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HomeMy WebLinkAbout102609R CC MinThe City ®rm A Neighborhood City CITY COUNCIL Bob Kelly, Mayor Bob Fry, Councilmember George Boehme, Councilmember Steven Segal, Councilmember Chuck Guffey, Councilmember of West University Place STAFF Michael Ross, City Manager Alan Petrov, City Attorney Thelma Lenz, City Secretary CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES The City Council of the City of West University Place, Texas, met in a regular session Monday, October 26, 2009, in the Municipal Building, 3800 University Boulevard, West University Place, Texas beginning at 6:30 p.m. Mayor Kelly called the meeting to order at 6:37 p.m. Also in attendance were: Mayor Pro Tern Fry, Councilmembers Boehme, Segal and Guffey, City Manager Ross, City Secretary Lenz, City Attorney Petrov, City Manager/Public Works Director Peifer, Finance Director Daugherty, Police Chief Walker, Fire Chief Rails, and City Planner Scarcella. Mayor Pro Tern Fry led the Pledge of Allegiance and the Pledge to the Texas Flag. City Secretary Lenz confirmed that the Notice of the special meeting was duly posted in accordance with the Texas Government Code, Chapter 551. Agenda items were as follows: Public Comments Fred Schiller, 6608 Vanderbilt, spoke concerning the proposed new police facility. He said Council is rushing to judgment and getting ready to squander $6.5 million in taxpayer's funds. He said he is concerned about public safety, but this is about how to responsibly spend taxpayer dollars. 2. 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 October 12, 2009 and Special Workshop minutes of October 19, 2009. B. Resolution Appointing Members to the Friends of West University Parks Fund. Inc. Matters related to a resolution appointing members to the Friends of West U Parks Fund, Inc. C. Resolution. appointing a Secretary to the Zoning and Planning Commission Matters related to a resolution appointing Dick Yehle as Secretary to the Zoning and Planning Commission. City Council Minutes, October 26, 2009 D. Matters related to final acceptance of completed work and authorization of final payment for the Completion Contract for Remaining Work in Priority Areas 10 & 11 B including change orders which encompassed citywide sidewalk work. (This item was removed and will be added to a future agenda) Mayor Kelly announced that the City Manager removed item 2D from the agenda in order to follow-up on some issues before being presented to Council. Mayor Pro Tem Fry moved to adopt items 2A - 2C of the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Segal seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Segal, Boehme, Guffey Noes: None Absent: None 3. Public Safety & Public Works Facilities A. Matters related to the police, fire and public works facilities. City Manager Ross presented and said a needs assessment was performed on the police facility in 2002 and at that time it was recommended that a new police facility be built. He said after receiving public comments and much deliberation with Council, staff is requesting that Council choose from PGAL's design options 2, 6, or 9. Mr. Ross said staff is recommending approval of a final option for the public safety facility, and other incidentals for Fire and Finance, to achieve the goals of Council and to direct the City Manager to take necessary actions to accomplish those approvals and directives with a cost not to exceed $412,500. Mr. Ross said though it seems that Council was leaning towards Option 6 after the last meeting, staff feels that Option 9 is the best long-term solution and requested Council to reconsider Option 9. Mr. Jeff Gerber with PGAL came to the podium. Councilmember Guffey asked Mr. Gerber how the pre-construction costs of $412,500 were calculated. Mr. Gerber said there were several determining factors, including looking at the complexity of Option 6, looking at the different consultants necessary to accomplish the project, disassembling the work effort based on renovations and new construction, and developing the work plan. Councilmember Guffey said he takes severe issues with the cost of the project and thinks Mr. Gerber has overestimated the pre-construction costs by about $200,000. He said $500 or $600 a square foot is unbelievable to him. Mr. Gerber said a big chunk of the costs, particularly in the police arena, is the FF&E budget, which is almost $1,000,000. Councilmember Guffey said the cost of the facility should be $3 or $4 million dollars and thinks PGAL needs to go back and get the project down to bare bones and at the same time re-estimate their fee. He said he objects to the proposed fee entirely and doesn't see the justification. 2of8 City Council Minutes, October 26, 2009 Mr. Gerber said the construction costs, including the demolition and design contingency, are nowhere near the number Councilmember Guffey thinks it is. He said by his calculation it's about $350 per square foot and said the unit costs used for this project are very much consistent with the market place for these types of facilities. He continue to say that police buildings are not simple office projects as they require unique components, such as jail cells and security, which makes them more expensive. Councilmember Boehme said he has some of the same concerns Councilmember Guffey has, but these are not iron clad numbers. He said the numbers will go out for competitive bid and the lowest number will prevail. Councilmember Segal said it's his understanding that right now Council is voting on whether to ask that drawings be made that would then be put for bid. He said we haven't sold any bonds or raised any funds. At this point, Council is just asking PGAL to draw a picture and provide an estimate and then there might be a new idea of the cost. City Manager Ross confirmed that all staff is asking for action on tonight is to select an option and approve a design contract. Councilmember Kelly asked if Council approves an amount not to exceed $412,500 would that be the top end, meaning we don't have to spend that much for the design cost. City Manager Ross said we would reach the lump sum cost of $275,000 for PGAL's basic services for the preliminary design that Council has seen and approved for Option 6. He said now PGAL will do