ccswks 07-31-1996
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
JULY 31, 1996
The Schertz City Council convened in Special Workshop Session
on Wednesday, July 31, 1996 at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference
Room of the Municipal Complex, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz,
Texas. The following members were present: Mayor Hal
Baldwin, presiding; Councilmembers Charles McDonald; Earl
Sawyer; Timothy Swinney; Joe Potempa and Ken Greenwald.
Staff present were City Manager Kerry Sweatt and Deputy City
Secretary Dolores Butler.
11 HEARING OF RESIDENTS: Mr. Bill Neller, 305 Koch
Street, had signed up to speak regarding the recycling program
and other issues. It is his observation that the recycling
program needs to be re-organized because he can't see that it
is working. He is the only one on his block that recycles.
All Schertz residents pay $1.25 per month to pay Alamo Waste
to pick up recyclable items but not all residents are using
the service. Dividing $1,440.90 collected by the City during
the month of June by $1.25 per month, that figures out to be
1,152.72 houses in Schertz and if that is a correct number,
the recycling program isn't working as it is supposed to.
Mayor Baldwin responded that he is sure there are more houses
than that and he disagreed that the program isn't working.
Recycling isn't intended to be a money making operation at
this point, even though they are making some money, a very
small amount from recyclable materials. Recycling is intended
to do two things: 1) save landfill space so we don't fill up
landfills and have to go out and find new locations; and, 2)
to reuse some of the materials that can be reused. Basically,
they didn't enter into this thing as a money making situation,
they entered into it because there were a lot of
environmentalists who felt they ought to be doing their fair
share to preserve the environment.
Mr. Neller said the citizens are paying for this and he
wanted to know why. Mayor Baldwin said it was a referendum on
the ballot and they voted for it. Mayor Baldwin said a lot of
citizens came to the Mayor's Forum meetings wanting to know
if the money would be refunded in the form of a direct
reduction in garbage rates. This could be a possibility.
Mr. Sawyer advised Mr. Neller that he could
petition to change the ordinance and with enough
it would be placed on a ballot for a vote.
circulate a
signatures,
Mr. Potempa reminded Mr. Neller that recycling isn't mandatory
and some citizens choose not to participate even though they
pay the fee.
Mr. Swinney stated that he looks at his kids and he doesn't
want them facing a worsening environment. We don't have the
luxury of landfills as we did 30 or 40 years ago. With all
the regulations, the $1.25 charge for recycling is cheaper
than a landfill even if we had the space.
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Mr. Neller said he was told by someone who says they know,
that they went to a recycling situation and all the garbage
was dumped into this long building and there was no odor
connected with it. Citizens weren.t paying for it - the money
that was created through this private recycling facility was
taking care of their own expenses and making a profit.
Mr.
you'd
Sweatt
things.
Swinney said
have to ask
can attest
that sounds like an ideal situation
that person what month that was.
to the fluctuation in prices on
but
Mr.
these
Mr. Neller said he asked what happened to the wooden
Christmas decorations he made for the City (the City had
furnished some of the materials) and someone told him they had
all rotted out and were thrown away. He said he made two
candy canes at the very same time for his personal use and
they are still as good as the day he made them. He doubts
they rotted because he had sealed the "wood before it was
painted.
Mr. Potempa related he had made big gift boxes to decorate
under the Christmas tree and last year he questioned what
happened to the stuff. He went to the Parks people and they
showed him how it was rotted out.
