Benicia City Council will hear a request Tuesday from interim police Chief Joseph Kreins to continue having School Resource Officers at Benicia Middle and High schools.

In a Feb. 6 report to City Manager Brad Kilger, Kreins wrote that if the Council concurs, the city and Benicia Unified School District would continue to share the cost of the program, with the school district paying $150,000 to the city’s General Fund.

Kreins wrote that the program “enhances the safe and positive learning environment within the district, promotes a positive working relationship with school staff members to prevent juvenile delinquency, promotes positive attitudes regarding the police role and informs students of their rights and responsibilities as lawful members of the community.”

He wrote that SROs are expected to present a positive image of the law enforcement profession, make classroom presentations (in particular to explain the nature and function of law enforcement), participate in school counseling and parent conferences, provide technical assistance to school administrators, be liaisons between police and the school district, investigate crimes that occur on school campuses, deter criminal and disruptive behavior during school hours and school-sponsored activities, and teach Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) curriculum in elementary schools.

The two-year extension would begin July 1 and conclude June 30, 2017.

This item is one of several on the Council’s consent calendar, which means it could be decided along with other matters by single vote and without comment. However, anyone may request any of these items be considered separately.

Also on the consent calendar is the request by Parks and Community Services Director Michael Dotson for the purchase and installation of equipment to expand the city’s irrigation control system at 11 new park sites. The cost would be $141,982.94, he wrote in a Jan. 30 report to Kilger.

“The expansion of the irrigation control system will build on prior water conservation measures and significantly improve water efficiency throughout the city’s park system,” he wrote.

The purchase would include a software upgrade that would let city employees improve water use efficiency in both current and new sites, Dotson wrote.

Funds have been approved by the Council on the recommendation of the Community Sustainability Commission that Valero-Good Neighbor Steering Committee Settlement Agreement money be spent on the project.

The settlement agreement account was established for Benicia and Benicia Unified School District use. All parties agreed to the settlement, which is like a contract for the money’s disbursement, limited to specific projects or expenditures.

In 2008, the refinery and the steering committee agreed that of the $14 million settlement account, $200,000 should be spent on air quality monitoring; $50,000 for hybrid cars; $700,000 for trees; $1 million each for a refinery buffer and watershed acquisition; $400,000 for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by Benicia Unified School District; $10 million for water conservation; and $600,000 for Climate Action Plan projects.

In 2010, the pact was modified to allow for spending $1.4 million for the Valero Condensate Recovery Phase 1 to save 23 million gallons of water a year.

The original evapotranspiration (ET) controller was installed in Benicia Community Park, near Matthew Turner Elementary School, in 2004. Since then, the system has been expanded by the installation of ET controllers at five more sites, Dotson wrote.

Three more controllers have been added, but don’t have the communications infrastructure to operate. Should the Council authorize the purchase, the software, modem and radio communications would let city employees manage the controllers remotely, he wrote.

“The purchase of eight new ET controllers will allow the city to integrate eight additional sites into the irrigation control system,” he wrote.

The current irrigation control system has reduced water consumption about 20 percent, Dotson wrote, and because the system is more efficient, department employees have time to address other management needs.

The additional equipment would let employees control 11 sites, managing them efficiently in response to changing weather conditions, he wrote. Streamlining the operation would let employees spend more time managing leaks and repairing or replacing defective sprinkler heads.

“Further, the improved system can detect leaks,” Dotson wrote, explaining that it can be programmed to send alerts should leaks, failing valves or wiring faults be discovered. That would increase the speed such defects can be repaired, he added.

“This project is projected to reduce annual water use by approximately 3.6 million gallons, thereby reducing GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions by 4.3 MTC (metric tons of carbon dioxide).”

In other matters, Councilmember Tom Campbell will ask the rest of the panel to agree that a discussion of the reduction of the evening hours construction is permitted in residential hours should be placed on a meeting agenda.

The matter came up during an appeal of a Planning Commission decision to subdivide 1035 West K St. The Council sided Jan. 20 with the commission and denied the appeal.

However, Campbell and others were concerned that Benicia Municipal Code allows construction activity until 10 p.m. in residential zones, and he promised he would ask that the Council consider reducing construction hours in residential areas.

Also Tuesday, a representative from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will present a report to the Council, and City Attorney Heather McLaughlin will provide the Council with its annual open government training. Mayor Elizabeth Patterson will appoint Gilbert von Studnitz, a Historic Preservation Review Commissioner, as a historic property owner in the historic district, and Dale Alexander to the Solano Senior Coalition.

The Council will meet at 7 Tuesday night in the Council Chamber of City Hall, 250 East L St.