04-14-2015 MinutesMINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
Apri114, 2015
A Regular Meeting was held by the Schertz City Council of the City of Schertz, Texas, on April
14, 2015, at 6:00 p.m., in.the Hal Baldwin Municipal Complex Council Chambers, 1400 Schertz
Parkway, Building #4, Schertz, Texas. The following members present to -wit:
Mayor Michael Carpenter
Councilmember Jim Fowler
Councilmember Daryl John
Staff Present:
Deputy City Manager John Bierschwale
Interim Executive Director Dudley Wait
City Secretary Brenda Dennis
Call to Order
Mayor Pro -Tem Cedric Edwards
Councilmember Grumpy Azzoz
Councilmember Robin Thompson
City Manager John Kessel
Executive Director Brian James
City Attorney Charles Zech
Mayor Carpenter- reminded the students here this evening who are participating in the Hal
Baldwin Scholarship to either sign the sheet in the back before leaving or see the City Secretary.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Curtis Ryder and Benjamin Saravia with Troop 398 who have
joined us this evening as they are working on their Citizenship in the Community merit badge.
Mayor Carpenter welcomed them and had them stand to be recognized. -
Mayor Carpenter called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Invocation and 'Pledges of Allegiance to the Flags of the United States and the State of
Texas ( Councilmember Fowler)
Councilmember Fowler provided the invocation followed by the Pledges of Allegiance to the
Flags of the United States and the State of Texas.
City Events and Announcements
• Announcements of upcoming City Events (J. Bierschwale/B. James)
Mayor Carpenter recognized Director of Development Services Brian James who
provided the following announcements:
• Sunday, April 19, Gutierrez Park Re- Dedication, 1300 Block of Borgfeld Road, 1:00
p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Friday, April 24, 6th Annual Schertz/Cibolo Lions Club Casino Night -Civic Center,
7:00 p.m.
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• - Sunday, May 17 Schertz EMS Golf Tournament - Olympia Hills Golf Course
• Announcements and recognitions by City Manager (J. Kessel)
Mayor Carpenter recognized City Manager John Kessel who stated that with our new
sound system we still need to speak directly into the microphones both on the dais and at
the speaker podium. The new sound system is much better, but not if you turn away from
the microphones the audience cannot hear you.
Mr. Kessel stated that he had received a couple of recognitions: (1) IT Department, Ray
Nichols who was recently recognized by the City Secretary's Department for the work he
has done to assist them in preparing and posting the agendas on the City website. He was
able to help them streamline the production with a different process and it has been a
tremendous timesaver. (2) Letter from General Electric praising the Fire Department. He
stated that they had Shift C / Engine 2 come out and provide training to approximately
100 employees regarding proper techniques regarding fire suppression with utilizing fire
extinguishers and training on other 911 events: particularly Chris King, John Hernandez,
Jason Timrock, and Myron Burger. Thanks to Engine 2 Shift C for working with our
business partners.
Mr. Kessel also stated that as a follow -up to the Class and Comp information, we had
over 93% participation in the classification process, what that call the JAT, Job
Assessment Tool. He stated we were hoping to get over 75 %, the 93% is tremendous. Of
the 7 %, 8 of them were crossing guards which are part-time positions. This was great
participation.
Presentations
• Check presentation to CTRC regarding proceeds from the 2015 Wilenchik Walk/Run. (D.
Wait/M. Spence) --
Mayor Carpenter recognized Events Coordinator Mary Spence who provided a briefing
regarding the participation in the 2015 Wilenchik Walk/Run event, providing photos. Ms.
Spence stated that this event is in memory and in honor of Councilmember Tony
Wilenchik. Ms. Spence stated that tonight we have a check in the amount of $9,089.26 to
present to the Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRL). Ms. Spence stated our
numbers are a bit less than in previous years as we were not able to take advantage of the
contributions obtained from our firefighters who would go up toward FM 3009 and FM
1103 along with our Public Works Department and collect/solicit funds. Due to some
permitting changes that restricts what they can solicit funds for we were not able to add
these contributions this year. The HEB sponsorship and the T -Shirt sponsorships were
enough to cover the expenses so all other contributions from everyone else will be
contributed to CTRC. Ms. Spence stated that to date the City has contributed $150,281.81
to CTRC.
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Mayor Carpenter and Ms. Spence recognized Dr. Steve Weitman, Ms. Elizabeth Diaz,
Ms. Sherry Ortiz and Ms. Valerie Wilenchik who came forward and presented them with
the check. Mr. Weitman thanked the City.
Mayor Carpenter stated that we do this walk every year and wanted to take a moment this
year that if anyone is here that doesn't know Tony Wilenchik was and why it is the
Wilenchik Walk shared briefly the following information: Tony used to sit in the chair
where Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards sits today, he used to sit in the chair next to him, where
Councilmember Thompson sits. Mayor stated that he was able to sit next to
Councilmember Wilenchik for a number of years and we cut up all the time at that end of
the dais. From the first day that he (Mayor) was on City Council Tony made him feel
welcome and helped him to learn what he needed to be effective. Tony also taught the
City Council some things about finance that we all knew, but he helped them understand
it better. He introduced all of us on the Council this word called arbitrage. He explained
to us that if we were financially responsible enough we could get to a place where we
could earn more on our investments than it costs us to borrow money. And you know
how often we do that now. We refund bonds, and give money back. We purchased a fire
truck recently and our investments are paying us 1.71 percent, and we borrowed money at
1.29 percent. We were not thinking that way until Tony sat in that seat. Another thing
Tony did, and he was the only person in the State that figured out the actual formula for
not only understanding how the State Comptroller Office figures out a City's have what
their effective tax rate should be but the budget process in a single formula that only took
one 4 foot x 8 foot white board. Mayor Carpenter stated that he wanted to share this with
the audience this evening. Tony passed while he was serving. He was so courageous and
adamant about serving this City, that he did so up until the last week before he passed.
