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ccreg 04-16-1991 :I.. 209 REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL AP R I L 16, 1 9 9 1 The Schertz City Council convened in Regular Session, Tuesday, April 16, 1991 at 7:00 pm in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Complex, 1400 Schertz Parkway I Schertz, Texas, The following members were present: Mayor Earl W. Sawyer, presiding; Joe Potempa; Hal Baldwin; Barbara Stanhope; Mary Marsh and Ken Greenwald. Staff present were City Manager Kerry Sweatt and City Secretary June Krause. After opening the meeting, Mayor invited everyone to stand and join him in the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Sawyer then skipped to item 2 of the agenda. #2 HEARING OF RESIDENTS: A. Mr. Bill Neller had previously shown members of the Council a sign he had constructed encouraging everyone to vote in the upcoming election. He asked and received Council approval to have the sign placed in a prominent place in the City. At Mr. Potempa's suggestion, Council agreed to place the sign in front of the Municipal Building. Mr. Baldwin mentioned that Mr. Neller has provided United States Flags for all Absentee Voting places in Schertz to comply with the National Flag Code. B. Mr. Leon Davis said he would like to address Council on the subject of the SAFES program. He reminded them that he had volunteered to help try to collect these bad debts but evidently his services were not wanted. He added that he did not know if the City Manager had any conversation with the Administrator of SAFES or not. He said he fel t he had sufficient education and his life-time work was in the personnel field and he could use tact. He said he still did not understand some remarks that had been said at past meetings. Three citizens obj ected to these wr i te- offs and the only comments from Council were that they had tried collection agencies before and it cost too much money. He al so asked if the City was only a bookkeeping service for SAFES. Mr. Davis said he was not criticizing any Council Member but he felt something was very wrong. He said he did not understand the attitude of being afraid of being sued. He said he still objects and requested the matter be brought back before the City Council to be reconsidered, He ended by saying he volunteered in good faith. Mr. Davis also brought up the matter of the City official newspaper. He said he felt it might be a matter of impropriety if the Council changed newspapers because one employee of one of the newspapers is directly connected with the city. 210 Mr. Davis said he wanted to talk about another item he had brought up before - the matter of communication to the citizens of Schertz who attend the meetings. He said Council uses acronyms and terms that are unfamiliar to the citizens. He referred to a newsletter article about easements and said he did not know what an easement was. He also wanted to know who is responsible for cleaning easements. Mrs. Marsh said first she took a little bit of exception to the SAFES comments as there were two "no" votes and was not a unanimous vote. She al so reminded Mr. Davis that, since he was at both the workshop and regular meeting when this was discussed, it was brought out that everything had not been tried to collect these debts and Council discussed the possibility of a lawyer's letter as a means of collecting these debts. She said as far as the organization of SAFES and what they do and how they fit into the City, he should sit down with someone who understands a very convoluted organization, because that is what SAFES is. She said SAFES does not belong to the City, they are a private organization. She added that due to the growth of the organization, it became necessary to have city employees over there. She suggested he get with someone like Mr. Sweatt to explain to him the organization. Mrs. Marsh referred to terminology, such as easements, and inv i ted anyone to come up to the City off ices if they do not understand terminology, or are interested in any of the City ordinances or codes. These are all on file and anyone can go in and review those documents, and anyone on the staff would be glad to explain anything. She said Council tries as much as they can to give explanations of items during the meetings. She encouraged Mr . Davis or anyone to avail themselves of all the information that is available at the Municipal Offices. Mr. Baldwin added that all Council members' phone numbers are on the newsletter and they welcome phone calls from anyone. Mayor Sawyer said that the deed to each person's property should tell them whether they have an easement or it is an alley. He added that it also depends on the location as to whether it would be an easement or alley. Mr. Sweatt said he was not sure what the implication was about him having spoken to the Administrator of SAFES. He said he was the one that suggested Mr. Davis volunteer. He said he resented the fact that Mr. Davis would imply that he talked with them. Mr. Davis said he intended to imply that. He said that all Council members and the City Manager are public servants and they are constantl y under publ ic scrutiny and are subject to their integrity being questioned. That is his outlook. / .:X ;211 C. Mrs. Bobbie Vonada of 121 Henry Ford had some comments for Mr. Davis. She said that, contrary to Mr. Davis' remarks, Mrs, Marsh does