HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 06.11.2013 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:
Patty Eason, Tommy Gonzalez, Rachael Jonrowe,
Jerry Hammerlun, John Hesser, Steve Fought
Council Absent:
All Council Present.
Staff Present:
Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager; Bridget Chapman, Acting City Attorney; Jessica Brettle, City
Secretary; Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer; Jim Briggs, General Manager of Utilities; Edward G.
Polasek, Transportation Services Director; Wesley Wright, Systems Engineering Director;
Minutes
Regular Session - To begin no earlier than 06:00 PIVI
(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 6:41 PM
Pledge of Allegiance
Comments from the Mayor
- Welcome and Meeting Procedures
City Council Regional Board Reports
City Manager Comments
- Fireworks
- Water Conservation
- Police Promotions
Action from Executive Session
Motion by Gonzalez, second by Fought authorizing the City Attorney to file a lawsuit to recover damages
resulting from the gasoline spill in Sun City that occurred in April 2011. Approved 7-0
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
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 the agenda: 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
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Page 1 of 6 Pages
topic they would like to address and their name. The City Secretary can be reached at 512/930-3651.
B - Mr. Phil Brown regarding the Bed and Breakfast Workshop Item from the meeting held May 28, 2013
Brown was not present at the meeting to speak.
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, May 28, 2013 -- Jessica Brettle, City Secretary
This item was pulled from the agenda by staff.
E Consideration and possible action to approve the appointment of Councilmember John Hesser, District 3, to
the Georgetown Utility Systems Advisory Board to fill a vacancy -- Mayor George Garver
F Consideration and possible action to approve the appointment of Mr. Cass Wheeler to the Ethics
Commission as the District 5 appointee to fill a vacancy -- Jerry Hammerlun, Councilmember, District 5
G Consideration and possible action to approve the purchase of contract labor services from Modis, Inc. in the
amount of $42,000 -- Mike Peters, Information Technology Director
H Consideration and possible action to approve an interlocal agreement with Williamson County regarding the
extension of Madrid Drive -- Bridget Chapman, Acting City Attorney and Ed Polasek, Transportation Services
Director
I Forwarded from the General Government & Finance Advisory Board (GGAF):
Consideration and possible action to approve a renewal of the ESRI Small Government Enterprise License
Agreement for GIS mapping software -- Chris Bryce, IT Applications Manager and Micki Rundell, Chief
Financial Officer
J Forwarded from the General Government and Finance Advisory Board (GGAF):
Consideration and possible action to contract with Winter and Company to update the Downtown Master
Plan for the City of Georgetown for the amount of $75,000 -- Matt Synatschk, Historic Planner and Laurie
Brewer, Assistant City Manager
Motion by Eason, second Hammerlun to approve the consent agenda with the exception of Item C, which was
pulled from the agenda by staff and item D, which was pulled to the Regular Agenda by Eason. Approved 7-0
Legislative Regular Agenda
Council will individually consider and possibly take action on any or all of the following items:
D Consideration of the 2030 Plan Annual Update Report -- Jordan Maddox, AICP, Principal Planner and Andrew
Spurgin, AICP, Planning Director
This item was pulled to the Regular Agenda by Eason.
Eason said she thought, since this is an annual update, she would like for it to be openly introduced and
described for the public. Spurgin said this is something that is done each year. He said this plan is reviewed and
monitored to make sure it is updated. He said there is also a five year update that is more comprehensive but
noted this is the annual update. He said, since last year's update, the City has been enlarged due to annexation
and he described those annexations for Council. He also spoke about disannexations as well. He listed some
of the other major events over the past year including the population surpassing 50,000 and how that affects the
City limits. He spoke about the rezoning cases that were approved last year as well as the conclusion of the
release of the census data from 2010. He spoke about what the Plan hopes to accomplish over the next few
years. He listed several unresolved issues including salamander endangered species listing, a possible merger
with Chisholm Trail, questions about water supply and fire safety, the annexation policy for the city and the City
of Excellence initative.
