HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 05.25.2021 CC-WNotice of Meeting of the
Governing Body of the
City of Georgetown, Texas
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
The Georgetown City Council will meet on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 at 2:00 PM at Teleconference.
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, Georgetown, TX
78626 for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711.
Mayor Schroeder called the meeting to order at 2:01 p.m. The following Council Members were
in attendance: Mayor Josh Schroeder; Amanda Parr, Council Member District 1; Shawn Hood,
Council Member District 2; Mike Triggs, Council Member District 3; Steve Fought, Council
Member District 4; Kevin Pitts, Council Member District 5; and Tommy Gonzalez, Council
Member District 7. Rachael Jonrowe, Council Member District 6 was absent. All Council
Members were present via videoconferencing and a roll call was performed.
Policy Development/Review Workshop - Call to order at 2:00 PM
A. Presentation, update and possible direction regarding the Charter Review Committee
recommendations to date and possible next steps -- Skye Masson, City Attorney
Masson presented and noted that the Charter Review Committee has met 6 times this spring
and considered revisions to 11 sections of the City Charter. She noted that that the first
recommendation was for Section 2.01. - Number, Selection, and Term of Office where the
Committee recommended having Councilmembers serve (3) 3-year terms for a total lifetime
limit of 9 years as a Councilmember, and as Mayor for (3) 3-year terms for a total lifetime limit
of 9 years as Mayor. She added that currently the Charter has no restriction on terms for
either Councilmembers or the Mayor.
General discussion among Council about proper phrasing to allow for someone to serve three
terms as Councilmember and three terms as Mayor. Council generally supported the term
limits without limiting to "total lifetime" and allowing the voters a chance to vote on term
limits. Masson informed Council that the Committee will meet one more time to produce a
final recommendation.
Masson reviewed the next recommendation for Section 2.02. - Qualifications where the
Committee recommended an update to comply with State law and reduce restriction on
subsequent City employment from two years to one year as referenced in the TML City
Charter report. She added that relevant State law allows home rules cities to adopt age and
residence requirements greater than those in state law, but such local provisions cannot
require a candidate to be more than 21 on the first day of the term and cannot require
residency in the district or the City for longer than 12 months immediately preceding election
day; otherwise, the local provision is void, and the applicable statute would apply.
General discussion among Council supporting the recommendations of the Committee.
Masson reviewed the next recommendation for Section 2.03. — Vacancies where the
Committee recommended filling vacancy of terms with less than 12 months remaining by
Council appointment and without special election. She added that State law generally
requires vacancies be filled by a special election, but a home -rule city can establish alternative
if less than 12 months remain in the term.
General discussion among Council supporting this recommendation, and options for the
appointment process for filling a vacancy.
Masson reviewed the next recommendation for Section 2.06. — Mayor and Mayor Pro Tern
where the Committee recommended that the Mayor vote on all items considered by the City
Council. She noted that current Charter language allows the Mayor to vote only when there
is a tie.
Mayor Schroeder respectfully disagreed with the recommendation of the Committee based
on the number of Councilmembers and the potential for ties. He added that it could take
away the Mayor's ability to run the meeting and remain neutral. General discussion among
Council about leaving the language as is and not allowing the Mayor to have a vote.
Masson reviewed the next recommendation for Section 2.09. — Rules of Procedure where the
Committee recommended that all items require an affirmative vote of a majority of the
Council present and voting. She added that the current language is potentially unclear of
whether the majority requirement applies to entire Council including the mayor and those
members not present.
General discussion among Council related to the inclusion of the Mayor when referring to
Council and how it effects the voting percentages and using the terms "present and voting'
for clarification of who can vote.
Masson reviewed the next recommendation for Section, 2.10. — Procedure to Enact Legislation
where the Committee recommended the following: two readings required, but only one
reading of the caption; notice of ordinances no longer published in newspaper instead require
notice on City primary webpage or whatever is the primary City controlled contemporary
means of information sharing; and remove the filing requirement in City Secretary's Office.
She noted that the current language requires reading of caption twice, publication of caption
at least 72 hours prior to first reading, and filing of ordinance in City Secretary office one week
prior.
General discussion among Council how many ordinance readings are required by law;
putting second readings of ordinances on the Consent portion of the agenda; what constitutes
the City's "main webpage"; and generally supporting the proposed suggestions of the
Committee.
Masson reviewed the next recommendation for Section 8.03. - Franchise; power of the City
Council where the Committee recommended modifying publication requirement for
franchise agreement and requiring posting on City's primary Internet webpage. She added
that the current charter language requires publication of all proposed franchise agreements
for four weeks in between first and second reading.
Council had no opposition to the recommendation.
