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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 10.13.2009 CC-RMinutes of the Meeting of the Governing B6d of the City of Georgetown, Texas Tuesday, October 13, 2009 The City Council of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met in Regular Session on the above date with Mayor George Garver presiding. ouncil Present° Council Absent. Keith Brainard, Gabe Sansing, Dale Ross, Ben All Council Present. Oliver, Pat Berryman, Bill Sattler, Patty Eason Staff resent° 4 Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager; Patricia E. Carls, City Attorney; Jessica Hamilton, City Secretary; Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer; Jim Briggs, Assistant City Manager for Utility Operations; Eric 'Lashley, Library Services Director; Randy Morrow, Director of Community Services; Rachel Osgood, I Environmental Services Coordinator; Ken Arnold, Energy Services Director; Marsha Iwers, Purchasing 1 Manager; Kevin Russell, Director of Human Resources and Civil Service; Leticia Zavala, Project u Manager; Laurie Brewer, Assistant Director of Finance; Robbie Wyler, Historic District Planner; Glenn it Dishong, Water Services Director; Keith Hutchinson, Communications Director; Elizabeth Cook, it Community Development Director; Kelly Bressler, Human Resources Generalist; Shelly Nowling, j 11 Administrative Assistant II; Mark Thomas, Economic Development Director; Shelly Hargrove, Main Street) It Manager; Cathy Leloux, Municipal Court Administrator; Minutes ------- Regular Session = To begin no earlier than 06:10 P (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.) Comments from the Mayor - Welcome and Meeting Procedures - Friends of the Library Proclamation Mayor read the proclamation to the audience and presented it to the President of the "Friends of the Library" organization. City Manager Comments - An art festival featuring 150 contemporary and fine artists, will transform the historic Georgetown Square into an outdoor art gallery. Sponsored by the City of Georgetown and the Georgetown Arts & Culture Board. Works will include clay, drawing, sculpture, painting, jewelry, fiber, metal, mixed -media and more. The Art Festival will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 17"' and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, October 18°'. Details at www.artinsguare.com. - A Chocolate Affair, with silent and live auctions of artwork, hand-crafted items, and other special items to benefit the Georgetown Animal Shelter on Sunday, October 18"' from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Community Center in San Gabriel Park. Chocolate desserts and coffee will be served. Tickets are available for $5 at Wonderful City Council Meeting Minutes/October 13, 2009 Page 1 of 10 Pages Things, Framer's Gallery, the Visitor Information Center, or at the shelter, located at 110 W.L. Walden Drive. For details and to see photos of auction items, go to the website at artforanimals.georgetown.org or contact: (512) 930-3592. - The 15Annual Haunted Hayride & Carnival will be held on Thursday, October 29, 2009 from 6-9 p.m. at the Georgetown Community Center. Please contact the Georgetown Parks & Recreation Department at 930-3595 for more information. - Pink Heals Tour Stop Mayor presented the proclamation to Wayne Braun, in honor of "Pink Heals" Day. Action from Executive Session There was no action out of Executive Session. On a subiect 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 - Nancy Neve of Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) regarding update of PEC activities in Georgetown Neve said she is a representative from Pedernales Electric Cooperative. She presented a franchise payment check to the City of Georgetown. She said this represents two percent of the gross revenue for the sale of electricity. She said the Pedernales Electric Board meetings will be available online, in real time. - Edward Dollase regarding additional signage in school zones Dollase said he has spent 40 years as the Chief Educational Administrator of several educational instutions and noted security was one of the issues for which he was responsible. He said he is presenting two issues regarding school safety. He said he requests two additional school zone speed limit signs on both the North and South of Northwest Boulevard between Lakeway and Benold Middle School. He said he has provided Council with a map of the requested signs. He said the main purpose is for the safety of school children who attend either Benold or Frost. He said the second item is to request placement of signs that state "end school zone" at every school in the District. He said he strongly feels the signs need to be by every school, especially with the number of new schools being added in the future. He said he understands this is a matter for the City Council to decide and not the School District Board. He thanked Council for considering his request. - Jim Dillon and Nancy Dillon regarding Merrill Lynch Dillon spoke about his concern over the Fennell case as well as the former Georgetown Police Chief. He also expressed his opinion on the vote the Council made regarding the Merrill Lynch sign. - Keith Peshak regarding wild dogs at the Georgetown Airport Peshak expressed his concerns over the policies and procedures at the Georgetown Airport. He said he hopes he does not have to come back to the City Council with further issues. - Sydney Reese and Robin Klaus regarding 4H and FFA Reese said she is here to promote Georgetown 4H and FFA. She said she is a freshman at Georgetown High School and noted she is a fourth generation 4H