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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 10.09.2012 CC-WMinutes of the Meeting of the Governing Body of the City of Georgetown, Texas Tuesday, October 9, 2012 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, Danny Meigs, Bill Sattler, Tommy Jerry Hammerlun Gonzalez, Rachael Jonrowe, Troy Hellmann Staff Present: Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager; Jessica Brettle, City Secretary; Micki Rundell, Chief Financial Officer; Kimberly Garrett, Parks and Recreation Director; Laurie Brewer, Assistant City Manager; Minutes Policy Development/Review Workshop - Call to order at 04:00 PM A Council Visioning Update -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager Hammerlun and Gonzalez absent. Brandenburg described the visioning sessions that occurred last month. He spoke about how Council was asked to define the "city of excellence" and said they came up with the statement: "The City of Excellence is one that maximizes its citizen's quality of life." He noted, after that statement was defined, Council considered what the city needs to do to become a City of Excellence. He said staff sat in the back of the room during the meeting while Council tried to arrive at what they vision was. He noted the top priorities that came out of the meeting were public safety, transportation, economic development, utilities and a signature destination. He spoke about how the Council looked at each priority and determined how to break those down into smaller goals. He described the sub -points and projects under each of those priorities. He spoke about how he is initiating meetings with staff and broke them into teams according to each of the five priorities. He noted he will be attending all of the meetings. He said there has been very positive discussion and innovativeness so far. He noted it has been exciting to hear the ideas from staff. He noted he hopes to have business plans for each of those five priorities done by the first of the year. He added, however, there is still a lot of work to be done with this. Jonrowe said she appreciates the updates and noted she would like to see more updates as progress is being made. Brandenburg said he will start sharing more with Council as stuff is available. He noted, as it gets to be firmer, he will start sharing more with Council. Mayor asked and Brandenburg said Council will eventually have business plans for each of the priorities as well as sections talking about how to finance each of those plans. B Presentation on IOOF Cemetery operations and possible direction on pursuing self-sustaining options -- John Hesser, Chair, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and Kimberly Garrett, Parks and Recreation Director Garrett introduced herself as well as Hesser to the Council. With a Powerpoint Presentation, she described what IOOF m ans and said it stands for International Order of Odd Fellows. She provided a brief background of the cemete and how the City obtained it years ago. She also provided a brief history of how it has been operatin . esser said, when the board was going through the process of budgeting, it became aware of a negati e. He said there was an outlay for maintenance of the cemetery and noted there was no offset for that. ouncil Meeting Minutes/ 1 of 3 Pages He said, if this continues on, they are worried what it will look like. He said they are also concerned about whether or not there will be a burden on the tax base. He said the next question that came about is what is the obligation of the government to provide burial places as well as what are citizens expectations for a cemetery. He said the Parks and Recreation Board felt these questions needed answers. Garrett said the cemetery was transferred to the City in 1968 in exchange for real estate and cash with an understanding that the City would maintain the property in perpetuity. She said at this point in time the IOOF transferred two additions with lots available for sale. She noted they were selling the lots for $25 each in 1968. She said through all of the documentation it was evident there was a plan on how the cemetery was to be maintained. She said the cemetery was once considered profitable. She said the City made a commitment with the IOOF for perpetual care of the cemetery. She said, since then, the City purchased additional land adjacent to the cemetery next to the railroad to continue with the cemetery sales. She said the City invested money and expanded the cemetery three times since taking over ownership and responsibility. She noted a master plan was created in 2007 for the cemetery. She said they ran out of lots until the City was able to purchase extra land in 2007. She said the main objectives were to maximize available properties and respond to public need. She noted the City offered single lots instead of double lots and the City also started an urn area. She noted in 2007 there was also a policy created to collect fees to help offset maintenance costs as well as an increase in lot prices. She said over the last five years, the city has spent $348,000 in maintenance and improvements and collected $275,000 in revenues from lot sales and fees. She noted the City sells on average about 30-40 lots per year at a cost of about $1,500 per lot. She said based on the current sales rate, they estimate there there is approximately 20 years left before traditional burial sites will be sold out. She noted that, however, is unpredictable. She said based on that history, and many meetings with the Parks Board, the Board made observations based on the information staff had gathered. Hesser said twenty years of remaining time is very conservative in that the population is aging and the the community is growing. He said they feel the 20 years is the outside number. He noted once the lots are sold, there will be no revenue to help offset future maintenance costs. He noted changes in the market have been moving from transitional burial to cremations. He said cremation is up 7% in the last five years. He said people in the higher income bracket tend to be cremated. He noted one of the contributing factors is that those families are dispersed across the country and cremation seems to be a better method for bringing people home. He said the second thing they observed is the present solution for cremation does not seem to be working. He said they found that there is a process called a columbarium which is a better use of space and more attractive than the in ground urn area currently used. He said they think there is an opportunity there. He said they have a couple of options the City must consider