Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/19/1993 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON APRIL 19, 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 19th day of April, 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. SPECIAL RECOGNITION OF CITY EMPLOYEES Bill Hall advised that after the engineers reviewed the problems with the 3 million '"'" gallon ground storage tank and estimated repair costs at $55,000.00, Council had directed staff to repair the tank in-house. The tank is now back in service. Mayor Manning read the list of names of those employees to be recognized for their extra effort in repairing the tank. As the names were called, those present came forward and were presented with a Certificate of Service by Director of Public Works, Tom Cravens. Those present were as follows: Alan Orr, Mark Fagan, Gene Abrams, Jess Ledesma, Philip Buchheister, Sherrill Wilson, and Ken Leverich. Not present at the meeting were: David Drake, Steve Westerfield, Buddy Rogers, Tony Phillips, Robert Fraser, Jeff Horner, Henry Arnold, Leo Lavender, Charles Reynolds, Brent Young, Steve Wiser, Bobby Hollis, Robert Witt, Charles Vance, Jim Bell, Bill Harp, Bernie Childs and Daniel Large. Bill Hall stated he is proud of all the employees and of Mr. Cravens' leadership. 3. MAYORAL PROCLAMATION DECLARING CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WEEK Mayor Manning read the proclamation in it's entirety as follows: WHEREAS, the City of The Colony is steadily growing with new businesses; and 4 WHEREAS, this Council recognizes the invaluable asset those businesses are to our City; and WHEREAS, The Colony Chamber of Commerce has played an active part in the development and growth of our City; and WHEREAS, the week of April 19th through the 23rd has been set aside as a time for all Texas to salute their area Chamber of Commerce, and encourage all residents to continue their support of this worthwhile organization. NOW, THEREFORE, I, William W. Manning, Mayor of the City of The Colony, Texas, do hereby proclaim the week of April 19th - 23rd, 1993 to be CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WEEK in the City of The Colony and urge participation by all citizens. PASSED AND APPROVED this 19th day of April. 1993. William W. Manning, Mayor Patti A. Hicks, CMC/AAE, City Secretary Susan Blethen, President of the Chamber of Commerce accepted the proclamation. 4. MAYORAL PROCLAMATION DECLARING MAY AS WATER SAFETY MONTH WHEREAS, it only takes a few seconds, and less than two inches of water for a child to drown; and WHEREAS, it is the leading cause of accidental death for children one to three years old in the state of Texas; and WHEREAS, up to 90% of drowning deaths of children occur in home pools, a month- long Water Safety Awareness program has been coordinated by Lewisville Independent School District Parent Teacher Association and The Colony Aquatic Park; and SVHEREAS, this program will involve a large number of volunteers and a wide array of materials from the American Red Cross, National Spa-Pool Institute, United States Army Corps of Engineers, National Safe Boating Council, and the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary; and 5 0047 5 WHEREAS, in recognizing that hundreds of lives could be saved each year by --.. spreading water safety information to the public, we, the citizens of The Colony, affirm and support the Water Safety Awareness project goals to educate young children; NOW, THEREFORE, I, William W. Manning, Mayor of The City of The Colony, do hereby proclaim the month of May, 1993 as WATER SAFETY AWARENESS MONTH in the Colony, Texas and I furthermore urge all who enjoy aquatic recreation to acquire the skills and knowledge to maintain their own safety and the safety of others around them. IN WITNESS WHEREOF I set my hand this 19th day of April in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three. William W. Manning, Mayor Attest: Patti A. Hicks, CMC/AAE, City Secretary Carol Ann Parker accepted the proclamation and presented Mayor Manning with a miniature life ring, which is to be displayed at City Hall during the month of May. 5. CONSENT AGENDA A. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING HELD APRIL 5, 1993 Motion to approve the minutes as written - Agnew; second - Sharp, carried with a unanimous roll call vote. B. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 12 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES BY AMENDING THE WATER AND SEWER CODES AS ADOPTED SEPTEMBER 29, 1986, SECTION 6, RELATING TO UTILITY DEPOSITS AND SECTION 10 RELATING TO CHARGES FOR RETURNED CHECKS Motion to approve the ordinance as written - Agnew; second - Sharp, carried with a unanimous roll call vote. C. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 6 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, BY AMENDING SECTION 6-115(B) RELATING TO CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY FEES Motion to approve the ordinance as written - Agnew; second - Sharp, carried with a "-" 6 0O4'76¥' unanimous roll call vote. D. CONSIDERATION OF RENEWAL OF AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN COLLIN COUNTY AND ROBERT POPE AND ASSOCIATES FOR STATE HIGHWAY 121 CONSULTING SERVICES Motion to approve the renewal as recommended - Agnew; second - Shgrp, carried with a unanimous roll call vote. E. CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE AND AWARD OF PROPOSALS FOR THE OPERATION OF A CONCESSION STAND AT THE AQUATIC PARK AND APPROVAL OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING CONTRACT FOR SAME Bill Hall noted that the proposal is for 16% revenue to the city instead of the 25% the city had requested, but explained that Mr. Shores had said he cannot pay the 25%, and since this was the only proposal received, staff does recommend approval. Motion to accept the proposals and award the contract to Frank Shores as recommended - Agnew; second - Sharp, carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 6. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE SITE FOR THE PROPOSED "KID'S COLONY PLAYGROUND" AND REVIEW OF THE SCHEMATIC FOR SAME Debbie Satterlee representing The Colony Playground Committee addressed the council, advising the committee has worked very hard to reach this point ~n the plans for the playground. Ms. Satterlee said the name of the playground will be "Kid's Colony" and that the committee is here tonight to receive approval for the location behind the Library and Recreation Center and the site plan of the playground. Motion to approve the location as recommended - Sharp; second - Bogan, carried with a unanimous roll call vote. Ms. Satterlee also advised the council of several fund raisers being carried out by the committee, in particular, the Cow Chip Bingo to be held during the Chili Cook Off in June. Ms. Satterlee said there will be a maze located within the playground structure and individuals organizations or companies may donate $25.00 to have their name engraved on the boards. Motion to approve the site plan as presented - Lynch; second - Bogan, carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 7 0047 o 7. CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE AND AWARD OF BIDS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF BILL ALLEN MEMORIAL PARK, APPROVAL OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING A CONTRACT FOR SAME, AND APPROVAL OF A CHANGE ORDER FOR SAID CONTRACT Bob van Til said there had been 5 bids received ranging from $460,000 to over $500,000., going on to say the budget was set at $405,000 by the grant received from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (T.P.& W.D.). Mr. van Til said he worked with Carter and Burgess to scale back 8 items on the project and come in under budget at $395,110.84. Mr van Til said the T.P. & W. D. has approved the cuts and advised the appropriate way to handle this is to award the bid to the lower bidder, Randall & Blake in the total amount of $458,155. and then effect a change order in the amount of $63,044.16. There followed a general discussion regarding the items to be cut and their affect on the total project. Mr. van Til assured the council that the cuts recommended will not effect the aesthetics, the view or take away from the original plan in the grant application. He went on to say all bidders were notified of this process and none of them wanted to re-bid the project. Mr. Larry O'Flynn with Carter and Burgess said the T.P. & W.D. said to scale back by line item on each bidder. Councilman Agnew questioned the performance bond and penalties included, citing recent problems with contractors. Mr. O'Flynn said there is $250.00 per day liquidated damages clause, going on to say his company has worked with RBI for the past 15 - 16 years, with no problems. Councilman Marks asked if the cuts will be performed in-house later. Mr. van Til said that if there is money left over when the project is complete, then that money can be used for some of those cuts, and if there is no money left, then they can be done in-house when funds are available. Councilman Bogan noted that this park is being built entirely from grant funds, not (ad valorem) taxes and that it will be a real asset to the City. Motion to award the contract for the construction of Bill Allen Memorial Park to Randall Blake, Inc. in the amount of $458,155 and to approve Change Order No. I in the amount of $63,044.16 (deducts) - Bogan; second - Sharp. 