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Home My WebLink About10/06/2008 City Council October 6, 2008 00S,-O, MINUTES OF REGULAR SESSION OF COUNCIL ~ HELD ON OCTOBER 6, 2008 The Regular Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas, was called to order at 7:06 p.m. on the 6th day of October, 2008, at City Hall, 6800 Main Street, The Colony, Texas, with the following roll call: John Dillard Mayor Present Allen Harris Mayor Pro-Tem Present John Marshall Councilmember Present (Arrived 7:23) Jeff Connelly Councilmember Present Kirk Mikulec Councilmember Present (Arrived 7:28) Perry Schrag Councilmember Present (Arrived 7:10) Joel Marks Councilmember Present And with four council members present a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1.0 ROUTINE ANNOUNCEMENTS, RECOGNITIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS: Call to Order Invocation - Pastor Wally Leyerle, First Baptist Church Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag Salute to the Texas Flag Update from Marine Quest on Hidden Cove Park - Ottis Lee, Civil Works Engineers, stated repairs to the cabins on the eastern side have been completed. Work on the cabins on the western side is continuing. Slip construction is ongoing and approximately twenty percent complete. Construction plans have been started for the parking area and the first phase of the dry storage areas. Citizen Input - None Announcement of upcoming civic events and activities t- Steve Eubanks, Public Works Director, announced information for the Fall Clean-Up to be held on Saturday, October 25, 8:00 a.m. until noon, at the Hawaiian Falls parking lot. Joan Sveinsson announced Library activities. Councilmember Connelly announced The American Legion Riders (ALR), Post 21, will present an Iron Horse Showcase on Saturday, October 18, at Stewart Creek Park as part of the Pirate Days event. In addition, ALR Post 21 will also sponsor "A Salute to Veterans" on November 8, at Stewart Creek Park. Councilmember Harris stated the first meeting of the Sons of the American Legion will meet on Wednesday October 15, at 7:00 p.m., at the Government Building/American Legion post. Mayor Dillard reminded everyone of the upcoming Pirate Days event to be held October 18-19, at Stewart Creek Park. Some of the events will include Pancakes with Pirates, ALR Post 21 Iron Horse Showcase, and a high-tech Treasure Hunt. These items are strictly public service announcements. No action will be taken and no direction will be given regarding these items. 1 O Q o3 0 October 6, 2008 Mayor Dillard also stated the Mayor's Ball would be held at The Tribute on October 16. Tickets are $40/per person; contact the chamber or go to www.thecolonychamber.com for further details. 2.0 CONSENT AGENDA 2.2 Consider approval of a resolution expressing official intent to reimburse costs of projects (Koo) Motion to approve above consent agenda item- Schrag; second by Connelly; motion passed with all ayes. Councilmember Harris requested items 2.1 and 2.3 be pulled for separate discussion. 2.1 Consider approval of minutes of council meeting held September 15, 2008 (Wilson) Motion to approve with modification stating Harris made the motion for item 3.7- Harris, second by Schrag; motion passed with all ayes. 2.3 Consider approval of a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement with Denton County for library services (Sveinsson) Councilmember Harris thanked Denton County for the $56,600 The Colony will receive under this agreement. Motion to approve- Marshall, second by Connelly, motion passed with all ayes. 3.0 REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS 3.1 Discuss and consider amending the fee schedule relating to multi-family building permit fees and provide direction to staff (SI08-0008, Bateman) Donna Bateman, Planning Director, stated the city obtains building valuation information based on data provided by the International Code Council (ICC). She then reviewed how the city calculates all building permit fees and said the permit fee multiplier varies from city to city and is based on what a city expects to recover for their actual cost of service provided to the developer. Donna said the cost recovery varies if done year to year, but if done over a 2-3 year time frame the city would recover approximately 75 percent of its actual cost of service. Councilmember Connelly asked how lowering the fee would impact the budget. Dale Cheatham, City Manager, stated it would be a reduction in revenues, but not enough to warrant amending the budget. Joe McCurry, 5769 Bedford Lane, spoke in favor of keeping the fees the same in order to keep the budget on-track. Motion to keep the same fees- Marks; second by Mikulec; motion passed with the following vote: Ayes- Harris, Mikulec, Schrag, Marks Nos- Dillard, Connelly 2 October 6, 2008 00's f 3.2 Receive presentation and authorize use of Hotel Occupancy Tax Funds to expand The Colony Christmas Spectacular Light Show and provide storage of equipment and supplies (Nelson) Jim Slack, citizen volunteer, presented a video of the 2007 Christmas Spectacular Light Show and gave specifics regarding event attendance and changes that were made last year. Emily Fox, Special Events Coordinator, highlighted elements of the event which included Parade of Lights, mayor's presentation, carolers, pictures with Santa, and the animated light show with music. This year additional funds are being requested in order to expand the event to include additional light features that will enhance the event and make a longer light show. The