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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 07.10.2012 CC-RThe City Council of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met in Regular Session on the above date with Mayor George Garver presiding. Council Present: Council Absent: Patty Eason, Danny Meigs, Bill Sattler, Tommy All Council Present. Gonzalez, Jerry Hammerlun, Troy Hellmann, Rachael Jonrowe Staff Present: Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager; Jessica Brettle, City Secretary; Bridget Chapman, Acting City Attorney; Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer; Laurie Brewer, Assistant City Manager; Jim Briggs, Assistant City manager; Kevin Russell, Director of Human Resources and Civil Service; Valerie Kreger, Principal Planner; Kimberly Garrett, Parks and Recreation Director; Heather Brewer, Urban Forester; Robbie Wyler, Historic District Planner; Eric Lashley, Library Director; Mark Thomas, Economic Development Director; Jordan Maddox, Principal Planner; Terry Jones, Support Services Construction Manager; Wayne Nero, Police Chief; Carla Benton, Planner II; Minutes Regular Session - To begin no earlier. than 06:00 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.) A Call to Order -- Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:05PM Pledge of Allegiance Comments from the Mayor - Welcome and Meeting Procedures City Council Regional Board Reports Lone Star Rail District - Patty Eason provided the following report regarding the Rail District: Each month we send a report to AACOG to be included in the San Antonio-Bexar County MPO agenda packet; then I forward it to you for your information and use within your own jurisdictions. Lone Star Rail District's July 2012 report for SA -BC MPO follows: 1. Freight. Rail Relocation/Freight Bypass: A. Local Government & Stakeholder Engagement: The team, which includes Lone Star Rail District (LSRD) staff and consultants and Union Pacific representatives, continues to meet bi-weekly to coordinate messaging and report on on-going outreach efforts. In June team members met with Williamson County Commissioner Morrison (June 8), Hays County Commissioner and LSRD Board Member Conley (June 11), City of Manor (June 14), Manville Water Supply Corporation (June 14), City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 1 of 7 Pages Bastrop County (June 18), and Bluebonnet Electric (June 21). B. LSRD staff will be part of a freight rail panel discussion along with Union Pacific, BNSF, and Port San Antonio at SAMCo's transportation leadership luncheon on July 9. 2, Passenger Rail Project: A. LSRD staff and consultants joined Union Pacific Railroad staff on a very successful joint inspection trip June 6-7. The hyrail inspection focused on the future passenger rail corridor as well as related Union Pacific territory and the general area of the proposed freight rail bypass. The purpose of the trip was to examine joint use demand and infrastructure requirements on the existing rail line and to progress joint service planning for passenger service combined with local freight operations. Follow-up meetings are being scheduled with UP at their headquarters in Omaha in July. B. Work in Travis County and Hays County to secure agreements for local operations and maintenance funding continues. Travis County Commissioners Court asked LSRD staff to return in October, after the budget cycle, to work with County staff on structuring an interlocal agreement (IA) for tax increment financing (TIF) zones around proposed LSTAR station sites. The team is wasting no time, however, and has moved on to discussions with the City of Austin on the proposed IA and a process to get the proposal before the city's Finance Committee and City Council in the near future. In Hays County, the working group made up of city, county, and LSRD staff and consultants made a report to Judge Cobb on 6/11, and subsequently met with the policy group on 6/21 to present the findings of the rail TIF workgroup. Next steps in Hays County include presentations to city councils and the Court to make a similar request as that made in Travis County and Austin, to begin IA discussions with staff. C. LSRD staff and consultants continue work on a comprehensive business plan. The plan will encompass the purpose and need for the LSTAR passenger rail project and freight rail bypass, financial and implementation strategies, operations and policy, service plans, costs, and risks and mitigation. The draft comprehensive plan is largely complete except for the financial element (still under development), which will detail the financial/P3 strategy the Rail District will follow in the coming months to begin securing capital funds and to inform financial and operational discussions with UP. The target date for completion is late August. D. Staff met with the North Central Texas Council of Governments/MPO to discuss statewide rail strategies and ways to pursue state and federal legislative coalitions to improve freight and passenger rail infrastructure. E. LSRD continues to participate actively in the CAMPO Transit Working Group and Project Connect initiatives to define the future Central Texas high capacity transit system. 