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HomeMy WebLinkAbout111008R CC Min0 The City of West University Place A Neighborhood City CITY COUNCIL Bob Kelly. Mayor Bob Fry, Councilmember Phyllis Cohen, Councilmember Chuck Guffey, Councilmember Michael Talianchich. Councilmember STAFF Michael Ross, City Manager Alan Petrov, City Attorney Thelma Lenz_ City Secretary CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES City Council of the City of West University Place, Texas, met in regular session Monday, November 10, 2008, in the Municipal Building, 3800 University Boulevard, West University Place, Texas, beginning at 5:30 p.m. to consider the following: MAYOR KELLY CALLED THE SPECIAL MEETING TO ORDER AT 5:30 P.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS Those also present: Mayor Pro Tern Fry, Councilmembers Talianchich, Cohen, and Guffey, City Manager Ross, City Secretary Lenz, City Attorney Petrov, Assistant City Manager/Public Works Director Pfeifer, Finance Director Daugherty, Parks and Recreation Director O'Connor, Wendy Standorf, Human Resources Manager, and Police Lieutenant Thad Olive. 1. Colonial Park Pool 2008/2009 Winter Operations Discussion related to the Colonial Park pool during the winter months. Parks and Recreation Director O'Connor presented. He explained that on September 8, 2008, staff presented a recommendation to Council from the Parks Board that the Colonial Park Pool be closed during the winter operations beginning the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and reopening once the outside temperature sustained 80 degrees or greater. He said notification was sent to Colonial Park Pool patrons approximately a week ago and the responses expressed displeasure and concerns with the closing. Mr. O'Connor stated that upon review of the subsequent communications and data, the Parks Board concluded that it would bring forward a revised recommendation for Council to consider keeping the pool open during the colder months, with the following four stipulations. • Purchase and install a pool water heater that will ensure the ability to sustain water temperatures at a minimum of 80 degrees; • The pool water system be engineered so that it can be effectively used in the construction of the two new swimming pools; • Staff progressively pursue the development of additional park programming and activities, including securing pool use agreements with area swim teams with the goal of offsetting the operating costs with new revenue opportunities during the winter months; and • Staff investigates an amended fee schedule so that winter pool users cover more of the operating costs of the outdoor heated pool. City Council Meeting, November 10, 2008 Mr. O'Connor said staff recommends that Council accepts the Parks Board revised recommendation and authorize the City Manager to purchase a new pool water heater from the appropriate accounts for a cost of approximately $20,000. In response to concerns from Council, Mr. O'Connor confirmed that the heater will sustain at least an 80 degree temperature and that it will be able to be used at the new pools. Councilmember Talianchich moved to approve purchase of the new heater. Councilmember Guffey seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Mayor Kelly, Councilmembers Fry, Talianchich, Cohen, and Guffey Noes: None Absent: None 2. Recreational Facilities - Bond Referendum Results & Planning Forward Discussion related to the November 4, 2008, Bond Election results, discussion on process going forward and authorization for City Manager to execute a contract with Pierce, Goodwin, Alexander & Linville for design and construction administration services for the Colonial Park, West University Recreation Center and Community Center facilities. City Manager Ross presented with Jeff Gerber of Pierce, Goodwin, Alexander & Linville Mr. Ross said that with the recent passage of the recreational facility bond referendum, approximately 4.5 years of planning and discussion by various committees, boards, task forces, focus groups, and city councils, comes to a close. He said the next step is to hire the architect, Jeff Gerger with PGAL, who has been working with us on the design, construction, and administration since the beginning of 2006. Mr. Ross said what is being brought forward tonight is PGAL's proposal, which elaborates on the type of project management method that is being proposed, which is the construction manager at risk (CMAR) method. He said this method would allow us to begin demolition as soon as possible. Mr. Ross said the CMAR method is similar to the design build method, but the main difference is that we maintain enormous control over the contractor. He said all of the subcontracts and all of the parts of this contract will be competitively bid by the general manager, it's just that we get to be involved in the subcomponents and can see where the cost savings might be. Mr. Ross said the sooner we can get PGAL working and the construction manager hired, the sooner we can have construction occurring at the recreation center. Mr. Ross said the plan is to get the recreation center complete, especially the enclosed pool, and then fold into the