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MIN CC 07/18/1989MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 18, 1989 BOOK "P" 432 MINUTES OF THE HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THE 18TH DAY OF JULY, 1989 IN THE CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, LOCATED AT 1212 AVENUE M IN THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, COUNTY OF WALKER, TEXAS AT 6:30 P.M. The Council met in a regular session with the following members present; Jane Monday 0. Eugene Barrett City officers present: Gary Bell James L. Carter Gene Pipes, City Manager Ila G. Gaines William B. Green Scott Bounds, City Attorney William H. Knotts, Jr. Percy Howard, Jr. Absent: William L. Hammock Absent: Ruth DeShaw, City Secretary CONVENE FORMAL MEETING Mayor Monday called the formal session to order and then recessed to an executive session to (consider pending real estate acquisitions on 7th Street. No formal action was taken in this executive session. FORMAL MEETING RECONVENED Mayor Monday then reconvened the formal session. The Reverend Ray Felder, First United Methodist Church, presented the invocation. ATTENDING CITIZENS Dr. Elizabeth Delaney, rearesentina the Woodlands Home Association to discuss the City's "Tree" Policy, as amended. Dr. Delaney said last week many of them in the neighborhood were somewhat reactive to the tree policy, in two ways: 1) happy about the content of the tree policy as they felt it certainly enhanced how the city would carry out its business, the appearance of the city, and the relationship with the citizenry of the city; and 2) dismayed in that they felt perhaps the city and the council overlooked an opportunity for good public relations. She said she came as a representative of a neighborhood group to bring to the Council's attention their concerns regarding the impending construction in the 19th Street area. She said they are really not in adversarial roles, although it may have been portrayed that way or they may have felt that personally, but they are all working together to promote Huntsville in its beauty. She said they have pride in their community and that is part of what this neighborhood issue is about. She said they do not want to be perceived in an adversarial role and they are not here to stage a protest; they are not here "en masse" to try to intimidate; they are here to continue their input to the City Council. She said they do believe in participatory democracy. Dr. Delaney said they had wished perhaps that the Council had an opportunity to discuss the action of the tree policy before it acted. In fact, she said, they might consider looking at how other city council's in cities of our size conduct their business. She said she believes it is a common practice to bring business to a meeting, discuss it, put it on an agenda for the following week for action to allow for citizen input. She said they would really like to see an opportunity for a lessening of the strife between some of the community residents and the city and the council. She said they feel this could be achieved through some good public relations tools. One would be, she said, to allow citizen input before some action has been taken in certain cases. She said their input to the tree policy would not have been related to either an approval or negation of the tree policy, but perhaps to look at it to see if it completely addressed the issues that the residents in their area have raised. And in perhaps bringing these to the Council's attention, she said, they might have precluded some negative response from people in the community. She said some of the items which they certainly would have called their attention to have been brought tonight to present to the Council. She asked that the Council consider responding to these items, either in policy or through communication with them in a future council meeting, as follows: 1 l� MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 18, 1989 BOOK "P" 433 1. One question that looms in everyone's mind, she said, is: "Does the city intend to continue the use of an arborist to evaluate every tree? If not, who will be evaluating the trees? Will it be the City Engineer, the City Manager, a staff member, or a city arborist? [She said it has been communicated somewhere along the line that there has been distrust between community residents and the city. She said there really is no distrust on an individual basis, one on one, as they are very confident that the engineers and arborist are very competent. She feels it has just been perhaps in how policy has been carried out. She said they would like to know who is going to be evaluating the trees.] 2. What criteria are to be utilized for selecting the options from the list in the tree policy? 3. What criteria are to be utilized to identify which trees even need to be evaluated? [She said she didn't see anywhere in the document how close to the intended work a tree or shrub must be before it merits evaluation.] 