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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2007-08-06 Special 08/6/2007 2748 STATE OF TEXAS )( CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD )( COUNTIES OF GALVESTON/HARRIS )( AUGUST 6, 2007 )( MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY COUNCIL THAT WAS HELD ON MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 2007, AT 5:00 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 JIM HILL COUNCILMEMBER LESLIE REID COUNCILMEMBER ANDY RIVERA CITY ATTORNEY JOHN OLSON (ARRIVED AT 5:30) CITY MANAGER BO MCDANIEL CITY SECRETARY DELORIS MCKENZIE Councilmember John LeCour was absent from the meeting. Mayor Smith called the meeting to order. SPECIAL SESSION A discussion was held regarding Solid Waste Collection contract renewal and rate increase with IESI TX Corporation. City Manager Bo McDaniel introduced Director of Administrative Services Roger Roecker who gave a brief overview of the request from IESI TX Corporation. Staff has no service concerns. IESI has proposed three options to their contract and Staff would propose the third option. IESI had representatives available to answer questions. Councilmember Peden asked why option two to eliminate green waste made the cut. IESI District Manager Gus Dugas responded by saying the requirements of picking up this material on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, material is recycled and does not go to the landfill, if this is cut it will be picked up with the household waste. Councilmember Ewing stated the cost for processing green waste is going up. Mr. Dugas stated the cost is comparable with household waste and there are biodegradable black bags for the waste. Mr. Dugas stated it would be a cost savings to do a collection program to use these bags and grocery stores could be asked to stock the bags. Councilmember Ewing stated she would have a strong opposition to cutting this service, this is a social responsibility and would like to do a lot more publicity. Councilmember Hill asked if IESI picks up two loads of green waste, how many loads of household waste is picked up. Mr. Dugas said roughly 450 cubic yards in the growing season and roughly 20 percent of garbage is green. Mr. Roecker stated option one will allow the City to continue with the existing levels of service in which the current residential price would be increased by $2.00 per home. The commercial rate increase would be increased 10% over the present rates. Option two will eliminate the yard waste collection and decrease the residential rate by $.15 per home from the $2.00 rate adjustment requested, realizing that the cost savings is minimal with this reduction of service, due to the fact that they will still need to run an additional truck at least 2 days per week versus the present 3 days per week and the commercial rate increase would be increased 10% over the present rates. Option three will increase the commercial rates by 20% instead of 10% and this would reduce the $2.00 requested rate adjustment by $.35 per residential home per month. Mr. Dugas stated there are 268 commercial customers. Mr. Roecker stated there is a varying scale depending on size of containers used by the commercial customer. Councilmember Rivera stated he is supporting economic development and will support option number one. Councilmember Ewing asked if Staff will be 08/6/2007 2749 provided on Fall HauI-A-Day and Spring Sparkle. Mr. Dugas stated there will be Staff provided and roll- off also. The national average is 1.7 and does not include recyclables but does include green waste. Councilmember Reid stated she is in favor of option one and does not want to get rid of green waste. Councilmember Rivera asked how much the new contract will cost. Mr. Roecker recapped the amounts for varying charges and the amount of the new contract. Mayor Smith stated there are some open ended costs but are not unusual and asked if other cities have a provision for limitations. Mr. Dugas stated he does have contracts where there are and would be willing to consider a 5% cap. Tom Brown, IESI CEO, stated the cost of doing business is going up and it is a cost that they cannot control but would be willing to have a 5% cap, there will be increases but there would be a cap. Councilmember Ewing stated she would like to look at providing green waste bags, would like to look at advertising, ask media to follow up on articles, consider putting on the PEG Channel. Mr. Roecker stated the complaints received is due to the process of cut, tie and bundle, if it is changed to "required" bag, there will be more complaints. Rates are being proposed only above rates from 1999. Mr. Brown stated he is willing to look at the contract if the City looks at the biodegradable bags and research and wants to renegotiate contract, will be a willing partner. Councilmember Ewing requested clarification regarding the clear bags used today and the bio- gradable bags. Mayor Smith asked for consensus to proceed with the City looking into this proposal. Councilmember Peden stated he is opposed due to the workload of Staff and Mayor Smith