Colonial Park facility redevelopment. In light of comments he received from residents, Mayor Kelly asked why we are not bidding out this project. Mr. Ross said there is a two-part process in government - using professional services type contracts for engineers and architects. He said cities are required to go out for qualifications and, in this case, from the qualifications statements received, staff interviewed and weighed top candidates and ultimately selected PGAL based on qualifications. Mr. Ross continued to explain that after the qualifications are done, the price is then negotiated with the consultant, which is where we are today. Councilmember Talianchich asked if any other ways of doing this considered, like actually vetting contractors and the contractors supply their own consultants and we set the criteria for whatever we want and they supply consultants at a fixed price so we would know exactly what Page 2 of 10 City Council Meeting, November 10, 2005 it would cost us. He said that system is far cheaper and more effective than any of the traditional methods because you are using the private sector to do their own thinking and they would do their own designs. He said we wouldn't be paying $955,000 under that system. Mr. Ross said, globally, the dollars wash out at the end. He said you might be paying different people, but the results would be the same. Councilmember Talianchich said he's not criticizing anyone, but in the private sector the architects get so much less than what PGAL is getting here. He said it might be $200,000, not $900,000. Mr. Ross said staff did an evaluation and there is no question after evaluating all the options - traditional, the design-build, and the CMAR, the CMAR gave us the best overall product for cost control and expediency. He said keeping control under each component allows us the avenue to control costs better than the design build does. Councilmember Talianchich asked how will costs be controlled. Mr. Gerber responded and said that under the CMAR approach, the contractor pricing is all transparent to the City. For example, if none of the prices work within the City's budget, you don't have to pick any of them. He said the flexibility is one of the real benefits of this method. Councilmember Talianchich asked Mr. Gerber, as architects, where would they get the contractors. Mr. Gerber said the CM would be responsible for identifying subcontractors that would be appropriate and the City would have some input. In response to Councilmember Talianchich's question as to who would be the general contractor, City Manager Ross responded that it has been selected yet. He said that proposals would be solicited to select a general contractor and that contractor is the one that the City and our consultant will work together to review the subcomponents and submittals. City Manager Ross said this is why the CMAR method was more attractive to staff. He said it gives us the best way and flexibility to move forward. Councilmember Talianchich stated but maybe not the best price. City Manager Ross said staff thinks provides the best price, also. Mayor Kelly said he agrees with staff. He said he thinks this method will work out better Councilmember Talianchich said one of the advantages of doing it the way he's talking about is that you get three designs and Council can look at them and pick the best design. He said right now, Council has no input. He said we could have one architect design these buildings, aesthetically speaking, the Colonial Park structure is not terribly attractive, so if you had other choices, it would be nice to see what the private sector would come up with. Councilmember Fry stated that Mr. Gerber has been in this process a long time, he's built up a lot of trust with us, he has a lot of confidence in what he has brought to us so far, and if he brings us something, he would trust Mr. Gerber a lot more than someone he doesn't know. He said this is the way to go - period. Regarding fees, Councilmember Guffey said the fees don't seem appropriate. Councilmember Cohen said she doesn't understand how we can say the fees are not inappropriate. Councilmember Guffey said he has some experience in this and this looks a little a high to him. Mr. Gerber said the basic service number is right at 6 percent. Councilmember Ross said he asked Jeff to include services such as surveying, geotechnical contractors, and environmentalists, etc., because we don't have a project manager on staff to do those things. Councilmember Cohen confirmed that we are asking PGAL to do additional services what others might pay salaried staff to do. Councilmember Talianchich asked Mr. Gerber how did he come to the figure of $25,000 for geotechnical surveys. He said we only have two sites here and we probably only need two or Page 3 of 10 City Council Meeting, November 10, 2008 three samples of each site. Mr. Gerber said it depends. He said they will probably have to draw more than one sample because in some cases after the demolition is done, they will want them to go back out and test the conditions after demolition and the same thing with the survey. Councilmember Talianchich asked if the figure is just a guess. Mr. Gerber