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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/04/1996 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON MARCH 4, 1996 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 4th day of March, 1996, at City Hall with the following Council roll call: William W. Manning, Mayor Present Bill Longo, Councilmember Present Mary Watts, Councilmember Present Kay Hardin, Councilmember Present David McCreary, Councilmember Present John Dillard, Councilmember Present G. David Heiman, Councilmember Present and with seven present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: INVOCATION - Mr. Gary McClure 1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 2. CITIZEN INPUT Bill Falkenstein, 6 St. Andrews Ct., Frisco, addressed the council regarding the proposed Frisco Airport, stating 70% or more of the flights will take off to the south and that he believes that will have a negative impact on The Colony. He said the residents of Stonebriar are opposing the airport and invited members of council, staff and citizens to attend a council meeting at the Frisco City Hall at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5, 1996, when the Frisco city council will be considering making the airport property a re-investment zone and granting a tax abatement to the developers of the airport. Bob Cavender, 14 Woodcreek, Frisco, also addressing the Frisco Airport said the new development between The Colony and the airport owned by Mr. Jerry Jones is opposed to the airport as well and said if the council has an interest the meeting on Tuesday would be a good time to be present. Sam Riggs, 5092 Lake Shore Blvd., read a prepared statement regarding an upcoming Denton County Commissioner's Court meeting on March 12, 1996 at which the Commissioners will be discussing the Denton County Law Library. He requested the Council notify the County that the City favors the protection and enhancement of the existing Law Library. 3 3. MAYORAL PROCLAMATION AND RECOGNITION PROCLAIM MARCH AS NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH - Mayor Manning read the proclamation in its entirety. Ms. Betty Turner representing A.A.R.P. accepted the proclamation. RECOGNIZE AN ENSEMBLE FROM THE COLONY HIGH SCHOOL BAND FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION AT THE LINCOLN DAY DINNER ON FEBRUARY 24, 1996 The following band members were recognized: Jonne Tomeo- Flute Chelsea Harper - Clarinet Melissa Wells - French Horn Shannon Thornton - Oboe Cari Whitmore - Bassoon 4. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETINGS HELD FEBRUARY 5, 12 AND 26, 1996 Council meeting minutes have been prepared for the council review and approval. Motion to approve the minutes as written - Dillard; second - McCreary carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 5. CONSIDERATION OF A FINAL PLAT FOR CALVARY TEMPLE ADDITION Calvary Temple is proposing construction on their site located at Blair Oaks Drive and Clover Valley Drive. During the site planning process it was discovered this site had never been platted. This is necessary in order to continue the process. Staff and P & Z do recommend approval. There was a brief discussion regarding the statement by the owner, "to the best of my knowledge, there are no liens on this property." Councilman Hardin questioned if this was sufficient and Councilman Heiman suggested we ask for a sworn statement to this effect. Motion to approve the f'mal plat - Dillard; second - Watts carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 6. CONSIDERATION OF APPROPRIATE ACTION REGARDING THE FOLLOWING ITEMS RELATING TO THE SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER A. LEASE AGREEMENT WITH DENTON COUNTY An amended lease agreement has been received from Denton County for the lease of the building and Mr. Smith advised he has reviewed the old and new agreements with Bob Sehell, Asst. District Attorney and the City Attorney. He said the new lease is almost the same as the one approved by the council in December. The changes are just to conform with other agreements the county has in place. Mr. Smith recommended approval subject to approval by 4 the Commissioner's Court in March 12, with no changes. Councilman Hardin asked if the county is aware we are going to make renovations to the building and Mr. Smith said they are not because there is no lease in place at this time. He advised he will be submitting the plans to the county so that when the lease is approved, there will be no lost time in getting started on the project. He said there will be a walk through inspection before any work begins so we are aware of the current condition of the building. David McCreary questioned a list of maintenance items to be done. Mr. Smith indicated all of those things may not be done, but the building will be safe. Ms. Pam Nelson advised the list in from 1990 and some of those things have already been addressed. Councilman Watts asked if the city can limit the amount by which the county can raise the rent each year. (section 3.2) Lengthy discussion followed regarding this section. It was noted the Commissioners have worked very close with the Seniors on this project to make it available to them (Seniors) and they probably won't rain it by raising the rent exorbitantly. Councilman Heiman agreed with Councilman Watts and said there also needs to be a certain