HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 10.12.2010 CC-RThe City Council of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met in Regular Session on the above date with Mayor
George Garver presiding.
Council Present:
Patty Eason, Gabe Sansing, Danny Meigs, Bill
Sattler, Pat Berryman, Dale Ross, Tommy
Gonzalez
Council Absent:
All Council Present
Staff Present:
Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager; Mark Sokolow, City Attorney; Jessica Brettle, City Secretary;
Elizabeth Cook, Community Development Director; Jim Briggs, Assistant City Manager; Micki Rundell,
Chief Financial Officer;
Regular Session = To begin no earlier than 06:08 PIVI
(Council may, at any time, recess the Regular Session to convene an Executive Session at the request of
the Mayor, a Councilmember, or the City Manager for any purpose authorized by the Open Meetings Act,
Texas Government Code Chapter 551.)
A Call to Order
Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:08 p.m.
Eason thanked the Council for this opportunity to express her appreciation to the Council and the many people
of the community who have shown so much kindness and concern during her efforts to return to good health.
She noted the support has helped her, immeasurably, to keep a positive attitude. She said everyone has her
sincerest thanks for their thoughts and prayers and, additionally, the flowers she received this afternoon from
the City Council. She said the meeting of September 28, 2010 was the first meeting she has ever missed out of
her eight years of service. She said, as a result, she never had the opportunity to appreciate on a personal level
the extraordinary kindness and support of the community. She said, as unpleasant as her medical condition has
been, these last few months have been more positive than she could have ever imagined. She added her
dedication to her responsibilities as a Council member continues. She noted she has stayed in touch with her
constituents, the City administration and the City staff. She said she has and will continue to remain involved in
addressing the many issues that concern the City of Georgetown. She said, because of her current medical
condition, it is probable that she will be missing a few more meetings. She assured the Mayor, the rest of
Council and her constituents that she is available and can be reached by phone, e-mail and regular mail. She
asked that everyone do not hesitate to contact her so that she may return the help that she has dedicated to
provide. She thanked the Council and the audience once more.
Pledge of Allegiance
Council member Gonzalez led the Council and audience in the pledge of allegience.
Comments from the Mayor
- Welcome and Meeting Procedures
- Presentation of Proclamation regarding Arts and Humanities Month
Mayor read the proclamation to the audience in honor of Arts and Humanities Month and presented it to Charles
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Page 1 of 12 Pages
Aguillon, Chair
of the Arts
and Culture Board.
Aguillon
spoke briefly about the Arts month and the many art
events that will
be held in
the community over
the next
couple of weeks.
- Presentation of Proclamation for Friends of the Library Week
Mayor read the proclamation to the audience in honor of the Friends of the Library Week and presented it to
Louise Byer of the Friends of the Library. Byer spoke about the Friends of the Library and the many things the
group has provided for both the library and the entire Georgetown community.
- Presentation of Proclamation regarding Pink Heals Day in Georgetown
Mayor read the proclamation to the audience in honor of Pink Heals Day and presented it to Wayne Brown of
the Firefighters Association. Brown spoke about the Pink Heals Tour and event to be held on October 15th.
Mayor presented a boy scout with a City badge and thanked him for attending the meeting. Mayor asked and
the scout said he is working on a few merit badges in order to obtain his Eagle Scout status. He spoke briefly
about what scouting means to him.
City Manager Comments
November 2, 2010 Election
Pink Heals Tour
Haunted Hayride
Flood Update
Action from Executive Session
Motion by Ross, second by Sansing to direct staff to bring back a representation agreement with Ercel
Brashear for a site for a public facility. Approved 7-0
Motion by Ross, second by Meigs to approve the settlement of the allegations of John West pertaining to the
claims of David Morgan with City funds of $70,000 being contributed to the settlement thereof and with the
remainder of the funds being provided by the TML Intergovernmental Risk Pool. Appropriate release will be
obtained at the time that the monies are paid. Approved 7-0
Motion by Ross, second by Gonzalez to authorize the firm of Lynn Pham and Ross to assist the City Attorney
in defending the City in the lawsuit of Kevin Stofle vs. City of Georgetown and to further authorize the City
Attorney to execute a fee agreement with said firm. Approved 7-0
I NaTIM• • r• •
On a subject that is posted on this agenda: Please fill out a speaker registration form which can be found on the
table at the entrance to the Council Chamber. Clearly print your name and the letter of the item on which you wish to
speak and present it to the City Secretary on the dais, preferably prior to the start of the meeting. You will be called
forward to speak when the Council considers that item.
On a subject not posted on the agenda: Persons may add an item to a future City Council agenda by contacting the
City Secretary no later than noon on the Wednesday prior to the Tuesday meeting, with the subject matter of the
topic they would like to address and their name. The City Secretary can be reached at 512/930-3651.
B - Jeff Ekrut of Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) regarding update of PEC activities in Georgetown area
Ekrut said he is bringing a check to the City for their franchise tax. He gave an update on the various PEC
projects and activities in Georgetown.
- Judy Ommen of Georgetown Artworks regarding a grant received from the City's Arts and Culture Board
Ommen shared the Artworks report that was given to the City Council prior to the meeting. She described
Georgetown Artworks and their charge in the community. She said it is their goal to foster arts initiatives in the
City. She said the grant from the Arts and Culture Board was used toward their largest event, Art Hop. She
spoke about the Art Hop event and the educational benefits it brings to the community. She spoke about First
Friday in Georgetown and the many visitors the community receives at that event. She said they need more
money for advertising to outside visitors. She added they also need to administer a survey to the community to
assess needs and wants. She thanked the Council for their time.
