Precinct 2, but it has not moved up to a priority item at this time. The cost is estimated to be $2 million. It will be a joint venture between Precinct 2 and the City of Baytown. It was not included in the County's fiscal year budget. There will be a discussion between Harris County and the City of Baytown to allocate the costs for this project. Flood Control Project — This project is the Goose Creek Channel and Detention Pond Improvement. Total project cost is estimated to be $5 million. This will affect portions of the Baytown area. It will extend the sheet pile and concrete channel section from Baker Road upstream to Lynchburg/Cedar Bayou Road. Also involved will be the construction of a detention pond on the west side of the channel at Lynchburg/Cedar Bayou Road. The plans for this project are approximately 90% complete. Flood control is working on acquiring right -of- way and obtaining a permit from the Corps of Engineers. Mr. Garcia stated that the County is not sure when this project is going out for bid, but once it is awarded, construction will begin and take approximately 12 months to complete. Oliver Spellman gave an overview of the Lynchburg Ferry. He reported that the County is rapidly coming to a conclusion on a feasibility study on the operation of the ferry. Through a recent study it has been found that the ferry moves approximately 800,000 cars per year. The Commissioner asked that the focus be on the ferry as a link to the regional transportation mobility system in the Baytown area. They looked at the Fred Hartman Bridge, the ferry, the Washburn Tunnel and the Beltway 8 Bridge to see how many cars are using the different means of transportation. Through the study, they have found that the heaviest traffic is occurring at the ferry. The reason for the study is so that they can justify to the taxpayers the number of cars that are actually moving. This is a $1.6M operation. Mr. Spellman stated that they are looking at various options and hope to have a report by mid -April. They have a community advisory committee component of the study and they have an external committee with engineers that advise on the technical side. They are looking at several options regarding the ferry. Once the report is issued, they will meet with the Commissioner, with the Commissioners Court, and with the community in order to give them input on options. They have good data from the transportation standpoint in order to make firm decisions about future expenditures. Precinct 2 is hiring a consultant who will take a look at all of the park problems. There are three parks on the plan that will be bid next week; two skateboard parks, one at Sylvan Beach in LaPorte and the other at James Driver Park in Houston. The Commissioner stated that they have to be invited and the neighborhood has to want a park in their neighborhood in order for Precinct 2 to consider a park. There are other concerns like lighting, fencing, security, and whether or not someone will be stationed at the park at peak hours. Commissioner Garcia stated that another area that has received a lot of focus is a master plan for Homeland Security. This was voted on in Commissioners Court on March 2, 2004. They have hired a consultant; they are doing a mobility master plan. One focus of the plan is the current n � Page 3 of 3 Minutes of the Work Session — March 3, 2004 post 9 -I1 concerns. Where do we need evacuation routes and where are we going in terms of emergency? The Commissioner stated that they are working together with the congressional delegation for any connectors to the Interstate highways. They have been looking for more federal dollars to match Precinct 2 dollars. Precinct 2 received federal funding for some water and sewer issues and a little for Homeland Security. They have done some work with the Woman's Center in Baytown with funding from Community Development. They have worked with the social services group with Harris County to try to do something about getting better response time when people complain. There have been complaints from social services that there have been problems with people being able to get through the lines here in Baytown. They have met with all of Commissioner Lee's social services staff and they are looking at trying to provide a satellite in order to do more and get services to people quicker. Commissioner Garcia stated that they are working to ensure that Precinct 2 gets its fair share. They are working very hard to try to identify ways to leverage Precinct 2 dollars with matching dollars in order to do more for the community. The Commissioner stated that they are working within Precinct 2 to create a Homeland Security Coordinator to work with the smaller communities like Baytown and Galena Park who are next to the plants and would be hit first and also with the communities like Sheldon and Channelview who do not have mayor and council to speak for them. Therefore, Precinct 2 is trying to find a way to receive grant money for radios, other emergency systems, and a Hazmat Team. Adjourn. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:35 p.m.