ccreg 07-15-1997REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
JULY 15, 1997
The Schertz City Council convened in Regular Session on
Tuesday, July 15, 1997 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council
Chambers of the Municipal Complex, 1400 Schertz Parkway,
Schertz, Texas. The following members were present: Mayor
Hal Baldwin, presiding; Councilmembers Charles McDonald;
Joe Potempa; Norman Agee, Sr. and Ken Greenwald. Absent:
Councilmember Timothy Swinney. Staff present were City
Manager Kerry Sweatt and City Secretary Norma Althouse.
Mayor Baldwin asked everyone to rise and join him in the
Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
#1 HEARING OF RESIDENTS: Those citizens wishing to
speak on agenda items (other than public hearing items) or
items not on the agenda, will be heard at this time.
A. Tim Condor of 1113 Mossy Lane spoke concerning the
drainage from Berry Creek and Ashley Place and the bad
effect it is having on homes in Woodland Oaks. Water is
getting up in some of the houses. He sent a letter to the
City in October of 1996 pointing out this situation and
feels the City should make an aggressive effort to solve
the problem.
Ted Duigon of 1112 Antler Drive stated he doesn't know the
magnitude of the problem in Woodland Oaks, but his plea to
City Council is to solve it now and not let it drag on.
Mr. Sweatt interjected that he and Mr. Condor and Steve
Simonson, Asst. City Manager, had met on several occasions
to discuss the situation. He asked the Berry Creek
engineer and the City's engineer to attend the meeting
tonight.
Don Kossl, representing Berry Creek, mentioned he had
spoken with Mr. Condor and they took some action, but
apparently it was not successful. He received a letter
from Steve Simonson informing him they were trying to get
the problem solved by July 24th.
Mr. Sweatt indicated they need to get together with the
the engineers and with the property owners, get to the
heart of the matter and reach a solution.
Mr. Kossl advised that Don McCrary wants to get elevations
and see if there are possible problems related to those.
_ Ed Ford, City Engineer, noted that Don McCrary had gotten
back with the developer in Ashley Place about grading some
property. The natural flow has always gone to Woodland
Oaks.
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Mr. McDonald pointed out that when you put pavement down,
water will run through. Every street in Berry Creek flows
to Hillview. He would like to see them get the drainage
off Hillview. He lives on Cotton King and there are
underground drains every 3 or 4 houses.
Mayor Baldwin emphasized they are not going to allow one
development to dump water on another. His suggestion was
to shut down construction until the problem is solved.
Mr. Ford observed it is better to sit down and solve the
problem by looking at individual lots.
Mr. Kossl asked for an opportunity to meet the July 24th
deadline for solving the problem and implored City Council
not to declare a moratorium on construction.
Mr. Condor insisted they need a drainage ditch before more
homes are built. Mr. McDonald asked if Ashley Place is
engineered to drain down through Woodland Oaks and Mr.
Sweatt answered all cities carry a certain amount of runoff
through the streets.
After further complaints by John Gallagher of 1129 Mossy
Lane, Don Markham of 1016 Jasper Hill Lane and Vance
Marbach of 1117 Mossy Lane, the consensus of Council was to
declare a moratorium on further construction until the
drainage problem is solved. Mr. Kossl stressed how unfair
he thinks that is.
The citizens present thanked Council for taking steps
toward a resolution.
#2 Consider and take action regarding staff position
change.
Mr. . Sweatt informed Council this change is recommended to
augment the current half -time Equipment Maintenance
position for Fleet Service to full -time. The timing for
the change would be July 25th. The position of Facility
Repair would be moved under Facilities Maintenance
Supervisor with a service grade reduction from SG12 to SG8.
Mr. Sweatt went on to say the opportunity for these
recommended changes has come about for two reasons. One,
the retirement of Jim Stapp as of June 30th has freed the
remaining funds from that salary to upgrade the Equipment
Maintenance for the remainder of the year. Second, the
increase in work load by Fleet Service has necessitated the
recommendation to increase this position to a full -time
status.
The position of Facility Repair will be included in the
1997/98 budget and be hired as the SG8 position after
October 1st.
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Mr. Potempa suggested this item be tabled so they could
talk more about it and get more information at a workshop.
Mr. Potempa then moved to table action regarding a staff
position change until Council had an opportunity to discuss
it further at a workshop session. Mr. McDonald seconded
the motion and the vote was as follows:
AYES: Councilmembers McDonald and Potempa.
NAYS: Councilmembers Agee and Greenwald.
Mayor Baldwin broke the tie by voting nay and the motion
did not carry.
Mr. Greenwald then moved to approve action regarding a
staff position change. Mr. McDonald seconded the motion,
which carried with the following votes:
AYES: Councilmembers McDonald, Agee and Greenwald.
