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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 06.25.2013 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, Tommy Gonzalez, Troy Hellmann, All Council Present. Steve Fought, John Hesser, Jerry Hammerlun, Rachael Jonrowe Staff Present: Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager; Jessica Brettle, City Secretary; Bridget Chapman, Acting City Attorney; Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer; Shirley Rinn, Executive Assistant to the City Manager; Laurie Brewer, Assistant City Manager; John Sullivan, Fire Chief Minutes 11111111i 110 IT 111 11 Ili ill Il I Ii 1111 _I # A Social Service & Youth Program Funding Applicant Presentations to Council -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager Mayor provided a brief overview of this process. He said the Council is interested in knowing how the organizations are functioning. He said the organizations each have three minutes to address Council and the Council is able to ask questions if so desired. He noted the Council will determine the funding allocations at a future meeting. Representatives from the following organizations spoke to Council regarding their social service funding applications: Assistance League of Georgetown, Bluebonnet Trails Community MHMR, Briarwood-Brookwood, Inc, Faith in Action Caregivers, The Caring Place, Habitat for Humanity, Literacy Council of Williamson County, Lone Star Circle of Care, Senior Center at Stonehaven, Williamson County Crisis Center dba: Hope Alliance, Williamson -Burnet County Opportunities (WBCO), Getsemani Community Center- George Brightwell, CASA of Williamson County, Texas, Family Eldercare- Angela Atwood, Samaritan Center for Counseling and Pastoral Care, Goodwill Industries of Central Texas Representatives from the following organizations spoke to Council regarding their youth program funding applications: Boys and Girls Club, Georgetown Cultural Citizen Memorial Association, Georgetown Partners in Education, Georgetown Project, Getsemani Community Center, R.O.C.K, Ride on Center for Kids, WC4C, Williamson County Historical Museum, Inc. , Williamson Council on Alcohol and Drugs dba LifeSteps, Boy Scouts of America, Capital Area Council, San Gabriek District and Pack 2935 For complete video and audio of the comments and discussion, please visit the City of Georgetown's GTV website at hftp://government.georgetown.orq/qtv/ City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 1 of 3 Pages B Presentation of the General Capital Projects for Parks, Downtown and Facilities -- Paul Brandenburg, City Manager and Laurie Brewer, Assistant City Manager Brandenburg introduced the item and said this presentation will focus on the downtown and community services CIP Projects. He spoke about the future of the facilities plan as well. He said there are some unique opportunities that are going to take place downtown in terms of facilities. He spoke about parking downtown and how it is becoming an issue now that more people are coming downtown. With a Powerpoint Presentation, Brewer said this went to the GGAF Board and some of the other downtown boards as well. She described Capital Improvement Projects and what those entail for the Council. She said CIP projects are large, one time expenditures for fixed assets. She said this evening staff is seeking Council feedback and approval for the proposed projects for fiscal year 2013/14. She said staff does look at planning for a five year period. She described the current CIP authorizations, including the 2008 Bond Election, which authorized $81.5 million for roads and parks. She said the County has issued all of its voter authorized debt, however, they are putting together a proposal for a future bond referendum. She spoke about the Parks Bonds and said the total package was $35.5 million and passed with 58% of the vote in November 2008. She said the actual bond language does not stipulate amounts but she listed the original proposed amount for the different projects. She said the first bond issuance was for $4.5 million and $1 million was used for trails. She said about $500,000 was used to take out San Gabriel pool and build the parking lot next to the community center. She said $1 million is to be spent on bank stabilization and the playscape. She said the last bond issuance was for $5 million and she described the many projects under that issuance, including Garey Park, Westside Park purchase, San Gabriel Park planning and design, River Corridor park preservation, Playscape, San Gabriel Park Bank stabilization, trail and San Gabriel pool demolition and parking lot. She listed the remaining funds after all of these projects are completed. She spoke about the specific Parks Bond projects coming in 2013/14. She said Garey Park design/planning and engineering will take place with a cost of $1.5 million. She said the master planning and design for San Gabriel Park is $1 million. She spoke about the planning of a potential historic park with a cost of $500,000. She said other projects for this year include Chautauqua Park, McMaster Athletic Complex, VFW Park, Williams Drive Pool, River Ridge Pool and the Tennis Center Pool. She spoke about the sidewalks strategy for 2014. She said the goal is to do a comprehensive sidewalk study to determine all of the gaps throughout the City. She said the strategy for the current year while they are doing the study is that the city will do new sidewalk construction/rehab in conjunction with downtown streets rehabilitation. She listed the various sidewalk projects being recommended for repair over the next year. She said they are also looking at the trailhead at Austin Avenue as well as pedestrian signals when warranted. She listed some of the other projects including the continued expansion of antique street lights, conducting a mast arms study and the emergency warning system. She showed Council a map of the location of the current warning sirens. Jonrowe left the dais. Brewer spoke about parking. She provided Council with an example of how a parking garage can be incorporated into the downtown and look like a regular building. She said