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HomeMy WebLinkAbout042709R CC MinThe City of West University Place (rwl A Neighborhood City CITY COUNCIL STAFF Bob Kelly, Mayor Michael Ross, City Manager Bob Fry, Councilmember Alan Petrov, City Attorney Phyllis Cohen, Councilmember Thelma Lenz, City Secretary Chuck Guffey, Councilmember CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES City Council of the City of West University Place, Texas, met in special session Monday, April 27, 2009, in the Municipal Building, 3800 University Boulevard, West University Place, Texas beginning at 6:15 p.m. to consider the following: Council and staff in attendance: Mayor Kelly, Mayor Pro Tern Fry, and Councilmember Cohen, City Manager Ross, City Secretary Lenz, City Attorney Petrov, ACM/Public Works Director Peifer, City Planner Scarcella, and Chief Building Official Brown. WORKSHOP: Mayor Kelly called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m. in the Council Conference Room. Agenda item were as follows: CALL TO ORDER 1. Real Estate: 3936 Marlowe Street: Weslavan Street Matters related to 3936 Marlowe Street and Weslayan Street (from Bissonnet Street to Bellaire Boulevard), including easement and/or right-of-way matters and purchase, exchange, release, lease or value of real property and related issues. At 6:16 p.m. Council convened into closed executive session, pursuant to Section 551.072 of Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code (discussion about the value or transfer of real property and other real estate matters). At 6:30 p.m., Mayor Pro Tern Fry moved to adjourn the closed executive session and reconvene into open session. Councilmember Cohen seconded. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, and Cohen Noes: None Absent: Guffey With no action necessary, Councilmember Cohen moved to close the special meeting. Mayor Pro Tern Fry seconded. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, and Cohen Noes: None Absent: Guffey REGULAR MEETING: Mayor Kelly called the regular meeting to order at approximately 6:35 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Those present at the special meeting were also present at the regular City Council Minutes, April 27, 2009 meeting. In addition, the following were present at the regular meeting: Chief Ken Walker, Fire Chief Ralls, and Parks and Recreation Director O'Connor. Agenda items were as follows: Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Pro Tern Fry Pledge to the Texas Flag led Mayor Pro Tern Fry Notice: Matters related to the notice of this meeting. Notice of the meeting was duly posted in accordance with the Texas Government Code, Chapter 551. 2. Building Safety Week Proclamation Matiters related to proclaiming May 3-9, 2009 as Building Safety Week. After Chief Building Official Brown provided information and background, Councilmember Cohen moved to proclaim May 3-9, 2009 as Building Safety Week. Mayor Pro Tern seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, and Cohen Noes: None Absent: Guffey 3. Public Comments This is an opportunity for citizens to speak to Council relating to agenda or non-agenda items. Speakers are required to address Council at the microphone and give their name and address before addressing their concerns. [Note: State law will not permit the City Council to fully discuss, debate, or consider items that are not on the agenda. Items that cannot be referred to the City Staff for action may be placed on the agenda of a future City Council meeting.] There were no comments from the public. 4. Matters related to the secs relating to Driveway Stubs. of an ordinance amending the Zoning Ordinance City Planner Scarcella presented and discussed some of the issues brought up during the first reading of the ordinance regarding the 50% pervious planting requirement and said that the Zoning and Planning Commission will support pervious pavement without the grass plantings should Council wish to propose that amendment. Councilmember Cohen moved to adopt the ordinance on second and final reading with the change that would omit the requirement of 50% pervious planting. Mayor Pro Tern Fry seconded the motion. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, and Cohen Noes: None Absent: Guffey 5. 2006 International Code Council (ICC) and 2008 National Electric Code (NEC) Codes A. Public Hearing. Matters related to a public hearing to hear comments for or against 2006 ICC Codes, including Appendix P regulations related to residential sprinkler systems, and the 2008 National Electric Code. Chief Building Official Brown and Chief Ralls presented. City Council Minutes, April 27, 2009 Chief Brown explained that this is a normal process that cities go through when adopting and updating the Codes. He said the changes are basically to make sure we have safer structures in the City and to avoid residents and building having to incur unnecessary costs. Bryant Slimp of the Building and Standards Commission spoke to say that the Commission is in agreement with the proposed changes. One of the major changes is to Appendix P, which includes regulations related to residential fires sprinklers. City Manager Ross pointed out that any changes to the regulations would apply only to new homes built after approval of the ordinance. In response to Councilmember Cohen's question about what if a home is being remodeled, Chief Rails said the new code would apply if construction is more than 50% of the entire house. Chief Rails explained that a smoke detector will wake up a resident, but usually the smoke and fire are out of control by then and the resident has to try and get out of the house in all of the confusion; whereas, a sprinkler system will either put the fire out while it's still small or will keep the fire maintained until the fire department can arrive on the scene. In response to Mayor Kelly's questions as to whether other cities have this type of ordinance, Chief Rails stated that Memorial Villages has had one since 1999, Bellaire has had one since 2001 and Southside Place has one in effect since 2004 or 2005. He said it was proposed once before here in the mid 80's but was turned down because of the expense. He said with the changes in technology, the costs have gone down and now costs between $1 and $2 a square foot depending on the contractor and the uniqueness of the individual job. He said insurance companies offer discounts on homeowner's insurance, also, to those with sprinklers. Councilmember Cohen inquired about the cons of having the all the sprinklers go off when it might only be necessary for one to activate. Chief Rails said if installed properly, and staff will see that they are, these sprinklers will be geared toward the source of the heat. He said depending on the size of the fire, it might set off a second sprinkler if the fire is in between two heads. In response to Councilmember Cohen's question as to who might be against this, Chief Rails said builders are pretty much against because of the costs. Chief Falls said safety should outweigh the costs. Chief Rails showed a video by Orange County Fire Department, which demonstrates what can happen to a structure when outfitted with a sprinkler