not work and can be contacted at home most any time. #1 APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Special Meeting of March 27, 1991. Mr. Potempa moveg to approve the minutes of the Special Meeting of March 27, 1991. Mrs. Stanhope seconded the motion, which carried with the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers Potempa, Stanhope, Marsh and Greenwald NAYS: None ABSTAINING: Mr. Baldwin #3 BID AWARD: Consider and take action on awarding bid on the Schirmerville Water System Improvement Project. Mr. Sweatt said that on March 28th bids were received and a total of four bids were opened for this project, which is a combination Ci ty of Schertz and Bexar County Community Development Block Grant partially funded program. After the review, the second low bid from McAllen Pipe and Supply, in the amount of $83,216.61, is recommended for award subject to Bexar County Project approval. He added that staff recommended the second low bid because the low bid omitted one specific item from the proposal. Mr. Greenwald moveg to award the bid for material for the Schirmerville project to McAllen Pipe and Supply in the amount of $83,216.61 subject to Bexar County project and funds availability approval. Mr. Baldwin seconded the motion, which carried with the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers Potempa, Baldwin, Stanhope, Marsh and Greenwald. NAYS: None #4 BID AWARD: Consider and take action on awarding bid on the FM 1518 Water Line Project East of Randolph Air Force Base. Mr. Sweatt said that also on the 28th of March bids were received for the installation of approximately 4800 linear feet of twelve inch water line to complete a project under contract with the Department of Defense. The bids ranged from $101,700 to a high of $147,934.65. Staff reviewed all bids received, each of the contractor's work experience and related information, and now recommend the second low bid of Bluestone Excavation, in the amount of $103,120.85, as the lowest responsible bidder. Mr. Greenwald moved to award the bid for the FM 1518 Water Line Project East of Randolph to Bluestone Excavating in the amount of $103,120.85. Mrs. Stanhope seconded the motion, which carried with the following vote: 212 . AYES: Councilmembers Potempa, Baldwin, Stanhope, Marsh and Greenwald. NAYS: None Mayor Sawyer pointed out that this project is costing the city nothing. #5 ORDINANCE: Mayor Sawyer introduced an ordinance and read the caption as follows: AN ORDINANCE BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS AMENDING THE ORDINANCE CREATING CITY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION, NO. 87-S-9, SECTION 2, MEMBERSHIP AND APPOINTMENT; SECTION 3, TERMS OF OFFICE AND REMOVAL FROM OFFICE i SECTION 4, ORGANIZATION i SECTION 7, COMMISSION ACTIONS; AND PROVIDING A REPEALING CLAUSE. Mrs. Marsh moved to approve the first reading of an ordinance creating the Planning & Zoning Commission. Mrs. Stanhope seconded the motion, which carried with the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers Potempa, Baldwin, Stanhope, Marsh and Greenwald. NAYS: None #6 RULES OF PROCEDURE: Consider and take action on amending the Planning & Zoning Commission Rules of Procedure. Mr. Sweatt said this includes several items that have been pointed out to the Planning & Zoning Commission that fall into, in some cases, a conflict or will allow the Planning & Zoning Commission to perform in a more orderly fashion. Mr. Potempa moved to approve amending the Planning & Zoning Commission Rules of Procedure as outlined. Mr. Greenwald seconded the motion, which carried with the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers Potempa, Baldwin, Stanhope, Marsh and Greenwald. NAYS: None #7 EXECUTIVE SESSION: Mayor Sawyer called an Executive Session under Article 6252-17 of Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, Section 2 (e) on pending litigation at 7:30 pm. The Regular Meeting was reconvened at 8:08 pm. #8 Consider and take action, if any, regarding the above executive session. I I I J /x 2~ ",Ln Mayor Sawyer advised they held the session to receive an update on pending litigation and no action was necessary. #9 CITY MANAGER'S REPORT: A. Reminded Council of the Chamber of Commerce Military Appreciation Day May 31st at the Notthcliffe Country Club from 5:00 to 6:30 pm. B. United Suburban Cities will meet on April 18th at Universal City City Hall, continuing their rotation of meeting places. C. He reminded Council that there will not be another Council Meeting until May 1st. D. He explained that Bexar County has scheduled a meeting on April 19th at which they will receive proposals for Block Grant funds. Mr. Sweatt pointed out some streets in the Schirmerville area that are in very bad condition, explaining that he would like to put in an application for some of the CDBG funds for this project. Council gave their approval, # 10 ITEMS BY COUNCIL: Mr. Potempa announced that Mrs, Marsh had been nominated the Jr. Vice Commander of the VFW. # 11 ITEMS BY MAYOR: Mr. Sawyer said he was real happy that Mrs. Marsh was nominated the new Jr. Vice-Commander. Mayor Sawyer said he had had some good reports on the new street signs in Greenshire Subdivision. #12 ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Potempa ~_Q~ed the meeting be adjourned at 8:18 pm. Mrs. Stanhope seconded the motion and it carried with a unanimous vote. ATTEST: