Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission
Ad Hoc Infrastructure Committee

November 8, 2000

Commission Hearing Room
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Headquarters Complex
4200 Smith School Road
Austin, TX 78744
                                                             1
 

                  BE IT REMEMBERED...regulatory authority of the
         6  Parks and Wildlife Commission of texas, in the
            commission hearing room of the Texas Parks and Wildlife
         7  Headquarters complex, to wit:
 
         8
            APPEARANCES:
         9  THE PARKS AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION:
 
        10  AD HOC INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE:
            CHAIR:     John Avila, Jr.
        11             Lee M. Bass
                       Carol E. Dinkins
        12             Nolan Ryan, (Absent)
                       Dick Heath, (Absent)
        13             Ernest Angelo, Jr.
                       John Avila, Jr.,
        14             Alvin L. Henry
                       Katharine Armstrong Idsal
        15             Mark W. Watson, Jr., (Absent)
 
        16
 
        17
 
        18
 
        19
            THE TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION:
        20  Andrew H. Sansom, Executive Director, and other
            personnel of the Parks and Wildlife Department
        21
 
        22
 
        23
 
        24
 
        25
 
 
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         1              AD HOC INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE
 
         2                 CHAIR BASS:  Thank you.
 
         3                 Call a meeting, the meeting of the ad
 
         4  hoc infrastructure committee, and ask for approval of
 
         5  last -- ask for the approval of last month's meeting
 
         6  notes.
 
         7                 COMMISSIONER HENRY:  So moved.
 
         8                 CHAIR BASS:  Second?
 
         9                 COMMISSIONER IDSAL:  Second.
 
        10                 CHAIR BASS:  All in favor say aye.
 
        11                 Motion carries.
 
        12               (Motion carries unanimously.)
 
        13  AGENDA ITEM NO. 2: BRIEFING-BOND AND CAPITAL PROGRAM
 
        14  UPDATE.
 
        15                 CHAIR BASS:  This will just be a brief
 
        16  by Scott.  Status of the Bond program.
 
        17                 MR. BORUFF:  Mr. Chairman,
 
        18  Commissioners, my name is Scott Boruff, a relatively
 
        19  new director of the infrastructure division.
 
        20                 We're here today to brief you on the --
 
        21  the capital program, in particular the bond program,
 
        22  which, as you know, was a result of a revenue bond
 
        23  authority provided by the 75th Legislature back in
 
        24  1997.  We're going to, as I say, talk primarily about
 
        25  the bond program update.
 
 
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         1                 As you'll recall, back in 1996, the
 
         2  agency chartered an infrastructure task force committee
 
         3  which was interested in looking at the critical repairs
 
         4  that were necessary with -- throughout the system.
 
         5  Those backlog issues were kind of clumped into three
 
         6  major categories: Facility repair, water/wastewater
 
         7  renovations, and ADA compliance issues.
 
         8                 The infrastructure task force identified
 
         9  $75 million in critical repair needs, broken down as
 
        10  you see on this particular slide right here: $50
 
        11  million for water/wastewater, $20 million for facility
 
        12  repair, $5 million for ADA.
 
        13                 The legislature authorized $60 million
 
        14  to address those issues, broken down as you see: $40
 
        15  million in water/wastewater, $16 million in facility
 
        16  repair, $4 million in ADA.
 
        17                 With our upcoming issuance, which is
 
        18  going to happen in February -- we'll talk a little bit
 
        19  about that in a minute -- you can see where our
 
        20  proposed total distribution will land.  This is where
 
        21  we think we will ultimately end up: $34.6 million in
 
        22  water/wastewater, 24.7 in facility repair, and 4.2
 
        23  million in ADA repairs.
 
        24                 We opted to issue these bond funds in
 
        25  four different issues.  The first one, in March of '98,
 
 
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         1  for $12 million, and the second one, in February of
 
         2  '99, for 18 million;  February of 2000, for $20
 
         3  million, and we're proposing the last 13.5 million this
 
         4  coming February.  And that 13.5 million happens to
 
         5  include $3.5 million in interest that we've earned on
 
         6  the bond money in the last four years.
 
