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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/06/1991 City Council 00898o MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON MAY 6, 1991 The Regular Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order t 7:30 p.m. on the 6th day of May, 1991, at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William W. Manning, Mayor Present Mike Lynch, Council~nan Present Steve Withers, Mayor Pro-tem Present Rob Burchard, Councilman Present Lou Gomez, Councilman Present Joel Marks, Councilman Present and with six present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: l. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 2. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE CANVASSING AN ELECTION HELD ON THE 4TH DAY OF MAY, 1991 IN THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS AND DECLARING THE RESULTS Mayor Manning read the caption of 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 4TH DAY OF MAY~ 1991~ FOR THE PURPOSE OF ELECTING ONE MAYOR AND TWO COUNCILMEMBERS FOR SAID CITY; ORDERING A RUN-OFF ELECTION; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE Councilman Marks moved to approve the ordinance as written, Councilman Gomez seconded the motion which carried with the following roll call vote.: Lynch - Aye, Withers - Aye, Burchard - Abstain, Gomez - Aye, Marks - Aye, Manning - Aye 3. CITIZEN INPUT Dale Therio, 5220 Fisher, representing the Jaycees, thanked the candidates for participating in the forum held last week and thanked the city staff for the use of City Hall, noting the forum was televised live on Channel 18, cable T.V. Councilman Marks thanked Dale and the Jaycees for making the telecast available. David Groleau, 4637 Nervin, representing The Colony Democratic Club said he understand the gate fee to Stewart Creek Park is waived in some cases and that it was waived for The Colony Masonic 3 Lodge for an Easter Sunrise Service. Mr. Groleau said his club requested the fees be waived for a Memorial Day Picnic and Mr. Hall had denied the request and stated he (Groleau) should come to Council and request consideration. Mr. Hall responded stating, the waiver of fees is up to the City Manager. He noted that Memorial Day week-end is one of the highest use times for the park and it would not feasible to waive fees for everyone entering the park, going on to say that this picnic is open to the general public. Mr. Hall said the Masonic Lodge held a religious function at 6:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning, for only one hour, which was a low revenue producing time period, stating there is no comparison between the two times or functions. Mr. Groleau said those attending the picnic could identify themselves at the gate so that everyone entering the park that day would not receive a pass. Mayor Manning told all council to let Mr. Hall know how they feel about this request and for Mr. Hall to get back to Mr. Groleau. Ken Wood, 5000 N. Colony, 1) Boy Scout car wash and garage sale on May 18, 1991. 2) A year ago results of the water rate study were given to Council. Part of the recommendations of the committee was to review the rates on a yearly basis. Has new committee been formed. If changes are needed, don't initiate them during high use months. 3) At the last meeting, several points were made regarding history of drainage problems in the City. We were assured the Food Lion project would not cause more problems on N. Colony Blvd. The intersection flooded badly during the first heavy rain this year. 4) Apartments are needed in The Colony to meet the needs of those who cannot or do not want to buy a house. Mike Lynch, 4921 Roberts, read a prepared statement in which he thanked the people who voted in the election, noting the large turn out. He thanked all the candidates, especially Tim Baggett and Rob Bauman for running clean election campaigns. 4. PRESENTATION TO FORMER COUNCILMAN MICHAEL ALIANELL Mayor Manning presented former Councilman Mike Alianell with a Certificate of Appreciation for his service to the City during his tenure on Council from May 1989 to April ]991. The Mayor also presented Mr. Alianell with a The Colony watch. 