3. Public Engagement: A. Annual statewide convention of Texas Public Works Association, Mesquite, TX (June 7) B. Project Connect North Corridor public meeting, Pflugerville, TX (June 19) C. Georgetown Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors (June 25) 4. Lone Star Rail District Board: A. The next Executive Committee meeting will be August 3 at 10:00 a.m. The meeting will either be held by conference call or at the San Marcos Activity Center. The meeting will location(s) will be identified one week in advance of the meeting and will be posted on the Rail District website. B. The next meeting of the Rail District Board will be September 7 at 10:00 a.m. at the Hill Country Event Center in San Marcos. City Manager Comments Public Hearing on the Tax Rate Irrigation Schedule TAMIO Awards Action from Executive Session There was no action from Executive Session. Public Wishing to Address Council On a subject that is posted on this agenda: Please fill out a speaker registration form which can be found on the City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 2 of 7 Pages 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 theagenda: 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 - Pat Schneider of Stonehaven Senior Center regarding their Social Services Funding Application Schneider introduced herself and gave a brief history of the Stonehaven Senior Center. She said the Center is for anyone over 50 years, many of them who live alone. She said they offer a variety of programs and provide a wealth of educational seminars to its residents. She noted they serve soup on Mondays and noted this is a way for seniors to get together for a meal. She said Georgetown provides about 25% of their funding and they make up the rest. She said a person can also make a memorial or monetary contribution to the center. She thanked the City Council for their time. Statutory Consent Agenda The Statutory Consent Agenda includes non -controversial and routine items that Council may act on with one single vote. A councilmember may pull any item from the Consent Agenda in order that the council discuss and act upon it individually as part of the Regular Agenda. C Consideration and possible action to approve the minutes of the Workshop and Regular Council meeting held on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 -- Jessica Brettle, City Secretary D Consideration_ and possible action to authorize Mayor George Garver to sign the one-year Operating Agreement between Georgetown Art Works and the City of Georgetown for management of the art center that will be located in Old Fire Station #1 -- Eric Lashley, Library Director and Laurie Brewer, Deputy City Manager E Forwarded from the Georgetown Economic Development Corporation (GEDCO): Consideration and possible action to approve the Third Amended Agreement by and between GCV Enterprises, LLC dba Grape Creek Vineyards and the Georgetown Economic Development Corporation (GEDCO) -- Bridget Chapman, Acting City Attorney and Mark Thomas, Economic Development Director F Consideration and possible action to appoint Anna Eby to the Historic and Architectural Review Commission to fill a vacancy recommended by the Mayor -- George Garver, Mayor Motion by Jonrowe, second by Eason to approve the consent agenda in its entirety. Approved 7-0 Legislative Regular Agenda Council will individually consider and possibly take action on any or all of the following items: G Public Hearing for the disannexation from the city limits of approximately 267.3 acres located along Leander Road, also known as Water Oak and Williamson County M.U.D. #25 -- Jordan J. Maddox, AICP, Principal Planner Maddox described the item and said this disannexation is for the Water Oak Development project. He said this is the second public hearing to remove the acreage from the City limits. Public Hearing opened at 6:20PM No persons were present to speak. Public Hearing closed at 6:20PM H Forwarded from the General Government and Finance Subcommittee (GGAF): Consideration and possible action to approve the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) of $1,675,078.00 to Chasco Constructors for the construction of Fire Station 2 -- Terry Jones, Support Services Construction Manager and Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer Jones showed the Council a rendering of what Fire Station Two is going to look like upon completion. He briefed City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 3 of 7 Pages the Council on the steps that got the City to this point. He said, over the past five months, the committee has been designing the station and working through the building application process. He described the item before the Council. He offered Council his observations on the design build method for this project. He said, on this project to date, his opinion is that the design build method does not offer any savings over the other options due to the cost of the third party administrator. He said he would like to add that Broaddus represents the City well and that this opinion is not a reflection on their performance. He described some of the documentation given to the Council, including a listing of County and City subcontractors working on the project. Sattler thanked Jones for his candid presentation on the design build process. He said that was a very