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HomeMy WebLinkAbout121420 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 MEETING MINUTES The City Council of the City of West University Place, Texas, met via Zoom in a special meeting on Monday, December 14, 2020, beginning at 5:00 p.m. due to social distancing guidelines suggested by the CDC in light of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID 19). Mayor Higley called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Mayor Pro Tem Trautner and Councilmembers Sobash, Barnes, and Lankford were in attendance. City Manager Beach, City Secretary Gilliam, and City Attorney Petrov were also in attendance. Agenda items were as follows: EXECUTIVE SESSION (5:00 p.m.) 1. Real Property and MOUs City Council will convene into executive session in accordance with the following provision of Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code (TGC): At 5:03 p.m., Mayor Higley moved to adjourn into executive session per sections 551.071 and 551.072 of the Texas Government Code. Councilmember Barnes seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash Noes: None Absent: None 2. Close Executive Session / Take Any Desired Action Matters related to any desired action resulting from the executive session. City Council may take action on the matters discussed in Executive Session as deemed appropriate. At 7:02 p.m., Councilmember Barnes moved to close the executive session. Councilmember Sobash seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash Noes: None Absent: None No Action taken. 3. Adjourn Executive Session Mayor Higley adjourned the executive session at 7:03 p.m. City Council Meeting Minutes, December 14, 2020 2 of 5 REGULAR MEETING (6:30 p.m.) Note: The regular meeting did not convene until 7:03 p.m. Mayor Higley called the regular meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. Mayor Pro Tem Trautner and Councilmembers Barnes, Sobash and Lankford were in attendance. Staff in attendance: City Manager Beach, City Secretary Gilliam, City Attorney Petrov, Fire Chief Taylor, Parks and Recreation Director White, Finance Director DuBose, Public Works Director Barrera, Assistant to the City Manager Thompson, Police Chief Walker, and Treasurer Nicholson. John Peterson with HDR Engineering, Carol Harrison with IDS Engineering, and Charles Eastland and Jason Eldridge with Cobb-Fendley, were also in attendance. 4. Pledge of Allegiance Councilmembers Barnes and Lankford led the Pledge. 5. Public Comments This is an opportunity for citizens to speak to the Council relating to agenda and non-agenda items. Diane Moy, 4036 University, spoke regarding the voluntary compost pilot program currently underway. She said she is against any potential City mandated composting and is especially against any cost to the City budget or spending tax dollars to fund any food waste commercial collection. 6. COVID-19 Update Matters related to COVID-19. Recommended Action: Discuss and take any desired action. Mr. Aaron Taylor, Fire Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator Chief Taylor reported: • The Pfizer vaccine received its emergency use authorization on Friday last week and the first shipments of the vaccine are being shipped to some of the hospitals in the Medical Center, some of which arrived today. • The FDA is holding a hearing on Thursday regarding the emergency use authorization for the Moderna vaccine. The Moderna vaccine is likely the one that the City will receive for its employee vaccination program. • Texas could start receiving the Moderna vaccine by Christmas, but not sure if the City will receive it by then. • Once the vaccine is received in Texas, a panel will discuss and decide how the vaccines will be allocated. • The growth rate of the third wave of the virus in Texas continues to slow down, but locally there is an increase in cases. • COVID hospital census for the City’s trauma service area is now at 14.8 percent, which is right at the 15 percent threshold for additional restrictions. • West U has a total of 286 confirmed cases – 47 are active, 239 have recovered, and 0 deaths. • Positivity rate in Texas is steady at 12.6 percent. • Positivity rate in Harris County has increased to 10.7 percent. • The Texas Medical Center reported a 7.8 percent positivity rate. Councilmember Sobash asked if West U is still within the same parameters as the rest of Harris County in terms of keeping the City’s facilities open and protecting the residents. Chief Taylor said the City is City Council Meeting Minutes, December 14, 2020 3 of 5 still on par with the County and if additional restrictions are governed by the state staff will re-examine what the City is doing. 