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HomeMy WebLinkAbout081015 CC MinThe City of West University Place A Neighborhood City CITY COUNCIL Susan Sample, Mayor Bob Kelly, Mayor Pro Tern Burt Ballanfant, Councilmember Brennan Reilly, Councilmember Mardi Tumer, 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 special meeting /workshop and regular meeting on Monday, August 10, 2015, in the Municipal Building, 3800 University, West University Place, Texas beginning at 5:20 p.m. SPECIAL MEETING/WORKSHOP Agenda Items were as follows: Call to Order. Mayor Sample called the special meeting to order at 5:20 p.m. in the Council Conference Room. Council and Staff in attendance were: Mayor Pro Tern Kelly, Councilmembers Ballanfant, Reilly and Turner, City Manager Ross, City Secretary Lenz, City Attorney Petrov, Assistant City Manager Peifer and Police Chief Walker. 1. Executive Session Notice is hereby given that the City Council will convene into executive session in accordance with the following provisions of Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code. Mayor Sample recessed the Special Meeting/Workshop at 5:20 p.m. and convened the closed Executive Session to consult with the attorney to receive legal advice concerning the City Manager's employment agreement and /or separation agreement per Section 551.071 of the Texas Government Code. 2. Close Executive Session and Reconvene Special Meeting Matters related to any desired action resulting from discussions held in closed executive session. At 5:58 p.m., Mayor Sample closed the Executive Session and reconvened the Special Meeting/Workshop at 6:04 p.m. 3. Public Comments This was an opportunity for citizens to speak to Council relating to agenda and non - agenda items. Joan Johnson, 6615 Westpoint, spoke regarding the removal of Michael Ross as City Manager. She said residents have asked Council to give a reason for this removal and the best it can come of up with is Bob Kelly saying Council has lost confidence in him, but maybe it's the citizens that have lost confidence in Council's decision - making powers. She said this is wrong and she hopes Council will change its mind and not do what it thinks it needs to do. City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 Melissa Pifko, 2812 Nottingham, spoke regarding City Manager Ross. She said she worked very closely with Michael over the past 4 years while serving on the Parks Board. She said he is phenomenal and it would be a horrible shame to lose him. Judith Faulkner, 5820 Annapolis, spoke regarding City Manager Ross. She said she has lived in West U for almost 40 years and has never spoken at a City Council meeting, but she has come tonight because she is appalled at City Council. She said Michael Ross is doing a great job and she can't imagine how in two months time this City Council has turned the City upside down in this decision. She said she can't believe Council is considering separating him from the City. Russ Schulze, 3518 Rice Boulevard, spoke regarding City Manager Ross. He said Burt Ballanfant, Brennan Reilly, Michael Ross and he are all members of the West U Rotary Club and said at the end of their meetings every week they stand and recite the 4 -way test of the things they think: (1) Is it the truth? (2) Is it fair to all concerned? (3) Will it build good will and better friendships? (4) Will it be beneficial to all concerned? He said as it pertains to Council in this decision regarding Michael: Is it the truth? He asked if Council is really trying to eliminate Michael from his position because he has done a poor job or is it because of some political whim. Is it fair to all concerned? He said Council is getting ready to use taxpayer money to pay attorney's fees, pay a severance fee, etc., and is that fair to all concerned? Will it build good will and better friendships? He said he doesn't think residents would have to be standing here today if Council was successful at that one, because look at the people attending tonight. Is it beneficial to all concerned? He said City services are great and Michael has hired good people. He said being city manager is a tough job and doesn't know if Council is trying to placate the egos of a few people Michael got crosswise with or it's because councilmembers feel like they are the victors and didn't like what the last City Council was doing. Phyllis Cohen, 6619 Mercer, spoke regarding the termination of Michael Ross. She said firing Michael would do terrible damage to West U. She said he is a great city manager who has hired a team of dedicated, smart, overly competent employees who serve the City beautifully and who are responsive to the citizens. She said Mike Ross is smart, dedicated, well- respected, patient, talented and all- around a good person with the highest integrity. She said if it is any testament that Mike Ross is good at his job is that he has been doing his job for the last 2 months while Council has been trying to get rid of him for no reason. Ms. Cohen said she knows Council received a letter from Mr. O'Connor discussing Michael's many virtues. She asked Council to think about what it takes for an employee to write a letter to his employers in favor of another employee who they are seeking to terminate. She said obviously no one would do that unless Council's actions were completely wrong. Ms. Cohen said the culture of an organization starts at the top, so all she sees when she looks at most of them on Council is a culture that is shameful and repulsive and not anything about West U. She asked Council to stop the nonsense, keep Michael Ross, and start acting like the group that deserves to have been elected. Dick Yehle, 6401 Rutgers, spoke to advocate that council retain Michael Ross. He said he endorses what has been said about Michael's performance and reflect a bit about what Russ said about the Rotary pledge. He said Council has said that Michael's performance is not at issue and yet it hasn't agreed to pay his contractual severance as an incentive to leave, which suggests that Council has found some form of "official misconduct" not previously known. Mr. Yehle said if such charges have merit and are substantial, he supports taking immediate action; however, the fact Council has not already informed the Mayor or put Michael on notice about these possible infractions tells him the potential charges are petty or have been manufactured to avoid honoring the severance terms of Michael's contract. Mr. Yehle said Council needs to stop this foolishness and begin acting in the best interest of the City and to do that, he suggests that Council be a little 2of17 City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 introspective about its actions. He said several of the councilmembers were vocal critics of the last Council's practices and said they were inconsistent with "traditional West U practices" and so he asked them to reflect on how they have behaved from the same bench and how their actions measure up against those "traditional West U" practices. Mr. Yehle said this is this Council's fifth meeting and for all the talk about transparency in West U government during their campaigns and at its first four meetings, it