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08-13-03 -"\ } MINUTES SCHERTZ CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORKSHOP SESSION AUGUST 13,2003 The Schertz City Council convened in Special Workshop Session on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Complex Conference Room, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, Texas. Those present were Mayor Hal Baldwin, presiding; Councilmembers Carl Douglas, Steve Simonson, Reginna Agee, Tony Wilenchik and Ken Greenwald. Also present were City Manager Mark Marquez and City Secretary Norma Althouse. #1 HEARING OF RESIDENTS Robert Salas of 1041 Gettysburg mentioned that the outside lights in the Handy Andy parking lot were on all day this past Monday. Mayor Baldwin suggested Mr. Salas report this to Handy Andy rather than to City Council. Robert Brockman of 4505 Grand Forrest had the following comments: . Welcomed Mayor Baldwin back. ) . Suggested Tony Wilson put something in the Schertz Tales about cutting grass, -' trimming trees, and the chipping service offered by the City. . Said he trimmed the trees on Schertz Parkway so you could see the flashing school signs. The Homeowner's Association didn't like it and Mr. Marquez received a letter about it Mayor Baldwin asked whose trees they were and if they weren't sort of on private property. He then asked Mr. Brockman if had worn his orange vest. Mr. Simonson commented some of the trees are still on private property even though they are outside the wall. The correct way to have handled it would have been to notify the Homeowner's Association. Mayor Baldwin jokingly mentioned to Mr. Brockman he's going to get shot because people are very sensitive about trees. . Indicated he saw a City employee working near the railroad track without an orange vest. . Commented he is glad to see the sidewalk going in along Schertz Parkway. . Asked why the warrant officer's car has regular plates instead of exempt ones. Chief Cantrell answered because it is not marked. . Reported that the urinal in the men's restroom at the library vibrates. ., , ,i 344 (/-~) #2 Discuss final reading of Ordinance regarding agreement with Bexar Waste, Inc. Mr. Marquez mentioned that paragraph f on page 9 has been added which says "The FRANCJISEE will make provisions for the disposal of biohazardous waste at no cost to the City." Also, on page 11, the paragraph under Section 16, the phrase "Rates will remain in effect until changes are approved by Council" has been added. There are no other changes. After being asked by Mayor Baldwin, Council indicated they were ready for this item to be included on next Tuesday night's agenda. #3 Discuss final reading of Ordinance regarding request from Hubertus Investment Company to voluntarily annex 1.345 acres of land out of Comal County. Mr. Marquez advised that the word "voluntarily" was the only thing added to the caption. There are no other changes. Council agreed they were ready for this item to be included on next Tuesday night's agenda. #4 Discuss TXDoT plan for FM 3009. ) Mr. Marquez explained this item deals with the Public Improvement District (PID). We will be putting in a median, lights and streets. The District goes past Forest Ridge Subdivision with a turn lane. Some drainage along FM 3009 will be closed. The PID had its first meeting on August 7, 2003. According to Larry Dublin from Ford Engineering, the engineers met with representatives of Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union, State Bank and Trust and HEB. There were some problems, but they are just about worked out. We will propose a sidewalk to the Credit Union, we will try to minimize the impact on everyone, and we will go across the HEB parking lot with our road, which will have to be dedicated. We hope to have plans and documents from Ford Engineering before the next meeting so the PID Board can approve the plans and the assessments. Mr. Simonson asked Mr. Marquez if he knows when TXDoT is prepared to put in the median. Mr. Marquez replied in either April or May and they also intend to put in a crosswalk. They say it is an ADA requirement, but we will talk about that. Mr. Simonson then said it would be interesting if TXDoT does their part. Mr. Marquez commented he thinks the median is first and the light is second. , ; 345 - '\ #5 Discussion and possible action approving a change in membership on the PID J Advisory Board. Mr. Marquez indicated that the following changes to the PID Advisory Board are requested at this time: HEB - Ms. Kathy Strimple, Sonic Industries - Mr. Michael Linam, and Randolph