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MIN CC 06/14/19881 D HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 14, 1988 BOOK "p" 109 MINUTES OF THE HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THE 14TH DAY OF JUNE, 1988 IN THE CITY HALL COUNCI CHAMBERS, LOCATED AT 1212 AVENUE M IN THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, COUNTY OF WALKER, TEXAS AT 6:45 P.M. The Council met in a regular session with the following members present: Percy Howard, Jr., Mayor Pro-tem 0. Eugene Barrett James L. Carter William B. Green William L. Hammock William H. Knotts, Jr. City Officers Present: Gene Pipes, City Manager Scott Bounds, City Attorney Ruth DeShaw, City Secretary Members absent: Mayor Jane Monday, Councilmembers Ila G. Gaines and Gary Bell FORMAL SESSION The meeting was called to order by the Honorable Percy Howard, Jr., Mayor Pro tem. The invocati was presented by Pastor Cloid Adams of the Greater Zion Baptist Church. CONSIDER THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING 1988 and Councilmember Hammock seconded the motion. Discussion: Councilmember Carter asked that statement in the minutes that he made concerning annexation be clarified to read: "He said, under certai conditions, the burden of proof should be placed on the people who do not want to annex, rather than c those people who do want to annex. This amendment was accepted by the Council. Upon a vote on this amende motion all were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. ATTENDING CITIZEN James Patton Walker County Historical Commission to review historic /touristic area designation plans Mr. Patton distributed a map to the Council to review with him. Mr. Patton advised he met June 1 with Mayor Monday and Councilmembers Howard, Gaines and Barrett, and Linda Pease, Arts Commission Coordinator, for about two hours reviewing this map. He said the map was developed through the use of the Walker County Cultural Resources Inventory done the spring of 1981 for all of Walker County by Mrs. Ellen Beasley, Preservation Planning Consultant from Galveston, sponsored by H -GAC along with other agencies. He presented the purpose and criteria of the inventory. He said because of the economy at this time, we are all interested in tourism as a great source of income for the state and county. He said the prediction has been made that tourism will be the biggest industry in Texas by the year 2000 (recent article in Southern) Living Magazine). He said of interest in this area is the Sam Houston Park, Austin College, the Old Main site, Sam Houston's grave, the Whistler, the Gibbs - Powell House, Dr. Cole's home, the prison system, TDC Director's home, the private cemetery adjacent to Oakwood Cemetery featuring the bronze statute of Christ (second one only in the U.S.), the Junction, two houses on Avenue 0, one of the buildings on the campus of SHSU, etc. He said the map depicts the prettiest routes through Huntsville to direct a tourist into town. He said touristic routes are drawn on the map connecting the many tourist cites, including City Hall, the Courthouse and American Bank, the Walls around the TDC; the homes on Pleasant Street; 7th Street; Avenue N 1/2 and 20th Street homes (Knowledge Hill); Gazebo, old football field; etc. He said the basis for this map comes from the cultural resources inventory suggested and recommended by Mrs. Beasley. He said the local group suggested the following items for consideration: highlight historic sites and areas and connecting routes; encourage and promote awareness of preservation and beautification of the HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 14, 1988 BOOK "P" 110 walking tours, trolley tours; and provide maps to tourists and downtown visitors to our city. He said the Walker County Historical Commission gets its authority from the Local Government Code, Section 318.001. He said this committee will meet again to continue work on the map. Councilmember Barrett noted tourism is a valuable industry and he feels strongly about implementing this plan to the city's very best ability. Councilmember Carter suggested discussing a tourist stop /farmer's market on Highway 45, noting this town has the potential of being the gateway of all of East Texas in the sense that we can call on Crockett and Jasper and Woodville (who don't have highways like I-45 passing through); and they could send us their brochures to put them in this farmer's market. He said we can tell the people in Houston and Dallas they can make one stop and not only learn about Huntsville, but also the rest of East Texas. He suggested building an East Texas style structure out on the highway and Sam Houston State University could use it to recruit students as well. Mr. Patton said the next step is to work with all involved so that we can ultimately come back to the Council with some sort of a master plan. He said we are sitting on a gold mine for tourism in Walker County but we have not promoted it to its fullest extent. Councilmember Barrett suggested attractive signs on the interstate to attract people to come into Huntsville to have lunch, etc. and see the historical sites. He encouraged the Council to look at the 1981 document as it gives many details. CONSIDER AUDITING CONTRACT Consider an agreement for accounting services with Ken Davis for the annual city audit. as recommended by the Audit Committee. Bill Green. Chairman Councilmember Green advised this will be the third year of a three year contract the city negotiated with the Reynolds, Davis & White Accounting Firm. He said the firm has since split up and the part of their services having to do with the city's contract was mutually agreed by all parties to be honored as originally written and that this continuing contract will be handled by Kenneth C. Davis, Certified Public Accountant, formerly of the Reynolds, Davis & White Accounting Firm. He noted the audit committee feels the previous two audits done by Reynolds Davis and White have been good and they recommend acceptance of Ken Davis as the city's auditor for FY 86-87. Councilmember Green made the motion to approve of Kenneth C. Davis as the city's auditor for the FY 86 -87 audit and Councilmember Barrett seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. CONSIDER TRUCK BIDS Consider bids for the replacement of a utility division pickup totaled in an accident to be paid from utility reserve funds and insurance settlement Mr. Gene Pipes, City Manager, advised only one bid was received for this pickup. He said an indication of settlement has also been received from the insurance company in the amount of $10,100 along with an additional settlement for the tool box and tank on board, both settlements being very satisfactory to the City. He said while several other vendors were interested in bidding, in the final analysis, Goodman Dodge was the only vendor able to bid on this item. He said the emergency is that if we went through the standard bid procedures and advertised for 14 days and then placed the order for a 1989 model truck, it would be in the fall before it would be delivered. He noted capital construction work is going on now and the truck is very desperately needed to continue that work uninterrupted. He asked the Council if they wished to accept the only bid offered. He said the specifications call for white exterior and blue interior, but this single bid is for a red truck. Councilmember Knotts suggested that the city find an existing city vehicle, out of the 40 some trucks we have, to get by for now. Councilmember Carter questioned that a pick -up truck could be an emergency item on the CIP program. He didn't feel this situation was so rushed that we would have to take only one bid. Mr. Pipes said this truck is used to shuttle parts and materials as well as personnel; noting it is in constant daily use. He said to use another truck means some other activity will have to suffer because there are no trucks sitting on the city lot that are not in use. Councilmember Barrett asked if a 3/4 ton is necessary. Mr. Pipes noted the E' HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 14, 1988 BOOK "P" 111 truck is used to carry pipes, fuel, and a one -half ton truck is not heavy enough to get the job done Councilmember Barrett asked if there was a 3/4 ton that could be put into this application temporarily an then get a 1/2 ton truck that is more readily accessible to fill in. Mr. Boyd Wilder, Director of Publi Utilities, noted the only other 3/4 truck the department has is at the South Sewer Plant and it is in th budget this year for a replacement because it has in excess of 100,000 miles on it and it is used daily i its own application. He said it is the only vehicle at the South Sewer Plant. Councilmember Barrett wa copncerned about only receiving one bid because we have no comparison whatsoever. Mr. Pipes said the bi received is for $13,400 Less the $10,150 salvage price from the insurance settlement which means we wil have to pay $2,250, to be funded from water and sewer fund for future allocation. Councilmember Barret felt the red truck would have to be repainted. After further discussion, Councilmember Carter suggested review of the city's entire fleet may be necessary to see if additional vehicles may be needed or perhaps revised use of existing vehicles should be considered. Mr. Boyd Wilder said his department has bees borrowing a vehicle from another division and they have to double up on something, or a truck is borrowe from Public Works, noting some days no truck is available and time is wasted trying to get equipmen situated. He said he doesn't feel a better price can be acquired by waiting and he didn't feel they coup get a better price on a 1989 model which would not be available until December. motion. Discussion: Councilmember Barrett felt if we are losing personnel time and money, we perhaps n to get on with the business of the city and approve it. Councilmember Carter again requested a review the existing fleet. Mr. Pipes said that review will be in the budget. All were in favor exc (three members absent). CONSIDER DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENTS--FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT Language as Previously discussed Gene Pipes, City Manager, then presented the amendments as required by the federal Emergenc Management Agency as previously discussed. He then presented the captioned ordinance for the Council' approval, as follows: ORDINANCE NO. 88-10 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 30, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, OF ITS CODE OF ORDINANCES; ADOPTING THE FLOOD DAMAGE PREVENTION ORDINANCE PROMULGATED BY THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY AS OF OCTOBER 1,1986; MAKING FINDINGS RELATED THERETO, PROHIBITING CERTAIN ACTIVITIES IN FLOOD HAZARD AREAS; PROVIDING A PENALTY OF UP TO $200 PER DAY FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS ORDINANCE; PROVIDING REPEALING, SAVINGS, AND SEVERABILITY PROVISIONS; AND PROVIDING FOR THE PUBLICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE HEREOF. seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion Passed unanimously. CONSIDER TELEPHONE SYSTEM work. represented by Mr. Ken Barker Mr. Ken Barker said nine requests for proposals were sent out to vendors who had previously contacted the city or them wishing to bid on the telephone system, of which three were returned: AT&T, HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 14, 1988 BOOK "P" 112 able network going over to the Municipal Justice Center, the HEAP Building and the Library, and then a separate PBX system at the Service Center that ties the garage facility, etc. out there. He said they were Looking for two switches from one vendor. He said an extensive analysis was performed using a formula similar to the education method on a zero to one valance where the vendors answer questions non- responsive or answers left blank. He said they were looking for the most responsive and responsible bidder, not necessarily low bid price, proposal price, overall cost of the system. He said they looked at vendor stability, financial position, years in the business, experience with other installations, maintenance, service and support, number of technicians, responsiveness, commitment timetable to be here in the event of a systems disaster; preventive maintenance, warranty period, labor and material bonds, technical system -- features; upgradeability; time to install; future costs; purchase price and development of a city contract for same as opposed to signing one of their form contracts. He said the bottom line is that AT &T is the most responsive and responsible vendor and they are being recommended to install the system. Mr. Barker said the System 75 proposed by AT &T has been in existence for about five years and is their biggest and most technologically current system, a truly digital system with integrated voice data simultaneous through the switch. He said the city does not have to purchase all of that right now (modems, modem pulling or switching data), but the future is there to develop these options as the city grows. He said it is a work horse and has met the needs in other cities. The Council asked some questions for clarification concerning Mr. Barker rating method on the companies. Mr. Barker reviewed the rating system and then again recommended AT &T because they excelled over the other bidders because of their track record, their ability to respond to a disaster (fire, hurricane) with the people they have across the nation, their ability to warehouse equipment that can be flown in from )enver or Houston, etc.; their years of experience of their technicians (average 20 some years vs. three and four for Isotech); the strength of their company (noting Isotech had trouble producing a 10% bid bond for a $178,000 project). He said AT &T provided copies of insurance, the system is technologically more advanced, is all interfaced, the company has 119 years of experience in the telephone industry; the system is easily re- programable and is more advanced. Ms. Patricia Allen, Director of Finance, then recommended the bid of AT &T for City Hall of 120,951.51 without the battery backup (- $23,692.60, because the AT &T system has an internal 10 minute attery back -up and surge protectors and City Hall and the MJC already have energency generators on site) nd without the overhead cable (- $18,095.00, council prefers underground cables), which would then total 79,163.91 and that the city run the "underground" cable at a cost of approximately $12,000, including aterials and labor, for a total then of $91,163.91. She then recommended the Service Center system roposal at a cost of $57,408.16, without the battery backup (- $14,451.60) and recommended a call accounting ystem for the Service Center to be included at a cost of $5,067.35, making the Service Center proposal mount to 548,023.91. She recommended purchasing an emergency generator for the Service Center, noting a enerator sufficient to operate the phone and radio systems only would cost $7,000 and that a decision ackage will be in the budget for an emergency generator to operate more than that at the Service Center noting the City Hall's generator cost $25,000). Ms. Allen further recommended that $5,000 be allotted for the option of communication between the .C.'s at the various locations. She noted because of the refund from Southwestern Bell and the changing of f types of services and deletion of several lines, approximately $20,000 should be available for use on the ew system. She noted the bottom line cost then, to implement these recommendations is $144,187.82. She said the vendors presented purchasing this in two ways: a cash purchase and a lease purchase. e said the lease purchase interest rate proposed by AT &T is 8.5 %, and Isotech was in that same range. e recommended, rather than lease purchase this equipment, to fund it based on a prorated distribution tween funds. She said there will be approximately $20,000 left in the current year budget; general fund's rtion would be $74,165; Water and Sewer fund's portion, $30,659; and Sanitation Fund's portion, $19,364. e said rather than issue debt in the general fund, the city has its sales tax revenue it is holding for 1 1 HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 14, 1988 BOOK "P° 113 the street program in future years (1990), and she recommended possibly paying the general fund's part the telephone system out of that sales tax surplus fund that the city will not need until 1990, and based on the