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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/07/1990 City Council 00 60 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON MAY 7, 1990 The Regular Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 7:30 p.m. on the 7th day of May, 1990 at City Hall with the following Council roll call: Don Amick, Mayor Absent Bill Manning, Councilman Present Steve Withers, Councilman Present Mike Alianell, Councilman Present Steve Glazener, Mayor Pro-tem Present Dick Weaver, Councilman Present Joel Marks, Councilman Present and with six present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Pro-tem Glazener led the audience and the Council in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. 2. CITIZEN INPUT There was none. 3. MAYORAL PROCLAMATION DECLARING WATER UTILITIES AWARENESS WEEK Mayor Pro-rem Glazener read the Proclamation declaring Water Utilities Awareness Week, May 6 - 12, 1990. Mr. Tommy Turner accepted the proclamation. 4. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE CANVASSING THE GENERAL ELECTION HELD IN THE CITY OF THE COLONY ON THE 5TH DAY OF MAY, 1990 Mayor Pro-tem Glazener read the caption of the ordinance. Councilman Weaver said, "I don't feel that we can pass on this at this time due to the fact that the count is not correct. I have two, Mary and Alton Yarborough of 5300 Marsh both got ballots for Place 6 and they are in Place 3 and I've heard that there are several more that did the same thing. Mayor Pro-rem Glazener asked if he needed a motion to get this on the floor, and then asked the City Secretary if she would like to address the council. Patti Hicks, City Secretary, said, "I would like to say, if you don't canvass the election, you can't do anything about the election. If there are any mistakes, it has to be canvassed first." Councilman Weaver said, "I want a legal opinion on it." 003609 Mayor Pro-tem Glazener said, "She is telling us that we need to canvass the election by the passage of this ordinance then we can address any questions therein. I'll entertain a motion to approve." Councilman Weaver said, "I want to understand before we do this." Patti Hicks said, "If you'd like, Mayor Pro-rem, I can address some of these discrepancies. I am aware that some people may have gotten the wrong ballot." Councilman Weaver - "There isn't any question about it." Patti Hicks - "I have spent approximately 6 hours today manually researching approximately 700-800 voters. I found very few discrepancies, in that, they signed in on the correct precinct sheet. That means that they more than likely got the correct ballot. After they get the ballot, we don't have much control over what they do with it. I am aware of one instance where a husband and wife had to vote different ballots and I know exactly why that happened. The wife came in, she did not have her voter registration card. She had her driver's license with her. According to the address on the driver's license, she lived in Place 3, I'm sorry, Place 5, she was handed a Place 5 ballot, which she voted and she was happy. Just moments later her husband attempted to vote without. a voter registration card and after much ado, the Judge was called out to swear him in as 'I live at a certain address, that address is in Place 6.' He was sworn in, he did try to vote a Place 6 ballot, his wife objected, asking why she voted in Place 5 and he voted in Place 6, when they live together. Good question. That is not the judge's responsibility. Those voters came to the poll unprepared. All the judge can do is go on what they are looking at. The lady did not say, 'I am registered in Place 6, she voted in Place 5'. The man swore that he was registered in Place 6 and he had to vote in Place 6. Those are the kinds of discrepancies that happened all day long. And, I don't doubt that some people did get the wrong ballot. Many, many people came to the polls expecting to be able to vote for one person because there was sign n the yard next door for that person, when in fact, they didn't even live in the district for that person...much confusion. Many people were told to go to one poll to vote and when they got there they found out they had to go to another poll to vote. They were angry and the judges and clerks did the very best they could. They are only human beings, and I'm sure they did make some mistakes. Unfortunately, the voters don't seem, uh, I don't know, they don't educate themselves before they walk in the door. We have to assume that when they pick up a ballot, they're gong to read the ballot, and if the name for whom they want to vote isn't on that ballot they will ask. If they don't do that, it is their responsibility, not the judge 's and not the clerk's. Councilman Weaver - "I don't agree with that." Patti Hicks - "How would you not agree with that? If a person cannot read the ballot and vote intelligently, how does a judge know that? Councilman Weaver - "The judge should know when he looks at; 00361 this specific one, Mary Yarborough and Alton Yarborough had their registration and gave it to t. he judge and they gave them the wrong ballot. Now you're telling me that it's their fault." Patti Hicks - "No, I'm not telling you that they did not make