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MIN CC 06/26/1984MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JUNE 26, 1984 BOOK N, P. 425 MINUTES OF THE HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THE 26TH DAY OF JUNE, 1984 IN THE CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, LOCATED AT 1212 AVENUE M IN THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, COUNTY OF WALKER, TEXAS AT 7:00 P.M. The Council met in regular session with the following members present: William V. Nash, Mayor 0. Eugene Barrett Murray A. Brown Stephen E. Davis Jerry L. Dowling Bill Hodges Percy Howard, Jr. Jane Monday Bob Tavenner * Gene Pipes, City Manager !' * Scott Bounds, City Attorney * Ruth DeShaw, City Secretary ;; * Robert DeLong, City Judge b II The meeting was called to order by the Honorable William V. Nash, Mayor. The invocation was presented by Councilmember Percy Howard, Jr. CONSIDER THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING The minutes of the meeting of June 5 were adopted by a motion made by Councilmember Monday and seconded by Councilmember Dowling. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. ATTENDING CITIZENS Dr. Mary Frances Park, Chairman, Planning Commission, to report on recent meetings. Dr. Park noted the Commission considered First Star South Subdivision, preliminary plat, presented by First gptional Bank South, which relates to a cul -de -sac the bank is installing adjacent to their bank property at the corner of Sam Houston Avenue and Avenue I which will improve the alignment of this intersection. She noted it is a commercial subdivision and the variance concerned a utility easement -- placing it on the west side of the street i - -and the location of sanitary sewer - -both variances were approved. A final approval of the preliminary plat was r. made. The final plat will be brought back to the Commission at a later date. The Avenue P Addition preliminary plat was then reviewed by the Commission, reported Dr. Park. She noted this property is owned by the HISD and is located bn Avenue.P between 7th and 10th Streets. The Commission approved the preliminary plat and the final plat with no conditions to consider, she said. Dr. Park noted the Azalea Terrace Condominiums (Nelly Mallery property on the corner of Avenue 0 and 14th Street). She noted this is a 15 unit residential condominium on a little over an acre of land. She noted there are two access streets: one from Avenue 0 and one from 14th Street. She noted this project meets the density requirements of the standards and conditional approval was given to the preliminary plat pending approval of the utilities by the City Engineer. The Commission is reviewing at length the Central Business District plan, reported Dr. Park. She noted a great deal of input from the citizens is available and the Commission is concerned to review the whole plan in depth in order to save the Council some discussion time. She noted the three major topics in this plan are the loading /unloading of trucks in traffic lanes; regulation of on- street parking; and channelization of streets. Dr. Park recommended that a task force be appointed by the Mayor and Council to work on the problem of "loading and unloading of trucks in traffic lanes.'" She noted a member of the Commission will be happy to serve on this task force. Dr. Park noted the Commission is suggesting prohibition of parking in a few areas to relieve traffic congestion. The Commission is still considering alternatives regarding channelization of streets, particularly 13th and 10th Streets. She noted the Commission will eventually get this plan to the Council for their considera -j tion. Mr. Jim Bell, Kansas City Life, to report on the condition of the City's retirement system Mr. Bell presented a financial statement and portfolio of investments to the Council on Kansas City Life Insurance Company. He noted Kansas City Life was established in 1895 (89 years old as of May 1). He noted it ranks 155 out of more than 1300 insurance companies. He noted Kansas City Life owns three other companies: Sunset Life Insurance Company, Armour Life, and National Reserve Life of Topeka, Kansas. He noted the company's assets total approximately $1,335,000 million dollars as of the end of 1983 (assets of all companies). He noted insurance in force is about ten billion dollars. He said we have about $1.00 in money for every $8.00 of claims exposure- -which is rather phenomenal in the insurance business. He noted his company does not have a great deal of group insurance so this makes their ratio substantially closer than other companies. He said the total annual revenue for 1983 was more than $222,000,000. He said they had a net earnings out of that of $16,000,000. He noted Kansas City Life is an extremely conservative company, noting his paycheck would prove this fact. He noted its investment portfolio consists of a very small percentage of common stocks or very few items that are specula- tive in nature; noting the company is