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MIN CC 09/17/1991CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1991 BOOK "Q" 485 MINUTES OF THE HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THE 17TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1991 IN THE CITY HALL COUNCI CHAMBERS, LOCATED AT 1212 AVENUE M IN THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, COUNTY OF WALKER, TEXAS AT 5:15 P.M. The Council met in a regular session with the following members present: O. Eugene Barrett, Mayor Pro tem City Officers Present: Gary BeLL Ronald L. Lange Gene Pipes, City Manager James L. Carter Charles Robinson Scott Bounds, City Attorney Ila G. Gaines Ruth DeShaw, City Secretary William B. Green Member Absent: Councilmember William H. Knotts, Jr., and Mayor W. H. Hodges CALL TO ORDER Mayor Pro Tem 0. Eugene Barrett called the formal meeting to order at 5:15 P.M. He then recessed th meeting to an Executive Session to consider real estate acquisition matters: 13th Street property; 10th Stree right -of -way; and Prentice Lane sewer easement. No other items were discussed and no formal action taken i this Executive Session. RECONVENE FOR PUBLIC HEARING Reconvene for a Public Hearing on the recommended amendments to the City Charter Mayor Pro Tem Barrett convened the public hearing and asked City Attorney Scott Bounds to present an overview of the amendments. Mr. Bounds advised the Charter Review Committee is composed of Charles Davis, Dan ' Davis and Robert McCann. He said their recommendations for amendments are as follows: * updating state statutory references contained within the Charter, Section 2.01. Extension of Boundaries; Section 3.01. General Powers; and Section 14.23. Amendments; * amend Section 4.01. Number, Selection and Term of Office; and Section 6.01. General Elections, to confirm the election procedure with state law; * amend Section 4.07. Meetings of the Council, to require at least one meeting per month; * amend Section 13.03. Ordinance Granting Franchise, to require a descriptive caption of franchise ordinances to be published in the newspaper prior to adoption; * amend Section 14.06. Notice of Claim, to extend the period of time to file a notice of claim with the City. * amend Section 14.09. Personal Interest in City Contracts, to prohibit any City Councilmember, officer or employee from participating in the award of such contract. * amend Section 14.10. Nepotism, to incorporate the mandatory provisions of the Texas Constitution; and * amend Section 14.14. Limitations on Contracts, to increase the City Manager's authority to enter into contracts to $5,000. Mayor Pro Tem Barrett asked if anyone would like to speak to these proposed amendments. No one was present to speak. Mayor Pro Tem Barrett then expressed his appreciation to the Charter Review Committee for their Charter review work. He advised these amendments will be submitted to the City Council in their first meeting in October for approval for submission to the voters in the January election. He then closed the public hearing. FORMAL SESSION RECONVENED Mayor Pro Tem Barrett reconvened the formal session. Reverend Keith Brister of First Baptist Church presented the invocation. CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1991 BOOK "0" 486 CONSIDER THE MINUTES OF AUGUST 20 AND SEPTEMBER 3. 1991 Councilmember Gaines made the motion to approve of the minutes of August 20 and September 3 1991 and CounciLmember Robinson seconded the motion. ALL were in favor and the motion Passed unanimous Lv. CONSIDER TOURISM BUDGET Consider a presentation of the Chamber of Commerce Tourism Division FY 1991 -92 budget reauest Mr. Guy Klingensmith, Vice Chairman, Tourist Council, presented the proposed listing of Tourist Council members for the Council's consideration, as follows: Tourist Council Members Guy Klingensmith, Vice Chairman Stanford Douglas Glen Reader Pam Anisman Val Husley Gloria Wright Jim Balzaretti Don Kraemer *Jim Smith Toni Bruner Dan Leasure *Folk Festival Representative Steve Bullard Kent Lucas Brad Cook Jane Monday Sally Craycraft Virginia Moore Geraldine Dickerson Bette Nelson Candy Dixon Phyllis Pinegar Rhonda Ellisor *Proposed new members. He advised as soon as the name of the Folk Festival Representative is known, the Council will be advised. Ms. Dee McFarland, Vice President, Chamber of Commerce, reviewed some of the 1991 programs of the Tourism Council. She noted one program that proved to be advantageous was the Chamber's association with the Greater Houston Convention and Visitor's Bureau, which opened a network of marketing contacts and tour opportunities. She said Huntsville has already seen tour groups come to Huntsville and their Houston counterparts are helping to maximize Huntsville's visibility; groups such as the Harris County Heritage Society, Custom Convention Services, and GrayLine Tours are interested in marketing tours to Huntsville and have already been to Huntsville to work on those group tours. She said the Chamber constantly helps to market Huntsville area museums and arranges tours to aLL the museums. She said the Chamber printed the Huntsville Museums Brochure and has updated the Huntsville Driving Tours booklet which help the permanent attractions cross -sell each other. In the spring, she said, the Chamber advertised Huntsville through the Texas Travel Guide, the Dallas Morning News, and received Literally hundreds of requests for information from that one advertisement. '. She said the Tourist Council assisted in publishing an Antiques Guide for the community and it has been popular as lots of visitors come to Huntsville for antiquing. Ms. McFarland said the Tourist Council has also pursued group conferences and reported that as a result !. of that effort, for three days in early October, the Texas Tea Party [model T cars], consisting of at least 200 people from all over the U. S., will meet in Huntsville to visit and parade their cars. Later in October, she said, the Southwestern Canoe Rendezvous will bring several hundred canoe enthusiast to the state park for a few days for a conference. She said the Tourist Council has worked hard with the University this year concerning the Texas Special Olympics but were unsuccessful in attracting it to Huntsville. She said the Council has also helped advertise events such as the Walker County Fair, General Sam Houston Folk Festival and the Tri- County Barnstormers. She said through a cooperative effort with the Communications Division at SHSU, they have completed the first edition of the Huntsville's Visitors Guide and distributed 10,000 copies and have begun working on the next edition. She said the Council provided operational seed money to the Texas Prison Museum, the Gibbs Powell Museum and today, they plan to initiate the same type of 12 month agreement with the Samuel Walker Houston Cultural Center. She noted in the addendum to the budget the Council will find a list of ongoing support services for events and attractions. She said this is a Listing of the ongoing "nuts and bolts" of the Tourist council's program; noting they have handled approximately 4,400 mail responses annually; distributed tens of thousands of informational brochures and magazines and advertised the community through a wide variety of resources, including an exhibit at the Houston Livestock Show 8 Rodeo. She said their overall objective continues to be to establish a public - private partnership to aggressively develop tourism as a major industry of Walker County. i CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1991 BOOK "Q" 487 She thanked the Council for their support in this effort. She said throughout this year, they have continual searched for the most feasible solution to creating a focused long term marketing approach for an intensifi tourism industry here in Walker County. Ms. McFarland presented the Tourist Council's most current financial statement. She noted when t hotel motel occupancy tax fell short this year, they applied sound financial management and project to have $5,000 fund balance for the 1991 budget at the end of this fiscal year. She said for the last few years, th have talked about the most effective way to spend tourism dollars and the budget to be presented tonight wi be their approach to a more unified marketing program. Presentation of 1991 -92 budget Mr. Don Kraemer discussed the estimated year -end budget analysis and last year's budget figures presented the proposed FY 91 -92 budget. Mr. Kraemer made the following points: Last year's budget does not compare to this year's budget because there are a number of different categories and there has been a shifting of funds between categories to more carefully reflect actual spending in various areas. 2. The proposed budget presents a "change in philosophy" of the Tourism Council; because of the Limi funds, increased costs in publicizing and advertising and the inability to increase the tax, doll must be stretched. He said more group advertising is being encouraged. 3. The operations and facilities categories show an increase from last year that amounts to approximately 42 percent of the entire budget; hard costs and personnel costs have increased because more is being ' done in-house to implement the tourism program. 4. Proposal concerning developing a marketing plan to be paid out of reserve funds [in excess of $30,0001 was not implemented because of the hotel -motel tax collection short-fall during the middle of the budget year and the use of reserve funds was not advisable. He noted the Council feels strongly about developing a realistic, cost - effective, marketing plan and the follow -up to it, as soon as possible, in order to plan for upcoming events that will bring in lots of visitors [1993 Bicentennial of Sam Houston's birth, etc.) . He said $10,500 is budgeted for research and development in this budget to do research, develop logo and theme, and follow -up research to determine effectiveness in the implementation of this program. He said this will require assistance but costs can be cut by doing some of this in- house, seeking the aid of Texas A&M and the Texas Tourism Department. Mr. Kraemer said the 1990 -91 budget was $90,000 with projected collections of $77,760.11. He said the remainder of that shortfall has been made up by drawing, to some extent, on the reserve. He said the proposed budget for 1991 -92 is $99,000, which is an increase of $9,000. He said the sources of funds are projected, with the help of the City's Finance Department, as follows: hotel /motel occupancy tax collections: $84,375; city reserves: $7,312; and the Chamber's fund balance of $7,313, for a total of $99,000. He advised the reserve for the tourism fund, held by the city, began at $42,286.20 on October 1, 1990 and ended the year at $10,426 with $6,000 going as seed money to the Texas Prison Museum and the Gibbs Powell House and another $4,800 committed to the Saaual Walker Houston Cultural Museum, Less the $12,239.29 short -fall on hotel-moteL taxes. He said when adding the projected, uncommitted reserve balance to this amount, the final sun is then $29,672.91. He said to use $14,625 of that money for the 1991 -92 budget, in excess of $14,000 will remain in the reserve fund which is greater than the ten percent originally agreed to be kept in that fund. Council Questions ' Change in Marketing Strategy. CounciLmember Green asked if the Tourism Council had changed the marketing strategy with regard to special events viz-a -viz general advertising. Mr. Kraemer said there is a two page letter which was sent to various groups and organizations to explain what is to be done and to notify them of workshops on the marketing plan for the coming year. He said in the past, organizations would present their proposals to the Tourist Council for a certain amount of money to market their service or product. He said the Council would attempt to divide the monies in some form or fashion, leaving enough to cover someone's request next month or the month after, so that a relatively significant amount of those funds was being spent CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1991 BOOK "G" 488 or allocated just for a particular event when it would arise. He said this is not a very efficient use of the dollars as far as getting the word out about Huntsville and Walker County and its events. Mr. Kraemer said the Tourist Council will now attempt to incorporate these various events in all of the publications and advertising it does and to include the new Logo and theme and require that it always be included so that every time someone sees Literature from the Chamber concerning visiting Huntsville, they will see that logo and theme. He said one problem is that to some extent we get a Little static as far as numbers of dollars, but they have increased costs to publicize individual events. He said each year we add another attraction or event and we then have to reduce the amount of funds available to advertise for each group or organization. He said the Tourist Council always tries to have monies in the budget to publicize certain special events that arise during the year, but those ads and that promotion would be placed through the Tourist Council itself. He said there "is" a change in the philosophy. Councilmember Green noted then the Tourist Council actually administers the funds and does not give a check to an organization or group to spend to advertise. Mr. Kraemer said the Tourist council has, to a large extent, already been administering those funds because they write the check for the advertising itself, but the Council now feels this new philosophy will give it the opportunity to coordinate alt those efforts and it will get more effective advertising for the number of dollars expended. Explanation for Tourism Revenue Downturn. Councilmember Carter noted while he does not wish to dwell on the negative because he knows this Council wants to move ahead and to strive to be better, but in looking at the figures, he felt the Council was obviously not doing something right; something is wrong and has been wrong all year - -there are eight months of downturn and it can't just be tied to the Persian Gulf War as it was earlier. He said he is curious if time has been spent to rationalize this downturn so that a new direction can be taken, Mr. Don Kraemer noted it is generally agreed by those in the tourism business that the Gulf War played a large role in the downturn in the travel industry. He said the tourist industry has been the most seriously affected and hardest hit in the United States because of this war. He said the travel industry is only now coming out of that downturn. He noted, however, as one reads literature in this industry and notes problems such as the airlines are having, travel and tourism is just down generally; the economy has something to do with that general condition. Mr. Kraemer noted locally we have somewhat of a problem and should remember that tax collection is not necessarily a reflection of a downturn in tourism; it reflects