honest answer and noted it goes a long way. Gonzalez asked about the design build and what would be a good project for that type of method. Jones said it depends on how fast the Council would like to complete a project. Hammerlun thanked Jones and noted he appreciates him giving a true and honest assessment on this process. He asked that the City work to improve on how to go about estimating the cost of these projects. Motion by Hammerlun, second by Sattler to approve the item. Approved 7-0 Discussion and possible action to direct staff regarding a potential amendment to Chapter 2.36 of the Code of Ordinances related to the Attendance Policy for City Commissions, Committees and Boards -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager Brandenburg described the current attendance policy for the Council. He said there is a 75% attendance requirement that does not allow for any excused absences. He said this is purely for discussion and noted, given the fact that everyone has medical issues, Council may want to consider amending the Ordinances to allow for medical related excused absences. Jonrowe said this was something she discussed with staff about not only Council but members of the Boards and Commissions. She said she believes when Council was originally looking at this policy, that thought it was too much of a hassle to keep track of things like this. She said, however, it is good to consider medical excuses. She said she would hate to get kicked off one of the board because she went into labor that day. She asked that Council seriously consider this change. Motion by Jonrowe, second by Meigs to approve. Gonzalez said he understands the concerns but noted there still has to be a limit on these excused absences as well. He said he does not want people abusing this as well. Motion to amend by Gonzalez, second by Sattler to allow two excused absences per calendar year for medical purposes in addition to the 75% threshold for non -excused absences. There was much discussion and clarification on what this motion means for the policy and how the absences would be calculated. Mayor spoke about where this originated and why attendance has been an ongoing issue for the Council. Eason said she thinks what happened was that the Council went from one extreme to the other regarding absences. She said it has always been a part of the discussions to play it by ear and see how these things would go. She said she received a letter about non-attendance at Animal Shelter and noted all of those were related to surgeries and her mother's death. She said the City needs to giving the chairs the opportunity to be responsible for relaying the message to their Boards that the Council has given the opportunity for excused absences. He said the City has come away from the days where the City has been stalled by Boards and Commissions that could not meet quorums. Eason said this is something for which the City needs to be more understanding. There was much discussion regarding the motion to amend. Vote on the motion to amend: Approved 6-1 (Eason opposed) Vote on the motion as amended: Approved 7-0 J Forwarded from the Georgetown Economic Development Corporation (GEDCO): Discussion and possible action to approve a Performance Agreement between GEDCO, DiFUSION Technologies, Inc. and the Texas Life -Sciences Collaboration Center (TLCC) -- Mark Thomas, Economic Development Director Thomas described the performance agreement between DiFUSION and TLCC. Motion by Gonzalez, second by Meigs to approve the agreement. Approved 7-0 K Discussion and possible direction concerning parking around the Williamson County Justice Center City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 4 of 7 Pages Complex due to the closing of the Williamson County Parking Garage -- Bridget Chapman, Acting City Attorney and Robert Fite, Fire Chief Chapman said, on March 8, 2011, the Council considered a request from Williamson County to grant temporary lifting of the parking restrictions around the Justice Center due to the problems with their parking garage. She noted the Council extended the restrictions until April of this year and added it is now expired. She said Council is being ask to decide how to move forward with this issue. Gonzalez asked and Brandenburg said he is not aware of any work or plans being submitted to date to address the issue. Gonzalez said any extension of this needs to go along with the view that a plan or progress is going forward. He said it would be good for Council to extend it as long as the County has plans to rectify the issue. Fite said, besides the fire apparatus and turning radius, there are a lot of residents being affected. He said everyone knows this is temporary but noted he does not know what temporary means. Jonrowe said in general she is a patient woman but noted the people that live in this neighborhood have been more than patient for over a year. She said it is time to send signal to the County. She said it would be one thing if the County has demonstrated they are moving forward but noted it seems the County is just hoping the City will keep moving this way. Chapman said a suggestion may be to reconsider the parking once they start working on the garage. Jonrowe said she would be more than happy to move in that direction. Fite