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Home My WebLink About030920 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 on Monday, March 9, 2020, in the Municipal Building, 3800 University, West University Place. 1. Call Workshop to Order Mayor Higley called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. All Council present. City Manager Beach, City Secretary Gilliam, HR Director Urban, Public Works Director Barrera, and City Attorney Petrov were also present. 2. Update on Compensation Study & Discussion on Communication Expectations Matters related to the upcoming compensation study and discussion on citywide communications, etc. Recommended Action: Discuss and provide staff direction if desired. Mr. Dave Beach, City Manager and Mr. James Urban, Human Resources Director Compensation Study: HR Director Urban presented and stated the 2020 Budget includes funds for a Compensation Study that will focus on four main areas: • Current salary scales to ensure we are competitive and maintaining the City’s 75 percentile goal; • Certification pay; • Pay policies and benefits; and • Work schedules for all employees Mr. Urban said the consultant will use 24 sample cities for comparison and the process will take 8 to 10 weeks from the initial phone call to conclusion of the study. He also said that $35,000 was budgeted and the low bidder, who the City will contract with, came in at $14,050. Communication Expectations: City Manager Beach gave a presentation on the City’s current communications, including day-to-day operations, changes and improvements, complaints, underlying issues, and expectations. Councilmember Lankford said because of the Open Meetings Act, City Council is not able to put out a statement as a group because it requires having to discuss that statement in a meeting, which puts Council two weeks behind in getting information out to residents. She gave Tri-Sports and Poor Farm Ditch as examples of being behind the eight ball when it came to timely communicating those issues to residents. City Council Meeting Action Minutes, March 9, 2020 2 of 4 Councilmember Lankford said because the Minutes are only Action Minutes, they don’t detail how Council came to its decisions, so she suggested that staff post a bulletin on the website detailing how Council came to some of its decisions and the reasoning behind those decisions. Councilmember Barnes said this might not work because it is sometimes difficult to come to a consensus reasoning because the opinion of each councilmember differs. City Manager Beach stated that the City started Action Minutes approximately four years ago, but staff can revert to detailed Minutes if Council desires. Mayor Higley said that some things lend themselves to Action Minutes and some things lend themselves to more lengthy Minutes, depending on the topic. Councilmember Barnes asked if it matters if the type of Minutes, action of more comprehensive, vary from council meeting to council meeting. City Attorney Petrov said legally Minutes do not have to be the same from meeting to meeting, but procedurally it could be problematic for Thelma (city secretary) to know when to change styles. Mayor Pro Tem Trautner stated that it would be tough to record in writing and take voluminous Minutes on everything Council does. He said he thinks it is a great point that when Council has something that is controversial or there is some confusion in the community, post a summary article on the website. City Manager said overall communications in the City is good, the problem is when a “horse fire” lasts three months and there is no staff to monitor it. Mayor Pro Tem Trautner asked what staff could do to communicate better when the public is in danger. City Manager Beach said it is easy during the day to get the message out, but it becomes more difficult after hours due to limited resources. Councilmember Lankford suggested that a disclaimer be added to the Swift 911 page of the City’s website to say that it may not be operational at certain times of the day due to limited staffing. 3. Adjourn Workshop Mayor Higley exited the meeting at approximately 6:27 p.m. to go prepare to go to the Council Chambers to call the regular meeting to order. Mayor Pro Tem Trautner closed the workshop at approximately 6:29 p.m. A copy of the presentation is on file in the City Secretary’s office. The workshop audio is on file in the in the City Secretary’s Office and on the City’s website. Regular Meeting (6:30 PM in the Council Chambers) 4. Regular Meeting Called to Order Mayor Higley called the regular meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. Council and Staff in attendance: Mayor Pro Tem Trautner, Councilmembers Barnes, Lankford and Sobash, City Manager Beach, City Attorney Petrov, City Secretary Gilliam, Public Works Director Barrera, HR Director Urban, and Police Chief Walker 5. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Higley led the Pledge of Allegiance. City Council Meeting Action Minutes, March 9, 2020 3 of 4 6. Public Comments This was an opportunity for citizens to speak to Council relating to agenda and non-agenda items. There were no public comments. 7. National Pavement Lifting Matters related to approving a contract to perform soil stabilization and pavement lifting. Recommended Action: Discuss and Approve contract. Mr. Gerardo Barrera, Public Works Director Mayor Pro Tem Trautner moved to approve a contract with URETEK USA, Inc. for three years with the option of two one-year extensions in the amount not to exceed $75,000 annually and authorize the City Manager to execute the contract. Councilmember Barnes seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash Noes: None Absent: None 8. Memorial Day Holiday Matters related to changing the meeting date of May 25 due to Memorial Day Holiday. Recommended Action: Change the meeting date to Monday May 4, 2020 or Monday, May 18, 2020. Mr. Dave Beach, City Manager. Councilmember Barnes moved to approve moving the May 25, 2020 City Council meeting to May 18, 2020 due to the Memorial Day holiday. Councilmember Sobash seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash Noes: None Absent: None 9. 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 February 24, 2020. [see Action Minutes] B. Right-of-Way Standards Matters related to an ordinance amending Section 18-62, part of Chapter 70 and part of Technical Codes of the Code of Ordinances relating to right-of-way design and mobility. Recommended Action: Approve ordinance on the second and final reading. Mr. Gerardo Barrera, Public Works Director and Mr. Bruce Beneke, BSC Chair Councilmember Barnes moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Councilmember Sobash seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash Noes: None City Council Meeting Action Minutes, March 9, 2020 4 of 4 Absent: None 10. Adjourn Regular Meeting With no other matter before the council, Mayor Pro Tem Trautner moved to adjourn the meeting at approximately 6:50 p.m. Councilmember Barnes seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash Noes: None Absent: None A complete audio of this City Council meeting is available on the City’s website or contact the City Secretary’s office for a copy. Prepared by: City Secretary Thelma A. Gilliam Approved by City Council on: April 13, 2020