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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/15/2002 City Council July 15, 2002 CITY OF THE COLONY DENTON COUNTY, TEXAS JULY 15, 2002 The Regular Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas was called to order at 7:07 p.m. on the 15th day of July, at City Hall with the following roll call Bernetta Henville-Shannon Mayor Present John Gordon Councilmember Absent (Ill) Lewis Jue Councilmember Present Joe McCourry Councilmember Present Lynda Bayliss Councilmember Present Perry Schrag Councilmember Present Joel Marks Councilmember Present Il.0 I ROUTINE ANNOUNCEMENTS, RECOGNITIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS: Call to Order Invocation - Councilmember Joc McCourry Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag Salute to the Texas Flag Mayoral Proclamations: National Aquatic Week--Mayor Henville-Shannon presented to Elise Knox Recreation and Parks Month--Mayor Henville-Shannon presented to Pam Nelson Mayoral Comments: July 4th Celebration- Congratulations on a job well done Applications for Board Vacancies- Still accepting applications Posting of Council agendas- Full packet available in library Citizen Input- Tom Whieldon, 5924 Southmoor Ln., presented a certificate of appreciation to city manager Dale Cheatham for his support of the Senior Citizens food drive. Richard Kucther, 4109 Driscoll, requested stop signs be placed on North Colony at Keys in lieu of a traffic signal, to help control traffic in this school zone. He also requested thc council prepare a quarterly report to include council activities, meetings, crc. Lastly, he stated that the council meeting packets being placed in thc library was not sufficient duc to thc library's hours, and asked for one to be placed in the lobby as well. [2.0 ~ CONSENT AGENDA 2.1 Consideration of approval of the minutes of the council meeting held July 1, 2002 (Hicks) The Mayor stated that some discussion during the last council meeting was not included in these minutes and stated she would like them tabled for more elaboration. Motion to table item 2.1- McCourry; second- Bayliss; motion carried with all ayes. 2.2 Consideration of approval of council expenditures (Council) Motion to approve - Marks; second- McCourry; motion carried with all ayes. July 15, 2002 2.3 Consideration of approval of a resolution supporting the exemption for taxation of certain defined travel trailers (Koo) The Mayor asked Ms. Koo when the next legislative session is, and why is the exemption retroactive back to January. Ms. Koo advised the sessions are every other year, the next being next year. She explained that the wording of the House Bill regarding taxation implies that travel trailers should be taxed as of January 1, 2002, however, the next legislative session will repeal thc tax, as that was not the intent. The Mayor inquired what the result might be if council doesn't approve this item. Mr. Jue questioned whether the city has been collecting the tax. Assistant City Manager Tony Johnston advised that the legislature is expected to repeal this tax and if we were to collect it, we would have to return the money collected. None has been collected in the past. Citizen Input from Cindi Swinney, 5656 Turner, gave some history of this item and stated the tax is in error. Motion to approve- Jue; second- Marks; motion carried with all ayes. 3.0 I REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS 3.1 Public hearing on application of the Billingsley Company, requesting an amendment to the development plan for Planned Development PD-12 and a portion of PD-10, situated East of Piano Parkway, on a 293.70 acre tract in the Southeastern portion of the City of The Colony; and consideration of approval of an ordinance granting the amendments (Persaud) The Mayor opened the public hearing. Harry Persaud briefly explained the development plan and gave specifics of proposed modifications to the plan of 1999. Mr. Persaud introduced Lucilo Pena who represented Austin Ranch. Also present were Lucy Billingsly and Danny Cummings. Mr. Pena showed drawings of the proposed road re-design and explained it was being done in an effort to avoid a ravine and save the trees surrounding the ravine area. He also showed some photos of Addison Circle, using it as an example of the future use of the area. He asked for a reduction of the 50' setback on Windhaven; an expansion of the 18 acres of mixed use for the Town Center to be increased to 21 acres; and, outdoor dining adjacent to commercial areas within the street right of way. Also included in the presentation was a request for building structures up to 70' be allowed, an adjustment in parking requirements, and requested to build a maximum of 10% of the residential units with a minimum of 500 square feet. Councilmember Bayliss asked if the city