The Dayton City Council gave its nod of approval to The Goodman Corporation for the city’s strategic mobility plan during council’s July 16 meeting.
Barry Goodman, president of the Houston-based firm, told council that his company has already begun to identify mobility projects in Dayton where federal and state funding can be pursued.
“I don’t need to tell you how fast you are growing. The Grand Parkway will have four exits in the Dayton area,” Goodman said.
City Manager Theo Melancon called TGC “action-oriented” and a “difference maker” because of the company’s track record of securing grants for other cities’ projects. In their presentation to council, Goodman and Vice-President Jim Webb, highlighted grant work performed by TGC for the Galveston Rail Trolley System, which was damaged by Hurricane Harvey, and a pedestrian transit master plan for the city of Kemah.
Councilman Wendell Null asked about the number of projects the company would pursue as the contract specifically mentions four projects.
“If the city had six projects instead of four, we would pursue funding for them all,” Webb said.
Null said he believes the $187,000 for work is a huge expense “cut compared to what you can leverage out of it, the return is huge.”
Councilwoman Sherial Lawson motioned that the council approve it but with a cost-share with Dayton Community Development Corporation (DCDC). The vote was unanimously in favor.
In other business, City Analyst Kellie Buchanan unveiled five designs for a new logo. The choices will be narrowed to three before the designs are put out to the public for a vote. All the options use green and purple color schemes, the same colors used by DCDC. One showed a city on a hill and another showed the city’s path from rice to riches.
City attorney Brandon Davis presented information on public meetings and suggested that all city committees should abide to the Texas Open Meetings Act. Council voted in favor of the resolution.
Council approved emergency sewer repairs totaling $150,000 for the Clayton Street lift station and $18,000 to replace a manhole at Norcross and Waco streets.
“The Clayton Street lift station had an issue with outdated control panels. With all the heavy rain, we’ve been trying to get by. We have four to five lift stations that have heavy sludge and need to be cleaned,” said Public Works Director Roy Rodriguez.
Melancon was given a vote of confidence from council at his one-year review. After a closed-door executive session, council members announced that Melancon will receive a 7 percent salary increase.