Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/23/1993 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON ~-" August 23, 1993 The Work Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 7:15 p.m. on the 23rd day of August, 1993 at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William Manning, Mayor Present Mike Lynch, Councilman Present Toby Pollard, Councilman Present Joe Agnew, Councilman Present Tom Bogan, Councilman Absent John Dillard, Councilman Absent Joel Marks, Mayor Pro-tem Present and with five present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF THE PROPOSED MUNICIPAL BUDGET FY 1993-94 This meeting was called to discuss capital expenditures for the 1993-94 year for all departments. ~ PERSONNEL - Margaret Burkett Speaker telephone and Computer. Councilman Agnew said to be sure all computer equipment is purchased together so get the best price and to ensure compatibility. Mayor Manning advised all will be purchased together but noted that each department will make their own presentation. Ms. Burkett advised the telephone is to expedite telephone interviews with the Texas Employment Commission. FINANCE - James England Computer, Computer Workstation Table, Workstation Chair, Lateral File Cabinet, Laser Printer, Sound Enclosure for NEC Printer, Novell LAN Software Upgrade, Application Software Upgrades. Brief discussion regarding printers. Mr. England will check on the cost to upgrade from 10 to 20 users for Novell. PARKS AND RECREATION - Sylvia Brantley Handicap Water Fountain, Low Ambient Kits for A/C Units, Timer for Tennis Courts Lights, Windscreen for Tennis Courts, Changing Benches, Soil Pulverizer, Spray Rig, 2 004882 Spill Control Kit, Tool Boxes, Gas Powered Blower. Mayor Manning said all requests look in line. AQUATIC PARK - Sylvia Brantley Locker Replacements, Trash Cans, Changing Benches, Water Fountain. Some discussion regarding cost of the trash cans and perhaps using less expensive ones. Councilman Agnew said he still does not see the repair or replacement of the canvass cover. Ms. Brantley is to get costs for this item. The lockers will complete the replacement of the original lockers at the pool. These are all plastic and will not rust. Ms. Brantley said the pool really needs a heavy duty mower, stating the area at the pool should be mowed once a week and by depending on other departments to do the work, it does not always get done. She said the cost is estimated at $800.00. Councilman Agnew said to hold this until after personnel is looked at because he still wants to see about a crew to do all the mowing. PUBLIC WORKS - Tom Cravens Inspections Computer with software. Brief discussion regarding software which will handle Certificate of Occupancy records, Code violations and building permits. Mr. Cravens said the computer in the department now was purchased in 1986 and it has been in the shop a lot lately. Discussion regarding tieing into the proposed new system to be located in Utility Administration. Public Works Dump truck, Rock bucket for backhoe. Amount for dump truck needs to be amended to $25,000. This is to replace an 11 year old truck. The rock bucket is used for breaking up concrete and needs to be replaced. Councilman Lynch asked Mr. Cravens to check on the price of a chisel attachment for the backhoe instead of using the rock bucket. Water Chlorine Test Kit, Weedeater, Pick-up Truck. Mr. Cravens said the weedeater is a commercial grade and is a replacement for the one at Office Creek Pump Station. The pick up is also a replacement for a 1979 Dodge which is used by the meter readers. It will be a Chevy S-10 or Ford Ranger. The price was acquired from the State bid. Councilman Lynch asked if a pick up would be needed if we go with contract meter reading. Mr. Cravens said he would recommend not purchasing the truck if the meter reading contract is approved. Wastewater 004883 Computer and software, Air Conditioner. Mr. Cravens said the air condition system at the wastewater building is 18 years old and in need of replacement, noting about $600.00 was spent last year for repairs. He estimates the cost at $4000.00. HEALTH/ANIMAL WILDLIFE PROTECTION DIVISION - Bob van Til Washing Machine, Big-Mouth Software. The Big-Mouth software will run on the existing computer system at the Shelter. Mr. van Til said they had used this software before and it had been very beneficial, however, it belonged to a previous employee who took the software with them when they left the city. Mr. van Til said a commercial grade washer is necessary and noted other departments, such as Vehicle Maintenance, could use it also. LIBRARY - Joan Sveinsson Uninterruptable Power Supply Unit (UPS), Software Upgrade: Universal Search Module. Ms. Sveinsson advised that with the current UPS, which operates by battery only, a human being is required to shut down the system. The proposed new UPS will automatically shut down the system. The price is through the State contract. Brief discussion regarding the software. VEHICLE MAINTENANCE - Don Owens Scanner, Right Angle Grinder, Bin Dividers, Labels and Boxes, Air Operated Grease Dispenser. Mr. Owens