had fire equipment that would handle structures of 70'. Mr. Persaud replied that the ladder truck will reach to the 4~ floor and the fire department was comfortable with this, especially since sprinkler systems were required. Mr. Richard Kuether expressed his concern that the additional building height might set a precedent for future building. Mr. Pena replied that the 70' requested already exists on the property; this request is for the additional 3 acres. Councilmember Marks inquired about the street access and traffic flow to the area where these buildings will be. Mr. Pena advised the streets are not built yet and gave a scenario of how the traffic would access this area via private streets. Engineer Danny Cummings advised that though no detailed analysis of the traffic in the area is available, he estimated the peak hour flow of cars at 250-350 in the a.m. in and out of Town Center. Mr. Cummings advised they will re-evaluate in the future if an additional signal is needed for access in and out of the site. Public Hearing was closed. Motion to approve with stipulations- Bayliss; second- McCourry; carried with all ayes. 2 July 15, 2002 3.2 Receive presentations from non-profit organizations for application of grants and funding from the City for fiscal year 2002-2003 (Koo) Ms. Rebecca Koo, finance director, addressed the council saying the city received six applications for grants and introduced the representatives of those organizations as follows: Michael Johnson from CCA explained the use for $10,000 is crisis intervention and financial services. He advised The Colony residents received a total of $220,000 last year from CCA. He said 'the additional $15,000 is for a new program to renovate housing in The Colony (average cost per home being $2,500 with volunteer help). Jane Ogletree from Denton County Friends of the Family reported that last year they served 49 The Colony residents and this year to date the number is 24. She advised that many of their clients are children and indicated a new program is being implemented July 29th. Their main focus is crisis intervention. Tammy Atkinson representing the Boys and Girls Clubs explained the scope of their services to the community and their need for space, advising United Way funding is not available to them this year. She advised she is continually researching grants and other funding. Shem Gideon of CASA (Court Appointed Special Services) explained their purpose is to recruit and train community volunteers who advocate in the court system for children in the state's custody. Dan Leal with the Denton County Children's Advocacy Center advised they provide comprehensive services to children who are victims of sexual assault and serious abuse, as well as providing treatment and prevention programs. He pointed out that last year they served 129 The Colony residents and this year the number is at 70. He spoke of the Center's relationship with other agencies to help reduce the impact on children who experience this type of crisis. Erika Lissberger with SPAN explained that their main focus is to provide meals and benefits counseling to the elderly and disabled. She spoke of new programs for next year. 3.3 Consideration of authorizing the adjustment of a part-time position to a full-time position in the Information Technology Department (Camerlin) Linda Camerlin explained the purpose of this agenda item and advised the position will be called "IT Specialist". Councilmember Jue questioned the timing of this request since the next budget year is so close. Ms. Camerlin advised that in the next couple of weeks many new projects will require more time and attention by the IT department. She advised she would like to open the position in house and hope that the part-time interns presently employed will apply. Councilmember Jue and the Mayor questioned the impact on the budget. Rebecca Koo, finance director, advised there are funds available for the remainder of this year and the position will be included in the next budget. Motion to approve- McCourry; second- Bayliss; motion carried with all ayes. 3.4 Consideration of authorizing the establishment of a Cultural Arts Department (lVlcCourry) Councilmember McCourry opened discussion on this item stating the old library building is currently under-utilized and that he asked for this item to be on the agenda for general discussion and input from council on how best to use this building. He indicated he supports fully utilizing this building as soon as possible. He felt the city should work with private groups to utilize this building. He also indicated that perhaps "Cultural Arts" should be its own entity, having its own 3 July 15, 2O02 dedicated director, and not be under the Parks and Recreation umbrella due to the number of projects P&R currently has underway. Citizen input on this item included 12 