01-16-2015 MinutesMINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
January 16, 2015
A Meeting was held by the Schertz Charter Review Commission of the City of Schertz,
Texas, on January 16, 2015, at 6:00 p.m., in the Hal Baldwin Municipal Complex Council
Chambers Conference Room, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Building #4, Schertz, Texas. The
following members present to -wit:
Mark Davis Chair
Member Bert Crawford
Member Jana Volitis
Staff Present:
City Manager John Kessel
City Attorney Charles Zech
City Secretary Brenda Dennis
Guests Present:
Michael Dahle — Vice Chair
Member Reginna Agee
Mr. Robert Brockman, 1000 Elbel Road, Schertz Texas.
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. Chair Mark Davis had members present
introduced themselves. Mr. Davis welcomed everyone.
Chair Davis recognized resident Mr. Robert Brockman who was in attendance and offered
Mr. Brockman his opportunity to speak. Mr. Brockman did not speak.
1.
2.
Minutes — Consideration and /or action approving the minutes of December 10, 2014
Chair Davis recognized Vice Chair Michael Dahle who moved, seconded by Charter
Member Agee to approve the minutes of December 10, 2014. The vote was
unanimous, motion passed.
Review City of Schertz Charter Articles I, II, III, and IV and consider any
recommendations for amendments thereto.
Chair Davis stated he wanted to talk about the rules of engagement that he believes they
need to talk about before they get into the dialogue. First, he wants to make sure the
members understand their roles. Fundamentally, they will be looking at the charter
with the purpose of making any recommended changes.
1. Make sure we are in compliance with Federal and State Laws, if there is any
conflict or if there are any inconsistencies with our City Charter. Mr. Zech will
have some talking points as we go along through the individual sections.
1 -16 -2015 Charter Minutes
2. Look at Charter to clarify various sections, streamline if we have to with the intent
or goal as to improve the overall effectiveness of the Charter, and how it works with
our city operation.
3. We decided at the first meeting that we would review the charter from beginning to
end. We did not come in with a preconceived set of saying we are only going to
look at specific sections. We will be reviewing the charter line by line and going
through the entire charter.
4. The discussions should include all members with academic freedom having the
ability to express our opinions. Ultimately, the results will be recommendations
that the committee believes need to be put before the voters.
5. Quorum, we need at least three of the five to meet, and if we do not have a full
quorum, it will still take three (3) affirmative votes to put a motion forward. Mr.
Zech stated that it doesn't say that and would recommend that the committee make
a decision now as to how many need to be present and how many votes it takes for
a motion of approval. Mr. Zech suggested the committee create the rules for how
many members it would take for passage of a recommendation.
Members discussed the structure on how they wanted the committee to proceed
with making motions, and what would constitute a quorum. After discussion, Chair
Davis recognized Charter Member Volitis who moved, seconded by Charter
Member Crawford that a quorum of four is necessary to conduct a meeting. The
vote was unanimous. Motion passed.
6. Question regarding the wording in the Charter that states the Charter Review
Commission will be seated for six months. His question is what date did the six -
months start? It is important so that we can get our review conducted with time to
submit our recommendations to the City Council. City Attorney Zech stated that
the six months started on the initial appointment, that date being November 18,
2014.
Mr. Davis stated with that information then the Commission should be ready to
submit their recommendations to Council around the May 17, 2015 timeframe.
Commission Members went over how their proposed changes or proposals would
be worded on the ballot; City Attorney Charles Zech indicated that he would come
back to the commission with the appropriate language.
2. Review City of Schertz Charter Articles I, II, III, and IV and consider any
recommendations for amendments thereto continued.
Charter Review Commission Members went over the following:
Preamble: Commission Members discussed. City Attorney Charles Zech had no legal
issues. Chair Mark Davis recognized Commission Member Crawford who moved,
seconded by Commission Member Volitis to approve as written, no recommended
changes. The vote was unanimous. Motion passed.
1 -16 -2015 minutes Page - 2 -
Article I Name of City and Boundaries
Section 1.01 Name: Commission Members discussed.
Chair Mark Davis recognized Commission Member Dahle who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Crawford to approve as written, no recommended changes. The
vote was unanimous. Motion passed.
Section 1.02 Boundaries; Extension, Annexation and Dis- annexation:
Section 1.02 (a) Boundaries. Commission Members discussed.
Chair Mark Davis recognized Commission Member Agee who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Dahle to approve as written, no recommended changes. The
vote was unanimous. Motion passed.
Section 1.02 (b) Extension of Boundaries; Annexation of Territory. Commission
Members discussed.
Chair Mark Davis recognized Commission Member Crawford who moved, seconded
by Commission Member Agee to approve as written, no recommended changes. The
vote was unanimous. Motion passed.
Section 1.02 (c) Dis- annexation. Commission Members discussed in length and it was
the consensus of the Commission to have Mr. Zech provide appropriate language at the
next meeting for the Commission to approve.
Article II
Powers of the City
Section 2.01 General Powers. Commission Members discussed.
Chair Mark Davis recognized Commission Member Agee who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Crawford to delete all of Section 2.01, except for the first
sentence. The vote was unanimous. Motion passed.
Section 2.02. Intergovernmental Relations. Commission Members discussed.
Chair Mark Davis recognized Commission Member Dahle who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Agee to delete all of Section 2.02. The vote was unanimous.
Motion passed.
Article III Form of Government
Section 3.01 Establishment. Commission Members discussed.
1 -16 -2015 minutes Page - 3 -
Chair Mark Davis recognized Commission Member Crawford who moved, seconded
by Commission Member Agee to delete the last sentence on Section 3.01. The vote
was unanimous. Motion passed.
Article IV The City Council
Section 4.01 Number, Selection and Term. Commission Members discussed.
Chair Mark Davis recognized Commission Member Dahle who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Crawford to increase the number of Councilmembers to six (6);
after further discussion, Commission Member Dahle withdrew his motion. A motion
was made by Commission Member Agee seconded by Commission Member Volitis to
increase the number of councilmembers to seven (7). The vote was unanimous.
Motion passed.
Discussion continued regarding the length of terms. Chair Mark Davis recognized
Commission Member Volitis who moved, seconded by Commission Member Crawford
to extend the terms to three (3) years. The vote was unanimous. Motion passed.
Chair Mark Davis recognized Commission Member Dahle who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Agee to not recommend term limits. The vote was 4 -1 -0 with
Commission Member Crawford voting no, the rest of the Commission Members
voting for. Motion Passed.
Commission Members discussed at large positions, districts, etc., in length. Chair Mark
Davis recognized Commission Member Dahle who moved, seconded by Commission
Member Crawford to keep all elected positions "at large ". The vote was unanimous.
Motion passed.
3. As necessary discuss planned review of City of Schertz Charter for next scheduled
meeting.
Commission Members went over and approved the following dates for April and
May:
Monday, April 6, 2015
6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
6:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
6:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
6:00 p.m.
Monday, May 4, 2015
6:00 p.m.
Friday, May 8, 2015
6:00 p.m.
Friday, May 15, 2015
6:00 p.m.
Adiournment
Chair Mark Davis recognized Commission Member Crawford who moved, seconded by
Commission Member Volitis to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:59
p.m.
1 -16 -2015 minutes Page - 4 -
- ST: Chair Mark Davis
5
Brenda Dennis, City Secretary
1 -16 -2015 minutes Page - 5 -