member. She spoke about the opportunities the local 4H and FFA provides to the community. She said there are more than 700 children enrolled in the 4H clubs in Williamson County and said it is one of the largest youth groups and organizations in Texas. She said, this past Saturday, they had their booster club fundraiser as well as a one -day volunteer program. She listed their local sponsors. She said their livestock show will be during the first week of December and noted the the Williamson County Youth Fair will be held on December 3rd. She noted these organizations are vital to the community Statutory Consent Agenda The Statutory Consent Agenda includes non -controversial and routine items that Council may act on with City Council Meeting Minutes/October 13, 2009 Page 2 of 10 Pages 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 Council Workshop held on Tuesday, September 22nd and the Council Meeting on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 -- Jessica Hamiton, City Secretary D Consideration of authorization for Paul Brandenburg, Georgetown City Manager, to sign a contract permitting the Georgetown Public Library to receive direct financial aid in the amount of $18,228.00 from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission -- Eric Lashley, Library Director and Randy Morrow, Director of Community Services E Consideration and possible action to authorize Environmental Services staff to apply for Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) FY2010 Regional Solid Waste Management Grant program to continue funding the collection of recyclabies at select City facilities; the purchase of a refrigerant recovery system, EPA -required training, and associated ancillary parts; the means to promote a REDUCE — REUSE — RECYCLE philosophy through public outreach and education - - Jim Briggs, Assistant City Manager and Rachel Osgood, Environmental Services Sattler asked and Osgood said the program will cease if the City does not receive this grant. She noted the costs have been paid for up until February of 2010. Berryman asked and Osgood said everything is ready to go and she is just waiting for City Council's approval. F Consideration and possible action to approve a Resolution authorizing the abandonment and vacation by quitclaim deed of a triangular-shaped Permanent Utility Easement described in Document No. 199972921, Official Records of Williamson County, Texas -- Thomas R. Benz, P.E., Systems Engineering Director and Jim Briggs, Assistant City Manager for Utility Operations G Consideration for approval authorizing staff to negotiate and execute a contract for online auctioning services with Gaston and Sheehan Auctioneers, Inc. of Pflugerviile, Texas for the sale of abandoned vehicles -- Marsha Iwers, Purchasing Manager and Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer H Consideration of award of the annual bid for Concrete and Grout to Lone Star Ready Mix of Leander, Texas the estimated amount of $34,750.00 -- Marsha Iwers, Purchasing Manager and Micki Rundell, Chief Finacial Officer J Consideration and possible action to appoint Mike Burton to the Main Street Advisory Hoard to fill a vacancy -- Mayor George Garver Motion by Sansing, second by Oliver to approve the Consent agenda with the exception of item 1, which was pulled by Ross to the Regular Agenda. Approved 7-0 Legislative Regular Agenda Council will individually consider and possibly take action on any or all of the following items: Consideration for the approval of the purchase of advertising for personnel services in the Austin American Statesman up to an estimated annual amount of $25,000 which includes a contract for set advertising space and also includes dollar volume discounts for services above contracted amount -- Kevin Russell, Director of Human Resources and Civil Service Pulled from Consent to Regular Agenda by Councilmember Ross. Ross asked about a request made last spring for information regarding what source of advertising is used the most by people who apply for jobs at the City. Russell said he could get that information for the Council. Ross asked and Russell said the only open positions the City has are current positions that are vacant. Russell noted there are thirty positions that are frozen that will not be filled. Russell said he has been decreasing the amount being spent on advertising in the Austin -American Statesman. He said the newspaper advertising is used so the City can put out their logo and ask potential applicants to go to the City website. He said most of the advertising with the Statesman is through their website, "HotJobs." Ross asked and Russell said he can run statistics from the website to see where people are seeing the job advertisements. Russell said people still use the Sunday paper and added all of the applications are now online and the City is receiving all applications from the website. Brainard said he has been expressing concerns about spending this type of money on print ads. He said he can not support City Council Meeting Minutes/October 13, 2009 Page 3 of 10 Pages spending this kind of money on print ads. Motion Brainard, second by Berryman to postpone this item until Council can see evidence that people use the newspaper for applying to City jobs. Eason said the City would be discriminating against people who do not have computers at home. Ross noted the City has free computers available at the library. Eason said those people will be using a print source for immediate communication from the City. Berryman asked and Russell confirmed the print ad will direct people to the City's website to apply for a job. Russell said the City