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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 City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 1 of 4 Pages 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 City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 2 of 4 Pages 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: City Council Meeting Minutes( Page 3 of 4 Pages 112 J-Z,ernel 'fee"� Mayor Georgetarver City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 4 of 4 Pages