Longview moved forward Thursday on a $4.02 million plan to rip up and renovate Fredonia Street.
The City Council awarded Longview Bridge and Road Ltd. the contract for a 10-month project to transform the downtown Longview street into what motorists encounter on Tyler Street — concrete paths, decorated intersections and raised medians with flower beds.
Longview voters approved $4.95 million for Fredonia Street improvements in the 2007 Capital Improvement Projects bond package. Public Works Director Keith Bonds said if the project is completed under budget, then the savings will be used on engineering and design work for other CIP bond projects.
Phase I work begins June 9, one day after the 30th Annual Alley Fest celebration ends, Public Works Director Keith Bonds said. Phase I will include utility construction for water, sewer, storm sewer, underground power and irrigation infrastructure for Fredonia Street between Tyler and Methvin streets. Paving and sidewalk construction may proceed in Phase I, according to project design documents.
The entire Fredonia/Methvin street intersection will be included in Phase I — set to be completed Oct. 15 — so the area will be open for the annual Christmas parade and other holiday activities around the Gregg County Courthouse, Bonds said.
Phase II, from Oct. 15 through Jan. 1, will transform Fredonia Street between Cotton and Tyler streets. Phase III between Whaley and Methvin streets is set for Jan. 1 through April 1. The contract includes a $990 per diem charge that Longview Bridge and Road will bite for every day the project is delayed beyond those deadlines, Bonds said.
Businesses along the street segments will be allowed to remain open during construction.
The Fredonia Street project was designed with help from the city's design committee, which included Kelly Hall and Elaine Reynolds from Longview Partnership, Gregg County Maintenance Supervisor Mike Bills, Mike Hawkins with R. Lacy, Wesley Hill with First Baptist Church and Paul Hutcheson with Regions Bank.
In other matters
The council also raised the towing fees for heavy-duty vehicles. Towing companies can charge up to $275 an hour to haul off vehicles weighing 48,000 pounds or more under police orders without the vehicle owner's consent. The previous charge was $250 an hour.
During the same meeting, Transet Co. of Longview won a $179,500 bid to construct a disaster recovery building on city-owned property adjacent to the Fairgrounds Exhibit Building. The project was approved for grant funding from the Office of Rural Community Affairs and from Community Development Block Grant funds.
The building will contain storage, showers and laundry facilities to be used in the event of a natural disaster.
Council members also amended the city's street name change requirements Thursday — almost two months after rejecting a request from members of Miracle Tabernacle House of Prayer to rename Nelson Street to honor the church's founder and leader, the Rev. John L. Lawson Jr.
Property owners adjacent to the proposed street must all agree in writing to the name change, and the person receiving the honor must be deceased and "of notable achievement" for the change to be considered or approved, according to the ordinance that council members approved Thursday.
The council rejected a developer's request to rezone about 20 acres on Hawkins Parkway from single family to multifamily. Rose Heights Church of God owns the property, and LSS Land Development Co. wanted to buy the land and build a residential development, city records show.
The city's planning and zoning commission denied the request, but city staff members recommended approval of the rezone, according to Senior Planner Michael Shirley. Three property owners near the location, on Hawkins Parkway north of Oak Forest Country Club, opposed the plan.
"I don't think the church will have any problem selling this piece of property," District 6 Councilman Sidney Allen said." I think that we owe them a closure at this time and let the church move forward with other purchasers that wouldn't have as much opposition."
