Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/06/2002 City Council May 6, 2002 MINUTES OF TIlE REGULAR SESSION OF COUNCIL HELD ON MAY 6, 2002 Thc Regular Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas, was called to order at 7:12 p.m. on thc 6th day of May 2002, at City Hall with the following roll call: Bemetta Henville-Shannon Mayor Present John Gordon Councilmember Present Lewis Jue Councilmember Present David Stanwick Councilmember Present A1 Garcia Councilmember Present John Dillard Councilmember Present Dave Kovatch Councilmember Absent (unknown) and with six present, a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: I 1.0 ] ROUTINE ANNOUNCEMENTS, RECOGNITIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS: I Call to Order Invocation - Pastor Larry Thomas, Trinity Presbyterian Church Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag Salute to the Texas Flag Mayoral Proclamations: Click It or Ticket (TxDOT) - Officer Andy Longo received the proclamation World Asthma Day (Dallas Asthma Consortium) (Proclamation will be mailed) Public Service Recognition Week (Burkett) - Ms. Margaret Burkett, Human Resources Director received the proclamation on behalf of all city employees. Recognition of Employee of the Year (Burkett) Ms. Margaret Burkett and Mayor Henville-Shannon recognized Leo Lavender as the Employee of the Year for 2002 and presented him with a plaque. Other nominees were Diane Baxter, Debbie Earwood, Rhonda Gann, Joe Hammond, Tony Johnston, Joy Morrison, Kathy Neal and David Swain. Receive quarterly Champs report (Sue Walden) Ms. Walden reported a quarterly savings of $983.50 and a total year to date savings of $2344.05 Citizen Input Lori Hill, 5949 Carroll Dr. encouraged the council to dedicate the old library building as an arts center and to allocate a percentage of the hotel/motel taxes for a Regional Arts Center. She asked them to consider accepting a proposal from the North Texas Arts Project, which would give the city assistance in establishing the center. Ms. Hill stated that the Parks & Recreation Department should not have to handle cultural arts. She further requested a joint session between the council, the 4B board and the North Texas Arts Project. Christi Martin, 5904 Madison Dr., chairman of the Lakeside Community Theater asked the council for support in helping her group to find space for performances. John Gordon, 5116 Brandenburg, commended Councilmembers Stanwick and Dillard for their many years of service to the City of The Colony, stating it had been an honor to serve with each of them. David Stanwick, 5200 Avery Lane, thanked the citizens for giving him the honor of allowing him to serve as their representative on council. He noted the city had accomplished much during his tenure. He expressed appreciation the city staff and to his supporters. Path Hicks, City Secretary reported on the May 4, 2002 election assuring council and the citizens that in spite of some confusion and frustrations as one polling place on Election Day, the election had been conducted properly and that she had found no significant irregularities. Ms. Hicks also announced that for the run-off on May 18, Peters Colony would be the only polling place. May 6, 2002 12.0 I CONSENT AGENDA I 2.1 Consideration of approval of the minutes of the council meeting held April 15, 2002 (Hicks) Motion to approve the minutes as written - Gordon; second- Garcia carried with all ayes. 2.2 Consideration of approval of a resolution authorizing intervention in gas utilities docket 9292 at the Railroad Commission; authorizing participation in a steering committee and requiring reimbursement from TXU Lone Star Pipeline (Sparkman) Motion to approve the resolution as presented- Gordon; second - Garcia carried with all ayes. 2.3 Consideration of approval of a resolution amending the authorized representatives for the city's participation in the Texas Local Government Investment Pool ("TexPool") (Koo) Motion to approve the resolution as presented- Gordon; second- Garcia carried with all ayes. 2.4 Consideration of approval of a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an Interlocal Agreement with the Local Government Investment Cooperative (LOGIC), designating the Board of Directors of Cooperative as an Agency and instrumentally to supervise the Cooperative; approving investment policies of the Cooperative; appointing authorized representatives and designating investment officers (Koo) Motion to approve the resolution as presented- Gordon; second - Garcia carried with all ayes. 2.5 Consideration of approval of a resolution authorizing amendment to the Investment Policy (Koo) Motion to approve the resolution as presented - Gordon; second- Garcia carried with all ayes. 2.6 Consideration