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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/06/1977 City Council 000039 MINUTES OF REGULAR ~EETING THE CITY OF THE COLONY DENTON COUNTY, TEXAS JUNE 6, 1977 THE STATE 0F 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 ?,30 P.M., Monday, June 6, 1977, and the roll was called of the members of the Council, to wit, Linda Adams Mayor Pro Tem Dave Dall Alderman Joe Gaulden Alderman Sandra Shearer Alderman Dick Weaver Alderman with Mayor Luis Guerrero absentt however, the members present constituted 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 Pro Tem Linda Adams who explained that Mayor Luis Guerrero was absent because he was attending a Conference of Mayors in San Antonio. Mayor Pro Tem Adams proceeded to agenda item #1, approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of May 16, 1977. Alderman Sandra Shearer requested a correction on page 14 of said minutes to indicate that the motion for adjournment of that meeting included that adjournment was subject to completion of the executive session to be held at Mayor Luis Guerrero's home. Alderman Dave Dall made the motion to approve the minutes as amended and the motion was seconded by Alderman Shearer. The motion was carried by the following vote, Ayes, Ail members present voted aye Noes~ None OOOO40 The Council next considered agenda item #2, adoption of the rules of procedure for conduct of Council meetings. Attorney Davis noted that it was not necessary to read the entire docu- ment aloud since it was not an ordinance. Mayor Pro Tem Adams summarized the document for the benefit of the public present, and then called for discussion by the Aldermen. Alderman Dall suggested that Section 3.4b states "...all persons will refrain..." rather than "...all citizens will refrain..." and requested that the information within the brackets of Section ?.5 be explained. Attorney Davis explained that Section ?.5 basically outlined Roberts Rules of Order and gave precedence to the main motion. He pointed out that the rules of procedure should be posted or published and t~at they were being established under authority of the statutes. He noted that the rules contained the best from those of Dallas and neighboring communities. Alderman Shearer suggested changing Section ?.6's wording from "...except by unanimous consent of the Council..." to "...except by majority consent of the Council." She also asked that "City Manager" be struck from Sections 7.10 and 8.5. There being no further changes to be made, Attorney Davis advised the Council to make an administrative resolution to adopt the rules of procedure. Alderman Dall so moved and the motion was seconded by Alderman Shearer. The motion was carried by the following vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None Agenda item #3, passing the ordinance on the Tariff and Service Regulations of Texas Power and Light Company, was first discussed generally by Attorney Davis. He noted that the rates had already been approved by the Public Utility Com- mission and were really lower as city rates rather than as the rural rates previously in effect. He also mentioned that 000041 he had spoken with the leading public utilities lawyer regarding the matter and that the City would have to adopt the rates or have them imposed without its approval. Even if the City did not agree with the rates, the P.U.C. has the right of appeal. The Texas Power & Light representative, Mr. Harry Bomar, ex- plained that although there had been an increase in the rates, the fact that the city rates were lower than the rural ones meant there would be little change in the actual residential charges. Alderman Weaver made the motion to pass and approve the Tariff and Service Regulations of Texas Power & Light Company and the motion was seconded by Alderman Gaulden. The motion was carried by the following vote, Ayes, Ail members present voted aye Noes, None The original ordinance and a copy thereof, along with the Tariff and Service Regulations book, were given to the acting city secretary for the Mayor's signature and the impression of the City Seal upon the Mayor's return to the City. Agenda item #4, approval of an ordinance providing for civil preparedness in the event of a disaster, was next con- sidered. Mayor Pro Tem Adams read pertinent parts of the ordinance for the benefit of the audience and generally sum- marized the purpose of such an ordinance. Alderman Weaver questioned the liability of the City in Section 9 of the ordi- nance which concerns use of buildings during a disaster. Attorney Davis stated that no one would be liable in such a case. A member of the audience pointed out that the ordinance was modeled after the standard form found in the State of Texas publication, "Disaster Planning," and that it was noted in the first sentence of Section 9 that the City was not responsible. Alderman Gaulden mentioned also that in the case of a disaster, the final bill would not have to be picked up by the City, but rather by state and federal governments. He thereupon moved to pass and approve the ordinance providing for civil preparedness ,...'" · 000042 in case of a disaster, with the Mayor as Chairman for the civil preparedness committee. The motion was seconded by Alderman Dall. The motion was carried by the following vote, Ayes, Ail members present voted aye Noes, None Mayor Pro Tem Adams proceeded to agenda item #5, con- sideration of The Colony's membership in the North Central Texas Council of Governments (hereafter referred to as C.0.G.). She noted that all surrounding cities belonged to C.O.G~ and asked Attorney Davis to describe the organization further. He did so and mentioned that the organization was located in Arlington, with each member City Council designating a repre- sentative for C.0.G. He also noted the various benefits of membership, including sample ordinances for informational purposes and workshops conducted on various municipal topics. Mayor Pro Tem Adams brought up the.fact that C.0.G. would hold a workshop for The Colony on planning and zoning once The Colony joinedt she stated the cost would be $50.00 to join. Alderman Gaulden added that The Colony would immediately have available to it a free library worth $500 of booklets and pamphlets plus the opportunity for money filtering down.from government funds, once The Colony had membership in C.0.G. Alderman Weaver moved that the Council resolve to join the North Central Texas Council of Governments. The motion was seconded by Alderman Shearer. The vote was carried by the following vote, Ayes, Ail