limited as to the number it can purchase. He noted Texas is one of the company's biggest states from a production, sales and investment point of view. Mr. Bell assured the Council that its employees' pension plan is "very healthy," noting we have about $1,425,000 in total assets `in the plan with no money in the plan earning less than 10 1/2 percent; some of which earns as much as 14 percent, most of it earning in the 12+ percent interest ,range. He noted there are approximately 25 -30 different buckets of money earning different rates of interest, depending on when it was contributed. He said at least $284,000 of it is working at 14 percent and another $111,000 is earning 13 1/2 percent or more and another couple of hundred thousand dollars is earning 12 percent. He said there is no money earning less than 10 1/2 percent interest. INTRODUCTION OF WALTER JOHNSON Walter Johnson, second place winner in truck rodeo - -front loading container truck category. Mr. Gene Pipes, City Manager, noted on June 16, Walter went to the Governmental Refuse Collection and Dispo- sal Association Truck Rodeo in Mesquite. He noted this meeting consisted of drivers from different towns and cities in Texas competing in driving skills and knowledge of their equipment, state laws regarding the operation of large vehicles on our roads and highways, etc. He noted the different trucks involved were front loading container trucks (Walter's category), roll off trucks, side load, rear load garbage trucks. Mr. Pipes noted Walter, representing the City of Huntsville, placed second in his category (front - loading container truck contest). He noted this rodeo is an annual event and the overall winner will compete in the national truck rodeo. This year the national truck rodeo will be in Orlando, Florida. Mr. Pipes noted he wanted to let the Council know how successful Walter had been in the state truck rodeo. He then presented him with a trophy commemorating his effort. MINUTES OF JUNE 26, 1984 -- MINUTE BOOK N, Page 426 RECOGNITION OF GUESTS Mayor Nash recognized Councilmember Davis' wife, Jan in the audience. He also recognized Mr. Scott Johnson, former Councilmember of eight years, attending this meeting. He welcomed them to the Council Chambers. CONSIDER ORDINANCE Consider Ordinance amending Chapter 6, Building Regulations, by reducing commercial driveway requirements Gene Pipes, noted the commercial driveway requirements are being requested for amendment due to the fact that since their adoption, virtually every installation of a commercial driveway request had to be taken to the Board of Adjustments and Appeals for a variance. He said the staff has concluded there must be something wrong with the driveway requirements. He noted a review by the building official, Robert Morphew, resulted in the request to adjust all the commercial driveway criteria downward by 25 percent. He then presented the ordinance, the caption of which is as follows: ORDINANCE NO. 84 -17 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 6, BUILDINGS AND BUILDING REGULATIONS BY REDUCING COMMERCIAL DRIVEWAY REQUIREMENTS; AND MAKING OTHER PROVISIONS RELATED THERETO. Pr. Pipes noted the minimum clearances and spaces required for driveways for commercial entities on arterial, collector and local streets were reduced by 25 percent. After some discussion for clarification, Councilmember Hodges made the motion to adopt Ordinance No. 84 -17 and Councilmember Monday seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. CONSIDER POLICE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL Consider a proposed adjustment to the personnel allocations in the Police Department In a memorandum from David Farrar, the Council was advised of-his concern for the lieutenant classificatio which is a combination of duties traditionally split between two classifications (sergeant and lieutenant) in traditional police organizations. Chief Farrar noted this combination creates a dilemma for the officer selected for promotion as he is required to make a rapid transition from a line officer to a lower level manage; and become a part of the management team. He said in the more traditional organizations, this tran- sition is made easier through the sergeant position as it "bridoes the oap" between management and line officers. Chief Farrar recommended, in order` to make this transition smoother and to enhance personnel develop ment, changing the number of authorized Lieutenants from the current six to four positions, one of which will be temporary until January, 1985. He noted at that time an officer is expected to retire from service and his position will revert to a police officer position (Mike Comella). Chief Farrar further recommended creating a new classification of sergeant and the authorization of three positions within that classification. He noted this classification will fall in the pay plan between the current lieutenant and police officer grades, occupy- ing pay grade XII. And finally, Chief Farrar recommended authorizing