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MIN CC 11/20/1990CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 20, 1990 BOOK ..a. 255 MINUTES OF THE HUNTSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON THE 20TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 1990 IN THE CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 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 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. Ruth DeShaw, City Secretary WiLLiam L. Hammock CONVENE FORMAL MEETING Mayor Monday called the formal meeting to order and then recessed the meeting into an Executive Session to discuss real estate acquisition matters, as follows: easement and /or lot condemnation in Pine Shadows - -FM 1374 for utilities /drainage from Charles M. Smither, Jr. No other items were discussed and no action was taken in this executive session. FORMAL MEETING RECONVENED Mayor Pro Tem Howard then reconvened the formal session. He introduced members of his family who were present. He then presented the invocation. CONSIDER THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING Mayor Monday made the motion to approve the minutes of the meeting of November 13 1990 and Councilmember Gaines seconded the motion. ALL were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. ' CONSIDER BIDS Consider bids to rent 80.03 acres north of Huntsville Municipal Airport as pasture to Willie H WiLLlams in the amount of $700 per year for a period of five years. Mr. Pipes then presented the bids received, ranging from $300 to $700 per year. He advised this 80.03 acres of land was acquired by the City in 1982 for protection of the airport's northern landing operations. Since that time, he noted, the city has leased the land to private irdividuaLs for pasture Land as the most economical method of maintenance. He then recommended acceptance of the bid from Willie H. WiLliams for $700 per year for five years. Councilmember Green made the motion to approve of this lease agreement and Mayor Monday seconded the motion. ALl were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. CONSIDER ARTS CONTRACTS Lecture-Demonstrations in Dance- -SHSU: $1.500: Musical Performances by Huntsville Children's Choir- $2-500 and Innovative Playground by HISD: $1.275 Mr. Pipes presented these contracts as captioned and requested the Council's consideration. Councilmember Green made the motion to approve of all three contracts as presented and Mayor Monday seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously CONSIDER AIR PACKS FOR FIRE DEPARTMENT Consider bid for air Packs for the Fire Department to Casco Industries Inc in the amount of S9.694- as budgeted. Mr. Pipes advised it is the city's intention to purchase six new self - contained breathing apparatuses (airpacks and bottles). He advised a total of four bids were mailed out, two bidders declined to submit a bid and the lone bidder is Casco Industries, Inc, in the amount of $9,694.00. He advised this bid is very competitive based on the estimates received at budget time. He recommended its approval. Councilmember Bell made the motion to approve of this bid as Presented and CounciLmember Gaines seconded the motion ' Discussion: Councilmember Knotts asked if the city is writing its specifications too restrictive on this, noting the city has a lot of one bid items. He said maybe our specifications are being written around their product too much and the others are not able to bid. Mr. Pipes said the four bidders had access to comparable equipment or this equipment itself; why they declined to bid, he did not know. Councilmember Knotts asked if we specified Casco's equipment or equal? Mr. Pipes said the city does in some instances when it is a matter of some common bench mark, but in this particular situation, it is a matter of a valve, a tank, and the apparatus is just not that unique. Mr. Paul Alexander, EMS Director, advised one of the reasons the CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 20, 1990 BOOK "Q" 256 specifications might be designed for one specific product, although Casco is not the sole supplier of that product, is because the city wants to maintain one product line so that if pieces of equipment get miss - matched at a fire, we wouldn't get there and have a mask off of one piece of equipment and have another piece of equipment that is not compatible. Councilmember Knotts said perhaps rather than a purchase /bid action, we may need to look at a purchase and a maintenance item, instead of rebidding to buy new equipment, especially if we are going to stay with one type of equipment; He said we might do that cheaper on a maintenance program. Mr. Pipes said we can took at that in the future. Mayor Monday asked what the budgeted amount was for this item. Mr. Pipes said he will provide that number to her at a later time. All were in favor of the motion on the floor and it passed unanimously. CONSIDER ORDINANCES Consider ordinance authorizing the City Attorney to make an offer for the acquisition of interests and property required for public utility and drainage purposes Mr. Pipes then presented this ordinance, the caption of which is as follows: ORDINANCE NO. 90 -29 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE CITY ATTORNEY TO MAKE AN OFFER FOR THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE FOR THE ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN INTERESTS IN PROPERTIES THAT ARE REQUIRED FOR PUBLIC UTILITY AND DRAINAGE PURPOSES; DIRECTING THE CITY ATTORNEY TO INSTITUTE CONDEMNATION PROCEEDINGS IN THE EVENT SUCH OFFER IS REFUSED; AND PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE HEREOF. Mr. Pipes said this offer is agreeable to the property owner. He recommended that the Council authorize the City Attorney to offer $9,500 for fee simple acquisition of a lot and a 20 foot utility easement from Mr. Charles Smither, Jr. by adoption of this ordinance. Councilmember Barrett made the motion to approve of this . ordinance as described above and Councilmember Bell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion) asked unanimous) CONSIDER CENTRAL DISPATCH LOCATION Receive report of joint law enforcement and emergency services committee on a proposed Central Dispatch plan and center location and consider authorization to proceed with interlocal governmental agreement and facility plans Mr. Pipes advised about two years