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REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
MAY 17, 1988
The Sche[tz City Council convened in Regular Sess..on. Tuesday,
May 17, 1988, at 7:~0 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the
Mun-Lcipal Complex, 1400 Schertz pa;.kway, Schertz, Texas. The
following members were presenL Mayor Earl W. Sawyer, presidlngi
Charles B. Sharpe; Hal Baldwin; Ray Stanhope; Adolph Aguilar and
Ken Greenwald. Staff present were City Manager Jimmy G. Gilmore
and Clty Secretary June G. Krause.
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT~ Mayor Sawyer explained the Counc:..l is
charged by Charter to Sit as the Board of Adjustment.
Mr. Gilmore advised that Mr. Thomas B. Wright had requested he be
allowed to run a lawn mower repair business at his home. He was
requesting a variance for a home occupation permit based upon the
denial of P&Z because the ordinance specifical~y states that gas
or electr ic lawn mower repail is not author ized in res identlal
areas. ML. Wr~ght stated in his petition that he lS 73 years of
age and needs this to supplement his income. He had presented
letters from hiS ne~ghbors. who have no objection to h~s
operating a lawn mower repair service from his home.
Mr. Stanhope asked if the City Manager had put a time ~~m~t on
running this business.
Mr. Gilmore exp~ained that would have to be in the motion. The
City does have a noise ordinance and the motion should stipulate
no running of motors afte_ 8.~0 p.m. and it not be transferable.
Mr. Stanhope said another stipulation should be that he clean up
h. s back ya.d.
Mr. Baldwin moveg to approve the ~equest by Thomas B. Wright fOi
a home occupation permi t Wi. th the stipu.l.ation that he will not
run motors afteL 8.~~ pm. and he WL..L clean up hj,s back yal..d;
and the perm~t will not be transferable. Mr. Stanhope seconded
the motion, which ca~l.ed with the fol~owing vote~
AYES; Mr. ShaLpe, Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Stanhope, Mr. Aguilar
and M~. Greenwald.
NAYS, None
#1 APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Mr. Sharpe asked that the 22nd
paragraph of ~ tem #4 of the minutes of the Special Meeting of
April 27, 1988 be cOLLected to read: "Mr. Sharpe sald he had not
had one actl ve off icer cali. him. He said when a person leaves
and then comes in later and compla,ns, he does not place much
credence in the comments made.
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Mr. Sha~pe aiso asked that the last pal.agraph of item #8 of these
same m~nutes be corrected to read: "Mr. Hartzog said the
Business Ciub had rUmOL"S that .t was by invitation only. Mr.
ShaLpe answered that the news releases stated the public lS
invlted,"
Mr. AguIla~ asked that the last sentence of the 6th paragraph of
~tem #1 A of the minutes of April 27, 1988, be corrected to read
as fo~~ows. "If not l~~% for deannexation, Councii wiLL not
deannex "
Mr-" AguL~ai. also asked that the m':'nutes of the meeting of Apr i1
27, 1988 reflect that it was "Mrs" Ikels that spoke under ltem
#1 E and not ML Ikels
Mi.. ShaLpe moved to approve the minutes of the Regula!. Meeting of
April 19, the special. meeting of April 27," the regular meeting of
May 3 and the Special Meet':'ng of May 11, 1988 as corrected. Mr.
Greenwa~d seconded the motion, which carried as follows,
AYES: Councilmen Sharpe, Ba~dwin. Stanhope, Aguilar and
Greenwald.
NAYS; None
#2 DONATION: Mayor Sawyer caLLed on Mr. Miche_tle
Tereletsky who wished to make a donation to the Animal Control
Depa;tment on behalf of the Humane Society.
Mrs. Tereletsky advised that one of their younger membeLs WIshed
to make the presentation. Beth Hamm then presented a d~awing she
had done a~ong w~th the check for $355.57 to Mr. Stanhope.
Mrs. Tere_etsky then Lequested time to speak on item #l~.
