ccreg 02-06-1990
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REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FEBRUARY 6, 1990
The Schertz City Council convened in Regular Session, Tuesday,
February 6, 1990, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the
Municipal Complex, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, Texas. The
following members were present: Mayor Earl W. Sawyer, presiding;
Earl Hartzog; Hal Baldwin; Barbara Stanhope; Mary Marsh and Ken
Greenwald. Staff present were City Manager Kerry Sweatt and City
Secretary June G. Krause.
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT: A. The City Council, sitting as the Board
of Adjustment, to consider a request by Hoover Edwards for a
variance to the Zoning Ordinance to allow placement of a mobile
home, for security reasons, next to the concession stand on the
old Starlight Theater property.
Mayor Sawyer reminded everyone that Mr. Edwards had received a
variance from the City just over a year ago and is now requesting
the variance be renewed.
Mr. Sweatt said Mr. Edwards's basic request is to be authorized
to place one mobile home on this property; and in our Zoning
Ordinance it is precluded. In 1987, the Council permitted him to
place one mobile home on this property for an 18-month period. A
part of that permit included that he remove the automobile parts
and look at removing the movie screen. Now the permit has
expired. However, since his request has been received, there are
now two mobile homes on the property and they both appear to be
occupied. Al so on the property are two junked vehicles ,one
unl icensed school bus, discarded water heater, toilet bowl and
tanks and assorted vehicle parts and debris. We have
investigated the structure of the screen and it is satisfactory.
We understand the applicant intends to store pipe and other
pl umbing suppl ies ; but under the terms of our ordinance, the
vehicles do constitute a violation.
Mr. Greenwald said that when Mr. Edwards applied for the permit
before P&Z, he said he would fence an area and use it for storage
of PVC pipe and he wanted the mobile home for security. Based on
the report of our inspector, we would be well within our rights
to deny the variance until he cleans the place up.
B. Consider and take action, if any, on above BOA request.
Mr. Greenwald moved to disapprove the variance request until the
trash, old vehicles, etc. is cleaned up, at which time Mr.
Edwards could re-apply. Mrs. Marsh seconded the motion.
Mr. Hartzog asked if there was a time 1 imi t before he can re-
apply and was told not when it is before the Board of Adjustment.
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Mr. Baldwin asked what happens in the meantime with the mobile
homes. Mr. Sweatt said, since there is a violation, it would be
up to staff to began enforcement proceSSj or in the alternative,
Council may want to consider tabling the request for a certain
period of time.
Council seemed to want to allow Mr. Edwards some time to comply.
Mr. Greenwald then amended his motion to be to table the request
for a variance for a period of thirty days to allow him time to
clean up the violations and then he can request another BOA
hearing. Mrs. Marsh seconded the amended motion.
Mr. Hartzog then asked if he has to pay another fee when he comes
back with his request.
Mrs. Marsh said she did not agree with having to pay another $50
for an additional BOA hearing. She felt it only fair to say, if
they were going to give him a certain period of time to comply,
then the BOA was not concluded so he would not have to pay again.
Mr. Sweatt said if, at the end of 30 days, no action on his part
has been taken, the request would be denied; however if he had it
cleared up within 30 days, Council would reopen the hearing and
reconsider the request.
Mr. Greenwald withdrew his motion and Mrs. Marsh withdrew her
second.
Mr. Greenwald then moved to allow Mr. Edwards 30 days to come
into compl iance or the variance is automaticall y denied and we
start legal proceedings to get the place cleaned up. Mrs. Marsh
seconded the motion, which carried with the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Hartzog, Baldwin, Stanhope, Marsh and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None
C. Adjournment of Boa. Mayor Sawyer declared the Board of
Adjustment Hearing closed at 7:15 p.m.
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL:
#1 PUBLIC HEARINGS: Council to receive citizen input on the
following:
A. Request by Payless Gas for a variance to the requirement of
the Special Overlay District Section of the Zoning Ordinance at
Jack Hays and Borgfeld Road.
Mr. Sweatt said Council has the request from John Wilkerson, on
behalf of Payless Gas, for a 13'7" variance to the Special
Over lay District. The Special Over lay District provides for a
low-level signage along Jack Hays Boulevard. The Planning &
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Zoning Commission has reviewed the request; and after hearing
testimony by both the applicant and other parties, they voted to
recommend that the variance be granted to allow an 18'7" sign.
This is necessitated by two items - the change in the name of
ownership and the brand of fuel sold.
Mr. Sweatt also advised that there were only two comments
returned from the letters mailed and none were in opposition.
There were no citizens wishing to speak on this item.
Mr. Hartzog said one of the things that was asked previously was
that we have a height restriction of five feet; and he thought
they had presented P&Z with plan of sight distances as to why
they needed this height.
