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HomeMy WebLinkAbout091415 CC MinThe City of West University Place A Neighborhood City CITY COUNCIL STAFF Susan Sample, Mayor M. Chris Peifer, Interim City Manager Bob Kelly, Mayor Pro Tem Alan Petrov, City Attorney Burt Ballanfant, Councilmember Thelma Lenz, City Secretary Brennan Reilly, Councilmember Mardi Turner, Councilmember 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, September 14, 2015, in the Municipal Building, 3800 University, West University Place, Texas beginning at 6:00 p.m. SPECIAL MEETING/WORKSHOP (6:00 p.m. in the Council Conference Room) Agenda Items were as follows: Call to Order. Mayor Sample called the special meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. in the Council Conference Room. Council and Staff in attendance were: Mayor Pro Tem Kelly, Councilmembers Ballanfant, Reilly and Turner, Interim City Manager Peifer, Secretary Lenz, Assistant City Attorney Shelly Eversole, Finance Director Daugherty, IT Director McFarland and Police Chief Walker. At 6:02 p.m., Councilmember Turner moved to adjourn the special meeting to convene into executive session. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None 1. Security Briefing Matters related to the City's security. This item was held in executive session per Section 551.076 of the Government Code: Deliberation regarding security devices or security audits. Attending the executive session were the Mayor, Council, Interim City Manager, City Secretary and Police Chief. At 6:24 p.m., Councilmember Turner moved to close the executive session and reconvene the special meeting. Councilmember Ballanfant seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None City Council Minutes, September 14, 2015 2. Adjourn Special Meeting At 6:24 p.m., With no action taken and with no further business, Councilmember Turner moved to close the special meeting. Councilmember Ballanfant seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None REGULAR MEETING (6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers) Agenda items are as follows: Call to Order. Mayor Sample called the special meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Council and Staff in attendance were: Mayor Pro Tern Kelly, Councilmembers Ballanfant, Reilly and Turner, Interim City Manager Peifer, Secretary Lenz, Assistant City Attorney Shelly Eversole, Finance Director Daugherty, IT Director McFarland and Police Chief Walker. Jacob Burglar, Boy Scout Troop 55, led the Pledge of Allegiance. City 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. 3. RECESS REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL AT 6:35 P.M. TO CONVENE A MEETING OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS TRUST. Councilmember Turner moved to recess the regular meeting at 6:31 p.m. Councilmember Ballanfant seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None Councilmember Turner moved to convene the meeting of the Employee Benefits Trust at 6:32 p.m. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None 4. Approve Minutes of the August 11, 2014 and the August 24, 2015 Employee Benefits Trust. Councilmember Turner moved to approve the Employee Benefits Trust Minutes of August 11, 2014 and August 24, 2015. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None 2of12 City Council Minutes, September 14, 2015 5. ADJOURN EMPLOYEE BENEFITS TRUST MEETING AND RECONVENE INTO REGULAR SESSION OF THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE CITY COUNCIL. Councilmember Turner moved to adjourn the Employee Benefits Trust meeting at 6:33 p.m. Councilmember Ballanfant seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None Mayor Pro Tem Kelly moved to reconvene the regular meeting at 6:34 p.m. Councilmember Turner seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None 6. Public Comments This was an opportunity for citizens to speak to Council relating to agenda and non - agenda items. Eddie Matthews, 5906 Fordham Street, spoke to ask that the real estate item be discussed in open session. He said he came to the meeting to listen to a number of items, including the City security briefing which he thinks affects all the residents. He said this slate pledged greater transparency than its predecessors and he'd like to see that upheld. Alida Drewes, 6112 Fordham, spoke to say that the City still needs parkland on the east side of Buffalo Speedway, the City needs to raise the senior property tax exemption, and the City needs to build a new library that conforms to West University Place safety codes and the Americans with Disability Act. She asked that the City stop ignoring what the people of this community demand — open green spaces, recycling, and fair distribution of parkland. Ms. Drewes said if the Parks Department has so much money to buy unneeded items, but refuses to provide coffee to seniors, then the Parks Department budget should be cut. Ms. Drewes said residents need police protection, not harassment. She also asked Council not to double tax citizens and not just say the City is transparent, but be transparent. She also asked that the City comply with the ADA by providing needed services and not ignore the disabled citizens in West University Place. She said the City has $300,000,000 for this community it's time to give the taxpayers something back. 7. Real Estate Matters related to the value or transfer of real property and other real estate matters. Recommended Action: Discuss and take any desired action. Notice is given that Council may convene in Executive Session to discuss this item per Section 551.072 of the Government Code: Discussion about the value or transfer of real property and other real estate matters. Councilmember Ballanfant moved to conduct discussion of this item in executive session. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly seconded the motion after confirming with Councilmember Ballanfant that the discussion is relative to the statute that provides for a closed executive session. 3of12 City Council Minutes, September 14, 2015 Councilmember Reilly said he is happy to go into executive session if discussing pricing, but if discussion is regarding the wisdom or desire to purchase property, he would like that to occur publicly. Mayor Sample said this probably needs to be discussed in open session. She said the big sticking point during the last Council term was that all meetings, especially those regarding real estate, be held in open session. She said she doesn't know what this is about, but there is not a piece of property on the market. Councilmember Reilly said he will trust Councilmember Ballanfant at his word regarding discussion of pricing information in an executive session. A vote was made to the motion by Councilmember Ballanfant to convene the executive session at 6:42 p.m. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: Sample Absent: None At 6:58 p.m. Councilmember Turner moved to closed executive session. Councilmember Reilly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None At 6:59 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 Councilmember Turner spoke to say that Council is continuing to be interested in finding land for at least one additional park and Council would like Parks and Recreation Director O'Connor to provide Council with a scope document and to make recommendations for a committee of concerned citizens to be involved in a real estate acquisition and to identity potential properties to be recommended to Council. She confirmed that the area that the committee will focus on will be within the area that was identified in the 2006 Bond Election, which is west of Buffalo, east of Edloe and pretty much from end to end of the City and that the committee will follow the conventions that were laid out in the Parks Master Plan approved earlier this year. Councilmember Reilly asked Councilmember Turner if she was talking about doing something different than what is already in the Parks Master Plan approved in the 2006 Bond Election. Councilmember Turner responded that she is not suggesting doing anything differently, but rather ramping up the process of identifying potential properties, which includes talking to neighbors and getting the stakeholders to agree this is a good thing. Councilmember Reilly confirmed that what Councilmember Turner is conveying is that Council wants Tim to come back to Council with a more formalized way for starting the process. 4of12 City Council Minutes, September 14, 2015 Parks and Recreation Director O'Connor spoke to say that after the 2006 Bond Election, staff went back to the tax rolls and identified the housing that would make the most sense in terms of housing stock that was available and said staff could initiate that process as the first step. He said staff would dust off the criteria sheets and other forms that the previous Parks Acquisition Task Force used and be ready to present that to this Council at the next meeting. Councilmember Turner asked that staff include a brief summary of the steps that were outlined in the Parks Master Plan. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly said Council has had some comments about the fact that the Bond issue passed in 2006 might expire in 2016, but that there might be some exceptions to give the City some options. He said he would like staff to nail those exceptions down because the timeframe falls within this Council's term of office and he doesn't want the time to inadvertently expire if there is something, other than acquiring property, Council can do. Mr. O'Connor said staff will include that in the report after discussing with the City Attorney. Mayor Sample said staff should also try to found out what the residents want. She said the Bond Election was held nine years ago and there has been substantial turnover in West U since then. Mr. O'Connor said staff will also include that information and summarize the data for this Council at the next meeting. Councilmember Ballanfant spoke to say that there was a vote on this and the public voted for these parameters of area and time. Mr. O'Connor agreed Mr. Ballanfant and said the parameters have not changed. He said the target and the desired goal in the 2000 Master Plan, as it is in 2015, is a park within safe walking distance of every household in West University Place. 