a downturn in hotel occupancy which would be business travelers, business visitors as well as tourists. He felt we should look at the state of the economy and the economy in the state, etc. in making a determination as to whether this downturn is because "business" is down or is it because "tourism" is down. In addition, he noted, two of Huntsville's Larger motels experience a new change and that had a significant impact on them when we think about being linked with different reservation services, etc. Mr. Kraemer noted he is hopeful that all of these things are now behind us and the picture for tourism and the collection of the tax is on the way upward. Councilmember Carter said he hopes that is true but was not sure he could buy the story on the impact of the Persian Gulf War because fewer people were traveling internationally, but that also meant more people were probably traveling domestically; noting this is an empirical question and we can see if other similar communities experienced the same downturn. Mr. Kraemer said he understands they have, the war affected traveling as people were just not in the mod to tour during a war. Tourist Council Reserve Fund Discussed. Councitmember Carter questioned the origin of the fund balance from the Chamber. Mr. Kraemer said the fund balance is not from the Chamber but it contains the funds that have not been expended by the Tourist Council. He said the Tourist Council projects 85,000 to be the fund balance at the end of this year. He said in the contract the Tourist Council has with the City there is a provision that if there is a fund balance for tourism that it is to be deposited in the Tourist Council reserve and that is how that fund has been developed. He said that reserve money is hotel -motel occupancy tax money that has not been expended. CounciLmember Carter noted in a normal year in the past, that money would have gone into the City's reserve and the city would have held it back and it would go back into the reserve three months after the end of the fiscal year. Councilmember Carter asked if the Tourist Council is not going to let the City put that in the reserve because it is going to budget for its use ahead of time. He asked if they are basically asking for this money out of the reserve before it gets into the reserve. Mr. Kraemer said that would be true from a bookkeeping standpoint as it concerns a transferring of funds. Councilmember Carter noted it is not necessarily bookkeeping if it is supposed to go into the reserve; there is a difference in the way they would probably treat that; its either reserve money or it is not. He felt the Tourist Council should come to the Council to ask them four months from now if they can get into that reserve; in effect the Tourist Council is going ahead and making the decision about the use of that $7,000 before that occurs. Mr. Kraemer said "yes" and "no," because the Tourist Council is asking the Council to make that decision for them in this budget proposal and it is not a decision the Tourist Council would make and be able to use that money unless the budget CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1991 BOOK "0" 489 itself is approved. He said as far as where the funds are physically located does not make as much diff because it is a matter of what is the most expedient way of being able to handle those from the City's F Department to the Chamber budget itself. Councilmember Green asked if the Chamber is, in effect, saving approximately $7,300 out of this year budget to carry forward to next year's budget. Mr. Kraemer said that is close to the figure. CounciLmemb Green asked if the Tourist Council could theoretically spend that money this year. Mr. Kraemer said general speaking the Tourist Council does not spend all of the dollars every year and that is how the increase in t reserve has come about. He said when decisions are being made each month about dollars to be spent, we a always concerned, noting the tour guides are very expensive and when we discover one day that everyone has co through and picked up the walking, driving, prison system, and cemetery tours of the City, and think abo replacing those, we have to have money somewhere. Consequently, he said, he feels the Tourist Council has be relatively conservative in its expenditures. Mr. Dave Cich, President, Chamber of Commerce, said this process was discussed at some length with thei auditor, Ken Davis, and the City Manager and City Finance Director. He said the generation of the figure i in the audited financial statement from last the fiscal year. He said there was a fund balance at the end c the year that was reported to the City Council of 85,400. He said the $5,000 that they projected was e additional amount so at the end of the year, they projected 810,426 in their fund balance and 87,300 would con out of that. He said in discussions with Ken Davis, because they are on a cash basis in the tourism budget he has recommended that it is good fiscal management to retain a fund balance because of their cash flow frc one fiscal year to the next. He said it is at the discretion of the City Council, as per the contract, if the want the Tourist Council to deposit that in their fund as a bookkeeping transaction. Mr. Kraemer said thi reserve can be placed wherever the Council wants it to be placed; whatever is the most convenient way of coin ' it. He said what has been done for the last several years is that when the city passes a budget they divid the money by twelve and sends to the Tourist Council money each month to be expended so as to have a constan f Low of monies. He said it is anticipated, in doing some of this research and market development, that significant amount, if not all of those funds, will have to be spent in the next four or five months, producin quite a shortage as far as the cash flow is concerned during those first four months if the Tourist Council doe not have either that reserve upon which to draw in a lump sum from the city or draw on those reserves that ar being held by the Tourist Council at the Chamber. He said speaking as an individual, he will do everything h can to insure that the Tourist Council has the theme, Logo and marketing plan in -place by February because i is critical that this be completed and the Tourist Council proceed. Councilmember Gaines noted if the City increases the Tourist Council's budget to $99,000, whether or not it gives the money back to the City is not that significant because, as she understands it, the Tourist Council is putting those funds there to show the City Courcil that the Tourist Council has those funds available and to indicate that the Tourist Council is not asking for funds that are not realistic because the City Council can see those funds are available in the reserve; which would indicate the Chamber is being prudent in their expenditures in that they were able to keep a reserve. Mr. Kraemer said that is correct. He said the projected, uncommitted reserve balance is the combination of both figures. Councilmember Carter said it is true that the Tourist Council could have spent aLL the money and not have funds in the reserve, but he felt there is a difference in having that reserve and that is what the city is encouraging; if the Tourist Council falls short, that is the fund on which the City will draw at some point to make up the difference. Councilmember Green said that is partially correct; if the City does not have enough funds the Tourist Council does not receive funds; noting if the City runs