03-31-2015 MinutesMINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
March 31, 2015
A Joint Workshop Meeting was held by the Schertz City Council of the City of Schertz, Texas,
and the Mayor's Task Force on March 31, 2015, at 6:00 p.m., at the Schertz Civic Center. The
following members present to -wit:
Mayor Michael Carpenter
Councilmember Grumpy Azzoz
Councilmember Robin Thompson
Councilmember Daryl John was absent.
Mayor's Task Force members Present:
Maggie Titterington
Barbara Hall
Fae (Floy) Simmons
Richard Dziewit
Mayor Pro -Tem Cedric Edwards
Councilmember Jim Fowler
Tim Brown
Howson Lau
Michael Dahle
Members Frank McElroy and Ed Finley were absent.
Staff Present:
Executive Director Brian James
Chief of Staff Bob Cantu
City Secretary Brenda Dennis
Call to Order (General Comments)
City Manager John Kessel
Interim Executive Director Dudley Wait
City Attorney Charles Zech
Deputy City Secretary Donna Schmoekel
Mayor Carpenter called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Mayor Carpenter had Councilmember
Thompson provide an invocation.
Welcome /Overview
• Mayor's Task Force Introduction and Overview.
Mayor Carpenter began by stating last summer he envisioned a `Task Force
Committee' consisting of a member representative from each of the current city
volunteer boards and commissions. This committee would meet and talk as a group
about our community priorities and what we could and should do next and collaborate
on what they felt we the city could focus on; what quality of life projects and
improvements are of immediate concern to the community. Members were selected
from each board and now this community involvement team has been meeting
regularly for the past six months.
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City Manager John Kessel passed out a handout to the attendees. He said stated this
could be a reference for us to use and at the same time see the current policy values of
the city.
Mayor Carpenter recognized committee member Mr. Michael Dable who had each
member of the team stand and introduce themselves. Mr. Dahle said they wanted to
look at community involvement, volunteer fair(s), utilization of websites, etc. One of
the best ideas brought up was about getting kids involved. This already has happened
through the Historical Committee with an Arts and Essay Contest which recently
happened. Then the committee discussed what we should do as a community in
regard to having a quality of life environment, supporting our local economic engine,
and providing core services to our residents, as well as how to keep a good balance in
these three areas. They also talked about the city budget and its impact on the
community. Remembering back to the 2010 bond projects, the general consensus was
we got a little out of balance with concentrating more on quality of life projects.
• Staff update on potential Bond Measure items.
Mr. Dahle stated that the proposal by city staff to build a third fire station in south
Schertz is an absolute must for us. This project could also be expanded to include a
meeting space. Two of our roadways (FM 1103 and FM 1518) and infrastructure are
also priorities. Future land acquisition for future parks is also important as land is
never going to get cheaper. Basically, they recommend five projects in total: 1) FM
1103 2) FM 1518 3) Fire Station No. 3 4) Roadway Improvements (intersections,
traffic signals, etc.), and 5) Land acquisition. The total estimated budget is around
$20 million; a category estimate is as follows: 1) $2.5 million, 2) $7.5 million 3) $7.0
million 4) $2.0 million, and 5) $1.0 million.
Mr. Kessel added that in talking this afternoon with facility master plan staff the fire
station project would be closer to $8 million if they want to include amenities such as
a large meeting room, EMS patient treatment room, police room, equipment and other
soft costs.
Mayor Carpenter stated that the staff has already taken a look at our bond capacity
which estimates we can issue this amount of debt, handle the payments on it, and
remain in a position that protects our bond rating; and we can do it without raising
taxes. We can spend more or less if we want to but this $20 million is a threshold that
says we can do this without raising taxes. So what are our priorities in using this
amount of money?
Mr. Kessel clarified that in regard to possible TxDOT assistance for road
improvements on FM 1103 and FM 1518 they (TxDOT) have already verbally
committed to a one to one match for FM 1103. This represents a $5 million
investment. The worst scenario is they could come back and say we don't have any
money. Then we would use what we have to maybe make turn lanes or install traffic
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signals, widen the roadway, etc. That number needs to be what we can live with even
if TxDOT doesn't help.
