HomeMy WebLinkAbout072621 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 workshop and regular meeting on
Monday, July 26, 2021, at 6:00 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 of as follows:
Workshop (6:00 p.m.)
1. Call to Order/Roll Call
Mayor Sample called the workshop to order at 6:00 p.m. Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery and
Councilmembers Barnes and Bell were present. Councilmember Carroll was absent.
Staff present were City Manager Beach, City Secretary Gilliam, City Attorney Bounds, Assistant to the
City Manager Thompson, Public Works Director Barrera, and Police Chief Walker.
Jason Eldridge, P.E., with Cobb Fendley was also present.
2. PER Drainage Improvements – West
Matters related to results of PER West. Recommended Action: Discuss and provide feedback. Mr. Gerardo
Barrera, Public Works Director
Public Works Director Barrera introduced Jason Eldridge with Cobb Fendley who presented a status
update related to the Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) Drainage Improvement – West. Mr. Eldridge
provided and discussed the following agenda:
• Project Overview
o HT&J City-Wide Drainage Study (2020)
Evaluated existing drainage system and made recommendations to construct new
storm sewer in order to improve level of service to 50-year storm event within R.O.W.
and 2-year conveyance in pipe using Atlas 14 rainfall data
Mitigation needed
Identified street sections that exceeded life expectancy
o Freese & Nichols Water System Assessment (March 2021)
Replace under-sized or aged water lines
Improve water quality, system performance and fire flow capacity
Water line improvements will be incorporated if it falls within the project street
• Drainage Area Map
City Council Meeting Minutes, July 26, 2021
2 of 6
• Side Lot Storm Sewer Assessment
Task I: Prepare feasibility using survey data to replace at current location
Task 2: Determine benefits of future Southside Place storm system
Task 3: Evaluate other considerations for relief to side lot system
• Typical Project Layouts
o Pavement Replacement (Marquette Street)
o Storm Sewer Replacement (Community Drive)
Working with arborists to determine if there are any impacts to the trees and, if so,
they will look at resizing storm sewer boxes or shifting the alignment.
o Water Line Replacement (Riley Street)
Riley Street also recommended for pavement and storm sewer replacement
Recommends trenchless construction for this waterline
• Next Steps and Schedule
o Continue to evaluate side lot storm system
o Evaluate storm alignments, geometric layouts, water alignments, pavement assessment
o Size storm water control devices
o Assess tree protection/mitigation for each option
o Prepare cost estimates for each option
o Present options at the Council workshop in two months (September)
o Submit draft PER in November
o Hold third workshop to finalize PER based on comments
During discussions, Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery inquired about costs for the Community Drive portion
of the project. Mr. Eldridge said he does not have that number but will get it and provide it to Council.
Councilmember Bell asked will incorporation of traffic calming measures mentioned in the scope and
deliverables from the traffic study be done by the City or is it in regards to construction. Mr. Jason said
he believes it is a new traffic calming study done by an outside consultant and City Manager Beach
confirmed.
In response to Councilmember Bell’s question as to whether the traffic calming study is complete, City
Manager Beach said it is currently being looked at by the City’s traffic engineers (TEI Engineers), who
will provide it to Cobb Fendley as well as to HDR in relation to the work they are doing on the PER –
East.
3. Adjourn
At 6:23 p.m., Mayor Sample adjourned the workshop.
Audio of this workshop in its entirety is temporarily on the City’s website. If the audio is no longer on
the website, contact the City Secretary’s office for a copy.
REGULAR MEETING (6:30 p.m.)
4. Call to Order/Roll Call
Mayor Sample called the regular meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery and
Councilmembers Barnes and Bell were present. Councilmember Carroll was absent.
Staff present were City Manager Beach, City Secretary Gilliam, City Attorney Bounds, Assistant to the
City Manager Thompson, Finance Director DuBose, Communications Coordinator Cuccerre, Public
Works Director Barrera, Human Resources Director Urban, Police Chief Walker, and Officer Katie.
City Council Meeting Minutes, July 26, 2021
3 of 6
5. Pledge of Allegiance
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery led the Pledge of Allegiance.