out of funds, the Tourist Council is "cut off." Councilmember Carter noted the Council is committed to giving the Tourist Council a certain amount of money each year unless the Council breaks that contract at some point ahead of time. Mr. Kraemer said he believes the contract says the Tourist Council will get "x" number of dollars budgeted to them from hotel -motel occupancy tax funds and not from the general fund. ' Seed Money Concept Vs. Ongoing Support. Councilmember Carter noted if there is no reason for someone to come to our town, it does not matter how much marketing is done. He asked the status of the Prison Museum, the Gibbs Powell House, and the Samuel Walker Houston Cultural Center, noting in general, Huntsville has to have some attractions; special events are nice, but we need some permanent attractions. He asked Mr. Kraemer what the Tourist Council is doing in this regard. Mr. Kraemer said the Tourist CourciL has monies allocated specifically for the publications, advertisement, and marketing of those permanent attractions in addition to incorporating the marketing of those permanent attractions. Councilmember Carter said he is talking about CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17. 1991 BOOK 110" 490 attractions whose doors are open, those who have utilities, etc. He said marketing is no good unless the doors are open when the person who sees the marketing arrives in Huntsville. Mr. Kraemer said that is absolutely correct, noting it is a chicken and egg thing as if we don't market we don't have people cane and if we don't have attractions you won't have people come. CounciLmember Carter said he would Like to see some balance and he doesn't feel the Tourist Council has achieved that yet. Mr. Kraemer said he hopes the Tourist Council made it clear a couple of years ago when it suggested using some of the reserve funds for "seed money" to assist the permanent attractions to keep their doors open longer because the Tourist Council had a desire to keep the two attractions that were in -place at that time open for a longer period of time and they also expressed a desire that one did get open. He said when they were asked to stay open longer, the operators felt they could not do that so the Tourist Council proposed supplementing their operating budgets with their commitment to bring in volunteers to keep their doors open for a longer period of time to see whether or not enough funds would be generated to keep people caning in to justify a Longer season. He said the Tourist Council envisioned a six month period of time and it was then increased to a 12 month period. He said the Tourist CounciL has now done this and completed that cycle with two of the permanent attractions they have. CounciLmember Carter said he would doubt that any museum, even major ones in major cities, can exist without some continued support from somewhere. He said they don't make it on the walk -ins, but they do supplement the remainder of the tourist industry in that community. He said they will have responsibility for it too as they wilL have to find funding from different sources, but he felt the Chamber, at some point, should make a commitment to them as weLL at some Level. He said this is just a comment to which Mr. Kraemer does not have to respond. Mr. Kraemer said he would love to respond to that comment. He said the Tourist Council does this - -the question is, does it have, in hotel -motel occupancy tax funds, monies available to directly support attractions - -can they cut themselves so thin that they can take monies out of that budget and put them into the attractions themselves, Leaving the Tourist Council a much smaller piece of the pie to be able to advertise. He said the Tourist Council beLieves they are more effective, as far as those funds are concerned, with assisting in the marketing of those particular attractions, as opposed to giving direct monies to those organizations. Councitmember Carter thanked him for his response. Counci Lmember Belt said he understands the Texas Prison Museum is in real trouble financially and they may have to close or move to a shorter opening time. Mr. Kraemer said he was not aware they were in serious financial condition. He said the agreement the Tourist Council had with the Texas Prison Museum, as drawn by Mr. Scott Bounds, City Attorney, stipulated that when the seed money was provided, the Texas Prison Museum operators were to provide the Tourist Council with certain assurances concerning the funds being expended by an accounting of the various funds, so that it would know the numbers of people coming in and which dates brought in the most people [Monday through Thursday or weekends], etc. He said as far as he knows, they do not have those figures yet and he does not know the financial condition at this time. Mr. Dave Cich, President, Chamber of Commerce, advised he and Val Husley [from the Sam Houston Memorial Museum who heads the Chamber's permanent attractions cammitteel and Guy Klingensmith of the Chamber, met with Bob Pierce of the Texas Prison Museum after he made his budget request to the City Council, and with the Prison Museum's new president, to brainstorm on their fund raising needs. He said they do have some serious needs, both in operations and in facilities and they discussed their marketing program and strategies for raising funds to help them keep their doors open and to help them become a more effective organization. He said the Chamber may possibly assume some expenditures the Texas Prison Museum is now experiencing to publish brochures in order to relieve the burden on some of their funds and giving them more funds for operations. He said they have some concern about the irregularity of the Chamber's support, noting the $400 a month is not a permanent situation. He said it is a serious need for this community. He said one of the Board Members of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, Mr. Allan B. PoLunsky of San Antonio, is a strong supporter for the Prison Museum, and recently discussed his interest in getting behind the Prison Museum and expressed his support as a member of the Prison Board. Mr. Cich said the Chamber hopes to continue these discussions with Mr. PoLunsky. He said the Fair on the Square is a big fund raising opportunity for them and they will take fuLL advantage of that; they participated in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo with a fund raiser. He said they do have serious needs but the Chamber is actively working with them. He said they need to identify other sources of funds to assist with the operation of that facility; the Tourist Council can more effectively assist them with marketing. He said the Prison Museum needs to identify ongoing support for funds that they can rely upon year after year. He said ALLan PoLunsky also acknowledged they cannot rely on bake sales; they need to come up with a stable source of funds. He said this is a problem they are addressing. r CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1991 BOOK "0" 491 Mr. Kraemer said there are short-f at Ls in other areas such as the Sam Houston Memorial Museum. He said if the city could see fit to allocate them a half million dollars, he could guarantee they could spend it and spend it very well each year. Council Action on Tourist Council Budget. Mayor Pro Tem Barrett thanked Mr. Kraemer and other members of the Tourist Council for their input. He reminded the CounciL there is a City Council Committee [Gaines, Lange and BeLL] that meets