blueprints on the preliminary drawings if Council authorizes it. Mr. Ross said there is an additional $107,500 that includes surveying, geotechnical services, lead commissioning, FF&E design components, audio visual components design, security system design, and energy modeling. He said, however, there is no guarantee that all of the $107,500 will be used. Mayor Pro Tern Fry said the City's solicits the best expert advice we can get to help us with these projects and PGAL and Jeff have proven themselves time and again and said he trusts the numbers Jeff has provided. Councilmember Guffey said he disagrees and thinks Jeff has a conflict of interest and thinks the numbers he has provided for construction and engineering fees are bogus. Mayor Kelly asked if it is being recommended that this project be bid on a total package method as opposed to the Contractor Manager at Risk (CMAR) method, which was used for recreational facilities. Mr. Gerber said there are a couple ways that the City can do construction contracting. He said the approach.the City chose on the recreational facilities is the CM at Risk and we chose to do multiple packages that allowed us to design a foundation structure package that was released ahead of the balance of the project being finished, which allowed us to get in the ground faster and take advantage of the construction market. Mr. Gerber said the alternative approach, which is what he is suggesting might be more appropriate for this project, is still CM at Risk, but instead we would bid the entire project together rather than bid it in individual packages. He said this method would be more appropriate because of the size of the project. 3 of 8 City Council Minutes, October 26, 2009 Mayor Kelly said the cost seems a little high to him, but said we definitely don't want to under build the police station like the existing building was built. Councilmember Segal said he doesn't have the numbers or the experience, but said he was satisfied with the proposal. He also said after thinking on this some more, from the eight year ago assessment to the recommendation at the last Council meeting, Option 9 is the better option in the long run. He said if we build Option 6, we will delay the optimum result for many years, but because we really need a police station, if 9 is not an option now then he will go with Option 6, since that can ultimately be converted to a Public Works facility. Councilmember Segal reiterated that it is his understanding that we have paid for drawings and haven't taken the next step to even put it out for bid. He said a number of these things are speculative and assumptions and aren't necessarily going to be the cost. He said when we see the drawings and have the blueprints everyone will be better able to see what it will cost. Councilmember Guffey said he is encouraged that everyone on Council agrees that we are going to hold this project to the bare minimums of the bids and not let it explode up to the $6.4 million. He said he expects that it will come in $2 to $3 million less than that. Mayor Kelly confirmed that tonight's approval is being requested for PGAL to move forward with a design option. Councilmember Segal said if any member of council doesn't like Option 9, or if one thinks it is better but has reasons for not doing it now, he would like to hear it. He said he wants to know why we would not want to take the most recommended approach that the staff and consultants have recommended. Councilmember Boehme moved to approve moving forward with Option 9. Councilmember Segal seconded the motion. Councilmember Boehme said it is exceedingly important that we build a new police station. He said we must replace the police station and said he is prepared to go with any of the options to try and get consensus on this Council to move forward, but it is difficult for him to ignore the recommendation of everyone whose judgment we are suppose to rely on, which is what we are doing with Option 6. He said only Option 9 looks at where we want to be and with Option 6 we will be forcing a future City Council to be in the same position we're in today, because we are making a political decision rather than the right decision. Mayor Kelly said his objection to Option 9 is that he doesn't feel comfortable with tearing down a public building without the voter's approval, so he wants to amend the motion to include how the option would be paid for. Mayor Kelly moved to amend the motion made by Councilmember Boehme to state if Option 9 is selected, it would be funded by bonds by a vote of the public as opposed to Certificates of Obligations. Councilmember Boehme withdrew his original motion. Councilmember Segal moved to adopt Option 9. Motion failed for lack of a second 4of8 City Council Minutes, October 26, 2009 Councilmember Guffey moved to adopt Option 6. Mayor Pro Tem Fry seconded the motion. Mayor Kelly said Option 6 will be quicker and less expensive, which seems to him to be the way to go. He said he just couldn't see tearing down the public works building without the voter's approval, which is the reason why he is in favor of Option 6. Councilmember Segal said putting public safety to a vote of citizens is not responsible action by Council; so, given the decision, he will support Option 6. Mayor Pro Tern Fry said with politics you do what you can do. He said the facility can be designed to where Public Works can move in the building when the time comes. Councilmember Boehme said unfortunately political decisions are rarely the best decisions, which is the case here. He said he has problems with some of the line items in the budget, but presumably they are not going to come out in the competitive bid process. He said he prefers Option 9, but will vote for Option 6. Councilmember Guffey said this is not a political decision, but rather based on economics and spending the taxpayer's money wisely. He said Option 6 is a lot cheaper than Option 9, because the cost of Option 9 does not include $2 or $3 million to build a new Public Works building down the road; so, to him, Option 6 is simple economics - it's the lowest cost and gets the job done. At this time, a vote was made to the motion to approve moving forward with the design services of PGAL for the design of Option 6 for a not to exceed amount of $412,500. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Segal, Boehme, Guffey Noes: None Absent: None B. Matters related to a resolution declaring official intent to reimburse expenses incurred for the design of the police, fire and public works facilities, in an amount not to exceed $412,500, from the sale of tax exempt obligations. Mayor Pro Tern Fry moved to approve the resolution declaring Council's intent to pay expenses incurred up to $412,500 by the sale of tax exempt obligations. Councilmember Boehme seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Segal, Boehme, Guffey Noes: None Absent: None 4. Ordinance Calling Joint Public Hearing Consideration of and possible action on an ordinance of the City Council of the City of West University Place, Texas, calling for a joint public hearing to hear comments for or against a zoning amendment regarding fences and fence-like hedges; prescribing procedures and notices; containing findings and other provisions relating to the subject; and declaring an emergency. City Planner Scarcella explained to Council that this ordinance calls for a joint public hearing with the Zoning and Planning Commission to hear proposed ordinance amendments regarding fences 5of8 City Council Minutes, October 26, 2009 and fence-like hedges and calls for the joint public hearing on December 14, 2009, with the backup date being January 11, 2009. She said this will be only a public hearing to solicit further comment on the proposal. Zoning and Planning Chair Steve Brown said if the proposed ordinance subsequently passes, it would prevent people from building hedges that interfere with the front street line and come clear out to the sidewalk. Councilmember Boehme said unless somebody brings him some information that he doesn't have right now, he will not be for an ordinance that does not grandfather people in for good, unless there is a case of public safety at risk. Mayor Pro Tern Fry moved to approve the ordinance calling for a joint public hearing on December 14, 2009, with an alternate date of January 11, 2009. Councilmember Segal seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Segal, Boehme, Guffey Noes: None Absent: None 5. Public Hearing on 2010 Budget Matters related to a public hearing to hear comments for or against the proposed 2010 Budget for the City of West University Place. Mayor Kelly opened the public hearing at 7:54 p.m., and with no comments from the public, closed the hearing at 7:54 p.m. 6. Adoption of 2010 Budget and Ratification of Tax Revenue Increase A. Matters related to an ordinance approving and adopting a budget for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2010 and ending December 31, 2010 appropriating funds for such budget; containing findings and provisions relating to the subject; and declaring an emergency. Mayor Pro Mayor moved to approve an ordinance adopting the 2010 Budget on the first and final reading. Councilmember Boehme seconded the motion. Mayor Kelly stated that he feels this is a good budget, but still has an issue with the retirement plan under the Texas Municipal Retirement System. He said he thinks the plan is a dinosaur plan and thinks the issue will have to be addressed eventually. Councilmember Segal said it was important that we maintained our position. He said TMRS retirement plan is probably a dinosaur in the private sector, but it has been in the public sector for 70 years and without the plan we might not have gotten the directors we were able to hire if we didn't have the equal benefits. A vote was made on the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Segal, Boehme, Guffey Noes: None Absent: None 6of8 City Council Minutes, October 26, 2009 B. Matters related to an ordinance ratifying the property tax increase reflected in the budget adopted by the City Council for the ensuing fiscal year, beginning January 1, 2010, and ending December 31, 2010, and providing for the effective date, and declaring an emergency. Mayor Pro Tern Fry moved to adopt the ordinance ratifying the property increase on the first and final reading. Councilmember Boehme seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Segal, Boehme, Guffey Noes: None Absent: None 7. Adoption of the 2009 Tax Rate Matters related to an ordinance approving and adopting the 2009 Tax Rate. Mayor Pro Tern Fry moved that property taxes be increased by the adoption of a tax rate of 35.875 center per hundred. Councilmember Guffey seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Segal, Boehme, Guffey Noes: None Absent: None 8. Street Events Matters related to an ordinance amending Chapter 46, Article I, Section 46-1 and Article IV, Sections 46-115 and 46-116 of the Code of Ordinances of the City relating to the designation of a traffic control officer and Street Events; and to consider the ordinance on the second and final reading. Councilmember Segal said Section 46.114(c), Notification to Residents reads "The registrant(s) should notify the residents of each affected residential block (see subsection (a)(2)), as required by the traffic control officer. He requested that the sentence be changed to read "The registrant(s) should notify the residents of each affected residential block as required by the traffic control officer (see subsection (a)(2)). Councilmember Segal moved to approve the ordinance as revised on the second and final reading. Councilmember Boehme seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Segal, Boehme, Guffey Noes: None Absent: None 9. Rescheduling City Council Meetings Matters related to rescheduling City Council meetings in November and December 2009 due to Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Mayor Pro Tern Fry moved to approve changing the meeting date From November 23 to November 16, 2009 and changing the date from December 28 to December 7, 2009. Councilmember Boehme seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Fry, Segal, Boehme, Guffey Noes: None Absent: None 7of8 City Council Minutes, October 26, 2009 With no other business before Council, Mayor Pro Tem Fry moved to adjourn the regular meeting at 8:05 p.m. Councilmember Segal seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Noes: ,*EST Absent A. Lenz, Kelly, Fry, Segal, Boehme, Gulley None None Date Approved: q, M 9 of 8