Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/05/1992 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON OCTOBER 5, 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 5th day of October, 1992, at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William W. Manning, Mayor Absent Mike Lynch, Councilman Present Billy Sharp, Councilman Present Joe Agnew, Councilman Present Tom Bogan, Councilman Present John Dillard, Councilman Present Joel Marks, Mayor Pro-tem Present and with six present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 2. CITIZEN INPUT - None 3. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Pro-tem Marks summarized the items on the Consent Agenda. A. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING HELD SEPTEMBER 21, 1992 Motion to approve the minutes as written - Bogan; second Agnew. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. B. CONSIDERATION OF A CONTRACT WITH METROCREST MEDICAL SERVICES FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION AND MEDICAL CONTROL Motion to approve the contract as written - Bogan; second Agnew. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. C. CONSIDERATION OF A CONTRACT FOR THE ACQUISITION OF LEBANON WATER SUPPLY After a brief discussion the following motion was made. Motion to approve the contract as written - Bogan; second Agnew. Motion carried with a 3 0 0 4 5 '" unanimous roll call vote. 4. CONSIDERATION OF A CONTRACT WITH MUNICIPAL SERVICES FOR WARRANT SERVICE Referencing his extensive memorandum prepared for the Council packet, Bill Hall explained that for some time the city has tried to collect outstanding warrants. Mr. Hall said Municipal Services Bureau handles any warrants given to them, including purged warrants and if the warrants are 90 days old or less the company receives 30% commission when collected, and if the warrants are 90 days old or more, the company receives 40% commission when collected. Going on Mr. Hall said currently when a warrant is 2 years old, it is purged from the system, although it is still an active warrant we do not actively pursue its collection. Mr. Hall noted that there are over 600 warrants for a total of over $75,000 in fines, going on to say that if they were collected by this agency, the State fees and warrant service commission would be deducted. Mr. Hall said he thinks this is a viable way to increase our revenue this year without expending any additional funds. Councilman Agnew asked if warrant information is put on the computer so that when a person renews their driver's license the information shows up. Mr. Hall said the capability is there. Councilman Sharp asked if anyone in the police department works with warrants. Mr. Hall said Sgt. Jordan serves as warrant officer along with other duties, but noted that he works "in town" warrants only because he has no way to trace people when they move away. There followed a lengthy discussion regarding the types of warrants, how they are followed up. Councilman Sharp said that if we have the means of serving the warrants through the police department then we shouldn't turn the warrants over to an outside agency and suggested we work more closely with the Denton County Extension office. Mr. Hall said some of the warrants are very old, the people have moved many times and the city has no means to trace them, noting again there is no cost to the city for this service and it would possibly clear warrants on which the city has exhausted all efforts. Councilman Sharp said in that case he agrees with the contract. Councilman Lynch asked about using a similar concept to collect utility bills. Ms. Jackie Carroll said we have been using a similar company for 6 - 7 years who attempts to collect the estimated $30,000 in delinquent accounts which are charged off each year. Mr. Hall noted the same company collects delinquent ambulance bills. Mayor Pro-tem Marks said he thinks this is another good idea by staff to try to increase revenues for the city. Motion to approve the contract - Agnew; second - Lynch. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 5. CONSIDERATION OF FINALIZING THE CONTRACT WITH ATKINS BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION, INC. FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE EASTVALE SEWER SYSTEM Bill Hall said the question of liquidated damages still remains unresolved on the -- 4 004565 Atkins Brothers contract and went on to say he had met with Mike Atkins to negotiate this issue. Mr Hall said that several points were considered; 1) the weather factor prevented work on some days, and 2) some work was added (Change Order No. 5), ie, 41 additional connections which were not on the original contract. Mr. Hall said the total overrun days were 38 and after meeting with Mr. Atkins, both tentatively agreed to allow one-half of this time for the additional work and one-half for liquidated damages, meaning at $200.00 per day, the amount would be $3800.00 for the 19 days. In summary, Mr. Hall said to preclude further negotiations and possible legal fees, he suggests assessing 19 days of liquidated damages and awarding Atkins Brothers 19 days for additional work time. Councilman Bogan asked if an extension of time had been requested when the 41 additional hook-ups were made. Mr. Hall said Atkins came in twice for an extension of time, but