5. MAYORAL PROCLAMATION DECLARING NATIONAL POLICE WEEK Mayor Manning read the proclamation in it's entirety as follows: WHEREAS, the Congress of the United States of America has designated the week of May 15th to be dedicated as "National Police Week', and May ]5th of each year to be "Police Memorial Day'; and WHEREAS, the law enforcement officers are our guardians of life and property, defenders of the individual right to be free 4 men, warriors in the war against crime and dedicated to the preservation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and WHEREAS, it is known that every forty-six hours an American police officer will be killed in the line of duty somewhere in the United States and over 60,000 officers will be seriously assaulted in the performance of their duties this year, our community joins with other cities and town to honor all peace officers everywhere; NOW, THEREFORE~ I, William W. Manning, Mayor of the City of The Colony, Texas do hereby proclaim the week of May ]2th to May 18th to be POLICE WEEK and call upon all our citizens in this community to especially honor and show our sincere appreciation for The Colony police officers by deed, remark and attitude. I call upon all our citizens to make every effort to express their tbanks to our men and women who make it possible for us to leave our homes and families in safety each day and return to our homes knowing we are protected by men and women willing to sacrifice their lives, if necessary, to guard our loved ones, property and government against all who would violate the law. Ted Gibson, Police Chief accepted the proclamation and asked Sgt. Andy Longo to come forward. Mayor Manning presented Sgt. Longo with a commendation for attempting to save the life of a baby who had been trapped in a house fire on November 14, 1983. 6. MAYORAL PROCLAMATION DECLARING MUNICIPAL CLERKS' WEEK Mayor Manning read the proclamation in it's entirety as follows: WHEREAS, it is imperative to the democratic process that a well-informed citizenry participate in the operation of their local government; and WHEREAS, the office of Municipal Clerk provides the communication link between the citizens, the local government legislative body and administrative departments, and agencies of government at other levels; and WHEREAS, the Municipal Clerks serve as the information center on the functions of their local government by making available the records of local government, distribution of published materials and reports, presentations before community and school groups, and answering questions on government activities and programs; and WHEREAS, the Municipal Clerks and their staff have upon tbeir own initiative participated in education programs, seminars, workshops and the annual meetings of their state, province, and international professional organizations which not only improved the operation of their office but through their achievements and awards have brought favorable publicity to the communities they serve. NOW, THEREFORE, I, William W. Manning, Mayor of the City of The Colony, Texas, do recognize the week of May 5, through May ]99l as Municipal Clerks' Wee, and further extend appreciation to our Municipal Clerk, Patti Hicks, and to all Municipal Clerks for the vital services they perform and their exemplary dedication to 5 the communities they represent. City Secretary, Patti Hicks accepted the proclamation. 7. MAYORAL PROCLAMATION DECLARING HACER SCHOLARSHIP DAY Mayor Manning read the proclamation in its entirety as follows: WHEREAS, education is one of the most significant concerns of Hispanic American families today; and WHEREAS, HACER, which stand for Hispanic American Commitment to Education Resources, is addressing this concern and working to further advance the Hispanic American community through education; and WHEREAS, HACER scholarships, funded by McDonald's Ronald McDonald Children's Charities, are enabling outstanding young people to fulfill their dreams of attending college, thus preparing them for the role they will play in shaping our city and our country's future; and WHEREAS, the ]99] HACER Scholar from The Colony has "ganas" or desires, to pursue higher education and has demonstrated motivation, confidence and exemplary achievement in academics and extracurricular endeavors; and WHEREAS, this talented student is our leader of tomorrow, deserving of the pride and support of his community; NOW, THEREFORE, I, William W. Manning, Mayor of the City of The Colony, Texas and on behalf of The Colony City Council, do hereby proclaim May 9, ]99] as: HACER SCHOLARSHIP DAY in The Colony, Texas. IN HONOR OF MAURICIO GARCIA HACER SCHOLAR FROM THE COLONY 8. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON APRIL ]5, ]991 Councilman Lynch noted two typographical errors and then moved to approve the minutes as written. Councilman Marks seconded the motion which carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 9. CONSIDERATION OF AUTHORIZING A ROUGH GRADE PERMIT ON LAKERIDGE ESTATES AS REQUESTED BY CENTEX REAL ESTATE Bill Hall, City Manager reminded the Council that the preliminary plat had been approved previously and now Fox and Jacobs/Centex is requesting a rough grading permit to help along the project. Mr. Hall noted this is not allowed by our zoning ordinance so staff cannot allow the grading without council approval. Councilman Gomez noting there is no drainage plan as yet asked what impact the grading would have on the drainage. Derek Earle said the company will be doing this work at their own