mistakes, I know they made mistakes. I'm not arguing that point. What I am saying, is if Mr. and Mrs. Yarborough read the ballot and it did not have the correct candidate's names on there, they should have at that time realized that and said, 'This is not right'. Councilman Weaver - "They felt as though they had made a mistake and the judge had given them the correct ballot." Patti Hicks - "I'm sure that does happen. At some point in an election, a voter must take responsibility for that piece of paper." Councilman Weaver - "I don't agree with you. That piece of paper is something that you are handing out, not you specifically, but the judge and it's his responsibility." Patti Hicks - "Actually, they don't hand them out, they ask them to take a ballot." Councilman Weaver - "They put it on the table and they're supposed to all be the same." Patti Hicks - "Well, Mr. Weaver, I agree with you that everything is supposed to be wonderful and perfect but it just doesn't happen in the real world. There are people working that election who have been there a long time, and they get confused. I provided the judges and clerks with a list of the streets included in Place 3 and Place 6, 2 maps and I cautioned them over and over again to be very careful. In fact, I've talked to people who thought they weren't going to get to vote at all because the clerks kept asking if they were sure that is where you live, are you sure you're in the right precinct. They were very cautious. That is not to say they were perfect. When I went through the lists today, I found, I don't recall the Yarboroughs, I did find 1 or 2 possible; because obviously, I don't know that just because they signed that list, I don't know if they got the right ballot or not. You have to assume most of them did. I found nothing that would invalidate any race in this election." Councilman Weaver - "I don't agree with that." Patti Hicks - "At any rate, if you don't canvass the ballot, if you do not canvass the election you cannot invalidate it. You have to canvass it and then you can take action." Mayor Pro-rem Glazener - "So, Patti, I need to read this ordinance and entertain a motion for approval or what ever Council decides." Patti Hicks - "Yes, sir. Canvassing merely means that you are reading the results of the vote. If you do not canvass the election, you will not be able to call a run-off in those 2 races. If you don't call the run-off, you cannot have the run- off on the prescribed date." Councilman Weaver - How can you canvass a vote that you don't think is right?" Patti Hicks - "How would you propose to determine what is right?" 003611 Councilman Weaver - "That's up to you. I'm not an electioneer. I'm not an election judge." Patti Hicks - "Mr. Weaver, I'm not allowed to open the ballot boxes. I don't ever touch the ballots, once they're voted. They are counted at the polls, they are delivered to me in a locked box, those keys are given to the Chief of Police, and he keeps them for a period of 60 days. If I were to open those boxes even for a recount, without proper authority, I would be guilty of a felony. You can't just open a ballot box, look at it and say, 'well I think these are the Yarborough's ballots', throw them out, you cant' do that. Councilman Weaver - "There is a method of checking it though and that would be that the number of people that voted in the Place 3 and the number of people that voted in Place 6 should correspond wit. h the votes that came out." Patti Hicks - "As a matter of fact., the number of people who signed in Place 3, I believe totaled 154 and the number of votes actually tallied at that poll were only 148, which tells me that some people probably only voted in Place 1, which I know they did, because I was told a lot of ballots were only marked in Place 1 and they did not mark the other place whatever they we re." Councilman Manning - "Patti, if someone wanted to investigate further, after the vote is canvassed, what action would they then have to take?" Patti Hicks - "There are procedures, and I'm sorry I don't have all that on the top of my head, there are dead lines, you ~ would have to call for a re-count, or you have to call for invalidation of the election. But a candidate, group or someone has to put that in a written petition, stating the reasons, who they are, where they live, why they think it's invalid, why they think the count is wrong, or whatever they think is wrong." Councilman Manning - "O.K., but by doing a canvass, it does not necessarily seal it in concrete forever.?" Patti Hicks - "No sir, for instance, in a recount situation, you can't call for a recount until the vote has been canvassed. You have a period of time after the official canvass to call for that recount. It has to be officially canvassed or you can't do anything with it." Councilman Weaver - "Does it say that we are agreeing that the canvass is correct.?" Patti Hicks - "It is merely canvassing the vote as cast or as given to us, that's all we have to go on. The Tally Sheets are on my desk and I'll be glad to pass those around and let you look at them. That's all I have for you to look at. The sign in sheets are just that, signatures, that isn't going to tell you anything about how people vote. At this point, after