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HomeMy WebLinkAbout060914 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, June 9, 2014, in the Municipal Building, 3800 University, West University Place, Texas beginning at 6:00 p.m. SPECIAL MEETINGIWORKSHOP Agenda Items were as follows: Call to Order. Mayor Fry called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Conference Room. 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, City Secretary Lenz, and Police Chief Walker. The following was discussed: 1. City Council Goals Discuss updates to City Council goals. Recommended Action: Discuss and take any desired action. Mayor Fry said this Council needs to prioritize its remaining goals and add any other goals that will make West U a better place in the years to come. He said an additional goal he would like to accomplish is establishing a Citizens Academy, which would provide an opportunity for each Department Head to give citizens an overview of what the City does. He said this would be good for all citizens, as well as future candidates. Councilmember Yehle said he agrees with the suggestion of Citizens Academy. He said he went through a similar program with Metro and said it was extremely helpful for Department Heads to explain what they were doing and, most importantly, why they were doing it. He suggested that the best time to hold the Academy would be around the election cycle. Councilmember Johnson suggested including the boards and commissions, too. Everyone agreed. City Manager Ross said it is possible that staff can be ready for the first class in the fall. He said staff will reach out to other cities to see what they are doing and adapt their process to fit West U. As suggested by Councilmember Yehle, Mr. Ross said he will define the process and review the calendar to see when would be the best time to start (i.e. election time). Councilmember Heathcott said considering that all of Council will be "retiring" at one time, an interest needs to be created for possible candidates and something like this will help encourage City Council Minutes, June 9, 2014 interest. He said local government is a black box for some people, so an academy will take the unknown out of the equation and people will realize that serving on Council is something they can do. After discussing the Citizen's Academy, Council reviewed its goals for 2013 -2015 and discussed the status of each: Complete College Avenue /Bellaire Blvd. Drainage Project — obtain remaining 9.1 acre -feet of detention in order to remove outfall restrictor. Complete. 2. City Charter Amendments — Finalize amendments and prepare for November 2013 Charter Election, including a public information initiative. Complete. Successful Charter Election held. 3. Parks Master Plan — Update plan, including recommendations for acquisition of any new parkland which may include the Pittsburg /Mercer properties. Held several meetings of the Parks Master Planning Task Force and completed community survey. Discussed survey results with City Council and will continue with master planning exercise to completion later this year. 4. Create a Parks and Recreation naming rights policy. Complete. 5. Update commercial component of zoning ordinance including all current and potential commercial areas. Propose a solution to sidewalk, parking and PNC issues affecting improvement of the Town Center. Work underway with completion scheduled for end of 2014. Councilmember Yehle asked Mr. Ross what is meant by "completion by end of 2014 ". Mr. Ross responded that it means Council will have adopted the changes, inclusive of codifying those changes. ACM Peifer said to him completion by the end of 2014 means having something ready to present to Council. Councilmember Yehle responded by saying that is not the same as getting the changes into the Code. Mr. Ross said the specific rewrite of every word of the commercial component of the ordinance may not be done by the end of the year, but the changes the public cares about will be discussed at the Town Hall meetings, etc. Councilmember Yehle said to be mindful that he expects Council to be in a position to vote on changes to the Code of Ordinances in 2014. Mr. Ross said the significant amendments have to be done and maybe the whole rewrite will have to come forward to Council in September in order to begin Town Hall meetings in October. He said he and staff will meet with the consultant to discuss the schedule and confirm the timeline. 6. Evaluate Friends of West University Parks Fund policies and bylaws to reassess their mission and consider modifying to include the ability to launch a capital campaign that could be utilized for the purchase of parkland. Met with the Friends to discuss potential campaign and are awaiting their feedback. 