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Home My WebLink About08/16/2004 City Council 008040 August 16, 2004 MINUTES OF REGULAR SESSION OF COUNCIL I HELD ON AUGUST 16,2004 The Regular Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas, was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on the 2nd day of August 2004, at City Hall, 6800 Main Street, The Colony, Texas, with the following roll call: John Dillard Mayor Present Allen Harris Councilmember Present Scott Ward Councilmember Present Joe McCourry Mayor Pro-tern Present Lynda Bayliss Councilmember Absent (business) Perry Schrag Councilmember Present Joel Marks Councilmember Present And with six council members present a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: ROUTINE ANNOUNCEMENTS, RECOGNITIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS: Call to Order Invocation - Allen Harris I Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag Salute to the Texas Flag Proclamations- National Payroll Week- Mayor presented proclamation to Jackie Carroll and Charmyne Crowe. Citizen Input- Daniel Jacobs told council he supports increasing public safety but not necessarily with a tax increase; he wants council to re-evaluate the budget and detennine priorities. Tony Seidler told council he attended the Transportation meeting in Lewisville last week and brought in a copy ofthe infonnational packet rrom that meeting that explains the proposed plan for SH 121. He explained that the access lanes would not be toll roads. He stated that safety on FM 423 is an issue and wants that project timeline accelerated. Melvina Sparks thanked the council and city street crew for making repairs in her alley so quickly. She also addressed council on a recent court proceeding regarding her son. Announcement of upcoming civic events and activities 1_ Mayor announced that Councilmember Lynda Bayliss was absent due to business. I 1 These items are strictly public service announcements. No action will be taken and no direction will be given regarding these items. 1 ( , { , ;.' ( ~ / 1 '.. \.,. .. ..,; ~.- August 16, 2004 [ 2.0 I CONSENT AGENDA I 2.2 Consider approval of council expenditures for the month of July (Council) 2.5 Consider approval of a resolution authorizing renewal of the annual contract with SPCA for the city's animal control services (M. Carroll) 2.6 Consider approval of a resolution authorizing an agreement with 2Turniton, Inc. for free Internet access to utility information and services (Koo) 2.7 Consider approval of an ordinance amending Section 19-10 of the Code of Ordinances revising the weight limits on certain streets (Scruggs) 2.8 Consider approval of a resolution authorizing the city manager to sign a contract with Metrocrest Medical Services (Nolen) kIotion to approve the above consent agenda items- McCourry; second by Schrag; motion passed with all ayes. Item 2.1 pulled for discussion by Councilmember Schrag 2.1 Consider approval of minutes of council meetings held August 2 and August 9, 2004 (Wilson) Councilmember Schrag advised he pulled this item to clarify his statements in item 3.5 of the August 2nd minutes regarding the street sweeper, saying that he believed the capital cost should not be included in the expenditures of the Stonn Water Utility Fund. Motion to approve with the above change- Schrag; second by McCourry; motion passed with all ayes. Item 2.3 was pulled for discussion by Mayor Dillard 2.3 Consider approval of a resolution requiring TXU Electric Delivery to show reasonableness of its existing rates (Sparkman) Mayor Dillard made a motion for this item to be tabled until representatives on both sides could be present. City Manager Dale Cheatham advised that representatives were in attendance, and asked if the council would hear from them on this issue. All agreed and the motion failed for lack of a second. Purchasing Agent Bob Sparkman introduced Geofrrey Gay who represents the city on the TXU steering committee that oversees rates. Mr. Gay reviewed [what he believes] the history of TXU rates and stated that currently the issue is unfairness in the cost of street lighting. He believes the cities are being overcharged. He wants the market to become more competitive, and doesn't suggest this item be tabled. Steve Taylor with TXU spoke, asking the council to table this item until he could bring in staff to offer a rebuttal. Citizen Joyce Fulco asked when was CAPP fonned and what cities are members. Mr. Gay replied it was fonned in 2001 to reduce overall costs to cities for power. He said there eighty member cities as well as some water districts throughout Texas. Motion to approve resolution- Marks; second by McCourry; motion passed with all ayes. 2 ^~._,-._,,- D08'J4.2 August 16, 2004 Item 2.4 was pulled for discussion by Councilmember McCourry I 2.4 Consider approval of a resolution authorizing CAPP to negotiate a potential wholesale power supply agreement, and to remain acting as the city's agent to execute an electric supply agreement for 2005 (Sparkman) (Discussion on this item was covered under 2.3.) Motion to approve-McCourry; second by Harris; motion passed with all ayes. 13.0 I REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS I 3.1 Public hearing to discuss the proposed municipal budget for 2004-2005 (Koo) Assistant City Manager Tony Johnston stated there was a budget work session on August 9t\ and a balanced budget at $.72 valuation was presented. In addition, three options were presented in order to increase public safety personnel. Mayor Dillard opened the public hearing at 8:00 p.m. Citizen Daniel Jacobs again stated the council should review priorities in order to properly staff public safety, instead of a tax increase. Dale Casper asked if there is a ratio of emergency personnel compared to the number of citizens and asked if the proposed tax increase was justified. Councilmember McCourry