HomeMy WebLinkAbout210927 CC MinThe City of West University Place
A Neighborhood City
CITY COUNCIL STAFF
Susan Sample, Mayor David J. Beach, City Manager
John Montgomery, Mayor Pro Tem Scott Bounds, Olson and Olson, City Attorney
John P. Barnes, Councilmember Thelma Gilliam, City Secretary
Melanie Bell, Councilmember
Shannon Carroll, Councilmember
CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
The City Council of the City of West University Place, Texas, met in a regular meeting on Monday,
September 27, at 6:30 p.m., in the Municipal Building at 3800 University Boulevard, for the purpose of
considering the agenda of items listed. The meeting was held in person, but the public was also able
attend via Zoom.
Agenda was as follows:
1. Call to Order/Roll Call
Mayor Sample called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery and
Councilmembers Barnes, Bell, and Carroll were present.
Staff present were City Manager Beach, City Secretary Gilliam, Attorneys Scott Bound and Katie Olson
& Olson, Finance Director DuBose, Public Works Director Barrera, Assistant to the City Manager
Thompson, Police Chief Walker, and Fire Chief Taylor
2. Pledge of Allegiance
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery led the Pledge.
3. Public Comments
This is an opportunity for citizens to speak to the Council relating to agenda and non-agenda items.
Speakers are required to register in advance and must limit their presentations to three minutes each.
Kate McCormick, resident and Municipal Judge in Southside Place, spoke to say that TCU Press is
publishing a children’s book that she wrote called “Happy, a True Story of a Stray Dog who Became a
Hero.” She said the book is about a local dog named Texas’ greatest dog hero of 1931, which celebrates
the long-standing relationship between West U and Southside at assisting each other’s fire calls. Ms.
McCormick said the book tells the story of a rescue dog who alerted two Southside families to a house
fire in 1931, less than a week after the dog wandered into one of their front yards. She presented a copy
of the book to West U for its archives.
Alida Drewes, 6112 Fordham, spoke on various issues including transparency, police conduct, and
“abusive” staff. She said the West U PD should be reformed and defunded.
Yvonne Jacobs, 2831 Jarrard, spoke regarding the MOU with Tri-Sports. She suggested that Council
(1) raise the bar regarding Tri-Sports recycling and require them to produce a contamination-free
product; (2) have a substantial fine for non-compliance; and (3) reward good behavior (cleaning and
maintaining the recycling and trash receptacles at the West U Elementary fields) and develop a
player/parent educational plan to promote contamination-free recycling.
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4. 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
Fire Chief Taylor provided the following report:
• COVID situation has improved slightly in Texas and it continues to decline statewide and
regionally.
• COVID hospitalization rate for the City’s trauma service area has dropped to 16.2 percent for the
City’s trauma center area.
• Positivity rate in Texas is 12.31 percent, Harris County is 15.5 percent, and the Texas Medical
Center is 7.8 percent.
• The Texas Medical Center is reporting that they are at 85% of the combined Phase I and Phase
II capacities.
• Harris County Public Health indicates that West U has had a total 735 cases – 697 have
recovered, 34 are active and a range of 0 to 5 fatalities.
5. Adoption of the 2022 Budget
A. Consider an ordinance adopting the 2022 Budget.
Matters related to an ordinance adopting the budget for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2022
and ending December 31, 2022 appropriating funds for such budget; containing findings and
provisions relating to the subject. Recommended Action: By Record Vote Approve the ordinance adopting
the 2022 Budget on first and final reading. Ms. Katherine DuBose, Finance Director.
B. Ratify the property tax increase reflected in the 2022 Budget.
Adoption of a budget that will require raising more revenue from property taxes than in the previous
year requires a separate vote of the governing body to ratify the property tax increase reflected in
the budget. Recommended Action: Ratify the property tax increase reflected in the budget. Ms. Katherine
DuBose, Finance Director.
Finance Director Dubose presented and noted that Council discussed the budget with staff in detail
during a budget workshop on September 11 and noted that Council held a public hearing on September
20 to hear any comments from the public.
Ms. Dubose said in accordance with state law, Council must approve the budget within 30 days of filing
the budget with the City Secretary, which occurred on August 27.