         7                 This is a slide we decided to throw in
 
         8  here just to give you a perspective of the phenomena
 
         9  that happens as the bonds are issued.  That dotted line
 
        10  running down the center is essentially where we are
 
        11  now, and it just gives you an appreciation for the fact
 
        12  that we are currently managing three different bond
 
        13  issues; although, we're just about to finish up with
 
        14  the'98 bond issuance, those particular projects, within
 
        15  a couple of months here.  We will then issue the 2001
 
        16  bond dollars, so we will once -- once again be managing
 
        17  three different bond issues.
 
        18                 It's important to point out here, I
 
        19  think, that, with the exception of the O-1 bond
 
        20  issuances, all these other projects, whether in red or
 
        21  stripes or in blue, are all programmed; that is,
 
        22  they're all identified, scoped, and dollars have been
 
        23  projected, and a schedule has been prepared to get
 
        24  those done.
 
        25                 This particular slide demonstrates the
 
 
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         1  process that we go through in order to have a project
 
         2  completed and out in the field, ready to go.
 
         3                 Now, the top bubbles that you notice
 
         4  there is the legislative and the -- on through your own
 
         5  approval process.  Our shop gets this, down here, where
 
         6  it says "TPFA Approval,"  and the reason we threw this
 
         7  in here was twofold:  One is to kind of give you an
 
         8  appreciation for the timelines that it requires us to
 
         9  get these projects done, and as you can see at the end
 
        10  there, it's typically a 2 1/2 -- 2- to 2 1/2-year
 
        11  process, from the time we get the -- from the time you
 
        12  approve the projects, to the time they're actually
 
        13  completed.
 
        14                 Another thing I'd like you to glance at
 
        15  for a moment is the red line at the bottom of the
 
        16  chart -- kind of the thick red line -- and that's an
 
        17  expenditure line which kind of demonstrates the reality
 
        18  that you spend more money at the tail end of the
 
        19  project than you do early on.  So sometimes there may
 
        20  be a perception we're not spending money fast enough,
 
        21  but, as you probably well know, in this industry, you
 
        22  tend to spend money at the tail end of a project and
 
        23  not early on.
 
        24                 The following slides are just specific
 
        25  slides related to each of the issuances. This is the
 
 
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         1  '98 issue, on a 12 million-dollar issue back in '98.
 
         2  The slide suggests that we've done $10.8 million to
 
         3  date.  That's the number that the comptroller
 
         4  recognizes.  We've actually spent about 11 1/2 million
 
         5  to date, and the difference being the fact that there's
 
         6  a 30- to 60-day delay in the time that we complete the
 
         7  projects and the comptroller gets the paperwork.  It's
 
         8  a paperwork phenomenon.
 
         9                 So this -- we essentially -- this shows
 
        10  that we've completed 92 percent; 8 percent are still in
 
        11  construction.  That number is even -- looks better
 
        12  than that now.  This is about a three-week-old chart.
 
        13  We have actually only three projects that are in the
 
        14  completion phase and will be completed before the end
 
        15  of the year.  So this -- this issuance is essentially
 
        16  completed and will be done before the session starts.
 
        17                 And the '99 bond issue was an
 
        18  18-million-dollar issue, and 132 total projects.  We
 
        19  spent $9.4 million, roughly, at this point, and have
 
        20  about $2.4 million encumbered.  You can see the
 
        21  breakdowns there where we've completed 28 percent of
 
        22  those projects, 38 percent are in construction, 29
 
        23  percent in design, and 5 percent in bid.
 
        24                 For the fiscal year 2000 bond issue, we
 
        25  had 125 total projects that we launched under that
 
 
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         1  issue.  We've currently spent about 1.1 million and
 
         2  have about 3.4 million encumbered.  Only 1 percent of
 
         3  those are complete; however, 69 percent are in design,
 
         4  14 percent are in construction, 11 percent are
 
         5  scheduled, and 5 percent are in the bid process.
 
