Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission
Ad Hoc Infrastructure Committee
May 29, 2002
Commission Hearing RoomTexas Parks & Wildlife Department Headquarters Complex
4200 Smith School Road
Austin, TX 78744
1 7 BE IT REMEMBERED that heretofore on the 8 29TH day of MAY 2002, there came on to be heard 9 matters under the regulatory authority of the 10 Parks and Wildlife Commission of Texas, in the 11 commission hearing room of the Texas Parks and 12 Wildlife Headquarters complex, Austin, Travis 13 County, Texas, beginning at 2:00 p.m., to wit: 14 15 16 APPEARANCES: 17 THE PARKS AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION: Chair: Katharine Armstrong Idsal, San Antonio, 18 Texas, Chairman Ernest Angelo, Jr., Vice Chairman, 19 Midland, Texas John Avila, Jr., Fort Worth, Texas 20 Joseph B.C. Fitzsimons, San Antonio, Texas 21 Alvin L. Henry, Houston, Texas Philip Montgomery, III, Dallas, Texas 22 Donato D. Ramos, Laredo, Texas Kelly W. Rising, M.D., Beaumont, Texas 23 Mark E. Watson, Jr., San Antonio, Texas 24 THE PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT: Robert L. Cook, Executive Director, and 25 other personnel of the Parks and Wildlife Department. . 2 1 MAY 29, 2002 2 *-*-*-*-* 3 AD HOC INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEETING 4 *-*-*-*-* 5 CHAIRMAN IDSAL: Thank you, Ernie. 6 Next committee meeting is ad hoc infrastructure 7 committee. Mr. Avila? 8 COMMISSIONER AVILA: Call to order 9 the ad hoc infrastructure committee meeting today, 10 May 29th, at 2:00 p.m. The first order of 11 business is approval of the committee minutes from 12 the previous meeting. We had no business for the 13 ad hoc infrastructure committee on April 3rd, 14 2002, but do have our last meeting minutes from 15 January 16th, 2002. Do I have a motion for their 16 approval? 17 COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY: So moved. 18 COMMISSIONER AVILA: Second? 19 COMMISSIONER WATSON: Second. 20 COMMISSIONER ANGELO: All in favor, 21 say "Aye." 22 ("Aye.") 23 ACTION ITEM NO. 1 - CHAIRMAN'S CHARGES. 24 COMMISSIONER AVILA: They are 25 approved. Mr. Cook, do we have any chairman's . 3 1 charges? 2 MR. COOK: Part of the item number 2 3 that you're going to hear from today, staff will 4 present to you for your consideration by 5 resolution authorizing the issue of some of the 6 first $36 million of the $101 million prop 8 bond 7 authority. 8 ACTION ITEM NO. 2 - FY 03 G.O. BOND RESOLUTION. 9 COMMISSIONER AVILA: And we're going 10 to have Steve do that. Steve? 11 MR. WHISTON: Thank you, Mr. 12 Chairman, Commissioners. My name is Steve 13 Whiston. I'm the acting director of 14 infrastructure division. This presentation this 15 morning is a briefing on our new general 16 obligation bond program and will conclude with a 17 proposal for the Commission action tomorrow to 18 adopt. As Commissioner Avila explained, the bond 19 resolution which initiates the financing portion 20 of our new bond program for fiscal year '03. 21 As you recall, on November 6th of 22 this last year, the Texas voters approved 23 proposition 8, which is one of 19 constitutional 24 amendments that authorize the issue of $850 25 million worth of general obligation bonds from 13 . 4 1 state agencies for facility repair and 2 construction. 3 Parks and Wildlife will receive 4 $101.5 million of that bond program over the three 5 biennium, beginning with this current '02-'03 6 biennium. The first issue of these repair funds 7 are proposed to be released this coming September. 8 GO bonds for -- excuse me, let me 9 catch up with my slides. I apologize. I got 10 involved in the notes. 11 GO bond funds for Parks and Wildlife 12 include $15 million to complete the remaining 13 critical repairs that were identified in the FY96 14 infrastructure task force report. 54 million is 15 to be issued over the next five years for the 16 planned and scheduled repairs at parks, wildlife 17 management areas, fisheries, law enforcement and 18 administrative facilities statewide. 19 And lastly, 32.5 million for the 20 repair and renovation of five park sites that were 21 specifically identified by the 77th Legislature. 22 Funding for those five renovation 23 projects include $4.1 million for the Levi Jordan 24 plantation to begin the development of this new 25 state historic site interpreting the . 5 1 African-American heritage of Texas. GO bond funds 2 will be used primarily for the development of site 3 and interpretive master plans, archeological 4 surveys, and the restoration of the plantation 5 house, shown here in the upper left-hand corner of 6 the slide. 7 1.1 million is proposed for the 8 National Museum of the Pacific War or the Admiral 9 Nimitz for the repairs of the former Nimitz Hotel, 10 improvements to the visitor orientation facility 11 and landscaping. 12 About 12.3 million is recommended 13 for the San Jacinto Battleground for the 14 restoration of the battlefield, for utilities, for 15 roads and the repair of historic structures. 16 Approximately 2.6 million is included in the 17 program for the construction of the Sheldon Lake 18 Environmental Education Center. Our plan is to 19 redevelop this former fish hatchery wetland into a 20 giant natural outdoor classroom for inner city 21 school children. 