With no further discussion, Ms. DuBose recommended Council take the following actions:
A. By record vote, approve the ordinance adopting the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget on the first and final
reading. Councilmember Barnes moved to approve. Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery seconded the
motion. MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
Noes: None
Absent: None
B. Ratify the property tax increase reflected in the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
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Noes: None
Absent: None
6. Adoption of the 2021 Tax Rate
A. Approve the tax rate of $0.193797 per $100 valuation for the purposes of maintenance and
operations. Recommended Action: By Record Vote Approve the tax rate of $0.193797 per $100 valuation
for the purposes of maintenance and operations.
B. Approve the tax rate of $0.084725 per $100 valuation for the purposes of debt service.
Recommended Action: By Record Vote Approve the tax rate of $0.084725 per $100 valuation for the purposes
of debt service.
C. Matters related to an ordinance approving and adopting the 2021 tax rate. Recommended Action:
By Record Vote Approve an ordinance adopting the City’s combined property tax rate of $0.278522 per $100
in assessed value. Ms. Katherine DuBose, Finance Director
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
Noes: None
Absent: None
Finance Director Dubose presented and said the property tax rate of .278522 per $100 assessed value
is included in the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget, and includes two components – the General Fund rate of
$0.193797 and the Debt Service component of $0.084725 – for a total of $0.278522. She said the rate
staff recommends that Council adopt is less than the tax year 2020 tax rate (about 1.5 cents less than
the current tax rate, which is about 5.3 percent reduction).
With no questions or comments, Ms. DuBose said staff is requesting action on the following three
recommendations:
A. By Record Vote Approve the tax rate of $0.193797 per $100 valuation for the purposes of
maintenance and operations.
Councilmember Barnes moved to approve. Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery seconded the motion.
MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
Noes: None
Absent: None
B. By Record Vote Approve the tax rate of $0.084725 per $100 valuation for the purposes of debt
service.
Councilmember Bell moved to approve. Councilmember Carroll seconded the motion. MOTION
PASSED.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
Noes: None
Absent: None
C. By Record Vote Approve an ordinance adopting the City’s combined property tax rate of
$0.278522 per $100 in assessed value.
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Councilmember Barnes moved to approve. Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery seconded the motion.
MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
Noes: None
Absent: None
7. Capital Improvement Plan for FY 2022-2026
Matters related to acceptance of the Capital Improvement Plan for FY 2022-2026. Recommended Action:
Accept Capital Improvement Plan for FY 2022-2026. Ms. Katherine DuBose, Finance Director
Finance Director DuBose presented and said during the preparation of the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget
process staff developed the 5-year CIP for 2022-2026, which is a planning document that helps staff
determine funding needs for non-recurring expenditures.
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery moved to accept the Capital Improvement Plan for FY 2022-2026.
Councilmember Barnes seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
Noes: None
Absent: None
8. West University Place Tri-Sports Agreement
Matters related to an agreement West University Tri-Sports Association. Recommended Action: Discuss
and take any desired action. Mr. Dave Beach, City Manager and Mr. Scott Bounds, City Attorney
City Manager Beach presented and said before Council tonight is the approval of an agreement with Tri-
Sports and their member organizations for youth sports within and around the City. He said he and the
City Attorney looked at an agreement framework for this and he noted the following main changes
between the previous MOU and this agreement:
• Priority use of the of the West U Recreation Center fields
• Maintenance & Operation Support for West U Recreational Center & West U Elementary Fields
o West U will reimburse Tri-Sports for 50% for expenses incurred by Tri-Sports or Member
Organizations (baseball, softball or soccer) in amount not to exceed $100,000.
o Expenses will be submitted quarterly to an independent bookkeeper retained by West U and
Tri-Sports whose cost shall be shared equally by both parties.
• Utilities – Water & Electricity
o West U Recreational Center field – West U will pay 100%.
o West U Elementary field – West U & Tri-Sports will split cost 50/50.
• Utilities – Solid Waste & Recycling
o West U will provide residential level trash and recycling services to the West U Recreational
Center and HISD Fields.
• Capital Improvements
o Based upon approval of the scope, cost and funding by the City Council.
West U will pay 100% of the approved capital improvement cost at the West U
Recreation Center fields.
