Stephenville City Council 7/5/22 Meeting Notes

[Website Administrators Note: The City Council Secretary’s official meeting notes are not yet available. The following are notes from memory. Please let us know of any inaccuracies or major omissions and we will make corrections/additions as needed.]

Recap of discussion concerning Agenda Item #1 - Senior Center Construction

• 5 citizens spoke in favor of preserving the tree and relocating the Senior Center construction location

• 1 citizen spoke in favor of proceeding at the current site independent of impact on the tree

• Construction is on hold at present

• Other Senior Center construction locations are being considered including the east end of E. Tarleton Street, Mason Street between N. Vine and Floral, and the City Park. The current North Vine Street location adjacent to the tree is also still under consideration

• Compared to the $1,180,000 Senior Center construction budget as of January 4, 2022, the estimate if the site is moved to E. Tarleton Street is $1,400,000. The estimate if the site is moved to Mason Street is $1,600,000. No estimate was provided for a City Park location. These estimates include the sunk cost of $115,000 for site prep and dirt work completed to date at the North Vine Street location

• Council Member Darron Trussell expressed concern about possible disruptions to the City Park master plan if the new Senior Center is located in the City Park

• Council Member Trussell is now quoting 6000 square feet as the building size. Previously, the size was stated to be 5700 square feet.

• Mayor Doug Svien alluded to other priorities such as parking lots that may rule out the Mason Street location as a site for the the new Senior Center

• Mayor Svien brought up the possibility of adding curbing to North Vine St to help with drainage issues at the site

• Council Member Bob Newby described the Goose Island Oak Tree, a heritage oak near Rockport, Texas. He said that locals take a great deal of care in ensuring the welfare of their tree. He said that he would not want the current City Council to be associated with killing an ancient oak tree.

• The Senior Center agenda item discussion concluded with Mayor Svien charging Council Member Darron Trussell with considering other alternatives along with the North Vine Street location.  He is to come back to the full Council with considerations and recommendations at future meeting. We assume that construction activity at the North Vine Street site will be suspended and the status quo will be maintained until that future meeting.

The following are questions raised by the meeting: 

- The City Manager said the dirt work done to date cost $115,000. It’s our understanding that 110 to 120 truckloads of dirt were hauled into the site to flatten the slope. Fill dirt costs about $150 per load. That would be about $18,000 worth of dirt. Where did the other $97,000 go?

- A basic metal building costs around $30 per square foot. A fully finished, move-in ready, plush metal building with drywall, insulation, electrical, plumbing, etc. is around $120/sq foot. This project is coming in at $200 per square foot or more not including land and city-supplied structural steel. Even including an allowance for a parking lot and landscaping, this seems high. Is the City getting the best value for its money?

- Given a generous $1.2 million budget for a 5700 sq ft (now 6000 sq ft?) metal building, why was there only one bidder? There are any number of regional builders capable of erecting a 6000 square foot metal building for that price or less. Why didn't anyone else bid?

- Why was this project bid out as a design/build project? Why not bid out the design, then bid out the building in order to get the lowest cost for both?

- The City Manager's cost estimates were $1.4 million to locate the building on E. Tarleton and $1.6 million to locate it at the Mason Street lot. Both of the alternate locations are essentially flat. The Vine Street location was sloping with drainage issues. Why does it cost more to build the building on a flat lot than on a sloping lot with significant site-prep and drainage issues? 

- Why will it cost $200,000 more to locate the building on Mason Street than on E. Tarleton St? The Mason Street location looks like a piece of cake from a construction perspective since it has easy access from 3 sides. 

- The building hasn't even been constructed yet, and we're already encountering drainage issues. The mayor brought up adding curbing on Vine Street to help with drainage. Even with the little bit of rain we've had this summer, water has been pooling near the base of the tree and creating a washout. Note that this was not a problem before the fill dirt south and east of the tree blocked the water flowing downhill. Adding curbing on Vine Street will violate the TxDOT guidelines for construction around trees.  Per the guidelines no more than 4 inches of excavation or 4 inches of loose mulch should be added within the 1/2 critical root zone (CRZ). For this tree, the 1/2 CRZ is 47 feet from the trunk in each direction. A curb on Vine Street will require a deep trench underneath and several additional inches of compacted fill behind within the CRZ.  Is the City willing to damage the tree’s root system in order to install curbing?

- The townhouse project across the street on North Vine has a major storm drain in the center that carries runoff underground to a sump and then into the river. We assume the city required them to build it and that it was quite expensive. Will the city build a similar drain to carry runoff under the Senior Center building? If no, why not? If yes, how will they avoid damaging the tree’s root system when the sump and piping are installed?

- As described by Council Member Newby, how can we foster a caring attitude toward our ancient oak trees in Stephenville similar to that of the Goose Island locals toward their ancient oak?

- A large portion of the tree’s root zone has been covered with packed fill dirt, several feet thick in places. The tree is already showing signs of stress with dying branches and survival shoots appearing. Is there anything we can do to mitigate permanent damage to the tree while the Council considers alternatives?  Can we go ahead and form a task force to figure out the best course of action to save the tree from continuing damage and start to execute the plan?