Bel Air council unanimously approves consent items, generator grant and budget amendment

At its Feb. 17 meeting, the Bel Air City Council unanimously approved its consent agenda and three ordinance actions: the consent agenda (four routine items), acceptance of a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) subgrant to replace the City’s EOC generator, and a budget amendment to appropriate the local share.

What passed on the consent agenda: the council approved four routine measures by single motion and voice vote. The packet lists: an ordinance appointing Lisa A. Wesley as presiding judge, an ordinance appointing Robert C. Richter Jr. as assistant city attorney, a resolution approving an application for grant funding through the Office of the Governor’s rifle-resistant body armor grant program, and an ordinance authorizing the city manager to execute an agreement with Ayers Paint and Body Inc. for vehicle mechanical, body and paint repairs in an amount not to exceed $65,000.

EOC generator grant and budget amendment: the council accepted a TDEM-administered Hazard Mitigation Grant Program subaward to replace the existing generator at the city’s Emergency Operations Center with a natural-gas generator sized to power the entire facility, including air conditioning. The grant covers approximately 90% of the cost, with the city responsible for a roughly 10% local share. Terrence Beaman, the city’s chief financial officer, told council the city portion will be funded from available fund balance and that reserves remain above the city’s 60-day policy level.

Motion and votes: the acceptance of the TDEM subgrant was moved by Councilmember Georgioune and seconded by Councilmember Lewis; the motion passed unanimously. The companion budget amendment — required to appropriate the local match and related capital funds — also passed unanimously. The consent package was passed by a single unanimous voice vote.

Details and amounts: the Ayers Paint and Body agreement was for a term beginning Feb. 17, 2025 and expiring Sept. 30, 2025, with a not-to-exceed amount of $65,000. The city’s local match for the HMGP generator project was described by staff as approximately $62,000; the full grant and project budget details will be included in the adopted capital grant and CIP fund records.

Staff and next steps: staff will execute the subrecipient agreement with TDEM and return any required contract paperwork and project schedules to council as required by the grant. The budget amendment appropriating the local share was introduced and adopted the same night to place the local match on the city’s books.

Proponents and context: city staff framed the generator replacement as an operations and resilience upgrade that will allow the Emergency Operations Center to operate longer without on-site fuel deliveries and to provide air conditioning during extended events. Council members praised staff for securing the grant funding.

Passed items (at a glance): listed below include the formal motion text and outcomes recorded in the meeting minutes.