>> you got me now? Thank you.
pursuant to texas open meetings after closed session, the amarillo city council was announced on january 27, 2026,
at 12:02 pm under the following authorities: section 551.071,
consultant attorney on a matter in which the attorney's duty to the governmental body. Under the texas disciplinary rules of professional conduct,
conflicts with the chapter, and 074, discuss the appointment, employment evaluation,
duties of a public officer or employee. Thank you. >> thank you, sir. I appreciate you all.
>> well, good afternoon. Thank you for attending your regular council meeting here today.
we are off to a fast start today, ready to get some more business done here.
I appreciate everyone for attending. We'll officially call ourselves back into
session and move into our working part of the agenda.
mr. City manager, I know you and I had talked over the weekend about maybe what had taken place with some of our local heroes.
do we have everything set up and ready for that acknowledgment here today?
>> don, do you have anything? >> well, what we would rather do is do that at the next meeting if we could,
and here's why we still have people that are out working water leaks,
and we would rather have an opportunity for some of them to come and be recognized.
but I will tell you this, we were so proud. I know you were, too, in our conversation we had
of the work that was done during the winter storm. We had over 90 employees from water department,
whether that's water distribution, water treatment plants, fixing leaks.
I think they're up to 38 of those now. We have 80 employees that were addressing street issues that were out there.
I think they just all did a fantastic job. What we'd rather do, if you don't mind,
mayors, compile some statistics, get some true numbers when we're finished with everything,
bring them back to the next meeting when they actually can be here, so we can recognize them. >> we definitely don't mind,
and we look forward to being able to acknowledge that work. I'd like to say, it's not just us that are up here, it's the citizens,
and I appreciate everyone for taking your time to email me, message me,
and show it's two o'clock in the morning, and it's in your alley that there's a city truck.
it's negative -10 degree wind chill, and they are fixing a live water main leak.
sometimes they can't even find the valve to turn it off.
the amount of, I'd say, local hero that goes into that.
I know we brag on our blue, we back the blue. We love our law enforcement,
our first responders, our firemen, and we love those city servants that constantly are putting in those late hours,
and contractors as well. As a fellow contractor, I know how hard it is to get out there and go to work when you don't want to.
we sincerely appreciate that community that we get to live around and that you get to lead,
and we look forward to that acknowledgment. Thank you, mr. Hooper. >> thank you, mayor. I'll add one more thing to that.
one of the things I thought was very impressive about this event is that we have call out people that we call and say,
hey, we need you to come in, we need you to respond. The number of people that did not respond was very minimal.
that's maybe one of the first times we've seen that. Then on a handshake tour,
going around and going to the different sites to visit with different people while they were out there. The thing that I encountered the most was that I would get there and they were gone.
I would say, where did they go? I'd call william, and I'd say, where are they at? Well, they've already moved on to this other one.
it was hard to catch them because they were working so fast and the cooperative nature between the different departments.
we had other departments coming to backfield for them so they could move on and go to another area,
and just watching the way the directors work and the way they manage this event was just really pleasure to watch.
I can't wait to present that information in detail to you guys and get to brag about our people cause they did do a fantastic job.
>> thank you for saying that. We have some furry friends that weren't left
outside because we have a community that cares for animals as well. That was spun up over the weekend with the extreme cold temperatures.
then we also have some unhoused members of our community.
that was taking place very well as well in getting people shelter.
sincere gratitude and a thank you to everyone who pulled together over the weekend.
we'll get into our ceremonial items at this point in time. Would you guys welcome pastor margie gonzales as she leads the invocation?
please stand, and then we'll do the pledges.
>> lord, today, we're so thankful for the great city of amarillo.
we're thankful for your hand upon us. Lord god, we're thankful for your blessings, lord. We're thankful, lord, for a team of employees and servants,
lord god, that just came together to take care of our city during this winter storm. Lord, we thank you today for our leadership, god.
we're asking lord that you would just bless the proceedings here, god. We're asking lord that you would cause every item on the agenda,
lord, to be executed in a way that glorifies you, lord, that it would be executed in a way that brings honor and glory to your name, lord,
that every word would be spoken with grace and with decorum and with honor and with respect.
lord, we pray today, as I always pray when I'm here, lord, that it would be your agenda that would prevail, lord god.
not any man's agenda, but the agenda of heaven, lord, that it would be your kingdom come,
and your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, today, we pray for our leadership.
we ask you to clothe them, lord, in wisdom, to clothe them in strength,
to clothe them in humility, and in integrity, god, and in grace, lord,
to do the thing that you have called them poor lord. In the book of deuteronomy, you say, lord,
that as your days are so shall your strength be, lord. There's not one here that isn't here by divine assignment, lord.
all authority comes from you, god, and so lord, today, would you help us to honor that authority,
support that authority, lord, and would you also help our leadership to remember that we serve first,
and we lead second, lord god. We just pray your blessings over each one, lord.
as they take care of the city's business, lord, would you take care of their business at home?
their families, their businesses, their children, their marriages, lord.
lord, we love you, and we thank you again for a city that allows us to pray to start every meeting, lord.
we commit these proceedings to come, lord, we commit them to you and ask you to be glorified in jesus mighty name. Amen.
>> amen. Thank you, pastor. >> you will join me in the pledge.
>> and the texas flag.
ladies and gentlemen. Please be seated. It's an official call to order as we have a quorum,
and we will continue with any announcements. Do we have any further announcements here today?
moving on to item 4 is our public comment period, ms. City secretary, if you'll call us into that. Thank you.
>> thank you, mayor stanley. Thank you for participating in today's city council meeting.
your input and your opinions are important to us, and we're glad that you're here to share them today.
at each posted meeting, we invite our fellow community members to address city council
regarding posted agenda items or topics related to city policy.
during public comment and any public hearings today, each speaker will have three minutes to address the council.
at the end of two and a half minutes, a warning people will sound to alert you that you
have 30 seconds left to wrap up your thoughts. We do have multiple public hearings today.
if you're here to speak on an item with a public hearing, we would ask you to make comments on that item either
during the public hearing or during public comment, but not both, in order to help us keep accurate minutes.
it is your decision at which point you would like to speak. When you come to the microphone today,
please state your name and whether or not you live within amarillo city limits.
if you are speaking to an item not on today's agenda, the texas open meetings act limits how our elected officials may respond.
counsel may respond with a statement of fact, they may be asked that your topic be added to a future agenda,
or they may refer the matter to the city manager, who can have staff step out and visit with you.
again, thank you for being here today. We will utilize both podiums during public comment.
we are going to start today with kristin stroud, and while ms. Stroud gives comments,
on deck will be craig gualtiere. You can go ahead and come on up.
counsel, before ms. Stroud begins, you will have a handout that looks blue like this
right here at your place that she provided for her public comments. You can begin.
>> good afternoon, mayor stanley and council members. My name is kristin stroud,
and I serve as regional vice president of business development for sports facilities companies.
I'm a resident of amarillo, I live inside the city limits, and I'm here today to request your support for rezoning the amarillo netplex.
the netplex is a 62,000 square foot sports and events center,
a hub of energy, enthusiasm, and excitement for our community.
our multi-purpose space includes adaptable courts for volleyball,
basketball, pickleball, futsal, private party space, food and beverage sales,
and a pickleball pro shop powered by pickleball central.
designed to serve competitive athletes, recreational players, and our community of senior citizens,
the netplex also hosts corporate meetings, conferences, pop-up winter markets, and social gatherings.
beyond providing premier facilities, we're focused on building community through recreational sports.
across the country, we've seen how the post-game experience transforms recreational venues into gathering places where friendships are forged.
when adults finish playing a game, having the option to stay, grab a beer,
and connect with fellow players creates the social bonds that make communities thrive.
I want to address the elephant in the room. Concerns about alcohol service in the youth sports environment.
we hear you, and we share your concerns. This is why responsible moderation is at the core of our plan.
this isn't about creating a bar that happens to have sports courts.
it's about offering a responsible adult amenity that enhances a social experience while maintaining
the family-friendly atmosphere that makes the netplex special. Importantly, the amarillo netplex will have the ability to
choose when and how we serve alcohol. We hold the key to the tap.
we have complete flexibility not to serve at all,
depending on the event, situation, or youth programming.
this means uil events, youth tournaments, family events, church gatherings,
or any other event where alcohol service would be inappropriate. It can proceed without any alcohol presence whatsoever.
the discretion allows us to tailor our service to each event's specific needs and audience.
alcohol sales or not, amarillo netplex maintains a zero-tolerance policy for
individuals whose behavior is not in line with community standards,
including any abuse directed at officials, parents, players, or netplex team members.
we are committed to maintaining a respectful and safe environment for all members.
it's worth noting that tabc has already granted a license to serve alcohol at this location.
however, due to current zoning limitations and the addition of our new tenant, san jose mexican restaurant,
amarillo netplex opted to abandon that license in favor of san jose.
we're now seeking the proper zoning to allow both businesses to serve responsibly within that footprint.
appreciate your consideration and welcome any questions. >> thank you, ms. Stroud.
>> our next speaker that may come up to the empty podium is tim benson,
and mr. Gualtiere, you may begin. >> thank you. Let me also echo
what an excellent job all the city employees did on the storm.
I did notice that your snow plows looked like they were out doing some practice runs beforehand,
and I commend the leadership of the city staff of what they've been able to accomplish over the storm.
thank you. What I'm here to speak about is obviously the swimming pools.
I think a lot of people's perception is that maybe since there's a video made,
that maybe mr. Simpson's mind's already been made up, listening to some of the comments that mr. Prescott made in regards to safety,
his mind is already made up. I would have just asked, especially you two gentlemen,
that we shouldn't lop off 50 years of having a pool just so quickly.
I don't think both of you guys are very accomplished businessmen, as all of you all are.
I don't think any of all would ever make those decisions so quickly on your assets,
and I expect you not to make the same quick judgments on our assets.
I know you're going to say, well, this has been studied, and this has been studied over and over and talked about, but it really hasn't.
what I'm speaking to is, if you're going to study the southeast pool,
the contractors go out there and look at it and maybe see out what the real costs are going to be,
then why can't we have that same evaluation at the southwest pool?
they had just under 10,000 visits. So did the southeast pool.
that's with three premier pools in that exact same area.
that tells you there's a need out there. Regardless of what you think it is,
I just think it would be fair and balanced, if you will, is that if you're going to study the southeast pool,
why can't we do the same thing with the southwest pool? Let's call on the city talent of contractors to go out there and look at that.
mr. Stanley's in that business, a lot of those things you had to notice,
there's no way it would cost that much. Your common sense tells you that.
let's go, please, allow it to be, instead of just closing it today,
you're going to evaluate a full year. You've already closed southeast pool,
you said, for the rest of the year. Why not take that same evaluation time that you're going to evaluate southeast pool,
be the same thing for southwest? You may actually find out it's going
to say exactly the same thing that the city staff has been saying. It will cost you $2 million to fix it.
well, that gives you backup that when a citizens comes to you and says,
why did you close southwest pool? Well, these are the reasons. You don't have those reasons now.
all I do is ask you to please use common sense. This is our tax money, as it is yours.
we have the right to let it be evaluated properly before we just lop this off.
thank you for your time. >> thank you, sir. >> tim, you may be good.
>> hey, guys, thanks for putting the check registry on the agenda today.
first thing that I'd like to talk about this that I looked at it and I don't see it on there.
I don't see the financial agency-related transactions/aedc.
I don't see the transactions that they have on there. I don't see the deposits.
I don't see the wire transfers. I don't see the deposits and credits of grant money.
that stuff needs to be on there. It's public money, it should be on there.
you write that down and give me an answer on that sometime.
back to the netplex thing. My comment to that is when you have a daycare,
a church, and volleyball,
they don't mix with alcohol. That's what you guys need to really consider.
those three things don't mix with alcohol. Thanks for your time.
>> mayor, that concludes everybody that's signed up today. >> thank you, ms. City secretary.
do we have anyone else here who would like to speak? You can go ahead and speak,
mr. Fisher, and then afterwards, will you fill that out? >> sure. >> then, mr. Adair,
do you mind signing in that way we can keep a record of it? You'll go next.
>> my name is mike fisher. I live in the city limits of amarillo.
I think I've found the money for you guys to keep those polls open.
it's that 500,000 you're spending on emma. Emma is the bot that's on our website for those of you that don't know.
she's pretty useless. Just go ask her anything.
I asked her, when is the next city council meeting? Let's hear her answer.
>> you can find the schedule for upcoming amarillo city council meetings,
including dates, agendas, and minutes, by visiting the city council meetings page on this website.
regular meetings are held on the second and fourth tuesdays of each month in the council chamber on the third floor of city hall at 6:23 south johnson street.
>> now let's look at chatgpt, which is free.
if you guys choose to use chatgpt, I've already asked it what would it cost for a city our size,
and it said approximately 50,000. Let's hear what chatgpt says when I ask the same exact question.
>> tuesday, january 27, 2026, at 12:00 pm cst,
amarillo city council regular meeting, location, amarillo city hall, council chamber 623s johnson's third floor,
amarillo, tx 79109. >> if you notice, she gave the exact [noise] date and time;
emma gave us a generalization. What good does that do?
that does nothing for anyone. She didn't even give a link. Click on this link.
