ccspecwksp 08-11-1999
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SPECIAL WORKSHOP SESSION OF THE SCHERTZ CITY COUNCIL
AUGUST 11, 1999
The Schertz City Council convened in Special Workshop Session on
Wednesday, August 11, 1999 at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Complex Conference
Room, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, Texas. The following members were
present: Mayor Hal Baldwin, presiding; Councilmembers Pia Jarman; Joe
Potempa and Ken Greenwald. Absent: Councilmembers Reginna Agee and
Glyn D. Williams. Staff present were City Manager Kerry Sweatt and City
Secretary Norma Althouse.
Due to the late arrival of Mayor Baldwin, Mayor Pro-Tem Potempa called the
meeting to order.
#1 HEARING OF RESIDENTS
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Mr. Roman Froboese of 4513 FM 3009 had signed up to speak about drainage.
Mr. Froboese stated the drainage situation for the Forest Ridge Subdivision is
disgusting. The City of Schertz is dumping water on his property illegally.
Barshop and the City of Schertz built a culvert over FM 3009, but the building
permit should never have been approved. In his opinion, the City of Schertz
never reviewed the drainage.
Mr. Sweatt reported that Barshop, the City Engineer, TXDoT and members of
the Froboese family had two meetings. Barshop committed to correct the
problem by cleaning out the culvert, but haven't done anything about it yet. They
feel further development will take care of the problem, but the City feels they
should be forced to do something about it now. Mr. Froboese acknowledged
that cleaning the silt out will help, but if we have another flood there will be big
trouble because he is getting water from both ends. What happened to the latest
plans to grade and bring water to the bar ditch? Mr. Sweatt answered he doesn't
know, but will find out.
Mr. Froboese went on to say he feels things are done backwards and he doesn't
undrstand that. The City puts building first and drainage last. Mayor Pro-Tem
Potempa asked Mr. Froboese if he would give Mr. Sweatt and the attorneys time
to work out the problem. Mr. Froboese insisted they need to clean out the silt
first. Mr. Sweatt emphasized it's on private property and they can't put a City
crew to work on it. Mayor Pro-Tem Potempa asked Mr. Sweatt if he could get
some help in cleaning out the bar ditch and Mr. Sweatt replied yes he could.
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Doris Stacey of 9014 Dawn Circle, Boerne, Texas (Mr. Froboese's daughter)
noted this is the fifth meeting over the past two years she has attended on this
same issue and everyone agrees something needs to be done, but nothing ever
happens to correct it. There is a new ditch funneling water to the back of her
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Father's property and there is new building going on, but no progress in getting .
the drainage problem solved. Mrs. Stacey mentioned this problem was
documented at the City Council workshop meeting of January 29, 1999 and she
submitted that documentation to Mayor Pro-Tem Potempa for the record. Her
Dad has lived on his property for 36 years and is being impacted because of
drainage. Her parents were the first to build along FM 3009 and shouldn't have
this problem dumped on them. They shouldn't have to wait for legal action to
have the problem corrected.
Mayor Baldwin arrived at this time and the previous discussion was explained to
him briefly. Mr. Potempa asked where the problem is and Mr. Sweatt answered
in Forest Ridge. Mr. Potempa then asked if the City can't halt construction and
Mr. Sweatt answered not unless the contractors are doing something different
than what was approved. Mrs. Stacey stressed they cannot wait for another two
years. They would like for the City to honor its commitment to help get the
drainage problem solved. Mr. Potempa then asked Mr. Froboese and Mrs.
Stacey if it's agreeable with them to give Mr. Sweatt and the attorneys time to
work out the problem and they both answered in the affirmative. Mrs. Stacey
requested a copy of tonight's minutes.
Mr. Froboese suggested the Mayor and Council take a tour of the area and the
Mayor agreed that's a good idea. Mr. Sweatt added, once again, that Barshop
had made a commitment to help get the problem solved, but has done nothing .
about it.
Mr. George Mower of 501 Brooks had signed up to speak about City fences and
hunting rights. He indicated he had just gotten back from vacation and had lots
of messages awaiting him. One of the biggest problems is the fenced area down
by Burch Roofing and conversation is that the fence is there to keep out the
Burch employees. Mayor Baldwin stated it is a public parking lot and the area is
under construction.
