MIN CC 09/01/2009CITY COUNCIL MEETING of September 1, 2009 BOOK "U"
IN THE CITY HALL, LOCATED AT 1212 AVENUE M IN THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, COUNTY OF WALKER, TEXAS
AT 6:OOPM.
The Council met in a regular session with the following.
COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: J. Turner, Tom Cole, Charles Forbus, Melissa Mahaffey, Lanny Ray, Mac
Woodward, Jack Wagamon, Wayne Barrett and Dalene Zender
OFFICERS PRESENT: Bill Baine, City Manager: Lee Woodward, City Secretary, Kristin Edwards, Deputy City
Secretary, Leonard Schneider, City Attorney
REGULAR SESSION* [6:OOpm]
1. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Turner called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
U.S. Flag
Texas Flag., Honor the Texas Flag. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one stale under God, one and
indivisible.
INVOCATION
Councilmember Barrett led the invocation.
3. OATH OF OFFICE FOR NEW CITY SECRETARY
Walker County Judge Danny Pierce conducted an oath of office for Lee Woodward, incoming City
Secretary at 6:02pm.
4. PUBLIC COMMENTS
Joseph Milam addressed the risk of electromagnetic fields on the general population.
6. CONSENT AGENDA
(Approval of Consent Agenda authorizes the City Manager to implement each item in accordance with staff
recommendations. An item may be removed from the Consent Agenda and added to the Statutory Agenda
for full discussion by request of a member of Council.)
a. Approve the minutes from the City Council meeting held on August 18. [Kristin Edwards, Deputy
City Secretary] (pages 1 -7)
b. Approve Ordinance 2009 -60, amending the fiscal year 2008 -09 annual budget. (Winston Duke,
Director of Finance) (pages 8 -12)
c. Approve Ordinance 2009.61, amending the fiscal year 2008 -09 budget by awarding payment
pursuant to City audit and compliance review agreements. (Winston Duke, Director of Finance)
(pages 13 -17)
d. Approve Ordinance 2009.49 to amend Ordinance 200948. (Leonard Schneider, City Attorney)
(pages 18 -19)
e. Authorize the City Manager to purchase a 2009 new and unused street sweeper from TYMCO,
Inc. in the amount of $169,602.18. (City Manager Bill Baine) (pages 20 -21)
f. Authorize the City Manager to reject all bids received for the periodic purchase of electric and
hardware items and request a rewrite of a second sealed bid. (City Manager Baine) (pages 22 -23)
Councilmember Forbus made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Councilmember Mahaffey
seconded the motion.
Councilmember Woodward asked that Item C be pulled from the Consent Agenda.
' Councilmember Cole entered a written statement to clarify his remarks that had been included in the minutes
of August 18", 2009. Councilmember Ray asked that the words "legally spent... funds" in the August 18
minutes be changed to "illegally spent ...funds."
The motion passed with a 9 -0 vote.
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CITY COUNCIL MEETING of September 1, 2009 BOOK "U"
Councilmember Ray made a motion to approve Ordinance 2009 -51. Councilmember Cole seconded
the motion.
Councilmember Woodward began discussion to address the fact that the bill for the audit had come in at
$72,000 rather than the approved amount of $36,000. He expressed concern that this may have been
questioned more closely had it been a different type of project, and that the public should know why the
Council would approve a bill that came in double the amount approved previously.
City Attorney Schneider apologized that the Council had not been notified of the increase in the invoice
did refer to the executive session when he had advised that the scope of the audit needed to be expand
and the Council chose to do so. City Attorney Schneider said that he had forgotten to follow up on an
agenda item to bring additional expenditures to the Council's attention, and that Councilmember Woody
was correct in saying so, but that, in his legal opinion, he did feel that the additional work was needed.
also mentioned that, although he would have preferred the invoice to be lower, he was comfortable with
amount billed for the work done.
