Port Arthur Council to consider Harvey housecleaning issues

Published 5:33 pm Monday, February 12, 2018

It’s time to pay some bills and take care of some paperwork in regard to Tropical Storm Harvey.

The Port Arthur City Council will meet at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 444 Fourth St.

The City Council will consider for approval an interlocal agreement between the city and Jefferson County for assisting with the cleanup process from Harvey. This agreement will oversee the drainage issues such as grading of ditches and maintenance work in the Port Acres area.

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The council will also consider settling a claim for $458,107 made against Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool for flood damage to mobile equipment at various locations throughout the city because of Tropical Storm Harvey.

The resolution read this amount is based on an estimated cost for flood-related repairs. If additional flood-related costs are incurred, TML may issue a supplemental payment.

Likewise, they will deliberate on a settlement of a claim for $94,381 made against the TML for flood damages to city vehicles from Harvey.

A resolution requesting the City Council ratify a contract with RWL Group for consulting service for property insurance claims from Tropical Storm Harvey will be considered for approval. The contract is not to exceed $20,200.

A memorandum from Rebecca Underhill, assistant to the city manager, to interim city manager Harvey Robinson read the city is insured through flood, property and windstorm policies. Staff members are currently evaluating 116 city-owned properties and more than 250 pieces of equipment and vehicles damaged due to Harvey. The total insurance claims will be several million dollars.

The city has contracted with RWL Group for risk management since 1983 and they negotiated settlements following Hurricanes Rita and Ike.

In a memorandum from Armando Gutierrez, public works director to Robinson, it read the first quarter landfill fee to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality was $72,351.

“TCEQ assesses an operational fee to all landfills in the state. The amount is based on tonnage received from disposal at each landfill. This operational fee is assessed quarterly,” it read.

The Council will deliberate a contract with J-Quad Planning Group of Addison, Texas for the development of a disaster recovery plan for Tropical Storm Harvey not to exceed $49,920. Funding is available in the Economic Development Corp. account.

A memorandum from Ron Burton, assistant city manager/director of development services to Robinson read it’s in the city’s best interest to authorize funding for the plan. Two proposals were received Dec. 13 and evaluated by a review committee with J-Quad.

There are two agenda items related to street repairs, too.

One involves a change order to the contract between the city and Old Castle Materials Gulf Coast Inc. of Beaumont for West Rev. Dr. Ransom Howard Street pavement rehabilitation project. The amount of the contract will be decreased by $74,731 for a new amount of $1,387,875. The contract term will also be increased by 21 days for a new total of 141 days. Funding is available in the Texas General Land Office Round 2.2 Program.

Gutierrez wrote in a memo the proposed resolution is for additional concrete removal, like treated subgrade and asphalt stabilized base materials and the removal of full depth concrete repair for the redesign of the existing base and subgrade failures in the middle and northeast lanes.

“Hidden damages were discovered after the milling of the existing asphalt surface,” it read.

Underneath the streets, the Council will consider awarding a bid for a contract with Excavation and Construction, LLC of Port Arthur with a projected budgetary impact of $253,386 for the replacement of water mains along Fifth Street, Sixth Street and Seventh Street between Atlanta Avenue and Nashville Avenue. Funding is available in the EDC account.

Hani Thome, director of utilities, wrote to Robinson, “Due to aging infrastructure, the EDC has included water line replacement with their housing projects in the area.”