ago, the City began work on an enhanced 911 system at the request of the Regional Council of Governments, H -GAC. He said this implementation program was begun, committees were formed involving all of the emergency and law enforcement services in the county. He said Huntsville had a 911 system for many, many years, but other parts of the county were not so fortunate. He said there was some coordination problems between intercity calls and out-of-city calls regarding law enforcement. He said the improved 911 system gave the city and county the opportunity to talk about accomplishment of a goal they have had for a number of years in the general realm of city- county governmental cooperation. He said they have had joint city- county EMS and hospital district supervision and joint support and independent operational supervision of EMS by those entities. He said the city and county also contract for joint fire service. He said we now have the opportunity to consider central dispatch for city and county law enforcement. Emergency vehicles being dispatched from one location seems to be a logical outgrowth of the enhanced 911 effort, Pipes noted. Mr. Pipes said a decision was required in the summer about whether to order two sets of equipment for j the city and the county. He said a preliminary decision was made then by Commissioner's Court and City Council that one set of equipment would be sufficient and that they would endeavor in the meantime to meld these two �I operations together in order to achieve an improved product and a more efficient and economical operation, in addition to receiving the efficiency and enhancement of service from the 911 effort in the combined dispatch services. He said the next logical step is to consider location of the facility. He said the city-s water tower was considered initially, however, preliminary cost figures reveal that location to be too expensive. He said the primary consideration was an independent operation working in an independent facility. He said the water tower conversion costs were considerable factors in the determination. He said estimated costs, just for the remodeling, came in around $30,000, plus moving costs, which is quite expensive and would require a couple of years before any real cost efficiencies would be realized in the city- county combined operation. CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 20, 1990 BOOK "D" 257 He said the staff began to look at other locations. He said a concern was having a dispatch servic in a remote location in an situation where we would have to activate the city's emergency operations center He said it would be difficult to communicate if dispatch is on one side of town and the Police Department i downtown and the Sheriff's Department is on the north side of town. He said it would seem to be ver inefficient in emergency situations. He said all of these things went into the recomendations presented E Lt. Larry McDoug Le, for the use of the Municipal Courtroom for the location of the central dispatch service He said this courtroom, which is an adjunct and part of the Municipal Court Building, is the best possibl Location; it is not the only location, but the city believes it to be the best location for this particula facility because it is central and segregated from the operations of the Police Department. He said the publi recognizes the separation, so independent supervision of dispatch by a third party supervisory board would b easily accomplished. He said many, many businesses and agencies share office space in the facilities throug lease or agreements frequently, and there is never any indication of relationship between them even though the are in the same facility. He said this particular location would mean that if we were to have a substantia emergency and declare the emergency operations center open, it would undoubtedly fit and operate very easil because we have standby power already in the Police Station. There is also, he said, open space that could b used to assemble the Sheriff -a Department, the Fire Department, the EMS staff, all the command staff, an everyone necessary to respond to the emergency in the most effective manner in the Police Department and hav dispatch just down the hall. Mr. Pipes then presented the plans and the cost analyses of the work needing to be done. He said there is a considerable savings at this location in the front end remodeling and construction costs. He said if the Council is interested, the staff will provide a detailed explanation of what this all entails. He said other than that, he considers this an administrative matter at this point. He said he looks to the Council for guidance on a recommendation or a concurrence in the staff's recommendation so that the staff can proceed on two fronts: 1) to have the City Attorney draw up and begin work on the interlocal government contract that would join city and county together for independent supervision of the dispatch operation; and 2) that the Council would agree that the Courtroom presently in -place in the MunicipaL Justice Center, is a suitable location for dispatch. He said the City Council Chambers will be used for court on Thursdays, which was one of its former locations, unless the city can effect some other more desirable alternative. He said it would require some logistical. adjustments on court dates for the police officers coming to testify and daily traffic to turn in tickets, etc. He said this building has restroom facilities and superior parking. He said he does not have all the answers or the bugs worked out on what to do with the court facilities in Locating the administrative section at City Hall. He said it is not that difficult to rearrange and move folks around in order to accomplish that in the most efficient manner. He said he will be working on this and will bring beck a report later. He said he is looking for the Council's agreement and concurrence in this overall plan that the Court would be relocated from the Municipal Justice Center to City Hall in some office configuration and Court will be held in the Council Chambers. He said the memorial for Martin Colley would accompany that move of the court and we will make space on one of these walls for the memorabilia that Mr. Colley left behind as the Municipal Court Judge for the Courtroom named in his honor. He said it will make better use of the available space