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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/02/1977 City Council OOOO_Z o MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING THE CITY OF THE COLONY DENTON COUNTY, TEXAS MAY 2, 1977 THE STATE OF TEXAS ) ) COUNTY OF DENTON ) The City Council of the City of The Colony, Denton County, Texas, convened in regular session, open to the public, at the north end of the First Baptist Church in the City of The Colony, Denton County, Texas, at 7,30 P.M., Monday, May 2, 1977, and the roll was called of the members of the Council, to wit, Luis Guerrero Mayor Linda Adams Alderman Rick Chadwick Alderman Joe Gaulden Alderman Sandra Shearer Alderman Dick Weaver Alderman and all members were present, thus constituting a quorum. Also present were Bill Davis, Attorneyt Pam Schuman, acting secretary to the City Councill and members of the public. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Luis Guerrero who welcomed residents and visitors to the more spacious faci- lities of the First Baptist Church as opposed to those of The Colony M.U.D. #1 office. The first item considered by the City Council was approval of the minutes submitted for the regular meeting of April 15, 1977. Alderman Linda Adams moved to accept the minutes as written. Alderman Sandra Shearer seconded the motion. The motion was carried by the following votes, Ayes, Ail members present voted aye. Noes, None, Before proceeding to agenda item #2, Mayor Guerrero re- quested that agenda item #13 regarding the National Guard "Oper- ation Lonestar Week" be discussed by the City Council following agenda item #5. The Aldermen agreed to this change. Agenda item #2 regarding the franchise fee contract with Lone Star Gas Company was next considered. Mrs. Doris Westmoreland of Lone Star Gas introduced Mr. Tom Walling, District Manager of Lone Star's McKinney office, to the City Council. The Aldermen had received copies of the proposed contract with Lone Star Gas prior to the Council meeting and were requested by Mayor Guerrero to address any questions they had regarding it to the gas company representatives. Alder- man Dick Weaver asked about three items, the interest on customers' deposits in Section 6 of the contract~ the use of the term "ad valorum" in Section 9! and adjustments to rates on the second page of the contract. Mr. Walling responded to all of the above questions. Alderman Shearer asked whether the payments for street use would begin with January, 1977, or with the date of the City's incorporation. Mr. Walling said that normally the payments would begin with the date of the execution of the contract but that he would check this techni- cality. As there were no other questions, Mayor Guerrero informed Mrs. Westmoreland and Mr. Walling that the City Council would notify them of the agenda for the regular session on May 16, 1977, after conferring with Attorney Bill Davis and would try to have them back at that time. Mayor Guerrero next asked Sheriff Kenneth George and his associates to step forward and introduce themselves. Sheriff George introduced himself and Captain Dwight Crawford, Frank Dolcater, Guy Bennett, ~he Colony's night patrolman, and J. R. Womack, The Colony's day patrolman. Sheriff George emphasized that his department had not forgotten The Colony and requested some local office space, perhaps in the Fire Station, where his men would have access to a telephone and a desk. He stated that although his department had limited personnel, they could give the service needed with the City's cooperation. Alderman Rick Chadwick asked if it was feasible to have a oo0 sheriff's substation in The Colony. Sheriff George said that since there already was a substation in Lewisville, he doubted that The Colony would have one in the near future. Mayor Guerrero told the Sheriff that The Colony would make space available for the Sheriff and his men. In response to a ques- tion from the audience, Sheriff George reported that The Colony was patrolled from one to four or five times during the.day and two or three times during the night. Agenda item #4 regarding bids from banks requesting to be the depository of the City's funds was next discussed. At the time of the Council meeting, sealed bids had been received from three banks, Lewisville National Bank, Lewisville State Bank, and North Texas Bank. Attorney Davis explained the procedures and legal requirements for selecting a bank. Mayor Guerrero stated he would distribute copies of the three bids to the Aldermen to read and they would decide at the next regular session on May 16 which bank would be chosen. Alderman Chadwick felt the bids should be opened then and the rest of the Council agreed. Consequently, Mayor Guerrero opened the three bids in the following order andread them aloud, North Texas Bank Lewisville State Bank Lewisville National Bank (check enclosed with bid) Alderman Joe Gaulden questioned the Lewisville National Bank representative regarding the loan rate the City might receive and was told it would be negotiated. Mayor Guerrero said he would distribute copies of the bids to the Aldermen the fol- lowiD~ morning. Agenda item #5, the presentation by the Civil Prepared- ness Committee, was delivered by Kathy Bock of the Homeowners' Association. With the tornado season now here, she recommended several immediate steps that the City could take to prepare for such natural disasters, 1. Enact an ordinance,providim~g a legal basis for action in an emergency! this ordinance should contain a statement of purpose since responsibility during a disaster lies with the local government. 2. Appoint a volunteer, non-salaried Emergency Coor- dinator. 3. Obtain official permission from the local churChes and school to use their facilities if necessary during a disaster~ tentative approval has already been given. 4. Compile a list of local medical personnel for ready reference. 