they have identified several options for parking. She said they are looking at a full scale parking facility with retail space at Rock and 6th. She said the County has indicated the City can partner up for a surface parking lot at MLK and 8th. She said they are also considering a parking facility on the Hewlett Parking lot at Main and 9th. She spoke about the Facilities Master Plan and the three stages of projects as identified in the 2003 Master Plan. She provided updates on all of these projects. She said the final goals are municipal court, city hall and a parking structure. She said Brandenburg had mentioned construction of a Downtown Civic Center and festival area west of the square along 8th Street. She said that is still the current plan. She showed Council a proposed calendar for the Downtown Civic Center. She said Phase 1 (2013/2014) would start with Municipal Court and the MLK and 8th Parking Lot. She said Phases Two, Three and Four will be in future years and will be brought forward later for future discussion and consideration. She described the plan for some of the other facilities as well, including PSTOC, West Side Service Center, NW ESD Fire Station, East Side Fire Station and the Collection Station. She spoke about the next steps of the process. There was much discussion. Gonzalez said he thinks the facilities plan is a great idea and he spoke of the importance of getting some of the city properties back on the tax rolls. Hammerlun asked and Brewer confirmed the amphitheater was approved in the bond election of 2008. Hammerlun asked about the possible bond election of Spring 2015. Brewer said the funds for the projects before then would come from certificates of obligation and cash balances. Hammerlun asked about the stage of the planning for the parking structure. Brewer said they are currently packaging a request for proposals for parking, facilities study and landscape architects in order to do a full fledged analysis of what the needs are downtown. Brewer said the public private partnership is very appealing because the first floor of the garage could be use as retail and dresses up the building. Hammerlun said he thinks there are groups out there that would be interested in a competitive package like that. He said he also has questions for City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 2 of 3 Pages the emergency warning system. Brewer said this is included in a future budget. Fought said it seems there will not be another bond election in the future. Brewer said there will not be an election for the current year but noted they have been looking at bond issues in the future. Fought said he likes the plan for the parking garage. C Update on the Fire Department Study being done by Emergency Services Consulting International (ESCI) -- John Sullivan, Fire Chief With a Powerpoint Presentation, Sullivan provided the Master Plan for the Fire Department and their Fire Department Program and Service Audit to the City Council. He spoke about the reason behind this plan and said it is to determine what's working and what needs improvement. He said the plan is an honest assessment of who we are, what we can do and where we need to go. He provided the Council with a summary of the process for this study. He said the RFP went out in March and there were site visits with peer evaluators in April. He said the evaluation process includes a lot of things and he described those for the Council. He showed a map of the City of Georgetown and the location of the emergency services district area and the locations of the current fire stations. He showed the Council the organizational structure of the Fire Department. He said the current structure had a few flaws in it due to the growing department. He showed Council the new, proposed structure that meets the industry standards. He showed Council the Fire and EMS cost per capita. He showed Council a graph of the total incidents per 1,000 population as compared to the urban and rural highs and lows. He showed Council the fire loss statistics as well. He said setting up planning and goals is really what this work plan is about. He said administrative and support staff is one element to look at and he described the study results for that issue. He spoke about training and safety and why this is an area of concern for the department. He said one of the areas is the candidate physical ability test or CPAT. He noted the City has a program in place and it has not be validated and does not meet the national study. He described the key facts and findings for the fire prevention and public education section. He described the findings and recommendations under the Emergency Management section as well. He said the current capital assets per 1,000 population is quite good. He showed Council a map showing the incident density throughout the City. He said a lot of the fires and incidents are happening along major thoroughfares. He showed Council a map of the response capabilities and noted this will assist the City in determining where future fire stations are needed. He spoke about response times and said the City has an average response time of 6 minutes and 55 seconds, which is high. He spoke about what the department is looking to do in order to address those issues and decrease the response time. He said their goal is a 5 minute response time. He described the future demand estimated on the fire department and EMS. He showed Council a map of the future stations based upon short term growth projections. There was much discussion and many questions. Gonzalez mentioned achieving a better diversity in the department. Sullivan said the report did find a deficiency in that issue, He said the study said the training staff is understaffed and he hopes hiring more staff will assist in reaching more people and improving recruitment. Meeting recessed to Executive Session under Sections 551.071 and 551.086 -- 4:55PM Meeting returned to Open Session and adjourned -- 6:04PM Approved Mayor George Garver City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 3 of 3 Pages Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 06:04 PM. n Ci ecretary Jessica Brettle