Mr. Wilkerson did not have any type visual map or plat.
Mrs. Marsh said that in lOOking at the draWings, it seems the new
location would be better without additional height as the land is
flat in that area.
Mr. Baldwin said of the three businesses on FM 3009, the Real
Estate has a 20' sign that was there before we added the Overlay
District and Tiger Tote also has a higher sign.
Mrs. Marsh reminded him that the Tiger Tote sign is a completely
different situation as it is up on a hill and the view was
completely blocked.
After further Council discussion and there being no citizen
input, Mayor Sawyer declared this portion of the public hearing
closed.
B. Planning & Zoning recommendation of zoning five tracts of
land, being considered for annexation, out of Comal and Guadalupe
Counties.
Mr. Sweatt called attention to Planning & Zoning Commission's
recommendation for zoning the five tracts of land. Tract # 1,
containing 278.92 acres to be zoned Light Manufacturing with the
exception of 39.81 acres, which is recommended to be zoned Mobile
Home/Recreational Vehicle. Tract #2, containing 199.93 acres to
be zoned ReSidential/Agriculture with the exception of 11.71
acres (Bussey's Flea Market), which is recommended to be zoned
General Business. Tracts #3 and #4 recommended to be zoned
ReSidential/Agriculture. Tract #5, 157.51 acres, is recommended
to be Predevelopment, with the exception of that portion south of
FM 78, which should be General Business.
Mayor Sawyer asked if any citizen had any comments on this item
and received none. He then declared the two public hearings
closed at 7:30 p.m.
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#2 APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Regular Meeting of Jan. 2, 1990.
Mr. Hartzog moved to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting
of January 2, 1990. Mr. Baldwin seconded the motion, which
carried with the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Hartzog, Baldwin, Stanhope, Marsh and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None
#3 HEARING OF RESIDENTS: None
#4 YMCA: Mr. Dale Messerle, Chairman of the TMCA Steering
Commi ttee introduced his fellow members: Bob Schwartz, Vice-
Chairman, Anita Clark - Secretary, and Willie McDaniel - Program
Chairman. Mr. Messer le said they were present to give a report
on what they were doing. They started last Fall with a meeting
to see if there was a need for a YMCA in this area, with the
concensus being there was a need. Their next step was to find
out if the people would support this need. They have
communicated their needs to the Mayors of the nine cities in the
area. They have on their Board the City Manager from Universal
City, the Superintendent from both the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal
City ISD and the Judson ISD. In December they met and made calls
to find out what the people would like for a YMCA to do. From
this survey they garnered additional volunteers as well as
suggested programs. This Steering Committee will apply for
extension status from the Northeast YMCA, who would be the
sponsoring organization. They tentatively decided this one would
be called the Greater Randolph Area Family YMCA. Typically YMCAs
in this part of the country do not have buildings and they do not
plan to have one. They are talking about some programs that
might utilize the Schertz park, they are talking to the School
Districts about a Prime Time Program for kids who do not have a
place to go after school. He advised that their next meeting
would be February 13th. They will be discussing things like Day
Camp, swimming lessons and, of course, the Prime Time program.
The meeting will be at the Corner Restaurant in Universal City at
7:30 p.m.
Mrs. Marsh asked if this organization was just for males. Mr.
Messerle said no, the YMCA is now doing things for the entire
family.
#5 ORDINANCE: Mayor Sawyer introduced an ordinance and read
the caption as follows:
ORDINANCE NO. 90-F-4
AN ORDINANCE BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS, AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 85-
H-18, SCHEDULE "A" GARBAGE COLLECTION FEES
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AND PROVIDING FOR A SERVICE
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE;
ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF
CONFLICT.
FEE INCREASE;
AND REPEALING
ORDINANCES IN
Mr. Hartzog moved to approve the final consideration of the
ordinance providing for service fee increase for garbage
collection. Mr. Baldwin seconded the motion, which carried with
the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Hartzog, Baldwin, Stanhope, Marsh and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None
#6 ORDINANCE: Mayor Sawyer introduced an ordinance and read
the caption as follows:
ORDINANCE NO. 90-A-5
AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE EXTENSION OF
THE BOUNDARY LINES OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ,
TEXAS BY THE ANNEXATION OF 5 TRACTS OF LAND
CONTAINING 854.52 ACRES OF LAND, OUT OF COMAL
AND GUADALUPE COUNTIES.
Mrs. Marsh moved to approve the final consideration of an
ordinance anneXing five tracts of land out of Comal and Guadalupe
Counties, containing 854.52 acres. Mr. Greenwald seconded the
motion, which carried with the folloWing vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Hartzog, Baldwin, Stanhope, Marsh and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None
#7 CONTRACTS: Consider and take action on the following
Buffalo Valley Youth Association contracts:
A. Buildina lease. Mr. Greenwald moved to approve the bUilding
lease contract for 401 Oak Street. Mr. Hartzog seconded the
motion, which carried with the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Hartzog, Baldwin, Stanhope, Marsh and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None
B. Ballfield Usaae. Mr. Greenwald moved to approve the contract
for ballfield usage with BVYA. Mr. Hartzog seconded the motion.
