NEWS
Bowie Council meeting moved to Feb. 7
After canceling its Monday meeting, the Bowie City Council has rescheduled for 6 p.m. on Feb. 7 in the council chamber.
The agenda remained virtually the same with one new addition, a resolution authorizing the filing of a grant application with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security for protective equipment for the emergency operations center.
Much of the discussion centers on grant applications. EOC Coordinator Kirk Higgins has been working on a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant for generators, a Homeland Security grant and a FEMA grant for individual safe rooms.
City Manager Bert Cunningham will update the council on grant applications and programs he has been pursuing, along with a report of Ameresco and the Texas Water Development Board sewer line project in Bowie.
Finance Director Pamela Woods will present the quarterly financial statement ending December 2022.
Police Chief Guy Green will offer the department’s federally mandated racial profiling report and comparative analysis. The new Texas Department of Emergency Management county liaison officer, Whit Cross, will be introduced.
The council will consider reappointing Bill Calabretta and Bradlee Summer to the Planning and Zoning Commission. A proposal for Cody Carlton to lease the 57 acres of city property at Old Bowie Lake for cattle grazing will be examined. He is offering to pay a lease of $1,257.13.
The owners of Hilltop Tire also will be recognized for a donation.
NEWS
Water line costs through grant skyrocket
By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
Bowie City Councilors accepted the low bidder to replace water lines in the area of Wichita and Hutchinson streets, approved the purchase of lighting for a pickleball court and a request for money out of the infrastructure fund to lay a waterline in Al Jo area.
Before getting into the agenda Mayor Gaylynn Burris presented Stony Lowrance, public works director, with an award from the Texas Asphalt Pavement Association for outstanding achievement in quality construction of asphalt pavement for the Bowie Municipal Airport when it received new runaways in 2022.
New business
As with many state grant projects the application process is a long way from the bid acceptance, and in this instance the price skyrocketed.
Michael Tibbetts, Hayter Engineering, explained the original application was made two years ago. The grant was not funded, but then some more money became available and it was funded. Bids were opened in February.
“We were concerned the bids might come in over budget. We therefore designed the project with seven stand-alone street segments to allow us to select a combination of segments that would come closest to our budget ($301,268), while still meeting Texas Department of Agriculture requirements for benefitting at least 51% low to moderate income residences,” explained Tibbetts.
Seven bids were received and their range was wide from $819,345.50 to $2,005,03.
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
NEWS
Bowie Trustees will be asked about Johnson Lake’s future
Bowie Independent School District Trustees will meet in regular session at 5:30 p.m. on March 18 in the board room at 404 E. Williams.
An executive session is scheduled to discuss purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property. Superintendent Blake Enlow said it has been several years since the use of the lake east of the high school property has been discussed, and there have been rumors and questions, so he would like to get some board input on the topic.
The property and its future may be on people’s mind as the Victron Company prepares to start construction on a convenience store and gas station, that will reportedly include a Starbucks and a Taco Bell. The store will be at the corner of Farm-to-Market 1125 and U.S. Highway 287 north, which is adjacent to that lake land.
In the past there have been discussions about it becoming a park, but a drowning of a high school student six years ago pushed the lake to the back burner. The school district may not be willing to take on as well as the cost of creating and maintaining a park.
There is only one action item, approval of the 2024-25 instruction calendar. The district is expected, based on public surveys going to continue with the four-day school week.
Assistant Superintendent Lee Ann Farris will provide information on Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills certification, instruction materials, an interim assessment update and board goals update. Campus principal and the financial director will offer their monthly reports. Finance Director Paula Peterson will also provide information on funding, values and budget development.
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