posts individual jobs in the paper and noted the City gets fifteen inches of print space per month. Sansing asked and Russell said fifteen inches is the smallest amount of space the City can buy on this kind of bulk contract. Berryman asked and Russell said some examples of lower end jobs the City would put in the paper could be firefighters, police officers and electricians. Russell said the City utilizes the fifteen inches as best they can. Sattler asked and Brainard confirmed this motion is to postpone the item until Russell can gather more information on this subject. Brainard said people who want a job can go to the website at the Public Library. He said this motion is just to delay the item until Council can get evidence that the newspaper ads are cost effective. Approved 6-1 (Eason opposed) K Consideration and possible action to approve the annual support services and contract renewals for fiscal year 2009/10 for Information Technology vendors providing services and support to the City of Georgetown -- Leticia Zavala, Project Manager and Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer Zavala reviewed the item and said this is a housekeeping item. She said this agenda item assigns specific amounts to the appropriate vendors. She said this item was reviewed by the General Government and Finance Committee. She said all of the equipment discussed in this item has been reviewed in order to ensure there are no wasted costs. Motion by Brainard, second by Ross to approve the contract renewals. Sansing asked and Zavala said half of the amount is for annual support and maintenance. She said this is for the systems already in place and noted the City does not have this skill set "in house." Zavala listed the amount being allocated to the different vendors and what services it will pay for. Sansing asked and Zavala said staff went through the same agenda item for the GGAF subcommittee. She said the majority of the cost is for a one time upgrade to the City's phone system, which has not been upgraded since 2001. Sansing asked and Zavala said there will not be future requests for new phones and noted this is just existing upgrades to the current structure. Sansing asked and Zavala said this upgrade has the potential to integrate with the County and other surrounding entities. Approved 6-0 (Berryman off the dais) L Consideration and possible action to approve the annual contract for fire protection and rescue services between the City and Williamson County Emergency Services District# 8 -- Laurie Brewer, Assistant Director of Financial and Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer Brewer reviewed the item and said this amendment updates the dollar amount of the contract. She listed the additional provisions the County Emergency Services District has agreed to, including participating in a joint fire study as well as turning over monies for mutual aid funding. Motion by Sattler, second by Oliver to approve the annual contract. Approved 7-0 M Discussion and possible action regarding a request for a Temporary Special Use Permit for the second floor of the building located at 701 Main Street -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager and Robbie Wyler, Historic District Planner Brandenburg reviewed the item and said the request came to staff in order to allow a special use permit in order to have a jazz bar on the second floor in the building located at 701 Main Street. He said the owner is looking to have a separate tenant upstairs with a separate use. He said the jazz bar requires a Special Use Permit (SUP) in order to be in that space. He said the applicant it coming over to see if there is a way to get a temporary SUP. Brandenburg said the current issue is that there is no such thing as a temporary SUP for the City. Brandenburg spoke about the state regulations on alcohol permitting for taverns and bars. Cook said staff has looked at the calendar and will be able to put this on the November Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. She noted it will come back to Council at the second meeting in November. Brandenburg noted it is hard to estimate the process with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC). Berryman summarized the new process this permit will go through within the City. She noted and Cook confirmed this new process will allow the owner to have its permit approved by December. Speaker, Chris Damon property owner of 701 Main Street, said he renovated the building with the idea of having City Council Meeting Minutes/October 13, 2009 Page 4 of 10 Pages multiple tenants. He spoke about the past tenants including Monica's and Romeo's, which both took the entire 6,000 square feet. He said their intention is to continue with, not one, but two tenants. He said the first floor tenant is up and running and noted the second floor would be a lounge and jazz venue. He said the actual uses intended for the space have not changed. He said, the way the revenues are calculated are a function of food sales to alcohol sales. He said the intention of the second floor is to serve food, but they can not ensure that food sales would be in excess of 51 %, which would constitute an establishment as a restaurant. He said he hopes their reputation for bringing quality business to the square has been confirmed by the last 13 years. He said they are up against a timeline that makes it difficult for the facility to open before the Holiday season. Sansing asked and Damon said the alcohol zoning on the square only allows for an RM permit to be issued, which is alcohol being served along with a food and beverage certificate in restaurants. Damon said