West U will pay 50% of the approved capital improvement cost at the West U
Elementary School.
Mr. Beach said the term of the proposed agreement is January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022, and
that the agreement would come back before council annually for review and approval.
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Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery moved to discuss the agreement as proposed. Councilmember Bell seconded
the motion. MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
Noes: None
Absent: None
(Note: MOU, agreement, and contract are used interchangeably)
Regarding an attachment included in the agenda packet referenced by City Manager Beach, Councilmember
Barnes said the attachment was something he prepared to note edits to Section 4 and Section 6 of the
proposed MOU. He said to provide a little bit of context, the proposed MOU is the second version of the
proposed agreement that had circulated amongst the Council since their discussion at the August 23
workshop. He said the first version (Version1) circulated on or about September 8 and a second version,
after a meeting with Tri-Sports representatives, was prepared and circulated on or about September 14.
Councilmember Barnes said in Section 4 of Version 1 it reads “Tri-Sports is required to handle trash and
recycling per rules set by Public Works, and have West U Little League, West U Softball, and Rise soccer
each designate a representative to work with the City to develop and implement a solid waste pickup and
recycling program to educate those organizations to properly address contamination, and where there were
increased processing costs from contamination those costs might be passed on to Tri-Sports.” He said in
Version 2, the language was amended to make it so that Tri-Sports would be required to make its best efforts
only with regard to compliance and the ability to pass on costs was eliminated. He said the edits he is
recommending would eliminate “the best efforts” language, making it an actual requirement, and adding flat
penalty fee for each instance of non-compliance to be assessed as an offset against the 100k funds that are
being set aside for reimbursement.
Councilmember Barnes said, in addition, he also recommends an amount of $50 per instance be assessed
for noncompliance, which is a number derived from the Code of Ordinances – Appendix E – Garbage Service
Section F.007 where a minimum fee of $50 per occasion is assessed for the special handling of items that
are improperly bagged for trash collection. Councilmember Barnes said this recommendation derives from
comments received from many people in the community, relating to the fact that for years and years and
years the City has been working with Tri-Sports, but every year that the MOU comes up Tri-Sports promises
to do better, but there is really no teeth in it. He said this puts teeth in it and is completely under Tri-Sports
control and, thereby, encourages compliance.
Mayor Sample said noted some the errors she noticed while reviewing the document. She said on Page 3
of the contract under 3(b) it states “provide waste collection services as set forth in 4(a)(5) and she thinks it
should be 4(a)(6). She also said on the signature page, the separate leagues were added as signers, which
binds them to Tri-Sports terms, but the front page of the contract clearly states that the contract is between
the City and Tri-sports. Mayor Sample said adding these extraneous signatures continues the confusion
that the prior council ran into combining the leagues with Tri-Sports. She said the individual leagues did not
sign Tri-Sports contract at any time through 2019.
City Attorney Bounds said the agreement is just between Tri-Sports and the City, so Tri-Sports is the only
party to the agreement and the only intended party. He said the leagues signatures are just to acknowledge
that they are aware of the agreement.
Mayor Sample said Page 3, Section 4(b) states “any fees charged by Tri-Sports and its member
organizations in connection with program events shall be used for purposes directly associated with the
operation of member organizations, youth sports programs. All revenues generated from Tri-Sports, or its
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member organizations, youth sports programs, activities, including fees, advertising concessions, and sales
shall be the exclusive property of Tri-Sports and or its member organizations.” She said she is not sure
about this clause because it is telling them what they can do with the fees. Mayor Sample said this language
was never in any of the MOUs prior to 2021 and thinks the clause does not have a purpose in this contract
other than to have additional leverage to terminate the contract. She also said she does not think this clause
protects the City's interest in any way and thinks it should be removed from the agreement.
