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Home My WebLink About08/28/1991 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON AUGUST 28~ 1991 The Work Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at ?:07 p.m. on the 28th day of August, ]99! at City Hall with the following Council roll call: Bill Manning, Mayor Present Mike Lynch, Councilman Absent Billy Sharp, Councilman Present Dale Therio, Councilman Present Rob Burchard, Councilman Present (Arrived at ?:20) Lou Gomez, Councilman Present Joel Marks, Mayor Pro-rem Present and with five present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: ]. WORK SESSION REGARDING THE MUNICIPAL BUDGET FY ]99]-]992 Mr. Hall advised the Council that staff had not been required to attend and that he would address most of the items. Going on, Mr. Hall said neither the Capital Programs/Proposals or the Personnel requests have been edited at staff level. CAPITAL PROGRAMS/PROPOSALS Sidewalk - North Colony Boulevard and Volleyball area at the Aquatic Park. Council requested a cost comparison between doing this project in-house or through contractors. Recognition Program - Boards and Commissions. Mayor Manning reminded Council that when the joint retreats were cut, it was agreed that something needed to be done to recognize the work done by the boards and commissions. Most of the council expressed their agreement with this program. Recondition/Rebuild - Royal 4003 Copier - City Hall. The discussion covered costs of a new machine, renting/leasing, etc. Also considered was costs of service contracts and supplies. Mr. Hall advised against buying a machine, stating that with technology advancing so rapidly, we would soon own an outdated piece of machinery. Consensus of Council was to rent a machine and Ms. Sebera was directed to gather information regarding the price difference between rebuilding the Royal 4003 and renting a new machine. Irrigation System at Library. Mr. Hall advised this is the only building in the Complex that is not irrigated. Discussion regarding doing this job i-house or by contract. Mr. Hall advised the city does not have the proper equipment and it would also take 2 manpower from other projects if this is done in-house. Contracting is preferable. Fence in Carr/Chapman Alley - Repair or Replacement. Mr. Hall said this has been a source of concern since the consolidation of Eastvale and The Colony and the fence has been repaired numerous times. Mr. Tommy Turner, Chief Morrison and Chief Gibson all addressed the Council regarding this item. Chief Morrison stated it would be easier for equipment to pass through this area if the fence was not there. After further discussion~ it was the general consensus of Council to have the fence removed. East Lake Highlands - Resurfacing. The new Animal Shelter will be located on this road, which will increase the need for proper drainage. This road was not included in the SRF road improvements "change order". Mr. Turner said that asphalt could be used and the road should last for approximately 15 years. Council agreed this needs to be done. Rehabilitation of Water Mains - Mr. Hall said approximately 1300 feet of water mains needs rehabilitating. Mr. Hall said it would be more appropriate to place this item on the five year capital project list, advising there are several other areas in the city that need attention and recommended a future bond issue for all, rather than "band-aiding" across the city. The possibility of using the proposed $0,000 for street repairs or as a contingency for unforeseen problems was discussed at length. Rehabilitation of Well Pump and Motor - #3 Pump Station. After lengthy discussion Mr. Hall advised that the City does have the luxury of having access to Dallas water~ therefore, we do not have to shut down. Councilman Gomez and tommy Turner are to meet to perform system electrical checks on the well pump motor. The Council agreed to postpone the rehabilitation. Resurfacing and Repainting of the Elevated Storage Tank. Mr. Hall advised that the tank needs to be inspected~ and this request is not so much for aesthetic purposes as it is due to the overall condition of the tank. It was also noted that the $80,000.00 quote was 3 to 4 years old. Council discussed having "The Colony" or the city logo painted on the tank and it was agreed that the tank should be resurfaced and repainted this year. Roof Repair - Utility office. Mr. Turner said the building leaks every time it rains. Mr. Hall said there are several other items not on the list that he would like to bring to Council's attention: 1. Safety Program - It is in place and coordination with the Library has been done to set aside a special section for safety training materials. Mr. Hall noted there is no money or line item 3 in the budget for this and recommended approximately $700.00 be allotted for training videos and materials. Mr. Hall stated these materials will be exclusively for employees. After a brief discussion regarding impact on insurance, etc., the Council agreed this is a worthwhile expenditure. Monetary Donation to SPAN. Mr. Hall said SPAN has requested a donation, noting the City currently donates the use of the Civic Center to SPAN. Councilman Burchard said he would like to know what the money is for and how it will be administered. Bob van Til will gather the information for Council. Rehabilitation of Streets. PERSONNEL REQUESTS Fire Department - 3 Fire Fighters/EMT's Chief Van Morrison advised they had proposed to have Fire Station #2 manned last year, however, the personnel to achieve this was not approved last year. Chief Morrison went on, stating they decided not to open Station #2 because of the safety factor involved in having one man responding with no back up. Lengthy discussion followed. Police Department 3 Patrol Officers. Chief Ted Gibson advised this request is due to patrol officers having to answer calls by themselves, when back-up is advisable or even necessary. The chief stressed that this request is for safety purposes. Chief Gibson said if the take home car policy is eliminated, there will be enough vehicles to accommodate new officers. If the policy is not eliminated, there will not be enough vehicles. Lengthy discussion regarding overtime, present staffing and hours. DARE Program Officer Lt. Murray advised the DARE Program is geared toward the 5th and 6th grad students. She said the school administration has stated they are not willing to help with funding this year. Lengthy discussion followed regarding the program and it was agreed this is one of the best programs the city could implement, perhaps worth a tax increase, if necessary. Mr. Hall advised that this officer could possibly get the "Helping Hands" program started again. Discussion followed. Secretarial Position - Upgrade. Chief Gibson advised the position has taken on added responsibilities and noted the current employee has been "topped out" for two years. Discussion followed. Inspections Department - Records Clerk, Certificate Pay Judy Talbot addressed the need for a records clerk in the Health/Animal Control division, noting this need will be greater when the new shelter is opened. Ms. Talbot is also requesting certification pay and on-call pay for Animal Control Officers. Mr. Hall recommended certificate pay remain at the same level across the board. Ms. Talbot is to gather figures regarding the cost for on-call officers' responding. Personnel Department - Secretary Katherine Martinez addressed the Council regarding a full time secretary, stating it has always been a "one man" office, noting there is a need to have someone in Personnel when she is out sick or on vacation. Mr. Hall addressed the "time-share" secretary as requested by the City Secretary, stating that presently Ms. Sandie Chance has been shared by the City Secretary, Personnel and Court, which has worked well. Discussion followed. Library - Secretary Joan Sveinsson advised Council that presently there is no secretary at the Library, therefore she prepares all correspondence, reports, etc., in addition to her duties as the department head.~ The secretary could also be used as a receptionist, freeing up not only Ms. Sveinsson, but other employees as well. Discussion regarding the request for a Youth Services Librarian. This addition would allow the Library to expand its services to the youth of the city. After further discussion, Ms. Sveinsson addressed her requests for an additional Circulation Clerk and Par-time Page, advising that the Library would be able to expand its operating hours with these additions. Ms. Sveinsson will update the proposal for opening on Sunday. Councilman Burchard would like a copy of the operating hours survey. With no further business to address Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 10:50 p.m. APPROVED: ATTEST: nning] Ma~ tary [SEAL]