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HomeMy WebLinkAbout111615 CC MinThe City of West University Place A Neighboi-hood City CITY COUNCIL Susan Sample, Mayor Bob Kelly, Mayor Pro Tem Burt Ballanfant, Councilmember Brennan Reilly, Councilmember Mardi Turner, Councilmember STAFF M. Chris Peifer, City Manager Alan Petrov, City Attorney Thelma Lenz, City Secretary CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES The City Council of the City of West University Place, Texas, met in special and regular session on Monday, November 16, 2015, in the Municipal Building, 3800 University, West University Place, Texas beginning at 6:00 p.m. Agenda Items were as follows: SPECIAL MEETINGIWORKSHOP (held in the Council Chamber Conference Room at 6:00 p.m.) Agenda Items were as follows: Call to Order. Councilmember Ballanfant called the special meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Council and Staff in attendance were: Councilmembers Reilly and Turner, Interim City Manager Peifer, City Secretary Lenz, and City Attorney Petrov. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly was absent and Mayor Sample arrived at 6:25 p.m. 1. City Manager Position Matters related to the city manager position. Recess Special Meeting and Convene 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: At 6:04 p.m., Councilmember Reilly moved to recess the special meeting and convene into executive session. Councilmember Turner seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: Sample, Kelly Mayor Sample arrived at 6:25 p.m. 2. Close Executive Session and Reconvene Special Meeting At 6:34 p.m., Councilmember Ballanfant moved to close the executive session. Councilmember Turner seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. City Council Meeting Minutes, November 16, 2015 Ayes: Sample, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: Kelly At 6:34 p.m., Councilmember Ballanfant moved to reconvene the special meeting. Councilmember Reilly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: Kelly 3. Adjourn With no further business to discuss, Councilmember Turner moved to close the special meeting at 6:35 p.m. Councilmember Ballanfant seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: Kelly City Attorney Petrov left after the special meeting. Assistant City Attorney Shelly Eversole sat in as legal representation for the regular meeting. REGULAR MEETING (beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers) Agenda items were as follows: Call to Order. Mayor Sample called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. Council and Staff in attendance were: Councilmembers Ballanfant, Reilly and Turner, Interim City Manager Peifer, Assistant City Attorney Eversole, City Secretary Lenz, Public Works Director Beach, and Police Chief Walker. Mayor Pro Tern Kelly was absent. Councilmember Turner led the Pledge of Allegiance. City Secretary Lenz confirmed that the notice of this meeting was duly posted in accordance with the Texas Government Code, Chapter 551. 4. Public Comments This was an opportunity for citizens to speak to Council relating to agenda and non - agenda items. There were no comments from the public. 5. City Manager Position Matters related to taking any desired action as a result of the executive session regarding the city manager position. Recommended Action: Discuss and take any desired action. Councilmember Reilly moved to retain Chris Peifer as the City Manager and approve the employment agreement with the changes discussed with the City Attorney to Section 6.3 and Section 2C of Exhibit A, which refers to the time of payment of severance in the event a unilateral severance payment is due under the agreement. Councilmember Turner seconded the motion. 2 of 7 City Council Meeting Minutes, November 16, 2015 Councilmember Reilly said Council started this process several months ago when the prior city manager was terminated and he thinks the City has found an excellent replacement at a minimal cost to the City. He said Chris has agreed to serve as the city manager for a compensation that is appropriate given his duties and that it is substantially less than what the City was paying the prior city manager. He said he can't commend Chris enough for his willingness to present to the City an initial draft of an employment agreement that basically treats him like the rest of the senior staff at the City. Councilmember Ballanfant echoed Brennan's comments. He said over the past few months Chris has met and exceeded expectations, so he thinks this is a good move. Mayor Sample said she doesn't want Chris to think Council is minimizing what the City is paying him. She said the prior city manager had been with the City for about 15 years and generally there are pay increases, so Chris is not being short- changed. At this time a vote was made on the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: Kelly 6. Facilities Master Plan Task Force Matters related to the Facilities Master Plan Task Force including, but not limited to, the scope, composition and other related topics. Recommended Action: Discuss and take any