said some of the numbers are rounded, but in the context of the number of samples, the figures are appropriate. Councilmember Guffey said he likes the method we are using and seems like it fits our objective clearly and seems to be a lot of advantage to it. Mr. Gerber said all of the methods are good and all have their good points and bad points. He said depending on the objective, they could all work. He said he believes that Council's expectation is to target the money where it wants to spend it so the CMAR method is best for this project. City Manager Ross pointed out that PGAL will still be preparing concepts and schematics as we go forward, as well as selection of materials and looking at elevations at the building and the external views. He said they will still be providing these things and allowing Council to ultimately make the decisions as to how the buildings will look. Councilmember Cohen said that being able to move forward on something that people have worked so hard on is incredible and she thinks it is fabulous. Mayor Kelly said Mr. Gerber knows that we want quality construction, that we want to do it as quickly as we can do it so as to not disrupt the facilities any more than we have to, and that we want the flexibility. Councilmember Cohen moved to approve giving the City Manager authorization to execute the contract with PGAL. Mayor Pro Tern Fry seconded the motion. Councilmember Talianchich stated that he finds the fees exorbitant and he doesn't think we would serve the City well by not getting some competition in here. He said he thinks the design build is a far superior system and could save $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 dollars, so he will have to vote no on this one. Mayor Kelly said we will obviously try to control costs everywhere we can, but one thing we have to be very careful of is building substandard facilities. He said we want these structures to last a minimum of 50 years in the future. He said the voters have approved a $13.8 million dollar project for which these kinds of fees were built into in order to get the quality we want. At this time a vote was made on the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Mayor Kelly, Councilmembers Fry, Cohen, and Guffey Noes: Councilmember Talianchich Absent: None Councilmember Cohen moved to adjourn the special meeting at 5:14 p.m. Mayor Pro Tern Fry seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Mayor Kelly, Councilmembers Fry, Talianchich, Cohen, and Guffey Noes: None Absent: None MAYOR KELLY CALLED THE REGULAR MEETING TO ORDER AT 6:30 P.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS Page 4 of 10 City Council Meeting, November 10, 2008 Pledge of Allegiance Pledge to the Texas Flag Notice. City Secretary Lenz confirmed the notice of this meeting was duly posted in accordance with the Texas Government Code, Chapter 551, on the 7th of November 2008 at 1:25 p.m. 3. 2009 Chevron Houston Marathon Matters related to street closures and restricted parking for the 2008 Chevron Houston Marathon scheduled for January 18, 2009. Parks and Recreation Director Tim O'Connor presented this item. He said West U has historically supported the marathon by means of allowing a portion of our roadways and streets to serve as part of their course. He said we would like to continue to support the marathon and asked for Council's approval. Councilmember Cohen moved to approve staff's recommendation to authorize the City Manager to facilitate the necessary street closures, placement of signage, set-up the water station other related matters through the course of this event. Mayor Pro Tern Fry seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Mayor Kelly, Councilmembers Fry, Talianchich, Cohen, and Gulley Noes: None Absent: None Brant Kotch, Race Director & Chairman of the Board and John Stokes, Member of the 2008 Chevron Houston Marathon Committee came forward and said a few words. Mr. Kotch stated that they are always excited to come through West U because of the community feeling and looked forward to our participation again this year. 4. Appointment to the Zoning and Planning Commission Matters related to the appointment of a member to Zoning and Planning Commission. City Secretary Lenz presented. She explained that Council is being asked to approve a resolution appointing Mr. Bruce Frankel to the vacancy left by Mr. Patric Stafshede. She further explained that the appointment is for the unexpired term for Position 6 and that the term expires on August 31, 2009. Mayor Pro Tern Fry moved to approve the appointment of Mr. Bruce Frankel to the Zoning and Planning Commission. Councilmember Talianchich seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Mayor Kelly, Councilmembers Fry, Talianchich, Cohen, and Guffey Noes: None Absent: None 5. Public Comments Citizens who wish to address items that are not on the agenda will be permitted to speak to the City Council at the microphone after introducing themselves and giving their address. [Note: State law will not permit the City Council to fully discuss debate or consider items that are not on the agenda. Items that cannot be referred to the City Staff for action may be placed