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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2006-08-21 Special 8/21/06 2536 STATE OF TEXAS )( CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD )( COUNTIES OF GALVESTON/HARRIS )( AUGUST 21, 2006 )( MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY COUNCIL THAT WAS HELD ON MONDAY, AUGUST 21, 2006, AT 4:30 PM AND A REGULAR MEETING AT 7:00 PM AT FRIENDSWOOD CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 910 S. FRIENDSWOOD DRIVE, FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS, WITH THE FOLLOWING PRESENT CONSTITUTING A QUORUM: MAYOR DAVID SMITH MAYOR PRO-TEM CHRIS PEDEN COUNCILMEMBER LAURA EWING COUNCILMEMBER JOHN LECOUR COUNCILMEMBER JIM HILL COUNCILMEMBER JAY HORECKY COUNCILMEMBER MEL MEASELES CITY ATTORNEY JOHN OLSON ACTING CITY MANAGER ROGER ROECKER CITY SECRETARY DELORIS MCKENZIE Mayor Smith called the Special Meeting to order at 4:30 pm. 4:30 PM —CLOSED EXECUTIVE SESSION Council convened into Executive Session in Accordance with the Texas Government Code, pursuant to Section 551.072—Deliberation regarding Real Property. Council convened into Regular Session at 7:00 pm with no action taken later in the meeting. RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION 5:30 PM —WORK SESSION Acting City Manager Roger Roecker presented the FY2006-007 Budget, proposed revenues for all funds, property taxes, property value comparison, General Fund revenues, grants, General Fund, General Fund balance, reserve fund options, General Fund expenditures, comparison of General Fund operations, changes to the proposed budget ($30,000 for property tax refunds - General Fund) ($21,611 in Stevenson Park pool pump and filter systems), water and sewer revenues, water and sewer expenditures, department supplemental requests, reviewed calendar for public hearings for tax and budget scheduled tentatively for September 11 and 18 and for adoption of budget scheduled for September 25, 2006. A lengthy questions and answer session was held following with Council suggesting that lists of questions be sent to the Acting City Manager to be addressed in public forum, need to be reasonable in questions for Staff and be careful of their time in this preparation, need to concentrate on this specific budget and then save research time and effort for big pictures, questions can be sent to Acting City Manager but that answers are to be made in public, a budget work session needs to be scheduled as soon as possible for Staff to gather information as requested, questions regarding supplementary requests will be answered at next meeting. 8/21/06 2537 7:00 PM — REGULAR SESSION The invocation was given by Senior Pastor Jim Bass with Friendswood United Methodist Church. Mayor Smith led the Pledge of allegiance to the United States and to the State of Texas. JOINT DOCKETED PUBLIC HEARING Mayor Smith and Planning and Zoning Chairman Holland called a Joint Docketed Public Hearing to order, to receive comments from the public, either oral or written, regarding amending the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Friendswood Appendix C, to allow certain special exceptions for gas stations located within the Original Business District (OBD). No one spoke for or against the Zoning Ordinance amendment. Hearing no further comments, Mayor Smith and Planning and Zoning Chairman Holland closed this Joint Docketed Public Hearing. Mayor Smith and Planning and Zoning Chairman Holland called a Joint Docketed Public Hearing to order, to receive comments from the public, either oral or written, regarding the release of .1481 acre of right-of- way and utility easement located in the Mary Sloan Survey Subdivision, Abstract-184, Tract 2, Friendswood, Galveston County, Texas. No one spoke for or against the Zoning Ordinance amendment. Jerry Jobe, Sunmeadow, asked for clarification regarding property ownership, believes it is owned by Dr. Smith, Staff will review and confirm prior to the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. Hearing no further comments, Mayor Smith and Planning and Zoning Chairman Holland closed this Joint Docketed Public Hearing. Discussion was held with the Planning and Zoning Commission regarding Downtown Zoning District with City Planner Diana Steelquist providing background on work that had been done by the Main Street Zoning Committee. Mayor Smith stated Council recognized the invaluable work that was being done, procedurally changed the appointment to the Downtown Revitalization Committee, by renaming the committee, clarified the charge of the committee, only working on zoning, not facades, not going to impose any more restrictions, the work that the prior committee did was excellent, need to make it less restrictive, let property owners move forward as long as they are in compliance with regulations, does not want to have identical buildings, if want to build a 10 story building and meets regulations, let them, would favor some restrictions in order to protect the property owners that are in place, let developers