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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/14/2014 CDC Joint Work Session August 14,2014 MINUTES OF THE JOINT WORK SESSION OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AUGUST 14th 2014 The Joint Work Session of The Community Development Corporation and City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas, was called to order at 6:35 p.m. on the 14th day of August 2014, at City Hall, 6800 Main Street, The Colony, Texas, with the following roll call: Stephen Sohn President Present Pam Nelson- Staff Kathy Braby Vice President Present Eve Morgan - Staff Lisa Leary Secretary Present Kathy Neal - Staff Donna Cole Member Present Don Beckel Treasurer Present Susana Perez Member Present Allen Harris Member Present Joe McCourry Mayor Absent Kirk Mikulec Councilmember Absent Richard Boyer Councilmember Present Jeff Connelly Councilmember Present David Terre Mayor Pro-Tem Present Perry Schrag Councilmember Present Joel Marks Councilmember Present And with all CDC Board members present a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. Call to Order City Council Community Development Corporation— Steve called the meeting to order at 6.35p.m. 2. City Council and the Community Development Corporation Board of Directors to jointly conduct a work session to discuss upcoming/current CDC projects as follows and provide direction to staff. Subject matter will include project planning and development, budgets/funding, locations, scope of projects, and timelines. Mayor Pro-Tem David Terre opened the meeting with a brief discussion regarding citizen input. Citizen input will be allowed that is specific to the items on the agenda. A. Policy regarding new landscaping and irrigation projects during drought/ watering restrictions - CDC is dedicating a lot of funds for beautification and to doing more zero- scaping in the process, but has concerns about the amount of water that will be needed to get the landscaping established. Council instructed the board to move forward with the landscaping but to be responsible with the water usage. There is not a formal policy in place for 1 August 14,2014 landscape planting during drought conditions. This could be a discussion item at a Council work session to discuss the need to develop a policy. B. Proposed CIP Projects and equipment to be funded in 2014-15— Steve began the discussion of the list of projects provided to Council— Perryman Parking Lot— This will add 22 new parking spaces and is currently being designed by Dunkin, Sims &Stoffels. We hope to have this ready for the Christmas Spectacular, but we won't start it if we don't get a guarantee that it will be finished in time, and we have to get approval from Oncor also. Council instructed the board call special meetings if needed but to do whatever needs to be done to have it finished in time for the holidays. North Colony Bike Route & South Colony Bike / Trail — Ramps and cut- thru connections will be added east of Paige Rd., and slip road cut-thru's like the ones on the North Colony trail extension will be added on South Colony. Council expressed their desire for continued expansion of the trail and instructed the board to proceed with their plans. West Shore Park Master Plan — Amenities for this park will include a pavilion, playground, off street parking, and improvements to the trail path that currently exists. Council questioned the need for a Master Plan, and Steve explained that the desire for this park is for it to be a neighborhood park with access to the lake. Aquatic Park — Floating Play Feature & UV Sanitation — The current play structure is being held together with tape and a new sanitation system needs to be added to each pool. Five Star — Mower, Utility vehicle/ groomer — This is to replace the current mower with a mower that has a wider deck, and the field groomer is 11 years old, worn out and needs to be replaced. Councilman Connelly said that he does not have any issues with the $600,000 for the items on the list presented and thinks discussion is needed on the bigger issue items and the other Council members agreed. CVB Vehicle (1/3 cost) — This is a specialty type van to be used for traveling to events and to haul supplies for the events. The CVB asked the CDC Board to fund this, but they suggested it be split between CDC, EDC and the City. The CDC Board has agreed to fund $10,000 but the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) Board can only pay $5,000, so the CDC and the City would have to increase their contribution to $12,500 each. Councilman Connelly said he does not know if the city can help with this. 2 August 14,2014 C. Dog Park location and funding— Eve briefly discussed the locations the board has been considering— Taylor St. —there is no parking, it is in a flood plain East Lake Highlands—half the field would be used for small dogs and half would be used for large dogs, water and electricity are already installed, it is located in a residential area on the south end but a buffer can be created to help screen out the noise, the out of town soccer teams can be relocated to the adult softball fields at BB Owen, and this location is across from the animal shelter. The estimated cost for this location is $170,000. Councilman Terre and Shrag expressed their concern about a temporary location; it could delay making a decision on a permanent location. Pam told them there is no other location; the CDC Board prefers the old driving range but there is significantly more work needed there. Councilman Connelly is opposed to any temporary spending for this project though he thought this is a good location until he discovered this location could potentially be used for the city's fleet service. Council instructed Pam to find out what the plans are for the land at East Lake Highlands and to put$300,000 in the CDC fund balance until a location is decided. D. Veteran's Memorial Master Plan - funding Veteran's Memorial — Council told the board that the board should plan on funding the initial cost for the project. The board has budgeted$350,000, but the cost has not been determined. Council instructed the board to continue with the design process. E. Lion's Club Pond Project and silt disposal options Lions Club Pond— This project has been put out to bid twice and each bid was rejected because it was over the budget. The major cost is the removal of the silt. The silt has been tested for hazardous material, and there is none. The silt could be disposed of in the city and used at the old driving range, the open area north of Hawaiian Falls or offered to residents as fill dirt. Council instructed Pam and Eve to bid the project as the silt is going to the landfill but to have an alternate and deduction for The Colony location. Project Manager — The board is asking for Council's support for this position. There is an abundance of more work involving DRC reviews of city projects, meeting with contractors on-site and reviewing plans;projects have been back- logged and progressing slowly. A project manager would help keep projects on schedule, this position could possibly be shared with another department, and could be a long term position used to oversee multiple city projects and not just Parks & Recreation or CDC projects. Council is not in favor of sharing this position with another department. Councilman Terre added if the need can be justified, he would support it, as there are times when it's needed to have someone who can facilitate projects to keep them progressing on schedule and 3 August 14,2014 get them completed. A suggestion was made to use a contract person for this position. F. Proposed Stewart Creek Park enhancements Lake Parks Fund—Stewart Creek Park Projects— Irrigation / Trees — The board did not get the grant they applied for, but the need still exists. Lift Station— The current system does not work and can't be repaired. The park host is going to be moved closer to the lift station so a sewer connection can be added for them. This can be done in house. Fishing Pier— This is included in the Stewart Creek Park Master Plan; it would be on the point. Pam told Council that lease payments from Hidden Cove Park, Blue Sky and the Tribute are deposited into the Lake Parks fund as well as the fees collected at Stewart Creek Park. Funding for some of these projects will come from the Lake Parks Fund. Council instructed the board to proceed with these projects. G. Cultural Arts Master Plan revisions— Due to the Mayor's absence,there was no discussion of this topic. 3. Adjourn Community Development Corporation City Council There being no further business to discuss, Steve adjourned the meeting for the Community Development Corporation at 8:15p.m. 4/(4 t:��d y Kathy Nea , Recording Secretary Steve S• , ' -sident 4