their intent is for the second floor tenant to operate as a private club. Sansing asked and Damon said the application for that permit has been submitted and it is feasible that they could have their doors open around the 10th or 11th of November. Berryman asked and Cook said, in order to have a private club, indoor entertainment or a bar, it requires a Special Use Permit in the downtown area. Speaker, Joe Dowda, a very hopeful owner of Landmark Tavern said he has been in this business since 1958 and he gave a brief summary of his background. He said he is interested in operating a quality, sophisticated venue, where mature people can come in, enjoy some great music, socialize and relax. He said he is trying to get somewhere where you can go, listen to music, and be able to talk at the same time. He said his concern is about time and noted it is important to open before the Holiday season. Speaker, Paul Crown, said he is one of the owners and managers of Book Pride on the Georgetown Square. He said he operates numerous business support companies and noted, in addition to having business clients, he wants to let the Council know, in the past 12 months, his company has created 20 jobs on the Georgetown square. He said the point to his statistics is that he has a direct interest in Georgetown, the downtown Square and the Georgetown economy. He said he is enthusiastic about another business on the square. He said he has no ownership interest in Landmark Tavern but noted he feels it would make a great addition to the square. Motion by Berryman, second by Sansing direct staff to carry forth with the process discussed in Executive Session and, specifically, to have the permit come back to Council at the first meeting in November after having had the item go through the Planning and Zoning Commission approval process. Oliver said it is difficult for Council to act on Damon's request because of State law. He said the Council is looking to try to accomplish this goal without going against State statutes. Sansing said they need to make sure the inspections department has thoroughly reviewed the building and ensure that the business meets all of the City Codes. Approved 7-4 R Discussion and possible action regarding a four (4) month moratorium on the Downtown Two (2) hour parking restrictions -- Pat Berryman, Councilmember District 5 Berryman reviewed the item and said the parking Ordinance was passed before the County Courthouse renovations. She noted the County Courthouse used to be used for County offices, whose tenants took up a lot of parking spaces along the square. She said the County renovated the courthouse and now the number of tenants in that building have been greatly reduced. She said none of these offices carry a high amount of traffic. She said there is only one meeting a week for the County Commissioners. She said the square is developing businesses that offer both products and services and noted it is hard for businesses and customers to go through paperwork , share a meal, and shop all in under two hours. She said they are approaching the holiday season and noted she put this on the agenda to see what the parking will be like without the Ordinance now that the Courthouse has changed. She said the County and the City have agreed to maintain their current parking policies. She noted some of the greatest offenders are the business owners themselves. She said there is something wrong when there are board meetings on the square and a person has to watch the clock for their two hour time limit. She said this would be "taking a breather" and then the City could see how this would work without enforcing the two hour parking. She noted it would be a good idea to keep track of who is parking where. She said she thinks the Council needs to look at this and come up with solutions. Ross said Dan Brown owns the company that writes the tickets and he said he has spoken to him about providing security during the Holiday season. Ross said Brown could also be an ambassador for providing information to tourists and guests on what's on the Square and added this would provide a little economic development on the square. He said the store owners could be in touch with the security guards as well. Speaker, Dan Brown, said he is there because they do a good job for the City and he said the Ordinance was written for an issue that was going on that does not exist any longer. He said it will be hard to enforce a City employee's car parking in the wrong spot, but they are happy to do whatever the City asks of them. He said they could put bicycle controls in the area and he explained how this works. He said they could offer a cell City Council Meeting Minutes/October 13, 2009 Page 5 of 10 Pages phone number to the dowtown merchants who would be able to call security. Speaker, Marlene McMichael, said she does not think that parking limits on the square are unreasonable, but she does think the two hour limit is too short. She said the ticket fines on the downtown square are also incredibly expensive. She said Council should make both the time limit and ticket amount more reasonable. Speaker, Paul Crown, said he has discussed and debated the parking in the Georgetown Square. He said the one solution he is not in support of is scaring customers into shopping for shorter periods of time or giving them a bad experience. He said they have tracked addresses of customers who have visted the square. He said Book Pride has regular customers from South Austin, Kyle, Buda, Killeen and Temple. He said he does not have a solution and, at the moment, he is in favor of the proposed moratorium on parking limits. Speaker, Dan