MIN CC 12/11/2007CITY COUNCIL MEETING of DECEMBER 11, 2007 BOOK "U"
78
OF THE HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THE 11TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2007, IN T
., LOCATED AT 1212 AVENUE M IN THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, COUNTY OF WALKER, TEXAS AT 6:00 P
Council met in a regular session with the following members present:
J. Turner, Wayne Barrett, Jack Choate, Mickey S. Evans, Melissa Mahaffey, Jim Willett,
and Dalene Zender
Kevin Evans, City Manager; Stephanie Brim, City Secretary; and Thomas A. Leeper, City Attorney
Clarence Griffin
CITY COUNCIL PHOTOGRAPHS [4:30- 5:15pm]
LAIR SESSION
TO ORDER [6:01 pm]
Turner called the meeting to order.
OF ALLEGIANCE to US and TEXAS FLAGS, INVOCATION
amber Barrett led the invocation.
COMMENTS (Agenda Items Only)
ag mon. Mr. Wagamon spoke on the agenda item and submitted to the City Council an affidavit regarding the minutes
ril 24, 2007 meeting.
ddatkins. Mr. Watkins spoke on the agenda item regarding changes to the Employee Policies and Procedures,
Ily in opposition to the proposed holiday changes.
:obedo. Mr. Escobedo spoke on the agenda item regarding changes to the Employee Policies and Procedures,
Ily in opposition to the proposed holiday changes.
TENT AGENDA
Presentation, discussion and /or possible action on minutes of April 24, October 30, and November 15, 2007.
'UTORY AGENDA
Presentation, discussion and /or possible action on the "Offender Watch" program /contract, as presented by Jean
Sanders, Director of Public Safety.
"OffenderWatch" is a web - accessible database that will house data associated with the Huntsville Police
Department's sex offenders, Huntsville street maps, and City addresses. This database will be utilized to register new
offenders and verify already registered offenders. Citizens will be able to search the database byname or address, and
perform a "geographic risk assessment" that will display list and a map of offenders residing within a one mile radius of
the entered address. Citizens will also be able to sign up for e-mail notifications that will be made in the event an
offender registers at an address within a one -mile radius of the citizen's registered address.
The Walker County Sheriff's Office was approached about the "Offender Watch" program and asked if the HPD
would be interested in participating also. Presently, the WCSO registers those sex offenders who reside in the County
and HPD registers sex offenders who reside within the City limits. Both the WCSO and HPD would have access to the
other's information, thus providing a complete database for the area. The cost for the first year of the program is $8,000
— that amount is to be halved between the SO and PD. In subsequent years, the cost will total $7,000 ($3,500 per
entity). Both the SO and PD will be utilizing JAG (Justice Assistance Grant) funds to cover the cost of the system for the
first year.
Councilmember Choate moved to authorize the City Manager or other designated staff to enter into an agreement
with Watch Systems LLC for the installation and maintenance of their "OffenderWatch" sex offender registration and
I
community notification software program' and Councilmember Evans seconded the motion. The motion passed 8 -0.
Presentation, discussion andlor possible action on the computer server replacement schedule, as presented by Chris
Vasquez, IT Manager.
A study was performed in FY 2005 -06 to determine industry best practices for PC replacement. For servers the
recommendation is replacement every 5 years. As servers reach the 5 -year mark the probability of hardware failure
significantly increases, thereby increasing the risk of critical application failure. This proactive replacement approach
CITY COUNCIL MEETING of DECEMBER 11, 2007 BOOK "U" 79
helps ensure that critical City functions remain intact. In addition, a new server will provide backup in the event of a
system failure of the City's primary active directory server which provides account login and access to numerous City
resources includinq files, email, printers and the Internet.
Presentation, discussion and /orpossible action on the changes to the Employee Policies & Procedures, as presented by
Victor Pena, Director of Administrative Services.
The current Employee Policies and Procedures were adopted by Ordinance on September 20, 2005. It has been
the practice of the Human Resources Division to review and recommend modifications on an annual basis. The
current manual is designed to be a working guide for department heads and supervisors for day -to -day implementation
of our City personnel programs, eliminating the need for personal decision making on matters of City -wide policy and
helping insure uniformity throughout the City.
Following additional discussion,
Council requested additional time to consider the proposed holiday and personal leave sections omitted from the
ordinance in the above amendment, and requested that the Personnel Committee accept community and employee
input regarding said sections.
The amended motion passed 8 -0.
d. Presentation, discussion and /orpossible action on the Industrial User Discharge Permit for Gardner Glass Products,
Incorporated, as presented by Bill Daugette, Director of Public Utilities.
Gardner Glass Products, Incorporated is a mirror manufacturer that has operated in Huntsville since 1984, and
previously has directly discharged process wastewater under a TCEQ Permit. In 2005, Gardner Glass expressed a
' desire to connect to the City of Huntsville collection system and, since thattime, Gardner Glass Products, Incorporated
personnel and City of Huntsville staff have been working to that end. Redundant pretreatment systems are now in place
and Gardner Glass Products, Incorporated is currently connected and discharging to the City of Huntsville collection
system.