risk, that on 6 site drainage is handled by grading engineers and that they will only be grading building pads and streets, not in areas that would impact the drainage problems. Councilman Lynch asked if someone would be available on a 24 hour basis in the event something Occurred and Mr. Earle said absolutely, but that it might take 3 - 4 hours to get someone out here to handle the problem. Mr. Earle went on to say the company would reimburse the city if the city staff had to take any action due to this work. Councilman Gomez moved to approve the rough grading permit and Councilman Burchard seconded the motion which carried with a unanimous roll call vote. ]0. DISCUSSION AND CONSIDERATION OF THE LEASE FOR THE ISLAND MINI- GOLF COURSE Bill Hall summarized his memorandum to Council in which he outlined the steps that had led to this item being placed on the agenda. Mr. Hall said he had received a call from Rick Coulter, Principal at Griffin Middle School and also from a parent regarding items being sold at the mini golf course by Mr. Tunks. Mr. Hall went on to say that apparently Mr. Tunks bad been opening very early and selling unsafe and illegal items (fireworks) to kids on their way to school. The kids had subsequently gotten in trouble and/or injured from these items. Mr. Hall said an inspection of the business by himself and Fire Marshall Capt. Dave Wallace led to the closing of the golf course until several problems could be resolved. Mr. Hall went on to say a meeting was held with Mr. Tunks, his attorney and the City Attorney and noted that the violations have been cleared up but there are problems with the hours of operation. Mr. Hall said the agreement to sell pre- packaged foods was not to include other items and was not mentioned at any time when this proposal was brought to Council. Mr. Hall said the course has been opening up at 7:00 a.m. and staff feels there is little use of the course for playing golf at that time of day. Mr. Hall went on to say the City Attorney recommends referring this to the Park and Recreation Board for review. Councilman Gomez asked Mr. Tunks to respond. Mr. Tunks said he has been open since 1987 for kids in The Colony and that he has added basketball, and has been selling gum and candy in the morning since he opened with no complaints. He said he did sell "poppers" but he did not know this was a violation. He said he told Mr. Coulter he would not sell novelties before school hut that he helped the carnival out by selling stink bombs, which kids took to school and used. Mr. Hall said there have been 14 items sold which are in violation. Mr. Tunks said he had all the violations cleaned up in 3 hours time and that he was so shook up he called his attorney who has said the documents requested by the City have been forwarded to the City. Mr. Tunks said he sold the items through ignorance. Councilman Withers asked if the fireworks items required ignition and Mr. Tunks said no just to be thrown on the ground and 7 that they won't hurt anyone. Councilman Gomez asked how many hours of City Attorney time has been used and Mr. Hall responded 3 hours. Councilman Gomez said when the city leased the land to Mr. Tunks it was obviously not a money making deal and he cannot see spending any more money for the City Attorney just to get Mr. Tunks to comply with an agreement which is already in place. The Councilman went on to say selling such items to kids is not a good idea, that he would have a hard time continuing with the agreement since the business is not used for golf, and that he recommends sending this to P & R for review. Councilman Marks said that regardless of what is being sold, Mr. Tunks is not in compliance with his agreement and that he (Marks) is in favor of sending this to P & R also, noting that obviously basketball and mini-golf are not making any money and the products have to be sold to make a profit. The Councilman said if that is true then maybe the agreement needs amending. Councilman Burchard said this was originally for positive activities, golf and basketball~ut that he does not want to promote other items for kids and concurred with Councilmen Gomez and Marks. Councilman Withers moved to send this item to Park and Recreation for review and Councilman Gomez seconded' the motion. Councilman Lynch asked the status in the mean time and Mr. Hall said the course has been open since the day after the citation was issued. Councilman Gomez suggested the City Inspector make inspections to ensure compliance and Councilman Burchard suggested putting the 90 day termination clause in motion. Ken Wood, 5000 N. Colony said the council in making a mountain out of a mole hill, stating if the council closes this business, 95% of the citizens will see this as the council closing down one more activity for the kids. Mr. Wood went on to say if it is unprofitable it will close