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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Coastal Bend Council Of Governments - 11/13/2009 RECEIVED MINUTES NOV 2 3 2009 COASTAL BEND COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS . November 13, 2009 - 2: 00 PM Corpus Christi, Texas CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *- * * * MEMBERS PRESENT: Judge Linda Lee Henry, Chairman Glenn Sullivan Judge C. H. Mills, Treasurer Oscar Soliz Councilman Lee Roy Kieschnick, Past Chairman Josie Herro Commissioner Carlos Villarreal Bill Hennings Commissioner Roy Cantu Commissioner Ann Lopez Judge Jim Huff Mayor Pro Tem Jo Ann Ehmann Mayor Sylvia Steele Stephanie Floyd Commissioner_ Oscar Ortiz Rebecca Krumnow Brent Ocker Philip J. -Richard_. GUESTS PRESENT: Dianne Leubert, Chairman, Solid Waste Advisory Committee Judy Hawley, Port of Corpus Christi Gary Bushell, Consultant Councilman Jimmie McGee, City of George West Amy Oehler, Direct Energy Marc Fowler, Direct Energy Marcus Gonzales, Coastal Bend Rural Health Partnership STAFF PRESENT: John Buckner Theresa Finch Frank Garcia Richard Bullock 1. CALL TO ORDER Judge Linda Lee Henry, CBCOG Chairman, called the meeting to order at 2 :04 PM. John Buckner called the roll. Eight of twelve counties were represented and 15 out of 34 votes were in attendance. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 25, 2009 MEETING A motion was made by Councilman Kieschnick to approve the minutes of the September 25, 2009 meeting. Judge Huff seconded this motion. The minutes of the September 25, 2009 meeting were approved by unanimous vote of the members present. 3 . TREASURER'S REPORT Judge C. H. Mills, CBCOG Treasurer, presented this report for the month of September 2009. He referred to the first page of the report that was mailed to the membership with the agenda and summarized the information on the page. Mr. Soliz moved for the approval of the September 2009 Treasurer' s Report. Councilman Kieschnick seconded this motion. The SCANNED Minutes Page 2 November 13, 2009 Treasurer's Report for the month of September 2009 was approved by unanimous vote of the members present at the end of the meeting. 4. ITEMS REQUIRING ACTION BY THE COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS A. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT Confirmation of Committee Appointments Judge Henry reported that no appointments were received this month. B. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT John Buckner presented this report. 1. RESOLUTION NO. 2810 A RESOLUTION REVIEWING AND COMMENTING FAVORABLY ON AN APPLICATION FROM TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-CORPUS CHRISTI TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION IN THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FOR A $4, 854,716 PUBLIC WORKS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FACILITIES PROGRAM GRANT FOR THE RENOVATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF A BUILDING TO SERVE AS PERMANENT HOME FOR THE COASTAL BEND BUSINESS INNOVATION CENTER (CBIC) -A BUSINESS INCUBATOR. Mr. Soliz moved for the adoption of Resolution No. 2810. Judge Mills seconded this motion. Resolution No 2810 was adopted by unanimous vote of the members present. 2. Consideration of a Letter of Intent and Submission of a Proposal to the U.S. Department of Energy for an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant on behalf of the Coastal Bend Region. Ms. Amy Oehler and Mr. Marc Fowler were present from Direct Energy to provide information on this agenda item. Ms. Oehler explained that there is $400 million available in this Department of Energy Block Grant program that governmental entities across the nation can apply for on a competitive basis. It is expected that the DOE will make between 8 and 20 grant awards in this program with funding levels between $5 million and $75 million per award. She explained that if the CBCOG is interested in applying for a grant in this program, she would need to know how much of a award would be requested. She said the DOE is looking for a project that would continue on or be sustainable after the 3-year- funded project ended. Ms. Oehler said the proposed concept would be available to both residents and commercial entities in the 12-county region. She said there were six elements in the proposal that would be developed: 1. An energy Audit; 2. Client Education; 3 . Energy efficiency work, i.e. , caulking, insulation, etc; 4. Inspection of heating, ventilation and air conditioning units to see if replacement or retrofitting is best; 5.Load management via 2 different thermostats; and 6. A loan component for home or business owners to purchase equipment/services. Direct Energy needed direction as to the CBCOG's interest in applying for these funds and for how much. Mr. Fowler explained how their company functions in the region at the present time Minutes Page 3 November 13 , 2009 in a similar project. After substantial discussion, Mr. Soliz made a motion to send the Letter of Intent to DOE and to have Direct Energy develop the proposal/application that will be submitted by December 12, 2009. Judge Huff seconded this motion. This motion passed by unanimous vote of the members present. In following up on this action, the members present recommended $35 million as the amount to pursue for this grant. Since the full CBCOG would not see the application again at a meeting before it was submitted to the DOE for consideration, Mr. Hennings recommend that a committee of CBCOG board members, 2 or 3, should review the proposal before it was submitted. Bill Hennings, Judge Jim Huff and Mayor-Pro-Tem Jo Ann Ehmann volunteered to serve on this committee. C. REGIONAL SOLID WASTE ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT Ms. Diane Leubert, Chairman of the Regional Solid Waste Advisory Committee presented this report. 1. Consideration of a Request from the Regional Solid Waste Advisory Committee to Approve and Authorize Solid Waste Grant Program Policies. Ms. Leubert explained the background on the policies. Commissioner Roy Cantu made a motion to adopt the Solid Waste Grant Program Policies. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Ann Lopez. Mr. Soliz asked a question as to why private schools are excluded from funding consideration or eligibility since these are not included in Funding Guidelines article 8 .1. 1 on page 5 . Ms. Leubert explained that this was a state requirement. Mr. Soliz wanted to know why the state excluded private schools and no satisfactory answer could be provided. Mr. Soliz moved to table action on the policies until an answer could be provided to the CBCOG membership from the state. Councilman Kieschnick seconded the motion. The motion to table passed by majority vote of the members. present,. :., Ms. Leubert said that failure to adopt the first item negated any action on the second item in her report. She said both items would be brought back for CBCOG action when an answer was received from the state. 5. Announcements and Non-Action Items Mr. Marcus Gonzales with the Coastal Bend Rural Health Partnership announced that Health Policy Summits would be held in Alice Texas on December 7, 2009 and another in Beeville, Texas on December 8, 2009. Topics to be addressed were obesity, teen pregnancy, access to care and rural transportation. He distributed information on these noting they were both free community events. Ms. Judy Hawley with the Port of Corpus Christi and Mr. Gary Bushell a consultant with the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway Commission were present to provide information on the ongoing efforts to promote legislation in Minutes Page 4 November 13 , 2009 the next session of the Texas Legislature to enable counties and cities to have the necessary tools to finance transportation projects. Ms. Hawley also presented information on two projects in Texas that are needed to address a growing freight traffic demand. One project she addressed was I-69 that would link the U.S. -Mexican border in Laredo and the Lower Rio Grande Valley to Texas Gulf Ports. The other project was the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway that would link Fort Bliss in El Paso to Fort Hood in Central Texas and Fort Polk in Louisiana. 6. ADJOURN With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3 :25 PM. Duly adopted at a meeting of the Coastal Bend Council of Governments this 11th day of December 2009. Judge Linda Lee Henry, Chairman ATTEST: City Commissioner Al Garcia, Secretary