By Matt Smith/msmith@trcle.com
Cleburne City Council members on Tuesday approved a $1,479,300 bid by Phoenix Fabricators to install a new water tank on Rose Street.
The bid includes the tank, installation, and demolition and removal of the existing tank, said David Esquivel, public works director.
Council members decided to replace the tank, installed in 1953, last year because it is damaged and obsolete.
The 500,000 gallon tank is also undersized for present city water needs, Esquivel said, and a larger tank is needed.
A second water project approved by council involves the motor and pump for city water well No. 11.
“The pump and motor at well No. 11 has failed and is beyond repair,” Esquivel said. “It is necessary to replace the equipment to get the well back on line to serve the city’s water system.”
Pumps in the city’s other water wells appear to be in good working order, Esquivel told Councilwoman Gayle White.
Council members also authorized City Manager Chester Nolen to submit an amendment request to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality concerning the city’s water right permit for Lake Marti.
The current permit allows the city to divert 720 acre feet of water annually for municipal purposes. The city is requesting the amendment to be able to sell some of that water to gas companies.
Council members approved the final plat of a piece of land near the Cletran Intermodal building and the railroad tracks.
The land will be used for a park-and-ride facility the city plans to build.
Earlier this month, the city received $200,000 in federal stimulus funding, a grant the city did not have to match, which it intends to use to build the facility.
Council members voted to accept additional stimulus funding in the amount of $75,000 on Tuesday.
That money will be used to fund a portion of an energy efficiency and conservation contract the city has with Siemens Building Technologies.
Siemens recently conducted a detailed study and implementation project targeted toward helping the city decrease energy consumption over the coming years.
The council approved Nolen’s appointment of Debra Powledge as human resources director.
Powledge replaces Bonita Hall, who left to take a job elsewhere earlier this year.
Nolen and Mayor Ted Reynolds recognized Marva Pace, an employee with the city’s Information Services Department, for her assistance with the recently unveiled Cleburne stimulus package.
Leaders with the city, the Cleburne Chamber of Commerce and the Cleburne Economic Development Office developed the project.
The program includes a Web site, www.CleburneLife.com, which touts local businesses, attractions and job opportunities to encourage residents to shop locally and to attract tourism and outside business to the area.
Pace, Nolen said, proved instrumental in assisting with graphics and computer operations necessary to bring the project to fruition.