has been decidedly opaque about dealings with the city manager issue. He said, in addition, the Mayor has been savaged and agendas have been manipulated, including this one, so that Council can act without being seen by the public. Mr. Yehle said Council may not have agreed with the actions of the last Council but details of what it was doing were repeatedly explained to the public and its business was conducted in the sunshine of open meetings. He said if this Council considered that practice a low standard, he submits that it has found a way to go even lower. He said Council has taken decisions outside of the Council chambers, it has given no credible explanation of why it wants to replace a fine city manager, and it has used overt efforts to orchestrate agendas to achieve its foregone objectives. Mr. Yehle said tonight's agenda, painstakingly manipulated by Brennan and Bob, suggests that Council has already decided on a course of action. He said he doesn't know how that was done without a meeting, but it smells bad. He said paying Michael to leave for no reason is unconscionable, and firing him without honoring his contract would be equally reckless. Mr. Yehle said Council's proposed course of action is seen by most as a tool for "getting even" and not something in the best interest of the City, in fact, it will damage it and needlessly cost a lot of unbudgeted money. Candace Baggett, 2730 Fenwood, spoke regarding City Manager Ross. She said she has been a resident of West U since 1982 and is a small business owner so she is familiar with commercial business practices. She said this is the first time she has testified before City Council, but is compelled to make her debut today because of the action of Council in attempting to force the City Manager's resignation, which doesn't pass a common sense sniff test. She said the City's government has been handled like the domain of a dictator, not like a democratically elected municipal government subject to the Open Meetings Act. She said examples of this behavior fall into procedural, as well as substantive realms and includes the following: (1) No reasons have been advocated or articulated for the forced resignation or dismissal of the City Manager, in fact, Mr. Ross' work performance appears to have been praised by previous City Councils. She said Council has not produced substantive reasons justifying Mr. Ross' resignation or termination and its actions have subjected the City to potential litigation, legal expenses, and a costly severance package in excess of $300,000. Ms. Baggett said the morale of current City workers and staff must be deflated as they contemplate the future of working for an arbitrary employer. She said arbitrary actions not only impact the City's ability to retain existing employees, it also restricts the City's ability to hire new employees and she believes it also impacts negatively on the level of services to the residents; (2) the actions of Council have not been transparent. She said once in office, the new Council acted with lightening speed, in secret, and in the dim darkness of night; (3) the actions of Council in obtaining legal representation by a firm without expertise in employment matters smacks of favoritism; the actions of Council in scheduling meeting at the inconvenient time of 5:20 in the afternoon when most citizens are usually working is further evidence of conduct that is non - inclusive at best; and lastly (5) the residents depend upon Council to do what is right, so Council please put the residents' interest and the interest of the City first. Steve Brown, 3305 Rice, spoke regarding the City Manager's dismissal. He said in Texas it is often heard "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and it is also heard to "do the right thing ", both of which apply in the case of City Manager Michael Ross. He said what "ain't" broke in West U is having Michael as the City Manager as he has been doing an outstanding job for nearly 15 years and there is every reason to think that his performance will remain at that high level. He urged Council to 3of17 City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 reconsider so that everyone can awaken from this nightmare and get on with keeping West U a great place to live. Eddie Matthews, 5906 Fordham, spoke regarding the status of Michael Ross and said it's a matter that has dragged on for over two months and has been badly handled by Council. He said despite Council's campaign pledges of full transparency on City matters, there has been the complete opposite on this matter and this is shown by the insistence of multiple closed Executive Sessions. Mr. Matthews said Mr. Ross has waived his rights to privacy on this issue and so Council should tell residents what reasons it has for seeking his resignation or termination. Mr. Matthews said it seems clear that certain councilmembers continue to seek the ouster of Michael Ross for unstated reasons and said their efforts are clear since he was asked to resign three days into their terms. He said if Mr. Ross is to be terminated or forced to resign then at least honor his contract irrespective of whether he has a new position lined up. He said it is the right thing to do. Mr. Matthews said Council is potentially jeopardizing the quality of services in this city, because if Council succeeds in its quest, then it will be difficult to get a similarly qualified replacement, let alone a better one because someone will be concerned about the daily involvement by Council. Mr. Matthews said this new slate, Mayor Sample excepted, have not lived up to its promise of transparency and have shown a lack of professionalism and integrity in handling this matter and he has lost all faith in this Council. He said if Mr. Ross displayed these characteristics then Council would have a basis for terminating him, instead he thinks it is the new slate that should be terminated. Nancy Gilbertson, 3901 Rice Boulevard, spoke regarding Michael Ross and said she received an email from Joan Johnson and Dick Yehle asking residents to attend tonight's meeting about the City Manager and said she doesn't agree with them, but does thank them for being here. She said she likes Mr. Ross personally, but her reasons for speaking are different and more specific than everyone else's. Ms. Gilbertson said she watched Mr. Ross partner with the nonprofit organization here for 15 years, helping them further their needs and causes. She said when residents found out about the latest land expansion, which would have been sitting in her backyard, Mike did little to assure them that he would protect their interests. She said Mr. Ross instead partnered with that organization to seek its approval and coach them in their meetings. She said she didn't like that and it didn't make her feel good and this is a specific reason why she is angry, maybe not grounds for his dismal, but it made her very angry. Ms. Gilbertson said she doesn't think Mike is a bad person, but she thinks he has wasted a lot of money directing or not directing past Council's who look to him for leadership. She said he is not a puppet and is very professional with a lot of experience. She said Mike Ross is not