8. West University Place Flooding Matters related to flooding in West University Place, including the 3800 block of Southwestern Street. Mayor Sample presented and introduced Chris Claunch, P.E., of HDR Engineering. Also present from HDR Engineering were Duane Barrett, P.E., Hydraulics /Hydrology Specialist; John Peterson, P.E., Project Manager /City Engineer; David Hunn, P.E., Senior Project Manager; Javier Vasquez, P.E., Design Engineer; and David Jorgensen, Senior Designer. Mr. Claunch made a presentation to Council to: • Address resident's concerns and provide an understanding about drainage in the 3800 Block of Southwestern Street. • Address the issue of additional inlets on Southwestern and the value they may provide in an effort to help the City make a decision. • Address the history of the College Avenue Drainage Project and explain how changes occurred during the development of the project. • Address the performance of the College Avenue Storm Drain System. After Mr. Claunch's presentation, he offered the following alternatives for improvements: • Two new inlets at College and Southwestern to catch sheet flow. 5of12 City Council Minutes, September 14, 2015 • Work with Southside Place on Auden Improvements to reduce flow to existing 60 -inch pipe; may involve detention requirements. • Increase capacity of system. Requires evaluation of parallel / relief systems and possible detention requirements. • Note: Project Brays (improvement of Brays Bayou) is proceeding and may provide improvement, but will not eliminate flooding along Brays Bayou. Mr. Claunch also provided the following engineer's opinion: • Flooding in the Southwestern area is a result of the low elevation of the street and lack of a surface flow outlet. • Flooding occurs when design storm is exceeded for long durations and /or high intensities in combination with high tailwater at Poor Farm Ditch and Brays Bayou. • Existing system has more than adequate inlet capacity for the design event; however, additional inlet capacity can be helpful in the event of accumulated debris at inlets. • New inlets at Southwestern Street and College Avenue will provide additional inlet capacity and may intercept sheet flow basis during specific times of extreme events. • Limited sheet flow interception will be based on the characteristics of each unique storm event. Additional inlets will not eliminate flooding problems along Southwestern Street. • Improvements in Southside Place can offer some relief, but agreement with City of Southside Place / HCFCD is required. Detention is key consideration. • Evaluation of parallel /relief systems will be required to determine value and cost of additional drainage improvements along College Avenue. Detention is a key consideration. Mr. Claunch said HDR ran some rudimentary costs on the Southside Place project and said it will be in the $4 million to $5 million range for construction alone. He said those numbers do not address detention. Mr. Claunch said if HDR tried to run parallel systems to reproduce what was done on College Avenue, that project could range anywhere from $10 million to $30 million. He said there is a chance they can look at relief systems and do something within the $5 million range, but that would take a lot of cooperation and evaluation with Southside Place and the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD). Councilmember Ballanfant asked how long it would take to build an inlet. Mr. Claunch responded that it would take approximately 3' /z months. Regarding the Braes project, Councilmember Ballanfant asked the HDR representatives to keep the City informed of the status as the project progresses. At this time, Council heard comments from the public regarding this item. Leticia Albin, 3817 Southwestern, read a letter from a couple who lives at 3826 Southwestern who could not attend the meeting: "West U City Council: We're out of town and unable to attend the meeting tonight. Please know that our house has Flooded numerous times, including three times this year. Most recently this past Memorial Day weekend, May 26, we had four inches of water in our house. We had similar floods April 17 and March 25. We were also flooded on January 9, 2012. Prior to 2012 we have been flooded 6of12 City Council Minutes, September 14, 2015 numerous times and have been compensated by FEMA twice. We urge remedy to the flooding situation. In the late 1950's, I threw a Houston Press paper route that was on this same block and 1 recall street flooding, but never house flooding. We all know the topography of the neighborhood has changed and even though the topography is blamed a lot of the time because of the big houses, they also tax better, they add to the taxation rolls and we pay the same tax everybody else does, so we really feel like we should get some help." Ms. Albin asked if anyone inspected the College Street main to see if there was something there that was restricting the flow. Mr. Claunch said yes, HDR went into the system and found it to be free and clear. Les Albin, 3817 Southwestern, thanked HDR for the presentation. He said it was well done and explained a lot of the questions, but said he wanted to emphasize that the residents on Southwestern recognize that their homes are in the lowest spot in the City and they are not expecting to see that change. He said residents on Southwestern also don't think flooding will ever be eliminated on Southwestern. Mr. Albin said had the residents known about the changes as they were occurring, there might have been a little bit more influence or input to perhaps request a different sizing of things to allow for future