Minutes - 08/22/2011MINUTES FROM THE HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THE 22ND DAY OF AUGUST 2011, IN THE CITY
HALL, LOCATED AT 1212 AVENUE M IN THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, COUNTY OF WALKER, TEXAS AT 6PM.
The Council met in a workshop and regular session with the following:
COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: J. Turner, Mae Woodward, Jack Wagamon, James Fitch, Lydia Montgomery, Don H. Johnson, Keith D. Olson, Tom
Cole, Wayne Barrett
COLINCILMEMBERS ABSENT: None
OFFICERS PRESENT- Bill Being. City Menauer. Leonard Schneider, City Attorney, Lee Woodward. City Secretary
SPECIAL SESSION' [6:00PM]
1. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Turner called the meeting to order at 6:00pm.
2. INVOCATION AND PLEDGES — Dr. Barrett gave the invocation.
3. PUBLIC COMMENT
No cards were submitted. Mayor Turner asked for public comments from the audience, but no one chose to address
Council.
4. MAYOR/CITY COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER REPORT
a. Possible action to approve Ordinance 2011-47 to redistrict the City of Huntsville. [Mayor Turner]
Mayor Turner briefly addressed that the prior meeting's vote on redistricting had ended in a deadlock which required
the item to be revisited.
The Mayor indicated that the Council would cast votes for redistricting Map C and Map D, and that the appropriate
draft of Ordinance 2011-47 would be voted on for approval based on the results.
With no discussion, the Mayor called for a vote for Map C. Five members including the Mayor and Councilmembers
Barrett, Cole, Wagamon and Fitch voted for Map C.
The Mayor called for a vote for Map D. Councilmembers Woodward, Montgomery, Olson and Johnson voted for Map
D.
The Mayor announced that Map C had won the vote and stated that the Council would be voting on the draft of
Ordinance 2011-47 which redistricted the City based on that map.
Mayor Turner made a motion to approve Ordinance 2011-47 to redistrict the City in accordance with Map C, and
Mayor Pro Tern Woodward seconded the motion.
The motion passed 6-3 with Councilmembers Montgomery, Olson and Johnson opposed.
b. Possible action to approve nomination of Sandra Hanscom to an open position on the Planning and Zoning
Commission (P&Z). [Mayor Turner]
Mayor Turner stated that the item to appoint Sandra Hanscom to the open position on the Planning and Zoning
Commission created by the departure of Rowe Creager had been tabled at the previous meeting.
The Mayor said he would like to nominate Hanscom to the position, and Councilmember Cole seconded the motion.
The Mayor opened the floor for discussion, and Councilmember Wagamon said he would like to hear from those
members of Council who had originally had objections to the nomination. He said he would like to know if they had
changed their minds and why.
Councilmember Montgomery said she had time to reflect since the last meeting and said she had thoughts to share
with respect to the Mayor and her fellow Council members. She said she felt that a board appointee should reflect the
vision, ideas and common goals of the leadership of the City, and that they are appointed to find the best courses of
action to achieve shared goals. She said she believed the Mayor of a City set the bar for the leadership of a City, and
that appointments made to boards should be made by the newly-elected Mayor after the November election.
The Mayor responded by saying that another person had been nominated and selected during the previous meeting
and that another nomination would come up in the next regular meeting, and that his term as Mayor was to continue
for an additional three months. He said he did not believe that the responsibilities of the Mayor stopped until a new
Mayor was seated.
Olson said he felt the process of appointing a board member was flawed in that the Council was not provided with any
background information beyond the name listed on the agenda. He said, in the future, he would like to see an
information sheet with contact information or any other information that pertains to the seat applied for.
Mayor Turner stated that, in the past, Council members with questions about board appointees had spoken to the
Mayor directly about the nominations and he was willing to share his knowledge.
The Mayor stated that with a pool of 150 to 160 active board members at any given point, it would be difficult to
provide a full sheet of information at any given time, but that he would be happy to discuss any board appointee with
any member of Council at any time.
