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HomeMy WebLinkAbout111119 CC MinThe City of West University Place A Neighborhood City CITY COUNCIL STAFF Bob Higley, Mayor David J. Beach, City Manager Kevin Trautner, Mayor Pro Tem Alan Petrov, City Attorney John P. Barnes, Councilmember Thelma Gilliam, City Secretary Lauri Lankford, Councilmember Ed Sobash, Councilmember CITY COUNCIL ACTION MINUTES The City Council of the City of West University Place, Texas, met in a workshop and regular session on Monday, November 11, 2019, in the Municipal Building, 3800 University, West University Place. Workshop Bill Watson Conference Room – 5:00 p.m. 1. Call to Order Mayor Higley called the workshop to order at approximately 5:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building Bill Watson Conference Room. Council and Staff in attendance were: Mayor Pro Tem Trautner, Councilmembers Barnes, Lankford and Sobash, City Manager Beach, City Secretary Gilliam, City Attorney Petrov, and Interim Public Works Director Barrera. Ron Bavarian with Freese and Nichols and John Peterson with HDR were also present. 2. Buffalo Speedway Project Update Matters related to the Buffalo Speedway Project. Recommended Action: Discuss and provide staff direction if desired. Mr. Gerardo Barrera, Interim Public Work Director Ron Bavarian with Freese and Nichols gave a presentation to Council on the Buffalo Speedway reconstruction project from Bissonnet Street to Holcombe Boulevard. At the end of the presentation, Mr. Bavarian presented Council with estimates of optional project costs and Council requested additional information on the options for decorative signals and intersection enhancements. Council also requested information on additional landscaping inside the right-of-way along the length of the project. City Manager Beach stated that staff would provide Council the information before the third public meeting (90% design update) for the project. A copy of the presentation is attached. 3. Adjourn Workshop Mayor Higley adjourned the workshop at 6:17 p.m. Regular Meeting Council Chambers – 6:30 p.m. 4. Call to Order Mayor Higley called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. Council and Staff in attendance were: Mayor Pro Tem Trautner, Councilmembers Barnes, Lankford and Sobash, City Manager Beach, City Secretary Gilliam, City Attorney Petrov, Human Resource Director Urban, Finance Director Kalka, Treasurer Nicholson, Interim Public Works Director Barrera, and Police Chief City Council Meeting Action Minutes, November 11, 2019 2 of 5 Walker. Also present were: John Robuck, Managing Director with BOK Financial Securities and Chief Engineer Carol Harrison and President Tim Buscha with IDS Engineering Group. 5. Pledge of Allegiance Boy Scout Connor Rhodes with Troop 46 and his father Cliff Rhodes led the Pledge, along with Veterans in the audience. 6. Public Comments This was an opportunity for citizens to speak to Council relating to agenda and non-agenda items. • Alida Drewes, 6112 Fordham, spoke on various topics. • Tejas Mehta, 2732 Barbara Lane, spoke against any plan to reduce the speed limit to 25 mph within the City. 7. Refunding Opportunity Matters related to General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2020 and other matters related to issuance of debt. Recommended Action: Approve. Mr. John Robuck, BOK Financial Securities and Ms. Marie Kalka Finance Director Kalka presented and stated that the City has an opportunity to refund $11.3 million dollars that will provide a net savings of approximately $700,000 to the City over a period of 8 years. Finance Director Kalka then introduced John Robuck with BOK Financial Securities who gave a presentation regarding the refunding process. Following questions and answers between Council, staff and the consultant, Mayor Pro Tem Trautner moved to approve the ordinance and schedule of events for the sale of General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2020 for the purpose of refunding certain maturities of the City’s outstanding debt. Councilmember Sobash seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash Noes: None Absent: None 8. Recess Regular Meeting for Employee Benefit Trust (A separate agenda posted) Mayor Pro Tem Trautner moved to recess the regular meeting at approximately 7:00 p.m. to convene the meeting of the Employee Benefits Trust. Councilmember Sobash seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash Noes: None Absent: None See the EBT Minutes for any action taken. City Council Meeting Action Minutes, November 11, 2019 3 of 5 9. Reconvene Regular Meeting Mayor Higley reconvened the regular meeting at approximately 7:30 p.m. 10. City Engineer Contract Matters related to consideration and approval of a contract for engineering services Recommendation Action: Approve. Mr. Gerardo Barrera, Interim Public Work Director Interim Public Works Director Barrera presented and stated that with approval of the