members present voted aye Noess None Agenda item #6, consideration of building permits, was taken up by Mayor Pro Tem Adams. She stated that the Council needed to adopt an ordinance regarding building codes prior to an ordinance on building permits. She noted that she has been looking at various building codes.and had a sample ordi- nance for Attorney Davis' review. She added that each 00004'3 Alderman would receive a copy of a proposed building code ordinance after Attorney Davis had had a chance to go over it. Consequently, Alderman Weaver moved to table discussion on building codes and permits until a future date. The motion was seconded by Alderman Dall. The motion was carried by the following vote, Ayes, Ail members present voted aye Noes~ None Mayor Pro Tem Adams called for a five-minute recess at this time. After five minutes, the meeting resumed with discussion of agenda item #?, consideration of an ordinance enacting a so- called "leash law." Alderman Shearer took the floor at this point to point out how concerned the residents were about roaming animals in The Colony. She gave Attorney Davis a pro- posed ordinance on animal control to read aloud to the audience. Mayor Pro Tem Adams noted before the reading of the ordinance that the public would be given fifteen to twenty minutes for open discussion after the Aldermen had had a chance to comment on the ordinance. Attorney Davis proceeded to read the ordi- nance which included sections on, animals running at largel animal sanitationt animal proximity to residences (150 feet from human living quarters)l the number of dogs (four) and cats (four) permitted in a household; prohibition of animal noisel vaccinations~ license fees for dogs and cats ($3.00) collected by tax assessor~ impoundment of animals~ poundage fees ($15.00 first offense, $30.00 second offense, $60.00 third offense, $120.00 fourth offense, $200.00 fifth offense)~ redemption of animals~ destruction or sale of animals after 72 hoursl prohibition of cruelty, to animals~ control of vicious dogs~ exceptions to the ordinance~ and an emergency provision for dispensing with the reading of the ordinance on three separate occasions, for the general welfare of the community. Attorney Davis mentioned the importance of the emergency 000044 passage provision since the ordinance still could not be put into effect until it had been posted for ten days in the newspaper, or, in ether words, for another three to four weeks at the earliest. ~ Alderman Weaver was first to comment and noted that he opposed the inclusion of livestock being permitted to be kept within the City limits. Alderman Dall next commented that he felt the wording "dogs and cats" should be changed to read "domestic animals" or just "animals." Alderman Shearer suggested the wording "four-footed animals" and noted this point would need to be worked on. Alderman Dall suggested that licensing fees should be reduced for neutered pets~ Alderman Shearer did not feel this was necessary at this time since it was more important to get a ~asic ordinance enacted as soon as possible. Alderman Gaulden stated that he thought the wording in the impoundment section should be changed to read" .within t~enty-four hours.., rather then" .within .. a reasonable time..." Other discussion occurred regarding the use of firearms and other cruel measures against animals which might also effect children, the necessity.of a public auction for impounded but unclaimed animals, and procedures for dealing with animals that do not belong to residents but wander into the City. Alderman Dall felt that the ordinance should be given two more readings for additional community input but Attorney .Davis cautioned that this could delay passage of the ordinance for six weeks and ten days. At this time, Since the Aldermen had concluded their discussion, Mayor Pro Tem Adams opened the floor to the public and the Council heard various comments and opinions and sug- gestions regarding the ordinance. After some ~wenty minutes of audience discussion, Mayor Pro Tom Adams ~abled further discussion and proceeded to agenda item #8, the selection of the official City newspaper. 000045 Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated that the quo%es received were, Lewisville Daily Leader (daily) $1.?5/column inch/once a week or $?.00~column inch/month (4 times) Lewisville News-Advertiser $.0?/word/once a wee~ f bi-weekly) or $8.?%/column inch/ and Denton Record Chronicle) month (4 times) Colony Courier (weekly) $1.00/column inqh/once a week or $4.00/column inch/month (4 times) Attorney Davis noted that the official City newspaper would perform the following functions for the City, 1) In accordance with R.C.S. 1013, publication of any ordinances containing penalties, fines, or forfeiturest in the case of a newspaper published weekly, ordinances could be published in one issue rather than running ten consecutive days in a newspaper published daily~ 2) Ten days before the end of the year, publication of a full statement of receipts and expenditures for the year constituting an annual report on the City's financial condition. Alderman Weaver moved to designate the Colony Courier, the lowest bidder, as the official newspaper of the City of The Colony. The motion was seconded by Alderman Shearer. The motion was carried by the following vote, Ayes, Ail members present voted aye Noes~ None Attorney Davis mentioned that although the Colony Courier was the official newspaper, other newspapers could be used in addi- tion to it for publication of matters concerning the City. In accordance with the rules of procedure enacted earlier in the meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Adams next opened the floor to discussion by the audience of any matter, including future business. She requested that each speaker be recognized first, stand, and give his name. A member of the audience asked when The Colony would get the rest of the land from Frisco. Attorney 000046 Davis responded by saying that the matter was between Fox & Jacobs and Frisco at this time. Another member of the audience suggested that Council meetings always be posted on the Activity Board at the F.M. 423 entrace to The Colony. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated that normally this was done and it was an oversight that this particular meeting was not posted there. There being no further action to be taken by the Council, Alderman Shearer made the motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Alderman Dall. The motion was carried by the following vote, Ayes, Ail members present voted aye Noes, None