HomeMy WebLinkAbout091420 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 MINUTES
The City Council of the City of West University Place, Texas, met via audio/video conferencing in a
workshop and regular session on Monday, September 14, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. due to social distancing
guidelines suggested by the CDC in light of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID 19).
Agenda items were as follows:
WORKSHOP (5:00 PM)
1. Call Workshop to Order / Roll Call (Remotely)
Mayor Higley called the workshop to order at 5:00 p.m. Mayor Pro Tem Trautner, Councilmembers
Barnes, Lankford and Sobash, and City Attorney Petrov were in attendance.
Staff attending via video/teleconference from the Council Chambers: City Manager Beach, City
Secretary Gilliam, Police Chief Walker, Parks and Recreation Director White, Finance Director
DuBose, Assistant to the City Manager Thompson, Public Works Director Barrera, and Fire Chief
Taylor.
Staff attending remotely: Interim IT Director McFarland.
Others attending in the Council Chambers were: Mr. Kirk Mills, Mr. Mike Shelton, and Mr. Michael
Moriarty with Kimberly Horn Consultants and Mr. Vernon Webb and Ms. Carol Harrison with IDS
Consultants
2. Water Reclamation Study and Wastewater Treatment Plant Flood Protection Study
Matters related to Water Reclamation and WWTP Flood Protection Studies. Mr. Gerardo Barrera,
Public Works Director
Public Works Director Barrera introduced Mr. Kirk Mills with Kimberly Horn who presented on the
Water Reclamation study.
Mr. Mills said Kimberly Horn looked at three alternatives, two were related to direct and indirect potable
reuse and one was non-potable. He said the non-potable reuse option seemed to be the most feasible
from a cost benefit standpoint and recommended that the City develop a non-potable reuse as a
source of additional revenue. He said the benefits include:
• Offsetting a portion of the cost of conventional wastewater treatment;
• Reducing stress on freshwater supplies; and
• Improving sustainability economically, environmentally, and socially.
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Mr. Mills said they found that non-potable could be implemented at the wastewater treatment plant for
approximately $4,000,000 with a five to eight-year payback with no environmental impacts of which
they are aware. He said the capital dollars do not include easements or any supplemental treatment
that may come out of negotiations.
Mayor Higley said this seems like a no-brainer and Mr. Mills agreed.
In response to Mayor Higley’s question as to how to move forward with the consultant’s
recommendation, City Manager Beach said staff can continue to investigate that if that is Council’s
consensus.
When asked her opinion, Councilmember Lankford said she has reservations due to the limited market
for the non-potable, but if it can be confirmed that the City would be able to sell it she is okay with it.
Mr. Shelton spoke to say there is a market for this and that they have identified a potential user. City
Manager Beach added that before moving forward with construction staff would look at a long-term
arrangement with the end user to be sure the City would recoup the cost of its investment in the
system.
Mayor Pro Tem Trautner asked if the cost of maintenance would be recovered on any additional
infrastructure that would be put in place with the $3.9 million and also asked if there is a return on that
investment when the City receives the money back. Mr. Horn responded that there seems to be a
price point between what is currently being paid for Houston water versus what could be a negotiated
agreement and it could be a favorable thing for a return on the investment. Mr. Horn also said the
approximate $4,000,000 does not include capital costs and would be added when negotiating costs
with the end user.
In response to Councilmember Barnes’ question as to once enough revenue has been generated to
pay back the cost of the project, would the City then gain revenue of about $500,000 a year, Mr. Horn
said it depends on the negotiated rate with the end user as to the amount of revenue that will be
generated, but that it could be $500,000 to $750,000 per year.
Councilmember Sobash said this would be a good thing to do if the City could get the customer to buy-
in to some of the capital improvements at a more favorable long-term rate, potentially, to them and to
lower the downside risks of the City putting money up front.
Mayor Higley said he feels the City should move forward with this and expedite it as quickly as
possible.
As a note, Public Works Director Barrera stated that this project would also help the City in that it is
not putting a million gallons into the bayou, which might help in negotiating with Harris County since
the City would be offsetting that particular amount of gallons.
Councilmember Barnes asked if the City is treating the affluence and sending it down to the Med
Center instead of dumping it in the Braes Bayou could the City use that to get some type of credit with
respect to the restrictors on the City’s storm water. Mr. Barrera said it’s possible and City Manager
Beach said staff will look into it.
