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MIN CC 03/09/2010CITY COUNCIL MEETING of MARCH 2010 BOOK "U" MINUTES FROM THE HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THE 9th DAY OF MARCH, 2010, IN THE CITY HALL, LOCATED AT 1212 AVENUE M IN THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, COUNTY OF WALKER, TEXAS AT 6PM. The Council met in a regular session with the following: COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: J. Turner, Tom Cole, Mac Woodward, Jack Wagamon, Dalene Zender, Melissa Mahaffey, Charles Forbus, Lanny Ray, Wayne Barrett COUNCILMEMBERS ABSENT: none OFFICERS PRESENT: Bill Baine, City Manager; Leonard Schneider, City Attorney, Lee Woodward, City Secretary REGULAR SESSION- [6:00PM] 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Turner called the meeting to order at 6:00pm. 2. PLEDGES OF ALLEGIANCE 3. INVOCATION Councilmember Barrett gave the invocation. 4. PROCLAMATION a. Proclamation 2010 -23, 2010 Census Month. b. Award of Gold Leadership Circle notification from Texas Comptroller to Winston Duke, Finance Director. 6. PRESENTATION OF SPRING 2010 INTERNS TO COUNCIL Danielle Brush, Dana Angelic, Lauren Lampe and Cameron Goodman were presented. 6. PUBLIC COMMENT Bill Elmer spoke in support of the Council not accepting the Interlocal Agreement for Fire Services with the County, and said he would like to see them begin billing for fire service rendered in the County. 7. CONSENTAGENDA (Approval of Consent Agenda authorizes the City Manager to implement each item in accordance with staff recommendations. An item may be removed from the Consent Agenda and added to the Statutory Agenda for full discussion by request of member of Council.) a. Approve the minutes of the City Council meeting held on the 16th of February 2010. [Lee Woodward, City Secretary] b. Approve Ordinance 2010.23 to make required modifications to the existing Industrial Wastewater Ordinance, Section 46 of Huntsville Code of Ordinances, 2nd reading. [Carol Reed, Public Utilities Director] c. Approve Ordinance 2010 -26 amending the budget for FY08 -09. [Winston Duke, Finance Director] d. Approve and award the FM 247 Sewer Project #06 -11 -12 construction contract to Doughtie Construction in the amount of $28,793.76. [Aron Kulhavy, Director of Public Works] Councilmember Forbus made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Zander seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved. 8. STATUTORY AGENDA a. Discussion and possible action to approve Ordinance 2010 -26 to approve stop signs on Gainous Street, 1" reading. [Aron Kulhavy, Director of Public Works] • Aron Kulhavy, Director of Public Works, answered Councilmember Woodward's request to know how the decision is made to install stop signs. Mr. Kulhavy said it was a complex process, and that he would like to summarize it and present it to the Council in the future, but briefly described it by saying that the staff researched proposals, presented them to the City Manager, approved signs were placed for ninety days evaluation, then they were brought to Council for a vote with recommendations for adoption by ordinance. CITY COUNCIL MEETING of MARCH 2010 BOOK "U" • Councilmember Woodward said he had asked for this information several times, and was curious as to why some proposals seemed to complete the process but others were never heard of again. Councilmember Forbus said clarification on Avenue O and 21" Street included the changes in petition from residents from single -side no parking signs to stop signs. 9. MAYOR /CITY COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER REPORT a. Council report on environmental initiatives by Billie Smith, Procurement Manager. [Councilmember Woodward] Councilmember Woodward said he wanted citizens and the Council to know the City is committed to recycling and recouping costs in items purchased, and thanked Billie Smith, Procurement Manager, for taking the lead on this and preparing the report, which is also available on the City website. b. Discussion of manganese levels in water. [Councilmember Cole] Councilmember Cole presented a report showing manganese levels in past years in Huntsville water. He said that over the years, he had seen two cases of manganism, both from inhalation, and wanted to ask Carol Reed, Director of Public Utilities about current levels. Ms. Reed said she had provided the Council with the 2008 and 2009 water reports and information from the EPA on secondary contaminants, which is what manganese is. She said the TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) routinely analyzes for manganese and that 2004 was the year Councilmember Cole had found on the web that showed an excess. Ms. Reed also said they do not routinely include manganese in their reports because ingestion is not considered to be a health hazard, that the main transmission for poisoning is via inhalation. She said the TCEQ rates the Huntsville water system as Superior, and that typically TCEQ does not report manganese levels in City water tests unless it exceeds the safe secondary contaminant level. c. Annual update from Personnel Committee. [Councilmember Mahaffey] Councilmember Mahaffey said the Committee, also composed of