PA City Council notes: COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction & rapid diagnostic testing

Published 12:25 am Thursday, October 1, 2020

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The City of Port Arthur is also teaming with Gulf Coast Health Center to provide COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and rapid diagnostic (RD) testing.

The city will prescreen residents and coordinate all referrals to Gulf Coast, which will send reports of its tests to the Port Arthur Health Department.

The city will pay for its residents to receive testing at a rate of $55 for PCR and $25 for RD, up to $200,000.

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In other city business:

  • A $34,515.26 payment to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for the third quarter 2019-20 solid waste fee and projected $144,000 payment for fiscal year 2020-21 quarterly landfill solid waste fees are authorized.
  • A payment of up to $101,000 for the TCEQ annual wastewater system fee is approved.
  • The Port Arthur Police Department will continue its agreement with the Drug Enforcement Administration to combat controlled substances. The DEA Beaumont Task Force will include officers from Southeast Texas cities in order to combat drug traffic in the area and reimburse Port Arthur for base salary overtime payments to the officer assigned to the task force for overtime up to $19,180.25.
  • The Department of Defense is utilizing NextEdge Networks of San Francisco to access the new water tower at 1440 Terminal Road for installing, maintaining and operating radio communication equipment to reinforce safe military communication. NextEdge is leasing use of the water tower at a cost of $3,000 per year to the city for five years.
  • GP Evans Contractors of Winnie will be hired to mow the Pleasure Island grounds for $114,000.
  • An agreement between the Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation, or EDC, and S&S Investigations & Security of Groves will provide security guard services to the Spur 93 Business Park for $96,624.
  • The EDC will hire Panama Equipment to transport and mount a 500-kilowatt diesel generator donated by Christus St. Mary hospital for the Community and Business Center at 549 Fourth Street (former Port Arthur News location) for $30,610.13.
  • John Beard Jr. has been reappointed to the Pleasure Island Advisory Committee.

 

About I.C. Murrell

I.C. Murrell was promoted to editor of The News, effective Oct. 14, 2019. He previously served as sports editor since August 2015 and has won or shared eight first-place awards from state newspaper associations and corporations. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up mostly in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

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