HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 12.10.2013 CC-WNotice of meeting of'the
Governing Body of'the
City- of Georgetown, Texas
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
The Georgetown City Council will meet on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 at 2:00 PM at the Council Chambers, at
101 E. 7t' St., Georgetown, Texas
The city of Georgetown is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you
require assistance in participating at a public meeting due to a disability, as defined under the ADA, reasonable
assistance, adaptations, or accommodations will be provided upon request. Please contact the City Secretary's
Office, at least four (4) days prior to the scheduled meeting date, at (512) 930-3652 or City Hall at 113 East 8`1'
Street for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711.
Policy Development/Review Workshop — Cell to order at 2:00 1'M
A Overview of The Summit at the Rivery Park Development Project: City and Developer presentations — Paul E.
Brandenburg, City Manager; Bridget Chapman, City Attorney; Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer; Mark
Thomas, Economic Development Director
Mayor called the meeting to order at 2:05PM
Gonzalez, Eason absent.
With a Powerpoint Presentation, Chapman provided an overview of the Summit at Rivery Park Development
Project. She recognized and thanked members of the City staff and the City's legal team for their work on this
project. She reviewed all of the documents involved in the development package.
She described the Memorandum of Understanding as well as all of the definitive agreements necessary to
complete the projects. She spoke about the history of the Rivery Park Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone and
the proposed amendments to the Rivery Park TIRZ Ordinance, which is on the Council Agenda tonight. She
described the amended Rivery Park TIRZ Plan for the Council. She said the Project Plan is being updated and
she described what is included in those updates. She said the City is also updating the financing plan.
Eason arrived at the dais.
She provided Council with the financial summary of the project. Brainard asked and Chapman said the budget
for the project is $64 million. She listed the future tax increment fund eligible costs. She described the tax
increment financing (TIF) agreement between the City and Williamson County and the proposed amendments
on the agenda. She said the next agreement is the amended PUD Ordinance and she described the
amendments for the Council. She noted the development has been broken up into zones and she described the
allowed uses included under each of those zones. She showed Council a list of deviations from the UDC that
are included in the amendment to the PUD. She said the future required submittals include a master sign plan,
parking studies and a tree preservation plan. he listed the City Council approvals required including
modifications to any provision of the PUD, the site layout attached to the PUD, parking deviations from the UDC,
the tree preservation plan and the final site plans. She spoke about the master development agreement and the
provisions included in that agreement. She described the parkland improvement agreement, the GEDCO
Performance Agreement, the GTEC Performance Agreement and the Joint and Lease Agreement. She said
there are a few things the City must complete after the effective date of the agreements including the developer
financing commitment, developer guaranty agreement and the developer franchise/operator agreement. She
said they are waiting on preclearance from the Attorney General's office as well as County approval of the
second amended TIF agreement.
Hammerlun spoke about the County's status. Chapman spoke about the County and said their use of
conference center ballroom will be for six events rent free as well as use of break out meeting rooms.
Hammerlun asked and Chapman confirmed the City will own the parking garage. Hammerlun asked if we will
need additional expertise in terms of project management. Brandenburg spoke about how the City will be hiring
a project manager specific to each development and project and make it a part of the bond package, as
opposed to having an in house employee. Jonrowe asked and Chapman said, once the agreements are
negotiated and approved, all of the related documents will be available to the public.Jonrowe asked about the
retail portion of the development and if the documents outline the square feet and the amount of spaces.
Chapman said it is part of the site layout of the PUD but there is no commitment in terms of the size of a
restaurant or business. Jonrowe asked and Chapman said once all agreements are approved, the developer
start the next day.
Fought said this is a testimony to the good work that was done and he has no further questions, just applause.
Hesser appreciated how Chapman simplified the explanation of these documents. Hesser asked and Chapman
said the City will not be committing any financial resources to the project until they have all of the documents
approved. Brainard said this is an extraordinary agreement and he echoed all of the kudos she gave at the
beginning. He asked and Chapman said the parking garage is not expected to generate revenue. Eason said
she would like to say that she is amazed and shocked. She noted what has evolved because of the efforts of
staff is impressive and she is pleased that all of this has been able to come together like this.
