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MIN CC 09/20/2005CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 BOOK "T" 252 MINUTES OF THE HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THE 20TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2005, IN THE CITY HALL, LOCATED AT 1212 AVENUE M IN THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, COUNTY OF WALKER, TEXAS AT 6:00 P.M. The Council met in a regular session with the following members present: COUNCILMEMBERS: Steed Smith OFFICERS: J. Turner Bob Tavenner Kevin Evans, City Manager Mickey Evans Jim Willett Danna Welter, City Secretary Judy Kayse Mac Woodward Thomas Leeper, City Attorney Clarence W. Griffin Absent: Jack Choate WORK SESSION [5:00 p.m. — 5:45 p.m.] City Council held a work session and discussed the drainage ordinance and the transportation plan. CALL TO ORDER [6:00 p.m.] Mayor Turner called the regular session to order. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE to US AND TEXAS FLAGS, INVOCATION Ray Black, Director of Parks and Recreation, led the invocation. PUBLIC HEARING (on the proposed Transportation Plan) None. PUBLIC HEARING (on the Amendment to Chapter 10, Section 1004 of the Development Code) None. PUBLIC COMMENTS (Agenda Items Only) None. CONSENTAGENDA a. Approve minutes of August 30 and September 6, 2005. STATUTORY AGENDA a. Authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Abbott, Langer & Associates, Inc. to conduct an organizational study at a cost not to exceed $16,500 to be funded from budgeted funds. Mr. Pena stated that notices were sent to various consulting firms in early August requesting proposals be submitted to conduct an organizational study. The object of the study is a comprehensive operational effectiveness review of the entire organization, including: • Determining operational effectiveness of the City's organizational structure; • Identifying opportunities for reorganizing City operations where appropriate, including outsourcing certain functions if applicable; and • Identifying potential cost savings opportunities through operational redesign, creation or elimination of certain positions, or other improvements. The consulting firm chosen would provide written documentation of findings and proposed solutions, to include: • Evaluation of current organizational structure and operational effectiveness; • Recommended solutions, where appropriate, to improve efficiency and effectiveness in organizational structure and staffing, service improvements and information systems; and Identification of potential cost savings to be achieved through implementation of recommendations. •Responses were due by close of business on Monday, August 29, 2005. Five responses were received. Staff has reviewed and recommend award of this contract to Abbott Langer & Associates, Inc. given (1) the scope of services to be provided, (2) total cost, and (3) time frame in which the project will be completed. Mayor Turner asked if members of Council that had questions at the previous meeting had their concerns addressed. Councilmembers responded in the affirmative. b. Approve Ordinance 2005 -09- 20.01, adopting the Employee Policies and Procedures. Mr. Pena stated that the past few amendments to the current "Personnel Rules" have been minor. The need for a complete review and overhaul of the Personnel Rules led to the creation of the much more comprehensive "Employee Policies and Procedures ", which sets forth the steps necessary to comply with the policies outlined. The current manual provides some policy guidance, but most of the interpretation is left to individual departments and is not unified. The proposed manual would not only provide these steps, but also bring the city into compliance with several State and /or Federal guidelines that have changed in recent years. i I I CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 BOOK T' 253 It was noted that these policies will be changed by Ordinance as needed. Councilmember Woodward made a motion to approved Ordinance 2005-09-20.01 adopting the Employee Policies and Procedures and Councilmember Kayse seconded the motion The motion passed unanimously. C. Approve Ordinance 2005 -09 -20.2 amending Title 7, Tow Trucks. Sergeant Gary Howze stated that the tow truck ordinance was revised in 2003 to require wrecker companies to upgrade their equipment. The fees charged by the wrecker companies were increased to allow for these upgrades as well as to compensate for increased insurance costs. Additional revisions were adopted at this time to streamline regulation of wrecker companies and to bring the ordinance in line with city procedures and practices. The recommended changes listed below were missed during the 2003 revision. HUNTSVILLE MUNICIPAL CODE Title 7 Recommended Revisions Page 6 Section 7.01.07 Fees Charged by Permitted Wrecker Company Increase storage fees from $15 to $20 for vehicles not longer than 25 feet. Adopt storage fees of $35 for vehicles longer than 25 feet. Both adopted by 79 'ft Legislature i7B 4801 Page 9 Section 7.01.12 Removal of Vehicles from Private Property A. Change owner of vehicle to owner of property. A. 3. Change permit holder to wrecker company. Page 9. Section 7.01.13 Uses of Tow Truck w/o Permit Prohibited A. Add police directed. Councilmember Smith made a motion to approved Ordinance 2005-09-20.2 amending Title 7 Tow Trucks. and Councilmember Griffin seconded the motion The motion passed unanimously. d. Authorize the payment of annual dues in the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway Coalition at a cost not to exceed $12,122.67 to be funded from budgeted funds. Mr. Evans stated that participation in this coalition had previously been approved by the City Council, but funding was inadvertently left out of this year's budget. Budgeted funds would be used to cover this expense. e. Approve the abandonment and relocation of the public utility easement as indicated on the Final Plat for Sterling University Brook, Section 2, as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Section 2 is the continuation of development on the unrestricted 11.86 ac. reserve tract of Section 1 and is proposed to be developed with160 multi - family units. Access for the development will be off the proposed extension of Boettcher Drive which will be extended through the tract to provide connectivity from State Hwy. 75 South to Old Houston Road. The right of way was dedicated in the first phase. Access will not be available off Hwy. 75 or Hwy. 19. All the utilities will be internal to the development with water and sanitary sewer extensions to be constructed to provide utility service to each building in the development. Drainage easements with varying widths continue from the first phase across the tract. Public improvement construction plans have been approved by the City Engineer. As part of the development a 20' public utility easement will be moved from the interior of the property to a 10' public utility easement along the Hwy. 75 frontage. The area is zoned Management District and the development is consistent with the requirements of that district. f. Approve Ordinance 2005 -09 -20.3 amending Chapter 10 of the Development Code as recommended by the Planning & Zoning Commission. A number of areas in the city have experienced small area drainage problems over the years. Many of these issues deal with single lot developments. Our drainage policies come from the Development Code, the Building Code, and a series of Best Management Practices adopted elsewhere. Currently, the Development Code is vague on addressing single lot developments and drainage issues. This amendment seeks to simply clarify the requirements of single lot development with regards to drainage. This amendment was adopted by the Planning & Zoning Commission on August 15, 2005. g. Approve Ordinance 2005 -09 -20.4 amending the ordinance for Food and Food Establishments to add fees for re- inspections and pre- openings. When a routine inspection is performed on a food establishment, an inspection score is developed. If the inspection score is above 20, a re- inspection is required. The re- inspection typicallytakes more time when compared to re- inspections of establishments below 20 because numerous problems must be corrected and inspected. It is recommended that a re- inspection fee of $55 be added to the ordinance. CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 BOOK "T" 254 Whenever a new food establishment or remodel of a food service establishment is proposed, plans must be submitted to the health division for review and approval. After construction, state and local health codes require a pre- opening inspection prior to opening to the public. Currently, there are no fees associated with plan reviews and pre- opening inspections. It is recommended that a pre- opening inspection fee of $60 be added to the ordinance. Estimated revenue for re- inspections fees will be $5,200 per year. Estimated revenue for pre- opening fees will be $1,800 per year. After a discussion on the fees and impact on businesses a motion was made. h. Approve Ordinance 2005 -09 -20.5 amending Title 9, Building and Building Regulations to require a registration and fee for plumbers, air conditioner companies, irrigators and residential home contractors. At this time, contractors performing the above mentioned trades are not required to register with the City. The City of Huntsville is one of only a few cities that do not require contractors to be registered each year along with a fee associated with registration. Requiring contractors to register yearly will allow a check of each contractor to make sure that all applicable licenses, insurance and registrations are current. Also, a registration list can then be given out to citizens of all contractors registered with the City to perform the various work. Citizens frequently ask for lists of contractors. This will also insure that only contractors that are in good standing will be shown on the lists. The recommended registration fee is $60 for all trades except forjourneyman's plumber's license which is recommended to be $12. Estimated revenue for registrations of all the above mentioned trades will be $12,000 per year. i. Approve Ordinance 2005 -09 -20.6 amending the Schedule of Fees for public improvement permits to be 3 percent of the valuation of the proposed public improvements. According to the current Schedule of Fees, a Public Improvement Permit is a "No Fee" permit. Astudy was conducted by City staff analyzing six projects that contained public improvements such as water, sewer and streets. The study indicated that the inspection costs were about 3 percent of the total cost of the projects. State law requires that all engineering construction is to be executed under the direct supervision of a licensed professional engineer. This means inspection of public improvement projects is mandatory by State law. Some cities allow private inspections to be performed with a licensed engineer certifying the work when completed. The cost of the inspection work is paid by the developer. Private engineering firms typically charge an hourly rate plus expenses to cover inspection costs. Hourly rates typically range from $55 to $65 per hour. This would equate to a cost that would be 5 percent and higher. Estimated revenue for a 3 percent fee would be $40,000 to $50,000 per year. The actual number would depend on the amount of actual development. j. Approve amendment to, modification of, or replacement of interlocal agreement with Walker County for evacuee transitional housing, and direct the Director of Finance to authorize expenditures as necessary. Mr. Leeper stated that the interlocal agreement is being amended to conform with FEMA standards for reimbursement. MAYOR 1 COUNCILMEMBER / CITY MANAGER REPORT a. Update on pending or contemplated litigation. b. Update on land acquisition. C. Discuss Board and Commission and other appointments. These items were not discussed. PUBLIC COMMENTS Bridget Lewis. Ms. Lewis stated that she was an evacuee from New Orleans and asked about transitional housing. Ms. Lewis was referred to Mr. Mark Leonard and Mr. Scott Atnip. MEDIA Tom Waddill of the Huntsville Item stated that this would be his last meeting as he would be going back to Sports, and " thanked Council for their participation during the past few years.,i ADJOURNMENT [7:22 p.m.] I 11