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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMin - City Council - 1988 - 02/04 - RegularALLEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR SESSION FEBRUARY 4, 1988 Present: Joe Farmer, Mayor Council Members Rex Womack, newly appointed Council Member Jerry Wilson, Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Glass Jim Pendleton Jack Pennington Absent: Jim Wolfe City Staff: Jon McCarty, City Manager Marty Hendrix, City Secretary With a quorum of the Council Members present, the regular session of the Allen City Council was called to order by Mayor Farmer at 7:34 p.m. on Thursday, February 4, 1988 in the Council Chambers of the Allen Municipal Annex, One Butler Circle, Allen, Texas. Administer Oath -of -Office to Newly Appointed Council Member, Rex Womack (Agenda Item II) City Secretary Marty Hendrix administered the oath -of -office to the newly appointed Council Member in Place No. 1, Rex Womack. Presentation of Plaque -of -Appreciation to Donald P. Rodenbaugh (Agenda Item III) Mayor Joe Farmer presented a plaque -of -appreciation to outgoing Mayor Donald P. Rodenbaugh for his years of service as a Councilman, from April 1982 to April 1984, and Mayor, from April 1984 to December 1987, for the City of Allen. Mayor Farmer also extended the gratitude of the City Council. City Manager Jon McCarty extended to Mr. Rodenbaugh the appreciation of the city staff. CONSENT AGENDA (Agenda Item IV) MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilman Pendleton and seconded by Councilman Glass, the Council voted six (6) for and none (0) opposed to approve and adopt all items on the Consent Agenda as recommended and as follows: A. Approval of City Council Minutes of January 21, 1988 - Regular Session B. Authorization to city staff to pay bills associated with the 1985 Capital Improvement Program as follows: 1. Professional Service $880.00 Project No. 40-001-2 Construction of Police and Courts Building - Testing & Inspection Period: Thru December 31, 1987 ALLEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR SESSION FEBRUARY 4, 1988 Page 2 CONSENT AGENDA (cont'd) (Agenda Item IV) 2. Black & Veatch $578.79 Project No. 90-002-2 Construction of 2 MG Water Tower Engineering Services Period: Thru December, 1987 3. Southern Mechanical Plumbing, Inc. $35,639.96 Project No. 90-005-1 Relocation of Utilities on McDermott Road - Phases II & III Estimate No. 1 Period: 12-1-87 thru 12-31-87 4. Marriott Construction $3,028.12 Project No. 75-003-1 Construction of Jupiter Road from F.M. 2170 (Main Street) to White Oak - Estimate No. 13 Period: Thru December 26, 1987 5. Graham Associates $5,670.00 Project No. 75-002-2 Construction of Phases II & III on McDermott (Main Street) - Eng- ineering Design for Bridge over Cottonwood Creek Period: 1-1-88 thru 1-19-88 6. TMC Foundation $37,440.00 Project No. 40-001-1 Construction of Police & Courts Building - Application No. 3 Period: 1-1-88 - 1-31-88 7. Evaluation Associates $320.00 Project No. 50-005-6 Rework of Appraisal for Purchase of Special Use Facility Period: Thru December 21, 1988 C. Resolution No. 835-2-88(R): A Resolution By The City Council of the City of Allen, Collin County, Texas, Authorizing an Adjustment to the 1986 and 1987 Tax Rolls and a Refund Issued for Overpayment of 1986 and 1987 Taxes. D. Set March 3, 1988 as the Public Hearing Date on a Request to Permanently Zone 60 Acres of Land to "GO -3" Garden Office - 3 and "IT" Industrial Technology Located Approxi- mately One -Half Mile North of Stacy Road and West of County Road 196 as Requested by S.R.E. Limited. The motion carried. End of Consent Agenda Mayor Farmer announced to everyone present that Councilman Jim Wolfe was absent from the meeting to do an operation he had today. At this time, Mayor Farmer announced that the Council would passed over the items listed on the agenda to consider the last item, being "Items of Interest to the Council' in order to allow Mr. Paul Strecker to speak before the Council. Mayor Farmer then advised the audience of the appropriate meeting conduct to be followed on this agenda item and that no action could be taken on requests presented during this agenda item. ALLEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR SESSION FEBRUARY 4, 1988 Page 3 Items of Interest to the Council (Agenda Item X-C) Paul Strecker, 642 Albrook Drive, spoke before the Council on the problems experienced recently by homeowners in his area with high tax statements, and with underestimated escrow funds, causing considerable increases in the amount of their house payments. Mr. Strecker posed several questions to the Council. Those questions were what is meant by estimated taxes on the tax statements that are issued by the Central Appraisal District and how are they calculated; why there was such a considerable raise in the city's and school district's taxes; how the city and school district notifies the residents of public hearings