expansion. He said what's done is done and he doesn't think anyone is proposing any significant changes but said certain flow patterns suggest to concerned residents that there is still capacity in the line under College Street that might be able to be utilized if the two additional inlets are installed. Mr. Albin said an estimate of $50,000 to install the inlets doesn't sound too bad to people who have had to replace floors. Bob Olson, 3820 Marquette, spoke to say that it has been shown that the system is designed for a two -year event and the data showed over a 7 -year period had a total of 17 two -year events in it. He said events are happening more frequently than led to believe by the numbers and said these are not two -year events. Paul McIntosh, 3835 Southwestern, thanked HDR for the thorough presentation. He said a couple of points not reflected on the presentation were (1) when it floods, the actual rate in which the water moves (sometimes faster and sometimes slower) there is a period of time when those new inlets would be effective. He said it was mentioned that placing the inlets at the corner may actually limit the time that they are effective, so he asked HDR to consider whether placing them a bit further north on College Street would give them a larger amount of time to be effective; and (2) when that water goes around the corner, the velocity of that sheet flow accelerates, so anything those inlets can do to reduce that velocity, would help. Mr. McIntosh also suggested grates to minimize the risk of blocked drains. He said although these things might not address the flooding all the time, there are some sensible steps that can be taken to address it at least a couple of times. Mayor Sample spoke to say that on Thursday, she and Mr. Peifer met the Harris County Flood Control District ( HCFCD) about upgrades to Poor Farm Ditch from University to Bellaire. She said Poor Farm Ditch will not be able to handle a 10 -year event and they are looking to upgrade Poor Farm Ditch to a 50 -year event. She said it is only in preliminary stages, so there is nothing to show right now but HCFCD would like to start working with the City and Southside Place. Councilmember Reilly asked what the benefit of the two additional drains is. Mr. Claunch said it is difficult to quantify and give a direct answer because of the many factors involved, but feels that there could be periods of time when they could be helpful. Councilmember Reilly asked Mr. Claunch to define flooding. He said is the City in a situation where if there is going to be water in the houses these drains will do nothing whatsoever or is this stopping 7of12 City Council Minutes, September 14, 2015 water from getting up higher in the yards in certain cases. Mr. Claunch said he is talking about any water above street level. He confirmed with Councilmember Reilly that he does not believe the two additional drains would have helped during the April and May flooding of this year (when the water was in homes). Councilmember Reilly asked where the funds would come from if the City decided to spend the money for the two additional drains. Interim City Manager Peifer responded it could come out of the Drainage and Transportation Fund or it could be funded through the Operating Budget or Capital Improvement Fund. Council agreed to discuss this issue during the October 3, 2015 Budget Workshop. 9. Harris County Appraisal District Board of Directors Nomination Matters related to a resolution nominating a candidate to serve on the Harris County Appraisal District Board of Directors. Recommended Action: Approve resolution nominating a candidate to serve on the Harris County Appraisal District Board of Directors. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly moved to approve nominating Ed Heathcott to continue serving on the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) Board of Directors. Mayor Sample seconded the motion. Councilmember Reilly stated that during the Super Block one of the things he heard from residents is a criticism, specifically about whether property tracts exemptions had been handled appropriately for empty lots that were owned by West U Baptist Church. He said an individual indicated that he was concerned that Harris County had not appropriately reviewed those properties in part because of Ed Heathcott's role as both Chairman of the Harris County Appraisal District and a deacon of that church. He said to him it would be appropriate for Mr. Heathcott to speak on these concerns before he was nominated by the City to serve again in that position. Mayor Sample said every City does not get someone to sit on the H -CAD Board of Directors. She said all of the small cities are represented by one person and so West U is lucky to have someone that sits consistently on that Board because it benefits the City. Councilmember Reilly said Ed has been on the Board for 8 years and he doesn't feel a fifth term is needed. He said new people need to get involved in public service and the City doesn't need to keep nominating the same people over and over again. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly said he agrees with Mayor Sample because it is beneficial to have someone from West U on that Board. Councilmember Reilly said Mr. Heathcott's time is up and he thinks it makes sense to give somebody else a chance to serve on that board. Mayor Sample called for a vote to the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Turner Noes: Reilly Absent: None 10. Facilities Master Plan Task Force Matters related to a Facilities Master Plan Task Force. Recommended Action: Discuss and take any desired action. 8of12 City Council Minutes, September 14, 2015 Councilmember Reilly spoke to say that he would like for the City to open an application process to appoint citizens to serve on a task force to evaluate City properties. He said there was a plan adopted by the previous Council, but that plan needs to be adjusted to take into account reality, which is that the City never had a Super Block and he doesn't believe the City is going to purchase the remainder of the lots on the block between Amherst and University. He said, in addition he would like for a task force to evaluate the City's long -term planning for the Community Building, Library, the Public Works Facilities and the properties the City owns located outside of the City. Mayor Sample said she would like to have the library reviewed separately. She said it is an important part of the City and is reaching a critical point where it needs to be assessed to see what the costs would be to make it ADA compliant and bring it up to standards versus a rebuild cost. She said the City also needs to look at the restrictions on the land use, which actually state that the City can't have a library there. She said this is reason alone for the library to have its own study. Councilmember Reilly said he believes the library should be a part of the Facilities Master Plan review. Mayor Sample reiterated that she believes the library should be reviewed separately and said the City could also have a library task force. She said the library is extremely important to everyone in the neighborhood, but said it is failing the residents at this point. Councilmember Reilly said he thinks most people who use that library and most of the parents whose kids attend West U like the library where it is and how it is. Mayor Sample said that is something that needs to be studied. She said Council was not elected as a mandate to tell everybody the library will be kept like it is when there's a problem with it. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly said he believes the City can have a Facilities Master Plan Task Force and as part of that, or as a separate thing, have a subcommittee for the library. Councilmember Turner said the parameters of this item is to create a task force and getting down into the nifty gritty of what their agenda is going to be is going a little too far off the topic. She said on the subject of the library, if it is unsafe, no one should be using it anyway. Councilmember Turner asked if there has been an inspection done on the library to determine where its fault lines are. Mr. Peifer responded the Fire Department has just completed an assessment in the last week, which only includes Fire Code type assessments and not building code assessments. Councilmember Reilly said he is imminently familiar with the library's ADA access and said that facility is way more accessible to somebody in a wheelchair than are other City facilities. Councilmember Reilly said to him it would be very difficult to evaluate reconstruction of the library without taking into account where that library gets built, what other City facilities are available, should it be on the same site that it's on now or somewhere else, etc. He said the Facilities Master Plan needs to be given more thought and public study other than just a conclusion, which is what happened in September last year. Councilmember Reilly said the residents like the library just like it is. He said if the City builds a state -of -the art library with 100 computers, it won't primarily be used by West U residents. 9of12 City Council Minutes, September 14, 2015 Mayor Sample said the current library is full of asbestos, it is ADA non - compliant, it has code violations, and it needs to be reviewed. Councilmember Reilly moved to ask staff to develop an application process for interested citizens to interview to be appointed to a City's Facilities Master Planning Task Force. Mayor Pro Tenn Kelly seconded the motion. Councilmember Turner asked how many people will be on the task force, who would chair it and to whom would the committee report. Councilmember Reilly said all of that will depend on how effective Council is in soliciting high quality candidates to interview for the task force. Councilmember Ballanfant said he thinks the library is very important and would say that Council should appoint the chairman. A vote was made to the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None 11. Certified Appraisal Roll Matters related to a resolution acknowledging receipt of the appraisal roll, the assessor - collector's certificate and notice of a public hearing. Recommended Action: Approve resolution acknowledging receipt of appraisal roll, assessor - collector's certificate and notice of a public hearing. Finance Director Daugherty presented this item and said the Chief Appraiser has certified the City's value for 2015 at $5.4 million, which includes some property not yet on the certified roll. She said there is $339 million worth of properties under protest and there is $37.7 million worth of properties not under protest but not on the certified roll, yet. Ms. Daugherty said for the 2015 tax year, the City has a total taxable value of new property (not on the roll last year) of $81 million. Councilmember Reilly moved to accept the 2015 Certified Appraisal Roll, Accept the 2015 Certification Collection Rate from Harris County Tax Office and accept the 2015 Notice of the Effective Tax Rate as calculated by the Tax Assessor Collector. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None 12. Record Vote on Tax Rate and Set Public Hearings for Proposed Tax Rate Matters related to a resolution recording vote on tax rate and scheduling public hearings. Recommended Action: Approve resolution recording vote on tax rate and schedule public hearings. Ms. Daugherty said the effective and rollback tax rates for 2015 are $0.32388 and $0.33572 per $100 valuation, respectively. The debt service rate is $0.14858 per $100 valuation. The difference between the tax rate that is adopted and the debt service rate will be available to the General Fund for Maintenance & Operations. 10 of 12 City Council Minutes, September 14, 2015 Ms. Daugherty said tonight's action is not the adoption of the 2015 tax rate, but merely a record vote proposing a rate that will be used to prepare the required notice and hearing publications. At a future scheduled meeting, the council will adopt a budget and then adopt a tax rate that supports that budget. That meeting is planned for October 19, 2015. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly moved to adopt the not -to- exceed tax rate of $0.33571 and call for the necessary public hearings with the first public hearing to be held on October 5, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. and the second public hearing to be held on October 12, 2015 at 6:30 p.m., both of which to be held in the City Council Chambers at 3800 University Blvd. Councilmember Ballanfant seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None 13. Schedule Public Hearings for 2016 Budget Matters related to scheduling public hearings to hear comments on the 2016 City Budget. Recommended Action: Schedule public hearing on October 12, 2015, to hear comments on the City's 2016 Budget. Councilmember Ballanfant moved to schedule the date for the public hearing on the 2016 Budget for October 12, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. at the City of West University Place City Hall, located at 3800 University Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77005. Councilmember Ballanfant seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None 14. Municipal Judge Matters related to solicitation of professional services for the position of Municipal Judge. Recommended Action: Discuss and take any desired action. Recommended Action: Discuss and take any desired action. M Mayor Sample said Judge Candelario Elizondo recently announced his retirement, effective November 1, 2015, so Council will need to appoint a new Municipal Judge before then. Interim City Manager Peifer stated that in the past when a presiding judge has retired or resigned, the associate judge has moved up to presiding judge, the chief prosecutor has moved up to associate judge, and then applicants were received for the prosecutor's position. He asked if Council wants to follow this course, which is recommended by the retiring judge. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly moved to adopt the recommendation of the current presiding judge, Candelario Elizondo and follow the precedent that has been established and appoint Associated Judge Bob Loper as presiding judge and Robert Crain as the Associate Judge upon the retirement of the current presiding judge. Councilmember Ballanfant seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None 11 of 12 City Council Minutes, September 14, 2015 Mr. Peifer said staff will solicit application /resumes to fill the prosecutor's position. 15. Future Agenda Items Matters related to future agenda items. See attached list of Future Agenda Items. Discuss and take any desired action. Evelyn Park — Councilmember Reilly asked Parks and Recreation Director O'Connor to explore pedestrian /bike traffic at Evelyn Park. 16. 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 August 24, 2015. Recommended Action: Approve Minutes. Ms. Thelma Lenz, City Secretary [see Draft Minutes] B. Friends of West U Parks Fund, Inc. Appointment Matters related to approving a resolution appointing a member to the Friends of West U Parks Fund, Inc. Recommended Action: Approve resolution appointing Stephen Jacobson to the Friends of West U Parks Fund, Inc. C. Microsoft Contract Matters related to the City's contract with Microsoft. Recommended Action: Authorize Interim City Manager to approve contract with Microsoft. Councilmember Turner moved to accept the Consent Agenda as presented. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None 17. Adjourn Meeting With no further discussion or action before Council, Councilmember Turner moved to adjourn the meeting at approximately 9:40 p.m. Councilmember Reilly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Kelly, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: None a ,o L ,- a� a Thelma A. Lenz, City Secretary rk)(At T 12 of 12 D71,V115- Date Ap oved