Council to discuss taxi coupons tonight

Amending the 2008 city to include the payment of a total of $13,780 in legal fees to three law firms tops Tuesday night's city council agenda. According to the three ordinances the nature of the legal services cannot be discussed at this time because of potential litigation.

The council will also be discussing increasing the cost of taxi coupon from $2.50 to $3 per one-way ride for elderly and handicapped residents and increasing the rate for the general public to $4 per one-way ride. A companion ordinance will increase the cost for cash taxi rides from the current $5 to $6 per one-way ride, to coincide with the reimbursement rate to M-NOD Taxi and Shuttle for each taxi coupon.

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In addition to increasing taxi coupon rates and cash taxi rates, the council will be considering an agreement with M-NOD Taxi and Shuttle to provide subsidized public transportation services for 2009.

Other new items the council will be considering include: the bid from Waste Corporation of America for the city's 2009 trash service; adding $73,668.48 to the street improvement program budget for completed street construction and adding $458,668.56 to the sewer improvement project to cover replacement of the city's south interceptor sewer line.

The council will also be considering an ordinance authorizing the city manager to issue requests for qualifications for a street light project at the U.S. Highway 71 and East Austin Interchange, as well as resolutions authorizing the city manager is issue requests for qualifications for design build of the community center complex project and a request for proposals for the Earp Park project.

Other items on the agenda include the second readings of ordinances to: accept a proposal from DSWA, CPS to perform the city's 2008 audit; accept a $10,000 grant for furnishings for the airport terminal building and to amend the 2008 budget to remove $200,000 of transportation sales tax money from the street maintenance budget where it was proposed to be used to buy a streetsweeper and put it back into the street construction budget.

They will also be looking at second readings of ordinances to approve supplemental agreement No. 4 with Burns & McDonnell for the rehabilitation of runway 2-20 at the Municipal Airport; authorize the FBO to accept rental agreements for hangar space at the airport and a special ordinance conditionally approving participation in the Tri-state Fire Recruitment Alliance.