Continuing the breakdown of the infrastructure master plan recommendations for the city of Levelland made by Freese and Nichols, the remaining two sections focused on facilities and storm water.
In the facility breakdown, an assessment of the city and county shared facility, namely the Hockley County Law Enforcement Center was discussed. Additionally, facilities managed by the city were covered.
For everything covered in this section, a level of service assessment was given which highlights the current infrastructure and if it meets present and future needs. A condition assessment followed which covers if any infrastructure is need of repair or replacement based on condition.
A system evaluation and reporting was conducted following an overview of the development of capital improvement projects. A list of needs rounded out the preface of the introduction before Freese and Nichols explained each point separately.
Moving into the core recommendations by the company, a graphic breaking down where current facilities are located such as the fire department and communications, the shop and sanitation building, street shop and water department.
Showing this graphic, it was suggested that the relocation of the law enforcement center and city hall could be relocated on the same land as the fire department building.
Doing so would bring a “one-stop-shop” or municipal campus that is relatively close to the downtown area. It was mentioned that the relocation and overall move could be phased based on resources as well as perform a facilities master plan for city hall and the law enforcement center.
In a long-term effort, it was explained that the grouping of all municipal entities would aid in downtown revitalization support.
The long-term plan would leverage three blocks along 5th Street and bring a sense of proximity to the mentioned municipal departments such as street, shop and sanitation on Avenue G and the utility department on Avenue F.
It was also suggested that the city bring all financial elements under one roof with controlled access and support cross-training be offered for customer service. That is where the one-stop-shop aspect would come into play as all customer facing functions would be in one place.
The Main Street program would also be supported in this area as it would be considered an ideal location. In turn, an increase customer base would be in downtown with city employees and city customers. In the longterm scheme it was presented as a placemaking opportunity.
Additional long-term recommendations in the facility category were parks and recreation needs. The company highlighted that the facilities are not in bad condition. It was mentioned to no “kick the can” on maintenance, which could lead to costly replacements later on. A suggestion from the company included an updated plan in place for parks, recreation and open space.
Freese and Nichols encouraged the council and city staff to resist temptation in replicating other cities. Adding to this point, the company suggested being aware of operating costs involved as “adding to” is better than “throwing out and replacing” based of their previous evaluations.
Recognizing and keeping the idea of addressing core municipal functions first was priority and realizing that Levelland has multiple partner opportunities that may allow better facilities and amenities than would otherwise be financially possible is a benefit.
In the long-term recommendations, the reconstruction and consolidation of the streets and utility department were discussed again as the facilities are functional, but not in great condition with deferred maintenance and in need of upgrades.
Looking to stormwater, Freese and Nichols explained that cities within the region share similar issues during the playa level analysis, there is a lack of adequate flood risk maps and data maps that highlight where the problem areas are in a community.
For long-term stormwater improvement, the company provided a list of project options that could help control the playa lakes as there is structural flooding around those lakes. However, a long-term solution offered to the council was connecting the playa lakes in a “daisy chain” type method in order to push the water out of the city.
A projected cost summary was offered if the city chose to go the excavation route which was estimated at $24.9 million if all project excavation was done. Lobo Lake excavation was estimated at $912,000, the Levelland Country Club Pond excavation was estimated at $926,300, Brasher Lake excavation was estimated at $1.37 million, the southeast Levelland playa excavation was estimated at $12.27 million, Brashear Lake to the southeast Levelland playa connection was estimated at $2.52 million, the Country Club Playa to the southeast Levelland playa connection was estimated at $2.1 million, the Lobo Lake to Country Club proposed pond was estimated at $1.4 million, the private lake to Lobo Lake drainage connection was estimated at $1 million and the city lake to the private lake was estimated at $2.39 million.