Loading...
Min 06/18/2002 84 Wichita Falls, Texas Memorial Auditorium Building June 18, 2002 Items 1 & 2 The City Council of the City of Wichita Falls, Texas met in regular session on the above date in the Council Room of the Memorial Auditorium Building at 8:30 o'clock a.m., with the following members present: Bill Altman - Mayor Arthur Bea Williams - Councilors Linda Ammons - James Esther, Jr - Michael Norrie - Johnny Burns - Harold Hawkins - Mathew Benoit - Assistant City Manager Bill Sullivan - City Attorney Lydia Torres - City Clerk Mayor called the meeting to order. Item 2 No one signed up to speak under Public Comments. Item 3 Reverend Nan Davis, Beverly Drive United Methodist Church, gave the invocation. Mayor proclaimed the week of June 17-22, 2002 as "Maskat Shrine Oil Bowl Week" in Wichita Falls and encouraged everyone to support all children by attending these festivities. Potentate Robert Hyde and John Chatman accepted the proclamation. Potentate Hyde invited everyone to the games. Mayor proclaimed June 18 as "Lindsey Leigh Rich Day" in Wichita Falls. Miss Rich was selected as Miss Wichita Falls U.S.A. and will be representing Wichita Falls as a candidate in the Miss Texas competition. A request for sponsorships was made by the Mayor and Miss Rich to help in covering her expenses. Item 4 The minutes were approved as distributed. Items 5a-6f Mr. Matthew Benoit, Assistant City Manager, gave a briefing on the items listed under the Consent Agenda. Moved by Councilor Ammons that the Consent Agenda be approved. Motion seconded by Councilor Williams and carried by the following vote. 85 Items 5a-6f continued Ayes: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Esther, Norrie, Burns, and Hawkins Nays: None Item 5a RESOLUTION NO. 67-2002 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, TO ACCEPT PHASE TWO SIXTH STREET TRUNK MAIN PROJECT AND AUTHORIZE FINAL PAYMENT TO BARSON UTILITIES, INC.; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW Item 6a-6f Minutes of the following board and commission meetings were received. a. Planning & Zoning Commission — May 8, 2002 b. Library Advisory Board — May 28, 2002 c. Wichita Falls Park Board— May 23, 2002 d. Tax Increment Financing Board— May 2, 2002 e. Tax Increment Financing Board — May 29, 2002 f. Landmark Commission — May 22, 2002 Item 7a ORDINANCE NO. 45-2002 ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FROM THE TAX INCREMENT FINANCING (TIF) FUND IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($40,000) TO NORTH TEXAS VISIONS OF WICHITA FALLS (VISIONS) FOR STAFFING AND OPERATIONAL PURPOSES AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW Moved by Councilor Ammons that Ordinance No. 45-2002 be passed. Motion seconded by Councilor Esther and carried by the following vote. Ayes: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Esther, Norrie, Burns, and Hawkins Nays: None Item 7b ORDINANCE NO. 46-2002 ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, ANNEXING AND REZONING 5.92 ACRES OF LAND OUT OF BLOCKS 12 &13, LEAGUE 2, DENTON COUNTY SCHOOL LAND, A-57; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW Moved by Councilor Hawkins that Ordinance No.46-2002 be passed. Motion seconded by Councilor Esther and carried by the following vote. Ayes: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Esther, Norrie, Burns, and Hawkins Nays: None 86 Item 7c ORDINANCE NO. 47-2002 ORDINANCE MAKING AN APPROPRIATION IN THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUND IN THE AMOUNT OF $214,863 FOR THE PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE FOR BIOTERRORISM GRANT RECEIVED FROM THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT ACCEPTING SAME; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW Moved by Councilor Williams that Ordinance No. 47-2002 be passed. Motion seconded by Councilor Burns and carried by the following vote. Ayes: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Esther, Norrie, Burns, and Hawkins Nays: None Item 7d ORDINANCE NO. 48-2002 ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, MAKING AN APPROPRIATION IN THE GENERAL FUND FOR ADDITIONAL GRANT REVENUE FROM THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE DIVISION, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, STATE OF TEXAS, AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE CONTRACT ACCEPTING