B Discussion and possible direction on the creation of a Rental Registration and Inspection Program -- Laurie
Brewer, Assistant City Manager; Dave Hall, Chief Building Official and Julie Dominguez, Chief Code
Enforcement Officer
With a Powerpoint Presentation, Brewer reviewed the proposal for a residential rental properties registration
and inspections program. She spoke about why the City would want to consider the registration program for
various reasons including public safety and code enforcement. She reviewed the process that has occurred to
this point. She spoke about how a fire in the past that was related to bad wiring. She said this would help code
enforcement in that they will have a better idea of the property owners. She noted this program would increase
compliance with the building safety program.
She said the City has owners of single family residential structures that do not provide information on how to
contact them. She said some owners do not even live in Georgetown. She noted the City has a property
maintenance code but can only perform interior inspections upon a receipt of a complaint. She said major areas
for concern are no running water, bad wiring, blocked exit access and debris/fire hazard. She provided some
background on the number of rental properties in Georgetown. She continued to list some of the benefits of a
rental registration/inspection program. She said there are some concerns over implementing a new program
including the perception of additional "bureaucracy", workload concerns and potential cost to property owners.
She listed the existing programs in Texas and those cities currently considering programs. She said programs
vary due to conditions in each city. She described examples from other cities. She listed some options for
programs and said there will be education and outreach done and it will be complaint and violation based
inspections. She listed the staff goals and the next steps in the process. She said staff will develop a program
based on City Council direction and the final program details will be brought back to the Council for approval.
Fought spoke about why he thinks the City should not do the program but should do something that would allow
the City to know the owners of the property. Dominguez said we do perform these type of inspections, though
they are on a complaint basis. She said they do not usually know the owners of the single family homes that are
currently rental properties. Brainard asked about the state law that requires fire alarms in any rental property. He
spoke about having a program that would only penalize chronic offenders. Dominguez said that would be
possible. Hesser said he would like to know what this type of program would cost the city. Hesser said he is
inclined to say no until he has more information. He said his issue would be to deal with those who are
offenders and then take steps to correct the situation. Eason said we are way past due to do something like this.
She said the problems are mostly on the East side and have been going on since before she got here. She
spoke about her experiences and why it is important to have this type of program. Hammerlun asked and
Brewer confirmed one additional staff position would be put in place only if the City went to a mandatory
program. Hammerlun said there should be a database created of rental property owners and violations. He said
he would like to thank the code enforcement for doing what they can with the tools they have been given. He
said learning the owners of the property would be very beneficial at this point. Jonrowe asked about who must
file the complaint for an inspection to be done. Brewer said you would need the owners permission for an
interior inspection. Dominguez said they try to gain consent about an inspection prior to entering. Jonrowe
asked and Brewer said the City has a feel for people who live in sub -par units but do not report them to the City.
She said, by raising concerns, they may be evicted and then it is the next person's problem. She noted,
sometimes, they do not have any other choice but to live in those places. There was much discussion about
bringing rental properties up to City standards. Brainard clarified his position on alarm registration. Brainard said
he thinks the City should let the main offenders foot the bill. Fought spoke about requiring people who rent to
have a business license that why the City can track the owners of these properties. Jonrowe said it seems the
City is looking for a unique Georgetown program. She said within a block of her house, she has had examples
of both good and bad landlords. There was much discussion.
Motion by Fought, second by Eason to ask staff to flesh out the education option, including cost, and add a
provision to require rental properties in Georgetown to have a business license to operate.
Eason made a friendly amendment to direct staff to bring back specific tools that are necessary to accomplish
the goals of creating a database and maintaining it and what staff will need to be able to do its job and be able
to get inside structures.
Fought accepted the friendly amendment.
Hesser asked and Dominguez clarified how the City handles abandoned vehicles on the side of the road or in
the yard. Hesser asked staff to look into this.
Vote on the motion as friendly amended: Approved 6-0 (Gonzalez absent)
C Georgetown Fire Department Strategic Plan — John Sullivan, Fire Chief
With a Powerpoint presentation, Sullivan presented the 2014 Strategic Plan for the Fire Department. He
provided the Council with a history of the Georgetown fire department. He provided a community profile of
Georgetown and how it related to the fire department. He showed Council the response analysis for the City of
Georgetown and the city's average response time. He showed Council a graph of the types of calls that occur
as well as the city's ability to handle concurrent emergencies. He said the City is looking to establish some
response goals and he described those goals in great detail. He showed Council the current deployment model
as well as the proposed deployment model. He spoke about the fire departments' vision and mission statement.