Mayor Sample noted that Page 8, Section 9 also appears to be a layover from the 2021 MOU. She said
there is a whole clause devoted to this that states “it is a material condition of this agreement that Tri-Sports
be operated as a nonprofit corporation within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1985, as amended, and future corresponding revenue laws, of the United States. If Tri-Sports nonprofit
and status changes during the terms of this agreement, Tri-Sports must notify the City within 30 days such
change.” Mayor Sample said not only does this contract say it is a condition, it says it is a material condition
and she knows under contract law, if one party to the contract materially breaches the contract the other
party's discharged or excused for further performance. She said the problem comes when parties argue
whether the term is material, so if it is defined in the contract, it is putting people on notice that this is
something that can void the contract. She said it has never been a condition before, much less material
condition, and she reviewed all the contracts prior and there was nothing through 2020. She said she also
noticed that the City does not have this in any of its other contracts with vendors.
City Attorney Bounds said it is certainly not a requirement of the agreement that they be a nonprofit
corporation in order to perform the services they are performing. Mayor Sample said if Tri-Sports wants it
in there that is fine, but for the City’s purposes, she thinks it is just extra language. City Attorney Bounds
said Tri-Sports reviewed the agreement and had no objections to the language.
Mayor Sample said there is one thing that happened last year that she does not want residents and the
leagues to run into again this year. She said the West U Little League and West U Softball had its annual
Carnival planned for May for months. She said all the parents paid $50 per child at the beginning of the
season that was non-refundable even if the event was cancelled. She said less than a month before the
event, events like this carnival were not permitted under the MOU existing at the time, and the event was
cancelled. Mayor Sample said she does not want that to happen again under this agreement.
Councilmember Barnes pointed out some of his concerns between Version 1 and Version 2 of the
agreement.
Councilmember Barnes made comments relating to Section 6. He said in Version 1, Section 6 required both
annual and quarterly financial statements be provided to the City by Tri-Sports automatically without any
request being necessary. He said in Version 2 there was no annual or quarterly financial statements and
he recommends that the City have a requirement for annual financial statements, not quarterly, and make it
automatic.
Councilmember Barnes said Version I had requirements relating to the identification of various persons
receiving money from Tri-Sports and that, basically, his suggested edits takes the identical language from
Version 1 and just separates it out as a second separate paragraph.
Councilmember Barnes said in Version 1, Tri-Sports is required to maintain the records and supporting
documentation per generally accepted accounting principles for four years. He said Version 2, the one that
is currently before Council, omits the gap standard, and he suggests re-inserting the gap language.
Council Barnes said with respect to the inspection of records and performance of audits of Tri-Sports
financial records, Version 1 provided for a broad right of access, but did not provide for automatic auditing.
He said Version 2 limited the right of access, made it upon “unreasonable notice”, and did not provide for
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access to Tri-Sport personnel to answer questions regarding those documents as Version 1 had. He said
the changes he would suggest are to define reasonable notice as no more than 10 business days, and do
the same thing that the City does with Friends of West U Parks and have the books and records of Tri-Sports
included in the City's annual audit.
Councilmember Barnes said having things happen automatically takes it out of the political realm and
provides the transparency and accountability that everyone is seeking, with no costs to Tri-Sports.
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery said what does the City think Tri-Sports is hiding. He said the agreement
proposed is going to put forth all the records that are generated in support of the facilities to provide these
activities, there is going to be a joint bookkeeper that the City shares expenses for examining the records,
and the City is only going to pay its share as stated by the agreement.
Councilmember Barnes said it is not unreasonable to require Tri-Sports to provide annual financial
statements automatically. He said it is a public document that they have to file.
Councilmember Bell inquired about Section 6C. She said it currently states “upon reasonable notice Tri-
Sports will provide the City with its best information and or estimates of participation by city residents, as
participants or volunteers, in the youth sports programs.” Councilmember Bell said she would like to see it
be more definitive by changing it to “in accordance with the City's annual budget cycle, Tri-Sports will provide
the City with information on participation by city residents, as participants or volunteers, in the youth sports
programs.”
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery said the tone and spirit of some of the language does not feel like a partnership,
but rather an agreement with someone that the City does not trust. He said he does not want mechanisms
in the contract where the City can penalize a partner unnecessarily. He said he is opposed to provisions in
the agreement that would allow for termination, even though they try their best.
Councilmember Barnes stated it is either a partnership or an independent contractor – it cannot be both.
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery said Council can quibble about the legal definition of the term partnership but,
in his view, it is a friendly working agreement with the willingness of two parties to work together. He said he
is not saying the accounting suggestion is a bad idea, but he does not know how it could be controlled if
residents put in a wrong address or something like that.
