Montgomery City Council members considered numerous agenda items during Tuesday evening’s regular meeting. Some topics discussed included a local business’ alcoholic beverage permit, and finances and repairs for Buffalo Springs bridge.

Position 1 council member Jon Bickford and Position 3 council member T.J. Wilkerson were not present for the meeting. To view the entire agenda, click here.

1. Public hearing to alter the Cozy Supper Club and Annex alcohol permit

A public hearing will be held during the regular city council meeting on Aug. 22 at 6 p.m. related to repurposing an alcoholic beverage permit from the Cozy Supper Club and Annex to the Cozy Grape Wine Bar and Bistro.

Owner Tom Cronin is seeking to shift the selling of mixed alcoholic beverages from the supper club to the wine bar and bistro. The shift of alcoholic beverage licensing was requested because Cronin recently sold the Supper Club and Annex to local business owner Kristen Billingsley.

Cronin said that the supper club and annex will become a new business with a new name under Billingsley’s ownership.

2. Montgomery Police Chief requests more police officers for department  

Montgomery Police Chief Jim Napolitano delivered a report to council members about increased officer responsibility and the need for additional officers. Napolitano said officers must leave the city to take prisoners to Conroe jails, since Conroe has the closest detention facility to Montgomery.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office covers call lines when Montgomery officers are completing a service call. Service calls can take three to five hours depending on the severity and type of crime, Napolitano said.

Within the last year, MPD has had two officers leave the department for personal reasons, Napolitano said. For the 2017-2018 budget year, Napolitano said the department needs to hire new officers to replace the ones who left, as well as hire an additional officer to accommodate the area's population growth.

In the future, Napolitano said a detention facility on the west side of Montgomery County could help to decrease the time Montgomery officers spend on each service call.

3. Updated timeline, planned funding for Buffalo Springs bridge repair

City Engineer Chris Roznovsky said city officials approved a detailed cost analysis that the Federal Emergency Management Agency provided, showing Buffalo Springs bridge repairs costing roughly $1.8 million. Roznovsky said it could take two and a half weeks for the project to be approved by FEMA, then it will be reviewed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and put out for bid. Roznovsky said construction could start in fall or early winter, and take about four months to complete.

All surrounding property owners were notified of impending construction, Roznovsky said, and a permanent easement was approved on the south side of Buffalo Springs bridge. FEMA is set to pay 75 percent of the $1.8 million repairs, leaving $464,138 for the city of Montgomery to fund.

City Administrator Jack Yates said the city has multiple grants in mind that could fund some, if not all, of the city’s portion. Potential grants include one from the Community Development Block Grant disaster relief program and another from the Texas General Land Office. Funding from the CDBG and GLO grants, if awarded, could be released in August or September and in October, respectively. The city plans to take out a line of credit until funds are dispersed.