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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/18/1993 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON JANUARY 18, 1993 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 18th day of January, 1993, 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 Absent Tom Bogan, Councilman Present John Dillard, 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. CITIZEN INPUT Vern Roberts, 5309 Sagers addressed the council regarding Animal Control stating his dog had been out over the week-end "terrorizing" the neighborhood, and that Animal Control and the Police Department were called. Mr. Roberts commended Officer Cook and the staff from Animal Control for the way in which they handled this situation. Ann Beckel, 5104 Brandenburg, addressed the council along with several students from Peters Colony Elementary school regarding curbside recycling. Several students made presentations to the council urging the implementation of a recycling program. Councilman Bogan responded, stating that he is committed to seeing a recycling program initiated in The Colony and Councilman Lynch also stated the Request for Proposals should be back on the agenda the second meeting in February. The children presented a petition to the City Secretary asking for a recycling program. Mike Carter, Church of Jesus Christ, Latter Da_v Saints, advised that a Family History Center had been established at the church which will be available to all citizens at no charge. Mr. Carter said the center has access to the main library in Salt Lake City, that there is a C.D. series and over 100 books and materials, as well as 3 computer systems. Mr. Carter went on to say the facility is located in the church building, but it is not affiliated with the church in an official or religious capacity. Mr. Carter said the center will be open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and invited the Council and any other interested persons to come to the church Friday, January 22 at 6:30 for a brief tour of the center. oo464a 3. CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE AND AWARD OF BIDS FOR THE PAINTING OF THE OVERHEAD STORAGE TANK ON NORTH COLONY BOULEVARD AND THE APPROVAL OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING A CONTRACT FOR SAME Mr. Hall stated the need for painting the tank has been discussed for sometime and recent evaluations indicated an immediate need. Going on, Mr. Hall said the bids came in ranging from $183,000 to $280,000, all of which were over the amount of $150,000 budgeted for this project. Mr. Hall said staff does not feel it is timely to reallocate funds and since the primary concern is for the interior of the tank, the recommendation is to award the contract for painting of the interior only to Pittsburgh Tank and Tower in the amount of $35,850.00. Mr. Hall further recommended leaving the full amount in escrow and next year addressing the painting of the exterior. Mayor Pro-tem Marks asked Mr. Cravens how soon we would need to paint the exterior and Mr. Cravens said as soon as possible, probably October or November 1993, noting this repair has been put off much longer than it should have been. Councilman Bogan questioned the large difference between the bids, asking if staff is sure of the quality of work from the low bidder. Mr. Cravens indicated that all bids were reviewed by Hal Jones of Hunter and Associates and that they will inspect the project to ensure the quality of work and that we will be sure Pittsburgh understands the scope of the project before the contract is signed. Motion to accept the bids and award the contract for painting the inside only to Pittsburgh Tank and Tower in the amount of $35,850.00 - Lynch; second - Bogan. The motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 4. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Pro-tem Marks summarized the items on the Consent Agenda. Items B, C, D, and E were pulled for further discussion. A. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING HELD JANUARY 4, 1993 Motion to approve the minutes as written - Lynch; second - Sharp. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. B. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A PROMISSORY NOTE WITH THE FIRST COLONY BANK IN THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF $105,000 FOR THE PURCHASE OF CERTAIN ITEMS OF CAPITAL EQUIPMENT Councilman Sharp asked if this really had to come before the council for approval since all the items have already been approved in the budget. Mr. Hall advised that the 4 council has to approve the method of financing those items. Motion to approve the ordinance as written - Sharp; second - Dillard. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. C. CONSIDERATION OF AUTHORIZING THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR WRECKER SERVICE Councilman Lynch asked the City Manager to explain the reason for this item for the benefit of those present. Mr. Hall said that recently he and Chief Stewart reviewed the present wrecker service contract with Ronnie Miller, which is an exclusive contract and found several areas that needed amending. Going on, Mr. Hall said that Chief Stewart is not in favor of an exclusive contract since there is at least one other reputable towing service in the area, and that a rotational contract is recommended. Mr. Hall said this has several advantages, i.e., more competitive rates and faster response. Chief Stewart, who was present, reiterated what the City Manager had said, stating that he feels the rotational system will enhance the wrecker service, noting that competition is healthy. Motion to authorize the request for proposals as recommended - Lynch; second - Bogan. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. D. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF A CASH TRANSFER FROM THE 1988 WASTEWATER CONSTRUCTION FUND Councilman Lynch said the memorandum indicates that the amount of the contract for the repainting of the overhead storage tank plus 10% will be transferred from the Wastewater Construction Fund in order to pay for the project. Going on, the Councilman said he would like to see a flat $40,000 transferred and in Item E he would like to see $59,000 put in the account. Councilman Bogan disagreed asking why put more money in the account than is needed for the project and what happens to the money if it is not used. Bill Hall said often contracts will have contingency built in to cover unforeseen problems. Mr. Hall said this contract does not have that and if there is more work to be done than anticipated, the staff will have to come back to the council for approval of more funds. Going on, Mr. Hall said if the money is not used, it is turned back into contingency, with council approval. Explaining further, Mr. Cravens said the tank was not drained completely, and if once inside the contractors finds the need for metal repairs then more money will be needed. Councilman Sharp said he would feel better coming back to council and asking for a change order if necessary. Bill Hall noted that just because $40,000 is transferred, the contractor will not be able to do work that is not specified in the contract, stating that a change order will still be necessary but transferring more money will cut down on the delay. Motion to approve transferring $40,000 - Lynch; second - Dillard. Motion carried with a 5 00464' ' unanimous roll call vote. ~--~ E. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF A BUDGET AMENDMENT RELATING TO THE FUNDING OF THE PAINTING OF THE OVERHEAD STORAGE TANK ON NORTH COLONY BOULEVARD Motion to approve a budget amendment in the amount of $59,000 - Lynch; second - Dillard. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. F. CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING A HYDROPLANE BOAT RACE ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND ON LAKE LEWISVILLE Motion to approve the resolution as written - Lynch; second - Sharp. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. G. CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE COMMENCEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE STATE HIGHWAY 121 BYPASS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE Motion to approve the resolution as written - Lynch; second - Sharp. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 5. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF SITE PLAN FOR THE MASONIC LODGE TO BE LOCATED AT 4630 WEST LAKE HIGHLANDS DRIVE Mr. van Til addressed the council stating that The Colony Masonic Lodge has requested approval of the site plan, which was presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission on January 12, 1993 and received a favorable recommendation. Mr. van Til went on to explain the building was donated by the Methodist church and was moved onto the site in the fall of 1992, however, the Masons have delayed work on the building until the approval of the city. Continuing, Mr. van Til said the P & Z did have a few stipulations: that the Masons install the landscaping, screening and a temporary all-weather parking surface within six (6) months; and that the concrete parking lot be installed within ten years. Mike Alianell, 5628 Terry, was present to represent the Masonic Lodge and stated that by the grace of the Methodist Church, the lodge had acquired the building and due to the church construction, had to move the building to the present location. Mr. Alianell said the lodge hopes to construct the concrete parking lot sooner than ten years. Going on, Mr. Alianell said the lodge is working with Inspections regarding regulations and codes, noting that the lodge doesn't have a lot of money, but there are a lot of people to do the work. Motion to approve the site plan as presented - Lynch; second - Sharp. Motion carried with 6 004643 a unanimous roll call vote. 6. CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE DALLAS/FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT BOARD'S LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE TO REAFFIRM ITS AUTHORITY UNDER THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL AIRPORTS ACT Mr. Hall said the resolution was proposed by the D/FW Airport governing body due to their desire to expand the airport into the cities of Grapevine, Euless and Irving. Mr. Hall said most people want the expansion, but are not in favor of the method D/FW is trying to use. Mr. Hall said if approved, the powers of the Home Rule Cities regarding zoning in their own jurisdiction will be taken away and if we approve the resolution, we as a city are saying we support outside entities coming in and doing as they please. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Councilman Dillard and seconded by Councilman Lynch to pull the resolution and not approve. Since some action is needed the motion was withdrawn and another motion made as follows: Motion to reject the resolution - Sharp; second Bogan. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 7. CONSIDERATION OF AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED STATES ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS FOR THE LEASE OF EASTVALE PARK Bill Hall said there are two reasons this item is on the agenda; 1) the Corps of Engineers approached the city about leasing Eastvale Park and 2) Staff needs the Council's input regarding positive and negative aspects of this proposal. Mr. Hall said the Park & Recreation Board does recommend approval of the park, which was previously operated as a fee park by the Corps, until after the consolidation of Eastvale into The Colony. At that time, the Corps did not renew the lease with The Colony and operated the park as a non- fee park. Mr. Hall stated the park is 45-50 acres in size, with only about 12 acres being used, and includes usable restrooms, 8 picnic tables and a new boat ramp. Mr. Hall said that it might be a place for The Colony Fliers to use, noting that if that is decided upon, then the ordinance prohibiting remote airplanes in city parks will have to be amended. The estimated cost to maintain the park would be $7000.00 Mr. Hall said and went on to say that the Park and Recreation Board recommends opening the park 24 hours a day. Ms. Sylvia Brantley, said she recommends that the park be a day use park only. There followed a discussion regarding the permit to enter the park and whether or not the permit for Stewart Creek park would allow entrance into Eastvale Park. Councilman Lynch said he would like to see the city lease the park, that the Fees Committee should address the fees and that we (council) need to decide if it should be a 24 hour park or a day use park. Susan King, Chairman of the Park and Recreation Board said a lot of fishermen use the park and that's why the recommendation to open it 24 hours was made, noting however, 7 004645 that no camping would be allowed. Councilman Dillard asked if other uses had been looked at and Ms. King said one possibility is future athletic fields. Mayor Pro-tem Marks asked if this park could be placed under the umbrella of Stewart Creek Park and Ms. King said, no, that we would have to present a 5 year plan to the Corps including general maintenance, more tables, awnings, etc., completely separate from Stewart Creek Park. Ms. Brantley said the Corps did seem willing to allow entrance into both parks with one permit and that she thinks they might allow placing this park under the umbrella of Stewart Creek Park. There followed a lengthy discussion regarding the funding of the maintenance of the park, opening and closing of the park, etc. Ms. Brantley said she believes this could benefit the city and all Council agreed this is a good idea, but that more information is needed before a vote can be taken. Vern Roberts, Park and Recreation Board member said the Corps is on a tight budget and encouraged the city to act soon. Councilman Dillard asked if a timetable was given and Ms. King said no. Motion to authorize the City Manager to execute agreement with the Corps of Engineers for the lease of Eastvale park, with the contingency that funding from Stewart Creek Park and Eastvale Park be used -Lynch; second - Bogan. Councilman Sharp said the Fees Committee needs to meet and address this issue. Vern Roberts said the Corps is receptive to combining the two parks. ~_., Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 8. CONSIDERATION OF AUTHORIZING THE FILLING OF CERTAIN VACANCIES WITHIN THE CITY OF THE COLONY IN THE FOLLOWING DEPARTMENTS: WATER, WASTEWATER, UTILITY ADMINISTRATION, ANIMAL CONTROL AND POLICE Bill Hall reminded the council that all the positions in this request are budgeted but the council has to approve filling the vacancies just as they have done several times before. The positions are as follows: Water Department - one Meter reader (needs to be advertised) Wastewater Department - one maintenance person (needs to be advertised) Utility Administration - two vacancies, one previously approved and one Customer Service Rep. (needs to be advertised) Animal Control - one officer moving to dispatcher in Police Department (needs to be advertised) Police Department - one clerk may move to Utility Administration and one officer may leave, depending on the outcome of Item 9 on this agenda. Bill Hall said if these vacancies occur then we will need to advertise for one police officer and one clerk in CID. Councilman Bogan said he hates to see this beat to death, noting these are all budgeted so this is just a formality. Councilman Lynch said it's