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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 11.23.2009 CC-SThe City Council of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met in Regular Session on the above date with Mayor George Garver presiding. Council Present° li Council Absent.9 Keith Brainard, Gabe Sansing, Dale Ross, Ben i1 All Council present. Oliver, Pat Berryman, Bill Sattler, Patty Eason Staff resent: Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager; Mark Sokolow, City Attorney; Jessica Hamilton, City Secretary Minutes •i g l!Z&A 0 101w;i & Inn] =1 w*w"a I 1• CltijIjlaLT The annual ethics training session will be conducted on Monday, November 23, 2009, at 4:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers located at 101 E. 7th Street, Georgetown, Texas. A. Cali to Order Mayor called the meeting to order at 4:01 p.m. B. Work session as it pertains to the annual review of the Ethics Ordinance and the study of ethics statutes as required by Section 9.16 of the City Charter and Chapter 2.20 of the Code of Ordinances -- Mark Sokolow, City Attorney Sokolow noted the Charter has a provision that says the City has a requirement to hold a yearly ethics training. He noted, however, the Charter does not say what should or should not be talked about. He defined what is and is not considered "ethics" and explained how he prepared for the presentation. He said it is impossible to know every statute out there, but it is a good idea to review them if possible. He gave Council a brief summary of ethics issues in municipal government. He spoke briefly about the Open Meetings Act and Public Information Act course available through the Texas Attorney General's website. He also spoke about the anonymous Ethics hotline available to City of Georgetown employees. He referred the Council to the Texas Ethics Commission website and said they can find any ethics related information they need on that site. He spoke about campaign contribution laws and what and when an elected official has to report. He showed the City Council the Texas Attorney General's website and how it would be useful to them. He noted he does not normally give ethics presentations to the City Council as a whole. He said he usually talks to each individual Councilmember if and when an ethics related situation arises. He listed the different Ethics issues related to the employee Ethics Hotline and he described a situation in which each of those ethics violations could occur. Council Ethics Work Session/November 23, 2009 Page 1 of 3 Pages Sokolow spoke about conflict of interest laws and said this is regarding voting and when a Councilmember has to abstain from an item. He said, if the Council has any question on this issue, that they should see him before they vote. He spoke about whether or not a Councilmember needs to recuse themself and in what types of situations that needs to occur. He continued to describe the many Ethics issues involved with the anonymous Ethics hotline. He noted the City also has to be careful about wrongfully destroying public records. Brainard asked whether or not a Councilmember can delete e-mails. Sokolow stated it depends on the type of e-mail and who was the originator of the message. Brandenburg said employees are able to delete their e-mails because, once they are deleted, they are still saved somewhere on the server. Sokolow spoke briefly about nepotism and how that can effect a Councilmember. Sokolow described the basic provisions of the Public Information Act as well as the Open Meetings Act. He summarized the Open Meetings Act posting requirements and executive session sections. He also reviewed the Open Records Act and what kind of records can be released to the public. He spoke about campaign finance reporting and disposition of unexpended contributions. Sokolow said almost all of these statutes are on the web and he showed the City Council where to find all of the information that was just mentioned and discussed. He said these resources are great to look at in case Councilmembers have questions or are curious about certain issues. Eason asked and Sokolow spoke about being in two government paid positions within the State. Berryman asked and Sokolow said he would have to go through a particular process in order to get an official opinion from the Attorney General's office on an Ethics issue. He showed Council the sworn complaint orders on the Texas Ethics Commission website. Oliver asked and Brandenburg described the anonymous ethics hotline and how it serves the City employees. Brandenburg said this is only for the City of Georgetown employees and not Councilmembers or citizens. Brandenburg described an example of an Open Records Request that the City would received and noted staff can not ask why a person is requesting a record. Brandenburg added that the City can not produce new record for the requestor. Mayor asked and Sokolow explained whether or not private notes are private records. Sokolow said that, if a Councilmember is using City resources to create a document, then that document can be considered an open record. Motion by Brainard, second by Sansing to adjourn -- 4:55 p.m. Council did not go into Executive Session. EXECUTIVE SESSION: In