with the Tourist Council, as recently as last Friday, so there is council input in their activities. He asked if the Council wishes to take action on this since it just received the budget tonight or table it until the next meeting on October 1. Councilmember Bell made the motion to table action on this budget until the next meeting and Councilmember Carter seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Mayor Pro Tem Barrett noted the CounciL will act on this budget on October 1 after it has had the opportunity to study it. He said the Council would appreciate having this budget earlier so the Council can review it in the City's regular budget review sessions. He said he understands there were undue circumstances this year that prevented that, but encouraged them to get the budget to the Council sooner next year. Consider an Arts Commission recommendation to appoint a celebration event committee for the completion of the downtown artwork Mr. Pipes advised the CounciL that the Arts Commission recommends that the Mayor appoint a committee to plan a celebration event to commemorate the completion of the north side facade project of the downtown Square. With the absence of Mayor Hodges, the Council concurred in placing this item on the next agenda for Mayor Hodges to make these appointments. Consider an introduction of Ms. Joan VerrilLi from the SHSU History Department, who will be doing preliminary research of buildings and historical sites this summer Mr. Gene Pipes asked Linda Pease, Arts Commission Coordinator, to introduce Joan Verri Lli, who has been ' assigned to work as an intern in the Cultural Activities office two afternoons each week this semester to accomplish preliminary research for a survey of historic buildings and sites. Ms. Pease said she is also a part -time intern at Sam Houston Memorial Museum Ms. Pease said Ms. Verrilli is a graduate student seeking a Master's Degree in the History Department at SHSU doing independent study under Dr. James Olson and is also serving as a teaching assistant in that Department this semester. Ms. Pease said the priorities for her work are being set; it is expected her research will concentrate on downtown buildings and on oral histories to benefit the community. Ms. Pease said she is from New England originally and came to Huntsville a few years Consider an agreement with the Samuel Walker Houston Black History Museum for utility service expenses Ms. Dee McFarLand, Vice President, Chamber or Commerce, said this is the same type of agreement the Tourist Council negotiated with the Texas Prison Museum and the Gibbs PoweLL Museum. She said this idea was presented some time ago, but the SamueL Walker Houston Black History Museum organizers have just now assembled all of their volunteers and opened their facility for the required number of hours. She said they are now asking that this 12 month funding agreement [seed money] begin in the amount of 8400 per month beginning October 1, 1991 and ending September 30, 1992. She said this was money previousLy discussed to come out of the hotel - motel tax reserve fund. Councilmember Green made the motion to approve of this 12 month seed money contract as presented and Councilmember Gaines seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed. ' unanimously. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS- -GENE PIPES Consider approval of a bid to Grisham Construction Company for 8860.00 to remove a hazardous canopy from the north side of the Square Mr. Pipes presented the request of the Building /Fire Official, Michael Roempke, concerning the need to remove an old, rotten canopy on the building on the downtown Square owned by Ellen Zinn [of Chicago] in which King's Candies is located, noting it is a dangerous situation because it overhangs a public pedestrian walkway and the canopy is old and the structural material has rotted. He presented two bids and advised it is the building inspector's recommendation to accept the low bid from Grisham Construction Company in the amount of 8860.00. He said proper notices have been sent to the owner with the stipulation that the canopy must be repaired or removed by August 30, 1991, however, the owner has not responded. Mr. Pipes said the city wiLL be placing a lien against the property for the cost of removing the canopy. Councilmember Robinson made the motion to accept this bid and Councilmember Lange seconded the motion- All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Consider an Arts Commission recommendation to appoint a celebration event committee for the completion of the downtown artwork Mr. Pipes advised the CounciL that the Arts Commission recommends that the Mayor appoint a committee to plan a celebration event to commemorate the completion of the north side facade project of the downtown Square. With the absence of Mayor Hodges, the Council concurred in placing this item on the next agenda for Mayor Hodges to make these appointments. Consider an introduction of Ms. Joan VerrilLi from the SHSU History Department, who will be doing preliminary research of buildings and historical sites this summer Mr. Gene Pipes asked Linda Pease, Arts Commission Coordinator, to introduce Joan Verri Lli, who has been ' assigned to work as an intern in the Cultural Activities office two afternoons each week this semester to accomplish preliminary research for a survey of historic buildings and sites. Ms. Pease said she is also a part -time intern at Sam Houston Memorial Museum Ms. Pease said Ms. Verrilli is a graduate student seeking a Master's Degree in the History Department at SHSU doing independent study under Dr. James Olson and is also serving as a teaching assistant in that Department this semester. Ms. Pease said the priorities for her work are being set; it is expected her research will concentrate on downtown buildings and on oral histories to benefit the community. Ms. Pease said she is from New England originally and came to Huntsville a few years CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1991 BOOK "Q" 492 ago and holds a Bachelor's Degree from Boston College. Mayor Pro Tem Barrett noted the Council is pleased to meet her. Councilmember Bet( noted she is an excellent employee in SHSU's History Department. Consider approval of a consultant for the Cultural Plan as recommended by staff Mr. Pipes, City Manager, advised the plan, in conjunction with the downtown revitalization project, was to bring an advisor from the Midwest to conduct a seminar and to hire someone as a consultant to actually do the legwork and the writing to gather the ideas, thoughts and put them into a plan. He said the review process has been completed to take requests for proposal. He said the city received a single proposal, presented by Pamela Anisman, who presented a high degree of capability to undertake this project. He advised the Arts Commission recommends and he concurs that Ms. Anisman should be retained as a Consultant for the purpose of leading the community in the development of a Master Cultural Plan. Mayor Pro Tem Barrett noted the proposal was very thorough and he congratulated Ms. Anisman on that proposal_ He then asked for a nation to approve of her proposal. Councilmember Gaines made the motion to approve of this proposal submitted by Pamela Anisman and Councilmember Green seconded the nation. Council Discussion Conflicts of Interests Clarified. Councilmember Lange noted the Anismans have really come into Huntsville like gangbusters and he really appreciates Pam and Dr. Anisman doing