build if consistent with regulations to allow redevelopment in the downtown corridor, believes the Council, Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) and this committee should do everything they can to revitalize this area, make a place that citizens can live, work and play, also what happened to proposed board that would office in this area, was not funded by prior Council, remove the non-conforming language for this downtown area, would like to see the continuation of this work that would address the small lots, possibly a downtown zone that would allow those downtown lots to develop on their own, healthy discussions in the long run will benefit citizens. P&Z Chairman Holland stated that David Brakebill from the Main Street Zoning Committee does not want to continue on the new committee. Discussed placing this item on a future agenda for appointing a replacement, asked how Council wanted to handle this, asked the P&Z Chairman to make a recommendation. Discussed the amount of land in downtown area, make more user friendly, do not impede progress, but have some guidelines, Tony Banfield is building a small model that would serve as 8/21/06 2538 an example. P&Z Commissioner Sherry Weesner spoke about downtown zone, properties could change to this zone at one time, proposed holding one Public Hearing and the City absorb the cost to rezone these properties, do this proactively, ask property owners to opt-in, all property should be rezoned proactively, should not be more restrictive than it is zoned now, some existing zones allow special zoning for special types of development. Councilmember Peden does not support a Main Street Board, does believe the City should invest in the zoning process in this area such as sidewalks, burying cables, streetlights, not be too aggressive in other things, gave example of Webster downtown revitalization on Nasa Road 1, continue to work on strengths and common thread, thanked the Main Street Zoning Committee for hours and hours spent on this project. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC Deryl Tumlinson with CenterPoint Energy requested to speak regarding the installation practices of CenterPoint Energy, stated he lives in Angleton, Texas, spoke on service standards, agreement with the City to inspect lines within the City, area that is regulated by CenterPoint Energy, underground service laterals are not marked by CenterPoint, once it is on private property can have electrician do, CenterPoint Energy lines are no more than 10 feet from houses. Eugene Hammett, 1504 Bougainvilla, addressed Council and stated that he had requested to speak regarding the electrical inspection of underground conductors, stated he is the only master electrician in Friendswood, stated the problem with the underground line has been solved with an easement from the property owners, offered his assistance to the Inspection Department for future electrical code issues, and thanked the Mayor and the City of Friendswood. Councilmember Peden stated he had led the charge to allow for a 90 day permit, Mr. Hammett led him to believe there was grave danger, Mr. Hammett showed pictures of the lines that were not a hazard, Mr. Hammett stated he had lines re-routed by his electricians to get off the deck. Councilmember Ewing stated some of the neighbors said that the pictures were true of how the cable was laid, came out in the paper that the City would not allow and that the property owner's grandchildren were in danger, this was not a fact, and appreciates what Staff did. Mr. Hammett stated the cable was moved up against the fence for safety purposes, stated there is no code where that wire should be run, moved location to save beautiful oak trees and swimming pools, if thought that this was going to cause such havoc, would never have laid the line. Councilmember Peden stated he finds this disconcerting, when it was brought to his attention he thought it was a very dire situation and that children were in danger, feels that he was misled, stated the statements made were damaging to Staff, disappointed that this occurred, expected more from Mr. Hammett. Mayor Smith stated he thinks this is misdirected, it is not an electrical code issue, it is a property issue, it is an ownership issue, it is an easement issue, hopes that next time that this will be used, that is why the City did not issue the permit, does not disagree with Councilmember Peden,just got misdirected, CenterPoint Energy does not mark service lines, it is the individual owners' responsibility, that proved to him that a recorded easement is paramount. Mr. Hammett stated all the property owners were in agreement, had a signed agreement, had no idea that the City was not going to approve this, Mayor Smith stated this agreement was not what was needed, needed an easement, Councilmember Ewing stated the standard is that if the property is in the Harris County side of Friendswood then the City inspects, and if on the Galveston County side the electrical company will inspect, Mayor Smith stated he thinks