SAME; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW Moved by Councilor Williams that Ordinance No. 48-2002 be passed. Motion seconded by Councilor Esther and carried by the following vote. Ayes: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Esther, Norrie, Burns, and Hawkins Nays: None Item 7e A proposed ordinance was presented establishing a 90-day moratorium on the acceptance of any permit related to the installation of billboards and declaring an emergency. Councilor Burns stated that he would not discuss or vote on this item because it posed a conflict of interest. An affidavit of conflict of interest is on file in the City Clerk's office. Moved by Councilor Williams that proposed ordinance be passed. Motion seconded by Councilor Ammons. Mr. Steve Seese explained that the moratorium would allow time to have the new sign regulations regarding billboards reviewed and approved by Planning and Zoning. Mr. Seese informed that a new company had come in to town and purchased a lot of billboards and submitted numerous applications. Discussion ensued regarding the moratorium and the basis for declaring an emergency. Council expressed concern that this moratorium appears to be precipitated solely by a new company coming into town, which is a restraint of trade. 87 Item 7e continued Ralph Surles, AMSCO Steel Products, 212 Lee Street, Archer County, said that the City already had strict restrictions on billboards and spoke against the proposed ordinance. He builds and contracts billboards and he did not think the City would be overrun with billboards. By limiting the number of signs you are causing a monopoly and there would be no competition. He also noted that there are not that many billboard locations available. Mr. Surles stated that, if passed, the moratorium would restrict them from submitting new applications. Moved by Councilor Norrie to amend the proposed ordinance by removing Section 2 and renumbering Sections 3 and 4 to Sections 2 and 3. Motion seconded by Councilor Esther. Councilor Hawkins suggested sending it back to Planning & Zoning and not have a moratorium. Mayor suggested voting on this item and then voting on the moratorium Motion carried by the following vote. Ayes: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Esther, Norrie, and Hawkins Nays: None Abstentions: Councilor Burns Mayor stated that if Council passes the moratorium, the ninety days would start thirty-one days after today. City Attorney concurred. Councilor Williams was more concerned about ruling somebody out for the sole reason that a new company was in town. Mr. Seese clarified that when information gets out about the new sign regulations, there will be an overflow of applications prior to the regulations going into effect. Councilor Hawkins suggested sending it back to Planning & Zoning and letting them make a determination. Motion on the original motion as amended failed by the following vote. Ayes: Councilor Esther Nays: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Norrie, and Hawkins Abstentions: Councilor Burns Item 8a Councilor Ammons asked if there was a provision for picking up tree limbs from the curb. Assistant City Manager stated that the City prefers to stay off private property. He suggested the following two options: 1) Put limbs in yard waste containers, or 2) contract a tree trimmer. Councilor Ammons stated that the City needs to address the length of time debris can remain on the curb. Assistant City Manager commented that it becomes the City's responsibility when it gets on the right-of-way. Councilor Hawkins reminded citizens that the City would pick up tree limbs if they are bundled up. He asked the citizens to take the tree limbs directly to the transfer station if possible. He asked that Staff look into the possibility of using the same technique as is used after Christmas in grinding the trees. Councilor Burns mentioned that the Oil Bowl is a great event and begins on Thursday with basketball games and ends on Saturday with a parade and the football game. This is an opportunity that the Maskat provides us and the proceeds come from ticket sales so he asked that everyone attend these events. 