him to appoint, at his discretion, the personnel to fill the position of sergeant. Chief Farrar said the net effect of this recommendation does not increase the total number of personnel within the division as the sergeant positions will come from, and reduce, the number of police officer positions. He noted in terms of budget impact, although difficult to calculate without knowing positively who will fill the sergeants' positions, the costs incurred by this proposal will be within the current budget and should be j a near wash in the next fiscal year. Chief Farrar said this will give the Department a Chief, two captains, three lieutenants, three sergeants and 19 police officers. Councilmember Dowling made one suggestion that in the third recommendation made, which would be to autho- rize the Chief of Police to appoint, at his discretion, the personnel to fill the position of sergeant, that we use the currently in -place process we use to fill lieutenant positions, which is the use of the citizens board and an application process. Chief Farrar indicated he had no objection to using this process in this regard. Councilmember Brown made the motion to approve of Chief Farrar's request with the inclusion of the recommendation of Councilmember Dowling and Councilmember Monday seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. CONSIDER HEALTH INSURANCE PATE STRUCTURE Consider approval of the new health insurance rate structure offered by Republic Life The Council received the recommendation of Mr. John Keys, Director of Internal Services, to accept the rate increase quoted by Republic Life by simply taking no action and letting it go into effect and to authorize the City `-i formally re -bid the city health insurance within the next month. It was noted the rates quoted by Repubric are as follows: Present Rate Effective July 1, 1984 Employee life and AD &D ($25,000) $ 7.75 $ 7.75 t, Employee Dental $ 16.38 $ 20.72 Employee Health $ 57.22 $ 72.38 Subtotal $ 81.35 per month 1085 per month Dependent Dental $ 31.89 $ 40.34 Dependent Health $116.18 $146.97 Subtotal $148.07 per month $187.31 per month Mr. Pipes noted in studying these rates, the City had an opportunity to look at other companies. He noted it would be timely for the city to re -bid this insurance in time for budget considerations for FY 1984 -1985, in the event the city makes a change in insurance carriers for a better rate. It was noted, however, that an 1 25 ". loss ratio is the standard profit margin in the insurance industry, and based on the City's loss ratio, the rate increase is in line. However, it was noted the possibility exists that a change of carriers could produce Netter rates for the same coverages. The Council was concerned that the City not change companies so often that the employees were inconvenienced but at the same time, they were concerned that the city get the best insurance coverage for the dollars spent. Mayor Nash asked the staff to get with some of our insurance people ! in the city to work toward getting the best policy for the employees. Councilmember Monday asked for a review j of the overall impact this insurance premium cost will have on the budget so that it can be considered at the i time the cost of living raises are reviewed. Councilmember Monday also asked for an immediate past record of 1 Blue Cross /Blue Shield is for other cities and what their rate increases will be for next year. MEETING OF JUNE 26, 1984, Page 427, Book "N" CONSIDER TRAFFIC CONTROL TRUCK Consider vehicle replacement bids for the traffic control truck, Street Division, and award to the low bidder, Goodman Dodge, in the amount of $10,544, to be funded from reserve for future allocation, which has a balance of I' $72,782. Councilmember Brown made the motion to accept the bid of Goodman Dodge in the amount of $10,544 and Councilmember Hodges seconded the motion. Mayor Nash noted this then will leave a balance in the reserve for future allocation of $62,238. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. CONSIDER SEWER EXTENSION Consider award of bids for construction of a sewer extension previously approved to R.& R Construction in the amount of $3,1-89.(MeTissa Templeton's sewer extension). Mayor Nash presented this request for a 6" sanitary sewer extension for Melissa Templeton (Project No. 83- 8-6). He noted on May 22, 1984, the Council approved the participation in one -half of the cost of the first 300 feet in the amount of $2,093.75. He advised that Mrs. Templeton has deposited the match amount of 52,093.95, bringing the funds available for construction to $4,187.50. He noted that even though the bid of R & R Construction comes in under this amount available, it is being recommended by Glenn Isbell, Director of Engineering Design, that the entire funds available on deposit be retained until completion of the project. pending any change orders, etc. Councilmember Monday made the motion to approve of the bid of R & R Construc- tion Company and Councilmember Brown seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. CONSIDER PAVING AND STORM DRAINAGE BID FOR NEW ADDITION AREA Consider the bid received for paving and storm drainage in the H.U.D. - -New Addition Project area and reject and rebid the project, as recommended The Council was advised by Glenn Isbell, Director of Engineering Design, that bids were opened on the IUD paving and storm drainage project No. 81 -7 -26, Phase IV on Wednesday, June 20, 1984. He noted that there were six prospective bidders of which only one bidder actually turned in a bid on the project. He advised the bid was from L -W -B Construction Company, Inc. for $1,017,195.00 and is substantially higher than the engineer's estimate. He recommended that the project be re -bid at the earliest available time and that this lone bid be rejected. Councilmember Brown made the motion to reject the bid received from L -W -B Construction Company, Inc. and that the staff be authorized to re -bid as soon as possible. Councilmember Monday seconded this motion: All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. CONSIDER ANNEXATION GUIDELINES Consider proposed policy guidelines for annexation of tracts to the City Mayor Nash presented the written guidelines and asked the Council for their comments. Councilmember Monday referred the Council to policy statement no. 2, which reads: "The territory shall be substantially developed or undergoing development at the time of annexation." She noted she is concerned that this statement can be very limiting. Councilmember Monday felt that there may be areas adjacent to other areas being developed that we would find it advantageous to annex all at once. She felt this statement may be too inhibiting. Mayor Nash noted he agreed with Councilmember Monday. He felt however that there should be some indication of pending development and that the city should not take in lands just to take in area. Mr. Pipes noted the 1981 philosophy was to take in land adjacent to the city that was relatively undeveloped so that the cost of development would be fully borne by the developers and the city could avoid "overhaul" work when it is taken into the city. He said prior to 1981 we also had a one mile ETJ, and this now is extended to two miles. This ETJ substantially limits the type of development to that which is to the city's standards. He noted he sees less purpose now to take land i! that isn't either about to be developed or at least in progress for development because there are substantial tracts at this time immediately adjacent to the city that are pretty much developed and were overlooked in 1981. :; He noted the purpose of this statement is not to be limiting but to simply establish criteria for the Planning Commission to review at this time. Councilmember Monday noted then that this statement should perhaps read that our preference would certainly go to areas that are highly developed, that have seen development and growth, as opposed to simply saying we would not annex it unless it were undergoing development. She said property owners could come back and say this is just pasture land and does not fit your criteria. Mayor Nash noted there is really nothing to gain by bringing in alot of farm land or forest land which is exempt anyway, however, he did not wish for the City to obtain an irregular perimeter but to stay with some reasonable direct routes which are easily defined, which may mean having to get away from that particular policy statement noted above. He noted we should stay substantially with this, but the wording needed to be softened somewhat. Mr. Pipes noted it would;: be easy to insert a statement that we would annex only along league lines. He noted he will take another look at this policy. The Council felt overall that this policy guideline was good and will serve the-purposes for which it was intended. Mayor Nash noted he feels it is important that we consider annexation and that we do so this year. He asked that the Planning Commission review this. It was noted that the Council can make their suggestions for possible annexation areas known to the City Manager and he can then relay these areas for the Planning Commission's study and review after it is reviewed by the staff for financial impact, etc. Councilmember Davis noted the recent attempt by TDC to acquire the land and building owned by a private finn near the Goree Unit of TDC. He noted although'the plan was cancelled, he was concerned that the city has no control over this as it could take a substantial portion of our tax roll. Mayor Nash noted the city, along with the county and the school district, did take a position a few years ago requesting that TDC not purchase land or property in the immediate area of Huntsville because of the already serious financial impact of state facilities on our tax rolls. CONSIDER ABANDONED VEHICLE REMOVAL POLICY Consider proposed junked or abandoned vehicle removal policy Gene Pipes, City Manager, noted this policy would be a "junk abatement contract" bid out to a private