Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout082211R CC Min®rm The City of West University Place A Neighborhood City CITY COUNCIL Bob Fry, Mayor Susan Sample, Mayor Pro Tern Ed Heathcott, Councilmember Joan Johnson, Councilmember Dick Yehle, Councilmember 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 special and regular sessions on Monday, August 22, 2011, in the Municipal Building, 3800 University, West University Place, Texas beginning at 5:30 p.m. SPECIAL WORKSHOP (BEGINNING AT 6:00 IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM) CALL TO ORDER Mayor Fry called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Council and staff in attendance were: Mayor Pro Tem Sample, Councilmembers Heathcott, Johnson, and Yehle, City Manager Ross, City Secretary Lenz, City Attorney Petrov, Assistant City Manager/Public Works Director Peifer, Police Chief Ken Walker. Also in attendance were: Recycling and Solid Waste Reduction Board Chair Jan Kellogg, Vice Chair John Wilkerson and members Julie Edwards and Yvonne Jacobs. Workshop agenda item was as follows: 1. Recycling and Solid Waste Reduction Board Matters related to a report and presentation by the Recycling and Solid Waste Reduction Board. Chair Kellogg began the presentation by outlining four reasons the Recycling and Solid Waste Reduction Board (RSWRB) is recommending changes to the current program: a) The value of recyclables is declining due to recycling centers shifting to single stream processing, contract renewal is underway with recycling processors, and the City is expecting commodity price discounting and an increase in service fees; b) Collection trucks are scheduled for replacement in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017 for a total of $1.169 million over a total of 6 years; c) Anticipation of recycling reduction at RecycleExpress due to the City of Houston shifting to automated curbside collection; and d) West U's recycling rate of 24% is below national average of 34%, largely due to not including yard waste. Ms. Kellogg explained that converting to automation (i.e. totes collected by trucks fitted with articulated arms) will provide the opportunity to realize increased recycled volumes (30 - 50% minimum anticipated) and increased operation efficiencies (fewer staff and quicker pick up). She also stated that each 10% of tonnage shifted from landfill to recycled will benefit the City by $60,000 based on recent pricing. In addition, Ms. Kellogg said the City can expect to see greater employee safety, City Council Minutes, August 22, 2011 increased public hygiene and improved aesthetics, an opportunity for rate restructuring, and optimization of routes. Ms. Kellogg said, financially, the benefit would be an annual city-wide operational savings of $272,000 with per household the monthly savings being $4.20, the incremental capital expenditure would be $931,000, and the net incremental capital expenditure would be $756,000. Dave Beach, Assistant Public Works Director, explained that the cost of public education is not included in the financial analysis, which will probably be in the range of $25,000 to $75,000 over the course of the first year. Ms. Kellogg said making schedule changes of collection from twice a week to once a week decreases the use of contract labor and one full-time employee for a savings of $109,000 per year, reduces the fleet maintenance and fuel by $19,000 and decreases the City's mobility issues. Councilmember Heath asked if the City goes to automated side loader pick-ups, would the truck have to make two passes for each block, up one side and then down the other. Mr. Beach responded yes. Councilmember Yehle asked if the cost of maintenance for automated trucks was higher than that for regular trucks. Mr. Beach responded yes and that the higher amount is included in the overall costs. Councilmember Yehle asked if automated trucks could also be used manually. Mr. Beach responded yes. He said there are dual purpose trucks are available that are able to load from the back as well as the front, but they are not part of the proposal. He continued to say that if the City decided to move forth with automation, we would keep the best rear-load truck in order to have special purpose flexibility. Ms. Kellogg summarized the presentation by stating that the long-term benefits of automated waste handling are that it will significantly reduce operating expenses, provide a meaningful increase in the volumes of recyclables, provide better employee safety, and offer an opportunity for rate restructuring in various ways. In response to Councilmember Johnson's inquiry as to what rate restructuring means, Mr. Beach explained that based upon the bin size, the City could charge a different price - similar to a pay-as- you-throw system. He said there are other variations of rate restructuring, but they all come down to paying for what you throw away, so if you throw away more you pay more. In response to Councilmember Johnson's question as to whether there would be