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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 03.12.2013 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 All Council Present. Gonzalez, Rachael Jonrowe, Jerry Hammerlun, Troy Hellmann Staff Present: Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager; Bridget Chapman, Acting City Attorney; Jessica Brettle, City Secretary; Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer; Susan Morgan, Finance Director; Jim Briggs, General Manager of Utilities; Laurie Brewer, Assistant City Manager; Policy Development/Review Workshop - Call to order at 04:00 A Workshop discussion of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2012 -- Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer; Susan Morgan, Finance Director and Lisa Haines, Controller With a Powerpoint Presentation, Morgan said she is pleased to present the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012 to the Council. She introduced Jeremy McMillon with CliftonLarsonAllen, L.P, who is the city's independent auditor. She described the definition of CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) and said it is performed in accordance with GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). She said GAAP are rules and standards by which all financial reporting is presented and prepared. She said this is not the same as the budgetary requirements. She said all of these rules are set by GASB (the Governmental Accounting Standards Board). She said this is a very important document and demonstrates the fiduciary accountability to citizens. She said it is an important reporting and compliance tool for management and elected officials. She said they use the document in their bond rating meetings.She said the primary audience for the document is technical and not an "average person." She said it is geared toward government accounting professionals. She said the document demonstrates compliances through the budget, bond covenants, budget and fiscal policies, investment policy, grants and proper internal controls. She said there is an independent audit done each year and the Council chooses the external auditor. She said the CAFR is a historical document and said the current document is related to the budget that was adopted in September 2011. She said, by the time the City gets to this point, there should be no surprises. She showed Council the summary statement of net assets. Gonzalez asked and Morgan clarified the long term liabilities line item on the summary statement of net assets. Morgan provided Council with the summary statement of activities, which is similar to an income statement in the private sector. Morgan spoke about how the City has gone with a "modified approach" with streets and she described that for the Council. She spoke about how the CAFR document links to the budget. She noted the budget shows the projected general fund balance while the CAFR shows the final actual general fund balance. She said, as soon as the City finishes this, they go on and start working on the next one. She spoke about some recent GASB changes and said five new statements will impact FY 2013. She spoke about some city issues to be included in the coming CAFR, including the CTSUD merger/LGC creation, electric fund and other items. Morgan showed Council a presentation guide that outlines some of the important financial documents the city produces. She showed Council the audit opinions and said the auditor's statement said that the "financial statements present fairly." She said that is as good as it gets. She City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 1 of 3 Pages introduced the auditor, Jeremy McMillon, to the Council. Mayor asked and McMillon said his firm has worked for three Texas cities. McMillon said they have over 500 cities that they work with nationwide. He spoke about the excellent staff and said there are two reviews done of the audit. He said his partner said that this is how a CAFR is supposed to be done. He said Morgan took all of the good things he had to say and added if the Council has questions, he is there to answer them. He said the audit process takes a very long time. He said this is a standard opinion for the City and everything the City has to report. He spoke about the government auditing standards report and how that is also a clean opinion. Gonzalez asked and McMillon said the only issue he can see is that this year the biggest thing the City needs to be aware of is that Finance has lost a staff member. Jonrowe asked and Morgan said this document will be online after this meeting. Hammerlun asked and McMillon spoke about the potential merger with CTSUD and the related due diligence process. Meigs asked and Morgan said the City has received the award for the past twenty eight years. Hellmann said he has no questions, but just compliments. B Presentation and possible direction to staff regarding the Albertson's Feasibility Study -- Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer and Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager With a Powerpoint Presentation, Rundell presented the Council with a feasibility study for the future of the Albertson's building. She introduced Ron Hobbs and Donna Stick, the consultants who prepared the report. Hobbs provided Council a brief overview of what the thought process was going into the study. He spoke about a conference center that was completed for the City of Hearst. He continued to show the Council pictures of the completed facility. He said he wants to make sure the Council is able to see the quality level they are taking about. He spoke about how outdoor spaces are valuable with facilities like this. He showed council an aerial view of the town centner in Hearst. He said a facility like this is more than just a meeting facility. He said the current Albertson's building is in as good of shape as he has seen in a very long time. He said even the roof condition is in rather good shape as well. He said there are a lot of opportunities