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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/13/1987 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON JUNE 13, 1987 The SPECIAL SESSION of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 9:00 a.m. on the 13th day of June at the DFW Hilton Hotel, at 1800 Highway 26, Grapevine, Texas with the following Council roll call: Don Amick, Mayor Present Rick Harris, Mayor Pro-tem Present Johnny Spears, Councilman Present Mike Robinson, Councilman Present Steve Glazener, Councilman Present Harvey Bradley, Councilman Present Marlene Poole, Councilman Present and with seven members present, a quorum was established and the following item was addressed: 1. CITY COUNCIL RETREAT FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECEIVING Following are the department heads present at the meeting: Sylvia Brantley Park and Recreation Director Janice Carroll Assistant City Manager James England Director of Finance William (Bill) Hall City Manager Patti Hicks City Secretary Kenneth Huffman Wastewater Superintendent Jim Leighton Wastewater Department Elise Knox Aquatic Park Director Van Morrison Fire Chief Brenda Mosley Municipal Court Clerk Dana Olivarez Personnel Director Nick Ristagno Police Chief Eric Stanton Building Official Joan Sveinsson Director of Library Services Tommy Turner Director of Public Works Jerry Van-Y Public Works Supervisor David Yordy Water Superintendent Mayor Amick asked everyone present to introduce themselves and state their position with the City. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Tommy Turner introduced Jerry Van-Y as Public Works Superintendent and turned the presentation for that area over to him. Mr. Van-Y referred Council to a prepared document he had given them and proceeded to outline the duties of his 30 employees (including part time summer help). Mr. Van-Y stated that there are 11 parks and that in addition to parks, his department handles streets, signs, and maintenance. Mr. Van-Y went on to say that the major accomplishments for the past year have been in all areas, naming irrigation of all athletic fields and some pocket parks, lighting of athletic fields, and hydromulching of most parks as accomplishments in the Park Department. Mr. Van-Y said that they are finishing irrigation and the installation of playground equipment at the present time and that his department will be helping with the proposed pavillion at Stewart Creek Park. In the Street Department, Mr. Van-Y stated that his men continually work on repairing all streets and have implemented a program to seal all streets with the newly acquired Crack Sealing Machine. Mr. Van-Y said that Mayes St. is being repaired now and that a new program providing handicapped ramps at residences will soon be underway. Mr. Van-Y said since the merge with MUD his department has been handling drainage ditch maintenance and he did suggest that the area behind the Aquatic Park is need of reworking so that the area can be better utilized. There followed a lengthy discussion as to what that area could be used for; playing fields, larger pocket park area, mini-river walk type area. No real decisions were made but Council agreed something does need to be done with the area. Mr. Van-Y said two goals he has are to get identification on all streets at both corners, and to get traffic buttons on main streets in the City. There followed a brief discussion regarding Scout Park and the work being done there. Mr. Van-Y said they were trying not to lose the dam at the park and that it does seem to be O.K. now, stating that they are filling in the large area on the west side and that will take a little time. Mayor Amick then asked if automatically lighted school zone signs will be installed on Paige after Plano Pkwy. is opened. Chief N.C. Ristagno responded since that is really in his area. The Chief said that there is a possibility that the State may be signing all school zones in the City with flashing lights, that may be connected with the encoder in Police dispatch and could be controlled from that location. Mayor Amick asked about costs to irrigate the medians and Mr. Van-Y said he had put those figures in the 1987/88 budget requests. Councilman Poole asked what could be done about the small playground at the new Recreation Center. There were several ideas brought up with the Mayor stating that he was not sure that area should be used to entertain small children while their parents are in meetings or classes in the building. Ms. Sylvia Brantley said she feels this is a good idea and would really like the opportunity to give it a try. There followed a lengthy discussion regarding the proposed use of the area. Councilman Poole also stated she would like to see directional signs made to the new'Municipal Complex. Councilman Harris asked if the damaged corners of street curbs are being replaced with ramps for wheelchair access and Mr. Van-Y stated they are. Councilman Harris also asked about irrigation at the new Municipal Complex. City Manager Bill Hall stated that we are waiting