Douglas Mayor pro tempore Margaret Morales moved quickly through its March 13 city council agenda held at city hall.

Mayor Danny Ortega Jr. and City Manager Carlos de la Torre were absent as both were in Phoenix for meetings.

The council approved the third reading by title and number of ordinance No. 13-1022, authorizing the city to accept a donation of improved real property known as the YMCA building from the Douglas Young Men’s Christian Association.

Also approved was resolution No. 13-936 ratifying the formation of the Douglas Housing Corporation I and II and approving the final form of articles of incorporation and bylaws for the Douglas Housing Corporation I and II.

Gary Clark, Rosa Vertrees, Anita Rojas and Irene Garcia were appointed to the Douglas Housing Corporation I and II committees.

The council also approved the Transit Advisory Committee (TAC). The City of Douglas took over the Douglas Rides Program from Catholic Community Services (CCS) in late summer of 2012. This program transfer was made possible through grant applications with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and various intergovernmental agreements.

ADOT requires that every organization receiving Section 531 funding, establishes a TAC. Those approved to be on the TAC committee are Kathleen Heard, Danny Morales, Chris Vertrees, Corinna Carbajal, Cheri Shull, Ryan Kooi, Linda Conwell, Gary Clark, Kevin Butler, and Humberto Rivera.

The renewal of the loan for the F-16 aircraft on display at the Veteran’s Memorial Park was approved during the meeting. The City of Douglas has been fortunate to have an F-16 aircraft on loan from the United States Air Force. Every year the city is are required to renew this loan.

An auction date and vehicle list was approved for April 13 with a backup date of April 20. The vehicles on the list have been fully checked and found not worthy for city use. This auction of seized vehicles is part of the Douglas Police Department vehicle replacement program.

The council approved the allocation of fiscal year 2013 and 2014 Highway User Revenue Funds (HURF) and Local Transportation Assistance Funding (LTAF) to cover the and absorb the cost to complete the street repair project in an anticipated amount of $114,374 over and above the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) 125.11 award.

The 2012 CDBG regional application will provide $173,628 in funding towards street repair leaving a balance of $114,374 for the city to cover. The Arizona Department of Housing is requesting the City Council to approve a resolution that would commit the city to fund the cost difference between the actual cost and CDBG funding.

Our focus of road construction will transfer from Ward 1 to Ward 6, City Attorney Juan Flores said.

The council also approved for the two CDBG grants, which are being used for the road construction in Ward 6, to be administered by Southeastern Arizona Government Organization (SEAGO).

The city will no longer be able to request extension from the State of Arizona, if necessary due to staff and or inmate shortages. New administration at the state level and stringent regulations at the feral level, the state will no longer have the flexibility to all extensions on grants.

In order to meet these condition and timelines with the upcoming 2012 regional grant, the Arizona Department of Housing has requested that the city partner with SEAGO for providing technical assistance with administration of the 2012 CDBG grant. CDBG gran will go toward completing the curbing and street repairs in Ward 6.

SEAGO’s fee for grant administration will be $14,000 and will be paid out in the next two years out of the grants administrative fees. The first installment of $1,000 will be paid upon execution of the contract. Upon completion of environment review $2,000 will be paid to SEAGO, then $3,000 with be paid upon the start of construction and a final $8,000 will be paid upon completion of this contract. An addition $3,000 will be paid to (TAAP).

The next city council meeting will be held on April 10 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.