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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/03/1991 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON June 3, 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 3rd day of June, ]99], at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William W. Manning, Mayor Present Mike Lynch, Councilman Present Billy Sharp, Councilman Present Rob Burchard, Councilman Absent Lou Gomez, Councilman Present Joel Marks, Mayor Pro-tem Absent and with four present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 2. ADMINISTER OATH OF OFFICE TO COUNCILMEMBER PLACE 3 Patti Hicks, City Secretary administered the Oath of Office to Dale Therio, the newly appointed Councilman for Place 3. Mr. Therio then took his place at the dais. 3. CITIZEN INPUT L.C. Thompson, 4225 Iola, addressed the Council regarding a miniature train for Stewart Creek Park, that the city had the opportunity to purchase. Ms. Thompson said the Park and Recreation Board had recommended against acquiring the train, even after persons had offered to donate funds to help defray the costs. She said the train was a good idea, would be a source of revenue and enjoyable to the children. She asked the Council to form a committee to study the feasibility of this project. Patricia Vance, 4733 Roberts, said a law passed last year requires the city to have an Animal Shelter Standards committee, going on to say the committee was established and was supposed to meet 3 times a year, but there has been no meeting this years. She said she thinks she is on the committee, but she has no idea who is chairman, etc. Booker T. Jackson, Jr., 5600 Painter, expressed his appreciation to the Council for the interview he was granted to fill the Place 3 vacancy. He congratulated Councilman therio and proceeded to give a bit of his personal background. Mr Jackson offered the city his assistance. He said the City should have a better attitude toward all it's citizens; renters and homeowners alike. Mr. Jackson went on to say The Colony has the same concerns as other cities. ()0402 Dick Weaver, 4940 Hackney Lane, expressed concern over the recent advertisement received by cable T.V. subscribers regarding the "Encore" service. Mr. Weaver said this is a poor merchandising method and that he understands other states have taken to company to court regarding this. Mr. Weaver asked that Council direct City staff to advise the citizens of this issue. Mayor Manning said he has already expressed his displeasure. Councilman Lynch noted the City of Dallas has threatened to suspend the T.C.I. Cable Co. franchise. Mayor Manning suggested the Cable Committee look into this. Mr. Hall said he had expressed his concerns at the last council meeting and had given Jeff Ball, editor, an interview to place information in the paper for citizens to be aware. Mr. Hall also said the State Attorney General did rule in favor of T.C.I. but the Better Business Bureau has suspended T.C.I. for 90 days and is considering permanent suspension. Councilman Gomez said one of the aspects of the Cable Committee is to review the franchise agreement. 4. RECEIVE PRESENTATION FROM "CAPTAIN WASTE" Dewayne Pomykal with Texas Waste Management introduced Stan Weik, who plays the part of "Captain Waste". Mr. Weik said it is hard to bring the Council up to date on recycling in 5 - 10 minutes, mentioning that he does offer 2 hour workshops regarding waste management. Mr. Weik said he does go to schools as "Captain Waste" because the youth must be involved in waste management. Going on, Mr. Weik said the legislature had just passed the Texas Recycling Act, but it should be named the Texas Waste Reduction Act. He said the goal is to reduce the amount of waste going into landfills by 40% by January 1994. He said working together we can get there and thanked the council for letting him come by. Mr. Weik said anyone who is interested in more information should call 214-550-1774 and ask for Stan Weik or the "Captain". 5. CONSIDERATION OF THE FINAL PLAT FOR LAKERIDGE ESTATES AS PRESENTED BY CENTEX REAL ESTATE Bob van Til reminded all those present that the 37 acre subdivision is located on the west side of FM 423 just north of S. Colony Blvd. He said the preliminary plat had been approved March ]5, ]99] with three stipulations: 1) S. Colony be extended westward, ]/2 of the roadway to be constructed at tbe same time as the subdivision, 2) a left hand stacking lane onto Street D and 3) the 27" sanitary sewer shown on the master plan will be installed by the developer when the south planning unit develops. Mr. van Til said approval of the final plat has been recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission provided approval from all the entities involved are received. (Corps of Engineers, Highway Department and FEMA) Mr. van Til did say there are still some concerns regarding drainage and the S. Colony extension. Outlining those he said a great deal of review has gone into the drainage olans to ensure its 4 correctness and that the plan is almost complete. Mr. van Til said the developer has to acquire the Rigbt of Way across property which is currently in foreclosure and is under FDIC. He said there are verbal assurances from Centex and FDIC that the Right of Way acquisition if favorable. Mr. van Til said the plat does meet all requirements of the city and that he recommends approval contingent on the Right of Way being acquired in a timely fashion. He went on to say that the city has granted the developer temporary access to the property across lots 15 and ]6 until the Right of Way is acquired. Mayor Manning asked Mr. van Til if he is comfortable that all these needs will be met. Mr. van Til said there is no reason to believe there will be any problems. Councilman Lynch asked about street lighting plans and Mr. van Til said the plat indicates easements but not actual lights. Councilman Therio asked what is meant by a timely fashion. Mr. van Til said the Right of Way would have to be acquired before any occupancy could take place. Councilman Gomez moved to approved as presented contingent on acquisition of the necessary Right of Way. Councilman Sharp seconded the motion, which carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 6. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Manning summarized the Consent Agenda. A. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON MAY 20 AND 28, 1991 Councilman Gomez moved to approve the minutes as written and Councilman Lynch seconded the motion which carried with a unanimous roll call vote. B. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE RATIFYING THE ACCEPTANCE AND AWARD OF BIDS FOR THE STATE REVOLVING FUND PROJECT Councilman Lynch asked if this is the same as the original contract awarded earlier. Mr. Hall explained that when the bids were awarded, an ordinance had not been passed authorizing him (City Manager) to sign the contracts and that this ordinance is merely ratifying the action taken previously and authorizing him to sign the contracts. Councilman Lynch moved to approve the ordinance and Councilman Gomez seconded the ~notion, which carried with a unanimous roll call vote. C. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 6-5 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES~ BY AMENDING THE UNIFORM PLUMBING CODE AS ADOPTED, BY ADDING SECTION 6-5 (]) RELATING TO WATER CONSERVATION Councilman Gomez moved to approve the ordinance as written and Councilman Lynch seconded the motion which carried with a unanimous roll call vote. D. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE USE OF SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION FUNDS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE B. B. OWENS SOFTBALL FIELD COMPLEX Councilman Gomez moved to approve the use of the funds as recommended and Councilman Lynch seconded the motion which carried with a unanimous roll call vote. E. CONSIDERATION OF GRANTING A UTILITY EASEMENT TO THE CITY OF FRISCO FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF SANITARY SEWER UTILITIES Councilman Gomez moved to approve the ordinance as written and Councilman Lynch seconded the motion which carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 7. CONSIDERATION OF BIDS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN ANIMAL SHELTER Mr. Hall said that the second bids were advertised to be opened on May 28, ~991, and gave a brief history of the project to that point. He said the specs had been changed and that seven contractors had picked up those documents prior to the time of bid opening, however, there were no bids received. Mr. Hall said that two bids came in at approximately 3:10 p.m., but per State law, they cannot be accepted. Mr. Hall went on to say he had expressed his concerns to Brian Moore, architect for this project. He said there are two options 1) re-bid with the same specs or 2) re-design the project and re-bid. Mr. Hall said it will be at least August or September before there will be a new shelter. Councilman Sharp asked staff recommendation. Mr. Hall said he is very uncomfortable with the position in which this has placed the city, noting that the engineering estimate came in at a minimum of $~50,000 and wondered how a budget of $]40,000 had been encouraged by the architects. He said major changes in the design are needed. Councilman Gomez said he has had reservations about this project from the beginning asking why, if the engineering estimate came in at $158,000 why the architect expected the bids to come in at $]40,000. Councilman Gomez said we need a shelter and that we need to look at another architectural firm. Councilman Therio asked about time, and Mr. Hall said the State has said we must expand but they have not set a deadline for such. Mr. Hall said it would take 8 - 10 days to seek new proposals and probably 8 - ]0 weeks to get a new design back to the council for approval, making it 2 months before bids could be advertised for construction. Councilman Lynch said if more money is needed then we should go for it and leave the design as is. Mayor Manning said when this started the council said to spend $]50,000 and asked the architect to meet that budget. Going on, he said they did not do that~ and suggested that cuts be made to the 6 current plan, naming some options. Councilman Gomez agreed, noting that a lot of time has been wasted, but that he is not confident in this architectural firm and suggested a committee of an architect, a human group representative and 1 or 2 local contractors to come back in two weeks with a plan. Mr. Hall sai that $3500.00 has been paid to this firm to do just that and the firm should have come in with an engineering estimate to be approved by staff before bids were ever advertised. Mr. Hall said if we keep this firm they should to the work, not a committee of citizens and if not then a new firm should do that job. Brian Moore, DBA Architects, quoted from the AIA contract sections, 5.2, 5.2. l, 5.2.2, 5.2.4 and 5.2.5. Mr. Moore