6. 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.
There were no public comments.
7. Communications Update
Matters related to an update on the City’s communications. Recommended Action: Discuss and take
any desired action. Ms. Bianca Cuccerre, Communications Coordinator and Mr. Dave Beach, City Manager
Communications Coordinator Cuccerre gave a presentation on:
• Historic Communications Efforts
o Routine Communications (holiday trash schedules, Council agendas, etc.)
• Communications Efforts Today
o Established internal communications committee
o Planned daily social media content
o Increased social media followings
o Consolidation of communication channels
o Notifications from the City are pre-planned
o Media monitoring
• Communications Analytics
o Increased website and social media followings significantly (2020 versus 2021 to date)
308,736 website visits versus 368,508
3,020 Facebook followers versus 3,222
381 versus 926 Instagram followers
1,004 versus 1,109 Twitter followers
• Public Safety Communications
o Expanding presence on social media
o Consistently promoting Direct Link
o Increasing Direct Link customers
o Initiating community educational programming
o Enhancing positive visibility within the community
Holding events such as “Coffee with a Cop”
Community C.A.R.E.S. program (with Fire Department) that promotes
neighborhood safety
o Analytics – 1,975 Facebook followers in 202 versus 2,327 followers to date in 2021; 114
new Direct Link customers in 2020 versus 92 customers in 2021 to date.
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery suggested that staff look into the costs of direct mailings that will note
pricing and the differences between Direct Link and other providers to send to the population in the
community without Direct Link.
Councilmember Barnes said comparable data would be the biggest selling point to which Officer
Wilson noted that on average the City’s service (Direct Link) saves 5 minutes or less in response
time.
City Council Meeting Minutes, July 26, 2021
4 of 6
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery asked if staff would add other news outlets to the website in addition to
Instant News. Councilmember Barnes suggested creating links to articles that mention West U rather
than having the actual publication on the website. Mayor Sample and the councilmembers present
agreed.
Ms. Cuccerre proceeded with her presentation.
• Communication Efforts in Progress
o Citizens Academy
o West U App
o Website Enhancements
o Artificial Intelligence Txt and Website Chatbot
o New Resident Guide
o Communication Plans, Policies, and Branding Guidelines
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery asked about Chatbot – how much it costs and how it works. City
Manager Beach said the initial cost is approximately $20,000 and $15,000 to $20,000 annually. City
Manager Beach said it works like Google but searches just within the City’s website.
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery said he likes receiving mailings and thinks a simple 3 x 5 colored card
would be good for essential messages and would be more beneficial than something like Chatbot.
Councilmember Bell said the City should utilize all media – paper and electronic.
Councilmember Barnes said the Seniors Needs Assessment indicated that a lot of people of all ages
are actually getting their information from mailings so mailings make sense to have as part of the
overall communication strategy as long as people who want to get their information another way
have the option.
City Manager Beach said there will be funding for mailings as part of the Budget. Mayor Pro Tem
Montgomery said he would be satisfied just knowing what it costs before deciding to do anything.
Councilmember Barnes asked what is the City doing as part of its long-term plans and strategies to
solicit ongoing feedback from residents as to what kind of communication services and media and
formats they prefer. Communications Coordinator Cuccerre responded that staff is currently plans
according to 2019 survey, but will be doing another survey this year or early next year.
Councilmember Bell said the City has seen incredible growth in its social media presence but it is
still fairly low percentage wise for the amount of residents in the City, and asked is there any plans
to continue to grow that presence for both the City, Police and Fire. Ms. Cuccerre stated that staff
has started including all the City’s social media handles in City Currents and thinks once residents
see the City’s consistency in messaging and see that the social media outlets are sources of reliable
information the followings on social media will continue to increase.
8. 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.