Mr. Mower then mentioned rumor has it the City is paying $1,000 per month for
the fence and Mr. Sweatt assured him that rumor is untrue. Mr. Mower
questioned if there are other similar areas under construction that are not fenced
and Mayor Baldwin answered yes, there are some others along FM 78.
Lastly, Mr. Mower inquired about the hunting rights on the ranch property just
purchased by the Schertz/Seguin Local Government Corporation. Mr. Sweatt
replied they are inured back to the rancher.
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#2 Discuss final reading of Ordinance revising Tax Abatement Guidelines
and Criteria.
Mrs. Sweatt advised the first reading of this had been approved and there is
nothing to add. Council indicated they were ready for this item to be included on
next Tuesday night's agenda.
#3 Discuss final reading of Ordinance regarding traffic regulations on
Woodland Oaks Drive.
Mr. Sweatt related the first reading of this had also been approved and Council
agreed they were prepared for it to be included on next Tuesday night's agenda.
#4 Discuss reappointment of members to Board of Adjustment.
Mr. Sweatt explained the Board of Adjustment is requesting the reappointment of
Chairman Earl Hartzog and Vice-Chairman Ted Duigon for two-year terms to that
Board. Council had no problem with that request and was ready for it to be
included on next Tuesday night' agenda.
#5 Discuss employee insurance proposals.
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Mr. Sweatt gave a brief overview of the insurance proposals. He had gone into
detail in a memo to the Mayor and Council which was included in their packets.
As far as health insurance, the City received bids from Pacificare, Community
First, Blue Cross, Aetna, Humana and TML. The criteria used for review were
cost, availability of physicians, a multi-year option and the nature and cost of the
drug formulary. Based on such criteria, the City is recommending Community
First be awarded the health care contract effective October 1, 1999.
Mr. Sweatt went on to say the main criteria used for review of dental insurance
was cost, requirement for major dental procedures, and reasonable dependent
coverage. Both Compudent and Aetna offered a Dental Health Maintenance
Organization (DHMO). Aetna is buying out Prudential, one of the best dental
HMO's in the country, and the City is recommending Aetna be awarded the
dental insurance contract effective October 1, 1999.
Mr. Sweatt further stated they reviewed the life insurance not because of
dissatisfaction, but to look at raising the face value from $10,000 to $20,000.
They simply wanted to gauge the current market and no action is required. The
recommendation is the continuation of the current program.
As far as long-term disability insurance, Mr. Sweatt explained Provident has no
viable competitors for our business. The City is recommending renewal with
Provident.
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Mr. Sweatt then discussed eye care insurance. A special program is available
from Eyemasters that will provide one free pair of glasses each year and
substantial discounts for other services. Community First and Eye Masters have
agreed to merge their programs. Employees will pay just a $10.00 co-pay. The
City is recommending the eye care insurance contract be awarded to
Eyemasters effective October 1, 1999.
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Bob Feike was as the meeting to provide information and answer any questions.
Mr. Feike stated Community First is a San Antonio-based company and even
though they are not big, they are financially sound.
After a brief discussion, Council indicated their readiness for this item to be
included on next Tuesday night's agenda.
#6 Discuss bids for seal coating street maintenance work.
Mr. Sweatt informed Council the City had solicited bids for this project and had
received 3 proposals. As Council is aware, the current 1998/99 budget provides
major funding for preventative maintenance work, including both seal coating and
overlay work on a number of streets. Council will find in their packets a letter of
recommendation from Ed Ford and a tabulation of bids received for the seal
coating portion of this work.
Based on the bid, they are reviewing quantities and estimated cost of other
portions of the work to determine if the project can be expanded within available
dollars. Based on the bid and evaluation, it is recommended the project be
awarded to R.E.L. Construction Company, Inc,. in the amount of $55,650. If
Council approves the bid, they would like to get a lot of the work out of the way
this fiscal year.
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Mr. Greenwald asked Mr. Sweatt to look at the list of streets involved to make
sure some of the streets that were flooded are on it. Mr. Potempa asked the
difference between seal coating and overlaying and Mr. Sweatt explained that to
him. Mayor Baldwin inquired if R. E. L. is a reliable company Mr. Sweatt replied
yes and they think they have a good bid from them.
