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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/01/1996 City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING llELD ON APRIL 1, 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 1st day of April, 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 MeCreary, Councilmember Present John Dillard, Couneilmember Present G. David Heiman, Councilmember Present and with seven present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: INVOCATION - Mr. Jim Funk 1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 2. CITIZEN INPUT - None 3. MAYORAL PROCLAMATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS: PRESENTATION OF 15 YEAR PLAQUE TO CITY MARSHAL, JAMES JORDAN Mayor Manning and City Secretary Patti Hicks presented a plaque to City Marshal Jordan recognizing his 15 years with the City of The Colony. It was noted that James served the city as a reserve police officer for two years before becoming a full time employee. DECLARING APRIL AS SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH We have been requested by two organizations to proclaim April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Denton County Friends of The Family and the Rape Crisis Center of Collin County. Mayor Manning read the proclamation in its entirety and presented it to Ms. Angie Lang, representing the Rape Crisis Center. Ms. Lang presented the council with ribbons to wear during the month of April to remind us of this problem. A proclamation will be mailed to the Friends of the Family. DECLARING APRIL AS CHILD ABUSE AWARENESS MONTH Court Bluebonnet of the Independent Order of Foresters has requested this proclamation. Mayor Manning read the proclamation in its entirety and it will be mailed to them after reading. 5 DECLARING APRIL AS KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL MONTH Requested by Keep Texas Beautiful, Inc., this proclamation was read in its entirety and accepted by Janice Brady, Recycling Coordinator for the City of The Colony. Ms. Brady reminded everyone of the "Trash Off" to be held April 13, 1996 in The Colony. 4. PUBLIC HEARING IN REGARD TO THE SUBMISSION OF AN APPLICATION TO THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS FOR A TEXAS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (TCDP) GRANT The purpose of this hearing is to discuss the application for water system improvements for the Eastvale neighborhood in the mount of $250,000.00. This is the second required hearing for this grant application process. The first was held on March 14, 1996. Motion to open the public hearing - Dillard; second - Hardin, carried with all members voting Aye. Lori Harlan, Economic Development Director, noted this is the second required public hearing. She referenced the engineering summary, map of the project area and a detailed budget, stating the total cost of the project is estimated at approximately $750,000, which will allow the city to complete a total expansion of the water distribution system in the Eastvale area of the city. She said more importantly this will allow for the installation of fire hydrants that will provide adequate fn'e protection for the area. Ms. Harlan said if awarded, the grant will provide 1/3 of the cost. The City is being asked to commit $480,000 in matching funds and $20,000 in kind funds toward the project. Mayor Manning said the city has to be absolutely committed to following through with this project. Councilman Dillard said if the grant is not approved, this project will be on the bond election proposal. Mayor Manning said it will have to be on the bond issue, grant or no grant. Councilman McCreary asked if the city has money set aside for the project if the grant is denied and the Mayor said we will have to do so. Councilman Heiman asked when we have to come up with the matching funds and Ms. Harlan stated it would probably not be until January 1997 with a Spring 1997 start date. Ms. Harlan went on to say this will provide sufficient lines for the current development, noting that future development to the north would have to be addressed when planning the size of the lines along 423. Councilman Heiman asked if the city could handle this project if the grant is denied and the bond is not passed. Mr. Smith stated the city cannot pay the matching funds from the operating budget, but we will work with our £mancial advisory to finance this project either with bonds or a loan, because we will be doing this project. Mr. Smith added that repairing the streets tom up to lay the lines will be part of the total project. Motion to close the public hearing - Long; second - Watts, carried with all members voting Aye. Ms. Harlan expressed her appreciation to the residents of the Eastvale area for their 6 cooperation and help with the survey she had to complete as a part of this grant process. 5. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Manning summarized the items on the consent agenda. A. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETINGS HELD MARCH 18, 1996 Council meeting minutes have been prepared for the council review and approval. Councilman Longo and Councilman McCreary pulled this item for discussion. Councilman Longo stated he will have to abstain, since he was not present at the meeting. Councilman McCreary noted that he was present at the meeting, but his name is not listed in the roll call. Motion to approve the minutes as corrected - Dillard; second - Hehnan, carried with all members voting Aye, with the exception of Councilman Longo who abstained. B. CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS AUTHORIZING THE SUBMISSION OF A TEXAS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM APPLICATION TO THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS FOR THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUND Following the above posted public hearing the council will be asked to approve this resolution authorizing submission of the grant application. Councilman Watts pulled this item for discussion and asked what would be in the blank of the resolution. Ms. Harlan stated the amount would be $480,000 matching funds and $20,000 in kind funds. Motion to approve the resolution with addition - Watts; second - McCreary, carried with a unanimous roll call vote. C. CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE AND AWARD OF BIDS FOR THE ANNUAL PURCHASE OF CONCRETE AND APPROVAL OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING CONTRACT FOR SAME One bid was received and opened