During the previous Levelland City Council meeting held February 5, the group was presented several action items that dealt with making various improvements throughout the city.
Recently, city staff went out for an Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Lobo Lake Trail Grant Project. The lowest bid exceeded the approved funding for the concrete trail by $2,350. Director of Parks and Cemetery Dustin Reichelt explained that the bid does not include the proposed benches, concrete bench pads, and trash cans along the trailway.
“This process was done about five years ago when we started going out for the grants and unfortunately the cost has increased,” said Reichelt.
To move forward with the project, one or two options are available. Option one included funding an additional $2,350 for the trail only or option two, fund an additional $12,100 out of the parks donation fund to cover the trail, benches, 8’x3’ bench pads, and trash cans.
The park’s donation fund historically has been used for grant matches, tables, benches, and other smaller items in the park system. Currently the parks donation fund cash amount is $129,304.67, with $13,385.07 in investments for a grand total of $142,689.74.
The trail grant is an 80/20 match with the total approved funding in the amount $76,500, of which $15,300 was committed out of the Parks donation fund. This grant was written in early 2019 and was approved for construction late in 2023.
Reichelt recommended approving option two which was using $12,100 of the parks donation fund to cover the necessary expenses for the Lobo Lake Trail Project.
“Currently the park donation fund is around $142,689.74 and is a healthy fund right now,” said Reichelt. “We have not tapped into that fund for quite some time and typically it is used for benches, tables and lighting in the past. This project kind of fits that bill and we have also used the fund for grant matches as well.”
Reichelt explained to council that the additions will help make the park look better aesthetically. The additions include five benches and five trash cans that will surround the trial and lake. Reichelt also emphasized that the park donation fund can only be used for parks.
The council unanimously approved option two for the Lobo Lake Trial Grant Project.
Moving forward, Reichelt presented an additional item regarding the grant project for Lobo Lake which dealt with approving the RFP to Rentfro Construction for $82,600 with covers the trail and bench pads.
An additional bid from JAJ Concrete submitted a bid for $200,000 which covered the trail and bench pads. Reichelt explained he was not sure why there was a sizeable increase between the two bids, but recommended the bid be awarded to Rentfro Construction.
Reichelt also added that with the approval of the bid, construction could start within the next two to three weeks. The council awarded the bid to Rentfro Construction.
The council held a brief discussion dealing with the approval of Resolution 2024-02 the Municipal Maintenance Agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation and authorizing City Manager James Fisher to execute all necessary documents.
TxDOT has presented a new Municipal Maintenance Agreement for the city to consider adopting. The new MMA clarifies the roles and responsibilities of TxDOT and Levelland regarding state highways that are within Levelland’s city limits. The agreement also clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the entities regarding intersections of state highways and off system approaches.
Fisher explained to council that the agreement was essentially a house keeping item as the city continuously addressees the agreement. The council unanimously agreed to approve the agreement.
Additionally, the council considered and approved Resolution 2024-03 the Landscape Maintenance Agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation and authorizing the Fisher to execute all necessary documents.
The City of Levelland and the TxDOT have entered into a new Municipal Maintenance Agreement and as part of such agreement, wish to enter into another Landscape Maintenance Agreement with the TxDOT regarding the maintenance of the Mosaic Walls project located US 385 within the City of Levelland. TxDOT will provide such landscape improvements and Levelland will be responsible for all required maintenance of the improvements.
Fisher explained that TxDOT will handle the initial landscaping while the mosaic wall is being finished. Once the project is completed, the maintenance will then be handed off to the city staff.
Fisher also presented a consulting agreement with Valley View Consulting, L.L.C. to assist the city in its Primary Depository Request for Applications (the “RFA”) solicitation process, generating a bank services RFA, analyzing the responses, and arriving at a primary depository recommendation for the new contract period.
The city’s depository contract with City Bank will end September 30. The contract included an initial two-year term and three annual extensions to which both parties had agreed.
Fisher explained that the law requires that every five years the city take competitive proposals from banking institutions for these services.
Currently, the city is asking for authorization to proceed with issuing a RFA for depository services. In the past, the city utilized Valley View Consulting, LLC to assist with the RFA process. It was explained that Valley View has extensive experience in the banking industry. Fisher introduced the city’s new Director of Finance Cynthia Sanchez who has been working to gather the necessary financial information so that the city can proceed with issuing the RFA.
Once the council authorizes staff to proceed with the process, staff will work to issue the RFA to local banks. Given the complexity of the process and assessing the proposals the city is also in the process of securing a consultant that can help guide them through the process and assist with reviewing proposals.
In the past there have been times when the city has used a consultant to assist with the process. With the likelihood of having multiple local banks submit a proposal, having an outside objective opinion of which banking institution submitted the proposal with the best value to the city is very important, explained Fisher.
The council unanimously approved the item.
Levelland PD Chief Albert Garcia presented Resolution No. 2024-04 authorizing the submission of a grant application for Police Equipment through the Criminal Justice Grant Program for an incinerator for proper destruction of certain evidence, Fiscal Year 2025, Grant #5801301.
The Fiscal Year 2025 Criminal Justice Grant Program funds can be used to equip police officers, specifically with equipment that enhances the efficiency of a department. During the time the Levelland Police Department was undergoing the process of becoming accredited, a deficiency was discovered in the ability to destroy evidence. The intake and destruction of evidence is one of the many areas evaluated to achieve this prestigious award. As many other agencies in the general area are now attempting to achieve accreditation, they will also have this issue.
Moving forward, the LPD would like to purchase an incinerator to properly destroy evidence such as illegal drugs and narcotic paraphernalia. This incinerator will improve the efficiency of the department and will give outside agencies a resource to assist them if needed.
This grant program pays for 100% of the proceeds needed to purchase the incinerator. The unit is projected at a cost of approximately $24,900.00. The location of the unit is still to be determined and approved by TCEQ.