#3 BEARING OF RESIDENTS, A, M~ s. Cour-tney addressed
Council, giving the fOllowin-g - statement, I am ver'y SOi l.:y the
ChIef of Police feels he is tired of being harassed and tired of
defend~ng himself because I have requested an ad hoc
investigation on the police department. I have lived in th...s
city for 9 1/2 years and I am tired of not getting answers to
questions I have asked. The police department IS here for the
CLty; of wh~ch I am a part, but al~ questions should be answe~ed
and records readily available to support the answers, they should
not take weeks. In the 9 1/2 years I have .:.ived here, any
questions I have asked the poL,ce department, the answers have
been - InconClusive, disgruntled employee, .' .Late citizen, proved
to be false or that s not ava.i.iable yet, until the subject is
forgotten.. Well., I am tired of that too. I want answers to my
questiQns Flnd not from an in house COmPl~9.t~on to decide if an
lnvestlgatlon comrn.ttee .:.s to be es~aollshed. Answer the
questions thr-ough a committee, make the answers pub.l..ic, act upon
whateve is necessary, if anything, and you will satisfy many
c_tizens_ Your- are elected o~':'cials - you wOlk for the city ana
the clb..zens - become lnformed If you had been ~nfol..med, my
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questions should have been answered long ago and most likely
acceptable. If you had been informed, I wouldn t be here. If
thiS is the Chief of Police's definition of harassment and liable
in causing him to defend himself, then this makes me very suspect
that this city is in trouble. I will continue in my pursuit of
my objective, even if it means going to court; and I would like
to turn in my petition with these names. Thank you."
Mayor Sawyer then asked Council for a concensus of accepting the
petition, which reads: "This petition is being submitted by
conceJ:.'ned citizens of Schertz requesting as Ad Hoc Committee
investigation of the city. s police depar'tment, over the past
several years, for the following reasons (but not limited to):
1. The daily operation of the department.
2. The "excessive" turnover rate in police personnel.
3. The salary structure for the officers in comparison to
neighboring cities.
4. The circumstances of officers' resignations.
5. The management and disbursement of warrant monies."
Mayol. Sawye:... asked if the City Council wanted to accept this
petition. Council agreed to accept the petition, after Mrs.
Courtney said there were 2~1 signatures on the petition.
B. Mr. Brian Doerk said that he hoped Council had read the
statement he gave them last week. Should Council decide that
something has to be done and something has to be investigated, he
would surely like to see some type of outside source Ol Council
members itself comprise the committee. He said he did not think
the City Manager could do an unbiased and unprejudiced
investigation. Also the fact the article that came out in the
Express News was very misleading. He said the way he read it; it
led him to believe that the C~ty Manager did, in fact,
investigate these newest accusations against the police
department. He said he had several people come up to him and ask
the same thi.ng. He sai,d he wanted to cl.ear it in hiS m~nd that
there was no investigation that he knew of.
Mr. Gil.mol.e asked Mr. Doerk why Mr. Doerk felt he wou:Ld be
unbiased.
Mr Doe_k said he had heard from seve:...al ex-'emp...oyee, there is a
lot of things that have happened in the police department that
the City Manager has personal knowledge of and he just did not
believe the City Manager could do an unbiased investigation. He
sa,_d should ..t come down to an ':'nvestigating committee. he woui.d
be glad to point out not only the individual but also the
circumstances. He said fr'om his own know:"edge and from the
people he has talked to, there was just no way in his mind that
the City Manager could conduct an unbiased investigat~on
Mr. Gilmore then asked Mr. Doerk if he had already conducted an
investigation and Mr. Doerk said he had not.
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Mr. Gilmore then asked if volunteers had come up to him and
talked to him. Mr. Doerk said yes, the ex-employees did just
come up and talk to him. Mr. Gilmore asked if there was any
solicitation on Mr. Doerk's part and Mr. Doerk said no.
C. Mr. Jim Brannon said that he may have a couple of questions
when item #7 comes before Council and wished to reserve time.
