Phillips to assume LCRA interim general manager role in January

Veteran of more than two decades will serve while Motal replacement sought

When Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) General Manager Becky Motal leaves her job on Dec. 31, Deputy General Manager Ross Phillips will be waiting in the wings to begin serving as interim general manager. Phillips, one of the agency's two general managers, will serve as interim general manager beginning Jan. 1, 2014, while LCRA officials search for a full-time replacement for Motal, who headed the LCRA for the last two and one-half years.

"This is an important job and the search for the right candidate shouldn't be rushed," said LCRA Board Chair Tim Timmerman. "Ross has had an outstanding career at LCRA and has earned the respect of the staff, the Board and our customers. We are very appreciative that Ross has agreed to assume responsibilities of the interim job to ensure a smooth transition of leadership."

Phillips is a veteran of more than two decades with the LCRA, having joined in 1990 as a computer programmer. He was promoted to operations manager over LCRA's electrical transmission services in 1995, was named executive manager of Transmission Services in 2000 and in April of this year was promoted to deputy general manager. Phillips holds a bachelor's degree from Troy State University and a master's from Southwest Texas State University.

Tanya Acevedo promoted to Travis County CIO position

Experience includes more than 20 years in both public, private-sector IT jobs

After serving as interim Chief Information Officer for Travis County for the last four years, Tanya Acevedo (pictured) this week was promoted to the county's CIO post full-time. Acevedo's extensive career in the information technology world includes more than 20 years of management and leadership experience in the public and private sectors.

The 2013 Austin InnoTech Woman of the Year has, as a member of the Travis County Information Technology Services Department, helped lead the department to advances and improvements in processes and technology to support county business needs. The department has been successful in working with both the public and private sectors to minimize risks of technology project rollouts and, by implementing these projects, saved taxpayer dollars. During her tenure with Travis County, Acevedo has played a major management role in projects from relocation of the data center to a new case management system for the Justice of the Peace courts to saving storage costs by virtualizing 85 percent of the county's servers.

Before joining the Travis County IT Services Department, Acevedo was employed by Orange County, California, where she managed IT strategic planning, project management and business continuity. She has also held a number of managerial roles in IT in the private sector. Acevedo holds a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University and a master's in business administration with an emphasis in information systems from Central Michigan University. She also holds Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute. 

Texas game wardens named for national maritime accreditation

Dubbed the "Texas Navy," Texas Parks and Wildlife's game warden force was recently accredited by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) Boat Operations and Training Program. The NASBLA accreditation is based on U.S. Coast Guard-recognized national standards for the training, qualification, credentialing and typing of maritime law enforcement and emergency first responders. Texas now joins only three other state conservation law enforcement agencies with NASBLA accreditation - the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Massachusetts Environmental Police and Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

"As the Texas Navy, our game wardens and the vessels they operate have an important role in maintaining the state's maritime security, in addition to their day-to-day work in enforcing our conservation laws," said TPWD Executive Director Carter Smith. "The training the wardens will receive by way of this accreditation will make these men and women and our coast-wide fleet even more effective."

The department's fleet includes 564 vessels, including two 65-foot Gulf of Mexico patrol vessels, 26 Safeboats (a high-speed boat with an enclosed cabin that can be used in bays or the open Gulf) and numerous specialized vessels including five gun boats equipped with .30 caliber machine guns. The department's specialized Maritime Tactical Operations Group includes specially trained and equipped game wardens who can respond to critical waterborne incidents or other unique maritime operations. 

Montgomery appointed by Straus to CPRIT Oversight Committee

Will Montgomery of Dallas is House Speaker Joe Straus' latest appointee to the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Oversight Committee. The committee is the governing board of the cancer research agency. Montgomery is a partner in the Dallas office of Jackson Walker LLP. His term will expire in January 2017. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Stanford University and his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.

Montgomery is Straus' third appointee to the nine-member board. The Speaker's previous appointees include Pete Geren of Fort Worth and Dr. Cynthia Mulrow of San Antonio.

Major reforms of the agency were implemented earlier this year by the Texas Legislature mandating a new oversight committee after the agency was accused of awarding some grants without proper reviews.

University of North Texas names Smatresk presidential finalist

University of Nevada, Las Vegas President Dr. Neal Smatresk (pictured) has been named lone finalist for the presidency of the University of North Texas. UNT Chancellor Lee Jackson recommended Smatresk for the post, which was approved by the UNT System Board of Regents. Smatresk will have to wait the obligatory 21 days before he can be confirmed as the university's 16th president.

Smatresk, who has served as the president of UNLV since 2009, had previously served that university as executive vice president and provost. He will return to his home state of Texas, where he is a native of Arlington. He began his career as a faculty member at The University of Texas at Arlington and during his 22-year tenure, was chair of biology and dean of science. He also is a former chief academic officer for the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Smatresk holds a bachelor's degree from Gettysburg College, a master's degree from State University of New York at Buffalo and a Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin. He conducted post-doctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. 

