TxDOT, council talk project status

Updates on recent Texas Department of Transportation projects in the area and the progress of the Columbus City Hall renovations topped the agenda last Thursday, Oct. 23 during the regularly scheduled Columbus city council meeting.

Lonnie Gregoryck was present and discussed current and upcoming TxDOT projects. Topping the list was discussion on the Interstate 10 widenening from Ratcliff Creek behind HEB to the Hwy. 71 bypass exit on Interstate 10.

"This should improve the merging situation there at Hwy. 71 and add some lanes along I-10," said Gregoryck.

Regarding the FM 806 bridge, Gregoryck said the current bridge must come down and a new one will be built adjacent to the existing bridge.

"Next month we should be at the point where we are hanging beams over I-10," said Gregoryck.

At that point, Gregoryck said I-10 traffic will be diverted. No specific details have been decided but there was discussion about rerouting traffic off I-10 at Mikeska's and back on at FM 2434.

Gregoryck said the work will most likely take place at night.

"The beam should take about 4-5 hours to hang," said Gregoryck.

Due to hurricane Ike, Gregoryck said bridges are backlogged so they are probably looking at December for a replacement date.

The construction has been contracted by Webber Construction and is expected to last until March 2009.

Another topic bringing dialogues were the speed limits along Hwy. 71, which runs through Columbus, from the Ratcliff Creek Bridge to the North River Bridge.

Currently the speed limit begins at 55 miles per hour on the south side of town, then goes down to 50 mph by Nancy's Steakhouse, then 40 mph by Denny's, down to 35 mph then back up to 45 mph at the North River Bridge.

Columbus City Manger David Meisell said these speed limits were a problem, especially south of town.

"With the new restaurant and two new hotels it's going to get congested there so I'm a little worried," said Meisell. "It's in everybody's best interest to slow down."

Gregoryck said TxDOT has surveys for the area planned in November at which time the state will reassess the speed limits.

Also discussed was the closing of Veterans Drive at FM 806 in Columbus.

Meisell said he has been concerned about the intersection there.

"This started out as a true farm and market road [FM 806] but now there is a lot more traffic," said Meisell. "I'm concerned someone's going to get t-boned."

Mention was made of expanding Gregory Street over Veterans Drive onto Highway 90, but was soon nixed due to the more than four-foot drop the road would make.

Other ideas presented were making an intersection about 200 feet from the current one or making Veterans Drive a one-way street running east to west. No decision was made, but Meisell said they would run some elevations and work with Neuendorff's Water Well service located at Veterans and FM 806 on a solution.

Gregoryck said if the city wanted to pursue the issue they would work as a partner with the city to lessen the blow to those traveling that route.

Rounding out discussion was talks of a traffic light at Houston and Fannin Streets in front of Brookshire Brothers. Gregoryck said that light is schedule to go up on March with a 30-day installation period.

Other items discussed with Gregoryck included contra flow lanes along I-10 and silt debris along the Hwy. 71-frontage road.

Gregoryck complimented Meisell, local law enforcement and city employees for their work and handling of traffic during Hurricane Ike.

"My hats off to the city staff," said Gregoryck.

City Hall renovations

Tim Geischeidl, architect for TSG Architects out of Gonzales, was present to discuss city hall renovations. He told council they were currently about 80 percent complete with bid documents and plan to be finished by Nov. 1.

Meisell said he was pleased with the progress but requested that bids not be awarded until February.

"With so much under contract now like the water and sewer projects and ongoing projects like the aeration tower and SCADA system our plate is full right now," said Meisell.

Councilman Curtis Schon-enberg said he didn't want to postpone city hall renovations too long due to possible price inflation.

"The volatility of the market right now really concerns me," said Schnonenberg.

Following discussion council agreed to award the bids during the Feb. 26 meeting.

Geischeidl said they hope to begin construction in April 2009 with a Feb. 26 bid date and the project should take about 9-10 months.

Meisell said the city would plan to be up and running in their undetermined temporary facility by March 16, 2009.

Dissolvement of CCVB

Council voted to dissolve the Columbus Convention and Visitor's Bureau Corporation according to Texas law and transfer and/or conveyed assets of the corporation to the city of Columbus during Thursday's meeting.

This also included appointing CCVB Director Charlotte Tilotta to sign all documents necessary to carry out dissolution and disposition of CCVB.

The council then approved budget amendments for the city's Hotel Occupancy Tax Fund and Utility Fund to reflect the retainment of a HOT fund administrator in city offices.

"We wanted to take half of her wages from the hotel/motel fund and half from the utility fund," said Meisell. "That way we feel comfortable that when the HOT items are caught up she can help with utility fund duties and CCIDC. She can be multi-functional."

He continued stating it wouldn't be appropriate to do so if all her wages came from the HOT funds.

"Now she can wear two different hats," said Meisell. "She's comfortable with that idea."

September Police Report

The Columbus Police Department reported 197 calls for service in September and 58 incidents. They reported an average response time of 1.8 minutes. There were 110 citations issued, six of which were criminal, and 35 cases cleared.

In other business the council