7. City-wide Lawn and Landscape Maintenance Matters related to awarding the contract for city-wide landscaping services. Recommended Action: Award contract for city-wide landscaping services. Ms. Susan White, Parks and Recreation Director Parks and Recreation Director White presented and said after reviewing the three bids received for this project, staff determined that Landscape Professionals of Texas, the City’s current contractor, submitted the best value bid. Councilmember Lankford said the contract includes maintenance of ornamental trees and asked if it also includes maintenance of the bigger trees, such as Live Oaks. Ms. White said due to the many different types of trees throughout the City, there is a separate contract for the bigger trees with a contractor that specializes in arbor care. Councilmember Sobash asked how do costs for this contract compare with costs for the current contract. Ms. White responded that there is an increase in costs which amounts to approximately $24,000, but to keep in mind that there has been no increase for base services in over 7 years. She said to also note that this proposed contract includes specific field maintenance of the Colonial Park East End and weekend trash pickup, which were previously performed by other contractors at a higher price. Councilmember Sobash asked if it is fair to say that this consolidation means a lesser contract amount overall. Ms. White said it is still more overall due to the contractor’s price increase to catch up with today’s market pricing. Councilmember Sobash moved that the City award the contract to Landscape Professionals of Texas for three years with two optional one-year extensions 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. Street and Drainage Improvements – East Side Matters related to the selection for Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) and Design of Drainage Improvements for the City’s east side. Recommended Action: Award the contract for the PER – East to HDR Engineering in the amount of $365,000 and authorize the City Manager to execute the contract. Mr. Gerardo Barrera, Public Works Director Public Works Director Barrera presented and said after completing the modeling of the city-wide drainage study, Council’s directive was to move forward with the recommended improvements resulting from the study, which includes awarding the contract for the PER for the east side. Mr. Barrera said after review of 12 Statements of Qualifications received, staff is recommending that Council award the Citywide Street and Drainage Improvement – PER East to HDR Engineering in the amount of $365,000 and authorize the City Manager to execute a contract based on their previous work with the City, similar projects, resources, and knowledge. Councilmember Lankford confirmed with John Peterson of HDR and Carol Harrison of IDS that two workshops have been identified in the schedule and budgeted for this project and that the text in the contract will be updated to reflect two workshops. City Council Meeting Minutes, December 14, 2020 4 of 5 Councilmember Sobash moved to approve staff’s recommendation. Councilmember Barnes seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash Noes: None Absent: None 9. Street and Drainage Improvements – West Side Matters related to the selection for Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) and Design of Drainage Improvements for the City’s west side. Recommended Action: Award the contract for the PER – West to Cobb-Fendley in the amount of $1,051,332.35 and authorize the City Manager to execute the contract. Mr. Gerardo Barrera, Public Works Director Public Works Director Barrera presented and stated that after vetting the Statements of Qualifications received, staff recommends Cobb-Fendley for the project. He said the work will begin in January (2021) and is scheduled to be completed in November (2021). Councilmember Lankford confirmed with Ms. Harrison of IDS that there are three workshops scheduled and budgeted for this project and that the language would be updated in the contract. As recommended by staff Councilmember Sobash moved that Council award the Citywide Street and Drainage Improvement – PER West to Cobb-Fendley in the amount of $1,051,332.35, which includes three workshops, 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 10. 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 Minutes of the Special City Council Meeting of November 27, 2020 and the Minutes of the December 7, 2020 Regular City Council Meeting. Recommended Action: Approve City Council Minutes of November 27, 2020 and December 7, 2020. Ms. Thelma Gilliam, City Secretary B. Budget Amendment Ordinance Matters related to an ordinance amending the 2020 Budget. Recommended Action: Approve ordinance on first and final reading. Ms. Katherine DuBose, Finance Director C. Selection of Firm for Collection Services Matters related the selection of a firm to perform collection services for the City. Recommended Action: Approve firm to perform collection services and authorize the city manager to execute a contract. Mr. Harrison Nicholson, Treasurer Councilmember Lankford moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Councilmember Barnes seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash City Council Meeting Minutes, December 14, 2020 5 of 5 Noes: None Absent: None 11. Adjourn Regular Meeting Councilmember Barnes moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:35 p.m. Councilmember Sobash seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash Noes: None Absent: None Audio of the meeting is available on the City’s website. You can also contact the City Secretary’s office for a copy of the audio. Prepared by: City Secretary Thelma A. Gilliam Approved by City Council on: January 11, 2021