With no other questions, Mayor Higley moved to instruct the City Manager to move forward with all
due haste with the civil engineers and bring back a report to Council ASAP. Councilmember Barns
seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash
Noes: None
Absent: None
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3. Adjourn Workshop
Mayor Higley adjourned the workshop at approximately 5:55 p.m.
REGULAR MEETING (6:30 PM)
4. Call Regular Meeting to Order (Remotely)
Mayor Higley called the Regular Meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
5. Roll Call
Mayor Pro Tem Trautner, Councilmembers Barnes, Lankford and Sobash, and City Attorney Petrov
were attended via audio/videoconference.
Staff attending via video/teleconference from the Council Chambers: City Manager Beach, City
Secretary Gilliam, Police Chief Walker, Parks and Recreation Director White, Finance Director
DuBose, Public Works Director Barrera, and Fire Chief Taylor.
Staff attending remotely: Interim IT Director McFarland.
Others attending remotely: Mr. Kirby Follis with the West U Baptist Church; President of the Piranhas
Ms. Lori Yi; and Ms. Jenny McCarthy with Tri-Sports.
6. Pledge of Allegiance
Councilmember Sobash led the Pledge.
7. Public Comments
This is an opportunity for citizens to speak to the Council relating to agenda and non-agenda items.
The following comments were made from the public:
Susan Butler, 4119 Oberlin, spoke regarding residential parking on the street when homeowners are
not using their driveways and garages. She asked for possible resolution and Mayor Higley asked her
to email him to request adding this topic as an item on the agenda for discussion.
Nina Springer, 4125 Oberlin, spoke regarding residential parking. She suggested that households
have the ability to request a daily or weekly exception to the rule, such as that in Southside Place, that
would allow them to allow a piece of paper or permit on their dashboard while parked on the street to
be clear they were not in violation. She said this would allow for exceptions and at the time be a
disincentive to park on the street without a valid reason.
Sarah Barrett, 3743 Tangley, spoke regarding reopening the playgrounds in the parks. Because this
was not listed on the agenda and would not allow for two-way conversation with Council, it was
suggested that Ms. Barrett speak during the COVID-19 update when matters related to the parks could
be discussed.
8. 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:
• Situation continues to improve – both nationwide and locally.
• The positivity rate statewide is at 8.11 percent (holding under 10 percent for a week).
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• The Harris County Public Health shows that West U now has 49 confirmed cases – 3 active,
46 recovered, and 0 deaths.
• The Harris County COVID-19 threat level system remains at Level 1, which is the highest level
despite the improving conditions.
In response to Mayor Higley’s question as to whether playground facilities are open in Harris County,
Chief Taylor responded that Harris County Precincts 3 and 4 confirmed as of today that their playground
facilities open with signage in place that indicates that the equipment is not routinely sanitized.
Mayor Higley asked if the City has COVID-19 signage available. PARD Director White responded and
said the City does have signage at each of the entry gates to the parks. She also said if the playgrounds
contain fencing around them, the City has the ability to post signage as one enters the closed
playground areas.
Councilmember Sobash asked how does reopening of parks (playground facilities) in Precincts 3 and
4 comply with the County’s order and asked if they received a waiver to open them. Chief Taylor said
it is his understanding that there is no exemption or waiver at this time.
Councilmember Sobash asked what would be the triggers for the status to drop down from Level 1.
Chief Taylor said there are several different data parameters, one of which is how many new cases of
COVID-19 are reported for each day. He said the threshold for the next level down is between 201 and
400 cases a day and for the last 14 or 15 days the County has been under the 400 threshold. He said
Harris County Public Health and the TMC have different ways of reporting data on the positivity rate so
that’s holding things up right now.
Councilmember Barnes asked if there is any guidance from Harris County Public Health or from the
CDC as to how to safely operate playground equipment in the area. Chief Taylor said the only guidance
that is out there is pretty much the same guidance heard every day – proper hygiene and social
distancing. He said there is nothing that states that cities should routinely sanitize equipment and that
the state, according to its guide, does not recommend sanitizing outdoor play equipment because it is
not a good use of limited resources.
Mayor Pro Tem Trautner said he would be in favor of opening the parks to the extent that the City is
not running afoul of any legalities under the rationale that the pandemic has been going for 6 months
and so by now people could manage themselves and their children to access the parks appropriately.
