“It’ll be happening here pretty quickly,” said Chris Majors of AG/CM, Inc. Construction Management in Corpus Christi.
Majors told the council that 20-25 local skaters attended a meeting at the Beeville Community Center earlier this month and they liked the design.
The facility was designed by SPA Skateparks of Austin. The company’s construction division will build the 52,000- to 55,000-square foot facility on the south end of Flournoy Park.
Park improvements, now underway, will feature public restrooms, a butterfly garden, walking trail and picnic facilities in addition to the skate park.
Majors said he expects SPA Skateparks to have detailed blueprints for the facility in five to six weeks.
The City Council had set aside $200,000 of a $3.5 million park improvements bond sale to pay for the skating feature.
Majors said Yann Curtis of SPA Skateparks showed local skaters a design that includes a “street” area combined with a “snake run” that will form the shape of a “B.”
Council members took no action but are expected to approve the installation of a biometric time clock system to provide an accurate record of the number of hours city employees work.
Acting City Manager Deborah Ballí told the council that the city would need about $20,000 to implement the system.
Biometric time clocks use thumb or finger prints to record the time an employee comes to work and leaves at the end of the day. That keeps employees from “swiping” another employee’s time card by accident.
Ballí said plans are to install the clocks at six locations, including the utility maintenance offices, street department, wastewater treatment plant, George P. Morrill, I Water Treatment Plant, parks department and City Hall.
Municipal court employees will use the time clock at City Hall.
Ballí said each clock is expected to cost about $2,600 to install.
The new system will be included in the 2012-13 fiscal year budget and will not be implemented until after the year begins on Oct. 1.
Ballí said the clocks could be in place by the end of October.
In other business, the council voted to:
— Approve an amendment to the professional services agreement with parks improvement plan coordinator John Longoria. The consultant is asking that his monthly fee be reduced from $3,500 a month to $1,000 a month.
Longoria said the project is winding down and he is about to launch a career change.
— Table action on requests for hotel and motel tax funds from the Bee County Area Go Texan Scholarship Foundation and Kries Marketing for promotion and advertising of events the two organizations are planning.
The Go Texan organization is in charge of the annual Bee County Western Week Celebration in October and Kries Marketing is planning a barbecue cook-off for May 5 with all proceeds to go to the Beeville Volunteer Fire Department. That event is to be held at 5920 Charco Road/FM 3355.
Those requests will be entertained again after council members have completed a new application form for organizations seeking hotel and motel tax funds.
— Approve payment of a $4,564 invoice from AG/CM for work completed on the parks improvement project.
— Authorize payment of a $4,000 invoice from SPA Skateparks.
— Approve payment of a $10,625 invoice from HDR Engineering for work done on planning for future water needs for the city.
— Approve zone change requests for properties at 411 W. Hefferman and 201 N. Monroe St. The owners wanted the properties rezoned from R-2 residential use to B-2 business use.
— Awarded a mold remediation contract to SERVPRO for work on the municipal court building at a cost of $21,816.
— Authorize the city staff to reimburse T’s Honky Tonk $6,000 for facade improvements to its building at 209 M. Washington St. and to pay $41,520 to Beeville Lodging for work done to connect city utilities to the Belmont Inn, 2180 U.S. Highway 59 east.
Gary Kent is a reporter at the Bee-Picayune and can be reached at 358-2550, ext. 120, or at reporter@mySouTex.com.
I would suggest that you visit the park soon as it is built so you can enjoy yourself before it gets trashed by the little freaks with spray paint. City Council needs to follow Ginter down the highway. You can go too.
Wouldn't surprise me if Obama built one at the WH so his girls could skate.