Amarillo City Hall/Photo by Noah Dawson
Amarillo City Council is set to hold its first regular meeting as a full council since May on Tuesday. The meeting, which will include consideration of nearly $2.6 million in spending items, follows the swearing-in of runoff winners Josh Craft and Les Simpson, which occurred last Wednesday.
The spending items are mostly on the consent agenda, all of which may be passed by the council with a single vote. This includes the largest spending item on the agenda, 7Q. This item considers an award for the purchase, maintenance, replacement, and repair of decorative street lights for various new downtown projects. The award will cost the city $620,029.48 and will go to Techline Inc.
The agenda also contains two items related to playa lake pump rentals. Items 7J and 7K, which together total $451,796.06, would extend rentals of pumps at Lawrence Lake and Greenways Lake. Both pumps were rented from United Rentals, though the pump at Lawrence Lake was originally operated by the Texas Department of Transportation. The rental agreement for the Lawrence Lake pump would be for four weeks while the agreement for the pump at Greenways Lake would be for up to 12 weeks.
The council will also hold a public hearing on and first reading of an ordinance creating a new reinvestment zone east of Folsom Road and north of 24th Street. The reinvestment zone will likely precede a tax abatement. According to the agenda packet, this will “provide City Council with the option to offer an economic development incentive to a prospective manufacturing facility.”
Several appointments will be made by the council. The first appointment on the agenda is of the Mayor Pro Tempore. The position has been vacant since former Mayor Pro Tempore, Freda Powell, left the council following her failed mayoral bid in May. The position is responsible for presiding over the council in the absence of the Mayor.
The council will also appoint people to several boards. Appointments to the Beautification and Public Arts Advisory Board, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Council Audit Committee, and First Responders Excellence and Innovation Fund Board require council members. There will also be appointments to the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority and Parks and Recreation Board which do not require council members. Several of these boards include former council members. Both Ginger Nelson and Freda Powell are on the Council Audit Committee. Nelson is also on the First Responders Excellence and Innovation Fund Board, while Eddy Sauer sits on the Beautification and Public Arts Advisory Board and the Parks Advisory Board.
Before taking on action items, the council will receive an update on the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation and discuss city weed liens.
The meeting will conclude with a closed-door executive session to discuss the purchase of property in both the Northeast and Southwest quadrants of the city, the sale of property in the Northeast quadrant of the city, and various projects.
Ahead of the meeting, Councilman Place 3 Tom Scherelen plans to meet with members of the public in City Hall Room 203 beginning at 2:00 pm.
The meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, July 11th at 3:00 pm at Amarillo City Hall. Those interested in speaking during the meeting may sign up at this link. The full agenda and agenda packet can be found at this link.