desired action. Councilmember Reilly presented and said Council interviewed a slate of candidates for the City's Facilities Master Planning Task Force and before making appointments Council wants to have a workshop to discuss the scope of the master plan review. He said that he thinks it would be appropriate now to have a conversation as to whether to set the number of task force members currently or wait until Council has a workshop and decides on the scope of the project. Councilmember Turner said having the workshop and getting some ideas flowing before deciding on the ultimate number is probably appropriate, but at the same time she is also thinking along the line of 9 to 11 members. Mayor Sample said she was also thinking 9 to 11 members. She said having more than that could become too unwieldy. Councilmember Turner said she actually feels 9 or 11 (not 9 to 11) would be better, because even numbers don't work in this kind of a scenario. City Manager Peifer said staff would target the first two weeks of January for a workshop and will send out calendar options. Councilmember Ballanfant reiterated his comments from the previous meeting by saying that he doesn't conceive of this group being a master plan task force. He said they should do what Council gives them to do, which is to evaluate the physical needs of the City and then report their factual 3 of 7 City Council Meeting Minutes, November 16, 2015 findings to Council to determine what to do with those findings. He said it should be an evaluative task force not a master planning task force. Mayor Sample said that will be discussed in the workshop. She said tonight Council is only deciding whether to vote on the number of people for the task force, not the scope. Councilmember Reilly said he would like a larger task force and said 11 members is a better number because to the extent Council will give them a larger scope, he would want to have the ability to not just go by consensus, which he thinks smaller groups will tend to do and that's not always essential to get to a good result. Council agreed to hold off on the decision regarding the number of members until after deciding the scope of the task force at the workshop. 7. Water/Wastewater Revenue Bonds Matters related to refinancing water /wastewater revenue bonds. Recommended Action: Discuss and take any desired action. Ms. Rhonda Daugherty, Finance Director [See Agenda Memo 7] Finance Director Daugherty presented and introduced John Robuck with BOSC Agency, Inc Mr. Robuck provided an overview of the current bond market as it is today and discussed with Council the opportunity to refinance the City's water and sewer bonds for a savings of over $175,000. He said the City is in a great market environment to sell General Obligation bonds to refund existing outstanding bonds. Councilmember Ballanfant asked how long the City has to sell the bonds. Mr. Robuck responded that the City can go as far out as it wants but the further the City goes out, the higher the interest rates will be. When Mr. Robuck asked Councilmember Ballanfant if he was looking to lower the rates, Councilmember Ballanfant responded yes, because the people who have been living in the City the last 10 or 15 years have been paying a relative large tax imposition that the infrastructure program required and so he thinks that all those citizens that have been paying those taxes ought to have some relief from the payment and not have to die without ever having seen essentially lower rates, so he would like to explore the longest time the City can push it out. He said most of the people living in the City today have paid a heavy tax burden and, to the extent the City can relieve that, he thinks it should at least be discussed. Ms. Daugherty said for what it's worth, these bonds and this refunding are not paid with property taxes, but rather with water and sewer fees. Councilmember Ballanfant said whatever you call it, the City citizens are going to pay it, whether it's a fee or a tax. Councilmember Reilly said the bonds currently carry an interest rate of 4.31 and confirmed with Mr. Robuck that the City will be placing them for a rate of 2.11 percent. 4 of 7 City Council Meeting Minutes, November 16, 2015 In regards to Councilmember Ballanfant's concern about extending the term to repay, City Manager Peifer said there is a point where it becomes financially feasible to do a refinance. He said if the City goes further out, it be likely that it would no longer be advantageous to refinance. Mr. Robuck continued with his presentation and said the City will see a savings of approximately $28,000 per year for the next 6 years for a total savings of $175,000. Councilmember Reilly confirmed that the City is only refunding $3,000,090 of the outstanding debt. Councilmember Reilly asked Mr. Robuck to explain the Debt Service paid by Water /Sewer. Mr. Robuck said that is the cost of bonds the City previously refunded to the General Obligation side, as is being done here, and the City is making transfers every year to pay the debt from the Water /Sewer side to the General Obligation side. Councilmember