contractor to provice wrecker service when requested and appropriate storage facilities for picking up and storing all junked vehicles so designated by the Huntsville Police Department. He noted the contractor will pay /charge the city a certain sum for each and every vehicle for which a salvage title is processed in accor- dance with this agreement. After a further discussion and review of the contract, Councilmember Brown made the motion to approve of this concept and Councilmember Davis seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. CONSIDER RETAINING A CONSULTANT Consider a joint proposal to retain consultant engineering services by the City an.d_TRA to evolve an_ updated master plan for water supply, treatment and distribution, to be paid for through in -house budgeted funds and a budget amendment to the FY 1983 -1984 H.R.W.S.S. budget, subject to the TRA Board approval. r....., n:..,... rig.. u arts.. Cn..,L.n..., Dean; Ton Pane 428, Book "N" -- June 26, 1984 Minutes which recommends thatadevelopmental master plan for the orderly growth and modifications of the Huntsville ,Zegional Water Supply System be prepared by engineering consultants, which will examine plans for expansion in conjunction with current treatment processes, including associated costs, and in relation to the potential available future sources of water supply including the proposed Nelson Creek Reservoir. He recommended the joint effort of Engineering Science, Inc. of Austin Texas (the city's primary technical consultant for both •rater and wastewater matters) and Alan Plummer 8 Associates, Inc. of Arlington, Texas (TRA's consultant working in conjunction with TRA on the HRWSS project in several areas including operation and maintenance manual design,' treatment process modification and, at present, with the monitoring of a small scale pilot plant study. He noted because of these two firms' storehouse of data and statistics about this particular project, he recommends:. they work on this project in a joint cooperative approach He noted a proposal was submitted by ESI in which thy; fire, of APAI would work in conjunction with ESI at a cost of $57,000 (estimated). He noted if the City Council ': approves of this proposed study, the Authority proposes to present a recommendation before its Board of Direc- ' tors in August to enter into an agreement for engineering services with Engineering Science, Inc. for the development of a coordinated master plan for water supply and treatment-for the City throuuh the Huntsville Regional Water Supply System. Mayor Nash noted the water system we now have has been in use some four years. He noted there are not that many systems operating on the Trinity River like this one as it is relatively new and different (surface water).! He noted many engineering studies were done initially and in the course of operation of this plant for some twenty years, it is necessary to make statistical changes, adjustments, revisions not only in the plant but in systems of operation. He noted there are plans for the potential use of water from the Nelson Creek Reservoir . as a supplement to this water system either directly or from an impoundment pond to be built in conjunction with a power plant. He noted the staff and TRA feels that we need to move on to a better understanding of future needs of our water, both from a quantity standpoint and to better understand the treatment process and the quality potential and the quality likelihood of the water that we would have. He presented Mr. Baker's request for a consultant to assist in this understanding. He asked the Council for their comments now that they have had the opportunity to review the consultant's proposal. Gene Pipes, City Manager, noted that one of the City's major considerations was that in the 1973 Bernard Johnsan Study that initiated the HRWSS Project, by 1985, we had expected by a population growth and consumption to need to expand the plant from 4 million gallons to 6 million gallons. He noted in our four years of opera- tional experience at the HRWSS, we are now reaching the 4 million gallon design capacity on a regular basis as far as demand on the system. He noted in our earlier stages of discussion this spring, we realized that for a number of reasons, we had not reached our projected growth, use and consumption of water and we still had our rather substantial well field in place that could be used as a buffer for the next several years, perhaps, .t while we grew into our next stage of expansion of the plant itself. He noted stepping up from four million gallons to six million gallons on a take or pay is a contractual must - -we have to do that this year. But, he said, we can delay, with proper study and evaluation, for some time before we have to put money into expanding the plant, and rely on our well fields until our demand or population grows, in terms of water consumption, mandate that that work be done. He felt it is fitting and proper, as we have done in all of our other master n plan