Councilmember Sobash asked how quickly the City could open its playground facilities. City Manager
Beach said if Council would like the facilities reopened, staff can have them open by early next week
or as early as this weekend.
For clarification, Councilmember Lankford confirmed that “open the parks” means “open the playground
facilities” because the parks (green spaces) are already open.
Ms. Barrett, 3743 Tangley, spoke to say that she would like the parks fully open as soon as possible.
9. Record Vote on Tax Rate
Matters related to a resolution recording vote on tax rate on the proposed “not to exceed” tax rate of
$0.294066. Recommended Action: Adopt resolution recording vote on the “not to exceed” tax rate of $0.294066.
Ms. Katherine DuBose, Finance Director
Finance Director DuBose presented and stated that this resolution is required to be adopted in
accordance with Chapter 26 of the Texas Property Code. She said Council is only being asked to
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record its vote on the proposed tax rate, not adopt the tax rate. She said Council will be asked to adopt
the proposed tax rate of $0.294066 at its meeting on September 28, 2020.
Councilmember Barnes moved to adopt the resolution recording the vote of the proposed “not to
exceed” tax rate of $0.294066. Councilmember Sobash 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 the City Council Workshop Minutes of August 24, 2020. Recommended Action: Approve
Minutes of August 24, 2020. Ms. Thelma Gilliam, City Secretary
B. Certified Appraisal Roll
Matters related to accepting the Certified Appraisal Roll. Recommended Action: Approve Ms.
Katherine DuBose, Finance Director
C. Reappointing Board Members to the Friends of West U Parks Fund
Matters related to the adoption of a resolution reappointing members to the Friends of West U
Parks Fund Board. Recommended Action: Reappoint Michelle Huth, Matthew Foytlin, Stephen Olson,
Judy Cheng and Mark Prescott to their respective positions on the Friends of West U Parks Fund Board.
Ms. Donna LaMond, Director of FWUPF
D. Harris Galveston Subsidence District Interlocal Agreement (Waterwise)
Matters related to Interlocal Agreement with HGSD Recommended Action: Discuss and take any
desired action. Mr. Gerardo Barrera, Public Works Director
E. Automated Weir Cleaning System
Matters related to approving a change order to purchase and install the Automated Weir Cleaning
System at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Recommended Action: Approve Change Order to purchase
and install the automated Weir Cleaning System at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Mr. Gerardo Barrera,
Public Works
Mayor Higley removed Item C and Item E from the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Sobash moved
to approve Items A, B, and D as presented. Councilmember Barnes seconded the motion. MOTION
PASSED.
Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash
Noes: None
Absent: None
Mayor Higley said he removed Item C to thank Friends Executive Director Donna LaMond for her
service and the Friends of the West University Parks Fund Board for doing a marvelous job and making
the City proud.
Councilmember Sobash moved to approve the reappointments to the Friends Board as presented.
Councilmember Barnes seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED.
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Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash
Noes: None
Absent: None
Mayor Higley said he removed Item E so that Public Works Director Gerardo Barrera could discuss the
project and the $130,000 the City was able to save through project negotiations.
After Public Works Director spoke to explain the reason for the savings, Councilmember Sobash moved
to approve the Change Order for the automated cleaning system as presented. Councilmember Barnes
seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash
Noes: None
Absent: None
11. Recess Regular Meeting to Convene Workshop on Memorandums of Understanding
Matters related to the City’s Memorandums of Understanding with West U Baptist Church, Tri-Sports,
and the Piranhas. Recommended Action: Discuss and direct staff as desired. Ms. Susan White, PARD
Director
At 7:15 pm, Councilmember Barnes moved to recess the regular meeting and convene the Workshop.
Councilmember Sobash seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash
Noes: None
Absent: None
City Manager Beach informed Council that staff is not looking for approval of the Memorandums of
Understanding (MOU) at this meeting, but rather for feedback that will be taken into account during the
budget process.
Parks and Recreation Director White presented and began with the MOU with the West U Baptist
Church (WUBC). She said other than updating the 2021 dates, WUBC’s only request is that the term
of the MOU be extended from one year to three or five years.
Mayor Higley noted that this MOU deals in square feet not dollars. He said the City has some square
feet the Church can use when they need it and the Church has some square feet the City can use when
it needs it and that staff calculated the value and it is pretty much equal.
