Loading...
Min 03/18/2008 y ' 283 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Wichita Falls, Texas Memorial Auditorium Building March 18, 2008 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: Lanham Lyne - Mayor Ray Gonzalez - Mayor Pro Tern Councilors Glenn Barham - Michael Smith - Dorothy Roberts-Burns - Absent Rick Hatcher - Absent Charles Elmore - Darron Leiker - City Manager Bill Sullivan - City Attorney Lydia Ozuna - City Clerk Mayor called the meeting to order. Item 2a Reverend Liz Talbert, Associate Pastor, Floral Heights United Methodist Church, gave the invocation. Item 2b Councilor Gonzalez led in the Pledge of Allegiance. Item 3a Mayor Pro Tern Ray Gonzalez proclaimed March 29, 2008 as "Keep Wichita Falls Beautiful Day" and encouraged citizens to become active in the effort to keep Wichita Falls clean by supporting the works of the Keep Wichita Falls Clean Commission. Mrs. Tara McKnight accepted the proclamation and informed that there would be a river cleanup on Saturday, March 29 beginning at 9 a.m. at Lucy Park. She expressed appreciation to Sheppard personnel who will be helping. She invited anyone else interesting in helping to be at Lucy Park. Item 3b Mayor Pro Tern Ray Gonzalez proclaimed March 20, 2008 as "Absolutely Incredible Kids Day in Wichita Falls" and encouraged everyone to write a letter to kids and have a positive impact in the lives of children. Mrs. Amy Sjolander accepted the proclamation and asked citizens to get involved and send a special message to kids. Item 4 Roby Christie, 3309 Cumberland, mentioned the Hotter 'N Hell Hundred and the changes being made to have a larger, more positive impact in our City. One change is moving the event to MPEC and changing the finish line to the north side of the Coliseum. They will i 284 ' Item 4 continued have to relocate the route for the criterion which will necessitate the relocation of one of the streets to 2"d Street. In turn, they are requesting that the City pave 2"d Street with a smooth surface and they will curb and gutter that portion. City Manager stated that he and the Public Works Director have discussed this and they are still putting cost estimates together. Since that is an unbudgeted item we will have to figure out how to fit it in. We can look at our overlay projects and work on this. Mr. Christie stated that they would like to see it happen for this year's race. Glen Tarter, 2310 Ellingham, asked that Council consider modifying the ETJ from 50 feet to 5000 feet as it relates to sale of fireworks. The current ordinance has been in place for 15 years and back then the City was mostly rural; but times have changed. The City can adopt a 5000 feet ETJ, and what that would do is restrict the sale and use of fireworks within 5000 feet of the City. It would create a better public safety for our citizenry and limit access to the firework stands by children. Children are able to walk to the stands now and if you move it one mile out it would be more difficult for them to access. Many cities, large and small have already adopted such an ordinance - Lubbock, Amarillo, Fort Worth, Sherman, Denton, Gainesville, and Midlothian. It would be for the public safety of our citizens and I think it is time we move on this since the current ordinance is out dated. Jennie Arredondo, 1621 Elizabeth, is an avid rider on the City's transit system. In the proposal that Staff will be presenting to Council they have a deviation increase in cost and she stressed that Council consider that the majority of those who ride the transit system are low income. This deviation cost would be a burden to them since it would be quite a bit for her and others. She asked that Council consider alleviating the $2 deviation cost. Item 5 The March 4, 2008 minutes were approved as distributed. Item 6 City Manager read the item listed under the Consent Agenda. Moved by Councilor Barham that the Consent Agenda be approved. Motion seconded by Councilor Elmore and carried by the following vote. Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Barham, Smith, Gonzalez, and Elmore Nays: None Minutes of the January 24, 2008 Park Board meeting were received. Item 7a RESOLUTION NO. 35-2008 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING AWARD OF BID FOR THE PURCHASE OF TWO (2) 52,000 GVW TRUCK TRACTORS TO WICHITA FALLS FREIGHTLINER , IN THE AMOUNT OF $184,998.00; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW. Moved by Councilor Gonzalez that Resolution No. 35 -2008 be passed. Motion seconded by Councilor Barham and carried by the following vote. Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Barham, Smith, Gonzalez, and Elmore Nays: None ti 285 Item 7b RESOLUTION NO. 36-2008 RESOLUTION TO APPROVE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH ES ALTERNATIVES FOR THE POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE USE OF METHANE GAS FROM THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS LANDFILL; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW. Moved by Councilor Gonzalez that Resolution No. 36-2008 be passed. Motion seconded by Councilor Elmore and carried by the following vote. Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Barham, Smith, Gonzalez, and Elmore Nays: None Item 7c RESOLUTION NO. 37-2008 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, TO APPROVE THE ACCEPTANCE OF KELL WEST UTILITY RELOCATION PROJECT, CWF08-550-01 AND AUTHORIZE FINAL PAYMENT TO BOWLES CONSTRUCTION COMPANY; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW. Moved by Councilor Barham that Resolution No. 37-2008 be passed. Motion seconded by Councilor Smith and carried by the following vote. Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Barham, Smith, Gonzalez, and Elmore Nays: None Item 7d RESOLUTION NO. 38-2008 RESOLUTION AWARDING FINAL PAYMENT TO JLT CORPORATION FOR COMPLETION OF THE TAXIWAY "C" REHABILITATION PROJECT AT WICHITA FALLS MUNCIPAL AIRPORT; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW. Moved by Councilor Barham that Resolution No. 38-2008 be passed. Motion seconded by Councilor Elmore and carried by the following vote. Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Barham, Smith, Gonzalez, and Elmore Nays: None City Council recessed at 9:05 a.m. and reconvened at 9:15 a.m. 286 Item 8a(1) Mr. Scott Taylor introduced Mr. Thomas Hester and Mr. Richard Weatherly, Freese and Nichols Consultants. Mr. Hester and Mr. Weatherly gave a presentation on the Water Distribution System Master Plan. It was noted that there were 27 projects involved over a 20 year period sized in $2.5 million increments. A copy of this presentation is attached as Exhibit A. Mr. Taylor emphasized that this is a guidebook that staff and future staff can use. Since we have a Capital Improvement Project Program in your budget process these projects will be identified on the Capital Improvement Project list during budget. We recognize that each year is its own financial year as to which funds will be or will not be available. Those recommendations will be tempered with whatever budgetary issues are there. Clearly, if growth happens it may become an issue that you will have to build something. If growth does not happen, those projects can be delayed until growth happens. This is not an absolute; it should be evaluated each year to determine which projects should be done. Future work is outlined but it can be changed. City Council recessed at 10 a.m. and reconvened at 10:15 a.m. Item 8a 2 Mr. John Burrus gave a presentation on the Transit System Study. He recognized Mr. Dennis Burkett, Transit Administrator, and Mr. Lin Barnett, Metropolitan Planning Organization Coordinator, and acknowledged that they were the ones who had done this study. He also thanked the drivers and dispatchers for their participation, and the public for their input. Mr. Burrus proceeded with his presentation. A copy of this presentation is attached to these minutes as Exhibit B. Councilor Barham suggested that they consider phasing in the ADA deviation fee of$2.00. Councilor Smith suggested that they get with the media and provide them color maps so they can get the word out about this System. He wants to make certain that the public is aware and understands this Plan. Item 8b Councilor Smith said that last night's town hall meeting was great. Two things he found that came out of that meeting. One is that the City has sold 160 trustee lots in the past year. He commended Mrs. Hoffman and her staff. The other thing is recycling possibilities for Wichita Falls. Public Works is preparing a survey and the City wants to know what the citizens think and the level of interest in a full blown or partial recycling program. Councilor Smith said that they had an opportunity to tour the Allred Prison and it was very enlightening and an eye opening experience. He commended the people who work there. There are several groups touring that facility and he would like to see more of that for education purposes. Councilor Smith mentioned the ground breaking of the Maplewood Project and stated that they want to see that arterial street project in action in about a year. This is another sign of progress in our City. He thanked everyone involved in that project. Councilor Smith referred to the museums in Wichita Falls, and stated that Mr. Clark had gotten half a dozen of the museums together. We have a variety of museums in Wichita Falls and in the County, and we need to come together as a group of cultural institutions. We are trying to come up with an umbrella of museums. This group can provide services to each other but each would remain independent for grants and certain services that they need individually. They are now looking at a formal way to come together as an association. One thing that will be coming up is to go before the 4B Board and other sources for funding to provide some support of cultural historical groups to have a better representation of our area historically. This is to attract tourism and open more avenues for folks who live here to learn about our history * 287 Item 8b continued and other fine arts. We hope this association of museums and other fine arts will be successful. Councilor Gonzalez was glad to hear that we are looking into the methane gas project. It will be a great revenue source. Anything we can do to generate money that will not cost taxpayers is great. Councilor Gonzalez has heard a lot of positive feed back from young adults regarding the skate park. He asked for the completion date. City Manager replied that we are looking at the middle to the end of May. Mr. Benoit concurred giving a completion date of May 27-28. We hope to line up the parking lot, the restrooms and lighting; and mid May is a good completion date. Councilor Gonzalez asked Mr. Taylor to give the recycling drop-off locations. Mr. Taylor gave the following list: United Markets, Wal-Mart, and the Transfer Station. He noted that they take glass, paper and plastic, as well as yard waste, paper goods, and organic material. Councilor Barham stated that an individual from our community had expressed concern about the litter on our City streets. We know this is something near and dear to the Mayor's heart when he spoke about the litter in the creek behind his office. Councilor Barham thanked Sheppard personnel who helped clean up the creek about a month ago. He stated that the citizen's concern was about the trash and plastic bags around our City especially coming in from the Airport and around the major retail centers. The City needs to look at more programs involving the community to help keep this community clean. Maybe the Keep Wichita Falls Beautiful Commission can start some type of program and do that on a regular basis to help keep