said be cannot control charges of contractors and that he has performed according to this contract. He said he has done nothing wrong under this contract and that as a citizen and a taxpayer, he feels it is not prudent to terminate his contract and hire another firm. Mr. Moore asked the Council to let him do his job, stating that he wants to see this building done. Councilman Gomez said he doesn't expect Mr. Moore to warrant a contractor's bid, but that he doesn;t believe Mr. Moore has given the city accurate estimates. Mr. Moore said he was over optimistic, thinking he could get the City a bargain by attracting "hungry" contractors. Mayor Manning asked Mr. Moore if he could come in for $150,000. Mr. Moore stated that he now believes this project cannot be done for that budget. He said the number of kennels can't be cut, noting that Jan Buck from the State Health Department has the final word on the design, but went on to say perhaps the square footage could be cut to reduce the costs. David Rolbiecki said the number of kennels planned would be sufficient for a city of 48,000 so the number can be cut and also noted the original design did not call for a sally port. Councilman Sharp told Mr. Moore that he as an architect should know current construction costs and asked about the difference between a stick frame and a metal frame building. Mr. Moore said a stick frame would be less expensive and recommeded if this is re-bid to bid only a wood building. He went on to say it would take 3 weeks to change the drawings and specs to a stick frame building. He said some other changes could be made to reduce costs. Councuilman Gomez asked if he (Moore) was confident he could be successful on the 3rd bid and if he is not successful, would he commit that the city should start from scratch with another firm. Mr. Moor.e said he does have a reputation to re-gain and that he feels the city should cooperate with him in completing this project. Mayor Manning said he would rather stay with the same firm but wants to feel confident the re-design will be within budget. Mr. Hall said be agrees with the following stipulations: 1 . Revisions will be to staff before the bid is advertised. 2. The engineering estimate will be consistent with the budget. 3. Plans and specs will be to council by the June ]7, ]991 council meeting for approval. 4. This process will be at no additional cost to the City. Mr. Moore said there will be no charge to the City, but he cannot guarantee the cost and will give the best estimate. Mayor Manning said then he (Moore) needs to cut sufficiently to ensure that this project will come in under budtet. Councilman Therio asked Mr. Moore if he has considered a different estimator. Mr. Moore said he had not, that he has used this man in the past and the estimates have been very accurate, and that he will continue to use him in the future, noting however, that for this particular project he may look elsewhere. Councilman Sharp moved to give the firm another change with assistance from staff to achieve the city's needs. Councilman Gomez seconded the motion. Robin Bauman urged the Council to consider the lives of animals asking if they have pets and if they have visited the shelter lately. Mr. Bauman said ti is disgusting and said this is a good plan but that time is important. 8. CONSIDERATION OF A REQUEST TO W~VE THE CONSTRUCTION FEES FOR THE NEW CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUILDING Bob van Til said the Chamber is constructing a new building on the corner of Chowning Cir. and FM 423 and has requested a waiver of certain construction fees, including ]. Building Permit - $460.00, 2. Building Plan Review Fee - $298.00, 3. Impact Fees; a. Water $250.00 and b. Wastewater $9]9.99, and 4. Certificate of Occupancy - $25.00 for a total of $]962.00. Councilman Gomez moved to approve the waiver as presented. Councilman Therio seconded the motion. Councilman Lynch asked if this has been done before other than with L.I.S.D. Mr. Hall said no but since this is a joint effort with the Chamber it is appropriate. Councilman Therio asked the actual cost to perform these taskes. Mr. Hall said these are estimated fees~ some by square foot, but there are no administrative costs. Councilman Lynch asked about deferring the fees, in case the building sells, or suggested an in kind exchange of services. Mayor Manning said we already get a lot of in kind services from the Chamber. Chamber President, Vivian Bedell said this building will benefit the whole city. Councilman Gomez said this is a nominal fee and ti would cost more to monitor in kind exhanges. The motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 9. CONSIDERATION OF A CHANGE ORDER IN THE AMOUNT OF $]132.00 TO THE CONTRACT WITH ATKINS BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION CO. FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SANITARY SYSTEM IN THE EASTVALE SUBDIVISION Bill Hall said the contract awarded to Atkins Brothers on April ~5, ]99] for the S.R.F. project did not include the submersible pump. He said Terry Millican recommended the Flyght pump for an amount of $1132.00 and recommended approving this change order in that amount. Mr. Hall noted 2 other changes which have no monetary impact; 1) S.F.R. Form 4 - Conditions and 2) N.C.T.C.O.G. requires certain tests be done. Mr. Hall said this will bring the contract amount to $866,857.00. Councilman Lynch moved to approve the change order in the amount of $]132.00 bringing the contract amount to $866,857.00. Councilman Gomez seconded the motion which carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 10. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A SURCHARGE FOR THE RE-PAYMENT OF THE STATE REVOLVING FUND LOAN ACQUIRED FOR THE INSTALLATION OF SANITARY SEWER IMPROVEMENTS IN THE EASTVALE SUB-DIVISION Mayor read the caption of the ordinance as follows: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY~ TEXAS AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES AMENDING CHAPTER ]2, BY AMENDING WATER AND SEWER CODES AS ADOPTED BY ORDINANCE NO. 4497 PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL THE 29TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER~ ]986; AMENDING SECTION 6 OF THE WATER AND SEWER CODES; ESTABLISHING A SEWER SURCHARGE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Bill Hall explained this is the surcharge to be added to each residential utility bill to repay the 7.3 million dollar loan to construct the Eastvale sewer system. Mr. Hall went on to say the loan is funded through the Texas Water Development Board and is financed over a twenty year period. He said the payments must be absorbed by the entire city, and that First Southwest Investment Corp., the City's financial advisor, has prepared the final monthly charge for this loan payment and established the cost at $1.65 per month, per customer. He stated this amount was derived from calculations based on an annual payment of $1333,489.00 plus five percent bad debts, and to provide for an annual reserve fund for the initial five year period of the loan, and were proposed on 7100 sewer customers. Councilman Gomez asked when this would be effective. Ms. Jackie Carroll said it would be on the billing that on June 24, 199]. Councilman Therio asked about the plan to use tax revenue from the Eastvale area to make improvements there. Mayor Manning explained that those were promises that could not be kept and this is the best solution to the problem. Councilman Lynch asked if the amount would remain constant and noted we have to take the full $1.3 even thought the contract for construction is only $866,000 to cover change orders, etc. Jim Wallace, 5032 Pemberton said when the water rate issue came up, he though we were told we can't add a surcharge. Bill Hall said in order to qualify for the S.R.F. loan, the city had to 9 have a user based water and sewer rate. That was done last year and this amount is specifically to repay the loan and can be done ~ by surcharge. Councilman Gomez moved to approve the ordinance as written and Councilman Lynch seconded the motion whicb carried with all members voting Aye, with the exception of Councilman Therio, who abstained. 11. ACTIONS TAKEN REGARDING THE ISLAND MINI-GOLF CONTRACT Bill Hall referenced his memorandum to Council, as well as minutes from the Council meeting and the Park and Recreation Board meetings regarding this issue. He said the Council had placed the 90 day termination clause in motion and had referred the contract to the Park and Recreation Board for review. The Board did address the contract and unanimously concurred with the Council decision to terminate the contract. The Board that Mr. Tunks has not comolied with the terms of the agreement. Mr. Hall advised a registered letter has been mailed to Mrs. Tunks (the legal owner) giving 90 days to vacate the property. Councilman Gomez said the Park and Recreation Board minutes indicate that Mr. Tunks feels no remorse for his violation of the contract, noting $1.00 a year to the city is not worth it. 12. COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS None 13. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT 1. Plano Parkway - buttons being replaced at a price of $2.29 per button for a total of $3800.00, and will be done shortly. 2. Democratic Club Memorial Day Picnic - Persons were allowed into Stewart Creek Park free with a flyer. 20 flyers were collected. 3. Residential ~ater wells - several residents west of 423 has requested permission to dig wells on their property. As long as it is not tied into potable water system, then it is allowable. They must comply with the Texas Health Department standards. There is at least one done and another soon to start. Mayor Manning asked if we should have an ordinance to regulate these wells. Mr. Hall agreed that we should and the Mayor directed staff to prepare such an ordinance. Councilman Lynch said he thought the city was not in favor of wells and were going to try to stop the action. Mr. Hall said we do have concerns over that but the Texas Health Department approves the wells and State law allows it, tberefore a city cannot pass an ordinance to prevent it. 4. Handicap ramp - Councilman Burchard had worked with staff regarding a local resident who has a handicapped spouse. We started this program about 2 years and have done 4 in front of -" residences so far. ]0 5. Location of trees - Several pocket parks have been targeted to received trees, as well as the Library, Municipal Complex, and FM 423. 6. Two golf organizations were given a deadline of June 30, 1991 to present their proposals. U.S. Golf Corporation, working with Charles Childers is ready to go. Golf West still plans to send in a proposal. With no further business to address, Councilman Gomez moved to adjourn and Councilman Marks seconded the motion which carried with all members voting Aye. Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 9:42 p.m. APPROVED: ~am W. Manning, Mayor ATTEST: Patti A. Hicks, City Secretary