MINUTES

CITY OF BUNKER HILL VILLAGE

SPECIAL MEETING

MAY 30, 2006 

Mayor Marshall called the special meeting of the City Council of the City of Bunker Hill Village to order at 3:50 p.m. in Council Chambers of City Hall located at 11977 Memorial Drive, Houston, Texas.

I.                    CALL TO ORDER

            Present:                                                                     Also in attendance:

            Mayor Bill Marshall                                                   Ruthie P. Sager, City Administrator

            Councilman Peter Tuters                                         Yolanda C. Benitez, City Secretary

            Councilmember Susan Schwartz                           Steve Smith, Director of Public Works

            Councilman Dave Ellis                                             Tom Ramsey, City Engineer

            Mayor Pro Tem Derry Essary                                  Gary Struzik, Klotz Associates

            Councilmember Michelle Belco                              Katherine Mears, Klotz Associates

                                                                                               John Grubbs, Project Manager

II.                  DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING KNIPPWOOD LANE DRAINAGE PROJECT.

Mayor Marshall explained the background for this project noting that the main objective was to get the water out of the yards and homes.  He also noted that this is a policy decision that council needs to work on and not just an issue on Knippwood Lane.

Mayor Marshall asked for a representative of the group to come forward with their comments:

Denis Blampoix – 11902 Knippwood.  Mr. Blampoix came before council as the spokesperson for the residents on Knippwood and pointed out that the work that has been done is appreciated; however, their biggest concern is safety and they feel that the deep ditches are not safe, that they will cause injuries, and there is a risk of roll-over of cars, especially at night.  He also noted that maintenance of ditches will be extremely difficult.  Mr. Blampoix asked the council who will be responsible for injuries or accidents and whether they plan to increase the budget in order to meet the needs of the city.

Mayor Marshall provided the following information regarding the project:

1.      To date, $115,000 has been spent on this project.

2.      There are 63 streets with ditches similar to Knippwood Lane.

3.      There are 78 streets with covered ditches that have been covered by either the developer or by the individual property owners.

4.      The City of Bunker Hill Village has participated with residents in covering the ditches by providing the labor.

5.      There are 400-500 homes with open ditches.

6.      In order to cover all of the open ditches, we would have to have a 4% increase in taxes, which would equal approximately $400,000 per year, and it would take 10 years to get the money to cover all ditches.

Councilmembers had the following comments:

Councilman Tuters stated that whatever council decides to do for the residents on Knippwood Lane, they will have to do for all of the residents, and he pointed out that his street is comparable to Knippwood.

Councilman Ellis asked City Administrator Sager how much was budgeted for this project, to which Ms. Sager responded “nothing”.  He then asked how we were going to pay for the project and Ms. Sager stated that we would use 2002 bond fund interest income. 

Gary Struzik of Klotz Associates stated that the sides were driven by several criteria, which included avoiding cutting down trees, aligning the ditches with the culverts, driveways, and utility easements.  He also noted that 100% of the construction project is in the City of Bunker Hill Village right-of-way.  Mr. Struzik added that there will be a gentle swale to drain to the inlets.

Nancy Shomette – 310 Tamerlaine.  Ms. Shomette asked if the project got out of hand and was now more expensive, and was the project done the way it should be.  Mayor Marshall responded that the project was done exactly as it should be done, that no one wants water in their homes and they need to drain the City of Bunker Hill Village properly.

It was pointed out that it will cost $102,000 to cover all of the ditches on Knippwood Lane at this point, and to cover half of them will cost approximately $55,000.

Mayor Marshall stated that this item would be put on the agenda for the June council meeting.

Gary Struzik emphasized that he doesn’t know how long the bid prices are good for and that they will probably go up if we wait too long.

It was noted that there are three options, as follows:

1)     cover the deeper ditches

2)     cover all of the ditches

3)     let the residents do what they want

III.               ADJOURNMENT

Motion was made by Councilman Ellis and seconded by Councilman Essary to adjourn the meeting.  Motion carried 5 to 0 and the meeting was adjourned at 5:10 p.m.

Approved and accepted on June 20, 2006.

                                                                                    ______________________________________

                                                                                    WILLIAM H. MARSHALL, MAYOR

ATTEST:

____________________________________

Yolanda C. Benitez, City Secretary