for the contractors to do the rough grading and then our crew will hydromulch however, we will be using manual sprinklers until money can be put in the budget for an irrigation system. Councilman Harris, referring to the directional signs mentioned earlier wanted to know if various locations could be combined on one to sign to cut down on the number of signs on the side of the streets. Mr. Hall said that could be done. At this time, Mr. Turner introduced Mr. David Yordy, Water Supervisor. Mr. Yordy first stated that since the merger of the City and the MUD things have gone very positively, going on to say that his department is in charge of the Office Creek Pump Station, three (3) wells, maintenance, distribution and collection as well as repairing main breaks. Mr. Yordy said accomplishments this past year have been to get the south water tower painted and that well number 2 has been re-worked. Yordy also stated that a maintenance program for all well sites has been implemented, the meter shop has been moved to Office Creek, allowing for the personnel there to update the records with a goal to have records on each meter in the city. Goals of the department are to utilize the sewer pipe cleaner to it's fullest potential, the main line water valve and the machines. There followed a discussion regarding the underground springs in the City and how they can be re-channeled. Mr. Yordy asked if it would be permissable to place a City of The Colony flag at the Office Creek'Pump Station. It was agreed that would be fine. Mr. Yordy also advised the Council that we should have the "Public Water Supply Approved" signs installed before too much longer, stating that two things had to be done before the State would authorize the signs; flowers should be planted around the building and some minor repairs were to be done. Mayor Amick asked what the big hole west of 423 on N. Colony is all about and Mr. Yordy said that a french drain had just been put in there to re-channel ground water, stating the same thing is being done on Newton Drive. Councilman Poole asked if another water tower is planned and Mr. Yordy said one is proposed on the east end of North Colony Blvd. Councilman Spears asked if with the consolidation with Eastvale, the City could provide service on a long and short term basis. Mr. Turner responded, stating that he feels the City can adequately provide that service. Mayor Amick requested Mr. Turner to provide the Eastvale committee with a plan for that service. Councilman Spears asked if water and wastewater could be provided. Mr. Hall said the Committee for the Future for Water is working on that, stating that the intent is to have three (3) water district areas in Denton County; south, north and central. Mr. Hall also said that there is a water treatment plant proposed for the east side of the lake. At this the Mayor called a ten minute break. Upon reconvening, Kenneth Huffman, Wastewater Superintendent, gave an overview of that department, stating there were 11 employees and that the overall purpose is to treat wastewater, maintaining all State and Federal standards. (Texas Water Commission and the EPA) Mr. Huffman said goals were to expand the facilities and to continue to meet all standards, going on to say that the maintenance department has been expanded to meet needs in other areas of the City such as electrical maintenance. Mr. Huffman said that by January 1, 1988, the City will have to comply with new EPA standards regarding effluent water, stating that it will have to be de-chlorinated. Mayor Amick requested that Mr. Hall make the cost involved available to the council as soon as possible. Tommy Turner summarized by stating that there had been lots of improvements made and that all his staff is doing a terrific job. LIBRARY Joan Sveinsson stated that the main accomplishment of this year will be moving into the new Library facility and that the main thrust of staff had been to prepare for that move. Ms. Sveinsson stated that for the first time, all the positions of Library are fully staffed and that planning for operations in the new building are underway. Ms. Sveinsson also stated that all stored materials are being recovered and sorted for placement in the new facility. Ms. Sveinsson said the Library has received four (4) VCRs, a new 16mm film projector and the first for the "Rare Book Collection", that being an autographed edition of the book "Everything to Gain - Making the Most Out of The Rest of Your Life" by President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn. Ms. Sveinsson went on to say that the Library has received all but the last quarterly payment from the Denton County funds, and that a walk-through of the new building was done and everything was looking very good. She did say that another walk through would be done on Monday morning with the shelving to be installed this next week, stating that the move should take place by the middle of July. Ms. Sveinsson advised the Council that the current Library space is on a month to month rent basis and feels sure that August rent will not have to be paid. She also stated that the staff is doing a lot of "Creative Scrounging" getting items at very good prices from other area libraries. Ms. Sveinsson concluded by stating that there may be a preview party held for a select group of persons to view the new facility before it is opened to the public. 