Min 03/16/2004 295
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
Wichita Falls, Texas
Memorial Auditorium Building
March 16, 2004
Item 1
The City Council of the City of Wichita Falls, Texas met in regular session on the above
date in the Council Chambers of the Memorial Auditorium Building at 8:30 o'clock a.m., with the
following members present:
Bill Altman - Mayor
Johnny Burns - Mayor Pro Tern
Arthur Bea Williams - Councilors
Linda Ammons -
James Esther, Jr -
Michael Norrie -
Harold Hawkins -
James Berzina - City Manager
Bill Sullivan - City Attorney
Lydia Torres - City Clerk
Mayor called the meeting to order.
Item 2
Pastor Todd Derbyshire, University Park Church of the Nazarene, gave the invocation.
Item 3
Mayor proclaimed the month of April as "Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Month",
and he encouraged citizens to increase their awareness and prevention of sexual assault. Xochitl
Pruitt, First Step Program Director, and Monna Kline, First Step Interim Executive Director,
accepted the proclamation on behalf of First Step.
Lt. Col. Thomas Robinson gave a presentation on the impact that Sheppard Air Force Base
has had on the City as well as sharing the success for minorities and small businesses. In addition,
he provided the opportunities available at S.A.F.B.
Item 4
The Minutes were approved as distributed.
Items 5a-5b
City Manager gave a briefing on the items listed under the Consent Agenda.
Moved by Councilor Hawkins that the Consent Agenda be approved.
Motion seconded by Councilor Williams and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Esther, Norrie, Burns, and Hawkins
Nays: None
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Items 5a-5b continued
Minutes of the following commission meetings were received.
a. Civil Service Commission — February 5, 2004
b. Wichita Falls Traffic Safety Commission — February 4, 2004
Item 6a
ORDINANCE NO. 22-2004
ORDINANCE MAKING APPROPRIATION IN THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUND IN THE
AMOUNT OF $8,400 FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE PUBLIC HEALTH
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS GRANT RECEIVED FROM THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT
OF HEALTH 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. 22-2004 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Hawkins and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Esther, Norrie, Burns, and Hawkins
Nays: None
Item 6b
ORDINANCE NO. 23-2004
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS
MAKING APPROPRIATION TO THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUND FOR
ADDITIONAL RYAN WHITE TITLE II GRANT FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF
$210,906 RECEIVED FROM TARRANT COUNTY 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 Ammons that Ordinance No. 23-2004 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 6c
ORDINANCE NO. 24-2004
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS,
WAIVING SECTIONS 82-58, 82-63 AND 82-67, OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES
TO PERMIT DRIVING VEHICLES UPON THE GRASS, POSTING OF SIGNS,
ATTENDANCE IN THE PARK DURING CURFEW HOURS, AND THE
RESERVATION OF OPEN SPACE DURING A NORTHWEST TEXAS COUNCIL
OF THE BOY SCOUTS SCOUT-A-RAMA EVENT IN SOUTH WEEKS PARK APRIL
23 AND 24, 2004; 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. 24-2004 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Ammons and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Esther, Norrie, Burns, and Hawkins
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Item 6c continued
Nays: None
Item 6d
ORDINANCE NO. 25-2004
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS,
WAIVING SECTION 82-58 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO PERMIT
DRIVING UPON THE GRASS BY PARTICIPANT FLYERS DURING A PYLON
MODEL AIRCRAFT RACE BY THE WICHITA FALLS RADIO CONTROL CLUB
MAY 14, 15, AND 16, 2004, FROM 8:00 A.M. TO 5:00 P.M. EACH DAY IN LAKE
WICHITA PARK; 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. 25-2004 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Hawkins and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Esther, Norrie, Burns, and Hawkins
Nays: None
Item 6e
ORDINANCE NO. 26-2004
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS,
WAIVING SECTION 82-62 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO PERMITSALES
OF FOOD AND DRINK AND ADMISSION TO AN EASTER FUNDRAISING
PROGRAM BY THE PLACE IN AND AROUND THE LARGE SHELTER IN LUCY
PARK APRIL 3, 2004; 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. 26-2004 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Ammons and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Esther, Norrie, Burns, and Hawkins
Nays: None
Item 7a
A proposed resolution was presented authorizing the City Manager to execute a
license agreement with the YMCA of Wichita Falls granting extended reservation privilege
to use ball fields in Kiwanis Park and Lake Wichita Park for a youth baseball league in 2004.
Moved by Councilor Williams that proposed resolution be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Ammons.
Councilor Norrie expressed several concerns with the proposed agreement and suggested
the following changes. He suggested to strike the word "practice" from Section 3 of the agreement
and that reservations for use of ball fields be made through the City Parks & Recreation
Department instead of the YMCA.
Councilor Ammons brought up the issue of litter at the ball fields and suggested that this be
monitored.
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Item 7a continued
Mayor suggested that these concerns and suggestions be presented to the Park Board for
their consideration and recommendation to Council at our first meeting in April.
Moved by Councilor Norrie to table this item.
Motion seconded by Councilor Ammons and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Altman, Councilors Williams, Ammons, Esther, Norrie, Burns, and Hawkins
Nays: None
City Council recessed at 9:30 a.m. and reconvened at 9:47 a.m.
Item 8a
A discussion was held on the conversion of 8th Street from one-way traffic to two-way traffic.