here in City Hatt on Thursdays. Councilmember Green said if we are going to be dealing with the costs for the entire project, we would also be Looking at what costs would be incurred in this building, if any, for the relocation and what other administrative costs might be associated with the separation of the Police Department from the court system. Mr. Pipes said the administrative costs in relationship to the police and courts is exceedingly minimal. He said the sergeant on each shift can pick up the tickets from the preceding shifts and bring them over to the court and file them easily because they are out on the streets all the time anyway. Councilmember Green said ' he assumes the payment of fines will take place at City Hall so that we are talking about a considerable increase in the amount of in -and- out - traffic in this building. He said he still has trouble coming to grips with where that is going to be located. Mr. Pipes said the city has quite a bit of citizen traffic in this building every day with the utility billing, tax office and the permits at the other end of the building. CouncUmember Green suggested the drive -in window may serve this purpose well. Mr. Pipes said if it were not for the co- mingling or the appearance of revenue producing functions of the city -- utility billing and fines- - that would work very well. He said he is a little sensitive to that because obviously that is not the purpose CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 20, 1990 BOOK "0" 258 of the courts or the poLice. He said somewhere else in this building would not be a particular disruption and he believes that some of the offices could simply be moved around and space be made available without particuLar remodeling costs. He said that particular effect will be exceedingly minor. Obviously, he said, there wilt be some public adjustment and some operations adjustments can be made wherever the court is located Mr. Pipes noted the Court could function at the Service Center, but he did not like the idea of a non - central location for that reason. He said the city could share courtroom space with Walker County since the J.P. Courts and the Walker County Court- at-Law and District Courts already use those rooms. Councilmember Green said his preference would be that the City Manager have all of that in one proposal before the council agrees to do that. He said he is uncomfortable with "the maybe it will be here or maybe it will be there, or maybe it will be at the Service Center." He said he would like something a bit more concrete. Mr. Pipes said he can appreciate that. He said the policy matters that are concrete at the present time concern the location of the courtroom, which is the public aspect. If the Council has an objection, he said, there would not be any point in proceeding further. Councilmember Green said he does not object to that, but it was not long ago that the City had some concern about adequate space in this building for just the Finance Department and now we seem to have more than we need. Mr. Pipes said it wilt require moving some additional personnel around in the city organization, perhaps some to the Service Center, perhaps some to other locations. He certainly did not want to affect anyone's efficiency or operations, but the Court and the administration part of the Court need to be in somewhat close proximity. At the present time, he noted, we have a number of functions spread out between the City Hall and the Service Center that could be conveniently associated at thel Service Center. i Mayor Monday said the city is already set up to receive money from fees and permits in the west wing, of City Hatt and it may be that this area will lend itself, since money is collected there, to facilitate that) with some office space being gained there. Mr. Pipes felt this is the logical area because the city does notl want the court operations, particularly, psychologically, related to the utility billing and tax. Councilmember Hammock said what is being requested is that the Council concur with giving up the court space at the Municipal Justice Center for the centraL dispatch'center and to work out the other things if all the other things fall into place. He said it souls like a good idea to him to have the dispatch center where we have the emergency power. Mayor Monday said the city has been looking at compacting and unifying the county and city's dispatch for a number of years in the name of efficiency and joint operations. She congratulated the Police Department, Sheriff's Department, and Lt. McDougle for their hard work because they have brought together something that has been envisioned in Walker County for six years or so. She said it has been a lot' of work under the leadership of Chief Eckhardt and Sheriff Myers. She noted hours and hours have been spentl to put this project together and they have looked at pilots across the state. She felt Huntsville and Walkerl County will be in the lead in technology in the state with this concept. She said if we can tell Mr. Pipes that we agree in concept, then he can work out the details. Councilmember Bell said he agrees with Councilmember Hammock and thinks it is an excellent idea and would like to see the City move forward. Mr. Pipes said the staff will than proceed in this manner. � MAYOR'S ACTIVITY REPORT --JANE MONDAY Consider Arts Commission Appointments Mayor Monday presented, for re- appointment, the names of Betty Herlong as a Commissioner for another three year term [1990 - 19931, and Ms. LuEtLen Gibbs as an advisory member for another two year term [1990- 19927. She then submitted names for new appointments to the advisory board, as follows: Mr. Dan Phillips, Melissa Williams, and Clemente Rodriquez for two year terms [1990.1992] to replace outgoing advisory members, Dr. James Peterson [1986- 19901, Ms. Lynn Kelly 11986 -19901 and Mrs. ELLen Goad [1986- 1990]. Councilmember Barrett made the motion to approve of these appointments and Councilmember Gaines seconded the motion All were in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Lion's Club Christmas Parade -- November 29 Mayor Monday reminded the Council of the Lion's Club Christmas Parade on November 29 at 6:45 P.M. She ICI asked the Councilmembers who can participate by riding in the parade to contact Mrs. DeShaw. Adjournment November 20, 1990 esp�ctfully bmi t� uth DeShaw, my Secretar