88 Item 8a continued Councilor Norrie mentioned the power outages and asked if there was a City number where citizens could call for updates during the first 24 hours. Mayor stated that Oncor has published a number where citizens can call. Councilor Norrie mentioned his concern about the Fire Fighter/Police Officers petition. His concern is the language stating that every year this would be done over and over again and he hopes this does not shoot down the referendum. If our people are unpaid or inappropriately paid let's bring it up to this particular median. Certification pay is also very reasonable, but the point of the City having every twelve months to recalculate based on what the median is for these cities could make the provision very short lived or not passed by the citizens of Wichita Falls. He reminded everyone that Wichita Falls has spent $4.25 million for the training facility, $1.5 million for the fire training facility, and roughly $10 million on the new radio and information system for police and rescue services. Councilor Esther complimented his insurance company for quick action after the Saturday night storm and he hopes that other insurance companies are acting as quickly. Councilor Hawkins was glad to be back and he expressed appreciation to all those who sent cards and to the prayer groups throughout the country who prayed for him during his surgery and recovery. He expressed concern for the large number of people who lost service after Saturday's storm. He mentioned the emergency system and the need for the City to utilize it to communicate with our citizens during emergencies. He asked that this be looked into more in depth to see how we can use what we already have to keep our citizens informed. He thanked Councilor Burns for his comments on the Oil Bowl and he also invited everyone to attend as many of the events as possible. Councilor Williams thanked the Mayor and City Manager for getting out early Sunday to start checking on the citizens to see what kind of help was needed. She asked if the water lines on Wellington Lane were going to be run on the side with the least amount of residents and if that is the way it needed to be done. If it was not a requirement, she suggested running the lines on the side with the most amount of residents. Councilor Williams commented that she had provided Council with a copy of a letter from Lida Martin, resident of La Treace Trailer Park, protesting a bill. Councilor Williams asked Council to look into this since it was directed to them. Councilor Williams asked the citizens to be patient regarding getting things back to normal after the storm. Mayor, for clarification purposes, informed that Oncor is the former part of TXU that handles the electric lines in this community, and neither the City nor staff has the right to tell them how to do it. He stated that Council would meet with the appropriate staff to see what can be learned from this situation to improve and do a better job in the future. He provided rental cost information on sanitation roll off containers. Mayor referred to the petition and stated that the funding amounts mentioned by Councilor Norrie are projects funded by sales tax not property tax; however, we cannot use sales tax funds for employee salaries. For information purposes he provided the following figures related to the fire fighters/police officers referendum: $1,639,000 would cause an increase in tax rate of 4.975 cents or 9.01% increase in the property tax rate. He stated that recurring salaries couldn't be funded on a one-time source; you have to have a continuous year after year funding mechanism. As was done when the police referendum passed several years ago, the City Council passed a property tax increase that was needed in the exact amount to fund their 15% increase that was approved by the voters. In the last four years property taxes have not been raised. It is probable that if the referendum passes property taxes will have to be raised to some extent because that much money cannot be absorbed in the budget on a year after year basis without seriously affecting the ability of the City to maintain streets, sewers and take care of all the necessities to keep us functioning. Item 8b There were no staff reports. 