Mayor Higley noted that it is the consensus of the Council to continue the MOU with the West U Baptist
Church and extend the term to five years.
Ms. White presented the MOU with the Piranhas and said they are not requesting any updates to the
2021 MOU, but would also be interested in an extended term. In addition, she said staff discussed
adding verbiage to the MOU to allow the City to make adjustments for pay increases and non-resident
fees as needed.
Ms. White noted that with this MOU the City provides City property and the Piranhas reimburses the
City for staffing costs outside of the City’s normal operating expenses. She said they also pay the City
$25 for each non-resident participant. When asked, Ms. White stated that according to the 2019
statistics there were 266 residents and 60 non-residents that participated in 2019. She said the
Piranhas did not have a season this year due to COVID-19 so she does not have numbers for 2020.
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Councilmember Lankford said she recalls a discussion last year about increasing the fees for non-
residents and thinks that might be reviewed in November when financial policies are reviewed. She
said it the discussion came about because of the fact that even though a high percentage of the
participants are West U residents when the Piranhas operate, they use the entire pool and residents
can’t use it at the same.
Mayor Higley noted that it is the consensus of the Council to move forward with this MOU.
Ms. White presented the MOU with Tri-Sports and said the only changes that have been made to the
existing MOU are (1) removed language related to the Scout House irrigation because irrigation was
for the Scout House itself and not irrigation for the fields and (2) after consultation with the City Attorney,
individual signature lines for all three sports groups were added.
In response to Mayor Higley’s question as to what Tri-Sports is asking for, Jenny McCarthy, resident at
6411 Belmont and representative of Tri-Sports and its member leagues, stated that Tri-sports is
requesting for the restoration of the City’s support and funding of $125,000.
In response to Councilmember Lankford’s question as to her reasoning for the request, Ms. McCarthy
said it’s to build up the partnership that the City and Tri-Sports has had for many years. Ms. McCar thy
also said Tri-Sports is a volunteer organization that spends a lot of time making sure over 1,000 kids in
West U last year had a place to play youth sports. She said Tri-Sports is a wonderful organization that
is the heart of the community.
Mayor Pro Tem Trautner asked what Tri-Sports would use the proceeds for over the next year. Ms.
McCarthy said the $125,000 would be used directly to support the maintenance of the fields in West U.
Councilmember Barnes said the 2018 Form 990 that was filed by Tri-Sports indicates that the overall
expenses for Tri-Sports were around $218,000 of which $89,000 was for field maintenance, utilities
and other associated expenses and that over $121,000 went towards depletion, depreciation and
amortization. He asked if some portion of the $125,000 would go towards what is essentially debt
servicing or would it all go towards actual field maintenance. Ms. McCarthy responded that it would go
towards field maintenance.
Councilmember Barnes asked Ms. McCarthy if she has any documentation from last year showing
those maintenance costs and other costs in the budget, because the 990 forms from 2015 to 2018 are
pretty consistent on the numbers so the $125,000 would be a substantial deviation. Ms. McCarthy said
she would be happy to send over the information she has. Councilmember Barnes suggested she
provide profit and loss statements and Form 990 for 2019. Mayor Pro Tem Trautner suggested that
she also provide invoices for maintenance on the specific fields.
Mayor Pro Tem Trautner asked Ms. McCarthy if the Wallin Field (at West U Elementary) is included as
one of the fields or is it just West U fields in the maintenance costs. Ms. McCarthy responded all the
fields within West U are included in the operational costs, which includes Wallin Field.
Councilmember Barnes asked if the fields at Pershing are included in the maintenance costs provided.
Ms. McCarthy said the fields at Pershing are not included. She said she excluded the Pershing
numbers so that she would only be talking this evening about numbers specific to West U.
Councilmember Barnes asked Ms. McCarthy what is the participation percentage of West U residents
for each of the leagues served by Tri-Sports. Ms. McCarthy responded that there are 3,046 participants
in all the leagues combined with 33.5 percent of those being West U and Southside Place residents.
She said when looking at just the field space that is used in West U and the age divisions associated
with those fields, there are 2,000 kids using those fields and 42 percent of those are West U and
Southside Place residents.
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Councilmember Lankford asked if the numbers are per year or per the fall and spring seasons. Ms.
McCarthy said they are treated separately by seasons.