He demonstrated tremendous dedication and courage, and an incredible gift that he gave
to this City in teaching the Council and the staff to think differently how a municipality
might work. That's who Tony Wilenchik was to the City in just a small encapsulation,
there were many more attributes. He was a great friend and colleague. Mayor Carpenter
thanked Valerie Wilenchik for sharing him with us for so many years.
• Presentation awards regarding the 2015 Wilenchik Walk/Run. (D. Wait/M. Spence)
Mayor Carpenter recognized Events Coordinator Mary Spence who stated that tonight
awards for best t -shirt design, most funds raised and the winners of the 5K run will be
presented. The following awards were presented:
1" Place Team T -Shirt
2nd Place Team T -Shirt
Most Funds raised by an individual
Most Funds raised by a Team
1St Place Men (Run)
1St Place Women (Run)
Team Alvarado
Team 50 Shades of Awesome
GEVC (Collections at offices)
Team EDC Racerz
Clayton Stout
Donna Thompson
Sweetheart Court Fiesta Medal Presentation. (D. Wait/E. Matlock)
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Mayor Carpenter recognized Miss Schertz Kiana Leal who introduced the 2014/15
Sweetheart Court members: Miss Jubilee, Elena Garcia, Miss Friendly City, Sydney
Fischer, and Miss Sunshine, Megan Rhoads. Miss Schertz invited the Council to join
them on Thursday, May 7, 2015, 2015 for -the Schertz Sweetheart Pageant and
Coronation, which will be held at Schertz Civic Center, 5:30 to 9:00 p.m.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Miss Sunshine, Megan Rhoads who came forward also
inviting the Council to what them on TV or come down to the Fiesta Flambeau Parade on
April 25, 2015. Members of the 2014/15 Sweetheart Court passed out the Fiesta Medals.
Mayor Carpenter and Council thanked the Sweetheart Court for representing the City.
Mayor Carpenter stated that Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards had a question and wanted to
know if you knew what a vinyl record was. Miss Schertz stated that she has a Billy Jo
one hanging in her room.
Workshop Session
• Discussion and update on the Senior Center. (Item requested by Councilmember
Thompson.) (J. Kessel/B. James)
Mayor Carpenter recognized Executive Director of Development Brian James who stated
that sometime ago we terminated the agreement with* Comal County Senior Citizen
Foundation and decided to part and go different directions. He stated that he appreciated
their efforts in growing the center to what it was. He stated you may recall that one of the
big issues that precipitated that was the loss of the free lunch program that we had which
was a big component of our center. Because of some funding issues the Foundation
started charging for meals and our numbers dropped off. At that point the Parks staff
took over and began doing double duty to help the Senior Center keep functioning. At
that point it reaffirmed our decision that because the City does not operate any of our own
recreation programs, we really need to utilize. partnerships for this. We do not have
recreation staff, our parks staff generally deals with the upkeep and maintenance of our
park facilities. As we were able to get in there we quickly said this is not something that
we really have the capacity to do and to do it well. We have worked together to pull a
Request for Proposals (RFP) for an operator, but one of the big issues is still the meal
program. When the City took over we began to utilize local restaurants that were kind
enough to work with us and come up with a menu for the day. Seniors would sign up for
lunch and would kick in a portion of the cost; $4.00 meal would be brought in and
served. This kept the meal program going but again the numbers were fairly low with
this. We then reached out to AACOG and were able to partner with CCSCT, the
Community Council of South Central Texas which is out of Seguin to begin providing
meals for the center. Because CCSCT had worked with AACOG they had received a
grant, the City reached out to CCSCT and they were able to provide meals to our Senior
Center. This has been going on since mid- January. CCSCT produces a menu, they bring
over the food and our kitchen volunteers serve the meal. On occasion the City
supplements the meal should they run out of items such as hot sauce, etc. Mr. James
stated that the number of meals are up substantially where we are serving between 70 and
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75 per day. Mr. James stated that some days the food is well received'and then there may
be those days that it is not. Generally the meals and the participation numbers have gone
up. Mr. James stated that we have issued the RFP. When we put out the RFP our
expectation was that the person that was going to operate the Center had to, provide the
funding for the meal program. If you run the numbers for the meal program, at five
meals per week generally, the cost is fairly substantial, about 50% of the cost would be
just on the meal program. Now that we have the provider that receives the funding they
can continue that program and supplement the meal program where the City does not
have to pay someone else to provide the meals. As you can see by the way the numbers
have increased, you can see that this is a need in our community.
Mr. James stated that we have issued the RFP and the time for this has closed and staff is
beginning the process for selection. The RFP will then come to Council for approval. He
reminded Council that one of the things we knew we had to do going into this was the
cost to operate the center to the City is going to be much more when the Comal
Foundation was operating it. There was $35,000 to $45,000 a year as a cost to the city
we anticipate the cost now going to be somewhere around $125,000 to $150,000 per year
to do the program justice. Mr. James stated again the idea is to transition to someone that
knows how to operate Senior Centers, take over and really grow that facility. Mr. James
pointed out the Mr. VanZandt, Sandy Bryant and Sherry Davis when she was there have
done a tremendous job as they have pulled double duty serving at Senior Center knowing
that this was not what they were trained to do or have expertise in. Lastly Mr. James
stated the problem we want to have is serving too many seniors and not a big enough
facility.