Texas Tech names chancellor search committee for Tech System

Larry Anders (pictured), vice chair of the Board of Regents for the Texas Tech University System, has been chosen as chair of the search committee that will help select a new chancellor of the TTU System. Anders is one of four members of the committee, all of whom are regents.

"The Texas Tech University System is a dynamic force in higher education, and we are looking for a leader who will build upon our current progress," said Mickey Long, chair of the Board of Regents. "The search committee for our next chancellor is an outstanding group of individuals. I am confident they will help identify top candidates to be the next leader of our system of universities."

In addition to Anders, the other members of the search committee are regents Debbie Montford of San Antonio, Nancy Neal of Lubbock and John Walker of Houston. The four will identify potential candidates, assist with candidate screening and make a recommendation on who will be the System's fourth chancellor. The final decision will be made by the Board of Regents. The new chancellor will replace Chancellor Kent Hance, who recently announced he will retire in 2014, when he will become chancellor emeritus. 

Austin Community College to open new campus in Hays County

Now that construction is complete on the new campus in Hays County, Austin Community College (ACC) officials recently announced plans to celebrate the opening with a ceremony on Jan. 16, 2014.

The new 88,000-square-foot building located on Kyle Parkway and Kohlers Crossing will open for classes on Jan. 13, 2014, according to Dr. Richard Rhodes (pictured), president and chief operating officer. The new ACC building features classrooms, laboratories, a student services area and library and media center that will accommodate about 2,000 students, Rhodes noted.

The Hays County campus is designed to provide academic classes as well as career training in such fields as business, computer networking and security and in child development, he said. ACC officials expect almost 1,000 students to register at the new Hays County campus, Rhodes added.

TEEX, Conroe ISD partner to offer water-related operator licenses

High school graduates are taking advantage of a partnership between Conroe ISD and the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) to earn a Class D Water Operator and Class D Wastewater Operator license. TEEX and the school district are partnering to offer students the opportunity to complete correspondence work during a full semester. The curriculum includes reading comprehension skills and practical exercises at an operating water or wastewater plant through a cooperative effort with the City of Conroe Public Works director.

Once the students complete the course and are certified, they are qualified to enter into positions with any water or wastewater utility in the state. The first class at Oak Ridge High School in the CISD completed the laboratory portion of the training through the TEEX Mobile Water Lab, a self-contained, mobile facility.

The TEEX Water and Wastewater Training Program is approved for credit by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to provide necessary training for licensing. "There is a tremendous need for skilled workers in this area of public utilities" said TEEX Training Manager Ken Olson. "The current workforce is comprised primarily of Baby Boomers who are beginning to retire."

TxDOT fleet program geared toward saving millions of dollars

Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Texas Transportation Commission are touting a program - Fleet Forward - that they say will streamline the number of TxDOT vehicles and heavy equipment while increasing productivity and reducing maintenance and storage costs. A reduced fleet, they say, will save some $50 million a year for the agency.

A pilot was implemented earlier this year in the Tyler TxDOT District, where more than 100 pieces of heavy equipment and vehicles have been removed as a result of the cost-savings plan. Since that time, 11 districts have implemented the plan, resulting in 2,250 vehicles and pieces of equipment being removed. Once the program is implemented across the state, TxDOT expects its current fleet of 16,000 vehicles to be reduced to 10,000.

Officials say that by reducing equipment based on when and how often it is used and needed, that sales will not only free up money for other projects, but will also improve the agency's maintenance program. 

Bohl leaving Attorney General's Office for river authority position

George Thomas "Tom" Bohl (pictured) is ending a long career in state government with the announcement this week that he has been hired as general counsel for the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority. Bohl, who will become a member of the GBRA executive team, has spent more than 20 years as an assistant attorney general in the Office of the Attorney General. He will move into his new job in January of next year.

As general counsel, Bohl will provide legal advice to the GBRA Board of Directors and management staff, prepare legal opinions, briefs and other documentation, review contracts, interpret regulations, help resolve disputes and manage other legal affairs. In his more than two decades with the OAG, Bohl prosecuted civil cases for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas Department of Health and the Texas Department of Agriculture. He also served as Texas' legal representative to the Sabine River, Red River, Canadian River, Pecos River and Rio Grande compact commissions and as legal counsel to the Texas Compact Commissioners.

Before joining the OAG, Bohl was an attorney with the Texas Water Commission and was an assistant county attorney for Travis County's Civil Section. He holds a bachelor's degree from The University of Texas at Austin and a law degree from Baylor University School of Law.