Councilmember Bell said she wants to drive the City to be a data driven decision organization and she
cannot do that without the data. She said with the current contract, she can request that information and
they would have to go through that same process. She said, to her, having Tri-Sports provide the documents
automatically sets the expectation of a better partnership, where instead of having to request the report as
the City goes through the annual budget process, the expectation will be for them to provide the report so
that Council has it as part of its data driven decisions. Councilmember Bell said Council could then make
the decision on Tri-Sports as it does with everything else during the budge process.
Councilmember Barnes said if it is Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery’s concern that errors in the reporting would
result in the automatic termination of the contract, he would support having a safety clause built into the
agreement so that if for some reason there were errors in the data beyond Tri-Sports control, it would not
result in automatic termination contract.
Councilmember Bell said she did not have anything in her language that penalizes Tri-Sports at all. She
said the request to provide the report is just another trend within that same set of data asked of Parks and
Recreation. She said she thinks the City should be seeing those numbers.
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Councilmember Barnes said that is his feeling as well. He said he, nor does he think Councilmember Bell,
is intending to try to penalize Tri-Sports. He said they are simply trying to make sure that the City is gathering
the data that the City needs to make informed decisions.
Councilmember Bell said that it needs to be made clear that Tri-Sports is to provide the report by June or
July, or whenever it is needed, so that it can be part of the annual budget cycle.
At this time, Mayor Sample went back to recycling (Page 4, Paragraph 6). She said there are a lot of moving
parts to this and, again, to her it seems to be a penalty provision. She said there is a general consensus
with some of the Parks and Rec staff, as well as what she has seen herself, that the City’s contractors who
pick up waste in the City’s parks are not separating trash from recycling and are just throwing it all way. She
said so if the City is going to ask Tri-Sports to separate the recycling or be penalized $50 per day, the City
needs to “clean house” first. Mayor Sample said the language in this paragraph would have no effect on the
City’s recycling rate, so as it stands, she would remove that language and include “best efforts.”
Councilmember Barnes said he thinks the problem with just saying “best efforts” is that it is what the City
has essentially been doing for nine years. Mayor Sample pointed out again that the contractor throws it all
away anyway.
Councilmember Barnes asked then why does the City bother to have a recycling provision in the MOU at
all. Mayor Sample said that is a good question and said she does not think the City can ask them to do that
until the City sorts and recycles in its parks. Councilmember Barnes said that is something the City can
work on and something the City can have Tri-Sports work on as well.
Councilmember Bell said her concern is not so much recycling, but rather the amount of trash and litter left
on the fields. She said she would like to see Tri-Sports take better care of this “crown jewel” within the
community. Mayor Sample noted that staff, Tri-Sports representatives, and she went to look at the fields on
a couple of occasions when the City received complaints and there was no trash.
Councilmember Bell said when she goes to the Rec Center she sees half-filled Gatorade bottles on the field,
sports caps littered and wrappers littered on the ground. She said she sees a tremendous amount of litter
on the ground at the fields and it is not something she is very proud of as a city when she sees that level of
trash and litter in the fields that are being used primarily by the sports leagues.
Greg Waller spoke on behalf of Tri-Sports and said if there is trash on the fields, call them and they will do
something about it, but he does not think they have a record of providing dirty fields.
Councilmember Barnes said the goal for everyone on Council is to have clean parks and facilities and asked
Mr. Waller what kind of resources does Tri-Sports have, being that they work primarily on a volunteer basis,
and how many times a week is actually feasible given the resources. Mr. Waller said Tri-Sports uses
contracted landscapers to do trash pickup, in addition to educating its division leaders, coaches, and players
about picking up in the dugout and the fields after the games so they have participant pickup, volunteer
pickup, and paid pickup through their contractors. Mr. Waller said right now the paid contractors are at the
Rec Center twice a week, but has now requested that the contractor go three times a week to see if that
would make a difference in the calls they have been receiving. He said he does not think three times a week
is unreasonable if there is cause. He said Tri-Sports takes maintaining the fields very seriously, so they will
pick up as needed.
