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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 02/22/1984 - SpecialMINUTES CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING TULOSO-MIDWAY JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL FEBRUARY 22, 1984 7:20 P.M. Present: **Mayor Pro Tem Betty N. Turner Council Members: David Berlanga, Sr. *Welder Brown Dr. Charles W. Kennedy, Jr. **Joe McComb Mary Pat Slavik Absent: Mayor Luther Jones Council Members: Leo Guerrero Frank Mendez Deputy City Manager Ernest Briones Assistant City Attorney Bob Coffin *City Secretary Bill G. Read The meeting was called to order by Council Member Charles Kennedy who stated that the purpose was to conduct a public hearing on Main Drive Street and Drainage Improvements Project, providing for assessments of $133,818.81 for the 183 items on the roll. Assistant City Attorney Bob Coffin conducted the formal portion of the hearing and called as his first witness Mr. Gerald Smith, P.E., City Engineer. Through questioning of Mr. Smith, Mr. Coffin ascertained that he is qualified to testify, that he has been with the City of Corpus Christi for 25 years, and that a copy of his qualifications in resume form are on file in the City offices. Mr. Smith explained that the project will include improvements to Main Drive, from Sedwick Road to Leopard Street and that the street will be constructed by excavation to a width and depth to permit the laying of a standard 6" curb and gutter section, 6" compacted subgrade, 8" compacted caliche base and 11" Type D hotmix asphaltic pavement. He explained that the street will be 28' wide within the existing 50' of right of way and a heavy duty street section with a 10" compacted caliche base and 2" Type D hot -mix asphaltic pavement will be constructed from Station 49+00 to Leopard Street. Mr. Smith also pointed out that extensive storm sewer work will be included in the project and additional fire hydrants will be installed, as well as a new water line. *Council Member Welder Brown and City Secretary Bill G. Read arrived at the meeting at 7:30 p.m. lutes ,,ecial Council Meeting February 22, 1984 Page 2 Mr. Smith informed the Council of the Engineering Department; bids low bid was that submitted by Claude of $848,558.50. He stated that the approximately 11 months. that the plans were prepared in the Office were received on January 11, 1984; and the Chapman Construction Company in the amount project will require 220 working days, or Mr. Smith assured the Council that every property owner has been sent a letter notifying them of the hearing and providing information in regard to their assessment. He stated that there are advantages that these property owners will enjoy in that rates that were in effect in 1977 will be the cost to the property owner. He stated that all residential properties will be assessed as follows: 6" curb, gutter and pavement - $4.75 per linear foot; sidewalks - .75t per square foot; and driveways - $3.73 per square foot. Mr. Smith stated that there are only five commercial properties and their assessment rates will be as follows: both standard and heavyduty 6" curb, gutter and pavement - $19.50 per linear foot; sidewalk - $1.00 per square foot; and driveways - $3.73 per square foot. He explained that Community Development Block Grant Funds are being used and that special consideration will be given to property owners whose income does not exceed 120% of Section VIII guidelines, which will entitle the property owner to a grant for the payment of the assessments. He explained that the Community Development Office of the City will send letters to all property owners to explain that grant program so that they may avail themselves of this special privilege if they meet the eligibility guidelines. He also noted that in addition to individual property owners residing on single family property, landlords was who rent to a low income tenant will be able to avail themselves of the special loan and interest rates according to the Community Development ordinance guidelines. **Mayor Pro Tem Betty Turner and Council Member Joe McComb arrived at the meeting at 7:40 p.m. Mr. Smith continued by explaining that the assessment payments will not be due until the work has been completed, at which time they may pay in cash or over a 5 year period, at an interest rate of 61%, or in cases of hardship, this period may be extended to 10 years. Mr. Smith assured the property owners that while the contractor is working in their area, city representatives will be in the vicinity at all times and if there is a need to contact the City on individual problems or for special requests for driveway changes, he suggested that they contact the City Engineering Department. Mr. Coffin asked Mr. Smith to generally describe the area to be improved. Mr. Smith stated that there are 183 parcels along Main Drive and there is a roadside ditch along the street. He stated that the area is drained