Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 06.22.2009 CC-WMinutes of the Meeting of the Governing Body of the City of Georgetown, Texas Monday, June 22, 2009 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: Gabe Sansing, Keith Brainard, Dale Ross, All Council Present. Ben Oliver, Pat Berryman, Bill Sattler, Patty Eason Staff Present: Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager; Patricia E. Carls, City Attorney; Jessica Hamilton, City Secretary; Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer; Glenn Dishong, Water Services Director, Jim Briggs, Assistant City Manager for Utility Operations Minutes Policy Development/Review Workshop - Call to order at 04:00 PM A Social Service and Youth Program Funding Applicant Presentations to Council, and possible action to appoint a Council Subcommittee to determine recommendations regarding funding allocations for FY 2009-10 -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager Mayor gave a brief introduction of this item. He said their presence in much appreciated and he said tonight will be an opportunity to thank these organizations for their commitment to the community. He said the Council is interested in what they have to say. He showed the audience the information that was given to the Council. He said the organization's purpose is to state the highpoints and need to financial support. Mayor gave a summary of the public speaking rules. Assistance League- The speaker introduced Marilyn Brandon (Perez) and said she is Kathy Krauss, chairman of operation school belt. She gave a brief background of the assistance league and spoke about Operation School bell which provides clothing to elementary children in need. She said, this year, the request will seek money to fund clothing for over 1400 children. She said the children participate in free and reduced lunches. She said they fall far short of having adequate funds. She said they partner with Walmart and she spoke briefly about that partnership. She said all of the funds given to their organization stay in Georgetown. "Ring the Bell." Assistant League Thrift Shop. She thanked Council for the opportunity. Amount requested is 6.5% of total budget. Bluebonnet Trails- Joy Dillman, Director of Early Childhood Intervention Pride Program said she has worked for many years with the orgs. in Georgetown. She spoke about early childhood intervention. She said ECI Pride is asking for $10,000 to provide occupational and physical therapy for the children in Georgetown. She gave statistics to the children served in Georgetown. She spoke about how they raise money for funding. She said rates for ECI services have not increased in 10 years, but the costs have greatly increased. She said they will serve the children regardless of if they get the money. She said they will keep excelling in their services. She spoke about the advantages of their program to the community. CARTS- Don Hewlett said his mission is to talk to the Council about what they do and how they need funds. He explained their service and why they are in need of funding. He said they are the public transportation service in Georgetown. He said they are wheelchair accessible, etc etc. He spoke about demand response. He said a lot of their trips are medical trips. He spoke about Medicaid Transportation. He said they operate three inner-city stations. He said they are looking for $9.000. Faith in Action- Rita Hemley thanked the Council for the funding they received from the City over the past year. She said they are an interfaith volunteer organization that provide transportation services for member of the City. She said their program is the only one that focuses on individualized transportation needs. She said the drivers said with the elderly while they are at doctor's appointments, etc. She said the majority of their services is for medical situations or grocery shopping. She said the average age of their clients is 79. She Family Eldercare- Angela Atwood, COO of Family Eldercare. She spoke briefly about their organization and noted they are the only provider of guardianship in Williamson County. She said the Council's support helps then and noted their organization has a very cost effective model. She spoke about attorneys and social workers. She spoke about the importance of this service and described the services they provide. She said their request for $10,000 is for less than what the total cost would be to care for one person. Brainard asked and Atwood explained their other sources of funding. Brainard asked if they receive funding from Williamson County. Mayor clarified and Atwood said Williamson County as a whole does not contribute. The Caring Place - John Stock, Exec. Director at Caring Place, spoke about an Economic downtown in 1985 and how people were turning to their faith organizations and spoke about the beginning of The Caring Place. He said, for the first 4 years, they have seen a large increase for the need or service. He said there were 2800 individuals who received food from their food pantry. He said 