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Motion by Eason, second by Jonrowe to approve Item D. Approved 7-0
K Public Hearing and First Reading of an Ordinance for a Rezoning of 34.174 acres in the Joseph Fish
Survey from 9.04 acres of the Office (OF) District and 25.13 acres of the Local Commercial (C-1) District
to 14.97 acres of the Office (OF) District and 19.20 acres of the Local Commercial (C-1) District -- Mike
Elabarger, Senior Planner, and Andrew Spurgin, AICP, Planning Director (action required)
Spurgin described the area involved in the rezoning. He said this would lessen the uses and entails a
downzoning. He added staff and planning and zoning support this request. Mayor asked and Spurgin described
the cross streets for the location. He read only the caption of the Ordinance on first reading after having satisfied
the requirements of the City Charter.
Public Hearing was opened at 7:04PM
No persons were present to speak.
Public Hearing was closed at 7:05PM
Motion by Hellmann, second by Eason to approve the ordinance on first reading. Approved 7-0
L First Reading of an Ordinance to approve formally adopting the Fiscal and Budgetary Policy to be used in
preparing the 2013/14 annual budget and to guide financial operations -- Micki Rundell, Chief Financial
Officer (action required)
Rundell described the item and said this item amends the city's fiscal and budgetary policy. She listed the major
substantial changes to the policy included in the Ordinance. She read only the caption of the Ordinance on first
reading after having satisfied the requirements of the City Charter.
Motion by Eason, second by Hammerlun to approve the ordinance on first reading.
Hellmann asked and Rundell said the amount of days in contingency policy is a recommended practice.
Hellmann asked and Rundell said having that amount of reserves helps the city's bond rating.
Vote on the motion: Approved 7-0
M Update from the City's Financial Advisor regarding the final savings related to the General Obligation
Refunding Bonds, Series 2013 -- Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer
Rundell summarized the item and introduced Jennifer Douglas, of Specialized Public Finance, to the City
Council. Douglas said they received approval to move forward with the refunding bonds through the delegation
methodology. She said they priced back on May 14 and the savings are finalized at this point. She noted, since
there, there has been an increase in interest rates. She said it worked out in the City's best interest to have the
flexibility. She said the new bonds that will be replacing the old ones will have a new interested of 2.059%. She
said, as a result, the City will receive savings of $743,264 spread out over the life of the issues. She noted this
represents about 6% savings over what the City was currently paying. Mayor thanked Douglas for her time.
N Consideration and possible action to approve the revised Rate Review Mechanism (RRM), between the
ATMOS Texas Municipalities (ATM) and ATMOS Energy,Mid-Tex Division -- Jim Briggs, General Manager of
Utilities
Briggs described the rate review mechanism and what it provides the ATM Cities. He said the 2008 rate review
mechanism expired at the end of 2011. He said ATMOS filed its general rate case with the railroad commission.
He spoke about the negotiations that occurred after that filing in order to come to its revised rate review
mechanism (RRM). He said staff is asking to approve a resolution approving this new RRM. He noted this
approval will not impact rates but will establish future rate filings.
Motion by Fought, second by Hellmann to approve. Approved 7-0
O Consideration and possible action to approve a parkland improvement agreement between the City of
Georgetown and the developer of The Summit at Rivery Park Subdivision — Bridget Chapman, Acting City
Attorney, Kimberly Garrett, Parks and Recreation Director and David Munk, City Engineer
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Chapman described the agreement to Council. She spoke about how the agreement will require construction of
a storm water detention pond. She spoke about the planned location of the detention pond. She noted, if
approved, the pond and parkland improvements will be constructed and improved by the developer. She said
the Parks Advisory Board has approved the terms of the proposal that have been included in this agreement.
Speaker, Jeff Novak, spoke about the numerous agreements that have to be assembled in order to complete
this project. He spoke about the work being done so far on this project. He thanked Chapman for her work and
for Brandenburg's leadership.