towards Leopard or Sedwick along the roadside ditches and the staff hopes to improve that drainage 'dramatically following the installation of the new drainage improvements. utes .,pecial Council Meeting February 22, 1984 Page 3 Mr. Smith further explained that the street will be 28' wide, which will provide for parking along the street; the drainage ditches will be eliminated; and the street and the entire area will be generally improved. He stated that the City expects the contractor to begin work in 4 to 6 weeks and hopes to have it completed by April of 1985. Council Member Slavik inquired about the number of families who will be eligible for the special grants from the Community Development Funds, and Mr. Smith replied that he had not yet made that determination. Mayor Pro Tem Turner, who had arrived at the meeting a short time earlier, officially called the meeting to order and requested that the City Secretary call the roll. City Secretary Read called the roll and verified that the necessary quorum of the Council and required Charter Officers were present to conduct a legally constituted meeting. Mayor Pro Tem Turner expressed appreciation to all of the people who had attended the meeting and apologized for the delay by the City Council. She explained that the Regular Council Meeting was not over until quite late and some of the staff and Council Members had difficulty in locating the school. Council Member Berlanga inquired about access to the area after the contractor starts work. Mr. Smith explained that the staff did not know yet which portion the contractor will start on, but he will be required to work only on a portion of the street and he will not be allowed to haul heavy materials over the completed portion of the Street. Mr. Smith also explained that a new water line and fire hydrants will be installed; there are no new sanitary sewer lines proposed and no gas line changes. He stated that the sewer line was installed about 12 years ago and it is in the middle of the street, consisting of 8" to 10" lines. Council Member Berlanga inquired if all of the property owners were connected to the sewer line and if not, if they would be required to tie on to the line. Mr. Smith explained that the City has no way to require that property owners tie on to the sewer line, but he was of the opinion that most of them are already being served by that sewer line. A member of the audience inquired about additional street light installation. Mr. Smith stated that the City policy is to install lights at every intersection and asked Mr. Stewart to further explain. Mr. Tom Stewart, Director of Transportation, assured the members of the audience that his staff had checked the street lighting and it does fall within the City policy, so there is no plan to install additional lights. Lutes .,jecial Council Meeting February 22, 1984 Page 4 Another unidentified gentlemen in the audience questioned the construction and expressed the hope that it would be very stable. Mr. Smith explained that the staff has not discovered any unusual conditions and he felt that the 8" of caliche should be more than adequate. Council Member McComb pointed out that the construction will consist of 6" of subgrade and the 8" of caliche will be placed on top of that. Mr. Smith then introduced Mr. Marion Brown, who is in charge of Voluntary Paving, his employees, and the inspectors and engineers who will be working on the job. An unidentified gentleman in the audience inquired about the amount of space that will exist between the street and sidewalk, and Mr. Smith explained that there will be a 6' grass strip between them. The same gentleman noted that there is a lot of truck traffic on this street, and Mr. Smith stated that the street is already posted with signs that indicate no truck traffic should be allowed. He stated that this is a residential street and the only solution would be through enforcement by the Police Department. He stated that this will be suggested to the Police Department. Another gentleman in the audience expressed concern about passage of emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks while the work is continuing on the street. Mr. Smith assured him that the contractor will only be allowed to work on certain portions of the street at one time and will also be required to leave enough roadway for residents to reach their property. Another gentleman in the audience explained that he owns four lots; they are all fenced in; only two lots have space for driveways; and at this time his assessment indicates that only two driveways will be constructed. He stated that he might like to have an additional driveway and inquired if he could request that at the same price and without having to tear down the existing fences. Mr. Smith explained that on the third lot, it would be possible for him to build a driveway at a later date, but this would be at his own expense and he would have to obtain a permit. He