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264 <br /> <br /> Ms. Slaughter recommended that the bus transfer point be relocated to the front of <br />the Omni but Ms. Muetler stated that staffdid not feel such a change would be "customer <br />friendlv." <br /> <br /> Ms. Mueller reviewed the schedule two-waying Water Street as follows: advertise <br />middle of May, open bids first week in June, begin construction 3rd week in June, with a <br />90-day construction period. <br /> <br /> Responding to a question from Mr. Toscano, Mr. Jim Marshall, Traffic Engineer, <br />stated that the most significant effect of the new, wider sidewalks at 3rd Street, will be <br />that it will be harder for buses in and out of the bus stop, but added that he felt the benefits <br />outweigh the losses. <br /> <br /> Responding to a question from Mr. Toscano, Mr. Bill Eley, City Engineer, stated <br />that changes to the intersection of 7th Street and Water would require tearing out some <br />new sidewalk and would require substantial work because of the major drainage work in <br />the area. <br /> <br /> It was the consensus of Council to move forward with the two-waying of Water <br />Street as proposed. <br /> <br />USE OF ONE-TIME FUNDS <br /> <br /> Mr. Hendrix explained that approximately $525,000 is available from 93/94 <br />cigarette tax revenue and $500,000 of gas fund surplus funds and made the following <br />recommendations for use of the funds: one-time salary bonus for City employees <br />($490,000); $325,000 for street repaying; $85,000 for vaults on the downtown mall; and <br />$100,000 for sidewalk repairs. <br /> <br /> Mr. Vandever stated that the Gas Advisory Committee met and recommended that <br />an additional $600,000 be used to expand the working capital from 45 to 60 days. <br /> <br /> Mr. Hendrix noted that if the gas surplus funds are used to write-down utility rates <br />next year then the following year there will be a greater rate increase. <br /> <br /> Mr. Vandever stated that he felt a better option than writing down the rates would <br />be to increase the subsidy for lower incomes consumers, noting that writing down the <br />rates is not selective and would be applied system wide. <br /> <br /> Ms. Linda Peacock, Budget Administrator, noted that Council had discussed the <br />possibility of providing one-time funding for the Free Clinic out of the current cigarette <br />tax revenues. <br /> <br /> Ms. Slaughter stated that she did not think a decision should be made about the <br />gas surplus at this time. <br /> <br /> Ms. Daugherty stated that she was interested in some sort of salary improvement <br />for City employees and was also interested in providing funding for the Families Learning <br />Together program ($48,646). <br /> <br /> Mr. Vandever stated that he would agree to fund the Families Learning Together <br />program for next year only. <br /> <br /> Ms. Slaughter stated that she was interested in accelerating the sidewalk and street <br />improvement program. <br /> <br /> Mr. Toscano stated that he felt the one-time funds should be used for capital <br />improvements and felt a policy should be developed for using surplus gas funds for <br />infrastructure improvements. Mr. Toscano stated that he would favor the following for <br />use of the cigarette tax revenue: $325,000 for streets; $100,000 for sidewalk repairs, <br /> <br /> <br />