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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/03/2000 City Council 0 0 7 3 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF COUNCIL HELD ON APRIL 3, 2000 The REGULAR SESSION of the City Council of thc City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 7:05 p.m. on the 3ra day of April 2000 at City Hall, with the following council roll call: William W. Manning, Mayor Present John Gordon, Councilmember Present Lewis Jue, Councilmembcr Present David Stanwick, Councilmember Present A1 Garcia, Councilmember Present John Dillard, Councilmcmber Present Jeff Meyers, Councilmember Present and with seven present a quorum was established, the following, items ..... addressed: ITEM DESCRIPTION SOURCE STATUS 1.0 ROUTINE ANNOUNCEMENTS, RECOGNITIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS: Call to Order Manning Invocation - Rev. David Frcehling, Trinity Presbyterian Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag Manning Salute to the Texas Flag 1.1 Mayoral Proclamation declaring Sexual Assault Manning Awareness Month. The proclamation was accepted by Midge Newman representing Denton County Friends of the Family Mayoral Proclamation declaring National Volunteer Week, Sue Walden, CHAMPS Coordinator, accepted the proclamation. 1.2 Citizen Input Duane Sanders, 6112 Jennings Drive, addressed the council about public awareness regarding how our citizem are alerted to emergency situations. Mr. Sanders participated in a recent Emergency Operations Center drill. He advised the council that radio communications need improvement and that the Early Warning Alarm system does not reach new areas of the city. He also said new cable companies do not offer the government access channel, which is a primary method of alerting citizens. Mr. Sanders said the company, Optel, which serves the Bristol Oaks Apartments sends their signal by microwave. He encouraged the council to require all cable companies to offer their services in a manner by which their customers will have access to the government access channel. 2.0 CONSENT AGENDA 2.1 Consideration of approval of the minutes of the council Hicks meetings held March 13 and 20, 2000 Motion to approve the minutes as written-Dillard; second-Meyers, carried with all ayes. 00734 , 2.2 Consideration of approval of resolution authorizing an Hicks Interlocal Agreement with Denton County for the rental of voting equipment for the May 6, 2000 election Motion to approve the resolution as recommended- Dillard; second-Meyers, carried with all ayes. 2.3 Consideration of rejection of bids for lighting at the youth Sparkman/ football fields Nelson Motion to reject the bids as recommended-Dillard; second-Meyers, carried with all ayes. 2.4 Consideration of rejection of bids for paint removal and re- Sparkman/ painting of Indian Creek bridge Lambert Motion to reject the bids as recommended-Dillard; second-Meyers, carried with all ayes. 2.5 Consideration of approval of an ordinance amending Clark Chapter 19 by amending Section 19-13 deleting certain track routes in the city Motion to approve the ordinance as written-Dillard; second-Meyers, carried with all ayes. 2.6 Consideration of approval of a traffic signal authorization Lambert with Texas Department of Transportation for the installation of a signal light at Standridge Drive and SH 121 Motion to approve the authorization as written-Dillard; second-Meyers, carried with all ayes. 2.7 Consideration of approval of an ordinance amending Chutchian Chapter 6, Article VI requiring payment of the 1% inspection fee paid by developers at the time of the pre- construction meeting Motion to approve the minutes as written-Dillard; second-Meyers, carried with all ayes. 2.8 Consideration of rejection of bids for the development of a Sparkman website for the City of The Colony Motion to reject the bids as recommended-Dillard: second-Meyers, carried with all ayes. 3.0 ~EGULAR AGENDA: 3.6 Consideration of approval of a development plan for an Persaud Office Warehouse Facility to be located north of SH 121 east of Morningstar Drive, south of Memorial Drive and west of the Burlington Northern Railroad Mayor Manning opened the floor to public input: Ken Dobbs, 5730 Woodmoss Lane, advised he is the first of four speakers who represent a large group of homeowners that are strongly opposed to this development as presented. He said their main concern is traffic in the area. Joe McCourry, 5769 Bedford Lane, using an overhead discussed with the council some concerns about the traffic study that had been done. He said the study assumes that Memorial Drive will cross the railroad and connect to Spring Creek in the City of Frisco, but the concern is that will never happen or it will be many years in the future Mr. McCourry said he understands that Frisco does not have the extension of that roadway on their thoroughfare plan. Mr. McCourry also questioned the trip distribution in the study. He reiterated the main concern with the development is the amount of traffic by trucks and vehicles that will be generated in the area. He believes it will be a safety issue. David