22 Bond funds will be used for the 23 engineering, the design and the utility 24 infrastructure, roads, restrooms, and renovation 25 of facilities on this site. And last but not . 6 1 least, the battleship TEXAS, $12.5 million is 2 planned for the towing and dry dock repairs to 3 this ship at San Jacinto. 4 The allocation of the total $101.5 5 million program over the three biennials is 6 outlined in this matrix. I'm not going to take 7 the time this morning to go over the detail since 8 you have it laid out in your handbook and before 9 you in this slide. But please note that the 77th 10 Legislature has provided the appropriation 11 authority for the first 36.68 million for the 12 '02/'03 biennium. This issue -- this first issue 13 will provide $31 million as you see in the first 14 column this upcoming year for repairs to our 15 facilities and $5.68 million to begin the 16 renovation of San Jacinto, Admiral Nimitz, Sheldon 17 Lake, and Levi Jordan. We expect and we will need 18 the approval from the Legislature -- the remaining 19 appropriation authority for the remaining bonds in 20 subsequent legislative sessions. 21 COMMISSIONER AVILA: Let me ask a 22 question. 23 MR. WHISTON: Certainly. 24 COMMISSIONER AVILA: On something 25 like the San Jacinto Battlefield, dividing that . 7 1 money up into two bienniums, the project won't 2 take that long, will it? 3 MR. WHISTON: Yes, sir, in fact, it 4 will. Because of the size and scale of the 5 project. In fact, that's how these issues were 6 planned and scheduled so that the funding would 7 coincide with the need for the funds to accomplish 8 the work. 9 COMMISSIONER AVILA: Are we talking 10 about two-year increments there or one-year? 11 MR. WHISTON: Two-year. 12 COMMISSIONER ANGELO: Four years for 13 the San Jacinto project? 14 MR. WHISTON: Yes, sir. 15 COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY: Are these 16 funding enough to manage the contracts we're 17 assigned? I assume that there is. 18 MR. WHISTON: I'm sorry, sir? 19 COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY: The 20 contracts match these fundings, I assume? 21 MR. WHISTON: Yes, sir. 22 COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY: How does 23 this work? Does this -- do was just go -- the 24 Commission has the authority to approve these and 25 they're available to draw on them -- the State . 8 1 issues the bonds and the bonds are drawn? 2 MR. WHISTON: Yes, Commissioner 3 Montgomery. In this case, you know, we were 4 fortunate, unlike the prior revenue bond programs, 5 in that we're given the opportunity this time with 6 general obligation bonds. They're going to be 7 issued under commercial paper, and so we'll be 8 able to draw funds as we need them. 9 COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY: Do we 10 get -- do we pay the interest out of our budget or 11 do we amortize the debt? 12 MR. WHISTON: No, sir. The debt 13 service is paid by the Texas Public Finance 14 Authority for general obligation bonds. 15 COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY: Okay. 16 MR. COOK: Assuming it's authorized 17 by the Legislature as they are issued. 18 COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY: Certainly. 19 MR. WHISTON: The process for 20 putting together this $31 million repair program 21 has been a collaborative effort of all the 22 divisions. I'd like to commend the hard work and 23 the extraordinary teamwork that's been provided 24 not only by the infrastructure staff, but all the 25 divisions involved in putting together this . 9 1 program for next fiscal year. 2 The effort this time was made 3 considerably easier because of all the progress 4 that all the divisions has made in implementing 5 our facility management system. All the repair 6 needs were identified in the FMS database and 7 confirmed and prioritized by each division. Each 8 division took part in the process of determining 9 the overall agency priorities. And that was all 10 confirmed in a final meeting of the division 11 directors and their capital programs staff not too 12 long ago, where we then took the list of the 13 proposed repair projects to Mr. Cook for his 14 approval. 15 With the Commission's approval of 16 the bond resolution tomorrow, this bond package 17 will next be submitted to the Texas Public Finance 18 Authority next week to -- as I said, to initiate 19 the sale of the bonds and the financing process to 20 make those funds available to us in September. 21 The bond issue will be brought back 22 to you for final approval as a part of the 23 combined capital and operating budget for FY03 in 24 August. And we anticipate the release, as I said 25 before, of these funds for our use in September of . 10 1 this year. 2 The proposed projects for the $31 3 million repair program fall in three major 4 categories. 37 percent of that total of this 5 issue, or $11.6 million, is dedicated for the 6 water and wastewater system renovation at 7 facilities statewide. 58 percent of the funds 8 anticipated, or 17.9 million, will be used for 9 facility repairs. And 5 percent, or 1.5 million 10 for ADA, are to bring our facilities on the list 11 in compliance with the American With Disabilities 12 Act. 13 Preliminary schedules for the 14 implementation of these projects have already been 15 established so that as soon as the funds are 16 released, we can hit the ground running in 17 September and begin the process of getting these 18 projects started. 