more administrative costs for the pay-as-you-throw type program, Mr. Beach it would depend on whether the City uses a third party or if it's something that would be done in-house. Ms. Kellogg recapped how automation would solve pending challenges. She said, first, the value of recyclables are declining and so automation would enable the City to capture more recyclables at curbside to mitigate expected volume declines at RecycleExpress and capture more recycling margin. She also explained that as the City replaces the vehicles, the types of trucks purchased will commit the City to that service level for the lives of such vehicles, thereby highlighting the strategic nature of the decision. Ms. Kellogg also stated that conversion to automated pickup and using single stream recycling shows a 30-50% increase in recyclables. Finally, she said using single streaming curbside (totes) and adding yard waste collection is expected to raise the City's recycling rate to >45%. Page 2 of 10 City Council Minutes, August 22, 2011 Ms. Kellogg said obstacles the Board believes the City would have to overcome are truck maneuverability, tote storage and replacement, tote size and mobility, and capital outlay for the totes and vehicles. Councilmember Johnson asked about annual budgeted funds for vehicle replacement. Mr. Beach confirmed that each year funds are budgeted for vehicle replacement. Councilmember Johnson asked if those funds are there now. Mr. Beach responded that there are funds for one truck scheduled for replacement in 2012. Councilmember Johnson asked if the City would have to incur more debt in order to proceed with automation. Mr. Beach said for year one, yes, the City would need to come up with $2.1 million, minus any reserve funds. Julie Edwards stated that because there is already a fund reserve for vehicle replacement, the biggest capital outlay would be the initial purchase of totes, which would be at least $800,000. Ms. Kellogg reviewed the alternatives to automation. She said if the City decided to maintain the status quo, there would be the anticipated capital in the budget process, but there would be an expected decrease in recycling revenues. She said another alternative would be the reinstatement of yard waste collection, which would significantly improve recycling rates (to about 45%) and provide a higher level of service to residents. She said, however, it would require additional operating expenses of approximately $103,000, which would be partially offset by improved tipping fees. Ms. Kellogg said the Board recommends that Council consider implementing automation and re- establishing yard waste collection in the future. Councilmember Yehle said he has conflicting thoughts about the program. He said on one hand using the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" model, we don't really have a problem today. However, he loves the fact that the RSWRB is looking ahead and thinking how to avoid a problem in the future. Councilmember Yehle also said he has concerns regarding the economics and requested additional economics that show the breakdown to determine if there is truly an economic benefit that could save residents a lot of money. He said he is also concerned about the recycling dimension. He said if the plan will truly and drastically increase our recycling and yard waste collection then maybe it is something we should be prepared to take on. He said there are many components to consider, combined with budget issues and that there are also concerns with aesthetics, including issues with totes in the streets and the storage of the bins. He said we can hardly get people to consistently take care of their trash placement issues, inferring that the use of bins could be a similar, if not larger, enforcement issue. In response to Mayor Fry's question as to what is the next step, Mr. Beach said whatever the decision would be, the City would need to take action a year prior to initiating the program for purchasing, allocation, and education. He said the City would also need to address some operational issues, such as tree height issues and placement of totes in the streets, etc. Mr. Beach said the goal is to know where we are going in the future, because if there isn't really a desire for this then staff will proceed with manual collection with variations to the current level of service. He said if there is a desire to continue to look at automation, staff will need to know in order to budget for certain purchases and make decisions regarding replacement vehicles. Page 3 of 10 City Council Minutes, August 22, 2011 Councilmember Heathcott said if we really think an automated, once a week pickup is a viable plan, then why not look at it now for immediate savings. John Wilkinson said there would be savings for once a week pickup, but there will be additional associated costs. He said there need to be some baby steps. Councilmember Heathcott suggested that the City consider outsourcing to a company that could do it more efficiently for less money