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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/13/1983 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY HELD ON JUNE 13, 1983 A WORK 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: Larry Sample Mayor Scott North Councilman Norman Adeler Councilman Don Amick Councilman Charles Dodds Councilman Marlene Poole Councilman and with Councilman Noel Long absent due to military leave; however, a quorum was established. 1. REVIEW OF BUDGET Mayor Sample recognized Janice Carroll, Acting City Manager, and she began by giving the Council an overview of the City's revenues for the fiscal year 1982/83, as well as those projected for 1983/84, emphasizing only those particular items which had changed since the Council's last work session. Mayor Sample asked if anyone had ever approached Denton County concerning the possibility of obtaining more than $1,000 in funds for the Library per year. Councilman Adeler suggested usign the latest North Central Texas Council of Governments population figure for The Colony on which to base the request, and Councilman Poole agreed. Mayor Sample requested that Councilman North contact our Precinct Two Commissioner, Sandy Jacobs, concerning this matter. Mayor Sample also asked about the $40 per fire call paid to the City for calls in Denton County and outside The Colony city limits, and he also asked the basis for the yearly amount from Denton County on fire calls. Mrs. Carroll answered that Fire Chief Gothard should be able to clarify this. Councilman Dodds asked if the Ambulance revenue included the money from the Eastvale Ambulance contract, and Mrs. Carroll answered that it did. Mayor Sample and Councilman Poole both expressed the opinion that they would prefer for this not to be included. At this point, it was clarified that the $40 per fire call from Denton County was only for calls in unincorporated areas. Mayor Sample then asked what had been collected in park permits to date for Stewarts Creek Park and if we had any estimates on tills for the coming year. Jane Barton, Financial Assistant, stated that she believed around $9,000 had been collected from park permits since February 1983. Mrs. Carroll then continued her presentation of changes, by department, since the Council's last work session, beginning with General Administration. Mayor Sample questioned the amounts in both Professional and Legal Services for 1983/84, stating that he did not feel they would be adequate. In the Telephone line item, Councilman Poole asked if a new telephone system had been considered, and Mrs. Carroll replied that this was being looked into. Councilman Dodds questioned Line Item 56, maintenance of radio, and Mrs. Carroll stated that this was a portable radio allocated for the city manager's use. In the City Secretary's department, Councilman Amick wished to have clarified the adjustment in the salary account, it was clarified for him that this was due to Mrs. Carroll's present position of Acting City Manager. There was a brief discussion by the Council of the Printing account, which had been raised significantly due to extra charges for the City's Code. Mrs. Carroll stated that she was negotiating with Municipal Code Corpora- tion concerning this matter. -1- In the Finance Department, there was some discussion concerning the type of audit firm to use in the 1983/84 fiscal year. There was also discussion concerning a computer, and Mayor Sample stated that he felt that this cost would come close to $10,000. Councilman Amick questioned why the computer was financed from the General Administration budget and the supplies for it allocated in the Finance Department. It was explained that this was originally budgeted in General Administration, but it was felt that much of the major use would be in the Finance Department. In the area of Municipal Court, Mayor Sample asked if anything was allocated for the computer in this budget, and Mrs. Carroll answered that it was not. In the Parks and Recreation Department, Councilman Amick questioned the electricity account and what it included. It was explained that this did include the ball field lighting, as well as electri- city at the office. Councilman Amick also questioned the $400 allocated for small tools, stating that this did not sound like enough to him, as these tools easily get lost and broken. Council- man Amick also asked if there would be a savings in telephone cost when the Parks and Recreation Department moves into its new quarters in the shopping center. Mrs. Carroll stated that there would be about a $20 per month increase in cost after the move. Councilman Poole asked if it would be feasible to connect the PARD and Library phones, and Mrs. Carroll answered that it would be, as she had been told by the telephone company that all that would be required to do this is crawl space above the offices. Councilman Amick asked about the reduction in the building rental account for 1983/84, and it was explained that the $10,000 amount for 1982/83 reflected the costs for moving to their new facility, which would be one-time expenses. In the Community Development Department, Mayor Sample questioned the salary account. Mrs. Carroll explained that the departmetn was two employees short at present. After further discussion of this, Mrs. Carroll said that she would analyze this account for the C'ouncil. In the Fire Department, Mayor Sample questioned Line Item 28, which had increased from $200 in 1982/83 to $5,000 for 1983/84. It was explained that this account previously had been Civil Defense, but it has now been changed to Medical Supplies. The medical supplies, she explained, were previously reflected in the miscellaneous supplies. Regarding the Library, Councilman Adeler questioned the water cost of $100 for the remainder of 1982/83. He felt that this was high. It was clarified that the' donations received of library books and money, as well as the matching grant, were channeled through the Friends of the Library, which is a non-profit organi- zation. Councilman North questioned this practice, and Mrs. Carroll stated that she would check into this further. Councilman Poole stated that these contributions might not be tax deductible if they were given directly to the Library. Councilman Adeler requested a ruling on this. in the Police Department, after Mrs. Carroll's brief overview presentation, Chief Ristagno was recognized to