HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 09.11.2012 CC-WThe 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 Mayor George Garver
Gonzalez, Rachael Jonrowe, Troy Hellmann, Jerry
Hammerlun
Staff Present:
Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager; Bridget Chapman, Acting Ci'y Attorney; Jessica Brettle, City
Secretary; Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer; Mark Thomas, Economic Development Director; Jackie
Carey, Animal Services Manager;
Minutes
'• !- - ••: - • •,• c • • i i
A Public Hearing on the proposed 2011/12 Annual Budget -- Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer and Paul E.
Brandenburg, City Manager
Mayor George Garver and Sattler absent.
With a Powerpoint Presentation, .Rundell spoke about the proposed 2012/2013 budget and that it was first
presented to Council in July. She said staff finally had all of the elements needed to bring forward a five year
business plan. She said the budget represents year one of the "City of Excellence." She said the total proposed
budget is slightly less than $190 million. She said the General Fund is $44.3 million. She noted the main reason
for the decrease of the budget is due to the Capital Projects: She showed Council a pie graph of the various
budgeted revenues. She said the majority of the City's expenses relate to the utility system. She said, of the
total budget, a little more than 11 % is spent on public safety. She described the year to year general fund
budget. She said the general fund is funded by a different revenue stream than the rest of the City. She spoke
about why the Airport Fund is the only one that is not balanced. She said the contingency reserves in this
budget are at about $16.09 million, which represented 75 days of city-wide expenses. She said there is $7.4
million in the general fund reserves as well. She spoke briefly about the compensation study. She described the
General Capital Projects in the budget this year and said they include projects in downtown, parks, facilities and
street maintenance and rehabilitation. She described the utility capital projects as well, including those projects
in water services, electric services and transportation services. She spoke about the projected 2012/13 debt and
bond issues, the majority of which will be for the public safety facility. She said, traditionally, the bond issuance
is done in May but noted they will be requesting to do a bond issue this October due to market conditions. She
spoke about the utility rates in the budget. She noted staff does plan to review the water and wastewater rates in
the budget this year. She said there is a rate adjustment anticipated with the new garbage and recycling
agreement.
Rundell reviewed the certified assessed valuation for this year. She said there was $94 million in frozen values
last year. She said the 2012/13 average home value is now $185,915 which means Georgetown is not the
cheapest but it is also not the most expensive in Williamson County. She provided Council with a graph
showing the growth of assessed valuation in the City. She reviewed the proposed tax rate for the Council and
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said it is $0.41. She noted this rate will create an additional $412,000 worth of revenue over the proposed
budget. She spoke about the two portions of the tax rate: Maintenance and Operations as well as Interest and
Sinking. She provided Council with a proposed tax rate comparison showing that the City still has the lowest tax
rate in the Central Texas area. She spoke about the next steps and how, tonight, the City will be asked to
approve the tax and budget ordinances on first reading. Gonzalez asked and Rundell said the bonuses were
funded using leftover monies from last year.
Public Hearing opened at 3:53PM
No speakers were present.
Public Hearing closed at 3:53PM
B Presentation and discussion on the Grape Creek Winery Initiative -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager and
Mark Thomas, Economic Development Director
Thomas said the City has had a very interesting experience with this project and noted staff has been
discussing this with Grape Creek for almost a year. He said, tonight, there will be an item in open session for the
final consideration of funding for the project. He introduced Brian Heath of Grape Creek Winery to the City
Council
Heath thanked the City Council and staff and spoke about how they got started on this path through the Winery
Initiative. He provided the Council with a brief summary and history of Grape Creek Winery. He said they have
opened a location on Main Street in Fredericksburg. He said he is also a member of the Economic Development
and CVB Boards in Fredericksburg. He said wineries tend to attract a younger and more affluent crowd. He
provided the Council with a 360 view of the current winery in Fredericksburg. He said the design of the business
model is going to have to be twisted a bit so that locals will become repeat visitors to the winery in Georgetown.
He said, on the second floor, they are going to put in a wine club roon. He described the wine club room and its
benefits. He said they have a fairly significant marketing plan to get this up and going. He spoke about the
average business they do on the weekends. He said they have a very extensive wine club and email list that has
already been collected. He noted they will start using that list to market the Georgetown area. He said they
have high penetration and, when people find out they are coming to Georgetown, they are very excited. He said
this project got more expensive than anyone anticipated due to the condition and structure of the building.
Brandenburg spoke about the other downtown business owners and their excitement about this project.
Brandenburg asked and Heath said they met the Palace Theater forks and noted they are looking at doing a
joint event. He noted he thinks there is an opportunity to pair with restaurants and offer a free pairing as an
attraction to people on the square. He said he spent some time with Georgetown winery and noted they refer to
themselves as "Disneyland" which is a single destination with different "rides" or wineries. Eason said this has
been a dream of hers for many years. She spoke about her love for wineries and expressed her enthusiasm for
this project.
C Review of City of Georgetown's Animal Ordinances and Provisions -- Bridget Chapman, Acting City Attorney and
Jackie Carey, Animal Services Manager
With a Powerpoint Presentation, Chapman said she will be bringing a review of the City's current animal
ordinance for Council direction to staff. She said the ordinance has not has a thorough revision since 1995. She
said the animal ordinance covers a wide range of topics and said the first topic covers animal welfare provisions.
