Contractor Selected for Phase I of College Street rebuilding & Sidewalk Project, Reinvestment Zone For Designated For D6, Industrial Drive Property Rezoned
Sulphur Springs City Council worked through the regular meeting agenda – which included application for two grants for portable radios, selecting a contractor for Phase I of College Street rebuilding and sidewalk project, and approval of a reinvestment zone and zoning request – in 40 minutes Tuesday night.
Radio Grants
Sulphur Springs Police Chief Jason Ricketson asked the City Council to approve Resolutions No. 1288 and 1289 allowing city staff to submit two grant applications to the Office of the Governor, one to the Homeland Security Division for $19,000 for 10 new portable radios and another to the Criminal Justice Division $15,200 for eight portable radios, to be used by police patrol officers. to replace radios which have all but outlived their useful lives. The city typically applies for these grants annually. If awarded, there is not fund match required for the grants. The Council gave full approval of both.
Profiling Report, Mitigation Action Plan
Ricketson also asked the council to adopt the Hopkins County Mitigation Action Plan Municipalities and other entities are required to update and adopt a plan every 5 years in order to apply for certain grants, such as funding received last year to a assist with costs associated with the 2021 winter storm which shut down most everything for several days. While the plan must be on file, the city does discretion regarding how and whether all portions are followed or not, based on needs at the time. The council approved the plan, just as Hopkins County Commissioners Court approved the plan last month as well.
Ricketson also provided City Council members with a 7-page racial profiling report, which he asked them to approve so that the required document can be submitted to Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. He reported more traffic stops were made in 2021 than 2020, up from around 9,000 in 2020 to about 10,200 in 2021. Precinct 2 Councilman Harold Nash asked if the report details the reasons for the various stops. Ricketson noted that page 2 give a generic overview of that information. He said every time an officer makes a traffic stop, the information is pulled from the report by the electronic system, and at the end of the year, that information is pooled into one composite report. The council approved the submission of the report.
Tax Abatement Policy
Sulphur Springs-Hopkins County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Roger Feagley reported that the Legislature stipulates that Tax Abatement Policies expire every 2 years, unless reauthorized by each taxing entity biennially.
He submitted a policy ne said is almost exactly the same as in the past. The exception is that the policy approved Tuesday night removes a 7-year abatement from the schedule of options and changes the amount of new investment required before a business can apply for a tax incentive from $300,000 to $500,000 for a 5-year abatement and from $3 million to $5 million investment for a 10-year tax abatement. Feagley said in is 17 years with the EDC, he has never had anyone request a 7-year abatement, so the option was removed.
The amount of abatement of ad valorem taxes for a 5-year agreement would decrease by 20 % each year and for a 10-year abatement would be reduced by 10% each year of the agreement. In other words, the abatement for a 5-year agreement would start at 100% on year 1, then reduce to 80% in year 2, 60% in year 3, 40 % in year 4 and 20% in year 5. Similarly, a business granted a 10-year agreement would have 100% abated in year 1, 90% year 2, and decreasing each year by 10%.
Feagley said he uses the policy when negotiating with companies, offering incentives for the business to open new facilities in Sulphur Springs or to expand existing facilities. There must be a policy in place before he can speak with businesses about economic development in Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County. Hopkins County Hospital District and Hopkins County Commissioners Court last month approved similar tax abatement policies as well.
The City Council approved the tax abatement policy as presented.
The City Council authorized the city manager to negotiate a real estate acquisition for drainage purposes discussed during an executive session prior to the open council meeting.
Zoning Matters
Ordinance No. 2796 establishing a reinvestment zone for D6, Inc., also was approved by the City Council at the Feb. 1, 2022 meeting. The business opened a branch in Sulphur Springs on Industrial Drive in December 2020. In October, the Governor announced the business had been awarded grants to help D6 relocate its headquarters from Portland, Oregon to Sulphur Springs, Texas, as well as an expansion, on property just across the road from the current facility. In order to apply for a tax abatement from Hopkins county Hospital District, a reinvestment zone must be established for the project.
College Street Project
During his monthly report, City Manager Marc Maxwell noted that Atmos has relocated the gas main that was holding up the College Street project, and now the project will continue eastward. Residents should expect to see some drainage work just west of the rail spur.
Assistant City Manager/Finance Director Lesa Smith reported the city received 2 bids for excavation, stabilization, concrete pavement and sidewalks for Phase I of the College Street project. She reported Highway 19 Construction bid $767,519.48 and Drake Construction bid $936,818.50. She said city staff felt fortunate to receive the two bids; some other contractors in the industry declined to bid on the project, some citing being too busy to take it on and others not having enough workers. Smith said the city engineer was pleased with the low bid and city staff recommended accepting it.
The City Council approved the low bid from Highway 19 Construction for excavation, stabilization, concrete pavement and sidewalks for Phase I of the College Street improvement project.
Other Business
The City Council too approved Resolution No. 1294 authorizing the city’s continued participation in the Atmos Cities Steering Committee, and authorizing the payment of 5-cents per capita to the committee to fund regulatory and related activities related to Atmos Energy corporation.
Adam Henry with the USDA Texas Wildlife Program-Fort Worth Metro Area via Zoom told the council that his department could train city staff in tactics, and where to buy and how to use pyro hand harassment tools to help move black vultures from trees in the Fore and Garrison Street area. Ideally, the tools would be used for about 5 days to run the vultures off their roosts and get them moving another direction. He said there would be no fee charged by his department to train city staff, but there would be a fee if his department came in a conducted the work.
Maxwell asked how soon they could begin the process. Henry said in about 2 weeks, which should provide time for the tools to be obtained. He’d have the city crew chief set up with Henry a schedule for city staff to be trained.
Gene White, who approached the City Council during public forum at the January 4 meeting about the buzzards or black vultures creating a problem in the area, complimented and expressed appreciation to the city for moving quickly to find a remedy for the issue and expressed appreciation to Place 1 Councilman Jay Julian for his call regarding the issue.
The City Council also approved the consent agenda, which in addition to minutes from 3 past meetings, also included approval 380 agreements for 409 Sheffield Street, 115/119 Nicholson Street, 408 Houston Street, 412 Houston Street, 204 West Beckham and 950 Church Street.
Johns Sellers read a proclamation declaring February as Black History Month and encouraged others to take the time to learn more about and recognize Black Americans’ contributions, health and wellness initiatives, and honor Black American leaders’ progress in human rights and strides for minority groups.
The City Council also approved Resolution No. 1293 calling for a general election for Places 4 and 5 on council. As of Tuesday, incumbent Gary Spraggins was the only candidate reported to have filed for a place on the May 7 City Council ballot.