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery noted that Tri-Sports representatives live in West U, so if there is a problem
the City can call them and work something out. He said he is opposed to measures that treat them like a
child.
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Mr. Waller spoke on Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery’s point. He said Tri-Sports was extremely disappointed
in this process from where they were a month ago, because a month ago they came to the meeting and
Gregg Thompson presented a proposal that they thought was a good faith effort to try to reach out and
reestablish a relationship of trust that was broken over the past two years. He said the last two years have
been ugly and everybody knows it. Mr. Waller said the agreement proposed in May 2021, which involved
zero consultation with anyone from Tri-Sports or anyone from the member leagues, was full of traps and
tricks. He said that agreement was a non-starter. Mr. Waller said so it was suggested in the meeting a
month ago, and he thought all agreed, that the structure proposed by Tri-Sports would be “dropped” into
one of the agreements between 2015 and 2019, and sent to the city attorney for review to see if there were
any additional legal requirements needed.
Mr. Waller said the agreement received two and half weeks later was a cut and paste of the May 2021
contract with all the Version 1 provisions that Councilmember Barnes now wants to add back. He said it
was again disheartening to see a set of proposed changes come back, which liken back to that May 2021
contract which seemed to them to be full of traps and tricks. He said he hopes that Council will pass the
clean version of the proposal attached to the agenda with whatever changes the mayor suggested as to
superfluous provisions.
Councilmember Carroll said her primary issue throughout the course of this very divisive issue in the
neighborhood has been accountability. She said what she heard from residents repeatedly was that they
supported Tri-Sports, they supported the idea and the benefits that they bring to the community, but they
wanted accountability. She said, for her, the proposed MOU before Council provides that.
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery said some of the suggested changes are well-intended, but he thinks they
make things too difficult from what was supposed to be a very plain, good effort agreement to bring the two
parties back together. .
Councilmember Bell said one of the frustrating things on her part is that, except sitting at the dais, they have
not had a chance as a Council to provide input to this process. She said because of the Open Meetings
Act, she has not had the opportunity to sit down with the city attorney to go through this like Tri-Sports and
its member leagues have done. She said this is the only time she gets to voice any of her concerns, to voice
the desire to be a data driven organization, and the desire to be a litter-free city.
Councilmember Barnes said anytime you have “upon request, upon notice, upon this on that or another,” it
requires a decision by this council to make the request and so he wants to make it automatic to take it out
of the political realm and just have it happen so that the two parties never end up back here.
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery reiterated that he does not think any of the suggestions are bad suggestions,
he just thinks think there is a temptation to ignore 30 years of a working partnership. He said the City never
needed the suggestions before and to say the City is taking the politics out of it ignores the fact that it became
the most political thing in West University and he is still not sure how it happened. He said he thinks to take
the politics out the City should work harder towards the way it was in terms of a partnership before. He said
he is not going to debate the merits of Councilmember Bell’s suggestions, he just thinks the City should be
careful in its tone so it does not sound like “we do not trust you so we are going to make you do this stuff
just to make sure you do not do the wrong thing for the City.”
Councilmember Barnes said he does not believe the things he added did that. He said they are things that
the City Attorney put into the agreement and he assumes he added them based on his sound judgement as
to best practices or his relationship with youth sports programs.
City Attorney Bounds said the agreement presented in May/June was a base from other agreements drafted
for other Sports Association groups for other cities, but to be fair, Council had some input into some of the
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details of some of those provisions. He said, however, the basic form of the agreement was looking at
previous MOUs and incorporating information from sports agreements from other cities, as well as the
additions of some suggestions by councilmembers. He said the agreement that was drafted after the last
council meeting was an attempt to include the MOUs that the City has used in the past and some of the
provisions for that agreement that were part of the base agreement.
Mr. Bounds said the clean agreement in front of Council tonight, which includes additional provisions after
discussions with Tri-Sports, is from the prior MOU and the permit process to try to put that all in this one
agreement. He said the City has a prior history of MOUs and permits, so though the proposed document
is fairly a long document, it is not all original work. He said some of it are things the City had in the past,
either in MOU form or in permit form, and some things he added to address the prior city attorney’s opinion
with regard to the problems with the prior agreement.
Mr. Bounds said Tri-Sports has approved the clean version of the agreement in front of Council tonight.
