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Bowie City Council questions cost of Nelson Street repairs

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By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
The Bowie City Council gave final approval to the 2022-23 budget and passed the first reading of the ordinance setting the 2022 tax rate.
City officials also were updated on projected costs to repair the Nelson Street flooding damage.
In his monthly report, City Manager Bert Cunningham said the flooding in August made the already rusted-out culverts under Nelson Street at Kiwanis Park “hazardous at best and dangerous at worse.”
While a portion of the streets near those culverts collapsed, it also raised concerns the street weakened above those culverts could collapse under a heavy load. The dropbox at the intersection of Nelson and Mill also is collapsing.
“The culverts under Nelson Street need to be replaced with concrete culverts and the drop box culverts need to be replaced before we can let traffic continue to use the street,” explained the CM.
Hayter Engineering has given a plan design to two construction companies to get an estimate of the costs which the firm is estimating in the $2 million vicinity.
“I have asked Hayter to go ahead and design the project and as soon as we have a design, we will bid the project,” said Cunningham. “We currently have the funds to do at least the Nelson and Mill Street portion of the project. As you are probably aware we are required to have at least a 30% reserve of funds and we do not want to go under that amount. Obviously, before we do anything other than the engineering of the project, I will come to the council for permission to use the funds.”

Read the full story from this week’s city council meeting in the weekend Bowie News.

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Amon Carter Lake Board to meet

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Members of the Amon Carter Lake Water Supply Corporation will meet at 6 p.m. on May 26 in the office at 607A Lindsey for a monthly meeting.
Items on the agenda include a consent agenda and minutes and financials. Possible discussion/action may be considered on the following topics: Treasurer’s report, review of finance and current loans; president’s report as to the written agreements with contractual employees; consider current water rates and a possible increase; and review of expenses and areas that need amendment.
An executive session may be entered to discuss personnel issues.

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Saint Jo City Council hires fire marshal

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The City of Saint Jo has a new fire marshal as the city council made the appointment during its May 13 meeting.
Gary Hines, a retired professional firefighter and certified fire investigator, will take the position. City Secretary Debbie Dennis said the post is required by ordinance but has not been filled for a long period.
The council set dates for a budget workshop for 2 p.m. on June 14 and 2 p.m. on June 28 for the ordinance workshop, as the council works to update its rules.

Aldermen gave their support to a proposition by Councilman Jack Dunn who is asking the Legislature to allow Texas’ smallest cities, those with 2,500 or few in population, to receive an additional share of sales and use tax. He would like to see the funds used in these communities to repair and replace aging infrastructure without new taxes or reliance on state grants.
In letter to State Rep. David Spiller, whom Dunn will meet with on June 1, the alderman explains much of the state’s 6.25% share generated locally flows into general funds and is spent on other priorities. He would like Spiller to author this legislation. Dunn gave the letter to the council along with a powerpoint on the plan.
“A single water treatment plant upgrade or sewer rehab carries massive, fixed costs that do not shrink with population size. These communities, often with only a few hundred or a couple thousands residents, simply cannot spread those costs across enough ratepayers or a broad tax based,” the letter states.
Dunn suggests a “graduated sales tax retention policy:” 1% additional share for cities with 2,500 or fewer residents; .75% for those 2,500 and 5,000; and .50% for cities between 5,001 and 10,000. It would be dedicated to infrastructure. Dunn says the overall statewide fiscal impact would be negligible, but could help sustain small, rural cities.

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City of Nocona buys water storage tank, review dam repair

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The Nocona City Council approved a bid for a new 203,000 gallon capacity tank for potable water at the water plant and learned a slide repair to the lake dam is going to be pretty costly.
At its May 12 session the council received three bids on the tank and went with one from Tank Depot of Cleburne for $193,923. It is for a a 217,600 gallon tank usable for 203,000 gallons. The price could change slightly since it was based on estimate freight costs.

Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.

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