studies, to take an overall comprehensive look at every element impacting our water production, storage and distribution about every ten years. He recommended including•in this update a review of the city's distri- bution system, as suggested by Boyd !hider, Director of Public Utilities, for an additional $9,000. Councilmember Brown made the motion to approve this joint proposal for the consultant engineering services with these two firms to update the master plan for water supply, treatment and distribution and to include the survey of the City's, water distribution system suggested by Mr.'Boyd ilder, all subject to TRA Board approval, and Councilmember Howard seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. CONSIDER BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS Consider fourth quarter budget adjustments for items previously discussed Gene Pipes, City Manager, then presented budget adjustments totaling $29,005 for city council /city secretary chair replacement ($10,200); sheet feeder for the City Manager's office ($1,525); a line printer for the Data Processing Division ($11,710); and a teletype machine for the Police Department ($5,570). Councilmember Monday expressed her concern for the balance in the general fund at this time of the year, noting it is now $62,238 with the deduction of the truck purchased this evening for the Street Division. Mr. Pipes noted that her concern is appreciated but that there should be no problem. In addition, added to this balance in the general fund is the GSU refund recently received, which amounts to $9,287 credited back to this fund out of a total refund of $32,194. Councilmember Monday then made the motion to approve of these budget adjustments and Councilmember Barrett seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. CONSIDER ORDINANCE Consider Ordinance No. 84 -18 approving delivery and acceptance of a Certificate of Obiiaation for a street sweener for the Street Division of the Public Works Department, and approval of the low bid for interest in the amount of 9.90 percent for the $52,562.00 purchase. The:City Manager, Gene Pipes, presented this ordinance, the caption of which is as follows: t• ORDINANCE NO. 84 -18 AN ORDINANCE APPROVING CLAIM AND DELIVERY OF CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION; AND CONTAINING OTHER PROVISIONS RELATED THERETO . Mr. Pipes advised the Council that Saf -T -Mark Supply Company, Inc. is the lowest and best bid for the purchase of the street sweeper at a bid price of $52,562. He noted Mr. J. H. Niederhofer, private citizen, has bid the lowest rate of interest for the certificates of obligation at the rate of 9.90 percent. He noted this C.O. will be for a four year period and the total cost of the sweeper will be $65,571.10 using this method of payment Councilmember Brown made the motion to adopt this ordinance and to approve of the low bid for interest from Mr. J. H. Niederhofer and Councilmember Howard seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT - -GENE PIPES P'S Housing Update -- Mr. Pipes noted the EMS Board is constantly searching for a permanent location for the EMS. He noted Carl Voskamp, Director of EMS, is reviewing alternatives at this time. He noted the Board will meet again on Monday. Sealy Tour Mr. Pipes reminded the Council that a tour is planned of the Sealy Waste Disposal/ Generator facility for Thursday June 28. Those that wish to participate will need to be at the City Hall by 8:30 A.M. • MINUTES OF JUNE 26, 1984, BOOK "N" -- Page 429 '12 0 TML Director's Retirement -- Mr. Pipes advised the Council that Mr. Dick Brown, Executive Director of the Texas Municipal League, is stepping down as director to pursue private lobbying activities. He advised there will be an appreciation dinner /roast for him in Austin on June 28. Bond Sale Closing -- The Council was advised that the city's two million dollar street bond sale was officially closed this week at First National Bank. He noted the money has been deposited in the bank's interest bearing accounts. He noted he anticipated those amounts to be rapidly depleted as we get on with the street improvement proaram. Sianalization Project -- Mr. Pipes told the Council that the signalization plans on Sam Houston Avenue were signed last week with the Texas Department of Highways and Public Transportation. Mr. Pipes noted Mr. Bill Hodges, Mayor Pro Tem, signed on behalf of Mayor Nash, who was out of the country. He noted an ordinance will be prepared for Council's review at the next meeting. He noted the letting of the bids will be in November and at that time we will know whether we received funds for all of the work requested (interconnection of the signals, coordination of the signals). Mayor pro tem Hodges noted in jest that one can travel 35 mph or 70 mph and make it through town without meeting a red light once this work is completed. July 3, 1984 Meeting -- Mr. Pipes advised because of the 4th of July holiday on Wednesday and expected family activities, etc., the Council