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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/27/1994 City Council005200 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON ~--", JUNE 27, 1994 The Special Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on the 27th day of June, 1994, at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William W. Manning, Mayor Present Mike Lynch, Mayor Pro-tern Present Toby Pollard, Councilman Present Kay Hardin, Councilman Present Rob Burchard, Councilman Present John Dillard, Councilman Present(arrived 7:30 p.m.) Lynda Tate, Councilman Present and with six present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 2. WORK SESSION WITH NORTH TEXAS MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT Carl Rhein with NTMWD gave a very detailed history of the district explaining that it is unique in that it is formed by cities for cities. The eleven member board of directors is appointed by the participating cities. The district does not make a profit. The participating cities pay their fair share of the costs. NTMWD presented an estimated budget to operate the city's wastewater facility of $495,000.00. This included $130,000 for half the cost of a mobile belt dryer, which may or may not need to be purchased by The Colony. If the city chooses to contract with NTMWD for operations and it does not cost as much as budgeted, the city can get a rebate or credit can be given toward the next year's budget. There are two kinds of participating cities; customer and member. Member cities have representation on the board and have to petition the board to become member cities. Customer cities participate and can have input into the board actions, but do not have representation on the board. Lengthy discussion followed regarding the history, maintenance, operations, budget line items, etc. The council requested NTMWD to prepare an estimate of the cost to keep the existing wastewater plant operating so it can be determined if the expansion can be only the amount required instead of the proposed 5 mgd plant. Johnny Smith said the impact on the water and sewer customers of spending $10 million to build the entire 5 mgd plant will be tremendous, and suggested that if only one half could be built the impact would be reduced. Mr. Rhein said the city needs to remember what the needs will be in the future realizing that no one knows what the requirements (governmental) will be. Discussion followed regarding the possibility of NTMWD contracting with the city 2 00520° for financing of the construction of the wastewater treatment plant expansion. Mr. Smith advised this would save money because of the lower interest rate available through NTMWD. With this type of contract, NTMWD would approve the design engineer and would oversee construction. Mr. Rhein said he and his staff would get with city staff and take a close look at the existing plant and have the information requested by the July 11, 1994 council meeting. Mr. Smith said we will have the operations contract ready by the July ]1 meeting and perhaps the construction contract also. Mr. Smith did note the city would continue to operate the off-site lift stations. 3. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF A CONTRACT WITH WASTELINE ENGINEERING FOR THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE EXPANSION OF THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT Mr. Glenn Breisch with Wasteline Engineering said his company would have no problem working with NTMWD if the city decides to contract with them. Councilman Lynch said he has been in contact with Mr. Breisch over the past two weeks and has negotiated a fixed price for the engineering of the wastewater treatment plant. He noted that council had expressed concern over the percentage based fee and that he and Mr. Breisch have settled on a fee of $882,000 which is approximately 9.5% of the total project cost. Councilman Lynch went on to say he is willing to look at a different percentage for add-ons or change orders, if they are brought forward after ten days from the date the contract is signed. Mayor Manning said because the city is unsure which size plant will be built, he would like to stay with a percentage based fee. Lengthy discussion followed regarding which size plant should be designed. Mr. Smith said the contract is written for a 5 mgd plant to be designed, but noted that he does not want to pay the fee for a 5 mgd plant when a plant only half that size may be all that is necessary. Mayor Manning, agreed, stating it does not make sense to pay for the design of something that may never be built. Councilmen Lynch and Pollard both stated that we need to plan for the future by going ahead with the design of the a 5 mgd plant. Councilman Burchard asked the purpose of the fixed rate. Mr. Smith noted that a percentage would be better since the fee is related to the size of the plant being designed. Councilman Burchard agreed that the 5 mgd plant should be designed to prepare for the future. Councilman Dillard stated that a decision needs to be made tonight. Councilman Pollard agreed, stating that several members of council have spoken with Mr. Breisch and that he believes Mr. Breisch has made a good faith effort to meet our needs and went on to say we need to design the full 5 mgd plant. Mayor Manning asked when the $882,000 would be due. Mr. Breisch said 85% would be payable during the design phase and could be divided into 9 or 10 monthly installments. Mayor Manning asked Mr. Smith where the money would come from and Mr. Smith said he does not know, advising that according to Mr. James England, no one ever determined how this expansion would be paid for. Mayor Manning expressed concern that our city is also in dire need of a fire engine and an ambulance and that he does not know 3 how we can afford these things. Councilman Pollard said we have no choice but to build the wastewater treatment plant, because if we don't, we will stifle growth in the city. Mr. Breisch said the $882,000 is a bare bones fee and he believes 9.5% is a fair percentage. Mr. Breisch said he and Councilman Lynch had agreed that add-ons after 10 days from the signing of the contract would be at 18%. Mr. Smith said if we contract with NTMWD some of the add-on items will not be needed. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the fee for the basic plant design and for the add-ons and change orders. Mr. Breisch suggested that the contract be approved at a fee of $882,000 for the basic wastewater treatment plant and that any add-ons or change orders be negotiated at the time they become necessary. After a brief discussion it was suggested that a cap be placed on the percentage which could be set for such items. Councilman Burchard said it was the association with Mr. Boudreaux that made Wasteline Engineering stand out above the other firms and now it appears that Wasteline does not have a contract with Mr. Boudreaux. Mr. Breisch confirmed they do not have a contract with Mr. Boudreaux. Councilman Lynch noted that Mr. Boudreaux is employed by United Technology, the firm that manufacturers the interchannel clarifiers, which is the system we will be building. Motion to approve a contract with Wasteline Engineering in the amount of $882,000 for the design of a 5 mgd wastewater treatment plant, with add-ons and change orders to be negotiated later, as needed, with an 18% cap - Lynch; second Dillard Councilman Burchard asked Mr. Smith if he is comfortable that this is a fair price. "-" Mr. Smith said he has not changed his opinion, stating that he believes 8 - 9% is a fair percentage for this type of project. Mr. Smith went on to say he is at a disadvantage because he is new at the city and he does not want to second guess anyone or re-invent the wheel. Mr. Smith continued stating his opinion is based on 22 years of experience as a city manager and being involved in the building of 4 wastewater treatment plants. Mr. Smith stated he believes the fee is too high. Councilman Dillard said we are at 75% capacity and we have to make a decision tonight, right or wrong. Mr. Smith agreed that we need to expand the plant, but his question is the cost and how it will be paid for. Motion carried with the following roll call vote: Lynch - Aye, Pollard - Aye, Hardin - No, Burchard - Aye, Dillard - Aye, Tate - Aye, Manning - No. 00520o With no further business to address, Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 9:54 p.m. ~v'i'illT~am W. Manning, Mayor ATTEST: Patti A. Hicks, TRMC City Secreta~ Amendment per August 1, 1994 council action: Councilman Pollard said we have no choice but to go forward, even if we have to consider buying a used fire engine or ambulance. Council discussed current impact fees, both commercial and residential. A representative from Wasteline Engineering said this cost can be put into impact fees. Councilman Pollard reiterated the costs can be recaptured by impact fees. Patti A. Hicks, City Secretary