Marek owner of Georgetown Winery, said they are a tourist business. He said, by the time customers do their wine sampling, they do not have time to stay on the square. He said they have parking passes, but they are not as effective as they should be. He said there is no parking limit in Frederickburg or McKinney. He said there are businessowners and employees that park downtown and then move spots every two hours. He said he is in favor of the moratorium but, noted, the signs on the parking spots will still be there. Speaker, Paul Franczek, said 50% of the stores on Austin Avenue are closed. He said many of the stores that used to be on the square have complained about parking and the two hour limit. He said the solutions he has heard have varied from two hours, four hours and parking meters. He said there is probably no good solution to this parking problem but noted businessowners are their own worst enemy because they park along the square. He noted most of the shop owners suggested the City go to a three hour parking limit. Speaker, Marsha Farney, said she owns a few buildings downtown and said she used to be a former shopper downtown. She said her shopping downtown has been greatly diminished by the two hour parking. She said her Board meetings set timers to make sure they get their business done under the two hour limit. She said, to her, coming to the downtown Square is about having the ability to take her time and browse. Speaker, Chris Damon, said the current parking ordinance may appropriately address the concerns of some of the downtown businesses, but it does not represent all of the businesses. He said the idea is the longer a person stays, the more they spend. He said the current Ordinance is a stinker because it is Draconian in its fine structure. He is in support of stopping the fines until the Council can figure out a better option. Speaker, Virginia Stubbs, said she owns property on the west side of the square and, for eleven years, she was a retailer at the location. She said the parking issue continues to be ever present. She said she does not support a moratorium on the downtown square. She said she would, however, support further study. She noted parking is an issue that warrants continuous study. Speaker, Len Lester, said he has a different stance on the parking issue downtown. He said a lot of customers enjoy the fact that they can pull up right in front of the stores. He said, in the last couple of days, he did a rough survey of the spaces downtown. He said, today, he counted 160 cars in the two hour parking spaces. He said, if this parking limitation goes away, over time, the parking spaces will become full once again. He said he wants to say the City did the right thing in having a parking limitation, but the City did not explain to the customers about the parking passes that are available. He said they use them everyday. Sansing asked, assuming the Council moves this to three or four hour parking, how much would it take to stripe and label the parking spots. Brandenburg explained, if this is approved, a resolution would come back to Council at the next meeting to define the proposed moratorium. Miller said he could bag the signs if it is temporary, but if they want to change the amount of time, staff could be removed for $2,000 and it costs $20 a piece to put in new signs. Sansing asked, during this time period, he suggested that Council look into drastically reducing the fines. Mayor asked and Miller said staff could tape signs to the parking spots, but it would only last a few days. Ross asked if staff has talked to Fredericksburg or other cities who do not have parking restrictions. Brandenburg said the City has gone out to other places that are tourism generators but noted Georgetown is different and added there is no perfect answer to this problem. Ross said he thinks the parking fines as presently constituted are way too high. Motion by Berryman, second by Sansing that Council pass the four month moratorium and, during that time, study the parking patterns on the square, try to determine problems areas, look into extending the parking time limit as well as revising the fine situation and also explore the idea of permitting on the square. She said some of the parking lots off of the square are now charging a dollar amount per month. Ross amended to include Mr. Brown's company as well as the Police Department in coming up with ideas regarding ticket writing and security. Mayor said it is important for people to remember that this moratorium is not in effect until an offiical resolution or Ordinance is approved. City Council Meeting Minutes/October 13, 2009 Page 6 of 10 Pages Eason said she has a problem with doing a moratorium but noted the study is necessary. She noted this has been an issue since Georgetown has become open to vehicles on the Square. She said she does not know how this problem can be studied if a moratorium is put in place. She noted that would change all of the activity the City is trying to measure. She said this would create a flaw for a study that is supposed to find out how the two hour parking is working or not working. Oliver said he is against a moratorium as well. He said the issues are whether or not to have a parking regulation or whether or not to just adjust the parking limits and fine structure. He said a moratorium does not address the problem. Berryman said there has never been a study done with the newly renovated courthouse in place. She said the new courthouse is an empty building with a museum now and noted the City needs to have a four month break to encourage people to come back to the square and shop. Approved 