Water issues were among the issues discussed at the August 14 meeting of the Kenedy City Council.

Council members heard an update on the status of four wells presented by Dr. Kyle Murray and his associate from the UTSA study of wells 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Wells 4 and 6 were in better condition than wells 3 and 5, they said. Even the better wells will need repairs and they will continue updating their findings on the study.

"The UTSA budget of $25,000 from the city to conduct the study is on track," Murray said.

The $37,000 budget for contractors to work on the wells may not be sufficient, however.

The recent rains have slowed down the work. The work includes pulling of all of the wells, analyzing the water quality, and determining the amount of water that can be received from the wells.

Councilman/Mayor Pro-tem Ken Reiley asked, "Which one, size-wise, can produce the most water?"

"Wells 4 and 6 are the best options," Murray said.

In other water issues, Veolia Water Project Manager Ray Borroum reported on the progress of replacing water meters throughout the city.

"There are about 1400 meters total," Borroum said. "And those include some with sensors that will be simpler and easier to replace and some that have been in the ground for at least 40 years."

The cost also depends on the difference in the meters Borroum said.

"We have 5 or 6 quotes for replacement and so far the ‘Badger’ meter cost is the cheapest."

The cost could be close to $300,000, he said.

"What do we do next?" Reiley asked.

Borroum suggested getting a solid bid starting with the cost of the master meters and advised the need for a workshop with vendors present. This would allow better preparation by next month’s meeting.

Revenue is being lost because of the condition of the meters, according to discussion.

A proposal from Naismith Engineering, Inc. to assist in examining current water and wastewater rate structure to determine if a rate increase is needed was tabled.

There were three items concerning grant administration and services of the 2007 state CDBG project.

Karen Kibbe was approved by the council to be the administrator. She reported that selection of engineering services had six firms wanting to be considered and that they had been narrowed down to three possibilities for the best selection.

After more discussion, Councilman Bob Patton said he would like more time to review the proposals.

The vote was tabled. The names of three signators to handle funds from the grant were decided upon.

The council then heard a review by Larry Kiesling on the budget and revisions completed in the city park.

"All of the electrical lines had been buried and no other activity occurred since the last meeting," Kiesling said.

Kiesling and council members discussed the upcoming budget and determined that all bills will be paid through the city. After additional discussion, the budget for the 2007-2008 4B budget was approved.

H.J. Kolinek presented a request for guidance on securing appraisals for the cost of an airport extension.

"The request to contact firms for appraisal of extending airport property are to be brought back for council approval," Kolinek said.

"No expenditures for contracting appraisal firms by the airport can be done without approval of the council," City Attorney Craig McAda emphasized.

The next item was a request presented by Kenedy Fire Department President Isaac Alarcon.

With a lively report, he said that part of the monies needed for purchase of a new fire truck already had been raised. Through a grant fund of $50,000, fundraisers, and a past funding amount voted on by the council, he said they could make a sizeable down payment of over $82,000 to purchase the truck.

It will replace fire engine #602 which is 30 years old, he said. The new brush/fire truck could be purchased within the month for $132,000. He also stated that concern for improving all aging equipment should be ongoing, but the new fire truck is a good start.

The timing of purchasing the truck was discussed to include the council contribution when the new budget was in place. With that stipulation, the council voted and approved the new truck purchase.

The city’s attorney requested approval to put in place for the "creation of an enterprise zone for tax abatement policy."

He stated that this had been done several years ago and would include Wal-Mart and other possible developments for land improvement projects but that it needed renewal every two years. After discussion the motion to approve was passed.

Also, a request to allow a "statement" to go out to seek proposals for engineers for street improvement plans was passed by the council.

Another item that generated much discussion was the progress of removing junked or abandoned vehicles.

Jaime Albiar reported that in the last month since the last council meeting, 42 cars had been removed leaving 191 left to start action on for removal.

Councilwoman Mary Ann Sanchez asked, "When does the time given to comply become too much time? How much longer do we allow them to have to comply with city ordinances?"

Discussion followed on several legal issues involved such as identifying who really owns the vehicles and what is involved with storing and reclaiming vehicles once they are removed.

Reiley made a motion to set September 30, 2007 as the date that all remaining vehicles be removed with non-compliance consequences. The motion passed.

Patton reported on the status of the interlocal cooperation proposal for athletic field use with Kenedy ISD.

"Some wording had been changed as requested and it had been sent back to the school administration for their reply," Patton said

City Manager Reggie Winters brought several proposals before the council members.

He requested changing the status of an employee for the Parks/Public Works department from part-time to full-time. Salary was discussed that would include benefits. Winters said the work the employee is doing warrants full-time employment. The proposal was approved by the council.

Winters made known requests by two property owners. The first was a request to make a temporary water line permanent for CR398.

"It is a feasible request that would see two fire hydrants for protection in that area also installed," Winters said.

The second request was to have property owned by Bobby Alexander at 6885 S.181 annexed into the city and supplied with a sewer line.

"The owner is putting in a new building now and (this) would raise tax revenues," Winters said.

Following discussion on other issues of annexation, both requests were approved.

Budget review and discussion was next. Having been reviewed previously, the budget submitted would be a balanced budget with income from a proposed three percent tax rate increase.

"The increase would be within the rollback amount for a tax rate of .5146," Winters said.

Winters added that he would like approval at this time for the purpose of publication and timeline to adopt it in December.

The council voted to accept the budget as presented and proceed with the process toward adoption.