Reprint from the Progress Times - July 27, 2007
©Progress Times 2007 - All Rights Reserved

CITY OF MISSION
Council awards bid for La Lomita Renovation

By Kathy Olivarez

Going against a request that bids for the renovation of La Lomita Chapel be rejected and rebid, Mayor Beto Salinas said in the Monday, July 23, meeting of the Mission City Council that he wanted the council to accept the lowest bid that meets the specifications. The project had been rebid once before.

Attorney David Guerra said there was a problem in the instructions to bidders, which did not specify selection criteria for the bids. The reason it was suggested that the item be rebid again was because the lowest bidder has no experience with the type of renovation that will be involved. The building is thought to possibly predate the Civil War and was constructed using some very old construction techniques not commonly used today.

The lowest bidder was the 5125 Company with a bid of $244,444.44. They renovated one old building but the construction was more traditional than the construction of the chapel.

Architect Steve Tillotsen advised rejection of the bids, saying special skills are needed for that type of renovation and the city should hire someone with similar experience.

Guerra said if the project were rebid again he would see that the selection criteria were included.

Salinas said that Nancy Highlander, a former city employee, worked for the company and felt she could do a good job of overseeing the renovation. He wanted the project completed by the end of the year for the centennial celebration.

Several members of the council expressed concerns about the selection criteria not being included in the bid but in the end voted to go along with Salinas and decided to approve the lowest bid.

A request to solicit bids for a directional boring machine brought objections from Salinas, who questioned the purchase. He felt that there would be a liability issue. He pointed out that the people who owned the machines had the training to operate them and that was all they did.

Salinas said that he felt boring should be left to the private sector. The machines are expensive and the people who own them have bills to pay. It is best to leave some jobs to the private sector, he said.

This led to a comment by Councilman Leo Olivarez that the county has its own paving machine and was taking jobs away from the private sector. Each time the county paved a street it was taking a job away from the private sector, but the equipment saves the county a lot of money. The mayor had been heard saying the city needed a paving machine. What was the difference? The city could save a lot of money doing its own boring.

Salinas stuck to his opinion that boring was difficult and was best left to the people who had the equipment and did the job all the time. No action was taken to purchase the equipment estimated to cost $85,000. This, despite input from city staff stating two upcoming boring projects would pay back the cost of the machine.

Special Election

A special election for place two on the Mission City Council to fill the vacancy left by Gen Long’s resignation will be held October 20. July 24 is the first day for candidates to file for the position while August 14 is the last day. Early voting will begin October 8.

The council approved professional services for a GIS (geographical information system) Project Phase Three with L&G Engineering in the amount of $143,750. The mapping system will help staff locate water lines, sewer lines, lights, signs and fire hydrants.

Under zoning matters the council rezoned 0.92 acres of lot 284, John H. Shary Subdivision from AO-I to R-1A. The site is located on the south side of Mile 2 Road, one-fourth mile west of Shary Road, just south of Stonegate Subdivision.

–– A conditional use permit for sale and on-site consumption of alcoholic beverages at Blue Shell Restaurant, to be located in Suite 100, lot 6, block A, Shary-Taylor Expressway Commercial Subdivision was approved.

–– A conditional use permit for sale and on-site consumption of beer and wine was granted to Reflections, a restaurant to be located in the former Tom & Jerry’s Restaurant. The site is on the north side of Griffin Parkway between Shary and Tierra Drive.

–– A conditional use permit for a group home day care to be located at 3801 San Roman, lot 122, Sharyland Plantation Village Las Palmas was approved. The permit was granted to Cesar Flores for life of use. The facility can care for up to 12 children.

The council approved a request to abandon an alley adjoining lots 15 through 18 of Adams Crossing. The subdivision is to be located at the intersection of Mimosa Street and Taylor Road. Construction of 46 condos is planned, and developers desire the site to be gated to maximize security and safety.

The council approved emergency work on the Los Indios force main. The project will divert the current sewer overflow that is creating a health and safety hazard for area residents. It will keep overflow from Hunt Development from going through the Cimarron and Glasscock lift stations. The improvements are eligible for construction through TIRZ (tax increment reimbursement zone) funds. The estimated cost is $360,000.

Salinas said the situation was an emergency because of the growth in the area and the fact that there are new schools coming on line in the area.

Janie Flores, finance director, said the June financial statement showed total revenues of $4,896, 681 and total expenditures of $4,881,451. The ending fund balance stood at $32,298,294. Total assets were $124,252,233 while total liabilities amounted to $51,290,617.

Mayor Salinas was designated as the authorized representative to give notice of intent to reimburse expenditures with the proceeds of tax-exempt obligations.

The council approved appeals to the Housing Assistance Program applications involving seven applicants.

Authorization to solicit bids for roofing the Kika de la Garza building was granted.

The council approved solicitation of bids for improvements to Reynosa and Sonora Streets in the Browning Subdivision at a cost of $75,000.

Authorization to solicit bids for cafeteria plan insurance for employees was granted.

The council approved five police officers for the Sharyland Independent School District at a cost of $226,664 for Educational Resource Officers for the coming school year. Negotiations for officers for Mission Consolidated Independent School District are ongoing.

A public hearing on the budget will be held Monday, August 13, at 4:30 p.m. during the next city council meeting.