savings the city will have over the three years- -the city will have $34,849 in 1988 -89 available to pay back to the sales tax reserve; $21,761 in 1989-90, and $17,554 in 1990 -91. She presented a budget comparison by year of what the city has been paying for telephone costs. The differ between the proposed budget for 1988 -89 and 1989 -90 is when the maintenance agreement would begin on AT&T system. Councilmember Carter asked City Attorney Bounds if there were any restrictions on borrowing the money out of the sales tax set aside fund. Mr. Bounds said there was no restriction on the use of this money. Patricia Allen, Director of Finance, said there is no restriction on this money, but on future sales tax in excess of the city's estimate, the city has to save it for three years and not use it. Mr. Pipes said future money is considered by the statute to be a true windfall and the city would have to set that aside for three years to balance the changes, fluctuations in property tax revenue and sales tax revenue, should it go up and down. He said money generated between January of 1988 and October of 1988 can be spent. He said we had previously made the decision to spend it only on capital street items. This would simply be a loan from that fund and repaid over the next three years by the savings in the phone system. Mr. Bounds said it is simply a loan extension. in favor and the nation passed unanimously. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT- -GENE PIPES Analysis of Sales Tax Mr. Pipes, City Manager, presented the Council with the sales tax information for the quarter just completed. He said if we factor out the additional one -half cent sales tax revenue, the revenue based on our original collection, is still holding just 4%; last month it was approximately 5%, so the city is actually not keeping pace on a monthly basis, but it is still 4% ahead of its budget projection. He said the indication was that Huntsville had somewhere in the range of a 35% increase in sales tax revenue, but that is the additional half cent, and is not any great upturn in the business activity in Huntsville. Supplemental Item - -Request for transfer within Utilities Fund to Repair the Dam Lift Station at Elkins Lake Mr. Pipes presented a request from F. Boyd Wilder, Director of Public Utilities, for funds to repair the major lift station near the lower lakes in Elkins Lake M.U.D. He noted the problem is with one pump and two check valves which need replacement. The pump will cost approximately $5,000 and the check valves will cost $4,000 ($2,000 each) for a total of $9,000, he said. Mr. Wilder also noted he will need to transfer funds to enable his department to operate for the remainder of the year and to cover the $2,500 deficit in the maintenance account, citing unbudgeted equipment failures at the N. B. Davidson Wastewater Treatment Plant as the reason for the existing deficit. He then requested a fund transfer in the amount of $14,000 to replace one 8 inch pump and two 8 inch check valves for $9,000 and to take care of a deficiency in the south plant budget in the amount of $2,500 and an additional $2,500 to perform routine maintenance at the south plant for the remainder of this year. Councitmember Barrett made the motion to approve of this fund transfer and Councitmember Carter seconded the motion All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Council Agenda Mr. Pipes advised the next three council meetings will be skipped to accommodate the council's vacation schedule and to allow the staff to work on the budget. He said there will, however, be a joint HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JUNE 14, 1988 BOOK "P" 114 eeting scheduled on July 7 with the Board of Trustees of HISD and the City Council at the City's Service enter on Highway 75 North. The next two regular meetings of the City Council will be July 12 (review the 980 comprehensive plan and recommendations of all the subcommittees - -Open Space; Parks, Downtown, etc.) and m y 16 (for a Saturday all -day planning retreat). Budget presentations begin on July 26, he noted. COUNCIL ACTION Councilmember Green expressed the concerns of some residents in the area of the Able Glass Company rning parking problems that exist there and the inability of traffic to move along, particularly in the ng when school buses travel on the street. He asked the City Manager to investigate the situation. Councilmember Barrett advised he has observed people walking along Old Madisonville Road and Highway North (where Old Madisonville Road used to go straight into 75 North). He said if we have any funds ilable, he would like to see a sidewalk placed there because in inclement weather it is going to be muddy those people are going to be walking in mud. He said since there was a street there that people walked the city should replace it with a sidewalk. MAYORS ACTIVITY REPORT- -PERCY HOWARD, MAYOR PRO TEM Mayor Pro tem Howard reminded the Council the Juneteenth parade would be this Saturday at 10:00 A.M. said there will be a brief ceremony at the Martin Luther King Neighborhood Center following the parade. Mayor Pro tem Howard advised that members of the Progressive Women's Association are concerned about he condition of the stove and refrigerator at the Martin Luther King Neighborhood Center. He said the ssociation has committed itself to purchasing a stove and refrigerator for the Center. He said the city ill be hearing from them. ADJOURNMENT Respectfully submitted, Ruth DeShaw, City Secretary June 14, 1988