said there is a lot of staff work and street department work to put the signs up he said, if the City chooses to do this, we just do this once. Gonzalez said there needs to be evidence of substantial work being done. Mayor asked, when you take the street out of play, where do people park. Brandenburg said they are trying to negotiate an agreement with the County for a combined garage and he noted it is a convenience of being close to the Justice Center. He said it would just be pushing them to other areas where they would have to work to the Justice Center. Mayor asked and Brandenburg said he has been communicating through Commissioner Covey about a joint effort on this garage. Mayor asked and Brandenburg said it is more of an issue of all of the Commissioners getting together. He said, if the issue is to work well and play nice with them, he can meet with them prior to the next meeting on this issue and see what they say about the progress. Mayor said it seems a drop of honey yields greater results than a drop of vinegar. He said the consensus is to hold this for another two weeks and, in the meantime, Brandenburg will meet with the judge and commissioners and see what we can get from them in terms of commitment. Chapman asked and Mayor said it would be another action item. Brandenburg said, in the spirit of cooperation, the County needs to show some incentive. Motion by Gonzalez, second by Jonrowe to direct the City Manager to speak with the County and come back with a proper resolution based on those discussions. Approved 7-0 L Second Reading of an Ordinance amending Chapter 9.13 of the Code of Ordinances relating to the Juvenile Curfew -- Wayne Nero, Police Chief and Bridget Chapman, Acting City Attorney (action required) Nero described the item and mentioned there is a sunset provision to the juvenile curfew and added it has just expired. He said this is a viable tool for law enforcement and one he recommends be continue. He read only the caption of the ordinance on second reading. Motion by Meigs, second by Jonrowe to approve the Ordinance . Jonrowe asked and Nero said this is something the police can use to control graffiti and tagging. Approved 7-0 M Second Reading of an Ordinance for Rezoning of Quail Meadow, Unit III, Block 10, pt Lot 5, from Residential Single -Family (RS) District to Local Commercial (C-1) District, located at 2501 Oak Lane -- Carla Benton, Planner 11 and Elizabeth Cook, Community Development, Acting Director (action required) Benton described the item and read only the caption of the Ordinance on second reading. Motion by Hellmann, second by Meigs to approve the Ordinance. Approved 7-0 N Second Reading of an Ordinance for the voluntary annexation into the city limits of 93.77 acres in the Mary Ann Lewis, Leroy Lord, and William Roberts Surveys, for a future section of Georgetown Village, located on Shell Road -- Jordan J. Maddox, AICP, Principal Planner (action required) Maddox described the item and read only the caption on second reading. Motion by Hellmann, second by Gonzalez to approve the Ordinance Hammerlun asked and Maddox said this area eventually be in the PID. Approved 7-0 City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 5 of 7 Pages O Consideration and possible action to approve a Resolution regarding postponing the Charter Amendment Election -- Bridget Chapman, Acting City Attorney and Jessica Brettle, City Secretary Chapman described this item for the Council and the history of the election issue. She noted, last year, Council voted to move the election from May to November. She said this necessitated a Charter Election to make that change. She noted the Council appointed a Charter Committee to look into other charter amendment in addition to the election amendment. She noted, recently, Council voted to not bring forward the Charter amendment on the election. She said this Resolution postpones the Charter Election. Motion by Meigs, second by Jonrowe to approve. Sattler said he still thinks we need to have an election so the voters can decide when they should vote. Chapman said the original resolution stated that the Council wanted to move the Election to November but, in order to do that, it requires a Charter Election. Gonzalez asked and Chapman confirmed the voters would ultimately decide if the election date would be changed. Vote on the motion: Approved 4-3 (Hellmann, Gonzalez, Sattler opposed) P Consideration and possible direction regarding proposed revisions to the Procedures Ordinance, Chapter 2.23 -- Bridget Chapman, Acting City Attorney Chapman described the item and how revisions to the procedures ordinance were given to the Council on June 27. She summarized some of the issues Council may want to discuss. She said there is a timeline for when to put items on the agenda and asked if Council would like to put an actual deadline on that. She said another issue is when a Council member should be notified of a rejection of an item. She noted another item that was added was to provide some special presentations such as applicants more than the three minute time period. She said another suggestion is to delete the time period for a Council member to speak. Sattler asked and Chapman said she does not think there is a time limit for Council members in Robert's