Min 01/16/2024 City of Wichita Falls -A P`
City41 Council Meetingn r .''
Minutes r }fi
A R 1 Lr
khe. .� y' January 16, 2024 gr4
TEXAS ei : r F '
$/ueSkieS 4e/det7 eppo1 tt 7ie5 ". J�L, w
Item 1 - Call to Order
The City Council of the City of Wichita Falls, Texas, met in a regular session 8:30 a.m. on
the above date in the Council Chambers at Memorial Auditorium with the following
members present.
Tim Short - Mayor
Bobby Whiteley - Mayor Pro Tem/At-Large
Mike Battaglino - Councilors
Jeff Browning -
Larry Nelson -
Michael Smith -
Tom Taylor -
Darron Leiker - City Manager
Kinley Hegglund - City Attorney
Marie Balthrop - City Clerk
Mayor Short called the meeting to order at 8:27 a.m.
Item 2a — Invocation
Major Joe Burton, Salvation Army, gave the invocation.
Item 2b— Pledge of Allegiance
Mayor Short led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Item 3a — Employee of the Month — Officer Danny Saravane, Police Department
8:28 a.m.
Mayor Short recognized Danny Saravane as Employee of the Month for January 2024
and shared a brief video. Mayor Short congratulated Mr. Saravane and presented him
with a plaque, letter of appreciation, dinner for two, and a check, and thanked him for his
service.
Item 3b — Proclamation — Financial Aid Awareness Month — Café con Leche,
Midwestern State University, Vernon College, WFISD, Wichita Falls Chamber of
Commerce and Zavala Hispanic Cultural Initiative
8:31 a.m.
Mayor Short read a proclamation proclaiming January 2024 as College Financial Aid
Awareness Month in Wichita Falls and urged all citizens to encourage students to take
the necessary steps to apply for college so they can achieve their dreams and positively
impact the future success of our community and our nation.
Item 3a — Recognition and Presentation of Historic Markers — West Floral Heights
Historic District
8:35 a.m.
Karen Montgomery-Gagne discussed the West Floral Heights Historic District, how the
historic marker project was initiated to increase awareness of the district, and the
ceremonial presentation of the first marker. Mayor Short presented the first historic
Marker for the West Floral Heights Historic District to Kim Tigrett, West Floral Heights
Neighborhood Association Past President. Janel Ponder Smith, Landmark Commission
Liaison for the West Floral Heights Historic District, provided a history of the
neighborhood, and thanked the City of Wichita Falls, current and former Mayors and City
Councilors, City Staff, and Karen Montgomery-Gagne for their support.
Item 4 — Comments from Citizens
8:40 a.m.
There were no comments from citizens.
Item 5-6 — Consent Items
8:40 a.m.
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
January 16, 2024
PAGE 2 OF 1 1
Darron Leiker, City Manager, gave a briefing on the items listed under the Consent
Agenda.
Moved by Councilor Browning to approve the consent agenda.
Motion seconded by Councilor Nelson and carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Mayor Short, Councilors Battaglino, Browning, Nelson, Smith, Taylor, and Whiteley
Nays: None
Item 5 — Approval of Minutes of the December 19, 2023, Regular Meeting of the
Mayor and City Council
Item 6a — Resolution 01-2024
8:45 a.m.
Resolution authorizing the City Manager to award bid and contract for the Jasper High
Service Pump Replacement Project to Trew Contracting Solutions, LLC in the amount of
$610,000.00.
Item 6b— Resolution 02-2024
8:47 a.m.
Resolution authorizing the purchase of a Washer Compactor for the Northside
Wastewater Treatment Plant, from Vision Equipment., in the amount of $90,850.00.
Item 7 — Receive Minutes
(a) Planning & Zoning, October 11 , 2023
(b) Lake Wichita Revitalization Committee, December 12, 2023
Item 8a — Ordinance 01-2024
8:41 a.m.
Ordinance amending the City Code of Ordinances, Appendix A — Subdivision and
Development Regulations, to amend platting requirements and formally adopt a
Pavement Design Manual to com ply with regulations as set forth in Texas House Bill 3699
Moved by Councilor Browning to approve Resolution Ordinance 01-2024.
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
January 16, 2024
PAGE 3 OF 1 1
Motion seconded by Councilor Smith.