Councilmember Barnes asked the city attorney, based on his experience with various other municipalities
that he advises with respect to entering into contracts similar to this with sports programs, does the clean
version provide the level of transparency and accountability that he would normally expect to see in those
agreements. City Attorney Bounds said yes.
At this time, Councilmember Carroll moved to approve the clean version of the agreement before Council
tonight with the following revisions voted on as follows:
Councilmember Barnes moved to remove 4(b) regarding Tri-Sports use of funds. Mayor Pro Tem
Montgomery seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
Noes: None
Absent: None
Mayor Sample moved to remove 9(a) and 9(b) – non-profit status and non-discrimination. Councilmember
Carroll seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
Noes: None
Absent: None
After some discussion, Councilmember Bell moved to remove “upon request, and with reasonable notice”
to “In accordance with the City’s Annual budget cycle, Tri-Sports shall provide the City with its best
information and and/or estimates of the participation by City residents, as participants or volunteers, in the
youth sports programs of the Member Organizations. Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery seconded the motion.
Before a vote was made on the motion, Mr. Waller spoke to say the previous Council accused Tri-Sports of
producing numbers that did not mean anything. Councilmember Barnes said he is sorry Mr. Waller feels that
way, but being the only member of this Council that was on that Council, the issue was that the numbers
kept changing. He said he appreciates the accurate numbers that were eventually provided by Jenny
McCarthy and said those numbers can be used as an actual baseline to provide information going forward.
Mr. Waller said he disagrees with Councilmember Barnes characterization about how the numbers kept
changing. He said they were getting refined based on the level of specificity. He said he would like to move
forward because this issue has been a waste of time and effort by not only people in the city, but by tons of
volunteers who were trying to respond to what they view as unfair accusations.
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At this time, a vote was made on the motion. MOTION PASSED:
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
Noes: None
Absent: None
Mayor Sample moved to remove the acknowledge signatures of the league presidents. Councilmember
Barnes seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
Noes: None
Absent: None
Mayor Sample move that the agreement be approved as presented with the suggested revisions approved.
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
Noes: None
Absent: None
9. Nominating Candidate for the Harris County Appraisal District Board of Directors
Matters related to nominating a candidate to serve on the Board of Directors of the Harris County
Appraisal District to represent small cities and towns other than the Houston. Recommended Action:
Discuss and take any desired action. Mr. Dave Beach, City Manager
Councilmember Barnes moved to approve a resolution nominating Mike Sullivan to serve on the Board
of Directors of the Harris County Appraisal District to represent small cities and towns other than
Houston. Councilmember Bell seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
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 Meeting Minutes
Approve City Council Minutes of September 20, 2021. Recommended Action: Approve City Council
Minutes of September 20, 2021. Ms. Thelma Gilliam, City Secretary
B. Resolution Ordinance Approving Adoption of Fee Schedules by Resolution
Matters related to the second reading of an ordinance approving adoption of the City's fee
schedules by resolution. Recommended Action: Approve ordinance to adopt the City's fee schedules by
resolution on the second and final reading. Ms. Katherine DuBose, Finance Director
C. Resolution Appointing Member to the Friends of West U Parks Fund Board
City Council Meeting Minutes, September 27, 2021
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Matters related to appointing Chandradev Mehta to Positon 10 on the West U Parks Fund Board.
Recommended Action: Approve resolution appointing Chandradev Mehta to Position 10 on the West U
Parks Fund Board for a term beginning September 27, 2021 and ending August 31, 2024. Ms. Donna
LaMond, Director of the Friends of West U Parks Fund Board
Councilmember Carroll moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Councilmember Barnes
seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
Noes: None
Absent: None
11. Adjourn Meeting
With no other business before the Council, Councilmember Carroll moved to adjourn the regular
meeting at approximately 8:00 p.m. Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery seconded the motion. MOTION
PASSED.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell, Carroll
Noes: None
Absent: None
Audio of the meeting in its entirety is temporarily on the City’s website. If the audio is no longer on the
website, you can obtain a copy from the City Secretary’s office.
Prepared by: Thelma A. Gilliam, TRMC, City Secretary Council Approved: October 11, 2021