Council has learned from this. Brett Nichols, 208 E. Castleharbour, addressed Council and stated he is the General Manager of the Friendswood Country Club and front man on the proposed development of the River Oaks subdivision, provided an historical background of previous plans regarding development, is at the point of determining where to go, included community benefits, looking for direction, if the benefits identified would be of consideration for a utility district of $12 million dollars, commercial about 12 acres and 100 acres of residential and 120 acres of golf course, this district would be similar to the West Ranch District. Councilmember Peden stated the comparison to West Ranch is hard to equate to proposed development. Mayor Smith stated it is paramount that whatever else happens to not build on the golf course, creates jeopardy to the rest of the development, suggested it is the responsibility of this Council to determine for 8/21/06 2539 the City how best to protect citizens, Millennium Development wants $12 million, asked what is in it for the City, looking for justification, looking for comparing apples to apples, interested in added value, what will bring in extra value. Councilmember Ewing stated the City's expense for each home, for 160 thousand home outlay is far greater to provide utilities, Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) already includes some of the things that the City is proposing to do, received two letters from Homeowners Association (HOA) Presidents from Sunmeadow and Windsor Subdivisions sharing concerns, is a strong supporter of the golf course remaining, if built it would decrease green space, believes there is a threat from the two proposals, either approve the utility district or the golf course goes away. Councilmember LeCour stated he thinks the golf course is very important, if losing money, can renovate course and possibly build a golf club, $12 million would be bonds sold and charged to new homes, the utility district funds would go to manage the golf course. Brett Nichols stated it is cost prohibitive to retrofit and has looked at this. Mayor Smith stated if the municipality took over the district it would assume all assets and all debts, not being discouraging just giving input to help, very little land left to build on, would suggest that the owner Ray Tiedge look how to maximize the development, would suggest do additional work and bring back to Council. Councilmember Measeles stated he is in favor of the golf course as well, has added to the property value of property owners in Sunmeadow, the neighbors in the next subdivision are concerned with drainage, not sure how that green space works, look at the commercial development which brings a greater equation. Councilmember Peden stated he is not against management district just the value, concerned with traffic issues, possibly look at 55 years and over-development, would not impact the schools, overriding point is to keep the golf course and not place undue burdens on citizens or schools, need some kind of guarantee that the golf course will not go away, room for positive change. Mayor Smith stated everyone has listened tonight, would recommend getting with Staff and City Manager and Council at a future workshop in the near future. **Councilmember Peden moved to move action on Item 12C to next on the agenda, Ordinance No. T2006-21, First and final reading of an Ordinance authorizing the issuance of City of Friendswood, Texas, Waterworks and Sewer System Revenue and Refunding Bonds. Seconded by Councilmember Horecky. The motion was approved unanimously. **Councilmember Peden moved to approve the First and final reading of Ordinance T2006-21, an Ordinance authorizing the issuance of City of Friendswood, Texas, Waterworks and Sewer System Revenue and Refunding Bonds, Series 2006; authorizing the redemption prior to maturity of certain outstanding bonds; authorizing the advance refunding of certain outstanding bonds and the execution and delivery of an escrow agreement and the subscription for and purchase of certain escrowed securities. Seconded by Councilmember Measeles. The motion was approved unanimously. Faye Roberson, 422 W. Castleharbour, addressed Council and stated she is a homeowner from Sunmeadow, referenced a letter from the City dated April 6, 2006, asked for clarification, asked why Brett Nichols was here tonight, nothing changed, addressed Millennium's request for a Municipal Utility District (MUD), will greatly impact the west side of the subdivision, drainage issues, asking for golf course to remain the same, the concrete density will increase drainage problems, the narrow streets cannot handle additional traffic, six adjoining neighborhoods would not benefit at all and are concerned, residents are wary of promises, Millennium Development has tried a MUD in League City in 2001 and was turned down, was party to a lawsuit in Pine Hollow Subdivision because they flooded houses built due to inadequate drainage, traffic in the area is increasing from churches, Windsong