This is a live blog from the College Station City Council’s workshop and regular meetings on Thursday, May 22. It’s not the official minutes.

Both meetings are being broadcast live on Suddenlink Channel 19 and can also be watched online. An archive of previous council meetings is available on the website.

6:05 p.m.

The workshop has started.

 6:15 p.m.

Council Agenda Discussion

The council will vote on items listed on the consent agenda during tonight’s regular meeting. These items were pulled for workshop discussion:

1. Tax Abatement Guidelines: State law requires that cities adopt guidelines every two years regarding tax abatements for economic development. The proposed guidelines are unchanged from those adopted in 2012.
2. Bee Creek Trunk Line Change Order: The construction contract approved in 2013 included  a line item of 7,302 linear feet of aggregate grade 4 crushed stone embedment that was bid at a unit cost of $34 per linear foot. The total cost of $248,268 was not included in the contract total of $2,269,045. Due to groundwater encountered during the installation of the sewer line, 7,046 linear feet of crushed stone embedment was used. This change order adds this line item cost for a total addition of $239,564 to the contract.
3. Verizon Long Distance: The city was notified in April by Verizon that its existing Verizon long distance plan was being discontinued on June 15 and that the city needed to transition to a new plan to avoid a loss or disruption in long distance service. The only competitively bid contract available for Verizon service is offered through MiCTA, a purchasing group serving public sector and non-profit entities. Two years of service is estimated at no more than $70,000.

 6:47 p.m. Continue reading “Live Blog: Thursday’s city council meetings (May 22)”