City Manager gave a brief history on this project noting that it had its origin in 2001 when
First Baptist Church requested that the City close Bluff Street between 8th and 91h Streets which has
been done for their church expansion. At that same time, the idea of converting 8th Street to two-
way traffic was discussed. There had been previous discussions because of a traffic study about
converting 9th, 101h, and 111h Streets, any combination of that from one-way to two-way traffic. At
that time there was no decision made prior to that April Council meeting because the traffic study
was relatively recent and in those recommendations, 9th loth and 11th, which would go all the way
from Ohio Street to Brook Street, there would be significant expenditures required to align the
intersections' property on each of those three streets. When the Bluff Street closure came up the
emphasis shifted to 8th Street becoming a two way street. There was considerable discussion with
the Church about funding that project because it seemed to originate in part with the closing of Bluff
Street. It was decided that the Church would pick up the cost estimate, which at that time was
approximately $150,000, but if it was less they were only going to pick up the actual cost that the
City experienced in the conversion. That cost is down to about $53,000. At the last Council
meeting some downtown property owners requested that we reconsider the conversion of 8th Street
and leave it one-way traffic. That is why it is being discussed today.
Mr. Darron Leiker, Director of Aviation, Traffic and Transportation, said that a few weeks
ago he had been asked why the City waited until now to make the conversion and he explained
that it was predicated by the closing of Bluff Street. If the Church's campaign fell through and they
did not move forward the City would not close or vacate Bluff Street, hence we would not convert
8th Street to two-way traffic. That work was started about a month ago by informing property owners
along 8th Street that this project had started and gave them a tentative completion date. We halted
that work because Council was going to discuss it today. The project is 80% complete and we are
about three days from final completion depending on today's results. We have spent approximately
$34,000 to date on this project.
He addressed the following issues regarding traffic counts and safety. Kimley-Horne did a
traffic study and they looked at downtown traffic flow and traffic signals. They looked at 9th, 101h and
111h Streets for conversion from one-way traffic to two-way traffic and they concluded that these
conversions should work satisfactorily. I think 8th Street would work better as two-way traffic than
101h and 111h because the traffic count is so much less today on 8th Street than on 9th & loth. The
lane capacity would actually be better than we would have on a two-way 9th or 10th Street. 7"
Street has operated with two-way traffic for many years and it is very effective. We looked at
accident rates on 7th versus 8th 91h loth, and 11 th Streets, and they are virtually the same. One of
the other arguments that you may have heard is that once we convert 8th Street to two-way is that
the accidents will spike, but we do not believe that is true because 71h Street would show that as
well. The traffic we have on 8th Street now is roughly around 1500 vehicles a day depending on the
intersection you look at. For example on 81h and Lamar we have 1200 vehicles a day that travel
south bound, and the lane capacity is 1900 vehicles per hour, so we are not even close. There
are between 1500 vehicles a day on 8th Street, and 1200 vehicles traveling southbound on 8th and
Lamar. You cannot compare us to downtown Austin or any other communities that we have been
compared to. We believe that two-way traffic on 8th Street would function fine.
Jim Johnson 2632 Chase, President of Visions of North Texas and Wichita Falls Downtown
Development, Inc., stated that Visions' goals are development of downtown and revitalizing the
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Item 8a continued
downtown economy. They have considered the following factors in steering the rediscovery of
downtown:
Access — Make downtown accessible without a hassle
One-way traffic is more convenient; it brings people into downtown; major
access to downtown. Obstacles: delivery and parallel parking, delays to
left turn on two-way street.
Safety — Pedestrian traffic more of a concern on two-way streets; increase in
accidents; passing and opposing traffic.
Parking —Adequate parking will become inadequate; more loading zones will need
to be installed
Mr. Johnson concluded by stating that Visions of North Texas voted to oppose this change
and requests that 81h Street remain a one-way street.
Councilor Hawkins asked if anyone other than the City wanted this change. Mr. Johnson
informed that they had done an informal survey with 8th Street property owners and did not find
anyone in favor of this change. Councilor Hawkins commented that he was not present in 2001
when this was voted on but he believes that the vote was taken to convert 8th Street only because
First Baptist Church felt that was the only way to get Bluff Street closed. Mayor clarified that it was
a supposition on Councilor Hawkins' part; this is just his guesswork as to what happened.
Councilor Williams stated that Visions at that time had no objections to changing 8th Street
to two-way traffic. Mayor added that in 2001 Wayne Henson spoke in favor of the ordinance and
no objections were voiced to convert 8th Street to two-way traffic. Of course any organization can
change their mind.
City Manager informed that the reason the two projects linked was that we recognized if
Bluff Street closed it would present a lot of egress problems during events held at Memorial
Auditorium. If Bluff Street closed it would dead-end at 8th Street, which is a one way heading east
when after an event at this building people would want to go west. That is why the two issues
linked, plus First Baptist Church offered that for our events we could use their parking lots if they
were not in use. When you get to 81h Street if you can only go east you cannot use their parking
lots because Broad is a north street and 8th Street would be going away from it. That is when
Visions and the Heritage Society both endorsed the 8th Street conversion to two-way traffic.
Mr. Johnson asked if Visions had endorsed the 8th Street conversion and City Manager
replied that they had. Mayor stated that what was going to happen with the closing of Bluff Street
had been discussed in connection with the 8th Street conversion.
Mr. Darron Leiker clarified that the two-way conversion of 8th Street was part of the
Ordinance adopted in 2001. He noted that Section 2 of the Ordinance refers to "Attachment B"
where the conversion is mentioned.
For clarification purposes Mayor Altman stated that he is a member of First Baptist Church
and was present in 2001 but abstained from any discussion or vote at that time.
Councilor Burns said that he was present during those discussions in 2001 and the decision
the Council made was not one that was made by a flip of a coin. We can illustrate why these
decisions were made and we could articulate that we did have discussion about them. It was not
just a flippant decision; it had support of the same organizations that are now before us speaking
against it, which is fine if you change your minds. I was concerned that some people were thinking
that the City just decided to do this because it was convenient. That is not what happened, there
was a process and discussions were had and it included the conversion of 8th Street to two-way
traffic. This was not arbitrary and there was a lot of thought put into it and it was not done to close
Bluff Street for First Baptist Church although it was part of it.