5-2 (Eason, Oliver opposed) Mayor asked and Carls said the new City Attorney will decide whether or not to formalize this motion in Resolution form or in Ordinance form and said then bring it back to Council for action. X Consideration of a resolution placing a name in nomination for the election of Directors for the Williamson County Appraisal District (MCAD) -- Paul E. Brandenburg, Ctiy Manager Mayor reviewed the item. Speaker, Rufus Barnes, said he has been a resident in Georgetown for five years and he said he has had his property appraised five times. He said, over the last two years, he appeared before the appraisal district's appeal board. He said he thinks the Board should act as an independent reviewer, but noted his experience is that they are a "rubber stamp" for the Appraisal District. He said he sat through a dozen of residents who appealled their property and got unanimous affirmation. He said he would like for Council to study and look over this appeal board and its processes. Mayor said Harry Gibbs and Debra Hunt have been nominated by the City to serve on the Board of Directors. Sansing said and Mayor confirmed the Board of Directors is not the same as the Appeal Board mentioned by the citizen. Mayor reviewed the process currently in place for the appellate process at the Appraisal District Motion by Sansing, second by Eason to approve the nomination. Ross said he thinks there is a certain amount of arrogance in the Appeal Board process. He noted the appraisal district needs to understand who their customers are and added they need to treat everyone with respect. He said he thinks the two proposed nominees for the Board are the people who could make the organization better. Sattler said he has a lot of constituents who complained to him about the Appraisal District appeal process. Sattler said he went through the appeal process and noted he was never so rudely treated in his life. He noted they were arrogant, aloof and inaccurate in the way they presented. He said there was no accountability or transparency in the process. He continued to express his distaste for this process. He said, while he thinks Debra Hunt and Harry Gibbs are great individuals, the City Council needs to take it upon themselves to express the needs for better representation from the WCAD Appeal Board. He said he thinks the City needs to send a message to the Board that they need transparency and accountability. Berryman said she would like to applaud Sattler for bringing this up, but the Council needs to start somewhere and make a statement and play their part in this process. She said people over and over again have the same experience that Sattlerjust shared. She added they are trying to get transparency. She said it is difficult to find people to serve in these review Board positions. She said, if the Council is not proactive, they deserve to pay the price. Sansing said this Board is governed by the State legislature, who has rules to follow just like the Council. Sansing said he thinks the process works, but the Council needs to let the people in Austin know what is going wrong. Brainard applauded Sattler for taking the initiative on this item and added this process is not working. Brainard said he spoke with Harry Gibbs and he has been assured that the bad customer service has been brought to his attention. Vote on the motion: Approved 7-0 Meeting recessed at 8:27 p.m. Meeting resumed at 8:37 p.m. N Consideration and possible action authorizing library staff to purchase books from Ingram, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $130,000 for fiscal year 2009-10 -- Eric Lashley, Library Director and Randy Morrow, Director of Community Services Lashley reviewed the item and said the City chose Ingram because they provide a discount as well as free shipping. Motion by Oliver, second by Ross to approve the purchase. Brainard asked and Lashley said City Council Meeting Minutes/October 13, 2009 Page 7 of 10 Pages periodicals are in a separate budget. Ross asked and Lashley estimated about 35% of this cost is for children's materials. Brainard asked and Lashley said book budgets are determined according to typical book usage. He said best sellers are high volume for the Georgetown Library. Approved 7-0 O Consideration and possible action to approve payment for professional services provided by Labor Finders up to an estimated annual amount of $75,000 -- Kevin Russell, Director of Human Resources and Civil Service Russell reviewed the item and said the Council has been provided with a breakdown of those departments that use Labor Finders services. He said this is used for manual type labor activities and positions. He said Labor Finders have had the same pricing for the past few years. He said they have been the cheapest price around. Sansing asked and Russell said the total budgeted amount last year was $75,000. Ross asked and Russell said Labor Finders came to the City and attempted to negotiate upwards. Russell said the City's rates are the lowest they charge in the area. Motion by Brainard, second by Ross to approve the payment. Berryman asked and Russell listed the departments that did not use Labor Finders over the past year. Mayor said and Russell confirmed the assumption is that this is a pool of resources used as needed up to the total budgeted amount of $75,000. There were many questions regarding the use of this service. Approved 7-0 P Consideration and possible action to authorize the City to enter into a benefit contracts for the 2010 Plan year -- Kevin Russell, Director of Human Resources and Civil Service With a Powerpoint presentation, Russell spoke about maintaining a