contract, the City will be going from a task base contract to a retainer base contract. Mayor Pro Tem Trautner pointed out that the phrase in the IDS contract that states “we propose to provide these above described services, Items 1-14, at an hourly rate not to exceed $96,000” should probably state “at an hourly rate not to exceed the slate set forth on the attachment not to exceed $96,000 in the aggregate” or something like that. Interim Public Works Director Barrera agreed and stated that staff will make the correction in the final version of the contract. Councilmember Lankford stated that the IDS proposal indicates a 12-month time period, but the West U Professional Services Agreement states 5 years. Mr. Barrera stated that the final contract with IDS will indicate 5 years. City Attorney Petrov noted that with a 30-day notice, the contract can be terminated by either party. Mayor Pro Tem Trautner moved to approve IDS Engineering Group as the City’s Engineer, award the 5-year contract in the amount not to exceed $96,000 annually and authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement. Councilmember Barnes seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash Noes: None Absent: None 11. Appointment of Public Works Director Matters related to the appointment of the Public Works Director. Recommended Action: Approve City Manager’s recommendation to appoint Mr. Gerardo Barrera as Public Works Director. Mr. Dave Beach, City Manager Councilmember Barnes moved to approve the city manager’s recommendation to appoint Gerardo Barrera as the City’s Public Works Director. Councilmember Sobash seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash Noes: None Absent: None 12. Appointment of IT Director Matters related to the appointment of the Information Technology Director. Recommended Action: Approve City Manager’s recommendation to appoint Mr. Tim Dang as Information Technology Director. Mr. Dave Beach, City Manager City Council Meeting Action Minutes, November 11, 2019 4 of 5 Mayor Pro Tem Trautner moved to approve the city manager’s recommendation to appoint Tim Dang as the City’s Information Technology Director. Councilmember Barnes seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash Noes: None Absent: None 13. 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 Workshop Minutes of November 3, 2019, and the City Council Meeting Minutes of November 4, 2019. Councilmember Barnes removed the Minutes of the November 4, 2019 meeting for discussion. He noted that Item 7 indicates he made the motion and second to approve the MOU with Tri-Sports. Councilmember Sobash said he believes that Councilmember Lankford seconded the motion. City Secretary Gilliam stated that she would listen to the audio to confirm and make the correction. Councilmember Barnes moved to approve the November 3, 2019 Minutes as presented and the November 4, 2019 Minutes, as amended. Councilmember Lankford seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash Noes: None Absent: None 14. Recess Regular Meeting At 7:53 p.m., Mayor Higley recessed the regular meeting to convene the workshop. 15. Public Private Partnerships Workshop Matters related to discussion on the benefits of public/private partnerships including updates on previous opportunities for these types of partnerships. Recommended Action: Discuss and provide staff direction if desired. Mr. Dave Beach, City Manager Council and the city manager discussed the City’s relationship with Tri-Sports. After discussion, the City Manager stated that he would talk with Gregg Thompson to see if Tri-Sports would be interested in a mentoring program to become self-sufficient like the Friends of West U Parks. 16. Adjourn Workshop At 8:38 p.m., Councilmember Barnes moved to adjourn the workshop and reconvene the regular meeting. Mayor Pro Tem Trautner seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash City Council Meeting Action Minutes, November 11, 2019 5 of 5 Noes: None Absent: None 17. Executive Session Notice is hereby given that the City Council will convene into Executive Session in accordance with the following provision of Chapter 551 of the Texas Code: At 8:39 p.m., Mayor Higley recesses the regular meeting and convened an executive session per Section 551.072 of the Texas Code: Discussion with the City Attorney and receive legal advice. 18. Close Executive Session At 8:48 p.m., Mayor Higley closed the executive session. 19. Reconvene Regular Meeting Matters related to any action resulting from the Executive Session. At 8:48 p.m., Mayor Higley reconvened the regular meeting. No action taken. 20. Adjourn Regular Meeting With no other matter before council, the meeting will adjourn. Mayor Higley adjourned the regular meeting at 8:49 p.m. Prepared by: Thelma A. Gilliam, City Secretary Date Approved: December 2, 2019 A complete audio of this City Council meeting is available on the City’s website or you can contact the City Secretary’s office for a copy.