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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/17/1993 City Council 004796 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON MAY 17, 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 17th day of May, 1993, at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William W. Manning, Mayor Present Mike Lynch, Councilman Present Toby Pollard, 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. PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES OF APPRECIATION Bill Hall advised that several individuals will be recognized tonight for their contribution to the Police Department and other departments in the city. Mayor Manning presented Certificates of Appreciation as follows: To Bill Fletcher for providing group and individual photographs of members of The Colony Police Department. To George D. Wintle and George Wintle for assistance in obtaining office furniture for use by the police department and other departments in the city. Certificates will also be sent to Mr. Edward G. Plummer, Jr., Executive V. President of Finance and Administration and to MNBA Corporation for their part in the above named donations. 3. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Manning summarized the items on the consent agenda. A. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETINGS HELD APRIL 26, MAY 3 AND 10, 1993 Motion to approve the minutes as written - Agnew; second - Dillard, carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 3 0047 'i B. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 8 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES BY DELETING SECTIONS 1 - 5 -- RELATING TO THE TREASURER Motion to approve the ordinance as written - Agnew; second - Dillard, carried with a unanimous roll call vote. C. CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE OF A LETTER OF RESIGNATION FROM TOBY POLLARD FROM THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND APPEALS Motion to accept the resignation - Agnew; second - Dillard, carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 4. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 5 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES RELATING TO ANIMAL CONTROL Bill Hall stated the committee reviewing the animal ordinance was chaired by Councilman Mike Lynch and noted that the complete ordinance with deletions and additions is included in the council packet for review. Councilman Lynch advised this ordinance was reviewed and an amendment presented last year and was referred to committee again because there were so many areas of concern. Councilman Lynch identified members of the committee: Sandra Long (staff liaison), Lynda Tate, Kim Wagner and Bob Shepherd. Ms. Tate read a prepared statement to council, explaining the intent of the committee and the philosophy of the ordinance. She said the committee reviewed each item of the existing ordinance and has recommended changes which they hope will meet the needs of all citizens, pet owners and shop owners. Councilman Marks voiced concern about giving the Animal Protection Officer (APO) authority to go onto private property to enforce the ordinance, (page 7) noting there was a problem last year regarding an APO looking through a fence to determine if an animal had tags or not. He went on to ask if this would be enforced on a complaint only basis and Councilman Lynch said it would and cited paragraph C on page 11 as clarification. Councilman Bogan noted the ordinance does not say that and Ms. Long advised that is how enforcement is handled currently. Councilman Marks then questioned Section 12 F and asked if this means a leash is not necessary. Ms. Tate said if an animal is outside it's fence then it should be on a leash Councilman Marks disagreed, stating if the animal is on it's owner's property, then it should not have to be leashed. Ms. Tate explained it is for the protection of that animal as well as other animals that may be at large. Councilman Marks again said he disagrees with the section which allows the APO to go onto private property. Ms. Tate said it is only in regard to abandoned animals. Councilman Marks asked if there is a fee for picking up dead animals now and Councilman Lynch said no, and explained that all fees will be reviewed by the Fees 00479 Committee before adoption. Councilman Marks said that since rabies is the only vaccination that can be mandated, then the rabies should specified. Councilman Bogan said he thinks the ordinance is good but agreed that rabies vaccination should be specified throughout the ordinance. He also said the age at which that vaccination is required should be stated, and went on to note that only dogs and cats are required to be vaccinated for rabies, not all animals as the ordinance indicates. Councilman Bogan also expressed concern about the APO being authorized to go onto private property and said that needs to be more specific. He also questioned the section requiring pets to be leashed and asked if this means when they are in a vehicle. Ms. Tate said that a convertible or truck would be open vehicles and the animals would have to be leashed. Councilman Bogan asked if he would have to pay a pick up fee for reporting a dead animal in the street and Ms. Tate said only if the animal is his own. The Councilman asked that the word certificate be added on page 17 after "pre-paid rabies injection", and asked that the word scratched be removed from page 23. Ms Tate said the word was left in because of Cat Fever. Councilman Bogan said he thinks section 5-14 regarding Outbreak of Rabies should be removed entirely, because if that happens a Health Officer will determine what action to take. Kim Wagner agreed stating in case of an outbreak State Law would take over. Councilman Bogan thanked the committee for their work. Councilman Agnew also thanked the committee and went on to say that he totally disagrees with the section which allows the APO to enter private property, noting that is a violation of the Constitution. Councilman Lynch said the committee tried to write the ordinance so that in the future the only thing to be amended would be definitions or to reference city policy in some areas, so that policies can be changed instead of having to amend the ordinance. Mayor Manning said he has a great deal of concern about a department making policy about going onto private property. Councilman Lynch said that section is meant for at large or abandoned animals. Councilman Agnew expressed concern over the APO carrying a loaded weapon in a vehicle and said the term "properly dispose" on page 13 needs to be defined. Councilman Agnew suggested that the adoption fee is a little high and asked if spaying or neutering could be included in that fee. He also asked