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CITY COUNCIL REGULAR SESSION
MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2000
MUNICIPAL BUILDING COUNCIL CHAMBERS
3800 UNIVERSITY BOULEVARD
7:30 P.M.
The City Council convened in Regular Session in the Municipal Building Council
Chambers on January 24, 2000, with the following members present: Mayor Lewis
presiding, Council Members Ballanfant, Bertini, Grubb and May. The City Manager,
City Secretary, City Attorney, Public Works Director and Utilities Superintendent were
also present.
The notice for this meeting was posted.in accordance with the Texas Government Code,
Chapter 551, on the 21 5t day of January 2000 at 4:30 p.m.
Recoe:nition of Whitt F. Johnson.
The City Council made a presentation honoring Whitt F. Johnson.
Citizen Comments.
Mayor Lewis invited citizens who wished to address the City Council to come forward as
their names were called.
Joe Studlick, 5321 Sewanee, expressed his concern about the Lovett development at the
corner of Bissonnet and Weslayan. He stated that METRO has a bus stop in the middle
of the block with no access to it. He requested that the City Staff investigate the
situation.
Arthur L. Hirdler, 6416 Community Drive, presented a letter dated January 24, 2000
relating to storm sewer drainage in West University Place. He also requested that the
City Council write a letter in support of Council Member Bertini's letter to Michael
Talbott of the Harris County Flood Control District.
Rick Jenkins, 3903 Marlowe, presented a request for expenditures for the Recycling and
Solid Waste Reduction Board:
2001 Houston Marathon.
Matters related to the 2001 Houston Marathon scheduled for January 14,2001.
Members of the Houston Marathon committee present at the meeting were John Stokes
and David Hannah, Jr.
i Mr. Stokes thanked the City Council for allowing the race to run through the streets of
West University Place and requested authorization forthe 2001 race.
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City Council Regular SesSnin, January 24, 2000
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A motion was made by Council Member May, seconded by Council Member Grubb, to
authorize the Houston Marathon to run through the City on January 14,2001 after the
necessary permits are filed with the Police Department.
A vote was taken on the motion with the following result:
Voting Aye:
Mayor Lewis, Council Members Ballanfant, Bertini, Grubb
and May
None
None
Voting Nay:
Absent:
Water Wise Education Pro!!:ram.
Matters related to the City's participation in the Harris Galveston Coastal Subsidence
District Water Wise Education Program.
Utilities Superintendent Patrick Walters reported that funding provided under this
program will sponsor 174 students at West University Elementary School to participate in
a special water conservation education program. The cost of sponsorship is $31.50 per
student. In addition to classroom training, each student receives a WaterWise kit
providing the students with hands on . learning activities. The kit includes a low flow
showerhead, two low flow faucet aerators, experiments centered on water conservation,
and a CDROM computer game that supports computer skills in a fun, exciting, and
innovative way. The game involves a virtual house and the making of wise choices about
water and energy. The City's participation will help prepare fourth grade students with a
new attitude about water and conservation. The City participated in this program in
1999. The cost to participate in the program is $5,481.00 and is provided for in the 2000
budget.
The City will receive groundwater credits from the Subsidence District for participating
in this program at the rate of 84,000 gallons per student sponsored. This will give the
city a total of 14,616,000 gallons of groundwater credit. The groundwater credits can be
used to offset surface water purchases. The ground water credits expire after 40 years if
not used.
A motion was made by Council Member Bertini, seconded by Council Member May, to
accept the staff's recommendation to sponsor the WaterWise program at West U
Elementary School with an expenditure of$5,481.00.
A vote was taken on the motion with the following result:
Voting Aye:
Voting Nay:
Absent:
Mayor Lewis, Council Members Ballanfant, Bertini, Grubb
and May
None
None
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City Council Regular SesSwb, January 24, 2000
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Purchase of Eauipment for the Public Works Department.
Matters related to the purchase of equipment through the Houston Galveston Area
Council to be used in the Public Works Department.