#4 BID AWARD: Mayor Sawyer introduced this item as to
consider awarding bids on seal coating streets.
Mr. Gilmore said as discussed at workshop, we had two identical
bids, both from reliable contractors. He said he went to our
attorney who provided the method where you receive two identical
bids, lots are drawn or some similar method. If one of the
contractors had been from within the City, you would choose that
one; however neither of these contractors are within the city.
One is from San Antonio and the other from Shiner.
Mr. Sharpe suggested putting numbers in a hat and drawing. Mayor
Sawyer then stated that #1 would be H.N.C. Construction from
Shiner and #2 would be for R.E.L. Construction from San Antonio.
He then asked little Beth Hamm to come up front and do the
drawing. Beth drew #1 from the hat.
Mr. Sharpe moved to award the bid to H.N.C. Construction from
Shiner, in the amount of $22,087.~~. Mr. Stanhope seconded the
motion, which carried with the following vote:
AYES: Councilmen Sharpe, Baldwin, Stanhope, Aguilar and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None
#5 ORDINANCE: Mayor Sawyer introduced and read the caption
on an ordinance-as follows:
ORDINANCE NO. 88-D-12
AN ORDINANCE BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS, PROVIDING THAT THE CODE OF
ORDINANCES, CITY OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS BE AMENDED
BY REVISING SECTION 18-45 - VEHICULAR WEIGHT
LIMIT ON PORTION OF SCHERTZ PARKWAY AND EAST
LIVE OAK ROAD; AND REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES
OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT WITH THIS
ORDINANCE.
Mr. Baldwin moved to approve the final consideration of an
ordinance setting weight limits on Schertz Parkway and East Live
Oak Road. Mr. Greenwald seconded the motion, which carried with
the following vote:
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AYES: Councilmen Sharpe, Baldwin, Stanhope, Aguilar and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None
#6 ORDINANCE: Mayor Sawyer introduced and read the caption
on an ordinance as follows:
ORDINANCE NO. 88-M-13
AN ORDINANCE BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS, PROVIDING, THAT THE CODE
OF ORDINANCES BE AMENDED BY REVISING CHAPTER
12 1/2 PARKS AND RECREATION; AND REPEALING
ALL ORDINANCES' OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN
CONFLICT WITH THIS ORDINANCE.
Mr. Greenwald moved to approve the final consideration of an
ordinance revising the Code of Ordinances, Chapter 12 1/2. Mr.
Aguilar seconded the motion, which carried as follows:
AYES: Councilmen Sharpe, Baldwin, Stanhope, Aguilar and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None
#7 OBLIGATION OF FUNDS: Mayor Sawyer said this was
consideration of obligating funds to enlarge the police dispatch
office to accommodate the 9-1-1 system.
Mr. Gilmore said with the additional equipment for the 9-1-1
system, there will not be room in the dispatch office. He said
we are looking at 2 or 3 weeks from now. Much of the work will
be done in-house and it should cost about $5, ~~~. Mr. Gilmore
said the drawing was presented at the last workshop.
Mr. Aguilar asked if funds were available.
Mr. Gilmore said although this was not budgeted, there were funds
that can be transferred.
Mr. Sharpe moved to obligate funds to enlarge the dispatch office
for the 9-1-1 system, in the amount of $5, ~~~. Mr. Baldwin
seconded the motion.
Mr. Baldwin then asked if it was known when the 9-1-1 will be
usable for the public. Mr. Gilmore said we are looking at a year
from when they start installing the equipment, which should be
within two to three weeks.
Mr. Greenwald reminded the Mayor that Mr. Brannon had asked to
speak on this item. Mr. Brannon said he was assuming the 9-1-1
system was available for use now; therefore he nothing further.
Mr. Sharpe explained to Mr. Brannon that right now the people in
the City of Schertz are paying on their telephone bills to
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laccumulate money to buy the equipment. He then explained the way
the system would work when completed and told Mr. Brannon that he
had information that he would oe glad to share with him.
Mr. Aguilar said the funds being considered are just for
!enlarging the dispatch office to accommodate the equipment.