Williford, 5825 Stratford Lane, also said traffic congestion and safety concerns are the main problems. He said the traffic study assumes Memorial will go to 121, but that has not yet been determined. Mr. Williford said if trucks are not allowed to travel east to 121 they will go west to Memorial and then to Paige and maybe on Morningstar to get to 121. He said LISD had voiced major concerns about the truck routes within a school area. Mr. Williford said he believed tracks would be parked overnight waiting for businesses to open and that would create a dangerous situation. He concluded by stating the plan as presented poses unacceptable dangers to the community and requested a meeting with the developer and city officials to discuss possible solutions. Larry Johnson, 5800 Concord, said warehouses would not have been his first choice, and re-capped the other speakers' concerns about truck traffic in the area. He said there are other issues, but the group decided to focus on this one item first. He suggested a loop through the development so the trucks would not have to use residential streets outside the development to access the highway. Mr. Persaud gave a history of the zoning of this property and stated the plan generally meets or exceeds all city standards and ordinances. Mr. John Polster and Dean Stoler with Innovative Traffic Solutions (ITS) explained the traffic study in detail and gave the reasons why certain assumptions were made. They stated they were aware of the truck traffic concern and had tried to address that issue with the plan. They did recommended signs at certain intersections which should eliminate most truck traffic on Morningstar and Memorial, as well as a deceleration lane on 121 as it approaches the entrance to the development. Mr. Polster said his firm is working with all the cities along 121 with regard to roadway improvements, noting this section of highway ranks high with the State. Brian Grant with First Industrial said he believes their plan complies with city standards and ordinances. He said they have reviewed alternatives for internal options for traffic flow and requested the council vote to approve the plan tonight, with the understanding that they will continue to meet with citizens and staff to alleviate the concerns. Mayor Manning asked police chief Joe Clark if signs prevent trucks from travelling a prohibited route. Chief Clark said drivers frequently take the path of least resistance. Chief Clark said something should not be designed, knowing there are going to be problems and then expect a sign to take care of it. Mayor Manning asked about setting an extremely high fine for violating the ordinance. Ms. Haertling said the maximum fine would be $500.00. Mayor Manning also said he understands Frisco may not build the extension of Memorial across the railroad into their city. He further stated that if that road were extended, we would have to work with BNRCC about an at-grade crossing or pay approximately $3 million to build an overpass. Mr. Polster said he would check with Frisco to see if the extension of Memorial is on their plan, noting there is money available for the construction. Councilman Meyers asked about the suggestion to build an inner loop in the development. Mr. Grant said it would be more expensive and it would prohibit tracks from being able to mm both left and right out of the area. He said the :ess road of the future freeway would be one-way which would make entrance and exit from the site difficult if the only entrance/exit was along 121. He also said having only one place of entrance/exit for the entire area might not be safe in an emergency situation. Councilman Stanwick said the study is based on several assumptions and while he likes the overall project, he wants more substantial documentation (from TxDOT and Frisco) regarding some of these assumptions before voting on the plan. Councilman Gordon clarified what type of tracks would be using the streets and asked about the possibility of tracks lining up and parking all night. Mr. Grant said they do not anticipate the type of development, which would have the kind of deliveries that are made during the night or very early in the morning. He said they anticipate the development to be used more for offices than as warehouses. He said this is a 1.2 million square foot project, which represents a substantial investment by the company and will provide 1200-1500 jobs. Mayor Manning agreed that the plan is good and wants to work to make it happen. Councilman Dillard said the council is always talking about diversifying the tax base and stated this project would provide diversity. He went on to say something will 0O7,34 be developed on that property and if not this project, it will be something else. He said all projects impact the surrounding neighborhood with traffic, etc. Counci Dillard said the city has tried for years to make something happen on this property and that we need to move forward with this plan. Councilman Stanwick requested confirmation from Frisco and from TxDOT regarding some of these items. He recommended a work session on April 10, 2000 to allow residents to