I did the math: 450,000, if you decided to go with chatgpt,
you can integrate chatgpt into the website for that 50k.
if you decided not to, just let everybody use chatgpt on their own.
but if you save that 450k, you can service somewhere between $5 and $8 million in debt.
that would easily cover keeping both of those pools open. There's your simple fix.
somebody said 2 million to fix one. Well, there you go. Thanks for your time.
>> appreciate you, mr. Fisher. Mr. Adair.
>> I was going to talk about the pools also, because as of recently,
we have seen a lot of stuff.
bukies got millions in tax abatements.
ada berry land, south of town, got tax abatements. Just recently, we did the harrington hotel for what,
900,000 in tax abatements. Now we're sitting here talking about closing pools
and wondering why we don't have the money to keep them open.
I think a lot of it's because of all these tax abatements.
in a lot of ways, we're cutting our throats on those and not
having the taxes come in so that we'll have the money to take care of everything that we need to take care of down the road.
I wanted to say that, and that's add on the polls. Thank you.
>> thank you, mr. Adair. Do I have anyone else here who would like to give public comment before we move
forward with the rest of the business meeting? Who did you see?
oh, yes. If you'll come forward. If you don't mind, if you'll state your name for the record,
and then after speaking, if you'll go fill it out over there, we'll make sure we keep a good public record.
>> okay. >> lower that microphone down to you, if you would, ma'am. >> my name is katie alexander,
and I am an amarillo city resident. I wanted to speak on the netplex and on the pools.
I think that they coincide.
she had spoke about building community,
about having a drink after a game, which is great. I think that sounds nice.
but as a parent that has kids that play in kids inc,
and just seeing what issues we've had with kids inc.,
adults not behaving the way that they should. This is without alcohol involved,
and we're now having to pay extra money for security at these games,
and it's made the cost of something that used to be affordable sport option for
amarillo into something that's costing us over $100 for each kid every time we want to play a sport.
I don't think that adding alcohol into the mix is going to do anything positive.
I think it's only going to add more emotions,
and they're not always happy emotions.
victory beer is nice, but when you lose,
sometimes there's a different side that comes out.
with that being said, the pools, that does create a sense of community.
that is a place for these families to go and to spend time without having to spend,
even maybe $10 to get inside the pool, and to be able to spend hours with friends,
meeting people, and I think that that's the more direction that we need to be going towards when we're trying to build community.
I don't think that adding alcohol is going to be a beneficial thing to anything,
especially with the daycare there. Again, as a parent,
I would feel very uneasy knowing that even though there is control of when the alcohol is can be served.
it's just using that discretion and making sure that that's going to be used with the best intent.
that's all I wanted to say. >> thank you, ma'am. If I don't mind,
if you'll step right over here with miss stephanie, she'll get you filled out. >> thank you. >> thank you. I saw another hand,
who did we have that was next to you? Did we have one other person that wanted to speak?
okay. At this time, we'll close public comment. We'll move forward with the rest of the working session.
we have our consent agenda, and I believe I have a few items that may need to come off of that.
council, is there anything you'd like to pull on the consent agenda? >> council mayor, I'd like to pull 5.4 off the consent.
>> 5.4 is the pool item that's before us. We will pull that.
do I have anything else that needs to come off, council? Would entertain a motion on the remaining consent agenda.
>> moved. >> second. >> I have a motion and a second from place 2.
all in favor, please say aye. [overlapping] >> any opposed? Motion passes.
let's take up item 5.4, potential resolution.
this is our second and final reading, so we have already voted on this once.
doesn't mean that we cannot redirect it. I would go ahead and ask councilman reid if you wanted to lead us into this conversation,
and then we'll draw staff in. >> after our last council meeting in a couple of weeks,
leading up to this, and rethinking what we've done to
permanently close southwest pool and do a study on southeast pool,
really doesn't make sense. The numbers, and I don't like to use
those numbers because they really don't tell us much, given some things that are going on because of the pools, the conditions,
but I think we should take some time to actually do an evaluation of both pools.
but also, if the plan is to close any of them,
one or both of them is, what is the plan of replacement?
are we looking at one complex because it's
a quality-of-life issue that I think is important to our community?
I think the community needs to weigh in on that. We need to listen to what they want,
as opposed to maybe what we want or what the staff is seeing.
I appreciate the work that staff has done. But I think it's time to bring somebody in that understands what we're up against,
and whether or not they're fixable, replaceable, or where we go with it.
>> thank you, sir. Councilman tips. >> donny, can I add to that?
can we get a number on demo on those? What's it going to take to demo,
fill those things full of dirt or remove that. What's it going to take to level those things out to make it usable?
>> sure. We could do that. I think to address what councilman reid was talking about,
it wouldn't be any different for us to build that as a full package to not only do an evaluation of both pools,
but also even look at our feasibility study that we originally had brought, previously engaged a as well where you have a plan,
see what the feasibility is, what the desires and needs are of the community as well.
I think we could entertain that if that's what the council would have us do. Thank you.
>> councilman? >> I make a motion that we look at
both southwest and southeast pools and do a feasibility study on both of those properties.
>> [noise] councilman, do you have anything? >> mr. City attorney, let me ask you,
a little uncharted territory. We've got a resolution that's up for its second and final reading.
is it cleaner to table that resolution and present
an alternate direction or to amend since we now have the second reading?
>> substantially. I would say that you can do it either way if you want to; it's up to you.
>> I appreciate the advice. >> I feel this is not a substantial change.
this is just some additional work we can add on to the direction that council has already directed us towards.
I think we can work with the resolution, just amend it as councilor prescott has requested,
and we just have a little bit more work to sign to the park advisory board. [noise]
>> I'm just going to read the language here and make sure we're good.
this item is a second and final reading to consider a resolution authorizing the closure of southwest pool.
that is being amended to the temporary closure of southwest and
southeast pool for the 2026 season due to safety and structural concerns,
directing staff to perform an engineering study.
moved. With that, for clarification, the feasibility study.
there's a slight difference in that as well. Structural study, but also a feasibility study.
>> correct. >> for both southeast and southwest. >> correct. >> I think we have the motion before you, council?
>> second. >> motion in a second. Any further discussion on 5.4?
all in favor, please say aye. [overlapping] >> any opposed? Motion passes.
>> mr. Bayer. >> yes, sir. >> I'd like to just a point of reference. I think michael kashuba and his group ask for that
originally to do the study on both southwest and southeast, correct?
back in august, and we tasked them to do it internally.
this ask was originally proposed in august. I just don't want to lose light of that.
maybe we should have just done it in august instead of waiting until now. But I think we should recognize that that
was the initial course of action that was requested. >> do you have anything else there, council?
>> he was the one that didn't let us take no I was [overlapping]
>> [laughter] were the one. Can't we just do it ourselves, and then here we are three months later? We're going to get somebody else.
>> that was me. >> mr. Hooper, you got anything to add?
>> no, sir. I think we have a clear direction on that, and we can certainly make that work.
we'll bring you back the findings of the study, for the way I understand it,
the study for both the facilities, what it would take if we had to close them,
what it would cost to fix them, etc. To do the full study structurally, everything else.
then also a feasibility study to make sure that we know what the needs are versus what we have now for the future.
>> yes, sir. >> part of that, can we get without doing an rfp and rfq,
can we get legitimate bids from contractors that just give us an idea?
is that doable? It is doable. [laughter] but you don't want to do it. What is that a problem?
>> no, I don't think so. I think we can work through it. >> seriously, is it something?
>> you're talking about just getting an estimate, just a pie in the sky estimate. >> not a pie in the sky estimate,
but I think we've been presented with all these numbers, but we haven't been presented with hard.
this was a bid that we got from x pool company,
and they could do it for this. >> sure. >> to replace the equipment.
>> that will come as part of the structural analysis. >> well, that's what I'm saying, but yes.
we've been presented with a repair estimate that,
obviously, a lot of the community is questioning. You're saying $1.2 million. Where did that come from?
well, we're saying, well, it's $400,000 to re plaster it. Well, did we get a hard bid for that,
or someone told us that's about what it's going to be? I'm saying if we have hard bids,
I think it brings a lot of comfort to the citizens to go, listen, here it is, just like mr. Gualtiere brought up.
if we have those, and they say, well, why are you closing it? Well, we've got these eight bids to do the mechanical, the plaster,
the whatever, and the engineering, the big void that's underneath. It's not doable. Then that's like,
oh, okay. Makes sense. >> sure. Councilman, for any project like this,
generally, what we'll do is get budgetary estimates. We don't know if we're looking at a $200,000 fix or a $5 million fix.
we work with vendors to try to come up with a budgetary number that's not a formal bid,
so that we know what the starting point is. From there, then we can go do a true bid once we know what that budget would be.
[overlapping] those numbers were from a pool company that gave us those estimates to do the pools.
we actually have used the sunbelt pool for a lot of different projects. They were the ones that gave us the number to
reflect for the pool and also for the equipment. Those are budgetary estimates that came straight from a vendor.
>> in order to get the hard bid, we've got to design the procurement scope document,
the scope itself, exactly. That's the next step that we've asked the council to move towards.
again the board has been looking at a couple of options. They're going to be looking, okay, do we recommend to the city council to fix what is?
here's the scope, and here's the bids? Or do we recommend to the feasibility,
this isn't the right place. Maybe 1, 2, 3, I don't know. Maybe a splash pad. We don't know.
that's why, before we spend money, part of the idea is a feasibility study,
decide what the best use of these funds? >> I think the biggest thing is that we see the cost in above,
which I think you'll done a pretty good job of presenting. But I think what's lacking is just those hard bids of.
>> that's exactly right. I think we really need to take
a more investigative approach to get you some real numbers rather than just the estimates. Thank you.
>> council anything further on that item.
gentlemen, we'll move into section 6, our discussion.
we will go to 6.1. I know we have miss owens back here.
katrina, if you want to come in and maybe speak to what is currently on the website as far as check register.
then we'll try to give better direction on what we're looking for. >> good afternoon, mayor and council.
today, I want to present an overview of the city's current practices related to the postings of the check register and the account register.
I am katrina owens, interim cfo. I'm falling apart.
so council gave direction back on june 24, meaning to produce two reports,
the check register, and then the account register. Now, the check register is a canned report from the system.
there's no programming. It was bought with the system when we bought it.
it's easy to produce. It has raw transactional data. Quick turnaround and timely posting.
now, some of the drawbacks, it does not include the wire transfers or deposits,
and that is specifically stated on the website. We built the account register for that.
it is a customized report written by our erp accountant or consultant.
it has all the forms of payment, including the checks, ach's,
wire transfers and deposits. It provides more of a complete picture of
the city financial activity for the general fund pull account.
however, it is slower to produce. It is produced on a quarterly basis after the full bank recon has been performed.
it does require more information to be redacted. Now, direction was given to us to use
the starting point of the new erp system as of january 2025.
the data looked consistent. There was no questions of with
prior years looking different than the current year system. >> I want to take a moment and talk about the state comptroller's office.
they do have a transparency stars program, which recognizes local governments that go above and beyond basic transparency by
making meaningful financial and operational information easily accessible to the public.
now, this program aligns the city to follow best practices with the comptroller's office.
now, with all awards that we work towards, there's always going to be built in a best practice,
either at the state level or the federal level that we can follow. The city is working towards the eligibility of this program.
the check registers must be posted, including all the transfers, wires, and deposits.
we will achieve that with the account ledger. We must have three years of data posted online.
we currently are in our first year, so it'll take a couple more years before we have all of that accomplished.
then the information must be within three clicks of the home page,
and we have accomplished that. This is a snippet of the city's website.
it's home, finance, and then financial transparency.
down at the bottom, you can see, we start listing the check register, so it's in within three clicks.
right above those dots towards the top,
it does have the disclaimer that excludes the wire transfers, the deposits, and the transactions related to the component units.
now, there is a link for public information request act for that information.
I'd also like to point out that we are the fiscal agents for the component units,
and so we currently are only posting city information that council has oversight of.
going into an example of the check register. It lists the payee,
the amount, the date. This really is just a list of checks from the system.
then we start with the account register. This is right under the checks register area,
so we can see we have the three quarters there. It does down towards the bottom of this list all the other accounts you can ask for.
you can ask for the hot tax debt and any other accounts, and you can do that through a public information request act.
going into the account ledger,
you can see that it has date, supplier, employee, customer, the fund,
which is going to be important, and then either the payment amount or the deposit.
currently, we have not received any public information requests on additional data.
what else would you like to see or what questions can I answer for you?
>> thank you, ma'am. Let's start over here with councilman prescott. >> on the wires, is there any way if the wires are not available,
can we maybe get a gl audit analysis report? Can we make some subsequent reports out of
the erp that are just going to show the wires without having to? >> the wires will be in your account ledger in
the deposit or in the payments until they will be listed. >> I had heard earlier that they were not?
>> not in the check register. They're in the account ledger. >> all things that we've been asked for by the public are going to be in the report?
>> yes. >> that's quarterly, correct? >> yes, it is. >> that's quarterly monthly.
>> thank you. >> yes. Absolutely. >> councilman?