School, six subdivisions, Brittany Bay, Manning property, and from future development of commercial property in front of Lakes of Friendswood, last time brought to Council was voted 7-0 against them, has worked with a lot of different entities regarding development, United States Army Corps of Engineers looked at wetlands and said developer needs to contact them before they do any work, showed pictures of flooding in Sunmeadow that the City has already fixed, if Millennium Development stated they want to help Sunmeadow, must have been out to lunch for eight years, this plan has not been changed, the only difference is asking for MUD, appreciates Council crunching numbers, did a good job tonight. Councilmember LeCour asked Faye what her recommendation was, keeping golf course as is, leave existing holes as is, not allow the density as proposed, no problem with building on this property. 8/21/06 2540 Victor DeAlmeida, 2864 Love Lane in Windsor Estates, addressed Council and stated he lived in Alvin and saw the same thing happen, built lower income homes and everything went downhill from there, wonderful living in Friendswood, only problem with water, which the City has almost fixed, what is being proposed will create the same problem, City made good decisions for handling drainage, if develop density as planned, drainage will be greatly impacted, traffic has already been a problem in that area, development will impact traffic greatly, concerned with property values, could developer consider more expensive homes and be a true River Oaks, hope City Council stands firm, some area cities are not firm, do not lower standards. Jaclyn Burket, 424 Gleneagles, addressed Council and stated she is the President of Sunmeadow HOA, new officer for Sunmeadow Homeowners Association, trying to keep communication open between the City, Developer and Sunmeadow, wants to keep the golf course, concerned with traffic and drainage, wants to keep communications open. AI Kelly, 322 Gleneagles, addressed Council and stated he is a resident of Sunmeadow, very encouraged about information heard here together, sees a great effort to work together, golf course has tremendous value as open space, Clear Lake City used to have a golf course running through that City, it is a failed course, the Sunmeadow course keepers have done a lot better than that in the last three years, communication needs to be kept open and work together to save that golf course, Councilmember Hill stated should work together with some solutions, golf course was not built well and it takes a lot of money for upkeep, Councilmember LeCour asked Community Development Director Dan Johnson if the developer has to provide a drainage and traffic plan, Dan Johnson stated any subdivision has to account for street, drainage, traffic, and sewer for development. Jim Martin, 1307 Wilderness Pines, addressed Council and stated the lighting of Field #36 at Centennial Park is a quality of life issue, urged Council to vote to award that bid, cost of copper has increased, Friendswood Soccer Club has voted to fund a portion of the lighting. Dr. David Montz, 1808 Streamside Drive, addressed Council and stated he is the President of Friendswood Soccer Club, spoke in support to urge to get this one field lit to let more kids play soccer and the contribution of $40,000 toward that lighting project, have a lot of kids playing on the fields, all at capacity, one more field should help for a while, urged Council to award this bid. Mayor Smith stated this is a very generous offer, asked if will deplete the club's treasury, with Dr. Montz stating no, they spend about $45,000 annually for maintenance, do a lot around the City in the soccer field playing fields. Councilmember Horecky stated other fields at Centennial Park are lit, cannot use those because of other use. Councilmember Peden stated last time came before Council and Staff recommended reject, now this bid came back higher, some of the other parks are maintained by users, asked if the Soccer club maintains. Community Services Director Jon Branson stated if the City wanted to maintain it would take two full-time groundskeepers at Centennial Park, City mows Friendswood Sports Park, mows other parks every other week, Centennial Park is the only park built with bond money, Dr. Montz stated he is concerned with money that the City pays in maintenance, provide the $45,000 to help to defray this cost, really need this, 36 teams practice and play out there. Shannon Kimmel, #1 Falling Leaf Court, addressed Council and brought up historical facts regarding past Council actions regarding parks and why the City should vote for lighting at Centennial Park, take money from user groups to provide for parks in working together to provide greater parks, funds from soccer club to help with this lighting, if going to build facilities, let us use them, two concession stands were not open at Centennial Park last weekend for a tournament and the restrooms are not open at times, does not know why the Evelyn B. Newman amphitheatre at Centennial