Loading...
12-18-1973 2G REGULAR SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL DECEMBER 18, 1973 The City Council convened in Regular Session in the Council Chambers on Tuesday, December 18, 1973 at 7:00 P.M. with the following members present: Mayor Bueker, presiding; Mayor pro-tem Schwartz; Mrs. Koch, Mrs. Funk, Mr. Sandifer and Mr. Koole. #1 APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Mrs. Koch moved the minutes of the Regular Session of Decem- ber 4, 1973 be approved as presented. Mr. Sandifer seconded the motion. Referring to item 10 (2) of the minutes, Mrs. Funk stated she feels the Mayor's newsletter is more of a campaign letter and that all newsletters should come from the City Manager's office. Mayor Bueker answered by saying the newsletter is the results of a campaign promise and he was reporting things from the minutes of Council meetings and that he had submitted it to the City Manager for verification and correction. The letter in question was produced in City Hall but he would keep his promise if he had to produce it on his own. Mrs. Funk said it could come from the City Manager and still be keeping his campaign promise. Mr. Koole feels the writing of the newsletter should not be taken away from the ranking city authority and if the material pertains to city business, he has no objection to it. Mr. Schwartz agreed with Mrs. Funk that the newsletter should come from the city Manager's office. Mrs. Koch then asked for Mr. Arnold's views. He stated he knew it would be hard to write anything without someone saying there was something political about it; but any writing he would do would be strictly things from the minutes that have happened or programs and what stage they are currently in. The only disagreement he has with the current letter is that some very important events of the past year were left out, such as the installations of street lights city wide. Mayor Bueker said he would work things out with the Council. The vote on the motion was unanimous to accept the minutes as presented. #2 HEARING OF RESIDENTS:a.Mr. Dick Carroll said he under- -stood there is an ordinance now size and number of animals one city. Mr. Arnold explained it is to go to the Council for finalization pending that would limit the person could keep within the now in draft stage and ready hopefully in January. b. Mrs. Wheeler spoke with regard to the speed limit on Oak St., requesting it be designated 20 mph and giving four reasons for the request. (1) Kids speeding to and from Jr. High School. (2) Recently a small boy was nearly hit while riding a bicic1e. (3) When cars leave the ball fields at night they always have a tendency to speed down Oak. (4) most of the homes have drive- ways on the Oak Street side of their property; therefore the people have to back directly into traffic. Mayor Bueker ex- plained there is a Traffic Control Ordinance now being finalized which covers the speed limits on various streets. Mrs. Wheeler asked if there are any plans for sidewalks on Oak Street and was told there are no plans at present do put in sidewalks. 27 c. Mr. Hal Ba1dwini Chairman of Citizens Advisory Committee, requested to be inc uded in the discussion on Item 5 (c). #3 BID OPENINGS: Bids were opened as follows: Front End Loader/Tractor $9,774.00 $9,770.00 $10,389.00 $9,413.22 $9,951. 91 Torgerson Equipment (Ford) Ewald Tractor Co. (Ford) Girard Machinery & Supply (Case) International Harvester Coo~er Equipment Co. (John Deer) Sectional Sewer Rodder Rockwell International 39" Water Works Supply 36" Water Works Supply 39" $4500.00 $3516.71 $3986.66 1/2 Ton Pick-up No Bids submitted Mr. Arnold requested the Council refer the bids to him, Marvin Patterson (Utility Supt.) and Mr. Johnson (Street & Park Supt.) for study and they will bring their recommendations to the next Council meeting. 114 POLICE SALARIES & BENEFITS: (1) Mayor Bueker read a,.) letter of resignation 5 ,') '1' from Patrolman Edgar Mosher who was leaving to accept a position as Chief of Elmendorf, Texas. Mr. Schwartz moved to accept Mr. Mosher's resignation. Mr. Koo1e seconded the motion with all members voting aye. (2) Mr. Ar~old introduced the special consideration cost estimates for the Police Department which shows an increased pay of $100.00 per month per man (6 men for 9 months) for an increased total cost II of $5400.00 to the City. Mrs. Koch moved to adjust the Police 5/:J/ Department Salaries as presented including the considerations for holiday, sick and vacation pay. Mr. Koole seconded the motion. Chief Schoonover said he does not feel he has the manpower to adequately protect the City and his men are not getting paid for the iob they are doing. Mr. Arnold explained the cost estimates as presented and told the Council these requests for increased salary were i~st that and in no way to be construed to be demands by the Police Department. Mayor Bueker reminded the Council that at budget time, it was decided to review the PD salaries in February. Mrs. Koch stated she feels we have been hurt in the past by certifying men and then losing them because of low salary. Attorney Harris said he works closely with the Police as prosecuting attorney and has worked with other courts and he has never seen a finer group of policemen than in Schertz and the Council should be p~oud of all of them. Mayor Bueker asked the source of funding for this increase in the budget. Mr. Arnold explained there is a little over $5,000 in contingency and a beginning year cash balance in excess of $21,000 - the exact amount depending on the year end audit. '28 There being no further discussion, the vote was taken as follows: ~~)Voting for the motion: Mrs. Koch, Mr. Koole and Mr. Sandifer. ~ Mrs. Funk and Mr. Schwartz abstained from voting. Motion carried. 