an innocent victim here and he needs to take some responsibility. She said the whole thing has been mismanaged and Mayor Sample is a part of this, not just the councilmembers.. Ms. Gilbertson said she wants to hear Michael's side of the story. She said she suspects that Council probably doesn't trust him, but she does like him and really would like to hear what he has to say. Ed Heathcott, 2729 Arbuckle, spoke to say that the matter of the City Manager has been hanging over this Council's head since the election and tonight is the night it needs to be brought to an end. He said he strongly urges Council to bring the matter to a vote and either vote to terminate him or let him get to work and get his job done. He said it has been very detrimental to the City, the residents and the employees and there is no good coming from this to let it drag on. Mr. Heathcott said if the decision is to terminate him, then he should be fully compensated with money that he's not sure is available. He said if Council is trying to terminate Mr. Ross without honoring the contract then it knows there will be a lawsuit, which is more money. He said whatever is decided, there is enough information tonight to vote on it so that Council can get on with its primary duties to which they were elected. 4 of 17 City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 Charles Fisher, 3015 Robinhood, spoke regarding the city manager and said it seems from his perspective that this is just an irresponsible abuse of power and, therefore, an irresponsible way to spend taxpayer money. Mayor Sample interrupted the public comments to call for a vote to recess the Special Meeting and convene the Regular Meeting. At 6:31 p.m., Councilmember Reilly moved to recess the Special Meeting. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None At 6:31 p.m., Mayor Sample called the Regular Meeting to order. Councilmember Reilly moved to recess the Regular Meeting at 6:31 and reconvene the Special Meeting. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None Public comments continued. Spyros Maragos, 5932 Auden, spoke regarding the City Manager and said if Council decides tonight to terminate the City Manager the City will enter the worse part of the 2015 hurricane season without the City Manager. He said a hurricane has not hit the area in a while, so it is easy to forget and underestimate the potential risks. He said the clean -up and restoration of City services after a disaster are difficult in the best of times and they will become much more challenging if the City finds itself without a city manager. He said if Council terminates the City Manager and the City gets hit shortly after by a hurricane, all the shortcomings of the preparation and recovery from the hurricane will easily be attributed to the termination of the City Manager. Mr. Maragos said it will be difficult for the City Council to point the finger elsewhere. He said if the City is a hurricane away from an unattainable political situation in West U the hurricane will create a political storm that this Council will not be able to withstand. He said elections have circumstances and the Council has the right to terminate the City Manager, however, you have to follow the spirit and the letter of the law in doing these things in a systematic way. Mr. Maragos said the annual review of the City Manager is towards the end of the year, which gives Council time to give the City Manager the review that it wants and will also give the citizens of West U an opportunity to hear the reasons for the termination. He said please do not deny the citizens this right. Kathleen Ownby, 3928 Tennyson, spoke regarding the City Manager. She said that she and her husband have lived in West U since 1989 and July 13, 2015 is the first time she attended a Council meeting. She said if she wants to go to a fireworks show at Council meetings, she would go to the City of Houston. She said until this whole uproar, she thought the City was run well. She said she didn't know who Michael Ross was, but her trash was being picked up, the parks were clean and everything seemed to be going fine, so she is very disappointed in the elected Council. She said the big buzz word was transparency, so for this Council not to be able to tell the citizens what it has against Mr. Ross, she thinks is really bad. Ms. Ownby said will continue to come to Council meetings now because she wants to have a voice in what this Council is doing. 5of17 City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 Richard Kellogg, 2716 University, spoke regarding the City Manager and said he had two questions for City Council: The first is should Mr. Ross be fired? He said it would certainly be without cause and if it prompts a lawsuit, he believes the City and the City Council will be sued by Mr. Ross and further believes that the City's underwriter will deny coverage for the manner in which the dismissal has been engineered. Mr. Kellogg said if that happens, he wants it to be a matter of public record that Council is personally responsible for those defense costs and penalties and anything else that happens by virtue of that litigation. He said this is not a cost that should be borne by the City or its citizens. He said the second question is should Council persist in this malicious action? He said if Council wants to continue with this action, he wants to know why the citizens should not recall this Council at the very first opportunity. Stan McCandless, 3712 Rice Boulevard, spoke regarding the City Manager and said he has invested a lot of time and energy in this City, including serving two terms on the Zoning Board of Adjustment, one term on the Parks and Recreation Board, two terms on the City Council (1993 and 1997), and serving on the Seniors Board forever. He said there is one area where he thinks everybody is missing the boat and said for some reason the Village News and Instant News won't publish Michael Ross' emails to Roger Patterson. He said the emails started in January 2015 and one in particular directs Mr. Patterson on how to act before the Zoning Board Adjustment, how to get his message across to put that 7,000 square foot building in the City. Mr. McCandless said the unfortunate situation is that Michael Ross becomes a fall guy because the past City Council allowed him to make these personal emails to Roger Patterson, which he believes is completely improper. He said he believes if the emails Michael Ross wrote to Roger Patterson were made public, he thinks a lot of people would say they are improper, but it's a moot point because that City Council approved him to do it. Joni Hruska - Fichter, 3733 Arnold, spoke on the matter of Michael Ross and said that she may not love everyone with whom she works or volunteers with, but she respects them for a job that they do well and for the effort and energy they put into their job, which Michael has done. She said he has done a great job and has been there for the City and helped make it what it is. She said it took a lot of people, but he organized those people to make it this City. She said regardless of Council's personal feelings and opinions of Michael, it has to respect him for a job he