2 of 7 City Council Minutes, June 9, 2014 Keep as a goal. 7. Continue planning for the ultimate replacement of the pavement and drainage systems on Buffalo Speedway. Requested and received engineers estimate on project. Awaiting next HCAC request for projects to submit project for future Federal /State funding. Staff will continue following. Remove from the list. 8. Evaluate and recommend ways to recognize and promote West U businesses. Part of the City's website is dedicated to the West U businesses. See: (http://www. westutx. pov /index. asox ?page =281). Part of core responsibilities of the Communications Manager. Remove from list. 9. Review ordinances regarding placement and specifications of electronic signage, possibly differentiating between signage in commercial and residential areas. Public Works staff is reviewing these ordinances for discussion with the appropriate boards and commissions enroute to City Council. This goal is still in progress. Keep as a goal. 10. Evaluate the Community Rating System for flood insurance to determine the cost and potential benefit of City participation. Under review by Public Works staff. Staff will provide a report. Remove from the list. 11. Continue to evaluate ways to improve communication with residents and recommend any beneficial changes including social media and Click West U. Communications Manager is evaluating. Part of core responsibilities of the Communications Manager. Remove from list. 12. Promote the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program. The Fire Department and the Communications Manager are evaluating. Part of core responsibilities of the Communications Manager. Remove from list. 13. Research recreation programs and activities for "tweens" (10 -15 year olds). Parks and Recreation Departmental staff is reviewing current practices to determine any recommendation. This is still a work in progress. Keep on the list. 14. Explore opportunities for West U high school youths to participate in the Houston Mayor's Youth Council. Understanding the time commitment, should this be a standalone West U Youth Council? Communications Manager is evaluating. This is still a work in progress. Keep on the list and begin establishing the program. 3 of 7 City Council Minutes, June 9, 2014 15. Evaluate the City's gateway signage and recommend any needed changes. Goal includes developing a statement of principles for signage to delineate West U from the surrounding areas. Plan to begin review in third quarter of 2014. This is still a work in progress. Keep on the list. 16. Continue public campaign to discourage parking over sidewalks. Continuing successful campaign. Communications Manager is evaluating. Part of core responsibilities of the Communications Manager. Remove from list. 17. Evaluate and recommend ways to increase recycling participation. Address the future of RecyclExpress and Green Waste. RecyclExpress will be closed in January of 2014 as approved by City Council. Green Waste implementation was not approved by City Council for 2014. Staff will continue to work with the Recycling Board to promote other ways to increase recycling participation. As far as Council is concerned, this goal is complete. The Recycling and Solid Waste Reduction Board continues to work on options to bring before Council. 18. Evaluate and make recommendations for intern program including the evaluation of adding an accountant intern. Interviewing candidates. Complete. Accounting intern has been selected and will be begin working on Monday, June 23. Remove from the list. After discussion, Council confirmed the following revised list of goals in order of importance: 1. Parks Master Plan — Update plan, including recommendations for acquisition of any new parkland which may include the Pittsburg /Mercer properties. 2. Update commercial component of zoning ordinance including all current and potential commercial areas. Propose a solution to sidewalk, parking and PNC issues affecting improvement of the Town Center. 3. Develop a West U Citizen's Academy to provide an inside look at City's operations and governmental structure. 4. Evaluate The Friends of West University Parks Fund providing a capital campaign that could be utilized for the purchase of parkland. 5. Review ordinances regarding placement and specifications of electronic signage, possibly differentiating between signage in commercial and residential areas. 6. Research recreation programs and activities for "tweens" (10 -15 year olds). 7. Develop a West U Mayor's Youth Council program to allow for West U high school youths to participate and learn about West U city government. 4 of 7 City Council Minutes, June 9, 2014 8. Evaluate the City's gateway signage and recommend any needed changes. Goal includes developing a statement of principles for signage to delineate West U from the surrounding areas. With no further discussion, at 6:30 p.m. Councilmember Yehle moved to adjourn the workshop /special meeting. Councilmember Johnson seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None 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 6:32 p.m. Council and Staff in attendance were: Mayor Pro Tem Sample, Councilmembers Heathcott, Johnson and Yehle, City Manager Ross, ACM /Public Works Director Peifer, City Secretary Lenz, Police Chief Walker, and Finance Director Daugherty. Also present was Robert Belt with Belt Harris Pechacek. Councilmember Heathcott led the Pledge of Allegiance. Secretary Lenz confirmed that the Notice of the workshop 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. Parks Poor Farm Ditch Outfall Matters related to accepting the bid and awarding the contract for repairs to the piping and structure for the outfall structure