0026 , . THE COLONY AQUATIC PARK Elise Knox covered all the current programs offered at the pool, and gave the Council a hand out which outlined those programs as well the organizational information about the pool. Ms. Knox said that currently the pool meets all State and local standards. Mayor Amick requested that independent testing be continued if it was not cost prohibitive and asked Mr. Hall to investigate the costs for the testing which was done last year. Mr. Hall did say that the Water Department can handle the testing for much less money. Mayor Amick said to compare the costs and then determine how often the independent testing should be done, but to go ahead and have the water department do the testing that they are equipped to do. At this time, the Mayor called a recess for lunch. Upon reconvening, the following departments addressed the Council: MUNICIPAL COURT Brenda Mosley stated that there are three court times a month, and that the court handles Class C misdemeanors, going on to say that there have been 7 jury trials since October 1986, most of which were for speeding citations. Ms. Mosley said she would like to see another court time, perhaps even a day court in the future. The Mayor asked if having the Reserve Police officers serve warrants had been a benefit and Ms. Mosley stated that they had not been serving warrants long enough to determine the benefits. PERSONNEL Dana Olivarez gave the Council a handout regarding her department, stating it is a relatively new department and is constantly developing as needs arise. Ms. Olivarez said she is working with the Department Heads and staff regarding regulations, especially the new laws handed down from INS, stating those laws have created more paperwork. Ms. Olivarez stated that her goals are to get the Policy and Procedure Manual completed, to have on hand job descriptions for each position, and to begin in-house orientation for employees. Councilman Spears asked if this department is on a computer and Ms. Olivarez stated no but that too is a goal. PARK AND RECREATION Sylvia Brantley gave an overview of her department outlining the various programs offered, giving the Council a handout explaining each of those programs. Ms. Brantley addressed her new personnel and reminded everyone of the upcoming Chili cook-off on July 20 at Stewart Creek Park. INSPECTIONS Eric Stanton stated that he will be needing to add personnel in his department and went over his current policy regarding ordinance violations, stating that the major streets are patrolled to locate violations of high weeds and junked vehicles but that other areas are patrolled as personnel is available and citations are issued on a complaint only basis. Mr. Stanton did tell the Council he has a problem with citizens calling in long lists of violations which are located all over the City and it really puts a burden on his staff. The Council agreed that complaints should only be accepted if the property being reported is adjacent to the complainant's property. FIRE DEPARTMENT Chief Van Morrison expressed the need for a new fire station and the funds available for that station. Chief Morrison also covered the Emergency Management Plan for the City. Mayor Amick requested that a report regarding that plan be placed on the Council agenda for the June 15 meeting so that the new Council members could be made familiar with it and the old ones could review it. Chief Morrison gave a status report on the equipment and also stated that he had inspected the equipment in the City of Eastvale, noting that it was in good condition and probably had 10 - 15 years of service left. The Chief then addressed the volunteer program stating that he is up to par in personnel and is very pleased with the program. POLICE DEPARTMENT Chief Nick Ristagno gave a brief overview of his department covering number of personnel and the responsibilities of each division of the Police Department. The Chief expanded on the take home car policy for the new council members noting that it is a major cost saving program. Chief Ristagno closed by giving a brief description of the patrol areas of the City. With no other departments to be addressed, City Manager Bill Hall addressed the Council by stating that he has been extremely pleased with the support he has received from all Department Heads since his employment as City Manager. Mr. Hall stated that he feels each department is professionally operated and that the City has a well qualified staff. With no further business to address, Councilman Bradley moved to adjourn the meeting and Councilman Poole seconded the motion which carried with all members voting Aye. Mayor Amick adjourned the meeting at 3:30 p.m. APPROVED: Don~Kmick,-Ma~r- - ATTEST: · :f~,~ ~."~i A. Hie~.~ City Secretary