- Scott Cunningham regarding electrical and plumbing problems in his home
Cunningham said he owns property at 307 Woodstone. He said he is here to talk about a problem he is having
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Page 2 of 12 Pages
with the City utility department and an outside contractor. He said, on September 23, H&B Construction
replaced the power poles in his neighborhood. He said, when they replaced service in his neighborhood, they
reversed two of the wires. He added the ground in his house is tied to the plumbing system. He said, when the
wiring was reversed, it burned up most of his appliances, the water heater, air conditioner and he added he has
contacted H&B and the City and added he has not gotten any cooperation from anyone. He said they moved
out of the house in July. He said there is 10 years of equity built into the house. He said his family feels that no
one is willing to help him. He said his is emotional because it is everything everyone he and his wife have
worked for over ten years. He said he is asking for help. He said Meigs contacted him and had a first hand look
at the damage. He left a picture of the damage for the Council.
Mayor asked and Brandenburg said they are in the process of trying to get things done for Cunningham. He said
there is an urgency to find out who is responsible but added the City is trying to work on it as quickly as
possible. He added, as of last week, the contractor said that there might be other responsibility for the damage
by either the City or the homeowner. He noted the Council is aware of the situation as they are being copied on
all correspondence with this issue. Mayor asked and Brandenburg said Paul Elkins is the main staff contact.
Statutory Consent Agenda
The Statutory Consent Agenda includes non -controversial and routine items that Council may act on with
one single vote. A councilmember may pull any item from the Consent Agenda in order that the council
discuss and act upon it individually as part of the Regular Agenda.
C Consideration and possible action to approve the minutes of the Workshop and Regular Council Meeting held
on Tuesday, September 28, 2010 -- Jessica Brettle, City Secretary
Sattler said, in the Legislative Agenda, Item P, the draft minutes stated that he made a motion and then
Berryman made a friendly amendment to the motion. He added, the minutes state that Sattler accepted that
friendly amendment, but he did not accept it. He said he wants to make sure the minutes state that he did not
accept the friendly amendment from Berryman.
D Consideration and possible action to authorize Paul Brandenburg, Georgetown City Manager, to sign a
contract permitting the Georgetown Public Library to receive direct financial aid in the amount of $14,478
from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission -- Eric Lashley, Library Director; Randy Morrow,
Director of Community Services
E Consideration and possible action to approve a letter of engagement with McCall, Parkhurst & Horton, LLP
to serve as the City's official bond counsel -- Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer
F Consideration and possible action to approve the bylaws for the General Government and Finance Advisory
Subcommittee -- Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer
G Consideration and possible action to appoint new members to the City's Youth Advisory Board -- Mayor
George Garver
H Consideration
and possible action to approve the
annual appropriation to
EST Group (EST) in the amount of
$40,000 for IT
hardware/software maintenance
expense -- Mike Peters,
Information Technology Director and
Micki
Rundell,
Chief
Financial
Officer
Gonzalez referred to items H -L as well as the corresponding items on the Regular Agenda and added he would
like a little more detail about what Council is spending their money on. Peters said they are trying to streamline
the payment of routine and ongoing expenses by introducing them to Council together at the beginning of each
fiscal year. He noted this represents some of the larger expenses that go on over the course of the entire year.
He said these are not necessarily due immediately, but they are trying to set up appropriations for the year. He
said he would be happy to explain each of the items as Council wishes. Gonzalez asked and Peters said these
are items where these are recurring payments that go on every year.
Brandenburg siad, in past years, these items came to Council over several months. He explained why some
items were on the consent agenda and others were on the regular. Gonzalez asked staff, for the future, to
please put a little more detail in the item headings. He asked that there be more clarity. Peters said Council
and the public can find more information in the item summary of each item.
Consideration and possible action to approve the
annual appropriation to
Flair
Data Systems (Flair) in the
amount of $27,861.00 for IT hardware/software
maintenance expense --
Mike
Peters, Information
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Technology Director and Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer
J Consideration and possible action to approve the appropriation to CDW-Georgetown (CDW-G) in the amount
of $30,000.00 for routine IT hardware/software product purchases -- Mike Peters, Information Technology
Director and Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer
K Consideration and possible action to approve the appropriation to Dell Computer Corporation (Dell) in the
amount of $30,000.00 for routine IT hardware/software product purchases -- Mike Peters, Information
Technology Director and Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer
L Consideration and possible action to approve the appropriation to Southern Computer Warehouse (SCW) in
the amount of $30,000 for routine IT hardware/software product purchases -- Mike Peters, Information
Technology Director and Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer
Motion by Sansing, second by Berryman to approve the consent with the corrections to the minutes and
questions to Items H -L. Approved 7-0
'• III' LO:L •
Council will individually consider and possibly take action on any or all of the following items:
M Consideration and possible action to approve an Ordinance authorizing the issuance of 2010A General
Obligation bonds -- Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer
Rundell described the item and read the caption of the Ordinance on the first and only reading. She said this is
the culmination of the sale of bonds that were approved in November of 2008. She said Garry Kimball and
Richard Donahue are at the meeting to answer any questions Council may have. She said the tax implications
for this is included in the agenda packet. Garry Kimball with Specialized Public Finance came to the podium.