will not meet next week Tuesday. The next meeting then will be on July 10, 1984. MAYOR PRO TEM'S REPORT Mayor Pro tem Hodges, acting for the Mayor during his absence, welcomed Mr. Nash back and advised those present that he can speak from one month's experience as Mayor that the "Mayor is on call." He noted he felt the Council should recognize the mayor for the amount of ceremonial duties he must perform and the-volume of papers he must sign, etc. He noted the Mayor must put in many extra hours to perform the job of Mayor. He .Cc noted he sincerely welcomed him back and informed him that the City may need to "pull his passport" in order to keep him in town. Councilmember and Mayor Pro tem Hodoes advised the Council he represented the City as Mayor Pro Tem at Fair Park Nursing Home where he presented certificates of recognition from the City to four of the Home's outstanding volunteers. He noted he will represent the city at the re -grand opening of K -Mart in the morning. COUNCIL ACTION 'Sealy Tour -- Councilmember Davis encouraaed the Council to participate in the Sealy Waste Disposal /Generator facility tour. He n o t e . .d making energy out of trash is a method and procedure of the future, according to information obtained at a recent meeting he attended in Corpus Christi for Mayors, Commissioners and Councilmembers. He noted Sealy was one of the places mentioned at this meeting as being on the cutting edge of transmitting trash into energy. He noted it is the first plant of its nature in Texas. Juneteenth Parade -- Councilmember Davis noted he participated in the Juneteenth Day Parade and he enjoyed it very much and commended its organizers for a well planned event. Juneteenth -- Councilmember Howard expressed his sincere appreciation to Mr. Johnny Poteete, Director of Public Works and Mr. Ray Black, Parks Superintendent, for having Emancipation Park in such good condition for this event Honorary Citizen Certificate -- Councilmember Dowling noted he and Mayor Nash earlier this evening presented an Honorary Citizen Certificate and other recognitions to Captain Pairat Pongchareon, who is a recent graduate of the doctoral program in Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University. He noted he is known as Captain Pai and is now returning to his home country, Thailand. Water Tower -- Councilmember Dowling asked when the new 2 million gallon elevated water tower will be painted. Mr. Pipes noted the structural crew will move off the site on Friday and the paint crew will move on site on Monday and it will suddenly become a glowing "white" mushroom. He noted the lettering will be green. Little League All- Star Game -- Councilmember Dowling expressed concern that admittance was being charged for the ballgame at the Kate Barr Ross Memorial Park. He did not feel it was appropriate that admission be charged to city facilities.without Council knowledge. He felt the City Attorney should draft an ordinance prohibiting charging admittance for events in city owned facilities unless approved in advance by the City Council or the City Manager. Councilmember Hodaes noted this happens so infrequently that he would prefer to leave this matter alone, noting the league has expense problems and this is one way they can relieve their budget somewhat for the all -star game. Councilmember Dowling noted he is only encouraging the establishment of a guideline which allows for permission to be granted and for the City to have knowledge of the admission charge. He felt there needed to be some officialdom connected to the charging of admittance to a public facil- ity. Mayor Nash noted he is not opposed to a clear written policy and suggested that this item be addressed in the contracts we adopt early in the year with each particular entity that uses the park. This contract could state that the Little League will not charge for regular games but that they can charge for the play -off or all -star games. HEAP Drama Production -- Councilmember Dowling also expressed his concern for the price of the drama productions supported by the City's Arts Commission. He felt the ticket prices were too high and that they should be relatively minimal for the children's performances. Mayor Nash noted the City is merely subsidizina this program and remains only a small part of that overall budget. He noted they have to charge admittance fees to cover their costs for costumes, royalties, scripts, etc. He said to lower ticket prices would mean we would need to contribute more money. Councilmember Dowling noted he would prefer contributing more so that the ticket prices could stay at a minimum. Councilmember Brown noted it was requested last year to keep the tickets at a minimum so as to not exclude people who would like to attend the performances because of price. Councilmember Monday asked that the Arts Commission have the opportunity to review this matter through the season this year and that we express our concern to them about the prices and then bring it up at budget time. Cancilmember