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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBryan OKs work on hotel; newspaper article (08-12-2009)Bryan OKs work on hotel Council picks LaSalle manager By CASSIE SMITH include a new information technolo- cassie.smithCtheeagle.com gy system, roof and window repairs, restoration of the lobby and rest The Bryan City Council has hired a rooms and the purchase of furniture. new company to manage the down- Part of the funding will be used to town LaSalle Hotel & Cafe and agreed develop a marketing campaign and to pay for more than $615,000 in develop a concept for a bar and improvements to the historic building. restaurant. Denver -based Magnolia Hotels' Some of the projects will go out for five -year contract will begin after the bid and must get final approval from city provides a termination notice to the City Council, so the final cost is Lane Hospitality, the firm currently unknown. managing the hotel. Proposed renovations to the hotel See BRYAN, Page A5 BRYAN: Officials believe renovations may make hotel attractive to potential buyers Continued from Al Council members Jason Bienski and Mike Souther - land voted against the man- agement change and funding the renovations. Many city officials have said they were looking for a way out of the hotel business, and the renovations could make the hotel attractive to a potential buyer. Though he agrees that the hotel needs improvements, Bienski said, he is uncomfort- able with the cost to taxpay- ers. Instead, he said, the City Council should be focusing on needs, such as infrastruc- ture. "We got rid of a company because they weren't as suc- cessful, but we didn't spend the money remodeling it for them like we are this group," he said. Bienksi said he didn't like the idea of a city -owned hotel having a restaurant and bar that would be in competition with other downtown bars and restaurants. Also on Tuesday, city offi- cials met with local agencies to review the response to the July 30 fire at a fertilizer warehouse that prompted a mass evacuation of the city. Roy Robinson, with the Texas Engineering Extension Service, coordinated the meeting to gather informa- tion to assess what worked well and what needed improvement. Officials expect the review to be released next week. Also at Tuesday's meeting, the council: • Approved spending more. than $119,000 for six vehicles for the parks and recreation department; more than $96,500 for equipment for turf maintenance equipment for the parks and recreation depat tment; and more than $90,000 for lawn maintenance equipment for the depart- ment. Officials said replacing equipment once it has exceed- ed normal life expectancy reduces operating costs. The replaced equipment will be auctioned. • Approved awarding a $3.5 million contract to Knife River to restore the area around Bryan Avenue and Beck Street. The council post- poned voting on the project at its last meeting after mem- bers were divided over which local company would be awarded the contract. Knife River's bid was $14,000 less than a bid from Brazos Valley Services.The project includes removing and replacing the pavement, curbs and gutters, installing sidewalks and replacing water and sewer lines. Overhead communica- tion wires will be moved underground, and six -foot sidewalks and downtown - style antique street lights will be installed in some places. • Confirmed Eric Buske as the city's new police chief. Buske, 47, will start Sept. 14. Buske was named police chief seven weeks after Ty Morrow resigned. He will make $122,000 per year as chief of the 169 - person depart- ment. Buske has spent his 25 -year career in law enforcement with the Omaha Police Department in Nebraska, where he has served as chief for the past year. • Held its first public hear- ing on keeping the tax rate at 63.64 cents per $100 assessed valuation. That means the owner of a home assessed at $100,000 would pay $636.40 in annual city taxes. Though no increase in the tax rate is pro- posed, more revenue is expected because of the increase in property values within the city, officials said. The second public hearing will be at 6 p.m. Aug. 25 at the Municipal Office Building, 300 S. Texas Ave. The city faces a $1.3 million general fund budget shortfall. Officials have said that, in place of increasing taxes, they are looking to eliminate 10 city positions, reduce costs in the city's facade program, shift expenses and cut some contributions to outside agencies.