He spoke about the bond offering that occurred earlier that day and said the reception to that offering was very
strong. He referred the Council to a document given to them showing a graph of tax exempt interest rates. He
said rates have been higher than they are now over 99% of the time. He said the City is not at the absolute
bottom of the rate schedule, but it is pretty close. He said the City received 14 bids representing 20 different
firms across the country. He said it was an outstanding reception and noted he has never seen 14 bids on a
competitive sale. He noted the City received a 20 year fixed rate of 3.1 %, which is the lowest he's ever seen.
He said they predicted a 3.50% interest rate in the budget and this new rate will save the City quite a lot of
money. He said the City's bond rating comes into play when it is related to the interest rate. He stressed the
importance of maintaining your bond rating. He continued to describe the documents given to the Council. He
concluded and said is pleased with the result and will be happy to answer questions from Council.
Motion by Ross, second by Sattler to approve the Ordinance on first and only reading. Approved 7-0
P Consideration and possible action to authorize library staff to purchase books from Ingram, Inc. and
electronic media from Midwest Tape in a total amount not to exceed $130,000 for fiscal year 2010-11 -- Eric
Lashley, Library Director and Randy Morrow, Director of Community Services
Lashley described the item and said this is to purchase the majority of the books for the public library. He said,
in central Texas, there are two wholesalers for books and he described why the City chose Ingram, Inc. He said
they receive several discounts as well as free shipping. He also spoke about the discounts the City received
from Midwest Tape for DVDs and CDs.
Motion by Sattler, second by Eason to approve the purchase. Approved 6-0 (Ross off the dais)
N Discussion and possible action to approve a Resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute a Cooperation
Agreement between the City of Georgetown, Texas and the Texas Housing Foundation -- Paul E.
Brandenburg, City Manager
Brandenburg said this would set into motion the ability for the Georgetown housing authority to look toward the
sale of their existing 12 acres off of Northwest Blvd. toward the Texas Housing Foundation. He said the
Foundation would then use that land for affordable housing. He said this was outlined previously in the
Workshop and and representatives of both the Housing Authority and the Texas Housing Foundation are
present to answer any further questions from Council.
Speaker, Peter Dana, said he is here to read a statement by Sherry Dana. He said, prior to the Sierra Ridge
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fiasco, a consultant hired by the city found that more than 25% of residents were paying more than 30% of their
gross income on housing. He said the study found that many laborers could not afford to rent a one bedroom
apartment in Georgetown and there was a one to two year wait for public housing in the area. He said,
according to the Resolution up for adoption, there continues to be a shortage of affordable housing in
Georgetown. He noted, in the past, the opponents of affordable housing in the City said that bringing single
family homes and affordable homes into Georgetown would jeopardize the city's affluent image. He said he has
never heard of a business moving to a town because it is an affluent community. He asked that Council support
Georgetown by voting in favor of this resolution.
Speaker, Kim Moran, said she recently sent the City Council an e-mail in support of affordable housing. She
said she supports the idea of a single parent to be able to own a home in Georgetown. She said this is a win
win situation for the City. She noted it is important that, if anyone wants to live in Georgetown, they should be
able to do so. She said Georgetown should be a community that can reach out to anyone who would like to live
here and not just the affluent community. She urged the Council's support of this proposal.
Speaker, David Wolf, said he is an adjoining property owner to the property owned by the Housing Authority and
noted he has multiple concerns about the housing project. He said he has a couple of questions about the
location, being that is on 1-35 and attractiveness.. He noted the property is currently zoned as commercial. He
said the main concern on the property is drainage and add it does not drain currently. He said he obtained the
construction plans for the drainage easement from Steger and Bizzeil. He said their proposal is to go through
his property with the drainage improvements and added it would cut off an acre of his property. He noted he has
expressed interest in purchasing the property and he showed Council a letter of intent he sent to the Housing
Authority. He also showed the Council the response he received from the Authority. He said he has had several
communications with the Authority about the process of selling the property and never received a response. He
noted he would like to ask that they postpone the initiative so he can have the chance to try to find funding in
order to purchase the property himself. He said he would utilize it for more appropriate means for the location.
Mayor said there was some discussion that would allow the authority to accommodate investors such as Mr.
Wolf in the event they would like to purchase that property. He added he is not sure if this idea was set in
stone, but said it was something that had been brought up.
Speaker, Harry Weisner, said he has lived in Georgetown for more than 13 years. He described how he has
been involved in the City and the community. He said during his activities, he has visited with many residents
who have commented on the need for affordable housing in Georgetown. He said this includes conversations
with firemen, policemen, older residents, young families, city staff and county employees. He said the need for
affordable housing in Georgetown is real and he urged the Council to approve the resolution.
Speaker, Porter Cochran, said she would like to encourage the Council to support an agreement with the Texas
Housing Foundation. She noted the City is growing and we look to the growing population and its needs. She
said affordable housing will accommodate the City's police, nurses, and other workers in the comments. She
said these residents will have an income of $40,000-$59,000 and added this is not low-income, subsidized
housing. She said these residents will be the backbone of a local workforce. She said they will contribute their
tax dollars to the City. She said the City needs this type of development in order to be a viable and well rounded
city for people to call home. She noted this project will not cost the City anything and added she calls on the
City Council to vote yes on this resolution.
Motion by Meigs, second by Sansing to approve the Resolution.
