Council to be presented tonight with 380 agreement between city and Sutherland Building Material Centers
By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press
At tonight’s Copperas Cove city council meeting, city manager Andrea Gardner is presenting the council with a 380 agreement for approval between the city and Sutherland Building Materials, LP, the company seeking to open a store in the vacant H-E-B building.
This agreement comes approximately nine months after the city was contacted by Sutherland regarding economic development incentives for that property.
Prior to the regular council meeting, the council is holding the second public hearing at 6 p.m. for the proposed tax rate of 79.7908 cents per $100 of taxable assessed value for the 2016-2017 fiscal year, for which it took a record vote on July 28 during a special meeting. The council held its first public hearing for the proposed tax rate on Aug. 16. The council will consider adoption of that tax rate at the Sept. 20 meeting.
Immediately following the close of the public hearing, the council will hold its first regular meeting for the month of September.
As part of the consent agenda, the council is being asked to approve the cost of emergency repairs to a 20-inch pump motor at one of the facilities in Killeen that sends water to Copperas Cove from its supplier. The quote for repairs is $4,750.
Also as part of the consent agenda, the council is being asked to approve changes to the city’s purchasing policy.
For action items, a request from a citizen to add lighting on Indian Camp Trail in Walker Place is up for discussion and direction from the council.
A cost-sharing and reimbursement agreement for Military Affairs dinners held by the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce’s Military Affairs Committee is being presented to the council tonight. This agreement would be for military affairs dinners for 2017, as the committee canceled the remainder of the 2016 dinners back in June. It proposes cost sharing for the dinners to be spread between the city, the chamber of commerce, the Military Affairs Committee, as well as the Copperas Cove Independent School District.
An ordinance is up for approval by the council tonight, that of the establishment of punishments and penalties for contempt of city council due to the failure to comply with a subpoena issued for witness testimony or production of documents related to an investigation by the city council.
City manager Andrea Gardner is presenting a resolution to declare support for the 20140 Metropolitan Transportation Plan project submissions. The submission is due Sept. 26, with several city-related projects having differing areas of priority, to include an F.M. 116 railroad underpass, a bike-ped F.M.116 railroad underpass, as well as F.M. 116 South and F.M. 3046 sidewalk projects.
The city council is being presented with a resolution to put the old city hall located at 507 S. Main St., Allin House located at 401 N. Main St., the Utility Administration Building located at 305 S. Main St., as well as frontage property on Boys Ranch Road up for sale at the direction of the city’s Property Listing Ad Hoc committee, listed with Donlie McMullin Real Estate and Jack Smith as the broker.
The old city hall has a recommended price tag of $350,000, with Allin House recommended to be sold for $175,000, the utilities building for $262,300 and the frontage property for $69,900.
Gardner is asking for direction from the council regarding an invitation she received from the Killeen Chamber of Commerce to participate in activities at the Army’s National Training Center in Fort Irwin, Cal. In October. Currently this is not a budgeted item, but $1,870 in funds for a trip to the Texas City Attorneys Association are already included in the 2016-2017 budget. The NTC trip expense is $1,500.
The council is being presented with a bid for the parks ground crew building, which came in from Lyness Construction at a little over $900,000, significantly higher than what BSP Engineers anticipated. The council is being asked to either accept the bid, or reject it and authorize the city to re-advertise the project.
The council is also being asked to accept $90,000 in state funding for a drainage project for Avenue D. This project will be included with the three-phase Avenue D sidewalk project so that the upcoming project isn’t negatively impacted by the drainage issues experienced along Avenue D and Main Street and Avenue D and 1st Street.
For report items this evening, Sean Corrigan, president and CEO of the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce, will present the chamber’s financial report for the month of July. Interim director of the Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporation, Monica MacKay, will present the EDC’s monthly financial and activity report for July 2016.
The council will also have an executive session this evening with three items, to discuss the vacant H-E-B property, to discuss the semi-annual evaluation of city manager Andrea Gardner, as well as discuss the interim public works director position.
At the 5 p.m. workshop preceding the meeting, the Copperas Cove Public Library renovation project will be the subject of the discussion.
The workshop and meetings will take place at the Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporation at 210 S. 1st St.