The Odessa City Council gave Interim City Manager Agapito Bernal permission Tuesday night to hire a recruitment firm to find a veterinarian who will work part-time in Odessa and part-time in Midland.
The city has been trying to find a full-time vet for its brand new animal shelter, but most potential candidates want to be able to set their own schedules, said City Attorney Dan Jones.
Odessa City Councilmember Denise Swanner and Midland City Councilmember Amy Stretcher Burkes came up with the idea of sharing a vet, Jones said.
Both cities will need to determine how the new vet will be compensated and who will cover their insurance, Jones said. Theoretically, they could work on a contract basis or the cities could split the cost of their salary.
“As Councilwoman Swanner pointed out, we have a $9 million facility and we don’t even have a vet for it. I mean, it’s kind of like having a wagon without a horse,” Jones said. “We need someone who’s qualified to be there.”
The city council also had the opportunity to meet two new department heads during its work session meeting earlier in the day. They met Chris Adams, the new Equipment Services director and Max Reyes, the new Parks and Recreation director.
Adams spoke with the council about purchasing a new genie articulating boom, mowers and rotary service lifts, but he also spoke about rejecting a proposed contract for tire replacement and repairs.
According to Adams, the city spent $989,000 on tire replacement and repairs last year and he thinks they should only have spent $500,000-$550,000 given the size of the city’s fleet. He told the council he’d like to hire three tire technicians so the city can start doing their own tire repairs.
Adams was directed to meet with Interim City Manager Agapito Bernal to discuss his ideas before placing the matter on the council’s regular agenda in the near future.
The city council has recently been discussing spreading sod at Sherwood Park or establishing a lawn using sprigs.
On Tuesday night, Adams said his department received a bid of $121,969 for sprigging and a bid of $774,496 for sodding.
He suggested the city instead aerate the high traffic areas, overseed with Bermuda and topdressing.
“I’m just thinking, personally, doing stuff in-house it’s going to cut that price way down and still get you the product to come as a perennial,” Adams said.
The council will address the issue again at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
The council had been scheduled to discuss the allocation of Community Development Block Grants, but ran out of time.