said the scanner will be beneficial in diagnosing vehicle problems. He noted the dispenser is a replacement. FIRE - Van Morrison SCBA Refill Station, 800 mHz Base Station, Quick Attack Tool, Ventilation Saws, Pulse Oximetry Units, Computer System, Ventilation Fan Replacement. Chief Morrison said when the radio system was purchased, a base station for the fire station was not purchased and there is no way for personnel at the station to monitor activity. The quote to accomplish this is $1500.00. The refill station will replace the one already in use in one of the old ambulances. The old equipment will be sold at auction. Pulse Oximetry Units immediately tell emergency medical personnel the condition of a patient. Councilman Lynch questioned purchasing two, thereby putting more money into the oldest ambulance (#2) when it may be replaced. Chief Morrison did note these items are on the protocol list for emergency equipment. Chief Morrison said the computer system is needed so that more than one person can access information at one time. Currently personnel have to wait to access the computer. He said he was told he could accomplish this for about $2000.00, noting he had originally budgeted $6000.00. Mayor Manning said $2000.00 would not be enough. Bill Hall said all computer requests will be put together to get a total cost. 4 00488,, Councilman Agnew again questioned why each department has to show funds for computer equipment, and asked why all this type equipment cannot be shown together in one package. Mayor Manning said there may be enough money in other department requests to make up the difference for this request, and suggested doubling the amount budgeted for the computer. Councilman Lynch suggested cutting one oximetry unit and adding that amount to the computer and reminded everyone the base station had been cut to $1500.00. The councilman said that is $2500.00 that can be moved to the computer. All agreed. POLICE - Bruce Stewart Two police vehicles, Drag Dummy, Storage Building, Hand-held radios, 3 Chairs, 2 shotguns, Flashlights, Jail mattresses, Camera. Mayor Manning said he first wanted to talk about the computer system budgeted for this year but which had not been purchased. He said he was involved in this process and had estimated $30,000. Mayor Manning said he was very surprised when the bids came in so much higher and suggested that to do this properly, $10,000 needs to be added to the budgeted amount. Going on, he said that would include a Courts package. The Mayor said he was opposed to the software the police department wanted because it was on a Unix system, but he said there is one in vendor in Ft. Worth which has upgraded their product and he asked Sgt. George Wintle to address that issue. Sgt. Wintle said if we purchase the software with the Courts package the operations will be greatly enhanced. All information entered by court would automatically be entered into the policy system. Sgt. Wintle said constant communication between the two departments is essential. He said if we purchase the old version of the software, which was offered originally, we will have to purchase WordPerfect (for 10 users), however, if we wait and purchase the new version we will not have to purchase WordPerfect, but the cost is going up $2500.00. Going on, Sgt. Wintle said if we purchase the old version we will be guaranteed all updates to the software. Lengthy discussion followed regarding the system needs and what the software will do for the department. Sgt. Wintle said he believes the entire system, including the Courts package, and Novell set up can be purchased for $40,000.00 Chief Stewart said the two vehicles will be replacements and noted that since this budget was printed, another vehicle with 90,000 miles has been wrecked and needs to be replaced also. Chief Stewart said there are 10 radios in the department now, but when there are extra people in for special assignments, etc. then there are not enough to go around. Councilman Lynch said he wants to see the cost to convert to a vehicle pool. He said we have enough vehicles to start a pool and noted that over the next 5 years, there will be requests to purchase 19 vehicles. Councilman Lynch said the take-home policy has been a topic of discussion several times and he wants to see the cost to do away with that policy. Chief Stewart said in defense of the take-home policy, personnel can respond much faster if they have a car at home, whereas coming to the station to pick up a vehicle takes too much time. Councilman Lynch suggested they could respond straight to the scene. Going on, Councilman Lynch said the take home policy was O.K. when the city was smaller, 5 but he wants to see the costs to change. Councilman Marks asked how the effect would be known and how this would effect ~-~ "handing down" police vehicles to other departments. Bill Hall said eventually other departments will have to start buying vehicles, and noted that with the pool policy, there will be extra vehicles which will have to be auctioned. Councilman Lynch said the time has come, stating that maybe enough money can be saved