There are about 4,000 plots already approved for development in southern Schertz
which means about 10,000 new housing units. There will soon be another school
(elementary) in this area. Currently there is not any room for passing on the roadway
(FM 1518) and traffic quickly gets stacked up, resulting in impatient motorists who
start taking chances in passing. It is an unsafe situation and is a high priority for us to
fix even if TxDOT does not assist us. There are different reports always coming out
regarding growth and Austin (l') and San Antonio (5�h) are among the top 10 fastest
growing cities. In fact, Travis, Hays, and Comal counties are the fastest growing
counties in the entire nation right now. We are right in the fastest growing traffic
corridor in the nation right now and this means more schools, cross roads, water, and
sewage services are necessary. If we get behind it will be harder to catch up. Our
current projections are going to be low and the pace of growth is getting quicker.
Councilmember Azzoz asked how FM 1518 would look if we did not get any
monetary assistance from anywhere else. Mr. Kessel stated he thinks `adequate' will
not happen until we widen it to either four or six lanes. However, if we make turn
lane improvements it will make it more safe and effective. We really should do a
design first with a portion of our money so that we can deal more efficiently with
TxDOT and their engineers. If right -of -ways are needed, that takes two years to
accomplish. Mr. Azzoz asked how soon we could expect the 4,000 new homes in
south Schertz. Mr. Kessel estimated it would be about 10 years; this includes Willow
Grove, Rhine Valley, and Cross Vine developments. The Laurel Heights subdivision
is building homes as fast as they can. Schertz Forest is also out there. Five years from
now there will be twice as many homes as we have now. If we suddenly had all the
money we needed to do the FM 1518 road rebuild it would take about five years; a
year of design, a year of environmental, and two or three years of construction,
including right -of -way acquisition. Remember that the day you can proceed is not the
day after the election approving the bonds, but the day all the bonds are sold (usually
around January or February). We would have to phase in the different projects we
have to work on.
Councilmember Fowler stated he was at The Crossvine subdivision today and was
surprised at the number of homes that have already been sold and two families are
already in residence.
Councilmember Edwards expressed caution about how many more homes we should
be bringing into the area in the future. We should also consider bringing in Joint Base
San Antonio in our conversations on this subject and talk about securing their future.
We need to consider our future economic engine. Our decisions need to be made for
securing our future.
Mr. Kessel referred everyone back to the handout and said all these projects are
wanted and needed. He referenced roads, both new and existing (those that need to be
rebuilt), as necessary for future development and handling the increased traffic
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capacity. Councilmember Azzoz said we have to be careful so we don't run short on
our budget. Costs are rising and you can add 12% to the cost for the day we get to the
point of action. Mr. Kessel agreed that costs will continue to increase and we will
have to consider that. Councilmember Edwards said interest rates are low now and
we should strike while the iron is hot; meet with our financial advisors and see what
they say. Mr. Kessel stated if we issue debt we need to be buying land, doing design,
pursing a project and moving forward. Our limitations are what we have as our bond
capacity without raising taxes and the community's tastes for tax increase. Staff
capacity must also be considered for managing these projects and maintaining them
(example, Fire Station #3).
Mayor Carpenter stated if we go with $40 -50 million dollars to spend on projects, we
are going to have to hire more people in order to execute on those or sacrifice
customer service in our ability to maintain our day to day operations; a delicate
balance to manage. We, as a community, can choose to raise taxes to allow us to take
faster action but it is a hefty undertaking. Councilmember Azzoz said there is a price
associated with maintaining a quality of life atmosphere and citizens won't mind as
long as they know where the money is going. We need to make sure we have staff
and services; no one likes to raise taxes, but it is a price you pay for access to certain
amenities; nothing is free.
Mrs. Simmons stated she believes they can effectively go out and sell these five
projects. This is the first step. Others will follow. She believes they can sell these
bonds. Community salesmanship is very crucial. Mr. Dahle said Council has to
decide if the current Task Force Committee can now become the Bond Committee
and start going out to have meetings with the public and get feedback from them. Mr.
Azzoz said with these issues, the trust has to be there. Mrs. Simmons stated we have
learned something from the last bond issue and that will help them with the current
task ahead of them.
Councilmember Thompson said he thinks it is all in how we talk to the citizens, not
what we haven't done but what we have done. Secondly, in regard to acquisition of
land, has there been some discussion of potentially acquiring some of the land near
Randolph to use as a buffer zone through parks? The task force members said no
they had not; they recommended city staff, council, and JBSA discuss this subject.