Sattler said he was impressed with Mark Mayfield's presentation about the Texas Housing Foundation. He
addressed the Resolution and said it makes many good points. He added he would like to bring up a couple of
points of his own. He said the City of Geogetown has nothing but approval power in this matter and it does not
have a financial obligation in this situation. Mayfield agreed. Sattler said and Mayfield agreed that, if the project
goes ahead, the Texas Housing Foundation would take over the project completely and the Georgetown
Housing Authority would have no obligation in the project. Sattler said this is different from the original planned
development in that location. He referred to Section 5 of the Resolution and said his concern with that section is,
as soon as anyone from the City has anything to do with the project as far as making things happen once the
Cooperation Agreement is approve, then the City is taking responsibility for the project. He said, if a
Cooperation Agreement is made, then it is the responsibility of the Texas Housing Foundation to do all the
research and prepare any necessary research and presentations for the project. Mayfield agreed and said that
would be the complete obligation of the Foundation. Sattler clarified that the City and the Housing Authority
would have no obligation to the project once the Agreement is made and once the project was built and
completed. Mayfield agreed. Sattler referred to the Cooperation Agreement and said the only thing he would
like to see is the addition of an acknowledgement that no revenue from the City will be needed for the project.
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He said he would also like to see that there is no need for Section 7 regarding the implementation and the
Mayor and President of the Texas Housing Foundation being able to take the same actions for this project He
said as soon as the City starts directing something, they take on responsibility for it. He said he would like for
Section 7 to be removed. He added he would also like to see the addition of some type of sunset date that
would say, if the Foundation can not obtain financing by that date such as July 31, 2011 or anytime after, than
the agreement is null and void. Mayfield said he would ask that the sunset date be extended until at least
September 30, 2011. Sattler agreed with that. Berryman said, by September 30, the Housing Authority would be
out of money for the project so it would be a dead deal anyway. Mayfield said the reason he picked September
30 is that, if the Foundation is awarded tax credits at the end of the July, the deal would not be closed by the
end of July. He said it takes time for that to happen, but the deal for the land itself can be consummated by
September 30. Sansing said the issue that he has is the the Authority's loans are due at the time and it won't
give them enough time to pay their loans. Mayfield said, however, if they get to that point there is nothing to
worry about. Sattler said these are just suggestions he is making to his colleagues and he wants to make sure
the City is void of any obligation or responsibility and that people understand, when the Texas Housing
Foundation takes over, the City and the Authority are no longer involved. He added, if someone comes up with
a valid deal to buy the property, that that be considered as well.
Sansing made a friendly amendment that if an offer is made to the land, the Authority should consider it and
that the engineering and drainage plans made to the property also incorporate and benefit the adjacent property
as well. Meigs accepted the amendment as friendly. He said what worries him is that Mayfield will know by
July 31 st whether or not they will receive tax credits for the project, but the Housing Authority still needs time to
pay off their loans. He asked if the tax credits fall through, then the whole project fails. Mayfield said they will
do whatever is neccessary to consummate the development. Sansing said he wants to make sure the Housing
Authority has their issues covered as well. Mayfield said he has no problem with having a sunset date.
Gonzalez said all of those points are valid and added, the Housing Authority needs to aggressively pursue sale
because the project in front of Council today is by no means certain. He said, the Authority should not wait until
July 31 st to put the property on the market in case the Foundation's plan does not pan out. Mayor said he
would like to suggest that the Housing Authority is an independent body and there is no reason for Council to try
and dictate what guidelines they should have. He said this document tells a potential developer that, if they
carry out their objective, the City is willing to accept it. He said there is no costs or bells and whistles. He noted
any action between the Housing Authority and the Texas Housing Foundation is their business and their
business only, and there is no detriment to the Council to let this issue run for however long it needs.
Mayor said the Council is making this far more complex than necessary. He said the difficult part is for the
Housing Authority and the Texas Foundation to iron out details between one another. Mayfield added the state
requirement says that the Housing Authority has to pass this agreement as well, which was done earlier a few
weeks back. Mayfield said he said, if Council wants to strike language from the cooperation agreement, it is
their prerogative. Berryman said she grew up in affordable housing and added she came from the background
Council is talking about. She said she is not against affordable housing. She added this is not an issue of buying
a home, but this is an issue of building another apartment complex which has very stringent requirements for
people to live there. She said, among the requirements to live there, you must be making between $25,850 to
$35,000 a year. She noted most of the City's policemen, firefighters and teachers make too much money to live
in one of these places. She added, at this point, Georgetown has 20% more of these type of developments than
other cities of the same size. She noted she questions of the sincerity of the dialogue that occurred earlier
today. She said, at the Workshop, members of the Housing Authority came up to her and said they had not had
an offer on the land. She noted, yet, Mr. Wolf just said he send the Authority an offer. Gavurnik clarified and
said the Authority has not yet received a valid offer. He said the offer they had was to take over the loan which
would have left the Housing Authority with major debt and bills to pay. Berryman asked and Gavurnik said Wolfs
offer was not a valid offer. Berryman said she realizes there is a huge issue regarding flooding on this property.