Councilmember Ray said that from rereading the minutes of the June 2"' meeting he knew why the aMOL
had increased. He stated that he felt that the money was well spent, as the auditors had to bring in fraud
specialists and faced a great deal of obstruction. He also pointed out that he thought all of the costs coul
recovered through legal action.
Councilmember Mahaffey recalled City Attorney Schneider's advice previously, and that her assumption Y
been then that expanding the scope of the audit might incur additional monies, that City Attorney's advice
has led her to assume or understand that there could be further expenses.
Councilmember Wagamon acknowledged that a more specific procedure could have been followed, but th$t
he felt even the larger invoice was a bargain considering the work done and results achieved. He stated ti Pt
it was important that the City not allowed itself to be "ripped off' and that the citizens' money should be '
protected.
Councilman Woodward reiterated that his concerns were raised because he was equally concerned about
the citizens' money.
Councilmember Forbus confirmed that the whole Council was concerned about how the public's money is
spent, and that this was well spent.
Councilmember Barrett also shared Councilmember Woodward's concern about the lack of clarity of the
amount of the final bill, while also in support of the decisions the Council made to expand the project. He
suggested that future motions of a similar nature should try to anticipate what additional charges may be
incurred.
Councilmember Cole thought perhaps even more should have been spent, as there were still many
questions to be answered.
Councilmember Mahaffey mentioned that sometimes it is not possible to know a complete amount, and
quite often an item is approved in spite of that. She mentioned approval of Councilmember Zander's
suggestion to expand hours at the Aquatic Center recently, and that the final expenditure was not avails
as a set amount at that time.
The motion passed unanimously.
6. STATUTORY AGENDA
a. Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding a $106,994.19 contract wIth
Maverick Communications for installation of fiber for voice /data communicate s
between the Huntsville Police Department, the Service Center, the Huntsville Aquatic
Center and the Municipal Court. [Chris Vasquez, IT Manager] (pages 24 -26)
Councilmember Forbus made a motion to award the contract to Maverick Communications. Councilmem er ,
Mahaffey seconded the motion.
In response to Councilmember Ray, IT Manager Vasquez explained that the contract would enable the ty
to cease leasing from SuddenLink Communications, saving approximately $18,000 annually. He added t at
it would increase flexibility and growth capability by the ability of owning the network.
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CITY COUNCIL MEETING of September 1, 2009 BOOK "U"
Councilmember Mahaffey wanted to know why City Hall was not on the list for connectivity, when the project
started, and when completion was expected. IT Manager Vasquez said that City Hall was already connected
to the Police Department, that the project began in October, 2005 and that he anticipated it would be finished
by October 15`", 2009, due to the amount of preparatory work already done.
Councilmember Forbus asked if there were other locations still to be connected, and IT Manager Vasquez
listed Fire Station #1 on Veteran's Memorial, Palm Street and the new fire station on Highway 30.
Councilmember Mahaffey asked him to explain the 25 year warranty. He said that performance issues would
be covered under the warranty, but not damage caused by equipment cutting the lines. Not all of the other
bids offered the same warranty, but IT Manager Vasquez said Maverick's was the lowest bid that did.
Responding to Councilmember Mahaffey's further questions, he also said that the County was sharing the
cost to run line from the Police Department to the Sheriffs Department, and that the County is looking at a
separate project to connect the storm shelter. He went on to say that he believed the County had approved it
the day before, and that the County would absorb any associated costs.
Councilmember Forbus also wanted to know if there would be enough bandwidth for video to be uploaded
and shown on the City website, and IT Manager Vasquez confirmed there would be.
Mayor Turner wanted to know what benefit there was in including the Aquatic Center. IT Manager Vasquez
said that they were basically along the best path to get to the Court, and could provide additional phone and
finance capabilities to the Aquatic Center.
Additionally, Councilmember Mahaffey asked how much it would cost to include the Aquatic Center in the
connections, to which the answer was about $5,000. She asked if much of the work had been done in-
house, and was told that a lot of the trenching and conduit work had been. She received confirmation that
the remaining work would be a turnkey job to bring all the process in- house.