competitive position while keeping costs down. He reviewed the City's compensation philosophy. He said the City has changed its employees' perception of healthcare toward preventative health. He said the City has a wellness committee in place and there is now a focus on wellness. He said the City is trying to move toward consumerism so employees can take ownership in healthcare. He said a consultant was hired last year to help with benefits but, this year, the Human Resources Department was able to save money in the budget and do most of the work without a consultant. He reviewed the City's current health insurance issues. He also spoke about the state of health care in the United States. He said they are finding Georgetown is not immune to the problems happening throughout the country. He said the City's healthcare claims have increased from $1.2 million last year to $3.35 million. He said the City received an 85.5% increase in healthcare rates. He said the City already budgeted for 15%, but there is a 70% difference that would need to be passed to employees if the City kept the current benefits plan. He reviewed the benefits process in the City of Georgetown including request for proposals, the Benefits Committee review, and staff recommendations. With graphs, Russell reviewed health insurance benchmarking surveys. He summarized the average deductibles for the nation. He noted the Benefits Committee looked at the design of the City's new health plan and said 7% of the City employee population represented $3.3 million worth of claims. He said the idea is to offer premiums that are affordable and, at the same time, have the highest insurance users contribute the most to the plan with the deductibles. He noted healhcare costs are beginning to shift from the employer to the employees. Russell said the City has three providors that submitted proposals and noted the Texas Municipal League (TML) offered the best plan with the best benefits and premiums. He said the City is looking into increasing deductibles up to $2,500 for the individual and $5,000 for the family. He said they looked at Round Rock and Williamson County and the deductibles and out of pocket maximums in Georgetown are in line with those organizations. He said the actual employee costs are lower compared to last year. He said he had Humana run a report for the amount of money spent by employees and noted the majority of the City's employees spent $1,800 or less over the course of last year. He said, if they continue with this trend, employees will not meet their deductible. Russell reviewed the proposed changes including the issue of shared cost versus individual responsibility. He mentioned the other issue of higher deductibles versus higher premiums. He said the decision of the committee was to go with a mix of both of those issues. He said the upcoming rates proposed are lower than those that were in place two years ago. He noted, this year, the proposal is not to contribute to the health savings account. He said they are offering employees an opt out supplement and he spoke briefly about the other supplemental benefits. He said TML also offers a dental plan which is richer than the current plan. He summarized the proposed vision benefits as well as the voluntary benefits. He reviewed the next steps in this process. He said tonight's motion would be to authorize staff to enter into the benefits contracts. He said there will be another Council action to initiate the incentives. Brainard thanked Russell for his presentation. Brainard asked and Russell said the Milliman data was gathered through Frost, a consultant that the City has a relationship with. He said, because the City participated in the Milliman study, it received the final results of the survey. Brainard asked and Russell said the consultant was not used for this year's benefits process. Russell said the City took what the consultant thought was best last year and negotiated even further this year for a better deal. Russell explained the reasoning behind not going with a consultant this year. Brainard said he considers this issue very serious stuff and added he is dismayed to City Council Meeting Minutes/October 13, 2009 Page 8 of 10 Pages know that the City did not use consultant services this year. He noted, if the consultant services did not work out last year, the City should have gone out to find a new one. He said the issue of whether or not to use a consultant should be a policy decision and not a staff decision. Brainard asked and Russell said the consultant was paid $55,000 last year and Russell noted he did not take the use of a consultant as direction from Council. Russell spoke more about the history of the City's consultant usage for its benefits contracts. Brainard said, to him, another benefit to having a consultant is they are out in the field constantly working with these insurance issues and national trends. He said he is frustrated to know that staff chose not to follow Council's direction with the regard to the use of the consultant. Brainard asked and Russell said the employees are looking at a reduction in premiums for this year. Brainard asked and Russell confirmed some employees will experience higher out of pocket maximum costs and deductibles. Berryman asked and Russell confirmed there have been a few employees last year who came down with catastrophic illnesses. Berryman said they were told last year that the City has a huge population of employees and members that are not very healthy. Sansing said he thinks the TML program looks pretty good. Sansing added it may be a good idea to look into a Countywide health plan. Ross asked and