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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/22/1993 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON MARCH 22, 1993 The Special 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 March, 1993 at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William W. Manning, Mayor Present Mike Lynch, Councilman Absent Billy Sharp, Councilman Present Joe Agnew, Councilman Present Tom Bogan, Councilman Absent (Arrived 7:10 p.m.) John Dillard, Councilman Present Joel Marks, Mayor Pro-tern Present and with five present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 2. CONSIDERATION OF AUTHORIZING THE FILLING OF VACANCIES IN THE WATER DEPARTMENT AND THE LIBRARY AND AUTHORIZATION TO FILL SUMMER POSITIONS AT THE AQUATIC PARK Mr. Bill Hall explained two employees had resigned last Tuesday, one in the water department and another at the Library. These are budgeted positions and need to be filled as quickly as possible. The positions at the Aquatic Park are for seasonal, full time employees which include life guards for the summer season. These are also budgeted positions. Councilman Dillard asked how many positions will be filled at the Aquatic Park. Ms. Brantley, Park and Recreation Director, said there are eighteen (18) positions. Elise Knox, Pool Manager, needs to be staffed in April as she utilizes a rigorous training program for the life guards and they need to be fully trained for the opening of the season at the end of May. Motion to fill vacancies as outlined - Agnew; second - Dillard. Motion carried with the following roll call vote: Sharp - Aye; Agnew - Aye; Bogan - Abstain; Dillard - Aye; Marks - Aye; Manning - Aye. 5. CONSIDERATION OF REPAIRS ON THREE MILLION GALLON GROUND STORAGE TANK AND RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXPENDITURES. Mr. Hall explained that we had now received an engineering report on the condition of the ground storage tank at Office Creek Pump Station. PreLoad, the company that built the tank, has submitted a report which has been reviewed by Tom Cravens, Director of Public Works; Hal Jones, Consulting Engineer; and Travis Roberts, Staff Engineer with 3 Hunter and Associates and for the City of Frisco. Tom Cravens explained what was discovered and the recommendations to correct. It appears the 48" pipe from the tank to the pump station has moved and resulted in cracks in the floor of the ~ank. The proposed tank repairs were developed on a best-judgement basis and consist of three major operations: 1. Enlargerhent of the thrust block at the 90° elbow outside the tank. (Completed March 6, 1993 by city staff.) 2. Underpinning of the outside bottom edge of the pipe encasement. 3. Removal and replacement of the cracked floor slab surrounding the 48" pipe penetration inside the tank. PreLoad has agreed to provide supervision, labor, materials and equipment "at cost". The cost would be $51,684.00. PreLoad will not offer a warranty. Work could begin almost immediately and would take approximately two (2) weeks. We could save some money by using some of our staff for some of the work as well as arranging for the equipment. It could cost us as much as $75,000 - $100,000 to have another engineering report done and go out for bids. Discussion followed with more in depth information as to what will be accomplished with each phase ofithe repairs. Would it be possible to do only part of the repairs at this time and possibly do more at a later date. Mr. Cravens indicated it would not be good to keep digging up th~ area and we should try to accomplish all repairs at this time. i Councilmani Marks asked if any steps had been taken to determine if the problem was a result of faulty installation or materials and if action should not be taken against the builders for the repairs. Mr. Hall stated that staff was talking with our insurance carrier to see if some of the cost could be recovered. The pipe work seems to be the problem and the company that installed it is no longer in business. We would have no recourse against them even if we could prove fault. Councilman Marks also questioned why repairs need to be made immediately. Mayor Manning asked if the tank would suffer any permanent damage if it remained empty for a time. Mr. Cravens said there had been numerous complaints from citizens concerning the water and while that in itself is not a reason to rush, we are approaching the season with the highest water usage and need to be sure we have an adequate water supply. We are also still paying Dallas for water we are unable to pump. As to the tank staying empty for a period, Mr. Cravens said he did not think it would permanently damage the tank, but was not positive. Councilman Bogan questioned hiring PreLoad to do the repairs even at cost. --' 4 Couldn't this be accomplished in house. Mr. Cravens indicated we do ~ot have all of the equipment and would have to rent it. Also, while his staff is excellent, th6 water department works on 6"-8" water mains and do not have any experience with this type of work and the concrete workers have not done this before. Councilman Agnew stated it appeared this was the same area we had problems with three (3) years ago. Perhaps we should just patch it again at this time and hopefully it will last another three years and we will be in a better financial position at that time. Councilman Dillard asked about only repairing the inside of the tank as we have already completed item one of the recommendations, how much would it cost and how long would it take. Mr. Cravens indicated the cost would be about $10,000 and would depend on availability of rental equipment to start. It would probable take about four weeks to complete depending on any other projects they had to work on such as water main breaks. He would have to take his staff off of other things such as street repair. Motion to repair inside of tank and backfill outside only using city staff- Agnew; second - Bogan. Mr. Cravens stated PreLoad may ask for payment for the engineering work they did since they will not be making the repairs. Mr. Hall said he would talk iwith them. Motion carried with unanimous roll call vote. 3. REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY RALPH ANDERSEN AND ASSOCIATES Mayor Manning suggested going through the 39 recommendations to allow Council to comment on the recommendations as well as the priority rating. Some should be discounted altogether and others need to be considered in a different time frame. 1. Mr. Hall said he had spoken to other cities and found no correlation on this position. He was unsure why it was recommended. Mayor Manning and Council felt this item should not be considered. 2. As item 1 will not be implemented, the first half of this recommendation will not be implemented either. The second half has been implemented and we will continue to improve. 3. This item has been completed. 4. This item has been completed. 5. This item has been completed. 5 0f 474, 6. We are looking at the possibility of privatizing the water meter reading which ~_.. would free this staff to work exclusively in water maintenance. If this is not possible, we will look at sharing these employees. 7. This item has been completed. 