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HomeMy WebLinkAbout062512 CC Min0 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, June 25, 2012, in the Municipal Building, 3800 University, West University Place, Texas beginning at 5:00 p.m. SPECIAL WORKSHOP (BEGINNING AT 5:00 IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM) Call to Order. Mayor Fry called the workshop to order at 5:00 p.m. Council and staff in attendance were: Mayor Pro Tom Sample (arrived at 5:05 p.m.), Councilmembers Heathcott, Johnson and Yehle, City Manager Ross, City Attorney Petrov, City Secretary Lenz, ACM/Public Works Director Peifer, and Police Chief Walker. Also in attendance were Executive Assistant Rachelle Moody and Interns Kate Oliver and Matthew Elliott. Workshop agenda items were as follows: 1. On- Street Parking Matters related to on- street parking. City Manager Michael Ross presented and introduced Mr. Rick Staigle with Traffic Engineers, Inc., who gave a presentation on the results of the street parking survey. Mr. Staigle said 284 individual responses were received, either through emails or from comments made at the Town Hall meetings (verbally and via comment cards), which yielded 367 comments. The following is a breakdown of the responses: • Do Nothing 104 (28.3 %) • Case by Case 77 (21.0 %) • One -Side Parking 62 (16.9 %) • Eliminate On- Street Parking 31 ( 8.4 %) • Other 28 ( 7.6 %) • Permit Parking 23 ( 6.3 %) • Concerned about Sidewalks 19 ( 5.2 %) • Eliminate Overnight Parking 16 ( 4.4 %) • One -Way Streets 7 ( 1.9 %) Mr. Staigle said other suggestions received were as follows: City Council Minutes, June 25, 2012 — Agreements by Block — Only park in front of your own home — Require at least one car be parked in garage or driveway (will be difficult to enforce) — PR Campaign "Park Appropriately' (get people to be more respectful about where they park) — Widen streets — Carve out parallel parking in yards — Require larger garages Mr. Staigle presented a composite map, as well as individual maps for each type of response, that indicated the locations of those that commented. He said the suggestions to keep existing parking, consider case -by case basis, and only allow one side parking, were scattered throughout the City. He said the comments to eliminate parking came mostly from the west side of the City, which has the wider streets, though would have expected more from the narrower streets. He said the responses to eliminate overnight parking also concentrated on the west side of the City. Mr. Staigle said they also pulled crash data for the City from H -GAC, with a concentration on the higher volume corridors — Buffalo Speedway, Weslayan, and Bissonnet and around the activity centers. He said there were 419 crashes, 31 of which resulted in injuries, but no deaths and very few pedestrian and bicycle involved crashes. He pointed out a couple of hotspots that might warrant further investigation that were outside the higher volume corridors where they would not normally expect to see a congregation of crashes. Mr. Staigle stated that in conclusion: • The Majority of residents supported "Do Nothing ", followed by "Case by Case" (181 responses -49 %). • Responses were not concentrated on certain width streets or near activity centers. • Most streets wider than 26 feet do not exhibit a significant problem for emergency vehicles or trash collection (60% of streets). • Congestion or emergency vehicle access issues most prevalent on higher volume streets. Mr. Staigle said it was also concluded that any selected option should be: Easily understood by the resident Easily enforced by P.D. — May require signs or curb painting Low maintenance — Not require extensive police enforcement time — Not require other extensive staff time Mr. Staigle recommended the following: • Identify higher volume street segments and street segments less than 25 feet wide. • Develop a Pilot Program with buy -in from a majority of affected residents (by block) for "One Side Parking" or "No Parking ". • Determine percentage of affected residents that must support the parking restriction before implementation (50% or 66 %). • Evaluate impacts of change on vehicle speed and residential feedback. • Consider individual requests for parking change (elimination, one side, or remove parking restriction) for a specific street and then survey all residents on that street for support. 2 of 6 City Council Minutes, June 25, 2012 • If required percentage agreed, initiate an engineering study and if study finds minimal impacts, perform before and after study on vehicle speeds. • If a Pilot Program is initiated, resurvey residents 6 months after implementation. • Allow review of requests for parking changes in a given area only once per year. • Evaluate high crash hot spots to determine probable causes. • Identify possible improvements to address crash locations. • Review before and after crash data on hot -spot locations. After Mr. Staigle's presentation, discussion ensued Councilmember Heathcott said if if all of the City's current traffic laws were reviewed today and voted on, most of them would not be approved as standard practice. He said as he thinks about the issues in West University Place, he doesn't think that popularity on a street -by- street or block -by- block basis is the right approach. He said he thinks Council went into this thinking in terms of safety and having the fire trucks and garbage trucks being able to conduct every day business. He said this is his priority to approach the discussion on this as opposed to shifting it to see which citizens want to be engaged in the process of review for their streets. Councilmember Johnson agreed with Councilmember Heathcott and said she thinks the City needs to have a pilot program for one of the narrow streets to see what kind of responses are received and to see if it would really make a difference. Councilmember Yehle said he agrees with Councilmembers Heathcott and Johnson regarding the safety issues and said if there is a problem on one 24 -foot street then there is a problem on every 24 -foot street. He said if safety is an issue, then the City can't cherry -pick a street by letting people decide. He said whatever the City does, it needs to be consistent across the City, so people will know the standard. He also said if it is decided that the solution is to not have overnight parking, it also has to be across the City so there is no guessing going on. Councilmember Yehle said the pluses and minuses of one -sided parking versus an overnight ban need to be explored. He said if people are required to move their cars off the street during at night, it's unlikely that they would take the time to move them back on the street during the day. He said it would get people more in the habit of parking in their driveways, so he feels it will result in less daytime parking because of the overnight ban, which may solve the problem. He said the people causing the problem are those who will have to do something, because