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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/11/2003 City CouncilOctober 11, 2003 MINUTES OF RETREAT OF COUNCIL HELD ON OCTOBER 11, 2003 The Special Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas, was called to order at 8:05 a.m. on the 11th day of October 2003, at The Tribute, 1000 Boyd Road, The Colony, Texas, with the following roll call: John Dillard Mayor Present Allen Harris Councilmember Present Scott Ward Councilmember Present Joe McCourry Mayor Pro-tem Present Lynda Bayliss Councilmember Present Perry Schrag Councilmember Present Joel Marks Councilmember Present And with seven present a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. Discussion with city staff concerning various policy issues, goals and future needs. Mr. Cheatham opened the meeting by explaining to council that he would be covering just the first section of the packet, noting the documentation is for their information and review. The following was presented and discussed: Financial Overview: Various scenarios were presented for tax roll increases over the next 3 years, based on amount of debt issuance. Also presented were major projects to be considered by the council in the future. Mr. Cheatham advised the total of all these projects is estimated at $60-70 million. Items included: Residential street reconstruction Paige Road from S. Colony to N. Colony Memorial Drive from Home Depot to Worley (relating to proposed water park. A special joint session was called for Council and the 4B board to discuss incentives for this park to be held October 16, 2003) Memorial Drive from Worley to S. Colony Memorial Drive from S. Colony to apartments Memorial Drive extension into Frisco SH 121 - last payment for right of way Austin Ranch Fire Station and land Austin Ranch Bridge Fleet Services Building and Parking Discussed TCEQ requirements and the need to stop overlooking fleet services. New Library Water & Sewer lines, facilities and treatment. 00?898 October I I, 2003 Discussed issues relating to upgrading our sewer treatment facilities, lines for Austin Ranch and Wyunwood. S. Colony extension to SH 121 __ Recreation Center/Natatorium Mr. Cheatham further advised that the cost estimates given in the packet are very rough in most cases. Arts/Civic Building Mr. Cheatham addressed this issue, stating that if council should decide to move forward with such a building they need to also decide the scope of the building, i.e., will it be multi-purpose or only accommodate the Arts groups. He further stated that if the council does decide to move forward, they need to further decide if the issue should be taken to the voters in the form of a non-binding referendum, noting that if the voters reject the issue, it might make it difficult for council to move forward on the project. He said if most Councilmembers believe the project is in the best interest of the city, then perhaps they should move ahead without a vote of the citizens. Several Councilmembers commented about the project, stating a multi-use facility would be appropriate and suggested building it at the 5-Star complex. Mayor Dillard suggested holding a special session October 20, 2003 to discuss this matter. All council agreed. Major Arterials vs. Residential Streets -- Mr. Cheatham advised the council they need to decide what their priorities are regarding this issue and how the funds from the next debt issuance will be allocated. Telecommunications (Board) Mr. Cheatham stated that he was asked to explore other options for telecommunications in the event we did not continue to have a board. He noted boards can be very effective if the council uses them to make recommendations. He said if we no longer had a board, a current city employee would be willing to assist in this area and does not think he would have a problem doing it. He said we have also identified someone in The Colony who has their own equipment and would charge only $25.00 per hour. Discussion followed regarding options, a code of conduct for boards and the A.T. & T. Comcast agreement. Council directed the city manager to bring back a structure using city staff to perform the tasks the Telecommunications Board has been doing at the November 3, 2003 council meeting. Recess: 9:58 a.m. Reconvene: 10:25 a.m. -- Outsourcing 007895 October I 1,2003 Mr. Cheatham said outsourcing can be beneficial, but is not always. After brief presentation and discussion, council asked Mr. Cheatham to continue evaluating services that might be outsourced. Sewer Tony Johnston gave an overview of the options for providing sewer service to Wynnwood Peninsula and Austin Ranch. He said we are waiting to hear from Frisco regarding a proposed agreement which would allow our sewer to be sent to their plant. He further advised that North Texas Municipal Water is agreeable to our sending the sewerage to Frisco, but we have to wait until an agreement can be reach with Frisco. All council agreed that a regional approach to this issue would be best. Use of 4B Funds Mr. Cheatham stated that up to this point, council had directed that 4B sales tax proceeds be used primarily for capital expenditures and some administrative costs. Since most members of council