5. Educate the public as to what to do in case of a tornado. Ms. Bock concluded by sayim~ that this was a temporary program requiring little or no expense. At a later date, a more per- manent program could be developed. A member of the audience, Philip White, mentioned that there were about a dozen amateur radio operators in The Colony who could also be called upon to help in an emergency. Mayor Guerrero asked Ms. Bock who would make a good emergency coordinator. She said that usually the Fire Chief or a City Council member held this position, but the main requirements were that the person have time and the ability to work with the City Council. She said she would provide the Mayor with a sample ordinance for his information. As prearranged, item #13 was neXt discussed. The National Guard representative, Jim Mi. lcher, explained to the audience that the Guard was interested in getting involved in the com- munity and thus was helpim~ out with the Bike-a-thon for St. Jude's Hospital on May 14 by 'providing medics and trucks. Mayor Guerrero asked Mr. Milcher if there were any medics in The Colony and was told there were probably some in Lewisville. Mayor Guerrero stated that the National Guard was doing a good job and deserved the good will and support of the community. 000014 Agenda item #6 regarding reimbursement of travel expenses to City Council members was entered at Alderman Weaver's request. Alderman Weaver defended his position by saying that Council members were expending money for trips they were re- quired to make to conduct city business and that he felt the Mayor should be permitted to pass on nominal sums of money to reimburse Aldermen for such items as car mileage costs (17¢/ mile) and per diem rates for meals and/or hotel bills. Dis- cussion was then called for. Alderman Gaulden was in favor of such reimbursement depending on the City's ability to pay and provided each case was individually consideredt Alderman Adams concurred with himl Alderman Chadwick expressed the opinion that the Mayor should have responsibility for who makes such trips on behalf of the Cityt Alderman Shearer felt that the issue should be looked into further. At this time Attorney Davis advised that such expenses would be a budgetary item and that the Mayor was the chief budget planner. Mayor Guerrero added that he had already included $500 for travel expenses in the budget he is preparing and that he knows all the City Council members are incurring expenses such as postage and long dis- tance calls. He said he would like to see reimbursement to those whom these expenses are becoming a financial burden. The motion was made by Alderman Weaver that the City Council be re- imbursed for expenses at the discretion of the Mayor and it was seconded by Alderman Chadwick. The motion was carried by the following vote, Ayes, Aldermen Adams, Chadwick, Gaulden and Weaver Noes, None Abstentions, Alderman Shearer Mayor Guerrero then asked Attorney Davis to develop the ordinance. Agenda item #7 involved discussion of using the old Teen Club building on F.M. 423 for future City Council meetings. Alderman Adams explained that, in two separate actions, Fox and Jacobs had revoked the Teen Club's lease on the building and 000015 had offered the building to the City. Mayor Guerrero suggested that he inspect the building to see if it would be suitable for use as an interim city hall. He mentioned it could also be used as a community building for social clubs which have been requesting a place to meet from the City. Further dis- cussion included comments from Aldermen and members of the audience regarding the expenses involved in leasing and reno- vating the building. It was pointed out in particular that the building was only large enough to hold 20 or 30 people and that the utilities would be expensive. Alderman Chadwick moved that the City Council first determine the feasibility of their using the building before accepting Fox & Jacobs' offer. Alderman Weaver seconded the motion. Alderman Adams requested that a time limit of the first City Council meeting in June be placed on coming to a decision on this motion. A member of the audience noted that even if the decision was made in June, there would only be a few months before the Council had per- manent facilities in a modular building. The motion was amended to include the June deadline and was seconded by Alderman Adams. Mayor Guerrero indicated at this time that Reverend Tinsley of the First Baptist Church had offered the present room indefinitely which would save the City additional expense. The motion was carried by the following vote, Ayes, Ail members present voted aye Noes, None Mayor Guerrero moved for a five-minute recess, and Alder- man Shearer seconded the motion. Ail members present voted aye and the motion was carried. The meeting resumed in five minutes and proceeded to agenda item #8. Mayor Guerrero said that not all bids were in yet from newspapers requesting to be the official City news- paper. Bids had been received from the Lewisville Daily Leader and The Colony Courier. The Denton Chronicle had not yet replied. The Lewisville News-Advertiser did not qualify under 000016 the law due to a problem with mailing permits. The Mayor stated that he would reschedule item #8 for the May 16 agenda. Agenda item #9 regarding the formation of a Law Enforce- ment Committee was introduced by Alderman Gaulden. He noted that the City would benefit from setting up the machinery now to form the guidelines for the City's first police department. When the City could afford a police department, at least it would be organized enough to implement it as soon as possible, according to Alderman Gaulden. He said that he had a few people with experience in mind who could assist the Committeel they were Bill Devltn, the Law Enforcement Committee Chairman for the Homeowners' Association, and John Steincek of the DeSoto Police Department. Several other names were suggested by members of the Council and by the audience, and were added to Alderman Gaulden's list. Attorney Davis requested that agenda item #10 regarding adoption of Title 28, Ch. 1-10, be passed over at this meeting and the City Council