the people that are currently parking in their garages are not contributing to the problem and will be unaffected. Councilmember Johnson said during the day there are more cars due to lawn maintenance workers, etc., but said what Councilmember Yehle stated has validity to it. ACM /Public Works Director Peifer said Council has indicated that it doesn't want public opinion to drive this, so he asked what is going to identify a problem. City Manager Ross interjected and pointed out that this issue was not originated by police and fire, but rather the citizens, so it's not a safety issue (identified by the City). In response to Mr. Peifer, Mayor Fry said this survey indicates that it is not a safety issue, so it appears that it will be based on what the citizens want. 3of6 City Council Minutes, June 25, 2012 Councilmember Heathcott stated the photos shown at the Town Hall meetings indicated a clearance issue for fire engines trying to pass down a 24 -foot street with cars on each side, so just because the City hasn't had any crashes or close calls doesn't mean there isn't an issue. He said it is an issue that has been identified and thinks the City needs to, at a minimum, pursue the 24 -foot and 25 -foot wide streets as candidates for discussion and maybe consider a pilot program based on street width. City Manager Ross said Council will need to consider that there will be associated costs for the pilot program and that there will need to be "no parking" signs posted on every other lot, which may be left in or have to be removed depending on the outcome of the pilot program. Councilmember Heathcott said the City being littered with a bunch of signs has been his concern. When signage was compared to Southside, City Manager Ross pointed out that Southside has the advantage of having limited entrances /exits to their City, unlike West University Place, so it does not require as much as signage as West U will need. After further discussion, Mayor Fry instructed City Manager Ross to get with the Fire Department to take a look at the 24 -foot and narrower streets and bring back to Council information on the costs of conducting a pilot program on those streets. Councilmember Yehle said he would also like to have a pilot program of an overnight ban. Councilmember Johnson said she also likes the idea of "Park Appropriately". She said people are probably not paying any attention and thinks it might be beneficial to educate them. Mr. Peifer asked again how Council plans to determine whether the pilot program is successful. When Council asked Mr. Staigle, he responded that in his experience, most cities that start looking at this issue, back off. He said Southside is one of few places that moved forward. Mr. Staigle said he will look at the map to find the 23 -foot and 24 -foot wide streets and will then get with the Fire Department to determine where it has issues, if any. Mayor Fry asked Mr. Staigle to also look into identifying the hot spots. 2. Charter Amendments Matters related to amendments to the City's Charter. City Manger Ross presented and said that it has been six years since the last Charter review and so staff and Councilmember Yehle tagged some of the issues that the Committee might want to consider. Mr. Ross said if Council is okay with the changes /comments given by staff and Councilmember Yehle, then that is what will be submitted to the Committee as a starting point. City Attorney Petrov reviewed the process of amending the Charter and discussed the Committee's and Council's roles. The Mayor asked Council to submit any changes they would like the Committee to review to City Manager Ross so that he can forward them to the Committee. 4of6 City Council Minutes, June 25, 2012 3. Bellaire Boulevard/College Street Drainage Protect Matters related to the Bellaire Boulevard /College Avenue Improvement Project and associated drainage detention issues. 4. METRO General Mobility Funding Matters related to METRO General Mobility Funding. At 5:50 p.m., Mayor Fry suspended the workshop to convene into executive session to discuss items 3 and 4 in accordance with Section 551.071 in Chapter 551, Open Meetings Act, of the Texas Government Code (consultation with legal counsel to seek or receive legal advice or consultation regarding pending or contemplated litigation) and Section 551.072 (discussion about the value or transfer of real property and other real estate matters). In attendance for executive session were Mayor Fry, Mayor Pro Tern Sample, Councilmembers Heathcott, Johnson, and Yehle, City Manager Ross, ACM /Public Works Director Peifer, City Attorney Petrov, and City Secretary Lenz. Mr. Peifer left the room after discussion of the College Street Drainage project. At 6:28 p.m., Councilmember Heathcott moved to close the executive session and reconvene the workshop. Mayor Pro Tern Sample seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None 5. Adtourn At 6:28 p.m., Councilmember Heathcott moved to adjourn the workshop. Councilmember Yehle seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None 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 Tern Sample, Councilmembers Johnson, Heathcott, and Yehle, City Manager Ross, City Secretary Lenz, City Attorney Petrov, ACM /Public Works Director Peifer, and Police Chief Walker. Pledge of Allegiance: Boy Scout James Henry led the Pledge of Allegiance 6. Public Comments Steven Segal, 2901 Sunset, spoke regarding West University's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training. He said the training will be held at the Community Center, beginning September 19 and will run for 8 weeks for 3 nights per week. He said there are about 30 slots, some of which are already taken. He said he hopes that residents will take part in this so that a team can be established in the West U area to help the Fire Department. 5of6 City Council Minutes, June 25, 2012 Cynthia Lescalleet, 3014 Georgetown, spoke regarding on- street parking. She said in respect to one -side parking, it has to be shared. She said on her block, parking is an issue during the day when all the kids, friends and contractors are out and about. 7. 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 June 11, 2012. B. Wastewater Treatment Plant Belt Press Replacement Matters related to completion of the Belt Replacement project. Mayor Pro Tern Sample 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 8. Reports by Council /Staff Councilmember Johnson reported on the Senior Services Good Neighbor Team, which works with seniors 85 years old or older and those that are homebound. She said last year the Good Neighbor Team passed out 168 "hurricane ready" bags to those qualified citizens and said she really appreciates the Good Neighbor Team. 9. Adjourn At 6:45 p.m., Councilmember Heathcott moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilmember Yehle seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Noes: Absent: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, None None 6of6 Yehle Dat# Appro d