Mr. Johnson explained that what concerned them was that no one was speaking in favor of
the conversion so we do not understand the constituency pushing for it nor do we understand a
reason for it. Councilor Burns stated that this was why we wanted to put this on the agenda so that
we could articulate the reasons. Councilor Williams commented that even three years ago it was
not a proposed change for change sake, there was a lot of discussion that went into that in terms of
flow of traffic and as a safety factor.
David White, 900 8th Street (business), 2102 Berkeley (residence), stated that what they are
asking for is not about keeping something the same as it has been for fifty or sixty years. The
conversion of 8th Street to two-way traffic is not necessary and it would be detrimental to traffic flow
to the downtown area. The first I heard about this conversion was when I received a letter
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Item 8a continued
February 18, 2004. 1 had not read the Ordinance. This letter stated that the conversion would take
place and that the change would be completed by March 12, 2004. The letter also stated that there
would be no loss of parking spaces. The City Manager in a phone conversation told me that the
conversion was necessary for the movement of emergency vehicles and Mr. Leiker confirmed this.
At the City Council on March 2, 2004 it was indicated to me that this change was done for
movement of emergency vehicles; now this is not true. We do not need 8th Street to expedite the
movement of emergency vehicles. I have talked to Chief Coughlin and he said it would not matter
and Chief Lindsey said the same thing. It is kind of strange as to why we are doing this. I know it
will help First Baptist Church parking a little but it will hurt 81h Street. If this goes through it will be a
worse mess than it already is. The mess is not 8th Street but the streets we closed. We can all get
around if we leave 8th Street a one-way. The City should not break something that is not broken.
The lights that the City has already purchased for this conversion can be used elsewhere and the
signs do not need to be put up. Let's leave 8th Street as a one-way street. Changing it to two-way
traffic will cause congestion, more accidents, and it will be unsafe for pedestrians. Dave Clark told
me that there was no study made by the Planning Department or the MPO about converting 81h
Street to two-way traffic to see what the results would be. I ask you to keep it as a one-way street
or let's have some professionals come in and do a study.
Councilor Williams stated that when it comes to what considerations were made I never got
the feeling in 2001 that the sole consideration was because of safety concerns. The Police Chief
stated then that the amount of time it would take to go from their station to go north and to the west
was not going to change that much, maybe by about a minute. For someone to say that we said
that was an error because it never happened in the first place. I knew that the safety factors were
going to be met regardless if Bluff Street was closed or not. I had more concerns with closing Bluff
Street than I ever had with changing 8th Street to two-way traffic. It was much more important to me
to make sure that Bluff Street did not change anything and once I was sure of that I knew that the
fire and safety protection was not going to change but by one minute.
Mayor stated that the only concern, which was his concern and expressed by the Fire Chief,
had to do with simply getting to Municipal Auditorium during a fire, which would take them an
additional thirty seconds. The then Director of Aviation, Traffic, and Transportation Mr. Bob Parker
led that discussion to the extent that Mr. Berzina or Mr. Leiker may have mentioned emergency
services probably before they reviewed the matter and it just popped into their mind. That was the
only concern in conjunction with going to Municipal Auditorium. City Manager concurred that the
focus was only on this building. He informed Mr. White that Dave Clark does not do traffic studies;
they have not done them in years. Darron Leiker's Department does those.
Councilor Williams stated that it is ludicrous to think that any of us, speaking for the Council,
were concerned whether or not First Baptist Church had additional parking. That was never
discussed and that would not have been a consideration for me. I cannot believe anyone else
would have considered that. That was something they should have thought about. I did think about
what would happen because we have traditionally used their Youth Center for parking and
everybody that left from there would have to go east before they could find a street to go west. I
was more concerned that people who used our buildings had access to the west and east but not
because of First Baptist Church. That is their problem and their concern. It certainly was not any
consideration for me.
Councilor Esther said that he is for what is going to improve our downtown area. When
First Baptist Church brought up their project in the downtown area I was excited. We had a request
to close Bluff Street and we had a long discussion about that. In the meantime we had several
projects taking place, the overpass coming through the City and the Coliseum. We had a lot of
activities going on at the same time in the downtown area and I was elated that the Church was
joining in to make sure that the downtown area was coming to life. In progress there are some
minor things that we have to concede but right now I cannot see where it is going to affect anything
at all based upon the understanding that we have with the First Baptist Church and based on all the
discussions we have had. Some people said that they had not heard about this but we have talked
about this for a very long time. Since we have done this I hope we would give this thing a try and
see how it works. We are all struggling to see that the downtown comes alive.
Mayor referred to Mr. White's statement that the 81h Street conversion to two-way traffic
would be detrimental to traffic flow. Mr. White stated that 8th Street is a very busy street. The 1500
cars a day occur during 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and if you are for downtown revitalization that is going to
increase and downtown is coming back. Consider when a semi truck parks in front of the Wichita
Tower. It is going to block traffic on a two-way street. What is going to happen to traffic?
Councilor Esther questioned how often that would happen. Mr. White replied that UPS and FedEx
deliver everyday downtown and there are no loading zones. Mr. Leiker clarified that there are
loading zones. Mayor commented that he has seen UPS and FedEx park on Lamar Street. We
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Item 8a continued
can talk to them and tell them we are not going to allow that. Mr. White stated that most of the
trucks are too big to fit in the loading zones.
Gerald Jackson, 2500 Garden Grove, member of First Baptist Church, said he was glad to
hear Councilor Williams say that she was looking at the effects of closing Bluff Street and not what
First Baptist Church wanted. I believe that First Baptist Church did not ask that 8th Street be made
two-way. My point is that we have not heard here today why it was requested to be changed even
though First Baptist Church is paying for that and they did not ask for that change.
