Mission to solicit bids for roof replacement of MHM and Speer Memorial Library – Progresstimes

This article originally appeared in the Friday Nov. 15, 2019 issue of the Progress Times.

Two popular staples in the city - the Mission Historical Museum and the Speer Memorial Library - will be getting some much-needed renovations.

During a regular meeting held on Tues. this week, the Mission city council authorized the Engineering Office to solicit bids for competitive proposals for the roof replacement of the library and musuem. Council attended a workshop on Oct. 29 to hear about the projects from the architect and engineering firms and the scope of work they would be doing.

Hinojosa Engineering, Inc. is handling the engineering aspects, and Jose Carlos (Charlie) Garcia III of ARKiiFORM, LLC is acting as the architect. Council liked what they heard from the presentation, so they approved the authorization in order to get the ball rolling.

I appreciate the time that the architects and the engineers took to present, Mayor Pro-Tem Norie Gonzalez Garza said. I was very pleased with the presentation, and Im looking forward to getting a new roof.

The proposals requested will be used to obtain the best value for the replacement of each roof and apply value engineering for cost savings so the city can remain within budget. The scope of work for the library includes a complete tear off and re-roofing. The museum projects include a tear off and re-roofing of the annex building, a canopy connected to the annex and a partial re-roofing of the main historical building.

While the final costs of the projects may change based on the proposals received, the city is estimating that the total budget for all the renovations will be $1.3 million. Roof replacements for the library are estimated at $1 million, and $300,000 for the museum.

The council also declared the municipality of Fortn de las Flores, Veracruz a sister city of Mission. Deputy City Manager Aida Lerma presented resolution #1629 to council, and introduced the delegates from Mexico to the mayor and council.

Weve had a delegation from the city of Fortn de las Flores arrive last Wednesday, they partook in the Veterans Day activities this weekend, Lerma said. They were very impressed by all the activities we had for the veterans.

Lerma said it was their desire to become a Mission sister city. City Manager Randy Perez read the resolution, noting that the sister city concept was started by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 in order to establish greater friendships and understandings with international municipalities.

All succeeding U.S. presidents have endorsed this program, to be conducted for broad purposes of an exchange of ideas and people between the citizens of the United States of America and the people of other nations, Perez read. To implement this program, the city of Mission and other communities in the United States have been requested by Sister Cities International to affiliate with cities in other nations of similar characteristics and mutual interests.

Perez said they foster this concept with the hope that it will lead to lasting friendships between Missionites and the residents of Fortn de la Flores, Veracruz.

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Mission to solicit bids for roof replacement of MHM and Speer Memorial Library - Progresstimes