Masson reviewed the next recommendation for Article IV. - Initiative, Referendum and
Recall where the Committee recommended amending petition requirements for initiative,
referendum and recall to specify that it requires signature of 15% of the voters who actually
voted in the last municipal general election, but not less than 250 signatures. She added that
current language requires 15% of the qualified voters in the last regular municipal election,
but not less than 250 signatures.
General discussion among Council related to having too low of a threshold for signatures
could lead to lesser significant items to be easily placed on a future ballot; the desire to keep
the term "qualified voters" in the Charter; if there needs to be numbers specific to districts for
recall elections; and requiring a higher percentage of voters than 15%. After discussion it was
determined that Council preferred to leave the language as is.
Masson noted that there were no recommended changes but encourage continued efforts on
transparency and making information easily accessible for the public for Article VI. - Finance.
Masson reviewed the next recommendation for having a City Auditor where the Committee
recommended City Council consider creation of an internal City Auditor position reporting
to the City Manager. She added that this change does not require an amendment to the City
Charter.
General discussion among Council and staff regarding if this suggestion is applicable to the
City; where best for this position to be located in the organization; and the existing city
practices for auditing.
Masson noted that there were no recommended changes to the Charter regarding date of
general election for City councilmembers or mayor for Section 3.01 General Election.
Masson noted that the Committee had the following further Charter sections for review:
Article V Administrative Organization should be considered for an update and revision to
language related to administrative divisions and departments and other administrative
organizational provisions (City Manager's office); Section 6.04 Budget Amendments to
consider an update and revision to language governing budget amendments. Morgan
explained that the division and departmental language in the Charter is restrictive and limits
how the City can adjust during growth.
General discussion among Council and staff on what language is required related to
departments and divisions, and how these additional items could affect a November 2021
ballot.
Masson review the following Charter Election timelines: for November 2021 Election, a June
22, 2021 presentation of final report from Charter Review Committee, June 22 and July 13,
2021 Public Hearings on proposed amendments, and July 27, 2021 deadline for First Reading
of the Ordinance for Charter Amendment Election; and for May 2022 Election a summer 2021
presentation of final report from Charter Review Committee, Fall/Winter 2021 Public
Hearings/Input on proposed amendments, and January 25, 2022 deadline for the First
Reading of the Ordinance for Charter Amendment Election.
General discussion among Council supporting the Charter election go forward to meet a
November 2021 election timeline.
B. Presentation, discussion, and possible direction regarding the develop and implement
centralized customer relationship management for city-wide customer service -- Laurie
Brewer, Assistant City Manager
Brewer presented the item and reviewed the current "Call/Contact Centers" and how they
are decentralized, current ways customers contact the City, citizen phone calls (non-911
emergency) per month, the utility Customer Care/Public Works call center, types of calls
received by Police Dispatch and Animal Services, the non -emergency - current systems to
support customer service, current limitations, lessons learned from Winter Storm Uri,
initiatives underway during Summer 2021, what 311 is (centralized citizen response
management), differences in contact centers including public versus private, phases of 311
implementation, options and scoping of project, scoping project framework, scoping of
project summary, and considerations for a centralized system.
General discussion among Council and staff related to future implementation of a 311 like
system. Council generally supported moving forward with this project.
Mayor Schroeder recessed Workshop at 3:51 p.m. Mayor Schroder resumed the meeting at
3:59 p.m.
C. Presentation and discussion regarding the 2021 Mobility Bond projects and schedule --
Wesley Wright, PE, Systems Engineering Director
Wright presented the item and review the project limits, City's participation cost, and project
description for Westinghouse Road, Sam Houston Avenue Extension/SE1/Wilco Corridor C,
sidewalk, bicycle, intersection, and transportation technology allocations, SE Inner Loop,
Austin Avenue Bridges, Rockride Lane, D.B. Wood Road, Shell Road, Williams Drive Central,
Leander Road, and possible timing of all projects.
David Morgan, City Manager provided further explanation and clarification on timing of
projects, overall costs, and tax rate impact.
General discussion among Council related to these projects being outside of the City's usual
five-year CIP schedule; how the five-year CIP schedule works with the projects presented;
possibly speeding up the pace of the projects; possibly contracting out the management of
these projects; starting with projects that are construction ready; timing of Williams Drive and
Austin Avenue Bridges; and making sure that Downtown is still accessible during
construction of projects. Council generally supported completing projects sooner rather than
later due to savings in cost and overall need to complete projects faster. Fought did express
concern related to the trying to manage too many projects at the same time and the possible
need to outside help to manage the projects. Triggs also cautioned delaying the Austin
Avenue Bridges project due to the age of the structure and needs for improvements.
