HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 08/24/2004 - JointI HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy ofthe minutes ofthe Joint
Meeting of the Corpus Christi City Council of August 24, 2004, which were approved by the City
Council on September 14, 2004.
WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, on this the 14th day of September 2004.
Armando Chapa
City Secretary
SEAL
MINUTES
CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS
MEETING OF THE CORPUS CHRISTI CITY COUNCIL
AND THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY (LCRA)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
August 24, 2004 - 8:10 a.m.
CITY COUNCIL
Mayor Samuel L. Neal Jr.
Mayor Pro Tem Javier Colmenero
Brent Chesney
* Melody Cooper
Bill Kelly
Rex A. Kinnison
Jesse Noyola
Mark Scott
Henry Garrett
* Arrived at 8:17 a.m.
City Staff Present
City Manager George K. Noe
City Attorney Mary Kay Fischer
City Secretary Armando Chapa
LCRA BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF
Ray Wilkerson, Chairman
Connie Granberg
Joe Beal, CEO and General Manager
Robert Cullick
Rick Bluntzer
Paul Thornhill
Julie Pratz
John Longoria
Cindy Hayes
Mayor Neal called the meeting to order in the Sixth Floor Conference Room at City Hall.
He welcomed the LCRA board of directors and staff who were present at today's meeting. Mayor
Neal stated that today's discussion would center around an update on the city's long-range plans for
the Garwood pipeline and a discussion of joint opportunities for cooperation and project
development between the city and the LCRA.
Mr. Ray Wilkerson, Chairman of the LCRA's Board of Directors, made a brief statement
regarding the LCRA's duties and responsibilities. He introduced Mr. Joe Beal, General Manager
of the LCRA, who briefed the Council on various opportunities for partnerships, and also provided
an update on the status of the LCRA/San Antonio Water System (SAWS) project and the City of
Austin's water permit request.
City Manager Noe then briefed the Council and the LCRA on the city's regional water
system. He noted that the city had secured several important water sources as follows: Lake Texana
contracts - 53,840 acre feet; Choke Canyon reservoir/Lake Corpus Christi water rights - 438,300
acre feet; and the 101 -mile Mary Rhodes pipeline - 112,000 acre feet capacity. He briefly reviewed
two charts delineating the 2003 total water supply from Choke Canyon and Lake Texana (firm and
safe yields), and projected water supply and demand from 2000-2006.
Meeting with LCRA
August 24, 2004, page 2
Finally, Mr. Noe briefly mentioned the city's current water supply projects as follows:
additional Lake Texana water; Garwood Pipeline preliminary engineering; governor's desalination
project; aquifer storage and recovery - Padre Island pilot; Corps of Engineers Nueces Basin
feasibility study; and other alternatives such as conservation and water quality.
City Manager Noe introduced Mr. Lee Freese with Freese and Nichols, the city's consulting
firm on the Garwood pipeline project, who provided a status report. He introduced the members of
his team as follows: Mr. Rusty Gibson, Project Manager - Phase 1; Ms. Christine Enger, Project
Manager - Phase 2; and Ms. Peggy Glass with Plummer & Associates, permitting specialist.
Mr. Gibson provided a brief report on Phase 1 of the project, a screening study of delivery
options. He concluded that the recommended options resulting from Phase 1 were as follows:
Option 1 (combined facilities with LCRA); and Option 5 - Garwood Town Canal to West Mustang
Creek; and Option 6 - Gulf Coast Irrigation District Furbor Canal to the Mary Rhodes pipeline.
Ms. Enger reported on Phase 2 of the project, a detailed study of delivery options. She
concluded that after studying each option individually, a determination would be made regarding
which option to proceed with in subsequent phases of the project. She said the information would
be presented at a later date. Ms. Enger also briefly discussed Phase 2a, permitting, and Phase 2b,
partnership agreements.
Council members then asked questions regarding water rights issues, legislative issues, and
permitting issues related to the City of Austin's pending request for a bed and banks permit, the
LCRA/SAWS agreement, and the Garwood pipeline project.
Mayor Neal concluded that it was important for the city and the LCRA to join forces in an
effort to fight the possible encroachment on the area's water rights by the City of Austin. He also
said the city needed to make a decision on the Garwood pipeline project as soon as possible.
Finally, he thanked Mr. John Longoria with the LCRA and staff for making the meeting possible.
Chairman Wilkerson thanked the Council and the city for their hospitality.
There being no further business, Mayor Neal adjourned the meeting at 9:35 a.m. on August
24, 2004.