Public - Works Director Ed Menville reported that the city staff has identified the
following equipment needs:
· Water Jet powered sewer-cleaning equipment. This is a truck -mounted unit and
would replace an existing 1988 unit. The cost of ownership of the existing unit is
increasing considerably. The City spent over $8,000 in 1999 on maintenance repairs.
The vendor for this equipment is Underground, Inc. and the cost is $78,436.19.
. 2000 Ford Super Duty F450 w/Dump Bed. This would replace a 1998 dump truck
used by Street Division of Public Works Department. The vendor for this equipment
is Philpott Motors Company and the cost is $36,270.18.
· Garbage Truck, Drop Frame Side Loader Volvo WX. This would replace a 1986
truck used by Solid Waste Division of the Public Works Department. The vendor for
this equipment is Lone Star Truck Center and the cost is $119,605.46.
· Two-Way radios, Motorola radios for all of Public Works. New radios required to
work with the Harris County radio system. The vendor for this equipment is
Motorola, Inc. and the cost is $49,574.82.
. Video Camera Equipment for inspection of sewer mains and taps. This is a new piece
of equipment to be used for preventive and diagnostic maintenance of the sewer
system. The City currently rents or hires out the video inspections. The cost of hiring
out the video inspection is approximately $800 to $1000 per day. The new video
equipment will serve about 90% of our needs and will pay for itself within 2.5 years.
This equipment will continue to be used for maintenance inspections and as a
customer service tool for many years after the older sewers are isolated. The vendor
for this equipment is Underground, Inc. and the cost is $35,543.96.
Funding for the new and replacement equipment was provided in the year 2000 budget.
This expenditure is for $319,430.61. These items are to be purchased from a master bid
developed by the Houston-Galveston Area Council through an inter-local government
agreement. This equipment has been bid competitively under this master contract.
A motion was made by Council Member Ballanfant, seconded by Council Member
Bertini, to authorize the staff to purchase the equipment through the inter-local agreement
with HGAC.
A vote was taken on the motion with the following result:
Voting Aye:
Mayor Lewis, Council Members Ballanfant, Bertini, Grubb
and May
None
None
Voting Nay:
Absent:
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City Council Regular Ses~cffi, January 24, 2000
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Renovation of Water Storae-e Tank.
Matters related to the award of a professional services contract for the renovation of the
0.5 million gallon water storage tank located on Milton Street.
Mr. Walters reported that this agreement would provide engineering for water tank
rehabilitation for two tanks. The 0.4 million-gallon tank at the corner of Milton Street
and College Avenue will require -lead abatement procedures to be developed, piping
modifications, sandblasting and painting on the interior and exterior. The 0.5 million-
gallon tower at Wakeforest andWesfPark will require pressure washing and painting.
The location of the tower will require that the tank be shrouded during the cleaning and
painting. The tanks will be painted the same color as used on the 1.5 million-gallon tank
at the Milton Street Water Plant. The West U logo will also be painted on the tanks.
The engineer will prepare specifications, drawings, bid documents and contract
documents for these repairs. He will provide on-site inspections during construction and
a warranty inspection -II months after acceptance to monitor requirements with the one-
year maintenance bond.
City staff has negotiated a professional services agreement with Jimmy Dunham, PE for
the services outlined above. Mr. Dunham has several years in the steel water tank-
engineering field and has perforrnedexcellent work in the past for the City. Previous
work includes tank _and tower inspections, engineering for rehabilitation on the 1.5
million-gallon ground storage tank on Milton Street, and inspection of construction of
Wakeforest Tower. The estimated cost of these services is $27,500. Funding for this
activity was provided for in the 2000 budget.
A motion was made by Council Member Grubb, seconded by Council Member Bertini, to
award a professional services agreement with Jimmy Dunham, PE in the amount of
$27,500 for the renovation ofthewatefstorage tank.
A vote was taken on the motion with the following result:
Voting Aye:
Mayor Lewis, Council Members Ballanfant, Bertini, Grubb
and May
None
None
V oting Nay:
Absent:
Bid Award for Prioritv Area 7 A.
Matters related toa bid award for the reconstruction of Priority Area7A.