participate in discussions with the developer, with final action on April 17, 2000. Councilman Gordon said this is an exciting project for The Colony and regardless of what Frisco does, we need to work this out for The Colony. He said he is convinced we can handle the traffic problems and noted this project would add approximately $500,000 in tax revenues. He said he did not want to hold up this project. Councilman Dillard agreed, stating he cannot be at the work session and that he is prepared to vote tonight. Mayor Manning commended the audience on their good behavior. He said they have a right to be heard and that the council would be remiss if they did not listen to the concerns of the residents. He reiterated that we must look at our options if the extension of Memorial is not built out to 121 (by Frisco). Mr. Grant said he is available to meet with the citizens, but asked the council to vote on the plan tonight. Mr. Persaud said the council could vote on the plan tonight and add restrictions about Memorial and Morningstar at a latter date, after there is a better understanding of connections to 121. Councilman Dillard asked the next step if the plan is approved tonight. Mr. Persaud said next would be site plan and plat approval. He said if Memorial is not connected then we need a design that keeps tracks off westbound Memorial and northbound Morningstar. He again said the council could approve and review this intersection later. Mayor Manning said he could not support this plan as it is presented this evening. Councilman Garcia said he believes this a good project, but that we need to allow the residents to work with the developer to resolve the differences. He also said he would not vote in support at this time. Councilman Gordon asked if the developer could wait one week and Mr. Grant said April 10 would be acceptable. Motion to post a special/work session for April 10, 2000-Stanwick; second-Meyers, carried with all ayes. Councilman Stanwick commended the audience for choosing spokespersons and asked them to do that for the special session as well. 9:15 p.m. 9:25 p.m :onvene 3.1 Consideration of acceptance of Certification of Unopposed Council/ Status and Certification of Election of John Dillard as Hicks Councilman Place 5; and authorization to cancel the election for said Place 5 on May 6, 2000 Mayor Manning congratulated Councilman Dillard on the cancellation of the election for his place on the council. Motion to approve the Certification of Unopposed Candidate and authorize canceling the election for Place 5 on May 6, 2000-Garcia; second-Stanwick, carried with all ayes. Councilmember Dillard abstained on this vote. 3.2 Consideration of approval of the use of 1999 usage for Dillard calculating the sewer charges for the year 2000 Councilman Dillard advised that he had been working with Tony Johnston and Jackie Carroll on this item. He said his intent was to provide a method whereby the residents' sewer rates are calculated from the lowest averages possible. Ms. Carroll told the council that the new software in place now automatically takes the lowest 3 months for each residence and calculates the sewer rate on that average. Councilman Dillard said that by using this method, the citizens are receiving the lowest possible rate and that there is really no need in taking any action on this item. 3.3 Consideration of authorizing the expenditure of funds for Meyers intersection improvements at Paige Road and SH 121 Councilman Meyers reminded the council that this project had already been approved on the "A" list for ~mprovements, but he would like to see it done sooner and requests the funds be expended so the project can be done in-house. Mr. Lambert said the cost is estimated at $50,000. Councilman Meyers said he has worked with Commissioner Jeff Krueger who has agreed for the county to pay '/2 of the cost up to $50,000. Motion to approve the request-Dillard; second-Meyers. Councilman Stanwick asked how long the project would take and Mr. Lambert estimated 60 days. Councilman Dillard said the council needs to decide in the near future if we are going to do these types of projects in-house or by contractor. The motion carried with all ayes. 3.4 Consideration of authorizing an audit of the City Hall/Library Renovation Fund Mayor Manning stated that this audit needs to be done so the citizens know exactly how the money was expended on this building. Council Motion to authorize the staff to seek proposals to conduct an audit on the City Hall/Library Building Fund-Stanwick; second-Gareia, carried with all ayes. 3.5 Consideration of authorizing expenditure of $150,000 for Phase I of Ridgepointe Park as recommended by the Community Development Corporation Board of Directors (4B) Pam Nelson advised these 14 acres were donated by the Nelson developer to be used as a park and those plans are ready to move forward with Phase I. The funds are coming from 4B. Mayor Manning commended the CDC board for their work on this project. Motion to approve the expenditure as recommended- Dillard; second-Stanwick, carried with all ayes. 3.7 Consideration of approval ora site plan for Jack-in-the to be