has done so very well. She respectfully asked that Council respect the job that Michael has done so beautifully and retain him as the City Manager. Alicia Drewes, 6112 Fordham, spoke regarding the City Manager and said he lied to her, denied City services to her and her disabled daughter, and he stated that select seniors are not allowed coffee at the Senior Center. She said citizens are not allowed to complain about City services without retaliation and that City staff is instructed not to pick up select citizen's trash. She said she was told not to call the County Commissioner from inside her own home and she didn't know at the time that Michael Ross had alienated the County Commission by tapping his conversation, as well as other people's conversations, without disclosing to them that they were being recorded. Ms. Drewes said her disabled daughter was removed from a West University bus to allow a non- resident to board. She said City workers are spending tax dollars and resources on private parties, private functions, etc., which the residents are funding. She asked Mr. Ross if that is responsible and told him he is responsible for this action. Ms. Drewes said Missouri City demands its City Manager to be involved with its citizens not to be at war with select citizens. She said Mr. Ross acts like a dictator not like the City Manager the City needs to move forward in a positive direction. City Secretary Lenz received the following letters relating to City Manager Michael Ross and was asked by the authors to read them into record, which she did: 6of17 City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 Carlos de la Torre, 6700 Belmont wrote: "To the members of City Council Ballanfant, Kelly, Reilly and Turner When you were elected to City Council, a mere two months ago, you and the fellow members of the so- called "slate ", described your victory as a mandate from West U residents to change the way things are done at City Hall, and to restore transparency to the running of our city. Your actions so far do not reflect either one of these statements. in the first place, the election results did not give you a mandate for wholesale change, but only support to review the draft of the long range plan for the City, and to stop the land swap with West U Baptist Church. The overwhelming majority of West U residents are happy with how the city is run, and feel privileged to live in a nationally top -rated community. Your actions are disrupting the good management of our city and threatening to degrade the quality of life of its residents. You speak of restoring transparency in government, yet the way you have conducted yourself in dealing with the City Manager continued employment is, not only opaque, but financially reckless and tantamount to a personal vendetta. Your main argument against Michael Ross is that he does not have the confidence of Council. This despite his 14 years of excellent performance working for several councils, and the respect he has earned from staff and the community at large. With merely two months of service, it seems to me that it is City Council who needs to earn the confidence of West U residents. Respectfully yours. Jeffrey J. Dravis, 4133 Tennyson, wrote: "1 strongly object to the firing of Mr. Michael Ross, current West University Place city manager. From my perspective, Mr. Ross has done more than a fine job during his tenure as city manager. l see no justification for his dismissal, based on his performance. I also wish to express my extreme displeasure at the actions of three of the newly- elected members of the city council (Kelly; Reilly and Ballanfant). 1 voted for each of them in May because they promised transparency in city government, following the secretive deliberations by the former council with West U Baptist Church. Instead, they continue the same despicable approach to governing. They clearly came into office with their own secretive agenda that was not made known when they were running for office. I strongly object to their lack of transparency. i applaud Mayor Sample for trying to counteract their actions. I regret that 1 voted for these three current council members. They misled me and many others in this city. If a voter recall is an option in the future, I will heartily support their removal from office. " Katherine Abba, 18 -year resident of West University, wrote 7of17 City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 "i object to the termination of Michael Ross as City Manager and to the manner in which his possible termination is being handled. Mr. Ross has served our city well and should be allowed to continue to do so; many of our citizens hold Mr. Ross in high regard. This 5:20 meeting is not in the spirit of an "open" meeting; how "open" is a meeting at 5:20, when most folks are either finishing work or driving home from work? Why does the council continue to act in a secretive manner regarding his termination, particularly when Mr. Ross himself has requested public discussion of his termination? I seem to recall that the Councilmembers who are calling for his resignation ran on an agenda of "transparency ". Thus far, how have they shown themselves to be transparent regarding this request for termination when City Councilmembers have tried to discuss Mr. Ross' employment in executive sessions, to which the public is not invited? Furthermore, why would they not consider the Mayor's request to hold the meeting in public? Are Councilmembers above the Mayor? f would like to think the Council works in tandem with and in consideration of the Mayor, particularly when a fair and democratic request is made? I look forward to a reasonable and transparent resolution of this matter. Thank you." Ronald J. Restrepo, 2730 Fenwood, wrote: As a resident of West U for 34 years, l vigorously protest what I consider to me the shameful and anything but transparent effort to terminate Mr. Ross; the cloak and dagger, Putin -like process to do so; and the odd and unexplained decision to refrain from hiring experienced counsel familiar with employment law to hire a Council favorite, all to the detriment and great expense of the citizens who are the victims of all three truly silly decisions. I have been tracking these issues since the recent election in all the local publications and have yet to see any reasonable basis for any of these decisions, other than the hubris of those making them. The most recent outrage is scheduling the meeting to discuss one of the most important issues facing our community at 5:20, knowing folks like me are unable to attend due to work schedules. Therefore, i ask that this message be read at the 5:20 meeting in my absence. From all reports i have heard and read, Mr. Ross is a competent and respected City Manager, the most recent proof being his being among the final candidates for another desired job in his field. As an employer, 1 know the costs involved in losing an experienced critical employee, not only in dollars and cents but also in the lost productivity incurred during the transition, here not even knowing who the replacement may be. it's even worse that this would require an "interim" manager, yet another debacle in waiting. And