Motion by Hellmann, second by Gonzalez to approve the agreement. Approved 7-0
P Second Reading of an Ordinance Rezoning from Agriculture (AG) District to Local Commercial (C-1)
District for 9.292 acres in the Joseph Fish Survey, located at 4775 Williams Drive -- Mike Elabarger, Senior
Planner and Andrew Spurgin, Planning Director (action required)
Spurgin described the property and the rezoning that will occur with this Ordinance. He said this item was
approved unanimously by the Planning and Zoning Commission and staff. He read only the caption of the
Ordinance on second reading.
Motion by Hammerlun, second by Fought to approve the Ordinance. Approved 7-0
Q Review and possible direction to terminate the current contract with Lone Star Rail District in the annual
amount of $50,000 as evidenced by the results of the 2012 Citizen Survey --Tommy Gonzalez, Mayor Pro
Tem, Councilmember, District 7
Gonzalez said, after reviewing the citizen survey, one of the important categories on the survey was
transportation. He said the results of the survey show only 11 % of the respondents said adding transportation
would make Georgetown a better place. He spoke about the survey response that showed 65% of respondents
would be against increasing taxes for a rail system. He spoke about how his election validated the fact that his
residents are not in favor of rail. He noted he thinks that money can be better spent on issues such as
maintaining our CARTS service. He said, even though there is a vocal minority that supports rail, the city should
not disenfranchise those that do not support it.
The following citizens spoke to Council in opposition to the item:
Marjorie Herbert, Arden Trevino, Porter Cochran, Ray Rodriguez, Paul Hundley, Dottie Westerfield, Diane
Coker, Leeta Shands, Gini Sheffield, Ron Trimmer, Leonard Van Gendt, Rick Williamson, Wait Doering, Sharon
Covey, Ross Hunter, Jodi Salyers
The following citizens spoke to Council in favor of the item:
Rick Lutowski, Pat Berryman, Georgia Williams, Michelle Brown
For complete video and audio of the comments from the public, please visit the City of Georgetown's GTV
website at http://government.-georgetown.o[g/qty/
Eason said, if nothing else, this proves that there must be more public discussion and research into this issue.
She spoke about how there are two new members of the Council who do not know anything about the Rail
District. She said her recommendation is to send this for more research. She said she could provide feedback
on a lot of the questions brought forward this evening but noted most people would not believe what she is
saying. She said more information and presentations must be given to the Council on this issue. She
mentioned some of the other visions and decisions made by our forefathers which resulted in wonderful assets
for the city, including San Gabriel Park and the Sun City development. She said the issue of public
transportation and the rail district and its connection to the plans for the state and beyond is important to
consider. She spoke about how it is imperative to do something visionary for the state as a whole as well as the
local community. She noted more research needs to be done and shared on this issue before any kind of
decision is made. She noted, if the City were to follow the logic that the survey is the determining factor for
transportation issues in the City, there are no transportation issues on there that have received majority support.
Hellmann said this has been going on for six years and he has been a part of it for two years. He said he voted
against suspending the membership last year and the year before because he did not want to rush it and
educate himself. He described how he has learned a lot about the difference between types of rail and why it is
important to know the difference. He said the question is whether or not Council wants to keep spending
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$50,000 to be a part of this project. He said he feels this has been through due process and it has been vetted
by many public forums. He spoke about some of the conversations he had with the leaders for the Lone Star
Rail District. He said he does not feel there is an economic return on this investment in the membership in the
Lone Star Rail District.
Hesser said he felt this would be a very tough decision for him because he felt he does not have enough time
and information to make this decision. He said a lot of misinformation has been passed out regarding this
project and he spent a lot of time doing his homework prior to this meeting. He said he does not want the City to
invest money in the rail and then have the rail pulled away from them. He said he would like to spend the City's
energy on the current transportation projects instead of membership in the District.
Fought supports rail and metro systems around the world. He asked why this did not get sent through GTAB
early on. He said doing so gives a sense of order and transparency to the process. He said everything that he
has heard and read tells him that this system is going down the pike to an unaffordable destination. He added
each of the cities will have to build the station, maintain and operate the station and contribute to the overall
operating costs of the City. He noted that is big money. He said what everyone is searching for is a commuter
rail system and not a passenger rail system. He spoke about starting over and sending this concept to GTAB for
further exploration.
