Page 16 - N. Richland Hills Capital Budget

FY 2020/2021 Capital Projects Budget Highlights

In addition to two continuing projects approved in previous years, there are only a few new projects
included in the FY 2020/2021 Capital Projects Budget. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight
some of these projects for you.

Street Projects

One of the projects listed as a continuing project for this year is the Glenview Drive East project. In the
2019 Citizen's Survey, Glenview Drive received the highest number of mentions in response to the
question of which streets are in most need of repair. In addition, the 2020 Capital Program Advisory
Committee (CPAC) ranked Glenview Drive East as one of the top roads in need of reconstruction, and
recommended this as one of the projects to be funded with bonds. The project consists of engineering
and construction of approximately 2,700 linear feet of Glenview Drive from Boulevard 26 to Flory Street.
The improvements include reconstructing the existing roadway with reinforced concrete, including the
addition of sidewalks. The road will be rebuilt to its current width; this is not a roadway expansion. This
project will be funded with remaining bond authorization from the 2003 bond program. Staff plans to
issue the remaining bonds to fund this project in September of this year. The process for selecting a
design firm for this project is already underway, and staff anticipates bringing an item for award of the
design contract to the City Council this month. So, work is already starting on the project which is why
the project is listed as a continuing project in the current year revised CIP Budget. The City Council,
approved a reimbursement resolution in July, 2020 which allows expenses incurred before the bonds
are issued to be reimbursed.

One of the new projects this year is the Iron Horse Boulevard Reconstruction. This project is to
reconstruct a 1.2 mile stretch of Iron Horse Boulevard from York Street to Browning Drive. The project
replaces the current asphalt with concrete roadway, in addition to curb, gutter, sidewalks, raised
medians and drainage. Current road condition is poor and is a critical road used by Prestige Ameritech,
ESNA Aerospace and Tyson Prepared Foods. The 2020 Capital Program Advisory Committee also
recommended Iron Horse Boulevard as one of the roads most in need of reconstruction and to fund
with bonds. City staff is currently pursuing a grant to provide funding assistance for this project as part
of the CARES Act through the Economic Development Administration. If awarded, the grant could
provide 80% of the project costs for design and construction. It is proposed to issue Certificate of
Obligation bonds to fund the City’s grant match should the grant be awarded.

The final project proposed to fund with COs this year is the truck and “jetter”. A “jetter” is a powerful
drain cleaning machine that uses high-pressure water jets to clear obstructions in sewer lines. This
project replaces a 2002 truck and a 2012 jetter that have reached the end of their useful life. All
equipment is evaluated for replacement based on frequency of use, the number of like equipment in
the fleet, equipment condition, and the availability of parts and service. The replacement truck would
be equipped with an energy-efficient clean-burning diesel engine which meets the replacement
guidelines of the Clean Fleet Vehicle Program.

Library Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic forced all City departments to reevaluate how they deliver service to the
residents of North Richland Hills. One of the most challenging areas to tackle was the library and their
associated community programs. As the librarians are never one to back down from a problem to tackle,

16