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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/02/2009 City Council 00~~14 July 2, 2009 Work Session MINUTES OF WORK SESSION OF COUNCIL HELD ON JULY 2, 2009 The Work Session of the City Council of the City of The Colony, Texas, was called to order at 7:08 p.m. on the 2nd day of July 2009, at City Hall, 6800 Main Street, The Colony, Texas, with the following roll call: Joe McCourry Mayor Present Allen Harris Councilmember Present Richard Boyer Councilmember Present Jeff Connelly Councilmember Present Kirk Mikulec Mayor Pro-Tem Present (arrived 7:45) Perry Schrag Councilmember Present Joel Marks Councilmember Present And with six council members present a quorum was established and the following items were addressed: 1. City council and city staff to meet and discuss future goals and objectives for the city, and determine council priorities for the next three years. Discussion may include but not be limited to: development, infrastructure and capital projects, public safety, beautification, finance and budget issues, and tax rate. The items for discussion will be those remaining from the previous session held June 17, 2009. Mayor McCourry stated that Councilmember Mikulec will be arriving late. Cultural Arts Board Mayor McCourry opened the floor to citizen Christi Martin who spoke in favor of allotting a percentage of the Hotel Occupancy Tax funds to the Cultural Arts Board to award as grants to applicants without prior council approval. City Manager Dale Cheatham advised the council that this is possible however the ordinance for this board will need to be changed. The council directed that the ordinance be changed to allow the board to award up to $10,000 (not to exceed 15% of HOT proceeds). In addition, the ordinance will be revised in the future to restrict spouses from serving on the same board. Public Services Building Public Works Director Steve Eubanks reviewed the phases of the proposed Public Services building, and the planned uses. In addition he asked for council direction on possibly expanding the paved area since prices are low at this time. The need for the Parks operation located in the Eastvale area to move to a more suitable location was addressed (possibly the existing Fleet area in the interim). An expansion of this building and/or plan for expansion of the facilities at Five Star Park followed. At the previous work session the council had directed that the city move forward on Phase 1 and IA 1 OUSS15 July 2, 2009 Work Session (firing range) of the Public Safety building. The cost of 1A was discussed again with respect to possibly using those funds to provide additional space for Parks at the Public Services building. After considerable discussion it was decided to keep the plan for the firing range, not to expand the Public Services building beyond the original plan (Phase 1 only), and not to expand the Parks maintenance building at Five Star unless the CDC desires to provide funding. Staff will prepare a comparison of the existing square footage of the Parks maintenance building and the current Fleet services space. Recess from 8:55 p.m. to 9:05 p.m. Substandard Structures and Sheds Mayor McCourry requested that the Code Enforcement Advisory Board study the issues and bring recommendations to the Council. Interim Planning Director Iris Browder advised the Council that the board has drafted a property maintenance ordinance (for rentals and owner occupied) and the city attorney's office is preparing the document. Dale advised the council that there are a considerable number of sheds that are placed improperly (some required no permit due to size). He asked whether staff should take enforcement action, however added that residents have the option of asking for exceptions from the Board of Adjustment. Staff was directed to begin addressing the structures located too close to the property lines, however property owners will be provided ample time to make corrections. Timin, of Agenda Packet Distribution Several council members expressed that they would like more time to review the agenda packets prior to council meetings. Dale noted that there is an issue with the timing of the Planning and Zoning meetings if council packets were distributed on Wednesdays, and offered three options. First, the P&Z items could be delayed until the following council meeting; second, the P&Z meetings could be on the next night following the council meetings rather than on alternate weeks; and third, change the city council meetings to Tuesdays which would allow an extra day for review. There was additional discussion regarding the possibility of holding pre-council work sessions to obtain answers to questions prior to the meetings. Council decided to move the city council meetings to the first and third Tuesdays beginning October 1, 2009 and to hold off on establishing pre-council meetings at this time. In order to change the council meeting day, the Agenda Procedures Resolution will need to be revised. Alternative Approach to Residential Streets City Engineer Gordon Scruggs offered an alternative to concrete for some residential street replacement. He explained the process and the certain conditions of the streets that would have to be met for using rubblized asphalt. Another alternative is to use asphalt overlays on low traffic streets. Council members were polled and all agreed to a conduct a preliminary study of Taylor Street to see if it meets the criteria for rubblized asphalt. Gordon estimated a savings of over $500,000 using this method rather than a full concrete replacement. 2 Utis July 2, 2009 Work Session And with no further business to discuss the meeting was adjourned at 10:17 p.m. APPROVED: J ,de McCo , Ma or City of The olony ATTEST: Christie Wilson, TRMC, CMC City Secretary IP t1 V~N~~Gj3 3