Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/20/1992 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON JANUARY 20, 1992 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 20th day of January, 1992, at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William W. Manning, Mayor Absent Mike Lynch, Councilman Present Billy Sharp, Councilman Present Dale Therio, Councilman Present Rob Burchard, Councilman Present Joel Marks, Mayor Pro-tem Present and with five present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 2. CmZEN INPUT Booker T Jackson, Jr. 5617 Painter, invited all those present to attend the 3rd annual Black Heritage Celebration on February 1, 1992 at The Colony High School at 7:00 p.m. Mr. Jackson said that Mayor Manning will be reading a proclamation at the event. The cost is $2.00 per person and the proceeds will go to give a young man and young woman a scholarship. 3. PRESENTATION OF EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION AWARDS Katherine Martinez read the names of those to receive awards: Judie Talbot - 8 years, Allan Brewer and Shannon Corbitt - 3 years, Jodi Pichon and Sherrill Wilson - 2 years. Mayor Pro-tem Marks presented Shannon Corbit with her 3 year pin. Ms. Corbitt was the only employee present at the meeting to receive her award. 4. PRESENTATION OF COMMENDATION AWARDS BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT Chief Ted Gibson gave the details of an incident which occurred on December 20, 1991 in which a girl was swept into the rushing water of a creek. Chief Gibson stated that three police officers, John Whitley, Larry Floyd and Mark Phillips responded to the scene, forming a human chain to save the girl from being carried away, while waiting for the rescue squad from the Fire Department to arrive. Upon arrival of the Fire Department, Fire Fighter, Tab Bradburry seeing the immediate danger to the young girl, jumped into the 3 water, risking his own life to bring her to safety. Chief Gibson presented Commendation awards to the three police officers and presented a Medal of Valor to Tab Bradburry, the highest honor a police department can give. Mayor Pro-tem Marks said it is times like this when he realizes how thankful we should all be for the job the police and fire department employees do. 5. PUBLIC HEARING ON APPLICATION OF TALENT UNLIMITED, INC. FOR A CHANGE OF ZONING ON PROPERTY CURRENTLY ZONED SHOPPING CENTER; SEEKING TO HAVE THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDED SO AS TO GIVE THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBED PROPERTY A SPECIFIC USE PERMIT FOR A DANCE STUDIO 5204 SOUTH COLONY BLVD. SUITE 200 Motion to open the Public Hearing - Lynch; second - Burchard. Motion carried with all council voting aye. Councilman Lynch asked if the exhibit was to indicate existing space or does it reflect the changes to be made. Ms. Linda Peterson, owner of the studio said these are the changes that will be made after approval of this request. Motion to close the Public Hearing - Therio; second - Lynch. Motion carried with all council voting aye. 6. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE SO AS TO GIVE THE BELOW DESCRIBED PROPERTY A SPECIFIC USE PERMIT FOR A DANCE STUDIO 5204 SOUTH COLONY BLVD. SUITE 200 Motion to approve the ordinance as written - Therio; second - Sharp. Mayor Pro-tem Marks noted that we had never had a business move to a new location and have to acquire a Specific Use Permit, and Mr. Hall said that hopefully, some amendments will be made to the Zoning Ordinance which will prevent this from happening again. Mr. Hall went on to note that this dance studio is for teaching young people. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 7. CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE OF RESIGNATION OF COUNCILMAN LOU GOMEZ AND DISCUSSION OF THE METHOD OF FILLING THAT VACANCY. Motion to accept the resignation of Councilman Lou Gomez - Lynch; second - Sharp. 4 Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. After the motion and vote, City Secretary Patti Hicks, addressed the council regarding the appropriate method to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Councilman Gomez. Ms. Hicks advised the Council of the Charter provision in Sec. 2.06 which states there shall by only one appointed member of council at one time, reminding them that Councilman Therio had been appointed in June 1991. Going on, Ms. Hicks said that due to this fact, the vacancy will have to be filled by election, not appointment. Ms. Hicks advised that the Charter requires that a special election be called within 30 days of the vacancy. Ms. Hicks said the regular election for council is set to be called in February and that would fall in line with the 30 day requirement in the Charter, therefor she recommended the place be left vacant until the May 2, 1992 election. Ms. Hicks advised she had reviewed this with City Attorney, Pete Eckert and Mayor Manning, who both concur with her recommendation. After a brief discussion and a few questions regarding the requirements, all council agreed there would be no special election called, but that place 5 on council will be filled at the regular election to be held May 2, 1992. 8. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETINGS HELD JANUARY 6 AND 13, 1992 Motion to approve the minutes as written - Therio; second - Sharp. Councilman Lynch said with regard to the 13th minutes, the closing statement by Councilman Gomez, although it was said that night, was repudiated by more than one person, and that he has a hard time approving minutes of the meeting that allege and are written up as a false charge without some notation being made therein. Mayor Pro-tem Marks said the minutes just reflect what was said at that time and are not necessarily defensible, noting the council is just approving what was said and that there is no action unless you(Councilman Lynch) want to bring this up at another meeting and discuss that issue. Councilman Lynch said the minutes of tonight's meeting can reflect that he will abstain from approving these minutes based on the fact that he feels they contain false allegations and by approving them, it states that we approve of the allegation, going on he said he will not do that. City Secretary Hicks advised that minutes are merely a reflection of what was said and do not necessarily reflect opinion, or truth of a statement. Councilman Lynch said he is aware of that, but that he has a problem where that statement was refuted by 3 separate persons and it is in the minutes which are a public record for anyone to read and there needs to be a balancing statement in the minutes tonight or a foot note added to the 13th minutes, going on to say he knows the minutes cannot be changed but tonight's minutes should reflect his feelings. Motion carried with the following vote: Lynch - Abs; Sharp - Aye; Therio - Aye; Burchard- Abs; Marks - Aye. 5 9. CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE PUBLIC PROPERTY FINANCING CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION Mayor Pro-tem Marks read the caption of the ordinance as follows: AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE AND SALE OF CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS PUBLIC PROPERTY FINANCE CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS, SERIES 1992, IN THE AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF $480,000; LEVYING A TAX IN PAYMENT THEREOF; ENACTING OTHER PROVISIONS RELATING THERETO; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY Chris Janning with First Southwest Company said the Council has approved the issue of public property finance contractual obligation bonds and that this is the best and least expensive way for cities to finance needed capital equipment. Mr. Janning said they had receive excellent bids with interest rates ranging from 4.9189 to 5.506 and that the recommendation of First Southwest is to award to Prudential Security Inc, with interest of 4.9189 percent. Mr. Janning and James England fielded some general questions from the Council regarding level of indebtedness for the City and the yearly budgeted transfers. Mr. England said that $21,000,000 is high but we are trying not to add to that debt. He went on to say that The Colony cannot be compared to other cities that were founded in 1945 or 1950, because we were founded in 1977, and have facilities and services of cities that have been around for a long time. Chris Janning said a typical city will have 1/2 of their debt in their utility fund, noting that The Colony does not have that and it is very rare. Mr Janning said if it were not for the old MUD debt we would be line with other cities. Bill Hall noted that the payments will be less than budgeted due to the lower interest rate. Motion to approve the ordinance as written - Therio; second - Lynch. Councilman Lynch asked what happens to the money saved, and Mr. Hall said that is money that is just not expended and the savings will be figured at the end of the year. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 10. CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE AND AWARD OF BIDS FOR THE DECHLORINATION FACILITY AND APPROVAL OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CONTRACT FOR SAME Bill Hall gave the background on this item, stating that there is a time requirement set by the state permit, giving us 71 days to complete this project. Mr. Hall said there had been a desire of Mayor Manning and other councilmen to look at a Ultraviolet (UV) system, and while he agrees the UV is state of the art, he feels it would be impossible to - ' 6 accomplish the necessary design, bidding and construction within the time limit set out. Mr. Hall went on to say that when the city looks at expanding the wastewater treatment plant in 3 - 5 years, then would be the time to investigate the UV system. Mr. Hall said at this time, it is staff recommendation to accept the bids, and award the contract to Control Specialists, Inc. Councilman Lynch said one advantage of going with a UV