2021 06 24 WS MinutesMINUTES OF THE REGULAR WORK SESSION OF THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN
June 24, 2021
The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas met in a Regular Work Session on
Thursday, June 24, 2021, at 5:31 P.M., in the Council Chamber of the Baytown City Hall, 2401
Market Street, Baytown, Texas with the following in attendance:
Laura Alvarado
Council Member
Jacob Powell
Council Member
Charles Johnson
Council Member
Mike Lester
Council Member
Chris Presley
Council Member
Heather Betancourth
Mayor Pro Tern
Rick Davis City Manager
Karen Horner City Attorney
Raquel Martinez Acting Deputy City Clerk
Mayor Pro Tern Betancourth convened the June 24, 2021, City Council Regular Work Session
with a quorum present at 5:31 P.M., all members were present, with the exception of Mayor
Brandon Capetillo who was absent, Council Member Chris Presley who arrived at 5:32 P.M.,
and Council Member Laura Alvarado who arrived at 5:34 P.M.
1. DISCUSSIONS
a. Discuss a roadway maintenance project on Ward Road.
Director of Public Works and Engineering Frank Simoneaux presented the item and stated that
he would be providing a brief presentation on Ward Road, which includes a discussion of the
existing road conditions, possible options for improvements, and would seek Council's
consensus on staff s recommended plan.
As it pertains to the existing conditions, Mr. Simoneaux indicated that the pavement on Ward
Road was somewhat deteriorated since most of the sections have PCI's in the 50s or 60s, which
is not terrible, but not the best either. The medians were not aesthetically very pleasing, which
contributes in bringing down property values in the area. Since the traffic volume was not the
highest for a thoroughfare as compared to other roads, it had not risen to the top of the list for
rehabilitation.
Mr. Simoneaux proceeded to discuss a couple of options for rehabilitating Ward Road, which are
the following:
1) Full reconstruction, which consists of tearing out all of the pavement, replacing the base
material, and reinstalling the pavement, redoing the medians, setting the grades for
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June 24, 2021
Page 2 of 4
drainage, and then adding sidewalks, and lighting. The estimated cost would be $ l 2
million for this first option.
2) Improve the riding surface and try to bring up the aesthetics of the medians and the
lighting in the area. First, they would try to repair the base. Although there are some areas
where it is concrete pavement and can be used as a good base, however, with regards to
other areas that have cracks or shifted joints, they would make some spot repairs on the
cracked areas and then sealing of all the joints. Mr. Simoneaux noted that they now have
a product that they have used on Garth Road, which adequately seals out the water and
prevents cracks within the asphalt surface. In regards to the medians, they would like to
do a similar treatment as they did on Garth Road with the colored and stamped concrete,
which can be done in-house. He further noted they would leave space for more full-size
trees rather than bush plantings since that would reduce the maintenance requirements by
Parks and Recreation. Lastly, they would improve the lighting conditions and replace the
lights within the medians with black powder -coated lights and LED heads. The estimated
cost for the second option is about $665,000. The life expectancy of the project would be
about 10 years, but with the new product to seal the joints, staff feels it could last a lot
longer than that.
Mr. Simoneaux noted that staff recommended that they implement the second option, but would
like for Council to provide feedback and consensus. Mayor Pro Tem Betancourth opened the
floor for questions or comments from the Council Members.
Council Member Presley had two questions: 1) There are only 3 inches of asphalt, are we good
with the heavy truck traffic coming in and out of McCoy's and CenterPoint across the street, and
2) The heavy trucks will not damage the 3 inches of asphalt? Mr. Simoneaux answered that the
current base currently carries the load of that as it is concrete pavement. Also, they would not
go any thinner than that because when there's turning movement of the trucks, it can cause that
asphalt to push or shove so the 3 inches gives enough surface where it will not cause that.
Council Member Presley noted that considering the traffic volume and the visibility of the street,
he would be in favor of the second option, and asked that they look into possibly adding some
strategic turning lanes on Ward Road.
Council Member Lester inquired on the width of the road encroaching on the gutters, and Mr.
Simoneaux indicated that this was one of the trade-offs for a project like this and could feather it
out once into the gutter line but it will take up some of the capacity. Council Member Lester
gave kudos to the staff for the nice improvements seen on Alexander Drive in regards to the
powder -coating light poles and traffic signals. He believes the second option was a great option.
Assistant City Manager Woolery noted that after speaking with CenterPoint in regards to the
painting of the street lights, they opted to installing new street lights as the existing ones are
really old.