City Manager replied that the reason for the change is for the egress out of Memorial
Auditorium. Utilizing the parking lots that the Church was offering in exchange for Bluff Street is
just traffic flow. At the time that was going on there was also the discussion about changing 9th loth
and 111h to two-way traffic. When we introduced the subject that it was going to cause us traffic
problems someone brought up access problems. The study said that ultimately some of those
streets should go to two-way traffic. The Church then joined in the discussion that 81h Street would
be better than 9th Street as two-way traffic, and they agreed because of that and the Bluff Street
problem to pay for the change.
Mayor stated that several First Baptist Church members discussed it with him and they
were aware of the recommendation that 9th Street be converted to two-way traffic. At some point
and time internal to them they said that they would prefer to keep 91h Street a one-way street for
ease of egress from Church property. Most people came from the southwest part of town and
needed access to the freeways. I do not know who suggested it whether it came from Bob Parker,
to convert 81h Street to two-way instead of converting gth Street but that is the reason they were in
favor of converting 8th instead of gth to two-way traffic.
Mr. Jackson said that 8th Street could still be continued as a one-way and we at First Baptist
Church could still get around egress and ingress. The ease of getting downtown is easier from a
one-way instead of two-way. In all the discussion today I still have not heard, other than the
egress/ ingress from the parking, why the one-way has to be changed.
Mayor stated that Mr. White suggested doing a study and we have a study that gth Street be
made a two-way street and I would have to follow the study to convert 8th Street. Mr. Jackson
asked why the one-way had to be changed. Mayor replied that the study talked about 9th, loth and
1 lth Streets. Mr. White stated that the streets south of 91h and 10th should go to two-way.
City Manager made a general comment that traffic engineers will tell you that two-way
streets are more efficient than one-way. That is way they came in with that study and said a series
of your streets, whichever ones they are, should be two-way streets. They give the driver more
options than a one-way street.
Mr. Jackson stated that we have an organization downtown that is very viable now, Visions
Downtown, and he suggested that Council try a little harder where it affects downtown in the future.
He also suggested that they visit with Vicki Crump. Councilor Williams commented that they had
done that in 2001. Mr. Jackson said that it was done but it was not concentrated on the two-way
street.
Councilor Norrie commented that Mr. Jackson did not get his question answered as to why
we had to make any change to 8th Street. What was the genesis of this besides the expansion of
the Church?
Councilor Williams explained that the Traffic and Transportation Department felt it would
insure a smoother flow of traffic, which was the primary consideration, not safety. We also
discussed whether we would go all the way down to Ohio or if it would be two-way for part of that.
At that time I stated that if we only made it two-way for a short distance we would create more
problems than we solved. We have Traffic and Transportation as a division of this entity and when
they make a recommendation you listen to it. It was made known at that open meeting that there
was a possibility we were going to do this. I am really disturbed that if we have a group that stands
and speaks for something that I would have to question the person who represents that entity and
their motive. When Visions spoke in 2001, 1 hope they were speaking not from a president or chair
of the board's religious affiliation but from what they have considered is best for this community. To
say now three years later that they were speaking only because they were a member of First
Baptist is either an insult to Visions or an insult to the person who spoke. To question their motives
is to question them. If they were speaking on behalf of Visions and that is what they were
supposed to speak as, they should not come here as president or chair of Visions and speak
because of their religious affiliation. That is wrong. That is why the Mayor absented himself from
these deliberations because he is a member of that Church. It does not bear any comment
because we cannot speak for them. It is something we need to be concerned about. When I
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Item 8a continued
listened to you in 2001 1 had every reason to believe that you were speaking for the reason you
were standing up here. To hear now that they were speaking with a hidden agenda really disturbs
me.
Councilor Ammons stated that she was on the Visions Board in 2001 and she is also a
member of First Baptist Church and she remembers this conversation, and Mr. Henson came to
speak on behalf of the Visions Board.
Mayor read an excerpt from the 2001 Council minutes referring to Mr. Wayne Henson,
North Texas Visions President, who spoke on behalf of this organization in favor of the Ordinance
to convert 81h Street to two-way. Mayor commented that for whatever reasons they can change
their minds.
Councilor Williams agreed that they could change their minds but she just did not want any
inference made either on what they are saying now or what they said then as being for something
other than what they came up here for in the first place.
Councilor Ammons said that she did not believe that Mr. Henson's motive was First Baptist
Church. I do not think that entered into it. She added that the closing of Bluff Street entrance with
the ramp also created a huge problem when you are going down 51h Street. When you go beyond
there it is Travis Street before you can turn back and go the other way. I timed that by taking the
Holiday exit and then trying to go up and around and you get caught up in those lights and it is
seven minutes longer. I do not know what the solution is but before I came on the Council I asked if
they could change 10th Street to a one-way and that was not a viable solution.
Andy Lee, 1410 Grant, said that the First Baptist Church expansion is going to be a gem for
downtown and for the entire community. I was not here in 2001 1 was in Austin. He provided
Council with a long diagram of 8th Street with the cross streets. He mentioned that converting 8th
Street to a two-way would result in problems with parallel parking. He pointed out that the Kimley
Horne study was done in 2001 and that was based on those traffic counts in 2001. We have
changed our downtown quite a bit since that time. MPEC is completely operational with a new
coliseum and that brings a lot more people downtown. Residential units have been added to
downtown that are very critical. The units are pedestrian friendly. The key ingress coming
downtown for these 24-hour residents is 81h Street. Pedestrian-wise, they are crossing streets and
it is less safe to cross two-way Streets than one-way streets. It is the same for First Baptist Church
attendees. Those are some critical safety concerns because it is pedestrian safety. It is very
important for that aspect to be considered. Another thing we need to consider is what happens to
the Holt. They have two loading zones. They will have major parking issues if 8th Street is
converted to two-way. 8th Street has three restaurants and Sysco delivers there. They have to
park and will obstruct traffic. Two-way traffic has a problem with that. With things going on down
town in the evening there is a lot of traffic after 5 p.m. Key component is to keep 8th Street one-
way. Traffic counts change. The other question on development is when I start with Planning and
Public Works and get those issues resolved. We have our ordinances that we have to abide by
and I question why this project did not go through the same process? Why was Community
Development and MPO not involved in this? I would like to get together as a downtown
organization, meet as a committee and discuss this. I do not think another traffic study is
necessary, however, I think updated traffic flow data might help.