She said she had some folks who own storage units in the area come to her because all of those units were
underwater after the flood. She said the Holiday Inn was built in the corner and added there is no mitigation for
water drainage around that development. Gavurnik said he knows about the flooding problem in the are first
hand. He added he had he met with Steger and Bizzell yesterday and saw the plans for the development. He
said the City is working with Steger and Bizzell to solve much of the property's drainage problems. Berryman
said that is a costly pian. Gavurnik noted it has to been done anyhow. Berryman said the Authority will have to
work with the Wolf property to solve those problems yet, when Mr. Wolf tried to contact the Authority, he
received no response. Gavurnik said he said that was a previous board, and not the current board, who never
responded. Berryman said another concern is that the City is leaving no leeway and, if this project gets going,
she would like an assurance that the City has no financial responsibility. She added this plan is the most
expensive housing development of this nature in the state of Texas and asked if the Foundation plans to
maintain that standard. She said this development will be built on the City's gateway, which will be home to
many other developments in that area. Mayor said all of these questions are valid, but none can be answered
until plans are submitted for review by the City. He said the question before Council tonight is whether or not to
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allow this concept to move forward, with no obligation to the City. Berryman said her last concern is about the
money. She said she voted in favor of Sierra Ridge last time around and she objected with the Housing
Authority came back to Council with a request for funds. She noted there is nothing in this Resolution that
prevent the Foundation from coming back to Council and asking for money in the future. Mayfield said that
would not happen. Berryman said she would like for that to be in the Resolution. Mayfield said that can be
placed in both the Resolution and the Agreement. He said they have worked with eight different municipal
governments and have never asked for funding. Ross said he is in favor of the resolution, but not as it is
written. He said Councilmember Sattler had some key tweaks. He said he is supportive of this resolution
because the Georgetown Housing Authority is also in favor of the resolution. He said he does not think it is
Council's job to be engineering the Housing Authority's decisions. He said he will be prepared to vote on this
next week if we can incorporate some of these minor suggestions. He said his focus is on allowing the Housing
Authority to get out from underneath this debt.
Sattler made second friendly amendment that Section 7 be deleted from the Cooperation Agreement. Meigs
asked and Mayfield said he would have to yield to counsel to see if it is legal for Section 7 to be removed in
order to stay in compliance with State law. Sattler said he just doesn't want it to seem as if the City is taking on
any authority or responsibility in this situation. Gonzalez asked and Mayfield said there has been no agreement
made for any dollar amount yet. Mayfield he needs to spend more time here in Georgetown and, in order to do
so, the cooperation agreement needs to be approved. Eason said this is costing the Housing Authority $6,600 a
month for every month that this is being stalled. Meigs did not accept Sattler's amendment. Sattler said he
can not support anything that asked the Mayor of the City to become involved in this project. Mayfield said the
intent of that would be to allow the Mayor to sign the resolution and agreement. Sattler said that is not how it is
read and added this section is very subjective. Mayor asked and Sattler reviewed his request for changes.
Brettle reviewed the original motion with the friendly amendment. Mayor asked and Meigs said Sansing's
friendly amendment could be taken as wishes that are being expressed by the Council to the Texas Housing
Foundation. There was discussion on the process for voting of the current motions on the table. Ross asked that
Meigs withdraw his motion in order to see the updated Resolution and Cooperative Agreement with the
proposed changes made tonight. Meigs said he does not understand why Council needs to wait two weeks
when this can be done with an amendment tonight. Meigs said all Council needs to do is approve the
Resolution as it is written and noted Section 8 of the agreement allows the Council to change or amend the
agreement at any time in the future. Berryman said this document is very subjective, open-ended and without
definition. She noted Council has to give definition to this because, otherwise, the City will find itself being asked
for money and with a drainage issue. She said the City would not have any voice at that point. She added this
has been her experience in the past.
Motion by Sattler to accept the agreement in addition to Sansing's friendly amendment and to also take out
Section 7 of the Cooperative Agreement as well as the same section from the Resolution as well as to add a
section that states there will be no monetary commitment to the City. Motion died for lack of second.
Mayor asked that Council go back and vote on Meigs' original motion with Sansing's amendments and then
Council can go back and vote on the Sattler's motion and then a final motion to approve the Resolution with all
changes. He said the new version of the Resolution would then be brought back for study at the next meeting.
Vote on the original motion as friendly amended: Approved 4-3 (Berryman, Ross, Sattler opposed)
Motion by Sattler, second by Sansing by to remove Section 5 of the Resolution and Section 7 of the
Cooperative Agreement and to add a section that states there will be no monetary commitment from the City.
Eason said she does not understand the legal ramifications of doing this and added she will not support it. Vote
on the second motion: Approved 5-2 (Meigs, Eason opposed)
Mayor said the last motion to be brought to the floor could be that this amended document be brought back to
Council in a draft form for further discussion at the next meeting. Sansing said the way he sees it is, once this is
voted on, it is done. He added it doesn't mean this can't come back to Council for further study.
Motion by Sansing, second by Sattler to approve the original motion as amended with both additional changes
made by Sattler.
Sokolow clarified and Mayor agreed the motion on the floor is to prepare the documents with the proposed
changes and to bring them back at the next meeting in order to approve the clean version. Vote on the third
motion: Approved 7-0
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Gavurnik asked and Mayor said he will be sent the new version of the documents as soon as legal can prepare
them. Sansing questioned why Council has to vote on this again when they have just voted on the Resolution
already. He seems a little redundant and asked how Council can vote on something twice. Mayor said it seems
that Council is telling the Authority and the Foundation that there will be a document from Council endorsing the
project and that is really what they were looking for tonight.