4. Who is responsible for the maintenance work following the tree work? is the property owner responsible for that, or is the city responsible for it? 5. If the city has acted in good faith, does the city have liability if the tree still dies? 6. Is there an appeals policy if the individual property owner does not agree with the determination on the rating scale of a particular tree or the option selected to try to save that tree? 7. Will the appeal policy, if there is one, be made part of the notification policy? [She said they are still unclear in the community as to the guidelines that will be used in notification. She said they really laud the city's efforts in terms of communicating up -front with the handbills and they think this is a great idea, but again, the time line on notification causes them concern.] 8. In the work area, will measures be taken such as protective fencing and that type of thing to prevent soil compaction around trees that are in, near, or adjacent to the work area? 9. Will the work be carried out, or will the roots be severed in the season of the year in which there is less likelihood of damage to the larger trees? 10. Who, in fact, will supervise the carrying out of city policy on a day to day basis? [She said they would like to see a detailed administrative policy developed so that the residents will know who to contact should there be a concern about how things are being carried out and who ultimately has responsibility for the day to day work.] 11. Further, Dr. Delaney noted, they feel information is needed as to resodding, repairs of driveways, etc. She said a common clause in many easements is that the property be put back into as good or better condition as it was before the work took place on the property. She said they would like to know if the Council intends to carry that out. Dr. Delaney said they know there was a lengthy discussion about costs of sodding versus seeding, but are unclear as to the Council's decision. Dr. Delaney said they also would like the opportunity to have informal dialogue. She said she would like to be able to come into city offices and present questions perhaps in advance of a council meeting and have those questions answered at a council meeting. In closing, Dr. Delaney said she is appreciative, as are all of the residents, of the effort and time that has gone into this in terms of city staff participation in the tree policy, etc. She said they feel there are still many unanswered questions. She said perhaps they can serve as a resource to the City to identify the remaining unanswered questions. Mayor Monday thanked Dr. Delaney for her comments. She advised as soon as these questions can be transcribed, Mr. Pipes will be getting back to her with the answers. MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 18, 1989 BOOK "P" 434 CONSIDER PUBLIC HEARING Mayor Monday then opened the public hearing concerning the proposal to abandon, alter, close and to that portion of a street running parallel with and about 350 feet west of Avenue F /Martin Luther King evard between the north boundary of the Charles D. Lynch one acre tract and the south boundary of the Fowler two acre tract (approximately 1550 feet). There were no citizens present who wished to comment. r Monday then closed the public hearing. CONSIDER ORDINANCE Mayor Monday then presented this ordinance, the caption of which is as follows: ORDINANCE NO. 89 -19 AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING THAT THE PORTION OF A STREET RUNNING PARALLEL WITH AND ABOUT 350 FEET WEST OF AVENUE F /MARTIN LUTHER KING BOULEVARD BE VACATED, ABANDONED AND CLOSED; PROVIDING FOR THE REVERSION OF THE FEE IN SAID LAND; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVELY IMMEDIATELY. r. Gene Pipes, City Manager, advised the HISD officials requested of the Council and Planning Commission uring the past month the consideration of the closing of this street which is adjacent to the planned lementary school site near Martin Luther King Boulevard north of 1st Street. He said there are two tracts f land down this road that will be provided access by HISD easements to their property. He said it has een clearly indicated that these residents [one family living in one of the two parcels at the end of the Dad] are very pleased with the arrangements with the school district. He said, however, this road cannot e closed immediately because of the concern, which is a future concern of the School Board, that school ampuses not be split by roadways, and as a result, HISD is buying a parcel on the opposite side of the road o the campus will become a contiguous tract when the road is discontinued from use. He said the School has ade provisions in the plats that have been approved by the Planning Commission for the alternate access to he property and the city can see no reason to delay action on this at this time. He said the School istrict has given the City the assurance that the people in residence there will always have access to heir property. He said he feels this is a very reasonable request. He did, however, point out that the chool District has in the past requested consideration for the closing of roadways that were through type oads or served a larger number of people and had emergency service considerations, etc., so that the ouncil has ultimately declined or denied those requests. He said it seems the individuals that are ffected by this one are pleased, and this is not a through road. He