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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/07/1991 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON DECEMBER 2, 1991 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 2nd day of December, 199], at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William W. Manning, Mayor Present Mike Lynch, Councilman Present Billy Sharp, Councilman Present Dale Therio, Councilman Present Rob Burchard, Councilman Present Lou Gomez, Councilman Present Joel Marks, Mayor Pro-tem Present and with seven present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: ]. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 2. CITIZEN INPUT Dick Weaver, 4949 Hackney thanked the council for nominating him to serve on the Appraisal Board of Directors, even though he was not elected. He said he thinks he is too conservative, and advised the council if they wish to get someone elected to the board they should work with LISD to help us because they have the most votes in the district. Kentucky Fried Chicken representatives including Stephanie Rusk and Earl Donahue, Area Supervisor advised their new store is open for business and the Grand Opening will be this Thursday. Robert Rojas, 5905 Fox Dr., asked if there is a comprehensive plan to review and Mr. Hall told him to contact Mr. van Til. Mr. Rojas also asked about the landscaping and maintenance of the Northpointe area. He went on to say the trees are not maintained and asked if there is a sprinkling schedule. He also noted some trees have died and have not been removed. Bill Hall said there is some re-planting of trees going on now, and those dead trees will be replaced by the City not by Centex. Mr. Rojas said on the wall on the north side of Northpointe (Phase 4) is falling down and has been boarded up. He asked how it will be maintained. Mr. Hall said there are replacement panels of the same material and that Mr. van Til has been working with Centex regarding that today. Also, Mr. Rojas asked about another access to Hwy 12]. Mayor Manning said that North Colony will eventually be extended to ]2], but since the right-of-way lies in another city, we have no control over when that will happen. 3 3. INTRODUCTION OF MAYOR AND MAYOR PRO-TEM FROM THE CITY OF FRISCO Mayor Bob Warren, City of Frisco, said he is repaying a visit made to his city a few weeks ago by Mayor Manning and Mayor Pro-tem Marks. Mayor Warren apologized for Van Nichols, Mayor Pro-tem, absence. He said Mr. Nichols had to go out of town on business. Mayor Warren said that after The Colony's visit, the council ordered him and Mr. Nichols to reciprocate. Mayor Warren said Frisco, like The Colony wants to extend their hand and be good neighbors. He said the friendship which now exists should continue~ noting there are many things that require cooperation between the two cities. The Colony has been very kind in the past to help Frisco overcome some obstacles in Stonebriar and Mayor Warren said he hopes the favor can be returned. 4. PRESENTATION TO THE COLONY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Mayor Manning presented a plaque to Vivian Preston, President of The Colony Chamber of Commerce. The plaque was prepared in honor of the ground breaking for the new Chamber building held on November 7. The City had presented a small gold shovel to the Chamber and this was mounted onto the plaque. 5. RECOGNITION OF JIM LEIGHTON~ WASTEWATER DEPARTMENT Bill Hall said he was informed a few weeks ago of an outstanding achievement by one of the City's long time employees, Jim Leighton. Mr. Hall said Mr. Leighton has received his Class A wastewater license, noting that within that field there are four levels; D, C, B and A, with A being the highest. Mr. Hall said Jim is the only utility department employee to receive this license and is one of less than 200 in the entire State of Texas. Mr. Leighton addressed the council, stating it is a pleasure to work in a city that allowed him to achieve this certificate. He said it took time and budget considerations, as well as the backing of City Manager and the City Council. Mr. Leighton said this backing is greatly appreciated by all employees in the utility department. 6. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Manning summarized the items on the Consent Agenda. A. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON NOVEMBER 187 ]991 Notion to approve the minutes - Lynch; Second - Sharp. Notion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. B. CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTING LETTER OF RESIGNATION FROM PLANNING AND ZONING MEMBER~ RALPH MITCHELL 4 Motion to approve the resignation - Lynch; Second - Sharp. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. C. GONSIDERATION OF AGGEPTANCE AND AWARD OF BIDS FOR THE PURGHASE OF TWO HEART MONITOR-DEFIBRILLATORS, AND APPROVAL OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING GONTRACT FOR SAME Motion to accept and award the bids and approve the ordinance - Lynch; Second - Sharp. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. D. CONSIDERATION AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AND ALLOWING~ UNDER THE ACT GOVERNING THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL RETIREMENT SYSTEM~ UPDATED SERVICE CREDITS IN SAID SYSTEM Councilman Burchard asked if we have looked at the long term financial impact of this change. Katherine Martinez said 5.6% is paid on a monthly basis now and with the change we will pay 6.05% Councilman Burchard asked if we know the dollar figure and Ms. Martinez said she could get that. Ms. Martinez also said we have to consider that the money put into the system for employees who subsequently leave, stays in the system and is used for the current employees. Councilman Burchard asked how many cities participate and Mr. England said 85% of the cities in the State, but noted the percentage in the metroplex is higher. Mr. Hall explained that we passed the first ordinance to implement the updated service credits three years ago and most recently there have been some changes which will allow us to adopt this ordinance and then we will not have to do it again. Motion to postpone until December 16, for fiscal impact information - Burchard; Second - Therio. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. E0 CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE AND AWARD OF PROPOSALS FOR THE PURCHASE OF A COMPUTER NETWORK SYSTEM FOR ADMINISTRATIVE OFFIGES AND APPROVAL OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING CONTRACT FOR SAME Councilman Lynch noted the base system is at $20,800 and the options equal $13,600. He said there is no printer in the base proposal and a printer was in the specs. Councilman Gomez advised there are three printer listed under optional equipment but we may only purchase one. Mr. Hall recommended accepting the proposal and then negotiating the options to bring the project under the budgeted amount. Councilman Gomez stated now that the prices are in, we can work with the staff for exact needs. Councilman Lynch said we should wait until we know the amount to approve the ordinance. Bill Hall advised we could do that but that the council has already approved $30,000 for this purchase. 5 Motion to accept the proposal but to omit the ordinance until the exact cost is known - Marks; Second - Lynch. Councilman Gomez advised that the exact cost will be ready by the December 9, 199! meeting. Hotion carried with a unanimous roll call voter except for Councilman Gomez, who abstained. 7. CONSIDERATION OF ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR SENIOR CENTER PROGRAMS Bill Hall gave the background of this item, noting he received a call from A1 Murdock advising him that the congregate meal program in The Colony may be closed. Mr. Hall said he met with SPAN and found that we are the only city in the county to have it's program closed. Mr. Hall went on to say that this was addressed by Denton County Commissioner's Court and he also addressed the court. Commissioner's Jacobs gave an excellent presentation defending our program to the Court. There was a motion for the court to consider continuing a contribution in The Colony contributed. Mr. Hall said he has spoken with several persons and there are lots of concerns. SPAN is part of the United Way, which allocates $22,000 to SPAN, 10% of which goes to The Colony. Mr. Hall said he does not believe there is a 90/10 split in participation between The Colony, Lewisville and Flower Mound. Mr. Hall said he spoke with the Area Agency on Aging, and the director is concerned also, going on to say he will be visiting with her at COG on Thursday to go over budgets and he will have the necessary answers after that meeting. Mr. Hall went on to say he is not sure the allocation of funds is necessary, but proposed that we participate in any short fall, if any, to keep the congregate meal program going. Motion to support the Congregate Meal Program and participate later if money is needed - Gomez; Second - Lynch. Councilman Burchard said he is not sure a city can donate to a non-profit organization. Mr. Hall advised that we would not be contributing to the United Way but allocating funds for our own facility. Councilman Burchard said he is not sure this program is for "public purpose" Councilman Therio noted this is a federally funded program. Mr. Hall said governments cannot donate to non-profit organizations, however, we do provide the facility, utilities, etc for senior programs If we allocate funds it would not be to SPAN, but for the operation of our senior programs. Councilman Sharp said he supports SPAN but agrees with Burchard~ and went on to say he does not like The Colony being singled out. He said he wants the other cities to participate also. Mayor Manning agreed, stating we must do what we can to keep this program going. Councilman Burchard also asked about the SPAN Board of Directors and how we can get someone on the board to represent us. Ms. Roni Tulley, Director of SPAN, said they have been trying to get people on the Board, and have been told that Dick Weaver is willing to serve. Councilman Burchard directed the City Manager to get with the City Attorney regarding the legal aspects of the City giving to this program. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 8. CONSIDERATION OF UPGRADING THE POSITION OF PART TIME ANIMAL CONTROL TECHNICIAN Mr. Hall said this is not an action item, and advised that in early October, Judie Talbot, Health Director, had requested to upgrade the part-time Animal Shelter Technician to a full-time status. Mr. Hall said the request would be held until the new facility opened. Going on Mr. Hall said the present staffing at the Shelter is as follows: Health Director/Animal Control Supervisor Secretary (flex time) Animal Control/Inspections Animal Control Officers Part-time Shelter Technician Ms. Talbot was present and addressed the Council stating that Becky Watkins, current part-time employee, is a graduate veterinarian assistant. Ms. Talbot said in the two week since opening there have been 66 animals through the shelter. Ms. Talbot said Becky works 19 hours a week now and it is impossible to do the job efficiently in ]9 hours. Ms. Talbot fielded questions from the Council regarding increased hours, adoption rate of animals, etc. Motion to approve the request - Gomez Mr. Hall said no action is needed tonight, noting the salary is not set and recommended action on the 16th. Mayor Manning expressed concern over continuing to add employees to the city staff. He said the budget is need of work and we will have to have a major crunch in the future. 9. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 13 RELATING TO ALARM SYSTEMS Motion to approve the ordinance as written - Lynch; Second - Sharp. Mayor Manning explained that existing alarm systems have been "grandfathered" and that is the only thing that has been added to the ordinance. Ken Wood, 5000 N. Colony expressed concern because he always 7 hears that ordinances are "not a revenue making ordinance", and he agreed for it's need, but asked why everybody has to pay a permit fee just because some people can't get their system to work properly. Councilman Marks explained there is a need to know who has alarms in the city, just like the Fire Department needs to know what is in a building. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote, except for Councilman Gomez~ who abstained. 10. REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION OF THE INVESTMENT POLICY James England gave a very informative and detailed presentation of the investment policy, using overheads. After the presentation he explained the cash flow system at the city~ then summarized the policy in three areas; Safety, Liquidity, and Responsibility to the Citizens to protect their money. Motion to approve the investment policy - Burchard; Second - Therio. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 11. REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION OF AN ARRAIGNMENT POLICY Bill Hall advised there is a concern over how arraignments have been handled in the jail, noting he met with Judge Williams and the City Attorney regarding this. Chief Ted Gibson addressed the Council covering requirements regarding arraignments, and noting the lack of available magistrates on weekends and holidays. as well as during the day for Class C misdemeanors. He said they had been using set bonds provided by Judge Williams but that is no longer acceptable. Chief Gibson said Judge Hollifield (Justice of the Peace) is willing to be on call and the District Attorney says she can be a city magistrate. He also said Judge Williams is thinking about whether or not he will do it. There followed a lengthy discussion regarding procedures and methods of handling arraignments. Bill Hall said no action is necessary this was just to brief the council on this problem and noted that staff can now proceed without council action. 12. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 19 RELATING TO PARKING REQUIREMENTS; AMENDING SECTION 19-12 RELATING TO PARKING WITHIN TEN (10) FEET OF A POSTAL BOX Bill Hall said this has been talked about for sometime and Councilman Gomez asked that we address this problem. Mr. Hall said a meeting was held with the Postmaster and a mutual agreement was reached to purchase and install placard type "No Parking Within 10 Feet" signs on each cluster box in the City. As a part of the agreement, the Postal Service will either provjd the signs and the 8 City install them or vice versa. Chief Gibson said it has been agreed that the city will purchase the signs and the post office will install them. Mayor Manning said this means you can't pull up to the box and get your mail without violation the ordinance. After a brief discussion, it was decided to delete the words standing or stopping and leave only parking in the ordinance. Councilman Burchard asked why the city is incurring this cost to help the post office do their job. Mr. Hall said the City can't mark the boxes because they are federal property and the post office can't mark the curbs because they are city property. This is a solution to a mutual problem. Councilman Therio said this is a good idea, but it may eliminate some people from parking in front of their homes. Councilman Gomez said this has been a problem since the inception of the city and we now have finally reached an agreement, however, he agreed to delete stopping and standing. Motion to adopt the ordinance as amended - Marks; Second - Gomez. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 13. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER ]0 RELATING TO FEES FOR FOOD SERVICE PERMITS There was a brief discussion regarding the square footage break out. Councilman Therio asked why a higher fee for a larger space. Ms. Talbot said it does take longer to do the larger spaces. Motion to adopt the ordinance - Gomez; Second - Sharp. Councilman Burchard asked if the fees reflect actual cost of the inspections. Mr. Hall said the fee is justified by time, equipment and the inspector must be a Certified Food Inspector. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 14. CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE FEE SCHEDULE RELATING TO FENCE PERMITS AND IRRIGATION SYSTEM PERMITS Motion to adopt the resolution - Lynch; Second - Gomez. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. ]5. CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION AMENDING ESTABLISHING CERTAIN PARK AND RECREATION FEES RELATING TO USE OF THE AQUATIC PARK Motion to adopt the resolution - Lynch; Second - Gomez. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. ]6. CONSIDERATION OF AN AMENDED FEE SCHEDULE FOR THE COLONY PUBLIC LIBRARY After a brief discussion. Notion to adopt the new fees - Gomez; Second - Lynch. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 17. COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS None 18. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT ]. Childers Investment (Golf Course) still interested and working on the project. 2. Effective December 37 1991, Bob van Til will be the Acting Building Official on an interim basis. With no further business to address, Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 9:55 p.m. APPROVED: W~ll~am W Manning, Mayor ATTEST: Patti A. Hicks~ CMC City Secretary 10