Brooks FCU - Mr. Marty Rellstab. Mr. Douglas moved to approve the changes to the PID Advisory Board as stated by Mr. Marquez. Mr. Greenwald seconded the motion, which carried with the following votes: AYES: Councilmembers Douglas, Simonson, Agee, Wilenchik and Greenwald. NAYS: None. Following the vote, Mr. Wilenchik asked if this is the same Mr. Ripps that was originally appointed and Mr. Marquez answered yes - it's just a correction to the spelling of his first name. Mr. Douglas then asked if they're going to follow through with naming a road after the Ripps family. Mr. Marquez answered it is under discussion. #6 Discuss first reading of Ordinance regarding placement of traffic lights. j Mr. Marquez related there would be new traffic lights at three locations. They will be at Live Oak Road and FM 3009, at Schertz Parkway and Woodland Oaks Drive, and at Schertz Parkway and Savannah Drive. Mr. Wilenchik commented the Transportation Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC) brought up the question of whether these will have protected left turn lanes and Larry Dublin ofFord Engineering replied yes they would. #7 Items by City Manager General Announcements Annexation Program Updates by Department Heads Candidate for S/SLGC PID Update . Announced there is good news. The Community First health insurance rates for employees only went up by 13.9% and as usually goes along with that, dependent rates went up. We're doing as good, if not better, than surrounding areas. Council will get a copy of the employee survey in the next packet. . Mentioned that as far as updates by Department Heads, for example Community Development, Planning, and Community Services, they will have rotation every fourth workshop. 346 r) . Advised we have a vacancy coming up on the Schertz/Seguin Local Government Corporation and it's Schertz's turn to nominate a replacement. Gloria Rivera has opted not to be nominated. Mayor Baldwin asked if the balance would be skewed because of this. Mr. Marquez replied no, it's our turn to nominate. Mr. Greenwald explained they start rotating after the 5th year. Mr. Marquez said he would anticipate some input from Seguin. Past nominations have preserved the continuity of the Board. We can talk about who we may want to appoint and he will put a chart in next week's packet . . Stated Elbel Road will close on August 25th. Mr. Douglas asked for how long and was told for approximately three months. The school has been informed. . Noted he plans to come forward with an annexation plan. He plans on starting with the easy ones and then going to the hard ones. . Reminded everyone of the Economic Development Conference coming up and said they can contact Amy Madison or Rita Duprat- Waldo for reservations. . Stressed they need to get a nomination to the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) by September 14, 2003. He intends to recommend Amy Madison. They are going to dump short-range and long-range planning together for financial . purposes. ) . TSAC has sent a proposal to change from a Committee to a full-blown Commission. Mayor Baldwin asked how many people we can nominate, Mr. Simonson reminded him that those on the Committee volunteered. Mr. Wilenchik mentioned that one of the four people applying is a civil engineer with 13 years experience with TXDoT. Mr. Wilenchik also commented that David Allen is asking for a letter to appoint a City Council liaison to TSAC. Mrs. Agee mentioned that the people on TSAC were appointed by City Council. #8 Items by Council General Announcements Councilmember Douglas Liaison - EDC . Said he was glad to see Mr. Marquez respond to Mr. William Brown's request for assistance in construction of a measured walk path around the perimeter of the Woodland Oaks pool area. . Mentioned also the letter of response to the Guadalupe County Judge regarding the City of Schertz declining a proposal for boarding, feeding, euthanizing, etc. during the transitional period since Guadalupe County declined the proposed Animal Control contract by the cities of Schertz and Seguin. 347 " Oy Councilmember Simonson 4-B Board Liaison - BVY A . Reported attending the BVY A meeting on Monday night. They've had over 200 kids sign up for fall baseball. The basketball program will be larger than that. Cibolo has requested BVY A take over their football program. BVY A also has a volleyball program. They asked how we're coming on the bond issue and he informed them the election would be no earlier than February. The programs are really booming because of our growth. . Distributed information about an upcoming ALS walkathon. Councilmember Agee 4-B Board Liaison- Schertz Housing Authority Liaison - Schertz Library Board . Stated the school district had an explosion of kids. They are opening Paschal Elementary with double portables. That same school had four air conditioners stolen last night. They are sending children from Jonas Woods to Schertz Elementary. They are building a new high school and two others. It is all bond ) issue money. They have also bought land for future school sites. Mayor Baldwin .