such a fine job. He asked if Pam has resigned off of aLL of the city committees on which she serves and /or is there any conflict of interest involved. Mr. Pipes, City Manager, said he is not sure she has resigned officially from anything because this proposal was subject to the Council's approval tonight and to have already resigned would have been premature, but certainly that would be a requisite for her empLoyment. Mr. Pipes noted there is no conflict of interest otherwise. Councilmember Lange asked if Pam was among those who drafted the job description for this position and if so, is there a problem with that. Mr. Pipes asked Linda Pease if Ms. Anisman participated in the , drafting of the job description. Mr. Pease advised Ms. Cheryl Yuen, Cultural Planning Consultant, assisted the Arts Commission with the job description. Mr. Pipes noted Ms. Anisman has been an advisory /associate member of the Arts Commission. Councilmember Lange said since she is such a visible force in the City, he wanted to make certain there were no conflicts, etc. that might be brought up Later. Mr. Pipes said he would defer to Scott Bounds, City Attorney, concerning any Legal conflicts of interest, however, from the handling of this thus far, everything else is fine. Interest in Request for Proposals Discussed. Councilmember Carter asked how widely the job call was publicized; how many newspapers, magazines, places, was the possibility offered. Ms. Pease said it was published with all of the local media and the job description and call for proposals were sent to some 130 different organizations, groups and churches, all of which were local. She said one was sent to Cheryl Yuen for her information. Councilmember Carter asked how many people applied. Ms. Pease said two people attended a public meeting, seven called for information, four picked up a packet, and there was one submission. Conflicting Theme in Proposal Questioned. Councilmember Carter noted he was hoping Ms. Anisman would be present tonight because he had a question about one of her comments. He asked Ms. Pease to pass it on to her. He said he feels there is not much chance the Council will vote against the proposal, and since Ms. Anisman is not here to respond, he pointed out a slight contradiction in statements made in the proposal that concerns him somewhat, as follows: ". . . the identification and validation of a single vision, a single road for us all to travel together . . ." He said he does not think we need to take single roads and single visions and feels diversity and variety are much better. He noted she then states that we are going to invite the multi- racial, multi- cultural, etc. He said he does not know which is the overriding theme. He asked Ms. Pease to ask Ms. Anisman if we are looking for a single vision or multi- culturaL or mu Lti- racial ideas. Degree of Secretarial Support Needed. Councilmember Carter asked what kind of secretarial help is intended in the support section of the proposal. Ms. Pease said it will not be a consistent and ongoing situation, but there will be times that she may need assistance. Councilmember Carter asked who will serve as , her secretary in this capacity. Ms. Pease noted it will be someone in the Cultural Activities Office. Councilmember Carter noted he has served on several boards before serving on the City Council, and noted he has '. seen Dale Brown, City Planner, take his own notes at his meetings over and over again and being responsible for putting those together for the next meeting. He said he sees support being requested for a "recorder," and asked if this is a recorder machine or a person to record. Ms. Pease said she thought it was a "tape recorder." Councilmember Carter noted he could not justify giving this consultant more support than City Planner CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1991 BOOK 110" 493 Dale Brown. Upon a passed unanimously. Consider a report on the removal of a tree in the 10th Street right-of -way Mr. Pipes, City Manager, advised concerning the removal of an oak tree on 10th Street that was of considerable concern, that he has been pursuing that matter with considerable diligence and involvement over the last week and one -half. He reported his findings thus far and the facts as he knows them at this point. He advised the process in late August and early September was to take quotations from appropriate contractors for the removal of a number of trees that had been identified as dead or dying or had been damaged or were in fact creating a hazard and had been brought to the City's attention by individuals from the public. He said the City had a number of trees at various locations that had accumulated and have been identified and gone through a review process in terms of the City Manager's authorization, which is necessary under the city ordinance for removal of any tree in the city's right -of -way. In conjunction with this, another tree on 10th Street, had been identified as Losing a number of Limbs over the Last one to one and one -half years. He said it had been reported that one Large limb had fallen on the hood of a car and caused considerable damage and there was some concern that, with the elementary school starting in September and children walking in this area or passing back and forth to attend Samuel Houston Elementary School, that they may be placed in danger. He said a quotation form generally received on work of this nature from the appropriate contractors and information was solicited from one individual contractor because he is specifically equipped to give the city a cost estimate on two items: to prune the tree of its dead limns and for its removal. He said it was apparently the judgement of the contractor that the tree was sufficiently diseased and parasited by mistletoe that it was not going to live so he made his estimate in terms of an addition to his quotation form on the other trees that had been reviewed and approved and supplied it to ' the Street Department Superintendent. In evaluating the two bids received, one was a couple hundred dollars higher for the work that had been previously reviewed and identified. He said the tree had been inadvertently added in to the cost of the low bidder so when the purchase order was issued by the Street Department, it was for the total amount which gave the contractor the feeling that he had been authorized to remove all the trees on the quotation form that he had provided. He began with the tree on 10th Street, which no one suspected because of the fact it was simply solicited as information. He said the tree was a very large "identified tree" on the Champion Trees of Walker County Survey Councilmember Carter and others completed a couple years ago and provided the results to a number of people, especially the city. He said Councilmember Carter advised this was the 31st ranked tree in that survey. He said it is unfortunate, regrettable, and lamentable that the tree was taken down without proper review and sanction, but that has taken place. He said the error was made in communication between the Street Department Superintendent and the contractor because perhaps we were trying to get too much done over a small period of time. He said the city has identified the problem in communication and documentation that can be addressed and resolved to eliminate this problem in the future. He said he has triplicate copies of what has in the past been a single copy of the form to first of all acknowledge the citizen's request for tree