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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/13/1997 City Council 0O6.709 MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL HELD ON OCTOBER 13, 1997 The Special Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 7:06 p.m. on the 13th day of October, 1997, at City Hall with the following Council roll call: Mary Blair Watts, Mayor Present Bill Longo, Councilmember Present Bemetta Henville-Shannon, Councilmember Present David Stanwick, Councilmember Present Wilma Avey, Councilmember Present John Dillard, Councilmember Absent (Arrived 7:15) David Kovatch, Councilmember Absent (Arrived 7:15) and with four present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1.0 ROUTINE ANNOUNCEMENTS, RECOGNITIONS AND PROCLAMATION: Call to Order Pledge of Allegiance At this time, Councilmember Avey announced that the Special Events Committee had their first meeting last Saturday and that they would be meeting on the second Sunday of each month at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall. A list of persons interested in serving will be provided and the Mayor advised she will appoint members from that list. 3.0 REGULAR AGENDA: 3.1 RESOLUTIONS: Voting for nominee to serve on the Denton Central Appraisal District Board of Directors. Motion to nominate Lee A. Baker to serve - Longo; second - Henville-Shannon, carried with a unanimous roll call vote. 6.0 DISCUSSION ITEMS: 6.1 Work Session to discuss items on October 20 agenda. · Cottonwood Springs Phase 2, Ridgepointe Phase 3 and Phase 5 Harry Persaud stated there are three plats coming to the council October 20, 1997. He proceeded to explain platting procedures stating that he follows the handbook published by the Attorney General on these matters. He noted the only change in these procedures is that in The Colony the city council approves plats. Mr. Persaud advised that in many cities the council does not get involved in the platting process, it is handled by Planning and Zoning. He suggested that the council may want to consider that in the future. Mr. Persaud handed out the Platting Process check list and stated it has been in use since 1989 and is complete, noting the only thing he has not found is a variance procedure. Mr. Persaud said the staff review is very comprehensive and would like to be able to streamline the process. He advised that the requirement to have council packets to them two weeks in advance of the council meeting is a problem, because he cannot have the back up for items that have been addressed at P&Z on Tuesday to the Council by the following Thursday. He said he the way the council is doing business currently involves four 30 day time periods for any matter coming before the council for approval. He suggested that items dealing with the same case could be addressed at the same meeting and cut down on the time needed to complete business. Mr. Persaud said staff needs to be sure plats meet regulations before coming to P&Z and Council and that he does not want to have numerous stipulations. Councilman Longo asked where in the process the city can require property owners to keep parking lots repaired. Mr. Persaud said that should be in the subdivision and land use regulations. Councilman Stanwick asked if the council's request that no more than one planning issue come before the council at one time has made the process last 4 - 6 months and Mr. Persaud stated that is correct. He said for example, Wal-Mart could easily take 6 months following that procedure. Mr. Persaud said items should mn concurrently, noting he has handled matters like this in the past and that there is no reason to spread them out. He said each issue has different requirements to meet and there is no reason these matters can't be handled concurrently. Mr. Persaud said for the city to be competitive, we must streamline our development process. For example, Mr. Persaud said when he called the developers about the work session on the plats tonight, it was a change in the schedule they had already been given. They in turn had to try to rearrange their schedule to be here tonight. He said originally they had been told the plats would be addressed on October 6, but because he could not get the back up complete for the packet, they had to be moved to the October 20. Councilman Kovatch said the council was most concerned about having the preliminary and final plat for the same case on the same agenda; or having the public hearing and the SUP ordinance on the same agenda; and about lots of stipulations. He said the council felt the public was not given enough notice in those cases. Mayor Watts said the purpose in spreading things out was so council could catch things missed by staff and P&Z and that perhaps now that process can be shortened. Mr. Persaud then began to address the first plat, Cottonwood Springs. Mayor Watts noted that the work session is not being televised, that the agenda did not specify which items were to be discussed during the work session and asked the council if they wanted to continue. Councilman Henville-Shannon said the public should know about these items. Councilman Dillard asked if the meeting was posted and asked why there should be a delay. Councilman Avey said she would prefer that the residents can see the meeting. She said she hoped the work session would be a time when the council could ask questions of staff. Councilman Kovatch asked the developers if they would be at the meeting on October 20, 1997 and all said they would. Councilman Kovatch said he preferred to spend the time on wastewater. Councilman Stanwick and Longo both agreed to postpone to the next meeting. Mr. Persaud asked if there were any concerns from the council. None were expressed. 006712 · October 20, 1997 agenda Mr. Lambert stated the public hearing on impact fees was continued from the October 6 meeting to the October 20 meeting along with the ordinance for adoption. He said these items will be added to the agenda. Mr. Lambert also stated it is time for the council to review the city secretary and asked if the council wanted to do so on October 20 or November 3, 1997. There was consensus to do the review on November 3, 1997. Mr. Lambert said he had given the wrong form to the council. The City Secretary advised that she learned of the upcoming review from Councilman Dillard today and discovered they had the wrong forms. She has made the correct form available to all council and Mr. Lambert. · Work Session to discuss the Regional Wastewater Facility Mr. Lambert handed out a "City of The Colony Wastewater Treatment System Options - Ten Year Cost Study". Using this as reference, he explained the options to the council. Option No. 1 - City retain current wastewater treatment system Option No. 2 - City join regional treatment system Option No. 3 - City retain current wastewater treatment system and send growth to regional system Mr. Lambert explained the estimated costs for each option over a ten year period: Option No. 1 - $17,775,853.00 Option No. 2 - $17,850,674.00 Option No. 3 - $14,272,553.00 Mr. Lambert said he was surprised that Option No. 3 was less expensive than Option No. 2, but due the numbers, he recommends Option No. 3. He said this will allow us to participate in the regional system now. He said if we go with Option No. 2, we have to immediately buy our current capacity from the regional system. The council then discussed the pros and cons of each option, capital needs involved, rates that can be charged, etc. Mr. Lambert said he has been told that North Texas Municipal Water District cannot be trusted, however, he noted that currently there are more than twenty cities on their (NTMWD) water system and over 60 cities on their wastewater system. He said he does not believe there is a problem with their integrity or capability. If so, these cities would not continue to participate. He also said he believes if The Colony does not join the regional system now, the chance will not come again. Mayor Watts allowed public input. Mike Lynch, 4921 Roberts - spoke against the regional system, stating if there is no growth, the city will pay highly. He recommended Option No. 1, with second choice being Option No. 3. Councilman Stanwick noted that all the numbers are based on 10 year projections, but if that is carried out 20-30 years or more, then Option No. 2 is much less expensive than Option No. 3. Councilman Kovatch said Option No. 3 gives us the opportunity to keep the door open. With no further business to address, Mayor Watts adjourned the meeting at 8:56 p.m. APPROVED: A~ITEST: Patti A. Hicks, TRMC, City Secretary