8. We are ~urrently moving toward. Chief Stewart will have a better feel for the staffing of his depa?tment after the grant application for the Drug Task Force is decided on. 9. This is an on-going process. Council indicated they would like this accomplished very soon· 10. This is also being reviewed with Ralph Andersen & Associates. Mr. Cravens does not wish to add additional levels of supervision and Council concurs that Mr. Cravens is doing an exceptional job. 11. This is on-going and Council will work with staff to establish. 12. Mr. England and his staff are working to present a more comprehensive budget format in the coming budget session. This will incorporate the multi-year forecasting. 13. Each department is working on at this time. Council would like this accomplished as solon as possible. 14. In conji~nction with item 13, the monthly reports from each department will contmn more usable ~nformation and not just statistics. 15. This recommends we not take action. Council agrees. 16. This item is complete. The new computer in the Police Department will improve. 17. This item is complete. 18. This item will be completed by the end of this budget year. 19. Council disagrees with recommendation. Both employees are needed. Perhaps some change in assignment of these people. 20. This is On-going. As positions are vacated, they will be reviewed more closely. 21. This is Part of the budget process and will be on-going from now on. 22. Councili does agree we should not expand unless it increases the ability to raise 6 revenue. Council does not consider the Library a leisure service and feels we should not tie their budget to that category. 23. Will be addressed at budget time. Mr. Hall pointed out that staff is looking at innovative sources of revenue. These will be addressed at a more appropriate time to the Council. 24. The Finance Director has already reported this is not possible at this time. We will continue to study and make a recommendation at the appropriate time. 25. As with item 12, the Finance Director and staff are working on and will present to Council during the next budget session. 26. This item was completed prior to the audit. : 28. This is being completed at this time. Staff expects this to be complete by the end of the budget year. 29. Aspects of this item were in place prior to the audit. The personnel requisition form has been used for some time. This will be incorporated into budget planning in future. 30. The Personnel Director is researching programs to bring trainers to our City as well as programs we can develop and use in house. 31. The Personnel Director has requested information from other cities for comparison. A new program will be developed based on specific department needs. Supervisors will be trained to successfully evaluate their employees. 32. The Personnel Director is working on a new pay plan for all city employees and will present to Council upon completion. 33. Council does not feel we need to use outside consultants to p~rform this analysis. Loss of personnel is a pretty clear indicator we have returned to the days of:l being a training ground. The Personnel Director has requested information regarding ?alary and benefits from C.O.G. and T.M.L. A report will be provided to Council upon receipt and study. 34. Council would like this implemented immediately. Mr. Hall advises that this is now being done. 35. This item has been addressed and is being followed. 36. This has been a major concern for some time and has been addressed many times in many ways, most recently, the Economic Development Corporation and the 1/2 cent sales tax. Staff and Council will continue to work toward strengthening the financial 0 474,, base of the city .... 37. Council does not feel this item should be addressed in this setting. This is a specific purchase item while the rest of this document deals with broader issues. 38. Council is working on this item. 39. A committee has been selected to review the needs of each department from the standpoint of computer aids. A report will be submitted to Council as soon as all data has been received. RECESS: 9:45 RECONVENE: 9:55 4. REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES IDENTIFIED AT THE COUNCIL/STAFF RETREAT HELD FEBRUARY 12 AND 13, 1993 Mayor Manning said the Summary was prepared by Patti Hicks, City Secretary, from information provided by each department head. A great deal of time and effort was expended by Ms Hicks. Mayor Manning and the Council extend their thanks to her for an excellent job. Mayor Manning went on to explain the format of the Summary. Each goal/objective was classified as either High Priority, Top Priority or Moderate Priority as related to the importance of the Project to the city. These were then broken down into (1), (2) or (3) relating to the time frame assigned to each project. Due to the late hour, Mayor Manning said he would entertain a motion to table this item for further discussion next Monday, March 29, 1993. Motion to table - Bogan; second - Sharp. Motion failed with the following roll call vote: Sharp - Aye; Agnew - Aye; Bogan - Aye; Dillard - No; Marks - No; Manning - No Mayor Manning said they would review page by page and asked each councilmember to address only those items they had questions about or disagreed with, either in priority rating or content. Mayor Manning asked the status of the Northeast Regional Park (N.E.R.P.) and Ms Brantley said they had received seven (7) entries at the Park and Recreation Center but she did not know how many had been received at the Chamber office. Councilman Bogan asked if crack sealing program could be contracted out. Also 8 have homeowners responsible for all sidewalk repairs. Mr. Hall noted an ordinance would be required to amend this. Councilman Agnew questioned the statement made for Average Monthly Billing. He could not believe this would not be advantageous to the citizens. Council directed further investigation into this with implementation if practical. Mr. England said he thought the current software at the Utility department would accommodate. Mayor Manning said he felt the Community Marquee was m6re important than shown in the summary. He would like to see this happen sooner. He Also questioned the I · Permit Process. The summary refers to health permits and it was his understanding ~t would involve all types of permits. He would like to offer one stop shopping to the citizens. Councilman Marks questioned the need for Ride Along. He feels it places an unnecessary liability exposure on the city. Councilman Sharp said he would like to see some of the younger citizens take advantage of the program so they could see what our officers' duties really are. Council determined it is necessary to have a clear guide for the Ride Along Program and would like to have a resolution prepared outlining the policy. The Take Home Policy will be reviewed further. Motion to table further discussion until March 29, 1993 - Marks; second - Dillard. Motion passed with unanimous roll call vote. With no further business to address, Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 10:40 p.m. APPROVED: William W. Manning, Mayor ATTEST: Sandie Chance, Deputy City Secretary [SEAL] 9