publicly on March 21, 1996 from Custom Concrete, Inc. This is the current concrete vendor for the City and staff recommends award of the bid to them. Motion to accept the bid and award as recommended and approve the ordinance - Watts; second - Hardin, carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 7 D. CONSIDERATION OF ACCEPTANCE AND AWARD OF PROPOSAL FOR THE DEPOSITORY CONTRACT One proposal was received for a depository contract from First State Bank in The Colony. Staff has reviewed the proposal and does recommend awarding the contract to them. First State Bank has held the depository contract for the city for several years and the service has been satisfactory. Councilman Watts pulled this item for discussion and questioned why we are going with a two year term and if citizens will be able to pay bills with a credit card. Mr. Johnston said the two year term cuts down on yearly paper work and we get better rates if we go with a two year agreement. Ms. Hicks reminded everyone that we have always had a two year term, but in 1995 we asked for a one year extension before we went out for RFP's. Mr. Johnston said the credit card payments will be addressed during the budget retreats and the city will have to decide when and if to implement this service. Councilman Hardin asked if GNB indicated they would be able to offer the same services in two years and Mr. Johnston said they did not. He said awarding the contract to First State Bank does not preclude the city from doing some business with GNB. Motion to accept the proposal and award as recommended - Watts; second - Heiman, carried with a unanimous roll call vote. E. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 9 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES BY THE ADDITION OF ARTICLE II-B EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE This ordinance was on the March 18, 1996 agenda for a first reading. With approval of this item, the ordinance will be passed. Councilman Watts pulled this item for discussion and asked what the $500.00 fmc is for. Mr. Smith advised that persons who provide emergency service (which is not in compliance with this ordinance) would be violators and could be freed up to $500.00. Councilman Watts said she did not realize the ordinance prevented other providers from coming into the city. Mayor Manning referred to section 9-38.2 (2) regarding that matter. Councilman McCreary asked why we want to prevent private companies from coming in if they can do a better, faster, cheaper job, going on to say this (ordinance) gives a monopoly to government. Mayor Manning said if this is not in place, and we have a problem then we can't stop it, going on to say we (the city) have a substantial investment in our fire department personnel and equipment and we need to protect that investment. Mr. Smith agreed and stated that the city wants to maintain a level of service to our citizens. He said if we privatize then the private company will want exclusive rights and our ambulance service will suffer. Councilman McCreary suggested taking up this matter when that happens. Mr. Smith said this provides protection to our citizens and he would rather have it on the books now. Councilman Heiman said if litigation is a concern in providing quality service, then maybe we should license providers, but said it is not reasonable to give our department a monopoly. 8 Motion to approve the ordinance with the fine amount included in section 2 - Watts - No second. Chief Morrison said this is a preventative measure and that in many areas private providers are trying to beat the city ambulances to the scene. He said this gives the city control of the city streets as far as emergency runs are concerned. The chief said this has happened in other areas and it can happen here. Motion to postpone this to the May 6, 1996 meeting to allow Chief Morrison to get further information - Longo Councilman McCreary said he also wants response time data and asked the Chief if he would insist on The Colony responding if a private company could respond from Carrollton to the newly annexed southern part of the city faster than our city ambulance. Chief Morrison said the faster response is always preferred, but said private providers are not allowed in Carrollton so that would not happen. Councilman Watts said she does not have a problem with the ordinance, because she believes it is to protect the citizens of The Colony, not to form a monopoly. Councilman Heiman said he sees no justification, however, he agrees the service needs to be regulated. He also said there is no reason to postpone two meetings, which would mean a new council would be in place. Councilman McCreary asked if the citizens can be protected by licensing the providers and Mr. Smith said the Council has said The Colony will run an ambulance service and if that is to work financially, then we need this protection in place. He said we must have a monopoly or we will begin operating in the red. He said if the council wants the operation to be in the black, then the city must have a monopoly on this service. Motion to amend the motion to postpone the item to the April 15, 1996 meeting - Dillard; second - Longo, carried with the following roll call vote: Aye - Longo, Watts, Hardin, McCreary, Dillard No - Heiman, Manning 1t. CONSIDERATION OF AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP OF THE CLUB FORE SPORTS CENTER, PURSUANT TO SECTION A OF THE LEASE AGREEMENT Mr. Greg Vines, co-owner of Club Fore desires to sell his portion of the company. According to the agreement, this requires Council approval. Mr. Vines has advised the new owner will be Glenda Sattler. Authorization to transfer to her name is recommended by staff and the City Attorney. Councilman Watts pulled this item for discussion and asked Ms. Sattler to introduce herself. Ms. Sattler said she hopes to bring in some more family activities in the near future and to beautify the property. Motion to approve the transfer of ownership as presented - Watts; second - Dillard carried with the following roll call vote: G. CONSIDERATION OF AUTHORIZING AN ADDENDUM TO THE LEASE AGREEMENT WITH CLUB FORE SPORTS CENTER The City Manager and the City Attomey have worked with the owners of Club Fore to negotiate an addendum to the existing contract. Section VII has been added to address capital improvements made to the property. Motion to accept the bid and award as recommended and approve the ordinance - Watts; second - Hardin, carried with a unanimous roll call vote. H. CONSIDERATION