6' The agenda was adjusted as follows to accommodate two people who had to leave for other meetings. #6 GREENFIELD II MAIL SERVICE: Mr. Don Grainger appeared and was introduced by Mr. Arnold who explained the difficulties the residents in Green- field II have in getting mail. Altho they have permanent mail receptacles, the local post office will not deliver to them until ~ the area is 50% occupied. They were told they would have to rent ~ a post office box to receive mail. Mr. Schwartz moved authority ~ be~given to Mr. Arnold to write to the District Postal Department 0' Office to clear up this mail delivery situation. Mr. Sandifer seconded the motion with all members voting aye. #5 DISCUSSION ON URBAN RENEWAL QUESTIONS: a. URA participation in the cost of constructing a drainage channel south of FM 78. Mayor Bueker said a letter had been written some two months ago and a reply received indicating that since this area was outside the UR project area, this was a City responsibility as part of the total UR program. He then asked the UR attorney if when the proiect closes out, there are excess funds left in the project, could these funds be diverted for this south drainage channel project? Mr. Terry Topin explained he did not really know but suggested the City Council ask for a conference with HUD, the local URA and the City Council to help resolve these problems. Mr. Schertz, Director of the local URA, explained that in the annual arrangement program there is mention of the Neighborhood Development Program and any funds the URA has left could be transferred to this NDP. b. UR project area street and water improvements and the accept- ance of such by the City. Mr. Gaddis, City Engineer, stated he had been in conference with the HUD engineer and told them that if he was to accept the streets, he would have to know what the streets consist of and he did not inspect any during construction. The two engineers decided to make test borings at 6 or 7 locations. The HUD engineer said he would try to get funding from HUD for this purpose. Mr. Schertz explained that two testing companies had already made tests; one of them being Trinity Testing Laboratories. Mr. Gaddis will contact them to see the results of their tests which may save duplications. On a question by Mrs. Funk, Mr. Schertz said the UR project had been extended to March 1st, 1974. Council was in agreement to have Mr. Gaddis work with the HUD engineer and check the Trinity Testings LaboratoDj's reports. c. Method needed to change or amend the Second Amended Cooper- ation Agreement in light of recent Council decision to not purchase parkland from the URA. Attorney Harris said he had discussed this with the UR Attorney who said the UR Board had considered this and have declined to agree to another amendment. Mr. Schertz said the question should be resolved by mutual agreement at a conference with HUD, local agency and the City Council. Mayor Bueker agreed a conference of this type would be the best place to explore all of these questions. 29 Mr. Koo1e said he felt the Council is breaking all written agree- ments with previous mayors and councils by not purchasing parkland. He went on to say people seem to be"p1aying political football" with the Council; such as our ex-mayor got up and said "don't accept the streets because Beevil1e didn't accept theirs and it reverted back to HUD and 11 years later HUD went in there and fixed them"; and if the truth was knoWT1, Beevi11e hasn't even started their streets yet. So we were grossly misinformed by our ex-mayor. Mr. Koole then asked Mr. Baldwin, Chairman of CAC, if he recently went to Urban Renewal Office and requested that if there was some- way they could save the building in the parkland area and give it to the City as a scout hut or something to that effect that he would see to it that some how or other the streets would be approved with no problem? Mr. Baldwin asked if Mr. Koole was there and heard that and received a negative reply. He then asked who told Mr. Koo1e that and was told Mr. Pefferkorn said it. Mr. Schertz said he had heard it but it was so ridiculous he would not repeat it. Mr. Koole said someone was a liar but he did not know who it was. Mayor Bueker again said these three questions on UR should be discussed at the Regional meeting to be called with HUD and the local agency. Mr. Harris, attorney for the City, said he had three back items he would like to discuss before leaving for another meeting. 1. Annexation to the North: Mr. Harris briefed Council on the annexation procedures. He has prepared the petition to be circulated for signatures and gave the following schedule: a. Petition to be circulated b. File petition with City Council with plat. c. Place on agenda. d. Pass Ordinance calling for election. e. Conduct the election - if majority of votes are in favor then: f. canvass election by Council. g. Post notice of intention to annex. h. Hold Public Hearing. i. Annexation. All of which could be simplified if the City had a Home Rule Charter. 