The Brownsville City Commission unanimously approved the selection of Rene E. De Coss as acting city attorney during its meeting Tuesday.
No action was taken on hiring a city attorney during the Sept. 18 meeting because two of the four candidates had not yet been interviewed.
“I move to select Rene De Coss as our acting city attorney and direct our Interim City Manager Michael Lopez to proceed the negotiations for a contract,” said Cesar De Leon, city commissioner At-Large “A.”
De Coss is currently an associate judge for the municipal court.
Terms of the contract are still to be negotiated, De Coss told The Rider in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon.
District 1 Commissioner Ricardo Longoria Jr. told The Rider the length of the contract is two years, as established by the city charter and the start date will depend on the negotiated terms.
According to the agenda binder, the salary for this position is $180,000.
In other business, the commission amended the city’s policy on board and commission member appointment and eligibility policy.
New language on the policy’s multiple service states the board and commission members shall not serve concurrently on more than one board or commission. If members at the time of this section’s enactment are serving on more than one board or commission, they shall complete their current terms as provided by their appointments unless otherwise removed from a position, according to the agenda documents.
The commission voted to accept an $8 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration for the construction of a terminal at the Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport.
Commissioners awarded a contract for the construction of the new passenger terminal (Phase 2) at the airport to SpawGlass Contractors Inc. in the amount of $44,027,298.73.
They also approved Task Order No. 2 in the amount of $43,829 for a seal coat project for Runway 13-31, taxiway connectors and the blast pad, according to a memorandum from Airport Director Bryant Walker to the interim city manager.
Francisco Partida, the special projects manager for the Airport Department, said the coat will extend the life of the pavement, which is a safety issue.
The memo states the project will be funded by leftover funds from certificate of obligation bonds issued in 2007.
The commission approved a memorandum of understanding between the city and Gladys Porter Zoo in which the city will contribute up to $208,810 to build an addition to the Eastern Angolan Colobus Monkey exhibit.
