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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/01/1978 City Council MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS HELD ON MAY 1, 1978 A regular meeting of the Board of Alderman of the City of The Colony, Denton County, Texas, was called to order by Mayor William J. Longo with the following members present: William J. Longo Mayor Clint Davis Alderman Linda A. Adams Alderman Sandra Shearer Alderman Gary Shipman Alderman Gene Pollard Alderman with no members absent, thus constituting a quorum. Prior to calling the meeting to order Mayor Longo read a prepared statement to the members of the audience. It is as follows: "When running for office of Mayor, I stated my views on issues facing this city and what I wanted to accomplish on being elected as your Mayor. The oath I took binds me to work for all the Citizens of The Colony not just the ones who supported my campaign. Sometimes a person seeking an elected office runs because it is a matter of civic duty and some because they desire to exercise power over the city. The most powerful influence on elected officials is citizen input; for it is cit- izen input that will force elected officials to seek out all the facts on matters that may adversely affect a small number of citizens, but will benefit the majority. Tonight this large turn out of citizens is a result of a controversial issue. As Mayor I welcome you to this city council meeting. Your comments are needed - positive or negative." ITEM IV Alderman Adam~ moved that the minutes of the regular meeting held April 17, 1978 be approved as written. Alderman Shipman seconded the motion. The motion was carried by the following vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None ITEM V There being no reports to be heard by the Council, Mayor Longo moved to item number six. ITEM VI Under Old Business, Item A., Consideration of Preliminary Plats was not discussed. Joel Larkin, City Consultant, presented Item B., the consideration of the "Neighborhood Green" concept. Mr. Larkin stated that after review by Omar Sayed, City Engineering Consultant, and discussion with Fox & Jacobs' representatives was plan developed. Two streets in Section 16 will be completed as the plan shows with a "Neighborhood Green" dividing the street. The two other streets with a cobblestone effect and landscaped attractive- ly. Alderman Shipman moved that this change in Section 16 be approved as shown. Alderman Shearer seconded the motion. There followed a discussion of the concepts and the traffic flow. Alderman Pollard stated that it should be in writing that within one year upon the request of the City, Fox & Jacobs will return this area to the original street position or replace the "Neighbor- hood Greens" with the narrowing street concept. There being no further discussion, the motion was carried by the following vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None ITEM VII Mayor Longo stated that numberous items were to be considered under New Business, the first one being: A. The appointment of an attorney for the City of The Colony. Mayor Longo introduces Mr. Robert L. Dillard, III, a representative of the law firm of Saner, Jack, Sallinger, & Nichols. At this time Alderman Pollard moved that the City appoint the firm of Saner, Jack, Sallinger & Nichols as attorneys for the City of The Colony. Alder- man Shipman seconded the motion. The motion was carried by the following vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None B. Alderman Shearer read the following resolution to be consi- dered by the Council: Resolution No. 1 WHEREAS; City Council members and City employees are frequently required to travel or attend meetings in the interest of the City, it is desirable to establish standard regulations governing the financing of such travel and meeting attendance, and, NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS, THAT: The following regulations and allowances for travel and local meeting attendance are hereby adopted: 1. Subsistence Actual living expenses will be allowed all city employ- ees when they are representing the City on official business away from the Colony. Living expenses include such items as hotel rooms, meals, tips, telephone calls, etc. 2. Transportation Transportation expense for destinations more than 300 miles from the Colony will be based on the round-trip cost of "tourist class" airplane travel. Employees will travel in "tourist class:' flight status. The maximum travel allowance for destinations of 300 miles or less will be 12¢ per mile for private automobile, City employees should pool transportation facilities on short trips. 3. Itemization of Expenses Itemization of all trip expenses shall be submitted to the Mayor for review. 4. _Request for Travel A request for travel forms shall be prepared and submitted at the earliest practical time, to the appropriate department head and Mayor for review and necessary action. Requests for travel which are specifically approved in the current budget for which the estimated costs is $250.00 or less may be approved by the Mayor. When the estimated cost exceeds $250.00 or the travel request is unbudgeted, City Council's approval is required. 5. Local Meetings The appropriate department head may approve short, one day or less trips to surrounding cities such as Denton or Dallas, where the total cost of attendance is $25.00 or less. PASSED AND APPROVED ON THIS DAY OF 19 , at the City of The Colony, at a Regular Meeting of the City Council. Alderman Shearer moved that this Resolution be approved. Alder- man Davis seconded this motion. The motion was carried by the following vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: Non e " C. Alderman Shearer inr_roduced the following Resolution: Resolution No. 2 WHEREAS; it is desirable to establish standard purchasing procedures for the operation of the City Government, NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS, THAT: The following regulations concerning purchasing procedures are hereby adopted. 