Park was built, asked what it is to be used for, 36 teams practice twice a week. Councilmember Hill stated he does not know of any communication with Galveston County Consolidated Drainage District (GCCDD) for use of retention pond by soccer club. 8/21/06 2541 ACTING CITY MANAGER'S REPORT Acting City Manager Roger Roecker reported on the Crime Stoppers Reward. The City of Friendswood and Crime Stoppers of Houston have combined to offer a reward of up to $7,500 for information leading to the arrest and charging of suspect(s) in the case of last month's vandalism at Centennial Park. Of this $7,500, $2,500 has been put up by the City of Friendswood, and the rest has been provided by Crime Stoppers of Houston who will determine how much of their $5,000 to award once the information has been provided. As of today, this reward offer has been advertised on the City's web site and PEG TV channel, as well as being mentioned in the Friendswood Reporter News, Friendswood Journal, Houston Chronicle, Galveston County Daily News, and the Guidry News Service. In addition, flyers have been posted in both Friendswood high schools and all Friendswood junior high schools. The anonymity of any informants is still emphasized as this search continues, and anyone with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS (8477). Acting City Manager Roger Roecker reported on the Comcast buyout/replacement of Time Warner. A few weeks ago, it was announced that Comcast Corporation will be replacing Time Warner early next year in the Houston cable market. This transaction is not expected to be complete before the first few months of 2007. Until then, Time Warner customers are expected to continue with their current service and the City is told by Time Warner representatives that Time Warner and Comcast are very similar in the provision of their services. However, it is unknown at this time what changes current Time Warner customers may see in their bills or services with this transition. Currently, there are approximately 6,850 Time Warner Cable customers in Friendswood. This makes up a little more than half of all Friendswood households that subscribe to Time Warner. The City does not anticipate that this change will at all impact the substance of the franchise agreement with Time Warner, which is currently set to expire on December 31, 2009. Staff has been in contact with Time Warner representatives since the announcement, and the City expects that Comcast will agree to the terms of the City's Municipal Franchise Agreement until this franchise's expiration date, at which time the City will be in a position to renegotiate a franchise with the cable television provider. Staff will continue to monitor this and all franchises that the City of Friendswood has with utility providers. Acting City Manager Roger Roecker reported on the drainage improvements at FM 2351 and FM 518. Some of Council may have noticed the construction that is taking place at FM 518 and FM 2351. Texas Department of Transportation has been working at this intersection since Monday, August 14. Crews are currently making drainage improvements to this area by converting sections of the open ditches that lead up to FM 518 into closed culverts in order to improve the flow of water under FM 518. This work has been scheduled to take approximately two weeks, so work should be completed on or around Monday, August 28, 2006. The traffic flow is expected to be largely unaffected by this construction. ACTION ITEMS **Councilmember Horecky moved to limit the use of the Consent Agenda in this body to items of a routine nature, and having a potential monetary value of less than $15,000. Seconded by Councilmember Hill. ***Councilmember Peden moved to amend the Rules of Procedure Resolution to reflect the main motion verbiage. Seconded by Mayor Smith. The motion to amend was approved 5-2 with Councilmembers Ewing and Measeles opposed. ****The main motion, as amended, was approved 6-1 with Councilmember Measeles opposed. **Councilmember Peden moved that Council designate the City Manager as the designee for the Public Education/Government Access (PEG) Channel Policy. Seconded by Councilmember Horecky. The motion was approved unanimously. 8/21/06 2542 No action was taken regarding the recruitment of a City Manager. Some members of Council expressed concerns regarding the time frame for the publication of the ad and the proposed interview schedule. Council stated they want to see all resumes as soon as possible, which will be in the reading file. RESOLUTIONS **Mayor Smith moved to approve Resolution R2006-24— a Resolution adopting a Design Criteria Manual for the City of Friendswood, Texas; containing standards for the design, construction and installation of public infrastructure and related facilities and improvements within the city; and repealing City of Friendswood Resolution No. R2005-05, passed and resolved on the 17th day of January 2005, and all other resolutions or parts of resolutions inconsistent or in conflict herewith. Seconded by Councilmember