' Councilmember Forbus asked if there would be capability to video, perhaps to the website. He was told that
it would be possible, right now with the involvement of Sam Houston State University for taping.
The motion passed unanimously.
7. MAYOR /CITY COUNCIL/CITY MANAGER
a. Set the date for the public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year 2009 -10 budget. (Mayor Turner)
Mayor Turner made a motion to propose September 10 2009 as the date for the public hearing on the
budget for FY 2009 -10. Motion was seconded by Councilmember Barrett.
Councilmember Ray asked if they were talking about voting on September 10", to which Mayor Turner
replied in the negative. Mayor Turner asked Finance Director Duke if this hearing would be about the
budget or the tax rate or both, and was told both. Councilmember Ray asked when the vote would be,
and Finance Director Duke said that they expected a vote on both on September 10'. Mayor Turner
reconfirmed the statement, and added that it would be at 6pm.
Councilmember Wagamon asked if there was a requirement that they vote on the budget on September
10'", and Finance Director Duke said there was, but that the tax rate could be voted on later.
Councilmember Wagamon said he was disturbed by voting immediately after possible public comment
that may raise some unanticipated issue.
Councilmember Forbus asked if they could have the hearing on the 10" and voting on September 15'".
Finance Director Duke said they could vote on the 150, but that the hearing might possibly have to be
moved to that date also.
City Attorney Schneider recalled that he had written a memo to Finance Director Duke about this
previously, and then continued, saying the law states the action on the budget must follow the public
' hearing, by his reading. Also, the budget must be accepted before the tax rate is voted on.
Mayor Turner asked to modify his motion based on the City Attorney's opinion to move that the public
hearing be on September 10 for public hearing Purposes only, and that the vote be taken at the City
The amended motion passed unanimously.
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CITY COUNCIL MEETING of September 1, 2009 BOOK "U"
b. Presentation, discussion and/or possible action regarding a letter to the Texas Departmei
Transportation, the governor and state representatives concerning State Highway
(Councilmember Forbus)
Councilmember Forbus read a letter drafted regarding problems on Highway 19. Mayor Turner relal ed
that Walker County has expressed solidarity on this issue, and will also speak to SHSU. He suggest d
passing it in the form of a resolution, and City Attorney Schneider confirmed that it was an appropri to
action. Mayor Turner asked Councilmember Forbus if he would like to be the honoree to make sucl a
proposal. Councilmember Forbus agreed to make a motion to do so. Mayor Turner said he wolild
second it.
City Attorney Schneider suggested the staff be authorized to draft a resolution adopting the letter Ifnd
having the Mayor sign it and send it to TxDOT. Councilmember Forbus asked that it be delivered to
TxDOT, as he foresees having Council members hand carry it to Austin. Mayor Turner asked that e
would not like it limited to TxDOT, but rather include all of the appropriate political entities Huntsville y
appeal to on the state and national level. j
Councilmember Woodward suggested including that this project has been on the drawing board or
possibly as long as forty years, that it is an important transitway for SHSU and TDCJ, and h w
improvements in this roadway might facilitate evacuation and disaster relief planning.
City Attorney Schneider asked if they would like to have that included in the resolution he will draft, e jtd
received an affirmative answer. Mavor Turner said he would do that as an amendment.
The amendment passed unanimously.
Councilmember Ray, on behalf of the citizens, thanked Councilmember Forbus, City Staff, the ty ,
Manager, the City Planner and the Chief of Police for their part in preparing this letter. He felt it was II
written.
Councilmember Forbus also wished to thank Deputy City Secretary Kristin Edwards for
instrumental in drafting the letter.
City Manager Baine thanked Councilmember Zender, Mayor Turner and Councilmember Forbus
pursuing this issue.
c. Presentation, discussion, andfor possible action regarding acceptance of a $10,000 donation
signage for the Bruce Brothers Huntsville Regional Airport. (Councilmember Melissa Mahaff
Councilmember Mahaffey made a motion to accept the offer of the $10,000 donation. Motion was
seconded by Councilmember Forbus.