E. Presentation and discussion regarding Distributed Energy Resources Application and
Interconnection Fee Review -- Daniel Bethapudi, General Manager of Electric; and Schneider
Engineering
This item was taken after Item C.
Bethapudi presented and reviewed the DER interconnection process and possible
improvements. He then turned the presentation over to Ramsey Cripe with Schneider
Engineering who reviewed the background; fee study methodology; application inspection
and approval; installation inspection and meter installation; and additional inspection
instance. He then provided the following recommended service fees: application inspection
and approval costing $250.00; installation inspection and meter installation costing $450.00;
and additional inspection instance costing $150.00. Cripe provided a fee comparison with the
following entities: Pedernales Electric Cooperative; College Station Utilities; Central Texas
Electric Cooperative; Bryan Texas Utilities; Bartlett Electric Cooperative; and New Braunfels
Utilities. He noted the Electric Advisory Board recommendation to the Council was to adopt
the new fee structure as discussed at their May 20, 2021 meeting; and staff recommends
accepting the new fee structure for new DER interconnection applications with a tentative
start date of July 1, 2021.
General discussion among Council and staff related to the effects on current solar customers;
how customers' solar panels interact with the City's grid; and if current installations meet
City standards; and need to verify that installations are done safely.
D. Presentation, discussion, and possible direction regarding a Contractor Registration Program
-- Glen Holcomb, Chief Building Official
This item was discussed after Item E.
Holcomb presented and reviewed what the City presently requires of all contractors; what
other communities require for contractor licensing; the impact of a more robust Contractor
Registration Program; staff impacts from a change to the existing Contractor Registration
Program; and based upon the research conducted by staff, if Council desires to implement a
more robust contractor/roofer registration program. He then asked for the following Council
feedback and direction: scope of registration and if Council desires to a) Maintain current
registration Program, and if so with what changes; or b) Implement a more robust Contractor
Registration Program, and if so, should it be all contractors or roofing contractors (narrow);
should registration be one-time or recurring, and if recurring, how frequently; for registration
fee, does Council want to have a one-time registration fee or a recurring fee; for inspections,
does Council want the program to include contractors are closing out their permits; for
background checks, does Council want background checks to be conducted of contractors,
and if a negative issue is found, does Council want to authorize Chief Building Official to
deny permits or registration; and for enforcement, if registered contractors are not complying
with pulling permits or closing out permits or an unregistered person working without a
registration or permit, does the Council want to temporarily not allow contractors to pull
more permits until they comply on past permits. Holcomb provided proposed next steps.
General discussion among Council and staff regarding possible benefits of implementing a
program and the impact on citizens; if paying a fee would be a deterrent for "fly by night"
contractors; the low number of complaints received by the citizens; unpermitted or
uninspected roofs; the large number of roofs needing to be inspected currently due to growth;
what can be done to stop "fly by night" contractors; what prevents permits from being issued
under the City's current code; and concerns with adding extra work to staff.
Mayor Schroeder asked if Council would be willing to review proposed program. Hood
asked if the problem was enforcement. Mayor Schroeder noted that if a citizen is complaining
about people illegally knocking on doors, that's not part of the purview of the Inspections
Department. Morgan responded that those types of complaints would be handled by the
Police Department.
General discussion among Council and staff regarding existing programs for registration;
providing staff the ability to deny permits to habitual offenders; who would verify the
registrations; the need to educate residents on best practices; how this could impact general
contractors; how hail storms can produce problems; how permits are called in; reasons why
a registration could be pulled; and if the issue could be addressed when hail storms happen
only.
Mike Pickel, with Texas Traditions Roofing, addressed the Council about how the roofing
community wants to help citizens work with quality professionals.
Mike Cochran, with Apex roofing, addressed the Council and noted that someone doing
business with the City will need insurance and having that requirement would not necessarily
be a burden to Inspections Dept. He added that he wants a level playing field and to protect
the citizens and a registration fee may help with that.
Discussion among Council and the roofers regarding having a list of contractors that have
good standing with the City; how bad weather events will affect customers and response; and
the possibility of requiring fingerprinting for contractors.
Mayor Schroeder noted that there is no clear consensus of Council and asked that staff come
back to Council with possible options.
F. Presentation and discussion regarding the proposed changes to the Downtown and Old Town
Design Guidelines -- Britin Bostick, Downtown and Historic Planner and Nat Waggoner,
Long Range Planning Manager
This item was not taken up for discussion due to time constraints.
Mayor recessed at 5:22 p.m. for Executive Session to start at 5:30 p.m.
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.
G. 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
- Litigation Update
Sec. 551.086: Certain Public Power Utilities: Competitive Matters
- Competitive Matters — Purchased Power Update
Adjournment
the Georgetown City Council on �Cku 9
Date
:r, May Attest: City ecretary