>> I'm going to go back because mr. Benson, when he came up to speak on this,
is it a legal reason that we don't post certain things or things have to be redacted?
>> redacted. We wouldn't post like the home housing checks.
you don't want to see what the names are. You don't want to see any wire information that has wire account information.
you need to redact things that would protect privacy of that third party.
>> he asked specifically about the aedc, their deposits, grant funds, and those type of things.
>> that's up to your discretion. If you would like to start seeing aedc, then we can provide that.
it would take about half a day extra work to produce that specific and post it.
currently, it's just been about city oversight.
>> when we looked at city oversight, we were just talking about our particular checking account?
>> right. >> now, katrina, I know we have oversight over the aedc.
could that be a request made to them or did they not have access?
if you're telling us your crew is going to take a half day to get that data,
put it in a format that can be presented. Is that something that aedc could do?
>> we could post it on their side. Now, we do the reconciliation of their bank account
because we're in charge of moving the money as a fiscal agent. We would do the redacting.
now, if it's better on the aedc website, then by all means, then we can do that.
>> I was just thinking just resource wise. If you guys, I know you are strapped.
a half day is a half day. You're saying a half day a month is what it would take to do aedc.
>> a quarter. >> a quarter? >> it would still be a quarter perspective on that one. Because it has to be reconciled regardless and so the redaction and making
sure that privacy is upheld and then we get it to whatever website we would like to point.
>> thank you. >> katrina's not saying that we can't do it. We won't do it. It's just we focused from from our direction.
we thought we had from counsel, look at the city manager, the ones that actually your accounts.
we didn't look at the component units, but the council like for us to post component units, we can add that to our list.
>> that would be probably half a day per each and there's about six, so a couple of days worth of work.
>> do the grant deposits and payments that go out?
>> it's in there. >> they're in the regular lager? >> yes.
>> councilman? >> grayson, can we have the aedc come
in and discuss getting that data to us so we can get that presented?
>> certainly. You want them to come and ask that it be done?
>> I just want to make sure there's no conflict with any deal flow or anything. >> I say anything aedc related for confidentiality.
we can consult with mr. Nelson about that. If there's any issues we can come back to.
but otherwise, if the council wants to direct us to proceed in that direction, we can work towards that.
if I have issues, we'll bring the issues back to you.
>> we got a little ahead on a future agenda item. >> well, I believe we already have that data. Correct?
>> we have the data. Already have it. >> now, if it's a matter you would like aedc to approve that they post it, absolutely.
>> we are the owners. We've already got it. >> I don't think you need their approval.
are you just concerned about there being confidentiality information or?
>> I didn't know how the deal flow at the start. Now, once it's approved by counsel and things like that,
I just want to make sure that we're doing things right on both sides.
>> we consult mr. Nelson. If there is any issues that we're not aware of if we can bring him to, but otherwise, I'm not aware of anything that prevent us from doing that.
>> thank you. >> I think it's good form, and it lends to a good working relationship.
we obviously have the data. We could put it up and continue to give
more additional information and let those that want to look at those registers see them.
I don't think we're under any urgency per se. I think if that's something you could reach out and do and
bring back a statement if mr. Nelson doesn't need to come and present anything in line with that. Yes, sir.
>> just one final question. Rich, is there anything that we can do with any agents or ai to
accelerate and not have a half a day and then also maybe even get this faster than quarterly?
because it's very concerning to the citizens of amarillo that we can't see this in a more rapid fashion.
can we not get this faster? >> yes. We can take a look at it. We can actually use our mimica software to
record the entire process and figure out if we can help automate. >> I think that would be a wise use of funds.
>> I actually just took that as a note, so we're already thinking that way. Just to explain that, so we have a software mimica takes some time
because it monitors the actions of employees so that we can see,
they're spending half a day doing this, can we automate that? That'll take some time to complete because you have to study
the employees over time to get data on that. But we can work on that. >> we'll have to actually do one in that way,
we have the entire process captured, and then we'll figure out, can we actually automate that and use agentic to make it faster.
>> thank you. >> no worries. >> just for my clarification, do you want all component units or just aedc?
>> let's identify that because if you're looking at the pids.
>> that's inside of general fund. >> they're already being displayed.
other component units would be [overlapping] >> venue district, hospital district.
let me get to that page. Chamber, lgc, and the health facilities corporation,
which doesn't have anything to it. >> yes, sir.
>> my thought on that is we have it.
why wouldn't we just give that information out to the public? >> we can if that's what you'd like to do.
>> I think gauging the citizenry,
that they're going to say, why not? Then if we do withhold, then you're withholding something that we don't have any problem with releasing,
and it causes the question to arise like, why not or what do you holding?
>> mary, it's not a question of trying to hide anything. It's just there's so many documents
we not just here in finance, but sill across the board. Until you direct us otherwise,
we don't spend resources trying to put every document on the website. We're not trying to hide anything.
it's just we're also trying to be wise stewards of the taxpayer dollars of where do we put our resources on doing the work.
this is a good direction. Now we know that the council like to see all the components.
we can work towards that. >> counsel, is there anybody that is moving a different direction,
or are we in unison that we want to go ahead and put up all the component units along with the internal departments of the coa?
I don't hear anyone. We will move forward with directing you guys to do that, miss katrina.
then can I get confirmation that all deposits are being displayed? They're just quarterly.
>> they are. >> there's no wire transfers. There's no deposits. I shouldn't say missing.
I should say there's no revenues that are coming into the city [overlapping]
>> that are not reported. >> they are not reported. >> they're all there. >> all expenditures are being shown,
all revenues are being shown, all component units will be shown.
then how many years back do we have the ability to do this?
>> well, we can go back as far as you want, but there will be a different look to the data in the old system.
we started with january to make it look consistent. >> it's current year that we're in right now.
then if individuals needed to get to a zero on a reconciliation for themselves,
and they wanted to go back three years, how would they get that? >> there's a public information link on the website on those areas,
and they just have to fill out a request, and we'd be happy to provide. >> then that public information link,
that's just going to look different, but all of that information's already being held,
it's already been accounted for. It's in your [inaudible] it's in your audit reports.
it's not like we were creating work for staff at that. All you need to do is just click a button and share that
data to whoever the foia requester is. >> probably will be a little bit more than just to click a button,
we'll have to make sure that if there's any redaction that needs to happen, that we do that, but it's not going to be extensive amount of time.
>> would it be normal for a citizen who's wanting to watch accounting this closely moving forward
to request say three years previous just to compare that with whatever we already have filed of record.
>> we can do that. >> counsel, I think that that's probably going to be
the other thing that we're going to continue to hear. This for me, is don't ever go halfway,
if you're going to go at all, go all the way. For us to put all of this up and to start placing all the component units and then
have an inability to show three years prior accounting,
which we have, has all been audited financials. Then I just think that's asking for trouble.
I would love to just go ahead and get that. Now, is there any direction from counsel to put that on the website?
does that help us with our transparency, and maybe some of the stuff we're submitting because there
was something in there you have to be able to show three years? >> the three years for the transparency star,
it would be for the account. We would be able to qualify for it at that point in time if we posted three years.
>> these individuals that are asking for this information tend
to be very tech savvy and not to mind the different looking reports.
>> that's fine. >> they just want bulk data from the ones that I'm communicating with.
I don't see the difficulty in it not looking the same because I'm a fan of not creating additional work for the staff.
my request, counsel, will be to go ahead and put three years back,
just the bulk data on the website, as well as all of the other additional direction.
do I have anybody here that wants to go a different direction? >> but that can be done with very little resources, just putting it on there.
>> I hope so. >> well, because I thought the discussion before was that was not the case,
and that's why we went from the new software forward is because it was going to be a little cumbersome putting the old ones.
>> I don't remember that part of the aspect, but my recollection was it was because of the different look.
>> I do remember some discussion about other things we needed to spend time on,
but knowing that it is there and it's all already reconciled,
it would just be a redaction. I think it's well worth the time to redact it once and versus answering multiple foias.
let's just put it on the website. >> we can do so. >> greatly appreciated that.
>> thank you, sir. >> thank you, miss katrina. Gentlemen, it's only 3:50.
I know you guys aren't used to this. We'll keep pushing. Do I have any requests for future agenda items, item number 6.2?
>> just for clarification. Yes, sir. I think we need to have doug nelson.
I don't want to have that on the agenda. I think we can handle that internally. >> I think so. We just reach out,
double check on some of the deal flow,
I guess, probably is the one concern. Good clarification. Thank you.
anything further, gentlemen. I'll move us forward into non consent agenda.
item 7.1 is our first of four public hearings.
mr. Kendrick, our favorite presenter, you're up.
>> good afternoon, mayor and counsel. This first item is a public hearing and consideration of audits 8231.
this is the consider the rezoning of 253.61 acres of land located in potter county,
texas, in the vicinity of northwestern street and west hastings avenue.
the applicant is ojd engineering llc for northwestern development company, llc,
and they're requesting the rezone from agricultural district to moderate density district 1
with specific use permit 207 to allow for 35 foot wide lots for single family detached homes.
they are proposing a total of 1,138 lots within this proposed subdivision.
that will include a mix of attached and detached single family,
197 of those will be the attached single family town homes.
this property was located outside the city limits at the time that city plan was adopted,
so there is not a city plan place type for this property yet. It will conform with many of the goals and objectives of city plan 2045,
that I'll go over here in a few moments. On your screen now is the way that this property is going to essentially be divvied up
between different plan areas that will feature different housing types within the area.
planning area 1, which is that area in red will be the area that will have
some of those 35 foot wide lots. Planning areas 2 and 4 will be the town home areas.
planning area 3 will be an area in which the lot widths are required to be a minimum of 50 feet wide at the setback.
those will be a larger baseline lot that has more traditional than the 35 foot wide lots.
>> the unit density for this area will be approximately 4.5 units per acre,
which is very on par with other no alley subdivisions in town, such as tradewood square and heritage hills, for example.
then on your screen right now is the phasing of the area.
I'll also note that the areas in green are proposed green space, and there is going to be approximately 58 acres
of improved green space provided within this subdivision, that will also feature amenities for the residents.
regarding the goals and objectives of city plan 2045.
it really puts an emphasis on providing a variety of housing products within new subdivisions,
which this does in the planning and zoning commission's opinion. Additionally, given that diversity in
addition to meeting the two primary housing goals for the city within city plan 2045,
the commission felt like this does do a good job of providing future workforce housing and affordable housing options,
which is a key component of city plan. By right, moderate density district 1 allows for 40 foot wide lots
and allows for less as requested by the specific use permit.
city departments and utility companies did review the proposal for those narrower lots and did not see any concerns with what was proposed.
on your screen now is the breakdown of the lots throughout the subdivision. The ones highlighted in green are those 35 foot lots.
the blue is 40 foot approximately, and then the yellows are those 50-60 foot wide lots that the subdivision will feature.
while in some portions of the city, an entire neighborhood, zone and developed to moderate density one district standards may not be appropriate.
the commission was of the opinion that there are a couple of key points to consider as to why it is appropriate for this area.
this development from west to east across the property features significant changes in elevation as demonstrated by this cross section.
it actually falls approximately 134 feet from one side to the other.
with that falled elevation and the unique street layout,
that would mitigate negative impacts of what could be considered a cookie cutter subdivision and
other parts of town that don't feature these unique features. Additionally, the applicant is proposing a variety of
lotts throughout the subdivision and three distinct plan areas, some of which would are dictated per the standards of this request.
by utilizing these different standards and incorporating that green space,
the planning and zoning commission was of the opinion that the developer is
proposing a unique neighborhood with good amenities for the residents,
which are all core components of what the citizens stated that they are looking for play 2045.
now given these buf factors, the plan and zoning commission believes this request is appropriate.
it did recommend approval that the six vote with one member abstaining.
we did receive a number of comments on this item. There were 11 comments that were received with one being in support,
nine just being general questions. On a resident outside the city limits that
did see one of the rezoning notice signs did express opposition as they did not want to see develop the property developed next to them.
with that, I'll take any questions. >> questions for mr. Kendrick.
mr. Kendrick, who do you have here on behalf of this development? To answerany questions?
>> no, we are lao group is the primary developer behind this group.
I know that's josh langham and elliot mckinney. Are the primary developers for this.
>> well, it's 1,150 houses, is that right?
>> one thousand one hundred and thirty eight. >> then do you know how many of those are
going to hit that target market that's the hardest one to hit? Did they give you any price comps or goals as far as,
like, 250-350, 350-500? >> they didn't provide staff with those exact numbers,
but I will say the areas on your screen there and the blue and the green, that'd be that more foldable product.
in the area and oranges of those town home. Those will be your more affordable products.
good portion of the subdivision would be dedicated to those price points.
>> are they ready to develop? This is their last leg? We'll see this coming online soon, is that right?
>> yes, so they have a primary plan that is also near an approval, and they also have their first sets of infrastructure plans,
I believe, turned to the city for review. I believe they attend the start moving dirt later this year.
>> really good. Nothing further on my end.
at this time, we'll open a public hearing. Do I have anyone who'd like to speak for or against item 7.1?
seeing no one, we'll close the public hearing and entertain a motion.