period of time for the city to vacate if the lease is terminated. Councilman Dillard said this has been discussed many times and the Commissioner's Court is not going to put this in jeopardy by being unreasonable. Motion to approve the lease, adding a section to provide a minimum of 45 days for the city to vacate the building after termination - Dillard; second - McCreary, carried with the following roll call vote: Ayes - Longo, Hardin, McCreary, Dillard, Manning Noes - Watts, Heiman B. BIDS FOR RENOVATION C. COUNCIL DIRECTION Mr. Smith advised that no bids were received for the renovation in time for the opening. One was received late and returned unopened. He said the staff now needs council direction regarding going with a project manager, using volunteer labor and donated materials. He said the late bidder has expressed an interest in serving as the project manager for a set fee. Mr. Smith said he believes the project can be done for less than the estimated $30,000. Councilman Longo volunteered to be the project manager and said he met with the Seniors Building Committee on Friday and they all agreed this can be done with volunteers and donations. Mayor Manning praised Councilman Longo for his willingness to donate his time, but said he thinks we should use an experienced project manager. He said it might cause a problem having a councilperson serve as the project manager. Mr. Smith said there was $10,000 budgeted for this project and anything over that will be brought back to the council for approval. He advised that $130,000 was left from last year and has been transferred into the General Fund; $100,000 to the Equipment Replacement Fund; the other $30,000 is not allocated for anything at this time and could be used for this project if needed. Mr. Smith went on to ask that the council allow him and Ms. Nelson the discretion to get started on mobilizing between now and March 12 so that when the Commissioner's Court approves the lease we can get started on the renovation. Dick Weaver, President of the Senior Citizens said the Building Committee has explored this project quite thoroughly and that we have to trust the Commissioners to do what's right. He went on to say Mr. Smith has done an outstanding job in handling this project. 7. DISCUSSION AND CONSIDERATION OF FORMAL CREATION OF AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO REVIEW CAPITAL PROJECT NEEDS IN THE CITY This item is a result of a work session held in January during which the council discussed various capital needs throughout the city. It was recommended at that time a committee comprised of citizens, council and staff be formed to review all the needs before making f'mal recommendations. Mr. Smith advised notice has been placed in the paper on cable T.V. He said this might be tied together with the Master Plan Committee. Mayor Manning said he hopes a large number of people will come forward. Councilman Heiman said the committee should be made up of citizens, not council and staff. Councilman McCreary asked the public to think about participating in this process because it is possibly the single most important thing the citizens can do. Mayor Manning said the first meeting will be March 25, 1996 in the Council Chambers at 7:00 p.m. Councilman Watts said this committee will address 3 - 5 year plans for The Colony and will only serve about 12 weeks. Mr. Smith stated the committee will look at high dollar items that can't be handled in the normal budget, going on to say some of these items may have to be taken to the voters for approval. Mr. Smith continued to say without planning we manage by crisis. Councilman Watts said some council or staff is needed on the committee to provide necessary information. Mike Lynch, 4921 Roberts said this is a good idea and volunteered to serve on the committee. 8. CITY MANAGER AND STAFF REPORTS 1. Engineering Report on extension of Etheridge Drive and providing services to the south of Hwy. 121 should both be in soon. 2. Sewer Equipment - 3 quotes have been received, delivery is set for March 25, 1996 and a loaner will be provided in needed in the mean time. 3. Personnel Update: Joe Clark will begin April 8, 1996 as Police Chief. Clifton Bormann started March 1, 1996 as Building Official. Pat Dunlap will begin March 25, 1996 as Public Services Director. 4. Wastewater buffer zone - an appraiser has been contacted. 5. A meeting with the Corps regarding lake safety has been scheduled. 6. An auction will be held at 6:00 p.m. March 21, 1996 behind the Animal Shelter. 6 7. We are conducting on-going Fleet Maintenance mining. 8. New depository contract and investment policy will be brought to council in the near future. 9. The power outage on February 21, 1996 knocked out a master breaker and a voltage regulator, causing the city hall and police department to be without power and phones for several hours. 10. We are applying for a grant through the Texas Community Development Fund for money to help with the expansion of water lines in the Eastvale subdivision of the city. The first required public hearing will be March 14, 1996 at 7:00 p.m. at Grace Community Chapel on W. Lake Highlands. The second hearing will be held April 1, 1996 at the council meeting. With no further business to address, Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 9:01 p.m. APPROVED: 'l~illiam W. Manning, Mayor ATTEST: Patti A. Hicks, TRMC, City Secretary 7