Terry Floyd, Director of Development Services discussed the proposed changes and
stated staff will continue to hold meetings with the Planning and Zoning Commission
(P&Z) to discuss future proposed changes to the Ordinance.
Councilor Whiteley stated that he attended the P&Z meeting and he feels that there is still
some confusion regarding changes having to go directly to the City Council as opposed
to going through the P&Z first. He recommends that the P&Z evaluate all recommended
changes. There was brief discussion regarding this recommendation, and Mr. Floyd
stated that staff has followed this process even though it is not in the Ordinance.
Mr. Hegglund stated that the law allows for the P&Z to review any changes to the planning
code before it goes before the City Council, and staff has indicated they will continue to
take all changes to the P&Z first. There was brief discussion regarding making this change
to the ordinance today, or addressing it through staff expectations.
Councilor Browning agreed with Councilor Whiteley, and stated that they are not
concerned about current staff, but would like make sure this process continues in the
future.
Mr. Hegglund suggested the following amendment to Section 1 : The following ordinance
amendments to the City Code of Ordinances, Appendix A— Subdivision and Development
Regulations — as attached herein in Exhibit 1 are adopted, and further all future changes
and modifications to this appendix A shall first go through the Planning and Zoning
Commission for a recommendation prior to coming to the City Council for final approval.
Moved by Councilor Whiteley moved to amend the Ordinance as stated by Mr. Hegglund.
Motion to amend was seconded by Councilor Browning.
Tanner Wachsman, 5689 Blackstone Dr., addressed the Council and stated that he is in
support of the modifications being made and thanked the Council for taking time to take
a closer look at the Ordinance. He discussed possible future discussions regarding the
Storm Water and Pavement Design Manuals to make them a more intuitive set of
regulations which are not as strict to allow for carefully thought out alternative means of
compliance to be accepted. The development community would like to assist staff with
crafting language changes for the policies to address development issues.
Michael Grassi, #7 Amber Valley, addressed the Council as a member of the P&Z to
discuss HB 3699 and the requirement to bring together the Subdivision Ordinance and
Storm Water and Pavement Design Manuals. Previously, the proposed ordinance allowed
for staff to make changes without City Council approval and that did not receive a
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
January 16, 2024
PAGE 4 OF 1 1
favorable recommendation from the P&Z. The Ordinance presented today is still missing
the notification period to notify stakeholders that changes are going to be recommended
prior to going to the P&Z. There was brief discussion regarding the recommended
timeframe for the notification period. Councilor Browning agreed with Mr. Grassi's
recommendation.
Mr. Leiker discussed the recommendation to ensure staff understood correctly that the
180 days is for the P&Z to work with staff on reviewing the development regulations from
start to finish, and the 90 days would be a notification period to the stakeholders to provide
them time to review future recommendations prior to review by the P&Z. There was brief
discussion regarding how this review period would allow the stakeholders and P&Z to
come to an agreement prior to the final Ordinance being presented to the City Council.
There was brief discussion regarding amending the current motion. Mr. Hegglund
recommended adding the following sentence after the previous amendment: The City
shall give the Planning & Zoning Commission 60 days prior notice of any such changes
to the Subdivision regulations prior to being amended and shall do so in writing. Mr.
Hegglund stated that he is using P&Z instead of stakeholders as stakeholders is not
defined in the Ordinance, and by notifying the P&Z they can reach out to the stakeholders.
Councilor Whiteley asked to add the sentence as proposed by Mr. Hegglund to his current
motion.
The amended motion with the additional sentence was seconded by Councilor Browning.
Motion to amend the main motion carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Mayor Short, Councilors Battaglino, Browning, Nelson, Smith, Taylor, and Whiteley
Nays: None
Councilor Nelson asked about the changes to the signature block, and Mr. Floyd stated
that it was due to a change in his title.
The motion to approve the main motion as amended carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Mayor Short, Councilors Battaglino, Browning, Nelson, Smith, Taylor, and Whiteley
Nays: None
Item 8b— Ordinance 02-2024
9:11 a.m.
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
January 16, 2024
PAGE 5 OF 1 1
Ordinance making an appropriation to the Special Revenue Fund in the amount of
$7,000.00 for grant funding from the Dallas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force,
which is administered by the City of Dallas Reimbursement Program.
Moved by Councilor Browning to approve Ordinance 02-2024.
