HomeMy WebLinkAbout(0170) M&C 21-0985City of Fort Worth, Texas
Mayor and Council Communication
DATE: 12/14/21 M&C FILE NUMBER: M&C 21-0985
LOG NAME: 23WATERWHEEL DONATIONS AND PURCHASE
SUBJECT
(ALL) Authorize Acceptance of Various Private Donations to Support the Design, Installation and Maintenance of a Trinity River Waterwheels
Initiative Project in an Amount Not to Exceed $2,500,000.00 and Adopt Attached Appropriation Ordinance
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Authorize the acceptance of various private donations in an amount not to exceed $2,500,000.00 to support the design, installation and
maintenance of a Trinity River Waterhweels Initiative project; and
2. Adopt the attached appropriation ordinance increasing estimated receipts and appropriations in the Special Donations Cap Project Fund in
the amount of $2,500,000.00, from various private donations, for the purpose of funding the Trinity River Waterwheel Initative project (City
Project No. 103797).
DISCUSSION:
The City of Fort Worth (City) has outlined a strategic plan to support the city's pursuit of a clean, safe community. Aligning with the city's strategic
plan, surface water quality programs and projects seek to protect human health, safety and the environment by reducing floating litter, called
floatables, which pollutes local lakes, streams and the Trinity River throughout Fort Worth. These floatables, carried by wind and stormwater runoff,
are dispersed throughout the Trinity River, where they collect along the banks and degrade the environment of the river and the surrounding
community.
To remove these polluting floatables, the City, the Tarrant Regional Water District and their partners have selected to install solar -powered
waterwheels in the Trinity River. These Trinity River Waterwheels are a collaboration of private and public entities that all have a goal of increasing
environmental sustainability and stewardship. A similar device, the Inner Harbor Waterwheel in Baltimore, Maryland, is a proven high -
impact method of collecting floatables and can be easily duplicated in the Trinity River. The current design of The Trinity River Trashwheels
Initiative promotes installation of at least two waterwheels located on the Trinity River, near downtown Fort Worth, addressing both the Clear Fork
and West Fork of the river. The proposed waterwheel location on the West Fork of the Trinity River will be located near the Henderson Street
Bridge, and the second waterwheel, located on the Clear Fork of the Trinity River will be near Panther Island Pavilion Parking. Placing the
waterwheel in these prominent locations will provide the city an opportunity to promote environmental stewardship and collect floatables from the
Trinity River.
This Trinity River Waterwheels Initiative has already received several offers of private donations to assist with the purchase and installation of the
waterwheels. Along with the City of Fort Worth, these donors want to be good stewards of the Trinity River and have chosen to support the plan to
remove tons of floatables from the river. Accepting the donation of these private funds will help to maintain the Trinity River as an iconic
natural resource in our community, to support water quality, to encourage economic development, to improve habitat for aquatic life and to increase
opportunities for river recreation.
The Trinity River Waterwheel initiative has an up -front construction and installation cost of $600,000.00 per waterwheel. The donations received will
be used for the full project engineering design; construction and installation of waterwheels and supporting accessories; required permitting,
reviews or related project expenses,. Once installed, the cost is minimal with an estimated annual maintenance cost per waterwheel of
$50,000.00. The annual cost includes the disposal of all the collected wastes, system checks and annual system audits that will maintain the
waterwheels. In summary, the cost of the waterwheels will be about $1,200,000.00 and ten (10) years of maintenance costs for both waterwheels is
estimated to be a total of $1,000,000.00.
Designating a new Capital Project for the Trinity River Waterwheels initiative will allow for the collection of up to $2,500,000.00 in donations to fully
support the design, purchase, installation and maintenance of two waterwheels for up to ten (10) years. It is important to note that the engineered
lifespan of a waterwheel is expected to be twenty (20) years and additional funds may be donated to support this project over the lifetime of the
waterwheel.
Finally, upon installation and operation of two Trinity River Waterwheels, an estimated 400 tons of floatables could be collected each year. This
significant amount of debris removal will greatly impact the health of the Trinity River and is also supported by the organization, Streams and
Valleys which has been focused on improving the Trinity River specifically for several years.
A Form 1295 is not required because: This M&C does not request approval of a contract with a business entity.
FISCAL INFORMATION / CERTIFICATION:
The Director of Finance certifies that upon approval of the above recommendations and adoption of the attached appropriation ordinance, funds
will be deposited and available into the Special Donations Cap Project Fund. The Code Compliance Department (and Financial Management
Services) is responsible for the collection and deposit of funds due to the City. Prior to any expenditure being incurred, the Code Compliance
Department also has the responsibility to validate the availability of funds.
Submitted for City Manager's Office by: Valerie Washington 6199
Originating Business Unit Head: Brandon Bennett 6322
Additional Information Contact: David B. Carson 6336
Cody Whittenburg 5455