Russell said this proposed TML plan has an overall increase of about 25%. He noted the exact same plan with Humana has a proposed increase of 43%. Ross said and Russell said, no matter what, the cost would have gone up because of the increase in claims. Ross asked and Russell said the City can not sign a 2 or 3 year deal. There was much discussion. Motion by Brainard, second by Eason to approve that the City enter into the benefits contract for the 2010 year. Approved 7-0 Q Consideration and possible action to approve the 2010 City of Georgetown employee benefit incentives— Kevin Russell, Director of Human Resources and Civil Service Russell reviewed the item and said this was spoken about in the previous presentation and said staff is looking at using the Health Savings Account contribution to fund premiums. Motion by Brainard, second by Eason to approve the 2010 City of Georgetown employee benefit incentives. Approved 5-1 (Sansing opposed) Sansing said he does not support the "opt out" option. Mayor asked that staff bring Brainard's concern about consultant services back to the Council next year ahead of this benefits process. S Forwarded from the Georgetown Utility System (GUS Board): Consideration and possible action of an interlocal agreement between Chisholm Trail Special Utility District (CTSUD) and the City of Georgetown regarding regional water system improvements -- Glenn Dishong, Water Services Director and Jim Briggs, Assistant City Manager for Utility Operations Dishong reviewed the item and said this agreement lays out the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding in an agreement form. He said it was taken to GUS Board and was unanimously approved at their September 23rd meeting. Sansing asked and Dishong reviewed the several improvements that the agreement covers. Brainard left the dais. Motion by Berryman, second by Oliver to approve the interlocal agreement. Sansing said some of the things the City stands to gain from this agreement outweigh his concerns. Approved 6-0 (Brainard absent) T Forwarded from the Georgetown Utility System (GUS Board): Discussion and possible action regarding the Williamson County Regional Raw Water Line intake structure pumping upgrades planned by the Brazos River Authority -- Glenn Dishong, Water Services Director and Jim Briggs, Assistant City Manager for Utility Operations Dishong reviewed the item and said he is bringing this item to Council because Brazos River Authority is about to take action that will result in an amendment coming to the City's raw water line contract that will result in the City spending more money. He explained the current capacity available as well as the usage for this raw water line. He said there will be future contracts coming from BRA to have the City pay for the pumps. Motion by Sansing, second by Berryman to direct staff to agree with Brazos River Authority to acquire the pumps and have the City's share not exceed $2 million and, instead of buying a $80,000 spare pump, purchase $60,000 worth of parts in lieu of an entire pump. Approved 6-0 (Brainard absent) U Forwarded from the Georgetown Utility System (GUS Board): Consideration and possible recommendation for the award of the annual bid for electric wire to various bidders in the estimated amount of $612,080.00 -- Kenneth Arnold, Energy Services Director and Jim Briggs, City Council Meeting Minutes/October 13, 2009 Page 9 of 10 Pages Assistant City Manager for Utility Operations Arnold summarized the item and said these are conductors available for constructing overhead as well as service drops made to various commercial and residential businesses in the City. Motion by Sansing, second by Oliver to approve the award of annual bid. Approved 6-0 (Brainard absent) V Public Hearing and First Reading of an Ordinance to amend the Unified Development Code (UDC) Section 3.13.010 "Applicability"; Section 3.15 "Variance (Zoning)" and Special Exception; repealing Chapter 4 Zoning Districts, Chapter 6 Lot Standards, and Chapter 7 Site Design Standards and adding new Chapter 4 Zoning Districts, Chapter 6 Residential and Agriculture Zoning Districts: Lot, Dimensional and Design Standards, and Chapter 7 Non -Residential Zoning Districts: Lot, Dimensional and Design Standards -- Elizabeth A. Cook, Community Development Director Cook reviewed the item and read only the caption of the item after having satisfied the requirements of the City Charter. She said they had a workshop on this item on September 22nd and noted, at that meeting, Council asked staff to go back and look at the percentage of EIFS proposed to be allowed. She said staff is now proposing to change the limintation from 40 to 60% for EIFS and asked that it be installed at least four feet above the ground. Public Hearing was opened at 9:36 p.m. No persons were present to speak. Public Hearing was closed at 9:36 p.m. Sansing asked and Cook reviewed Chapter 7 and said it is for non-residential development in non-residential districts. Motion by Oliver, second by Sansing to approve to Ordinance on First Reading. Approved 6-0 (Brainard absent) Mayor thanked Cook and staff for their hard work. W Second Reading of an Ordinance adopting the Utility Master Plan Executive Summary as an Element of the 2030 Comprehensive Plan -- Jordan J. Maddox, AICP, Planner III and Thomas R. Benz, PE, Systems Engineering Director Maddox reviewed the item and read the caption of the Ordinance on second reading. Motion by Sansing, second by Berryman to approve Ordinance 2009-55. Approved 6-0 (Brainard off the dais) The meeting was adjourned at 09:39 PM. City Council Meeting Minutes/October 13, 2009 Page 10 of 10 Pages