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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/22/1992 City Council 004392 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON JUNE 22, 1992 The Work Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 7:05 p.m. on the 22nd day of June, 1992 at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William Manning, Mayor Present Mike Lynch, Councilman Present Billy Sharp, Councilman Present Joe Agnew, Councilman Present Tom Bogan, Councilman Present John Dillard, Councilman Absent Joel Marks, Mayor Pro-rem Absent and with five present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. RECEIVE PRESENTATION FROM THE CONSULTING FIRM OF RALPH ANDERSEN AND ASSOCIATES (DAVID EISENLOHR). Mayor Manning introduced David Eisenlohr with Ralph Andersen and Associates, who will be the project manager for the study to be conducted for the City of The Colony. Mr. Eisenlohr gave a general overview of the project, stating his firm will look at the following questions/areas: * Are the citizens getting the most bang for the buck? * Conduct an attitude survey of all employees. * Conduct a comparative analysis (other cities). * Conduct an operational survey. * Interview with department heads and councilmembers. * Conduct field observations. Mr. Eisenlohr said that there would be an interim report made, at which time suggestions may be made for immediate changes to increase productivity, etc. Mr. Eisenlohr went on to give a brief history of his company and then opened the floor to questions. Councilman Bogan asked how often he or another member of the team would meet with the Council. Mr. Eisenlohr said he would meet with each member of council individually first to get a feel for how each one sees the needs of the city and the areas of concern, then he would meet with the group to give an interim report, the third meeting would be to submit the draft report and fourth would be the meeting to receive the final report. He noted the final report would be given in a formal presentation during a council meeting. Mayor Manning said he had hoped that the city would be able to save money by learning how to do a job better and asked if it is common that the fee (for this study) is 2 004398 covered by savings found through the study. Mr. Eisenlohr said that when the objective is clearly to find ways to save money, then there is no question of that, noting however, that often that is not the objective. He went on to cite examples of how other cities have saved large sums of money by implementing the changes his company has suggested. Councilman Lynch asked for clarification on the interim report. Mr. Eisenlohr said it will be a document which will give suggestions for changes to be made right away. Going on, he said there may be areas that need further work, deeper study and if it is determined that this further work is not covered under the initial scope of this project then he would then inform the council that the cost would be more. Mr. Eisenlohr said that the council would then decide if they in fact do or do not want to have a particular area(s) studied in more depth. Mr. Eisenlohr said this should take about 4 months to complete. There followed a lengthy discussion regarding methods to be used, various areas which may be covered, etc. Mayor Manning asked Mr. Eisenlohr if he needed any direction from the Council, noting his concern that what we (council) want to see is covered in the budget. Mr. Eisenlohr said he will meet with each councilmember individually and after that he will inform them if what they really want to accomplish can be covered by the budgeted amount. He did say it would be about 2 weeks before the interviews would begin and that the contract would be prepared after the actual scope of the project is known. 2. REVIEW SMALL BUSINESS INCUBATOR PROGRAM Bill Hall gave a brief background of this project. He said concerns had been expressed over the use of Fire Station No. 3 as the location for these small businesses stating that originally it had been suggested as an Animal Shelter, but it was found unsuitable. Going on, Mr. Hall said since a Public Works facility is badly needed, staff looked into moving the old fire station for that purpose but felt the cost of $28,000 - $30,000 unfeasible, especially since a new building could be constructed for about $25,000. With all these things in mind, when the idea of forming a Small Business Incubator (SBI) program came about, the building seemed a likely location, and the rent from the small businesses could be used to build a new Public Works Building, with no budgetary impact. Mr. Hall said the Small Business Advisory Council (SBAC) would be established to give advice and support to new businesses, he noted however, that the SBI program can function with or without the fire station and vice versa. With regard to the 1/2 cent sales tax election, Mr. Hall said he feels there should be no impact from the SBI, noting that the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) will be bringing businesses into the City, helping with infrastructure, etc. and they can find a site for small businesses to locate. Mr. Hall said they could possibly use the old fire station as a site. Going On, he said he feels they should all work in harmony with each other and suggested that the fire station be eliminated from the proposal for the SBI leaving it free for use by the EDC. Mr. Hall suggested that the EDC could buy the building from the City to use as rental property and the city could in turn use that money to build the badly needed Public Works facility. Councilman Sharp asked if the SBAC and the EDC could be combined, using the 3 004394 same people to serve on both bodies. A brief discussion regarding that possibility followed. Mayor Manning suggested holding off on the SBI until after the August election. --- Councilman Bogan agreed. Councilman Sharp asked again, if the 1/2 cent tax passes, can the two bodies be combined. Councilman Agnew said they serve two different purposes, the EDC will bring businesses into the City and the SBAC will give advice and support. Mayor Manning said he supports the SBI but wants to wait. Councilman Bogan reminded everyone that running the SBI program will be very time consuming ( a full time job). Councilman Lynch said it looks like The Colony 2000 Committee is proposing the same thing with their plan only with different words and that he thinks we will hurt the election if we promote the SBI now, going on to say we need to promote the election. Mayor Manning said the 1/2 cent sales tax has such potential and he thinks the city should build it up. There was a general consensus to hold off action on the SBI until after the 1/2 cent sales tax election on August 8, 1992. With no further business to address, Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 8:35 p.m. APPROVED: 'l'am W. lV~anning~ __ ATTEST: Patti A. Hicks, CMC, City Secretary 4