The consensus of Council was they were prepared for this item to be included on
next Tuesday night's agenda.
#7 CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
· Stated they need to finalize the plaques for the public safety buildings. Mayor
Baldwin indicated he would like to see Earl Sawyer's name on the plaques
and Council agreed.
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· Mentioned the Hometown Hero program sponsored by Paragon Cable and
the fact they are nominating Ruth Tienor. Mayor Baldwin thanked Mrs.
Jarman for an outstanding write-up on Ruth Tienor. The question he had was
if the only award she ever received was the Library Trustee of the Year for the
State of Texas. Mrs. Jarman agreed to call her and find out about any other
awards she may have received.
#8 ITEMS BY COUNCIL
Mr. Greenwald:
· Reported one of the new businesses coming into the City will be a climate-
controlled storage unit facility. Also, Bordertown has supposedly submitted
their final plat and a Radio Shack is going into the HEB strip mall. Mr.
Potempa said Mr. John told him someone is setting up a car dealership in the
City and Mr. Greenwald confirmed that.
#9 ITEMS BY MAYOR
· Stated Lt. Colonel Pat Ward had designated him as an Honorary Commander
of the 527th Navigator Training Squad at Randolph Air Force Base. This is
an interaction program between commanders and people in the community.
. #10 BUDGET WORKSHOP
Council took a short break before beginning discussion of this item. After the
break, they started off by reviewing the revenues and expenditures of the various
funds and Mr. Sweatt and L.J. Cott answered particular questions as they went
along.
Mr. Potempa questioned the amount of funds in the Hotel/Motel Tax Fund
revenues and Mr. Cott answered they had been rolled forward from last year.
Mr. Greenwald questioned the figures for swimming lessons and Mr. Sweatt
replied they were based on figures from this past year. For some reason they
had a really good response to swimming lessons.
Mr. Greenwald then inquired about the Muni-Court Technology fee and Mr.
Sweatt explained that fee will be devoted exclusively to technical items for the
court. There was a brief discussion about some of the court fees and the change
in the judicial arrangement for the upcoming year. Mr. Potempa asked if the
bailiff serves warrants and was told yes he does. Mrs. Jarman asked if the bailiff
would still be part of the court system in this building even when the Police
Department moves to their new building and Mr. Sweatt answered yes.
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Mr. Greenwald mentioned the Mitigation (97 Flood) fund and Mr. Sweatt
explained it was moved out of the General Fund to enable special
accounting/auditing of funds by FEMA, the State, etc. The 98 flood mitigation
fund may also be moved into a special account.
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Mrs. Jarman inquired about the miscellaneous Library Fund and Mr. Sweatt
informed her that was not the bookstore money.
Under the City Council Fund it was pointed out the fireworks is the only item that
has gone up.
Mayor Baldwin questioned the actual fee for contractual services under the Legal
Department so far this year and Mr. Cott thought it was right at $70,000 - they
haven't been billed for everything yet.
Mr. Cott was also asked why the FICA figure for the FY 1999/2000 was so low
and he replied it was probably a typing error and would check into it.
Mr. Potempa inquired how many people are in the Animal Control Department
and Mr. Cott replied four. Mr. Potempa then asked how many vehicles that
department has and was told two. Mr. Sweatt pointed out they plan to finish the
enlargement of the Animal Shelter this year.
Since two of the Councilmembers were absent, this concluded the discussion on .
the budget for this meeting. Mr. Sweatt advised everyone they need to make a
definite decision by next week about whether or not they want to hold a budget
workshop on August 25th, which is a non-meeting night.
#11 EXECUTIVE SESSION: Called under Chapter 551 Texas Government
Code, Sub-Section 551.072, Deliberation Regarding Real Property.
Mr. Sweatt advised they did not need to hold an Executive Session.
#12 Action, if any, on above Executive Session.
Since there was no Executive Session, no action was required.
#13 ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to discuss, Mayor Baldwin adjourned the
meeting at 9:26 p.m.
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ATTEST:
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City Secretary, City of Schertz
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