Mr. Neller noted that when national tragedies occur and we
are asked to fly our flags at half-staff, it is impossible to
do so unless one has an upright pole, which most people don't
have. He had checked with personnel at Randolph Air Force
Base to see if the National Flag Code would permit the use of
black ribbon or crepe tied to the pole and was told such
things weren't authorized. Mr. Neller wanted to know if the
City of Schertz might make this suggestion to the "powers that
be.11
Mr. Swinney stated that he knows how much the flag means to
Mr. Neller, having put his life on the line for it 50 years
ago, but to him, the American flag is kind of like the Bible,
it is so great that you can't add to it or subtract from it -
it just would not have any purpose to add a black ribbon or
anything else. Mr. Swinney said he faces the same thing,
wanting to fly the flag in honor of the people who have died,
and he has one of the home flags too. He stated he thought it
was perfectly acceptable to put that flag out at full staff
when it is not a National holiday. It says this flag is out
as a memorial to the people that he's honoring since he can't
fly his flag at half-staff. He advised Mr. Neller that
changing the Code wasn't top priority with the powers that be,
they are too busy letting people burn flags!
Mayor Baldwin thanked Mr. Neller for his comments and stated
the Council would take his recommendations into consideration.
Ms. Barbara Knight, 808 Mitchell Avenue, had signed up to
speak regarding the animal control personnel being available
for night shift. In her opinion, the three people in the
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Animal Control Department don't have enough to do during the
day. Citizens, knowing there is no personnel on duty at night
and on weekends, let their dogs and cats out to run loose in
the neighborhoods at night, not during the day.
Mayor Baldwin remarked he didn't think anyone would disagree
with that idea, however it is a money thing - 24 hour-a-day
animal control coverage means additional staff. Mr. Sweatt
advised they could discuss their work schedules but the
department doesn't just pick up stray animals. Personnel
adopts out animals, cleans kennels, euthanizes unwanted
animals, fill out forms, etc. Their schedules are arranged so
that all three aren't on duty during the same hours.
Ms. Knight said they aren't on duty at night and on weekends
when the problems are worse. She called the other night and
the police dispatcher answered the call and she felt the
pOlice have more important things to do than deal with animal
nuisances. Mayor Baldwin told Mrs. Knight that if it was not
an emergency, the dispatcher would not contact the animal
control folks. If it was a matter of a noise violation, then
the police service would be sent out.
Ms. Knight wanted to know what was the chance of the
Council doing something about the noisy cars with boom
that go up and down the road disturbing others. Mr.
advised that there is an ordinance concerning
(disturbance of the peace) but citizens have to help
it by filing complaints.
City
boxes
Sweatt
noise
enforce
Mayor Baldwin asked
we have a guest,
proposal.
that item #7 be taken up at this point as
Ms. Whitworth from AACOG, to present a
'7 Consider and take action regarding AACOG request for
resolution regarding water planning study.
Ms. Whitworth explained that AACOG is talking about
conducting a study based on a model they are already doing for
transportation planning purposes in the Metropolitan Planning
Organization. The City of Schertz is already in the MPO
boundaries. The proposal is to expand past the MPO boundaries
and include all of Guadalupe County to accommodate for growth
outside the City limits. Some think AACOG already gets
population projections from Texas Water Development Board
(TWDB) and they do projections out 20 years. AACOG is not
trying to take their figures and reinvent them, but will take
a look and adjust their figures if changes can be documented.
AACOG takes TWDB's population projections, the Comptroller's
office employment projections, their own set of models called
a disaggregate residential allocation model and an employment
allocation model, and then work with TXDoT's network model.
The concern is for unincorporated areas as developers move
into those areas because they are putting people on septic
systems. There has been concern with well contamination and
run-off, and soil in some areas is not appropriate for dense
development with a septic system. With the growth already
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taking place and that growth projected, it is better to plan
ahead for infrastructure.
Mr. Sawyer asked what this study is going to cost the City
and Ms. Whitworth said it won't cost anything cash-wise. The
proposal is to come up with a share of the match through what
they call their central processing unit, a management system
that has a dollar value applied to the processing unit when it
is running. It is about the same rate as a major university
in the State, and has been recognized by other State agencies,
and that is where it tracks to come up with the match. What
AACOG asks the community to do is provide local knowledge and
input for accurate projections.
