June 27, 2019 602 PM
MARFA – There’s a long road ahead for fixing Marfa streets, but tonight city officials are pitching road improvement ideas at the council meeting—ideas that range from buying new machinery, soliciting input from engineers, and inviting the Texas Department of Transportation’s State Infrastructure Bank to discuss funding options.
At tonight’s meeting at 6pm in the Casner Room of City Hall, council-member Yoseff Ben-Yehuda is hoping to revive an Engineering Request for Qualifications (RFQ) that would create a citywide street improvement plan. The city had been working on an RFQ before the administrative change over in May, and Ben-Yehuda said, “I’m just trying to jumpstart something. I’m going to try to present a roadmap for moving forward.”
An RFQ has no associated costs, it simply solicits engineers who are qualified to provide expertise. From there, an engineer is hired to consult on the long process. Ben-Yehuda laid out the potential engineer and council’s roadmap step-by-step as, “creating a budget and a funding schedule, defining a scope—all the streets that need to be fixed that maybe could be fixed with that budget—then setting priorities on which streets we want to fix first. Then we go back to our engineers and contractors and design within those parameters, then we go into construction, and then maintenance.”
Taking another tack, Councilmember Buck Johnston has invited the State Infrastructure Bank to discuss funding options with council, a critical component, since repairing Marfa streets will incur a multimillion-dollar bill.
Improving city streets in-house was a key campaign platform for recently elected Mayor Manny Baeza, which he has advocated since his time as a councilmember. The Mayor is currently rescheduling a demonstration for council, exhibiting an “Asphalt Zipper” which, paired with a backhoe or front-end loader, can pulverize, grade, and compact roads, though the Zipper does not complete the final step of chip sealing or paving the roads.
If the city could control those steps of the process in-house, Baeza has suggested it will save money, lowering road repair costs. This option requires capital investments up front to buy the various components necessary, and might require a consulting engineer still.
Ben-Yehuda is hoping for citizen participation in the lengthy process ahead. “It’s going to be a long road, it’s going to take a while, but we need to start somewhere.”
This week’s road conversations don’t end there. The council set new precedent last meeting by denying a request for closure and sale of a city road that bisects properties owned by Lindy Thorsen Nagel and Terry Mowers, asserting that it wasn’t ultimately in the best interest of the public. This week, council may set a public hearing for Jack Wood to close the corner of Kelly and Third Street, which crosses his property, testing how council will handle city road closures going forward.
Council will also consider adopting a City of Marfa Water Conservation Plan. Trey Gerfers, the President of the Presidio County Underground Water Conservation District will speak with council, and Dan Dunlap—the Co-Interim City Manager, Accountant, and former Mayor—will give a presentation. Dunlap has previously questioned limiting water use at a council meeting, as it is a strong revenue stream for the city.
The Hotel Occupancy Tax Committee is recommending removal and replacement of Craig Jex Hawker from the committee for meeting absences and not carrying out responsibilities assigned to him. Hawker formally resigned, and council will need to appoint a citizen to fill his unexpired term.
Councilmember Irma Salgado has two returning agenda items regarding making direct deposit mandatory for all employees, and mandating drug testing and accountability for city employees involved in accidents with city vehicles. These items faced significant hurdles last meeting, as citizens questioned council’s right to essentially mandate all city employees have bank accounts, and the legality of mandating personal liability for work-time accidents, and the legality of mandatory drug testing that isn’t random. City Attorney Teresa Todd will provide legal advice this week, after researching the issues further.
The issue-heavy meeting will also see council consider closing the entrance to Coffield Park for park expansion and improvements, take action on bid proposals to repair the Marfa Museum, consider banning fireworks in City Limits on July 4, and convene in executive session to discuss the personnel matters of increasing responsibilities and compensation for Assistant to the City Manager Peggy O’Brien, who is also assuming a position as Co-Interim City Manager along with Dunlap.
