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MIN CC 08/16/1983MINUTES OF THE HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THE 16TH DAY OF AUGUST, 1983 IN THE CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, LOCATED AT 1212 AVENUE M IN THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, COUNTY OF WALKER, TEXAS AT 6:30 P.M. The Council met in regular session with the following members present: a William V. Nash, Mayor Murray A. Brown Larry Corley Stephen E. Davis Bill Hodges Percy Howard, Jr. Jane Monday Bob Tavenner .Member absent: Jerry Dowling Mayor Nash called the meeting to order and then recessed the meeting into an Executive Session to discuss legal matters: Martinez Vs. City of Huntsville. No formal action was taken in this session. RECONVENE FORMAL MEETING Mayor Nash then reconvened the formal meeting of the Council. The invocation was presented by Father Andrew Wueste of the St. Thomas Catholic Church. CONSIDER THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING Councilmember Monday made the motion to approve the minutes as prepared for the meeting of August 2, 1983 and Councilmember Corley seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. ATTENDING CITIZENS Planning Commission Report Mr. Dale Brown, Director of Planning, presented the Planning Commission's report on behalf of its chairman, Mr. Bill Knotts. Mr. Brown noted a preliminary and final plat was submitted for Hickory Hills Addition, Section II, which is a 50 unit condominium development on Crosstimbers Street. He said both plats were conditionally approved subject to several stipulations placed on them. Town Creek Park -- Dennis Baker Mr. Baker, a member of the Town Creek Park Coordinating Committee, displayed an artist's rendition of the proposed Town Creek Park and described its layout. He noted all of the adjacent property owners on Avenue N have agreed to abandon Avenue N with the exception of the City. He said current plane call for Avenue N to be main- tained as a private drive. He noted the budget for the development of this park totals $25,800 and this amount includes a 202 maintenance contingency. He noted of that amount, various civic organizations and local groups have already contributed approximately $17,700. Mayor Nash asked Scott Bounds, City Attorney, to draft a letter for the property owners to sign indicating their abandonment of Avenue N is agreeable to them. Mayor Nash expressed his concern that it not be misunderstood that the portion of Avenue N which is kept open is not intended to become parking for the Geriatric Center, but would still be the City's property and would be used for parking for the Town Creek Park. The Council indicated they wished to get clarification from the developer of the Geriatric Center so insure that this is understood. Mayor Nash asked for a drawing indicating the Geriatric Center's access off of Avenue N. Mayor Nash said if the City abandons Avenue N, it would be for the sole pur- pose of it becoming a part of the park, and not for it to become a part of the housing project. Mike Taylor of Taylor's Tumbleweed Restaurant Mr. Taylor advised the Council that he proposed to construct a deck onto the south and east corners of his restaurant as an additional eating area and that he plans to use tables with umbrellas. He said because of the city's set -back ordinance which requires a set -back of 25 feet, he has been told by the city staff that he cannot construct this addition onto his restaurant if it extends out into the 25 foot reserve area. He said he wished to build a ten foot deck which would encroach into this 25 foot reserve area by three feet. The Council was advised that this ordinance does not allow for a variance. After some discussion, the Council's general consensus was that it would like to have the ability to grant a variance to the 25 foot setback ordinance in certain "reasonable "circumstances. The staff was asked to look at this ordinance from this standpoint and come back to the Council at the next meeting with their recommendations. ENGINEERING DESIGN COMPUTER Consider the award of bids to the respective companies providing the hardware and software The City Manager, Gene Pipes, asked the Council's consideration of awarding the bid for the hardware for the Design Engineering Computer to Hewlett- Packard in the amount of $54,949 and awarding the bid for the software for this computer to Holguin & Associates in the amount of $16,700. Councilmember Hodges made the motion to approve the bids as outlined above and Councilmember Howard seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. ORDINANCES AUTHORIZING ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION FOR THE COMPUTER Consider Ordinance No. 83 -28 authorizing issuance of a C. 0. for $51,517.00 to purchase hardware for the Design Engineering Computer. Mayor Nash presented this ordinance, the caption of which is as follows: ORDINANCE NO. 83 -28 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING ISSUANCE OF A CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS, EQUIPMENT ACQUISITION CERTIFICATE OF OBLIGATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $51,517.00; AND CONTAINING OTHER PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT. Councilmember Hodges made the motion to approve Ordinance No. 83 -28 and Councilmember Brown seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Consider Ordinance No. 83 -29 authorizing issuance of a C. 0. for $16,700 to purchase software for the Design Engineering Computer Mr. Nash presented this ordinance, the caption of which is as follows: ORDINANCE NO. 83 -29 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING ISSUANCE OF A CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS, EQUIPMENT ACQUISITION CERTIFICATE OF OBLIGATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $16,700.00; AND CONTAINING OTHER PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT. Councilmember Hodges made the motion to adopt Ordinance No. 83 -29 and Councilmember Corley seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Consider a contract with the Williams - Stackhouse Company for the second year of the aerial mapping program in an amount not to exceed $128,092. Mr. Pipes presented the proposed contract for aerial mapping, which plays a major role in budget and capital improvement considerations, as the majority of the capital improvement projects are dependent on current data before analysis can begin. He noted this second year contract will complete the remaining 282 sheets in the mapping program. He noted it is planned to fund this project after October 1, 1983 from the City's anticipated Revenue Sharing entitlement. He noted, however, since General Revenue Sharing has not been approved yet by Senate and no action is now expected until mid- September, it is somewhat awkward to authorize a contract to be funded from an uncertain source. Councilmember Brown made the motion to approve this contract, to be funded temporarily from General Fund Contingency Funds, to be reimbursed by Revenue Sharing when it becomes available and Councilmember Monday seconded the motion. After some discussion, Councilmember Brown amended his motion to limit the amount of funding for this project from the General Fund Contingency to $25,000, to authorize the work to commence withvthe understanding that no payment would be forthcoming until after October 1; and upon the pass- age of Revenue Sharing, that the funding of this project would be from Revenue Sharing, according to the original plan. The amendment was accepted by Councilmember Monday. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Consider a proposal by the Trinity River Authority to adjust the contractual hardness criteria to obtain a more stable water and reduce their budget requests by $149,478 Mayor Nash noted the proposal from TRA to reduce the hardness criteria has been sent to the City's consultant, Engineering Science,for their review prior to any action by the City Council. He noted when the city receives the consultant's recommendations, it will then be in a better position to take final action. Councilmember Brown made the motion to table and Councilmember Corley seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT- -Gene Pipes Patricia Allen, Director of Finance -- Receives her C.P.A. Gene Pipes then advised the Council that Patricia Allen has just received her C.P.A. (certified public account) designation. He noted this is quite a commendable achievement and has required slot of hard work. He noted she should be publicly recognized that she is now Patricia Allen, C.P.A. The Council then gave Patricia a round of applause. Ruth DeShaw, City Secretary -- Receives her C.M.C. Gene Pipes also advised the Council that Ruth DeShaw has just received word that she has successfully com- pleted all of the requirements to earn her C.M.C. (certified municipal clerk) designation. Certification School -- Sanitation - -A License Gene Pipes noted there is a certification school being conducted at the City's Service Center at the present time which has an enrollment of some 35 people from this area, for the acquisition of a Sanitation "A" License. He noted the City is hosting this school in the conference room at the Service Center. Design Engineering Biennial Report Mr. Pipes presented this report to document allthe progress of the Design Engineering Department and its accomplishments for the past few years. Review and wrap -up of the 1983 -1984 basic budget and rate structures Mr. Pipes then advised the Council that the staff has prepared the final adjustments to the budget, as directed by the Council. He noted this represents a 56C tax rate and adjustments of the water and sewer rates and an increase in sanitations rates of approximately 80C. He noted the 56C tax rate is less than the 3% increase that is allowed under the Truth 6 Taxation Law and this will allow adoption of the budget early on and proceed with further developments in the capital improvements