The mayor of Port Arthur is requesting a change to one of the city’s committees.

Mayor Derrick Freeman is proposing a resolution for the Industrial District Contract Compliance Committee be amended at the 8:30 a.m. regular meeting of the Port Arthur City Council on Tuesday at City Hall, 444 Fourth St. in Port Arthur.

The purpose of the Industrial District Contract Compliance Committee is to attend the quarterly meetings between the city and those entities who are associated with the city via an Industrial District Agreement and report back to city council.

The current members of the committee are the city attorney, the city manager and his designee on staff, Mayor Pro Tem Raymond Scott Jr. and Freeman.

The city council is now considering amending the resolution so that the committee will attend the quarterly meetings between the city and those industrial entities and report back to the city council to facilitate the future negotiation of said agreements.

The council will also consider a resolution to support establishing a police, fire, and emergency medical services Explorer program in the city.

An interoffice memorandum from Robert Havens, deputy fire chief, to City Manager Brian McDougal read the fire and police departments see the establishment of these public safety focused programs as a terrific recruiting tool for potential future employees. These programs are also considered a means to provide the public with a better understanding of what public servants do for them.

“This is not simply a recruiting, public relations, or outreach effort,” Havens wrote. “The underlying goal is to positively motivate and mentor participant youth and introduce them to life and career options they may otherwise not explore or consider.”

The fire and police departments have already been in contact and are working with both the PAISD and the Boy Scouts of America to identify potential participants and research the necessary measures needed to establish Explorer Posts. Acadian EMS has a corporate history of supporting Explorer Posts in Louisiana and has offered to partner with the fire and police departments in establishing posts in Port Arthur.

The council will consider a resolution between the city and Arceneaux, Wilson & Cole LLC, to provide additional construction phase engineering services for Phase I and Phase II Surface Water Treatment Plant Improvements not to exceed $723,000.

An interoffice memorandum from Jimmie Johnson, director of utility operations to McDougal wrote this is for the design and expansion of the water treatment plant at 1101 H.O. Mills Blvd.

The capacity of the plant will be increased from 20 MGD (million gallons per day) to 40 MGD. Therefore, there is a need for further professional service oversight to meet the required demands. The new contract will allow the company to provide additional construction phase engineering services through final completion of the project.

“Based on the work and time remaining to complete the construction, we recommend an increase of $723,000 to the project,” Johnson wrote. “This fee will cover the additional 212 calendar days recommended for completion of the contract and final project documentation.”

Also related to infrastructure, the council will consider emergency repairs to an 18-inch sewer force main at the West Port Arthur Road Wastewater Lift Station for the utility operations department to Allco, LLC with a projected budgetary impact of $80,000.

“An 18-inch sewer force main is leaking and in danger of catastrophic pipe failure at the lift station,” Johnson wrote. “The pipe is corroded and is at the end of its useful life. The corrosive environment inside the lift station dry well, where the pipe is located, is accelerating the corrosion and making the leak worse.”

“If the pipe were to fail, the lift station pumps would soon be submerged and the lift station would be completely out of service.”

David Ball: 409-721-2427