on the agenda of a future City Council meeting.] There were no speakers to come forward to address items not on the agenda. Page 5 of 10 City Council Meeting, November 10, 2008 Citizens who wish to address agenda items Citizens who wish to address specific agenda items will be permitted to speak to the City Council at the microphone after introducing themselves and giving their address. Citizens may speak and discuss the November 4, 2008 bond election and city recreational facilities. Helen Talianchich, 2708 Werlein, congratulated Council on the bond election victory, but asked that they be mindful that almost 49 percent of the voters did not agree with the proposal. She said she wanted to clarify that she loves West U, she loves kids, and she loves parks and said she is hopeful that as we go forward Council will be open to all ideas and asked that Council consider how much of the $10,000,000 will be used to enhance facilities for children. She also asked if Council factored into the plan the two additional properties to be acquired at the entrance. Ms. Talianchich also asked that Council consider parking at the Recreation Center and asked that they also consider placing the lap pool where the tennis courts are and moving the courts to the Recreation Center. She said having both pools together would seem to be the most efficient use of resources and would also continue to create the magic feel of Colonial Pool as a place for all generations in the community to congregate and socialize. Ms. Talianchich said she has heard the argument about insufficient parking, but most lap swimmers come very early in the morning or late in the evening and how many are in the pool at the same time? She said you could also consider making the pool for residents only and provide an incentive such as a reduction in fees for to those who walk or ride. She said she hopes Council will be open to all ideas. Lisa Berman, 16 Annapolis, came forward to thank Council for approving the water heater at the pool at Colonial Park. Frank Griffin, 2807 Plumb, also thanked Council for considering and approving purchase of the heater for the pool and also congratulated Council on the success of the bond election. Anton Nielsen, 4204 Oberlin Street, spoke to say that he and his family have lived at this address for approximately 20 years and the pool has been invaluable to them. He asked Council to consider a multi-functional pool at Colonial similar to the current design with a deep end and many lap lanes.] 6. 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 regular City Council meeting minutes of October 27, 2008. B. Resolution for Municipal Setting Designation Matters related to a resolution in support of the application of Fondren Road Plaza to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for a Municipal Setting Designation at 7042 Bissonnet. C. Professional Services Contract Matters related to a Professional Services Contract for engineering design and construction inspection/monitoring services for the rehabilitation of elevated and ground storage tanks at the Wakeforest Water Plant. Page 6 of 10 City Council Meeting, November 10, 2008 D. Zoning Ordinance Amendment Matters relating to an ordinance amending the zoning ordinance of the City of West University Place, Texas, regarding variance limitations; and containing findings and provisions relating to the subject. E. Zoning Ordinance Amendment Matters relating to an ordinance amending the zoning ordinance of the City of West University Place Texas, regarding special exceptions for work under permit; and containing findings and provisions relating to the subject. Mayor Pro Tern Fry moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Cohen seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Mayor Kelly, Councilmembers Fry, Talianchich, Cohen, and Guffey Noes: None Absent: None 7. Personnel Handbook Matters related to the new Personnel Handbook for the employees of the City of West University Place. Human Resources Manager Standorf presented this item. She stated staff considers the handbook to be fair to the employees and the City and it meets the legal requirements we need to meet. She said we have received input from the employees and directors and included recommendations that Waters Development Group may have suggested during the salary recruitment and retention study. Ms. Standorf said that if the handbook is approved staff will hold reorientation sessions for all employees. Mayor Pro Tern Fry moved to approve the new Personnel Handbook. Councilmember Guffey seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Mayor Kelly, Councilmembers Fry, Talianchich, Cohen, and Guffey Noes: None Absent: None 8. Veterans Memorial Task Force Matters related to the designation of a group of residents to determine a method of honoring West University citizens who have served in the military. Councilmember Guffey presented. He said the objective of the task force is to establish a permanent memorial to the many residents of West U who have served our Country's armed forces. Art Smith, a resident that will be asked to serve on the Task Force, spoke and presented a helmet that his father wore as a civil