not due to the 41 additional hook-ups. Councilman Bogan stated that he never saw the contractor attempt to make up for lost time. Mr. Hall noted that liquidated damages cannot be used as a penalty and to pursue this would cost the city in legal fees, going on to say it would be more than the $3800.00. Mr. Hall explained that if only a few people had been able to connect to the system, then the contractor would have caused a hardship and a burden by the additional time and the liquidated damages would apply, however, Mr. Hall said currently there are only approximately 100 residents who have not yet connected to the system. Councilman Bogan said he feels the residents were caused undue hardships and burden, citing the road conditions as one cause. Councilman Agnew asked if we knew about the additional 41 connections when we approved finalizing the engineering payment to Freeman-Millican. Mr. Millican said yes, noting they were included in Change Order No.5 addressed at the September 21, 1992 meeting. Mayor Pro-tern asked how the 41 additional connections were missed originally. Mr. Hall noted that Terry Millican, engineer had told him that one of their staff members drew the original plans and simply overlooked these connections. Councilman Lynch stated that Mr. Atkins did the work and should be paid for it, going on to say if the city has a problem with the engineer then we should talk to them, not hold up the finalizing of this contract. Motion to approve the finalization of the Atkins Brothers Contract as presented by staff- Lynch; second - Dillard. Vote on the motion ended in a tie vote as follows: Lynch - Aye; Sharp - No; Agnew - Aye; Bogan - No; Dillard - Aye; Marks - No. Mr. Hall told the council that he does need some direction, stating his only options are to write off the liquidated damages or pursue them fully. 6. CONSIDERATION OF EXTENDING THE HIRING FREEZE IMPOSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AS A RESULT OF BUDGET CONSTRAINTS Mr. Hall reminded the council of the hiring freeze imposed during the budgetary process and asked them for direction regarding the continuation of that freeze. Mayor Pro- tem Marks and Councilman Bogan both said the intent was to carry it throughout this 5 0045 '5 current budget process. Motion to extend the hiring freeze through the entire 1992-93 budget year - Lynch; second - Bogan. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 7. CONSIDERATION OF AUTHORIZING THE FILLING OF ONE POSITION IN THE LIBRARY AND ONE POSITION IN UTILITY ADMINISTRATION Mr. Hall said due to the hiring freeze no vacancies were to be filled without council approval, stating that these two positions came about recently and that staff feels both are necessary. Motion to approve the two positions as requested - Bogan; second - Lynch. Mayor Pro-tem asked for clarification on the Library Page position, said the memorandum indicated an increase of $1900.00 to the salary. Ms. Joan Sveinsson explained that the $1900.00 is the difference between the page's salary and the clerk's salary, going on to say clerk's position was vacated a few months ago and was not filled. Ms. Sveinsson said she wanted the council to see the monetary impact if they decided to allow the clerk's position to be filled instead of the page. Councilman Bogan said his motion was to approve the replacement of the page, which is within this year's budget, not the clerk. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 8:35 - Recess 8. EXECUTIVE SESSION AS AUTHORIZED BY ARTICLE 6252-17 V.T.C.S, SECTION 2G, REGARDING PERSONNEL, TO-WIT: A. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS 8:50 - Reconvene 9. CONSIDERATION OF ANY APPROPRIATE ACTION TO BE TAKEN AS A RESULT OF THE EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion to authorize the City Manager to advertise for a City Engineer to serve as the Director of Public Works - Agnew; second - Lynch. Councilman Bogan noted that the salary for this position is within the 1992-93 budget. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 6 10. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT 1. Fire Station No. 2 - Mr. Hall met with fire fighters last week and they looked at options for the operations of the department. They will prepare a plan for the opening of Station No. 2 by October 8, 1992 and then will meet with Mr. Hall again to discuss the plan. When the plan is formalized it will be brought to the council. 2. Stand-by ambulance - In the past, stand by ambulances, manned by on-duty personnel, have been provided at various public events, such as football games, Sail Fair, etc. Off-duty police officers currently work the high school football games and are paid by L.I.S.D. for their services. Staff would like to request that L.I.S.D. consider paying off-duty fire personnel to provide their services with the ambulance as well, and also other organizations that request the stand by ambulance. After a brief discussion, council agreed that this should be pursued. Mayor Pro-tem Marks reminded everyone of the Public Hearing to be held at City Hall October 6, 1992 at 7:00 p.m. to address the proposed tax increase. With no further business to address, Mayor Pro-tem Marks adjourned the meeting at 8:58 p.m. APPROVED: Joe~IM'n'~rks; }Vlayor ero-tem AT-FEST: Patti A. Hicks, CMC/AAE, City Secretary 7