Breckenridge Texan

Breckenridge City Commissioners voted on Tuesday,to approve a $165,000 contract for engineering services for the TxDOT utility relocation project on U.S. Highway 183 North. During the project, water and sewer lines under the highway will be relocated to make way for roadway construction on the highway.

Under the contract, ENPROTEC/ Hibbs & Todd, Inc., (e-HT) will provide engineering services for the relocation of the water and sewer lines under U.S. Highway 183 north from Walker Street to Loop 287.

Sage Diller with e-HT told commissioners this will be a stand-alone project, unlike their previous two projects with TxDOT and the City of Breckenridge. He said those had been bid out as part of an overall roadway construction project, but with this project the city is going bid out and hire utility contractors. The utility contractors will make the relocations and then TxDOT will bid out the roadway project separately.

The City of Breckenridge will have to pay only 10 percent of the cost of the relocation project because the work is being done on TxDOT’s right-of-way and they will pay the rest. Diller said that during the last three years there has been a lot of construction on the TxDOT right-of-way and the City of Breckenridge has received about $4 million on utility upgrades for which the city has had to pay for only 10 percent of the costs.

As for the actual highway construction on U.S. Highway 183 North, Diller said, TxDOT has hired a consultant to design the roadway that will be built after the utilities are relocated. He said he is not sure what the new design will include, but a main key is that the leaking water lines under the current highway that have been there since the 1920s, and are a constant burden for the city staff to repair, will be replaced with a new PVC waterline.

Breckenridge City Manager Andy McCuistion said that even with having to pay only 10 percent of the total costs of all the projects, the cost to the city is still around $400,000. He said the city didn’t have funding through debt for the projects and was having to cash flow the projects. He said that’s why some of the reserves have been low and expenses high.

“It’s hurt us a little bit, but you can’t not take advantage of that kind of opportunity,” he said.

Trade Days Changes

During his city manager’s report, McCuistion told commissioners they are going be recommending some changes to the way Breck Trade Days works.

He said the last Trade Days was the second worst they’ve had and they want to make some changes to the way they do business.

After speaking with vendors and meeting with the Chamber of Commerce, the city wants to change the format of the show and make it a monthly show that’s held only on Saturday. McCuistion said that would help keep costs down because they wouldn’t need overnight security and he would only need one employee to work during the show. He also wants to cut back on the cost of advertising and depend more on social media to get the message out.

The proposed changes would begin with the March 2018 show. McCuistion said that would give them a chance to let the vendors at the October and December shows know about the changes, so they can spread the word.

Board appointments

Also during the meeting, commissioners reappointed Leslie Howk, Tony Baeza and Vince Moore for two-year terms as members of the Board of Adjustment. They also reappointed Andrew Channer, Joyce Toland and Audrey Brown to the Board of Directors of the Housing Authority for two-year terms. They also approved the Stephens County Appraisal District Board of Directors nomination submission.

Story by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan

Cutline: Sage Diller, with ENPROTEC/ Hibbs & Todd, Inc., discusses engineering services the firm will provide for the TxDOT utility relocation project on U.S. Highway 183 North with city commissioners during their meeting Tuesday night. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)