Mayor asked Mr. Lee if 8th Street was converted to two-way traffic did he believe this would
increase or decrease traffic? Mr. Lee replied that you can carry more traffic on 8" Street and I think
it is going to increase on 81h Street as a one-way. Mayor asked him if he did not think that people
coming to downtown off the expressway would use 8th Street to go back the same way. Mr. Lee
replied that they would go back to the highway markings or TXDOT markings on 144. Mayor said
that if he was a resident at the Holt and considering that many medical providers are back in the
Brook United Regional area or on the south and west part of town, would it not be more convenient
to come out of the Holt and go right? Mr. Lee stated that he thinks going to Ohio Street and then
turning up would be the best way to go.
Rick Graham, 530 71h Street (business), 3040 Saratoga Trail (residence), said that he had a
final copy of the study and nowhere in it did they contemplate closing Bluff Street and making 81h
Street a two-way street. The traffic goes out of the City on 9th Street, which is a one-way and 8th
Street is where I see most of the traffic coming into downtown. He read some highlights from the
study. He is not a property owner there but has concerns about the parking. When this study was
effected I lost four parking spots on 7th and Ohio. There are wrecks there all the time and they are
quite frequent. I am critical of this survey because it was taken when the elevated expressways
were being built. The traffic counts are nowhere near what they are today. I do not have a vested
interest in one-way or two-way streets. 8th Street is bad enough as it is in one direction, for both
cars and pedestrians. He said the survey recommends doing 10th and 11th Streets. He thought 9th
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Street was wonderful for getting out of town and 81h Street was wonderful for coming in. He read
some comments from the study regarding collision assessment on Travis and 8'h, and removal or
changes of signal lights. My concern is ultimately for the Holt. There is a lot of parking for the Holt
residents, however retail customers would have to park on the street. I do not see the need to
change 81h to a two-way.
Councilor Williams referred to the traffic situation that had evolved at 71h and Ohio Streets
and asked if removing the traffic signal was not the cause? They are just disregarding the blinking
yellow light on 71h and the flashing red light on Ohio. Mr. Graham replied that he thought it was out
of habit; you forget it or don't pay attention. Councilor Williams said it is the ability or the like
thereof to know how to understand signs and I think people do not know how to obey traffic signals.
Councilor Ammons mentioned that you cannot see beyond those cars parked in the red
zones when you stop at a stop sign. She suggested that the police officers give citations to those
parking in the red zones at the same time that they check the meters at the post office. Chief
Coughlin will address that concern.
City Manager said there is a feeling that we are going to lose the parking in front of the Holt,
however, Mr. Leiker assured me that we are not. Some of the parking lot is reserved for retail
customers. Mr. Graham stated that there is more parking on a one-way street.
Mr. Leiker informed that the side abutting the Holt is parallel. Right now there is no parking
there because of the construction but once it opens up it will be parallel parking and across the
street will be angle-in parking. He clarified that there had been just one accident this year at 71h and
Ohio Streets; we are not having one accident a month there. Also, 81h and Travis Streets appeared
in the Kimley-Horne study to be one of the highest accident locations in the City but I need to clarify
that. The reason those streets came up is because it is one of the few intersections in the study
area they looked at but the traffic volume is so low that we had only three accidents in three years.
Because the traffic volume was so low it put it at a relatively high number of accidents for the traffic,
as compared to say Lebanon and Lawrence Road that might have twenty accidents in one year.
Mr. Leiker also clarified that TXDOT concurs with our thoughts that converting 81h Street to
two-way will function fine. It is not just the City's Traffic Division that has come up with this. In
addition, the 8th Street Campus Hospital feels that this will help their operation. They are supportive
of this as well. The reason the MPO has not voted on this is that they are not involved in traffic
engineering. We are a part of the MPO but this has no bearing where we would have to take it to
the MPO. He noted that the Traffic Safety Commission is aware of this and this item was taken to
them for discussion. TXDOT, WFPD, Wichita County, SAFB, as well as downtown, have
representatives on that commission and it was taken to them a few months ago and we explained
what we wanted to do.
Councilor Norrie asked if the Traffic Safety Commission members had expressed any
concerns when it was taken to them? Mr. Leiker replied that there were no concerns expressed.
Councilor Ammons said she had brought it up and there were neither concerns expressed nor
requests to change 8th Street to a one-way.
Councilor Williams asked that the traffic counts be discussed since Mr. Lee stated that he
had larger traffic counts than what we had.
Mr. Leiker explained that they pulled numbers from August 2002. We have seen 81h Street
traffic peel off. More people are using the 61h Street exit ramp more to enter downtown. If we check
numbers on 81h Street from 1998 and 1999 we have less traffic there today and the primary reason
is that folks are using that 61h Street exit ramp. Also, the gentleman that cited 3000 average daily
traffic, that was for the entire intersection for all directions, and the numbers I cited was 1200 per
day traffic south bound on 81h Street. We even looked at highest hourly traffic count. At 81h and
Lamar it was 403 vehicles per hour.