7000 individuals received fresh food and 1400 individuals received nutritional supplements, 1575 were helps to prevent eviction, 2600 individuals were helped with their (listen). He said they have over 300 volunteers The Georgetown Project - Gene Laughlin, Board chair for Georgetown Project, and he spoke about their application for Children and Youth funding. He said this service serves about 100 children each summer. He spoke about GTEAM (Georgetown Teens Engaged and Motivated) and the request for funding for that project. He said their programs try to inspire children. Katy Bird, current Board member of Georgetown Project, etc. She spoke about their program "Bridges to Growth" and said they served 2800 visitors and they provide toddler time, parenting classes, she said they serve mostly Georgetown. She said they have a lending library with over 4,700 items. She said they provide childcare provider training. She said they are asking for $10,000 for next year and added their library is different. Berryman asked and Bird said they provide training and classes to any child (?). Sansing asked and they described what they are Habitat- Christy Johnson said she briefly put together prepared remarks. She explained the purpose of $40,000 request and explained where this funding will go. She said Habitat will provide affordable housing for various families in the community. She described the type of people who apply for this funding. She said the proposed services requested are the same as last year. She said the Georgetown families are making less, including GISD employees, blue collar workers, etc. She spoke about the lack of public housing. She said these families are forced to spend more than 30% of their income. She gave a short summary of what they are doing with the funds from last year. Sattler asked and Christy said the average cost of building a home is $55,000. Literacy Council Gloria Cueva, Exec. Director, said they are focused on literacy for adults. She said they have clients who have graduated from high school and college who can not read higher than 6th grade level. She said 1 in 4 adults in Texas are not reading at a functional level and said Williamson County has the second highest drop out rate out of 10 counties in central Texas. She said they are asking for funds for books, teacher instruction, and volunteer recruitment and training. She said they recently moved their main offices to Georgetown. She said they are asking for $3,500 dollars and said it is critical because Williams Lone Star Circle of Care - Hunnicut, Chair at Lone Star Circle of Care, said the company has 238 employees (etc.) He spoke about the mental health component of their org. He said they have four psychiatrists. He said this has a huge impact on public safety issues in the community. He said, over the past 7 years, Lone Star is known nationally as the "Georgetown Model." Senior Center at Stonehaven - Speaker said their location is easily accessible. She spoke briefly about their organization. She said this is a way for the seniors in the community. She said the City provides 29% of their funding. She invited Council to the p Williamson Co. Crisis Center- Patty Conner, CEO, thanked Council for their service and the $5,000 challenge grant that was issued last year. She said they are the only agency that provides (listen listen). She spoke about the increased demand for their services. She said the funding is used for shelter and safety. She spoke about the results and responses to the services provided. She said donation is down 50% and state and federal funding is down 15%. $45,000 from funding- 4% of agencies funding. 14% of clients, 13% of shelter clients from Georgetown. Brainard asked. WBCO - Andrew Shell is Exec of WBC thanked the City for supporting the social services in the area. He spoke about the Meals on Wheels program being conducted in Georgetown. He said they have increased their meal volume from last year by over 6,000 meals. He noted they are at capacity at the Hilliard Center and said they have also formalized their collaboration with GISD. He said the support is mostly for the Meals on Wheels arena. He spoke more about other programs they provide. He said their request. For the Love of Christi - Spoke briefly (go to unlock doors) and gave a summary of how the organization was formed. Grief Support groups. She said the universality of loss is something that she would like to speak about. She said 800 out of everyone 100,000 people will be lost each year. She said each one of the facilitators have had a loss. Boys and Girls Club - Speaker, Daniel Anstee said the Board appreciates the support. He made the Council aware of changes that will affect their request. He said they have received funding to purchase a shuttle bus. He said they are still looking at promoting a staff member to full time status. He said the club offers diverse programming experiences and he described those experiences. He said, during Spring Break, "From the Garden to the Table." He said they are officially recognized as a "Helping Hand Tutoring" site. He said they have partnered with the City Parks and Rec department where kids can go. He said they are serving about 100 a day during the summer months. He said they are hoping to expand their facilities. Brainard asked and Anstee said he can come back with an exact updated amount of their requested amount as well as more info. on their grants received for their buses. Georgetown Culture Citizen Memorial Assoc. - Paulette Taylor said this is the sixth or seventh year. She thanked the Mayor for coming to the Juneteenth celebration as well as Jessica Hamilton and Keith Hutchinson. She said she is representing the Willy Hall children's center. She said she ran into a stumbling block and said there is a need to add a ramp to their facility as well as the addition of a new math curriculum. She said they provide a safe haven for their children. Berryman said Taylor should get in touch with Sun City Woodworkers as well as the Kiwanis Group. Palace Theatre - No one was present to speak. Partners in Education - Laura Antwone, gave a brief history of Partners in Education. She spoke about Business Link and Helping Hand Tutoring. She said they are asking for $10,000, about 4% of the overall operating costs. She said the students moved from 0% to 70 to 80% TAKS mastery. She noted 57% of their students are from low income families. Scott spoke about the investment in the Georgetown Healthy Foundation. Getsemani- Tim Todd, a Board member of Getsemani thanked Council for previous support. He spoke about their services and said they are requesting funds to support a summer program and the funds last year were the primary support for the (listen). Provide a center for tutoring, recreation, and ongoing education. He said this will provide after school tutoring. He spoke about their partnership with Helping Hand Tutoring. He said the org. has provided a summer program for these children and he spoke briefly about that program. He said the summer program will focus on academically at risk 1st and 2nd graders. He noted the principals and other GISD officials have been a great help. He said the churches provide vans to and from school. He said, this year they are asking for $11,000 which represents 25% of total budget and 50% of summer program. Exceptional Georgetown Alliance - Sheila Cunningham and Dawn Jennings said they are ready to make summer camps. She said their goal is to provide summer camps customized. Camp Goodwater and said they are planning their first big fundraiser. She said 100 students were invited for the current year. She said they are currently serving 12 families and said, while the numbers are not large. Jennings said they hire individuals who are able to work with students with serious disabilities. Brainard asked and Cunningham said 9 out of 13 of their children have autism. Brainard said and Jennings said the resources for autistic children are extremely minimal. Mayor thanked the organizations for their services. Mayor recommended a three member committee of Gabe Sansing- Chair, Keith Brainard, and Patty Eason. Sansing said subcommittees (?). Mayor asked and Oliver said, last year, the subcommittee met twice for two hours each. Oliver said there is an advantage to having a subcommittee and he added the whole Council would take hours to discuss the issue. Sattler said he would prefer to have the conversation as a whole and Sansing said he would like to get rid of all subcommittees. Mayor asked if the full Council will be able to spend the time that was taken last year to cover the issue. Ross said he is not a big fan of subcommittees. Sansing said it would be a good idea to have Special Workshop. Motion by Sansing, second by Berryman to discuss the social service and youth program funding as a full governing body during a special Workshop day. Mayor suggested we try to find a non -meeting week. Berryman asked if Council could defer the time and date until after it is determined whether or not the Workshop and Meeting are on one night. Approved 6-1 (Oliver opposed) B Final Budgetary Input/issues -- Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer and Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager Brandenburg said they are going to update the Council on the budget schedule. Rundell said the City has almost made up the current year's shortfall. She said they are less than $100,000 short for current year's income. She said the bad news is they are 1.8 million short for next year. She said they are working with the tax rate at the moment and said, the increase in our frozen valuations was extensive. She said they have 1.1 billion dollars worth of frozen property on the tax roll. Ross asked and Rundell said the GGAF subcommittee will be discussing (?) Brainard spoke about higher foreclosure rates in the County and Rundell said the City has not felt any of the effects on the foreclosures yet. Ross asked and Rundell agreed with the effect of frozen taxes as well as not putting the houses on the market. Ross asked and Rundell said we have 28% frozen property. Ross