Measeles. ***Councilmember Horecky moved to amend the Design Criteria Manuel, Section V, 1.04, Item G. "Storm Water Detention," Item 6, "Off-Site Detention" to include the wording, "It is the desire of the City that regional detention be utilized when available. If new development is within the service area of a publicly owned or operated regional storm water detention facility, connection into such regional facility shall be as required by the drainage master plan applicable to such regional facility." Seconded by Councilmember Hill. The motion to amend was approved unanimously. ****Mayor Smith moved to move to table Resolution R2006-24. Seconded by Councilmember Peden. The motion to table was approved unanimously. ORDINANCES **Mayor Smith moved to approve the Second and final reading of Ordinance No. T2006-19, an Ordinance finding and determining that public convenience and necessity no longer require the continued existence of that certain public utility easement located over and across, and adjacent to the rear property lines of, Lots 1-13, Block 1, Lots 1-13, Block 2, and Lots 19-27, Block 2, Friendswood Lakes Garden Home Subdivision, as recorded at Vol. 18, Page 1264, File GAC 2002002395, of the map records of Galveston County, Texas; and providing for the vacation and abandonment of such public utility easement. Seconded by Councilmember Peden. The motion was approved unanimously. **Mayor Smith moved to approve the First and final reading of Ordinance No. T2006-20, an Ordinance known as "Budget Amendment II", amending City of Friendswood, Texas, Ordinance No. 2005-27, passed and approved October 3, 2005 and being an ordinance approving and adopting the City's General Budget for Fiscal Year 2005-2006; providing amendments to such budget; and providing other matters related to the subject. Seconded by Councilmember Measeles. The motion was approved 5-2 with Councilmembers Hill and Horecky opposed. **The First and final reading of Ordinance No. T2006-21 was approved earlier in the meeting. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBERS Councilmember Measeles reported on the Texas Municipal League (TML) Region 14 Annual Meeting held last weekend, new officers were elected, there was a speaker on Hurricane related issues, City of Seabrook had four Resolutions to send to TML on Homeland Security for Port operations and eminent domain that were passed. Councilmember Ewing reported on the TML Region 14 Annual Meeting and building relationships with other cities, some of the topics discussed were planning for budgets and using CPI for planning purposes, and the October TML annual session and one item will be a session on eminent domain. 8/21/06 2543 Mayor Pro-Tem Peden reported on the rezoning of 3.2895 acres of the Forestwood Subdivision off of Friendswood Link Rd., spoke on Council lack of action, felt that it was a disservice to the applicant to either pass or fail, applicant needs to know why it was not supported, could not discuss because no motion was made. Counciimember Horecky asked if Council could have had made a motion for discussion, City Attorney John Olson answered better practice to vote on issues. Mayor Smith stated the density is too high, concerned with traffic due to the expansion to Friendswood Link with EI Dorado, feels it is best to use medium density use, stated it may be best use for a small shopping center. Councilmember LeCour stated it is too dense and out of character for Friendswood. Councilmember Hill stated he would honor area residents' concerns. Councilmember Horecky stated the comments were overwhelming in opposition of development and would hope that highest, and best use is used for this property. Councilmember Measeles stated he agrees with what has been said, remembers history of that property and rezoning requests over the years, and stated there are tough spots for rezonings. Councilmember Ewing reminded everyone of the August 30th Clear Lake Estuary meeting. CONSENT AGENDA *"Mayor Smith moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented with the exception of Item A - Award of Bid No. 2006-11 for the Lighting of Field #36 at Centennial Park and authorize the Mayor to execute the contract. B. Authorize Council to invoke Rule 1 (A) of the Rules of Procedure to schedule the regular September Council meetings for September 11 and 25 due to the Labor Day holiday. C. Authorize the Mayor to execute the State and Local Task Force Agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration. D. Approval of the July, 2006 Property Tax Report. E. Approve Minutes of August 7, 2006 Meeting. Seconded by Councilmember Measeles. The motion was approved unanimously. '`**Mayor Smith moved to approve Item A - Award of Bid No. 2006-11 for the Lighting of Field #36 at Centennial Park and authorize the Mayor to execute the contract. Seconded by Councilmember Ewing. The motion was approved unanimously. A motion was made and approved to adjourn at 11:27 PM. Ma avid J.H S ith Attest: , � r Deloris McKenzie, TR C City Secretary pt rtlti�ly0+ �. ;' u * * .._ �,