ballots are voted, they are voted, you can't undo them. You can't take them out and change your mind, it's done. Councilman Weaver - "Well you can take them out and count them. You can't but it can be done." ---~ Patti Hicks - "Yes, sir." Councilman Weaver - "Because we had a recount." Patti Hicks - "I did not say you couldn't have a recount, I 00361 just said a recount is not going to tell you how Mr. X and Mr. Y voted, it will tell you if the ballots have been counted correctly, it will not tell you if all those ballots should have been voted or not. There is really very little way of doing that. That's what I was trying to determine this afternoon., all day." Mayor Pro-rem Glazener - "Why don't I read the ordinance and we'll take it from there." Councilman Marks - "I don't want to questions the validity of the vote, but inasmuch as there's so much confusion in Place 6 and 3, is there any reason why Place 6 was split up and it can't be put at the same polling place?" Patti Hicks - "You vote according to your County Precinct, not your City Place." Councilman Weaver - "Well we want to change that." Councilman Marks - "Is there any reason that we can't change that?" Patti Hicks - Your voter registration card is issued by the County, not by the City. Your voter registration card has a County Precinct number on it, those polling places are established according to County Precinct lines, not City Place lines." Councilman Marks - "So we have to petition the County judges to change it." Patti Hicks - "You would have to change the Election Law." Councilman Marks - "Well, I guess it would save a lot of time on future council meetings." Patti Hicks - I don't really think that's a problem. Most people are very well educated as to where they are supposed to vote. They have always voted there and just because the number changed that did not change where you vote." Councilman Weaver - "Patti, we vote at a different place every time." Patti Hicks - "Not for City elections, you do not Mr. Weaver." Mayor Pro-rem Glazener read the Ordinance as follows: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS, CANVASSING THE RETURNS AND DECLARING THE RESULTS OF AN ELECTION HELD IN SAID CITY ON THE 5TH DAY OF MAY, 1990, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ELECTING FIVE COUNCILMEMBERS FOR SAID CITY; ORDERING A RUN-OFF ELECTION; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the election returns duly and legally made showed that there were cast at said election 1120 valid and legal votes, and that each of the candidates in said election received the following votes: FOR COUNCILMAN PLACE 1 Dr. Bill Manning 639 00861,s FOR (X)UNCILMAN PLACE B DeWayne Snider 86 '--' Michael G. Alianell 90 FOR COUNCILMAN PLACE 4 L.C. Thompson 46 Billy R. Owens 51 Rob Burchard 112 FOR COUNCILMAN PLACE 5 Kat. hy Phillips 77 B.V. "Rod" Rodriguez 14 Lou Gomez 105 Tim Baggett 52 Scott North 35 FOR COUNCILMAN PLACE 6 Julia Warren 81 Joel Marks 107 Robin B. Bauman 48 WHEREAS, no candidate for Place 5 or Place 6, received a majority of the of the votes case for such office or place; and WHEREAS, it is hereby found and determined by the City Council that it is necessary to hold a runoff elect, ion for t. he purpose of electing one Councilmember for Place 5 and one Councilmember for Place 6, and that it is in the best interest of the City and its citizens to hold such an election; and Section 3. That the duly elected members of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas, elected May 5, 1990, for Councilmember Place 1, Councilmember Place 3, and Councilmember Place 4, and subject to the taking of the oaths as provided by the laws of the State of Texas, are as follows: Councilmember Place 1 Dr. Bill Manning Councilmember Place 3 Michael G. Alianell 00361q Councilmember Place 4 Rob Burchard Section 4. That no candidate received a majority of total votes cast for the office or place of Councilmember Place 5 or Councilmember Place 6, and a runoff election between the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes cast for such office or place as tabulated and canvassed in the preambles hereof shall be held on the 19th day of May, 1990, for the purpose of electing a Councilmember to serve on the City CoUncil, to wit: Names of Candidates Office or Place Kathy Phillips Five Lou Gomez Five Julia Warren Six Joel Marks Six Councilman Alianell moved to approve the canvassing ordinance, and Councilman Withers seconded the motion which carried with the following vote: Manning - Aye, Withers - Aye, Alianell - Aye, Weaver - Nay, Marks - Aye, Glazener - Aye 5. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETINGS HELD MARCH 9, APRIL 16, 23 AND 30, 1990 Councilman Manning moved to approve the minutes as written and Councilman Withers seconded the motion which carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 6. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF COUNCIL EXPENDITURES Councilman Alianell moved to approve the expenditures and Councilman Marks seconded the motion which carried with all members voting Aye, with the exception of Councilman Weaver, who abstained. 7. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF FINAL PLAT FOR NORTHPOINTE PHASE IV, AS PRESENTED BY CENTEX DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION Bob van Til said this is approximately 22.9 acres with 95 lots to be built on. Mr. van Til stated that staff and P & Z had reviewed this final plat and recommend approval. Mr. van Til went on to say there would be a median opening at Sample Dr. to ensure easy flow of traffic and that the fence along N, Colony will be the same as that on the other side of the street. Mr, van Til said the 1986 traffic study has been updated and found to be basically the same. Councilman Marks asked where Sample Dr. goes on the north side, and Mr. van Til said it is just stubbed out and goes nowhere. 003610 Mr. Bill Hall said that just north of there is property set aside as a possible school site and if it is accepted by LISD the road will go into the school site. Councilman Alianell asked when these homes would be built and Steve Stolte said dirt would be moved tomorrow and by October or December 1990, the homes would be complete. There was a discussion regarding the sign to be placed at the entrance to the subdivision. Mr. Stolte said the company had tried to put one in similar to the one going into Lakeway Estates. Mr. Hall said there are some concerns with visibility and some complaints had been received regarding the Lakeway Estates sign, implying that. it is a separate city. Councilman Alianell moved to approve the final plat and Councilman Weaver seconded the motion which carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 8. CONSIDERATION OF ADOPTION OF A ROUND-UP FOR BEAUTIFICATION PROGRAM Councilman Withers said this plan comes from the Beautification Committee and it allows a citizen to round-up their water bill to the next even dollar. The difference will then be given to the Beautification Committee. Councilman Withers said that several area communities have done this successfully, gong on to say this is strictly optional from month to month. Mayor Pro-rem Glazener said by approving this, it puts the project in place and the citizens then can choose, noting the money wil 1 be used to buy trees, shrubs, and other items to enhance the appearance of the city. Bill Hall said it will cost a maximum of $300-$400 to implement, stating that Jackie Carrol 1 and James England had worked with the programmers regarding the implementation of this program. Councilman Marks asked who would control the fund and the Mayor Pro-rem stated the Beautification Conmaittee. Councilman Marks asked if the committee would go to Finance and request funds without approval from Council, asking what about public funds. Mr. Hal 1 said these are not public funds but donated funds, which have been earmarked for a specific purpose. Bill Hall also stated that the money would go into a special fund for beautification similar to the Stewart Creek Fund. Mayor Pro-t. em Glazener said the committee would bring plans before the Council to get approve and then the committee will expend the money and would be accountable for those expenditures. Councilman Marks asked if any guidelines are set up. Mayor Pro-rem Glazener said the committee is master planning the entire city and as funds become available, projects will be brought to Council for approv a ] . Mr. James England said the money will be held in a separate account, similar to an escrow account and will be invested, going on to say that money will be released only after receiving proper authorization from the committee. Councilman Alianel 1 moved to approve the Round-up Program and Councilman Marks seconded the motion which carried 003616 with a unanimous roll call vote. 9. CONSIDERATION OF ADOPTION OF A NEW LIBRARY FINE SCHEDULE, AS RECO.k~MENDED BY THE LIBRARY BOARD Joan Sveinsson, Library Director, state that the Library Board is recommending the following changes to the Libraryts schedule of fines and charges: 1. Change the fee for a non-resident (out-of-county) library card from a one-time fee to an annual fee. 2. Establish an annually reviewed schedule of set charges for items that are lost or damaged beyond repair. Review annually in November. · Currently, these charges are individually assessed based on the current list price of the item. This assessment is generally higher than the patron expects, as most are not aware of the high price of todayts books· The proposed schedule offers the patron up-front knowledge of the maximum liability undertaken when checking out items. · Staff tine involved in assessing and processing the charges for lost/ruined items and for maximum fines (currently based on the current list price) will be reduced and service to the patron will be improved. · The proposed schedule was based ont he average price per volume as published in Publishers Weekly (9-29-89), adjusted down to reflect that the Library rarely buys the high items for circulation. There followed a brief discussion regarding our current fines and how we compare to other cities. Ms. Sveinsson said fines average $.05 to $.20 per day and ours is $.15 Councilman Withers moved to adopt the recommendation with an amendment to increase all $.10 fines to $.15. Councilman Manning seconded the motion which carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 10· CONSIDERATION OF RE-ALLOCATION OF DENTON COUNTY LIBRARY