compliance with the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Government Code, Vernon's Texas Codes, Annotated, the items listed below will be discussed in closed session and are subject to action in the regular session that follows. C. Section 551.071: Consultation with Attorney Discussion with the City Attorney regarding his advice as it pertains to pending or potential violations of local, state or federal ethics statutes, ordinances and regulations as well as pending or potential litigation that the City may be involved in. The meeting was adjourned at 04:55 PM, Council Ethics Work Session/November 23, 2009 Page 2 of 3 Pages The City Council of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met in Regular Session on the above date with Mayor George Garver presiding. Council Presento CouncilAbsent: Keith Brainard, Gabe Sansing, Dale Ross, Pat I Ben Oliver Berryman, Bill Sattler, Patty Eason ii Staff resent: Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager; Mark Sokolow, City Attorney; Jessica Hamilton, City Secretary, Jim Briggs, Assistant City Manager for Utility Operations; Mark Thomas, Economic Development Director; i� ii Travis McLain, Airport Manager; Patrick Hurley, Police Caption; Brent Schacherl, Interim Police Chief; ! j Keith Hutchinson, Public Information Officer A Presentation and discussion regarding The Summit at the Rivery -- Mark Thomas, Economic Development Director Ben Oliver absent from the dais. Thomas introduced the item and said he is not sure if all of the current Councilmembers were here a year ago when this project came about. He said this project, the Summit at the Rivery, would bring a conference center, flagship hotel, parking garage and parks improvements to the area. He said Dan Clark, of Ledgstone Group, will be making a presentation on an update of this project. Speaker, Dan Clark, gave an update on where the project has been, where they are at today , and where they are going. He said, by the time their project hit the market, the market was gone and the capital markets froze. He said a couple of interested investors who wanted to partner could not gain access to funds. He noted the key is to keep casting and throwing your line and, eventually, you're going to get something. He said they decided to go out and find new team partners to gain the strong backing that they need to make sure they can move forward with the project. He said, through that process, they were lucky enough to find a good partner. He said Ledgestone is still the managing partner of the group and there are new equity partners and members involved, which will give Ledgestone a nice platform to go out. He said the markets have started to get Juke warm at this point and noted interest in Central Texas has remained fairly strong and is picking up. He said employee relocation is no longer a bidding war, but a viable economic option. He spoke about the benefits of locating a project in Central Texas and he spoke about the biotech industry in the area. He noted, in summary, the development remains pretty much the same as before. He noted they have been fortunate in that Jeff Novack and his investor group have joined Ledgestone in this project. He said Ledgestone has committed to the project and they will continue to do so. Speaker, Jeff Novak, introduced himself and spoke briefly about where they came from. He said, over the last nine years, they have had the opportunity to develop relationships with some of the biggest developers and financial investors in the world. He said it has been a very interesting growth in their company. He noted Clark became a client of theirs a while ago when he came to Texas from Seattle. He noted, for them, it has been City Council Workshop Minutes/December 8, 2009 Page 1 of 4 Pages great working with Clark and noted it has been a learning experience getting this project to this point. He noted they only commit to projects if they feel that it's worth it. He said they went out and started talking to people and noted, what the City has done with having the slow strong growth with a purpose, is exactly why people want to develop in Georgetown today. He said it did not take him long to realize that this is something they want to get involved in. He continued to speak about why he and his company decided to partner in this project. Dan Clark thanked Council for their support of this project. He also thanked Williamson County, the Williamson Museum and Marlene McMichael. He said they do not see any future changes in the design of the project and he spoke briefly about their interest in residential development as well as a limited service hotel that would accompany the full service hotel. He noted they are very excited about this project. Berryman asked and Clark said they do not have a timeline yet and added it will be released in the first quarter of 2010. He noted it will all depend on the flow of available funds. Brainard asked and Clark clarified the residential development they are wanting to include in the project. He noted they would be lifestyle residential development geared toward the 55 year old and above age bracket. Ross asked and Clark said the construction cycle would be about eighteen months. Clark noted one of the things that