The Amarillo Pioneer

Amarillo's only free online newspaper. Established in 2016, we work to bring you local news that is unbiased and honest.

 

City Council to Consider PID Budgets & Continue Discussing AEDC

Photo by Noah Dawson

Amarillo City Council is set to consider $6.7 million in spending items and various Public Improvement District budgets during their September 24th regular meeting, where they will also continue to discuss the AEDC/RANGE controversy and taxpayer funded lobbying.

The single largest spending item, item 10M, is a five-year contract renewal with Motorola Solutions to continue maintaining the city’s radio network through September 30, 2029. According to a bid evaluation sheet published by the city, this is a renewal of a 15-month contract approved last year at an amount of roughly half a million dollars. The new five-year contract is worth nearly $4 million.

The next largest spending item, item 9V, is a $416,497.07 purchase of a Mack Front Loader trash truck from Bruckner Truck Sales.

Though item 9V is the second largest spending item, two roofing replacement contracts set to go to Tecta America are worth more when combined. Item 9X is a $276,103 contract to replace the roof of Building 602 at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport, which is currently used by Albers Aerospace. Item 9AA is a $376,167 contract to replace the roofs of six buildings at the River Road Water Reclamation Facility.

The bulk of the action items on the agenda are public hearings and approvals of the budgets for the city’s nine public improvement districts. The two largest PIDs by both budget and total assessments are The Colonies and The Greenways. The proposed budget for The Greenways is $947,477, while the total set to be collected from assessments is $962,212. The proposed budget for The Colonies is $1,413,258, while the total set to be collected from assessments is $1,431,605. 

Several high-profile discussion items are also on the agenda. The council will continue to discuss the controversy over the AEDC/RANGE transfer, the first time the council will have done so after a heated press conference held by Mayor Cole Stanley last week. The council is also set to discuss the AEDC budget after having tabled the item at their last meeting, though approval of the budget is not included as an action item.

The council will continue to discuss taxpayer-funded lobbying, a topic also discussed at the last council meeting.

The meeting is set to begin at 3:00 pm on Tuesday, September 24th and will be held on the third floor of Amarillo City Hall. The full agenda and agenda packet can be found at this link.

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