This coming Monday’s Bridgeport City Council meeting will have a distinct law enforcement flavor to it in both the regular and work session.

 

The regular Council session starts at 7 p.m., while the work session begins at 6 p.m. The meeting is in Council Chambers at the Bridgeport Municipal Complex. The work session, City Manager Brian Newton said, will not be in executive session.

 

One of the key portions of the work session will involve the police department. Newton said Police Chief Mark Rogers will provide an update on plans for a new police department structure.

 

“He will be recapping some of the things that he has been witnessing with visits to other police departments and their buildings across the state,” said Newton. “There are likely some things that he viewed he would like to see incorporated into a new police building.”

 

Newton said, at this point, it is almost certain there will be a new building constructed as opposed to a renovation and perhaps expansion of the existing space inside the Bridgeport Municipal Complex.

 

“I would say it’s almost certainly going to be a standalone and likely on the property near Twin Oaks,” said Newton. “It still has to receive the blessing of Council, but I think with the city owning that property that is becoming an obvious choice.”

 

When will that process begin on the lot that was home to the former Towne House East Motel that was purchased and demolished by the city? It will not start after Rogers talks at the work session. Newton said the city will once again try to hire an architect and engineering firm to be a performance criteria evaluator. Basically, the firm would be responsible for nearly every phase of the project from designing it, to developing the bid package and putting the project out to bid, to managing construction, and completion.

 

“They will serve as an owner’s representative. It’s an important enough facility that needs to last well into the future and there will be enough dollars spent that Council has determined it is the right way to proceed,” said Newton.

 

Newton said things will get moving once that firm is hired. He said the search for an A/E firm was put out more than a month ago, but will need to be rebid. He anticipates everything to be in place to begin the project within the next couple of months.

 

Another item being discussed in the work session is a review of the changes to city code. The same item will be addressed under new business at the meeting when Council considers the first reading of an ordinance that would cause those changes.

 

The topic up for discussion in the work session and for vote in the regular session is approving the city’s master fee schedule. The schedule includes everything from fees to renting facilities through Bridgeport Parks and Recreation to fines given out by the Bridgeport Police Department.

 

There are hundreds of fees involving city services, fines, and more. Most of them, said Newton, have not been changed for years. That will change. The majority of the fees will see nominal increases, while some will stay the same. There are also a few that will see a decrease.

 

After calling the most recent budget process one of the best ever, Council will be asked to approve the $21.1 million general fund budget. Along with that budget, the coal severance and excess levy budget for the year will be considered for approval.

 

In items that do not have the same financial impact, Council will look to approve on second and final reading an ordinance approving the benefit sections to the Bridgeport Employee Handbook. It was met with no resistance on first reading and received unanimous approval.

 

Council will also look to approve the Planning Commission recommendation that would amend the planned unit development at White Oaks and amend the city’s zoning ordinance at the same time. The vast majority of the time the Planning Commission’s recommendations are accepted.

 

In this case, High Tech Corridor Development, the developing group at White Oaks, needed to modify its planned unit development to allow for additional acreage for residential development. The revision, if approved, would add a little more than an acre to the area zoned for residential units in the PUD and assist with the layout of the property.

 

The additional acreage would be rezoned to Residential-3. It will set the stage for the first residential development at the site – Oakwood Estates – and will consist of 22 single-family patio homes, which will include a clubhouse that features a pool in a two-phased project covering just slightly more than eight acres. The cost of the project will exceed $10 million, it was stated after the Planning Commission meeting.

 

Council will also look at approving the first reading of an ordinance approving amended codified ordinances. The matter is standard practice annually.

 

The meeting will also include a report by Mayor Andy Lang and Newton. There will be a public forum near the start of the meeting for anyone wishing to address the city’s governing body.

 

The meeting is open to the public.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo is of the old Towne House East Motel before it was demolished, while Police Chief Mark Rogers is shown in the second photo. Bottom picture is of City Manager Brian Newton.