Councilmember Sobash confirmed that the participation rate of 33.5 percent and 42 percent is a
combination of both West U residents and Southside Place residents and asked Ms. McCarthy if she
could provide a number for just West U residents. Ms. McCarthy responded that the West U number
is 30.2 percent of participation in all the leagues and 38 percent for the specific age divisions using just
the fields.
Mayor Higley asked if West U residents were determined by using the 77005 zip code and excluding
streets not in West U. Ms. McCarthy replied that they are currently using the 2010 Census data to
make the determination and confirmed that she is comfortable with the percentage she provided for
West U residents. Councilmember Lankford asked why not just use the street addresses rather than
the census data and Ms. McCarthy responded that it was due to the lack of manpower.
Councilmember Lankford said she would be curious in seeing the percentages by season because she
feels there is double counting involved. She also said the MOU requires that a certain number of West
U residents participate under the Tri-Sports umbrella, not the required number of participants in each
league, which could technically mean a resident can be counted more than once.
Mayor Pro Tem Trautner said because Ms. McCarthy was talking about percentages of West U
participants he wanted to confirm that when she comes up with that number it is for a participant on an
annual basis such that if a participant during a given year participates in three different seasonal sports,
that person is not counted for the percentage calculation as three participants for that year.
In response to Mayor Pro Tem Trautner concern, Ms. McCarthy clarified that the majority of the
participants play in West U softball or West U Little League and said those would not be double-counted
because one is a girls’ organization and one is primarily a boys’ organization. So from a numbers
perspective double-counting isn’t a concern of theirs.
Mayor Higley asked that Ms. McCarthy understand that from the City’s perspective Council has a
tremendous burden, and it’s not just a like or dislike. He said it is a tremendous legal obligation to do
it right. He said the City can’t gift money and not get something in return because it is illegal. City
Attorney Petrov concurred and added that council could be held criminally responsible.
Councilmember Barnes asked City Attorney Petrov if the benefit citizens of West U get in return in order
to justify making a cash disbursement have to be an objective quantifiable benefit. City Attorney Petrov
said there is always some subjective nature to the benefit, but the City would have to do the best it can
to reasonably relate it to a quantifiable amount.
Mayor Higley asked Ms. McCarthy to please provide the numbers this Council has been asking for. He
said it can’t be that hard and said it is important for Council to lay the proper predicate for giving away
any money.
Councilmember Barnes said that Council also needs to know that there are financial controls in place
to show that the money that is dispersed is 100 percent spent on the purpose for which it is being
dispersed and asked what internal and external controls Tri-Sports have in place. Ms. McCarthy said
she is not the right person to answer that question and will get Council an answer.
Councilmember Sobash asked Ms. McCarthy how many residents of the 3,046 participants in all the
member leagues are West U residents and she replied 1,039 participants and that 775 of those are
West residents playing on West U fields. Councilmember Sobash confirmed with Ms. McCarthy that
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the $200,000 field maintenance is only for the fields within the West U city limits. He asked if the
number of residents per field could be provided. She said they don’t have that number.
Councilmember Barnes said when Council discussed this last year and taking the numbers provided
by Tri-Sports in terms of participation, it was calculated that the amount that would be necessary for
Tri-Sports in terms of raising registration fees to make up for the loss of the cash subsidy would be
roughly $14.93 per head. He said subsequently, it was Council’s understanding that West U Softball
and West U Little League raised their registration fees by $25.00 going into the 20-20 season. He said
a few games into the season Tri-Sports shut down due to COVID like everyone else, so the question
is what was done with those registration fees since the season didn’t happen.
Ms. McCarthy responded and said in speaking for West U Little League and West U Softball they did
not make money this season. She said their registration fees pay for about 50 percent of what it costs
to send a kid through little league or through softball. She said a majority of their costs are spent upfront
so this year a lot of money was spent for a season that didn’t happen and with COVID they were not
able to raise funds nor did they receive the $125,000 normally received from the City to help subsidize
costs.
Mayor Pro Tem Trautner said he and Council would love see a positive working relationship with Tri-
Sports and a mutually agreeable situation and to get to that point he’d like to know from Ms. McCarthy
if she recognizes the value of the in-kind contributions West U makes (i.e. $30,000 in electricity and
water; $100,000 in priority field use) when doing their numbers. Ms. McCarthy said for in-kind services
absolutely, but said she doesn’t believe that the number for the field use is accurate.