and then we wouldn't have the investment costs for the recycling or have to worry about storage of the garbage trucks, etc., and recommended researching the costs to outsource for comparison. Mr. Beach said staff has researched the cost of outsourcing and said the cost would be approximately $16 to $18 per household for once a week recycling and twice and week garbage, with a second pass for curbside bulk trash collection. He said yard waste would be an additional $1.50 to $3.00 per household. Councilmember Johnson said she likes what she sees, but there are so many variables. She said to her knowledge we have not surveyed the residents and thinks we owe it to our citizens to ask them how they feel about this or educate the citizens first and then get their input. Mayor Fry said now that we have seen the presentation, Council needs to decide if the economics make enough sense for the Board to continue to the next step. City Manager Ross said Council could request an independent feasibility study in 2012 whereby a consultant can come in and look at privatization. Mr. Wilkerson said as a resident he has to ask himself if $4.00 per month offset any potential service. He said as a Board they would have to convince the average resident that regardless of the system adopted, service would be maintained and it would be beneficial to the City. Mr. Ross said another issue that he has heard from residents relating to this matter is on-street parking. If there was ever a City solution to only park on one side of the street, it would facilitate faster trash pick-up as, theoretically, totes could be lined up on the other side and pick-up could be done twice as fast in a single pass. Mr. Ross said the goal is to implement the program in 2014, should Council wish to move forward. He suggested that staff begin working with the RSWRB to identify the amount of funds to be requested in the 2012 budget for surveys, studies and/or public education necessary to roll out the program in 2014. Mayor Fry said Council always wants the Board to be looking ahead at what's next and what is the best technology that gives the best service to our citizens. He said the presented economics make sense, but there are a bunch of questions that need to be answered. Mr. Yehle said the Board has done a lot of work and, in his mind, they haven't presented anything that deserves outright rejection, but at the same time he doesn't feel we are ready to leap into it. He said there ought to be some way to continue as we are while addressing some of the uncertainties and questions that have come up during this review process. Page 4 of 10 City Council Minutes, August 22, 2011 Councilmember Heathcott said it seems to him that to get the most efficiency from automation would almost mandate parking on only one side of the street and there would need to be a policy for uniformity. Council asked staff to work with the RSWRB to come up with budget numbers to be included in the 2012 budget. REGULAR MEETING (BEGINNING AT 6:30 P.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS) Agenda items were as follows: Call to Order: Mayor Fry called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Council and staff in attendance were: Mayor Pro Tem Sample, Councilmembers Heathcott, Johnson, and Yehle, City Manager Ross, Assistant City Manager/Public Works Director Peifer, City Secretary Lenz, City Attorney Petrov, Police Chief Walker, and Assistant Fire Chief Taylor. Pledge of Allegiance: Councilmember Heathcott led the Pledge of Allegiance. Confirmation of Notice: City Secretary Lenz confirmed that the Notice of the special and regular meetings was duly posted in accordance with the Texas Government Code, Chapter 551. 2. Public Comments This is an opportunity for citizens to speak to Council relating to agenda and non-agenda items. There were no comments from the public. 3. Sentinel Club Grant Matters related to receiving a grant from the Sentinel Club to fund the City's audio/visual components of the new Training Room/Emergency Management Center. Assistant Fire Chief Taylor presented this item and explained that the City's Training Room/Emergency Management Center has a need for enhanced audio/visual equipment to provide for state-of-the-art emergency communications and information exchange and training capabilities. As recommended by Assistant Chief Taylor, Councilmember Johnson moved to accept the grant from the Sentinel Club in the amount of $71,664.65 for the purchase and installation of the AV equipment for the City's new EOC/Training Facility. Councilmember Heathcott seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None Mayor Fry took this opportunity to recognize current President Mary Diez of the Sentinel Club and thanked her for her years of service and for the Sentinel Club's support to and for the City. At this time, Mayor called for a motion to recess the Council meeting in order to hold a Joint Public Hearing with the Zoning and Planning Commission. Mayor Pro Tem Sample moved to recess the regular Council meeting at 6:36 p.m. Councilmember Yehle seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Page 5 of 10 City Council Minutes, August 22, 2011 Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None Councilmember Heathcott moved to open the Joint Public Hearing at 6:36 p.m. Councilmember Johnson seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. 