K.C. Engineering offered GShoals roads contract
By Glynis Crawford Smith
The Highlander
The Granite Shoals City Council on Tuesday night (Jan. 9) gave city staff the nod to negotiate a contract with K.C. Engineering, Inc. for development of the specifications for the city's road bond project.
“Three companies responded to the city's request for qualifications,” said Assistant City Manager Peggy Allen Smith. “The staff recommended K.C. Engineering in Marble Falls.
“After we negotiate a contract that is approved by the council, we expect it to take a couple of months to draw up specification of contractor bids. That keeps us on the schedule we have been estimating, with paving work going on between August and October.”
Water notices
Smith, who serves also as utility director, said residents could expect another notice with their water bills for a fourth quarter sample of trihalomethanes (TTHM) that exceeded the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ) limit.
“The limit is 0.080,” said Smith. “We had another reading of 0.082. The same as the third quarter. So, we are still over by 0.002.”
TTHM is a by-product of disinfecting the city surface water with chloramines up and down the Highland Lakes, but exceeding to established reporting level by even a hundredth of a percent requires public notice. Monthly samples have improved, Smith said, but need further reduction for the quarterly average to fall.
Bob Sylvester Airpark
City Manager Ken Nickel reported that a process requested by the Airport Advisory Group is complete and the Federal Aviation Administration has formally approved the city's air field asd a public, rather than private airport.
“The name is formally recorded as the Granite Shoals/Bob Sylvester Airpark,” he said.
The council acted to call the May 5 election for its members and City Secretary Elaine Simpson said packets of information and forms for applicants for the three seats up for election are available at city hall.
Regarding Human Resources Department matters, Simpson said the city still seeks two part-time fire fighters, a police patrol officer, an animal control officer and two light equipment operators for the Streets/Parks Department. To broaden the field of candidates, the council removed the personnel requirement that responders in the police and fire department reside within a 30 minute response time.
Public hearings before the Granite Shoals Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) can be expected on two topics before they return to the council's agenda.
The P&Z is to schedule hearings on permanent zoning on newly-annexed areas of the city and fence ordinance on Feb. 20, according to the recommendation of the council.
As planned, Beaver Island and Webb Isle are to be zoned Residential Single Family (R-1) and Mezger properties, with no immediate plans for development, are to be given Agricultural (AG) as long-term zoning.
While the P&Z made its recommendations for fencing months ago, the council has broken out four areas for amendments it wants re-heard.
