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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/04/2002 City Council MINUTES OF SPECIAL SESSION OF COUNCIL HELD ON MARCH 4, 2002 The Special Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas, was called to order at 6:43 p.m. on the 4th day of March 2002, at City Hall with the following roll call: Bernetta Henville-Shannon Mayor Present John Gordon Councilmember Present Lewis Jue Councilmember Present David Stanwick Councilmember Absent (arrived 6:54) A1 Garcia Councilmember Absent (Business) John Dillard Councilmember Present Dave Kovatch Councilmember Present and with five present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. Discussion and action concerning possible connection of Tittle Drive to Piano Parkway, may include comments from Sysco representatives, traffic engineers, developers and city staff Mayor Henville-Shannon stated there were citizens who wished to speak at the meeting. All council agreed to allow citizen input. Vicki Briggs, 5997 Sandhill Circle, told the council she became concerned when she realized this meeting was changed from a work session to a special session. She said she is not totally against the project, but is very concerned about the potential truck traffic on Plano Parkway. She went on to say the road will be damaged and The Colony will have to pay for repairs. Ms. Briggs said she is not against growth, but cautioned the council to be sure they make a sound, educated decision. Richard Boyer, 5900 Southmoor Lane, expressed concern over the proposed 750 trucks per day exiting the Sysco facility onto Plano Parkway, stating that the road way not built to handle that kind of traffic. He went on to say that then the truck traffic would be going on to Hwy. 121, which will increase the traffic on that roadway. Mr. Boyer stated The Colony is not getting any help from Lewisville or Sysco in taking care of the roadways. He does not want to be a bad neighbor, but urged the council to "look out for our own". Frank Hames, 5945 Carroll Drive, advised he has been a resident since 1983 and asked the council to take action to keep Sysco from allowing such heavy truck traffic on The Colony roads. He said the facility is not in The Colony, but we will have to pay for damage done to our roads by the track traffic. Barbara Manton, 5033 Shannon, related to the council that her husband's company had experience with a small Sysco terminal in their area. She said the traffic got so bad that the company closed the roadway. Ms. Manton said the impact on the streets and the neighborhood was horrible. She said the impact to our city of running that many tracks in and out of the facility 24 x 7 would be devastating. Meg Harrison, 5068 Walker, told the council she is concerned about the increased truck traffic on Plano Parkway. She said she travels that roadway every day and believes it will be a safety risk and The Colony will not benefit from the (Sysco) development. Bill Harrison, 5068 Walker, asked if Tittle Drive was on the city's thoroughfare plan, which was brought to council October 1,2001. He asked why this was not brought to P&Z and council. He said he is against the opening of Tittle Drive onto Plano Pkwy. against the opening of Tittle Drive onto Plano Pkwy. Sue Walden, 5081 Avery, said she is business friendly, but she wants the business in The Colony. She went on to express concern over 600-700 trucks a day being placed on Plano Parkway because it was not designed to handle that kind of traffic. She suggested a traffic study be done before the council makes a decision. She also asked if Plano Parkway could be designated a "no truck zone". Ms. Walden urged the council not to make a hurried decision. Ms. Walden asked if she could address the second part of her citizen input request. Mayor Henville- Shannon said she could. Ms. Walden advised that she is concerned about Mr. Gordon Hikel representing the city as our city attorney in matters involving the Maharishi Global Development Fund (MGDF) because his firm also represents MGDF. Mr. Cheatham introduced those guests who might be speaking at the meeting: Billingsley Company: Henry Billingsley; Dannie Cummings - C&P Engineering Sysco: Marty Hawkins - Director of Operations David Phillips - Director of Occupancy and Equipment Maintenance MGDF: Terry Horn - Carter & Burgess Terry Sullivan - Hodges & Associates Robert Reed - Gardere, Wynne, & Sewell - legal counsel City of Lewisville: Steve Bacchus - Asst. City Manager Harry Persaud addressed the council, first advising that Tittle Drive is not in the City of The Colony so it does not appear on our thoroughfare plan. He said the alignment is there, but not the actual street. Mr. Persaud said the city has now received a proposal from Mr. Billingsley to move the alignment