stated that he could also make arrangements to have the third driveway installed, even though there is no structure existing on the lot at this time. He suggested that the gentleman meet with City staff and work this out at this time. An unidentified lady in the audience referred to the lack of street lights at the intersection of Bronco as it extends to Sedwick Street, and Mr. Stewart explained that the City does not install street lights unless the subdivision is developed. He assured the lady that he would be glad to examine the area, noting that there may not be a power source yet. lutes .,yecial Council Meeting February 22, 1984 Page 5 Assistant City Attorney Coffin called as his next witness Mr. W. J. Holly, real estate appraiser and broker. Through questioning of Mr. Holly, Mr. Coffin ascertained that he has been in this business for 30 years and that he has a copy of his qualifications in resume form on file in the City offices. Mr. Holly testified that he has been performing work for the City for 8 years since July 17, 1976. He stated that he has examined many properties during that period of time and provided the City Secretary's Office with a list of all of the properties included in his appraisals. Mr. Holly also testified that he is thoroughly familiar with the real estate market in the City of Corpus Christi and explained the procedures he follows to keep up with the values on a daily basis through a computer installed in his office. Mr. Holly stated that he has checked the assessment roll for this particular project and has examined each and every piece of property on this street, noting that of the 183 items listed on the roll, most of it is residential property. He explained that he had checked with another realtor who owns three pieces of property on Main Drive and discussed the values of the property. He continued by stating that he felt that the property involved would be enchanced at least in the amount of the assessments and pointed out that 1) the drainage ditch will be removed and improved drainage pipes would be installed; 2) pride in the neighborhood would be improved; and 3) the aesthetics in the neighborhood would be quite evident. He also pointed out that in this particular neighborhood, less dust will be in the air; access will be improved; and the possibility of flooding of individual homes will be decreased or eliminated. Mr. Coffin then inquired if, in his opinion, the improvements to the property will benefit each property owner in the amount of the assessments as opposed to benefiting the entire City and Mr. Holly explained that in his opinion, it would. Mr. Coffin then inquired if Mr. Holly had applied the general sales prices of the houses and Mr. Holly explained that in checking with the multiple listing service, there have been no sales on this street in some time. He stated that he had checked on the present values of the property and had based his opinion that the property would be enhanced in the amount of the assessment on those values. He stated that there are no pie -shaped or irregular shaped lots associated with this project. Mayor Pro Tem Turner called for further comments by members of the audience. Mr. Thomas Welps, 423 Wagon Wheel, mentioned that his assessment would be $19.50 per linear foot which totals $7,000. He expressed the opinion that this is a lot of money for his commercial property. Mr. Smith explained that that figure cannot be lowered unless the City Council finds a reason for doing so. He also pointed out that this property would not be eligible for the low to moderate income category, which would allow for a grant from Community Development Funds, since those grants are limited to .utes -pecial Council Meeting February 22, 1984 Page 6 property that is used for residential purposes and for one and two family dwellings. He explained that the only thing the City can do is to increase the length of time over which the payments may be made. There were no further comments from members of the audience. A motion was made by Council Member Berlanga that the hearing be closed, seconded by Council Member Kennedy and passed unanimously. Mayor Pro Tem Turner introduced Dr. Edna Manning who is Superintendent of schools for Tuloso-Midway and expressed appreciation to her for allowing the City to use the school facility for the public hearing. Mayor Pro Tem Turner explained to the members of the audience that Mayor Jones and Council Members Guerrero and Mendez are on a business trip on the east coast of the United States attempting to interest additional businesses in locating in Corpus Christi. She then asked the Council Members present to introduce themselves and inform the audience of their position on the Council. There being no further business to come before the Council, on motion by Council Member Kennedy, seconded by Council Member Slavik and passed unanimously, the Special Council Meeting was adjourned at 8:27 p.m., February 22, 1984. DZ/tb