anyway. Mayor Manning said right not we are only sending it to Park and Rec for their review and putting into motion the 90 day termination clause, which will give Mr. Tunks 90 days to correct the violations and come into compliance. Councilman Gomez said the council would be remiss if they did not address violations. Mr. Hall said Mr. Tunks has been open approximately 4 years and there have been no problems. He said this action is a result of complaints received from the school and parents regarding hours of operations and products being sold, going on to say it is not the intent of the City to close the business just to bring it into compliance. Mr. Hall said the City has no problem with the terms of the lease but the problems are with the hours of operation and the items being sold, going on to say that Mr. Tunks has contacted his attorney, which was not necessary. Councilman Withers asked if the financial reports required in Section 2 of the contract have been filed. Mr. Hall said they have been filed but they have not been in compliance. Mr. Hall noted that to his knowledge the token payment of $].00 per year has never been paid. Mr. Tunks, owner of the course said the $1.00 has been 8 paid each year. Vivian Bedell, 3 Holden Circle said that we do need activities for the youth but they need to be safe and healthy and she knows these particular things have been sold. At this time, Councilman Withers amended his motion to include activating the 90 day termination clause. Councilman Gomez again seconded the motion which carried with a unanimous roll call vote. ]]. CONSIDERATION OF REJECTION OF THE BIDS RECEIVED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN ANIMAL SHELTER Bill Hall said bids were opened April 24, and only two bids had been received for the Animal Shelter project and both were approximately 100% over budget. The two bids received were from; Tegrus at $29~7,740 and DBR at $2559]42 and that a reason for such high bids has not been determined. Brian Moore with DBA Architects said he felt the following reason contributed to the high bids: ]. Contractors did not get specs until 2 days before the bid opening, which is not enough time to prepare proper bid documents. 2. Only one of the contractors contacted the architects, DBR and that was two days before opening. The architects contacted Tegrus themselves. Mr. Moore said competitive bids were not received and that he still feels the project can be dome for $]50,000. He went on to say all items in the bidders breakdown were high. Mr. Moore said we can re-advertise for bids, revise the specs and drawing and campaign more actively to attract bidders. Mayor Manning asked about prior projects and Mr. Moore said his firm has handled veterinarian and animal hospital projects but they were not competitive bid projects. Mr. Moore said the contractors his firm has worked with on competitive bid projects will not bid on this small project. Councilman Gomez said he is concerned over the heating, air conditioning and plumbing portion of the specs and wants local contractors to be able to bid those items. Mr. Hall said the project can be bid without those items and then those can be bid separately. Mr. Moore said the next step after rejecting these bids is to re-advertise and stated that DBA will pay for the re-advertising expense, noting that expanding the advertising will not help bring in more bidders. Councilman Lynch noted that clear plans and specs will produce lower bids. Mr. Hall said that after the bid opening he did re-check references for DBA Architects and did ask more questions regarding this project to determine how this project could have come in so high. Mr. Hall said the architectural firm was highly recommended by all references and that the recommendation is to reject these bids and to re-advertise the project. Councilman Gomez moved to reject the bids and Councilman Marks seconded the motion. Councilman Gomez said he wanted staff directed to allow local contractors to bid on heating, air 9 ,' q399o conditioning and plumbing. Councilman Lynch said he does not think you can restrict the bids to local businesses but you can restrict the bids to small businesses and that he is in favor of that. Councilman Withers said he is in favor of both minority and small businesses. Councilman Marks said he would like to see The Colony contractors have the opportunity to bid on the alternates in their specialty. Brian Moore, DBA Architects said that Heating and Air Conditioning and Plumbing can be set aside as a separate part of the bids. Councilman Burchard asked if that would cost more and Mr. Moore said probably not. Councilmen Burchard, Marks and Withers said they would be in favor of that process. Tim Baggett said one reason for the light turn out of bidders could be bad weather, noting all contractors are busy catching up and if the heating and air