Councilmembers Ray and Cole, had been • working on holding positions open or trying to use contract labor in professional contracts to save money as sales tax revenues were down. She also noted the committee was working on a policy related to exempt employee reimbursement during disasters because exempt employees worked a lot of additional hours in those situations. Councilmember Mahaffey said actuarial studies were being conducted on retirement and insurance, as the City is like a small company, and that future payouts could be a concern and is getting into a figure that is unmanageable. She said the City Manager was going to review options with the Finance Director, and TMRS (Texas Municipal Retirement System) would be consulted. She said the City will look at options but will probably be changing the insurance contribution for employees, not something the City wanted to do, she said, but must to stay solvent and think about the future. In relation to the drug policy, Councilmember Mahaffey said they would fine -tune the policy to comply with governmental mandates. She also said the City was looking into a wellness program to increase health and productivity. d. Presentation, discussion and possible action on Walker County Fair & Rodeo Association request for Hotel Occupancy Funds for the upcoming Fair and Pro Rodeo. [Councilmember Ray] Councilmember Ray said this item corrects a longstanding wrong and is overdue. Councilmember Ray made a motion to approve the application of the Walker County Fair and Pro -Rodeo Committee in the amount of $10.000. The motion was seconded by Mayor Turner and Councilmember Forbus. Councilmember Ray said he had been working with Kevin Green, Chair of the Rodeo Committee, which was, he said, a tourism event. Councilmember Ray said the event qualifies for HOT (Hotel Occupancy Tax) funds under several of the statutes. He also said that the HOT Board wants to track recipients to determine effectiveness of the HOT funds allocated in enhancing events. Councilmember Ray pointed out that the Rodeo's advertising budget and ticket sales have both dropped dramatically in the last few years, and that he felt that funding advertising would enable a dear way to track success through ticket sales. He also said the Rodeo was scheduled for the end of March, 2010. • Councilmember Ray said $6,000 was being requested for advertising, and $4,000 for other items. He said it was a good use of the money, and that in fact the HOT Board had agreed last fall that they would like to provide some funds for this organization, but an application had not been received. Councilmember Forbus recalled that Judge Danny Pierce had come to the HOT Board last fall. Councilmember • CITY COUNCIL MEETING of MARCH 2010 BOOK "U" Forbus also said the goals of using HOT funds were to promote tourism but also to put "heads in beds." Councilmember Zender asked Councilmember Ray about the lag in application. Councilmember Forbus recalled that the HOT Board felt the organization was worthy of supporting but did not vote on funding the event. Councilmember Zander said she also felt it was worthy, but was a little disappointed that the application was not submitted earlier. Councilmember Ray said the organization had submitted this application for both this year and next, and that apparently their board had not been aware of Judge Pierce's appearance at the HOT Board meeting. Councilmember Mahaffey asked Councilmember Ray to clarify his statement that the organization had never received HOT funds. Councilmember Ray said he had been told that the organization had been asking for at least a decade without success. Councilmember Woodward asked that future promotions consider including other local attractions in association with the Fair and Rodeo. Councilmember Forbus said that this year the HOT Board would request that all applications be submitted during budget time for the next fiscal year. Councilmember Ray said the Rodeo Committee had considered increasing the rodeo purses, and would discuss it with their application for the next year. The motion was unanimously approved. e. City Manager Report 1. Receipt of $15,000 from SHSU. City Manager Bill Baine commended the University for sending a check to the City for 30% of the $50,000 drainage micro -study for the Town Creek Project, as it was shown that they were responsible for 30% of the runoff. 2. Sidewalk projects reports. • City Manager Bill Baine showed photos of two main sidewalk projects being completed. He thanked Warden O'Reilly for his offender crew that was cleaning and trimming the area along and around downtown sidewalks. Mr. Baine said crews or contractors would also be working on broken and missing sections of sidewalk around town. 3. Completion of storage facility at Service Center. City Manager Bill Baine displayed photos of the new records storage facility constructed at the Service Center, so that the Huntsville's Promise building could be removed for library construction. Mr. Baine also mentioned that the City had had two force main blowouts in the sewer line at McGary Creek, one of which had been repaired. He said there had also been a break in the 30" line from the TRA plant, and that about 140' of pipe would be replaced. Mr. Baine also said that Well #14 had had a collapsed lining and would take a few months to complete. Councilmember Wagamon said he was pleased to know that it would only take a few days to make the repairs, when years ago there had been a lot of concern about what would happen if there were a break in the line. He said he felt it was good to have this practical experience, and thanked the staff. The Mayor echoed his thanks, and was proud of being part of this team in instances like this. 10. PUBLIC COMMENT There were no additional public comments. 