Reilly confirmed with Mr. Robuck that the savings with this refunding will go away in 2022 because it is being proposed that the $3,000,000 be refinanced with a new 7 -year bond. Mr. Robuck said the refunding is not extending the principal amounts or the lengths of the debts. He said it is like refinancing a home from a 30 -year to a 30 -year with a lower interest rate. Councilmember Reilly asked if the City went out to 12 years, would it get a better rate. Mr. Robuck said it would be a little higher because the average maturity is longer than 12 years. Mr. Robuck completed his presentation and said his firm is looking to sell the bonds on December 14, 2015 and bring the results to Council at its meeting that evening. In response to Councilmember Reilly's question, Mr. Robuck said the City's total outstanding debt as of December 31, 2015, with principal and interest, will be $57,105,000. Councilmember Reilly stated that if the City wanted to extend some debt, this is the chance to do it. Councilmember Ballanfant said Mr. Robuck did a fine job and it will benefit the City, but doesn't believe all the options that Council could have evaluated were presented. He said in the future he would like to see more than just one structure because time, percentage rate and volume can always be moved. Councilmember Reilly agreed. Councilmember Turner moved to approve the Schedule of Events for the sale of Permanent Improvement Refunding Bonds, Series 2016, for the purpose of refunding certain maturities of the Series 2005 Waterworks and Sewer System Revenue Refunding Bonds. Councilmember Ballanfant seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: Kelly 8. Harris County Appraisal District Board Matters related to a resolution casting the City of West University Place's City Council vote for the person it would like to serve on the HCAD Board of Directors. Approve resolution casting the City's vote. 5of7 City Council Meeting Minutes, November 16, 2015 City Manager Peifer presented and said Council is being asked to vote for one of two candidates — Ed Heathcott, former West U City Councilmember and James Avioli, Councilmember from Bellaire. Councilmember Turner moved to approve a resolution casting the City's vote for Ed Heathcott to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the Harris County Appraisal District. Councilmember Ballanfant seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Ballanfant, Turner Noes: Reilly Absent: Kelly 9. Houston - Galveston Subsidence District Matters related to the appointment of a member to the Harris - Galveston Subsidence District Board. Recommended Action: Appoint City Attorney Alan Petrov for another 2 -year term, expiring January 31, 2016. City Manager Peifer presented and said City Attorney Petrov has served on the Harris - Galveston Subsidence District Board for a number of years, most recently serving as its chairman. He also noted that the City received a letter from the City of Southside Place endorsing the appointment of Mr. Petrov. Councilmember Turner moved to request that the mayor send the Letter of Election for Alan Petrov to the Harris - Galveston Subsidence District Board. Councilmember Reilly seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: Kelly 10. Future Agenda Items Matters related to future agenda items. Discuss and take any desired action. City Council Regarding the Facilities Master Plan Task Force, Councilmember Reilly said he would like to schedule the workshop as soon as possible, realizing that it will be difficult to schedule before the end of the year. City Secretary Lenz said she will review the calendar for potential dates after the holidays and will poll Council once a few dates are determined. 11. 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. Senior Services Board Appointment Matters related to appointing Susan Davis to the Senior Services Board. Recommended Action: Appoint Susan Davis to the Senior Services Board for a term ending August 31, 2015. 6 of 7 City Council Meeting Minutes, November 16, 2015 B. Change of Start Time for December 7, 2015 City Council Meeting Matters related to changing the meeting start time for the December 7, 2015 City Council meeting from 6:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. due to the Christmas Tree Lighting festivities. Mr. M. Chris Peifer, Interim City Manager Councilmember Turner moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Councilmember Ballanfant seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: Kelly 12. Manager /Council Reports City Manager Peifer pointed out that the start time for the regular Council meeting on December 7, 2015 has changed from 6:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in order for Council to attend the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Building. 13. Adjourn Councilmember Reilly moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:15 p.m. Councilmember Turner seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Sample, Ballanfant, Reilly, Turner Noes: None Absent: Kelly Prepar Thelma A. Lenz, City Secretary Date App ove � m \ rIFXAS 7 of 7