8:20 p.m. Mayor Manning left the meeting, Mayor Pro-tem Marks presided. 8. RECEIVE 'PUBLIC INPUT REGARDING SUBSCRIPTION EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE Bill Hall reminded that this was addressed at the last council meeting and council had decided to place the item back on this agenda to receive public input. Chief Van Morrison stated the funds from the service will go exclusively to replace aging emergency equipment, and said the proposal is to charge either a $5.00 or $7.00 monthly charge for the subscription. O047Ba 8:30 p.m. Mayor Manning returned to the meeting. Chief Morrison went on to say it is very hard for some families to pay the current ambulance fee of $100.00 per transport, but with the subscription service, the annual outlay will only be $60.00 or $84.00 depending on the rate. There followed a general discussion regarding the rates and public relations regarding the service. Chief Morrison said the Fire Department will handle the public relations and noted they would be ready to be on line in 2 months. Joyce Fulco, 4712 Clover Valley asked if transports not used during the year will be carried over. Chief Morrison said they would not. Councilman Marks asked if any of the funds could ever be used for personnel in the Fire Department and Mr. Hall said it would not be wise to hire new personnel based on funds received from a voluntary subscription service, because if the subscriptions dropped, the funds would be decreased and the personnel would have to be released. 9. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES BY PROVIDING FOR ARTICLE l lA OF CHAPTER 9, AMBULANCE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE Bill Hall said this has been reviewed with the City Attorney !who prepared the ordinance. Councilman Lynch suggested changing the word containedi in Section 9-35 to charged. After a brief discussion it was agreed to make that change. Motion to approve the ordinance, with amendment, establishing subscription ambulance service at an annual charge of $60.00 or $5.00 per month - Agnew; second - Dillard. Councilman Sharp reiterated this is a voluntary program and a very good way for the fire department to buy equipment. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 10. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF AN INCREASE IN THE FEE CHARGED FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL TRANSPORT Bill Hall said the Fees Committee had talked about several options, noting the current charge of $100.00 does not cover the actual cost of a transport or allow for recovery of equipment costs. Mr. Hall said the actual cost is approximately $563.00, which is not being proposed as the fee. He said the recommendation is to increase the fee per transport from $100.00 to $250.00. 1 Motion to increase the fee for emergency medical transport from $100.00 to $250.00 per transport as recommended by the Fees Committee - Bogan; second - Agnew Councilman Marks asked if the Fees committee had any other recommendations. 9 0047/0 Councilman Sharp who served as Chairman of the committee advised the actual cost of each transport is $563.00, and that would be the only other recommendation the committee would make. Motion carried with the following roll call vote: Lynch - Aye; Sharp - Aye; Agnew - Aye; Bogan - Aye; Dillard - No; Marks - No; Manning - Aye. 11. RECEIVE PUBLIC INPUT REGARDING PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE TAX ABATEMENT GUIDELINES Mayor Manning stated this item is on the agenda to receive public input and opened the floor for that purpose. Dr. Harold Gross, an economist at the Center for Economic Development & Research at the University of North Texas advised the Council that Councilman Lynch had asked him to come to the meeting to address the council regarding this issue. Dr. Gross said the center provides Economic and Public Policy Consultants to work with communities in the North Central Texas Region. Dr. Gross said they have developed a prospective on the value of tax abatement as an economic development tool, stating that studies show tax abatement may not be very important to corporations. He said the common trend is "everybody does it so we should too". Tax abatement, Dr. Gross said has a time and place but is subsidized by other tax payers and sometimes is justified if the firm is an exporter. Dr. Gross went on to say the city should have a policy but should be very discriminatory in using it. Mayor Manning said he has heard Dr. Weinstein's theory of anti-tax abatement. The Mayor said the taxes received through the commercial development out weight the services requested, noting our ordinances require developers to put