Grand Prairie council approves consent items including EPIC court replacement and quarterly budget adjustments

Grand Prairie — The Grand Prairie City Council voted unanimously March 18 to approve consent agenda items 4 through 14, including a contract to replace the basketball court floor at the EPIC recreation center and quarterly operating and capital budget amendments.

The consent vote came after public questions about the EPIC floor repair and about details of the budget amendments. The council approved all items by voice vote; the clerk recorded the motion as carrying 8 to 0.

Why it matters: The EPIC floor serves community recreation programs, and the council’s budget amendment motion updates spending and capital project allocations for departments across the city.

Councilmember discussion and public questions Charlie Garza questioned the scope and procurement for item 9, the EPIC court replacement. “Is this going to be a recurring cost… Was there a bid that went out? If so, who bid for this contract?” Garza asked.

Chris Michalski, assistant director of parks and recreation, said the floor “was damaged due to water effusion underneath. This was discovered about 3 or 4 months ago.” He said the city completed tests and that a third‑party vendor confirmed the source was outside the building, “It was not any pressure lines inside the facility.” Michalski also told the council the full replacement would take about “3 to 5 weeks once we take the gym floor up, get everything taken care of, and put the gym floor up.”

Harold Willis asked whether the city could recover costs from the engineering firm that performed a 2021 forensic study; city staff said the city attorney would investigate that possibility.

On the budget amendments (items 12 and 13), Taubo, management services director, described the item as a routine quarterly amendment for both operating and capital improvement program accounts. “This is administrative cleanup for the majority of the items,” Taubo said, adding that some software and other items were reallocated during organizational changes and needed appropriation adjustments. When asked whether the amendments would affect the city’s sales tax revenue or bond rating, staff answered no.

Details and next steps - EPIC basketball court: the contract listed in the packet includes contingency funding; the packet posted online contains the bid documents and related materials, the city said. The replacement timeline was estimated at 3–5 weeks of unavailability for the affected portion of the court once work begins. - Budget amendments: staff described these as routine quarterly adjustments and “clean up” items to capture expenditures moved between departments; specifics are in the posted agenda packet.

The consent motion to approve items 4–14 passed by voice vote; the clerk recorded the outcome as 8–0 in favor. The items are now authorized to move forward under the terms shown in the council packet.

Ending: The council moved next to items that required public hearings and separate votes.