system would be that it is 100% adaptable to a new plant and when you add the cost of chemicals and operation to the cost for the dechlorination system, it may be cheaper to go with a UV system. Councilman Sharp said if we choose this method (dechlorination) we will constantly have to update it, whereas if we go with a UV it will be 100% usable at a new plant when we expand, stating he is in favor of going with UV and is opposed to the dechlorination method. Councilman Therio asked what penalty might be assessed to the City if we do not have a system in place by the April 1 1992 deadline. Mr. Tommy Turner said fines could be as much as $10,000 per day. Bill Hall said that is particularly true when we (city) knowingly do not comply. Councilman Lynch asked if the state would give an extension if we decide to go with the UV. Mr. Hall said we would have to justify why we are changing in mid-stream, reminding all that this permit was issued in April 1991 and one question would be why did we wait until now to change. Councilman Therio suggested writing and asking for an extension, and postponing action on this item until the next meeting, pending the state's response. Mr. Hall said we certainly can do that, but he strongly recommends against it. Councilman Burchard asked if we went with a UV system tonight, how long it would take to get it in place. Terry Millican, Freeman-Millican Assoc. responded stating that he really wished this had come up much earlier so there would be time to discuss it. He asked the council's indulgence while he addressed several questions to consider. Mr. Millican said his minimum estimate for a UV would be $200,000 for equipment and support item, while the bid for the dechlorination is $72,000. Going on, Mr. Millican said the UV system would be compatible to the future expansion, but to build it so that it is ready for the expansion would be a total project cost of approximately $300,000. He said there is clearly a difference between operation and maintenance cost, but we have to look at the whole picture of both projects to really see the differences, and in his opinion, right now, the costs are going to be about the same overall. However, he said if we go with UV and build it for future expansion, the cost will be higher. Mr. Millican said it would take about 2 months to receive bids, then 75-90 days construction time. The dechlorination facility construction time is 75 days, which is still over the deadline of April 1, if it takes the full 75 days. There followed a lengthy discussion regarding the benefits of both systems. Mr. Millican explained the salvageable parts of both systems for use at a future time. He told the Council that UV has been around for some time, but only in the last 12 months has it been used for this purpose. Mayor Pro-tem Marks said we really don't know what the long term effect of UV is. Councilman Sharp asked if a work session could be scheduled with Wasteline Engineering and Mr. Millican to discuss both systems fully. 7 Mayor Pro-tem Marks stated that the Council needs to realize the possible consequences if we delay this again. Councilman Burchard asked Mr. Hall if he would recommend a UV system when the plant is expanded and Mr. Hall said if it is state of the art, then he would. Mr. Millican said he does not expect to see expansion of the plant for 5 - 7 years. Councilman Therio again suggested the City Manager write a letter to the Texas Water Development Board for approval of a UV system and an extension, then if no response, act on this 'item at our next meeting. Mr. Turner advised council that there are some offices being moved in Austin, and it may be quite some time before mail is routed to the right place, therefore it would not be responded to in a timely manner. Mayor Pro-tem Marks said we need to make a decision tonight, and we need to do what's best for the city, stating he does not want to pay a fine after April 1. He went on to say the UV sounds good, but we already know the dechlorination is workable. Motion to accept the. bids and to award ihe contract to Control Specialists, Inc for the dechlorination facility, and to authorize the ordinance as written - Therio; second - Lynch. Councilman Lynch said .he believes the UV would be better but due to the time constraints and the unknown factors feel we should now go with. dechlorination. Councilman Sharp agreed with Councilman Lynch. Bill Hall said he agrees whOleheartedly, but we are in a situation where we have little choice. Mayor Pro-tem Marks read the caption as'follows: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH CONTROL SPECIALISTS INC. FOR THE-CONSTRUCTION OF A DECHLORINATION FACILITY IN THE AMOUNT OF $ 73,495.00;ATTACHING THE APPROVED FORM OF CONTRACT AS EXHIBIT "A"; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE Motion carried with the following vote: Lynch '- Aye; Sharp - Aye; Therio - Aye; Burchard - No; Marks .