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Home My WebLink AboutMIN 03.19.2020 CC-SNotice of a Meeting of the Governing Body of the City of Georgetown, Texas Tuesday, March 19, 2020 The Georgetown City Council will meet on Tuesday, March 19, 2020 at 4:00 PM at the Council Chambers at 510 West 91h 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 three (3) days prior to the scheduled meeting date, at (512) 930-3652 or City Hall at 808 Martin Luther King, Jr Street for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. Regular Session (This Regular session may, at any time, be recessed to convene an Executive Session for any purpose authorized by the Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code 551.) A. Call to Order Mayor Ross called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. The following Council Members were in attendance: Mayor Dale Ross; Mary Calixtro, Council Member District 1; Valerie Nicholson, Council Member District 2; Mike Triggs, Council Member District 3; Steve Fought, Council Member District 4; Kevin Pitts, Council Member District 5; and Rachael Jonrowe, Council Member District 6. Tommy Gonzalez, Council Member District 7 was absent. Legislative Regular Agenda B. Consideration and possible action to approve a Resolution ratifying the Disaster Declaration signed March 14, 2020 and consenting to its continuation for a period of more than seven days -- Jackson Daly, Community Services Director Daly noted that on Saturday, March 14, 2020 Mayor Ross issued a Disaster Declaration for the City and that the declaration was only valid for seven days. He explained that under state law, the Mayor is designated as the Emergency Management Director for the city, and generally speaking, the Mayor has the same powers as the governor just scaled to a local level. Daly explained that, in other words, the Mayor has the power to: evacuate all or part of the population of an area of the city that has been stricken or is threatened if necessary for the preservation of life or other disaster mitigation, response, or recovery effort; prescribe routes, modes of transportation, and destinations in connection with an evacuation; control ingress and egress to and from a disaster area and the movement of persons and the occupancy of premises in the area; suspend or limit the sale, dispensing, or transportation of alcoholic beverages, firearms, explosives, or combustibles; establish curfews and blockades; implement other security measures necessary to protect life and secure property; and suspend deadlines imposed by city ordinances. He explained the unusual circumstances the City is currently facing and said that State law is generally designed to respond to disasters like floods, wildfires, etc. Daly noted that protracted pandemics are unusual, and it is important to prepare, respond, and mitigate spread of COVID-19. He added that the disaster declaration ensures the City can be eligible for certain reimbursements, reassign personnel and resources, and seek assistance from State. Daly then explained additional local orders that include changing meeting procedures; formally assigning emergency management coordinator responsibilities to City Manager; misalignment in current ordinance; assistant Fire Chief and Community Services Director identified as assistant coordinators; and that County Orders do apply to the City. He then noted the current actions taken by the City that include: closing public facing facilities and lobbies; making response plans for each service area to ensure continuity of service while limiting face- to-face interaction; doing additional planning to shift to essential services only, if needed; preparing to stand-up childcare facility for employees; establishing employee quarantine area; and evaluating financial impact, tracking costs, preparing for future budget recommendations. Daly reviewed future actions and considerations that include: changing election dates; remote participation at Council meetings; evaluating current work plan to place certain projects on hold, for example, projects that require public engagement; reaching out to coordinate with social service organizations; and working with Chamber on resources for small -businesses. Pitts asked about the ending date for the proposed Resolution. Daly responded that it will set the Disaster Declaration to end on May 11th. He added that Council will have many meetings between now and that date aligns with Williamson County's advisory related to public gatherings less than 10 people. Pitt noted that that Williamson County has just voted to extend their declaration and asked what their ending date is at this time. Daly said he would check and get back to Council with that information. Pitt stated that he thought the County had done an indefinite declaration. Daly noted that the timeline is up to Council, but he is satisfied with the May 1 Ith date because there will be many opportunities to extend it if needed. Pitts asked if Council needs to extend could the item be placed on a regular meeting agenda. Daly responded yes, it could. Motion by Fought, second by Nicholson. Jonrowe asked for clarification on the Mayor's role and ability to make decisions when the declaration is in place. Daly responded staff works with Legal to get documents prepared, but the Mayor get to sign these declarations into place. Jonrowe than asked how to accommodate Council's ability to give and receive information considering the constant changes to the situation and if the City can be more strict that the County. Daly responded that the City can be more strict and that the City Manager will be providing a daily email. He added that the pandemic will be a topic at all Council meetings during the disaster declaration and if Jonrowe wanted information more often than that. Jonrowe responded yes because when constituents start getting sick she wants to be as informed as possible. David Morgan, City Manager, stated that staff is happy to meet with Council at their desired frequency. He added that the intent of the declaration is to allow the Mayor to make decision quickly because there is not always the flexibility to post a meeting and wait the 72 hours before meeting. Morgan stated that both he and the Mayor are happy to discuss in one on one meetings with Council Members. Charlie McNabb, City Attorney, clarified that the power given to the Mayor comes from State and Federal laws. Jonrowe noted the desire to be as open as possible with the public. Pitts stated that he understands the need to have as much information as possible, but noted the need to allow the Mayor, or needed staff, to make decisions quickly. He added that he wouldn't mind having a higher frequency of meetings, but asked staff if that would actually lead to Council getting more information than they are already receiving. Morgan responded that he didn't feel additional meetings would change the amount of information Council receives. Pitts added that he doesn't want to have more meeting if they are informational only and not for decision making. Jonrowe stated that she is not proposing having meetings to vote on the decisions the Mayor is making, she would like more visibility of information for the citizens. Pitts asked if more meetings would do that. Jonrowe responded yes. Nicholson asked if there was a way for City updates to be public. Morgan responded that the daily emails provided are a collection of information received from surrounding entities. He added that all of the information is public, and the City website is updated many times per day. Nicholson noted that Facebook could also be useful communication tool to be considered. Morgan responded that staff is willing to do weekly meeting through social media if needed and staff is trying to get as much information out as possible. Jonrowe supported doing live questions and answer session with the public. She then asked about the possibility of a City contracted epidemiologist to answer questions and interpret data. Morgan responded that those resources exist as the County level with the County Health District. Mayor Ross stated that the City should align with nearby cities and Williamson County for as much consistency as possible. He also noted the fast-moving pace of the pandemic and promoted the use of City's website as a communication tool. Morgan stated that a unified response is important because City decisions can have a regional impact. Jonrowe asked if there is any existing data on going with the crowd versus being an outlier. Morgan responded that he didn't have specific studies on hand that address that topic. McNabb stated that as a general principle a City can be more restrictive than the County, but he is not sure about the statute related specific to a disaster declaration. He then clarified about how many people can gather in different types of locations. Jonrowe asked for clarification on what the City can and can't do to be more restrictive. Roll Call Vote: Calixtro — For Nicholson — For Triggs - For Fought - For Pitts - For Jonrowe - For Gonzalez - Absent Approved 6-0 (Gonzalez absent). Adjournment Motion by Fought, second by Nicholson. Approved 6-0 (Gonzalez absent). Meeting adjourned at 4:32 p.m. Approved by the Georgetown City Council on Iq&t4 JZI—ZOZO Date C dlzw� --/�O�� Dale Ross, Mayor Attest: Ci[ Secretary