He said the mission is to prepare, prevent, protect and provide caring service to the City of Georgetown and the
surrounding region. He also listed the department's core values. He listed the initiatives of the department and
spoke about how the department will meet those initiatives including safety, efficiency, prevention, emergency
management, professional development, health and wellness, culture and image, community health,
communications and fiscal efficiency. He spoke about team building and how it is a process they will be working
on in the future. He spoke about the timeline for the fire department strategic goals. He described the current
proposed strength of force for the department and said the first reading of the Ordinance will be going on
tonight's agenda. He showed Council the organizational chart for the department and described the new
requested positions and their duties in detail. He spoke about regionalization of emergency services and what
they plan to do to obtain improved service and survival rates. There was much discussion.
Brandenburg reviewed the process for accomplishing some of this plan. Jonrowe said she is impressed by the
plan but asked if it is financially doable. Sullivan said he believes they will have the support but noted he wants
to be challenged by the Council and does not want a rubber stamp approval.
Hammerun said he echoes what Jonrowe said and he said he is excited about some of the concepts talking
about tonight, including broader revenue base. He said he is interested to know a little about the timeline for
accomplishing his goals for the organizational chart. Sullivan briefly described that process for the Council.
Hammerlun said he appreciates Sullivan's regionalization concept and the services the City is expected to
provide. Fought said his plan is brilliant but noted he would like to understand better the organizational chart.
Hesser spoke about his concern with the department being top heavy. Eason thanked Sullivan for his work.
Mayor complimented Sullivan and the department for their hard work.
D Presentation and possible direction for design of the Final Playscape Concept Plan with a budget of $500,000
including alternates— Kimberly Garrett, Director of Parks and Recreation; Eric Nuner, Parks and Recreation
Assistant and Laurie Brewer, Assistant City Manager
With a Powerpoint Presentation, Garrett reviewed what she will be discussing and said she would like to
address some of the questions she received at her last presentation. She spoke about the 2008 parks bond in
great detail. She said there were estimated project amounts given to the public at the time of the bonds and she
listed those for the Council. She described the bonds that have already been issued as well as the remaining
bond funds available. Fought asked and Garrett said the $500,000 was identified in the planning process back
in 2011. She said the products the City will be using will have warranties. She noted some portions of the
playscape come with warranties and said the playscape is 15 years, shade shelter is 10 years and fence is 10
years. She spoke about maintenance of the playscape and the budget set for the maintenance. She spoke
about how the staff time spent on maintenance will decrease. She continued to speak about the maintenance in
detail. She said they propose to design the playscape to a $500,000 budgeted amount. She said they are still in
design mode. She noted they are using the same design concept, but will bid with alternates to ensure the City
stays within budget. She said staff is seeking approval to move forward to complete the design and bid the
project. She noted the estimated completion is May or June of 2014.
Brainard said it is noteworthy that the City does not know how much this will cost. He said we may be able to
achieve everyone's objectives under budget. He noted this is something that has defined Georgetown in the
past and he would like to keep it that way. Fought asked and Garrett said we have spent $48,000 so far on the
design. Jonrowe said staff did a great job answering the concerns and she looks forward to seeing the bids
come back. She said she wants to make sure we try every possible means to make sure the latest safety
material stays in place.
Motion by Fought, second by Hesser to approve. Approved 6-0
Meeting recessed to Executive Session under Sections 551.071 and 551.087 — 4:48PM
Executive Session
In compliance with the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Government Code, Vernon's Texas Codes, Annotated, the
items listed below will be discussed in closed session and are subject to action in the regular session.
E Sec. 551.071: Consultation with Attorney
- Advice from attorney about pending or contemplated litigation and other matters on which the attorney has a duty to advise
the City Council, including agenda items
- Hoskins Matter
- Intermountain Claim
- Rivery Update
Sec. 551.087: Deliberation Regarding Economic Development Negotiations
-MolecularTemplates, Inc.
Adjournment — Meeting adjourned at :04PM
Certificate of Posting
I, Jessica Brettle, City Secretary for the City of Georgetown, Texas, do hereby certify that this Notice of Meeting
was posted at City Hall, 113 E. 8`" Street, a place readily accessible to the general public at all times, on the
day of , 2013, at , and remained so posted for at least 72 hours preceding the scheduled
time of said meeting.
Jessica Brettle, City Secretary
^j
Approved: Ma- "r George Garver
Afest City Secretary