Motion seconded by Councilor Smith and carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Mayor Short, Councilors Battaglino, Browning, Nelson, Smith, Taylor, and Whiteley
Nays: None
Item 9a — Resolution 03-2024
9:12 a.m.
Resolution authorizing the purchase of Eleven (11) 911 Define Console Systems through
the H-GAC (Houston-Galveston Area Council) Cooperative Purchasing Program from
Russ Bassett Corporation in the amount of $292,931 .91 .
Moved by Councilor Browning to approve Resolution 03-2024.
Motion seconded by Councilor Nelson, and carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Mayor Short, Councilors Battaglino, Browning, Nelson, Smith, Taylor, and Whiteley
Nays: None
Item 9b — Resolution 04-2024
9:15 a.m.
Resolution authorizing award of bid to Retail Motorcycle Ventures, Inc. for the purchase
of three (3) BMW Police Motorcycles for the Wichita Falls Police Department in the
amount of $92,933.31 .
Moved by Councilor Browning to approve Resolution 04-2024.
Motion seconded by Councilor Nelson and carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Mayor Short, Councilors Battaglino, Browning, Nelson, Smith, Taylor, and Whiteley
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
January 16, 2024
PAGE 6 OF 1 1
Nays: None
Item 9c — Resolution 05-2024
9:19 a.m.
Resolution authorizing the purchase of equipment and installation services for FY 2024
Wichita Falls Police Department patrol units through the BuyBoard Purchasing
Cooperative from Dana Safety Supply, Inc. in the amount of $133,464.65.
Moved by Councilor Browning to approve Resolution 05-2024.
Motion seconded by Councilor Nelson and carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Mayor Short, Councilors Battaglino, Browning, Nelson, Smith, Taylor, and Whiteley
Nays: None
Item 9d — Resolution 06-2024
9:20 a.m.
Resolution approving the programs and expenditures of the Wichita Falls Economic
Development Corporation (WFEDC/4A) by amending the budget to include an
expenditure up to $285,000 to support a performance agreement with Covercraft
Industries related to the proposed expansion of their current operations in Wichita Falls.
Moved by Councilor Browning to approve Resolution 06-2024.
Motion seconded by Councilor Nelson and carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Mayor Short, Councilors Battaglino, Browning, Nelson, Smith, Taylor, and Whiteley
Nays: None
Item 9e — Resolution 07-2024
9:23 a.m.
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
January 16, 2024
PAGE 7 OF 1 1
Resolution approving the programs and expenditures of the Wichita Falls Economic
Development Corporation (WFEDC/4A) by amending the budget to include an
expenditure up to $36,500 to support a performance agreement with Seasons Eatings
Snack Company, LLC related to the proposed expansion of their current operations in
Wichita Falls.
Moved by Councilor Browning to approve Resolution 07-2024.
Motion seconded by Councilor Nelson and carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Mayor Short, Councilors Battaglino, Browning, Nelson, Smith, Taylor, and Whiteley
Nays: None
Item 10 — Appointments to Boards and Commissions
9:30 a.m.
Moved by Councilor Battaglino to make the following appointments to the Lake Wichita
Revitalization Committee:
Place 2 — Move Stephen Garner from Place 7 to Place 2 — Park Board Rep., term to
expire 07/31/2027.
Place 3 — Joshua Whittiker, term to expire 07/31/2027
Place 7 — Jack Roe, term to expire 07/31/2027
Motion seconded by Councilor Whiteley and carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Mayor Short, Councilors Battaglino, Browning, Nelson, Smith, Taylor, and Whiteley
Nays: None
Moved by Councilor Battaglino to appoint Luis Severin to Place 10 on the Park Board with
a term to expire 12/31/2025.
Motion seconded by Councilor Whiteley and carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Mayor Short, Councilors Battaglino, Browning, Nelson, Smith, Taylor, and Whiteley
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
January 16, 2024
PAGE 8 OF 1 1
Nays: None
Item 11 - Announcements concerning items of community interest from members
of the City Council. No action will be taken or discussed.
9:32 a.m.
Councilor Taylor thanked the first responders in Wichita Falls and surrounding areas, as
he has had two life events recently requiring their support, and he feels the communities
in North Texas are very fortunate to have these highly qualified individuals. He thanked
the community for the outpouring of prayers and support for him and his family for the
loss of his son.