Mayor Sawyer then called for a vote on the motion, which carried
as follows:
AYES: Councilmen Sharpe, Baldwin, Stanhope, Aguilar and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None
#8 SWEABING IN CEREMONIES: Mayor Sawyer advised that in
the recent election, -citizens- had elected a mayor and councilmen
for Place 1 and 2.
Mrs. Krause then swore into office Earl W. Sawyer as Mayor.
Mayor Sawyer swore into office Earl P. Hartzog, Councilman, Place
1; and Hal Baldwin, Councilman, Place 2.
Mayor Sawyer said that Mr. Sharpe, the defeated candidate for
Place 1 had requested time to address Council and citizens.
Mr. Sharpe said that although he has always been an advocate to
keep sales tax within the City of Schertz, he did have an
opportunity to drive to Converse and have a chance to talk with
iMr. Earl Hartzog, his successor. He then thanked Mr. Hartzog for
running a clean campaign. He said he did want to comment to Mr.
Hartzog about not wanting Schertz to become a highly taxed,
!stagnated bedroom community. He Said he agreed with those
comments but he was not at all concerned with it happening.
Mr. Sharpe said that during the last few days he reviewed some
of the things about the city. Most of the information is from an
outside audit, TML and some other sources. In 1982 the first
year of 10~% assessment of properties, our tax rate was 64 cents
and now it is 24. 7~5 cents per $1~~. The taxable properties
increased from over $57,~~~,~~~ in 1982 to over $177,~~~,~~~ in
1988. In 1982 41% of our general fund expenditures came from ad
valorem taxes and now although we have annexed from 9.9 square
miles to 22 square miles, the percent of general funds from
current ad valorem taxes is down to 35 percent. In 1982 our
sales tax was only 18 percent of general fund expenses. Last
year our sales tax receipts accounted for almost 25 percent of
those expenses. Building permits over the last six years have
nearly doubled over that of the previous six years. Certainly
all these numbers are moving in the right direction. Of 57
ci ties in Texas of a population range from 9, ~~~ to 16, ~~~ who
responded to a TML survey, only two have a lower tax rate than
the City of Schertz. Humble has a tax rate of .229 and our
neighbor across the creek , Universal City has a tax rate of
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.2382. During 3 of the last six years, the City of Schertz has
been awarded the Certif icate of Achievement for Excellence in
financial reporting. This coveted international award is given
to only 3 percent of cities of our size in the United States.
Also looked around to see some things that were not here six
years ago. He then named 16 new businesses in the city plus
numerous major remodeling or expanding of businesses. We bave
put a sewer service across 135, new water lines from the Naco
well site, a new 125 HP pump, new well in Universal City and even
fixed the drainage in Oak Forest. We bought some new ambulances
and a new to us fire truck and new equipment for streets and
parks and new animal shelter, new library, new computers for
police, administration, library and public works department. We
have opened up Schertz Parkway, repaved East Live Oak Road and
purchased the Schaefer Road Water Distribution System. We also
helped expand the postal delivery service to include the
industr ial areas and the Greenshire areas. We have five new
subdivisions and this year we will have two new storage tanks and
many newly seal coated streets. This year the City.s Master Plan
is being update. He asked Council to look at where you want
Schertz to be l~ years from now. Next year you will be able to
use the enhanced 9-1-1 system for all emergencies services; and
you will see construction start on Jack Hays Boulevard
improvements. But of all the physical things you may be able to
see and read about, Mr. Sharpe said he thought the most important
accomplishment of this Council is a change of attitude. Before,
many people thought it best to steer clear of Schertz and put
their development dollars elsewhere. Now we have people who are
aware of the change of attitude and are willing to come and look
at out city. Mr. Sharpe then thanked the City employees and
volunteers, who made it possible for us to have the excellent
services that are provided at the lowest tax rate in the state.
We could not get along without these dedicated employees and
volunteers. Mr. Sharpe ended by saying it was certainly an honor
for him to work with this Council.