with the building and its future use. He said the site has even more opportunities than the actual building alone. He spoke about the number of parking spaces needed for a ballroom/conference center type of facility. He said the location is literally a gateway into the city. He spoke about the unique view corridor from the highway to Georgetown. He summarized the several options for the Council. He said Option 1 would be shared space for the Ballroom and Expo Hall. He described the different occupancies for the different types of uses. He said the finishes in a ballroom must be higher than that of an expo hall. He showed Council a drawing of Option 1. He spoke about the existing columns that exist in the building and said they would work well in an expo hall but not necessarily a ballroom. He spoke about the shape of the building and how it is also awkward. He spoke about taking the internal space and then turning it, which will solve some of the issues. Hobbs went on to describe Option 2, which would be a separate space for the the ballroom and the expo hall. He showed the Council a drawing for this plan and how it would be good to utilize the roof space and build a second floor onto the building. He spoke about extending the columns through the roof and building on top of it. He spoke about this becoming a destination point for the City. He said this becomes an event center than incorporates both the indoor and outdoor spaces. He showed Council a view of the Northwest corner of the existing parking lot. He spoke about adding a multi-level parking facility which would give the City 800 parking spaces. He showed Council a rendering of the proposed Option 2 facility. He said the opportunities they saw in the building and on the site are fantastic. He said, if the City were to build a parking deck, the City would want to install screen walls around the perimeter. He said they do not want this to look like an office building attached to a parking garage. He showed Council the cost estimates for a project of this type.Eason spoke about how she heard the first presentation in GGAF and she asked that Hobbs expand upon the uses for the roof. Hobbs spoke about the recycled decking material called Trex. He said their thinking is to collect water to the west side of the building into a retention pond. He said their plan would be to have more decking space. He spoke about how the sun sets on the northwest and how the roof would be a nice shaded place for events. Stick said they spoke about using the outdoor deck for public art as well. There was much discussion about the two proposed plans. Hellmann asked and Hobbs said the Hearst building was built for a ballroom only, but noted there are future plans for an expo hall. Hellmann said most of his questions are related to how to pay for this type of project. Hellmann asked and Hobbs spoke about how this could possibly be a competitor to the Sheraton Project at the Rivery. Meigs said the plans are nice and he said he has questions regarding the project and how it relates to the Rivery. Hammerlun said he appreciates the quality of information they provided to Council. He said he would echo what Hellmann and Meigs has said regarding costs, competition, market conditions and other information that is needed. He also mentioned traffic issues. Sattler asked and Hobbs spoke about the acreage involved in the project. Jonrowe asked about the Hearst Center and where it is in relation to the shopping locations in the area. There was much discussion on the location of the Hearst project. Gonzalez spoke about how this project is related to the Rivery Project. He said he is encouraged by seeing the options for the Albertson's site. Mayor reviewed the GGAF recommendation. City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 2 of 3 Pages Mayor asked and Brandenburg said this item is posted for action on this agenda. He said it would be good to have a scope of this project by performing these proposed analysis. He spoke about the different analysis that could be done for this project. Meigs said it may be good to also incorporate other City sites into the studies. Brandenburg said he is hesitate to doing too many studies, paying money and then not making use out of it. Eason said, when she was discussing this is GGAF, the reason why they made the recommendation was to find out what parts of the study would be viable for an investment in the project. She noted, no matter what the City decides to do, it needs to have that information available anyway. She said the City needs to move forward with these analysis to see if there is a possibility for this site and its benefit to the downtown. She said it is short sighted to throw away this site. She noted she thinks the Council should not make any decisions without these answers. Motion by Eason, second by Jonrowe to move forward with the recommendation from GGAF: The General Govemment and Finance Advisory Board recommends approving authorization for staff to proceed with obtaining firms to conduct a Market Analysis, Financial Analysis, and Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) for the current Albertson's site regarding the plans for a Conference Center/Expo Center as presented in the Feasibility Study by Ron Hobbs Architects. Gonzalez said for him, this is a question of timing and they have some other decisions to make before they authorize additional expenditures for these studies. Meigs said he feels the City may be putting the cart before the horse with this project. Chapman clarified the motion for the Council. There was much discussion. Vote on the motion: Failed 3-4 (Meigs, Gonzalez, Hammerlun, Hellmann opposed) Meeting recessed to Executive Session under Sections 551.071 and 551.472 of the Local Government Code -- 5:43PM Meeting returned to Open Session and adjourned -- 6:34PM r Approv f' Mayor Gear i Ga . er City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 3 of 3 Pages AJou>rnment The meeting was adjourned at 06:34 PM. st: Ci ecretary J ssica Brettle