removal, documenting on the front end where the request comes from and its content, identifying the tree, species, diameter, condition [dead, diseased, alive, or injured], and establishing ownership of the property [in response to Councilmember Carter's concern about the ownership of trees on Martin Luther King Boulevard]. He said the other triplicate copy is a tree removal request that will follow the same procedures currently employed except that upon completion, the City Manager receives the primary copy and the second copy will be kept in the Public Works Department and the third copy will be kept on the person of the tree contractor at the site so that it would be highly unlikely that the communication problem that existed in this matter will be repeated. He said it is difficult to deal with the matter of this circumstance without assessing blame. He said the blame, if there is any in this respect, comes in regard to the city staff not properly evaluating a quotation form that had been provided by the contractor. ' Mayor Pro Tem Barrett suggested that if the city ever has another tree in question like this that it obtain the arborist's opinion /decision before a bid is ever solicited. Mr. Pipes felt that procedure would be appropriate. He noted when the removal request form for a tree of concern comes in and is completed, that is the appropriate time to have the tree evaluated. He said obviously it is a matter of some opinion whether a tree is dead, diseased, alive, or injured and that the appropriate authority review it; the city happens to have an individual on staff that is very well- respected in the community for his expertise in this area, and if there is any doubt in his mind, certainly we will also have a certified consultant arborist who is available to us CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1991 BOOK "0" 494 to review it as well. Mr. Pipes felt with these efforts to try to deal with the issues, protect the natural vegetation of the city, both in the public rights -of -way and other places where the City has responsibility, we will remedy the problem in the future. He noted the city cannot put the tree back, but it may have died in a short period of time or some time in the future or in fact it may have been saved, but an evaluation was not given by a qualified arborist so it would have been judgmental on his part and he feels strongly about staying away from that. In the report to the Council, he said the error has been made, it has been addressed in a proper administrative form, and it is hoped that this type of circumstance wilt not occur in the future. He said throughout his review of this matter, he was never able to contact the contractor in order to resolve any questions he may have. .. Council Discussion Contractor's Explanation Needed. Councilmember Carter said this Council has had discussions many times over trees and he recognizes that some people do not care quite as much about trees as others, but this problem is a very disturbing event to those who do care about the natural environment. He said while this was the 31st tree on the list, it was number one in terms of its species in being the Largest Shumark Oak in Walker County, and now it is lost. He said it is his understanding an official of the city did visit this site with the contractor to point out the tree at some point and that is why he wants the contractor to be contacted because the way in which the tree was noted, pointed out, and discussed with the contractor, could have led the contractor to believe it ought to have been included. He said he would like to know from the contractor what was said to him at that time. He said he is going to say, unless this contractor is willing to come forward to talk to them at some point to clarify the matter, [and there may be no problems whatsoever at that point], the city should not do business with this contractor in the future. He said if it is a city staff problem, the ' city cannot ask the contractor for compensation for the loss of the tree. He said he wants to hear from the contractor before that contractor works for the city again. Basal Area Tree Policy Suggested. Councilmember Carter said this also raises in his mind the policy he encouraged in the past which he feels might have avoided this problem today, which is the "Basal Area Policy." He said this was a big tree and it would have cost the city a lot of money to replace, in basal area, what was lost in that tree. He said if we had a basal area policy, he does not believe we would be penciling in trees on contracts and orders because it would cost the city that much more money to take them down and then replace them. He said he would like to see in the very near future [noting he did not push this very hard because he was hoping everyone would cultivate their own mind and would eventually come to some consensus that we won't do this], and will encourage it at every meeting until there is a vote on this. He said then the Council can say it "does" or "does not" care. He said he wants a "basal area tree policy" brought to the City Council, a serious discussion held, so that for every tree removed, it is replaced with trees of the equivalent basal area of the same species tree. He said the Council may all have different value systems than he has and this may not be something it wants to do, but he wants the City Council to make this decision as a public entity and not continue to delay this decision. He said it is a disturbing thing. He said he said some things before he left for Canada that he regrets saying publicly, it was no reflection on individuals or groups of individuals, and he doesn't think there were any implications in his statements about individuals or groups, but the point is, the city didn't have information, it has some now, there are still a couple of questions that need to be answered and he appreciates the effort that has gone on to this point. He encouraged the city to find out those last couple of questions so it can move forward. Mayor Pro Tem Barrett said he appreciates Councilmember Carter's comments, but feels the Council needs to be more positive about this. He said it was an unfortunate incident but Mr. Pipes has outlined his program where this should never happen again. He said if Councilmember Carter has something to add to that procedure that would allow him to feel more secure with it, he should contribute that information to Mr. Pipes. ' Signage of Champion Trees Suggested. Councilmember Lange said he has a degree in forestry and that Shumark Oak was a beautiful specimen and as a City Councilmember, he hated to have to take the responsibility for that tree being cut down, but realizes that it is the Council's responsibility. He noted this Champion List must be a secret, filed away somewhere. He said as he looks to the future, since this tree was in a particular group that has been identified as a Champion Tree in this county, while he has a personal opinion about signs CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1991 BOOK "U" 495 in the community, he would like to somehow have these trees identified as being Champion Trees inside the count so people know where they are; a red flag is raised before things like this can happen again. Counci Imembe Carter said this list was presented to the City and it does exist in the City Library. He said he can't sa what the city staff does with this list once it is received, but maybe now it will be more visible Councilmember Lange said in looking to the