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Home My WebLink AboutMIN 02.27.2006 CC-W• ^ iS • •' is o i' i The City Council of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met in Regular Session on the above date with Mayor Gary Nelon presiding. Council Present: ,,Council Absent: Patty Eason, Gabe Sansing, Doug Smith, Henry All Council Present Carr, John Kirby, Farley Snell, Ben Oliver Staff Present: Paul Brandenburg, City Manager; Tom Yantis, Assistant City Manager; Jim Briggs, Assistant City Manager for Utility Operations; Patricia Carls, City Attorney; Sandra Lee, City Secretary; Micki Rundell, Director of Finance and Administration; Laurie Brewer, Controller; Bobby Ray, Director of Planning and Development; Ed Polasek, Chief Long -Range Planner; Mark Thomas, Economic Development Director; Leticia Zavala, Chief Accountant; Lori Ann Lankford, Accountant 111; Carmen Speis, Accountant II; Glenn Dishong, Water Services Manager; Keith Hutchinson, Public Information Officer Minutes Policy Development/Review Workshop = Called to order at 4400 P A Presentation from Affordable Housing Task Force - Tom Yantis, Assistant City Manager and Hartley Sappington, Affordable Housing Task Force, Chair Yantis introduced Hartley Sappington, Chair of the Task Force, who thanked the Council for appointing the Task Force and thanked the Task Force members for their efforts. He acknowledged the members in the audience: Cynthia Anderson, Dan Bonner, Nancy Briggs, Will Moore, Dennis Ortega, Carol Parsonage, and Naomi Walker. He said Jim Shaw was not able to attend the meeting, but his knowledge from his position at the Capital Area Housing Finance Corporation has been very valuable to the membership. He thanked Brandenburg for allowing staff to assist the Task Force and acknowledged Bobby Ray, Melissa McCollum, Robyn Rye, and Tom Yantis. With a slide presentation, he gave an outline of the facts concerning the population in Georgetown that needs affordable housing, and gave reasons why there are not enough affordable housing units in Georgetown. He reviewed the suggested procedure to implement sufficient affordable housing in Georgetown. There were questions and comments from the Council and responses from various members of the Task Force in the audience. Mayor Nelon thanked the Task Force for their work. B Discussion and overview of the 2006 annexation priorities - Bobby Ray, Director of Planning and Development and Ed Polasek, Chief Long Range Planner Polasek reviewed the statistics of the previous year's annexations. He called Council's attention to the map provided and the list of the proposed annexation areas for this year. He explained the acreage totals in the Chart on Page 9 of the handout regarding the Annexation Bank Summary. He noted that, out of the 7500+ acres proposed, Council would need to prioritize, following the 30% rule, which means that 6565 acres can be annexed this year. There were questions and comments from the Council. It was determined that voluntary annexation acreage doesn't count against the total amount that can be City Council Meeting Minutes/February 27, 2006 Page 1 of 3 Pages annexed. Polasek noted that the financial impact for each area has not yet been determined, but will be brought back to Council after the completion of the legal lot analysis. Carr asked for a City Manager list of priorities. Brandenburg said he thinks staff is heading in that direction, will bring back a more detailed cost, and will identify staffs priorities for the next four years. Eason said she would like to see the City consider designated uses, such as a critical mass of population whose taxes have been capped, because some developments are coming to the Council to be annexed that would have a tax base that is capped. She said the City is trying to bring in industry and business, and if continued on the current trend, there won't be a work force to support. She noted that the Austin -San Antonio Commuter Rail District has pointed out that Georgetown has a project that is dependent on taxing to finance it (commuter rail station). She said Georgetown is penalized by the fact that it has the lowest tax rate in Central Texas, and the taxes of 30% of the population are capped. She said there is no diversity of the base taxed population that can support the rail station. She said the City needs to move toward more inclusive designations, instead of allowing annexation of developments that are exclusive of taxes. She emphasized that the tax base needs to be expanded and the population needs to be diversified. Nelon noted that the return on investment is the revenue from utilities that come from the areas that have capped taxes. He said the City is healthier financially than many of the surrounding cities. Eason said the City needs to advertise and recruit a population that can be the workforce that will pay the taxes to support the City. She said Georgetown is already a magnet for people 55 and older, so the City needs to make sure Georgetown has what families with children need. Sansing said the City needs to hurry and define what they want the City boundaries to be in the next ten years. Kirby asked about control of areas without annexation. Polasek responded that the City has development agreements in other areas. Snell said the City needs a clear set of policies regarding voluntary annexation, such as for farm land. Nelon emphasized and Polasek confirmed that there will be an action item on the agenda for Tuesday night regarding prioritization of annexation areas. C Workshop discussion of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2005 -- Laurie Brewer, Controller and Micki Rundell Director of Finance & Administration Rundell said financial reporting is required by state law, city charter, and the bond rating agencies. She said the auditors review operations and issue opinions, which ensures a fair presentation of material. Brewer and Rundell explained the report. Brewer said the City has a total of $265.1 in net assets. Rundell introduced Lisa McKinnon of the Temple -based accountinig firm of Brockway, Gersbach, McKinnon & Niemeier, P.C. McKinnon thanked Council for hiring their firm, and said the audit was a pleasure to perform. She said the City staff is extremely efficient, talented, and fun to be around. She said the focus on auditing is on policy, procedure, and controls, and after detailed inspection, there were no improper procedures to be found. Rundell commended her staff for all their assistance during the audit. D Overview of the Simon/Wolf Ranch sales tax revenue and the development agreement -- Micki Rundell, Director of Finance and Administration Rundell reviewed a flow chart showing the sales tax revenue, explaining that Simon is sufficiently generating the utility revenue to pay their debt service. There were questions and comments from the Council. Nelon noted that a return on the City's utility investment will come from the utility revenue to be received from the Simon Chelsea (Outlet) Mail, the new Scott and White Hospital, and the HEB Shopping Center that are all coming to south IH35 and are dedicated to using City of Georgetown utilities. 6:03 p.m. -- recessed to 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. E Sec.551.071: Consultation with Attorney - Advice from attorney about pending or contemplated litigation and other matters on which the attorney has a duty to advise the City Council, including agenda items - Discussion and possible action regarding the audit of the franchise agreement with Cox Communications, Inc. and regarding the possible assignment to Cequel III (Cebridge Connections). City Council Meeting Minutes/February 27, 2006 Page 2 of 3 Pages - Henderson v. City of Georgetown and Bishop Gregory Aymond for the Dioceses of Austin , Cause No. A06CA082 SS; United States District Court, Western District of Texas 6:20 p.m. -- returned to Open Session and adjourned Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 06:20 PM. City Council Meeting Minutes/February 27, 2006 Page 3 of 3 Pages Attest: Secretary Sandra Lee