>> I move to adopt ordinance number 8231 as presented. Second?
>> motion and a second from the right side. All in favor. Please say aye.
>> aye [overlapping] >> any opposed? Motion passes. Mr. Kendrick, back over to you. Item 7.2.
>> yes. This is a public hearing and consideration of ordinance 8232.
this is also a public hearing the first reading to consider the rezoning of 1.86 acres of land being block 1 one block 2.
berk subdivision of block 2 of barnes highlands addition and a portion of tract two of barnes highlands addition.
this is located at porter county, texas in the vicinity of southwest ninth and buena vista.
the applicant is chris collinger for frieda bethist church, and they are requesting the rezone from
residential district 1 and multiple family district 1 to office district 2.
they are proposing this change in zoning as they want to utilize development standards that are the applicant believes will be
more appropriate for their site given the non residential nature of the use of
their property and its location along southwest ninth. The applicant who is a church.
they have some upgrades that they the bake to the property in the forthcoming months, including signage.
currently, the property with that zoning, they're essentially following residential type zoning
and designations for development standards, even though there are a church. That makes some of their potential plans a little
challenging and is the reason for the request. The church is the remaining operation and they're not planning to close or sell.
just one of mentioned that. Upon reviewing the request and analyzing
the existing conditions for both zoning and development patterns in the area. The planning commission noted that they are of
the opinion that the request is appropriate for the area. You'll notice that this area property is in a transition zone between general retail to
the west and residential areas to the east and typically best planning practices and also city plan,
like to incorporate good transitions and zoning between these differing uses.
by incorporating office district 2 has zoning for this property,
you would have a transition from gr-o2 the residential instead of going straight from gr to residential.
on paper, that's a more desirable zoning and development pattern that you typically like to see in these type of areas.
given all that a look, the planning commission was of the opinion that this
does create that ideal zoning pattern for the area. The commission did forward this to you all for approval with
a seven vote regarding public notices. We had received three comments as of today on this item that were general inquiries.
one commodor did express opposition about potential for
increased sign signage along southwest ninth and potential issues that might cause for traffic visibility on ninth.
with that, I'll take any questions. >> questions for mr. Kendrick on this item.
only thing I would say, mr. Kendrick, your department and probably you had a pretty good hand in this
and mr. Kloninger, reaching out.
it's a great example of you guys looking for solutions, not just finding a reason to say no,
and then let them go on. I really appreciate the abilities that you give
this counsel to direct somebody to your staff. Say, reach out to brady or reach out to drew or cody.
ask them, tell them what all you're needing to accomplish. Then they'll navigate you through all the codes and standards.
it was an excellent job of you guys walking it the long way around, but showing them the easiest way to get home. Thank you for that.
>> yeah, no problem? >> yeah. At this time, we'll open a public hearing on item 7.2.
I have anyone here who would like to speak for against this item.
seeing no one will close a public hearing, ask for a motion.
>> move to adopt ordinance 8232 as presented.
>> second. >> motion and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor. Please say aye.
>> aye [overlapping] >> any opposed? Motion passes. Mr. Kendrick, on to 7.3?
>> yes. This is a public period and consideration of ordinance 8233.
this item is a first reading and consideration of the rezoning of a 23.83 acre tract of unplotted land.
this is located at randall county, texas, in the vicinity of southeast 40th avenue, and mere street,
the applicant is firm and land surveyors inc for pega development, llc. They are requesting the rezone from
agricultural district to moderate density district 1, and this is on the east side of the trade win airport.
they are proposing to develop this property with 115 additional single family homes that will be
a continuation of the trade win airpark subdivision.
much of this property was recently located outside city limits, so it does not have a assigned place type at this point given that.
it is a continuation of the existing zoning and development patterns found within that subdivision.
the planning commission felt that it was a logical continuation of the development that has already occurred out there today.
on your screen is the proposed plat for the subdivision, just to give you an idea of what they have in mind.
it's primarily single family detached homes, although they do have one little row of
town homes that are proposed along mere street there. With that, the planning and zoning commission
did recommend approval of this with a seven vote. Go over the public comments for this one.
we did receive nine calls on this one. Three of those are general inquiries,
and six did express opposition. While those that did express opposition,
for not necessarily oppose the additional single family homes. They primarily had concerns related to drainage and flooding concerns.
I know there was a rain event there last summer that was pretty extreme that generated some street flooding in that area.
I think that was the primary driver behind those comments and
a couple of other those callers that expressed concerns about traffic patterns it proposed.
on your screen now is just the show for the public that may be interested.
the area shaded and green of the proposed development. That's the area that will drain to the existing drainage infrastructure and
streets back to the east and the rest and white will drain to a new retention pond.
that's being improved by the developer. Majority of the drainage for this new area,
will go to a pond that is being improved. With that, I'll take any questions.
>> thank you, sir. Any questions for mr. Kendrick on 73?
no. Thank you. At this time, we'll open a public hearing on item 7.3.
do I have anyone here who'd like to speak for or against this item?
seeing no one, will close a public hearing and would entertain a motion.
>> move to adopt ordinance 8233 as presented.
>> second. >> motion in a second. All in favor. Please say aye.
>> aye [overlapping] >> any oppose? Motion passes. Let's carry on to item 7.4, sir?
>> yeah. 7.4 is a public hearing and consideration of ordinance 8234.
this is a public hearing and first reading of an ordinance considering the rezoning of a 6.73 acre portion of lot 48.
block 1, south side acres unit number 25. In addition to the city of amarillo,
this is in randall county, texas, in the vicinity of southwest 58th avenue in southwestern street.
the applicant is thomas rhodes for netplex lp, and they are requesting the rezone from
general retail district to general retail district with specific use permit 208 for on premise primary
use alcohol sales and service by indoor sports facility only.
the applicant is requesting the specific use permit to be able to serve alcohol out the concession stands to patrons of the netplex facility.
general retail zoning only allows for on premise consumption by
restaurants and is the reason for the request of this specific use permit.
the applicant's tract with city plan was identified as being in the reserve place type category.
that's typically a placeholder to hold identified undeveloped areas for potential future development.
however, in this instance is noted that the lot has already developed at the netplex facility.
in analyzing the applicant's purpose for the request and the neighboring zoning and development patterns,
is noted by the planning and zoning commission that light commercial district borders the property to the west,
and that the property is located on the periphery of a commercial corridor that is focused along western street,
and also at the intersection of 58th avenue with western street. It is noted that like within light commercial district,
all alcohol related sales uses per the city's ordinance are allowed while in general retail district,
of premise incidental sales and service by restaurants.
of premise alcohol sales and temporary sales on or off premise are the only ones allowed by right.
regarding the location of the property, the site is located on the south side of southwest 58th avenue,
with southwest 58th avenue classified as an arterial roadway and featuring high volumes of traffic.
in this area, 58th functions as a dividing line, which is with more residential oriented development being located north of 58th,
while commercial and retail type development uses and zoning are generally located south of 58th.
this functionally creates a dividing line and buffer in this area between these two distinctly different land use areas.
it's noted that a restaurant that's currently located in the same building holds a license to serve alcohol.
in addition to the city of zoning regulations. Any alcohol related land use is also required to conform
if applicable tabc license requirements with the state prior to an alcohol license being granted.
I'll just mention that the reason this request is before you all today is that
they did try to submit through that process and were denied because of the zoning.
that's the reason that this request is before you all today. Given that the existing zoning patterns found in this area,
the planning and zoning commission is of the opinion that they approved the specific use permit would
not introduce land uses that are out of character with the allowed land uses in the area,
given the presence of the commercial district immediately to the west of the property,
and also the fact that this property has been able to serve alcohol, although noted to be associated with the restaurant.
in the interest of limiting the range of potential alcohol related land uses that are able to operate at this location,
the planning and zoning commission did make the recommendation that the specific use permit,
as requested, only applies to an indoor sports facility. In the event that the building never changes uses,
future consideration of the specific use permit would be required. If a different land user wanted to serve alcohol that was not
an indoor sports facility or an alcohol related land use that is not allowed by right in general retail district.
the base zoning uses that are allowed with gr of alcohol would still be allowed in addition to allowing
the use with an indoor sports facility is essentially what planning and zoning commission forwarded to you all as a recommendation today.
with that, public comment wise, we received four comments in opposition to this request.
I'll just summarize the comments that we've received. Concerns about the establishment hosting youth sporting events.
daycare and church are located in close proximity to the location.
the request may not conform with tabc regulations, recent altercations at sporting events in the city in recent months.
if the use ever changes a bark co potentially open. Traffic on southwest 58th avenue is hazardous and introducing
more alcohol related land uses in this area. Could lead to more dwis and accidents.
amarillo has a dwi problem and adding more alcohol uses the commenter felt like would not be wise.
that's a summary of the comments that the planning department received on this. The staff recommendation from p and z was
a recommendation of approval with the seven vote to recommend this specific use permit with
that caveat that's for an indoor sports facility only. With that, I'll take any questions.
>> questions for mr. Kendrick. >> the address for the restaurant and the netplex is identical.
>> yeah. It's 3723 southwest 58th,
both the same address. There's already a license issued for that address.
even if we rezone, can an establishment have two liquor license at the same address?
>> I can help answer that one, councilmember reid. Other than a hotel, they cannot,
unless they've got separate suites within an address. For example, I'll use c market,
which is a variance we did not too long ago. That's at 34th in georgia. That's a shopping center.
there's different suites, and so each of those suites can have a permit.
otherwise, one address is one permit. >> part of my concern,
the way the statute reads, section 25.13,
the physical address on a permit includes all areas at the address where the permit holder may sell for immediate consumption.
I'm looking at that, the way the law is written, there's already a permit to sell alcohol,
as long as the holder of that permit is the one selling it. I'm thinking that there's probably an easier way to do this than
rezoning is you let the restaurant expand that outside perimeter that they
have that would allow the consumption of alcohol that they sold.
>> I believe with this property, and the applicant may be able to speak more to this,
but I believe it's already divided in the suites and they have different address points,
because I believe the restaurant is physically separated inside from the rest of the space.
but then when it comes to the zoning aspect of it, though,
the reason before you all today is that general retail by
right only allows that on premise consumption associated with a restaurant.
if you try to blend those two uses together,
that gets tricky when it comes to the calculations of food sales with the sales associated with netplex and the alcohol sales.
I think that's the reason why this has all been separated from the start,
if I'm correct in that. >> if I can add, the current permit for san jose mexican restaurant is for suite 100,
so it is limited to a footprint within the netplex. If they were to reapply and to get a permit for all of that facility,
then they could work with the restaurant and sell alcohol at any part of that property.
>> the only other issue that was raised by your comments,
and I went out there. I took a nice tour. I took measurements from the church to the front of the property,
and then around to the daycare and it fits within the state statutes,
tabc statutes for those things.
just trying to do a little bit more due diligence, you'd be surprised how many liquor stores and restaurants that serve alcohol
are within that distance here in amarillo to churches and hospitals and other daycares.
the problem I'm having is there's already that license, even though it's been divided into suites,
it comes back to that same address. I don't know if that's an issue that the city should be concerned with,
or that's the issue that that's tabc and all we have to be is deciding whether or not this thing's rezoned.
>> well, it's a separate entity as well. So you think of a strip center.
if they have separate suites, you have a liquor store on one end. May have a, whatever, boutique on the other.
if they want to sell liquor, they can't, even though it's the same building,
but it's just different suites. I would think that this would be the same thing because you're looking at two different entities.
would be my guess. I don't know that. But that'd be my guess.
>> mr. Kendrick, tell us about the denial. I'm unclear on who denied.
was it tabc that denied the application? >> as part of the process,
the city goes through whenever requests are submitted through stephanie. We screen all the requests,
and this one failed because of the zoning of the property because you had an entity,
because the way to look at it, it's the same parent address, but because each of them are separated with their own suite addresses,
essentially, they each have their own independent address. We received a request that was a non restaurant that wanted to
serve for on premise consumption and because gr only
allows for on premise consumption by a restaurant or associated with a temporary event planning
to make that recommendation or sign off on denying it because of the zoning issue.
>> netplex as an entity for sporting event center was denied based on the fact that they're not a restaurant,
it's a gr, general retail. >> that's correct. >> so you could rezone the whole thing, what? Like commercial?
>> that's a potential as well. There were some concerns about that just because,
like commercial, the further north and east we get, we're starting to get closer to some of those single family areas.
the reason we recommended going the sup route was to not also introduce all those additional uses that are allowed in lc,
that may not be appropriate for such close proximity to a single family area.
>> mr. Balzon, I know you can probably add to this? >> yes, sir. Sorry about my voice.
it's kind of gone a little bit. But yes, in terms of units,
it's the same that we usually see for building safety cos and stuff as well.
each individual unit in a building has its own co, so they operate on their own.
this one did come in and got denied, as brady is saying,
because it was submitted as a netplex facility, a sports facility, and not a restaurant as an incidental use to that.
this was then brought back to us. P&z was the one that put the limit
on the recommendation for it to be only for an indoor sports facility.
the way our ordinance is broken down is whether this is incidental or primary use for sales of alcohol.
we do note, and we did note the use of the sale of alcohol by the restaurant and
the ability for them to potentially even allow the sales to basically transfer out,
somebody take a can from one unit to the next unit,
if that's how they operate, allowing to bring those alcohol in.
however, we wouldn't allow them at that time to sell the alcohol out of the actual netplex facility.
whenever we bring you the recommendation and something that p&z considers as well,
is that actual fact that you're talking about, why didn't they just open it up
and have the restaurant sell the alcohol and they take it over there? Well, exactly.
that's one of our points as well is we're talking about incidental use from a restaurant,
incidental use from another use as well. How much do we want to separate those kind of incidental uses,
and their ability, again, just to be able to take that drink across to another unit of the same building?