then to have to incur the expense of hiring inexperienced counsel to negotiate and pay a termination fee apparently in the neighborhood of $350,000II Allan outrage. I should note that l was speaking with a close friend who recently moved out of West U after living here over 40 years. He commented that he was happy to move to avoid the types of practices now seen at Council, where folks seem to want to run the City like it's their fiefdom, rather than in the best interests of their constituents. I protest and hope they will reverse course promptly." This ended public comments 8of17 City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 4. Personnel Matters Deliberate the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public officer or employee: City Manager. Discuss and take any desired action. In accordance with the Charter of the City of West University Place, Texas, and the employment contract by and between the City of West University Place and City Manager Michael Ross, Mayor Pro Tem Kelly moved to terminate immediately Michael Ross as the City Manager of the City of West University Place, involuntarily and without cause. Councilmember Reilly seconded the motion. Councilmember Reilly spoke to say that several weeks ago, he and Councilmember Ballanfant went to Michael Ross and talked to him about retiring from the City and their purpose in talking to him privately was to allow Michael to leave on terms beneficial to him, which would have avoided a public airing of Michael's faults. He said many residents have asked for a public statement of the reasons why Michael Ross is being terminated, but a public airing of Michael's failures is something that is not in his best interest and, frankly, it will make it more difficult for the City to find a successor. Councilmember Reilly said at the time he didn't have a specific for -cause reason, but said Michael has been extremely deceitful in his dealings with him, he has personally lied to him about the status of his employment and seeking of employment with the City of Missouri City, he demanded that his employment be discussed publicly, but then refused to answer any questions, and he has lied to the press about his conversations with him and those actions would justify a termination for -cause under any reasonable employment agreement because it is insubordinate behavior. Councilmember Reilly said Michael Ross is actively seeking employment with another city and has been since he and Councilmember Ballanfant approached Michael. He said he thinks Michael is doing things in an effort to be terminated without cause, because he is trying to make members of the City Council so fed up with his behavior that it would terminate him so he could receive his severance benefit that he negotiated with the prior Council. Councilmember Reilly said it is extremely unfortunate that the City is dealing with an employment agreement. He said he works with employment agreements and he has never seen a lifetime, permanent, perpetual employment agreement, which is what the City has with the City Manager and which there is no way to separate his employment without paying him a severance benefit. He said this was a failure of the prior Council. Councilmember Reilly said to answer why this Council doesn't have confidence in Michael Ross, he would say first and foremost it starts with his secretive and closed and arrogant management style. He said he has talked to several former Councilmembers about the way that Michael Ross handled agendas and meetings and thinks that the secretive management style results in major mistakes that have cost the City tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars. For example, the super block and land swap proposal was something that had been ongoing for months before it became public and was being discussed in secret by the prior City Council with Michael Ross leading the way. Councilmember Reilly said Michael was not only following the direction of the City Council, but he was managing that City Council. He said Michael has actively been involved in political campaigning, which is entirely inappropriate because city managers shouldn't be involved with picking their own bosses and yet he has actively solicited candidates to run for office and involved himself in those campaigns. He said it has been mentioned by several residents that he costs the City a tremendous amount of money and lack of good will with the County by publicly embarrassing a County Commission and however much one might disagree with that County Commissioner, the City Manager's job is to get along with that County Commissioner. He said he thinks that is a major 9of17 City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 failing by Michael. Councilmember Reilly said he is confident the City Council can find a City Manager who will do just a good of a job. Councilmember Reilly said a lot of the comments tonight are premised on the basis as if Michael is the one making the trains run on time throughout the City. He said he doesn't think that is true and thinks the City has an excellent staff from the bottom up through the middle management and those are the people that really make the train run on time and pick up the garbage and do the things in the City and they have been excellent without regard whether Michael Ross is the City Manager. He said he thinks the City can do better and the City can have a City Manager that not only can make sure the City performs in an efficient manner, but also that the City has an open citizen government and involvement that Michael's management style is inconsistent with. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly spoke to say that Michael Ross was a finalist in Missouri City and said he believes he did not get a second on his motion at the last meeting because Council felt it would be somewhat derelict turning him loose and paying him $200,000 in severance (the other $100,000 he is entitled to). He said he is not going to try to win the residents over, because obviously there are only 2 or 3 present against Michael. He said he values everyone's input and he encouraged everyone to run for City Council. He said it is a tough job, which is not being done for money or fame. Councilmember Ballanfant said there have been several things said that were not completely accurate. He said about two meetings ago, he said that while campaigning door -to -door he asked residents if there was an issue about the City and he said the most common response when people chose to answer the question was to "fire the City Manager ". He said he was an agnostic about Michael Ross, but the campaign convinced him that there was a large group of people in the City that wanted the City Manager replaced and it was confirmed by the election, where the slate won 70 percent of the votes against 30 percent of the votes of the candidates who ran on a campaign supporting the status quo. Councilmember Ballanfant said the people who would be abusing the electoral system would be somebody who would ignore the very things that an election is supposed to bring about, which is how the public as a whole feels, not just people one night in a room that are spread across