Mr; Menvillereported that the construction of Priority Area 7 A represents the next area
to be improved using 1998 Public Improvement Bonds. The bonds are a combination of
General Obligation (street and drainage) and Revenue Bonds (water and sewer).
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City Council Regular SesifuJn, January 24,2000
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The following bids were received:
Bidder
Bid Amount
Contractor Technology, Inc.
Bearden Contracting- Company
Whitelak, Inc.
Texas-Sterling Construction, Inc.
Zakhem-AJS Construction Group, Inc.
$5,717,616.22
$5,745,642.00
$5,843,806.25
$6,085,098.00
$7,853,845.00
The apparent low bid is lower than the engineer's estimate by $208,780. Under State law,
bids are to be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.
Mr. Menville stated that the staff recommends that the City Council award the bid for
infrastructure improvements in Priority Area 7A to Contractor Technology Inc.
A motion was made by Council Member May, seconded by Mayor Lewis, to award a
contract to Contractor Technology, Inc. in the amount of $5,717,616.22 for the
construction of Priority Area 7 A.
Council Member Bertini commented that he felt compelled to vote for the motion on the
basis of the staff recommendation and the state law, however he was not happy to do so
based on the multiple citizen complaints that have been written to him both by fax, mail,
registered mail and email. He stated that unfortunately, there was no latitude for him to
do anything but to vote for the motion.
Council Member Grubb commented that he planned to vote for the motion but with great
reservations. He stated that he happen to live in the existing area and it would be very
difficult to go back four or five months ago when there was virtually no supervision of
the construction crews. Council Member Grubb stated that he also received numerous
complaints. The city invoked a clause requiring that the contractor replace the job
superintendent and as soon as that was done there was an instant improvement. He stated
that his reservation is that the contractor needs to make certain that they maintain a high
degree of on the sight supervision.
Council Member May commented that the City Council was obviously authorizing the
contract with reservations. He requested that the city staff pass along the comments of
Council to the contractor. If the work on this next project does not improve or come up
to the standards of the city's engineers, then the contractor should not be allowed to bid
future work.
A vote was taken on the motion with the following result:
Voting Aye: Mayor Lewis, Council Members Ballanfant, Bertini, Grubb
and May
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City Council Regular Se~Sn,fi, January 24, 2000
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Voting Nay: None
i\bsent: ~one
Hirint!: of Additional Police Officers.
Matters related to a report - from the City Staff on the status of hiring three additional
police officers.
City Manager Sherman YeW reported that the adopted 2000 budget calls for the addition
of three police officers. The Staff and the new Police Chief certainly recognize the
importance that Council and the community attach to their security and the appropriate
staffing of the police department. And as was shown late last year by a number of
different measurement standards, the department is in fact under strength. However,
when the new Police Chief arrived, the staff initially made a decision to fill an existing
vacancy in the department and one of the three newly created positions immediately and
defer the filling of the two remaining positions until later this year.
Mr. YeW stated that there was several reasons for this decision. First, given the extensive
nature of the training and the limited number of training officers, four new officers in
training at the same time would test the limits of the current program. Two officer
trainees is optimum. Secondly, the city had a very small applicant pool when recruiting
began. Only eleven applications were received and only nine met the minimum
qualifications. Six candidates passed-the written test but only three of those six passed
the oral interview board and there were serious reservations with one of the three.
Conditional job offers have been made to the top two candidates. If they pass the post-
offer polygraph, psychological evaluation, and physical, they should be on board by mid
to late February.
Finally, it was staffs understanding that the City would seek funding through the federal
program called COPS and receive a grant for two of the three new positions. Congress
has funded the COPS program and the Department of Justice is to make an
announcement soon regarding the availability of funding. The application package is
completed and is ready to be submitted in anticipation of funding availability. - Hiring
officers at this time eliminates use of this program as funding can not be used
retroactively.
Mr. YeW stated that based on the reasons outlined above, the Staff believes a prudent
staffing plan has been established. i\ll positions authorized will be filled during this
budget year.