felt this particular situation is an ppropriate consideration for the Council to entertain at this time and he then asked for their Dnsideration. Councilmember Barrett made the motion to approve of Ordinance No 89 -19 to close this road as Discussion: Councilmember Green noted in reading the ordinance, he sees nothing that specifies that he School District will provide access via an alternative route when this road is closed. Mr. Pipes said, hey have, by virtue of the plat filed with the Planning Commission, given a permanent easement to the arcel there and are in the process of negotiating the second parcel acquisition. Mr. Pipes said the plat as been approved by the Planning Commission as a preliminary plat, however, the final plat has not been pproved as yet, but certainly there will be no change from the preliminary plat to the final plat on that 1 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 18, 1989 BOOK "P" 435 particular point. He said it is simply a provision or stipulation in the plat that this easement will be maintained until an alternate access to the property is provided. Mayor Monday noted this can be made a condition of the motion. Mr. Pipes said these are private easements to those individual residences. Mr. Bounds said this is a private easement provided for one lot. Councilmember Green noted then if the Council approves this, the city cannot, in fact, guarantee that these people will have access to their property, even though we are closing the road. Mr. Pipes said their access to their property will be Martin Luther King Boulevard and what they will have is a drive -way, granted by HISD and built for their use. Councilmember Green said he does not doubt that HISD will do this, but still expressed some concern. Mr. Bounds said he would be sure to obtain a release from the abutting property owners. Councilmember Carter noted then because the HISD is in the process of acquiring the parcel of land, this is the reason for access on only one parcel; however, if that negotiation falls through, will HISD have to come back to the Planning Commission or Council to grant some type of easement to the second parcel? Mr. Pipes advised public access would be required on the second parcel, not necessarily this drive -way. Councilmember Carter noted then the city will take care of this matter if for any reason the land acquisition is not successful for HISD. Mr. Pipes indicated that is correct. Upon a vote on the motion on the floor. the motion passed unanimously. OPEN PUBLIC HEARING Convene a Public Hearing to receive comment from the public concerning a proposed resolution authorizing the City to participate in grant programs through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to develop the Proposed Thomason Park. Mayor Monday opened the public hearing. Upon determining there was no one present who wishes to comment concerning the proposed development of Thomason Park, she closed the public hearing. Consider Resolution No. 89 -9 authorizing grant assistance from T P W D for development of Thomason Park Mr. Pipes presented this resolution, the caption of which is as follows: RESOLUTION NO. 89 -9 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS "CITY," DESIGNATING CERTAIN OFFICIALS AS BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR, ACTING FOR, AND ON BEHALF OF THE "CITY" IN DEALING WITH THE TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF PARTICIPATING IN THE GRANT PROGRAMS; CERTIFYING THAT THE "CITY" IS ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE ASSISTANCE UNDER SUCH PROGRAMS Mr. Pipes advised the Parks and Wildlife Department does have a matching grant program that is approximately a 50:50 cost -share equivalent. He said a large tract of land has been offered and its value could be used to secure the grant necessary to develop the property as a park through some conditions. He said that process requires the Council, by Resolution, to authorize the staff to proceed, indicating that the public hearing has been held, that the Council is aware of the project, and approves the grant application. He said it is contingent upon a number of things -- procedural things that are initiated by this action tonight. He said this is a major step, but at the same time, a tentative step because this process is quite long and involved. He said there will be a grant application deadline in mid - August and the Council's meeting schedule requires the reading of this criteria at this time and proceeding from here. He then offered this resolution for the Council's consideration. Councilmember Knotts made the motion to adopt Resolution No 89 -9 and Councilmember Howard seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 18, 1989 BOOK "P" 436 ATTENDING CITIZEN Mr. Dennis Singletary, Manager, Gulf States Utilities' Huntsville office, to present the T.E.A.M. City Certification for economic development participation Mr. Singletary noted while he is new to the area, he is very proud of what he has seen so far for the City of Huntsville. He said he is here to present the City of Huntsville with this award, the Certification for Completion of Community Assessment and Marketing Economic Program. He said this Community Assessment says that we