Dowling noted it is $4.00 for adults and $2.00 for children this year; which is down from $5.00 and $3.00 since last year because of the questioning of Council about price then. Councilmember Monday noted their budget was drawn up based on being able to charge $4.00 and $2.00, noting if the Council feels they need to bring those prices down more, this needs to be expressed to them before they finalize their budget request for next year. Councilmember Dowling noted their budget does not reflect what they plan to charge for tickets so the Council does not know until they go to buy their ticket. Councilmember Brown noted he would "I�tj Page 430 -- BOOK "N" -- Minutes of June 26, 1984 be in favor of the city putting in more money if the ticket prices could be reduced. Gene Pipes, j! City Manager, reminded the Council that the Arts Commission budget is based on 1 percent of the hotel- motel tax which is benchmarked at somewhere around $30,000. He noted when $12,000 of that goes to HEAP Summer Production Theatre, to increase that amount will diminish what is available for other proarams. He advised Councilmember Dowling that the ticket monies are needed to help SHSU's Drama Department pay for staff time, production costs, royalties, and these monies do not go back into the city's budget, but are actually used and needed to pay the costs of the drama productions. Mayor j! Nash noted if we're going to cut out some funds, we need to analyze the situation closely to determine' if this is the best area in which to cut the budaet. He felt the Council can issue a policy statement about this, but that it should leave the decision to the Arts Commission. Councilmember Dowling felt i. the Council should review all charges in the HEAP budget, not .just the drama portion of it. He noted we may find that some of these activities are just too expensive and the money may be better spent on other individual art projects, soccer lessons, etc. Mayor Nash asked Mr. Pipes to no over this It with Linda Pease, Coordinator for these programs, to see what can be suggested by the Commission. Juneteenth -- Councilmember Barrett noted he enjoyed being a part of the Juneteenth activities. He noted the response from the public was impressive. 4th of July Activities -- Councilmember Monday asked the staff if we have coordinated our efforts with the County so as to be ready for the 4th of July traffic and activities. Mr. Pipes said he would be addressing this, noting the Police Department and the Sheriff's Department' are working very well together at the present time. Budget Schedule -- Councilmember Monday asked for the summer budget schedule so that plans can be made. Mayor Nash noted the staff should try to have this schedule prepared by the meeting of the 10th. Green Spaces and Trees -- Councilmember Monday referred to last meeting's discussion of trees and green spaces. She reminded the Council that they discussed developing some sort of a philosophical statement' ' in this regard. She noted the statement should say that the trees are our resources and that, we do value them and that we would encourage both contractors and developers to go by the regulations we already have but that we encourage their creative innovations and thinking to ' help regain the goal that we have for the preservation of these natural resources. She asked Mr. Pipes to, develop this policy statement and bring back a couple of sample statements,! for Council review the next time we meet. She noted the city needs to take a positive approach and the statement needs to be printed on all of our permits so that people will realize from the very beginning what our philosophy is in this regard. west Beltway -- Councilmember Dowling noted it seems apparent that the County of Walker may eventually call an !! election regarding the proposed west belt around Huntsville. He noted a portion of that highway; would be inside the city limits and he asked if this would be a city maintained street. Mr. Pipes noted this would fall under the city's maintenance agreement it has with the state highway'; department and they would maintain it. He noted he would hope that the highway department will design it and supervise its construction as well. He noted if it were not designated at a farm to market road, it would then be the City's to maintain as it occurs inside the city. Mayor Nash asked Mr. Pipes to find out what he could regarding which section of this highway (north or south) is planned for construction first. He noted the north part is most important i, to the city to complete the loop system. He noted if the north portion is not built first, all of the east and north traffic is going to be forced right back on the interstate 45 and Highway 30 intersection, which is the worst intersection we have at the present time for traffic flow. RECESS TO EXECUTIVE SESSION EXECUTIVE SESSION to discuss pending litigation: Embessi Vs. French and Singleton Vs. City. ADJOURNMENT fully ubmi ted, Gl uth DeShaw, City Secretary June 26, 1984