Mr. Potempa asked
present situation
Whitworth said no,
if this study would have any bearing on
with the new Aquifer Committee.
it would not.
the
Ms.
Mayor Baldwin inquired what the ultimate goal of the study is
and Ms. Whitworth stated the ultimate goal is to identify
when some of these areas are getting to the point where they
are starting development and they need to think about being
annexed if they are close enough into a city and be put on a
central collection system, or they need to think about patch
street system and production of some kind of utility system.
Mayor Baldwin asked if they deal more with wastewater and Ms.
Whitworth answered yes they do. Mr. Sweatt then asked if
there would be a section of the report that deals exclusively
with City of Schertz and its extraterritorial jurisdiction
when the study is finished and Ms. Whitworth stated there
would be. Basically, AACOG is looking for support from the
cities and Guadalupe County to do the study. It would require
some City staff time but it shouldn't be that much more since
the city of Schertz already works with AACOG through the MPO
projects. Mr. Simonson is on the Steering Committee.
Mr. Sawyer asked what happens if they don't get the grant.
Ms. Whitworth said they won't be able to do all of Guadalupe
County but will still be doing this area.
Mr. Sawyer asked if the Edwards Aquifer will be doing this
same kind of study. It seems like everyone wants to get in on
the money part of studying the aquifer, wastewater and
everything else. Ms. Whitworth said that in the past, the
old Edwards was very concerned with the quality of the water.
At this point they aren't sure they're going to be dealing
with just water quantity or if they are still going to be
dealing with water quality. There is some feeling from
Edwards staff that the new Board will have their hands full
just dealing with water quantity.
Ms. Whitworth advised that Al Notzen of AACOG has asked, even
though this is a workshop session, that because of some time
frames, the Council consider taking action on the resolution
tonight. Basically he would like the City of Schertz to
resolve to support the application by AACOG to the Texas Water
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Development Board to develop long-range plans in management,
conservation and development of water resources and related
wastewater service for pure water quality protection. He
would also like the City of Schertz to pledge to participate
in the study once the grant is awarded.
Mr. Sawyer asked how much staff time would be required. Ms.
Whitworth reiterated that it would not be much more than Mr.
Simonson already spends with the MPO.
Mr. Potempa moved to accept the resolution as stated. Mr.
Swinney seconded the motion, which carried with the following
votes:
AYES: Councilmembers McDonald, Potempa, Sawyer, Swinney and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None
.2 Discuss final reading of ordinance rezoning
approximately 30 acres from Residential/Agricultural (R/A) to
Mobile Home Dwelling District (MU) (Cliff Johnson property).
Mr. Swinney asked for a brief synopsis of the public hearing
since he was not present for the meeting. Mr. Sweatt
reported there was opposition in the form of persons in the
area feeling there would be some degradation of their
property. Council heard testimony about the plan for a
manufactured home subdivision and made it clear that was not a
manufactured home park. Lots and manufactured homes would be
individually owned. They heard assurances from Mr. Johnson
that we was aware of all the City's rules and regulations.
Mr. Swinney asked if this is supposed to have a wall or gate
or anything and was advised it does not. Mr. Sawyer
mentioned they did put a restriction on Mr. Johnson to have
the property platted within six months and construction
started within a year of the approval of the zoning change.
With no further discussion it was agreed to place this item on
the Tuesday, August 6, 1996 action agenda.
'3 Discuss final reading of ordinance establishing
traffic control measures in Greenshire Unit 4.
Mr. Sweatt stated a point of
ordinance which passed on first
stops at Wild Cherry and Osage.
Wild Cherry is a through street
It is two-way stop.
With no further discussion it was agreed to place this item on
the Tuesday, August 6, 1996 action agenda.
clarification is that the
reading dealt with two-way
The ordinance indicates that
and that was not the intent.
