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Home My WebLink About08/18/1980 City Council 000660 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF 2HE CI.Y OF THE COLONY HELD ON AUGUST 18, 1980 A Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of The Colony was called to order at 7:30 p.m. with the following members present: · Gary Shipman Mayor Pro Tern William J. Longo Councilman Linda A. Adams Councilman Norman Adeler Councilman Greg Norwood Councilman And with Mayor Turner not in attendance; however, a quorum was established. 1. BRIEFING SESSION The City Council met in a briefing session in the conference room from 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. to review the following agenda items. No action was taken by the Council. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Councilman Adams moved that the minutes of the August 4 and August ll Regular meetings be approved with the wording corrections discussed during the Briefing Session. Seconded by Councilman Adeler, the motion -was passed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None 5. RECEIVE REPORT REGARDING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A HOSPITAL AUTHORITY BOARD IN THE COLONY. Mr. Bill P~si of Methodist Hospitals and their attorney, Fred Weber, presented to the Council for their consideration and input a sample ordinance establishing a Hospital Authority Board. Mr. Parisi advised the Council that this rodinance should be passed in six weeks. After a brief discussion, Councilman Longo moved to direct the City Manager to have the City Attorney review this proposed ordinance and prepare it for passage as soon as possible. Seconded by Councilman Adams, the motion was passed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None 3. CONSIDERATION OF SELEC~ON OF ENGINEERING FIRM FOR PARK GRANT DESIGN WORK Rick Herold, Director of Parks and Recreation, presented to the Council the proposal submitted by the firm of Schrieckel & Rollins in the amount of $14,000. Mr. Herold advised the Council that they did have the option to request proposals from other firms and could possibly obtain this work for less money, but that proposals woold create a time lag. Councilman Adams stated that she had no problem with this firm as they did prepare the grant and are most familiar with The Colony, but she would like the opportunity to talk with other firms. In a further discussion, Councilman Adeler stated that he was against changing firms at this point in the grant. Councilman Longo them moved that the firm of Schrieckel & Rollins be awarded the design work option at a cost of $14,000. This motion was seconded by Councilman Norwood; however, prior to voting Councilman Adams stated that this was anticipated and she would have liked to have the opportunity to go out for proposals. The firm is most familiar with the grant and can provide the work with the least delay stated Councilman Shipman. Councilman Adeler agreed that it would be "cost wise" to go w%th Schrieckel & Rollins. The motion then passed by the followiHg roll call vote: AYES: Councilmen Longo, Adeler, Shipman & Norwood Noes: Councilman Adams 000661 4. CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE OF BIDS FOR ONE MOBILE OFFICE TO BE USED AS A LIBRARY FACILI~Y Janice Carroll, City Secretary advised the Council that only one bid had been received by the City. This bid was from The Colony Municipal ~Utftity District for one 1978 "Cliff" Office Trailer, 12' X 42' in size. The Utility District did agree to enter into a contract with the City to allow a monthly payment of $10.00 per month for the trailer. After a brief discussion, Councilman Longo moved to accept the bid submitted from The Colony Municipal Utility District for one 1978 office trailer. Seconded by Councilman Adeler, the motion was passed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: All emembers present voted aye Noes: None 6. DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED ~'~FIC-ORDI~'~GE Mayor Pro Tern Shipman stated ~ythe proPosed ordinance was prepared by Sayed Omar, Consulting Traffic Engineer to the City, and was passed on an extensive traffic study prepared by this engineer. In the briefing session staff changes had been presented to the Council by Chief Ristagno. At this time Councilman Adams moved that the City Manager direct the City Attorney to review this ordinance and get it in final form for passage. ~fhe motion was seconded by Councilman Norwood. Prior to calling for a vote, the Council entertained discussion from the floor. Wes Gray was concerned that Paige Road was proposed to be a truck route. The Council advised Mr. Gray that this had been changed. Several citizens expressed concern that the speed limit on Paige Road would be raised above the existing 30mph. Their reasons were safety for their children that played on the sidewalks adjacent to Paige Road and traffic safety, particularly at the intersection of Paige Road and South Colony Boulevard. The Council explained that the speeds were set higher on four lane roads to aid the traffic flow into and out of the City. Councilman Norwood stated that signing would help the situation and that he was concerned about the legality of posting the speed limit as thirty miles per hour as it could be judged as an unreasonable speed for a four lane thoroughfare. Councilman Adams withdrew the motion on the floor, and Councilman Longo moved that all speed limits in The Colony be established as 30 miles per hour and to direct the City Attorney to review this ordinance and prepare it for passage. This motion was seconded by Councilman Adams. After further discussion, the motion was passed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: Councilmen Longo, Adams, & Adeler Noes: Councilmen Shipman & Norwood EMERGENCY IVEM - CLOSED DOOR SESSION DEALING WITH PERSONNEL Mayor Pro Tern Shipman stated that the Council would meet in a closed door session as authorized by Article 6252-17, Section 2, VATS. Upon reconvening in open session, Mayor Pro Tem Shipman announced that no decisions had been made or action taken. 7. DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE 1980/81 FISCAL YEAR Janice Carroll, City Secretary advised the Council that the projected $9,000 revenue from a Southwestern Bell Franchise Agreement would not be received this budget year. After a brief discussion regarding the advisability of even pursuing this franchise fee and the immediate compensation for this loss, Mayor Pro Tem Shipman stated that the Council did agree that the tax rate should be raised 1¢ rather than lowering the reserve contingency. .This established the proposed tax rate at 46~. Mayor Pro Tern Shipman then asked for comments from the members of -2- O00GG2 the audience. John Burchell was recognized and stated his concerns with the increase in taxes and the cost of some of the proposed packages, p~rticularly the library. Mayor Pro Tem Shipman explained how the houses in The Colony are valued, and Councilman Longo explained tb~t the library would be at a cost of only $16,000 not $60,000 as Mr. Burchell had heard. Uhe Council explained to the members of the audience the budget process and how these costs affected the tax rate. It was also explained how the tax rate had been lowered by monies received from IBM for the abandonement of three public roads. The actual cost to run the City in the present budget year is 30¢ rather than the budget figure of 19¢. Several citizens then expressed their concerns in an informal discussion with the Council. Their main areas of concern were the proposed communication system, the library, street maintenance, personnel, and large individual accounts in the base line budget. Dick Thomas was recognized and requested that the Council call a referendum election on this budget; he further stated that the citizens of The Colony did not have the money to pay these taxes; high taxes would hinder the growth of The Colony; and further he felt the Council was acting irresponsible by even considering a budget that would require this tax increase. He stated that recall would be initiated if the budget was passed by this council. Bob Brown, a member of the audience, was recognized and stated that he knew of one upcoming bond issuance for the widening of F.M. #423 and asked if any other large expense items were planned for the near future, he Council stated that at this time the Council did not see any immediate bond elections. Mr. Brown further stated that he felt that the citizens were not against the proposed packages but simply could not afford them this budget year. Mayor Pro Tern Shipman stated that the Council was open to all citizen input and a public hearing on the budget would be held on August 25 at 8:30 p.m. ~here being no further action to be taken by the Council, Councilman Adams moved that the meeting be adjourned. Seconded by Councilman Norwood, the motion was passed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None Mayor Pro Tern Shipman adjourned the meeting at 12:30 a.m. -3-