OF AUTHORIZING A COOPERATIVE PURCHASING AGREEMENT WITH DENTON COUNTY We have had this type of agreement with the County previously. They have expanded the items and staff does recommend approval. An agreement of this type does not require that we purchase through the County, but it allows us another option to purchase and save money by purchasing under their blanket bid process. I. CONSIDERATION OF EXTENDING THE WATER AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COLONY AND THE CITY OF FRISCO FOR THE SALE OF EFFLUENT WATER FOR USE IN THE STONEBRIAR COUNTRY CLUB If approved, this would extend the agreement between the two cities for another two year term. The item was pulled at the request of the City Manager. Mr. Smith said Section 11 regarding the term needs to be amended to allow a termination clause and to remove the clause that allows thirteen, two (2) year terms. Motion to approve as recommended by the City Manager - McCreary; second - Dillard, carried with a unanimous roll call vote. Before going on, Mayor Manning advised the Council that absence at a council meeting does not require a member to abstain from voting on those minutes. He also asked Chief Morrison and Mr. Smith if they had received any calls regarding the EMS ordinance before this meeting. They both said they had not. The Mayor went on to say the reason an ordinance is read twice is to give the council time to prepare and to have their concerns addressed prior to the meeting. He encouraged all Councilmembers to review their packets and call staff ahead of time to answer questions. 6. REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF A PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 13 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES BY THE ADDITION OF ARTICLE VI RELATING TO THE POSSESSION OF TOBACCO BY MINORS 10 JUGOOa Staff has been asked to provide an ordinance relating to this issue. The council has been given sample ordinances and other information. This item has been requested by council members and we also heard concerns from citizens regarding this issue. ]'his item is for discussion only. He said this ties into the DARE program and noted that LISD already has a no smoking policy on campus. The police department has said this ordinance would help patrol officers when they see minors in possession of tobacco off-campus. Some sister cities have passed this type of ordinance which would make it illegal for minors to possess tobacco products. Councilman Dillard said students have the fight to assemble and that he doesn't think we (the city) need to get involved in this. Councilman Heiman said a legitimate function of govenunent is to protect our cMldren and just because we can't catch all of the offenders doesn't mean we shouldn't try. Lengthy discussion followed regarding the content of such an ordinance and the ability to enforce it. Several concerns were expressed; McCreary - defining a minor as someone 15 years of age or under, making it a ticketable offense, not a jailing offense, Watts - this should be discussed with the new Chief of Police, enforcement, penalty, fmc defined, etc. Councilman Watts said it is incumbent on the city leaders to set standards. Councilman Dillard said this will add another intrusion into the private lives of citizens by government and will cause kids to use tobacco more. Councilman Hardin asked how this relates to the use of alcohol by kids in the presence of their parents. Councilman McCreary offered to prepare an ordinance for review. Joyce Fulco, 4712 Clover Valley said kids can buy cigarettes from vending machines and noted that tobacco products should not be so accessible in the stores. 7. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE PERSONNEL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL BY ADDING CHAPTER XI, POSSESSION OF WEAPONS IN THE WORKPLACE; AMENDING SECTION 7.10 (15) RELATING TO CAUSES FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION Mr. Smith said the current personnel policy uses the term "illegal weapon" and with the right to carry law our policy needs to be amended so that employees are not allowed to carry weapons in the workplace. Councilman McCreary said this is a good idea but the policy is poorly drafted. He expressed concern over the right to search section, stating the Constitution requires probable cause to allow a search. Councilman Longo asked if the Fire Marshal would be considered a peace officer and Mr. Smith said that would be clarified. Councilman Dillard agreed we need a policy but said the search and seizure section violates the employees' rights and there is no provision for due process included. Margaret Burkett said this policy is the same as in some other cities and that our attorney had suggested that employees sign a permission to search. She went on to say the policy is needed because we have to protect our employees from possible violence. Councilman Dillard asked how many instances of violence in the workplace have there been and Ms. Burkett said there has been one in the last six months. 11 00$00o Mr. Smith said the comments from the council on the last few agenda items have appeared to be "staff against the elected officials" and that is not the intent of staff. He said we (staff) are asking for direction from the council. He stated the search problem can be addressed. Mayor Manning said the council is not attacking staff, but there is some concern with the concept. He said he believes all the council agrees this is a good idea, but the policy needs to be well written. Councilman McCreary offered to help with the writing of this policy. Councilman Watts said she is not against the staff and noted that she did call staff today about some of the agenda items, but felt the group sbould discuss them. Councilman Dillard agreed that these items should have been brought up at the meeting. 8. CITY MANAGER AND STAFF REPORTS 1. Pat Dunlap, Public Services Director, was introduced. 2. Interviews for P & Z positions will be set for 7:00 p.m. April 8, 1996. 3. Tony Johnston reported that over $25,000 was raised at the recent auction and asked the council to consider authorizing the use of some of the money to construct a pole barn to protect the fleet equipment. Councilman Watts said she would like some of that money to be used to purchase a patrol boat for use on the lake. With no further business to address, Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 9:25 p.m. APPROVED: ~n~W. Manning,-Mayor ATTEST: Patti A. Hicks, TRMC, City Secretary 12