'4
Partners
General
Dwelling
Discuss public hearing on request from PM 3009
to rezone 121 acres from Planned Unit Development/
Business/Light Industrial (PUD/GB/M-l) to Residential
District (R-6 gated), and discuss first reading of
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ordinance regarding such request.
Mr. Sweatt stated this location is the Barshop property and
it backs into the Deer Haven area. The Planning and Zoning
Commission held a public hearing in which 42 letters were sent
to property owners within 300', seven letters were returned
with two in favor and four opposed and one non-commital. The
Planning and Zoning Commission listened to testimony and
ultimately made a recommendation that the rezoning be approved
and made to include the granting of a variance for 55' wide
lots and that the total of the 55' lots not exceed 30% of the
entire subdivision.
With no further discussion it was agreed to place this item on
the August 6, 1996 action agenda.
'5 Discuss public hearing on request from Mike Lancaster
to rezone 10.37 acres from Neighborhood Services (NS) to
Residential Dwelling District (R-6 gated), and discuss first
reading of ordinance regarding such request.
Mr. Sweatt advised Council the area where Mr. Lancaster is
requesting rezoning is located between Woodland Oaks Drive
and Dimrock. Planning and Zoning conducted a public hearing
on July 23rd. Citizens who spoke at the public hearing
opposing the rezoning were not against a gated community, but
felt the property is better suited for commercial use and
should remain zoned Neighborhood Services. After
deliberation and review, the Commission recommended approval
of this request. The approval of the request would include a
variance for 55' wide lots, however each of such lot total to
be a minimum of 6,000 square feet as required by the
ordinance.
Council agreed they were ready for this item to be included
on next Tuesday night's agenda.
'6 Discuss public hearing on request from city of
Schertz to rezone 8.61 acres from Apartment/Multi-Family
Dwelling District (R-4) to Neighborhood Services (NS), and
discuss first reading of ordinance regarding such request.
Mr. Sweatt told Council this is the property at the corner
of Schertz Parkway and Elbel Road next to the Sycamore Creek
Apartments. Mr. Veytia, the owner of the property, has been
unsuccessful in obtaining financing to build apartments
there. He has had several extensions from Planning and
Zoning on his originally approved time frame. Planning and
Zoning, at this time, feels the property should revert back
to its original classification of Neighborhood Services.
Council indicated their readiness for this item to be
included on next Tuesday night's agenda.
.8 Discuss bids for telemetry equipment for utility
~ontrol system.
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Mr. Sweatt reported they continue to feel the best bid for
this equipment is that of P.C.! at $42,593 in as much as the
low bid from Coercive Electronics, Inc. (current provider)
and Remote Operating Systems each use primary electronic
components that are available only through them. Past
experience with Coercive Electronics reflects what they
believe to be excessive charges. They have seen rapidly
escalating maintenance agreement prices. The services from
C.E.I. are felt to be not only subject to single source but
are designed and maintained by a family business and could be
very difficult to maintain in the future. P.C.I. materials
can be purchased at a number of supply outlets and will be
more easily and less expensively maintained by the City and
for that reason they recommend awarding the bid to P.C.I.
Mr. Swinney asked if this is pretty reliable equipment and
questioned its maintenance history. Mayor Baldwin then asked
what the annual maintenance contract is on this kind of
equipment.
Mr. Sweatt stated they could buy a maintenance contract but
have not solicited one. They didn't ask them to price a
maintenance contract because they weren't planning on having
one. They will be prepared to answer specifics Tuesday night.
Mr. Swinney stated he sure would like to see them heavily
consider Coercive Electronics at a 20% difference in cost.
Mayor Baldwin said if they're going to buy a maintenance
contract from T.C.I. and T.C.I. is going to fix the
equipment for the price of a maintenance contract, it doesn't
make any difference what the price of the equipment is or what
the part costs, the maintenance contract will cover it.
Upgrading may be a different subject if that's what we're
talking about. We could upgrade the P.C.I. equipment on our
own without having to use specific expensive equipment.