Councilor Williams commented that she is downtown in the evenings and Ray Charles
could almost drive downtown and not worry about being hurt. Did you do traffic counts after 5:00
p.m. Mr. Leiker replied that they looked at every hour of the day. Councilor Williams asked if it
was greater or less after 5:00 p.m.? Mr. Leiker replied that after 5:00 p.m. the numbers definitely
decrease and that is why we looked at it on an hourly basis because we did not want to dilute the
twenty-four hour traffic count by factoring in the nighttime count. We even wanted to see what the
peak hour was and that hour was around noon or first thing in the morning. He noted that the
traffic count on Lamar is 1200 south bond, north bound is 767, and east bound on 81h is 1284.
Councilor Williams commented that traffic seems to flow in through Travis Street into downtown,
probably more than Lamar. Mr. Leiker said that they mainly looked at east and west bound traffic
304
Item 8a continued
and into town and out of town. We believe that 81h Street as a two-way will pare well with an
already two-way 71h Street. We do not want to confuse drivers and that is why we wanted to make it
two-way for the entire length of that section from Brook to Ohio Street. We did not want to break it
up.
Mr. Jackson said he had the utmost respect for Councilor Williams and the rest of the
Council but was offended by her comment about the downtown evening traffic. I took it as making
fun of downtown but I do not think that is what you meant however this is the perception when you
talk about how someone can drive through downtown in the evening. That is the kind of perception
we get for downtown and we have to live with it.
Councilor Williams stated that it was an attempt at humor but the attempt was made to show
that the traffic is reduced after 5:00 p.m. I think the greater insult to Wichita Falls would be that
traffic determines whether or not we are being considered hicks or small" townish", attitudes do
that. What I said was only to talk about how reduced the traffic was after 5:00 p.m. not to make fun.
Mr. Jackson said that he was talking about the perception.
Vicki Crump, 2417 Cambridge, Executive Director Downtown Wichita Falls, Inc. said she
has been in Wichita Falls for eight months and she is totally confused about the traffic downtown. I
am still trying to learn how to get around. Our Organization is a private-public partnership and I
think everything we heard today has some merit and the decisions made in 2001 may have had
some merit then and it may have changed since then. Whatever you decide will be supported by
all of Wichita Falls because we do want what is best for downtown. We are seeing more new
development in downtown and some redevelopment of the old buildings, and we will see more
people living downtown. We do have a lot more traffic in downtown at night and we hope to
redirect that as we begin to use the new development projects like MPEC and the Library.
Whatever happens here today I hope we think about some of those things and the fact that we are
all in this together and we will have to live with that. Whatever decision is made I hope it is thought
through and well thought out and looks at the planning for the future of our downtown.
City Council recessed at 11:16 a.m. and reconvened at 11:30 a.m.
Comments and discussion continued under Item 8a, conversion of 8th Street to two-way
traffic.
Mayor commented that over the years the City has demonstrated a great deal of
enthusiasm and concern for the downtown area. The City has been a tremendous partner to the
development of Visions and the other folks downtown. The City created the Tax Increment Finance
District, which allows the taxes resulting from increased values in buildings downtown to remain in
the downtown area as a dedicated fund. The City has spent approximately $30 million in the
downtown area with the development of MPEC, and Mr. Dave Clark has devoted several years of
continued effort to raise funds for the redevelopment of the Holt Project. The whole history of the
City in the last 15-20 years has shown a real commitment to developing the downtown area.
Mayor noted that this item was placed on the agenda as a discussion item only and no
action could be taken. He stated that an Ordinance was passed in 2001 and he finds himself in a
position right now of listening to reasons for leaving 8th Street as a one-way street. Most of these
reasons are based on a feeling or supposition and there are certainly good reasons that have to do
with parking and delivery vehicles, which are handled routinely in other areas of town. I have no
doubt that those situations as they come up can be handled adequately by our Street and Traffic
Department.
Mayor stated that in 2001 this issue was thoroughly discussed according to the minutes,
which are quite extensive, and noted that the meeting was aired publicly. We find ourselves now in
the position of having spent approximately $34,000 and the citizens will recall part of the agreement
to close Bluff Street was that First Baptist Church agreed to fund the conversion of 81h Street. At
that time the cost was a lot more because there were numerous traffic signals that would need to
be changed. If we put an item on the agenda now to not follow through with the conversion we
would be in the position of spending $34,000 of the taxpayers money refunding the First Baptist
Church or else we have wasted $34,000 at this point and time of taxpayers money.
The City Manager in a memo to Council has agreed, if 81h Street is converted to two- way, to
closely monitor this situation for the next six months. Mayor asked that the Traffic Department
monitor both the traffic situation as far as delivery vehicles, etc. and the traffic count, and after 8th
305
Item 8a continued
Street has been converted that Council be provided with a bi-monthly memo on what is happening
and any problems that might have occurred and how they are solved. In addition, he asked that at
the end of six months Staff give a presentation of accident frequency on what has happened down
there. The City Manager has agreed that if significant problems occur he will bring it back to
Council and call our attention to it and would recommend that it be converted back to one-way
traffic. My personal feeling is that the conversion to two-way traffic would enhance the traffic count.
Some of us may have to change habits that we have been doing for years. He thanked the folks
that came in and brought their input and concerns before Council.
City Manager said that the City is a partner with the downtown. We are going to have a lot
more partnership in downtown. We will, as the Mayor has instructed, look and monitor this change
and if this creates more of a problem we will bring it back to Council.
Councilor Williams commented that if this continues to be a two-way after the Scott Street
Bridge opens, that would be a good time to look at the situation to see how the Bridge opening
impacts this. I still think we need to receive monthly reports from Traffic about accidents and
congestion of parking especially on Travis and Ohio Streets. Maybe after 90 days of the Scott
Street Bridge opening, Staff can provide routine reports to monitor that.
Item 8b
Councilor Esther commended Lt. Col. Robinson for his presentation. He noted that SAFB is
one of our largest employers and they are to be commended. They are very supportive of the City.
There will be more base closures in the future and the City needs to plan for possible expansion of
SAFB.