defense person here in West U. Regarding a budget for this endeavor, Councilmember said it should be kept low and perhaps based on donations from public only, but said he will leave that up to the task force. In addition to Mr. Art Smith, Councilmember Guffey announced those residents that have agreed to serve on the task force. They are: Dick Yehle, Ed Heathcott and Steven Segal. Councilmember Cohen moved to approve the establishment of the task force. Councilmember Talianchich seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Page 7 of 10 City Council Meeting, November 10, 2008 Ayes: Mayor Kelly, Councilmembers Fry, Talianchich, Cohen, and Guffey Noes: None Absent: None 9. Geriatric Nurse Program Matters related to the establishment of a trial program to use a contract geriatric nurse to assist the City in monitoring and assisting senior citizens in West University Place. Councilmember Chuck Guffey presented. He explained that about a year ago the Senior Service Advisory Board requested the Council to consider hiring a part-time consultant nurse to help out with residents that are at-risk and that are living alone and have no one to look out for them. He said this was precipitated by several incidents that occurred in which the Good Neighbor Team and the Director of Senior Services, the Police, and EMTs have all been called out to go to these elderly people's homes. He said one of the members of the Seniors Advisory Board, Maureen Beck, has volunteered to take this job on if authorized. He said her job will be to assess the personal needs and abilities of the at risk residents and to monitor them on some sort of basis and perhaps workout contact methods with the neighbors and family. He said she is someone that is skilled in this area and that right now the job is being done by people that are not trained in this area. He said this program would be a significant help to the Senior Services Coordinator, in particular, as well as the Fire and Police departments. Councilmember Guffey said there are several alternatives if a patient is found to be in a critical condition - call an ambulance, take them to the hospital, and/or eventually turn them over to Adult Protection Services (APS). He said APS works with the University of Texas Medical School and they will take care of these people. He said we have talked to them about working with us with this program. He also stated that our EMT program has a doctor at the medical center that serves as the overall cons ultant/assistant in the practices and procedures that they use. He said this will be sort of like that, a doctor at the Medical Center. He said those doctors also think it might be helpful to them to gather data and do some studies as to what cities need to do about this. Councilmember Guffey said that Ms. Beck has agreed to do this on a part-time basis of about 4 hours a week, 20 hours a month and we would pay her $50 per hour, plus her expenses, which will probably be around $15,000 per year. He said they don't yet know how much the doctor from the Medical Center wants as a retainer for them to monitor this. He said we pay $1,400 a month for the doctor for the EMTs, but he doesn't think it will be that much for this doctor because it is not as nearly as extensive a program as that and she wouldn't perform any medical procedures. Councilmember Talianchich said he thinks it is a great idea because if we can save a life or two he thinks we should make the effort. Dick Yehle, 6401 Rutgers, came forward to say that he is not in favor of the program. He said it is certainly an empathic thing to be in favor of, but doesn't think it's appropriate because we are enabling people who should be taking other alternatives. He said we can't tell them not to be in their homes, but because they are there and having difficulties, we are suggesting that we need to start spending money to facilitate them being in situations that are unsafe to start with and we have no authority to change that. He said it is sort of an economic thing and he doesn't think it's the right way to spend public money. Councilmember Guffey said what would happen if someone is in a bad condition, APS will go to court and take over their legal management. Mr. Yehle said that should be done at the front Page 8 of 10 City Council Meeting, November 10, 2008 end rather than going through this program. Councilmember Guffey said the problem is that there is no one trained to initiate it. Mr. Yehle said Councilmember Guffey makes a great case for this, but he reiterated that he still doesn't think this is a good way to spend public money. Councilmember Cohen said she doesn't really understand what the person would do and what role they have if the person they are going to see says they won't her there anymore. She said she thinks we are getting into a situation where we are trying to intervene in somebody's life that might not want us to intervene and she's not sure what this person would do, what the rules are, what the requirements are, and thinks we are going down a road with something that seems to be an interesting idea, but doesn't have the detail and specifics that we would need to really consider the program. Councilmember