and public meetings on budget and tax matters; and what the residents can do to keep abreast of what is going on in the city; and is the city trying to attract a diversified tax base in the city in order to take the tax burden off of the homeowner. Mayor Farmer spoke to Mr. Strecker and other homeowners present on the questions that he could answer and directed that Mr. Strecker contact the school superintendent on the questions that pertain to the school district. Mayor Pro Tem Wilson spoke to the audience on the status of economic development in the city. Councilman Womack spoke to the group on how the estimated taxes are calculated and how escrows are calculated so low and can become so high when taxes are raised. Mayor Pro Tem Wilson also spoke before the group on the status of the city's request for Extended Area Service and how it will be an asset to the economic development in the city. This discussion was received as a matter of information. There was no action taken on this item. The Mayor returned to the original agenda item format. Presentation of the Collin County Open Space Plan by Don Proeschel (Agenda Item V) Mark Thornton, Director of Parks and Recreation, advised the Council that Don Proeschel, Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Board and a member of the Collin County Open Space Board, was unable to attend the Council meeting this evening, however, he would present the film on the Collin County Open Space Plan. Mr. Thornton presented the l6mm film that the Collin County Open Space Board had produced on the development of the Collin County Open Space Plan. After the enjoyable film, the Council discussed the film and the avail- ability of copies of it on film and VHS and if the city wanted to obtain copies of it. It was concluded that the city staff would check into pur- chasing a film and/or VHS to be kept in the library for use by anyone interested in viewing the film. The Council discussed the ending of the film which encourages individ- uals to actively support the plan and just how this could be achieved and what types of programs were developed for this effort. Mr. Thornton spoke before the Council on the current work of the Collin County Bond Program. This item was received as a matter of information. There was no action taken on this item. Authorization to Participate in the Allen Substance Abuse Task Force Abuse Task Force Proms (Agenda Item VI) City Manager Jon McCarty spoke before the Council on the formation of the Allen Substance Abuse Task Force Program which was done in part as a result of the inability of the Chemical Abuse Prevention People to maintain their programs over an extended period of time. He pointed out that it was the feeling of the Task Force that in order for programs to become per- manent and truly community wide, they must be institutionalized through the city and AISD. ALLEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR SESSION FEBRUARY 4, 1988 Page 4 Authorization to Participate in the Allen Substance Abuse Task Force Program (cont'd) (Agenda Item VI) Mr. McCarty reviewed the accountability structure of the Task Force and advised that this program was more than a counseling program. It was also an effort to organize the community into addressing the problem of chemical abuse. It was also a unique program in that the city, school district, and private individuals were all involved in it. Mr. McCarty then advised that the Steering Committee recommendations were approved by the full Task Force and suggested a first year budget of $35,000 to be equally shared between the city and AISD. Mr. McCarty advised that this was not a budgeted item in the city's FY 87-88 budget, however, the staff will be attempting to find alternate sources of funding for this program, particularly during its first year. He pointed out that after the first year, it is expected that the budget responsibility of the city and the school district will be between $30,000 and $40,000 each per year. Mr. McCarty then advised that the program would involve a staff person, a Program Director, that would be housed either in city offices or school district offices. Mr. McCarty advised that after lengthy discussion with the superintendent of the school district, they had felt this person should be officed in city facilities. Mr. McCarty advised that the city staff's recommendation was that the Council authorize participation in the Allen Substance Abuse Task Force plan, which would allow the development of a job description and going forward with the hiring of a program director. Mr. McCarty also advised that he could foresee the city being able to provide facilities for this use in the existing library building, after the new library facility is built. r There was considerable discussion by the Council with staff on how the v budget amount was determined, if the Program Director would report to the city or school district or both, who would be responsible for hiring this individual, how would the task force foresee keeping this program from turning into just another government bureaucracy and what thoughts have been given to seeing if there is enough support in the private sector, and what is the decision point was to whether this program will continue to exist, and the need at this point for a greater level of detail on just what this program will entail. There was further discussion on the direction of this program. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilman Pennington and seconded by Councilman Glass, the Council voted six (6) for and none (0) opposed to authorize participation in the Allen Substance Abuse Task Force Program. The motion carried. Quarterly Financial Report (Agenda Item VII) Charlotte Smith, Finance Director, spoke before the Council on the following financial reports for the period ending December 31, 1988: Statement of Revenues - Expenditures/ Expenses Statement of Revenues - General Fund Statement of Expenditures - General Fund Statement of Revenues - Water & Sewer Fund Statement of Expenses - Water & Sewer Fund Mrs. Smith advised the Council of the issuance in building permits for this period as compared to last year and how much lower they are this year. The Council discussed the building permits and what type of items are included in the "miscellaneous" account shown in the Statement of Revenues for the Water and Sewer Fund. This item was received as a matter of information. There was no action taken on this item. ALLEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR SESSION FEBRUARY 4, 1988 Page 5 Mayor Farmer recessed the regular session of the Allen City Council at 9:10 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 9:15 p.m. Resolution No. 836-2-88(R): A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Allen, Collin County, Texas, Ordering an Election to be Held on May 7, 1988, for the Purpose of Electing Three (3) Members of the City Council (Places No. 2, 4, And 6) and the Mayor's Place to the City Council to Hold Office for a Period of Two Years; Designating Location of Polling Place; and Ordering Notices of Election to be Given as Prescribed by Law in Connection with Such Election. (Agenda Item VIII) MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilman Wilson and seconded by Councilman Pendleton, the Council voted six (6) for and none (0) opposed to approve and adopt Resolution No. 836-2-88(R), as captioned above. The motion carried. Approve a Schedule Authorizing the Sale of General Obligation Bonds on March 29, 1988 and Authorize Execution of the Financial Advisory Contract with Southwest Securities, Inc. (Agenda Item IX) Dan Almon, city's bond agent with Southwest Securities, Inc., spoke before the Council on the proposed contract for financial agent services between the City of Allen and Southwest Securities, Inc., that had been prepared by the city. He advised the Council that his office needed a chance to read through this contract before it can be executed by his company. He pointed out that the scope of services is the same as has been in previous contracts, however, there were some sections in the contract that would have to be reviewed by Mr. Almon's attorneys. City Manager Jon McCarty then reviewed the significant events that must occur to allow the sale of bonds and the anticipated dates for those to occur and distributed to the Council a brief listing of decisions that needed to be made by the Council in relation to the proposed bond sale. The Council discussed with Mr. Almon the plan for the bond rating trip to New York to visit Moody's and if the visit to Allen by Standard and Poor's had been confirmed and for what date. After further discussion on the visit by Standard and Poor's, it was concluded that Mr. Almon would contact Standard and Poor's to see if they could visit Allen for lunch on Monday, February 22, 1988, with a tour of the city that afternoon. City Manager Jon McCarty advised the Council that the city staff was recommending authorization by the City Council to sell bonds on March 29, 1988 in the amount of $2,500,000, with $2,100,000 in library bond funds, $250,000 in street bond funds, and $150,000 in parks and recreation bond funds. Also, that the repayment schedule for this bond issuance be approved as it was presented at the February 2, 1988 workshop session; and that authorization be given by the Council to retain Southwest Securities as the city's financial advisor by entering into the financial advisory contract with Southwest Securities. Inc. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilman Pennington and seconded by Councilman Pendleton, the Council voted for six (6) for and none (0) opposed to approve the sale of bonds on March 29, 1988 in the amount of $2,500,000, with $2,100,000 in library bond funds, $250,000 in street bond funds, and $150,000 in parks and recreation bond funds; to approve the repayment schedule for this ALLEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR SESSION FEBRUARY 4, 1988 Page 6 Approve a Schedule Authorizing the Sale of General Obligation Bonds on March 29, 1988 and Authorize Execution of the Financial Advisory Contract with Southwest Securities, Inc. cont'd (Agenda Item IX) I/ MOTION: bond issuance as it was presented at the February 2, 1988 work- (CONT'D) shop session; and to authorize the city to retain Southwest Securities as the city's financial advisor by entering into the financial advisory contract with Southwest Securities, Inc. The motion carried. Mr. Almon also suggested to the Council that the city could take an aggressive approach to try and eliminate the tax payer unrest as was wit- nessed earlier in the meeting. He advised that the city should consider contacting the larger builders/ developers in the city at least twice a year and encourage them to take a different approach to figuring escrow amounts on new homes. He added the city should also encourage them and their new homes salesmen to provide realistic property appraisals and projected tax amounts using current tax rates. Emphasize to them that they should try to determine figures closer to what the actual figures could be rather than projecting the lower amounts just to get people into the homes. This attitude will protect the integrity of the community and create goodwill. The Council concurred with this suggestion and directed the city staff to look into developing a process that can bring this idea into action. Update on Economic Development (Agenda Item X -A) Mayor Pro Tem Wilson provided the Council with an update on the events that occurred in the first meeting of the Economic Development Alliance Task Force held on January 28, 1988. Mayor Pro Tem Wilson advised the Council that the attendance was very good and that presentations were given by the Superintendent of the Allen Independent School District, by City Manager Jon McCarty and Michael Stanger, Assistant to the City Manager. Mayor Pro Tem Wilson advised that the presentations were focused on the need for economic development in Allen and the purpose of the Alliance. Dr. Wilson advised that the Chairman selected for the Alliance was Dr. E. T. Boon, and he had been selected as the Vice Chairman. Michael Stanger, Assistant to the City Manager, spoke before the Council on the scheduling of the next meeting and what will occur at that meeting. There was also a brief discussion on the homeowners' associations that were represented in the Alliance and what area the Cottonwood Bend Homeowners' Association covered and who its representative was on the Alliance. The Council discussed what phase of the planning process the Task Force was in and how long it will last, discussed what the strategy will result in and the timing of the strategy, if a formal procedure will be developed to receive input for ideas and how to respond to those ideas, and just when would activity events began to take place for promoting economic development and what are some of those events. The Council also discussed if the Council wanted to meet to work on certain ideas and put them forth to the Task Force for consideration of action. City Manager Jon McCarty distributed to the Council Members a sugges- IL tion made by Councilman Jim Wolfe to be submitted to the Task Force the Economic Development Alliance. There was further discussion by the Council on the need to meet in a special workshop session to bring up ideas for economic development. After further discussion, it was concluded by the Council that a workshop session would be scheduled for Wednesday, February 17, 1988, at 7:30 p.m., in order to discuss topics pertaining to economic development. City staff asked if there needed to be any information put together for the Council at this point. Mayor Farmer advised that he could not think of anything at this time. ALLEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR SESSION FEBRUARY 4, 1988 Page 7 Electrical Dual Certification (Agenda Item X -B) City Manager Jon McCarty provided historical background information to the Council on the fact that there exists three electric companies that can provide electricity in the Collin County area. Those companies are Texas Utility Electric (Texas Power & Light Company), Denton County Electrical Co-op, and Grayson/Collin County Electrical Co-op. Using an area map of Collin County, Mr. McCarty reviewed for the Council those areas that have single certification or which are strictly covered by TU Electric, or Denton County Electrical Co-op, or Grayson/Collin County Electrical Co-op and those areas that are open to any electrical com- pany or dual certification. Mr. McCarty explained to the Council that TU Electric has been successful in buying out the interest of the Grayson/Collin County Electrical Co-op in certain areas, however, Denton County Electrical Co-op is taking a much more aggressive stand in Collin County. City Manager McCarty advised the Council that Denton County Electrical