Frisco to delay bond election planned this year until May 2015

At the request of members of a citizen's bond committee, Frisco City Council members recently agreed to postpone calling a bond election previously planned for May 2014 until May 2015.

Deputy City Manager Nell Lange (pictured) said master plans for parks and the library are not complete, which would make it more difficult to gain support in May 2014 to issue bonds.

Once master plans for the parks and library are completed, members of the bond advisory committee will begin meeting again in the fall of 2014 to prepare for the bond election in May 2015, city officials said.

Wichita Falls ISD citizens group begins facility review

Members of the Community Facility Action Team (CFAT) of Wichita Falls Independent School District recently began inspecting district campuses in an effort to assess facilities in preparation for a possible bond proposal in 2014.

About 40 CFAT members who represent parents and community leaders are focusing primarily on secondary campuses and plan to present a recommendation on whether to schedule a bond election in May and projects to include in the proposal to trustees in February 2014. Board members will then vote on whether to set the date for a bond election.

$54.6 million bond program recommended for Hays CISD

A committee appointed by the Hays CISD recently recommended moving forward with a 25-year, $54.6 million bond program. A list of possible capital improvement projects were presented by Superintendent Michael McKie (pictured) at a recent board of trustees meeting. HCISD officials have indicated they would not seek a bond issue of more than $64 million, and a new middle school and technology infrastructure throughout the district are high on the priority list. The middle school alone would likely eat up $35 million of the bond proceeds. Other projects that could be part of a bond issue are bus purchases to replace 21 buses at a cost of $2.1 million.

The committee is expected to go over the projects again and make a recommendation to the school board in December. For a May 2014 election, the board has until Feb. 24, 2014, to call an election.

Belton approves $21,699 to study expansion of wastewater plant

Belton City Council members recently approved $21,699 to pay for a value engineering study to identify any cost savings that would result from a proposed $18.5 million expansion of a wastewater plant. The city currently shares the plant with the city of Temple and the plant is close to reaching capacity.

State regulations require that the cities begin planning for additional capacity when the wastewater plant capacity is at 75 percent and require construction to begin once the wastewater treatment plant reaches 90 percent capacity.

While Belton helped fund the preliminary design plan for the expansion, the new value engineering study is designed to identify any potential technologies, phasing options or other techniques that could reduce the cost of the wastewater plant expansion project. Council members expect to receive the results of the value engineering study in March 2014.

UH Victoria approves $4.23M to buy land to expand campus

Citing significant growth in enrollment, University of Houston-Victoria officials recently approved $4.23 million to buy 5.1 acres of land located across from the current campus with a goal of expanding academic space.

Because the college must obtain legislative approval for a $90 million tuition revenue bond request in 2015, President Phil Castille (pictured) said the college most likely would not receive the funding until 2016 if the legislation passes and the governor signs it.

For that reason, UH officials agreed that the two apartment complexes located on the property would not change status until a construction timeline for the campus expansion is in place. 

Midland eyes issue of $28M in debt to upgrade roads, technology

Midland City Council members recently began considering whether to issue $28 million in certificates of obligation to pay for part of $50 million in capital improvement projects to upgrade road and technology.

Current plans are to use nearly $7.7 million of the certificates of obligation to pay for engineering designs for several projects to upgrade and widen roads in fiscal years 2014 and 2015. City officials also plan to spend about $10 million to upgrade radio systems used by both public safety and public works employees and to replace switches and servers in the Information Technology Department.

Council members, who are expected to vote on Nov. 26 on whether to issue debt, plan to supplement the certificates of obligation using other sources of funding, such as the city's fund balance that has not been appropriated, money remaining from completed projects funded by certificates of obligation and financial contributions from the Midland Development Corporation. 

Texas Enterprise Fund awards $2.1M to plant in Beaumont

Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) officials recently agreed to award $2.1 million to Natgasoline LLC to build a new methanol plant in Beaumont, which is expected to create 240 jobs. The TEF funding, however, is contingent on whether a local incentive offer currently under negotiation is finalized.

The company plans to invest about $1 billion to build the largest methanol production facility in the United States, according to a spokesman for OCI N.V, the parent company of Natgasoline. The new methanol plant is designed to convert natural gas into methanol, a key chemical of which the United States imports 80 percent of its demand.

Tyler adopts new master plan for Bergfeld Park renovation

Tyler City Council members recently adopted a master plan to renovate Bergfeld Park. The plan was requested and paid for by residents in the neighborhood of the park and city officials plan to use several public-private partnerships to fund the park renovations.

The new master plan calls for renovating five areas of the park to be completed in phases as funding becomes available. The master plan recommends adding new playground equipment, upgrading tennis courts, removing some fixed seats of the amphitheater to create a grassy picnic area for families and installing a landscape barrier to separate the splash area from traffic on a nearby busy street.  