2. Rebate Contracts: Mr. Harris was contacted by the attorney for Mr. Schaefer. After researching the authorities furnished, Mr. Harris feels the City should honor all rebate contracts whether written or verbal. Mayor Bueker explained this would include Village I and lIon which verbal contracts were given and Rio Vista on which there is a written contract. Mr. Harris and Mr. Arnold will confer regarding Mr. Schaefer's claim for rebate on Village III and IV. 3. Abandoning Dedicated Streets: He stated the Council can abandon a dedicated street with the consent of abutting property owners; then by ordinance. When asked if the City can abandon and rededicate the street as an alley or easement in one step, Mr. Harris said it could. The dedicated street referred to is Bubbling Springs Road. #7 RESOLUTION: Mayor Bueker read Resolution No. 73-R-13 explaining this has come up in Community Council and there is fear of litigation in the police of one City going into another city without the expressed authorization of that city on a continuing basis. What this resolution is doing is authorizing the right of entry into our city by other cities within the Randolph Subregion so we can have cooperative police and fire efforts between the cities: 30 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE CHIEF OF POLICE AND THE DULY APPOINTED POLICE OFFICERS OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ TO ASSIST AND RECEIVE ASSISTANCE FROM THE POLICE OFFICERS OF OTHER CITIES IN THE SUBREGION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS RESOLUTION. ~~~Mr. Schwartz moved to pass resolution No. 73-R-13 as presented. SI . Mrs. Funk seconded the motion with all members voting aye. #8 LONE OAK SEWER: Mr. Gaddis said he had received three bids for correcting the sewer problem . on Cloverleaf Drive, including 235 feet of 6' sewer line from a ~0 low bid of $2560 to a high bid of $4100. After discussion, Mrs. ~ Funk moved to accept the low bid by R&R Construction Co. (Fred ~/~ Rowell) in the amount of $2560.00 to replace the sewer line in Q the Lone Oak entrance. Mr. Sandifer seconded the motion with . all members voting aye. ~\ S'~ #9 CCMA REQUEST: Mr. Arnold briefed the Council on the request by CCMA for procurement of a 2i ton truck through the City's Civil Defense program. He ex- plained he had talked with a man from the Civil Defense office and this meets with their approval. The truck would remain a part of the City's Civil Defense inventory but would be used by CCMA to haul sludge. Mayor Bueker suggested the sludge be put on City parks but Mr. Patterson, Utility Supt., said the State Health Department would not allow it to be put on the park ~~ unless it is sterilized. CCMA will maintain the truck at their ~ expense and have ready for Civil Defense at all times. Mrs. ,~ Funk moved to submit a request for a 2t ton truck for CCMA I use and put on the City Civil Defense Program, as it will be ~ no expense to the City. Mrs. Koch seconded the motion with all members voting aye. #10 P&Z MINUTES: Mayor Bueker recv~l1ended that since the P&Z Commission did not notify by news- paper of cancellation of their meeting of December 26, 1973, they meet, convene and adjourn. Mr. Schwartz asked if the item #6 FM 78 property is dedicated for right of way. Mayor Bueker said the feasibility study is being completed on the Highway 78 By-Pass and should be in the Council's hands by the first of January. Then the Council can take action regarding the right- of-way in question. o /~ / ? #11 TRANSFER OF FUNDS: Mayor Bueker explained this is a request for approval of trasnferring of funds that were already approved at previous council meeting to pay the invoice on the final Change Order #1 from Kelly Constr. Co. on the paving and curbing of the parking area at both the Police and Fire Departments. Mrs. Koch moved to transfer $8,800 from General Fund to the Street Construction Fund to pay the Change Order #1 to Kelly Construction Co. in the amount of $8,807.18. Mrs. Funk seconded the motion with all members voting aye. #12 MEETING DATE CHANGE: Mr. Schwartz moved the first Regular Session of the Council in January be changed from January 1st to January 2, 1974. Mr. Sandifer seconded the motion with all members voting aye. #13 PURCHASE ORDER SYSTEM: Mr. Arnold explained this is merely for your information and review on the new purchase order system and purchase order forms now being utilized. #14 PREVIOUSLY TABLED SUBJECTS: Nothing new available at this time. 31 #15 GENERAL DISCUSSION: (1) Mayor Bueker asked Mr. Earl Johnson if he would explain why the City does not have reflector signs. Mr. Johnson stated there are a few on Main Street and the newer subdivisions are partly ref1ectorized. He had intended to put them throughout the City but his budget was cut to a minimum and the State Program was canceled. Mr. Arnold explained the main problem is the lack of money. (2) Mr. Johnson briefed the Council on the problems involved in the drainage ditch on Live Oak Road at the Cox property. As it is now, the ditch would be so deep Mr. Johnson feels it would undermine the new street. There seems to be a need for a new easement from Mr. Schaefer. Mayor Bueker recommends this be held in abeyance until the other two money problems with Mr. Schaefer are resolved. (3) Mr. Arnold presented a bill in the form of a letter from i 1. Mr. Harris covering legal services and court costs involved / ~ll ' in the case of Robert Jolly et a1 vs. the City of Schertz. J-, " (Water Damage Claim). Mr. Sandifer moved to pay the invoice ~ in the amount of $2,306.48 Dobbins, Howard & Harris, Attorneys at Law. Mr. Koo1e seconded the motion with all members voting aye. Mr. Schwartz moved the meeting be adjourned at 10:05 P.M. Mrs. Funk seconded the motion with all members voting aye. ) /t~:L,,(? (II '~n:J~, / Mayor Robert C. Bueker ATTEST: ~~, "'~ /~-L41; ~ySecretary ""June G. Krause