The City Council in Orange approved Tuesday an agreement with the Stark Foundation for the remediation and restoration of damaged property caused by a contractor for the city. The council approved the agreement after meeting with the city attorney in a closed executive session.
Public Works Director Jim Wolf said after the meeting that the city had contracted with a company several months ago to relocate a waterline in the Interstate 10 right-of-way. The contractor mistakenly went into the private property of the Stark Foundation and caused some damaged to the wetlands there.
A special environmentalist consultant was retained by the Stark Foundation to determine what it would take to restore the property to its previous wetlands condition. The city will reimburse the Stark Foundation for the cost of the specialist, but the contractor will eventually be responsible for all of the cost of restoration.
Utility rates for the City of Orange will be increased because of the aging infrastructure. Accountant Cheryl Zeto with the city said the utility rates will go up 3 percent which for a minimum bill of a thousand gallon usage would be about a 32 cent increase. The sewer portion of the monthly utility service will be increased by 3 percent as well which represents a 41 cent increase on a minimum usage bill.
The sanitation or garbage and trash collection portion of the bill will reflect the rate increase charged by Waste Management of 4.1 percent and a fuel surcharge of 2 percent resulting in a 6.1 percent total increase for citizens in Orange. The collection fee will be increased by $1.63 for residences with one garbage cart.
The City Council approved contract agreements at the recommendation of Wolf on five projects. The projects total approximate $200,000 for the vendors to perform HVAC services, engineering services, water treatment, maintenance service, and the purchase of a Backhoe.
Planning Director Kelvin Knauf requested the council approve one of three options for staffing the Code Enforcement Department. The third option which will use two police officers and one civilian employee to implement code enforcement for the city was unanimously approved by the City Council. The cost will be $128,985 annually.
Suspension of two ordinances for citizens concerning the damage caused by Hurricane Laura were not renewed by the council. Citizens will no longer be able to reside in Recreational Vehicles on their property because of damage to their residences or have permit fees waived for repairs to damage caused by Laura.
Building Official Marvin Benoit has become a Certified Floodplain Manager from the Texas Floodplain Management Association. Benoit was presented the certificate by Mayor Larry Spears, Jr, at the beginning of the meeting.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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