were not on the city council when this decision was made, staff wants to ensure that this is still the direction the city council desires to go. Recess for lunch - 11:30 a.m. Reconvene - 11:50 a.m. Emergency Operations Center Chief Van Morrison reminded council that the ECO is located at 5151 N. Colony Blvd., adjacent to the communications center. He advised we had not activated the EOC many times. He gave an overview of how the procedure works in time of crises. Chief Morrison noted that the mayor is the director of emergency management and could give assignments (outside of the EOC) to the rest of the council if he desired. The mayor's greatest function beyond advising staff is to sign any emergency declarations that have to be executed if calling in help from the State. The Chief recommended considering including a fully functional EOC in a new city hall, if one is every constructed. Homeland Security Chief Mordson explained that the issues surrounding Homeland Security have given new meaning to "Emergency Management." He noted The Colony received a grant in the amount of $204,000 from the Office of Domestic Preparedness. The four departments that will receive some of this funding are: Water Distribution, Public Works, Police and Fire. Chief Morrison noted that no funding has been released from the government but that staff is hopeful it soon will be. Chief Morrison advised that all the early outdoor warning sirens, new and old are in place and functioning. Summarizing, the Chief said The Colony's greatest risk does not lie in being attacked, but as being a possible first responder into a larger city that has sustained some sort of ten-oristic calamity. He said firefighters have been given added responsibility of keeping a close watch for any unusual activity occurring at any of the city's sensitive areas. Fire Station Location and Numbers Chief Morfison discussed the proposal for new stations throughout the city. He reviewed the plan to have 4 stations and the number of personnel, equipment which would be housed in each and response times. The Austin Ranch station will serve areas south of SH 121, while the station on Wynnwood would serve The Tribute and areas along Boyd Rd. to the northern city limits. Mr. Cheatham asked council to let staff know if they are still in agreement with the plan to have 4 stations. Discussion followed and staffwas directed to bring back other options, with less than 4 stations. All agreed that staff should pursue acquiring the property to build the fire station in Austin Ranch. Newsletter Mr. Cheatham asked if council wanted staff to pursue publishing the newsletter more often than quarterly. All council agreed and asked that new business information be added to the newsletter. Service Adjustments Mr. Cheatham asked if council wanted to make any changes in services. None were noted at this time. Police and Fire Structure and Staffing Both Chief Clark and Chief Morrison presented an overview of their respective departments and fielded questions from council regarding same. City Council Priorities At this time, Mayor Dillard asked each Councilmember to state their individual priorities. Councilmember Allen Harris *Arts/Community/Civic Center *Continuation of roads, sidewalks, curbs alleyways (reconstruction) *Hazardous household waste/materials disposal program *Relationship with Frisco *Hidden Cove Park -- *More focused direction for all entities in the city, i.e. all should use the same logo instead of every department having a different logo on their letterhead, etc. 4 00790Z October 11,2003 Councilmember Scott Ward *Rid city of pemeption that council doesn't want to help or hear fi~om residents. *Clean up city, code enfomement *Work to improve commercial base in City of The Colony *Street & sidewalk renovation plan *Work with Austin Ranch to get some upscale single family homes *Get all departments to come in under budget Councilmember Joe McCourry *Construct building for arts/civic center *Charter review committee to amend charter Temporary appointment if Councilmember is called to active duty City Secretary to report to city manager Review Ethics section *Funding for improvements on FM 423 *Operating rules for 5-Star *Operating rules for Telecommunications Board Councilmember Lynda Bayliss *Plan, prepare and implement a plan for future growth and programs *Beautification *Economic Development *Add value to the citizens and local businesses *Communication *Lower Taxes Councilmember Perry Schrag *Improve our image *More aggressive street repairs *Reduce tax burden on citizens *Aggressive in finding solutions for 121/423 and other roadways *Prepare to deliver necessary infrastructure when needed *Hidden Cove Park in the black Councilmember Joel Marks *Streets, alleyways, sidewalks *Beautification *Regional Transportation *Accountability - Code of Conduct *Relationships with neighboring cities *City's image Mayor John Dillard *Wastewater and water issues *Beautification *One-stop user-friendly building/inspection process *Regional relationship building *Homeland Security 5 October 11, 2003 With much to think about and consider, the mayor adjoumed the retreat at 2:30 p.m. APPROVED: J~/m Dillard, Mayor - ATTEST: Patti A. Hicks, TRMC, City Secretary