program. Consideration of compliance dates and deadlines necessary for budget completion The City Manager noted if the Council wishes to establish the tax rate, water and sewer rates, and the sanitation rates (as in memo of August 5, 1983) a public hearing would be scheduled for two weeks from now at which time these rates could be adopted (on August 30, 1983). He noted if the Council sets the tax rate at 57c, this will require about two more weeks time for notices and the public hearing, and this notice would have to be authorized tonight. After an indebth discussion of the budget revisions and recommendations included in the August 5, 1983 submission, Councilmember Brown made the motion to adopt a tax rate of 56C per $100 of valua- tion, an 11% increase in sanitation costs; a 4% increase in water costs and a 7% decrease in sewer charges; and to approve the requirement of enterprise funds to share in cost of recommended decision packages in their administrative transfer ratio which wflreduce the reserve for future allocation by $16,909 in Water and Sewer and $8,525 in Sanitation and increase the reserve for future allocation in the general fund by $25,434 to a total of $76,527 and Councilmember Monday seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. The Mayor and Council commended the City Manager and his staff highly for the smooth operation, presentation and review of the 1983 -1984 budget, noting this is the smoothest this operation has ever gone. MAYOR'S REPORT -- William V. Nash TRA Plant Visit -- Mayor Nash noted he, Mayor protein Corley, Boyd Wilder and Gene Pipes, met with TRA officials at the City Surface Water Treatment Plant on Friday to review the work TRA is doing to fine tune the plant operations to minimize operation coats and increase efficiency. He noted he was very pleased with their work. He noted periodic reports will be forthcoming regarding the plant operations. ti PAGE 322 -- BOOK "N" -- AUGUST 16, 1983 Engineering Design Department Mayor Nash noted he is pleased with the progress achieved in the Engineering Design Department and commended the department for the biennial report recently submitted. He noted the concept of this department as an addi- tion to the city has been of great advantage to the city and will continue to play a vital role in the planning and management of the City of Huntsville. Police Report Mayor Nash noted in reviewing the July, 1983 Police Monthly Report, that the record of crime in our commun- ity is much lower than it has been in previous years. He noted there are fewer occurrences of crime and the clearance record is much higher. He commended the police force for their efforts in this regard. He also commended the citizens for their contributions to the lower crime rate. COUNCIL ACTION Old Budget Process Councilmember Monday noted that she too is very pleased with the way the budget process was conducted this year, noting that the procedures used in the past made for a much more complicated and stressful budget review and decision session. Historical Highlights • Councilmember Monday noted she hoped the historical highlights, which had been provided monthly in the past, continue, noting Huntsville has a very rich historical heritage and it is interesting to review from time to time. Huntsville Day Care Center Councilmember Howard asked the city to provide some assistance to the Huntsville Day Care Center entrance noting they need some dirt there to improve the entrance from the street. Civil Defense Plan Councilmember Brown noted that in the event of a hurricane(Alicia) coming in, it would be well to check our civil defense plan for fine tuning, coordinating with our ham operators, checking our generators, etc. Mr. Pipes noted the staff will meet in the morning to review the plan and that they are checking on these things today. TRA Plant Visit Mayor protem Corley noted he was overwhelmed at what TRA has done at the plant, noting they have corrected all of the in -house problems. He said he feels comfortable that they will continue to meet and solve any problems out there. 1983 -1984 Budget Review Mayor protem Corley noted this has been the most pleasant budget he has worked on in his nine years on the Council. He noted he feels the computers have helped and the fact that slot of legwork was done ahead of time by the staff and many things worked out before it ever came to the Council. He commended the staff and the Council for their work on this year's budget. Resolutions for TML Mayor Nash asked the Council to begin thinking about any resolutions they might like to forward to the TML for consideration at the annual meeting in October. He noted the deadline for submitting these 1s September 23. TML Region 14 Meeting Mr. Nash advised there would be a TML Region 14 meeting in Houston at the Summit Club on Thursday, Septem- ber 8. He asked the Council to advise Ruth DeShaw is they would like to attend. ADJOURNMENT TO WORK SESSION Respectfully submitted, ut e- haw, City Secre August 16, 1983