individuals who expressed their desires to pursue a Cultural Arts focus for the city, and supported usage of the old library building for this purpose. Several also mentioned Ms. Lorrie Hill as a possible coordinator of the program. Parks and Recreation Director Pam Nelson spoke in favor of an arts program. She believes it should be kept within the Parks and Recreation Department, perhaps utilizing Ms. Hill and others for expert input. She said there are also other needs in the city and the building should be used for those as well. Councilmember McCourry passed out to council members a document listing some ideas on revenues and expenditures that might come into play with this type of building usage. He explained the usage constraints of the hotel/motel tax and that it could be used for cultural arts endeavors. He commented that this project would materialize quicker with a dedicated person, committee or board to operate it, and that he would volunteer to serve on a committee. Councilmember Jue stated he was in agreement with the citizens on this item. Since the city had done some work on this project in the past, he asked Ms. Nelson about the architectural plans that had already been done, and what the cost for the architect was. Ms. Nelson stated she did not recall the cost but had provided the plans, options, and information on what grants had been applied for in the past to the council. Mr. Jue asked if any input was requested from Ms. Hill or other citizen groups when the planning and designing was going on before. Ms. Nelson advised that Ms. Hill was involved in discussions with the architect. She advised the holdup on renovations was due to lack of funding. Mr. Jue voiced that he was in favor of establishing a committee rather than a department. '- Councilmember McCourry suggested that one of the smaller rooms be used for a museum of the city's history. He advised starting use of the building right away will start to produce revenues. He said he wants to start in smaller increments and less money rather than wait for money for total renovation. Councilmember Bayliss agreed that we need to pursue discussion on this issue and that the project needs total dedication to make it work. She agreed that using one of the smaller rooms for an information center should be included, as well as a general purpose/meeting room. She agreed that the city should do something quickly on this issue. Councilmember Marks stated he is in favor of cultural arts improvements in The Colony, however that streets and public safety issues are also important to citizens. He asked if a cultural arts committee is created, is funding more available. Councilmember Schrag agreed on forming a committee but is inclined to having a department. He stated the old library building may not necessarily be dedicated for this purpose. Ms. Lorri Hill addressed the council stating that separation from Parks and Recreation adds credibility for funding purposes. She proposed an arts council rather than a department. She also advised that multi-purpose rooms are incorrect for specific cultural arts activities. The ability for long-term scheduling of a facility is important and that funding could come from the hotel/motel tax. Mayor Henville-Shannon suggested a committee be formed to establish a plan and guidelines, and to review the proposal from Ms. Hill, reporting back to council in 30 days. She advised the committee should be comprised of two members from Parks and Recreation, two from the Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Hill, Councilmember McCourry, a representative from the Finance 4 July 15, 2002 Dept., and members from Lakeside Theater and the various groups represented at this meeting. She stated the committee's focus should be building design and other uses of the building, budget and funding possibilities, whether or not Parks and Recreation should be overseeing this project, and a time line giving an idea of how the project should progress. Councilmember Marks added that the committee needs to think about the groups currently using the old library building that may be displaced by this program. Mayor Henville-Shannon appointed Councilmember McCourry to chair this committee. 14.0 I EXECI~TaVE SESSION I 4.1 Executive Session as authorized by Section 551.074 of the Government Code, regarding Personnel, to-wit: A. Annual Evaluation - City Manager The Mayor began the Executive Session at 10:15 p.m. and reconvened the regular session at 11:10 p.m. 4.2 Consideration of any appropriate action to be taken as a result of the executive session Motion to approve a 6% salary increase for the city manager- Jue; second- Schrag; motion carried with all ayes. With no further business to address, the meeting was adjourned at 11:12 p.m. ~ eB~tta Henville-Shannon, Mayor ATTEST: Christie Wilson, Deputy City Secretary