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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 10.22.2013 CC-WMinutes of the Meeting of • •. of of • Tuesday, October Body The 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, John Hesser, Steve Fought, Jerry Tommy Gonzalez Hammerlun, Rachael Jonrowe Staff Present: Bridget Chapman, City Attorney; Jessica Brettle, City Secretary; Laurie Brewer, Assistant City Manager; Jim Briggs, General Manager for Utilities; Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer; Minutes .,III IIIIII IIIII• A Williamson County and Cities Health District Update on Public Health Services -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager With a Powerpoint Presentation, Rinn provided a brief introduction of the item for Council. She introduced Dr. Riggins of the Williamson County and Cities Health District to the Council. Riggins introduced his staff to the Council. He showed Council a picture of their staff and added they have 111 full time staff, which includes 33 Georgetown staff members. He said the vision of the district is healthy people thriving in healthy communities in Williamson County and the mission is "in partnership with communities, WCCHD protects and promotes the health of the people of Williamson County." He said the district controls communicable diseases, prevents chronic disease and promotes healthy living and prepares for and responds to health threats. He showed Council a diagram demonstrating the services being provided to the community and the various buildings in which they are being provided. He said, in 1989, the Public Health Reorganization Act was passed and opened the way for cities and counties to collaborate for providing public health services. He spoke about the governance of the board and listed the members on the board. He noted the Board of Health meets each month and is provided with a Board of Health Report. He said a Board Report is then sent to the member governments. He said the Board is working on a 2014-2016 strategic plan. He described the goals and strategic themes outlined in the new strategic plan. He spoke about the Cooperative Agreement and the possible addition of Leander into the district. He said the City of Leander has requested membership. He provided Council with the Public Health District membership timeline in Williamson County. He said, in 1989, Georgetown was one of the first cities to sign on for membership. He said Liberty Hill is the smallest city that has decided to become a member of the district. He spoke about the population breakdown in the County as well as the member government contributions. He spoke about the various services being provided by the District at the public health centers. He spoke about mosquito control and said last summer was particular bad for West Nile virus. He said, in 2012, the County saw more cases of West Nile disease than the previous 10 years combined. He said member governments requested support and information about addressing the threat. He said WCCHD formed a county -wide mosquito control task force. He added the Board of Health recommends a Tier 11 IMM program. He described the Tier 2- Intermediate Program and what it entails for the Council. He said the program will emphasize public education and source reduction, augmented by larval control. He said they will consider adult mosquito control if sufficient resources are available. He noted the program will ensure that all staff and public health advisors are appropriately trained and certified or licensed. He said basic mosquito population monitoring will be there to define the problem. He said mosquito management does not seek eradication and is City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 19 of 351 Pages not pesticide averse. He said the management is not solely reliant on any one method. There was much discussion regarding mosquito control. Jonrowe thanked the Health District for their responsiveness in the mosquito abatement. She said she noticed that the maternal and child health position on the Wellness Alliance is currently vacant. She said she is wondering how they go about filling that. Riggins asked Cynthia Guerrera to explain the vacancy. Guerrera said that position is for the chair of the working group. She said the group has been working but they are just looking for a chair. Hammerlun thanked them and said he appreciates getting copies of the reports. He spoke about the mosquito program and said it seems only Georgetown has provided funds for this study. He asked if other cities were participating. Riggins said, of the member governments, only the City of Round Rock chose to postpone being members of the mosquito program. He noted, otherwise, all member cities considered the program and approved the 225 per capita to include the mosquito control program. Hammerlun thanked the County for their support of the district as far as facilities are concerned. Fought thanked him and said Sun City has particular concerns about health issues as they are a senior community. Eason said Jonrowe took her question about the position as well as the chair position for the East Williamson County Community Group. She said it sounds like the groups are functioning but there are no chairs. Riggins said they still facilitate those meetings and make sure the groups have the support they need even without a chair. He spoke about how the groups are working on developing a community health improvement plan. Eason said she did not see any specific programs or groups for seniors and asked if that is something they may focus on in the future. Riggins said, in their strategic plan, the seniors will have a huge impact. He noted they rank so well because of the active, engaged seniors in the community. B Presentation and Discussion regarding the Williamson County Parks and Road Bond Initiative -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager and Bob Daigh, Williamson County Infrastructure Director With a Powerpoint Presentation, Briggs introduced the item and said the City is being asked to approve a resolution supporting the parks and road projects. He introduced Bob Daigh, Director of Infrastructure for Williamson County, will be here to make a presentation about the projects. Daigh thanked Council for the opportunity to address them. He said he has worked with Briggs for decades and the City is blessed with fantastic staff. He said the previous bond projects are approaching their end and, with that, the Commissioner's Court formed the Citizen's Bond Advisory Committee. He showed Council a list of the members of the Committee. He said they were charged with two questions: whether a bond election is warranted and under what parameters that election should contain regarding road and park projects. He said the committee held public hearings all over the County and heard presentations and received letters from people in the community. He said they were presented information regarding Williamson County's transportation plan which showed a $1 billion un -met need. He said they distilled that down to the final recommendation to the Commissioner's Court and determined there is definitely a need. He said they made a recommendation to the Court which was less than anticipated. He said the Court then took that number and reduced it even further. He spoke about how all new projects for roads and parks in the County are funded through bond programs. He spoke about the tax impact and said Williamson County estimates that passage of the two bond propositions will NOT result in an increase in the overall county property tax rate. He should Council a map of the proposed projects and summarized them to the Council. Randy Bell, spoke about the Williamson County Parks bond projects going on the November ballot. He showed Council a map of the proposed projects being considered in the bond issue. She said the first four projects are related to the hike and bike trail. He described the parks projects in detail. He spoke about how Williamson County parks offer a unique experience to its residents. He explained the benefit each of the proposed projects would provide to the community. He spoke about their draft Parks Master Plan and how it is currently on their website. There were many questions from the Council. Hesser asked and Daigh spoke about how the committee functioned and how they came up with their list. Hesser asked about the qualifications of the people who served on the committee. He also asked what direction they were given. Daigh said it was a citizen's committee of a diverse background. He said he would be happy to send the Council a list of the committee member backgrounds. Hesser said his main concern is connectivity throughout the County. Commissioner Valerie Covey said they are here to provide information and not to support or go against any of the issues. She spoke about the proposed bypass project and how it will improve traffic in the area. She said the Council has to look at the big picture and said, if a project is not in Georgetown, it still effects the community. Fought asked if wanting City support is the normal thing to do. Fought asked and Briggs said this has gone to the Parks Board and GTAB and the discussion was that it should come to the Council. He added neither board made a recommendation.Polasek said the Boards both approved a list of Georgetown projects to submit to the County for their consideration and addition on the bond list. Jonrowe said she is on GTAB and has a lot of questions. She said she finds it strange that the City had requested that someone be at the GTAB or Parks Board meetings for this discussion and no one attended. Daigh said he does not recall having be invited to those meetings. Jonrowe asked if it would have made more sense to bring the language to the Boards before it is finalized. City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 20 of 351 Pages Daigh reviewed how the language was finalized. Jonrowe said it seems not many of the Georgetown projects actually got placed on the ballot. Covey asked for clarification. There was much discussion. Mayor thanked the representatives and said another item is on the Regular Agenda for further discussion. Meeting recessed to Executive Session under Sections 551.071 -- 5:35PM Meeting returned to Open Session and adjourned -- 6:34PM Adj©urnmeni Approve . _- Mar Georgrg arver City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 21 of 351 Pages The meeting was adjourned at 06:34 PM. es Cit ecretary ss ca Bre