Council Member Grubb commented that he was a strong advocate of increasing the
police department. He stated that he had presented some statistics back in October that
showed rougWy that West University has about 50% fewer police officers than
comparable cities. When the City Council approved the hiring of three new police
officers, there was absolutely no condition that this was contingent upon federal funds.
The money is appropriated for the entire year.
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City Council Regular Se&:.-."m, January 24,2000
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Council Member Grubb stated that he found out for the first time last week that the
decision had already been made to go against the will of the Council which, was to hire
new police officers. He stated that he understood the importance of bringing in qualified
people but if the action is deferred to wait for federal funding, it may be several years
before the police officers are hired and this is not sufficient.
A motion was made by Council Member Grubb, seconded by Council Member Bertini, to
instruct the City management to hire all three new police officers by May 1, 2000 and if
this can not be done by May 1 to report back to the City Council as to why it can not be
done.
Council Member Ballanfant asked Council Member Grubb if he was instructing the
Police Chief to hire someone he felt was unqualified.
Council Member Grubb stated no that he was not instructing the Police Chief to hire
someone that was not qualified and that is why he put in his motion to have the staff to
report back to_Council if they are unable to hire police officers by May 1.
Mayor Lewis commented that she has not felt that there was any disagreement about the
hiring procedures. The City Council did instruct the staff to hire three additional police
officers however, her impression was that the hiring would take place over the course of
the year, giving the new Police Chief - an opportunity to evaluate the needs of his
department. She stated that at a previous meeting when the COPS funding was
discussed, they agreed to have some opportunity to apply for the grant before hiring
police. She stated that on Monday, January 31, the city has METRO police who.will start
to enforce traffic laws on their bus routes which, at no cost to the city but with every
benefit and will give the city more police on the street.
Mayor Lewis stated that she was certainly not in opposition of Council Member Grubb's
proposal for hiring new police but that she did not feel any pressure to hire police by May
1. She stated that it was much more important to heed the advice of the Police Chief and
Staff and hire the best people.
Council Member Bertini stated that if he understood the motion, all that is really being
asked for is a report by May 1 and if qualified candidates come forward and can be hired
then they will be hired. So, he did not think that the motion he would be voting for
compels the staff to do anything against good governing principles.
Mayor Lewis stated that the motion does possibly negate the possibility of getting
funding.
Council Member Bertini stated that the motion did not preclude that either because the
staff could return to Council for the authorization to proceed with the COPS funding.
Council Member Ballanfant inquired about the time period for COPS funding.
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City Council Regular Sessl:On, January 24, 2000
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The City Manager replied that hebelieved the time period for COPS funding was three
years.
Council Member Bertini asked Council Member Grubb if his motion prohibits the pursuit
of the COPS funding.
Council Member Grubb replied no that his motion did not prohibit the pursuit of the
COPS funding. The city can apply for those funds at anytime.
Council Member May commented that the Council would be micromanaging to establish
a process of telling the Police Chief of when to hire the new officers and that the Council
should lean on his expertise in that area. He stated that he felt the motion was
unnecessary.
Mayor Lewis called for a vote on the motion.
A vote was taken on the motion with the following result:
Voting Aye:
Voting Nay:
Absent:
Council Members Ballanfant, Bertini, Grubb and May
Mayor Lewis
None
The motion passed.
Citv Council minutes.
Matters related to the minutes of the Special and Regular Sessions conducted on January
10,2000 and Special Session conducted on January 17,2000.
A motion was made by CoUncil Member May, seconded by Council Member Bertini, to
approve the minutes as presented.
A vote was taken on the motion with the following result:
Voting Aye:
Mayor Lewis, Council Members Ballanfant, Bertini, Grubb
and May
None
None
Voting Nay:
Absent:
Council Comments:
Council Member Bertini commented that the Traffic Task Force would be meeting at 7
p.m. on Wednesday.
Adiournment:
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City Council Regular Sess:ron, January 24, 2000
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With no further business to come before the City Council at this time, a motion was made
by Council Member Bertini, seconded by Council Member May, to adjourn. The Regular
Session adjourned at8:12 p;m.
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