>> what you're saying is that's a possibility? >> it's a possibility,
how they structure their units and their tenants and the sales of alcohol that they want on there, yes.
>> the operator is here, right? Yeah. Can you come up?
>> I will make note. All of our comments are being based
on city's regulations and not tabc's regulations, they do have to meet all tabc [overlapping] well.
>> because ultimately they still have to go through the application process to tabc to get that license.
>> ye, sir. >> you could be rejected for that? >> yes, sir. >> okay. In your comments,
you said that you wouldn't be selling it during sporting events, uil, any youth activity events that are going on there.
the intent is for what? >> adult pickle ball. >> okay.
>> yeah. We have a huge adult 18-35, and then really over 50 demographic,
who uses the netplex for pickle ball, and they've requested to be able to just have a beer after they play.
>> the pickle ball is all day long?
what are the hours? >> the netplex opens at 8:00 am, closes at 9:00 pm.
I doubt anybody's going to be drinking a beer at 9:00 in the morning.
>> closes at 10:00? >> 9:00 pm. >> 9:00? Okay. The daycare center,
they're open from 7:00-5:00, right? >> the daycare center closes for,
I think, extended pickup at 6:00. It's not connected. There's no access to the daycare center through the netplex,
so it's its own entity with its own access. I think they close at 6:00.
I talked to billy about that. I think they generally close about 5:00 and late pick up is at 6:00.
>> if I remember correctly, their entrance is all the way around the corner in the back.
>> yes, sir. Yeah. We can't even get through it like through a backdoor, anything through the netplex.
>> but there's no connection between the two buildings. It's basically a separate [overlapping]? >> yes. They're a separate tenant.
yes. As is san jose mexican restaurant, a separate tenant. >> but san jose has a doorway,
they have a connection to the netplex. >> well, no, that is now has a panic bar that has an alarm on it.
fire safety has said it has to be accessible for egress, but they can't go out it.
there's no flow of alcohol through, or flow of anything through their traffic [overlapping].
>> the only way is going through that front door? >> yes, sir.
>> I'll bring up a couple of issues that fisher and I talked for about 45 minutes sunday.
but I do like the specific use. I think there's some concerns from the citizens,
what if netplex goes out of business that a bar comes in, because they're going to leverage that.
I love that it's specific use. It can only be a sports facility.
you look at chicken and pickle, you look at top golf.
similar situations. Kids can go to them. It's constant alcohol.
we've got vader, it's a pool, and there's alcohol there with kids.
am I correct in saying that the alcohol has to be consumed in a restricted area? Is that correct?
>> yes. That'll be the lounge area, not on courts. It can't move. We've got double doors that lead to each set of courts,
so the volleyball, basketball courts to the right and pickle ball to the left.
yeah, they have to stay in the center lounge area. >> so it can't be taken out? >> it can't be moved to a court. No.
>> another issue that people brought up was what about the parents getting mad at games,
which we've obviously seen. We've all been in tents at our kids games and that kind of thing.
my thinking on that is, we've got a restaurant right there. If they want to go take shots and then go watch their games,
they're going to go do that; lot more detrimental than drinking beer, I think is what's going to be served.
also, if you're dealing with that top parent, they've got their vehicle. If that's their issue, and they want to drink,
then they can go to their vehicle, drink whatever they want to drink and go watch their kids game. I don't think serving beer in a restricted area is going to lead to additional violence.
I could be wrong, but I just don't think that that's the case. Then security.
do you guys provide security at all? >> we do. We contract with our tournament directors.
they underwrite the cost or they pay for the cost, the expense of apd.
we have two officers whenever is needed,
not just one, and it's the apd officers. Yes, sir.
>> so we have officers on site during uil. >> yes, sir. If we have large tournaments,
boxing, jutsu, volleyball, basketball, if they're needed, we have them. Yes.
>> so they would help restrict someone. Okay. >> yes. >> okay.
>> we don't allow outside food and beverages in. So it's well restricted.
>> thank you. >> councilman. >> just to confirm,
the request meets the distance requirements from daycare, church, and any other facilities as dictated by law, correct?
>> I would not be able to answer that because planning wouldn't do that review.
>> I can answer that. >> but they will have to, yes. >> okay. >> we were awarded last january, january 3.
we were awarded a tabc license. We provided all of the data, all of the maps.
tabc came out and walked the facility. We were awarded that license.
then two days later, san jose mexican restaurant came in and requested a lease,
and so we opted to forego that to abandon it,
to allow san jose mexican restaurant, which is an independent entity to be successful because we want that in our community.
they're successful restaurant operators from another state who have relocated their business here,
and they needed alcohol sales to be successful, and we felt like we had come up against
a roadblock with the city and the way that we needed to rezone.
spent a considerable amount of money and worked with stephanie to be in line,
spend a considerable amount of money to get that license, and then quickly abandon it in favor of san jose,
just to do what was right. >> councilmember simpson, if I can add. The city secretary's office certifies these applications when they come through the city,
and we are certifying that the proposed alcohol sells align with the city code.
we measure the distance to churches and to schools and to any public hospitals,
which we don't have anymore, and that's with our code. We do not have daycares in our code,
so we do not look at any sort of distance to a daycare. >> now, on the restaurant,
is it a full service restaurant, beer, wine, and liquor? >> yes, sir.
>> can you take something out of a restaurant somewhere else? Right now no one can take it elsewhere.
>> no, you can't walk about in the state of texas, would be my understanding. I think I'm correct on that.
like they can't walk out and walk around and we don't allow outside food and beverage in.
you can't come in with anything other than a water bottle. >> but I guess I don't know whether councilmember reid was saying
whether that individual license could serve both facilities?
>> but then the other facility where you're just requesting beer and wine,
then that would allow the sale of hard liquor, and we opened it up to that.
but I thought so anybody that consumes it is supposed to stay in that area,
and then you said, you're going to have a area, not that it's required,
but when someone purchases alcohol, they have to stay in the area and they can't go back out to
the courts or to watch more pickleball or volleyball, the thing is to stay in that one part area.
when it looks at the number of youth events that you think you have in a year,
how many youth events do you have? >> I'm on average about 12-15 a year.
sometimes we have one a month. Sometimes we have more than one a month. We host a lot of corporate functions,
pickleball matches and outings with churches.
pickleball powerplay is a large event. We have about 250 people, that's this weekend, who have registered.
the economic impact of that is we've got people coming in for three and four nights.
it's not a youth event. Really not a ton, 12-15 a year.
>> but when you had those events, there's security there or other things that are available there.
then I wasn't aware of this. While netplex may be owned by individuals,
it's managed by the sports facilities companies. >> yes, sir. My company,
rci sports management here in amarillo. We've been operating and managing facilities across the us,
and then we were recently acquired last week by the industry leader,
sports facilities companies based out of clearwater, florida. They have 135 facilities around the country.
goodness, $960 million in economic impact through their sf network facilities.
trusted leader since 2003 so they've been around the block.
they've had alcohol in their facilities for a considerable amount of time.
in our facilities as well, we've not had any issues related to alcohol use.
in our kansas facility, we had a ksa event last week,
and we elected not to serve alcohol. Ksa is like kansas uil.
we can make the call, which is great. If we have 250 people coming
in for a pickleball event and they want to have a beer, we'd love to have that. If we have 2,000 coming in for a volleyball event,
that is sun country regional volleyball, so all the way from albuquerque to down to lubbock.
it may not be the best time to serve alcohol. I'm a mother of four.
my kids have played kids inc, everything through here. I have four sons. Every sporting event we've played in amarillo,
and we hear communities concerns on that,
and I think it's reasonable moderation is what we're seeking.
>> is that the philosophy, I guess that you have across all the facilities,
making judgment calls on alcohol? >> yes, sir. >> thank you. Mrs. Stroud,
sup is for seven acres or just the common area.
or mr. Kendrick, how do you have this written? >> the request applies to the essentially the building and the parking lot,
which is the entirety of the 6.73 acres. >> we're doing the sup for the entirety of the property not just the common area?
>> it applies to a whole building. >> then lease modification is an option.
I guess if you had a willing tenant, you could modify the lease to grow out into the common area.
no issue on our side with the city secretary approval for there to be alcohol on premise in a common area,
per se, it's just restricted right now because of the lease agreement for the size of the restaurant.
>> no issue on the city secretary's side. If the zoning were to change in the land use allowed for it,
we could certify on that. It would then be up to tabc to go through their process and approve.
>> it seems like the longest way to go on a very specialized variance for
an sup to service customers that are already being serviced.
if you have a tenant that has a competitive edge per their lease,
those are their customers that are wanting to come in and sit down and have that beer in between pickleball games,
I think is the way they're viewing that and so is there no way to just modify the lease and get it out from in front of this council?
it doesn't seem like a zoning issue for us.
it's definitely not typical. It seems much more like a tenant issue between a landlord.
>> can I step in right there for [overlapping] >> yes, ma'am. >> I think the issue is that the restaurant's footprint is limited to suite
100 and right now land use says you cannot serve alcohol without a restaurant.
you can't take that alcohol outside of that footprint of that suite to the rest of the netplex facility.
>> but then in monetizing those potential alcohol sales.
if the footprint grows into the indoor patio of the restaurant and the restaurant sells the alcohol through the concession stand,
your permits already in place. >> but that revenue doesn't go back to the netplex.
that goes back to the restaurant tour? >> correct, which has the license. They're the license holder.
I can't help but feel like that's their issues like the lessee is the one who has
the tabc license for this particular issue.
>> nobody has an issue. >> I'm not saying the issue of that lessee issue.
I should not use the word issue. I should say the lessee has the advantage of having the tabc license per the zoning.
we're going to rezone it with a special use permit just to allow alcohol cells in the common area, correct?
>> special case. >> mrs. Stroud, thank you for being here. I appreciate that.
we haven't gotten to our public hearing yet. We definitely got to our questions.
before mr. Kendrick sits down, do we have anything further from counsel?
I'm sure we're going to be able to hear from a few people in our public. At this time, I'd like to open up a public hearing.
let anyone speak that would like to. Please raise your hand if you'd like to give comment here on this item.
mr. Fisher, you look to be up first.
>> I have more than three minutes.
I hope that you'll give that I'll spread around to give equal [overlapping] >> mr. Fisher, I know you're not used to this,
but we don't necessarily limit conversation here,
but you work as quickly as you can and try to work from there. >> I've got a handout.
I'm going to try to be nice because you guys gave me a couple of wins.
I'm going to do my best to be nice. >> hand them to mr. Freeman,
if you will. Thank you.
>> I was just watching the body language of people around here, like the people that work here,
like the city secretary and andrew freeman. I saw when they were saying certain things,
andrew freeman was nodding his head. Why does our city pitch for somebody?
why is our city sales pitching for this? It really seems like they're really going out of their way to make sure this
happens and the zoning board did the same thing.
what I've given you is a conflict list. Really mr. Simpson, I think you should abstain.
you've had a history of carrying water for the underwood law firm.
if you want to smile, do you have something to say? Do you want to say something?
remember when we were going to hire that outside law firm, I wrote it down, you went to bat.
you said we already have counsel. We know who you're talking about underwood law firm.
that's who you're talking about. That's who you were going to bat for. That's who you're carrying water for.
who owned the house that you live in right now? Alan rhodes of the underwood law firm,
the guy that's applying for this. Who owned one of the houses you lived in, mr. Freeman?
alan rhodes of the underwood law firm. That may explain the head nodding and they're going to back for these guys.
there's something else going on. Who's carrying the water. The city secretary, if you look at one of those pages,
I didn't keep a copy of myself. But one of those pages where the city secretary wrote the words grandfathered.
the word grandfathered is not in tabc code.
again, we're carrying water and we're doing things for people. There's other businesses in this town that have gone years.
remember, when you stopped the tabc license from being applied to the business on sixth street,
I don't have any connection with those guys. I remember just sitting here watching.
you guys talked for 30 minutes. I think one of you guys said,
let's just get this over with. It just kept going on and on.
why didn't you talk about this today? You didn't talk much about it against it or or doing the right thing.
in regards to the daycare, everything that I see says that a daycare
applies here and a daycare starts at the property line.
that daycare is within the property line of the whole business.
I ask for transparency. You guys might have seen my page. I don't know if I put it in there.
to the board members for the planning and zoning,
they said this board doesn't decide who drinks alcohol. This board shouldn't even decide what land use is.
they said that. There wasn't any discussion about alcohol,
and the whole permit was only about alcohol. This needs to be sent back.
I'm asking for transparency. Let's say everything works. Let's say you guys are okay with this.
let's go through the process that it's supposed. Let's educate.