the board. He said the people wanted a Council that would at least consider the severance of the City Manager and that is why he is going to vote for this in order to give validity to the electoral process rather than detract from it. He also said he was appalled to discover that telephone conversations were being routinely taped by the City Manager without advising people on the other line that the conversations were being taped. He said legal or not, he doesn't think City employees should be recording conversations without the approval of the other person. Councilmember Turner said she has worked with Michael for approximately 8 years on various boards and she personally doesn't have a lot of difficulty with him. She said she was very disappointed with all of the activity surrounding the land swap and the super block and she continue to be disappointed with everyone who was involved in that process. She said she has to agree that Michael has hired excellent City staff and she hopes the City will be able to retain them. She said she doesn't feel there is much she can do to sway her fellow councilmembers in one direction or another and would leave it to the vote. Councilmember Ballanfant spoke again to say that at one of the Council Meetings, Michael Ross appeared to be coaching the witness for the West University Baptist Church and confirmed with Michael that he gave them the Power of Attorney or Authority to Act on behalf of the City, at the then Council's direction. Councilmember Ballanfant said he believes the City Manager should be promoting the position of the City, not the other party to the discussion and he said he thinks that is a very fundamental issue that really surprised him when he saw it happening. 10 of 17 City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 Mayor Sample said she personally can't vote to spend over $350,000 of the taxpayer's money to let a well performing City Manager go. She said she spoke with over 100 people on the Municipal Block and asked them personally what was bothering them and she didn't get a sentiment that they wanted to fire Michael Ross, but rather the sentiment that they didn't want to waste taxpayer money and they wanted Council to be transparent. She said what she has tried to do and continues to do as mayor is run an orderly meeting with a transparent Council. Mayor Sample said the City runs well and the department heads have a lot to do with it, but she fears this is a team that Council is firing. She said staff heads are not going to want to stay around for this. She said the Parks and Recreation Director really stuck his neck out sending that letter to Council and he would not have sent it if he didn't truly believe it. Mayor Sample said all of Council campaigned on transparency and she doesn't think this Council has been particularly transparent, so even if she wasn't for Michael, she doesn't think she could vote for it because of the process. She said with the process the way it is and the costs, Council can't move forward with this. Michael Ross spoke to ask Council to honor the agreement in place as most Councils do when the decision is made to part with the City Manager. He said cause can be discussed in the depositions if that's where it ends up, but he doesn't think this is the time to launder what some personal feelings may be from individuals. He said he appreciates the support of the public and said it means a great deal. He said it is very humbling, but there does come a time when he believes it is time to move on and he thinks it is that time with this Council. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly spoke to say that the Charter is the only instrument that reigns in a City Councilmember, which is why Charter Elections are very important. He said who gets on the Charter Commission is probably more important than who is elected for City Council. He said the Charter currently says that the City Manager serves at the convenience of the City Council and the reason he assumes that is in there is because there has to be a very, close and trusting working relationship between a City Council and the City Manager. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly said regarding costs, if Council lets what another City Council puts in as a severance benefit and has that as a trap to keep the City Manager, then it has gone around the City Charter and that is what this Council is not letting happen. He said this Council will not, nor should any Council let anything in an employment contract contradict the Charter. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly said the City has a great staff and he has been through this before with the City Manager and it doesn't mean an automatic bailout with the staff. He said this is a good place to work, the City is a good employer, it pays well and the City will find a good City Manager. He said there is no reason to think staff is all going to resign, but if they do the City will find other staff members. He said the City is a very premier employer and said this Council is going to right the ship. He said elections have consequences and this election had a consequence. He said it was a 2 -1 margin to right the ship and change what is going on and to calm things down. Councilmember Ballanfant said one of things tonight's discussion has brought out is that there will be a Charter Election in the future and he finds that a prime issue should be whether it would even be permissible for any City Council to give people a golden parachute that in essence pays them for not working. He said he hopes people will remember this and it should never happen again. Mayor Sample said this contract has been ratified at least 14 times by three members of this Council, including herself. 11 of 17 City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 Councilmember Reilly said this is a lifetime agreement that provides for severance if the employment terminates any time prior to death, which is extremely unusual. City Attorney Petrov confirmed that the City Manager's severance continues unless he is terminated for cause. Mayor Sample said again she can't vote to waste $378,000. She said it is not worth it. Councilmember Reilly said the $378,000 is an estimate that was provided that includes a severance payment as pensionable compensation and he is almost certain that under the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) that severance payment is not pensionable compensation and that is something that Human Resources should examine with TMRS if Michael's employment is terminated. At this time, Mayor Pro Tern Kelly called for a vote by roll call. Councilmember Ballanfant seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None A roll call vote was taken to the motion made by Mayor Pro Tern Kelly to immediately terminate Michael Ross as the City Manager of the City of West University Place, involuntarily and without cause. Councilmember Reilly seconded the motion. The vote was as follows: Councilmember Reilly Yes Mayor Pro Tern Kelly Yes Mayor Sample No Councilmember Ballanfant Yes Councilmember Turner No By a vote of 3 -2 in favor of the termination, MOTION PASSDED and Michael Ross was immediately terminated as City Manager and asked to leave the dais. 5. Special Legal Counsel Matters related to retaining special legal counsel to analyze and advise Council regarding the City Manager's employment agreement, to consult with Council regarding the same, and to assist Council in implementing changes to the same. Discuss and take any desired action. Councilmember Reilly moved to finalize payment of the current legal bill for counsel and for Council to authorize payment of additional compensation equal to the time the firm spent at its standard hourly rates. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None 6. Adjourn /Recess Special Meeting Councilmember Turner moved to closed the special meeting at 7:28 p.m. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. 12 of 17 City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None At 7:29 p.m., Mayor Sample moved for a short break before reconvening the Regular session. Councilmember Reilly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None At 7:40 p.m., Councilmember Turner moved to reconvene the Regular session. Councilmember Ballanfant seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None Secretary Lenz confirmed that the Notice of the special meeting /workshop and regular meeting was duly posted in accordance with the Texas Government Code, Chapter 551. Councilmember Turner led the Pledge of Allegiance. 7. Public Comments This was an opportunity for citizens to speak to Council relating to agenda and non - agenda items. Phyllis Cohen, 6619 Mercer, spoke regarding the proposed amendment to Rule 32 of the Council Rules of Procedure, which would basically allow the majority of Council to cut off a discussion. She urged Council not to pass it because (1) the change is unnecessary; (2) the rule is to allow the right of the minority to be heard, so inserting the provision that allows a majority to close off discussion is completely inconsistent with the letter and the spirit of the rule; (3) the provision is the exact opposite of the transparency Council promised when running for election; (4) the provision is bad policy; and (5) it conflicts the purpose of the Open Meetings Act, which protects a citizen's right for discussions to be made in an open and fully transparent manner. She said she thinks it would be a big mistake if that provision was enacted. Alida Drewes, 6112 Fordham, spoke to say that now Michael Ross is gone she feels that the policy denying any taxpayer City services should be removed. She said it is wrong because taxpayers are paying for City services and those City services shouldn't be denied as a form of punishment or retaliation for speaking out against someone or reporting City deficiencies. She said these services should not be denied any citizen. Ms. Drewes said she also feels that West University seniors should have free coffee in the Senior Center. She said the Senior Center is not the office of Tim O'Connor and said it is there so that seniors can go and spend the day and have social interaction. She said the seniors are told not to come there, they are mistreated when do go there, and they are harassed by Tim O'Connor. Ms. Drewes said anyone that needs help with trash service should be able to receive it. Ms. Drewes said the City has always had the understanding that if someone needed trash service all they had to do was ask for it. Eddie Matthews, 5906 Fordham, spoke regarding Agenda Items 10 and 11. He said regarding the Municipal Collections Contract, at the last Council meeting this item was tabled because Mr. Kelly wanted a report from staff summarizing reasons for their choice of the Linebarger firm. He said Mr. 13 of 17 City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 Kelly also said he wanted residents to have transparency on the how the City conducts its business and makes its choices, which all came about after the Purdue Brandon law firm asked that Council table this matter to have an opportunity for it to present its case, despite the RFQs no contact provision. Mr. Matthews said staff will provide its report tonight and unless there are obvious flaws in their evaluation he would hope that Council shows its trust in City staff and approve their recommendation. He said if Council chooses not to accept their recommendation and the RFQ is reopened, he questions whether the law firm of Purdue Brandon should be disqualified immediately since they had already violated the "no contact" provision by first sending an email to Mayor Sample, calling Mr. Kelly, and appearing and speaking at the last Council meeting. Regarding Council Rules of Procedure, Mr. Matthews urged Council to delete the proposed amendment to Rule 32. He said he has served on many committees and boards and have always felt that it is just good manners to allow fellow members to have their full say provided they stay on point. He said they may have disagreed on matters, but would always show full respect for and be civil to each other and he is sure that Council would like that respect and civility from its colleagues. Mr. Matthews said the only purpose of this rule change is to allow councilmembers to gang up on and silence another member of Council because they disagree with his /her views. He said it is not proper, it's not democracy and he see no need for this rule change and urges its rejection. There were no other public comments. 8. Personnel Matters Notice is hereby given that Council will convene into executive session in accordance with Section 551.074 of the Texas Government Code to deliberate the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, and duties of a public officer or employee, including an interim City Manager. At 7:52 p.m., Mayor Pro Tern Kelly moved to recess the regular meeting and convene into Executive Session per Section 551.074 of the Texas Government Code. Councilmember Turner seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None 9. Close Executive Sessions and Reconvene Regular Meeting Matters related to any desired action resulting from discussions held in closed executive session. At 8:06 p.m., Mayor Sample closed the Executive Session and reconvened the regular meeting and the following action was taken: Mayor Pro Tern Kelly moved until directed otherwise by the City of West University Place City Council that Assistant City Manager Chris Peifer assume the duties of Interim City Manager, effective immediately. Councilmember Ballanfant seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None 10. Municipal Court Fine Collections Matters relating to authorizing the city manager to contract services for the collection of Municipal Court outstanding fines. 