Mr. James opened it up for questions from Council and recognized Councilmember
Thompson who asked Mr. James what the expected timeline for bringing this back.to
Council was. Mr. James indicated he is hopeful in 2 to 3 months bringing a contract back
to Council for consideration. He did indicated there would be an overlap in transition
from our personnel to get this to go smoothly.
Mr. James recognized Councilmember Fowler who asked if there was a possibility of
increasing the size of the kitchen. Mr. James indicated that that is not in the scope of
work planned for the existing facility that the cost to upgrade it is fairly substantial but
the City can consider this should we need a larger facility. We also we do not want to get
into preparing the meals in the kitchen; it is more cost effective to have someone bring
the meals in. Again, he is hopeful that this facility will be outgrown as the use becomes
more evident. Councilmember Fowler continued questions regarding meals, which were
answered by Mr. James.
Mr. James recognized Councilmember Azzoz who asked what the capacity was for the
current facility, Mr. James recognized Sandy Bryant who stated the capacity was around
200, but we can get about 125 to 135 comfortably. Councilmember Azzoz also
mentioned that before when Comal County was running ning the program Ms. Donna
Thompson was managing the facility. Mr. James indicated that Ms. Thompson was
managing the facility for a period of time. Councilmember Azzoz asked who was
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running the facility today. Mr. James answered Chuck VanZandt and Sandy Bryant from
our Parks staff is running the facility. Again, our employees are doing double duty.
Councilmember Azzoz asked how the facility worked when Ms. Thompson ran the
facility before. Mr. James indicated that he believed it worked well; she was very well
liked by the seniors and certainly cared about the center. Councilmember Azzoz stated
that he is not clear as to what happened with Ms. Thompson, but if the City took it over,
then why did we not get someone as capable as Ms. Thompson or why did we not
reinstate her. Mr. James answered to be clear Ms. Thompson was not running the center
at the end. She ran the center until the Comal County Senior Center Foundation came in
and took over and hired someone. Mr. James covered information that some partnerships
are very good but the draw back can be particularly in that the City did not have
knowledge or involvement of running the facility and that is when the seniors came to
management asking for assistance, this is why the City took over. We went in to actually
see and get a better understanding of what it took to operate that facility. Councilmember
Azzoz then recollected that the seniors were unhappy with Comal County and came to
the Council. He also remembers that they were angry at Comal County for releasing Ms.
Thompson and wanted her back to run the facility. Councilmember Azzoz stated that he
was under the impression that when we parted ways with Comal County he thought that
Ms. Thompson was reinstated or was back running the facility. He was not aware until
just now that it was being managed by our parks department. Mr. James stated that
before we reinstated Ms. Thompson the City felt like we needed to get in there to see
what it took to run the facility.
Councilmember Azzoz asked did we ever approach Ms. Thompson; is this something that
is doable? Mr. James indicated, no not at this time, and stated again we had two issues
that we felt needed to happen one of which is the Senior Center Operations has changed
quite a bit from the earlier years when it was a volunteer run effort when we said we
would provide the building and the space. The program has grown and the expectations
of the seniors has also changed and certainly heard from them what they like and didn't
like, just like we do today. One of the things we felt like we needed to do is to have City
staff be in there to say this is what the operation is like, this is what is involved in it, and
here are the needs. We did not want to necessarily hire someone for a position if we then
said, look, we do not have the resources and the support at the city to do this, we really
need to find someone in that business that knows what they are doing to come and
operate the facility and then they have to tell an employee that they brought them on for 6
to 9 months, sorry we don't have a place for you today because we really need to have
that support and contract out for the operations of the facility. Not saying this is right or
wrong but certainly he knows a lot of the seniors would have loved to have Ms.
Thompson back but that was the logic of it. Even when we have someone to come in and
operated the facility, one of the keys we are going to have to make sure to do is make
sure that the City still keeps a foot in the door so that we have a greater awareness of the
issues and the things that are going on so that we can help provide some input. The City
will maintain that level of awareness with the center and that is the way we can help the
facility to grow and avoid some of the issues in the future.
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Councilmember Azzoz indicated that he would like for him to look into the option and
bring this back up so that we can discuss someone like Ms. Thompson or even the
possibility of hiring her. We need to do what the seniors want and this is doable.
Mr. James stated that if Council directs staff to come up with an item to say we want to
go a different direction and revisit the past decision, staff is certainly happy to do so and
defer to you what direction Council wants to do with it. Councilmember Azzoz agreed.
Mayor Carpenter stated that at the end of the agenda there is an item for the future agenda
bring this up and he will make sure we get it on.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Fowler who stated so the intent at the
present time is to continue to have the Parks staff run the facility. Mr. James stated that
the last direction from Council and how we have been proceeding is that we issue a RFQ
and come back to Council with a recommendation for another entity other than our City
to operate it. If Council says put this back on the agenda to specifically revisit that issue,
and again I assume your direction is to maintain it in house and hire a particular
individual is what you are asking for Councilmember Azzoz, he indicated yes, then Mr.
James stated then Council can certainly put that on an agenda and staff can prepare a
presentation back to you on this.
