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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 08.12.1991 CC-RMINUTES OF MEETING OF i :f! OF OF GEORGETOWN,TEXAS The City Council of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met in regular session on the above date with Mayor Bill Connor presiding. Council Members Present: Staff Present: Mike McMaster Jane Voltz Bill Shelby Bob Schrawger Ferd Tonn Shorty Valdez Winfred Bonner Bob Hart, City Manager Elizabeth Gray, Administrative Assistant to City Manager Marianne Landers Banks, City Attorney Jim Briggs, Director of Public Utilities Glenn Reynolds, Director of Finance Ed Barry, Director of Planning and Development Hartley Sappington, Director of Community Services Brad Stratton, Superintendent of Administrative Services Donna Rogers Hogg, Legal Assistant Jim Underwood, City Manager Intern Sandra Lee, Deputy City Secretary EXECUTIVE SESSION --Call to Order 6:30 p.m. Council Members Absent: 910347 Sec.2(e) Legal Report Discussion of pending and potential litigation/Marianne Banks 910348 Sec.2(f) Real Estate Discussion of potential acquisition of real property/Marianne Banks 910349 Sec.2(r) Staff Report Discussion of industrial development prospect/Bob Haft PUBLIC HEARING --Call to Order 7:18 p.m. A Grant910350 Second Public Hearing on the Texas Community Development Program +r 1991/Brad Stratton ant Hartley Sappington City Council Minutes/August 13, 1991 Page 1 of 10 Pages Brad Stratton explained that this grant is essentially the same as was submitted in 1987, and would fund the reconstruction of some streets, the construction of curbs and gutters, construction of storm sewer, construction of a water main and additional sewer lines. The deadline to apply for the grant is August 31. CAPCO is expected to make a decision in November. Mr. Charles Miller was concerned about water running under several houses in the area. He wanted to make sure that along with the houses being repaired, the drainage corrections are made. Public Utilities Director Jim Briggs stated that a sidewalk will be built which will divert the water flow. 910351 Second. Public Hearing on a City-wide recycling program/Hartley Sappington Hartley explained the three options that will probably be presented to the Council in a September meeting. Mrs. Jan Appleby of 4206 Oro Circle (outside the Georgetown City Limits) spoke to Council in favor of the recycling program for the benefits it would provide in the saving of landfill space. Mrs. Leota Drake of 609 N. Myrtle spoke against the possibility of the customer being charged an extra fee for collection of recyclables. Mrs. Kathy Heidemann of 407 Golden Oaks Drive spoke against the fee saying that it is the responsibility of the sanitation contractor to assume the increased cost for collecting the recyclables due to the saving of needed landfill space. Mr. Joe Saegert of 1807 Dawn Drive spoke in favor of the recycling program. As previous District 5 Councilmember, he recalled that he had volunteered his district for the pilot recycling program, and stated that it was well received. He is pleased with the current program through Longhorn Disposal and feels the overall benefits of saving landfill space and providing employment for the handicapped would be worth a modest fee. REGULAR SESSION Action on Executive Session Item 910348 Sec.2(f) Real Estate Discussion of potential acquisition of real property/Marianne Banks Motion by McMaster, second by Bonner to authorize staff to acquire the Havins properties necessary to re -align Lakeway Drive at an undisclosed sum as discussed in executive session. Approved 7-0. Consent Agenda 910352 Approval of meeting minutes-- Regular Meeting of July 23, 1991, Special Meeting of July 29, 1991/Elizabeth Gray 910353 Resolution authorizing staff to prepare a Community Development Plock Grant to the Texas Department of Commerce 910354 Pulled (See Regular Agenda) City Council Minutes/August 13, 1991 Page 2 of 10 Pages 910355 Resolution to approve an agreement with Flanagan Construction Co. for completion of the Oak Crest Wastewater Improvements and Lift Station removal/Jim Briggs 910357 Pulled (See Regular Agenda) 910359 Approval of site plan variances for Lots 29 & 30, Industrial Park North, located at 40204 Industrial Park Circle (Texas Chic, Inc.)/John Warden and Ed Barry Own='+ • E 910361 Resolution to approve an agreement with Universal Electric Company in the amount of $81,822.14 for completion of the 1990 Electric System Improvements/Jim Briggs Motion by Tonn, second by Shelby to approve the Consent Agenda with the exception of Items 910354, 910356, 910357, 910358 and 910360. Approved 7-0. Regular Agenda 910354 Resolution to authorize submittal of an application to the Traffic bight Synchronization Program II of the State Dept. of Highways and Public Transportation (SDHPT)/Hildy Kingma and Ed Barry (Pulled by Mike McMaster) Ed Barry asked Council if there were any questions in response to this item being pulled. Mike McMaster said he thought the public might be interested in hearing what the City plans to ask of the Highway Department. Motion by McMaster, second by Schrawger to approve the resolution as read to authorize the City to submit an application to include upgrading the signal controllers where necessary on State Highway 29, Loop 418, and RM2338 and to allow the City to contribute $1300 from the Council Contingency Account -General Fund towards this