Mr. Kessel said we are working with JBSA and they are not thinking about acquiring
any land by imminent domain. The Air Force is working with us for what they need
and what we need. We need to focus on what is in front of us. Mr. Richard Dziewit
stated we are trying to maintain this project activity to where taxes do not have to go
up. Councilmember Azzoz said that FM 15 is something the public would probably
go for because it is a structural improvement (roadways); FM 1518 is a very crucial
road as is the Fire Station in south Schertz.
Councilmember Fowler pointed out that we decided to get several smaller things
(Animal Adoption Center, Skate Park, Ball Parks, Dog Park) done in a time frame as
we could, and we did, except for the largest one (the swimming pool). If you had
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done the pool first, we would not have these other things in place already. Mr. Kessel
agreed there was some logic in doing it this way with what we could accomplish. We
identified we would need $500,000 a year to operate the pool and our operating
budget didn't allow it. It was easier to work on the other projects. While the pool is a
delayed project it will come in on budget and not cause a tax increase.
Ms. Simmons said we cannot control all the variables, we have to act and make
decisions based on what we have now and as we go along in the future. Mr. Dahle
added the people who are planning deal with this and make their best estimates and
adapt accordingly.
• Discussion on potential Bond Election process and items.
Mayor Carpenter said a lot of what we are discussing now, the dollar amounts and the
speed of implementation is largely what a bond committee would do. So what is our
next step? Do we want this same task force group to serve as the bond committee or
do we want to expand it? We don't have a lot of time; we need to get the committee
seated. They need time to discuss the merits, more or less, ratify the priorities and
come back with recommendations. We have to call the election in August. Council
needs to discuss how to seat a committee.
The current task force is currently made up of nine members with no designated
chair. Mr. Azzoz suggested allowing this current task force board move into the bond
committee role due to their cohesiveness and progress they have made.
Councilmember Fowler asked everyone was willing to serve; they replied yes. They
also recommended leaving the committee at its current size. They also stated they
would call upon various subject experts as needed.
• Direction on potential Bond Election preparation for June City Council Retreat.
Mayor Carpenter requested we put an item on the next available agenda to appoint the
bond committee. Mr. Kessel said this group will have to develop the details that have
to be budgeted and determine the scope so the city attorney and city manager can
write the actual language for council review in June. We also have a number of
things to consider with the classification and compensation study that will be a
significant issue to work through in a short period of time. We have to prepare the
budget. We also have the facilities master plan to work with in its final stages. So
the bond committee really. needs to have some deliverable data in June.
Mayor Carpenter asked if anyone from the community wanted to speak. No one did.
He then asked the council to consider if this task force should become an ongoing
group (a committee of the various committees) to facilitate even better
communication between the different boards and groups. He requested this be on the
next council agenda. Mr. Dziewit said he has found that this committee has already
opened up communication between the different committees and also the schools and
asked what each other needs. Mayor Carpenter said this group could also become an
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important part of the annual budget process. We have the city departments already
working together during the budget planning and we should probably have the
boards, committees and commissions made up of the citizenry have this same
opportunity. It'is an alignment of leadership. This could be a very valuable long term
approach to decide what we are going to do, who we are going to be, and how we are
going to spend the people's money.
Councilmember Azzoz thanked everyone for the work they contributed. Mayor
Carpenter asked if anyone had changed their mind about speaking up. Mayor
Carpenter recognized Mr. Glen Outlaw who stated he felt they should consider
allowing a few others to join the group as the new bond committee. It could otherwise
be construed as an inside group. Councilmember Azzoz said he is not in favor of that
because it would take a lot of time to educate them and bring them up to speed. At
the end of the day, they will be bringing their recommendations to city council and it
will be in their hands. Mr. Outlaw, said the group has done a great job, but the next
problem is going to be selling these identified priorities to the public. His suggestion
is not to undo what the group has already done but to assist in convincing the public
these are the priorities. Mayor Carpenter suggested we think about this until next
week because this group can do surveys or otherwise interact with the public.
Councilmember Fowler said there may be times they will need to bring in someone
with some expertise to advise them and add input to their mission. Mr. Dahle said he
also foresees the committee having a few public meetings for more input.
Adi ournment
As there was no further business the meeting was adjourned at 7:36 p. ,
-%c el R. Carpenter, Mayor
ATTEST:
L
Donna Schmoekel, Deputy City Secretary
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