O.K. to advertise, but he wants to wait until the final report is received from Andersen and Associates before actually filling the positions. After a brief discussion a motion was made as follows: Motion to authorize starting the process for filling vacancies with final hiring pending the outcome of the Andersen survey - Lynch; second Sharp. Mayor Pro-tem Marks asked how the report could keep us from filling these positions and Councilman Lynch said the report might recommend moving positions around and maybe some of these positions may not be necessary. Councilman Bogan said that this ties the hands of the City Manager and there may be no applicants if they think they may not be hired anyway. Councilman Lynch said the hiring can't be done until after the advertising is done and the report will be in before the advertising is complete. Councilman Bogan said he thinks we are going to get to the same place and that we need to authorize filling these vacancies. Motion carried with the following vote: Lynch - Aye; Sharp - Aye; Bogan - No; Dillard - Aye; Marks - No 9. CONSIDERATION OF THE 1992-93 EMPLOYEE PAY PLANS Mr. Hall said he was asked last week by Mayor Manning to place this item on the agenda, reminding the council that during the budget sessions it was decided by Council to place a hiring freeze and a freeze on certain salaries in the pay plan. Going on, Mr. Hall said some council had stated that when possible, the freeze on the salaries would be re- addressed. Mr. Hall said that increased revenues and strict adherence to the budget, and having lost personnel since October 1, 1993, has resulted in enough savings that he and Mr. England feel confident in asking council to take this action. Councilman Lynch said if this is approved tonight, then the financial impact will be brought back to the council for final approval at the next meeting. Councilman Lynch continued stating the employees have kept their part of the bargain and that he wants to see the pay raises reinstated for the employees within the pay plan. Councilman Bogan reminded the council that they had just approved filling vacancies of positions that had been vacated primarily due to salaries and said we need to take care of our people. Councilman Dillard said this has been a hardship on people in the lower levels, but the Council has to decide if they want to reward the employees or satisfy the citizens who bore the tax increase. Councilman Sharp suggested lifting the freeze on the lower level only not the top level. 9 Motion to direct the City Manager to reinstate the employee pay plans and bring back the ---. financial impact for final approval. Mr. Hall said the amount of money will be less than the $35,000 which was saved when the salary increases were cut during the budget process, because some people have left. Mayor Pro-rem Marks asked Mr. England for the financial impact and Mr. England said he did not have that information tonight. Councilman Bogan said he wants to know the financial impact and stated it should have been made available to the council tonight. Councilman Lynch withdrew his motion. Motion to postpone this item until the financial impact is known - Dillard; second - Bogan. Mr. Hall said that information can be available before the meeting on January 25, 1993. Patti Hicks, City Secretary stated that this action is not fair to those employees that are within the pay plan, going on to say that those persons are making decisions based on the council's action. Motion to postpone carried with the following vote: Lynch - Aye, Sharp - No; Bogan - Aye; Dillard - Aye; Marks - No. 10. RECEIVE REPORT ON IMPACT FEES Bill Hall referred this item to Mr. Bob van Til, stating that Mr. van Til had done his Master's thesis on this subject. Mr. van Til said the purpose of this item is to formally present the Impact Fees, the Land Use Assumption and the Capital Improvement Plan to the Council. Mr. van Til then proceeded to go over the highlights of the data that had been provided to the council, noting that The Colony adopted its Impact Fee Ordinance in 1989, going on to say this fee structure was needed to provide a funding mechanism to provide capital improvements in order to support future growth. Mr. van Til said the impact fees may be revised every 3 years, as necessary. Going over the steps to adopt the revised fees, Mr. van Til said this item is step one, the second step is for the council to adopt an ordinance setting a date for a public hearing, the third step is for the council to conduct the public hearing and the fourth step is the actual adoption of the revised impact fees ordinance. Mr. van Til gave an overview of the proposed revised impact fees, comparing them to current fees and with other cities of comparable size and services. After the presentation, the council asked questions about how often the fees can be revised, if the fees are negotiable. Mr. van Til said the fees can only be revised every three years and the council may waive the fees for a developer if they so desire. Councilman Bogan said since the fees were originally adopted in 1989, then we are a year behind and asked Mr. van Til why. Mr. van Til stated his duties had