as well. He said the first option is to continue to do what the city is doing. He noted the second option is to try to sell the cemetery. He noted the third option is to consider a self-sustaining operation. He said the board is recommending the City form a 501 c3 corporation to reduce the burden on government and allow for tax deductible donations to be made to the corporation. He said they recommend the City create an annuity trust to fund perpetual care. He said the board just wanted to make the Council aware of this situation and ask that Council direct staff and the Board to continue its research and to come back in 120 days with details on a recommended plan. He noted at this point they have identified a problem without a solution. Eason said she certainly thinks this needs more study and said it is her opinion for the Board to go forward and looking at all solutions to this issue. Eason asked about the 501 c3 issue and asked who would be doing the fundraising activities and who would be the potential donors. She said she does not know who will be the target population to ask for donations. Hesser said the most important aspect of the 501 c3 is to segregate the entity for the purpose of the cemetery. He said the assets acquired over time would be used for the cemetery as opposed to any other purpose. Garrett spoke about generous people around the community and noted the City receives calls from families who want to donate to the cemetery for maintenance. She continued to speak about how a 501 c3 would be beneficial. Hellmann asked and Garrett said the cemetery is about 20 acres and noted there are about 800 lots available. Brandenburg said what we are charging here at the city is reasonable. Meigs thanked Hesser for his work. Sattler asked if there is a state law that obligates the City to have a cemetery. Hesser said he did not look into that in his research. There were many questions about the cemetery. Sattler asked and Garrett said the City owns the land for the cemetery north of 29, but noted the City does not maintain it. Sattler spoke about how this is putting a burden on city staff. Jonrowe said she agrees to the 120 days staff and the Board requested before coming back with a full report. She said, given the historic nature of the cemetery, she is not squeamish of it being a responsibility of the City. Mayor spoke about making sure that we do not allow history to escape us. He said there are a large number of lots and grave sites that carry a lot of history. Motion by Hellmann, second by Meigs to direct the Parks Board and staff to pursue the options for the cemetery and come back to Council after 120 days with a follow up report. Approved 5-0 (Hammerlun, Gonzalez absent) City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 2 of 3 Pages C Presentation, Update and Discussion regarding the Rivery Conference Center -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager Brandenburg reviewed the Summit at the Rivery Park project for the Council. He said that the project got started in 2007 and noted, due to the economic downturn, the project was delayed. He spoke about how this will be an economic engine for the City and the County. He spoke about how there is a buzz in Georgetown now regarding Economic Development. He noted tonight's purpose is to bring the Council up to speed on the status of the project and to refresh the Council's memory on the project as well. Novak introduced himself to the City Council. He spoke about the history of this project in Georgetown and how it has evolved since 2007. Gonzalez arrived at the dais at 5:01 PM He said, in the Spring of 2008, Dan Clark was able to announce the partnership with GE Capital. He said the banking crashes in October 2008 flipped everyone over on their ears. He spoke about their many efforts to raise money for the project. He described how he got linked up with Hines on this project. He showed Hines the property and asked them to consider the project. He said they fell in love with it. He noted they have continued to work with Hines to move forward with this project. Novak said between February 2007 and October 2012, the Novak Brothers have invested over $10 million and committed another $4 million to get the hotel deal completed. There was much discussion. He spoke about the EB5 money and his trip to China. He spoke about the Chinese government and why they have a surplus of money available for investment. He described why this project is a good candidate to receive the EB5 money. He spoke about Hines and the projects the company has done. He said this project is not dead and he said they are moving forward. He said he feels very good about the value they will create. He spoke about frustration with timelines. He provided Council with the project timeline and noted they hope to finish this by December of 2014. There were many comments. He provided Council with some renderings of what Hines is going to do and what the finished project will look like. Gonzalez thanked Novak for all of the effort and work that has been put into this project. He spoke about the construction loan and EB5 money. He asked and Novak explained how those loans work. Jonrowe asked how likely the EB5 deal will come to fruition. Novak said he thinks the EB5 group is oversubscribed and noted there are more people than there are spots. Jonrowe asked and Novak spoke about when he thinks that will be ready. Jonrowe asked and Novak confirmed there will be two connection points between the residential area and the rest of the City. Novak spoke about their backup plan. Sattler thanked Novak for all of his hard work. He noted in 1971-1973, he worked as a project engineer for the Galleria in Houston. He said Hines was true to his word. He noted he is sure that same philosophy is there and thanked him for tying up with such a good person and a good company to bring this project forward. He said he supports Novak and this project. Meigs thanked Novak and said he is pulling for him. Hellmann said this was a very informative presentation that answered a lot of questions. He said he appreciates him answering the timing questions. He said he thinks this is going to be a great economic benefit to all of Georgetonwn. He said he like the fact that Hines has a commitment to complete. Eason said she is happy to hear the up date and added, hopefully, it will not be too long before the Council sees this dream come true. Brandenburg concluded and said staff will keep the Council abreast on this project Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 05:40 PM. Approv ..l�DZs` Mayor Geor a Garver City Council Meeting Minutes/ Page 3 of 3 Pages ecretary Jessica Brettle