She reviewed the current provisions for the city council. She said the ordinance also requires animal licensing
and vaccination. She spoke about the instances when the ordinance requires permits. She said the animal
ordinance also has regulations regarding pet sales. She said the City currently requires a permit for the
commercial sale of pets. She said there are also provisions regarding the impoundment and adoption of
animals. She described this section of the ordinance in detail. She spoke about the issue of estray and other
livestock. She defined estray for the Council which is any kind of animal that is not livestock or a pet. She said,
there are very elaborate provisions in the Ordinance about how to handle estray in the city and she described
those for the Council. She said said there is also a rabies provision in the Ordinance. She said there is an
elaborate section regarding animal nuisances as well. She said there is a provision regarding the keeping of
wild: exotic and dangerous animals. She said the penalty for violation of the Ordinance is a misdemeanor and
carries a fine up to $500 for each offense. She said each day, each animal and each incident of violation ican be
considered a separate offense. She said the Ordinance is very broad and addresses a lot of topics. She
described some of the issues that have arisen in the last couple of years. Chapman reviewed the recommended
revisions for the City Council. She said staff would like to revise the dangerous dog and rabies quarantine
section to match State law. She said staff wants to ensure the Ordinance matches state law concerning rabies
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provisions as well. She said she wants to make sure the Ordinance meets due process concerns including an
appeal processes. She said she would like to improve on enforcement options. She said they want to remove
outdated and inapplicable provisions as well as make it readable and clear to the public. She said staff would
also like to take a look at the animal services fees. She reviewed the specific issues to consider regarding
dangerous dogs.and rabies quarantine.
Eason spoke about the issue of dangerous dog attacks. She said she has known cases where dogs have .gotten
out and killed cats and other animals. She noted this is a serious problem because dogs not only hurt people
but other animals. She added there needs to be a lot more detail when that provision is revised. Chapman said
the idea would be there will be different violations given depending on the situation. Brandenburg said this will
allow for more flexibility depending on the issue. Chapman said staff.would also like to look into kennels and:
multiple pet ownership. She said they are also looking at the sterilization on second impound provision in the
Ordinance. She said they would suggest some time period. -or appeal procedure before impoundment occurs.
Eason said and Chapman confirmed staff is being very careful with the issue of retail pet sales. Hammerlun said
he is on the Animal Shelter Board and noted, tonight, they are reviewing some proposed revisions in order to
get this Ordinance cleaned up, He said the issue of retail sales will come back in the future. Gonzalez said he is
a little trouble with how the City is proceeding with some of the wording, especially when talking about retail
sales.
Chapman said one part of the ordinance currently says a person .must have a permit to give puppies away out of
their home. Chapman said this is just a proposed rewrite and can be changed in future discussions. Gonzalez
said he will have an issues with the restriction of sale of animals. He said the City Council is trying to dictate
commerce at certain levels. Chapman said they are trying to not just protect animals but to also encourage
responsible pet ownership. She said retail sales are also regulated by federal and state law. She said, in order
to operate a legal business, you have to comply with those laws already, She said the idea would be that the
City would bring to the Council what state and federal law requires regarding that issue, have the public input,
then animal advisory board input and then Council can decide where they want to come out on that issue.
Hammerlun sad he wants to make one further comment and said, as a representative on the animal shelter
board, he would like to say the Animal Shelter board is looking for support and assistance with the legal staff to
help guide through this process. He said, in his short time on the board, he is convinced they are a passionate
group of people who are committed to animal welfare in the the city. He said the input from all of Council is
good as the board moves forward in this process. He said he was pleased to hear from the legal department
that the City needs to hear the entire issue. He said the input provided is helpful for the advisory board as they
continue these discussions.
Sattler asked and Chapman said the Ordinance on the regular agenda just allows hens as an exception to the
wild animal ownership provision. She added this issue is to discuss the entire animal ordinance. Sattler asked
and Chapman said it will take several months to overhaul the entire ordinance but noted staff wanted to institute
the hen provision sooner. Sattler asked and Chapman confirm the hen issue could always be revised again at a
later time. She spoke about the recommended revision process including an initial revision prepared by the
Legal Department with input from the Animal Services Department and other City staff, then the Animal Advisory
Board will review the revised draft, there will be a public workshop for presentation of the proposed Ordinance
followed by the first and second reading of the Ordinances. Meigs asked and Chapman said dogs and cats are
a separate category and you have to have a special permit for an ostrich. Jonrowe asked and Carey said there
is no current provision that would restrict people from owning animals after having one impounded or having
received a pet ownership violation. Chapman said any violation of the Ordinance subjects the animal to
impoundment, which can be from an at large animal to a mistreated animal. She said the judge will determined
what happens for the animal to be released. There was much discussion regarding this issue. Gonzalez asked
that Chapman also look into what happens when all fees are paid. Sattler asked and Carey said you go info the
dog park you are there at your own risk.
Council recessed to Executive Session under Sections 551.071, 551.072 and 551.086 of the Local Government
Code -- 4:54PM
Council returned to Open Session and adjourned -- 6:01 PM
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 06:01 PM.
Approved : Attest:
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112
J-Z,ernel 'fee"�
Mayor Georgetarver
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