Rules. Sattler asked about the process for the cancellation of special meetings. Brandenburg described the process and noted the special meetings typically only get cancelled due to lack of quorum. Chapman said the cancellation of a special meeting could also be done by the same people who called the meeting. There was much discussion regarding this issue. Eason spoke about the timeline for agenda items and noted the Council should be subjected to the same timeline as staff. She asked about special presentations and the fact that staff has listed criteria for the types of people who can give special presentations. She noted she does not know if this is necessary and she listed a couple of other criteria that could be included. Eason mentioned adding organizations for which Council are members, such as CAMPO or the Lone Star Rail District. Chapman said she had trouble with this and noted the other option is to do this with the City Manager discretion. Eason agreed to that idea and said it would be good to have a list and then have a option for other groups as allowed by the City Manager. Mayor said he does not sense a problem with the City's past history on this issue. Chapman said the City may not need this provision at all if Council finds it to be unnecessary. Brettle spoke about past instances where this was an issue and noted it can just be handled through better communication between staff and the applicant. Jonrowe said it seems this is just taking a current procedure and putting it into current policy. There was much discussion. Jonrowe went through the list of questions from staff. She said there should most definitely be a deadline for agenda items placed on Council. She noted, if an agenda item is rejected, it should be based on the City Ordinance and therefore should come from the City Attorney. She spoke about the Council member time limits and noted she thinks the City should get rid of that. Gonzalez said the timeline for agenda items should also allow for amendments in case the item is rejected after the first submittal. Chapman said she will be bringing back the Ordinance on first reading at the next meeting. Mayor asked if there is a consensus agreeing to Jonrowe's suggestions. Council agreed. Gonzalez said, if Council submits an item without staff assistance, the deadline should be earlier. Chapman asked about the special presentations section. Jonrowe said it seems the Council agreed with the current list with the addition of organizations Council members are a part of as well as at the discretion of the City Manager. No action was taken Q Consideration and possible action to approve a Resolution adopting the amended Governance Policy -- Bridget Chapman, Acting City Attorney Chapman gave a summary of the history of this issue to the City Council. She noted, last year, the Council appointed a committee to review the policy on City and Staff relations. She said, since that policy is within the City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 6 of 7 Pages governance policy, staff took it as an opportunity to review the policy as a whole. Motion by Meigs, second by Eason to approve the Resolution Sattler asked about the section on Council Committees and if it needs to mention the posting guidelines. Chapman said those guidelines are not in this policy. Sattler asked about the section regarding not giving orders to staff. He said he receives calls from his constituents regarding concerns and he normally forwards those to staff and copies the City Manager. Chapman said the best idea if for the Council to go through the City Manager. Brandenburg said the Council members can also refer their constituents to the website or provide them with contact numbers for staff. Jonrowe said she wants to make sure that Council can still communicate with the positions appointed by the Council without having to go through the City Manager. Chapman said that is addressed later on in the policy. Sattler asked about the section regarding staff and Council's relations with committees. He asked why a Council member could not attend Board meetings and ask them questions. Chapman said Council can go to the meetings and listen, but it is important not to participate. Sattler said he received a letter with Bob Laemel on the Parks Board, who complained about not seeing a Council member at their meetings. He said citizens and board members complain that Council members never come to their board meetings. Meigs said there is nothing preventing the Council from attending the board meetings but noted the Council will be seeing all of the items anyway. Eason spoke about how the Council used to receive regular reports from the Boards and Commissions. There were many comments from Council. Jonrowe asked and Chapman said it is required that a Council member must appoint a representative to speak for him or her in front of a board or commission. Jonrowe spoke about the importance of attending Board meetings as an audience member. Hammerlun said he appreciates the emails he received regarding what is going on in the board meetings. Vote on the motion: Approved 7-0 Ap�rqd�.. ayor Ge e Grver City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 7 of 7 Pages The meeting was adjourned at 08:01 PM. st: it Secretary Jessica Brettle f t