City Council Meeting Minutes, July 26, 2021
5 of 6
A. City Council Meeting Minutes
Approve City Council Minutes of July 12, 2021. Recommended Action: Approve City Council Minutes
of July 12, 2021. Ms. Thelma Gilliam, City Secretary
B. Second Quarter Investment Report
Matters related to the Second Quarter Investment Report. Recommended Action: Accept the City’s
June 2021 Quarterly Investment Report. Ms. Katherine DuBose, Finance Director
C. Resolution Adopting Public Safety Quarantine Leave Policy
Matters related a resolution adopting a quarantine policy. Recommended Action: Approve a
resolution adopting the quarantine leave policy. Mr. James Urban, Human Resources Director
D. Resolution Appointing Deputy Court Clerks
Matters related to a resolution appointing Deputy Court Clerks. Recommended Action: Approve
the resolution appointing Jocqueline Bell, Ilfa Gomes, and Kshipra Sawant as Deputy Court Clerks. Ms.
Katherine DuBose, Finance Director
E. West U Recreation Center Pool Deck Replacement
Matters related to the Recreation Center Pool Deck Replacement. Recommended Action: Approve
the contract with Progressive Commercial Aquatics and authorize the City Manager to execute the contract
in the amount not to exceed $66,000.00. Ms. Susan White, Parks and Recreation Director
F. City Council’s 2021-2022 Goals
Matters related to approving City Council’s 2021-2022 goals. Recommended Action: Approve goals.
Mr. Dave Beach, City Manager and City Council
Councilmember Barnes moved to remove Item 8F for discussion.
Councilmember Bell moved to approve Items A-E. Councilmember Barnes seconded the motion.
MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell
Noes: None
Absent: Carroll
Regarding Item 8F, City Council goals for 2021-2022, Councilmember Barnes said he has concerns
regarding Poor Farm Ditch improvements – Public Use Greenway Evaluation and Direction – and said
he thinks to get the most out of the report that will be prepared there are a couple of key issues he
suggests adding to the list. He said the two issues are the security impact and environmental impact of
some of the potential improvements. Councilmember Barnes said the greenway, for example, up and
down Poor Farm Ditch is behind businesses and it is essentially an alleyway that cannot be patrolled
through normal means, which could be a security issue. He said the environmental aspect to consider
is the substantial Red Tail Hawk and Barn Owl population in the community that depend on that water
source and without the water source the hawk and owl population decreases and then there will be an
explosion of rodents.
After discussion, Councilmember Bell suggested that Councilmember Barnes’ concerns be included in
the “best practices and options” categories related to that goal as they are good things to keep in mind
and bring up, but she does not think they need to be listed separately. The rest of Council present
agreed and Councilmember Barnes said he is okay with including them with best practices and options.
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery asked why the Senior Needs Assessment is a goal when the feedback
from a recent survey was so positive.
City Council Meeting Minutes, July 26, 2021
6 of 6
Councilmember Barnes said one thing that came from the Senior Needs Assessment, as he understood
it, is that while the City is providing great service right now the staff and resources they have now are
operating at capacity. He said so to the extent the service population may increase, a decision to add
staff may be needed down the road or the City may not be able to continue to meet the level of
expectation.
Mayor Pro Tem Montgomery asked City Manager Beach if staffing is the goal for senior services.
Councilmember Barnes said his thought is there are steps the City needs to take now to make sure the
same level of service remains for at least the next five years.
City Manager Beach said in August staff will present an update to Council on senior services for feedback
and direction.
Councilmember Barnes moved to approve Item 8F. Councilmember Bell seconded the motion.
MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Sample, Montgomery, Barnes, Bell
Noes: None
Absent: Carroll
9. Recess Regular Meeting and Convene Executive Session
Council will meet in an executive session in accordance with Section 551.072 of Chapter 551 of the
Texas Government Code to deliberate the purchase, exchange lease, or value of real property.
At 7:19 p.m., Mayor Sample recessed the regular meeting and convened executive session.
10. Adjourn Executive Session and Reconvene Regular Meeting
Council will reconvene the regular meeting and take action from Executive Session, if any.
Mayor Sample adjourned the executive session and reconvened the regular meeting at 7:50 p.m. There
was no action taken.
11. Adjourn Meeting
With no other business before the Council, Mayor Sample adjourned the regular meeting at
approximately 7:50 p.m. Councilmember Barnes seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED.
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: August 9, 2021