>> mr. Fisher, we'll stop the beep here.
>> mr. Fisher, let's give everybody their time. We may not have anybody else here that wants to speak.
then I'll call on you. I'll let you make one final statement.
would you like to make it now or after everybody else speak? >> if you decide, I can be on the record.
>> mr. Henry in the back please. Mr. Fisher.
>> put him on the list. >> one comment, and then we'll move forward, sir. >> if you do pass this,
I think you should tie it to the naics code, and that will make it definite that it has to apply to
whatever that type of businesses because if we just say sports complex,
that could be anything. Thank you. >> point taken. Thank you, sir.
next hand that I saw go up is mrs. Benson in the back.
if you'll come forward, kim.
>> good afternoon. Is this mic on now? Kim benson, amarillo, texas.
I did attend that board meeting because I was in the kid business for 31 years.
it bothers me if we're going to put alcohol where kids are.
world has changed. We know that. We're seeing the fights at sporting events.
luckily, as raising my child, I didn't have to experience that. But you add alcohol to the mix.
that's not a good combination, guys. I'm sitting here listening to you guys and
it sounds like you've already got your mind made up. Mr. Fisher did make a good point.
I open records request everything to do with this property.
it was a struggle this time to get this open records. Back and forth with phone calls,
didn't understand the address that I put. I put the address, I put what was in that planning and zoning agenda.
I put vicinity, use the city's words.
stephanie and I went back and forth. We did get there. But when the request came through,
I got an email that stated that they were not going to give me what I was asking
for and that they did not have to appeal to the attorney general's office.
I'm like, what? What's going on here? I re read and finally I did come
to the conclusion that they were going to exclude email addresses. But then I could not get open on my portal what she was giving me.
I had to go back and say, I can't open this up, where is it? I finally did get a few of the things that I was asking for.
one of the things I did not get, which is a bothersome to me,
and this relates to what mr. Fisher is talking about. I said, please include any documentation,
legal memos, ethic disclosures, recusal statements or records of
internal discussion involving potential conflicts of interest,
particularly regarding outside legal counsel alan rhodes,
which is the applicant of this rezoning who is identified as the applicant for netplex lp,
and has served in legal capacity for the city of amarillo. If mr. Rhodes or any affiliated parties
participated in city business related to this permit or location,
please provide that documentation. I didn't get that. I did not call back because I was done at this point.
it just seems like what mr. Fisher said. Sometimes we do special favors for certain people in this town. We all know it.
it's not hidden. Guys, really do what's right in your heart for our kids of our community.
protect our kids. Thank you. >> thank you, mrs. Benson. Have anyone else here who'd like to speak?
yes, ma'am in the white shirt if you come forward. Can we get your name again, please?
>> my name is katie alexander. Just recapping what she just said.
>> I don't think that and what I had said earlier, I guess,
it seems like we're going through a lot of trouble just to be able to sell alcohol
and to be able to make this extra money selling alcohol.
like she had spoke with the san jose restaurant opening,
it was like right after they had put the application in, and they chose not to go through with that application
because the restaurant had put a lease application in,
and they wanted them to succeed. I don't know why now,
they've been open a little while, why that has changed as to why that would still take away from their alcohol sales,
which if that was their intention, then I don't understand why it's changing other than to make money off of pickleball,
which also is like, cornhole was real popular.
now it's pickleball so it's one of these things that it's like is it worth going through
all of this and all of the bad things that could happen when
you add alcohol to sports or whatever.
is it going to be worth it whenever the fad ends or somebody else buys.
it's no longer a sports plex. I just think that if we're going on intentions and setting a good example for our youth,
we need encouraging alcohol? That is, I would assume our apd would think that is not cool,
or that's not what we advocate for, as we tell our kids, drinking is bad, even until you're 25 when your brain is fully mature.
we've all seen the things that can happen with alcohol use,
and I just don't understand why we're pushing for alcohol use in something that should be I would say innocent,
and I don't think that using a fad, a pickle ball is the excuse that we should be using.
let's keep in mind, yes, even if the daycare zoning doesn't matter, again,
those are people's parents or kids, and I don't think that if they're open until 6:00,
I'll be damned, there's going to be somebody drinking a beer before 6 o'clock.
I just think that we need to think about the kids and keeping the kids safe,
and this is something that we have control over. Let's keep our kids safe.
>> thank you, ma'am. >> you're welcome. >> do I have anyone else who wants to speak on this item?
yes, ma'am. If you'll come forward and give your name, please.
>> hi. My name is molly gormley. I am a resident of amarillo.
I'm in the city limits. I just want to reiterate what the past three people have said
on bringing alcohol around sports.
when feel emotions are already high.
you get hormones raging.
you put alcohol into that. It is a stupid idea, end of story.
I don't think it's safe by any means.
if it's going to be to a confined area,
as stated, that's the goal. Why can that confined area not already just stay as the restaurant,
allow that restaurant to succeed, have the sales that they need.
why does it have to go from I don't understand the rezoning for
a independent tenant to succeed to a whole.
now, as the landlord, I want a part of this.
correct me if I'm wrong, but that is how it feels as well,
I see the restaurant succeeding. I guess I should have really honed in on that.
now I want my building rezoned. But 15 years ago, it was the ymca.
what will happen if we rezone this netplex fails because pickleball is a fad.
did it not use to be basketball courts in the past ten years as well?
we've seen basketball courts. We've seen volleyball courts, now we're seeing pickleball.
what is going to happen when this fails? It's rezoned, and it's an even more outlandish idea to mix alcohol with that.
my biggest thing is how many times, how many businesses have rotated in and out of this specific building,
and if we rezone this area, how is that going to bring alcohol and introduce alcohol into future tenants?
we're claiming now that it won't be served during youth events.
well, youth events in five years could be a lot more popular. It wasn't even a question five years ago.
it's a question now. What's going to happen when these youth events get huge?
we have alcohol being served now because it's a money maker. That's what this is.
this is a moneymaker. San jose is doing great with their restaurant,
and now it needs to be brought into other areas. How will that work when this building is no longer netplex?
it's inevitable in 20 years and maybe even five.
what's that plan? Thank you so much. >> thank you, ma'am. Anyone else that would like
to offer comment here during the public hearing? Yes, sir. If you come forward,
if you don't mind giving your name, please, sir.
>> good afternoon. My name is harry dewitt, and I am a resident of amaro.
most people don't know me. I am part owner of netplex as well.
I'm a partner from allen, known allen for a long time. I'm just sitting back.
I hear his name being smeared around, but I drink a beer in a glass of wine on occasion.
we do it in a restaurant, to do it at home. I'm not a pickleball player.
we had a alcohol license.
my name was on the alcohol license. I guess we should have been smarter and put my name back on it.
like kristen said, we did have the license,
san jose came in they requested it in their restaurant zone.
I think zone 100 they wanted exclusively the alcohol license,
which we granted to. I think they're pretty successful,
but we would like to keep them there as well.
in pickleball events or different events in sports.
look around the country, alcohol is served. This is typically beer. Does it get out of hand that is up to management to keep control.
we do have officers around when needed.
of course, I'm for it. Also, moderation is key.
we tried to run netplex ourselves. We had hired a couple of managers.
we tried to run the time out restaurant prior to that.
we were not successful. We're also not restaurant people.
we'll leave that up to somebody else that's good at it.
through a couple of iterations, at the end, you get payments to make.
it's a business. Does adding alcohol sales to certain events?
does that make you rich? It doesn't. But we still have to make payments.
it's still a business. That's why you look through an annual budget,
and you come up on the short end, and we continue to fund it,
because that's when you run a business, here, don't just let it go.
alcohol sales is one key that will help us continue.
we did run into rci, we hired kristen and rci,
but two years ago, it's been a total change from what we used to do ourselves.
it is very professional. She is very good at what she's doing.
she's got a really good team, and hope to get an alcohol permit eventually granted to us,
and go from there. >> thank you, mr. Dewitt. Do you have anyone else here who'd like to speak?
mr. Gualtiere in the back, please come forward.
>> craig lira. I was really struggling of was I really going to come and speak on this particular issue or not.
I guess really the reason why it just struck me. I spoke at the hearing with planning and zoning.
the reason why speaking about this really is because it's really hits close to home.
this was my hood, my mom still is one block straight down to that runs straight into the netplex.
right there where netplex is where I used to ride my three wheeler. There's probably no one in this room who knows that area more than I do.
I'll tell you this my point, some of those comments that mr. Brady said with the public were a lot of those were mine.
it's purely on a safety issue. We used to as teenagers,
and as young men called that dead man's curve. You could actually go out there and witness it right now.
people, it's a 45 mile an hour speed limit, and they're going 85 and it's a super highway,
they're 58th now is. I remember when there was crickets, nothing out there. Now it's a super highway.
my concern is, as a citizen is not only that
we do we have to make every alcohol so accessible for everything we do?
do we not have enough places to go to get alcohol? Do we have to enter this into this area?
it's a matter of common sense. All of you speak up there about public safety,
and you back the blue. Well, as if any of you know right now,
your apd is setting records right now in the state of texas on amount of dwis that they're catching. One after the other.
they have a four man task force that are out there kicking butt, saving people's lives because people are driving drunk.
you can get drunk after having two beers or two wines after playing pickle ball.
you can and if my point is it's dark, you're on 58,
people are hauling ass down 58, and someone impaired or semi impaired pulling out there.
there's already been serious accidents long there with people who aren't even drunk.
or even slightly impaired? It's a safety issue with me.
it just hits close to home. There's a school just not even a mile away.
there's a daycare right there. I do appreciate the tenants or the leases that are willing to put restrictions on this.
but it's not just about the restrictions about volleyball games and so forth.
it's about the safety of we all talk about the safety of our kids.
how about the safety of all citizens of amaro? If we don't have to do it, then why are we doing it?
why are we working so hard to make things so easy?
when if they want a beer, go next door. Thank you.
>> thank you, sir. Anyone else here today? At this time, we'll close the public hearing.
counsel, any further discussion on item 7.4? We entertain a motion?
>> I move to adopt ordinance number 8234.
>> second. >> second. >> have a motion and a second.
any further discussion? All in favor, please say aye.
>> aye [overlapping] >> any opposed? Nay. >> nay [overlapping]
>> motion passes with a 3, 2 vote.
we're going to recess here for about 10 minutes. We'll come back in here and finish up the next five items on our non consent. Thank you.
everybody's here. We're making good time, believe it or not.
make sure we're at 7, 6. Item, 7.5.
mr. City manager, is this one you? >> yes mayor, I can cover this about a week or so ago,
the ports to plains approached the mayor and myself, requesting some support.
as you are aware, the ports to plains is leading the effort of trying trying to improve interstate traffic,
which happens to go through amro. They're looking at obviously a bigger area than just us. But we are in the path of that trying to expand I-27 basically from the gulf to canada.
with this, you have a resolution before you today today. They're requesting our support to request of the federal government to add
a future interstate highway formula funding program to the next federal surface transportation authorization bill.
as the us government has slowed down on interstate development.
they would like to ask our support to encourage them to put more funding into
that section of the bill to push for more interstate development in our country.
with this, the goal would be to see pors to plains I-27 growth through amarillo.
there's no strings attached to us. This is just our support behind the bigger effort.
>> counsel, y'all have any questions on that, and then should we speak to that in hearing it quickly for the public to understand.
we're not raising anything. We're not funding anything.
>> correct. >> just a letter of support for the [overlapping] >> federal government to put funding toward this effort.
>> think about your text dot dollars, and we want texas dot to continue to get those projects shovel ready.
that requires years of planning in advance and a lot of coordination.
those dollars do go out into the larger system, and we are wanting to attract as many of those here as possible
to improve traffic growth and infrastructure. >> yes. You'll see that there's a lot of
interstate east of the mississippi and not a whole lot in the midwest.
you go west mississippi so they're trying to encourage more of that activity as we're developing in our part of the country.
>> real good, councilman? >> I move to adopt resolution number 1-20 7-20 6-1.
>> second. >> motion in a second on item 7.5. All in favor, please say aye.
>> aye [overlapping] >> any opposed. Motion passes. Item 7.6 is that mr. Brassfield.
>> good afternoon, council. Drew brassfield, assistant director of planning.
this item is a first reading to consider resolution of support for mirror street loft,
lp's application to the texas department of housing and community affairs for 2026 competitive 9% housing tax credits.
so just a quick recap on the housing tax credit program.
it's administered by the texas department of housing and community affairs. It directs private capital toward the development and
preservation of affordable rental housing for low income households. Tax credits are awarded to eligible participants to offset a portion of
federal tax liability and there's two types of it: competitive and noncompetitive.
the program was designed to provide a source of equity financing, maximize the number of affordable units in the state's housing supply,
and it ensures that that supply is well maintained and operated. It also prevents losses to the state supply of affordable housing,
and by receiving a resolution, applicants are able to score more points with their application.
so the mirror street loft's project is located in the vicinity of north mirror
and dale street near the martin road park and the ball fields that are up there.
the investment is going to be around 21 million for no less than 85 workforce units.
rent will range somewhere around 1,000-1,300. The majority of these will be at 60% area median income.
the complex would include a fitness center, community kitchen, and an activity room.
project is proposed to stay on the tax rolls and the applicant is seeking the 9% competitive tax credits.
so the request is simply for a resolution of support. The only city financials that
are tied to this is a request for $500 waiver of development fees. Again, the project would remain on the tax rolls and if awarded,
the tax credits and funds would be coming through the state. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have on the program,
and if there's a project specific question, we have mr. Beard here from the development group.