19 Just a few examples of some of the 20 proposed projects in next year's -- this coming 21 September's issue includes a $1 million project at 22 Sea Center Texas to repair the effluent canals and 23 install new pond liners. $3.9 million at Possum 24 Kingdom Fish Hatchery for major hatchery repairs 25 and renovations, replacement of pond liners and . 11 1 disinfection of the lake water. 2 Indian Lodge is a project on the 3 list for $3.3 million to complete the renovation 4 or repair of the lodge, the guest quarters, to 5 repair roofs and the swimming pool at that site. 6 There's a $1.8 million project -- or series of 7 projects at wildlife management areas, such as 8 Elephant Mountain and Black Gap. Repairs will 9 include roofing, plumbing, electrical wiring, 10 erosion control, HVAC, and repairs to wildlife 11 watering systems. And finally, the last example, 12 $1.2 million of this program is dedicated to 13 restore -- or proposed to restore and repair 14 historic structures at Goliad, Fannin 15 Battleground, and Saragosa's birthplace. 16 In order to provide us a head start 17 for the '04, the following bond program, 18 of the 18 projects on our $31 million list, or about 5 19 percent of the total, are design-only projects. 20 It's our intention, then, to come back in the '04 21 program and ask for the funds for the construction 22 component of those projects so that we'll be able 23 to go immediately into construction when those 24 funds are released in '04 and hopefully maintain 25 some of the momentum we've been able to create . 12 1 through the implementation of this next year's 2 issue. 3 With that, we propose an action item 4 be placed on the agenda for tomorrow for your 5 approval, recommending the adoption of the bond 6 resolution. As a final note, Lori just earlier 7 passed around to you an amended project 8 description. That form needs to be substituted 9 for the document in your handbook on page 135, 10 Exhibit B. Some last minute shifting of 11 priorities caused some of the percentages to 12 change since we went into print for handbook, so 13 this will substitute for that page. 14 With that, I conclude my 15 presentation and will be happy to answer any 16 questions you have about our '03 program. 17 COMMISSIONER AVILA: Steve, about 18 the only question I have is on these projects 19 where we're going to be -- like the Goliad and the 20 Indian Lodge, have we determined how much of that 21 we're going to do in-house versus CM? Have you 22 gone that far yet? Are you looking to do some of 23 that with our own forces? 24 MR. WHISTON: Yes, sir. Portions of 25 that. The majority of which, though, are going to . 13 1 be done by outside consultants. 2 COMMISSIONER AVILA: Smaller value 3 ones or more remote ones -- 4 MR. WHISTON: Will be done, as 5 typically we have in the past, by our own in-house 6 design staff. 7 COMMISSIONER AVILA: Are there any 8 other questions? If not, if there are no further 9 questions or discussions, without objection, I 10 will place this item on the Thursday commission 11 meeting agenda for public comment and action. And 12 also I'd like to commend Steve and Scott for the 13 work they have done on the infrastructure 14 division. For myself and Ernie, who are in the 15 twilight of our years here, when we first got 16 here, as many of the staff will know, that there 17 was a lot of knocking of heads between that 18 division and all the others. And Mr. Cook, 19 himself, would comment on it to me from time to 20 time. And y'all have become just a very, very 21 professional construction company, construction 22 management outfit, design firm, working well 23 within the divisions. And you're to be commended 24 for that. 25 MR. WHISTON: Thank you. . 14 1 COMMISSIONER ANGELO: If there is no 2 other business, I adjourn the ad hoc 3 infrastructure committee. 4 CHAIRMAN IDSAL: Commissioner Avila, 5 if you could pass the gavel to Commissioner Ramos 6 for the outreach and education committee. 7 *-*-*-*-* 8 (MEETING ADJOURNED.) 9 *-*-*-*-* 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 . 15 1 REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE 2 STATE OF TEXAS ) 3 COUNTY OF TRAVIS ) 4 I, MELODY RENEE DeYOUNG, a Certified 5 Court Reporter in and for the State of Texas, do 6 hereby certify that the above and foregoing 14 7 pages constitute a full, true and correct 8 transcript of the minutes of the Texas Parks & 9 Wildlife Commission on MAY 29, 2002, in the 10 commission hearing room of the Texas Parks & 11 Wildlife Headquarters Complex, Austin, Travis 12 County, Texas. 13 I FURTHER CERTIFY that a stenographic 14 record was made by me a the time of the public 15 meeting and said stenographic notes were 16 thereafter reduced to computerized transcription 17 under my supervision and control. 18 WITNESS MY HAND this the 29th day of 19 July, 2002. 20 21 MELODY RENEE DeYOUNG, RPR, CSR NO. 3226 22 Expiration Date: 12-31-02 3101 Bee Caves Road 23 Centre II, Suite 220 Austin, Texas 78746 24 (512) 328-5557 25
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