that another patrol officer can be added. Discussion regarding insurance coverage if responding in a personal vehicle. Chief Stewart said that personal insurance would not cover an employee responding to an emergency. Mayor Manning said there is not time before the adoption of this budget to get this study done, but suggested this be provided later for review in the next year. Councilman Lynch said he would wait 3 months for the study. Discussion regarding the rehabilitation program at T.D.C. Chief Stewart said they are sending two vehicles in September, but also said they will not be sending any marked units for repair. UTILITY ADMINISTRATION - Jackie Carroll Mainframe Computer and Software Upgrade, Calculator, Facsimile Machine, Water Fountain, Hand Held Meter Reading Devices. Ms. Carroll said the current computer system is completely outdated. She said the new system will either be Unix, DOS or Novell. Councilman Agnew reiterated that there needs to be a city-wide technology plan, and that we need to get Requests for Proposals for the entire plan. He went on to say he believes we can save money by doing that and the system will be very efficient. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION - Bill Hall Facsimile Machine, Sound system, Executive Chair, Glass Enclosure, Conference Room Chairs. Mr. Hall advised the glass enclosure is to be located in the office space assigned to the Personnel clerk, which is now enclosed with temporary partitions. Brief discussion regard the FAX machine, types available, etc. CITY SECRETARY - Patti Hicks Computer. Ms. Hicks advised the computer is to replace the one currently being used by the Receptionist, noting it was purchased in 1986 and has been heavily used. The company who services our network has said this computer may be responsible for some of the problems we have on our system, slow running, down time, etc. The computer has been upgraded as much as possible and has been down several times in the last year. At this time, Mr. England gave the Council an overview of the financing available to purchase a new.ambulance as well as a fire engine. Figures were given for both 8 and 10 year financing at 8%. Chief Morrison said the figures are based on $110,000 for the ambulance, which would probably be less, because we would not have to purchase all the equipment which is included in that price. He said it would be more like $90,000. It was 6 004886 estimated that money from the subscription emergency service program would be able to make the payment after 5 years. He said an ambulance should last 10 years. Mr. Hall suggested budgeting the payments and then using the subscription money when it is available, rather that counting on that money to make the payments. He noted this is a new program, and we don't know how successful it will be or for how long it will succeed. Further discussion followed regarding rebuilding ambulances. Chief Morrison said the box of # 1 ambulance could probably be put onto a new chassis for about $35,000 which would extend it's life about 3 - 5 years. It was noted this would allow time for the subscription fund to build. The Chief did say that while the ambulance was out for repair (90 days), #2 ambulance would be used for first response and that might not be a good idea. Discussion regarding sending #2 out for repair first and then use it while # 1 was out for repair. Chief Morrison is to get accurate figures. Councilman Marks stated that the council just had a lengthy discussion in which it was said we should not "piece meal" the purchase of computers, however, we are now talking about life saving equipment and we are talking about rebuilding ambulances instead of buying the best. Discussion followed regarding the engine. Figures for financing $300,000 for 8 or 10 years at 8%. Chief Morrison said an engine will last about 20 years and that the cost would be less than $300,000 because of less equipment being purchased. Cost to rehabilitate an engine is about $80,000.00. Chief Morrison is to prepare a report for Council on actual repair costs for ambulances and engines during the current year. Bill Hall suggested purchasing an ambulance this year, but not an engine. He also suggested using subscription money to purchase other capital equipment for the Fire Department and not including that equipment in the overall capital equipment financing. At this time, Mr. England presented an overall capital outlay financing plan for Council review. Councilman Pollard said it appears that we are still drawing down $250,000 from our checking account in the General Fund and we are drawing down $220,000 on our Utility Fund, and that we are going to be spending more money than we take in. Brief discussion regarding financing of capitals, self financing of capitals, etc. Mayor Manning suggested Councilman Pollard visit with James England to get a thorough understanding of municipal budgeting. There will be a Budget Work Session at 7:30 p.m. on August 26, 1993. With no further business to address, Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 10:35 p.m. APPROVED:,, Patti A. Hicks,TRMC, City Secretary