stated it is not an immediate need. All others concurred with the proposed increase in rates. City Attorney John Olson stated the contract needs to be reviewed and reworded including providing for a cap and Council can approve the contract subject to rewording. Mr. Roecker stated the contract does not expire until December 31, 2007. Mr. Roecker stated if consensus is given then Council could approve contract and direct Staff to prepare changes for a letter agreement. Council agreed to move Agenda Item D up to this point. Discussion was held regarding the Glenshannon Drainage Project Phase II. The City Manager stated Council recently agreed with Mayor Pro-Tem Peden's request to confirm the amount of offsite detention the City would be required to purchase from Galveston County Consolidated Drainage District. In pursuing this request, the City engaged Jimmy Thompson, P.E., of Claunch & Miller, who felt that the City would not be impacting the downstream flow as much as presumed. LAN Engineering's recalculations confirmed a reduction from 4.2 ac.-ft. to 1.3 ac.-ft. for Phase I and additional detention will need to be provided for Phase II. However, the City cannot increase the flows to the capacity potential of the offsite drainage outfall until Phase II is completed within the interior of Glenshannon. It appears that the existing Glenshannon Subdivision drainage system was originally designed for a two-year storm event, which means that detention was designed to be provided for in the street, changing the system to a five-year storm event standard is required to meet the expectations of the Glenshannon residents. However, this policy has negative equity impacts from those taxpayers who have paid a higher price for lots with a five- year storm design provided for in the price of their lots; additionally, there is a funding shortfall for Phase II. The City Manager anticipates a more in-depth work session review of this matter will be needed. The City should advise the residents of the expected impact based on what they now know, before they discover disappointing drainage results after Phase I and before Phase II can be built. Staff is continuing to do research to explain the confusion and hope to have a more complete briefing by the next council meeting. The City Attorney stated he is working on closing to purchase the easement, the permit has been filed with the Corp of Engineers. Councilmember Peden asked if building the 12 inch pipe, that will be fed by a 4 inch pipe is working at capacity. Interim Director of Community Development Les McMahen responded there is always a possibility but should be working at capacity. Councilmember Peden stated that it was installed 30 years ago and is there possibly some shifting. The City Manager stated it has not been looked at and asked if the City has a camera. The consensus of Council was to ask the City Manager to have this viewed to see if anything is blocking. Council stated the City Manager could look at to see what overall impact would be. Mayor Smith stated this was a heads-up status report to be prepared. Councilmember Hill asked if the outfall pipe that is 60 inch is at capacity. Public Works Director Kaz Hamidian believes it is a 72 inch and could not tell him if it is at full capacity. Councilmember 08/6/2007 2750 Hill stated if it is not at capacity then adding a pipe will not help. Mayor Smith stated these studies need to go back and research more to see what would solve the problem and would like Staff to provide feedback. The City Manager requested Council to give direction to bring to current standard or to bring to give some relief. Councilmember Ewing stated depending on the research will keep homes out of jeopardy. Mr. McMahen stated the project did include outfall and options and is important to not forget Phase II if the City wants to keep the five-year plan, this phase will remain at $1.5 million. Councilmember Reid asked Staff if a model could be done on the computer. Mr. McMahen stated that is exactly what the preliminary engineering study did. Councilmember Reid asked if based on the model was there no place for water to go and Mr. McMahen responded that was correct. Mr. McMahen stated the City is probably looking at 6 months funding parallel with the project. Councilmember Rivera asked if the outflow has capacity and if analysis would show efficiency, the City would need a good rain or dry spell to allow the analysis and if it is not done right will it help Glenshannon and hurt some other areas. Mr. McMahen stated it would not hurt other areas but other neighborhoods would see the change and would want the same. Councilmember Peden stated the City would need to determine if they should continue operating as planned and determine how to spend the funds to bring up to five year plan, other subdivisions would need to be brought up to five year current standards, the cost to do this could bankrupt this City. The City Manager stated there may be other ways to afford to fund these types of upgrades and ways to subsidize these transitions and can explore these options. Councilmember Hill asked Public Works Director Kaz