Hammerlun said a lot of what he would have said, Hellmann has already said. He said, for the first time, he and
Berryman must have spoken to the same people because most of his constituents are not in favor of the City
staying in the Lone Star Rail. He said he knows a lot more about this but noted we as the community have a lot
of other issues we need to address, including a bus challenge the community faces now. He said he sat here
today listening to the folks from TXDOT and, although he learned a lot of what is going on at the state level, he
is disappointed in the leadership the state government has shown in relation to the rail initiatives. He noted, as
we prepared to participate tonight, he did a great deal of research on the Capital Metro rail system. He noted he
is not yet convinced there will not be a cost to the City. He said he likes Fought's suggestion that we step back
and start the process over through GTAB. He said he can not support continuing to pay the money for this at
this time.
Jonrowe thanked everyone for attending and noted it is becoming obvious that there are members who have not
listened. She said she is frustrated when people ask about cost and whether transportation options will cost
money when they never ask those type of questions about roads. She spoke about the survey and how it was
asking about a property tax increase. She described why this is not an indication of whether or not people
support public transport. She said we said we wanted to be a destination city and added this is a project that will
help bring people to Georgetown. She said this is a mistake but noted she feels there is nothing she can say to
convince people to change their minds. .
Gonzalez said this has been going on for the past six years and each year, Council says "one more year."He
said the educational portion of this project falls upon Eason to inform the Council and the public on this. He said
he is not opposed to a rail but noted let the Lone Star Rail contact Georgetown when they want to build the
Austin to Dallas portion. He said the idea that the rail will be self supporting is not the case. He continued to
described why he is opposed to spending money on this issue.
Eason said she can only add that the Council members do not know what they are talking about. She described
how the structure for the line is being built using federal and private funds. She said the facts of the matter are
not being translated on several levels which is why she can not understand why people do not want this to go to
GTAB before a final decision is made. She spoke about, by withdrawing from the district, if the city wanting to
get back in it would have to pay more money.
Jonrowe said an afternoon on the internet does not an expert make. She said the City needs to give this topic
the time and consideration this town deserves. She noted, if GTAB comes up here and tells Council to get out,
she would be the first person to put an item on the agenda telling us to get out.
Motion by Gonzalez, second by Hellmann to approve a Resolution to withdraw from the Lone Star Rail District.
Approved 5-2 (Eason, Jonrowe opposed)
Chapman said a formal Resolution to withdraw from the Lone Star Rail District will be on the next City Council
agenda.
R Consideration and possible action regarding possible changes to the Council's workshop schedule --
Rachael Jonrowe, Councilmember District 6
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Jonrowe spoke about why she thinks we should have Workshops on Mondays and Council meetings on
Tuesday. She said a new structure will encourage openness and diversity on the Council because the meetings
would be at a time that works for everyone. She said, as the town gets bigger, there are more issues the Council
needs to address. She said she often feels the Council is rushing things. She noted working constituents
should be able to come and watch Workshop items. Eason spoke about how the Workshop schedule and
Executive Session was on a Monday in the past. She said that structure gave staff and Council enough time to
discuss all items fully and it was much more productive. She said there is a definite benefit of having more
people present at the meetings and the two day schedule would allow for that. Mayor asked and Jonrowe and
Eason clarified that they would prefer to have the Workshops on the Monday before the Council meeting.
Hellmann said he is opposed to changing the current schedule and noted it would be harder for his family as
well as staff members who will have to stay away from their families on two nights in a row. He said the online
streaming of the meetings will address the issue of people not being able to attend. Hesser said having the staff
being away from their families on one night instead of two would be beneficial. Fought said he will attend on any
schedule but noted, staff will need to be compensated for any extra time at work. Hammerlun said he can not
do Monday nights and will not work for him on a business commitment standpoint. He said he would like to stay
with the current structure. Gonzalez said it puts a burden on a family to have to meet on two nights a week
instead of one.
Jonrowe withdrew her item from the agenda.
Approve
Mayor George darver
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Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 09:30 PM.