>> the only reason I bring it back up is just because it is good to hear it again. So once again, competitive 9% housing tax credit comes from a federal housing tax credit.
>> correct. >> does not come from any incentives, local,
no sales tax, property tax, anything like that, staying on the tax rolls.
>> that is correct. >> really good. Thank you, sir. >> a move to adopt resolution 01-27-26-2 as presented.
>> second. >> motion and a second. All in favor, please say aye.
>> aye. >> any oppose? Motion passes. Item 7.7, mr. Kashuba.
>> mayor and council, michael kashuba, director parks and rec. The item before you today is the first reading and
consideration of a resolution authorizing participation in the 2026 national fitness campaign and authorizing acceptance of
the blue cross blue shield grant for 60,000 and a city match of 175,000.
we do have a little video just to show you, and then just a quick couple of slides just to walk through it.
but this video should explain what the national fitness campaign is, it's something that's done, obviously, nationwide.
there is a process to be awarded a grant, we went through that process,
and we were selected as one of the communities in texas to get that $60,000 grant.
so with that I'll let, stephanie, show it.
>> [music] we're changing the way america thinks about fitness. From municipal parks and trails,
to college campuses to high schools nationwide, we're bringing free fitness everywhere,
and we're just getting started. Hi, I'm mitch menaged, founder of the national fitness campaign.
national fitness campaign was founded in 1979, when we opened the first fitness court.
redesigned for the 21st century, the fitness court is the world's best outdoor gym.
our seven movement, seven minutes system allows you to use your own body weight to get the perfect workout.
easy or hard, it will work for you. Our goal is to build healthy communities by making outdoor fitness
an essential part of people's lives so that each day is better than the last.
now, more than ever before, it is vital that we move fitness outdoors to remain safe, healthy, and strong.
>> michiganders, as soon as we can, we go outside. Which is one of the reasons why the fitness court was such an attraction.
what impressed us most was their basic philosophy
that they want to provide world class fitness for free.
truly, anyone can use it no matter what your age is, no matter what your physical fitness level is,
no matter what your skills are, it is very adaptable.
>> this fitness court is one of the best things that san jacinto has ever done.
>> thousands of certified ambassadors will be trained to deliver classes,
challenges, and clinics as part of our national fitness campaign. New programs are bringing students outdoors across america.
the fitness court mobile app is your gateway. To enroll in these programs,
simply scan the new digital wall with your phone to access a library of free workouts,
designed to optimize your experience on the fitness court. Learn the moves and take challenges as we dig
deep to create impact for our partners across america. This year, we are thrilled to introduce the fitness court studio,
the ultimate community wellness hope, uniting the power of yoga,
zumba, body weight fitness, and the arts. Fitness court public art continues to grow and inspire
across the country as local artists collaborate to bring beautiful, one of a kind murals to life on fitness courts and fitness court studios.
we're proud to have helped cities of all sizes raise millions of dollars from respected sponsors to support free fitness.
wherever fitness is a priority, you can find a fitness court. We're partnering with large cities,
using urban movement data to map the best locations for healthy infrastructure.
we're bringing fitness courts to within 10 minutes of population centers everywhere.
>> they provide these wraparound services that from a city's perspective,
that's what you want in a partner like this. You want it to come presented to you on a silver platter with a bow tied around.
they're one of the best partners, I think that I personally have ever worked with.
>> we serve almost 1.2 million members across michigan and this partnership really is an opportunity for us to bring scalable,
free health and wellness opportunities for our community. So I would actually invite cities and organizations big and
small to explore the opportunity to invest in fitness courts. To be very honest with you, the feedback from
different municipalities and different communities has been very positive. >> we are committed to raise over $1 billion to
bring the campaign to 5,000 cities and schools, building the largest outdoor fitness movement in the world.
join us, let's make world class fitness free. [applause]
>> so one of the things that we've been working with the national fitness campaign on,
and I'll show you here in just a second, is how we analyzed and determined what location was most suitable.
[noise] they actually did a site feasibility for us and so these are some of the things that they look at: the typology,
the amenities, trail access. One of the things they don't want to do is put this in a park that has low access, low activity.
they really want to put it in a place that already has a lot of activity happening.
so when they do that, they look at the equity map, population density, walkability, pedestrian activity, cyclist activity,
and park open space. This is the top three parks based off of their evaluation criteria.
so john ward park ranked the highest at 88%, and you can see the reasoning behind.
your regional trail, you obviously have 9th street trails right there.
it's a highly active park. This is probably the most utilized park for walking.
being in the hospital district, we see a lot of walkers, we see a lot of use in the park,
and then they also evaluate based off that scenic water. So they think that's a nice amenity for people to work out around.
you can see john stiff, sam houston. Then here are some other parks that they had also evaluated and scored but obviously,
the recommendation would be looking at john ward park. There is a location where there's currently an old tennis court that's under utilized,
and that's the location we would be proposing. Again, this is a breakdown.
we had presented this to the park board. There's two different options; there's the fitness court and their fitness court studio.
the real difference is one has more of a space that you could do programmable classes,
so yoga, [noise] other activities in the park. The park board recommended it unanimously,
and that was in the november meeting. So today, this is just the first reading of the resolution.
we would bring back probably at the next meeting, obviously, if council approves the second reading,
but then also the agreement to move forward with funding. So be happy to answer any questions.
>> questions, gentlemen.
>> now, what's the expected cost on it?
>> so we're looking at about 235,000. There's a little bit more that would come back for installation.
installation is done by one of their network installers. It wouldn't be a part of the initial piece, it's about 37,000.
so you're about 270 plus or minus all in. >> okay. Life expectancy?
>> they've got some from the 1970s. >> still sitting out there looking good?
you don't have a lot of maintenance as well. >> well, no, that's from the national fitness campaign, they still have that are out there.
we have some standalone systems at elwood and john stiff park where people can actually walk
around the park and use those separate circuits. I think this is better because obviously,
it concentrates that activity and allows you to do more group fitness, things like that.
>> did you say you already identified funding within your budget, is that correct? >> correct. We've got it put into a project,
and we're ready to fund it. >> okay. >> is that for all three sites?
>> no. We would just be doing the first one, which is john ward. >> okay.
>> okay. Thank you, mr. Kashuba. Item is before you, gentlemen.
>> a move to adopt resolution number 01-27-26-3 as presented.
>> second. [overlapping] >> motion and a second. All in favor, please say, aye.
>> aye. >> any oppose? Motion passes. Item 7.8, miss coggins.
>> thank you, mayor and council. We were notified by the potter-randall appraisal district that
darryl furman has resigned from the randall county appraisal board.
so we are bringing a resolution today to see if you would like to nominate an individual to be considered to replace mr. Furman.
so he has a position that will end december 31st,
2027, so they will appoint a member to replace that remaining term.
each taxing unit that was entitled to vote in the ballot that we cast in december of last year,
is entitled to nominate by resolution, a candidate to fill that vacancy.
vacancies are a little different under state law in the changes that have come about so if we nominate someone,
that person will be forwarded to the board of directors, along with any other nominations from any other taxing agencies,
and the board of directors, the randall county appraisal board, will elect by a majority vote of its members,
someone from that list to replace mr. Furman. So on your screen now is the list
of the members of the board of directors and you'll see in yellow there, the two vacant boxes are the remainder of mr. Furman's term.
I was asked by a couple of elected officials to provide the results and the list of
individuals from when we went through the election in december and so just as a reminder,
there were four individuals; haley holt and jinger white were appointed to
the board as a result of that election in december and so they are currently serving.
the other two members that were on that ballot were jack klaus and tom sherlen.
the other two candidates, excuse me. With that, if there are any questions,
I can answer for you. >> questions, gentlemen. So just a nomination from this body,
and then you have the other, how many bodies are there that will [background] make the decision? Another four more?
>> it looks like up to about 10. >> ten, more? >> they're all listed on that screen right there.
>> I would move to nominate jack klaus to replace the vacancy.
>> I'll second. >> I have a motion and a second, any discussion?
all in favor for the nomination, please say, aye. >> aye. >> aye.
>> any oppose? Motion passes. >> okay. Thank you. >> thank you, ma'am. Okay. Item 7.9,
potential change order on our automated metering. Mr. Hartman.
>> thank you, mayor and council. Appreciate the opportunity to present this item.
so what's before you is a potential change order for consideration,
change order 4 to the ami, automatic metering infrastructure project.
so a little background, if you'll recall, that project is texas water development board funded with a $28.5 million loan.
the existing contract total, that's committed between sl-serco and thirkettle,
is $25,657,758.44, that
leaves approximately a little over $2.8 million available on the twdb loan to fund.
if you'll look at what you have here, the change order 4 being proposed is 1.9 million, a little bit over that,
so there's funding available under the existing original project estimate to fund this change order.
what does this change order propose to do? There's two primary components,
the two big items of it, approximately 450 large meter pits have substantial paving and concrete around them.
early on, in 2022, when we defined the scope, that was minimized.
>> that needs to be added just to have the paving around those to be back to the appropriate level.
this was not designed by an engineer. We have an engineer of record that helps us through sl-serco,
but there's not a set of design plans on this. This was identified as they went through the meter process.
where they're at today? There's 7,411 meters of 79,639 left,
so it's 91% complete.
through that process of putting in over 90% of the meters,
we've identified this need to enhance this and move forward with those costs to have that paving done.
the second most costly thing of this is changing 960 of the 1 " meters to brass meter.
over the last two years, there were concerns brought by citizens about
the composite meters, specifically about freezing.
we haven't seen that manifest, but we have moved forward such that we have both types in this,
and that's the second most costly part of the change order. It also comes with the contractors responsibilities
for the extension through may of this year.
through change orders 1,2 and 3, we had extended the time to december,
so we need that time moved to may. The contract in change order 1 was primarily with
requirements for the texas water development board loan,
and the contractor, including davis bacon and other requirements like that.
change order 2 and 3 were related to expanded scope of meters and other costs related to expansion of the scope.
what we would wind up with would be commitment,
leaving just at $900,000 of the original loan not committed.
now, remember, this is twd loan funded, so our engineer record sends it to the texas water development board review engineer.
it's been through that process such that it has been
deemed to qualify for funding and meet the original scope of the project.
once you approve, if you find it acceptable to approve this change order,
then that will go back to the twd engineer to submit
for final processing such that the funding is made available to the city.
I'd be happy to answer any questions. >> any questions for mr. Hartman?
>> is this your last presentation? >> yes, sir. Out of 32 years, this is the end.
>> do we need to ask a lot of questions and drag this on?? [laughter] >> sure.
you have what the two minute, the two hour or the two months?
>> yeah. There's a four minute, a four day and a four month version of every answer that I have.
>> we are aware. [laughter] >> I think what mr. Tipps is saying is, could you please tell us about
water saturated thickness [laughter] and our well field surfaces there.
>> it started back. >> take us back to like in the '80s, where you really got [inaudible].
>> well, I was going to go back to the formation of the rocky mountains. [laughter]
>> dave, henry, do you have control over his mic? We might be here all night. >> I'm not sure that we can turn that one off.
>> well, the change order seems large.
mr. Hartman, is there a lot of paving at multiple locations?
>> yes. You can imagine a meter vaults for the larger meters,
especially being in, what you would consider, a manhole.
when they're in paving, that's going to take significant excavation to take all of that out and put that in.
those quantity adjustments of meters in change order number 2 typically included these larger meters.
we had originally thought that we would be able to get city staff to do some of this.
but it just has never manifested such that that's occurred.
also, you are limited in what
qualifies for the funding to what the original loan requirements were.
this was a clean water revolving fund loan,
so it's in wastewater. We were able to get that, remember, at 0% interest.
it would have to be a qualifying event. Even if you don't award this,
and we took another approach, it would take longer and probably would
require actually adding a crew in the next budget to do it and complete it.
but this way you get your ability for all your customers, save a few.
this does not include meters out in the well field and outside the city that are remote.
those are still going to be dealt with the city crew plan. Does that answer your question?
>> yes, sir. >> gentlemen, any further questions, considerations before you.
>> I move that we consider the change order number 4 to automated metering infrastructure implementation.
>> second. >> I have moved to approve and a second about playa 4.
all in favor, please say, aye. >> aye. >> any opposed? Motion passes.
>> mayor, real quick, if I may, unfortunately, like last time, we have lost the video at this meeting here.
we have audio, people can see the screens, but they can't see individual people talking.
we can proceed as that if you'd like. We have a pretty heavy slide presentation is the next one here, or if you'd like to,
we could pause, reset the system again, and then see that works.
>> we are down to our last item. We have a contractor here.
it's a construction manager at risk item. This will require one reading or multiple readings. Just the one?