in the infrastructure at the time of development and that it has nothing to do with the tax abatement. Mayor Manning asked Dr. Gross how mahy cities he (Gross) had convinced not to do tax abatement, and Dr. Gross said none, advising he is not against tax abatement, and that it has it's place, but that the city should look at it long term and it is used sparingly. Mayor Manning asked if he agrees it is a viable tool to encourage business and Dr. Gross said yes, but to be cautious. Councilman Marks asked if Dr. Gross was paid to be at this meeting, and Dr. Gross said no, that they routinely come before cities to help with these decisions. Councilman Marks said he agrees that tax abatement should be used sparingly. Councilman Agnew thanked Dr. Gross for his time and asked if he reviewed the city's proposed tax abatement guidelines. Dr. Gross said he did, but only briefly so he can't comment on them. Mayor Manning asked what type of company the doctor would say is eligible to receive tax abatement and Dr. Gross said the key element is the pattern of company sales, with most product being exported or providing services outside this area. Dr. Gross went on to say backward lineage is important (ex. J.C. Penney) and the potential to create jobs. Councilman Lynch said he asked Dr. Weinstein to review our tax abatement plan and he was to be here but couldn't make it, noting that Dr. Gross stepped in at the last minute. Councilman Lynch went on to say they have some good things to say about it, suggesting 10 00477./ that this not be passed tonight, but that the council look it again along with impact fees. Councilman Sharp also thanked Dr. Gross for coming and stated that we already have tax abatement in place and the committee agreed the guidelines needed to be amended. Going on, the Councilman said we will be very selective, noting the plan is very flexible, and is granted only one year at a time. Councilman Sharp added, he sees no correlation between tax abatement and impact fees. Councilman Bogan said the new policy covers everything Dr. Gross addressed and went on to say the public is at a disadvantage because they have not read the policy. Councilman Agnew said the committee did lots of research before making these recommendations. Councilman Lynch questioned the year to year basis, and Bill Hall said that is not spelled out in the program, but it is addressed on an annual basis. Councilman Bogan said this will not mean a loss to the city, because we will have more revenue than we did even if the business is not as successful as originally hoped for. Councilman Sharp said the number of years and percentage can be reviewed by the council on an annual basis. Councilman Marks said this is just a guideline, and doesn't have to be so specific, noting that when the agreement is written, the specific can be identified. He said this seems real basic, noting we can't include everything in the resolution. Councilman Agnew said he has reviewed the existing resolution and it is good, but this amendment clarifies the guidelines, agreeing that specifics can't be set out tonight. Councilman Dillard said this has many pros and cons and many cities wish they didn't have tax abatement, noting taxpayers or someone pays the difference. Councilman Dillard said we haven't had any input from the public. Mayor Manning said we are losing site of the purpose, noting we can't offer tax abatement without a resolution on the books and that was done a few years ago. He reminded the council, that does not require us to offer tax abatement, but it allows us to offer tax abatement and all we are doing tonight is amending the guidelines to be more flexible. Mayor Manning went on to say this can be changed anytime a council deems it necessary, stating that we need to move forward. Nancy Dillard, 4916 Crawford said if this can be changed by the council, then how does that effect businesses. Mayor Manning said that can be a problem, but noted that I nothing can be done by one council that cannot be undone by another coluncfl. Councilman Lynch stated he is not against tax abatement, but that we need to be clear on whether this is year by year and no limit on time and percentage. Bill Hall said that is addressed in paragraph 2 of page 2. 12. CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 90-11 RELATING TO TAX ABATEMENT Motion to approve the resolution as written - Agnew; second - Bogan. Mayor Manning suggested adding the yearly provision or a provision to allow the city to recoup funds. Councilman Marks said we don't need to add year to year, but take this case by case, which can be done at the time of the agreement. Mayor Manning then suggested passing this as it is and requesting Dr. Weinstein for recommended verbiage 11 0 477 regarding the "claw back" provision. Councilman Lynch said there does need to be something to provide protection for the city in case things go wrong. Councilman Marks said the council needs to show optimism and get on with the program. Councilman Bogan said there can be no guarantee. Councilman Sharp called the question. Vote on question - All Aye. Motion carried with the following roll call vote: Lynch - No; Sharp - Aye; Agnew - Aye; Bogan - Aye; Dillard - No; Marks - Aye; Manning - Aye. 13. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 8 OF THE CODE OF~ ORDINANCES BY AMENDING ARTICLE II RELATING TO IMPACT FEES Bob van Til outlined the steps of the process to revise the impact fees, noting the public hearing was held April 5, 1993, and that the law requires the impact fees to be acted on with 30 days from the date of the hearing. Mr. van Til went on to point out the new section in the ordinance, which will allow the council to waive fees for certain entities if they so desire. Councilman Dillard suggested making the fees the actual cost of wastewater then the council can waive all or part if they want to. Mayor Manning said then we would need to put in the actual cost for residential also and if we do there will be someone coming before council very often to ask for a waiver. Councilman Marks suggested leaving it as it is written. '~" Councilman Agnew said he likes Councilman Dillard's idea, but he doesn't want every business coming before council, adding that might just place another road block on development. Councilman Lynch said there are still no traffic impact fees in this plan and recommended $150.00 per dwelling unit. Bob van Til said we can't just add the traffic fees tonight stating it would take about 6 months to go through the process again. Mr. van Til went on to say he does not recommend the actual costs on wastewater for the same reasons expressed by Councilman Agnew and the Mayor, stating staff has been trying to streamline the process and this would defeat that purpose. Councilmani Bogan said we must be in competition with other cities and these fees are, noting we really don't need a traffic impact fee, stating that could be addressed with the developer at the time of approval. Motion to approve the ordinance as written - Dillard; second - Bogan; carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 14. CONSIDERATION OF NOMINATION TO SERVE ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THE NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS After a brief discussion, with no nominations to be made, there was no action on this item. -'"-. 12 00477 15. CITIZEN INPUT Joyce Fulco, 4712 Clover Valley, objected to changing Citizen Input from the beginning of council meetings to the end, stating there are some people who can not stay up that late and asked that it be reversed. Ms. Fulco went on to express concern that Mayor Manning allowed Lou Gomez to verbally bash Mike Lynch during the last council meeting. She said she asked the Constable if any citations were issued in relation to the incident involving Mr. Lynch at Las Vegas night and found there were none issued to anyone. Ms. Fulco suggested that those who were at Las Vegas Night match the amount of money spent there in a donation to the Kid's Colony Playground. Naomi L.vnch, 4921 Roberts, also addressed the incident at Las Vegas Night, stating that she enjoyed herself and that Mr. Gomez should not have referenced her family, because they are not candidates. 16. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT 1. The first response to the Andersen study was handed out to the Council. A copy will be in the Library for public review. 2. The elevated storage tank is being sand blasted. Painting will begin next week. Mr. Cravens passed around the pictures made during the repair of the 3 million gallon ground storage tank. 3. Clean-up day - 1300 cubic yards of material was collected, not including brush. Councilman Marks suggested contacting Texas Waste Management about allowing The Colony residents to use the land fill once a week, at no charge, by presenting a utility bill. 4. The package treatment plant will be gone very soon 5. At a recent SH 121 meeting, John Blain said the completion date is now moved to February 1994. No reason was given. 6. The Public Works Dept. has moved into Fire Sta. 2 as a temporary approach to providing better facilities. They will use the back of the building and the volunteer fire personnel will use the front portion. With no further business to address, Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 10:50 p.m. ill~a-am--W.-Manning, Mayor- ~ ATTEST: Patti A. Hicks, CMC/AAE, City Secretary 13