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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/27/1982 City Council-SS 001289 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY HELD ON SEPTEMBER 27, 1982 A SPECIAL SESSION of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas, was called to order at 7:30 p.m. with the following members present: Gene Pollard Mayor Scott North Councilman Larry Sample Councilman Norman Adeler Councilman Charlie Parker Councilman Charles Dodds Councilman Marlene Poole Councilman and with no members absent, thus a quorum was established. 3. PRESENTATION OF PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT AWARDS A. JEFF CHRISTENSON B. PAT ALDINGER Mayor Pollard announced that this item was being moved to the first of the agenda, and he then recognized Rick Herold, Director of the Parks and Recreation Department, who was at the meeting to present these awards. Mr. Herold stated that he wished to present this appreciation plaque to Jeff Christenson in recogni- tion of his work on the gazebo for Lions Club Park as a part of his Eagle Scout work. Mr. Herold then presented an appreciation plaque to Pat Aldinger, stating that this was in recognition of her efforts in organizing the "Big A Project" in The Colony. Before moving to the remaining agenda items, Mayor Pollard recog- nized Mr. Charles Morris, City Secretary from Hebron, who was present at the meeting. Mr. Morris is a candidate for County Commissioner, Precinct Three. After Mr. Morris had spoken briefly, Mayor Pollard thanked him for attending the meeting and for his interest in the widening of Old Denton Road. 1. RECEIVE CITY MANAGER'S STATUS REPORT Mr. Savage stated that Mr. Ron Walden of Fox and Jacobs, Inc. had asked for guidance from the City Council concerning new housing concepts. He stated further that Mr. Walden wished to ascertain if the Council would be interested in a tour of several areas where the new housing has been built and, if so, how they would like to accomplish this tour. A group of four or less could be taken to the areas by helicopter or a bus tour could be arranged for the entire group. The areas to be toured were Bryan Place, between East Dallas and Mesquite and Cedar Hill. After discussion, it was the consensus of the Council that a helicopter tour should be arranged for Thursday, October 7th, and Mayor Pollard stated that he would arrange a time for this. He advised the Council that he had received a letter from Adline Harrison regarding a meeting of the Interim Regional Transportation Authority Board to be held this Friday, October 1st at 9 a.m. Mr. Savage stated that he would attend this meeting and report back to the Council at the'n~xt meeting. Mr. Savage then announced that Janice Carroll, City Secretary, will be promoted to the official designation of Assistant City manager effective October 1, 1982. She will also continue, of course, with her duties as City Secretary. 2. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE LEVYING THE AD VALOREM TAXES FOR THE YEAR 1982-83 AT A RATE OF 8.34 PER $100 ASSESSED VALUATION Mayor Pollard read aloud the followin9 ordinance caption at this time: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS, LEVYING THE AD VALOREM TAXES FOR THE YEAR 1982 AT A RATE OF $.34 PER ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100.00) ASSESSED VALUATION ON ALL TAXABLE PROPERTY WITHIN THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY AS OF JANUARY 1, 1982; TO PROVIDE REVENUES FOR THE PAYMENT OF CURRENT EXPENSES AND TO PROVIDE AN INTEREST AND SINKING FUND ON ALL OUTSTANDING DEBTS OF THE CITY; PROVIDING FOR DUE AND DELINQUENT DATES TOGETHER WITH PENALTIES AND INTEREST; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Councilman Sample moved to approve this ordinance as presented. Seconded by Councilman North, the motion passed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: Ail members present voted aye Noes: None Mr. Savage did note that there was an error in the last paragraph of this ordinance in that the date should be 1982 rather than 1981. 4. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION PROTESTING THE DENTON COUNTY TAX APPRAISAL DISTRICT BUDGET FOR THE 1983 CALENDAR YEAR Mr. Charles E~rle, Chief Appraiser of the Denton County Tax Appraisal District, was. present at the meeting to explain the District's operations and answer any questions that the Council or members of the audience might have. Mayor Pollard read aloud the following Resolution: WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of The Colony is always concerned with the general welfare of our citizens and the residents of Denton County, and WHEREAS, in the judgment of the City Council it is in the best interest of our citizens and the residents of Denton County to protest the Denton County Appraisal District budget for the calendar year 1983. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS: That the City Council respectfully submits to the Commis- sioners Court this Resolution officially protesting the estimated budget allocations and salary schedule for the Denton County Appraisal District for the calendar year 1983. PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS, ON THE DAY OF , 1982. /s/ GENE POLLARD, MAYOR ATTEST: /s/ JANICE CARROLL, CITY SECRETARY Councilman Dodds moved to approve this Resolution as presented. The motion was seconded by Councilman Poole. Mayor Pollard then recognized Mr. Earle, who dursing his presentation asked that the Council compare the District's budget figures with other appraisal districts specifically. Councilman Poole stated that she had done comparisons with appraisal districts in other counties and that she had found that the Collin County Appraisal District had 31 full time staff and eight part time last year, while this year they had dropped to 28 full time staff and six part time. Mr. Earle asnwered that this could be attributed to a difference in when the districts were organized, explaining that it does take more staff during the organizational phase. Councilman Sample was concerned with the District's method of selecting their -2- new computer software, stating that if they had asked for an in-house system from a firm in this area, this would have severely limited the firms able to respond to their bid specifications. There followed a lengthy discussion concerning the problems that the District has had regarding their new computer software. Mayor Pollard was concerned that the Council had not been given any figures regarding the District's actual expenditures so far in calendar year 1982 by line item. Mr. Earle stated that he did not have these figures with him but that he could get them for Mayor Pollard. It was also explained that the District did over budget by about $75,000 for 1982, and this would reduce the amount that each city would pay in to the District in 1983, although this was not reflected in the budget figures supplied to the Council. Mayor Pollard then asked about the $40,000 allocated for reorganization~ he was particularly concerned with how the District had come up with this figure. Mr. Earle answered that this was an estimate based on costs of reorganization due to the new software, as well as additional costs caused by problems with the new software. Councilman Poole asked for clarification on the item regarding incentive pay. Mr. Earle explained that this was a percentage added to an employee's salary, after review, if they received a high enough grade to qualify. Councilman Poole then asked about longevity pay. Mr. Earle stated that this was put into the District's personnel rules and regulations when they were set up and that it amounted to $4.00 per month for each year of service per employee. Councilman Dodds asked Mr. Earle if there had been a comparison made with the Wise County Appraisal District. Mr. Earle answered that this was not available. Councilman Dodds stated that he felt for comparison purposes that Collin County had a much greater commercial base than Denton County and that Wise County might fall somewhere between the two. Councilman Sample was concerned that The Colony was subsi- dizing the research and development expense for the new software, as we may never use any of the new services being provided. Councilman Dodds agreed with this. Mayor Pollard was concerned with the difference between the salaries line item and the line items showing benefits. Mr. Earle answered that some of the part time employees do not have to pay into Social Security or retirement. At this time, Mayor Pollard read the Resolution a second time for the benefit of the audience. Mayor Pollard then called for a vote upon the motion on the floor. The motion passed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None Mayor Pollard then called for a five-minute recess. ADDENDUM AGENDA ITEK NO. 1--CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION OF INTENT TO NAME A FUTURE PUBLIC STREET IN THE COLONY "HUFF DRIVE" Mayor Pollard stated that it was the intent of the Council, by this resolution, to name a street in The Colony Huff Drive at some future time. Councilman Dodds made a motion to this effect. Seconded by Councilman Sample, the motion passed by the following vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None ADDENDUM AGENDA ITEM NO. 2--CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE ANNEXING A 50-ACRE TRACT GENERALLY LOCATED NORTH OF THE INTERSECTION OF SQUIRES DRIVE AND TAYLOR STREET UPON THE PETITION OF LISD Councilman Dodds moved to table this agenda item until the next session of the Council, which was posted for 11:15 p.m. this evening. Seconded by Councilman Sample, the motion passed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None -3- 00129 5. CONSIDERATION OF CIVIL DEFENSE SIREN SYSTEM Fire Chief Ronnie Gothard was recognized by Mayor Pollard. Chief Gothard presented copies of a survey which he had conducted of area cities concerning their siren systems Lo the members of the Council. He explained to the Council that he had asked spe- cifically about whether the cities surveyed had used the stated effective radius of each siren considered when setting up their systems. He said that he had found that some of the cities had used these figures supplied by the vendors and that there were several instances in which this had caused dead areas in the systems after installation. Chief Gothard advised the Council ~-- that it was the opinion of Mr. Norm Walker, Civil Defense expert with the Department of Public Safety, that the 9,000-foot radius would probably not be possible with the 50-horsepower siren discussed at last week's Council meeting. Mr. Walker had advised Chief Gothard that possibly performance specifications should be used rather than product specifications when going out to bid for this siren system. The vendor would then be asked to guarantee the performance requested by the City. The Council directed Mr. Savage and Chief Gothard to work on these performance specifi- cations and bring them back to the second Council meeting in October. Councilman Sample then asked if it would be reasonable to expect this siren system to be in place by March 1st, and Mr. Savage stated that this should be a reasonable expectation. Mayor Pollard stated that he would certainly hope that the system could be installed by late February or the first of March in order to avoid the possibility of getting the system right after a bad storm. Mayor Pollard tehn thanked Chief Gothard for his presentation and complimented both Chief Gothard and Mr. Savage for doing an excellent job collecting the infodrmation for this study. 6. CONSIDERATION OF AUTHORIZATION ORDINANCE TO PURCHASE A COPY MACHINE WITH COLLATER AND AUTHORIZATION TO TRANSFER FUNDS FOR SAME Mayor Pollard read aloud the following ordinance caption: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO TRANSFER FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF FROM THE GENERAL FUND RESERVE FOR CONTINGENCIES ACCOUNT TO GENERAL ADMINIS- TRATION DEPARTMENT LINE ITEM NO. 65 AND TO FURTHER AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A PURCHASE CONTRACT FOR A XEROX 3107/S COPY MACHINE AS WELL AS A MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT ON SAME; ATTACHING THE APPROVED FORM OF THE CONTRACT AS EXHIBIT "A"; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Councilman Sample moved to approve the ordinance as presented. Seconded by Councilman North, the motion passed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None 7. CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 216 ESTAB- LISHING SCHOOL ZONES ON FM 423 Mayor Pollard read aloud the following ordinance caption: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS, AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 216 BY AMENDING SECTION 1 TO CHANGE THE HOURS THAT SAID SPEED LIMITS SHALL BE IN EFFECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Councilman Dodds moved to approve this ordinance as presented. The motion was seconded by Councilman Poole. At this time, Coun- cilman Parker asked if this ordinance referred only to the school zone on FM 423 and was told that this was correct. Councilman Parker then asked whey the same was not being done for the school zones around Camey, Peters Colony and Stewarts Creek Elementary -4- Schools, as there are Kindergarten students who cross in these areas also. Mr. Savage clarified that Ordinance No. 216 referred only to FM 423. Councilman Parker then asked that an ordinance be prepared for the next regular meeting bringing all of the remaining school zones into this 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. time period. After some discussion, Mayor Pollard directed the staff to review all of the school zones regarding this time period, in order to determine what the actual needs are. At this point, Councilman Parker also mentioned his concern with the low drainage area across North Colony Boulevard from Griffin Middle School, stating that some of the older children are occasionally pushing younger children into this ditch from the street level. The Council directed Mr. Savage and Mr. Bradburry, Director of Commu- nity Development, to estimate the cost of protective fencing for this area. Mayor Pollard then called for a vote upon the motion on the floor. The motion passed by the following roll call vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None There being no further business to be conducted by the Council, Councilman Dodds moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Council- man North, the motion passed by the following vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None Mayor Pollard adjourned the meeting at 9:27 p.m. GE~ POLLARD, '~AYOR ATTEST: JAN~f~E/ C1ARROL-L, CITY SECRETARY -5-