program. Approved 7-0, 910356 Resolution authorizing the City to amend its contract with SDHPT to construct a Park and Ride Facility in Georgetown/ Hartley Sappington (Pulled by Jane Voltz) Hartley explained that the amendment is necessary to extend by one year the current contract due to expire on August 31, 1991, to allow for adequate time for engineering design, Texas dater Commission approval, bid award and construction of the Park and Ride Facility. Motion by Voltz, second by Valdez to approve the resolution as read. Approved 7-0. City Council Minutes/August 13, 1991 Page 3 of 10 Pages 910357 Resolution approving contract services with Steger & Bizzell Engineering, Inc. for design of a Parr & Ride Facility/Hartley Sappington (Pulled by Winfred Bonner) Mr. Bonner asked for an explanation of outside costs as listed in the engineering proposal letter from Steger & Bizzell. Hartley explained that the costs mentioned were standard and to be expected under this kind of contract. Any costs over and above the $125,000 would be paid by the City. The project cost of $125,000 is 100% funded by a grant from the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation. Motion by Schrawger, second by Valdez to approve the resolution as read. Approved 6-1. (Bonner opposed) 910358 Approval of agreement with Georgetown Independent School District providing for the assessment and collection of City of Georgetown property taxes/Glenn Reynolds (Pulled by Jane Voltz) Glenn Reynolds explained that this is the third year that GISD will collect City property taxes. This year the fee has been reduced to $2.00 per parcel for approximately 7,670 parcels for a total cost of approximately $15,340, representing a savings of $6,136 over last year. Motion by McMaster, second by Voltz to authorize the Mayor to sign the agreement. Approved 6-0. (Bonner absent from the dins during the vote) 910360 Award of contract to Mabry & Miscoe in the amount of $47,795 for removal of asbestos -containing materials in the Old Post Office/Ed Barry (Pulled by Jane Voltz) Ms. Voltz questioned the reason for not awarding the bid to the actual lowest bidder, Olmos Abatment, Inc. Ed Barry explained that Olmos Abatement, Inc. did not carry the insurance coverage as deemed necessary by City Attorney Banks. Motion by McMaster, second by Tonn to approve the award of the contract to Mabry & Miscoe in the amount of $47,795.00. Approved 7-0. • 1 LWOET•t .�e Ed Steiner of 207 Woodmont in Georgetown requested a public apology from the City regarding an incident last year involving a Georgetown police officer's wrongful accusations regarding a fictitious assault charge blamed on a member of the black community. Mayor Connor explained that the police officer in question is no longer with the City Police Department and offered an apology for the incident. City Council Minutes/August 13, 1991 Page 4 of 10 Pages 910363 Mayor, Council, City Manager, and staff comments and reports Mike McMaster noted the "good" turnout of citizens in attendance and invited them to come back next week for the budget hearings. Bill Shelby thanked the citizens for attending. Bob Schrawger noted that many of those in attendance were members of the Single -Member District Redistricting Committee, and offered his appreciation for their hard work on the district plans. Mayor Connor pointed out that an Executive Session item had been inadvertently omitted from the session prior to this open session and advised Council that they would need to resume executive session at the end of this open session. He did not anticipate needing to reconvene another open session following the executive session as there would probably not be any action taken on the item. o Council Budget Workshops Aug 20, 21, and 22 Bob Hart advised Council that they will need to allow at least 16 hours for the workshops, and an additional day or extended hours may be necessary. o Youth Activities Center Grand Opening Mike McMaster announced that the Grand Opening has been tentatively set for Saturday, August 24. It is anticipated that the center will be open next week. The sport court has been installed. They are still waiting for some of the equipment to be delivered. Publicity in the newspapers is planned, as well as announcements in the schools and at the Teen Dance to be held on Friday, August 16. o Endangered Species Act Workshop (LCRA and AWC) Oct. 9 Bob Hart announced the Endangered Species Act Workshop to be co -hosted by the Lower Colorado River Authority and the Association of Wholesale Customers. He asked council members to respond to him of their plans to attend because some pre -registration will be necessary. o TML Conference Oct. 23-26 (Fort Worth) Bob Hart reminded Council to mark their calendars for the TML Conference and plan to attend. o NLC Conference Dec. 12-16 (Las Vegas) Bob Hart explained that the National League of Cities Conference had originally been scheduled to be held in Phoenix, Arizona in November. However, due to the State of Arizona voting down the designated holiday for the birthday of Martin Luther King, the NLC decided to withdraw the conference from Phoenix. Due to City Council Minutes/August 13, 1991 Page 5 of 10 Pages the anticipated large attendance and short notice, the conference will be rescheduled to Las Vegas, Nevada in December. It was determined that Mayor Connor and Winfred Bonner will attend as representatives of the City. 910364 Presentation of one of three alternative proposals for redistricting of City Council single�rneinber district boundaries and adoption of t by ordinance --First • !