asked and Rundell said (listen to these questions.) Mayor asked and Rundell said, with foreclosures, it is not lost revenue in taxes and it is only deferred to another date. C Facility Update -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager Brandenburg said, back in 2003, the City Council adopted a facilities plan. He said they are looking at short term and long term needs for the facility usage. He spoke about plans for the police department. He spoke about Albertson's and said. He said an ongoing issue is parking. He said if the police department goes into Albertson's, it will free up the old library. He spoke about space issues at the Fire Administration building as well as the GMC. He spoke about the old fire station and the possible uses. He spoke about everything seems to be hinged on what happens with the Albertson's site. He also spoke about the current issues with the old library as well as the police station. He listed the new five year needs including space constraints at City Hall, space constraints in GMC, additional fire stations, and the animal shelter as well as kennel expansion. He said the main purpose of tonight is to show Council where the City has been and (?). Sattler asked and Brandenburg spoke about the distribution of the police department if the City decides to do satellite stations. He said it may be the best idea to have the centrally located police station and satellites around town. Sattler said Sun City bakes the police and fire cakes and really enjoys them in the area. Oliver (listen to his questions) He said his drive is to find a long term solution that will be cost effective now. He said, if the City wants a large retailer, it does not have to sell the building in order to get them to come to the area. He said he speaks for long term expenses. Berryman said it is important to know where the center of town is and added, to put the station near downtown, may be premature. Oliver suggested that the City find a piece of property West of 1-35 and stockpile it for later. Mayor asked and Brandenburg said it would be nice to have something on the next agenda. Sansing said he is concerned that, unless the actual building gets used, it will start falling apart. Sansing agreed with Oliver and said the City needs to find a property over to the West. Ross asked and Brandenburg said the decision made with the Albertson's building will determine everything else. Oliver asked and Rundell said the City already owns the Albertson's building and the City used CO debt. Oliver said and Brandenburg agreed the City would not want to sell the property without gaining back cost. He said, by the City purchasing the property, it can control what it becomes. Eason asked and Brandenburg said it would take about a year to do any types of renovations necessary for that building. There were many questions. Sattler asked and Brandenburg said the City briefly looked at McCoy as a new police department. He said it would be expensive to renovate and the location is on a main thoroughfare which is not beneficial. Berryman asked and Brandenburg spoke more about estimates for the renovation of the Albertson's building. Mayor said he senses a consensus with the Council. Brainard said he thinks the City needs professional help on this issue. He said it would be worth the time and money to figure out how to do this right. Motion by Brainard, second by Sansing to look into the feasibility and cost in getting the previous consulting service to research this issue. Brandenburg said this has been done before. Brainard said the Albertson's building is only part of the issue. Oliver said he thinks he agrees with the motion but added he does not think it is necessary to do the full blown study. Brainard said they spent money but there sure seems to be a lot of unanswered questions. Brandenburg suggested have the consultant come back and give an update on the issue. Berryman (listen to her comments). She said, if the City can make money off of this building, they can use that money to help other facilities. There was much discussion. Brandenburg reviewed the type of direction he would like for staff. Mayor suggested putting the building on the market. Brandenburg said (listen). Sansing spoke about standardizing office space. He spoke about other options for the least expensive route. Eason said she will vote against the motion on the floor and added she thinks they need to give staff direction. She said she thinks staff should do the renovations and then and move forward with the other options before doing anything with the Albertson's. Eason said she will not be supporting lingering and added it might be good to put a limit on the pursuit to sell the Albertson's building. Brandenburg reviewed the staffs preference. Eason asked and Thomas said a good timeline would be 60-90 days and added (?) Sattler made a friendly amendment that the City proceed with the work with the original consultant and, during that time for 90 days, Thomas should accelerate the sale of the Albertson's building and when the