Normally this would be maintained through a maintenance
contract, whether it is C.E.I. or P.C.I. The $8,000
difference is a lot of money.
Mr. Sweatt assured Council he would look into pricing of a
maintenance contract with Coercive.
Mayor Baldwin asked if we have some history here. Does P.C.!.
do this type of thing for other cities? Did P.C.I. and
Coercive both submit references? Mr. Sweatt answered he
believes they have some information in that regard.
With no further discussion it was agreed to place this item on
the Tuesday night agenda.
'9 DISCUSS BEXAR METRO 911 BUDGET
Mr. Sweatt stated that in the Council packet there is a
request from E-911 District to approve their budget. The memo
of transmittal indicates what the City understands to be
charges based on information from 911. Councilmember McDonald
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pointed out that is not exactly correct. Jerry Marshall was
here and Council questioned him about that. The bills in
Guadalupe County (exchanges 685, 659, and 651) pay 22 cents
compared to the 18 cents per month that is paid in other parts
of the Metro and Comal County. The basic determination is not
the county you are located in but the exchange. If you have
metro exchange you pay 22 cents. If you are outside of the
Metro exchange you pay lB cents. The explanation was that
anybody in Guadalupe or Comal County who is not on the Metro
exchange pays 18 cents.
Mr. McDonald went on to say the charge is 2.2% of base rate
which for us is 22 cents. The rest of Comal and Guadalupe
have a lower base rate than we have so it comes out to 18
cents, but if they want to call from Marion to a 658 exchange
it is a toll call and we can call clear across town without it
being a toll call.
Mr. Sweatt mentioned that Mr. Potempa"called 911 and got a
number of clicks and hung up and then called the regular
police number and got the dispatcher who later tested the
number and dialed 911. What they think might have happened is
that he was getting a bunch of calls all at one time. He may
have gotten a busy signal as it rotated from one line to
another, or there may be some problem with Mr. Potempa's
automatic dialer.
Mr. Swinney advised he had checked the US News Magazine at
the library in the first part of June and the headlines were
about 911 and the problems they're having. The vast majority
of 911 calls shouldn't even be going to them.
Mr. Sweatt stated this is a nationwide problem. The article
also points to looking at a clearing house number, a 1-800
number, encouraging people to call that rather than 911 for
non-emergencies.
Mr. Baldwin stated that 22 cents per month is well worth what
they're receiving.
'10 CITY MANAGER'S REPORT: A. Noted he has distributed
to all Councilmembers a copy of a proposed budget calendar.
By close of business tomorrow they will have filed, with the
City Secretary's office, a budget in accordance with terms of
the City Charter. From that time on a number of things are
set by law and must occur. They've noted that on September
11, if the recommended tax rate is over the 3% increase above
the effective rate, a public hearing will need to be held.
Under this general schedule, it's the State law that deals
with tax notices and the Charter that deals with budget items.
They've tried to put in the minimum dates. The September 12th
and 17th dates could be moved forward one week if there were
some dire emergency, but otherwise this schedule will meet all
the legal requirements and Charter requirements and various
publication deadlines. As it stands today, the recommended
tax rate will not be a 3% increase above the effective rate,
so it will not be necessary to hold several of the public
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hearing that are listed (the September 11 hearing will not be
necessary and a vote to adopt the tax rate on the agenda on
August 28th will likely not be necessary. Workshops
scheduled the 6th, 14th, 20th and 28th of August are regular
meeting times as is September 3rd. However, August 6th is
the night the Macedonian mayors will be visiting and he
thinks Council might not want to spend too long in a
workshop. If Council wants a workshop, maybe it should be
just the first general review.
Mr. Sweatt asked if anyone had a problem with any of these
dates and there was no conflict.
Mr. Sawyer interjected he understands there's a policy that
no City Council meeting will last past 10:00 p.m. and thought
they should adhere to that policy during these budget
workshops.