- , said he saw enough parents and kids at the Paschal Elementary dedication to fill a : school. .Councilmember Wilenchik 4-B Board Liaison Schertz Humane Society Liaison - HOA Coalition . Mentioned attending the TSAC meeting and said one of the items of discussion was crosswalks at HEB. TSAC felt we shouldn't have them, but Sam Willoughby told them it is a federal regulation. Mr. Simonson said this had been discussed at other places like Live Oak Road, Borgfeld Road and Savannah Drive. Mr. Greenwald mentioned it also came up regarding crossing FM 3009 at Woodland Oaks Drive. . Questioned if there would be no U-turn signs on Schertz Parkway. Mr. Marquez promised to check into it. The Master Plan for FM 3009 has two places for U- turns sometime in the future. Chief Cantrell said he would check the Statute. . Stated he had a citizen query regarding occupancy limits for the Conference Room and at the Community Center. Is it posted? Chief Friesenhahn replied it should be posted at the Community Center and probably in the Conference Room. The rule of thumb is 15 square feet per person. Amy Madison, Community 348 () Development Director, said they held a public hearing in the Community Center conference room and it was too crowded, so they decided to have future ones in this Conference Room. Councilmember Greenwald 4-B Board Ex-officio P&Z Commission Ex-officio S/SLGC . Related attending the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting last night. The site plan for Dr. Harborth's property was passed. As Mr. Marquez and Mrs. Madison pointed out, the Green Valley Road portion starts out a 65', goes down to 50' and then down to 49'. He has to come back on the plat. . Nextel wants to come in with a monopole tower of 120' between Randolph Air Force Base, FM 1518 and FM 78. They still have to go through FAA. Mr. Simonson commented all these extra requirements that keep coming up do not help us because P & Z wants a stealth tower and Randolph wants it lighted. . Mrs. Agee indicated she would like to see an upcoming workshop discussion on Planning and Zoning and their role. We need to take action if they are getting out of hand. We need to discuss what we want their role to be and then take action. ) Mr. Marquez said that's not as simple as you may think. Mrs. Agee pointed out there are State Statutes and Mr. Marquez said he would provide them to Council. Mr. Simonson pointed out Schertz is one of the few cities that allows it's Planning and Zoning Commission make major decisions. Mrs. Agee recommended this discussion wait until after the budget workshops are completed and the budget is passed. . In regard to the Planning and Zoning meeting, Mr. Brockman said they couldn't agree on whether 4 or 5 trees provide enough for a shopping center. Mr. Greenwald pointed out they try to save as many trees as possible. Mrs. Madison said Planning and Zoning thought they should have more trees and that was good enough. Mr. Marquez thought given the prospective location, they are lucky to have someone who wants to develop. Mayor Baldwin indicated he has no problem with discussion about Planning and Zoning. . Lastly, Mr. Greenwald commented he got a letter from the Texas Leadership Institute if anyone wants to attend. They're offering a course on water resources. #9 Items by Mayor General Announcements Mayor Baldwin had nothing to report. Before the Budget Workshop, Council took a short break. 