of approval of an ordinance amending Ordinance No. 01-1311 approved on September 17, 2001 approving and adopting the budget for the fiscal year October 1, 2001 through September 30, 2002 (Johnston) 2.7 Consideration of a resolution authorizing an agreement with the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to accept a grant award of $5,666.00 for the library (Sveinsson) Motion to approve the resolution as presented- Gordon; second- Garcia carried with all ayes. 2.8 Consideration of approval of a resolution authorizing an agreement between the City of The Colony, Texas and the County of Denton, Texas for rental of voting machines and equipment (Hicks) Motion to approve the resolution as presented - Gordon; second - Garcia carried with all ayes. 2.9 Consideration of approval of an ordinance authorizing a contract with Phyllis McGill to serve as Park Attendant at Stewart Creek Park (Nelson) Motion to approve the ordinance as written - Gordon; second- Garcia carried with all ayes. 2.10 Consideration of approval of a resolution adopting amended policies and procedures for council appointed boards and commissions (Hicks) Councilmember Stanwick asked that P&Z be added to Section IV regarding duties of advisory boards, stating that in some platting cases P&Z does have final say. Motion to approve the policies as amended-Stanwick; second- Gordon carried with all ayes. 2.11 Approval of spending Community Development Corporation funds and General Fund beautification funds for a proposal for professional services from Carter and Burgess for development of a Street Median Landscape Master Plan for North May 6, 2002 Colony, South Colony, Paige and Main streets and an ordinance authorizing same (Nelson) Councilmember Stanwick stated that based on this proposal, Carter & Burgess would not be providing enough information to justify the $28,000 expense. Councilmember Stanwick had no problem with have a landscape plan done, but that the plan should include more than just telling the city where flowers and trees should be planted and where to place benches, etc. Mayor Henville-Shannon agreed and recommended postponing the item for more information. Councilmember Jue asked to see a comparison of the scope of services with other bids. Motion to postpone until May 20, 2002 - Stanwick; second- Dillard carried with all ayes. [ 3.0 I REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS 3.1 Public Hearing regarding proposed amendment to the Thoroughfare Plan amending South Colony Boulevard to 4U-B and consideration of approval of an ordinance adopting the proposed amendment (Persaud) Mayor Henville-Shannon opened the public hearing. Harry Persaud gave a brief history of this item. There being no public input, the mayor closed the public hearing. Motion to approve as presented - Stanwick; second- Dillard carried with all ayes. 3.2 Consideration of approval of a reimbursement resolution expressing official intent to reimburse costs of projects (Koo/Johnston) Mr. Johnston gave a brief background on this item. Motion to approve the resolution as presented - $tanwick; second - Garcia carried with all ayes. 3.3 Discussion and consideration of request to fund Office Creek erosion control improvements (Henville-Shannon) Mayor Henville-Shannon opened the floor to citizen input on this item. Lynda White, 3923 Cedar Ridge Court, told the council they are losing their back yard due to the erosion of Office Creek. She said the city needs to determine who actually owns the property and get the problem resolved. Ms. White said the estimate she received to have her yard restored and the problem repaired is $32,000. She asked the council to help her save her back yard. Michael August, Creek Hollow Way advised that he had lost 6' of his back yard due to the erosion of the creek. He said the residents are caught in the middle between the city and Ridgepointe Developers. Abel Saldafia said he and engineers had walked the area last week and identified these two lots (White & August) and 8 more lots that possibly be damaged in the future. He noted that damage was not eminent, but could happen over the next several years. Mr. Saldafia said the estimate to improve those 10 lots is $350,000. Mr. Saldafia went on to explain that controlled fill was used in the area. He said behind Mr. August's home, it appears a tree fell (natural event) and then someone built a dam with blocks, which caused a waterfall and subsequent erosion. He said he did not believe the property had been filled beyond the property line. Mr. Saldafia said on the White property a silt fence had been constructed and there should not have been any fill beyond that fence, but that it appears someone did fill the area with debris, thus causing the erosion