Councilmember Fowler stated that his concern asking the question is it appears that the
workload that's been added to the Parks Department they are not able to efficiently
function, at least which is what he sees as an observation. Mr. James stated it is two -fold,
we didn't want to hire someone new given that the thought we were going out and bring
another entity in to operate it and then we have a problem where we have an extra staff
person there and now we do not have a spot for them. That's one of the issues. The other
issue and he will say that Mr. VanZandt and Ms. Bryant have done a great job, none of
the discussion is about that, but Mr. VanZandt and Ms. Bryant I would assume say that
they do not have the training for the senior center and that is not what their background it,
not their expertise. May not be what their skill set is to do, so one of the issues is, and he
will offer this, if we decided to maintain the senior center in -house he is going to need a
staff of people dedicated to do that, and not just one individual, because one person can't
do that job by themselves. This is a workload issue, but it is also understanding senior
centers and what we need to do there with that background and skill set.
Mr. James recognized Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards who stated, so before we start adding
employees, maybe we need to look at what the actual fiscal and financial impact would
be to the city to add a full staff to run a Senior Center. Mr. James stated that certainly we
would have to add a full staff but one of the challenges for City staff at times is going out
and solicit additional funding for Senior Centers. There are certainly grants out there that
can be solicited and also funding opportunities available, but what a lot of what the
Foundation did and others did, is the ability to go out and solicit donations that are more
problematic for the City to go out and do. Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards stated there are grant
opportunities but we would have to always go out and reapply and search and seek other
grants, Mr. James indicated yes, and that's the case, if again Council wants us to come
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back and discuss the direction we want to go and have a fiscal analysis to pull together
then certainly we can do that. Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards stated that with that being said
we have had grants given to departments for various entities, if we were looking why not
prepare a budget for next year to perhaps have a grant writer on staff that that would be
their only job, or is that feasible? Mr. James deferred to Mr. Kessel.
Mr. Kessel stated that he really feels like it would serve the City well to have us stay the
RFP course. We are very close in having that. Let's look and see what that shows us. It
certainly will inform us as we go into the budget process. There is certainly a lot of
information that we can gleam from that and certainly any individuals are able to put
together their own package if they want to participate at that level. He would also
encourage Council to steer away from having Council hire individuals from the dais or
make recommendations that are not through a normal resume process through our HR
Department. It can be problematic and a bad practice for us to be in. We have a good
professional way we can go. We have a good game plan and it certainly does not defeat
the ideas that are discussed tonight because we are going into the budget process and
those decisions can be made in a timely manner. We can go this direction, we can go that
direction but we will have better information and be a more professional manner in which
we will do that, if we just stay the course.
Councilmember Azzoz stated that he is glad that the Council has Mr. Kessel up here and
thanked Mr. Kessel for explaining the process.
• Discussion regarding the adoption of the 2012 International Building Code and
Amendments. (M. Sanchez/G. Durant)
Mayor Carpenter recognized Development Services Director Michelle Sanchez and Chief
Inspector Gil Durant who provided a briefing regarding the adoption of the 2012
International Building Code and Amendments. The following were the highlights:
Project Overview Statement
• Adoption of the 2012 ICC Codes is necessary because we are currently working
under a code that is nine years out of date and new industry standards have been
developed to ensure public health and life safety.
• ISO (Insurance Service Office Inc.) visited the City in March, 2014 to conduct a
Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule where they learned that the
Building Inspections Division was operating under the 2006 ICC Codes which
falls below their minimum standards of operating within five years of a current
nationally recognized published code.
• Adopt amendments to the codes based on compatibility goals associated with
JBSA — Joint Base San Antonio (Randolph AFB) such as Sound Attenuation
standards
• Formally adopt State mandated codes, 2014 National Electrical Code and the
2009 International Energy Conservation Code.
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Schertz Current Codes
• International Building Code (IBC) 2006
• International Gas Code (IGC) 2006
• International Mechanical Code (IMC) 2006
• International Plumbing Code (IPC) 2006
• International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) 2006
• International Existing Buildings Code (IEBC) 2006
• International Fire Code (IFC) 2006
• National Electrical Code (2014) — *State Mandated (9 -2014)
• International Energy Conservation Code (2009) — *State Mandated (1 -2014)
• Current amendments that create the most criticism is with regard to
Foundation Requirements adopted in April 2013 where the design
engineer is required to be on -site for the foundation pour
• Design Professional on all Single Family Residential property regardless
of size adopted in November 2000
Code Comparison Benchmark Cities and Surrounding Cities
• New Braunfels — 2006 International Codes; 2005 NEC; 2004 IECC
• San Marcos — 2009 International Codes; 2008 NEC; 2009 IECC
• Temple — 2009 International Codes; 2008 NEC; 2009 IECC
• Georgetown — 2012 International Codes; 2014 NEC; 2000 IECC
• Pflugerville — 2012 International Codes; 2011 NEC; 2012 IECC
• Cibolo — 2015 International Codes; 2015 Unified Plumbing Code; 2011 NEC
• Selma — 2006 International Codes; 2005 NEC
• Live Oak — 2012 International Codes; 2011 NEC
• Universal City — 2012 International Codes; 2014 NEC
• Converse — 2009 International Codes; 2014 NEC
Codes Proposed for Adoption
• International Building Code (IBC) 2012
• International Gas Code (IGC) 2012
• International Mechanical Code (IN4C) 2012
• International Plumbing Code (IPC) 2012
• International Properly Maintenance Code (IPMC) 2012
• International Existing Buildings Code (IEBC) 2012
• Public Swimming Pool and Spa Code 2012
• National Electrical Code (2014) *State Mandated
• International Energy Conservation Code (2009) *State Mandated
• International Fire Code (IFC) 2012 will be adopted by separate ordinance
Summary of Amendments
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• IBC Permit Exemptions — no permit for replacement fences, siding or residential
accessory structures less than 120 square feet
• IBC - restriction on portable generators for permanent residential use
• IBC Sound Transmission — interior construction standards to mitigate air traffic
(RAFB)
• IRC Design Professional — exempts requirement for residential additions and
remodels excluding foundations which will continue to require an engineered
design.