answer the Council's detailed questions concerning the department's budget. Mayor Sample asked for a clarification of the Salaries Part Time. Chief Ristagno answered that this included crosswalk guards and part-time animal control. Councilman Poole stated that she was very interested in another animal control officer, as she gets quite a few calls from citizens concerning stray animals. Councilman North then asked why the full-time animal control officer had been taken out of the budget. Mrs. Carroll explained that this had been taken out and put into a package format, as has always been the procedure on anything which is new in the budget. -2- Chief Ristagno stated.that a fu~-~i~animal control officer for the remainder of the 1982/83 fiscal year would come to about $4,400 to $4,500, which included benefits. It was brought out by Mrs. Carroll that there would be only one truck available, however, Chief Ristagno stated that two officers could work from one truck; they would simply work different shifts. Councilman Amick questioned the Salary account compared with a projection of the current May expenses. Chief Ristagno replied that this figure was probably on the high side, and he stated further that this should be studied closely, as the full-time animal control officer possibly could be put in this year. Mayor Sample then asked about the lease price on the vehicle package, which included five police motor vehicles and one animal control truck. Chief Ristagno stated that the $23,000 was the price per year projected for a lease purchase, and assuming that the payments would start at the beginning of the fiscal year. Various options on the purchase of these police vehicles were then discussed in some detail, as well as different options on the animal control vehicle. The possibility of a used pickup or a four-wheel drive vehicle was brought up for the animal control truck. Councilman Poole suggested that all of the vehicle requirements from the various departments might be combined into one package in order to obtain better pricing. Councilman Amick stated, regarding the suggestion of a used pickup for animal control, that he felt the different uses should be considered when deciding what type of vehicle to purchase; for instance, he felt that the animal control truck involved a need for a more-dependable vehicle than possibly some of the ones used for maintenance. Mayor Sample then stated that he felt the way to base the decision as to which type of vehicle to purchase would be by the mileage expected. Chief Ristagno clarified for Mayor Sample that the purchase of the new police vehicles would lower the maintenance costs but, of course, increase the insurance. When questioned by Mayor Sample concerning the ranking in importance of the items in the capital expenditure package, Chief Ristagno listed them as follows: (1) flack jackets, (2) latent print photo kit, (3) crime watch street signs, (4) Kodak 4000 disc camera, and stated further that the video cassette and the siren and switch box were relatively unimportant. Mayor Sample then asked about the emergency power generator, which was also a Police Department package. He felt that 15,000 watts would be enough power to run the entire City Hall. Chief Ristagno explained that he had been advised that this size would handle all of the Communications lines, as well as some lighting in the City Hall building° Chief Ristagno stated further that he would check into this again, and he also explained that the generator proposed at this price had an automatic switch, a trickle charger to keep the battery charged and a timer to periodically start the generator for testing purposes. Councilman North then asked what was currently being done in the case of a power failure, and Chief Ristagno answered that the present emergency power back-up for communications consisted of a plug, at the rear of the communications building, that could be connected to a 12-volt vehicle battery. This system allows them to power the police and fire frequencies only. Councilman Poole asked about the possibility of an officer to patrol Wynnwood Park, and Chief Ristagno stated that it would probably cost around $27,000 to patrol this area for a year. Chief Ristagno stated further that this would cause a significant drain on his personnel, citing the time it would take to get to the park due to its distance off the highway. Councilman Pooie asked how the patrolling of Stewarts Creek Park was working out, and Chief Ristagno stated that they had already established this program before the City took over the park and, of course, Stewarts Creek is much closer to The Colony. Councilman Amick asked about what exactly would be involved in the patrol of Wynnwood Park as to man hours and officers. Mayor Sample asked Chief Ristagno's -3- opinion of a program such as the City of Dallas uses, consisting of a specific division dedicated to park patrol. Chief Ristagno was not sure why this had been done, but he did not feel that The Colony was big enough to warrant such a system. Councilman Amick brought up the decrease in the miscellaneous supplies for the 1983/84 year, and Chief Ristagno stated that the 1982/83 budget included some capital purchases in this classifi- cation. After some further general discussion concerning the Police Depart, ment budget, the Council briefly discussed a schedule for the -- remaining work sessions on the budget and agreed to the following dates: Monday, June 20, City Secretary, General Adminis- tration, Finance and Library, as well as their regular meeting. Thursday, June 23, Parks and Recreation and Court, as well as the joint meeting with the Library Board. *Thursday, June 30, Community Development and Fire. 2. CLOSED DOOR SESSION AS AUTHORIZED BY ARTICLE 6252-17 OF VERNON'S ANNOTATED CIVIL STATUTES, AS AMENDED A. PERSONNEL B. LITIGATION Mayor Sample announced that the Council would now meet in a closed door session to discuss the above items and that no action was scheduled following this session. Upon reconvening in open session, there being no further business to be conducted by the Council, Councilman Dodds moved that the meeting be adjourned. Seconded by Councilman North, the motion passed by the following vote: Ayes: All members present voted aye Noes: None Mayor Sample adjourned the meeting at 1:00 a.m. ATTEST: JANICE CARROLL, CITY SECRETARY * This session should have been recorded as Monday, June 27. -4-