349 -, #10 BUDGET WORKSHOP Mr. Marquez mentioned the packets contain a series of documents relative to the budget There are also a series of charts. Regarding the I&S funds, there is still capacity. The EMS chart shows revenues since the City took over the billing. Mr. Marquez went on to say they have made some adjustments to the Tentative Budget Schedule. They have the actual appraisal role of $1,400,000,000 and $64,000,000 is under protest. Evelyn Boggess, former Tax Assessor for the City, explained there is a new law this year - 95% has to be certified and it allows 5% not to be certified. Mr. Wilenchik asked if the amount under protest is included in the $1,400,000,000 and Mrs. Boggess replied it is not. Mr. Marquez pointed out the numbers are designed to derive our effective tax rate. New growth doesn't count when they compute the effective tax rate. Mr. Marquez then mentioned the rollback rate is .4095. Mr. Simonson commented the current tax rate is well under the rollback rate. There was a brief discussion on I&S funds, M&O funds and investments. Mr. Marquez commented that, if Council so desires, they could restore the position in Animal Control, they could restore the fire trucks, they could fund the plaques for the buildings, and they ) could upgrade the computer network. They have approximately $60,000 to restore previously suggested cuts. Mr. Marquez remarked the City still has another sales tax check coming. Mr. Simonson asked about projections on funds from GVEC and Mr. Marquez promised to check into it. Mr. Greenwald asked about revenue from the credit card/on line services and was told they're just starting that process. Mr. Marquez then added they made approximately $18,500 from the auction. Mr. Marquez noted several other items, including the following: (a) library contributions from Guadalupe County are up (b) library fines are up, especially on videos (c) there is no longer a Cibolo fire contract (d) additional indirect costs include a hotel marketing study for EDC. There was a question about FEMA money being in the General Fund. Mr. Greenwald explained we have to keep it on the books until the project is completed. Mayor Baldwin asked if the MUD is paid off and Mr. Marquez answered it would be paid out of Capital Recovery funds and we still owe payments for two years at approximately $125,000 per year. ), ';1'10 -. ) Mr. Marquez reviewed the following departments: Stated the City Manager's budget includes him, John Bierschwale, Rita Duprat-Waldo and Karen Garcia. He went on to say copy services for the coming fiscal year would come out of a non-departmental fund and they will evaluate that process. Training and Travel is up because it now includes John Bierschwale Also, the City Manager will be getting some appropriate furniture. As far as the City Secretary's budget, they may have to re-appropriate some funds again for Records Management. Finance will add a new person. Regarding the Legal department, Mayor Baldwin asked if the City would stay within the budgeted $147,000. Mr. Marquez replied they would.. Human Resources is considering an additional person. Information Technology includes modem upgrades and replacement of some servers. Mr. Wilenchik asked that Workman's Compensation be explained. Mr. Marquez said it is a percentage of the salary times the rate for that particular job. Mrs. Agee added if the l I rate is good, they might have a modified plan. Mr. Marquez admitted they have probably , overestimated. There was a brief discussion about a cap on Workman's Compensation. Mr. Marquez said he would have some further information the next time. Mr. Bierschwale mentioned they are going to put monitors at City Hall and other places. That cost will be approximately $25,000. Medical Services includes the EMS costs. TIF budget should be zero. Municipal Court has money in their budget for a warrant officer. Mr. Douglas asked if we're considering being a Court of Record. Mr. Marquez replied the costs are not a lot, but there are other issues to consider. Mr. Wilenchik thought a Court of Record required a different Judge. Mr. Marquez reminded him that at evaluation time for the Judge, they decided to let that issue ride Mayor Baldwin said it requires a lot of considerations. Mrs. Agee felt there might not be enough advantages to it. Mr. Greenwald remarked that in another year or two, it might be mandatory. The Public Information Office budget is no problem. It is paid out of 4-B funds. As far as the Library budget, Mrs. Agee asked what happened to the Special Events line : - item. Mr. Marquez said he would pay for special events out of his budget. That line item has been removed from several budgets. 351 The Pools and Parks budgets have been consolidated. As far as Planning, Mrs. Madison's salary was previously taken out of 4-B funds, but the 4-B Board expressed some concern about that, so it is no longer the case. Mr. Simonson expressed his desire to stop at this time because of the time. Council agreed and said they would start at Inspection at the next budget workshop. #11 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Mayor Baldwin adjourned the meeting at 9:55 p.m. Mayor, City of Schertz, Texas ATTEST: ~~ City Secretary, City of Schertz, Texas 352