Councilmember Cole said he had known Hanscom and her family for decades both professionally and socially, and he
said of all the board appointments he had witnessed that this was the most auspicious. Further, he stated that the
extent of opposition made him wonder what was in store for the Planning and Zoning Commission in the coming
years.
Councilmember Wagamon said he was disappointed that the Council was not being more forthright, and that he felt
that Councilmember Olson knew Hanscom well and took issue with her due to her challenging his residency while he
was running for Council. Wagamon also said that Olson stated he has a problem with Hanscom because she
interacted socially with both Wagamon and former Council member Lanny Ray.
Wagamon said that if Hanscom stopped attending Council meetings today that she would be more informed about
community involvement than Olson and Councilmember Johnson put together, and that he thought it was amazing to
see a political attack on a person who was volunteering to serve the community.
Councilmember Olson stated that he merely asked about having an information sheet. He said there was no doubt he
asked for a different person for the nomination but that he was not on Council to trash anybody.
Mayor Turner stated that Hanscom had previously held a real estate license but it had lapsed due to time and money.
With no other comments, the Mayor called for a vote.
The motion passed 6 -3 with Councilmembers Montgomery, Olson and Johnson opposed.
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
Kendall Scudder, 1410 Nottingham, said he was happy that redistricting was over, and thanked Dr. Barrett for his
statesmanship during the redistricting process. He said he appreciated him and other supporters of Map C
He also said Sam Houston State University students would continue showing up to Council meetings to address issues
which affect the student body.
Sandra Hanscom thanked the Council for their vote of confidence in her and outlined mistakes in the Huntsville Item's
recent article related to her experience. She stated specifically that she did not graduate from Sam and that her last
name does not include the letter "B."
She also stated that she loves Huntsville and that she has many, varied friends within the City.
6. MEDIA INQUIRIES RELATED TO MATTERS ON THE AGENDA
There were no media inquiries.
7. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:15 p.m.
WORK SESSION — LARGE CONFERENCE ROOM— Discussion of proposed FY 11 -12 budget. [Winston Duke]
The Mayor called the work session to order at 6:18 p.m. and stated he hoped to conclude before 8 p.m.
City Manager Bill Baine briefly addressed health care, stating there would be additional information available at the August
25 budget work session, and that the Hotel Occupancy Tax Board would distribute their recommendations via Director
of Tourism and Cultural Services Kimm Thomas at that time as well.
Director of Finance Winston Duke discussed FY11 -12 changes to water rates, referring to a table entitled "Impact on
Average Residential Water Bills." The Mayor asked if rates to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison units
contracting with the City for water would increase, and Duke said he understood that the mechanism existed for such
an increase.
Mayor Pro Tem Mac Woodward addressed the rates from the perspective of the Finance Committee, stating that the
projected schedule allowed for a 20 percent reserve account when the goal was to reach an account of 16.6 percent.
The Mayor said it was important to recognize the changes in water rates as an investment in the City's future.
With no further questions, Duke moved on to Solid Waste, referring to a handout entitled "Solid Waste Services Proposed
Fee Increases — Residential and Commercial FY 2011 -12." He discussed the rate increases briefly and concluded that
they would result in additional revenue of $190,864.80. City Manager Baine said the additional revenue would be used
for street maintenance and a new truck.
Councilmember Johnson asked if, in the past, the City had considered commercial solid waste services, and Baine said the
consideration had been made but there were several factors to consider.
At the close of Duke's presentations, the Council held a brief discussion about the effective tax rate and the Walker County
Appraisal District's role in determining it. Council inquired whether the City would adopt a rate higher than the effective rate
and about the process which would be involved, and the Mayor stated that the Finance Department had been operating
under the assumption of applying the effective rate in budget forecasts.
Finally, the Council discussed full -time employees and budget changes, and Councilmember Wagamon asked if an
executive session would be appropriate to discuss specific employees. The Mayor stated that he understood only charter
officers were to be discussed in executive session but that he would follow up with the City Attorney for confirmation.
The budget session ended at 7:31 p.m.
Kristin Edwards, Deputy City Secretary
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