Councilmember Barnes pointed out that the original arrangement between the City and Tri-Sports in
1987 when Tri-Sports was founded was that essentially the City would provide access to the fields in
exchange for Tri-Sports and its member organizations taking on maintenance responsibilities and those
costs, thereby taking those things out of the City budget, which in turn benefited the taxpayers.
Councilmember Barnes said once the cash subsidy came into play to cover the maintenance costs the
benefit to the taxpayers in that original arrangement essentially vanished and left the City giving Tri-
Sports priority access, which has a definite value, in exchange for an undefined value in return. Ms.
McCarthy said she doesn’t agree that the City doesn’t benefit from what Tri-Sports brings to the table.
Ms. McCarthy suggested that Council continue to look at the numbers to see how much Tri-Sports
maintain and operate the fields in the West U City limits. She said the $125,000 received from the City
does not cover all of those expenses. She again said she doesn’t agree that the benefit to West U has
vanished, because Tri-Sports continues to do improvements to the fields and spends more than what
is given to them on maintenance to make sure West U continues to have an A class parks and rec
system.
Councilmember Sobash asked if Tri-Sports plans to do any capital improvements that they would need
funds for this year and asked if their request includes funds for those improvements. Ms. McCarthy
said no, but over the years there have been several capital improvements made to the West U fields
that were paid for by Tri-Sports.
Mayor Higley said the City is not in the youth sports business and Tri-Sports not being able to make
their business work is not the City’s problem. He said the City is trying to keep a balanced budget
during COVID and has to make some hard decisions.
Ms. McCarthy said Tri-Sports does its business well and manages it well. She said they try to operate
and maintain those fields at a low cost and the City of West U is a better place for it.
Councilmember Lankford said she disagrees with Ms. McCarthy’s statement about Tri-Sports being the
reason for West U having an A class parks and recreation system. She said as Mayor Higley stated,
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West U is not in the youth sports business and she added that West U’s programs that are offered and
run by the City are what makes West U parks and recreation A class. She said maybe that is where
Tri-Sports and Council don’t see eye to eye – because Tri-Sports sees themselves as part of the City’s
parks and recreation system and Council doesn’t.
Mayor Pro Tem Trautner said if the City wanted to run a little league program or allow a third party (not
Tri-Sports) to come in and run a program, they would charge a fee to cover all of their expenses to do
that and the City would be fully reimbursed for its maintenance costs to the extent the City would
maintain the fields. Ms. McCarthy responded and said one of the things that made her decision to
move to West U was the little league. She said there is not enough field space to do what Tri-Sports
does. She said the system works better the way it is and thinks the partnership should continue. She
said their participant numbers continue to increase so they are doing something right.
Mayor Higley said he would like to be able to support Tri-Sports, but he was told by Mr. Waller before
that West U needs Tri-Sports but Tri-Sports doesn’t need West U. He said he feels that Tri-Sports
doesn’t need West U because they have “grown up” and are now is 137 different zip codes.
Mayor Higley said there needs to be a clear understanding and reasonable dialogue on this matter as
opposed to the discussion last year.
Mayor Pro Tem Trautner told Ms. McCarthy that it would be helpful for Tri-Sports to provide hard
numbers on what the maintenance costs are in the aggregate for the Rec Center field and the Wallin
Field, and give a brief three or four sentence explanation as to the allocation between those two fields.
He said it would also be helpful if some recognition of the value of priority access to Tri-Sports is
provided.
12. Adjourn Workshop and Convene Executive Session
Executive Session will be held in accordance with Section 551.072 of Chapter 551 of the Texas
Government Code.
Mayor Higley adjourned the workshop at 8:46 p.m. and convened the Executive Session.
13. Adjourn Executive Session and Reconvene Regular Meeting
At approximately 9:05 p.m., Mayor Higley adjourned the Executive Session and Reconvened the
Regular Meeting.
14. Adjourn Regular Meeting
With no other matters before the council, the meeting will adjourn.
Councilmember Lankford moved to adjourn the regular meeting at approximately 9:05 p.m.
Councilmember Barnes seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED.
Ayes: Higley, Trautner, Barnes, Lankford, Sobash
Noes: None
Absent: None
Audio of this Council Meeting is available in its entirety on the City’s website. You can also contact the City Secretary’s
office for a copy of the audio and/or for copies of any presentations/handouts.
Prepared by: City Secretary Thelma A. Gilliam
Approved by City Council on: September 28, 2020