Hallsville to spend $4.2 million to replace water lines

Hallsville City Council members recently agreed to spend $4.2 million to rebuild and install water lines throughout the city during the next five years.

City officials plan to issue certificates of obligation to be sold in January 2014 to pay for replacing and rebuilding water lines installed in the 1930s, said Mayor Jerri Medrano (pictured).

Current plans are to focus on eight- and 12-inch water lines and install a nitrification tower to reduce the amount of ammonia used in city water in the winter and to install new water lines along major corridors, Medrano said.

Leon Valley planning $7.2 million in renovations to facilities

Municipal facilities in Leon Valley are about to get a major facelift. The city recently announced plans to begin a $7.3 million project to provide major renovations and upgrades as early as February of next year. Among the projects will be a new fire station and upgrades and renovations to the City Hall and police department. Bids are expected to go out for these projects in January 2014.

The projects are expected to be completed in three phases over two years. The first phase will include the fire and police station work. The new fire station is expected to be a more than 16,000-square-foot facility that will double the space of the current station. Renovations on the police station will begin following completion of the fire station. The City Hall renovations will be phase three and will include a new front entrance and lobby, conference rooms, municipal court clerk office improvements, upgraded restrooms and administrative office upgrades. 

TSTC, Red Oak ISD partner to bring schools technical education

A partnership will help build a technical education campus to help prepare high school graduates for career training.

School districts in the regional area with the Red Oak Independent School District will benefit from a partnership between the Red Oak ISD and Texas State Technical College (TSTC). The school district recently agreed to deed nearly 30 acres of land to TSTC for the site of a new and extensive technical education campus. The initial campus will include a $10 million, 90,000-square-foot technical education facility. Groundbreaking for the facility is expected to be early next year with a completion date set for prior to the 2014 school year. The facility will be expanded in future years.

The center will provide career training to all school districts in the region. As part of the partnership, the TSTC Foundation will absorb the costs of construction of the facility and will enter into a lease agreement with Red Oak ISD. Red Oak High School students in grades 9-12 will get a 50 percent discount on their TSTC tuition and discounted fees at TSTC North Texas as part of the agreement.

TSTC in January 2014 will begin preparing students from area school districts for technical careers at Red Oak ISD's Career and Technical Education building. TSTC anticipates up to 80 percent of the new jobs created at TSTC North Texas will draw from workforce talent in the local area. Additional training to start next summer will prepare students for careers in HVAC, logistics and allied health. Once the new building is occupied, both high school students and all others who are looking to advance their career opportunities after high school graduation can enroll for classes. Those classes will address training in industrial maintenance, diesel, welding, manufacturing, applied engineering, high voltage electrical, process operations and others.

Canyon exploring options for expanding city hall

Canyon city officials recently began considering an architect's recommendation to build a new, larger city hall to replace the current 20,000-square-foot facility built in 1975.

To provide adequate workspace for the current 140 full-time and part-time employees in the business department, code enforcement, municipal court and police station, the city would need to expand to a 59,000-square-foot facility, the architect said. Council members hired the architect last year to study the current, 29,000-square-foot city hall and determine if more space will be needed as the city continues to experience population growth.

The next phase of the project will explore options such as whether to build a new facility or facilities or whether to lease space such as the former Randall County Courthouse to replace the old city hall, said City Manager Randy Criswell. Council would need to issue debt to pay for any new city hall facility, he added.

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Cedar Hill ISD moving ahead with $2.47 million athletic complex

Cedar Hill Independent School District board members recently agreed to begin construction in December of a new $2.47 million athletic complex at the site of the old high school.

The proposed 318,000-square-foot baseball and softball facility includes separate baseball and softball diamonds, a concession stand, batting cages, restrooms and a parking lot. The new sports complex should be completed as early as March 2014, district officials said

College Station eyes $4.3 million expansion of recreation center

College Station city officials recently began work on design plans to expand Lincoln Recreation Center by 15,000 square feet using bond funding approved in 2008.

Architects are working with city council to develop design plans to permit one part of the recreation center to be used for active pursuits such as sports. Another part of the facility for more passive use such as a computer area, meeting rooms and library space, said Chuck Gilman (pictured), public works director.

The design phase for the expansion project most likely will continue through 2014 while work on the expansion of the recreation center is expected to begin in 2015, Gilman said. 

Victoria officials change plans; move toward sports upgrades

City officials in Victoria are deciding whether to spend funds previously allocated to build a visitor center for upgrades to a sports complex instead. Parks and recreation officials have told city commissioners that spending $236,900 to move bases back at the local youth sports complex will allow the city to host tournaments and thus increase tourism in the city. That, they say, will have a positive effect on the local economy.

In studying the choices, officials decided that upgrading the sports facility is a higher priority and that the city cannot afford a new visitor center at this time. 

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