study is finished, it be brought back to Council for a final decision. He also added the Old Library to the consultant study. Oliver said the City is focusing too much on whether to sell the building. He added he would like for the consultant to come back and he reviewed what he remembered from the last study. Oliver said he remembers the consultant said the City does not have good money. He said it would be good for the consultant to refresh the City Council's memory. Oliver said he thinks the consultant said the City has a good idea, but it would not be possible to do it. Oliver said he think the Council needs to support Keith's motion just to look at the issue once more. Berryman said it would be a good idea to look at the Albertson's building and added another floor. Rundell said they looked at that, but there were a lot of parking problems. Brainard and Sansing agreed to the friendly amendment. Brainard and Sattler reviewed the motion and amendment. Mayor said the motion would be to bring back a contract with the original consultant as well as an original purchase agreement. Oliver clarified Sattler's motion and said there is two parts to the motion. Oliver said he thinks the friendly amendment makes an assumption of what the consultant will find out. Approved 7-0 D Presentation and discussion regarding the Impact Fee Review Committee Report -- Glenn Dishong, Water Services Director This item was pulled by staff. Recessed to Executive Session under Sections 551.071 and 551.074 -- 6:50 p.m. Returned to Open Session and adjourned -- 8:25pm Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 08:25 PM. Approved : Attest: Mayor George Garver City Secretary Sandra Lee RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GEORGETOWN, TEXAS AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN THE ADVANCE FUNDING AGREEMENT WITH THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RELATED TO THE NORTH AND SOUTH AUSTIN BRIDGES PROJECT. WHEREAS, the Texas Transportation Commission passed Minute Order Number 114335, authorizing the State to undertake and complete a highway improvement generally described as reconstruct the North and South Austin Avenue bridges from 2nd Street to Morrow Street, Georgetown, Texas called the "Project"; and, WHEREAS, for the Project the term reconstruct includes replacement, rehabilitation, preservation, protection, and/or anti-icing/deicing for bridges and tunnels on a public road; and WHEREAS, as part of the administration of the Project, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, by resolution number 2014-11-4, awarded the City of Georgetown a total of $1,299,174 in Surface Transportation Program Metropolitan Mobility (STP -MM) for the Project; and WHEREAS, in order to determine which alternative best serves the interests of the citizens of Georgetown, the City supports a study of alternatives including the following (1) do nothing, (2) alternative alignment, (3) maintenance, (4) rehabilitation/preservation and/or (5) replacement through a public involvement process which is also a requirement of the National Environmentally Policy Act (NEPA); and WHEREAS, the STP -MM award by CAMPO, using the term reconstruct, may require the City of Georgetown to submit to CAMPO a Transportation Improvement Project (TIP) amendment in the Spring of 2017 based on the decision resulting from the range of alternatives undertaken by the City of Georgetown; and WHEREAS, TxDOT works with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and other federal agencies to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and uses the TxDOT environmental compliance process for state and local projects, where TxDOT is the state approval authority; WHEREAS, the Advance Funding Agreement between TxDOT and the City allocate funds including a City contribution of $142,000 for the environmental review and is required for TxDOT approval. Resolution No. din A 1 L -O - L Page 1 of 2 Date Approved 3 :1 a NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GEORGETOWN TEXAS: SECTION ONE. The facts and recitations contained in the preamble of this resolution are hereby found and declared to be true and correct, and are incorporated by reference herein and expressly made a part hereof, as if copied verbatim. SECTION TWO. The City Council of the City of Georgetown finds it to be in the best interest of the citizens of Georgetown to enter in the Advance Funding Agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation related to the North and South Austin Avenue Bridges Project. SECTION THREE. The Mayor is hereby authorized to sign this Resolution and the Advance Funding Agreement and the City Secretary to attest thereto, on behalf of the City. SECTION FOUR. This Resolution shall become effective on the c)aday of na-r 2016. PASSED AND APPROVED on the as day of K"M e�s , 2016. ATTEST: S Shelley Nlin City Secre . 9!! e - APPROVED AS TO FORM: Charlie McNabb, City Attorney CITY OF GEORGETOWN, TEXAS Bv: dv4c- �Z� Dale Ross, Mayor Resolution No. O _ ;�,a 1 t e^ L. Page 2 of 2 Date Approved 3�zalaotLp