been re-assigned during the last year and this project had to be let go for a period of time. Councilman Dillard said we should be concerned about the wastewater plant and asked if there are any calculations regarding the expansion of that plant. Mr. van Til said 10 we don't have the bottom line at this time, but agreed with Councilman Dillard that is something we need to start looking at. The council discussed and decided to place the ordinance to call the public hearing on the February 1, 1993 meeting. At this time, at the request of a city employee, Mayor Pro-tern Marks addressed the following item: 9. CONSIDERATION OF THE 1992-93 EMPLOYEE PAY PLANS Mayor Pro-rem Marks said the council did not say to when this item would be postponed, noting the reason for postponing was to receive the financial impact of the reinstatement of the pay plan. Going on, the Mayor Pro-tern asked if all the council agrees the pay plan will be reinstated and Councilman Bogan said the numbers are needed. Mayor Pro-rem in response to the employee (Andy Powell) said he would like to tell him the plan will be reinstated and asked if the numbers will be ready by January 25, 1993, and went on to say we cannot leave the employees hanging. At this time, Mr. Powell was addressed by Councilman Dillard who said this action is not directed at him (Powell) as a person, but that the council needs to see the numbers and went on to say he thinks this should be addressed at the next regular session. Councilman Lynch said the reinstatement can be made retroactive and that should answer all the questions. Councilman Sharp said he wants this item on the January 25, 1993 special session. Councilman Bogan, agreed, stating the sooner the better. Mr. Powell asked the council to take this item off the table and address tonight, going on to say the council had said that time was no issue, however, he went on to say it is an issue. Mr. Powell said he has to look out for his family, stating that he has been offered a job with another agency, that at this time would mean a pay increase, but if the pay plan is reinstated, it would mean a pay cut. He said he was speaking solely for himself, and went on to say if this is issue is not addressed soon, the city will lose more quality employees and they will not be able to replace them. Mayor Pro-tem Marks said the item will be on the January 25, 1993 agenda and the meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. 11. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT 1. Patti Hicks reported on the upcoming election. There is to be a special election to replace Senator Lloyd Bentsen on May 1, 1993. Denton County will be holding this election and the County Clerk Tim Hodges has asked all the City Secretaries in Denton County to talk to our council to see if there is general agreement that the county and the city should use the same polls for this election. Going on, Ms. Hicks said if separate polls are used, there would be 5 polls for Denton County and 3 polls for the city. Combining polling places would be beneficial for all concerned. The Council all agreed that combining polling places is a good idea. A letter will be written to Denton County regarding this 11 004658 matter. ----. APPROVED: William W. m~nn~n'g, Mayor ATrEST: r! / Patti A. Hicks, TRMC, CMC/AAE, City Secretary FOLLOWING IS THE AMENDMENT TO ITEM 9 ON PAGE 11 OF THE MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 18, 1993 COUNCIL MEETING. Mayor Pro-tem Marks said the council did not say to when this item would be postponed, noting the reason for postponing was to receive the financial impact of the reinstatement of the pay plan. Going on, the Mayor Pro-tem asked if all the council agrees the pay plan will be reinstated and Councilman Bogan said the numbers are needed. Mayor Pro-tem Marks, in response to the employee (Andy Powell) said he would like to tell him the plan will be reinstated "and asked for a date that this can be brought back, and if all the council agrees the plan will be reinstated. Councilman Dillard said there is a meeting scheduled for February 1, and asked if the numbers will be ready by then. Mayor Pro-tem Marks asked if the figures will be ready by Work Session on January 25, 1993 and Mr. England said they could be ready by then. Councilman Dillard asked the date of the work session and noted he would not be present on the 25th. Mayor Pro-tem Marks said he appreciated that fact, but went on to say we cannot leave the employees hanging. Councilman Dillard stated he had made a motion (to table), it was carried and that he feels this should be taken up at a regular session. Going on, Councilman Dillard said if the council decides to take it up at a work session, that will be fine. Addressing the gentleman with a personal concern (Andy Powell) Councilman Dillard said this action is not directed at him (Powell) as a person, but that the council needs to see the numbers because they have been delegated by the tax payers to manage the resources of the city, stating he  illard then state .he thinks this should be knows it impacts his (eowell) life. Council~ ~ ~ addressed at a regular session." Patti A. Hicks, City Secretary