O Discussion and possible action regarding a the request to close Austin Avenue between 7th Street and 8th
Street each weekend from October 1, 2010 through January 2, 2011 -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager
Mayor reviewed the item and said, this past week, there was a pilot of the endeavor to close Austin Avenue
between 7th and 8th Streets. He said, this past Sunday, Austin Avenue was only closed for a few hours. He
said the question is what is in store for the future. He said this idea came from a group of interested people who
care about the City but are not from any organized group and he added he is uncomfortable because there are
two other existing organizations that make these type of decisions as well. He said it would be nice for all
groups to work together as a cohesive movement. Mayor added he has received more calls on this issue than
any others. He said there is work and conversations underway but added there is nothing that the City Manager
had for discussion this evening.
Speaker, Chris Damon, said he is the owner of the Masonic Lodge property next door and added, over the
years, he feels like he has been watching geologic time progress around him. He said he has seen a lot of right
hearted concepts appear to address the issue of the problems with downtown Georgetown. He said they all
recognize that there is something not quite right and added everyone wants to right-heartedly address the issue.
Seeing initiatives come and ago and seeing issues come and go, he said he applauds any effort to move
forward with downtown. He said he can spend a lot of time discussing whether this is a good or bad idea, but
noted it is an amazing initiative. He said he loves that people are taking the initiative to solve what has been a
long standing and unresolved problem downtown. He said the City has an enormous asset with its downtown
that continues to under perform. He noted it is painful for those people who have invested on downtown to see
it struggle when they know of its potential. He spoke about the road closure this past Sunday and how there
was a vitality and a renewed energy in the area. He said he is speechless on how quickly it came together and
he wishes that everyone can agree to do something consistently and on an ongoing basis that can bring that
much energy to the square.
Speaker, Rusty Winkstern, said he owns the Monument Cafe. He said he had a normal weekend this past
weekend and the road closure did not have any good or bad effect on their business. He said, prior to moving
from their old location, Red Poppy Festival Weekend was their best weekend ever. He said, now that they
moved to the square, it is no longer one of their top weekends because it is difficult for their guests to navigate
road closures. He said he believes there are signature events each year and his concern is, if they have an
event every weekend, they won't be considered signature anymore and will become uneventful. He said there
needs to be additional development in order to spur growth downtown. He said, if the City focused its energy
and resources on bringing more quality businesses downtown, the area will be more successful. He noted, if
the City decides to close a street, he hopes Council will consider a different street that does not parallel 1-35.
Speaker, Larry Epp, said not many people in the community knows that he was the first person to bring a winery
to Georgetown. He said he has been visiting the community for over two and a half years and comes with
passion and energy. With a Powerpoint Presentation, he showed Council the success of the past weekend. He
said they closed down Austin Avenue between 7th and 8th Streets between the hours of 1:00 PM. and 5:00 PM.
on Sunday afternoon. He showed Council a picture looking from 7th street to Austin Avenue at around 1:30 in
the afternoon that demonstrated how busy it was in the area. He described the group's initiatives. He showed
Council another picture looking toward the Courthouse. He summarized what they heard regarding the event.
He noted they were told to improve communication with the other downtown businesses. He said they had
people who were both for and against the initiative. Epp said they decided to reduce the scope of the first
weekend to only Sunday because of other events. He said they were also invited to participate in a Google
Calendar event that was pulled together by Micki Ross and others in the community. He said this is the first
time there has been a calendar set up that consolidated the events from all of the different businesses and
organizations in the City. Epp said, when they got done with the event, they went around and asked venues on
the square about how business went. He continued to speak about the event that was held on Sunday. He
described some of the quotes they obtained from merchants on the square after the event. He said their
request is to hold two events: one in November and one in December. He said he would like those to be
signature events and of high quality. He said they pledged to work with the City and all businesses on these
events. He said they will choose a weekend day so they do not conflict with other events. He said their original
request would be to reduced to once a month for the next three months.
Speaker, Megan Demartino, said she would like to add that ,on Sunday, they prepared a sign up sheet and
City Council Meeting Minutes/
Page 8 of 12 Pages
noted she walked around the square and spoke to 200 people. She said 75% of those folks had never been to
Georgetown before. She said there was an overwhelming atmosphere and added it was joyful and fun. She
said they gathered information from people so they can notify them of future events.
Speaker, Eric Vissier, thanked Council for taking a chance with them and trying this endeavor. He said the City
needs to lift this veil of indefinite commitment to this outcome. He said this is an experiment. He said, earlier in
the meeting, the lady who was promoting the arts said she wanted more people downtown. He added Winkstern
said that they need to get better business downtown. He said the point is there is a critical dialogue going on
about economic feasibility of the downtown area. He said this is intended to trigger a process. He noted
everyone wants the City's many assets to be promoted correctly. He said, if they can bring foot traffic
downtown, then the attractive businesses will come. He announced that they have formed an organization
called the Georgetown Overlay Alliance. He said the organization will liaison with Council and staff and with
other organizations.
Speaker, John Marler, said he has a large commitment to the City. He described the many ways he is involved
in the community. He said the point of the initiative has always been to not to be adversarial to anyone. He said
he fell in love with downtown and the City and added he thinks the City has unrealized potential. He said the
initiative of his group is to get downtown moving so that the community can start steering it. He continued to
speak about the desire of their panel and added all of them are committed.
Mayor clarified and the group agreed they are looking for one weekend in November and one weekend in
December for the street closure.