• NEC 2014 - add kitchen branch circuit requirements; and require an exterior
service disconnect for fire safety
• IPC - require port-o -lets every 500 feet at construction sites
• IPC - prohibit cellular core pipe below grade
• IPMC - add definition to identify non - compliance of accessory structures that are
out of vertical alignment
• Backflow and Cross - Connection — establish a location for residential and
commercial irrigation devices
Ms. Sanchez and Mr. Durant addressed questions from Council and went over the
proposed timeline moving forward.
Mayor Carpenter requested at the pleasure of the Council that he move to the Hearing of
Residents section of the agenda.
Hearing of Residents
Mayor Carpenter recognized the following who spoke:
Ms. Maggie Titterington, Schertz Chamber President who provided a briefing on the
Leadership CORE's recent trip to Randolph.
Ms. Titterington also provided the following upcoming announcements:
• Thursday, April 16, Schertz Chamber After Hours Mixer — Re/Max Corridor, 17156
IH 35 North, 5:30 p.m.
• Friday, April 17, Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting — 3 Double -O -Nine Restaurant &
Bar (inside HEB), 9:30 a.m.
• Friday, April 17, Grand Opening — Amazon Fulfillment Center, 6000 Schertz
Parkway, 10:30 a.m.
• Friday, April 17, Grand Opening/Ribbon.Cutting — Generations FCU (inside HEB),
1:00 P.M.
Ms. Titterington also spoke on the upcoming SCMAC- Yourself into Shape event which
is a military, veteran, spouse workshop and hiring event scheduled for May 20. 2015, and
the `Shop Local' event for April 16, 2015 with a cash prize of $500.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Mr. Daniel Scott , 3941 Brook Hollow who spoke on those
in the past that provided great service and would call him back. He indicating that we
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have been lax in this type of service and asked that if he makes a phone call to please call
him back. Mr. Scott addressed the Council stating he called the non - emergency number
and nothing happened, he indicated that the Marshall's Department came out when he
believed this should have been handled by the Police department. Why he stated was
because we do not have enough money for the Police Department, we need to support the
Police Department.
Mr. Scott addressed the Council regarding not being about to call the non - emergency
number when an individual is playing loud music in his neighborhood, he indicated that
after he had called the police did arrive within 35 minutes as they are busy. He indicated
that the City Ordinances need to be enforced and follow the laws we have in place.
He spoke regarding GVEC not having any rebates for citizens; he stated that all the
rebates are provided by CPS Energy. Mr. Scott requested Council speak to GVEC
regarding this.
Mr. Scott thanked Lt. John Carey and the Police Department for handing the situation at
the school and the turning lane issue. Finally Mr. Scott stated that we need money in the
City, we need by receiving taxes. He again stated he called the non - emergency number
regarding peddlers; we should not be allowing peddlers in the City. These individuals
need to be applying for a permit and these individuals need to be paying taxes.
Mayor Carpenter moved back to the Workshop session of the agenda.
Discussion regarding the merits of the pool project. (Item requested by Councilmember
Azzoz) (J. Kessel/B. James)
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Azzoz who stated he had a great visit last
week with Councilmember Fowler and we spent quite a bit of time discussing the pool.
He. stated he then put in a call to Mr. Kessel, knowing that we have this bond issue
coming on line, and he did share this with Mr. Kessel, if we do not move forward now
with this then we are going to have a lot obstacles moving forward with individuals
complaining. He is going to ask Mr. Kessel to comment on this because we are already
way too late and having fallen behind, and we cannot change anything. He really wants
either Mr. Kessel or Mr. Gaudreau to provide an update where we are. Number one when
will we have a contract so that we can look at and approve. Mr. Kessel stated that we are
still in negotiations to do this and certainly as soon as we have a contract that meets the
budget we will bring that forward to Council.
Councilmember Azzoz asked if there was a time frame. Mr. Kessel stated that half of
that equation is in our control and the other half is in the control of the individuals we are
negotiating with. Councilmember Azzoz asked if we had completed the design. Mr.
Kessel stated that we have a schematic design which is completed and we are working to
bring on a Construction Manager at Risk (CMR) for review of the detailed design. The
detailed design will be obviously just that and then that same CMR would be the
Construction Manager at Risk for the construction phase of the project. The reason that
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we want to go that route is primarily two things, 1, it lets us value engineer with the
actual contractor while we are doing design which is the least expensive way to design
and engineer a building and it also has a guaranteed maximum price at the end of that
design process where the City Council knows exactly what the project will cost and any
overage is the responsibility of that contractor, thus the name CMR. They are at risk not
the City on the maximum price.
Councilmember Azzoz asked is the YMCA going to be involved in the project, running
the facility and what will they be taking in and what will be the expenses. Mr. Kessel
deferred to Mr. James. Mr. James stated that when we sat down with the YMCA and as
you currently know they have the contract to operate our outdoor pools and the
Recreation Center. The location of the pool that was selected was next to the recreation
center, so we began those discussions. Part of what we talked about is what would be the
cost to operate the facility and mentioned that this will drive new members and asked
how you would structure this. They indicated it is a one membership to the facility. For
those who have a membership now, that are members to the recreation center, when the
pool comes on line, they now have the ability to also use the pool facility. From their
perspective you would not have to purchase another membership, you get the additional
benefit of the recreation center and the pool. Discussions also centered on membership
for those that just want to use the pool facility. We didn't want to have to tack on more
money if you already had a membership to the Recreation Center to use the pool. We
didn't look at the pool alone because the membership comes with the Recreation Center.