89 Item 8c(1 & 2) City Council went into Executive Session at 10:18 a.m. as authorized by Section 551.074 of the Texas Government Code. City Council reconvened at 11:01 a.m. Item 8d Moved by Councilor Hawkins that Councilor Burns be appointed Mayor Pro Tem. Motion seconded by Councilor Esther and carried by the following vote. Ayes: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Esther, Norrie, Burns, and Hawkins Nays: None Item 8e Moved by Councilor Burns to reappoint Mr. Jerry Reed to the Wichita-Wilbarger 9-1-1 District, Place 4, with term to expire May 15, 2004. Motion seconded by Councilor Williams and carried by the following vote. Ayes: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Esther, Norrie, Burns, and Hawkins Nays: None Item 8f Moved by Mayor to appoint Councilor Ammons and Councilor Burns to the Metropolitan Planning Organization, Transportation Policy Committee. Motion seconded by Councilor Hawkins and carried by the following vote. Ayes: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Esther, Norrie, Burns, and Hawkins Nays: None City Council adjourned at 11:05 a.m. PASSED AND APPROVED this day of _ .kz 2002. �- WILLIAM K. ALTMAN MAYOR ATTEST: �n Lydia Torres City Clerk NOTICE OF MEETING Regular Meeting Of The Mayor And City Council Of The City Of Wichita Falls, Texas To Be Held In The City Council Chambers Of The Memorial Auditorium, 1300 Seventh Street, On Tuesday, June 18, 2002, Beginning At 8.30 a.m. City Council: Mayor - William Altman, Councilors Arthur Bea Williams, Linda Ammons, James Esther, Michael Norrie, Johnny Burns, and Harold Hawkins 1. Call to Order. 2. Comments From The Public To Members Of The City Council On Items That Are Not On The City Council Agenda. (The Regular Agenda will begin upon completion of public comments, or no later than 9:00 a.m. Individuals who prior to this Council meeting signed up to speak, but could not be heard before 9:00 a.m. due to time constraints, may speak at the conclusion of the meeting.) TELEVISED SERVICES TO BEGIN 3. Invocation: Reverend Nan Davis Beverly Drive United Methodist Church 4. Approval of Minutes CONSENT AGENDA 5. Resolutions: a. Resolution To Accept The Phase Two Sixth Street Trunk Main Project And Authorize Final Payment To Barson Utilities, Inc. (City Council Bill #119) 6. Receive Minutes: a. Planning & Zoning Commission - May 8, 2002 b. Library Advisory Board Minutes — May 28, 2002 c. Wichita Falls Park Board Meeting — May 23, 2002 d. Tax Increment Financing Board — May 2, 2002, e. Tax Increment Financing Board — May 29, 2002 City Council Agenda Tuesday, June 18, 2001 Page 2 f. Landmark Commission — May 22, 2002 REGULAR AGENDA 7. Ordinances: a. Ordinance Making An Appropriation From The Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Fund In The Amount Not To Exceed $40,000 To The North Texas Visions Of Wichita Falls For Staffing And Operational Purposes And Authorizing The City Manager To Execute An Agreement. (City Council Bill #120) b. Ordinance Annexing 5.92 Acres Of Land Out Of Blocks 12 & 13, League 2, Denton County School Land, A-57, At The Request Of The Property Owner. (City Council Bill #121) c. Ordinance Making An Appropriation In The Special Revenue Fund In The Amount Of $214,863.00 In Additional Grant Funding Received From The Texas Department Of Health And Authorizing The City Manager To Execute A Contract Accepting Same. (City Council Bill #122) d. Ordinance Making An Appropriation In The General Fund For Grant Revenue Received From The Criminal Justice Division, Office Of The Governor, State Of Texas, And Authorizing The City Manager To Execute Contract Accepting Same. (City Council Bill #123) 8. Other Council Matters: a. Discussion Of Items Of Concern To Members Of The City Council. b. Staff/Council Discussion. c. Executive Session: (1) "Consider Qualifications Of Possible Appointee To Position Of Mayor Pro Tem, As Authorized By Section 551.074 Of The Texas Government Code." (2) Consider Appointment To The Wichita-Wilbarger 9-1- 1 District. d. Appointment Of Mayor Pro Tem. e. Appointment To The Wichita-Wilbarger 9-1-1 District. 9. Adjourn. City Council Agenda Tuesday, June 18, 2001 Page 3 Wheelchair or handicapped accessibility to the meeting is possible by using the handicapped parking spaces and ramp located off the east parking lot on the Sixth Street entrance. Spanish language interpreters, deaf interpreters, Braille copies or any other special needs will be provided to any person requesting a special service with at least 24 hours notice. Please call the City Clerk's Office at 761-7409. CERTIFICATION I certify that the above notice of meeting was posted on the bulletin board at Memorial Auditorium, Wichita Falls, Texas on the day of , 20 at o'clock (a.m.)(p.m.). City Clerk