B. Stated that in the packet is information regarding the
Macedonian mayors' trip. Having spoken with the City Manager
of Highland Park, he learned they had a very pleasant visit.
One of the things they really like to do is talk about their
country, so we may want to give them an opportunity at one of
the functions to do so. They also like to take pictures so we
will accommodate that.
Mr. Swinney asked if the weekly Herald is going to be
covering this visit. Mr. Sweatt stated that because of the
question of security, both the Herald and the Northeast Sun
edition of the Express-News have been alerted and furnished
copies of press releases but asked they not run the story
until after the visiting mayors have departed. The Northeast
Sun reporter is going to be here on Tuesday afternoon at 3:30
for an interview and may bring a photographer but that is not
for certain. Rachel Drady of the Herald will be at the
Council meeting Tuesday night and may bring a photographer at
that time. stacey Pagdett (intern) is writing an article for
the Texas Town and City magazine so we should get some nice
coverage, all after the visit. The details of the San Antonio
trip have not been firmed up yet, but updated information will
be provided. Attendance at the breakfast at Denny's and the
barbecue at the Community Center is encouraged. We would like
you to bring a covered dish in an effort to give them a taste
of Texas (no pork please). Mr. Sawyer suggested the agenda
schedule should be on military time.
'11 ITEMS BY COUNCIL: Mr. Greenwald: A. Mentioned
that he and Mr. Sweatt went to Southwest Texas and listened
to Judge Bunton and Joe Moore. From what they heard on the
news tonight, they're talking 1.2 times winter averaging, and
all of the San Antonio River is discretionary water.
Mr. Sweatt admitted the City's going to be 10,000,000 gallons
short at 1.2 times winter averaging.
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Mayor Baldwin asked who mentioned a $10,000 per day fine for
every day they are in non-conformance. Is that just private
purveyors or is that municipal purveyors?
Mr.
that
that
Sweatt replied they understand one of the proposals is
everyone will have to surcharge based on a set amount and
surcharge will be rebated directly to E.A.A. plus 20%.
Mr. Greenwald commented Council will be hearing something
from Mr. Sweatt and Mr. Bierschwale in the next few weeks
regarding alternative water solutions.
Mr. McDonald asked, regarding the report of 6,000,000 gallons
of water loss, is there any way to reduce that. Mr. Sweatt
advised that some is unaccounted for, some is due to leaks,
and some is just unavoidable. They count fire loss, calculate
gallons pumped and are doing everything they can. '
Mr. Greenwald said Judge Bunton pointed out that the current
opinion of Texas Water law is based on a rule in East Texas
where they get over 54" of rain a year. Mr. Greenwald's
opinion is that Judge Bunton will encourage separate rules for
each area according to annual rainfall.
Mr. McDonald: A. Reported the motor home is still out on
the street in spite of the 72 hour limitation.
Mr. Sawyer: A. Reported he had attended the Attorney
General's briefing in Odessa and they brought up the issue of
oath of office by police officers and municipal court judges
and he was wondering if the City is following the procedures
annually.
Mr. Sweatt answered they
every officer re-sworn and
Police Chief's signature.
every two years.
are, but they are going to have
issue new I.D. cards over the new
The requirement is that it be done
Mr. Swinnev: A. Thanked Mr. Sweatt for the letter sent to
Southern Pacific Railroad regarding clean-up of the right-of-
way.
B. Gave kudos regarding the City's stance on preventative
crime.
C. Related the AMCC Convention was much better than Austin.
State Senator Peterson from Pasadena indicated that cities
have no jurisdiction on guns, pointing to the State
Constitution as the legal authority. We need to review this
matter. Senator Peterson is going to introduce legislation in
the January session that will flip-flop the current law. As
it stands, if you are 14 years or younger, no matter what you
do, you're a juvenile and they can't touch you. Senator
Peterson wants the law to state that at any age, if you use a
gun or knife committing a crime, you will go to adult court.