located in the Wal-Mart Addition, north of SH 121 and west of Main Street Mr. Persaud advised the site plan has been recommended for approval by P&Z with staff stipulations. Motion to approve the site plan as presented, with staff Persaud stipulations-Stanwick; second-Meyers carried with all ayes. 3.8 Public Hearing continued from March 20, 2000 regarding Saldafia the proposed Ordinance establishing impact fees for the Office Creek Drainage Channel and consideration of approval of said ordinance Mayor Manning re-opened the public hearing. There was no public input at this time. Councilman noted the only reason the public hearing was continued was to get input from attorneys representing Shula Netzer. He said he would like to hear their input and then vote on this ordinance. Mr. Saldafia reviewed the meeting he had with Ms. Netzer's attorney and stated that the concerns had been addressed. Mr. Bill Sheveland, representing JNC Properties, referenced a letter to Mr. Lambert dated March 29, 2000 in which he had asked that fees his company incurred with Kimley-Horn be included in the impact fee amount so that could be spread out over all the property owners effected by this ordinance. He said that would help his firm recoup some of their costs. There being no further comments, Mayor Manning closed the public hearing. Motion to approve the ordinance as written-Stanwiek; second-Gareia. 00734 City Attorney, Tiffany Haertling, clarified for council that in her opinion this ordinance, if passed as written, requires 8 acres of detention and if the property owner gives that, then the city cannot charge them more impact fees than for 8 acres, even though they create 29 acres of run-off downstream. Lengthy discussion followed. Ms. Haertling recommended the council pass the ordinance, deleting Section 6 regarding Credits. She said she would then work with staff to establish a better formula for credits. She said if the ordinance is passed as it is written the city may find itself in trouble legally in the future. Councilman Stanwick withdrew his original motion. Motion to approve the ordinance without Section 6 relating to Credits and asked the city attorney and staff to bring back an amended Section 6 for council review and approval-Stanwick; second-Dillard, carried with all ayes. 3.9 Consideration of approval of increasing amount of water Lambert purchased from the City of Dallas Motion to authorize increasing the amount of water purchased from the City of Dallas to 4.5 mgd effective June 2000-Garcia; second-Meyers, carried with all ayes. 4.0 CITY MANAGER AND STAFF REPORTS Receive monthly report from CHAMPS - Written report Walden was included in the council packet. Ms. Walden was not present to give an oral report. 5.0 DISCUSSION ITEMS: 5.1 Polic~/to llan the use of cel}ular phones in vehicles Meyers Councilman Meyers said he asked for this item so he could express his opinion and get the opinion of the other Councilmembers regarding this issue. He said it is his understanding that Cleveland has passed an ordinance banning cell phone use while driving and asked staff to get a copy for review. Councilman Dillard said he was opposed to banning cell phone use while driving, because that is a personal freedom. Mayor Manning said he would like to get the Cleveland ordinance and see how it has worked. Councilman Meyers agreed stating he would like to know if accidents were reduced because of it and find out how it is enforced. Councilman Stanwick suggested a policy for city employees in city vehicles, but stated we could not legislate the public's activities in this matter. Councilman Gordon said the seat belt law is enforced and he doesn't see that this is any different. He said he believes we will find that cell phone usage (while driving) does cause accidents. Councilman Garcia said he wasn't sure this could be enforced. All agreed that the city manager should get the information from Cleveland. All agreed that emergency vehicles would have to be addressed with regard to this issue as well. 5.2 State Highway 121 Jurisdiction Lambert Mr. Lambert advised he had been in contact with the City of Lewisville regarding which city is responsible for writing traffic citations and working traffic accidents along SH 121. He said it appears that south of 121 is in the City of Lewisville and north of 121 is in The Colony, but the roadway itself is actually not in either city. 10:25 p.m. EXECUTIVE SESSION AS AUI'HORIZED BY 6.0 CHAPTER 551 OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE, TO-WIT: A. JNC Land purchase contract (551.072) City Atty. B. Gibson v City of The Colony (551.071) City Atty. C. Boundary issues with the City of Frisco (551.072) City Atty. 11:25 p.m. 6.1 Consideration of any appropriate action to be taken as a Council result of the executive session A. Motion to authorize the city manager to enter into the proposed contract with JNC, deleting paragraph 3-- Dillard; second-Stanwick, carried with all ayes. With there bein~ nn fi~rthor ess, Mayor Manning adjourned the meeting at 11:28 p.m. /~ROVED: .~~ ,_(~ ~~~..~, ~ William W. Manning, Mayo¥ Patti A. Hicks, TRMC/CMC/AAE, City Secretary