Councilor Esther commented that there were a lot of improvement activities downtown and
we are very appreciative of those who are working to see this happen. We can do this if we work
together in harmony and with communication. We have one desire and that is to see our City grow.
We are primarily interested in the investments of our downtown businesses and residents.
Councilor Hawkins disagreed with the conversion of 81h Street to two-way traffic. He felt it
would have an affect on the north side traffic coming into downtown. He asked Staff to look at the
configuration of 6th Street because this was going to draw more traffic from the north into
downtown. He commented that the traffic design beside our building, changing from five-lanes to
two-lanes from Seymour Highway to 5th Street, is poor. He cautioned people to pay careful
attention when they come from downtown onto 8th Street to get on the expressway to go north.
Councilor Williams commented that one never knows when one is right or when one is
wrong, even three years later. I thought what we did three years ago was probably appropriate and
I don't feel that good about the discussions today because we got a lot of input from people who
had some good ideas. I don't know in the long run what is going to be right and what is going to be
wrong but I know that our intentions were honorable then as well as now.
Councilor Williams referred to her earlier comment and clarified that her intention was not to
insult Wichita Falls, having grown up here and spent all of her adult life here and her professional
career. There is nothing I would do to harm Wichita Falls and if anyone ever feels like that let me
know. I can assure you that I have no intention of hurting Wichita Falls; as a matter of fact I want to
compliment something that happened here. When the storm hit three weeks ago I was at Hobby
Lobby and there was an announcement on their public address system that staff was to report to
the training room. The next thing we knew the staff had fanned out over the store without a word
being said to customers and touched each customer individually and asked us to go with them
because there was a big storm coming and we needed to go to the training room for safety. Without
panicking their customers they took us to the training room and told us what we could or could not
do in terms of what they thought would be safe for us. They also told us they had picked the
training room within their building because they felt it was the most interior room within that building
and within that shopping center.
In addition to this they had had a potluck lunch where the Manager had brought meat for
the employees and they had brought side dishes, including sodas and cookies, and they offered all
of that to their customers. I thought that was a step well above anything that anybody should have
done to not create a panic within that store but to create a giving attitude toward the customers
there.
306
Item 8b continued
Councilor Williams also commended the customers for the way they responded and used
their cell phones to contact family members informing them that they were okay and not to leave
their homes. They also offered their cell phones to others who did not have a cell phone so they
could contact their family members. I am glad we live in that kind of town and I think that the
people at Hobby Lobby need to know. I wanted to publicly thank them. They did not create panic,
and then they went well above what they should have done to make sure we were safe, calm and
well cared for. I commend the Manager and Staff at Hobby Lobby for their actions.
Councilor Ammons suggested that we rethink our siren system or some possible warning
system to warn the public about imminent severe storms. She also mentioned that it is very difficult
to move debris from our yards when we do not have trucks. She suggested that the City allow
citizens to put the debris on the curb to be picked up by the City. This would be something to help
the citizens. Lastly, Councilor Ammons mentioned the Kemp Street area and asked that setback
requirements on Limited Commercial Zones be revisited.
Councilor Williams asked that Staff provide information on the siren system process. Mayor
suggested that this be done during staff reports.
Councilor Burns mentioned the parade that was held Saturday welcoming troops back
home. On behalf of the Council and citizens he welcomed home those who served and thanked
them for their service to our country.
Councilor Burns congratulated Mr. Ray Gonzalez in his unopposed race, as well as the
Mayor and Councilor Norrie. He also congratulated the two candidates running in the District 5
race. He said he did not know why people do not file for office but from a personal perspective he
wanted to thank the Mayor and the Councilors for offering their service to the community. It is not
an easy job and to those who are willing to do it I think we as citizens are fortunate. Those of us,
except those who are unopposed candidates, would like to see a lot of qualified eligible people
running for office, and since there are not, from my perspective it is good for me and good for the
citizens that the people who are willing to serve are of the caliber that they are.
Councilor Norrie thanked Councilor Burns for his comments regarding the return of our
troops. Councilor Norrie expressed appreciation to Councilor Esther for his comments about
Sheppard Air Force Base. Councilor Norrie asked if and when downtown does grow uniformly,
would a two-way street benefit uniform growth in downtown or would a one-way street? Lastly,
Councilor Norrie asked that staff check the signal lights going southbound turning onto Midwestern
Parkway.
Mayor thanked everyone for their expressions of sympathy when his grandson passed. He
and his wife feel very good to be Americans and citizens of Wichita Falls. Mayor thanked Mayor
Pro Tern Burns for standing in and conducting the Council meetings in his absence and he thanked
the Council members for standing in for him at various events. Mayor mentioned that Kathryn
McKinney was a finalist for the Luis J. Hines national award that honors people who have excelled
in assisting children in abusive and impoverished situations.
Mayor stated that the downtown parking meters needed to either be removed or enforced.
He suggested that the sentinels be used to do random checks and cite those folks in violation.
Mayor informed that the City is not actively pursuing purchase of land around SAFB.
Mayor referred to Councilor Burns' statement about this job and commented that he did not
believe this was a hard job. Representing the citizens of Wichita Falls is one of the most
exhilarating and rewarding opportunities but it is time consuming whether as mayor or as a
councilor. It is rewarding when you see projects come to fruition.
Mayor informed that he had taken an oath to uphold the law and the TRN Editor admitted
that he had not paid the required fee when exiting Kickapoo Airport so I am going to email him and
give him five days to pay the $2.00 fee and if he does not pay I will file a complaint. He mentioned
that in Colorado they do not have meters but have a box where they can pay with a credit card and
are provided a receipt.
Councilor Hawkins asked that the Sentinels also check for all parking violations downtown,
not just meter violations.
307
Item 8c
Mrs. Jan Stricklin provided information on the siren system process.
