Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Hurricane Harvey’s arrival caused its share of damage across Port Arthur, but the weather event had little effect on the city’s Recreation Center.

Upcoming repairs to the administrative area of the facility at 1308 Ninth Ave. are expected help keep things running smoothly, even during a health pandemic.

The city is working out a contract with Jack Built Contractor of Orange to make interior repairs, including replacing the floor, installing ceiling tiles and replacing sheetrock. Total costs will not exceed $62,355.11, with $31.416.54 to be funded from the city’s Hurricane Harvey Fund Account and $30,938.57 from the Capital Improvement Project Account.

“In order for us to operate, these repairs are necessary,” said Chandra Alpough, Port Arthur Parks and Recreation Department director. “Basically, it’s just repairing floor damage inside the administrative part of the building. The walls were a little messed up.”

Repairs are not listed for the gymnasium, where the center’s activities are held.

Floodwaters from Harvey crested on Aug. 30, 2017, six days after the city issued a disaster declaration. The Rec Center sustained damage to the roof, administrative offices, assembly room, hallway, exercise room, game room, restrooms, pool table room, study room and some closets, according to a memorandum from City Manager Ron Burton.

He added roof repairs were performed first and took longer than anticipated due to unforeseen issues that were found.

During the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Rec Center staffers have been telecommuting and doing “flex work,” Alpough said.

“We work in the office some days, and we work from home some days,” she said.

In other city business from this week’s council meeting:

• Port Arthur’s current declaration of disaster will be extended for 14 days in order for renewals coincide with regular meetings. Declarations previously have been extended for seven days at a time, in compliance with state law, and that necessitated special meetings on Tuesdays in between regular meeting dates.

The next council meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. July 21.

• LJA Engineering of Beaumont will provide Phase II municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) implementation engineering services to Port Arthur at a cost to be determined. The services keep the city in compliance with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System MS4 requirements.
• The Williams Companies Inc. of Tulsa, Oklahoma, are donating $1,000 to the fire department for COVID-19 first responder support. Williams is an energy infrastructure group.
• Felix Jones Sr., Harold Joseph, Shawn Skinner, Paul Williams and John Parker were reappointed to the Citizens’ Pipeline Advisory Committee.