Councilor Whiteley gave kudos to the employee of the month, kudos to staff for raising
the amount of the employee of the month check, and thank you to everyone in the
audience for attending. He said it was refreshing to see the City Council vote unanimously
for economic development issues.
Councilor Browning presented Mayor Short with a ceremonial key to the City.
Councilor Battaglino congratulated Officer Seravane as employee of the month, and
extended his thoughts and prayers to Councilor Taylor for the loss of his son Ralf.
Councilor Battaglino stated the MLK Breakfast was so moving and Ms. Nesbitt's singing
was incredible. He discussed upcoming deployments and stated he has been able to
delay a few of them so he does not miss City Council meetings. Next Monday is his first
Town Hall meeting for District 4 and it will be held at American Legion Post 169, 4615
Lakeshore Drive at 5:00 p.m.
Councilor Nelson congratulated Ron Kitchens and stated he is doing a very good job at
the Chamber of Commerce. He has been tracking things that have happened in Wichita
Falls and the difference in the Chamber of Commerce now from before is night and day.
Councilor Nelson stated that previously companies were going to go around the Chamber
of Commerce, and he had a good meeting with Ron Kitchens where they discussed
individuals that had been left out, which he stated was official and institutional oppression.
He recommended to John Burrus, Director of Aviation, Traffic, and Transportation, that
Terry Parks get at least four vehicles in the parks department, and encourage citizens to
watch for frostbite during the cold weather. He stated that the Council is not here to throw
anyone under the bus, they are just an oversight, and he appreciates the discussion on
the subdivision ordinance today.
Councilor Smith stated that recently in his neighborhood the City has added bicycle lanes
and he has received calls about confusion regarding these lanes. Mr. Burrus discussed
that there is room for parking by the curb adjacent to the bicycle lane, and citizens can
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
January 16, 2024
PAGE 9 OF 1 1
call his office for any questions. Councilor Smith suggested putting information on social
media describing how the bicycle lanes should be used. He also stated that at Midwestern
Parkway in the area where students cross to go to fitness center he did not see a marked
crosswalk. Mr. Burrus will check into this. Last week Will Kelty invited Councilors to tour
The Kate building which has student type housing and future apartments. It is a nice
facility and a good addition to development. They also looked at the temporary city
spaces in Big Blue and more information will be coming regarding where city departments
will be relocated to during the renovation of Memorial Auditorium.
Mr. Leiker stated he will get with PIO staff for drawings and examples for bicycle lanes.
He also stated that last week Housing, Neighborhood Resources, and Code Enforcement
moved to their new location, and the remainder will move after the second meeting in
February and finish the middle March. Beginning the second meeting in March Council
meetings will be moved to the MPEC. Blake Jurecek, Assistant City Manager, discussed
a decommission ceremony that will be held at the last meeting in Memorial Auditorium.
Councilor Taylor asked if the meetings will still be live streamed on cable television, and
Mr. Jurecek said they would.
Mayor Short, recognized Stephen Calvert as the newly appointed CFO/Director of
Finance and congratulated him. He expressed his condolences to the Taylor family,
stated that it was an honor to attend and participate in Ralf's service, and he hopes God
still holds them in the palm of His hand. He recognized Dawn Thompson & Lisa Roffman
with Homeless Lives Matter for raising money to assist with providing warm meals and
shelter during the cold weather. Citizens can search "You're Enough" to find more
information about making donations. He also thanked the Salvation Army, City of Wichita
Falls employees, and TxDOT for their work in keeping people safe, warm, and informed.
We have such a caring community and after three days of winter he fills it is over, and he
asked God to send rain to fill our lakes.
Item 12 — Executive Sessions
City Council adjourned into Executive Session at 9:48 a.m. in accordance with Texas
Government Code §551 .087, §551 .074 and §551 .071.
City Council reconvened at 11 :29 a.m.
Mayor Short reconvened in open session and announced that no votes or polls were
taken.
Item 13 —Adjourn
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
January 16, 2024
PAGE 10 OF 1 1
Mayor Short adjourned the meeting at 11:29 a.m.
PASSED AND APPROVED this 6th day of February 2024.
Tim Short, Mayor
ATTEST:
/VaitL BC
Marie Balthrop, TRM , MMC
City Clerk
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
January 16, 2024
PAGE 11 OF 11