1. Supplies Office supply items costing less than $50.00 may be purchased with the approval of the appropriate department head. 2. Purchase Orders All supply and equipment items and services costing more than $50.00 but less than $300.00 shall be approved by the Mayor on a City of The Colony purchase order. Items costing more than $300.00 shall be brought before the City Council for disposition. PASSED AND APPROVED ON THIS DAY OF 19 , at the City of The Colony, at a Regular Meeting of the City Council. Alderman Shearer moved that the Resolution be approved. Alder- man Adams seconded the motion. There being no discussion, the motion was carried by the following vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None D. Alderman Davis presented a motion in accordance with the Ordinance creating this position, that the Municipal Court Judge be paid fifty dollars ($50.00) per court session while presiding at two court sessions a month. The motion was seconded by Alderman Adams and passed by the following vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None E. In regards to accepting from Fox & Jacobs' the ease- ment land located between Arbor Glen Road and Colony Boulevard, Alderman Shipman moved to authorize Mayor Longo to accept this land from Fox & Jacobs', Inc. The motion was seconded by Alderman Adams. There followed a brief discussion concerning upkeep of land, control of motor vehicles on the land, the City's liability status, and the use of the land for athletic fields. Lee Farmer, a member of the audience was recognized and asked the Council to consider the use of the entire easement for future athletic fields. Alderman Adams advised him to present this to the Mayor so that the Council will have some facts to consider. Mayor Longo stated that this would be an area to be studied by the Park and Recreation Commission. There being no further discussion, the motion was carried by the following -3- vote: Ayes: Ail members present voted aye Noes: None F. The next item considered was a lease prepared by Fox & Jacobs as Lessor regarding the present City Hall office~ space. Alderman Pollard moved that this be tabled until review- ed by the attorney for the City. It was seconded by Alderman Shipman and approved by the following vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None At this time, Mayor Longo asked for a motion to move to agenda item I and present agenda item H, Police Chief Jim Beltran, and G, Petitions and presentations in his support as items of New Business. Alderman Shearer so moved, and it was seconded by Alderman Shipman. The motion was carried by the following vote: Ayes: Ail members present voted aye Noes: None I. Alderman Pollard prefaced his motion by explaining that the City Ordinance creating the Police Reserves call for approval of the yearly reappointment of the reserves by the City Council. Alderman Pollard moved that the four reserve officers; Judy Gurley, David Tucker, Todd Tiemann, and Michael D. Carroll be reinstated for the year 1978. Alderman Shipman seconded this motion, and it was carried by the following vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None ~-~ Alderman Pollard requested that any new reservists be presented to the Council for approval. Mayor Longo announced that there would be a ten minute recess before the Council considered agenda item G., Petitions and support for Chief Jim Beltran and item H, Police Chief Jim Bel tr an. H. Upon reconvening Mayor Longo read the following statement prepared by Police Chief Jim Beltran: Mayor Bill Longo, Members of The City Council and Residents of The Colony, "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to publicly apologize, for my part, for the manner in which the meeting was conducted last Thursday and to the citizens I may have offended. I would like to thank those of you who have supported me and once again offer to work with the new City government." Alderman Adams thanked Police Chief Jim Beltran for his apology and also aplogized for her part in this unfortunate meeting. ~ Mayor Longo then asked for comments from the audience on the statement only. Helen Gray asked for apologies from all Council members. Charles Shaw accepted Chief Beltran's apology and expressed his own. Dr. Joe Murphy stated that nothing he said at that Work Session was personally directed at anyone, but only in the defence of Police Chief Jim Beltran. At this time Alderman Davis moved to call for a vote of confidence or no confidence for Police Chief Jim Beltran. The motion was seconded by Alderman Pollard. Alderman Shearer requested that the vote of confidence be postponed until item G, the -4- petitions and presentations, are presented to the Council for their review. Alderman Davis withdrew the motion on the floor, and presented a second motion to accept the petitions and presentations, study the same for five minutes and call the question with no further discussion. This was seconded by Alderman Pollard. Upon clarification of the motion, ~ayor Longo called for a roll call vote. The motion was defeated by the following vote: Ayes: Aldermen Davis and Pollard Noes: Aldermen Adams, Shearer, and Sh i pm an. G. Mayor Longo asked for petitions and presentations and recognized Dave Dall, a member of the audience~ to present same. £~r. Dall told the Council that the petitions and letters were expressing support of Chief ~3eltran and opposing the procedure in which this matter is being handled. The polls were taken in one day ~nd represents only a small proportion of the people. Mayor Longo read letters of support from Edward ~4cConlogue, Mrs. Gary Ken, and Kenneth George, Sheriff of Denton County. John Carlsen, a member of the