4. Joint Public Hearing Matters related to a joint public hearing to hear comments for and/or against minimum requirements for a conforming building site. At 6:37 p.m., Zoning and Planning Commission Chair Steve Brown called to order the meeting of the Zoning and Planning Commission (ZPC). Other Commissioners present were: Sam Parikh, DeDe DeStefano, Lauren Griffith, Bob Higley, and Bruce Frankel. City Planner Scarcella was also present. Commissioner Brown explained that the joint public hearing relates to minimum requirements for conforming building sites. He said comments could be made in written or oral form and that all speakers would be limited to three (3) minutes. City Planner Scarcella presented this item and reviewed the proposal. Ms. Scarcella explained that in the existing ordinance, a proposed structure must be located on a legally conforming building site in order to obtain a building permit. She said one criterion to meet this definition is that the property must have a common boundary with the street area. Ms. Scarcella said the City's existing definition of "street area" is fairly broad and could be construed to take any type of right-of-way or public way in consideration. Ms. Scarcella said the Zoning and Planning Commission reviewed the definition and determined that the intent was for there to be a public roadway or access way and initiated this proposal. She said the scope of the proposal is to clarify the minimum requirements to establish a legal building site by amending Section 5-100(a)(6) of the zoning regulations to clearly establish that a conforming building site must abut a constructed and approved vehicular access way that is contained within a dedicated right-of-way. Ms. Scarcella stated, specifically, the Zoning and Planning Commission added ten (10) words to 5-100(a)(6) and so that it now reads: The site must have a common boundary with the street area containing a constructed roadway approved and accepted by the City, or, in a QMDS, with a private street or other platted access way. No one signed up to speak at the hearing, but Jessica Breitbeil (3626 Pittsburgh Street), came forward to ask if this amendment is in connection with a plan to construct a new road and is there any particular piece of property that this would impact. Commissioner Brown responded and stated that this amendment is not being proposed with any new road or roadway in mind and that it is not focused on any particular piece of property. He said, however, the issue arose several months ago when a possible project was proposed by interested property owners concerning certain properties west of Mercer Street and south of University. He further explained that the proposal was subsequently withdrawn by the interested parties, but it alerted the City to the fact that it needed to clarify this part of the ordinance. City Attorney Petrov further clarified that this proposal to amend the Code is so that it can be clearly stated that if someone wants to develop a piece of property, the property has to have street access. Page 6 of 10 City Council Minutes, August 22, 2011 Carmen Pokluda, 6721 Brompton and 2830 W. Holcombe, spoke to ask if the proposal that was submitted by interested parties had been approved by the City. City Attorney Petrov responded no. At this time, Chair Brown asked the ZPC Vice-Chair Bruce Frankel to offer the closing motion. At 6:46 p.m., Commissioner Frankel moved that (1) all statements, exhibits, and documents be made a part of the official record of this hearing; and (2) this public hearing be continued at the next meeting of the Zoning and Planning Commission. Commissioner Higley seconded the motion. Ayes: Brown, Frankel, Higley, DeStefano, Griffith, Parikh Noes: None Absent: None At 6:47 p.m., Councilmember Yehle moved that the Public Hearing with regards to City Council be suspended until a later date. Councilmember Johnson seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None At 6:48 p.m., Commissioner Higley moved to adjourn the Joint Public Hearing. Commissioner Frankel seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Brown, Frankel, Higley, DeStefano, Griffith, Parikh Noes: None Absent: None At 6:48 p.m., Councilmember Johnson moved to call the regular meeting of City Council back into session. Mayor Pro Tern Sample seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None 5. Matters related to an ordinance of the City Council of the City of West University Place, Texas, calling for a joint public hearing to hear comments for and/or against Town Center Retail District Zoning. ZPC Chair Brown presented this item and requested that City Council consider a joint