Councilmember Woodward asked if the City would have final approval on the sign design, location
other considerations, and was told the City would. City Manager Baine said Dr. Sherry McKibben
believed she could find matching grant funds for the City.
The motion Passed unanimously.
d. Presentation, discussion, and/or possible action to raise the City purchasing policy formal bid
requirement from $25,000 to $50,000 as provided for in state law for sidewalks in order to
expedite repair /replacement of sidewalks along 11t' Street from Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive t(
Avenue E, Avenue E to Sycamore and Sycamore to Avenue H. (City Manager Bill Baine)
City Manager Same explained that state law allows spending up to $50,000 by means of a purchase
order. It had been brought to the City Manager's attention that these sidewalks needed repair. He we
asking for an exception to City fiscal and budgetary process for sidewalks only. '
Councilmember Woodward made a motion that they waive the requirement for the sidewalks alona 11
Street from Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive to Avenue E Avenue E to Sycamore and Sycamore to Aven
H.
City Attorney Schneider said the Charter requires a bid for expenditures (Art. 11.15), meaning the Cit
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CITY COUNCIL MEETING of September 1, 2009
BOOK "U"
charters in the slate. Mayor Turner read the article stating that the City Manager could be given a
waiver. City Attorney Schneider said his interpretation was that Council could increase the dollar
amount, but that the Charter requirement for bids was not waived by so doing. Councilmember Ray
agreed with this reading.
City Manager Baine said the purchase order process he used involved calling to get prices. City
Attorney Schneider felt that this did meet the Charter requirement for the bid process.
The motion was determined to be valid and was seconded by Councilmember Wagamon.
Councilmember Ray asked why the $50,000 increase was being limited to these particular sidewalks
only, why not for sidewalk projects generally. Councilmember Woodward recalled that these were
chosen when another project had come in under budget and the funds were available. City Manager
Baine asked if perhaps the motion could be amended to permit other sidewalk projects, coming under
the state $50,000 limit to be allowed.
The amended motion passed 8 -1 Councilmember Cole voting against.
The base motion passed 8 -1 Councilmember Cole voting against.
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e. City Managers' report:
1. Update on the status of the FY 2009 -10 Budget
City Manager Baine reported that the budget was largely finished, that six or seven budget
meetings have been held, and had met all the provisions the Council had asked for except for two
police officers. He said he expected to get the police officers into the budget, and to present a
balance budget to the Council at the same rate as last year, although they would have been within
- rights to raise the rate.
2. Selection of Allwin Barrow as the permanent Chief of Police
Chief of Police Allwin Barrow was presented and thanked by City Manager Baine for the beneficial
changes he has begun. Chief Barrow said he has had a very pleasant nine months as Interim
Chief and looks forward to continuing the good relationships he has enjoyed. Mayor Turner also
thanked the Chief, welcomed him and said he felt he would be a real asset.
3. Update on City efforts to recover Hotel Occupancy Tax funds [City reserves the right to
go into EXECUTIVE SESSION under 551.071 of the Texas Government Code]
City Manager Baine said he would like to pull this item as he had nothing to report at this time.
8. PUBLIC COMMENTS (open)
No public comments were submitted.
9. EXECUTIVE SESSION
a. City Council will convene in closed session as authorized by Texas Government code, Chapter
551, Section 551.074 - personnel matters regarding the annual evaluation of City Manager Bill
Baine.
The Mayor pointed out that the City Manager had been here for one year, and thanked him for his service.
He said that the Council was not planning to come back from Executive Session to take any action. With no
additional action, Mayor Turner informally adjourned the regular meeting.
'
10. ADJOURNMENT 18:07 p.m.]
The meeting was adjourned at 8:07 p.m.
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CITY COUNCIL MEETING of September 1, 2009 BOOK "U"
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