agreed to this. Agenda item #11, consideration of election of City Alder- men by place number, was explained by Attorney Davis. He read aloud a proposed ordinance to that effect and noted that for its first city election, The Colony was not divided into wards and thus its Aldermen were elected at large. Under Texas General Law, however, aldermen can be elected by the place system if the City Council enacts such an ordinance. He advised that Place 1 and Place 2 should be the places for the two two- year terms of office and that the ~wo aldermen presently holding the two-year terms draw lots to choose their respective place numbers. Places 3, 4, and 5 would therefore be the places of the one-year terms of office and the three remaining Aldermen should likewise draw lots to chooSe their place numbers. Attorney Davis ennumerated some advantages of the place number system, 1. It will. be easier in the future to run against a particular person or set of issuesl and 2. The election process will be streamlined from the beginning so that there will be a smooth transition if The Colony is someday divided into wards. Discussion included Alderman Weaver's comment that the Council was facing animmediate change with agenda item #14, the resig- nation of Alderman Chadwick. Alderman Weaver asked whether Alderman Chadwick would be replaced with another two-year term alderman. Mayor Guerrero said the Council would need to appoint someone to Alderman Chadwick's place, which was a two-year term. Alderman Shearer made the motion to accept the ordinance pre- pared by Attorney Davis enacting the place number form of election for The Colony. Alderman Weaver seconded the motion. The motion was carried by the following vote, Ayes, Ail members present voted aye Noels, None At this time, Mayor Guerrero had Aldermen Adams and Chadwick, the holders of the ~wo two-year terms of office, draw lots to determine their place numbers. The results were, Place 1 Alderman Rick Chadwick Place 2 Alderman Linda Adams Mayor Guerrero then.had the remaining three aldermen, holders of one-year terms, draw lots to determine their place numbers. The results were, Place 3 Alderman Sandra Shearer Place 4 Alderman Dick Weaver Place 5 Alderman Joe Gaulden Agenda item #12, consideration of the establishment of a Planning and Zoning Commission, was tabled at the request of Alderman Adams who stated that her research was not yet complete and she wished to bring this item up at a later date. Attorney Davis gave her a suggested form for an ordinance establishing a city planning and zoning commission. 000018: Agenda item #14 was the resignation of Alderman Chadwick from the City Council, effective May 3, 1977. Alderman Chadwick stated that he left the Council with mixed emotions but felt it was necessary since his recent appoint~nent as manager of The Colony Municipal Utility District #! would most likely cause conflicts of interest under the Texas Open Meeting Law. He said he was unaware when he first declared his candi- dacy for alderman that Frank araham, former manager of the M.U.D., was planning to step down so soon. He noted that his new position as manager of the M.U.D. was a big promotion for him and that hopefully it might lead to a position as city manager in The Colony or elsewhere. He concluded by saying he was sorry to have to resign but hoped the Council would con- tinue to do the good job they had been doing. Mayor auerrero thanked Alderman Chadwick for the input he had already pro- vided the City and stated that Alderman C~dwick would be an asset to the M.U.D. The Mayor also said he was pleased the City was not losing Alderman Chadwick completely and would still benefit from his experience. Attorney Davis then commented on the touchy nature of the conflict of interest which would worsen when the City and the M.U.D. might have common employees. He added that not just on a strictly legal basis would there be conflicts and Alderman Chadwick could not serve two masters at the same time. At this time, Mayor ~uerrero mentioned that a working session of the Council would meet at 9,00 A.M. on Saturday, May ?, at the M.U.D. office and would consider a re- placement for Alderman Chadwick. The motion was made by Alder- man Shearer that the Council regretfully accept the resignation of Alderman Rick Chadwick effective May 3, 1977. The motion was seconded by Alderman Gaulden. The motion was carried by the following vote, Ayes, Ail members present voted aye Noes, None A member of the audience then asked whether the replace- ment for Alderman Chadwick would be by appointment or special election. Mayor Guerrero said that since it was so close to the last election, one of the present Aldermen would be appointed to Alderman Chadwick's place and two-year term and a new appointee would be given a one-year term. Another,ques- tion from the audience concerned whether or not the appointee should be the holder of the next highest amount of votes in the last election. Mayor Guerrero listed several names under consideration and said the Council would need to meet in executive session to discuss them. An announcement of the appointee would then be made at the first City Council meeting in June. He added that any petitions to include other names to those being considered should be turned in by May 16, 1977. Attorney Davis commented that the existing City Council can meet behind closed doors legally in this case since the matter concerned city personnel. Alderman Weaver asked if another election would be necessary if two members of the Council left at the same time and Attorney Davis said yes. Attorney Davis noted that there was no time limit on the re- placement, however. Alderman Weaver said he thought the replacement should be made soon to facilitate work and voting for the Council. There being no further action to be taken by the Council, Alderman Gaulden moved that the meeting be adjourned and the motion was seconded by Alderman Chadwick. The motion was carried by the following votes Ayess Ail members present voted aye Noes, None