At that time, if there are extenuating circumstances, the
judge can put you back to juvenile court status.
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D. Reported attending a meeting about
council staff and it seems to be a
managers to provide council a summary of
the city manager
common practice
accomplishments.
and
for
E. Stated even though he had initially pooh poohed the idea
of not throwing candy at the 4th of July parade, it was
brought to his attention that some pre-school kids came close
to being crushed. The City is open to liability but that is
the least of our problems. You talk about a damper on a
parade! As a compromise, we could have some volunteers walk
along the street keeping the little ones back, or if we are
going to continue the current practice, toss candy at the very
front of the parade. He suggested this be passed on to the
Schertz Business Association and put in corporate memory for
next year.
F. Would like to propose that the City consider addressing
the budget more on the major decisions and major policy
changes, etc. which need heavy discussion as opposed to going
line item by line item. He also agreed with a 10:00 p.m.
time limit.
Mayor Baldwin stated he concurred with looking at department
by department. If there is an increase in the budget, they
need to know some basic reason why it has increased.
G. Suggested it is time to get the bond issue up on the table
for next spring and would like to direct the City Manager to
come up with a feasibility and game plan to get the bond issue
going, and would like to take a look at it in six weeks if
that is enough time. In his opinion the City should think
real bold. They should learn from the school district about
getting the community involved.
Mayor
it.
staff
staff)
ramrod
leading
Baldwin stated that is exactly how the City needs to do
They need to get 50 to 70 citizens to meet, have the
brief them and then get the City (Mr. Sweatt and his
completely out of it. He and the Council have got to
the whole thing. They need to be the ones up front
this thing.
Mr. McDonald agreed they have to lead, but they need a big
enough committee to ramrod the bond issue.
Mr. Swinney suggested giving Mr. Sweatt six weeks to get a
game plan together for proposing the sales tax again, for
proposing a bond issue regarding both public safety and
recreation, and designing it such as the SChool District did
in that it is a menu (not all or nothing). He also
recommended they have a citizen committee of a minimum of 50
people, i.e., business leaders, BVYA members, volunteer
firemen. He is not adverse to hearing the outspoken tax
people, but prefers someone moderate enough to start from
square zero instead of the negative types. They need, within
six weeks, to also start looking at some feasibility groups
to work with the school district and the County.
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Mr. McDonald observed a sales tax issue could be a wash for
the bond issue. Mayor Baldwin wasn't sure it ought to be
promoted that way.
Mr. Sweatt thought he could get the public safety part put
together fairly quickly, but the recreation part may take a
little longer. He will see what he can get done in six weeks
and come back to Council with a report. January is the next
time they can have an election and that may not be enough
time.
Mayor Baldwin commented there is no rush to have an election,
they just need to get people informed and educated. It is his
opinion they need to keep the bond issue and sales tax
separate. They need to do the sales tax first and then
they've got the money in the bank to use as a selling point
for the bond issue.
'12 ITEMS BY MAYOR: A. Reported the Housing Authority
achieved a 97.50 score in their public housing management and
assessment program which means that they have been designated
as a high performer. A letter was written to the President of
the Housing Authority commending him on this rating.
B. Noted the TML Region 7 meeting in Balcones Heights on
Friday, August 16th and said ~hey need RSVP's.
C. Stated Herb Rehmann harasses him about Antler Drive on a
daily basis and now that he has seen Maske Road paved, he is
about to have a heart attack. Why did the City pave Maske
Road? Mr. Sweatt responded it was paved in order to cut down
on the dust.
Mayor Baldwin said he jokingly told Mr. Reh~ann the City
bought a new piece of paving equipment and they are just
practicing on Maske Road. He asked Mr. Sweatt if there's any
way the Street Department could resurface the entrance to Deer
Haven.