Councilmember Azzoz stated he is a member today and we build the pool, there will be
no additional fees to use the pool. Mr. James answered yes, that is correct.
Councilmember Azzoz asked if we were going to have anything before November. Mr.
Kessel stated that we already have something. Yes it is our intention to do that. Mr.
Kessel introduced Mr. Gaudreau who came forward stating that we should have
something by November. He stated there are two tracks you could take, one is you wait
for the entire process to complete itself the other is you could go ahead and authorize an
early release package. That is usually for foundations and things of that nature. Mr.
Gaudreau stated that if we got to the point where we thought that any changes would be
minimised we might want to look at that and probably pick up a month or two possibly.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Fowler who stated that he knows that we
are in negotiations and you are limited at what you can say, but as a process can you give
us the highlights of the things you have looked at and where we are at.
Mr. Gaudreau stated there are two parts to that process one is design and one is the
agreement or contracts. He is very limited in what he can discuss on the negotiations.
Mayor Carpenter recognized City Attorney Charles Zech who stated that he hates to be
the spoiler of the party, but the discussion items says "a discussion regarding the merits
of the pool project and we are starting to get into processes and procedures. If that is
what was needed to discuss it should have been posted that way. You may continue to
04 -14 -2015 Minutes Page - 12 -
discuss the merits of the pool but this discussion about the process is not what is posted
on the agenda.
Mayor Carpenter stated so following that how he asked is there any chance we could
have a contract at the next meeting. Mr. Kessel stated that if we are very near the
completion of the negotiation he would not recommend that we post something for
detailed discussion with the expectation of Council and Citizens that we would reveal
items in that open discussion before they are finalized. This puts us in a poor position.
What he might recommend is if we say by a date certain and we haven't reached .
negotiations then staff would come and provide an update at that point, because we are
that close to perhaps being in that position. A couple of weeks may be advantageous to
all the different parties.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards who stated that Mr. Zech is
correct and right on target, we should not be discussing or be placing items on the agenda
until we get to that part of the agenda. This item was for discussion regarding the merits
of the pool process going forward. We need to continue with what we are doing, and by
point of order we need to listen to our attorney.
Councilmember Fowler stated that may be a merit point we went out with a bond issue
for 6.5 million dollars to build a pool and he doesn't know if it was our idea as much as it
was inviting the ISD or the YMCA to say, you know if you let us get involved with you
we may be able to build a better product. Is this a merit issue to say we ended up with
something more than what we could have had just by spending City money, without
going co -op with the YMCA and the School district we have developed a better product
than just going solo.
Mayor Carpenter stated that having spent years now working on this, the discussion
around and including the School District as a potential partner occurred before the
election in 2010 with this particular bond. As a matter of fact Councilmember Scagliola
was quoted in the newspaper talking about how we should be looking at the ISD as a
partner and this was also something that staff looked into, and that Mayor Baldwin
looked into. We did not know if this was going to happen because we have never entered
into such an agreement for shared facility. But this is something that we looked at, at the
very beginning. What we discovered afterward was that the bond language and we had a
lot of discussion regarding this, we used both words "community" and "competition
quality" and those can be defined in many ways if we decide we want to do that. We
found over the last few years that we had a number of stake holders that we may or may
not have anticipated when the bond was first passed. Amongst those stake holders being
the seniors, younger children, and families who as we had more conversation with
competition stake holders found that a true competition body of water may or may not
serve a wide enough group of the stake holders. So we began to have the conversation
then, not just with the School District, but then with the YMCA an even further expanded
partnership realizing that some of the constituents or stake holders that we might be
serving needed a warmer body of water and a shallower body of water than the stake
holder that were more focused on the competition and that is why we began to put
04 -14 -2015 Minutes Page -13 -
together a coalition amongst the City, the YMCA and the School District to potentially
build two bodies of water to reach the widest possible group of interested parties. We
knew we couldn't build the perfect facility for even the combined monies. But we knew
we could get as close as possible with the partnerships. The precedence for this is not
something new. We have worked with BVYA for decades in a partnership, a public
private partnership. We have worked with the soccer folks to manage the fields, this was
always our intent to get the most possible for the largest range of stake holders in the City
that we could. Over time we have had people coming to us asking why this is taking so
long. What have you been doing. Every time we learn something new we found there
was something that we did not know. This is the single largest individual bond project
that we have taken on in this City for a long time. We are talking about spending your
money and my money, our money and we have to get it right the first time. The reason
that we have come to the place that we are now is diligent over time, to make sure we got
it right, that we did not waste taxpayer money from dollar one. We haven't been perfect
because we don't have unlimited funds but what I think we have come up with in the end
to Mr. Azzoz point, is the best that we are going to get to, it's not going to get any less
expensive and we have to press forward with some speed at this point. The hard work
has been done. We the City Council made some decisions several years back to build
some of our own buildings and this didn't work out as well as we had hope that it would.