Hamidian if this will help and he responded that the City needs this and as far as impact to the whole subdivision, Staff cleans inlets, has not done TV inspections but does do inspections all over the City. Mayor Smith stated the City has done these same type of drainage projects and the costs and physical boundaries were not able to be brought up to the 5 year standard but has brought up to three year standard and has made a lot of improvement. Councilmember Reid asked if someone wants to change the building, does it have to be brought up to code? Mayor Smith stated any addition up to 50% of making changes to buildings have to be up to code. Mayor Smith asked where the City was to completing Phase 1, the permit with the Corps of Engineers is about 30 days away from an answer and also waiting on closing date, both are being worked on so that we are not losing out on time. A discussion was held regarding trees in the City's right-of-way, discussed current requirements, proposed changes and the overall impact. Councilmember Ewing made comments regarding confusing policies that have been adopted and heard many comments regarding trees in the right-of-way, an ordinance allows some trees in right-of-way, look at approved list of trees, look at below ground bottom screen, believes this puts Staff in jeopardy and personally believes there should be trees but does not want to jeopardize longevity of the infrastructure. The City Manager stated he is looking for consensus from Council to direct Staff to review and bring back to Council and the goal would be to make as simple as possible and has administrative order for Council's review. Mayor Smith stated the reason there is confusion is because these are new subdivisions, the problem is loss of historical data with employee turnover as to why difference in ordinances, the City is now looking at generational equity is what happens in the future to the City's infrastructure, looking at limiting number of trees in certain areas, West Ranch is looking in the future where homeowner associations would be responsible for maintenance and repairs. Councilmember Rivera stated he gave a lot of thought with looking at areas around his home, he lives in a 10 to 12 old year subdivision and would need to begin looking at repairs, would like to look at other types of landscaping. Councilmember Hill stated the City allowed trees in right-of-way for ten years and the trees are gorgeous but he has concerns with what damage it could have, he respects the recommendation from Staff and would not allow trees in right-of-way. Councilmember Reid stated the approved list of trees that are allowed, there is a division. Mayor Smith stated some trees create less harm. Councilmember Reid stated to look at less harmless trees, operative word, harm. Councilmember Rivera stated looking at other subdivisions, agrees with Councilmember Hill and Councilmember Rivera. Councilmember Hill agrees with trees being out of the right-of-way. Mayor Smith asked how the rules apply to Friendswood Development and what can they do now? The City Attorney stated if it is less restrictive, the City has authority over right of way, no jeopardy. The City Manager stated he is comfortable with going ahead with administrative order to allow as many trees in right-of-way. 08/6/2007 2751 Councilmember Rivera stated he would prefer no trees in right-of-way, would need to enforce ordinance. Councilmember Ewing asked about the impact it would have in the downtown area on existing buildings that are under construction. Mayor Smith stated the City may need to be more lenient due to size of lots. Councilmember Peden stated he has a problem with the way the City applies rules, the City can find a way to use landscaping that is less damaging, what is the City going to do in the next 60 days or are we going to tell the City Manager to enforce the administrative order. Mayor Smith stated he can suggest to the City Manager what Council would like to do but the City Manager form of government allows him to do what he feels is best in his discretion. Councilmember Peden stated if Council tells City Manager what to do and he does not do it, then he should dust off his resume. Councilmember Hill stated he agrees with Councilmember Peden. Mayor Smith stated this is a City Manager form of government, this has been a healthy discussion and he is left with administrative order and strong comments. Councilmember Peden stated he believes there are four members of Council that would like no trees in right of way. Councilmember Ewing asked to look at design criteria at different categories that allows for trees in right of way. Mayor Smith stated this is to give direction for further discussion and not to give directive. Councilmember Peden stated he believes that no trees in right of way will cause some developers to bring a plan that will work. The City Manager will work on a plan and bring back to give Council some latitude. Discussed Item C after Item D on the agenda and then discussed Item B. Discussion was held regarding the Contractor Licensing Ordinance. The consensus was not to enforce and will bring