14 of 17 City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 Police Chief Walker presented and explained that there was a committee comprised of the Municipal Court Judge, Municipal Court Prosecutor, Finance Director, Interim City Manager (Assistant City Manager at the time), Municipal Court Clerk, City Secretary and himself. He said a rating sheet was developed and the total score consisted of 25 points for the firm's qualifications, 25 points for a completed questionnaire, 25 points for collection procedures, 15 points for computer network capabilities, and 10 points for performance reports for a total of 100 points. He said each committee member independently reviewed the proposals and rated them on each of the five measures and the results were that Linebarger scored 93, MSB scored 92.57 and Purdue Brandon scored 88.7. Chief Walker said in 2014 Municipal Court collected $306,212 of which the City was able to keep $177,433, minus the court costs collected for the State of Texas. He said the current company that the City uses for collections collected $23,225 last year and was paid a fee of $6,618, leaving a $16,607 net to the City. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly said the reason he pulled the item from the Consent Agenda last meeting is because of the fact the City has used the current collection firm since 1993 and feels that if the City has used a firm that long, it is integrated with that company from an operational standpoint. Chief Walker explained that the committee members didn't look at the history of the firms. He said the committee was tasked with evaluating the proposal according to the score sheet. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly said the two things he was looking at in the Request for Proposals were: (1) what is their performance and (2) what are the costs. He said he also wanted to know what was it was about the current firm, MSB, that after 20 plus years it was decided to go out for Requests for Proposals. Chief Walker said he can't answer that. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly said the thing that jumped out to him the most about Linebarger is that the City has a history with MSB about what they charge or don't charge. He said the other firm Purdue Brandon said in their proposal that they would charge no additional fees for collection, which he took to mean from Purdue that the 30 percent they get to add on to the debtor's fee is all they would charge and there would be no additional fees on top of that. He said the other thing he was looking for is who is going to pay for the cost to become compatible with Linebarger. He said not only will there be employee downtime, etc, in transitioning, but there may also need to be new software, new programs and new equipment. Councilmember Turner said if there is going to be a discussion between Linebarger and MSB where the point totals are within spitting distance of one another, if there is a cost associated with the implementation of their systems within our Municipal Court, that should be one of the factors in addition to the questions that have been raised and responded to by the team. She said unless there is an immediate need to make this decision, that's a question she'd like answered. Councilmember Reilly said the committee's point system doesn't indicate that there was an evaluation of costs and collection rate. He asked if the committee looked at that to which Chief Walker replied yes. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly said he would propose that Council take this over. He said performance and cost numbers are important and he wants to know what percentage did MSB collect of what we gave them. 15 of 17 City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 Councilmember Reilly said if costs and performance was considered by staff, he is happy to go with staff's recommendation. Mayor Sample said for a $6,000 contract she also recommends that Council go with staff's recommendation. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly said the only thing the Committee didn't do is interview the firms in order to get into what those numbers mean. He said Council can send it back and have the committee interview them, but he thinks it would be quicker if Council just took it over. He said he isn't trying to put staff down, but it's not unusual for Council to take over something and review it. He said he's just saying if the City goes with Lineberger under what he had seen on that Request for Proposal he will review the costs next year to see what they charge. He said he doesn't mind switching firms if the data is there to support it. Councilmember Reilly said he feels this is a relatively small matter and defer to staff. He said Mayor Pro Tern Kelly has a valid concern and if it is a one -year term Council can review it in one year and if a mistake was made it can be bid out again. Councilmember Turner moved to accept staff's recommendation on the subject of Municipal Court Fines collection. Councilmember Reilly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: Kelly Absent: None 11. Council Rules of Procedure Matters related to adoption of an ordinance revising the Council Rules of Procedure on the first of two readings. Recommended Action: Discuss and approve ordinance on the first of two readings. 12. Councilmember Reilly said there have been several public comments about the desire not to not modify Council's existing rules that preclude filibusters. He said the recommendation is not a change, but rather a clarification of an existing provision and it's in Section 32, which already provides that there could be a call for a vote in the midst of discussion. He said every rule of parliamentary procedure has a move to question or call to question as an item of procedure. Councilmember Reilly said in the usual case, councilmembers will be able to have their say but if a councilmember is filibustering or trying to avoid the will of the majority of council, it makes sense to have this provision. Councilmember Reilly moved to approve the Rules of Procedures as presented tonight with the proposed changes. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: Sample Absent: None Matters related to appointing Council liaisons to the City's Boards /Commissions. Recommended Action: Discuss and take any desired action including, but not limited to, appointing Council liaisons to the various boards/commissions. City Councilmembers chose the following boards /commissions to serve as liaisons: 16 of 17 City Council Minutes, August 10, 2015 Mardi Turner Parks and Friends of West U Parks Brennan Reilly Zoning and Planning Commission Susan Susan Recycling Bob Kelly Building and Standards Commission Burt Ballanfant Seniors Board 13. Future Agenda Items Matters related to future agenda items. See attached list of Future Agenda Items. Discuss and take any desired action. Council reviewed the Future Agenda Items List and Councilmember Reilly requested to add the City Manager search item to the August 24, 2015 agenda. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly seconded the request and the item will be added to the next agenda. 14. 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 the City Council Minutes of July 27, 2015. Councilmember Turner moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None 15. Adjourn Meeting With no further discussion or action before Council, Councilmember Turner moved to adjourn the meeting at approximately 8:55 p.m. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Noes: Absent: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner None NnnP A. Lenz, City Secretary ONI V(•'gs�r� 17 of 17 �ntil Date 4proved O f 9 C7 Y 11� r v rex�s �ntil Date 4proved