D. Related that Real Coal Systems, Inc. in San Antonio has
moved to Cibolo in order to facilitate company expansion. The
Cibolo Industrial Park continues to fill up. Indicated he is
hesitant to say this because he likes the guy, but he thinks
there is a real conflict of interest between Lewis Borgfeld
being on the City's industrial development committee and being
a major stockholder in Schneider Park in Cibolo. The City
needs to consider whether Lewis really serves in their best
interest when it is time to appoint that group again. Mr.
Sweatt reminded Mayor Baldwin that Schneider Park already had
a 20,000 square foot facility available for Real Coal Systems.
Mr. Sawyer mentioned it would be simple to establish a policy
stating that only residents of Schertz serve on any board in
the City of Schertz.
E. Announced the School Board has already voted to buy the
Greenshire site on which to build a school. Residents in
Cibolo's ETJ are threatening with lawyers, so the Board is
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going to give them a hearing to let them tell the Board all
the reasons why they shouldn't build an intermediate school in
the Greenshire Subdivision. They've already talked about the
situation on FM 3009 and the traffic concerns and have come up
with a means of getting some traffic off FM 3009 by taking the
road by Dobie on up to the Deer Creek Subdivision, through
Greenshire, on out and eventually tying into the Wiederstein
Road overpass that will be built in this phase of IH-35
construction. This will give traffic coming in on both sides
some relief. These people are dead set against a road even
more than a school. If you think FM 3009 is in trouble now,
wait until there are 2,000 to 3,000 homes and all of them have
to feed onto FM 3009 because there is no other route to IH-35
or FM 78. The bottom line is would any Councilmembers be
willing to attend the meeting tomorrow night and speak in
favor of why we need that road and emphasize to these people
that traffic on FM 3009 is eventually going to reach the
saturation point. If these people kil+ the school site and
kill the road, where will the traffic divert from FM 3009.
Mr. Sweatt pointed out that the Planning and Zoning
Commission tabled the matter on the Specific Use Permit
request from the school and Mayor Baldwin said no, that's not
correct, they killed it because the Board ~as not in a
position to make a decision until after this hearing. If this
is not the right place for the road then the school needs to
go back to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Mr. Sweatt
said as a matter of interest, the City of Cibolo didn't want
to extend Woodland Oaks Drive and he thinks that was a case of
bad planning.
Mayor Baldwin went on to say what they have basically done is
force the Greenshire developer to put in a 42' wide street for
Royal Oaks to feed out onto. Here are people who live in a
subdivision not in Cibolo, but in their ETJ, who don't pay any
city taxes and they've got this beautiful 42' wide brick
fenced entrance and exit to their subdivision.
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Government
deliberate
employee.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Called under Chapter 551 Texas
Code, sub-section 551.074, Personnel Matters, to
the appointment, employment, evaluation, etc. of
An Executive Session was held from 10:14 to 10:20 p.m.
'14 DISCUSS ACTION REQUIRED, U' ANY, ON ABOVE EXECUTIVE
SESSION.
Mayor Baldwin advised Mr. Sweatt that because of the hour,
Council has asked him (the Mayor) to compile t~e evaluations
and arrange to come in to meet with him (Mr. Sweatt) during
the daytime and go over the evaluations. They want the City
Manager to see each individual evaluation. Council's copies
will be turned over to the City Manager and they will have one
for the final that is a consensus of all evaluations.
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As a matter of record, Mr. Swinney stated the consensus of
the Council was that everyone sees tremendous progress in
working relations. The basic bottom line is that Mr. Sweatt
has been a very effective and efficient City Manager who has
worked in the best interests of the City and with the full
confidence of the Council.
,l5 ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Mr. Swinney and seconded
unanimously carried, the meeting was adjou
Sawyer and
10:24 p.m.
,
Mayor, City<of Schertz, Texas
ATTEST:
i)tJp .Mo~ j l3.a P"h
Deputy City Secretary, City of Schertz
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