- Aye. 11. CONSIDERATION OF coNTRACTs 'FOR APPRAISALS FOR THE NORTHPOINTE .PARK Bill Hall said this is another requirement .of the grant for the Northpointe Park project, noting however, that the funds will not be reimbursed. Sylvia said several proposals were received and that staff recommends awarding the contracts to Lane and Assoc. and Leon Hurse. Motion to approve the contracts as recommended - Therio; second - Lynch. 8 Bill Hall stated the funding for this is unbudgeted and that it could be taken from contingency or from the General Government Account, going on to say that staff recommends the funds be allocated from the General Government Account. Amended motion to approve the contracts and to allocate the funds from the General Government Account as recommended by staff- Therio; Second - Lynch. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 12. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF CERTAIN FEES FOR THE PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT Bill Hall advised these fees had been recommended by the Fees Committee and had been referred to the Park and Recreation Board. Sylvia Brantley and Elise Knox fielded questions from the Council. Councilman Therio asked if the $50.00 deposit for the use of the pavilion at Stewart Creek Park would be required even if the usage fee for a certain group had been waived. Ms. Brantley said it should be charged to all and all Council agreed. Councilman Burchard asked about the impact the fee changes would make at the pool and Ms. Brantley advised approximately $1900.00, going on to say this may cut attendance but it will add to control and safety. Elise Knox said this may increase the purchase of family passes. Ms Brantley noted the proposed $300.00 reservation fee for 100 or more persons using the Stewart Creek Pavilion will have to be approved by the Corps of Engineers. There followed a discussion of how persons entering under the reservation will be identified at the gate. Councilman Burchard asked why the fees for churches using the Civic Center are more than other organizations. Ms. Brantley said the churches that have used the facility have used it twice a day and sometimes all day long on Sundays, which is usually more hours than other organizations use the facility. Motion to approve the fees recommended - Therio; Second - Sharp. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 13. CONSIDERATION OF AUTHORIZING AN EXTERNAL AUDIT OF CITY DEPARTMENTS Mr. Hall said this item is in response to a discussion held at the last council meeting regarding the police department, noting that the discussions have expanded into all city departments. Mr. Hall said he had discussed the possibility of an external audit of all departments, noting that this would involve a company coming into the city and evaluating man-power utilization, budget and other aspects of operation to determine what improvements may be needed. Going on, Mr. Hall said he believes the Mayor has spoken to Councilman Sharp and Councilman Lynch regarding serving on a committee with him (Hall), with Council approval, 9 to decide on which firm to employ, and exactly what the audit will cover. After a brief discussion, all council agreed this is a good idea. Motion to authorize the City Manager to seek proposals for an external audit of city department - Therio; Second - Burchard. Councilman Burchard said he assumes this will not effect what the City manager and the police chief are working on and Mr. Hall stated it would not. Councilman Sharp said this has been on his mind for a long time, that it should be done periodically. Mr Hall said he thinks it is a good management tool, because sometimes the managers are too close to a situation to see the facts, going on to say it will be very beneficial. Councilman Burchard stated the council needs to realize this will be very expensive. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 14. COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS EASTVALE STUDY - No action has been taken - Burchard CABLE T.V. - Permanent The Colony equipment should be in next month and training of the cable group will begin. - Therio FEES - This committee is almost finished with it's task - Sharp. 15. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT 1. Friday Night Live - the first "Friday Night Live" was held last Saturday night and was quite successful. There were 200 kids in attendance. Everything went very well. Councilman Therio said he attended for a short while and everyone seemed to have a good time. Councilman Burchard asked about a maximum capacity for the center, and Mr. Hall advised he believes it is 450. Councilman Burchard said if we max out maybe we need to have it two nights a week or at another location. 2. Golf Course - the topographical map that was due in the Corps office on Friday the 17th has not been done due to the weather. Another letter will be mailed to the Corps asking for another extension of our contract. With no further business to address, Mayor Pro-tem Marks adjourned the meeting at 10:25 p.m. APPROVED: William W. Manning, Mayor <~ 10 A2TEST: Patti A. Hicks, CMC City Secretary. 11