Storm water program on council agenda

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January 22, 2013

Storm water program on council agenda

Anonymous Weatherford Democrat The Weatherford Democrat Tue Jan 22, 2013, 06:00 AM CST

By BRIAN SMITH

An update on the city’s new storm water utility management program is on the agenda at Tuesday night’s council meeting.

Director of Transportation and Capital Projects Terry Hughes is expected to provide a staff report during the meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. A $3 monthly fee to homeowners with businesses paying based on their impervious area – the area water can’t penetrate such as roofs and parking lots – was scheduled to begin being assessed Jan. 1. The monies collected, which is expected to be around $800,000 in the first year of the program, are expected to go toward the estimated $7 million to $10 million in storm water projects the city has.

Other activity has discussion of the Weatherford Police Department applying for grant funding offered through the Texas Department of Transportation.

The grant monies, if approved, would provide overtime salaries for officers to enforce safety belt and child safety seat usage, speed compliance and DWI arrests during high-traffic holiday periods during fiscal year 2013-14. To authorize the grant, a resolution from the city is required. The city is also required to provide a 20 percent cash match for the grant, which is for $20,000 maximum. The city monies will go toward vehicle mileage costs as well as personnel during regular duty work hours of grant activities.

Director of Management and Budget Chad Janicek will also give a monthly financial update for the city. According to a staff report, the city’s general fund typically begins the year in a negative cash flow situation until property taxes come in at the end of January. Several large one-time expenditures occurred during the first quarter of the fiscal year.

In a work session prior to the meeting, City Manager Jerry Blaisdell will lead a discussion on the Weatherford Economic Development Corporation. Blaisdell said he is looking for direction on the contract, which is for five years, with the WEDA, which comes up for renewal this summer.

Blaisdell said their are some conflicts with the wording of the contract, leaving some gray area as to its intent. He said he wishes to get some direction from the council on what exactly they want to do.

“Bottom line, either we need to have the EDC as its own independent entity or they become a city department,” Blaisdell said.

A work session starts at 5:45 p.m.