So now moving to the Construction Manager At Risk, where we have absolute
contractual top dollar point that will not be exceeded, and we know what our spend is
going to be and we are going to be able to hold someone else accountable for delivering
our spend of our money. His point is this, it's been an arduous process and as he looks
back over the last several years, as much as he wishes we had this project completed, he
would not do a thing differently. We have come to the best possible solution with the
monies at hand, with the partners available to us and we will build an exceptional project
and product. He hates to say it may be a few more weeks to get this contract finalized but
we have done the work up front to make sure we do it right. The history he thinks is
reflective and demonstrative of the merits and we have gotten to the right place. He
stated that his phone number is published and if there is any one here or any one gets the
DVD that want to talk to him to please contact him. He would be happy to visit with any
one, one on one or in a group of what we have done, and defend and apologize for the
delays and all those things that go with it.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Azzoz who stated that there is one question
that he did not ask. Did we not already have a competed contact with the School District
and the YMCA? Mr. James came forward stating what we have is an Interlocal
Agreement passed with the School District. We also had Council approve the draft
agreement with the YMCA. We have held off coming back with the second and final
agreement with the School District and actually executing the agreement with the YMCA
as we have gone through the CM @R Risk process and design process to deal with any
changes that may arise. Our hope is to. get that CM @R Risk Manager on board look at
where we are in regards to the plans and then execute and sign the agreement with the
YMCA and then have approvals of the final agreement with the School District.
04 -14 -2015 Minutes Page - 14 -
Councilmember Fowler stated that by his observation when we did the bond in 2010, we
had other things like the soccer fields, ball fields, the animal shelter facility, the dog park
and others on the bond propositions that we have completed. In honesty our planning
department's wagon was loaded with these projects as well as the Amazon.com, GE,
Caterpillar and other large projects that came up during that time. He believes the
decision by default and he is glad that we did this, we took what we could handle and got
those completed and on the ground. He stated that as we have gone through this process
we have learned more about doing business as well as learn things that we did not want to
do. We are very sensitive with this project so not to take it over budget. Because of the
ability is to learn from all the other projects have helped us in learning how to do a smart
thing and a safe thing. Mayor Carpenter stated that when we were discussing the bonds
we discussed that they would be done in a phased approach as to not try to drive the tax
rate up at any given time more than .5 cents. As a matter of history we maintained that
position and actually only went up .4 cents at the maximum position had we done the
projects all at once including the pool we would not have been able to maintain that.
Mayor Carpenter in summary stated it is a metritis project, it is one that the voters
approved, and we've done our due diligence. To staff please continue and build us a good
facility.
Consent Agenda Items
The Consent Agenda is considered self - explanatory and will be enacted by the .Council with one
motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless they are removed from the
Consent Agenda upon the request of the Mayor or a Councilmember.
Minutes - Consideration and/or action regarding the approval of the minutes of the Joint
Meeting of March 31, 2015, and the minutes of the Regular Meeting of April 7, 2015. (J.
Kessel/B. Dennis)
2. Ordinance No. 15 -D -12 .— Consideration and/or action approving an Ordinance
extending State and Local Traffic Rules to Private Roads located within the Carolina
Crossing South Subdivision as specified; establishing Legislative findings in support
thereof; establishing stop intersection locations and setting a maximum speed limit for
said streets. Final Reading (B. James/K. Woodlee)
The following was read into record:
ORDINANCE NO. 15-D-12
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZi TEXAS EXTENDING STATE
AND LOCAL TRAFFIC RULES TO PRIVATE ROADS LOCATED WITHIN
THE CAROLINA CROSSING SOUTH SUBDIVISION AS SPECIFIED HEREIN;
ESTABLISHING LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS IN SUPPORT THEREOF;
ESTABLISHING STOP INTERSECTION LOCATIONS; AND SETTING A
MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT FOR SAID STREETS
04 -14 -2015 Minutes Page -15 -
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Azzoz who moved, seconded by
Councilmember Fowler to approve the consent agenda items 1 and 2. The vote was
unanimous with Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards, Councilmembers Fowler, Azzoz, John
and Thompson voting for and no one voting no. Motion Passed.
Discussion and Action Items
Resolution No. 15 -R -30 — Consideration and/or action approving a Resolution
Authorizing the Lease Purchase of Patient Care Monitors and Defibrillators. (7. Kessel/D.
Wait)
The following was read into record:
RESOLUTION NO. 15 -R -30
A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ,
TEXAS AUTHORIZING A CRIME VICTIMS' LIAISON INTERLOCAL
AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF CIBOLO AND THE CITY OF LIVE OAK
AND OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
Mayor Carpenter recognized Interim Executive Director Dudley Wait who introduced
this item stating The Fire Department first responds along with EMS to critical life
threatening emergencies every day. On each and every one of these responses, the piece
of equipment that is utilized from the moment we make contact with the patient until that
contact is complete is our Patient Care Monitor/Defibrillator. This device, the Physio
Control LifePak has the ability to monitor blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate, oxygen
and carbon dioxide levels in the blood, the patient's EKG rhythm, the 12 -lead EKG and,
when needed, the ability to deliver therapeutic electricity to the patient to correct life
threatening cardiac dysrhythmias.
Our current devices, the LifePak 12, have been in service for over eleven years and have
performed flawlessly. Unfortunately, these devices have exceeded their life span of ten
years and due to technology changes and medical advancements; they will no longer be
supported by Physio Control within the next eighteen months. The most up -to -date
device is now the LifePak 15.
The EMS Department lease purchased ten (10) of these devices in 2013 on a lease with a
fmance rate of 0% and will last sixty months. To maintain system consistency and allow
both Fire and EMS crews to work with identical equipment on the most critical of
patients, we desire to purchase these two devices that are identical to the EMS devices.
Additionally, the EMS lease allows the City to purchase these two devices by addendum
to the original EMS lease with their own sixty month term.
Although the life span of these new monitors will be ten years, this lease will allow us to
re- evaluate where technology and patient care is in five years at the expiration of the
04 -14 -2015 Minutes Page -16 -
lease and then to make a decision to keep them for five additional years or make a
decision to replace them at the conclusion of the lease.