future, and he has discussed this with George Russell when Georg called him recently, he would like to make this special group of trees a Little more identifiable to the genera public. City's General Tree Maintenance Responsibility Reviewed. Councilmember Robinson lamented the loss o the tree since it was a number one ranking tree of its species in the county. He asked if there are any Legs implications that the city might encounter as far as a limb dropping off this tree and doing substantial damag to a vehicle, as Mr. Pipes reported. Mr. Scott Bounds, City Attorney, noted the law as to who is responsibL for maintaining street trees [trees adjacent to the street on private property hanging over the street or i the city right -of -way hanging over onto private property] encompasses a dual liability. He said generally i a tree is growing in this situation and obstructs the view of traffic, then the City can be liable for no removing the tree and providing clear, unobstructed view of the traffic going down the street. He said the cit does have a responsibility to maintain street trees to the extent that they are over the streets so that the would not fall if there is an obviously dead limb hanging over the street; the city would have some duty t remove that Limb to prevent damage or injury to people using the street. He said with regard to the privat property owner, he also has some duty so that if there is a tree adjacent to a private property owner's propert that is in the street or if it is on his own property, he may also have a duty; that duty may be shared wit the two entities responsible. He said this is because of an old doctrine that says to some degree, the propert owner has a duty [often we see this where a property owner asserts a right to a tree that the city wants t remove in the city's right -of -way]. CounaiLmember Robinson asked what department constantly monitors the streets to see if there might be some other tree in the city that might have brittle or damaged limbs that might fall. He said there was some consideration that limbs might fall and hit one of the kindergarten children walking to school, which could create a major catastrophe. Mr. Pipes said the Street Department crew has made this a routine practice for many years. Councilmember Robinson said he is concerned that the city may not be acting unless it receives a call. He felt this type of activity should occur "before the fact" and not "after the fact." Mr. Pipes said the department also relies on complaints. He said the city removed seven or eight trees on a List that was in conjunction with this matter that had a relationship to the street that constituted a hazard either from being dead and dropping big Limbs or near dropping limbs or of site obstruction. He said when those particular requests come in, a close Look is taken at the location. He said a couple of trees on the list were close enough to the pavement that they were buckling the pavement adjacent to them and that is close as far as a traffic hazard and when one cannot back out of a driveway and see right or left, or when Lightening strikes a tree, etc. He said many times we don't wait for the disaster to strike, but make this review a matter or routine. Councilmember Robinson surmised then that even though this was a tragedy and a mistake, the city was acting in good faith. Consider bids for the repair of the roof of City Hall Mr. Pipes, City Manager, advised the City HaLL has many small leaks around the roof -top heating and air conditioning units. He then presented a corrected memorandum [from the one in the packet] of the three bids for roof repairs in the amounts of $2,675, $2,790 and $4,487. He said both of the two low bidders, Aaron Roofing and Ability Roofing, are available to make the repairs. He noted there is only a $115.00 difference between the two low bids. He said Aaron Roofing sent a salesman to estimate roof repairs and made no mention of any special preparation needed prior to the actual repairs, whereas, Ability Roofing was represented by the owner and installer and he had several comments on different installations and preparations needed to do the work. Mr. Pipes said it is the Building Maintenance Supervisor, Bobby Brooks' recommendation that although Aaron Roofing was the apparent low quote for the repairs, that the Council award the bid to Ability Roofing because of his extensive experience in these types of repairs and because of his assistance to the City in identifying possible problems and safety concerns related to these repairs. Councilmember Robinson made the motion to approve of Ability Roofing to make these repairs in the amount of $2.790 and Councilmember Green seconded the motion. Discussion: Councilmember Carter noted he has roofing experience and it has never made sense to him that anyone would build a flat roof. He said he would argue that the city should, at some point, go into some CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1991 BOOK "0" 496 major, long range plan, to convert all of the flat roofs to some type of roof with a pitch. He said it has beer! his experience that sooner or later the flat root is going to leak. He said skyscrapers do it, the Universitl; library does it, and he feels it is an absolute waste of money to build a flat roof and yet people do it' constantly. He said if there is some way, over time, that the city can do that, as it repairs roofs perhaps; it should replace them with pitched roofs. Mr. Pipes said this is a very timely comment. He said he has a comment from the Director of Public Utilities, Mr. F. Boyd Wilder, who feels that spending 53,000 on a 15 year old roof may indicate a need to redesign and redo the whole roof, but the problem is, in a tight budget year,. a $50,000 roof job is not something that was anticipated. He said the $3,000 repair job will have to suffice, however, the advice is well taken. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. COUNCIL ACTION Tourism Dollars Identified in Canada Councilmember Carter reported that he Learned, during his recant visit to Canada, that one way to identify tourism dollars is to stamp them with some type of demarcation when they are received through tourism.'. Others on the Council noted, however, that in the United States, it is illegal to deface /mark the U. S. currency . for any purpose. GSU's Team Cities Meeting in Del Logo Councilmember Robinson reported that the presentation on the downtown revitalization program, presented by Ms. Linda Pease of the City's staff, was thought to be, by almost everyone in attendance at this meeting, one of the best presentations made at this day long meeting. He commended Ms. Pease for her effort to showcase HuntsviLLe's program to representatives from the other cities.. H -GAC Meeting Councilmember Barrett advised he attended the H -GAC meeting in Houston today. He noted there is a need . to fill positions on various boards of the H -GAC to represent this area. He encouraged the Council and those. who may be interested to contact him soon with suggestions as he had to make his recommendations to fill those positions soon. City Picnic is October 12 at the Fairgrounds City Manager Gene Pipes asked the Council to set aside Saturday, October 12, 1991 for the City's annual picnic to be held at the Fairgrounds. He noted there will be sports activities and assorted games all afternoon with a barbecue dinner served at 6:00 P.M. and a dance to follow. ADJOURNMENT lly submitted, Ruth DeShaw, CMC /A City Secretary September 17, 1991