11. MEDIA INQUIRIES There were no media inquiries made. 12. ITEMS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST (Hear announcements concerning items of community interest from the Mayor, Councilmembers, and • City staff for which no action will be discussed or taken.) The Mayor re iterated thanks for the funding of the water study for Town Creek Water Project. He also thanked Gibbs Brothers & Co. for their help in purchasing right-of-way for the same project, and also thanked other business owners for their support of the project. The Mayor also said that last Sunday there had been a special program honoring returning soldiers, and that it was CITY COUNCIL MEETING of MARCH 2010 BOOK "U" • another example of being proud of people in the community for their service, and also asked the public to remember the 84 soldiers still serving overseas. The Mayor said the City had been in contact with Jerry Patterson, Commissioner of the Veterans Land Office, in relation to the recently formed Veterans Affairs Advisory Board. The Mayor asked for ingenuity in getting ready to celebrate the City's 175"' birthday this summer and said Councilmember Woodward had agreed to be in charge of the parade for the event. Councilmember Woodward said this would be a special event and that all should be very proud of a history that goes back that far. Councilmember Ray said he had read of the Mayor and City Managers attendance at Commissioners' Court the previous day, and that, if the issue is not resolved, he would like to see an agenda item for the next meeting for "presentation, discussion and possible action on the fire services contract with the County to explore possible solutions, including, but not limited to, the elimination of fire services to the County at the end of the fiscal year." Councilmember Wagamon stated the Ward 3 Town Hall meeting had been snowed out, and would be rescheduled. 13. EXECUTIVE SESSION a. City Council will convene in closed session as authorized by Texas Government Code, Chapter 551, Section 551.074 - personnel matters regarding the evaluation of City Secretary Lee Woodward. [Mayor Turner] b. City Council will convene in closed session as authorized by Texas Government Code, Chapter 551, Section 551.071 — consultation with retained counsel, Provost, Umphrey law firm, on legal matters, on legal efforts to recover overcharges by Entergy on electric bill, street lights. [Leonard Schneider, City Attorney] c. City Council will convene in closed session as authorized by Texas Government Code, Chapter 551, Section 551.071 — con sultation with C ity Attorney to receive legal advice only on TABC pe rmitting process and status update on Shenanigan's and Sam's. [Leonard Schneider, City Attorney] Leonard Schneider, City Attorney, informed the Council that the counsel from Provost, Umphrey had been called to court and would be attending executive session on April 6, 2010. The Council adjourned to Executive Session • at 6:59pm. 14. RECONVENE The Council reconvened at 7:40pm. The Mayor said the Council was extremely pleased with Ms. Woodward's performance and had exceeded expectations. The Mavor made a motion that the Citv Secretarv's salary be increased by $350 a month. Councilmember Cole seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimousl In explanation, Councilmember Ray read paraphrased portions of the agreement aloud, saying "Everyone agrees that the City of Huntsville is not required to provide security for the premises and Shenanigan's has agreed to use two distinct stamps, distinct as to size and shape, to designate those of age or underage." Councilmember Ray said the second stipulation is that Shenanigan's will use employees whose duty includes monitoring the premises, both inside and outside, for the health, safety, and welfare of the patrons. The final stipulation, said Councilmember Ray, is that Shenanigan's will make an effort to have all bartenders be TABC certified, although, Councilmember Ray noted, it is currently their practice to have all their employees TABC certified. Councilmember Wagamon said he appreciated the efforts of Mr. Tarvin and Mr. Rush, and their patience. City Attorney Leonard Schneider stated that Shenanigan's had already signed off on the agreement. The motion passed unanimously. Mayor Turner made a motion that the City accept the Conflict of Interest Waiver Bennie Rush had already signed. and • authorized the City Attorney to sign the waiver. Councilmember Forbus seconded the motion. Councilmember Ray said this was a waiver required under the Bar rules, as Mr. Rush represented the City in other cases, not that it was required by the Texas Government Code.