*i Hart Redistricting consultants, Clint Hackney of the law firm of Ford, Ferraro, Fritz and Byrne, and John Alexander of 'Texas Redistricting Services, Inc. were introduced. At Council's request, Mr. Hackney pointed out the possible weaknesses in each of the three plans that have been chosen by the committee, such as. Plan 8 has 12% variance among the district populations. The general guideline is 10%, with justification necessary for 10-16.5%. Also in Plan 8, the current Hispanic district would be reduced to 53% Hispanic. The guideline is 65%, if possible. (The other two plans, 7A and 9, both have 65% Hispanic.) Plans 7A & 9 show a low black percentage in the district that is now represented by the only black council member. However, he emphasized that these were nevertheless defensible plans and with the demographic makeup of the City of Georgetown, it is virtually impossible to conform exactly to justice guidelines. John Alexander is attempting to re -configure the district lines so as not to displace currently serving council members. Plan 9 would be the easiest plan to re- configure the problem between District 6 and District 1. Re -configuring Districts 4 and 5 will not be difficult. Mr. Valdez asked if the plans could be re -configured in order for 7th and 8th Streets to be included in District 1. The consultants suggested that the council members "mark up" maps and they will try to use those alterations to re -configure the districts. City Secretary Elizabeth Gray voiced her concern to the consultants regarding county voting precinct lines. According to the State Election Code, the County is not allowed to split City districts when drawing their precinct boundaries. City Manager Bob Hart showed the Council some suggested boundary changes that would allow current council members to remain within their districts. City Council Minutes/August 13, 1991 Page 6 of 10 Pages Mr. Bonner expressed dissatisfaction with each of the three plans, due to the reduction in percentage of black persons in his district in each of the proposed plans. Motion by Valdez, second. by Schrawger to accept Plan 9 based on the least percentage of variance between the district populations and incorporating the changes as shown to the Council by City Manager Bob Hart, Mr. Bonner would like for the Redistricting Committee to have the chance to continue to meet on these plans. He feels strongly that they would be able to develop a better plan. He feels he must vote against deciding on Plan 9 and feels compelled to make his objections known to the Justice Department. He warned that the City would be financially responsible for the attorney fees and court costs. Mayor Connor asked Clint Hackney to respond to that issue, and it was determined that the City would be financially responsible only if they were unsuccessful in defending their position. Motion was approved 6-1. (Bonner opposed) Mike McMaster and Mayor Connor again thanked the Redistricting Committee for their hard work and diligence. 9:57 p.m. - Break/10:05 p.m. - Reconvened 910365 Discussion on revisions to the meed ordinance -First Reading/Bob Hart Bob Hart announced that staff contacted other cities regarding xeriscaping and other methods for identifying natural lawns. A revised ordinance is being proposed to Council. The following four options were proposed: 1) leave the ordinance as is; 2) modify the Natural Lawn Exemption to correct procedural problems; 3) repeal the Natural Lawn Exemption entirely; or 4) repeal the Natural Lawn Exemption and provide additional guidelines with the weed ordinance. The following citizens addressed the Council: Mrs. Cathy Hubbard of 2503 Gabriel View feels that she has totally conformed with the requirements of the current ordinance. She requested that her application for Natural Lawn Exemption be "grandfathered". She feels that her actions in regard to her vacant property are an effort to conserve water and preserve space in landfills by allowing the grass to grow. She informed Council that she and Mrs. Brown (the only other applicant for a Natural Lawn Exemption) "care" and "wish to get on with this." Mr. Al Adair of 2506 Gabriel View Drive informed Council that he had received a citation from the City Code Enforcement Department last week about two lots City Council Minutes/August 13, 1991 Page 7 of 10 Pages that he owns. He voiced concern about the Hubbard property due to the danger of not being able to see around the curve. Mr. Bob Jenkins of 2408 Power Circle asked Council to view a video that he had prepared to show the danger of not being able to see around the curve, and emphasized to Council that he and his neighbors have been asking for enforcement by the City to alleviate this problem that he said has been going on for 19 years. Mr. Otis Coufal of 2502 Gabriel View reiterated the same concerns regarding safety and told Council that it is difficult for him to leave his driveway due to the obstructed vision. He suggested that the Mayor and Council drive down Power Rd. and come around Gabriel 'View to see the hazard for themselves. Mr. Frank Hubbard of 2503 Gabriel View, (co-owner of subject property), feels that the safety issue doesn't pertain to the "wildflower" exemption and would like to be able to allow the wildflowers to re -seed before they