system and what can happen to one that is not. After the video, Mayor Kelly opened the Public Hearing at 7:09 p.m., and with no public comments, the hearing closed at 7:09 p.m. B. Ordinance. Matters related to the 2006 ICC Codes, including Appendix P regulations related to residential sprinkler systems, and the 2008 National Electric Code and the adoption of an ordinance on the first of two readings. Mayor Pro Tem Fry moved to approve the ordinance on the first of two readings. Councilmember Cohen seconded the motion. City Council Minutes, April 27, 2009 Mayor Pro Tem asked that staff publicize this more before the next reading to give people and builders a chance to come forward and speak on the issue. At this, a vote was made on the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, and Cohen Noes: None Absent: Guffey 6. Consent Agenda All Consent Agenda items listed are considered to be routine by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Council member requests in which event the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda. A. City Council Minutes Approve City Council meeting minutes of April 13, 2009. B. Water Conservation Plan Matters related to the second and final reading of an ordinance to adopt the City's Water Conservation Plan. C. Investment Policy Ordinance Matters related to the first reading of an ordinance amending Chapter 2, Article V, Division 3 of the City's Code of Ordinances regarding the City's Investment Policy and repealing Ordinance 1712. D. Investment Policy Resolution Matters related to a resolution adopting the City of West University Place's Investment Policy and Investment Strategies in accordance with the Public Funds Investment Act; designating an investment officer; and providing for the effective date thereof. Mayor Pro Tern Bob Fry moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Phyllis Cohen seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, and Cohen Noes: None Absent: Guffey 7. Receiving of Reports A. Recreational Facilities Update. City Manager Ross provided an update on issues related to the City's Recreational Facilities. He stated that he and staff have had weekly meetings with PGAL and Tellepsen to discuss budget and bids and said he and staff are keeping track. He said bids are coming in under budget, but there is the possibility of two large budget impacts - the Colonial Pool design and the air exchange system for the enclosed pool. He said foundation will be another big ticket item. He said overall, in regards to the budget, we are below where we were expected to be at this point. B. Gas Line Break. City Manager reported on the gas line break that occurred at the fitness center on Bellaire Boulevard during the week of April 13. The contractor or subcontractor of Tellepsen struck an existing gas tank and is arguing that it was not marked properly. He said City Council Minutes, April 27, 2009 our emergency personnel, along with Southside and Bellaire, responded the scene and closed traffic in both directions from about 4 pm to 7pm until an "all clear" was announced. He said no residences were evacuated, but the commercial building on West Point and Bellaire was evacuated for safety precautions. C. Police Facility Update. Police Chief Walker reported on issues related to the City's Police Facility. He said that the facility flooded during Thunderstorm Allison, which damaged the facility and a lot of equipment and said if it happens again, he would have to evacuate the facility to avoid staff being electrocuted or worse. He said soon after that the Council at that time took a hard look at the facility and a new facility was recommended in February 2002. Chief Walker said though there were a few changes, the major problems still exist. He said during Hurricane Ike there was water streaming down from wires in the ceiling and pointed out many other deficiencies, including having to store their equipment on the floor in a storage room, overheating and equipment failure problems, etc. He said if the PD has to shut down its operations during the next big storm, all of their calls, including 9-1-1 calls, will have to be transferred to Bellaire and Southside Place. Councilmember Cohen said these problems have existed since her tenure on Council and said for different reasons each Council has put it on the back burner. She said this deserves to be on the front burner, because in addition to the major issues, there are a lot of minor issues that are not being mentioned. Mayor Kelly said he confirmed with Chief Walker that nothing will solve all the problems except a major rehab or a new facility. City Manager Ross pointed out that no matter how much we renovate the facility, the slab in the flood plain is the real problem Chief Walker said his number one concern is the safety of the employees and residents of the city. Councilmember Fry asked if there is a Plan B in case something happens before anything is done. Chief Walker responded that they will shut down the dispatch center and reroute the 9-1- 1 calls to Southside and Bellaire and try and set up something temporary in City Hall or somewhere for non-emergency calls. He said it's a good Plan B. Councilmember Cohen said she thinks it is incumbent on the next Council to really look into this long standing problem. D. CenterPoint. Mayor Kelly reported on a meeting he had with a CenterPoint representative regarding aspects of putting electrical lines underground in West University Place. He said the representative explained that if lines are buried, there may not be as many interruptions in service; but, when there was an interruption, it might take CenterPoint 4-5 days to find the problem and then additional time to fix the problem. He also mentioned that, though the representative could not commit CenterPoint, the impression was that CenterPoint might be willing to put the lines underground because in the long run, there would be a lot less maintenance costs. He also said but, like the sewer and water lines, the individual homeowner would have to pay for the expense to get the service from their house out to the connecting point underground for that service. He said CenterPoint is looking at all options. 8. Executive Session (if necessary) Council reserves the right to at any time during the session convene in a closed session pursuant to Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code, for reasons including but not limited to: Section City Council Minutes, April 27, 2009 551.071 (consultation with legal counsel to seek or receive legal advice or consultation regarding pending or contemplated litigation); Section 551.072 (discussion about the value or transfer of real property and other real estate matters; Section 551.074 (personnel matters); 551.076 (deliberation about security devices); Section 551.087 (deliberation regarding economic development). 9. Convene into Open Session Not applicable. 10. Adjournment Councilmember Cohen moved to adjourn the regular meeting at 7:49 p.m. Mayor Pro Tem Fry seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Guffey, and Cohen Noes: None Absent: Guffey Prepared by: a A. Lenz, City Secretary Date Approved:, tl U U l ~F W ESt Uy~F~m i K A~ ~a