Sulphur Springs City Manager Marc Maxwell presented the following report to the City Council during the regular monthly council meeting on Jan. 4, 2022.
COVID-19 Response
The Omicron variant of the COVID virus seems to be spreading like wildfire across the nation. Unfortunately, I cannot give you any accurate numbers regarding the number of local cases. The State of Texas is having difficulty updating the numbers. This has been a recurring theme with the Department of State Health Services for almost 2 years. The number of people hospitalized at Christus Trinity Mother Frances remains low at 6. (He announced Tuesday night the number was 7.)
Claims
We did not have any workers compensation claims in December. We did receive 2 liability claims in December, one for a slip & fall incident, and the other for a sewer backup inside a residence. Both incidents were submitted to the TML risk pool. The slip and fall incident was denied. The wastewater incident is pending.
Senior Citizens Building
We are in the process of applying for a grant to enlarge the building. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs recently announced a grant program called the Texas Community Resiliency Program that will award grants between $500 thousand and $5 million for qualifying projects. Senior citizen centers are specifically called out as a qualifying project.
Pacific Park
Progress continues at the park. The fitness court is under construction now. Next up will be the playground and the new bathrooms. Elsewhere on the agenda tonight is the award of a bid for concrete for all of the paths throughout the park.
MLK Drainage
Kudos to the Capital Construction Division for solving the long-standing problem on Martin Luther King Junior Drive between Davis Street and Oak Avenue. This was a complicated problem that required close cooperation with the Kansas City Southern Railroad (KCS) and a delicate touch installing new drainage pipe around existing utilities and KCS control conduits.
College Street
Work has begun on the project. The Capital Construction Division has installed a new sewer main and new water main between Oak and Jackson. Next, they will construct a small drainage component and then the project will progress to the east. We had hoped to make progress on the drainage last month, but we are waiting on Atmos to relocate a gas main. We will advertise for bids for construction of the concrete street in the next 60 days.
Runway/Taxiway Rehab
This $1.9 million project is 95% complete. All we lack is a little striping, test results on the concrete and a bit of cleanup.
Street Improvement Program
Two street segments remain: More delays from Texana land and Asphalt. We still lack League and Lee Streets. Woodbridge crossing is in progress.
REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES
Finance Director Lesa Smith will present a report of year-to-date revenues and expenditures.
Around The City
Elsewhere around the city, employees:
- Made 8 extensive street repairs following utility repairs.
- Installed a sidewalk to the kayak dock at Coleman Lake that was provided by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
- Sold 2,095 gallons of AvGas and 8.863 gallons of JetA fuel.
- Accommodate 675 take-offs/landings at the airport.
- Responded to 230 fire/rescue calls including 2 structure fires and 2 vehicle fires.
- Performed preventative maintenance on 78 fire hydrants.
- Performed 15 fire inspections and reviewed 15 pre-fire plans.
- Top-dressed baseball fields and winterized irrigation systems in the parks.
- Power washed sidewalks in the baseball/soccer complex.
- Removed 17 dead trees at Coleman Park.
- Responded to 150 animal control calls while achieving a 98% adoption rate.
- Made 3 felony arrests in the Special Crimes Unit.
- Responded to 26 accidents including 1 fatality, wrote 421 citations, recorded 34 offenses, and made 53 arrests in the Patrol Division.
- Made necessary repairs for downtown Christmas Lights.
- Installed security lighting at Coleman Park.
- Began designing lighting for Pacific Park.
- Began investigating potential for automatic locks on restroom doors at Imagination Mountain.
- Installed a new pump for Coleman Lake waterfalls.
- Performed preventative maintenance at the wastewater treatment plant and the water treatment plant.
- Treated wastewater to a daily average of total suspended solids count of .22 mg/L. Our limit is 15 mg/L.
- Sent 77 tons of wastewater sludge to composting and 65 tons to the landfill.
- Washed 72,000 feet of sewer mains.
- Unstopped 29 sewer mains and repaired 8 water main ruptures.
- Replaced 8 water meters.
- Treated 147 million gallons of potable water.
- Conducted 45 building inspections, 17 electrical inspections, 19 plumbing inspections, 9 mechanical inspections, and issued 21 building permits.
- Checked out 1,756 items from the library and 588 eBooks
