Council holds first public hearing for annexation

Three areas north and east of Odessa might soon be integrated into the city’s landscape as the Odessa City Council heard the first public hearing regarding annexation on Tuesday.

East of the intersection of East 89th Street and Rainbow Drive, 145.98 acres of land are being considered for annexation, while a 2.96 acre tract and a 0.11 acre tract north of the intersection of Highway 80 and Club Drive are also being considered.

No one approached the council. The council will have a second public hearing at their next meeting Feb. 28. If annexed, the properties would next have to be zoned.

Landowner Clyde Hinton and The Morrison Group both requested the annexation for the properties to be used as residential developments.

Council members also approved the establishment of an $11 weekday fee for a nine-hole play at Ratliff Ranch Golf Links. Combined with the nine-hole cart rental fee, adults can play for a shorter stay at a $16.50 weekday rate.

Parks and Recreation Director Steve Patton said Ratliff’s other rates may change as well. Patton said before determining new prices at Ratliff, he will conduct a survey of area competitors in the process of raising their prices as well.

The city also approved contracting with Badger Meter of Milwaukee, Wis., for the purchase and installation of an automatic meter reading system for the city’s large meters 1.5 inches through 8 inches. The contract is $3,056,383 for 1,383 meters. As of December, the city had just 151 automatic readers.

The council also approved:

• A $561,131 contract with Pavement Restoration of Boerne for the use of a pavement restoration technique on low volume streets instead of seal coating.
• A three-year $80,000 contract to provide marketing and advertising services for Ratliff Ranch Golf Links through hotel/motel tax funds.
• A resolution authorizing the Odessa Police Department to apply for a 2013 Selective Traffic Enforcement Programs (STEP) grant, which will fund $57,069 of overtime costs for officers assigned to the work the STEP speed, intersection traffic control and seatbelts programs and training for traffic safety programs. The chief of police and the city manager will commit to a match of $57,061 for a total award of $114,130.
• Awarding a $61,149 bid to Sewell Ford for three trucks for the Utilities, Solid Waste and Animal Control Departments.
• A $60,000 contract renewal for medical supplies for the Health and Wellness Clinic.
• A contract renewal for the purchase of general lab supplies, chemicals and reagents for $54,014 for water and waste water analysis.
• A second and final approval of a deed without warranty to the Boys and Girls Club, 800 E. 13th St.
• A first approval for a Midland Shuttle Services to operate one 2006 Ford E350 and a 10-passenger van in and out of Odessa.
• A first approval allowing employees who have previously terminated a membership in the Texas Municipal Retirement System by a withdrawal of deposits while absent from service to redeposit the amount withdrawn into TMRS, allowing the employee credit for all service since termination of membership.
• The appointment of Patricia Albarado and the reappointment of Thomas Blackstone and Manny Puga to the Midland-Odessa Urban Transit District.

@OAcitylife