>> just the one, yes. Right now, the staff are recommending that we keep rolling just in case.
if we shut it down, we may lose more. >> we'll move forward with the audio and then as
much on the detailed slides as you can give us back there, kristen, would be great. Thank you. I got the thumbs up.
who is bringing this item forward? >> I can introduce it first,
and then it will be jerry after that. I think it's very fitting too that the cameras quit
working during floyd's last presentation, [laughter] and I think that was probably part of it.
you broke the cameras, floyd. Before jerry speaks, I want to brag a little bit.
first of all, on council and then what we've been able to do over the past couple of years.
this project, right here, these two projects relate back to the 2023 40 plus million dollar
that council gave us to work on drainage projects that were of significant issue across the community.
the past couple of years, we spent a lot of time planning for and getting
ready for this moment here for two of the largest projects, I think that will make the most significant impact to amarillo's drainage issues,
and that is the lawrence lake project and the playa 7 [laughter] project. So jerry and his team have been working really hard on this.
I want to take that moment just to say thank you to council for one for supporting these projects because they are truly going to make a difference.
with that, I'll turn it over to mr. Danforth, director of capital projects and development engineering.
>> mayor, council, I agree with mr. Hooper.
this is a big project, and it is going to make a huge impact in our community going forward.
we currently have engineering contracts in place with two different firms, freese and nichols,
and halff engineering, one on playa 6 and one on playa 7.
as we go through this, I'll give you some highlights, but you will see the impact to the community as we go through it.
we're actually addressing the two playas as representative, playa 6 and playa 7.
playa 6 being lawrence lake. Everybody remembers the impacts that we had that you guys took
appropriate action to move forward on quickly. What we have.
as a construction manager at risk, we utilize this platform basically to control pricing,
to get value engineering, and to move the project forward in a quicker manner.
using a cmar in this scenario allows us to also accelerate different scopes of the project.
we'll go through the scopes and take a look at it.
we did the rfp process. We received multiple bidders through the rfp,
reviewed and opened those on december 3rd. Two were received that were qualified.
the recommendation before you today is to award it to western builders of amarillo.
the benefits of using a cmar are obviously early contractor involvement to assist with the design and cost estimating to
establish a gmp so that we can come back to you with that contract for approval for
the guaranteed maximum price on these two projects combined, allows us to do early release on bid packages,
and as we go through the design, you'll see where we can talk about potential fast tracking to take place through the construction project.
design engineering, as I stated, was with freese and nichols.
their scope was 8,500 linear feet of 30' force main from the new pump station to bell street.
new 15 million gallon daily pump stations to be enclosed in a metal building,
wet well, intakes, and self cleaning screens. Electrical equipment, instrumentation, and
reporting capacity tied into the existing network that drainage currently has.
this comes back to the shovel ready stuff that we'd referenced in the past.
we're doing the pumping of lawrence at this point in time, but we are also moving ahead with the designs for the western plaza drive,
bank stabilization, outfall repairs, and even there at western and olson.
what you're looking at here is what the pump station layout will look like there at
the property that you approved us to purchase two months ago.
this basically sits right there on the frontage of i40.
as you can see, represented in here, three large pumps to pump that lake moving forward.
we also took into account in working with our engineers.
you see the new 30" inch force main to parallel the existing 15" main that is currently there.
we are not abandoning that, nor are we abandoning the turbine pump that is currently there.
however, that is not included in the calculations that I represented earlier.
that's the representations from the new pump station. We have existing capacity in there still to pump through that 15 going forward.
reconstruct and stabilize the bank. We've noticed, as you can see,
highlighted there in blue, some problems with that bank stabilization there along that road.
we're getting that design done with freese and nichols currently,
the design to repair the nine stormwater outfalls,
to mitigate the erosion that we're seeing around the lake in those outfall areas.
as we go through this, the value of the cmar for us and for the city of amarillo is,
for us to get that gmp. If we can realize enough savings, this allows us to come in and pick off
those additional projects that will already be shovel ready and ready to go to work.
what we have is the preliminary outline on the timelines and we look to escalate this.
this is a conservative view, but you can see where we're at.this meets
the profile and the requirements of the bond for us to have the bond completely funded and utilized before
the end of the time frames before it has a chance to affect us.
where we are currently? The survey and subservice utility engineering is complete with freese and nichols.
the geotech bores are complete. Preliminary design is complete.
the 60% completion of the force main design. We're at 90%.
force main design is in progress currently. This is where the cmar coming in and doing
the value engineering brings additional value to us in the city.
sixty percent of the pump station, bank stabilization and designs are in progress.
as you can see, once we get those complete, we anticipate in having those complete
concurrently while we're doing construction and bringing before you the gmp.
playa 7, what we're looking at with halff engineering
on that is 14,000 linear foot of 20 inch force main.
new pump station, including intake piping, wet well, all of the same stuff that we have on lawrence.
with the cmar, this allows us to coordinate with two different engineering firms to get
a uniform design that we can see through value engineering,
taking a look to see if we're buying a larger volume, maybe we get better pricing, and we will take that approach going forward.
>> mayor, if I may, real quick. Brian's had a chance to look at some more information on the legal side.
we may need to pause this conversation to reset the system. We need to try to fix it real quick.
as he was doing some quick looking real quick, and it's a matter of ands and ors in the language
there and so I think we need to try to fix this and we think we need to restart the presentation.
we can get this fixed. I apologize. But I recommend that we pause this and see if we can't fix the issue real quick.
>> okay. Council, we're going to take a 10 minute recess. Come back in 10 minutes. We'll see if we got it fixed. Thank you.
>> [background]
>> ladies and gentlemen, we are back live. If I can get everybody called back into session here.
we're going to jump back in with a brief review from mr. Danforth,
get us caught back up to where we were.
>> okay. Mr. Hooper. >> go ahead unless you want me to replay what I said earlier.
I would, but I would have to deal with floyd breaking the camera,
and we don't want to repeat that. Go ahead, jerry. >> well, as we stated before,
and I think it's still important that everybody hears this, major success from the council pushing this forward,
two critical projects going forward. Playa 7 and playa 6.
cmar contract approval is what we're looking at today. But to give you an update on where we're at in the process and
understand the impact that you're fixing to make on the city itself.
the locations we're looking at, playa 6, which is lawrence lake,
and playa 7 south on soncy. We released the rfp on november 4th,
open bids for the rfp on december 3rd. There were two received bids.
the recommended award was to western builders of amarillo. It's important to understand the benefits of using
a construction manager at risk in this scenario, because we are working with two engineering firms on two different construction projects,
having one contractor to work with us to do value engineering on both projects,
and also to control the designs going forward that would be beneficial to both projects as well.
this allows us to do early bid packages with the contractors and with
the engineers moving forward so that we can start on different phases at different times on both projects simultaneously.
the design engineer on lawrence lake, playa 6 is freese and nichols.
their scope is 8,500 linear foot of 30 inch force main from the new pump station on bell street.
the new 15 million gallons a day pump station is enclosed in a metal building,
including the wet well and all of the components that are critical for that operation.
the electrical equipment instrumentation that ties back into drainage utilities,
all of that reporting is in place and enhanced. We are also working with freese and nichols to do shovel ready projects on this.
those projects include the bank stabilization along western plaza drive,
outfall repairs, and and western and olsen,
taking a look at those. Playa 6, lawrence lake.
this would be the pump station layout. You can see that we have three large pumps in there to
achieve that kind of an outflow going forward. You'll see reflected here,
the new 30 inch force man that will run up to bell street.
the majority of that will be bored in, not open trench going forward,
so we'll be boring that in. We will keep the existing 15 inch pipe,
which is on the turbine pump, which currently sits inside of lawrence lake.
the reflected mgds only reflect what we're talking about with regards to the new pump station.
the other projects, like I said, we're trying to get shovel ready,
the reconstruct and bank stabilizations.
we need to repair nine outflows into that lake.
they're eroding and need to be replaced and reconditioned, as well as some other components of that project.
what you're looking at here is the timeline. This timeline is a conservative timeline.
it's a very realistic timeline. We feel though in working with the cmar and with our engineers,
we can accelerate this. As a matter of fact, we'll be working with them starting tomorrow as a group.
the survey is complete, subsurface engineering is complete.
the geotechnical bores are complete. The preliminary design is complete,
60% of the design for the force main is complete. We expect 90% design to happen within the next 30-40 days,
60% complete on the pump station design,
and bank stabilization as well. Playa 7, which is down on the south side of soncy,
that design engineer is half engineering. Their scope is 14,000 linear foot of 20-inch force main,
new pump station, which will be very similar to what we're putting in at lawrence lake as well.
some additional dredging that will take place at playa 7
to divert the water to the pump station to allow us to have a cleaner installation.
what you're looking at here is that this was the first design.
I do not have the completed secondary or alternate design. The alternate design actually comes away from the park that you see
represented there and continues down soncy to the south side of the lake.
that's where you're looking at the additional dredging to bring that water level over to the new pump station.
we feel like that could clean the project up quite a bit and
also stop our impact coming back to the east from soncy.
we anticipate having a clear direction on that within the next 30 days for
that alternate path and see what the cost savings would be for us utilizing it that way.
as you can see, we're constantly working on value engineering throughout the process on this,
with our engineering groups and with our cmars. With that, I'd be happy to entertain any questions that you have.
>> questions, gentlemen. >> on the lawrence lake,
with our current pumping equipment, what is our capacity for pumping, and what will the new equipment allow us to do?
>> right now, with lawrence lake, and I'm going to get mr. Harder up here with drainage,
he has more accurate numbers for what they're currently doing, but we are anticipating diverting to
where all of our drainage not only splits at lawrence lake, but we're trying to get to where everything moves back to the west bell street.
>> yes, sir. Our existing pump station does about 3,000. We measure different gallons per minute.
I don't have my calculator on me, but it's about a third, I believe, if I'm not mistaken.
we just got about a third of what the new pump station will be. This new pump station will be a significant improvement
in the amount of water that we can remove from lawrence lake. >> so three times as much water per minute.
>> approximately. >> which would help avoid the situations that we've had before. But then also the larger force mains are required because we're pumping more out.
instead of pumping it out on 15, we have to pump it out 30. >> yes, sir. The existing force main wouldn't be able to
handle the kind of flow that the new pump station would put to it. >> then what will life be like on
eric during this construction for the residents on there?
will they have access to the street? Is it a major hindrance, or what will it look like so we can forewarn them what's coming?
>> we definitely will be putting out press releases going forward, but the fact that we're boring will lessen that impact.
we're not going to be doing open cut trenching down through there. That was ultimately the goal that we could really control that as best we could.
now, you can only bore so many linear feet before you have to open a pit and move your boring machine,
especially with a 30-inch line. We will have some impact, but not to the degree that we would have been looking at had we done an open trench.
>> thank you. >> any other questions, gentlemen? >> is the pump station going on the land we acquired?
is that where we're going to build that thing? >> the land you acquired two months ago is where we'll be setting that pump station.
it's basically right in between discount tire and that little strip mall to the west.
>> what about that corner that we acquired last year? >> I think it's over on lakeview.
>> yeah. It's over on lakeview that we talked about excavating, but it didn't really. It would[overlapping].
>> you're talking about the one that's across the lake over there? >> yeah. >> yeah. We still own that property.
basically what it does, it helps with the flood mitigation because no one can build on there because we own it.
the second piece of that is that when we looked at excavating that, that was the original idea,
excavate that out, maybe put a pump station on that side. The cost was prohibitive for us to use that,
and we can get more water out the other way. Really what you gained in excavation of that,
I think if you looked in the floodplain, and allen, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it lowered that water depth in
the actual flood zone by about a quarter of an inch. It was no impact. >> that's right. It was a very small amount,
less than a tenth of an inch. [overlapping] >> it makes sense to put it where it is now for the new force main,
so we're not having to travel through there and do that. It just makes sense where. >> correct. >> okay. >> it's also much easier access off the i40 frontage road.
if you remember when we did have the flooding, large parts of olsen were underwater,
and we would have had to go through that to get to this pump station, whereas the site there on i40 wouldn't be.
>> that piece of property that we purchased, I think it's lakeview over on that other area.
once we mitigate the flooding risk over there with the additional pumps,
do we want to look at the potential of putting that back up for sale and just revenue that back in,
or do you have a future use for it? >> I wouldn't think so because of where it sets within the floodplain.
that's one of the first areas that's going to flood. What it does for us is it helps us keep from having some business in there that's going to flood,
eventually, if you have something like that, but, yeah, I don't think that we would want to put that back on the market [overlapping].
>> lake front property. >> yeah. >> I don't know. >> I know. >> mitigating flood issues.
>> we can put you in office over there. >> perfect. >> yes, sir. Name it after somebody. Really good.
well, I don't know that I have any questions. Anybody else have any questions for mr. Danforth.
item 7.10 is before you, gentlemen.
>> I move to award the construction manager at risk services
for new lift stations force mains at playa 6 and playa 7.
>> second. >> motion and a second from place 1. Any further discussion?
all in favor, please say aye. >> aye. >> any opposed? Motion passes with a 5-0.
can I get a motion to adjourn? >> move to adjourn. >> move to adjourn. A second?
>> second. >> second. >> you're adjourned. Thank you, guys. Appreciate you, ladies and gentlemen.