problem. Mr. Gordon Hikel, city attorney said the city had never legally accepted the dedication of the property, which means it still belongs to the developer. He said the city can accept the property and then it is the city's to repair and maintain, or the city can encourage the developer to May 6, 2002 repair and maintain the area, or the city can repair and try to recoup the money from the developer. Councilmember Gordon said we need to decide what it will take to fix this problem and not use the band-aid approach. Councilmember Gordon said we need to meet with the developer as soon as possible, stating the city has an obligation to the citizens. Councilmember Jue asked if this erosion problem was given any consideration when the council was working on the Office Creek Drainage plan. Mr. Saldafia said erosion was considered in every area, all the way to the lake. Councilmember Jue said the city has known about this problem since 2001 and that we need expedite the repair to help these two residents. Councilmember Stanwick noted that once the whole drainage plan is in place, there wouldn't be an erosion problem. He said he did not believe there was intentional oversight on the part of the developer or builder. Councilmember Stanwick said the city should repair the property to the property line and then assist the property owners in getting their property repaired. Mayor Henville-Shannon asked the city could get financial participation from the other 10 homeowners. Councilmember Dillard said there is not enough information to make a decision and suggested contacting the developer, determining costs and time frame for implementation. Mr. Saldafia advised Nathan Maier (engineer) has said a full engineering study is not necessary. He recommended proceeding on an individual lot basis, prioritizing them, and making long-term repairs to the White and August properties. He said he could have a bid package ready in 2 weeks for the May 20 meeting. Councilmember Dillard asked the city manager and city attorney to meet with the developer. Councilmember Garcia agreed, stating the city and the homeowner need to be protected in the process. Mr. Hikel reminded council that once the city makes improvements and repairs the area that constitutes acceptance of the property so the city will always have to maintain it. The mayor summarized: develop a plan quickly, take bids on 2 lots as soon as possible and set time frame on construction. Mr. August advised that the city got bids for his property last year and chose Knight Erosion to do the work. He asked why another bid was needed. Councilmember Stanwick suggested that Mr. August be allowed to continue with the contractor, and that a developer's agreement be entered into between Mr. August and the city whereby the city can reimburse him (August) in the future. He noted that Ms. White's estimate of $32,000 would be part of the bid process. Councilmember Gordon reiterated that repairing one lot at a time is a band-aid approach. Motion to have a professional engineer development a plan for drainage of Office Creek and a bid package by May 20, 2002 - Dillard, second - Gordon, carried with all ayes. Motion to authorize the city manager to negotiate an agreement with Michael August for reimbursement of an amount based on flood plain area - Stanwick; second Garcia carried with the following vote: Aye - Jue, Stanwick, Garcia, Dillard, Henville-Xhannon No - Gordon 3.4 Consideration and approval of an ordinance for professional services via IDC with Nathan D. Maier Consulting Engineers for the Design Proposals for the Sutton Drainage Channel, Phases I & H (Saldafla) Abel Saldafia gave a brief presentation regarding this item. Mr. Art Gibson5400 Merrell Cir. Advised the council the last hydro phonic study was done in 1994. He further stated that drainage improvements were to be part of his property. Mr. Gibson asked the council to please give attention to this matter and to have the area corrected. Councilmember Dillard stated that the city should take Mr. Gibson's concerns to the engineer and further stated this project should be done as soon as possible. May 6, 2002 Mr. Gibson stated that the design as presented by Mr. Saldana would work, but that it could be better. Motion to approve as presented - Stanwick; second - Dillard carried with all ayes. 3.5 Consideration of request to provide funding for Denton County Transportation Authority (Itenville-Shannon) Motion to deny - $tanwick; second- Garcia carried with the following vote: Aye - Gordon, Jue, $tanwick, Garcia and Dillard No - Henville-Shannon. With no further business to address, the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. APPROVED: Bemetta Henville-Shannon, Mayor APPROVED:. Patti A. Hicks, TRMC, Ci~ Secretary