this community clean. We used to have trash cans at intersections but that has gone by the wayside probably because the trash flew out of them and cost more trouble to clean up. Maybe we need to consider a more efficient way to handle that. Councilor Barham congratulated Penny Bridges who will be the new Convention Visitors Bureau Director effective April 1. We are looking forward to having her on board. Councilor Elmore agreed with Councilor Barham that there are a lot of people that would like to volunteer to help clean up. I think this was very timely. Councilor Elmore was asked if work had stopped at the police shooting range. Mr. Benoit replied that it had not; we will meet Thursday on the 30% design review for the concept design and at that point we will have completed our concept design. After we meet with the Police Department we will have recommendations for Council for further steps. Councilor Elmore went to the Blenko Glass event at the Kemp Center for the Arts and commented that it was very well done and beautifully laid out; it was really pretty. He encouraged people to go see it. Councilor Elmore congratulated the SWAT graduates. There were a lot of compliments about the program. Councilor Elmore stated that Loop 11 was coming along beautifully. Mayor Lyne mentioned the museums coming together, and commented that that is how the Arts Council came about years ago; they worked collectively and it has worked well. That is another agency that could fit in there. I am happy to hear about that; it is a good move. Mayor Lyne stated that the Transportation Plan was outstanding work. It is a difficult to meet 100% of the needs. He mentioned that when he was a kid he used to ride the bus in Dallas and the round trip with two transfers cost him 500. Since then the federal government has put a lot of money into the transportation system. Our splits are 80/20 in some cases and 50/50 in other capital costs. We have meetings with TXDOT recently quite often on rescissions coming down from Washington reducing what is flowing back to the States. Right now that is highway funds. It is great that we are cognizant of the fees that we are charging but we need to realize that the fees we are charging are historically compared cheap; it does not mean we should not keep them that way. However, that is probably going to change in the next ten years. It is a little frustrated sending tax dollar northeast and they stay there. Mayor Lyne thanked everyone that is getting involved in the cleanup campaign. Mr. Jerry Vandiver informed that he received an email that the Forbes Magazine list of the best small metros to work and live in has Wichita Falls on the list. 288 Item 9a Moved by Councilor Gonzalez to appoint the following persons to the Park Board. Mr. Robert Riddle to Place 1 with term to expire December 31, 2008, Mr. Justin Perez to Place 8 with term to expire December 31, 2008, Mrs. Patricia Thompson to Place 11 with term to expire December 31, 2010. Motion seconded by Councilor Elmore and carried by the following vote. Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Barham, Smith, Gonzalez, and Elmore Nays: None Item 9b City Clerk requested that appointments to the Clean Community Commission be deferred until a later date. This Commission will meet Wednesday and plans to make recommendations to the Council for changes. City Council adjourned at 11:30 a.m. PASSED AND APPROVED this 1 r day of 2008. M OR ATTEST: Lydia Ozuna 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, March 18, 2008 Beginning At 8:30 A.M. City Council: Mayor Lanham Lyne, Councilors Glenn Barham, Michael Smith, Dorothy Roberts-Burns, Rick Hatcher, Ray Gonzalez, and Charles Elmore. 1 . Call To Order 2. (a) Invocation: Reverend Liz Talbert, Associate Pastor Floral Heights United Methodist Church (b) Pledge Of Allegiance 3. Proclamations: (a) Great American Cleanup Day - Tara McKnight, Keep Wichita Falls Beautiful (b) Absolutely Incredible Kid Day — Amy Sjolander & Campfire Kids 4. Comments From The Public To Members Of The City Council Concerning Items That Are Not On The City Council Agenda. People Wishing To Address The Council Should Sign Up Prior To The Meeting Commencing. A Five Minute Time Frame Will Be Adhered To For Those Addressing Their Concerns. 5. Approval Of Minutes Of March 4, 2008 Regular Meeting Of The Mayor And City Council. CONSENT AGENDA 6. Receive Minutes Of Park Board, January 24, 2008 City Council Agenda Tuesday, March 18, 2008 Page 2 REGULAR AGENDA 7. Resolutions (a) Resolution Authorizing Award Of Bid For The Purchase Of Two (2) 52,000 GVW Truck Tractors To Wichita Falls Freightliner In The Amount Of $184,998.00 (Council Bill #55) (b) Resolution To Approve Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) With ES Alternatives For The Possible Development Of The Use Of Methane Gas From The City Of Wichita Falls Landfill (Council Bill #56) (c) Resolution To Accept The Kell West Utility Relocation Project, CWF08-550-01 And Authorize Final Payment to Bowles Construction Company (Council Bill #57) (d) Resolution Awarding Final Payment To JLT Corporation For Completion Of The Taxiway "C" Rehabilitation Project At Wichita Falls Municipal Airport (Council Bill #58) 8. Other Council Matters (a) Staff Council Discussion (1) Scott Taylor - Water Distribution System Study (2) John Burrus - Transit System Study (b) Discussion Of Items Of Concern To Members Of The City Council. 9. Appointments/Reappointments to the following Boards and Commissions: (a) Park Board (c) Clean Community Commission 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. Wireless Listening System devices are available at the City Manager's reception area or you may call 761-7404 for inquiries. City Council Agenda Tuesday, March 18, 2008 Page 3 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 2008 at o'clock (a.m.)(p.m.). City Clerk