Co-op has made a petition to the Public Utilities Commission for recertifica- tion for the State of Texas which would do away with the dual certification areas and divide the state up into singular certification areas. Mr. McCarty advised that TU Electric is requesting that the city write a letter of opposi- tion in this matter, and Mr. McCarty explained the advantages of having dual certification areas in the city and the feeling of competition that it creates among the electrical companies. Mr. McCarty explained the benefits that the city and the customers can receive when there is competition among utility companies. There was discussion by the Council on the pros and cons of dual and singular certification areas and what the city should consider in this matter. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilman Pennington and seconded by Councilman Womack, the Council voted six (6) for and none (0) opposed to authorize the City Manager to write a letter on the city's behalf stating the city's opposition to the Denton County Electrical Co-op's petition for state-wide singular certification areas. The motion carried. Items of Interest to the Council (Agenda Item X-C) ,Mayor Farmer advised the Council that the Senior Citizens had invited the Council to eat at their covered -dish luncheon to be held at 12:00 noon on Thursday, February 18, 1988, at the Old Middle School and he encouraged the Council Members to attend. -Mayor Farmer advised the Council of a letter that he had received from the Public Utilities Commission regarding the standards or rules for requesting Extended Area Service and that those rules would be reviewed in a public meeting in Austin on the 18th of February at 3:00 p.m. The Mayor advised that he would be in Austin on that date and would possibly be able to attend that meeting if there was a need. There was discussion by the Council and the staff on the need to have a representative present at that meeting and the Mayor requested that city staff check to see if this was a public meeting or public hearing on the matter. I£ additional individuals needed to be at the meeting, then city staff would notify the Council, particularly the Council's Telephone Subcommittee. -City Manager Jon McCarty advised the Council that the speed limit on U.S. 75 would be changed today from 55 miles per house to 65 miles per hour from Rowlett Creek north to Sherman. He further stated that the speed limits on the frontage roads would not be changed, unless the city requests it. City Manager Jon McCarty advised the Council of the installation of new water meters in certain areas of the city to replace a defective meter that had been installed in previous years and the salvaging of the old meters. He pointed out that the city was able to make $1,500 on the old meters. ALLEN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR SESSION FEBRUARY 4, 1988 Page 8 Items of Interest to the Council cont'd (Agenda Item X-C) -City Manager Jon McCarty advised the Council of the need to have the city's purchasing policies review in lieu of recent events and that the city staff was recommending that a consultant be hired to do a review of the city's purchasing procedures. Mr. McCarty advised that the consultant selected was Charles Binford and he would be reviewing the purchasing procedures and interviewing department heads and some department personnel during his research process. Mr. Binford would then provide the city with a recommendation on ways to enhance the city's purchasing process. Mr. McCarty advised that the contract for the consulting services was in the amount of $2,800. It was the consensus of the Council that the city staff proceed with obtaining Mr. Binford to do the purchasing policies review. ,Tom Glab, City Engineer, spoke before the Council on the status of the school crossing guard program and the ordinance prepared on this subject matter. With no further discussion on "Items of Interest", Mayor Farmer adjourned the regular session of the Allen City Council into Executive Session at 10:55 p.m. on Thursday, February 4, 1988. Executive Session (Agenda Item XI) In accordance with Article 6252-17, V.A.T.C.S. (Open Meetings Law), Sections 2(f), the Allen City Council convened into Executive Session at 10:55 p.m. in the Conference Room of the Allen Municipal Annex, One Butler Circle, Allen, Texas, in order to discuss matters pertaining to real estate negotiations, i.e., the contract for the purchase of the special use facility. The Executive Session was adjourned at 11:20 p.m. Reconvene to Adjourn (Agenda Item XII) MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilman Pennington and seconded by Councilman Glass, the Council voted six (6) for and none (0) opposed to adjourn the regular session of the Allen City Council at 11:22 p.m. The motion carried. These minutes approved on the 18th day of February , 1988. APPROVED: z %�0 &m Jtrry4 Wilson, MAYOR PRO TEM ATTEST: Marty Hendrix, , CITY SECRETARY