audience, was recognized who stated that if procedures such as this continue, The Colony will not be able to hir~ competent officers. The police department must be kept separate from politics. He further stated that he felt this incident to be a black mark for the City of The Colony. The following citizens also spoke in support of Chief Jim Beltran: Roosevelt Johnson, Bill Sessum, Dee Jackson, and Bill Burkhart. Jerry Pierce was recognized and stated that he was neither for nor against Chief Beltran, but requested that the Council consider only the information in the Chief's Personnel File in the City Secretaries office. Mayor Longo explained that the Chief's personnel file contained no official complaint but a reprimand dated February 6, 1978, which stated that there would be a review within thirty days. There was no review Mayor Longo stated; therefore, this Council should not take action on this matter. Mr. Pierce said that there %¢ere two Councilwomen that certainly could update the Council on this matter. Mr. Pierce further stated that Chief Jim Beltran did query into his back- ground. Vita Koenig %~as recognized and stated that this Council must establish guidelines for the police department and base decisions on these guidelines. Chuck Shaw asked that the Council keep in mind the ecgnomic conditions of the City. Mayor Longo recog-nized Dave Da!l, a member of the first City Council, who stated that the Council looked at the written reprimand as an instructional aid, and Chief Beltran did show a marked improvement from the date of this reprimand. The former Council felt that the investigation cf Jerry Pierce was at the direction of the former Mayor Luis Guerrero which resulted in his resigna- tion. Vesta Beltran asked that the Council consider the effect of this position and this problem on Chief Beltran's family. There being no further discussion, Alderman Shipman called for a vote of confidence. Alderman Davis seconded this motion. Prior to voting each Councilman made a statement concerning this matter. Alderman Davis stated that he felt that the Chief was entirely out of order at the Thursday, April 27th, Work Session. The meeting was an open forum and his conduct was indicative of his lack of control. This raises two questions: (1) can he function adequately in the office he holds; (2) can he gain the confidence of the Council and the community as a competant Police Chief. Alderman Davis further stated that he felt the language used by Chief Beltran at the Thursday meeting was more than enough reason to dismiss the man from the position. The Council did not use words of a vulgar nature in this meeting. Alderman Shipman read the following prepared statement: "I am embarrassed by the events of the past five days. But -5- not so much by Jim Beltran's so called "Loss of Control" as by the irresponsible remarks made that made him feel those actions were his only defence. He felt he could not receive a fair appraisal from those who stated they would ask for his resignation, to put it mildly and was being attacked personally rather than professionally. There was no fact brought before this Council that lcould stand close scrutiny that reflected negatively on Chief Beltran. I personally reviewed his file and was impressed by his commendations. He has operated the Police Depart- ment with the authority given him by the previous City Council and the Law Enforcement Commission by their failure to establish any limits of authority." Alderman Adams stated that this decision is not an easy one to make, but it must be decided if a working relationship can continue between the Council and the Chief of Police or will it always be in turmoil. Fault lies on all sides Alderman Adams said. Alderman Shearer said her concerns were the same as Alderman Adams. This situation is hard on all involved and the City itself has suffered from the adverse publicity caused by the turmoil. Alderman Pollard stated that the City Council is privy to in- formation that the residents are not aware of. Reasonable men will reach the same conclusion, and it is unfortunate that the citizens of The Colony cannot have all the information involved. The Saturday, April 29th, Special Session achieved the goal of communication with Chief Beltran that was not achieved at the Thursday meeting. However, at this time each Councilman must weigh all facts and consider personalities and vote for their convictions. Mayor Longo stated that although as Mayor he does not pass laws it is his responsibility to see that the city functions properly. As Mayor of all the people in The Colony, his heart is heavy, that his privious actions may cause a split in the City Council. He stated that he never asked that Chief Beltran be fired, but only that the department be given strict guide- lines under which to operate. Mayor Longo said that he is sorry that this must occur, but he is proud that the city has brought something out in the open which has been an undercurrent in the city for many months. Mayor Longo'sconcerns regarding Chief Beltran are: (1) can he function; (2) can he be respected by the policemen, reservists and citizens. Chief Beltran has functioned to date with no guidelines; he must be a good man stated Mayor Longo. Alderman Pollard asked to make an additional comment prior to voting. He stated that each Alderman is aware of all facts involved and they will vote based on this. Mayor Longo stated that a vote of confidence~must be passed by a two thirds majority. The motion was defeated by the following vote: ...vote of no confidence was passed by a two Alderman Clint Davis: No thirds majority. Alderman Linda A. Adams: No Alderman Sandra Shearer: No Alderman Gary Shipman: Aye Alderman Gene Pollard: No -6- There being no further action to be taken by the Council, Mayor Longo adjourned the meeting at 9:05 P.M. WilliamMayor J.~ongo, ~ ATTEST: tySecre%ary -7-