We are also planning to pre - purchase five years of the Physio Control maintenance and
repair service plan on the monitors and finance that across the term of the lease. We
currently have this plan in place on our current monitors, and due to their importance in
patient care, we need to continue it to insure our devices are always properly functioning
and calibrated appropriately. Traditionally, we have purchased this plan in two year
increments through the normal budgeting process but placing this plan into the lease will
provide additional savings over the five years.
This plan covers on -site maintenance and repair, an annual service call to re- calibrate and
test each device and replacement batteries as needed. By purchasing five years of this
plan at the time of service, we get the annual inspection service call during year one
where each device is covered by warranty and then five full years of the plan after the
warranty expires. By purchasing the entire plan up front, we save $150 per year per
device and are insulated from any price increases in service plans throughout the first six
years of the monitor's life. Staff recommends approval.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Azzoz who moved, seconded by
Councilmember John to approve Resolution No. 15 -R -30. The vote was unanimous
with Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards, Councilmembers Fowler, Azzoz, John and
Thompson voting for and no one voting no. Motion Passed.
Roll Call Vote Confirmation
Mayor Carpenter recognized City Secretary Brenda Dennis who _recapped the votes for agenda
items 1 through 3.
Executive Session ,
Mayor Carpenter recessed the regular meeting at 8:04 p.m. into Executive Session.
4. The City Council will meet in closed session under Section 551.072 of the Texas
Government Code, Deliberation Regarding Real Property.
• Project E -005 —Project Shelter
5. City Council will meet in closed session under Texas Government Code Section 551.071
Consultation with Attorney and Section 551.074 Personnel Matters regarding a complaint
filed against a Council Member.
Reconvene into Regular Session
Mayor Carpenter reconvened into Regular session at 8:25 p.m.
04 -14 -2015 Minutes Page -17 -
4a. Take any action based on discussions held in closed session under Agenda Item 4.
No Action was taken.
5a. Take any action based on discussions held in closed session under Agenda Item 5.
No Action was taken.
Requests and Announcements
6. Announcements by City Manager
• Citizen Kudos
• Recognition of City employee actions
• New Departmental initiatives
No further announcements were provided.
7. Requests by Mayor and Councilmembers that items be placed on a future City
Council agenda.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Mayor Pro -Tern Edwards who asked for an update
regarding the Skate Park Phase H project. Executive Director of Development Brian
James stated that this item is being placed on the next agenda.
Mayor Carpenter stated that Councilmember Azzoz asked that we place an item on a
future agenda at the staff convenience to discuss the Senior Center.
Mayor Carpenter requested that the City Manager's Office and City Secretary's Office to
discuss holding a meeting at the Senior Center sometime in the next quarter and well as a
City Council meeting at the North Cliff facility also sometime in the next quarter,
pursuant to their discussions in taking the Council on the road.
8. Requests by Mayor and Councilmembers to City Manager and Staff for information.
No information requested.
9. Announcements by Mayor and Councilmembers
• City and community events attended and to be attended
• City Council Committee and Liaison Assignments (see assignments below)
• Continuing education events attended and to be attended
• Recognition of actions by City employees
• Recognition of actions by community volunteers
• Upcoming City Council agenda items
04 -14 -2015 Minutes Page - 18 -
Mayor Carpenter recognized Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards who read the following letter he
received From Samuel Clemens:
Dear Senior Parents:
Inspired by NCAA's National Signing Day, SCUC and Clemens High School is
promoting a Texas Decision Day Pep Rally. The goal is to recognize high school seniors
for their postsecondary plans and encourage younger students to prepare early for
college. Friday, May Vt is the date selected, as most universities require students to make
a decision about their enrollment on or before then. We will recognize seniors who have
been accepted to Technical Schools, Junior Colleges, Universities, and Military
Academies. The pep rally will be held at the stadium the morning of May lst at 8:50
a.m. The entire school will attend the pep rally and we encourage parents to attend. The
local press will be in attendance and each senior will announce their name and where
they will be attending. All students are encouraged to wear college attire.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Azzoz, who stated he wanted to
compliment the Police Department. He provided a brief story he was told by a resident
regarding the professional conduct of an officer that had stopped him. Councilmember
Azzoz praised the Police Department and their officers.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Thompson who stated that late last week he
was traveling to a business re -grand opening and on the frontage road of IH 35 and HEB
a group of individuals were panhandling. He stated that he made a call to Ms. Sanchez to
relay a message to Marshall Harris and on the way back from his appointment the
individuals were gone. Councilmember Thompson stated that he also received a follow -
up email from Ms. Sanchez stating that the city had received other calls from citizens and
the police had already been dispatched. Councilmember Thompson stated it is nice to
know that our citizenry is aware of things taking place and our police are responsive.
Mayor Carpenter stated that-we have a grand opening of HEB on Friday at 9:30 a.m.
followed by a grand opening of Amazon.com at 10:30 a.m., both of these events are
opened to the public and this will be an amazing event as we will have individuals down
from Austin to join us.
Mayor Carpenter also stated that this next month, in May, will mark the end of the l Oth
year that he has been serving on this Council. Mayor Carpenter stated that we have been
very blessed in this City to have had Councilmembers that dedicate themselves to the
work of this City, staff that does the same, and volunteers that do this as well. He wanted
to say for the record thank God for all the residents in this City, the- Staff and the
Council's that are serving and have served, we live in a hell of a place.
Adi ournment
As there was no further business the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
04 -14 -2015 Minutes Page - 19 -
'�'Br@ng Dennis, City Secretary
04 -14 -2015 Minutes Page - 20 -