Mr. Hartzog said he was criticized for questioning parts of the
contract at Workshop meeting. He said he does support BVYA
programs and feel they provide a good youth program for the area.
Mr. Sweatt
exclusivity
Jubilee.
pointed out that we added the section on the
of the City's use of the area for the 4th of July
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Mayor Sawyer then called for a vote on the motion and it carried
as follows:
AYES: Councilmembers Hartzog, Baldwin, Stanhope, Marsh, and
Greenwald
NAYS: None
#8 DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS: Consider and take action on
charging off certain delinquent SAFES accounts.
Mr. Sweatt advised that we have prepared, for consideration,
action regarding an accounting activity for SAFES ambulance
billing and propose to recommend Council authorize charge off in
the amount of $6,891.40 for 96 accounts for fiscal year 1987;
$16,940.04 for 234 accounts for fiscal year 1988 and $3045.94 for
41 accounts for the first quarter of 1989.
Mr. Baldwin moveg to authorize
accounts as presented by the
seconded the motion.
charging off
City Manager.
delinquent SAFES
Mr. Greenwald
Mrs. Marsh said she had read the article in the newsletter about
asking people to pay their bills; but as she had stated at the
workshop, she felt this amount of charge-off money is atrocious.
She said she would like to see this in the newspapers so that
everybody would know the amount that is being written off from a
public service. This is one of the greatest public services that
any community could offer. It is self-sustaining and the very
idea of not being able to collect this very large amount of money
is unbel ievable. We are al so taking steps to try harder to
collect these accounts and future accounts.
Mayor Sawyer said we are going to pursue collecting these debts
and will have no mercy. This is not a free service, this is not
the first time we have had to write off debts. If they are not
paid by those owing them, then we all have to pay for this
through taxes.
Mr. Sweatt said there is another $27,000 that we will turn over
to the collection agency. This $26,877 write-off represents
everything from bad addresses to expired time on Medicare,
refusal to pay, no known whereabouts and any number of
categor ies. A collection agency would not normally be able to
collect this type account.
Mr. Greenwald reminded everyone that this is not just what the
City of Schertz is going to pay; but every city that is part of
the service pays a per capita fee. If this continues, you will
definitely see an increase in the per capita charge.
Mayor Sawyer then called for a vote on the motion, which carried
as follows:
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AYES: Councilmembers Hartzog, Baldwin, Stanhope, Marsh and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None
#9 VEHICLE BIDS: Consider and take action regarding vehicle
bids.
Mayor Sawyer advised that there is a memo from the City Manager
asking that all bids be rejected because a legal notice
requirement for publication was not met for these pickups.
Mr. Greenwald moved to reject all bids on the vehicles. Mrs.
Marsh seconded the motion, which carried with the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Hartzog, Baldwin, Stanhope, Marsh and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None
#10 CITY MANAGER'S REPORT: A. We are pleased to announce
the new program that has been developed though the Census
Awareness Program. We are coming upon a very important time and
it is very important that we encourage everyone to actively
participate in the census. One of the ways we can be of help is
that we can request training assistance through the regional
Dallas office to train people to assist in filling out the
questionnaire. He asked for authorization to send a letter over
the Mayor's signature, asking for this training.
Mayor Sawyer received a concensus from Council for this project.
# 11 ITEMS BY COUNCIL: Mr. HartzoQ' mentioned that he had
really enjoyed the Trail Rider's dinner.
Mrs. Stanhope: A. She wanted to say to the City Manager that
she felt if was a very neat gesture that our pol ice force and
SAFES and fire personnel were at Dr. Richard's funeral.
B. Reminder of the February 10th benefit for Alyssa Smith at the
Morning Star at FM 1518.
C. Also February 18th is the Annual Library/Humane Society dance
and auction at the VFW from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Mr. Greenwald wanted to thank the Streets and Parks Department
for getting the sign up in front of the Municipal Complex.
#12 ITEMS BY MAYOR: A. On February 1st Dr. Richard passed
away and we will miss one of our great leaders for the City of
Schertz. He was Mayor for about twelve years and was the person
who made it easier for those who came after him in public office
to operate the City. He laid the groundwork for our annexations
on I-35.
B. He agreed that the trail ride was really great.
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#13 ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Hartzog ~oveQ the meeting be adjourned
at 8:05 p.m. Mr. Baldwin seconded the motion, which carried
unanimously.
ATTEST:
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