have improved a lot recently is the cost to build. Thomas said the Economic Developmet Department is looking forward to doing everything they can to help this project move forward. B Workshop with the Airport Advisory Board to discuss the possibility of an airport event at the Georgetown Municipal Airpoirt -- Travis McLain, Airport Manager and Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager McLain said, over the past few months, the Airport Advisory Board has been looking at ways to promote the Georgetown Airport and make the non -flying public aware of the gem Georgetown has in the airport. He introduced Vice Chairman, Darryl Dressler, who spoke to Council about the proposed Airport event. He said their objective is to inform and excite the general public into getting more acquainted with the Georgetown Airport. Speaker, Dressler, said a short summary of the event ideas have been handed to the City Council. He spoke about the many entities that have taken interest in these ideas. He described the ideas the Airport Board has come up with for the event including a flight breakfast, educational toys for kids, demonstrations and rides. He said they would like to get the Council's input on these ideas. Ross said he would support this event. He asked and Dressier said he does not know if this particular event would have an economic impact, but noted it would be revenue neutral with local vendors that would provide food and t -shirts to the attendants. Sansing asked what the previous air shows made in terms of revenue. McLain said the airshow business is dependent on the weather and added he is not sure what kind of revenue it made for the City itself and added he only knows how it benefitted the airport. Brandenburg said these ideas are being brought to the Council not for revenue making but for educational purposes. Sansing requested the Council schedule another Workshop with the Airport Advisory Board to discuss other issues such as rents, fuels and fees. He said he is hopeful the City Manager can schedule something like that soon. Berryman said the Airport Advisory Board is going to be organizing a pretty great event She said it is good to differentiate this event from an air show, but also still have an air display. Brandenburg suggested that the Board do more planning and come back to Council with additional ideas and proposals. Berryman asked and Dressler said an October timeline is being estimated for this event. Dressler noted he thinks they will have a favorable response. C Presentation and possible recommendation to approve a contract with OSSI Sungard Systems for replacement of current Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management system (RMS) for Public Safety -- Brent Schacherl, Interim Police Chief and Patrick Hurley, Police Captain Hurley thanked Council and reviewed the changes in the contract. With a Powerpoint presentation, Hurley gave a brief summary about the replacement of the public safety software. He spoke about the past presentation that was given to the Council. He said, since that time, staff has finalized the modules they need to complete the project. He said they have worked with the City Attorney and Contracts Manager on Contract review. He gave a brief history on the current Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system, which was purchased in 1997. He said the system cost about $250,000 back then. He noted, at the time, it met their needs but added over time there have been many issues with the system. He listed the many current issues with the existing system including the fact that is has a very poorly designed mapping feature. He said the mapping application is proprietery and very difficult to update and operate. He noted the geobase and the CAD is truly the foundation of the CAD system and it is important to have a system that is flexible and easy to update. He said another issue is the lack of interfaces and interfaces that have not been working as well as City Council Workshop Minutes/December 8, 2009 Page 2 of 4 Pages hoped. He said there is no interface or link to the GIS system as well as the municipal court system. He noted there have been a lot of problems with regard to the reliability of the system. He said the state mandated reporting is very difficult because it is hard to get information out of the system. He noted the auditing capabilities of the system are extremely limited as well. He said, in the past twelve years, there has been a huge push for interoperability with other entities and this is something that can not be done with the current system. He said a lot of the processes in the current system are manual. He spoke about the proposed automated process. Hurley said the City was initially approached by the current 911 equipment vendor. He noted, however, the product was terribly expensive for what the City would be getting. He noted they started looking at other vendors by conducting focus groups and addressing business case needs. He said they sent out an RFP and the City received three responses. He noted they narrowed the potential vendors to Sungard OSSi and New World. He spoke about the benefits of the new system including the addition of an automative vehicle locator system (AVL). He noted the mobile data component of the software gives the City more flexibility and will integrate with the Citywide GIS program. He said the package has a web interface for the public. He noted it allows members of the public to see calls for service in real time and will make the police department more transparent. He noted another benefit would be a potential CAD link between Georgetown and Round Rock communication centers. He noted, in conclusion, the current CAD system is at the end of its life cycle. He said both CAD and RMS must be replaced. He spoke about the next steps of the project and said the total estimated project cost is about $1 million. He said the total annual maintenance for this project would be around 15-18% of the total cost of the software for each module, or roughly $140,000 a year. He noted staff is looking at a February 2010 kickoff and they hope to start implementation at the beginning of March. He noted the total implementation could take anywhere from ten to twelve months. Sattler asked and Hurley said OSSI is a finalist for Williamson County Sheriff's Office's CAD selection and, if they are chosen, Georgetown will be able to integrate with the County in addition to Round Rock. He noted, if the sheriffs office decides to use a different vendor, interfacing would be much more difficult. Sattler asked and Hurley said the constables would use the same software that the sheriffs end up using. Mayor asked and Schacherl said it would be equally important to link with Round Rock and Williamson County Sheriffs Office. Schacherl explained the different situations in which each jurisdiction would be more beneficial. Sansing said this is something that has been talked about for years. He said he is hopeful that the County looks at the fact that both Round Rock and Georgetown will be using OSSI and, therefore, they will also go that way. Sansing asked and Hurley said the existing CAD system will continue to operate as the new system is being built and brought up to speed. He said the switch will be a phased in approach. Zavala said the initial purchase will be made through the IT budget, but will ultimately come out of the police budget. Berryman asked and Schacherl said this new project would be more of an information sharing ability than basic radio operability. He added Georgetown will still have the normal radio sharing with surrounding entities. He noted the City can still call the County and Round Rock over the radio and computer. He noted, currently, officers will have to look at information from their computers in the office. He added, with this integration, it would allow the City to look at information from their car quickly and in real time. Berryman asked and Schacherl said the new upgrade would put the City in communication with Round Rock, but the IT departments for both Georgetown and the County would have to work together so that they can be compatible. Ross said he would assume the County would realize the cost savings by going with the same product as Georgetown and Round Rock. Berryman asked and Schacherl said he is not sure what Taylor and Cedar Park are using for their system. Ross asked and Hurley said he will be the staff member who will make sure this system runs properly. Hurley introduced the representatives from Sungard. Steve Naegeli introduced himself as well as one of their company directors, Neil Campbell. With a Powerpoint preservation, Naegeli explained a little bit of what the City is purchasing and he spoke briefly about who they are as a company. He noted about half of their employees have a public safety background. He briefly explained the different projects that the City is looking into purchasing, including the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) program, and he listed the many features included in that program. He also described the RMS (Records Management System) and the features it entails. Berryman asked and Sungard said, with this system, a parent could go online and search for all of the instances of crime in the City. He spoke about MCT - Mobile Computing Technology ("CAD in the car") and MFR- Mobile Field Reporting, which allows officers to write reports and approve reports from the field. He said they have a philosophy that data should only be entered once and then it can be used in multiple ways. He spoke briefly about the implementation process and noted they have never had a failed implementation and are 100% successful. He noted they feel that a customer should never have to pay for an upgrade and added the maintenance cost would pay for both upgrades and customer support 24 hours a day. Ross thanked him and Nagly said they believe the City is a customer for life. Berryman asked and Nagly said the City is receiving the majority of the add-on modules to the records management system. Mayor asked and he said it is completely possible to include the utility vehicles on the dispatch screen. Sattler asked and Naegeli City Council Workshop Minutes/December 8, 2009 Page 3 of 4 Pages said the Fire Department has the same benefits as the Police Department. There was much discussion. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 05:32 PM. City Council Workshop Minutes/December 8, 2009 Page 4 of 4 Pages