City Council approves Construction Management Contract for Public Safety Headquarters

By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2015, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

The Eagle Pass City Council held a special meeting on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 and approved the construction management contract with DSA Construction Management for the City of Eagle Pass Public Safety Headquarters project.

During discussion, City Manager Gloria Barrientos presented City Council with details of the proposed contract agreement for the construction management of the Public Safety Headquarters project.

After discussion on the scope of the contract that was structured and negotiated, City Council unanimously approved the construction management contract with DSA Construction Management.

City Council members Gloria E.. Hernandez and Yolanda P. Ramon were not present at the meeting.

The City of Eagle Pass Public Safety Headquarters project will include the new Eagle Pass Police Department headquarters as well as a new Eagle Pass Fire Department central fire station and training center on South Monroe Street at the former Texas Army National Guard Armory building and property site near Fort Duncan Park and the City’s Second International Bridge.

The City is seeking to renovate and remodel the former Texas Army National Guard Armory property site as the new Public Safety Headquarters for both the Police and Fire Departments. The City Council and City Administration estimate the total cost to renovate and remodel the former Texas Army National Guard Armory property as the new Public Safety Headquarters is approximately $6.5 Million, more than $3 million dollars greater than estimated originally several years ago.

City Council has approved to give notice of intent to seek a $10 Million Certificates of Obligation in 2015 in order to fund several City public improvements and infrastructure projects, including the Public Safety Headquarters. According to City Financial Advisor David Gonzalez of Estrada & Hinojosa, the $10 Million bonds will cause the City to increase local taxpayers ad valorem property taxes in 2015 a minimum of $0.76 cents per $100 valuation of their real property. This estimate does not include any increased appraised value which may be given to taxpayers’ real properties by the Maverick County Appraisal District, which would have the effect of a second tax increase.

The City is earmarking $3.5 million of the $10 million in 2015 bonds for costs associated with the construction of the new Public Safety Headquarters.   The City has been working on plans to renovate and remodel the former Texas Army National Guard Armory as its new Public Safety Headquarters for approximately two years, including numerous meetings with architects, both the Police and Fire Departments, the Public Safety Headquarters Committee, and City Council public workshops and meetings.

Recently, two environmental assessment reports in 1993 and 1995 were discovered to have found important levels of arsenic and beryllium in the former Texas Army National Guard Armory property site and adjacent property due to a former Fluorspar processing plant operated by Reynolds Aluminum and SESA Fluorspar within 2,000 feet from the Armory site.

The City of Eagle Pass may have to evaluate and conduct further environmental studies to determine the feasibility of the former Armory property as a suitable site for its new Public Safety Headquarters. Preliminary indications are that the City of Eagle Pass currently plans going forward with the Armory property site for its new Public Safety Headquarters despite some concerns expressed by City employees.