FUNDS, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE LIBRARY BOARD Joan Sveinsson said that Denton County has historically funded certain area Libraries on a per-capita basis and this year the funding was projected to be $29,000. After the budget was adopted, this allocation was increased by $6,743.00. The Library Board has requested these funds be reallocated into the four areas below: · Temporary Staff $3810.00 . Halon System Updated $1420.00 · Library Supplies $ 513.00 · Bindery Services $1,000.00 Total $6,743.00 Mr. Hall said that his recommendation is as follows: · Increase the Library salary to increase staffing by one part-time person in the amount of $2195.00 for the remainder of 00361 this Fiscal Year. · Upgrade the existing vacant part-time position to fulltime for the remainder of the Fiscal Year. ~ Mr. Hall said that due to the present and projected financial concerns, he does not recommend that the other areas be approved. Mr. Hall went on to say that. there is a concern with the repair needed on the roof at the Library and that an estimate for repair in the amount of $1615.00 has been received and that he does request that Council consider approval of this non- budgeted item under Building Maintenance. The Council discussed both proposals· Councilman Weaver said he does not object to the amount or the use of the money, but he does object to spending money above the budget, stating that he thought the Council told the City Manager that they expect a lower budget next year and now we have this request to spend money over the budget, again stating he does not object to the request but he does object to the manager not carrying out. the Council's request. Mr. Hall reminded Councilman Weaver that he is not recommending to spend over the budget, that the recommendation for re-allocation is from the Library Board, not staff. There was a brief discussion regarding the condition of the roof, warranty, etc. Councilman Withers moved to approve the temporary staffing- $3810.00, the Halon system - $1420.00 and the roof repairs- $1750 for an approximate total of $6980.00 and Councilman Weaver seconded the motion which carried with a unanimous roll call --' vote. 11. CONSIDERATION OF AUTHORIZING PRIVATIZATION OF THE AQUATIC PARK CONCESSION STAND AND AUTHORIZATION TO SEEK CONCESSIONAIRE FOR OPERATION OF SAME Mr. Hall said this has been addressed in work sessions and budget sessions· Ms. Sylvia Brantley addressed the council stating that by privatizing the Aquatic Park concession stand, the city would only responsible for the utilities and maintenance of the building. This would reduce expenses and there is a projected increase in revenue. Ms. Brantley said the Park and Recreation Board has reviewed this proposal and does recommend approval. There was a brief discussion regarding the agreement, and it was noted there is nothing in the agreement relating to liability insurance. Councilman Alianell moved to approve the proposal with an amendment to the agreement, adding a section requiring the vendor to provide proof of liability insurance and Councilman Withers seconded the motion which carried with a unanimous roll call vote, 12. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ~ ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY BY AMENDING APPENDIX A- ZONING RELATING TO LANDSCAPING REQUIREMENTS 00361 Mr. Bob van Til said that staff has addressed the concerns of the Council and the Ordinance is in it's final form as requested, noting that the primary concern was that the ordinance is too restrictive. Mr. van Til explained that it is not too restrictive and used T.C.B.Y as an example, showing the calculations which would be used to determine the amount of landscaping required on a site such as T.C.B.Y. and noting that T.C.B.Y. has provided more than would be required if they had to comply with the ordinance. There followed a very lengthy discussion regarding the pros and cons of the ordinance, how it compares with other cities, etc. Councilman Manning had given the Council some information regarding possible ways to amend the ordinance. Councilman Alianell moved to refer the ordinance to committee to be appointed by the Mayor to study this issue and bring back a new ordinance within 60 days, and Councilman Marks seconded the motion which carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 13. COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS (OPTIONAL) Mayor Pro-rem Glazener said that the irrigation to the city entrance sign on 423 will be done soon, that the boring permit has been received from the State, stating that he appreciated Councilman Alianell's assistance in obtaining this permit. He went on to say the Clean up was successful, with 61, 30 yard dumpsters taken out of the city. The Mayor-Pro-rem especially commended Liz Jansen and Sandie Chance for providing food an drinks to the workers, noting that all did a good job and the help was appreciated. 14. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT None With no further business to address, Councilman Manning moved to adjourn and Councilman Alianell seconded the motion which carried with all members voting Aye. APPROVED~ Don 'A'~ick, Ma3hS~ - - ' '-- ATTEST~ Patti ^, Hicks, City Secretary [SE^LI