NAYS: Mr. Potempa.
#2a PUBLIC BEARING: To receive citizen comments on a
request from San Antonio i and San Antonio III Limited
Partnership and Charles Forbes to rezone 35.31 acres from
Predevelopment District (PD) to Manufacturing District -
Light (M -1) and take action to approve the first reading of
an ordinance approving such request. (This is an addendum
item inadvertently omitted from the original agenda.)
Mayor Baldwin explained the procedure to be followed for
the public hearing.
Mr. Sweatt pointed out the location on the map and stated
that three (3) letters were sent to property owners within
the required distance and none were returned. Planning and
Zoning held a public hearing on this request on July 8th
and has recommended approval.
There being no questions or comments, Mayor Baldwin closed
the public hearing.
Mayor Baldwin then introduced an ordinance and read the
caption as follows:
AN ORDINANCE
BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ,
TEXAS, AMENDING THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE
(UDC) NO. 96 -S -28 BY REZONING APPROXIMATELY
35.31 ACRES OF LAND OUT OF CONAL COUNTY AND
REFLECTING SUCH CHANGES ON CERTAIN ZONING MAPS IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE SCHERTZ UDC ORDINANCE.
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Mr. McDonald moved to approve the first reading of an
ordinance rezoning 35.31 acres from PD to M -1. Mr.
Greenwald seconded the motion, which carried with the
following votes:
AYES: Councilmembers McDonald, Potempa, Agee and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None.
#3 Discuss sidewalk requirement (Dimrock and FM 3009 -
Lancaster Development).
Mr. Sweatt advised Mr. Lancaster has made a counter offer
of $1560.00 to the City concerning his requirement to build
a sidewalk on his side of Dimrock. The amount offered
appears to be a little short. After discussion with John
Bierschwale and Sam Willoughby, they feel the offer is
insufficient for the building of the sidewalk to FM 3009.
Mr. Lancaster's assertion that he should not be required
to build a sidewalk due to his replatting of the property
is invalid in that sidewalks are built during construction
whether.it is a business or a residence.
After a brief discussion, the consensus of Council was to
refuse Mr. Lancaster's offer of $1560.00 and require him
to build the sidewalk.
#4 CITY MANAGER'S REPORT: A. Announced the dates of
August 5th, August 13th, August 19th, September 2nd and
September 10th as times for the budget workshops.
Depending on what tax rate is decided upon, they may have
to have a public hearing on the tax rate. The preliminary
tax roll should be available to the City by July 25th.
B. Stated FEMA has set up temporary headquarters at 950 FM
78 and will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday
through Saturday and from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on
Sunday.
C. Reminded Council the tour of FM 3009 and Schertz
Parkway, regarding the need for sidewalks, has been set up
for this Saturday, July 19th, at 8:00 a.m. Everyone will
meet at City Hall.
D. Indicated he has received several calls regarding an
odor originating from the Beck Concrete area. He knows
TNRCC is doing some work there which should be completed in
the next 6 -7 days, but he will check into it.
#5 ITEMS BY
COUNCIL:
Mr.
McDonald:
Once
again
mentioned he
doesn't
feel
the City
should
allow
subdivisions to
use the
streets
as storm
sewers.
Maybe
Council needs to direct
Planning
and Zoning to
take a
better look at
drainage
when
approving
plats
for new
subdivisions.
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Mr. Potemoa: Mentioned there had been a bee attack at
Samuel Clemens High School last night.
Mr. Agee. Declared he attended his first meeting at the
Housing Authority last night and it is a learning process.
Earl Sawyer was sworn in as a new Commissioner to the
Board.
Mr. Greenwald: Reported he got the name and address of
the Texas State Guard who helped during the flood. He is
part of a volunteer group available for help anytime. Mr.
Greenwald suggested the group be on the City's emergency
roster.
#6 ITEMS BY MAYOR: A. Questioned the status of the
groundwater study. Mr. Sweatt replied there is no report
yet. Mayor Baldwin suggested contacting them and getting
something official.
B. Commented that Governor Bush officially appointed Fritz
Schlather the Guadalupe County representative to GBRA.
C. Remarked Mr. Sweatt had given him a list of volunteers
who helped during the flood and he will try to get letters
of thanks off to them.
D. Noted that during a conversation with W.J. Sweatt, it
was mentioned that Perry Brothers will close and Big Lots
will take over the building. He doesn't know if that's
official.
#17 ADJOUR11MENT: On a motion by Mr. Potempa and
seconded by Mr. Greenwald and unanimously carried, the
meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
ATTEST:
City Secretary, City of Schertz
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