conditioning and plumbing is broken out, it may slow down the project with scheduling problems. Mr. Baggett said a $]60,000 project is a loser to a contractor and the more blocks you throw up the less chance there is for attracting good bidders. Vivian Bedell said a project like this needs one boss or it will wind up a hodge-podge and urged the Council not to break out the heating, air conditioning and plumbing so that quality work could be ensured. She said there are not many contractors in The Colony. Councilman Marks suggested re-bidding and see the outcome. Councilman Burchard agreed to re-bid as is. At this time, the motion to reject the bids carried with a unanimous roll call vote. Before addressing item No. ]2~ it was noted that the motion did not authorize re-advertising the bids. Councilman Gomez moved to authorize re-advertisement of the bids for the Animal Shelter, Councilman Burchard seconded the motion which carried with a unanimous roll call vote. ]2. CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE AND AWARD OF BIDS FOR THE SALE OF A ]964 AMERICAN LAFRANCE FIRE TRUCK Mr. Hall advised the Council that this fire truck is not running and that it is not feasible to repair it therefore bids for the sale of the truck had been accepted. Mr. Hall said one bid was received from Gordon Couvillion, Bois Verde Landscape offering to plant 30 trees within the City in exchange for the fire truck. Mr. Hall noted this is the same company who has been placing trees throughout the city and these trees will be of the same caliper. Mr. Hall did state the minimum bid was to have been $3000.00 and Mr. Couvillion's was not quite enough, but that after the bid is accepted, it can be negotiated up to be equal to $3000.00, which is staff's recommendation. Councilman Burchard moved to accept the bid and award to Mr. Couvillion with negotiations to bring the bid up to $3000.00 value. Councilman Gomez seconded the motion. Mayor Manning asked Derek Earle with Fox and Jacobs if the trees on the Lakeridge Estates ]0 property to be cleared could be transplanted in the city. Mr. Earle said he had planned to pay his plat fees with trees!. Mr. Earle went on to say that he would work with the staff to get the trees moved. The motion then carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 13. COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS There were no committee reports at this time. Councilman Gomez did state that the Cable T.V. Committee has found that TCIC Cable is not in compliance with Section 12 of the agreement and asked staff to take some action regarding that. Mayor Manning directed staff to follow up on this matter. 14. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT S.R.F. - approved by the Texas Water Development Board. We are in the final stages of the project. We now need approval from the Texas Water Commission. We have received the wastewater treatment plant permit approval which will allow expansion, when ready, from 2.5 to 5 million gallons. 2. May 30, ]991 from 8:30 to 3:30 at NTCOG there will be a work shop for mayors and council members, mayor Manning encouraged all council to attend, stating it is imperative we be prepared to do our job. 3. A letter from Sandie Jacobs advising the County is going to give immunizations at the Government Center in The Colony at a cost of $5.00 - $]0.00. 4. Have been in contact with Texas Emergency management regarding financial help due to the storm. Criteria is 25 homes with 40% damage and not covered by insurance. We are not eligible. 5. We are working on re-activating the old blue van as a mobile command post. Equipment is available, and the van is running. 6. Councilman Lynch noted that fire ant poison is also available from Denton County. There was a brief discussion regarding a fireworks display this year. Mr. Hall said no money was allocated for that purpose, noting that some businesses had made commitments to donate funds but not enough and that it is too late to order now. Councilman Burchard said he thinks council should have some input regarding location of the new trees to be planted. This should be on the next agenda. He also said he is forming a committee to study the needs of the Eastvale area and has asked Councilman Lynch to serve on the committee. Mayor Manning reminded all that there will be a special session on May 13, ]99! to swear in new council members and that the Council will interview for Place 3 appointment on May 28, 1991. Councilman Marks thanked Councilman Steve Withers for all tbe time he has given the city during his tenure on the Council. With no further business to address, Councilman Lynch moved to adjourn, Councilman Marks seconded the motion which carried with all members voting Aye. Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 9:35 p.m. APPROVED: William W. i ATTEST: Patti A. Hicks, CMC City Secretary ~2