         6                 Last, but not least, this is a little
 
         7  bit different slide where -- because this is the bond
 
         8  issue that's coming this February, so, obviously, we
 
         9  don't have this money yet.  We do have the projects
 
        10  identified and, by and large, scoped.  So once the
 
        11  funds are issued, we will be scheduling those
 
        12  projects.  Sixty-eight percent of those are targeted to
 
        13  be water/wastewater projects, twenty-one percent are
 
        14  targeted for facility repair, and eleven percent for
 
        15  ADA.  There will be 87 projects in this next issue.
 
        16                 I slipped -- skipped a couple of slides
 
        17  up there.
 
        18                 I thought this might be interesting to
 
        19  include here to emphasize the fact that we don't just
 
        20  manage bond dollars in these capital projects.  In
 
        21  fact, if you look at this particular graph, it will
 
        22  demonstrate that we actually spent more money, in the
 
        23  last three years, on non-bond capital projects than we
 
        24  have in bond projects.  And those are things that are
 
        25  Wildlife Fund 9 type projects:  The marsh renovations
 
 
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         1  at Galveston, the San Jacinto monument, which, I had a
 
         2  separate line item allocated for that.
 
         3                 Next we wanted to demonstrate to you our
 
         4  expenditure strategy for this -- this year, which, we
 
         5  are ahead of the game.  You can see the yellow line
 
         6  there was what we targeted to be spending as the year
 
         7  goes forth.  Of course, we're only two months into the
 
         8  fiscal year, but we're $700,000 ahead of schedule in
 
         9  terms of our ability to spend the money appropriately.
 
        10                 And then the next few slides kind of
 
        11  demonstrate some of the reasons we have been able to --
 
        12  to increase the productivity.  A couple slides back, I
 
        13  didn't really talk about the numbers, but over the last
 
        14  3 years, we've gone from being able to spend $14
 
        15  million a year, to spending about $24 million a year,
 
        16  which is a significant increase in our ability to
 
        17  expend the funds appropriately.  And part of the reason
 
        18  is because of our expanded contracting authority, which
 
        19  is authorized by the 76th Legislature, which allowed us
 
        20  to do design-build projects.
 
        21                 I might mention that we -- one of the
 
        22  first things I did when I came on board was to sign our
 
        23  first design called, Possum Kingdom, so we're in our
 
        24  first experience with that model.  And I think things
 
        25  are coming along pretty well with it.
 
 
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         1                 Next, somewhat familiar with, this is
 
         2  our Project Management Information System, which was
 
         3  developed with Carter Burgess.  This system has been up
 
         4  and running for a couple of years now.  We're very
 
         5  committed to continuing this system and to being able
 
         6  to refine it and tweak it a little bit to make it a
 
         7  more powerful management tool.
 
         8                 Last, and certainly not least, is our
 
         9  Facility Management System.  This is a system which
 
        10  will allows us, in the future, to be able to predict,
 
        11  with -- with a high degree of accuracy, our capital
 
        12  needs for the future.  And we think we'll be able to do
 
        13  this for quite some time out, up to a decade out, in
 
        14  the future, and we just started piloting this with
 
        15  several of the parks.  We hope to, certainly, within
 
        16  the next year and half, have the system completely
 
        17  operational so that the -- during the next session, we
 
        18  will have some hard numbers and -- to be able to use to
 
        19  ask for funds.
 
        20                 And, in summary, I guess, one of the
 
        21  things that's important for us is to understand that
 
        22  this backlog, which was identified in the
 
        23  infrastructure task force process, will, hopefully,
 
        24  assuming we get $15 million more this session, be wound
 
        25  up, and we will then be looking for a system to be put
 
 
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         1  into place that will prevent us from falling into the
 
         2  same kind of deep hole that we seem to have fallen in
 
         3  historically here.  And we are asking, over the next
 
         4  two years -- I think Suzy mentioned it earlier -- $8
 
         5  million a year in funding, for major critical repairs
 
         6  to the system, in addition to the $3 million which has
 
         7  already been appropriated for ongoing maintenance and
 
         8  minor repair.
 