have, as a community, assessed where we are, where we are going, and how we are going to get there. he said an assessment is just that - -it lists our strengths, our weaknesses, it says that we have a goal in mind and that goal is economic development for all of us - -and economic development is the key. He said this is why Gulf States is involved. He said T.E.A.M. cities came out of the idea that we, as a community, need to be developed into a team - -we need to be focused in a direction and we need to all be going in the same direction. He said the city has done that and has done a wonderful job of assessing those needs and strengths. He said they have set goals and a plan of action and GSU is now saying, "Huntsville, we are proud of you for doing that, and we are behind you all the way and we want to say thanks." He then thanked the Mayor and Council for their participation and the Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Corporation. Roy Williams of the Chamber of Commerce introduced the Chamber's board members present: Nancy Tiller, Diane Lowe and Betty Nelson. Mr. Singletary said related signs will be posted throughout the city and on the roads coming into and out of the city. He said GSU wants to participate and be a part of that team to offer its assistance over the next few years, noting it does want economic development for Huntsville. Mayor Monday thanked Mr. Singletary because through this mechanism GSU has allowed Huntsville to join together the Chamber, the EDC, the City, the County and all the agencies to make Huntsville more prepared to meet the criteria it takes to get this designation and then to realize how important economic development is to the city and how unified we are to make that happen. She said Mr. Singletary might want to share with the Council some of the things that come as a part of this program that are benefits to the city. She said because of the work that is done, we will now be better able to attract new business, but more importantly support the businesses we already have. Mr. Singletary said this is the key as the city grows from "without" and from "within." He said as part of the goals the city has set, we have developed a marketing team and a business retention team which are both trained to develop our city by developing prospects out there, to bring them in and show them what the City of Huntsville has to offer, and also to develop those businesses that are already here that may want to expand in our area or that are having a tough time and want to continue to do business here to show them some of the ropes. Mr. Singletary said several things GSU can do to help is that they have name recognition, noting TEAM cities is a "buzz word" now, it is all over the area as they advertise nationally and internationally and with cities that are participating in that program. This is part of the response it gets on prospects. He said they identify those people who are team cities and have a computerized list of all of the buildings and building sites within our area. He said if a customer calls in to their main office in Beaumont and says they are looking for a 10,000 square foot building on two acres of land and ask if we have one for them, we can say yes we have one right there in the City of Huntsville and it is available and here is who you contact, or better yet, they will get someone to contact the inquirer. He said they have a trained marketing team that is in place that is developing prospects for us every day and they send prospects to the Chamber and go out all throughout this country and even on the international market and find those people who are wanting to relocate and sell them on the idea of coming to our area. He said this is important because Huntsville is competing with all the cities in this country, noting everybody needs economic development. He said Huntsville has to have something that gives it the advantage over those other cities. He said GSU also has the capability to produce brochures and mahouts the city may want to do to advertise a specific area of benefit or zero in on one particular item like tourism or a particular business on which it wants to focus. He said they are developing right now with the Chamber of Commerce and the EDC a brochure and a mail out to target in on a market, so that is something they can do for the city. Mr. Singletary said 1 1 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 18, 1989 BOOK "P" 437 GSU says they have limited resources, but all of those are placed in the TEAM city idea. He said they also have prospect identification systems - -if the city has prospects, they will help identify who those are and whether or not they are really viable prospects. He said these are only some of the many benefits. Mayor Monday then accepted the award. Mr. Singletary then passed out certificates of commendation to those who worked in the team CITIES Program. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT--GENE PIPES Texas Water Commission Mr. Pipes noted the Texas Water Commission informed him of the achievement by two of the city's staff members, Mr. Billy Ray Daugette and Ms. Debra R. Pecor on July 11, 1989 when they were issued Class A Wastewater Operators Certificates after successfully passing the state's examination. He said this represents the culmination of their many years of education, training and experience in the profession of wastewater treatment. Mr. Pipes then introduced Mr. Daugette and Ms. Pecor for proper recognition. Mr. Pipes noted there are four levels of certification in water and wastewater treatment: A, B, C and D, with A being the highest and D being a beginners level. He said it takes a C license to operate a public water and sewer facility. He said to achieve an A license requires lots of work and preparation. He said the City is very proud of these employees. He noted too the City has one AA License holder in the city, which is an extremely rare thing to have an A license in water and an A license in wastewater, noting that individual is Public Utilities Director, Mr. F. Boyd Wilder. He said it is the intention of Ms. Pecor and Mr. Daugette to pursue their AA licenses as well. Monthly Sales Tax Report Mr. Pipes advised through the latest reporting period, which ends the end of May, is remitted in June and reported in July, shows that there was $151,990 collected, or an $18,000 increase for that reporting period over this time last year. He said year -to -date the city's one-half cent sales tax collections are $666,000 and the one cent collections total $1,332,318. He said in one percent collections this time last year, the city has $1,252,724, so the city is already ahead of where it was last year. Year- to-date, he said, the city is 6.35 percent ahead in the one -half cent collections, and for the month, the city has a 14.22 percent increase. He said as an indicator of retail activity and perhaps a continuing response of the local economy, that is very good news. MAYOR'S ACTIVITY REPORT - -JANE MONDAY Tourism Brochures Mayor Monday displayed some drafts of new tourism brochures. She said in order to produce these brochures, the Tourism Committee needs city authorization to facilitate that with the spending of $6,085 for this project, which will provide 3,000 copies of each one to be utilized through the rest of this tourism season. She said there is money available in the reserve which will still allow the city to hold the level of funding it would like to retain. She said this would be an expenditure above their budget so it will have to come out of that reserve. She asked them why they didn't go ahead and run a number of these at once, but they want to run this and utilize this for this season and do it quickly so that the rest of the tourist season can be picked up and then see how that works and perhaps revamp that before they run a big run for next year. Mayor Monday said she is looking for a consensus to proceed with this plan and then she will bring this back for the agenda next week. Councilmember Barrett felt it was a good idea. Mayor Monday said the committee is putting up satellite stations all over town (Bluebonnet Square, The Mall, C. J. Center, State Park, Hotels, etc.) so tourists can pick them up and be able to go immediately all around town. She noted the tours are starting as follows: historical tour from Sam Houston Memorial Museum and the Prison tour from the Prison Museum. She noted hearing no objections to this plan, she will bring this item back for the next agenda for consideration. She asked them to express their appreciation to Scott Cherryholmes, James Patton, etc. who worked on these brochures on a volunteer basis. MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 18, 1989 BOOK "P" 438 Mayor Monday then thanked Dr. Delaney for her input, suggestions and offer for help. She said Mr. ipes will be getting back to her soon. COUNCIL ACTION Councilmember Green also thanked Dr. Delaney, noting the questions she has raised are legitimate questions and he appreciates her patience. He said they are all going to learn together what a tree policy ought to be. He said the city will get back to her shortly and although the answer may not be what she will want it to be, the city will try to do it the right way. COUNCIL COMMENTARY Mayor Monday noted there is a new addition to the agenda tonight, called "Council Commentary," and to initiate that, she called upon Mr. Pipes. Mr. Pipes noted the city has suffered at the hands of the media representatives over the years, exposing themselves to media inquiry. He said they have in th audience tonight a couple of former reporters who shared the table with Mr. Bill Shoening, KSAM News Reporter, and since this is Mr. Shoening's last council meeting as he will be moving to Austin to become a Sports announcer, he wanted to take the opportunity to perhaps give back the levity, the commentary, and insights Mr. Shoening has given to the Council over the years. Mr. Pipes and the Mayor presented going away gifts and the Mayor then presented Mr. Shoening with a certificate of appreciation for his years of service reporting the news of the city. Professional colleagues who had worked with Bill in the media were invited back to share in the parting comments with the Council. After some closing remarks by Mr. Shoening, those present joined Bill in a reception with cake and refreshments. ADJOURNMENT Respectfully submitted, uth DeShaw, Ci y Secret July 18, 1989