Eason said, as somebody who has been involved in downtown initiatives for 28 years, she is all for people
getting involved. She said one thing people get confused about is the fact that they have the power to change
things. She said this is not something the City Council can do. She said this issue is all about individuals and
she suggested that the group get together with a wider scope of people. She said she would hope they could
look at some of their vacant locations around the square instead of just closing Austin Avenue. She also spoke
about the use of the vacant lots around downtown as venues for activity. She said she would hope to hear
some creative ideas other than the "close Austin Avenue" idea. She said there are a lot of problems around that
one issue. She said she is in favor of people being excited and getting together and added she hopes people
will be open to working with people who live here and have other businesses in the area. She noted any change
needs to be as beneficial as possible to everyone.
Speaker, Micki Ross, Director of the Williamson Museum, said she would like to address the Google calendar
which is something she has put together through the Williamson Museum. She noted it has been in the works
for about six months. She said there has been a concern among the non -profits in the community that there is
not a common calendar for people to refer to for local events. She added she decided it may be a good idea to
add other people and organizations to the Museum calendar. She said she is happy to share the calendar with
other people and it is something the non -profits have been working on for a long time. She said no one who is a
stronger proponent of downtown and what's going on downtown than her. She said she spends six days a week
on promoting downtown. She said, during her City sponsored event, the City did not help take down barricades
or pay for port -a -potties. She added she questions why some initiatives get money from the City and others do
not. She noted they were not contacted and added there are business owners that still have not been contacted
about this Austin Avenue closure initiative. She thinks Council needs to be aware of all of the information so that
it benefits everyone downtown.
Sattler said he is totally in support of what they are doing. He added he is looking forward to the November and
December events. Ross said he thinks last weekend was a great weekend but added if you are having a true
event, you can't put it together in 10 days. He said there needs to be a little more structure. He noted planning
and more effective communication can go a long way. He said he would encourage the group to communicate
well with the City Manager in terms of giving him information. He said he thinks of these weekends as
mini -business plans. He said he agrees that Austin Avenue does not have to be shut down, but added he
hopes downtown will continue to thrive and improve. Gonzalez said he thinks it's positive to have activity and
events downtown but added the City and the groups putting this together should be consistent with the funds
being given to one group and not the other. He said it is unfair for one group and not the other to receive that
benefit. He said it could be considered to not just close down Austin Avenue but maybe another street
downtown. Berryman said she made the motion to do this and is glad she did because she went by on Sunday
and there were a lot of folks. She added she likes their enthusiasm. She said it is fun to see the excitement and
enthusiasm from everyone. She said she knows there are a lot of folks to connect with and it is overwhelming.
She added she likes the idea of being creative downtown. Sansing said he didn't support this last time and
won't support it again. He said he is all for downtown and he will continue to be that way. He said, however, he
is not in favor of supporting businesses at tax payers' expense and added it costs money to close the streets.
City Council Meeting Minutest
Page 9 of 12 Pages
He said, if he were to support it, there would need to be a general fund line item that would support several
events around the community. He said he also likes the idea of moving the street closures to other streets. He
said he would be more inclined to agree with a quarterly event so they do not lose their "specialness." He said
owners have to take responsibility for their businesses and do what is necessary to make them successful.
Sansing added there were some comments in the survey that were not all warm and fuzzy. Meigs
congratulated the group on the good event and encouraged them to continue the communication with the City,
other downtown business as well as groups who have downtown as their primary focus.
Mayor
requested
that
this
section of the minutes made available to staff. Ross asked and Marler confirmed that
they
are working
City is projected
to
with
Approved
the
(Berryman off
City
staff
on
their
future
wishes
as well.
No motion was made by the Council.
Q Forwarded from the Georgetown Utility System (GUS) Advisory Board:
Consideration and possible action to amend the contract with the CI -12M FALL OMI (OM1) for the
management, operation, and maintenance of the City's water treatment plants for the period starting
October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011 with an operating budget of $1,584,324.00 -- David Thomison,
Water Services Manager and Glenn W. Dishong, Utility Director
Thomison described the item as well as the past contract made with OMI. He said the terms of the contract
require an annual amendment to adjust the total fee. He spoke about the annual cost of service and how that
amount is calculated. He said the total change in the fee from last year to this year is an increase of 4.47%. He
said this was unanimously recommended by the GUS Board and added staff recommends that they approve
amendment three of the contract.
Motion by Sattler, second by Sansing to approve the amendments.
Sansing asked and
Thomison confirmed
the increase
is 4.7%
and said
it is
based on the amount of water the
City is projected
to
treat for the next year.
Approved
6-0
(Berryman off
the
dais)
R Forwarded from the Georgetown Utility System (GUS) Advisory Board:
Consideration and possible action to amend the contract with the Brazos River Authority (BRA) for the
management, operation, and maintenance of the City's wastewater treatment plants for the period starting
October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011 with an operating budget of $1,550,485.00 -- David Thomison,
Water Services Manager and Glenn W. Dishong, Utility Director
Thomison said, just like the contract with OMI, the terms of the contract provide for an annual amendment. He
explained how the annual cost of service is calculated. He said the total fee increase for this year will be 1.85%
and the GUS Board approved it unanimously. He said the staff recommends the approval of the amendment.
Motion by Sansing, second by Berryman to approve the amendment. Approved 7-0
S Consideration and possible action regarding a resolution setting public hearing dates for the annexation into
the city limits of twenty tracts of land totaling 5,495.81 acres, more or less, out of the Thompson, Powell and
Evans Surveys, designated as 2010 Area SW1; and two tracts of land totaling 450.71 acres, more or less, out
of the Thompson and Donagan Surveys, designated as 2010 Area 2, both areas being located in the
southwest quadrant of the City's ETJ adjacent to Leander Road and IFI 35 -- Jordan J. Maddox, AICP,
Interim Principal Planner and Elizabeth A. Cook, Community Development Director
Maddox described the item and said this will set the public hearing dates for the involuntary annexation. He said
staff was instructed by Council to initiate annexation of these areas. He said the Ordinances will be brought to
Council in December.
