Engineers with Civil-Corp’s Victoria office briefed members of the Edna City Council Thursday night on design details of a planned capital improvement project targeting three specific streets in the city.
Randy Janak, Vice President of the Victoria Civil-Corp office, walked council members through an approximately 15-minute presentation during Thursday’s council meeting. The project was approved last year and will feature significant work on Brackenridge Street, Division Street, and Miracle Drive.
According to Janak, current plans call for rehabbing Brackenridge and Division Streets and seal coating the parts that are good, replacing damaged or low curbs and gutters, replacing small gutter openings (curb inlets) with larger ones, and replacing old water mains and replacing or rehabbing old sewer mains. Storm sewers would be extended and inlets added on Brackenridge Street from Gilbert Street to Progress Street.
Storm sewers on Division Street also would be cleaned from Allen to Fulton, the small sewer lines would be enlarged from Fulton to Hwy. 111, and additional storm sewer pipe would be laid parallel to the existing one from Progress to Fulton to double drainage capacity.
Miracle Drive’s ditches would be cleaned, new larger driveway/cross culverts would be installed, a new outfall pipe would be installed along Miracle to Dry Creek to relieve flooding, and the old water mains would be replaced, and the old sewer mains would be either replaced or rehabbed.
The next step for the $4.611 million bond project is to go to bid to determine actual construction costs, Janak said.
“Drainage improvements are about 40 percent of the budget, street improvements are about a little over 30 percent, and the water and sewer is a little under 30 percent,” Janak said. “Drainage is the biggest thing we’re going to spend money on.”
Edna City Manager Gary Broz told the council members present that the city planned to bid the project at this point.
Janak suggested leaving the time frame up to the contractor to attract more and better bids.
“We’re going to stress that this is not a government job, not a grant project,” Broz said, noting that because the project is financed by bonds it will not have the time-consuming federal requirements attached to federal grant money. “Once the engineer signs off, they’ll get paid. Right now, any of the grant projects, it’s six to nine months before they get paid.”
Also, the council denied an agreement as presented for the YMCA to operate the city swimming pool at Shelby Park this summer, to allow Broz to continue to negotiate the terms with the YMCA.
In other business, the council: Approved the minutes of the March 13 meeting; Declared April to be Fair Housing Month in Edna; Declared April to be Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month in the City of Edna; Held a second reading of Ordinance #2025-03 of the City Council of the City of Edna, amending Chapter 3, building regulations, of the Zoning Ordinance, related to the addition of a mural amendment; providing a sign clause; providing an effective date; providing a severity clause; and providing an open meeting clause; Approved Ordinance 2025-04 approving the agreement dated March 13, 2025 between the State of Texas and the City of Edna for the maintenance, control, supervision, and regulation of certain state highways and/or portions of state highways in the City of Edna and providing for the execution of said agreement; and declaring an emergency; Approved payment of current city bills; and heard city staff reports.