public hearing on this proposal to establish a Town Center Retail District covering the current commercial area east of Edloe, between University and Rice Boulevard. He said the previous Council recognized that this commercial area consists of older structures that do not conform to the City's commercial zoning ordinance and that that in the event of disaster could not be reconstructed as viable commercial businesses under the existing rules. Commissioner Brown said to get ahead of this problem, in February 2010, Council appointed the Town Center Ad Hoc Committee to propose a solution, which they presented to Council on January 24, 2011. He said their report is the framework on which the Town Center Retail District proposal is constructed. Page 7 of 10 City Council Minutes, August 22, 2011 On behalf of the Zoning Planning Commission and staff, he recommended approval on the first and final reading of the ordinance calling for a joint public hearing by City Council and the ZPC on the Town Center Retail District proposal. It was further recommended that the hearing be held on October 10, 2011. Mayor Pro Tem Sample moved to approve the first and final reading of the ordinance calling for a Joint Public Hearing of the City Council and Zoning and Planning Commission for October 10, 2011. Councilmember Johnson seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None Councilmember Yehle said he will not be at the meeting on October 10, 2011 and asked if could be rescheduled so he could attend. Mayor Fry indicated the City Manager should determine a suitable date. The City Attorney indicated that change would be acceptable. City Manager Ross will confirm the schedules of City Council and inform them of the rescheduled date of the hearing. 6. Selection of an Appraisal District Board Member Matters related to the selection of Harris County Appraisal District Board Members. City Manager Ross presented this item and recommended Council approve the resolution nominating a candidate to represent cities and towns, other than the City of Houston, for a term beginning January 1, 2012 and ending December 31, 2013. Mayor Pro Tem Sample moved to approve a resolution nominating Councilmember Heathcott for a position on the Board of Directors of the Harris County Appraisal District. Councilmember Yehle seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None 7. Reclassification of Police Department Position Matters related to converting a patrol position within the Police Department to the position of sergeant. Police Chief Walker presented this item and stated that for the first time in a long time the department is at full staff, which allows them to assign officers to the investigation section to follow-up on criminal offenses. He said with the increased activity, he believes a supervisor is necessary for the unit and would like to change one patrol position to that of sergeant to facilitate the need. He said the reclassification will cause an increase of about $8,300 for the remainder of the year, but since the department was not at full staff until this point, there are enough funds available to cover the expenditure. Chief Walker said, however, the department will be requesting an additional $23,000 in next year's budget to make up the difference for that position. Page 8 of 10 City Council Minutes, August 22, 2011 Councilmember Johnson moved to approve the reclassification of one patrol position to position of sergeant. Councilmember Heathcott seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None 8. 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 Minutes of August 8, 201 land Special Meeting Minutes of August 17, 2011. B. Reappointment of Municipal Court Personnel Matters related to a resolution appointing Municipal Court personnel for the City of West University Place. C. Ordinance Relating to Basements Matters related to revisions to the ordinance regarding basement construction specifications. Councilmember Heathcott moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Councilmember Johnson seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None 9. Reports by Council/Staff City Manager Ross reported that he recently attended the Texas City Manager's Association (TCMA), of which he is the Vice Chair, met in South Padre Island to tour the island and line things up for the June 2012 annual conference. Councilmember Heathcott reported he attend the fall meeting of the Region 14 Texas Municipal League (TML) in Galveston. He said it was a great opportunity to meet other officials and exchange ideas. He said there were some good ideas exchanged, especially about recycling, and it goes to show the value of TML. 10. Adiourn With no other business before the Council, Councilmember Heathcott moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:04 p.m. Councilmember Yehle seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None Page 9 of 10 City Council Minutes, August 22, 2011 Meeting A. Lenz, City Secretary ~r<ST ~fAep`g9 4*42 Date Approved Page 10 of 10