Mayor Sawyer presented Mr. Sharpe with a plaque of appreciation
for his years of dedicated service to the City of Schertz.
.9 DYOR PRO TEll: Mr. Baldwin moved to select Mr. Adolph
Aguilar as Mayor Pro Tem for 1988-89, saying he has been Pro Tem
in the past and is very competent. Mr. Stanhope seconded the
motion, which carried with the following vote:
AYES: Councilmen Hartzog, Baldwin, Stanhope, Aguilar and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None
#l~ OBLIG&TIOR OF FOI1DS:
to permit the- attendance' to
Shelter employee.
Consideration of obligating funds
a national school by an Animal
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Mrs., Tereletsky, who had requested time, said it was her 0
understanding at the last workshop that Council was going to look
at the budget and see if there was money for this.
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Mr. Aguilar said if our employees can go to seminars they should
because they can learn very much.
Mr. Gilmore stated there were several seminars she could attend
but they had picked the ones closest to us to save on expenses.
There is one in Albuquergue, New Mexico and the other closet one
will be in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. .
Mr. Hartzog asked the length of the seminar.
was for l~ days.
Mr. Greenwald moved to approve the funds for
employee to attend the school August 15
Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Mr. Stanhope seconded
carried with the following vote:
AYES: Councilmen Hartzog, Baldwin, Stanhope, Aguilar and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None
Mr. Gilmore said it
the Animal Shelter
through 26th in
the motion, which
.11 ORDlIlABCE: 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 SIGN ORDINANCE' NO. 86-S-
28, . ARTICLE 'VI, SIGNS PERMITTED IN ALL
BUSINESS, COMMERCIAL" AND MANUFACTURING
DISTRICTS, SECTION 7, MAIN STREET SPECIAL
SIGN DISTRICT.
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Mr. Greenwald moved to approve the first reading of an ordinance
amending the sign ordinanc~ 86-S-28. Mr. Baldwin seconded the
motion, which carried with the following vote:
AYES: Councilmen Hartzog, Baldwin, Stanhope, Aguilar and
Greenwald.
NAYS: None
tll-A EXBCurIVS SESSIOR: Mayor Sawyer called an executive
session at 7:45 p-.m. u-nder Article 6252-17 Vernon's Texas Civil
Statutes, Section 2 (g) pertaining to City personnel.
The Regular Session was reconvened at 19:53 by Mayor Sawyer, who
made the following statement: Council met in Executive Session
and personnel was discussed that is, job descriptions,
additional personnel and new job descriptions, possibility of
appointing a new City Attorney. The ,report and previous
information requested by the Council concerning personnel and job 0
performance was discussed. Based on the information presented to
the Council, the Council has asked for an emergency meeting with
our attorney at his earliest possible convenience to discuss this
information.
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#12 CITY MARAGER'S REPORT: A. You have a report from
Planning & Zoning rec'ommending 'changing and relocating of mail
drop boxes at the Schertz Post Office.
B. also a letter was received from the VFW asking Schertz police
:to provide assistance in leading the parade for July 4th. They
have also asked for neighboring city's police be a participant to
help lead off the parade. This will need Council approval.
C. you have copies of an article that appeared in
Lubrication Engineers, Inc. bulletin. There is a six
article on the City of Schertz in this approximately 3
Bulletin. Also the cover features Schertz.
the
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#13 ITEMS BY COUNCIL: Mr. Baldwin said he would like to
state to the public that copies of the report given Council at
this meeting is available for public use.
Mr. Aguilar welcomed Mr. Hartzog to the Council.
#14 ITEMS BY MAYOR: Mayor Sawyer also said he would like
to welcome Mr.' Hartzog to the Council, saying he has know Mr.
Hartzog for several years and look forward to working with him.
t15 ADJOORRlEHT:
adjourned at 11: 52 'p .m~ ;
which carried unanimously,.
Mr. Stanhope moved the meet ing be
Mr. Greenwald seconded the motion,
ATTEST:
~r. City
Secretary, City of Schertz