Motion by Sansing, second by Berryman to approve the Resolution. Approved 6-0 (Gonzalez off the dais)
Ross asked and Maddox said this is just to set the public hearing date.
T Consideration and possible action to approve the amended Emergency Services Contract between the City
and Williamson County Emergency Services District (ESD) #8 for fiscal year 2010/11 -- Robert Fite, Fire
Chief and Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer
Rundell described the item. She said staff has worked closely with the district and added this was a long,
City Council Meeting Minutes/
Pagel 0 of 12 Pages
tedious process.
She noted
this has been recommended
by the General Government and Finance
Subcommittee.
Motion by
Sattler, second by Sansing to
approve the contract. Approved 7-0
U Consideration and possible action to approve the selection of BRW Architects to provide programming
services and develop options for the design and construction of Fire Station 5 -- Terry Jones, Support
Services Construction Manager and Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer
Jones spoke about the selection committee and the process that occurred for the selection of the architects for
the fire station. He said two firms were interviewed for the job and noted the selection committee unanimously
recommends that council approve BRW Architects of College Station, Texas. He said, after the construction
method is selected, additional architectural services may be contracted as needed. He said this selection was
made using the process recommended by council in 2009.
Motion by Ross, second by Gonzalez to approve the selection.
Berryman asked and Jones said this will allow for the council to see the design build options for the project.
Berryman said, as they are trying to encourage hiring contractors that are more local, she asked why was the
college station firm chosen. Sansing, as a GUS Board member, said BRW's presentation was head and
shoulders above all others. He added they do have a satellite office in Round Rock. Vote on the motion:
Approved 7-0
V Consideration and possible action to approve the purchase of a security access system for City facilities
from Convergint Technologies through the TCPN state purchasing contract in the amount of $367,741.96 --
Terry Jones, Support Services Construction Manager and Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer
Jones described the item and said the new security system will allow the City to consolidate the buildings,
security gates and security camera systems. He described how much money was approved in last year's
budget for these items. He said they are recommending the purchase of the new system. Motion by Ross,
second by Sattler to approve the purchase. Approved 6-0 (Eason off the dais)
W Consideration and possible action to approve a Resolution expressing official intent to reimburse net costs
for the purchase of the 2010/11 General Capital Projects in amount not to exceed $5,500,000 with proceeds
from bonds that will be issued at a later time -- Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer
Rundell said this is a standard item that is done each year that will
allow the City to advance
fund projects for
which they intend to issue bonds for
at a later date. She noted the
plan is that they will issue the bonds in May
and will only issue how much money
they actually need. She said
it was intended that there
will be $5.5 million
worth of projects in the budget. She
read the caption of the Resolution and added this does
not require the City
to
issue any
bonds.
She
said
this
is
not
the
bond
issue
itself.
Motion by Ross, second by Gonzalez to approve the Resolution. Approved 6-0 (Eason off the dais)
X Consideration and possible action to approve an annual appropriation to Software House, Inc., (SHI) in the
amount of $66,740.00 for IT hardwarelsoftware maintenance expense -- Mike Peters, Information
Technology Director and Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer
Peters said this is one of several items that are listed that deal with annual maintenance costs that deal with
several parts of the City's computer systems. He said the City will be more descriptive with these items in the
future. He said all of these items are within the previously approved budget. He said Software House will cover
maintenance on VMWare software and Brocade data networking commitment as well as the Lotus Notes e-mail
system.
Motion by Gonzalez, second by Ross to approve the appropriation. Approved 7-0
Y Consideration and possible action to approve the annual appropriation for Internetwork Experts, Inc. (INX) in
the amount of $88,240.00 for IT hardware/software maintenance expense -- Mike Peters, Information
Technology Director
Peters said this is primarily for the maintenance contract for Cisco network equipment, the phone recordings in
the call center as well as the City's fax server.
Motion by Sansing, second by Berryman to approve the appropriation. Approved 7-0
City Council Meeting Minutes/
Page 11 of 12 Pages
Z Consideration and possible action to approve the annual appropriation to Sungard Public Sector, Inc.
(Sungard) in the amount of $130,000.00 for IT software maintenance expense -- Mike Peters, Information
Technology Director and Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer
Peters said this is the annual maintenance contract for the new CAD System that the City acquired back in
January/February. He said this amount will be due a year from that date this coming January. He said they are
pleased to announce that the system went live at 10:00 am this morning and everything has been moving
smooth so far.
Motion by Ross, second by Gonzalez to approve the appropriation. Approved 7-0
AA Consideration and possible action to approve the annual appropriation to Tyler Technologies (Tyler) in the
amount of $105,000.00 for IT software maintenance expense -- Mike Peters, Information Technology Director
and Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer
Peter said Tyler Technologies
produces the
Incode financial
management
system that the City
uses. He said it
also manages the Courts and
its processes.
He said this is
for the annual
maintenance for this
program.
Motion by Ross, second by Sansing to approve the appropriation. Approved 7-0
The meeting was adjourned at 09:00 PM.
Mayor GeoRfe Garver /'g'ity SecretagJessica Brettle
City Council Meeting Minutes/
Page 12 of 12 Pages