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HomeMy WebLinkAbout021014 CC MinThe 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 a workshop and regular session on Monday, February 10, 2014, in the Municipal Building, 3800 University, West University Place, Texas beginning at 5:45 p.m. Agenda Items were as follows: Call to Order. Mayor Fry called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. in the Conference Room. Council and Staff in attendance were: Councilmembers Heathcott, Johnson and Yehle, City Manager Ross, Assistant City Manager /Public Works Director Peifer, City Secretary Lenz, Finance Director Daugherty, Human Resources Director Standorf and Police Chief Walker. Mayor Pro Tern Sample and City Attorney Petrov were absent from the Workshop, but was present at regular meeting. SPECIAL MEETING/WORKSHOP 1. Employee Health Insurance Matters related to the City's Health Insurance. Recommended Action: Discuss and take any desired action. City Manager Ross and HR Director Standorf presented. Mr. Ross spoke and said that there had been some interest amongst Council to solicit Request for Qualifications (RFQs) for a benefits consultant. He said staff completed a draft RFQ, but reminded Council that the City is currently part of the only consortium of cities in the region that have successfully banded together to achieve a larger employee pool for health insurance. He said the consortium uses Gallagher Benefit Services as its consultant and the other three cities in the consortium have made it quite clear that they remain very pleased with Gallagher and have no intention of changing consultants. He also noted that if Council does instruct staff to move forward with the RFQ process and at the end of the process West U decides to hire a new consultant, it will be paying twice for consulting services. Councilmember Heathcott said he is satisfied with the consortium. Councilmember Yehle said he does not see the benefit of hiring a new consultant and said he is also satisfied with the consortium. Councilmember Johnson agreed. Mayor Fry said the consensus is to stay in the consortium and let that be staff's guide. City Council Minutes, February 10, 2014 With no further discussion, Councilmember Yehle moved to adjourn the Workshop at 5:55 p.m. Councilmember Heathcott seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: Sample REGULAR MEETING (6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers) Agenda items are as follows: Call to Order. Mayor Fry called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Council and Staff in attendance were: Mayor Pro Tern Sample, Councilmembers Heathcott, Johnson and Yehle, City Manager Ross, Assistant City Manager /Public Works Director Peifer, Finance Director Daugherty, Human Resources Director Standorf, City Secretary Lenz and Police Chief Walker. Councilmember Heathcott led the Pledge of Allegiance. 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 public comments. 3. Automatic Meter Reading Matters related Automatic Meter Reading. Recommended Action: Approve Aqua Metric Sates Company as the contractor and authorize City Manager to execute the contract in an amount up to $1,900,000. ACM /Public Works Director Peifer presented and said staff is requesting confirmation to replace every water meter within the City. He said the City will obtain accuracy and accountability and enhance internal and external customer service, as well as have greater transparency. He said the City will also experience $250,000 to $280,000 annually of recurring savings. Councilmember Yehle said the savings is probably more in that these meters last longer than the conventional meter and, therefore, the City will have a longer replacement cycle. Mayor Fry said the City has been talking about this for a long time, so what is so magical about getting started with it now. Mr. Peifer responded that, basically, the funding and technology finally came to a crossroads. Councilmember Johnson asked what the residents will see when the automation process is transpiring. Mr. Peifer replied that they will see the replacement of the meters and the meter boxes, but once those are installed, aside from maybe a little flushing, they will not see any more contractors or meter readers for this project. Councilmember Yehle asked if the meter boxes are city -owned pieces of equipment and, if so, would they be replaced during this process if they are damaged or in bad shape. Mr. Peifer responded yes to both questions. 2of4 City Council Minutes, February 10, 2014 Councilmember Yehle moved to approve the program and award a contract to Aqua Metrics Sales Company and authorize the City Manager to execute the contracts on behalf of the City in the amount up to $1.9 million out of the Water Fund Account. Mayor Pro Tern Sample seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None 4. 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 Minutes of January 27, 2014 City Council meeting. B. Ruskin Street Project — Engineering & Design Matters related to a work order with HDR Engineering, Inc., for engineering and design services related to the Ruskin Street Project. Recommended Action: Authorize the City manager to execute a work order with HDR Engineering, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $86,285. 00. Councilmember Johnson moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Councilmember Heathcott seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None 5. Council /City Manager Reports City Manager Ross reported on the two freeze days and said the City took the necessary precautions and closed some of the City's services for one of those days. He said though the freeze was exaggerated by weathermen, staff learned lessons for the future. Mayor Fry thanked Council for their trust on working the detention issue. He said having the trust of the Council, and the joint effort with staff, engineers and the County, was the only way it was able to get done. Councilmember Johnson announced her attendance at the Houston Community College Annual Meeting and the Chevron Houston Marathon "Thank You" Party for its sponsors. She said she thinks it is very important to have City representatives at these type events. Mayor Fry agreed. Councilmember Yehle announced that he attended the 40 -year anniversary of the Harris County Transportation and Planning, where they recognized the history of where the County has been and highlighting Metro and the airports and setting the stage for the next 40 years. Councilmember Yehle stated, though it is certainly a milestone to remove the restrictor and get full use out of the investment put in the drainage, there will still be water in the streets, because that is 3 of 4 City Council Minutes, February 10, 2014 part of the plan. He said we need people to remember that that is the way it's intended to be so that the water is in the streets and not in houses. Councilmember Yehle also announced that the mail -in ballots for the Primary Election on March 4 have a printing error regarding for postage. He said depending on when a ballot was requested and delivered, it may have .66 cents or .69 cents, but the correct postage is .70 cents. He said the County Clerk's office has been notified about the error and information regarding the issue has been posted on the City's website. 6. Adjourn With further business, Councilmember Heathcott moved to adjourn the meeting at 6:45 p.m. Councilmember Johnson seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None A. Lena, City Secretary k v s s a"/ r H Date A prove