Guffey said most of the people would cooperate with the nurse and Councilmember Cohen said then why wouldn't they cooperate with the APS that already exists and is in place to deal with this problem. Councilmember Guffey said because APS doesn't go into West University and initiate this. He said they only do it if they are recommended by the UT Medical School. He said that's the route we have to take. He said right now we are trying to do it with staff but they don't have the skills or the knowledge about the problems to communicate with those people. He said the people at the Medical School want medical people's opinions not the opinion of administrative staff. Councilmember Talianchich stated that we already have volunteers doing what is being requested, it's just that this person would be doing it more often and make it a higher probability that she would discover someone that needs to be taken care of one way or the other. Councilmember Cohen said she is concerned that we will be interfering with someone's medical care and medical treatment. She said it is a noble idea but she doesn't understand what the person will do with a particular person and what guidelines and rules applied. She said she is afraid of starting down a path with this type of program without more clarity as to what is being proposed. She said we need to think this through. Councilmember Fry said when this was discussed in a workshop, he said he had a lot of questions and he still does and thinks that another workshop would be good. Mayor Fry asked who on City staff would oversee this. Councilmember Guffey said he would guess the administrative end would probably be under Tim O'Connor or Toby Brooks, which is most logical as she is the Director of Senior Services. Councilmember Cohen stated that this is another issue that needs to be discussed - where is the responsibility in the City for this program and what are we imposing on staff. City Manager Ross said that Ms. Brooks stated that she could see some benefits from this, but it's hard to know how it would affect staff which is why we touched on the possibly of a pilot program. He said hopefully it wouldn't require too much staff time, but it's really hard to know the staff impact until it is implemented. In response to City Manager's question as to the insurance for the nurse, Councilmember Guffey said she would have her own insurance. City Attorney Petrov confirmed that having her own insurance would be okay, but he would like to review the contract. Mayor Kelly said it seems that is necessary to have another workshop. Councilmember Cohen said if there is another workshop, we need more information. She said general ideas have been discussed, but she needs information about the insurance, what the person would actually do, and rules and regulations about what this person will and won't be permitted to do. Page 9 of 10 City Council Meeting, November 10, 2008 It was suggested that Toby Brooks, City Attorney Petrov, Councilmember Guffey, and John Stand all be at the workshop and included in the discussion. City Manager Ross asked if Council would like this information presented to the Seniors Board as a whole and have a recommendation from the Board come forward to Council. Councilmember Fry said he believes that would be a good approach. Councilmember Cohen said that they should be instructed to consider the types of things in question. It was decided that the Senior Services Board would be charged with review and vet the program and bring it forward to Council at a future workshop. 10. Executive Session Council reserves the right to at any time during the session convene in a closed session pursuant to Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code, for reasons including but not limited to: Section 551.071 (consultation with legal counsel to seek or receive legal advice or consultation regarding pending or contemplated litigation); Section 551.072 (discussion about the value or transfer of real property and other real estate matters; Section 551.074 (personnel matters); 551.076 (deliberation about security devices); Section 551.087 (deliberation regarding economic development). 11. Convene into Open Session Not applicable as there was no closed session. 12. Adjournment In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you plan to attend this public meeting and you have a disability that requires special arrangements, please contact City Secretary Thelma Lenz at 713.662.5813 at least 24 hours prior to the meeting so that reasonable accommodations can be made to assist in your participation in the meeting. The Municipal Building is wheel chair accessible from the west entrance and specially marked parking spaces are available in the southwest parking area. Special seating will be provided in the Council Chambers. ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Guffey moved to adjourn the regular session at 7:12 p.m. Mayor Pro Tern Fry seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Mayor Kelly, Councilmembers Fry, Talianchich, Cohen, and Guffey Noes: None , Absent: None ~~St UN►y f~\ Prepared by: 7 Thelma A. Lenz, City Secretary / r ~ Date Approved: % . rExns Page 10 of 10