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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/01/1993 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON MARCH 1, 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 1st day of March, 1993, at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William W. Manning, Mayor Present 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 seven present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 2. CITIZEN INPUT Carol Frey, 4921 N. Colony, addressed the council regarding the Recycling Task Force, stating the group is apparently out of money since the grant funds have run out, and requested $30.00 from the city to pay for ribbons for the next science fair. Mayor Manning said that could be done. 3. RECOGNITION OF CITY EMPLOYEE TONY PHILLIPS FOR SERVICE TO THE CITY OF THE COLONY Bill Hall said Tony Phillips has done an outstanding job during a: recent shortage of manpower in our Animal Control Dept. Going on, Mr. Hall said about ltwo years ago, two Public Works employees attended school and became certified Animal Control Officers, so they could help out in this type situation. Mr. Hall said recently the city lost both Animal Control Officers, one transferring to the Police Dept. and the other going to another city. During this time, Mr. Phillips filled in as Animal Control Officer as well as performing his other duties in Public Works, and Mr. Hall noted he has received calls commending Mr. Phillips' performance. Mayor Manning read the letter of appreciation as follows: Letter of Appreciation The City Council and Staff would like to express appreciation for your commendable efforts and willingness to serve as temporary Animal Control Officer during a recent 3 00471.0 manpower shortage. In this period, one Animal Control Officer was promoted into another position in the City and shortly thereafter, the remaining Officer resigned to take a position in another city. Having volunteered to pursue cross-training in this field in prior years, you were called upon for support as Animal Control Officer in addition to your regular duties within Public Works. Through your efforts and professionalism the City was able to continue its response to critical animal Control problems. In two specific calls to the administrative offices, residents commented on the courtesy that was extended by you on those calls. For your efforts, our congratulations for a job well done! Mayor Manning presented the letter to Mr. Phillips and stated how very important it is to the city to have employees such as Tony and how very much his service is appreciated. 4. CONSENT AGENDA A. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETINGS HELD FEBRUARY 1 AND 22, 1993 Motion to approve the minutes as written - Agnew, second - Sharp. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. B. CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE AND AWARD OF BIDS FOR RESIDENTIAL MOWING, MOWING OF MEDIANS AND PARKWAYS, MOWING OF F.M. 423 RIGHT OF WAY, MOWING OF STEWART CREEK PARK AND EASTVALE PARK AND APPROVAL OF AN ORDINANCE(S) AUTHORIZING CONTRACT(S) FOR SAME Mr. Hall adk, ised council that in reviewing the bids, Councilman Lynch discovered how the city could :save approximately $1500.00 if the contract for all the mowing except residential is awarded to Steve Miller and the residential is awarded to K-Lab instead of D & S as recommended. Mr. Hall said Tom Cravens has spoken to each of these contractors this afternoon and both are confident they can perform the jobs as specified, and subsequently, Mr. Cravens did recommend this change. Motion to award the mowing contracts to Steve Miller for medians and parkways, FM 423 R.O.W., Eastvale Park and Stewart Creek Park and to K-Lab for residential mowing - Lynch; second - Sharp. Councilman Sharp took this time to mention the area around the boat ramp at Stewart Creek Park needs to be improved (better mowing) so the non-residents visiting the 4 0047 .u park will be better impressed with our city. The Councilman also said h~e would like to see Park and Recreation get the courtesy dock built before the Memorial Da~t week-end, noting, we (city) owe this to our citizens. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. C. CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE AND AWARD OF PROPOSALS FOR THE PROVISION OF WRECKER SERVICE WITHIN THE CITY OF THE COLONY AND APPROVAL OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING CONTRACT FOR SAME Motion to accept the proposals and award the contract to Ronny Miller Wrecker Service - Agnew, second - Sharp. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. D. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT FOR POLICE CHIEF BRUCE STEWART Councilman Lynch said the wording of the employment contracts had been addressed before and he would like to see it changed, stating he wants the term "moral turpitude" removed and a statement regarding morals put in ~t s place. Councilman Lynch smd there also needs to be something in the contracts about performance or lack of performance. Mr. Hall said he has spoken to Pete Eckert, City Attorney, who will prepar!e these changes. Councilman Lynch said the severance pay needs to be the same for all contracts, stating there is one contract with 6 months and the rest have 3 months. Going on, Councilman Lynch said there is no need to change these contracts now, !but by the time all contracts are up for renewal October 1, 1993, these changes need to be made. Councilman Bogan agreed, stating he would like to see severance based on number of years with the City, not just a flat 3 months. Councilman Sharp, agreeing, suggested one week for each year of service. Councilman Marks said the original intent of the contracts was to protect certain department heads from the whims of elected officials (political enemies, etc.). Councilman Sharp suggested setting up reviews during February and March, then when a new council is elected, they would be able to look at the reviews and make decisions based on that information. Councilman Marks reminded the council that they (council) only hire two employees, the City Secretary and the City Manager, and suggested the reviews should be done right after the election. Motion to approve contracts for Police Chief Bruce Stewart and Tom Cravens, Director of Public Works - Lynch; second - Dillard. Councilman Sharp addressed the existing hiring freeze and asked that item to be placed on the next agenda, stating the freeze should be lifted for replacements so the City Manager can do his job more efficiently. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. E. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT FOR DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, TOM CRAVENS See above motion. Items 4D and 4E approved with the same motion. F. CONiSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING A GRANT APPLICATION FOR RECYCLING OIL, TIRES, ETC. Motion to approve the resolution as written - Agnew, second - Sharp. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 5. CONSIDERATION OF AUTHORIZING THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR A CURBSIDE RECYCLING PROGRAM IN THE CITY OF THE COLONY Bill Hall said Bob van Til, Councilman Lynch and some citizens have worked on this proposal, and responding to some questions from citizens, clarified that the term curbside is generic, and that it does not necessarily mean the pick up will be in the front of the house. Bob van Til stated this agenda item is to get the council's approval to request proposals for the cUrbside recycling service, noting that the proposal presented is a revision based on input from the work session held to address this item. Mr. van Til said he, Councilman Lynch and Jamie Bell had met and addressed those concerns presented by council, stating that the proposal asked for the pick-up of tin, aluminum; clear, brown and green glass; newspaper and plastics. Mayor Mang~ lng sa~d the comnnttee has done a fine job. Councilman Marks agreed. There was a brief discussion regarding the items to be picked up. Motion to approve the request for proposals for a curbside recycling program - Lynch; second - Sharp Councilman Marks questioned the education portion of the program. Councilman Lynch said $5000.00 is to be provided annually by the contractor for that purpose, noting the education will be handled by people in the city with the help of the contractor. Councilman Marks said it should be handled by the contractor with the help of the citizens. Councilman Lynch said both were reviewed and this seemed the best option. Discussion followed regarding education and how it should be handled. Councilman Bogan reminded council that we are only asking for proposals and there is no contract yet. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 6 6. CONSIDERATION OF AMENDMENT TO THE BID RECEIVED FROM PITTSBURGH TANK AND TOWER FOR PAINTING OF THE OVERHEAD STORAGE TANK ON NORTH COLONY BOULEVARD Hal Jones, engineer, addressed the council, stating the original bid in January was for $38,850 to re-paint the interior of the tower, stating he did contact all bidders and was assured by all they could do the project for the amount bid. After some discussions with Pittsburgh Tank and Tower, the low bidder, it was determined the company would be using a product called Blastox in the project, a product which the Texas Water Commission will not allow to be used. Mr. Jones said he related this to the company, who then proposed that they could do the job for an additional $7500.00 to cover the possible disposal of hazardous material from the site. Mr. Jones said this is not an unreasonable amount and recommended amending the original bid to include the additional $7500.00 which will be paid to the company only if the material is determined to be hazardous! If the material is not determined to be hazardous, then the additional amount will not be paid by the city. Brief discussion about the company, with Councilman Bogan stating he is concerned about this company, noting they are the only one who did not come to see the tower before bidding. Mr. Jones explained the bonding procedure, stating the bid bond is 5% of the project amount, which would come into play if the company did not do the job, the performance and payment bonds are included in the actual contract and cover the actual job once it is begun. Mr. Jones said this company has been in business over 40 years and that he will be watching the job to ensure it is done properly. Councilman Dillard asked how long the tower will be out of service and Mr. Jones replied about 60 days. Councilman Lynch asked how the tower being out of service would effect the other problem in the city. Mr. Hall stated the problem is the 3 million gallon ground storage tank at Office Creek Pump Station has some cracks in the floor and has been taken out of service also. Mr. Hall said the city is currently back on well water, with no Dallas water. I · He said Pre-Load, the company that built the tank, will be sending an engineer to the city on Thursday to determine what action is to be taken to repair the tank! Mr. Hall said he is not sure how long it will be out of service, but there should be no major impact on water service due to these two problems. Motion to approve the amendment to the Pittsburgh Tank and Tower bid in the amount of $7500.00, should hazardous material disposal be required, making the total $43,350 - Agnew; second - Lynch. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 7. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT 1. Work session with The Colony 2000 committee is to be held March 8, 1993 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. 2. Councilman Marks advised that the gun shop which had been addressed during a public hearing last week, had pulled its request for a specific use permit so the item will not 7 have to be brought back to council. 3. Response to February 22, 1993 citizen input from Dick Weaver. The City Manager has been directed to keep the council apprised of any changes made as a result of the Andersen study and there will be a formal response to the report at a later date, which will be made a part of the report and kept in the Library. Eight of the recommendations have already been accomplished. Mayor Manning advised that he, the City Manager, and the City Secretary will be meeting this week to go over the goals outlined at the recent retreat. He said the items will then be given to the department heads to prioritize and then another work session will be held to address them. ATIIEST: Patti A. Hicks, TRMC, CMC/AAE City Secretary