NOVEMBER
7, 2002, 12:00 P.M.
The City Council of
the City of Abilene, Texas, met in Budget Workshop at 12:00 p.m.,
immediately following the Regular City Council meeting on November 7, 2002 in the City Council Chambers of
City Hall. Mayor Grady Barr was present and
presiding with Councilmen Norm Archibald, Kris Southward, Anthony Williams, John Hill, and Councilwoman Kay Alexander. Also present were City Manager Larry Gilley,
Assistant City Manager Michael Morrison, City Attorney Sharon Hicks, City
Secretary Jo Moore, and various members of the City staff. Councilman Jimmy
McNeil was absent.
Mayor
Barr stated Council would conclude today’s workshop session no later than 1:00
p.m.
City Manager Larry Gilley briefed
the Council on the new budget process and the important specific issues that
will be presented today, which include Street Maintenance and possibly Facilities Maintenance, if
time allows.
Mr. Gilley then recognized Andy
Anderson, Director of Public Works. Mr.
Anderson distributed an informational handout on street maintenance, noting the
ACE Task Force had identified street maintenance as an important issue in our
community. Mr. Anderson reviewed the
handout with Council, and stated additional maintenance efforts and funding are
being looked at through a contractor perspective.
Council recessed for a break at
12:25 p.m., and reconvened at 12:30 p.m.
Mr. Anderson reviewed for Council
the Street Maintenance information as follows:
1984: 93 employees
1985-1988: Employees reduced to
current level of 78
Street Sweeping – chip seals –
concrete
Maintenance – paved alley
maintenance – asphalt
Maintenance – overlays were
eliminated
·
78 employees responsible for:
478 street miles
129 alley miles
65 miles of creek right-of-way
·
Utilizing
24 pieces
of heavy equipment
74 pieces
of light equipment
13 pieces
of miscellaneous equipment
·
Patch, grade, and maintain gravel surfaces
·
Backfill utility excavations in both paved and gravel
streets and alleys
·
Prepare failed pavement areas for re-paving, overlay,
and seal coat – full and partial depth patches
·
Pothole repair
·
Pavement repairs using less than 100 lbs. of hot mix
·
Street sweeping
·
Creek channel maintenance
·
Creek, easement, and R.O.W. mowing
·
Channel excavation
·
Large hot-mix asphalt repairs
·
Asphalt overlays
·
Two-course penetration surface treatments
·
Crack sealing
·
Seal coat preparation and seal coating
·
Repair concrete pavement
·
Restore curb and gutter that has been damaged or removed
through utility excavations
·
Maintain city owned bridges, flumes, storm drains,
inlets, and underpasses
·
Answer calls
·
Develop various reports
·
Assign work
·
Monitor crew production
·
Monitor work quality
·
Demolition of condemned structures
·
Illegal dump site clean up
·
Assist with seal coat activity
·
Clean curbs & gutters
·
Personnel $2.4
million
·
Supplies $58,000
·
Maintenance $574,000
·
Services $1.1
million
Maintenance
materials $551,000
For
all Street & Drainage Services materials
City
Services Group
Street
Maintenance Issue
·
Institute pavement management
·
Increase street maintenance – approaches and volume
Assumptions:
·
Division cannot assume increased maintenance
·
80% of streets are in fair condition
·
10% of streets are in very good condition
·
10% of streets are in very poor condition
·
no inflation
·
$63 million for 382 miles of paved streets in fair
condition
·
equally divided over the next 20 years
$3.1
million per year
·
$3.1 million primarily for contract street maintenance
·
$551,000 Street and Drainage Services Maintenance
Materials
·
____?____ through CIP for major
repairs/reconstruction (report to City Services Group as $3.6 million)
Discussion among Council and staff included: 1) $3.1 million being needed for contracting street maintenance; 2) maintenance issues being viewed as the most pressing; 3) the use of Certificates of Obligation for street maintenance; 4) a bond election for street maintenance needs to have two primaries (a clear definition of what streets will be done, and a consensus that streets need to be done); 5) the reason streets have been poorly maintained; and 6) staff’s preference would be to contract out large volume of overlay on streets and use city staff for chip sealing.
Mr. Gilley stated as Council and
staff progress through this budget process over the course of the next year we
hope that: 1) Council will have a better understanding of some of the
significant long term needs and the financial impact of those needs on existing
and future budgets; 2) Council will keep in mind what’s heard today as other
decisions are made, (i.e., comprehensive plan update and how infill will be
impacted, managing growth is important); and 3) what is important to citizens
(i.e., alley maintenance) will be better understood.
Mr. Gilley stated the Fundamental
Goal of the Budget Workshops is to inform Council about what staff knows about
today’s environment and the future needs of our street maintenance division
through the budget process as well as other needs that will be reviewed as we
move through this process.
Council noted the importance of finding more ways to increase revenue, bringing in more people to increase property tax revenue, and increasing sales to generate more sales tax.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:57 p.m.
_____________________________ ______________________________
Jo Moore Grady
Barr
City Secretary Mayor