1998-12-09 Special Called Workshop of City Council

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0" The new pool would be located in the same general vicinity of Central Park. By retiring an old facility that is at the end of it's useful life, and replacing it with one that better meets the needs of the users, this proposal should move the City toward our goal of providing superior recreation opportunities for the citizens of La Porte. The City of La Porte proposes to replace the San Jacinto Pool with a new, state of the art pool, similar to the Northwest Park Pool. The new pool would be built utilizing the same zero depth concept as the Northwest Pool, which allows use by toddlers and very young children, as well as older children and adults. The pool edge on one side starts out with zero depth and then gradually gets deeper until it reaches a maximum depth of five to six feet. The graduation allows for older children and adults to enjoy the pool as well. The pool would also have a small water slide for youngsters, sunbathing capacity for parents, and volleyball facilities to enhance the overall aquatic experience. The San Jacinto Swimming Pool is located at 618 San Jacinto and is a part of La Porte's Central Park. The pool was built and dedicated by the City in 1960. As the first municipal swimming pool in the City of La Porte, it has served the City's population well over the past thirty-eight years. The facility is reaching the end of its useful life and needs to be replaced with a new neighborhood swimming pool that is designed to meet the changing needs of the community . The projected cost is $675,000, and should positively affect traffic and pedestrian patterns in the northern portion of the City. This street and drainage project will improve the appearance of the affected area, will enhance the redevelopment and revitalization currently underway and allow for future beautification improvements. The addition of sidewalks as a result of this bond issue is invaluable to the area in tenns of pedestrian safety. the area should become more efficient. The reconstruction of North Fifth Street from East Main Street to Barbour's Cut Boulevard is being proposed by the City. The Project consists of the replacement of North Fifth Street with concrete, curb & gutter with underground storm sewer. Additionally, the Project will construct sidewalks with handicap access. The current building was not designed to house today's modem fire apparatus, which is considerably larger and more sophisticated than older equipment. In addition, the new station should provide for future expansions in personnel or equipment should increased growth in the City show the need for these additional resources. The City plans to rebuild Station Three at or near its current location. Fire Station Three, located at 1516 Lomax School Road, serves the northwest quadrant of the City of La Porte. The station needs to be replaced with a modem facility capable of housing current and future staff and equipment. The current facility was built in the 1970's by the Lomax Volunteer Fire Department and was absorbed by the City when the City of La Porte consolidated with the City of Lomax in 1981. Over the years, several renovations have been made to the building to accommodate the addition of full-time fire fighters and training areas for the volunteers. Bonds Bonds Proposition 5 - The Issuance of $250,000 San Jacinto Swimming Pool Replacement Proposition 3 - The Issuance of $750.000 Fire Station Number Three Replacement Repaving Bonds e Because North Fifth Street effectively splits the neighborhood, traffic in Additionally, road and drainage maintenance costs will be reduced. Proposition 4 - The Issuance of $675,000 Fifth Street e The building is located in a low The current site does not allow The City has recently purchased property at the comer of Broadway (Old Hwy 146) and McCabe Road which will be used as a site for a new fire station to replace Fire Station Four. This site is centrally located in the fire protection zone and has enough room to allow for a station to be built, which should be adequate to house larger, more modern equipment and provide limited training facilities for both full-time and volunteer fire fighters. Also, the new station should provide for future expansions in personnel or equipment should increased growth in the City show the need for these additional resources. Fire Station Four, located at 617 Shoreacres Boulevard, serves the southeast quadrant of the City of La Porte and under a fire services contract, serves the City of Shoreacres. The station needs to be replaced with a modern facility capable of housing current and future staff and equipment. The current facility was built in the 1970's, is owned by the City of Shoreacres and is provided as part of a fifteen-year agreement entered into when the City of La Porte annexed the Bayshore Municipal Utility District in 1989. The agreement will expire in the year 2004. In 1996, the City retained an architect to conduct a needs (or space) analysis and make recommendations regarding the expansion and renovation of City Hall. The study recommends an addition to City Hall that increases the building area by about 9,600 square feet and remodels 14,500 square feet of existing space at a total cost of $2.2 million. City Council has detennined the remodeling of the existing facility should be accomplished with existing funds and has set aside $720,000 for the renovation. They directed the addition to the building, which totals $1.5 million, be presented to voters for consideration of funding from General Obligation Bonds. Operations housed in the current building include Mayor and Council, City Manager, City Secretary, Human Resources, Planning and Code Enforcement, Management Infonnation Services, Utility Billing, Finance and the La Porte Tax Office, which contractually provides tax collection services for the La Porte Independent School District and the Cities of Morgan's Point and Shoreacres. Because these operations have grown in conjunction with the population they service, areas originally designed for record storage have been converted to office areas and the demands for space have resulted in hallways and common areas being used for file storage, mail distribution, and in some instances, employee work areas. La Porte City Hall, located at 604 West Fainnont Parkway, was constructed in 1978 when the population of La Porte was 12,899 and the number of employees based at the building was 24. Since that time, the City has grown to its present population of 33,500 and the building contains 52 personnel. In addition, there are ten employees being supervised by City Hall staff who, because of space limitations, are based in satellite locations. On January 16, 1999, the voters of La Porte will be given the opportunity to approve the issuance of $3.925 million in General Obligation Bonds. The City plans to issue the Bonds for a teon of 20 years. This debt issuance will not require an increase in the La Porte Tax Rate, which has not been above the current 71 cent rate since 1984. The City is able to absorb this increased debt without an increase in the tax rate. A description of the proposed projects follows. Bonds Replacement - The current building is a one and one-half story metal building with two bays. elevation area and is very close to a tidal ditch, which has flooded in the past for future expansion. Synopsis of January 16, 1999 Election for General Obligation Bond Projects, and The Section 4B 1/2 Cent Sales Tax 500,000 City Hall Addition Bonds Four General Obligation Bond Projects Proposition 2 - The Issuance of $750.000 Fire Station Number - The Issuance of $1 e 1 Proposition