of Tittle Drive to the east to keep from going through the MGDF property. Councilmember Kovatch asked about the timing for extending Windhaven west to Josey Lane. Mr. Billingsley said that Chris Bright told him it would be approximately 24 months, and went on to say that the portion of Windhaven through Billingsley property will be complete before Sysco can get a Certificate of Occupancy. Councilmember Jue asked the timing and Mr. Billingsley advised December 2002. Abel Saldafia advised the council that Windhaven Drive is built to handle the truck traffic. Mr. Bacchus from Lewisville assured the council that Tittle Drive would be built to handle the track traffic as well. Councilmember Kovatch asked Gordon Hikel if there is any way to deny this connection. Mr. Hikel said if all questions are answered and all criteria met, the city would be hard pressed to deny access. Councilmember Stanwick asked ifPlano Parkway meets the requirements as a "track load" street. Mr. Saldafia stated that Plano Parkway would just meet the requirements. Councilmember Stanwick continued stating that a 15-year-old road that barely meets the minimum standards for trucks is going to get a huge increase in track traffic in the next two years and the roadway will wear down much sooner with repairs at the city's expense. Councilmember Gordon asked Mr. Saldafia the estimated cost to replace Plano Parkway and Mr. Saldafia stated it would be $120.00 per foot per lane or $450.00 per foot for 4 lanes. Councilmember Kovatch asked if the roadway would have to be more heavy duty when rebuilt and Mr. Saldafia advised it would not. Councilmember Kovatch asked what limitations could be put on Plano Parkway. Mr. Hikel said the council could set weight bearing and time restrictions. Dannie Cummings with C&P Engineering, representing the Billingsley Company, gave the council an March 4, 2002 2 overview of the traffic study he had performed. Mr. Cummings advised that his original estimate of 750 tracks per day was a misinterpretation of the data provided to him by Sysco. He said Phases I & II include a 675,000 square foot facility and will generate 2290 total trips in a day. New Sysco information clarified that on a daily basis; the traffic will include 80 small trucks and 120 large trucks. He said an approximate total of 240 trips per day, not 750 per day. Mr. Cummings further stated that the Tittle Drive and Plano Parkway intersection would need a signal light, left and right turn lanes. He advised that Mr. Billingsley has already agreed to pay for all of these items, noting the left turn lane will be installed right away, but the signal and right turn lane will not be installed until warranted. Councilmember Gordon asked why this plant, which is twice as big as the Hardin plant, would generate fewer trips per day than the Hardin plant, which, according to the study, generates total 948 trips per day. Mr. Cummings said he thinks the total trips per day will be similar for both plants. Councilmember Stanwick asked if the regional traffic study, which he requested when the council discussed the extension of Windhaven Pkwy. had been pursued. Mr. Persaud advised it had not been. Councilmember Stanwick reminded those present that we have added Pizza Inn and now Sysco and that it has been at least 5 years since the last comprehensive traffic study was done. He went on to say that Council should direct staff to move ahead with a regional traffic study and perhaps an economic impact study. Mr. Saldafia agreed, stating the last study was done in 1996-97. He said staff could perform such a study. He said the city tries to maintain a Level C on this roadway and we are at 11,382 as of March 1, 2002. Councilmember Stanwick stated that before we reach 20,000 vehicles per day, we need to get prepared. Marty Hawkins representing Sysco, said he only has numbers for vehicles leaving during the week for Phase I, and that there are no projections for Phase II at this time. He said there would be 48-60 large trucks per day coming in to re-stock the facility; the rest would be smaller Sysco trucks. Henry Billingsley told the council that they now know the first estimate of 750-800 tracks per day is wrong and the correct number is around 240, with lots of the trucks being smaller in size. He said by the time Phase II is done, Hwy 121 will be expanded and will be able to handle the increased traffic. Discussion followed regarding the design of the proposed expanded SH 121 and the ability to handle increased truck traffic. Councilmember Kovatch said the council should look at designating track zones. Mayor Henville- Shannon said as she understands it, the city does not have the right to deny this connection from Tittle Drive to Plano Parkway. Councilmember Stanwick asked Mr. Hikel if we could negotiate with the City of Lewisville to require that when Windhaven Pkwy extension is complete, then Tittle Drive would be designated a no truck route. Mr. Hikel said there would have to be a valid reason to make that change and further stated that he doesn't think that agreement could be made now binding future councils. Councilmember Jue said that in October 2001, The Colony council was told that the majority of the traffic (from Sysco) would exit south to Windhaven and west to Josey Lane. He continued, stating that now there is a big push for Tittle Drive and Windhaven Pkwy is not even scheduled to be completed for a year after Sysco opens. He asked Mr. Bacchus from Lewisville what they were told about this matter. Mr. Bacchus said he believes that is still the intent, although he doesn't know when the roadways will be done. He said he also understood that Lewisville would be working with The Colony for access (to Plano Pkwy.) and the median opening. Robert Reed, representing MGDF, said he was asked to give an overview of the Global Centre project, which is proposed for the comer ofPlano Pkwy and SH 121, and to make comments regarding the Tittle Road connection. Mr. Reed explained why SH 121 is so important to their development, noting that the D/FW leads the nation in growth with Denton and Collin County the heaviest. SH 121 is the crown jewel of economic growth March 4, 2002 3 for The Colony. He proceeded to show a Power Point presentation and a video to impress upon everyone the importance of the SH 121 comdor. Mr. Reed said he believes the council should have an independent, comprehensive traffic and economic study done before making a decision regarding the Tittle Drive connection. Mr. Terry Sullivan gave a brief overview of the Global Centre project and responded to questions. He said the tentative estimate to build out for the frontage is 1 year and 3 years for the balance of the project. He said they plan to begin as soon as they get approval from the city. Rick Horn with Carter & Burgess said he prepared the preliminary plat for the project and agreed that the city needs to look at the big picture. Mr. Horn said there would be traffic and it is important for the city to be protected through its planning process. He said their traffic study for this project has begun, but noted they wanted this issue to be settled and wanted to see the Billingsley plans before they completed it. Mr. Reed told the council that prudence dictates they get the best and most accurate information to determine how the track traffic coming from Tittle Drive will effect development along SH 121. Councilmember Dillard stated there has been lots of change and that now there are two landowners with vested interest in what happens in the area of Plano Pkwy. and SH 121. He said we need to know what will happen south of SH 121, but went on to say that he doesn't think we can deny access to trucks. Councilmember Dillard said The Colony wants both developments to do well and added that the council needs to think this through. Councilmember Gordon asked Mr. Saldafia how long it would take to complete a regional traffic study and Mr. Saldafia replied 3 - 4 months. Councilmember Dillard said we need an accurate count of trucks. Councilmember Jue agreed stating that it was never his intention to stop the Tittle Drive connection. He reiterated his concern with what the city had been told in October, with no mention of Tittle Drive. Councilmember Jue said he is very concerned about traffic and safety in that area and said we need the traffic study and economic impact study expedited as soon as possible. Councilmember Kovatch agreed and further stated that the city should encourage the western extension of Windhaven Pkwy. He asked if the city could request that the signal light and right tum lane be installed now, instead of waiting until warranted. Mr. Persaud said that at council direction, the staff could require those two items. Councilmember Stanwick asked for the signal light to be wired four-ways. Councilmember Kovatch asked that all items discussed at this meeting be brought back to the council on March 18 for action. Mayor Henville-Shannon agreed that a study is needed, but reminded council that the agenda item is to approve the Tittle Drive connection to Plano Pkwy and that we cannot deny the connection. Mr. Cheatham summarized items as discussed: 1. Traffic study with correct numbers 2. Advise TxDOT of accurate truck traffic count 3. Agreement with Billingsley Co. 4. Regional Traffic Study and Economic Impact Study Motion to table this item until March 18, 2002 - Kovatch; second - Dillard carried with all ayes. With no further business to address, the meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. APPROVED: March 4, 2002 4 ATTEST: Patti A. Hicks, TRMC, City Secretary March 4, 2002 5