suggested these citizens speak directly to Fire Chief Nolan who could provide infonnation on the department's needs. Steve Parsons told council to take another look at the I budget and detennine what is "essential" and what is "nice" to have. He said he is in favor of increasing public safety within the existing budget. Councilmember Marks said that over the years the city has not added many staff members to Fire and Police [due to funding] and that now we don't have enough personnel to cover certain emergency situations. He stated he is not in favor of raising the taxes a large amount, and that council made the decision in the work session to more closely review the budget. He encouraged citizens to come to the next work session [on August 23rd] and voice their opinions. Mayor Dillard closed the public hearing at 8:14 p.m. 3.2 Discuss and consider adopting an ordinance authorizing the Issuance and Sale of City of The Colony, Texas, Combination Tax and Limited Surplus Revenue Certificates of Obligation, Series 2004; levying an annual ad valorem tax and providing for the security for and payment of said Certificates; approving the Official Statement; and enacting other provisions relating to the subject (Koo) Tony Johnston explained this item, stating this discussion includes item 3.3 regarding the sale of bonds. He explained the purposes [mainly Memorial Drive extension and sewer plant upgrades] of the sale. He infonned council that the bond ratings have improved due to sound city management and coordination of I staff and council. Doug Hartman with First Southwest passed out a summary booklet to the council and reviewed the rate bids received. He added that the city is in good financial shape. Discussion followed regarding the interest rates available and the payment schedule. Dale Cheatham advised council that the first three years of debt service payments will come rrom impact fees. 3 /"', t t, ('" .', /' ~) "_' : ,-' ·...-1 . J ~':. \ \ August 16,2004 Motion to approve- McCourry; second by Schrag; motion passed with all ayes. 3.3 Discuss and consider adopting an ordinance authorizing the Issuance and Sale of City of The Colony, Texas, Waterworks and Sewer System Revenue Bonds, Series 2004; providing for the security for and payment of said bonds; approving the Official Statement; and enacting other provisions relating to the subject (Koo) Motion to approve- Schrag; second by Schrag; motion passed with all ayes. 3.4 Discuss the proposed 2004-2005 tax rate not to exceed $ .78 cents per $100 valuation for the taxable value of all property real and personal, located within the City of The Colony, take a record vote and schedule a public hearing for August 30, 2004 (Koo) Tony Johnston told the council that due to there being no decision yet regarding the possible inclusion of the previously mentioned options in the budget, this item is stated as "not to exceed" $.78. This amount would cover the highest cost scenano, but does not mean that council will approve that amount. Councilmember Harris commended city staff regarding the "trimming" of the budget that has already been done. Motion to approve at $.78 and work from there- Harris; second by McCourry; motion passed with ayes except for Marks who voted no. Councilmember McCourry addressed the audience stating that they are trying to look at where to make cuts in the budget, and asked for citizen input to help council decide what services citizens should no longer get. Mayor Dillard encouraged citizeI}~t~lfe'nd the bud.get work session on August 23rd. ..... ...... :¡ 3.5 Discuss Storm Water Utility Fund, and discuss and consider approval of an ordinance establishing fees for this fund (Scruggs) City Engineer Gordon Scruggs introduced Trey Shanks of Freese Nichols who advised that a larger sampling of homes has been done [to detennine average impervious area] and the result increased the number rrom 3,406 to 3,527 square feet. This would shift the burden of the cost to the homeowners at $2.52 per month rather than the proposed $2.50 per month, and would require more public hearings. Councilmember Harris asked for an explanation of the method used to detennine the impervious area, and added that he is not convinced the result of the sampling is accurate. Trey Shanks, who conducted the sampling, passed out a list of the homes evaluated and advised he believed the average is accurate. He also advised the capital items as presented originally [at 3,406 square feet calculation] for 2005 is $73,651. To maintain the $2.50 rate, and averaging all 400 homes, a rounded number of 3,500 square feet is being proposed, which will reduce the capital dollars to $70,454. Motion to approve at $2.50- Marks 4 "._- 008014 August 16, 2004 Councilmember Schrag asked Mr. Marks if he would consider amending the motion, excluding some items, to $1.69 per month. Considerable discussion I followed that included the dollar amount needed was equivalent to 2.5 cents of a tax rate (per Mr. Cheatham). City attorney Bob Hager told council they need to proceed on the motion made (calling for a second) then further discussion or other motions could be made. Councilmember Schrag stated again he would like to see the motion amended at $1.69, which Mr. Marks declined. Motion was seconded by McCourry; motion passed with the following vote: Aye- Dillard, Ward, McCourry, Marks No- Harris, Schrag 14.0 I EXECUTIVE SESSION 1 4.1 A. Council shall convene into a closed executive session pursuant to Section 551.071 of the Local Government Code to consult with the city attorney regarding contract between the City of Frisco, North Texas Municipal Water District and the City of The Colony. Executive Session was not convened. And with no further business to discuss the meeting was adjourned at 9:07 p.m. I APPROVED: Dillard, Mayor y of The Colony ATTEST: ~.~%/)X~ ¿¡J~"n "stie Wilson, TRMC, City Secretary I 5