10-14-19 Drainage and Flooding Committee Meeting Minutes

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JAY MARTIN S 9 CHUCK ENGELKEN Chairman Member Gl er DANNY EARP STEVE GILLETT Vice-Chairman � �_, J� ` Alternate Member MINUTES OF DRAINAGE AND FLOODING COMMITTEE MEETING HELD OCTOBER 14, 2019 The Drainage and Flooding Committee of the City of La Porte met on Monday, October 14, 2019, at the City Hall Council Chambers, 604 West Fairmont Parkway, La Porte, Texas, at 5:00 p.m. to consider the following items of business: Committee Members present: Jay Martin, Chuck Engelken, Danny Earp, (Steve Gillett available if needed) Committee Members absent: None Council-appointed officers present: Corby Alexander, City Manager (arrived at 5:10 p.m.), Jason Weeks, Assistant City Manager, and Lee Woodward, City Secretary Call to Order- Chairman Martin called the meeting to order at 5:07 p.m. 2. Statutory Agenda (a) Approve the minutes of the meeting held on September 9, 2019. [Jay Martin, Chairman] Committee member Engelken moved to approve the minutes; the motion was adopted, 3-0. (b) Receive report regarding Harris County Flood Control District's current and future plans relating to flooding in the City of La Porte. [Lorenzo Wingate, P.E., City Engineer] Lorenzo Wingate, City Engineer, said Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) was not available to attend but willing to meet in the next two weeks to discuss the buyout program. Mr. Wingate answered questions on Sens Road, noting that the drainage and infrastructure in the area was not in the City's control and that upstream issues had not been budgeted, and that Phase 3 of Project 216 needed to be completed before proceeding. Mr. Alexander said a proposal would be brought to the next meeting for what the City could do to ameliorate the detention pond concerns. Chairman Martin had Mr. Wingate confirm that 60 days have passed since the last notification regarding grant awards of the projects placed on reclassification status. The Committee proposed it begin to consider planning for the City to fund some projects itself. Mr. Wingate agreed to find out if the City's applications could be amended. Member Earp suggested the projects be prioritized so the City could begin at least one. The estimate across all of the projects, for engineering and construction, was recalled to be about $20 million. Member Engelken asked if it was possible to "opt out" of HCFCD taxes or if there were litigation or other options open, as he did not feel that the community was receiving commensurate service from HCFCD for taxes paid, that HCFCD did not maintain lots or trees well, did not act in accordance with City ordinances, and had removed properties from the tax rolls. Mr. Alexander agreed to speak with the City Attorney. (c) Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding the status of current drainage projects. [Lorenzo Wingate, P.E., City Engineer] Discussing Roseberry, Mr. Wingate said a vendor had donated materials to allow for 10' curb inlets to replace the existing 5' and to replace 300' of larger 24" line in response to a resident issue. (d) Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding additional drainage concerns and provide staff with direction. [Lorenzo Wingate, P.E., City Engineer] This item was discussed with 2c. 3. Set date for next Drainage and Flooding Committee Meeting - The next meeting date was set for November 11, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. October 14, 2019-Drainage and Flooding Committee Minutes