She informed that this process had been established before the 1979 tornado. The sirens
are keyed to sound when there are continuous straight winds of 59 mph. The warning sirens will
sound for three consecutive minutes. When there are wind bursts we cannot sound the sirens
because we do not know in which area to sound them. She added that the City is in constant
contact with the Norman Weather Station and we have weather spotters as well. She feels that If
the sirens are sounded every time we have a storm, people would tend not to listen to the sirens.
Councilor Hawkins felt that we had spent quite a bit of money in order to have the ability to
communicate. Why couldn't we use our ability to speak through these systems to inform the
citizens that there are strong winds and save the sirens for when there is a danger but use the
ability to communicate? Mrs. Stricklin felt that was a possibility. She said that she wanted the
citizens to be aware of the fact that the sirens are to be heard outside and that it is the season for
storms. There is no perfect warning system. If we do have the opportunity we will look into using
that system to giving better warnings but there has to be criteria.
Councilor Esther suggested using Channel 11 by flashing severe weather information on
there.
City Manager reiterated that in order to sound the sirens there has to be sustained 59 mph
winds or if spotters see a tornado in the immediate area we can sound the sirens, or if we get a call
from the Doppler Radar people. We will review that to see if we need to change those criteria.
Councilor Williams commented that folks might hear the sirens where they may not hear the
voice on the system. Councilor Hawkins asked Staff to see what could be done to communicate to
the citizens when we have winds above a certain rate.
Mayor felt that redefining the criteria needed to be closely examined because of possible
citizens' response to sirens.
Mr. Jack Murphy gave an update on the Skate Park Project. He informed that at the
February Park Board meeting they received a proposal from a citizens' group. They asked for the
City to allocate a portion of land somewhere in the City for a Skate Park. They want to have the
ability to develop a feasibility study and raise funds for this proposed project. The City has
recommended two sites, one at Scotland Park and one near the Holiday Creek Spillway, and the
group elected the Spillway location, which is surplus City land. The proposal from the group was
that the City reserve this land for the period of time that they would require to solicit a consultant for
a feasibility study for the skate park at this location. The Park Board has agreed to this and we now
need to know if this is the direction you want the City to follow. He added that the timeframe could
be approximately six-months. That particular land is unused City land, and Public Works has not
identified any City utilities but there may be private utilities.
City Manager stated that there is communication going on about this. The Rotary clubs
have volunteered to raise funds for this. Our involvement will be the site only, not the operation or
the maintenance.
Item 9
No one signed up to speak under Public comments.
City Council adjourned at 12.29 p. m.
PASSED AND APPROVED this��day of 04L , 2004.
WILLIAM K. ALTMAN
MAYOR
ATTEST:
Lydia Torres-Ozuna
City Clerk
1
1
1
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, March
16, 2004, Beginning At 8:30 a.m.
City Council: Mayor William K. Altman - Councilors Arthur Bea
Williams, Linda Ammons, James Esther, Michael
Norrie, Johnny Burns, and Harold Hawkins.
1. Call to Order.
2. Invocation: Pastor Todd Derbyshire
University Park Church Of The Nazarene
3. Presentations:
4. Approval of Minutes.
CONSENT AGENDA
5. Receive Minutes:
a. Civil Service Commission — February 5, 2004
b. Wichita Falls Traffic Safety Commission — February 4, 2004
REGULAR AGENDA
6. Ordinances:
a. Ordinance Making Appropriation In The Special Revenue
Fund In The Amount Of $8,400.00 For Additional Funding
For The Public Health Emergency Preparedness Grant
Received From The Texas Department Of Health (TDH) And
Authorizing The City Manager To Execute Contract
Accepting Same. (City Council Bill #71 )
City Council Agenda
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Page 2
b. Ordinance Making Appropriation To The Special Revenue
Fund For Additional Ryan White Title II Grant Funding In The
Amount Of $210,906 Received From Tarrant County And
Authorizing The City Manager To Execute Contract
Accepting Same. (City Council Bill #72)
c. Ordinance Waiving Sections 82-58, 82-63 And Sec 82-67 Of
The Code Of Ordinances To Permit Driving Vehicles Upon
The Grass, Posting Of Signs, Attendance In The Park During
Curfew Hours, And The Reservation Of Open Space During
A Northwest Texas Council Of The Boy Scouts Scout-A-
Rama Event In South Weeks Park April 23 And 24, 2004.
(City Council Bill #73)
d. Ordinance Waiving Sec 82-58 Of The Code Of Ordinances
To Permit Driving Upon The Grass By Participant Flyers
During A Pylon Model Aircraft Race By The Wichita Falls
Radio Control Club May 14, 15, And 16, 2004, From 8:00
A.M. To 5:00 P.M. Each Day In Lake Wichita Park. (City
Council Bill #74)
e. Ordinance Waiving Section 82-62 Of The Code Of
Ordinances To Permit Sales Of Food And Drink And
Admission To An Easter Fund Raising Program By The
Place In And Around The Large Shelter In Lucy Park April 3,
2004. (City Council Bill #75)
7. Resolutions:
a. Resolution Authorizing The City Manager To Execute A
License Agreement Granting The YMCA Of Wichita Falls
Extended Reservation Privilege To Use Ballfields In Kiwanis
Park And Lake Wichita Park For A Youth Baseball League In
2004. (City Council Bill #76)
8. Other Council Matters:
a. Discussion of Conversion of 8th Street From One Way To
Two Way Traffic.
b. Discussion Of Items Of Concern To Members Of The City
Council.
c. Staff/Council Discussion.
City Council Agenda
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Page 3
END OF TELEVISED SEGMENT
9. Comments From The Public To Members Of The City Council
Concerning Items That Are Not On The City Council Agenda.
RESUME TELEVISED SEGMENT
10. Adjourn.
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