additional request also includes funds for a storage space for the equipment and supplies. Last year's show included 55,000 lights; this year 128,000 lights are being proposed. The citizen volunteers would attempt to get sponsors and private donations to help offset costs. Councilmember Marshall asked if the electrical system would have to be upgraded to handle the additional lights and displays. Jim stated the light show could be programmed to facilitate use of the current electrical system and would not have to be upgraded. Kevin Braby, citizen volunteer, concurred. Councilmember Marks asked how much money was raised last year. Jim said $2,500-$3,000. Councilmember Connelly asked who retains ownership of the displays and lights, and if any overages received from sponsors would be kept for the following year. Jim stated the city would retain ownership of the displays, lights, and equipment. He also said any overages would be kept for next year's show. Rebecca Koo, Finance Director, stated an amendment could be made to keep the overages in a separate account. Councilmember Marks requested a budget be presented when the amendment is brought before council. Motion to approve and not to exceed $22,000 from HOT funds to expand The Colony Christmas Spectacular Light Show and provide storage of equipment and supplies- Harris, second by Mikulec; motion passed with all ayes. Mayor Dillard moved item 3.4 up on the agenda. 3.4 Discuss and consider approval of a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute agreements with The Colony Senior Community, L.P. (Council) Sandy Jacobs spoke to council regarding the request from Churchill Residential relating to building fees. She presented a comparison with other cities and stated their financial partners have indicated the fees are too much. Sandy said if the agreement is approved, her client is committed to moving forward with the project. Once they close, which should by the end of this year, the project will be finished in nine months. Motion to approve the agreement that was presented- Harris, second by Marks. Councilmember Connelly verified the vote by council was only for approval of the agreement and that final approval of the project is still pending. Bob Hager, 3 p08705 October 6, 2008 City Attorney, stated that once the agreement is signed all that is left is obtaining the required building permits and fees. Councilmember Connelly said the project didn't meet the Gateway Overlay District requirements and felt council should remain consistent in their decisions regarding projects located within the Gateway Overlay District and in their decisions regarding fees. Sandy stated the project did meet the Gateway Overlay District requirements. Councilmember Schrag asked for clarification regarding Section 3.5 in the agreement regarding the ad valorem taxes. Bob stated the exemption portion of the agreement will be accounted for at the appraisal district. Motion passed with the following vote: Ayes- Dillard, Harris, Marshall, Mikulec, Marks Nos- Connelly, Schrag 3.3 Receive presentation and discuss list of firms selected to provide engineering services for capital projects for the city (Scruggs) Gordon Scruggs, City Engineer, Stated the last time RFQs were submitted for engineering firms was in 2000 and staff felt it was time to re-qualify firms. A Selection Committee was established and RFQs were released. The Selection Committee reviewed the 60 RFQs that were submitted and selected ten qualified firms. Gordon said the firms would be used on a rotating basis. Councilmember Marshall asked if the firms were local or national. Gordon said most were local/regional but some national firms were also selected to provide for a broad spectrum of knowledge. Council directed staff to prepare a secondary list of authorized firms to use in case of scheduling conflicts and to allow for more flexibility. 3.5 Discuss and provide direction to staff regarding future board member appreciation banquets (Council) Mayor Dillard stated the board banquet is usually held in November each year. He said due to the busy holiday season, the city secretary has requested the banquet be held in either February or July. Mayor Dillard spoke in favor of holding the banquet in February. After some discussion between council members, the consensus was to hold the banquet in February. City Attorney Bob Hager advised the executive session did not need to convene. 4.0 EXECUTIVE SESSION 4.1 A. Council shall convene into a closed executive session pursuant to Section 551.071 of the TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE to consult with the city attorney regarding pending litigation between the City of Frisco, North Texas Municipal Water District and the City of The Colony. B. Council shall convene into a closed executive session pursuant to Section 551.071 of the TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE to consult with the city attorney regarding pending litigation between John McDonald and Cheryl McDonald and the City of The Colony. 4 October 6, 2008 400 t 4.2 A. Any action as a result of executive session regarding pending litigation between the City of Frisco, North Texas Municipal Water District and the City of The Colony. B. Any action as a result of executive session regarding pending litigation between John McDonald and Cheryl McDonald and the City of The Colony. And with no further business to discuss the meeting was adjourned at 8:31 p.m. APPROVED: a J n Dillard, Mayor ty of The Colony, Texas ATTEST: 4 A, ".4-1 4~ &ZI, Angie K y Deputy City Secretary 0 5