why ferrets are included in the prohibited animal list. Councilman Lynch explained there are wild and domestic ferrets, noting the domestic type would be exempt. Councilman Dillard related a story about a problem dog in his neighborhood recently which he stated would constitute a reason for an APO to be allowed onto private property. He went on to say there needs to be a way to allow the APO to go onto private property to seize an animal in order to protect people. He suggested changing the word scratched to mauled because cats as well as dogs will maul people. Councilman Dillard also suggested adding fish, such as piranha, to the prohibited animal list. He went on to ask if there is a system for people who want to own prohibited animals, noting that some people do own snakes, etc. Councilman Lynch said paragraph C-5 on page 39 does allow for a permit. A member of the audience said the Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept. issues permits for persons to own native Texas animals but not other exotic 5 004790 animals. Councilman Dillard said that section needs to be worded to allow an individual to own such an animal not just a licensed organization. Councilman Lynch said a number '-~ 5 can be added to page 40 for that purpose. Councilman Dillard said our main concern should be protection against animals that turn against humans and rabies, noting that rabies is a deadly disease. Councilman Lynch said paragraph E on page 16 allows for impoundment of such animals. Councilman Pollard said the committee has done lots of work and they did a commendable job. Mayor Manning agreed and asked each councilman to put their comments in writing and turn them in to the City Secretary by Monday, May 24 so they can be forwarded to the committee for inclusion before the next reading of this ordinance. Bill Hall expressed two concerns. He said many citations were written for carrying dogs in the back of a pick up, noting this has been done for years by ranchers and farmers and went on to say it will be difficult to enforce. The committee needs to consider this before final recommendation. He also said he is not in favor of changing the name of the Animal Control Officer to Animal Protection Officer. The purpose of the ordinance is Animal control. Councilman Agnew added that the problem of leaving animals in a closed vehicle needs to be addressed. 5. CONSIDERATION OF FORMAL ADOPTION OF THE GOALS DOCUMENT FOR THE CITY OF THE COLONY Bill Hall said this document is a combined effort of council and staff as a result of a retreat held in February. Councilman Agnew said the multi year budget should be moved up to 93-94 and Mr. Hall advised it is being done with the new budget for 93-94. Motion to formally adopt the Goals Document - Bogan; second - Lynch. Mayor Manning said anyone who notices something getting off track, or sees a need to change a date should bring those items to the attention of the council so this document can be kept current and alive. Councilman Bogan said this is a great day in the city for a formal Goals Document to be adopted. He said goals have been set in the past, but this document ensures that things will happen. Councilman Pollard said he was not on the council when this document was drafted and noted that all items included are worthwhile. He went on to say that there is no goal to adopt a balanced budget and it should be included. Mayor Manning said that is understood by all. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 6. CITIZEN INPUT - none 6 Oo Y~ oo 7. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT 1. Second monthly response to the Andersen study given to the council and will be placed in the Library. 2. In 1980 the council acted to close an alley at Miller and Bartlett due to safety concerns. Mr. Cravens said it was never permanently closed and there have been some complaints regarding the traffic through the alley. He said people use it as a through street and it is a safety hazard. Mr. Cravens said staff recommends closing one arm of the "T" and noted that letters will be sent to all residents in the area to advise them of this proposed action. Councilman Agnew said to be sure to include Cole Street residents. Mr. Cravens said if there are strong responses against closing the alley, then he will come back to council with an alternative. 3. The proposed changes to the intersection at 121 and 423 with relation to Crider Rd. have been reviewed and a study done by Texas Traffic Institute. The study revealed that if the changes are made there will be a 6-1 improvement in the accident ratio at that location. Councilman Bogan said to his knowledge there is only one person opposed to the change and that is Commissioner Sandy Jacobs. He went on to say that voters approved a $30-40 million bond package and expected Crider Rd to be scraped from those bond funds, but noted that changes made in the road make it more dangerous than it was before. Councilman Bogan suggested that the council write a letter to Commissioner Jacobs expressing displeasure about how the bond money has been spent in this area. Mayor Manning asked that this be placed on the next agenda. 4. As of Friday, there is no lead contamination in the overhead storage tank so we will not have to pay the $7500.00. Received a letter from Dixie Supply, who provided the equipment for this job. They have not been paid and want to place a lien against the city for their equipment in the amount of $60,000. That is not possible, however, the job is not progressing. Another letter received from Pittsburgh Tank & Tower states the center tower of the tank is pitted and is need of repair or replacement. It is believed the tank was not properly coated when built in 1979. The riser is in bad condition and the contractor has requested a change order for $38,000 to replace it. Hal Jones is bringing in a representative from the original builder, Chicago Bridge and Iron to determine the extent of the damage. 5. Mayor Manning has directed the City Secretary to prepare a council agenda packet for the general public to review and to place it in the Library at the time the packets are prepared for the Council. 6. Councilman Marks expressed concern over Fire Station No. 2 being taken over by Public Works and thereby taking away the identity of the volunteer fire fighters. He suggested a sign identifying it as a volunteer station and also designating a place for them to "be". Mr Cravens said they do have an office and that they are free to come to the station at any time, noting the kitchen and open area are still available for their use. With no further business to address, Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 9:20 p.m. 00480i APPROVED: William M~mning, W. Mayor ATrEST: Patti A. Hicks, CMC/AAE, City Secretary