An Industrial User Permit must be issued to inform and legally require Gardner Glass Products, Incorporated to
comply with discharge limitations, monitoring and reporting requirements, and other responsibilities of an industrial
discharger. In addition, this permit, along with Title 33 of the City of Huntsville Code of Ordinances, gives the City of
Huntsville legal authorityto enforce all conditions of the permit, Title 33 of the City of Huntsville Code of Ordinances, and
Federal and State Industrial and Categorical Pretreatment Standards.
e. Presentation, discussion and /orpossible action on the amended bid for two (2) pickup trucks originally presented at the
November 15, 2007 meeting, as presented by Debby Mikulin, Purchasing Agent.
The purchase of pickups was presented to council on Nov. 15, 2007 (this agenda item is attached). One of the
items recommended and approved to purchase were 2- %ton extended cab pickups from Philpott Motors, the HGAC
contractor. While ordering these two vehicles, it was discovered that the bed that was quoted by Philpott Motors was
only a 6.5 foot bed and the wastewater division needs the 8 foot bed which was specified by the purchasing office and
quoted by all the vendors except Philpott Motors.
It is the recommendation of staff to reject the bid from Philpott Motors for the M. T extended cab pickups at
$15,731.82 each and accept the bid for the 8 foot bed, % T extended cab pickup from Planet Ford at $17,240.00 each.
All other vehicles that were presented to council on November 15 were correct and have been ordered.
f. Presentation, discussion and /or possible action on the fee increase for use of Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, as
presented by Stephanie Brim, City Secretary/Director of Community Services.
' The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center ( "MLK ") is made available to individuals and non - profit organizations for private
use. The current rental fee for the MILK is $100 per day with a refundable $100 deposit. This does not coverthe cost of
maintaining or operating the facility, which staff estimates conservatively at $177.73 per day. This daily cost does not
take into consideration any administrative costs for paperwork or processing; any supplies and materials used in the
regular maintenance of the facility; landscaping and outside maintenance costs; additional trash pickup service; or set
up and tear down of the equipment, tables and chairs by the Boys & Girls Club in running the After School Recreation
Program.
The Parks & Recreation Advisory Board, at their meeting on October 8, 2007, recommended an increase to the
rental fee by $50 (for a new daily rental rate of $150 with the continued deposit of $100), effective January 1, 2008.
Additionally, they recommended increasing the fee by $50 per year for the next two fiscal years (2009 and 2010). The
CITY COUNCIL MEETING of DECEMBER 11, 2007 BOOK "U"
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Board feels, and staff agrees, that this fee increase will allow for continued community use as well as assist in offs(
the cost of operating the facility.
Upon researching the Fee Schedule to include this recommended change, it was discovered that the fee stru
for the MILK Jr. Center had been inadvertently left off. Therefore, proposed Ordinance 2007 -36 amends the
Schedule to include the MLK Jr. Center at the rate proposed by the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board.
OR I CITY COUCILMEMBER 1 CITY MANAGER REPORT
Presentation, discussion and /or possible action on the appointment of Chuck Stowe to the Economic
Council, fulfilling the vacancy of Ralph Beaty, as presented by Mayor J. Turner.
Woodward voting against.
Presentation, discussion and /orpossible action on pending litigation updates, as presented by Thomas A. Leeper, C
Attorney:
(1) Cause No. 4:07 -cv- 03371; Karl Davidson and John Strickland v. City of Huntsville; in the United States Distf
Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division
(2) Cause No. 3:07 -CV- 1634 -L; Harmon Luther Taylor v. Barbara Hale, David P. Weeks, John Gaines, City
Huntsville, Walker County and State of Texas; in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Tex[
Dallas Division.
This item was discussed in Executive Session as authorized below.
Presentation, discussion and /orpossible action on Annual Review of Charter Officer — City Attorney, as presented by
Mayor J. Turner. .
This item was discussed in Executive Session as authorized below.
-IC COMMENTS
Wagamon. Mr. Wagamon continued his comments on the minutes of April 24, 2007, adding that the audio for that
ng was difficult to hear and comprehend.
Aaron. Mr. Martin requested the City Council consider an ordinance for removing feral cats especially from the Sam
ton State University campus, and commented that the Offender Watch program will be a good move as long as vigilante
�s don't form once given the registered offender's personal information such as address.
IN0IUIRIES
[7:23 -7:31 pm]
1TIVE SESSION [7:31- 9:07pm]
ionized by Texas Government Code, Chapter 551, Section 551.071— consultation with counsel on legal matters on
No. 4:07 -cv- 03371; Karl Davidson and John Strickland v. City of Huntsville; in the United States District Court for tl
rn District of Texas, Houston Division; and (2) Cause No. 3:07 -CV- 1634 -L; Harmon Luther Tayfor v. Barbara Hai
'. Weeks, John Gaines, City of Huntsville, Walker County and State of Texas; in the United States District Court for tl
m District of Texas, Dallas Division.
nally, as authorized by Texas Government Code, Chapter 551, Section 551.074 - personnel matters regarding tl
tment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public officer or employee; C
I conducted an annual review of Charter Officer— City Attorney Thomas Leeper.
OURNMENT nm] '
Council reconvened into Open Session; no action was taken. Mayor Turner adjourned the meeting.
Secretary