connecting the Buffalo Speedway 66 inch storm sewer pipes to the Poor Farm Ditch. Recommended Action: Accept bid and award contract for repairs. Mr. Peifer presented and said staff is prepared to proceed with the renovations to the Poor Farm Ditch Outfall serving the Buffalo Speedway corridor from Bellaire Blvd to the US 59 corridor. He said the dual 66 inch monolithic pipes constructed to serve this area in 1942 have begun failing at the connection to the outfall structure. The engineers have determined that the outfall structure is in good condition and therefore this project includes the replacement of 20' of dual 66 inch pipe and their tie -in to the existing outfall. Mr. Peifer said bids were received and references for the low bidder were verified. He said the project will be funded by funds included in the approved budget, as well as from the balance of mitigation funds designed for drainage purposes, and also from the transfer of funds from the pay - as- you -go fund for storm sewers. In response to Councilmember Yehle's question as to the timeframe to complete the project, Stephen Radcliffe, with HDR, Inc., said it will take no more than 30 days. 5 of 7 City Council Minutes, June 9, 2014 Councilmember Yehle moved to authorize the City Manager to approve a contract with Scohil Construction in the amount of $156,935.00, for the drainage project and to approve the additional funding appropriation. Councilmember Johnson 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 May 19, 2014 City Council Meeting. Recommended Action: Approve Minutes. B. Investment Policy 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. Recommended Action: Approve resolution. C. Budget Amendment Ordinance Matters relating to an ordinance amending the 2013 Budget for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2013 and ending December 31, 2013; containing findings and provisions relating to the subject; and declaring an emergency. Recommended Action: Adopt ordinance approving an amendment to the 2013 Budget on first and final reading. D. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Matters related to the 2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). Recommended Action: Accept the 2013 CAFR. At the request of Councilmember Yehle, Mayor Fry removed Item D from the Consent Agenda for discussion. Councilmember Heathcott moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented, with the exception of Item D. Councilmember Johnson seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None Mr. Robert Belt spoke to provide information regarding the City's 2013 CAFR. Before discussing the results of the Audit, Mr. Belt reviewed some of the changes by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) relating to the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) Pension Plan Disclosure Requirements, particularly GASB #67 and GASB #68. He said GASB #68 requires that on September 30, 2015, the City will be required to take the unfunded portion of the TMRS pension liability, and put it on its financial statement. GASB #67, which is a companion to #68, requires pension plans, like TMRS, to undergo a number of changes in the way they report matters, beginning with the next fiscal year. 6 of 7 City Council Minutes, June 9, 2014 Regarding the CAFR, Mr. Belt reported that the City has a Modified Report, which means the City didn't have any modifications or changes, so it's a clean opinion and the highest level assurance that can be provided. He said the opinion indicates that all the disclosures required by generally accepted accounting principles have been included and that the financial statements are materially correct. Mr. Belt then reviewed some of the highlights of the report and answered questions from Council. He said overall the City of West University Place is in solid shape. After discussion, Council Member Yehle moved to approve the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. Mayor Pro Tern Sample seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle Noes: None Absent: None 5. Council /City Manager Reports City Manager Ross reported that an offer was made to and accepted by the Executive Assistant, who will begin work on June 23`d Councilmember Yehle reported that he recently met with Metro representatives, on non -City related issues, and there was a discussion regarding Metro's reimaging plans. Mr. Yehle said from what the Traffic Engineer, Chairman and President of Metro said the plans are just that — plans — and not something that is cast in stone. He said there are still changes they can make and are willing to make. Mayor Fry reiterated that Metro's Reimaging Plan is a draft and the next part of the draft is to solicit citizen input, which always produces changes. He said the target date for presenting the plan in final form to the Metro Board is the end of 2014 or early 2015, with the idea of implementing it in the second half of 2015. 6. Adjourn With no further business, Mayor Pro Tern Sample moved to adjourn the meeting at 6:59 p.m. Councilmember Johnson seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. f?s Ayes: Fry, Sample, Heathcott, Johnson, Yehle r''" " Noes: None A. ,' bsent: None epa y. Thelma A. Lenz, City Secret a Da Approved 7of7