BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL APPROVES LINE OF CREDIT FOR LAKE SOMERVILLE WATER LINE REPAIR

  

The Brenham City Council approved financing for a water line repair project at Lake Somerville at its meeting today (Thursday).

The council approved a $5 million advancing line of credit from Bank of Brenham for interim financing for the raw water intake repair project at the lake.  The infrastructure suffered heavy damage during the May 2016 flooding event.

On February 13^th, the city received a letter from FEMA in support of the competitive bid process and the higher competitive bid amounts compared to the engineer’s estimate of probable costs.  On February 20^th, the city awarded the construction bid to Lindsey Construction for $4,999,991.

The project, according to Assistant City Manager of Public Services and Utilities Donald Reese, will consist of reconstructing the service road that leads from the lake road down to the pump pad.  Reese said a concrete road and bridge structure will be put where the service road was previously located, before it was washed away during the floods.

Reese said the project will also involve rebuilding the pump pad, which shifted during the storms.  He said the pad, which supports the pumps, will be re-poured and leveled out.  Finally, Reese said the project will include rebuilding the staircase down to the water where the intake structure is located.

The city is responsible for 25 percent of the final construction cost, and according to City Manager James Fisher, needs to spend its portion of the project first before it qualifies for reimbursement. The city is awaiting approval from FEMA for a cost increase from the amended subgrant amount of $1.17 million to the original bid award.

Fisher said the city still has to jump through a few more hoops with FEMA before it can receive the funds it needs for the project.

 

The loan from Bank of Brenham, which is being set up as an advancing line of credit for one year, will carry an interest rate of 2.6 percent with interest payable monthly.  If needed, the bank is willing to renew the loan for an additional one year period, subject to satisfactory performance on the initial loan over the next year.

In his COVID-19 update to the council, Fisher said that Brenham City Hall is still closed to the public, but is available by appointment.  He said he had anticipated reopening the building this month, but will “keep it like it is for a while”.  He added that the city still has positive cases in City Hall employees and/or their families.  He said the city is still trying to navigate through the situation, but believes the city has not “missed a beat” in taking care of the public.

Fisher also discussed community concerns about the “huge” softball tournament over the weekend at Hohlt and Henderson Parks, which drew 41 girls’ softball teams.  He stated that Governor Greg Abbott’s latest executive order did not put any prohibitions on youth sporting events outdoors.

Fisher said the city will reemphasize its existing health guidelines at parks to visitors and tournament directors, saying it will look at cancelling all future tournaments if they cannot comply with regulations like maintaining social distancing and wearing masks.  He said the city is watching this situation very carefully and will hold the tournament directors accountable.

The council held budget discussion in workshop at the Barnhill Center before the regular council meeting, and continued the workshop after the meeting.

Also at today's meeting, the council:

• Authorized the mayor to execute and deliver a certificate related to the issuance of student housing revenue bonds by the New Hope Cultural Education Facilities Finance Corporation to finance the construction of the new student housing facility on the Blinn College campus on West Fifth Street. The certificate acts as acknowledgment that the financing entity held a public hearing for the project.
• Awarded a Request for Qualification (RFQ) related to grant administration and/or planning services for the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Mitigation Program to Public Management, concerning possible drainage projects.