Victoria City Council advances community center renovation plans, addresses utility staffing shortages

The Victoria City Council took the next steps towards renovations and improvements to the Victoria Community Center at a regular meeting on Tuesday. 

The city council passed an ordinance ordering a special election designating a venue project, community center renovations, to be partially financed with short-term motor vehicle tax and hotel occupancy taxes within the city. 

On the May 3 election ballot, registered voters will have the chance to vote on approving the imposition of a short-term motor vehicle tax at a maximum rate of 5%. Voters will also have the chance to vote on approving the imposition of an additional hotel occupancy tax at a maximum rate of 2% of the price paid for a room in a hotel. If the hotel occupancy tax measure on the ballot is approved it would bring the total hotel occupancy tax imposed from all sources in the city to 15%. 9% from the city and 6% from the state, according to city documents. 

The new revenue will make up approximately $11 million of the total project cost. Other funding sources for the project will primarily include certificate of obligation bonds from the city’s existing capital improvement plan, sales tax funds from the Victoria Sales Tax Development Corporation and existing City hotel occupancy tax dollars, according to a news release from the city of Victoria.

Additionally, the city council approved a construction contract, not to exceed $100,000, with Power Scoop Utility for water line utility repairs and maintenance within the city of Victoria. 

The contract with Power Scoop Utility is intended to reduce outstanding water leak issues within the city due to staffing issues, according to city documents. 

The entire utility department for the city has 32 positions. Currently, the department has 13 vacant positions. The utility department has several challenges that it is working to overcome, Greg Rodriguez, public works operations and maintenance manager, said. 

“Compensation is one of the issues we're currently working on,” Rodriguez said. “In addition to that it's a hard job going out there doing water and sewer line repairs.”

The utility industry is facing staff shortages throughout the state of Texas. Victoria has 350 miles of sewer lines and 400 miles of distribution lines. The new contract will enable Power Scoop Utility to provide the city with up to 200 hours of labor and equipment necessary to repair water leaks, Rodriguez said. 

“This contract is here for one year, and as of right now, we do have 22 leaks,” he said “ As of this weekend, we had six leaks that went ahead and popped up.”