         9                 And with that, I would certainly
 
        10  entertain any questions.
 
        11                 CHAIR BASS:  Well, I would say that
 
        12  that's -- I understand everything, and that's -- that's
 
        13  excellent.
 
        14                 On these slides where you -- where we
 
        15  show what we're going to do with the fiscal year 01,
 
        16  with so many going to wastewater treatment and some to
 
        17  facility repair and so forth, it might be good to go
 
        18  back to the others and put them in that big generalized
 
        19  category so -- with the legislature coming up, when --
 
        20  we all ought to know, because it was -- it was critical
 
        21  repairs, so how much of that was, you know, life safety
 
        22  and wastewater, and I know a lot of it was.
 
        23                 Okay.  And then -- then they -- we may
 
        24  not need the -- certainly the Power Points, but then,
 
        25  finally, the specifics for each one.  And we can get
 
 
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         1  together on that, because they're going to -- they're
 
         2  going to want it -- the legislature is going to want to
 
         3  know where in my district, what was it.
 
         4                 MR. MURPHY:  Yes, sir, and we -- we
 
         5  have that prepared --
 
         6                 CHAIR BASS:  I think it --
 
         7                 MR. MURPHY: --- already.  We didn't
 
         8  include it in here just for brevity's sake, but I'd be
 
         9  glad to --
 
        10                (Simultaneous conversation.)
 
        11                 MR. MURPHY: --- we can make sure
 
        12  that -- that we've got what you think is appropriate.
 
        13                 CHAIRMAN BASS:  Very good.
 
        14                 MR. BORUFF:  Thank you.
 
        15                 CHAIRMAN BASS:  I think that concludes
 
        16  our business for the day.
 
        17                 We stand adjourned until in the morning.
 
        18                     *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
 
        19
 
        20
 
        21
 
        22
 
        23
 
        24
 
        25
 
 
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         1  THE STATE OF TEXAS   )
            COUNTY OF BEXAR      )
         2
 
         3                 I, STACI D. SLAYDEN, a Certified Court
 
         4  Reporter in and for the State of Texas, do hereby
 
         5  certify that the above and foregoing pages constitute a
 
         6  full, true, and correct transcript of the minutes of
 
         7  the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission on November 8,
 
         8  2000, in the Commission hearing room of the Texas Parks
 
         9  and Wildlife Headquarters Complex, Austin, Travis
 
        10  County, Texas. I FURTHER CERTIFY that a stenographic
 
        11  record was made by me at the time of the public meeting
 
        12  and said stenographic notes were thereafter reduced to
 
        13  computerized transcription under my supervision and
 
        14  control.  WITNESS MY HAND this ____ day of
 
        15  ________________________, 2001.
 
        16
 
        17                       ________________________________
 
        18                       STACI D. SLAYDEN, Texas CSR 7290
 
        19                       Expiration Date:  12/2001
 
        20                       7800 IH-10 West, Suite 100
 
        21                       San Antonio, Texas 78230
 
        22                       (210) 377-3017
 
        23
 
        24
 
        25
 
 
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         1
 
         2  _______________________________________
            JOHN AVILA, JR., CHAIRMAN
         3
 
         4  _______________________________________
            CAROL E. DINKINS, VICE-CHAIR
         5
 
         6  _______________________________________
            DICK W. HEATH
         7
 
         8  _______________________________________
            NOLAN RYAN
         9
 
        10  _______________________________________
            ERNEST ANGELO, JR.
        11
 
        12  _______________________________________
            LEE M. BASS
        13
 
        14  _______________________________________
            ALVIN L. HENRY
        15
 
        16  _______________________________________
            KATHARINE ARMSTRONG IDSAL
        17
 
        18  _______________________________________
            MARK E. WATSON, JR.
        19
 
        20
 
        21
 
        22
 
        23
 
        24
 
        25
 
 
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