Council Member Powell noted the difference in cost and obviously the second option is better,
but asked what the difference in the timeline would be with the full reconstruction versus
repairing the existing conditions. Mr. Simoneaux stated that they would start with the medians
first and would be done in-house to which Assistant Director of Public Works and Engineering
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June 24, 2021
Page 3 of 4
Kevin Harvill noted that it would be a 5-month process and that they would repair the curb
around the medians as well. Mr. Simoneaux noted that they would also have to run an irrigation
system to the center for the trees in the medians, however, the pavement section would take less
than a month.
Mayor Pro Tern Betancourth noted that obviously, the road needs to be repaired and liked the
stamped -brick look and the concept of the trees for landscaping and suggested an alternative of
perhaps mixing the trees with public art opportunities.
Mr. Simoneaux noted that they would be able to start on the improvements on Ward Road in
approximately three (3) weeks.
b. Receive and discuss a presentation regarding stormwater projects and the potential
to partner with Harris County for the funding and execution of projects.
Director of Public Works and Engineering Frank Simoneaux presented the item and stated that
he wanted to provide a brief overview of sorne of the drainage projects they have on the agenda
as well as other projects they would like to include since they have some additional funding
opportunities for these projects, which involves an increase to the stormwater fee that they would
propose as part of their budget.
Mr. Simoneaux noted that they have been in communication with Harris County for quite a few
months and they have funds that are available for which they have been looking for partners with
possible projects so they want to jump on this opportunity. He then proceeded to provide an
explanation of each of the projects as follows:
1) West Baytown Drainage Trunkline — Phase I
(Cost Estimate: HC $2.9M + City $4.2M = Total $7.1 M)
2) West Texas Avenue Street and Drainage
(Cost Estimate: CDBG $3.OM + HC $1.7M + City $1.3M = Total $6.OM *Estimates not
final)
3) Danubina Phase I Drainage Area
(Cost Estimate: HC $14.8M + City $13.6M = Total $28.4M)
4) East James Street Drainage
(Cost Estimate: HC $3.3M + City $5.7M = Total $9.OM)
5) Rollingbrook Sub Regional Detention (ROW Only)
(Cost Estimate: HC $3.OM + City $--- = Total $3.OM)
6) Cedar Bayou Lynchburg Sub Regional Detention (ROW Only) — Tract Not Selected
(Cost Estimate: HC $1.5M + City $1.5M = Total $3.OM)
Summary - (Cost Estimate: HC $27.2M + City $26.3M + CDBG $3.OM = Total $56.5M)
In regards to the potential increase in stormwater fees, Assistant City Manager Nick Woolery
noted that currently, the stonmwater fee for a single-family home is $3 per month and if raised a
dollar per month, would be an increase to $4. However, the fee structure is based on the amount
of impervious surface that a property owner has, therefore, commercial property would also go
up in an incremental amount, the same that a single-family home would. Based on that, after
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June 24, 2021
Page 4 of 4
running some estimates that would bring in about $900,000, which gets them roughly $14
million in debt that they could issue for that so it would get them half the way there. He noted
that they will be bringing forward some other options that could get them closer to the full
amount of $26.3 million. In the budget they are also proposing an additional stormwater crew
and they are able to do that within the existing fee but to do any of these projects, they would
need to raise the stormwater fee. Mr. Woolery commended staff for their joint effort in bringing
this forward and noted that they will continue to seek federal funds as well, whether it is for
these projects or for the next phases of the projects. Harris County will only fund 50150 of the
drainage portion so it depends on the City's contribution.
Mr. Simoneaux indicated that the Harris County funding is on a first -come -first -serve basis, but
in talking to them, there are other entities applying as well. Mr. Woolery also noted that Harris
County received a lot of drainage money through a bond election and they received federal
money as well, so figuring out a way to spend that much and what the right projects are is taking
a little bit of time. They have some funds left and they are willing to partner with cities to spend
that money on the areas that make sense. For the City of Baytown, they like the projects because
we have done a stormwater master plan and we know there is a need. They have also done
community engagement. As seen through flood events, the city's projects kind of make a lot of
sense for them. However, if the city waits too long, somebody else will grab that money.
C. Discuss any or all of the agenda items on the City Council Regular Meeting Agenda
for June 24, 2021.
There was no discussion for this item.
2. ADJOURN
With there being no further business to discuss, Mayor Pro Tern Betancourth adjourned the June
24, 2021, City Council Regular Work Session at 6:12 P,M.
Angela Jackson,
City of Baytown