must be cut. He says there have been no accidents in 19 years. He cuts a four -foot strip as requested, and claims that the visibility on that curve would be limited even if there were no vegetation. Bob Hart feels there are two issues of concern. First is that 51% of the neighbors have protested about the Hubbard exemption, but there haven't been sufficient protests against the exemption application of Mrs. Anne Starr Brown. Both exemptions are currently in suspension. He feels there is sufficient reason to deny the exemption to Hubbard and continue to hold the Brown exemption until a committee of experts can be formed to help the City in making decisions regarding native grasses and wildflowers. Because of the wording of the existing ordinance, applications will still be received in the City Secretary's office, but will not be processed until the ordinance can be revised. Shelby feels there is a problem to be addressed and dealt with on the curve at the Hubbard property. Bob Hart said that the City would take care of any obstructions within the city easement. Hart asked the Council to decide whether to repeal the entire ordinance or just modify Section F pertaining to the natural lawn exemption. McMaster moved to repeal the exemption and form a committee to draft a new Section F and include in the ordinance the identification of those who will hear the appeals to exemption denials, setting guidelines for those hearing the appeals. Second by Shelby. Fire Chief Les Bunte pointed out to Council that if Section F is repealed, they will have to enforce the existing ordinance (with no parameters for exemptions). He suggested forming a committee to re -draft the ordinance. City Council Minutes/August 13, 1991 Page 8 of 10 Pages City Attorney Marianne Banks pointed out to Council that they had requested that the Section F exemption be added to the ordinance after the first reading. It was copied from a Wisconsin ordinance. McMaster noted that this ordinance doesn't address safety issues. There are currently two applications for exemption and others may file. 910366 Resolution auth• • the Mayorto sign an intergovernmental Williamson ounty for partial fundingof ' t y i !_ including a loan in the amount of $60,000/Jim Briggs Jim Briggs explained to Council that the improvemenLs to Westinghouse Road were needed in response to the problems that surfaced when talking to business owners during the Business Retention Survey. Rather that attempting to acquire new property at a higher cost, it has been decided to use existing right of way. In order to begin as soon as possible, it will be necessary to loan the funds to the County to begin the improvements. It will be less expensive to do it now than later. Safety is a prime factor. One death has already occurred due to the poor visibility because of the steep hill on Westinghouse Rd. Motion by Schrawger, second by Valdez to approve the resolution as read. Approved 6-1. (Bonner in opposition) 91-18 Ordinance repealing Ch. 6.16, Code of Ordinances, and adding a new Ch. 6.16 relating to regulation of peddlers and. solicitors --Second Reading/Elizabeth Gray and Jim Underwood Motion by Valdez, second by Bonner to approve the ordinance as read on second reading. Approved 7-0. 91-19 Ordinance extending the Zoning ordinance provisions regulating child care facilities-- Second Reading; .ild ° King ^^ Ed Barry Ed Barry presented this ordinance on second reading to the Council. When questioned about the GISD Alternative Education facility, he informed them that the facility will fall under a special permit because churches and schools are identified in this ordinance as being individual cases to be decided on their own individual merit. Motion by Tonn, second by McMaster to approve the ordinance as read on second reading. Approved 7-0, 91-20 Ordinance to adopt the amendment to the Future Traffic System Map contained in the Century Plan -Development Plan to include the extension of FM 3405 from RM2334 to SH195--Second Reading/Hildy Kingma and Ed Barry City Council Minutes/August 13, 1991 Page 9 of 10 Pages Motion by Tonn, second by Valdez to approve the ordinance as read on second reading. Approved 7-0. 910370 Ordinance u datui service credits and providing for automatic annual update --First Reading/Glenn Reynolds Glenn explained to Council that the ordinance has to do with participation by the City of Georgetown in the statewide retirement program. Each year the City may choose to update the three-year period over which employees' salaries are averaged. Until this year, the City Council updated service credits on an annual basis, with a new ordinance each year. This ordinance will allow annual repeating calculation of service credits without the need for a new ordinance each year. The City's share of TMRS benefits is currently 5.97% of the member employee's salary. McMaster feels since it is a benefit that it should be reviewed by Council every year. He moved to approve the updating of the service credits, but eliminate the automatic updating, therefore allowing the Council to review each year. Second by Tonn. Approved 7-0. a"0 111111 1111111111111111111111i# 33�01= 11:29 p.m. - Returned io Executive Session The Mayor adjourned the meeting at 11:35 p.m. These minutes were compiled by Sandra Lee and reviewed by Elizabeth Gray. Approved: H. Connor Mayor City Council Minutes/August 13, 1991 Page 10 of 10 Pages Attest: Elizabeth Gray City Secretary