Port Arthur’s City Council will be asked to get behind an effort to re-establish a business route designation leading to the city’s downtown Tuesday.

City Council meets at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday on the fifth floor of City Hall.

Bill McCoy, Greater Port Arthur Area Chamber of Commerce president, plans to lead a presention asking Council to pass a resolution of support to designate an area running from Texas 87 to Woodworth Avenue to Procter Street and down to Houston Avenue as a business district route.

McCoy said the business route was that way back in the 50’s, but somewhere along the line lost the designation.

“By giving that business route, it will route people looking for that downtown area,” McCoy said. “Whether you are going to City Hall, the port, the sub-courthouse, the EDC, or the Chamber, it will be easier to direct people with a dedicated business route.”

McCoy said the establishment of a business route is a small thing, but is another way to attract people to downtown.

By doing so, there is also opportunity to access state money for repairs and upkeep, McCoy said.

Port Arthur engineer Ron Arceneuax will also be part of the presentation.

McCoy said the Chamber is also behind, and hopes to get the city on board, to ask the Texas Department of Transportation to redesign the Clover Leaf at Texas 73 and U.S. 69.

According to McCoy, TxDot has said the cloverleaf is the third most dangerous intersection in Jefferson County.

“The city is the starting point. All we want them to do is to support an effort to have TxDot put this on their list of projects,” McCoy said.

Also to be considered is an effort to change a city ordinance having to do with approval of the agenda.

The city’s current ordinance dictates that immediately following roll call, City Council will approve the order of business to be considered and presented on the agenda.

At that time, Council cannot review items or add new ones. Agenda items are not debatable and require a majority vote of the Councilmembers present to approve the agenda.

After the agenda has been approved, a two-third vote is required to change the agenda.

In a memo to City Council and the city’s mayor, City Attorney Val Tizeno noted that various concerns have been raised by Councilmembers regarding how the current ordinance is impacted by the Texas Open Meetings Act and the authority of a City Councilmember to place an item on the agenda.

The agenda item to amend the ordinance was placed on the Tuesday agenda by Councilmen Raymond Scott, Stephen Moseley, Willie “Bae” Lewis, Osman Swati, and Mayor Deloris “Bobbie” Prince.

City Council will also consider authorizing Chief of Police Mark Blanton to issue a taxi business permit to Mid-County Taxi, owned by Michael Tarver and located at 807 South 14^th Street, Nederland.

E-mail: sherry.koonce@panews

Twitter: skooncePANews