back later for discussion. CLOSED EXECUTIVE SESSION Council convened into Executive Session in Accordance with the Texas Government Code, pursuant to Section 551.071 — Consultation with Attorney concerning pending or contemplated litigation; a settlement offer; or a matter in which the duty of the Attorney requires it and 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 SPECIAL SESSION A discussion was held with the Planning and Zoning Commission regarding appointing Alternate Members to the Commission. Mayor Smith provided input as to his recommendation to provide for alternate members, it takes a lot of time and effort to be on the commission and the thought was for growing future members, less loss of historical perspective as transitioning is needed. Council discussed allowing new alternate member to fill in during absences. Planning and Zoning Chairman Jim Gibson stated he personally feels this is a good idea to bring on as many voting members as needed, attendance has not been a problem for the last three years for a regular quorum, the only time when commission is less in numbers is due to resignations. Planning and Zoning Vice Chair Kevin Holland stated he agrees with Mr. Gibson, a lot of the cases it is hard for them to have someone sit in the audience as a volunteer and sit through the meetings, it may be difficult to keep that person. Planning and Zoning member Sherry Weesner stated she feels very strongly of politicalization of commission and is concerned with possible manipulation, seven active members solves a quorum problem and if they cannot serve they should be contacted and be replaced if someone does not attend, it is on the Mayor's shoulders if there is an attendance problem to discuss, feels more of a problem to attend Public Hearings and special meetings without advance notice. Ms. Weesner asked if there are other ways to provide for training, is there a method of appointing in advance if a retirement is known. Mayor Smith stated there is an adopted policy 08/6/2007 2752 for the appointment process. Planning and Zoning member David O'Farrell stated he was impressed with what former Planning an Zoning member Bob Bertrand had to say regarding having someone in training for two years and is also concerned with burnout. Planning and Zoning member Hassan Moghaddam stated he appreciates his appointment to the Planning and Zoning Commission and is looking forward to working with the Commission. Councilmember Peden stated it sounded good at first but sometimes new blood brings new eyes and he agrees with Ms. Weesner regarding politicalization possibilities and resignation or retirement, ask for three months notice and will provide time for interim training. Mayor Smith asked City Secretary Deloris McKenzie to research procedures for the appointment process and schedule. Councilmember Hill stated when there is a vacancy it will need to be filled in a timelier manner. Councilmember Ewing stated she thinks they really need to check on absences for those long absences and newly appointed need to know of commitment. Mayor Smith thanked the Planning and Zoning Commission for their input. 7:00 PM— REGULAR SESSION The invocation was given by Pastor Jeff Bell with New Life Assembly of God Church. Mayor Smith led the Pledge of allegiance to the United States and to the State of Texas. SPECIAL RECOGNITION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS City Manager Bo McDaniel presented John Harrist, Code Enforcement Officer in the Community Development Department, with the Five Star Spirit Employee Award for the Second Quarter of 2007. The City Manager stated John Harrist came to work for the City in 2005, bringing his code enforcement experience with the City of Pearland. He was nominated by a citizen and several of his peers — those who work closely with him on a daily basis. John Harrist's duties are not without demands and complications and they do not always make him a popular figure in the performance of those duties. Yet, he manages to continue to address everyone respectfully and politely and keeps a positive attitude. He is consistent in following up with complainants and extremely conscientious about documenting his work. His job knowledge is extensive, yet he never ceases to research each inquiry thoroughly. Somehow he manages to be in several places at once— in the field checking violations and contacting property owners, and in the office taking and returning phone calls and completing paperwork. He amazingly gets it all done, and he is but one person in his division. Those who work with him find his upbeat attitude contagious and his professionalism unsurpassed. He is an exemplary employee for the City of Friendswood. Congratulations to John Harrist for a much deserved recognition. City Manager Bo McDaniel, stated this is his third opportunity to present this award, this is a peer selection and City Manager has the pleasure of presenting this award. JOINT DOCKETED PUBLIC HEARING Mayor Smith and Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission Jim Gibson called a Joint Docketed Public Hearing to order to receive comments from the public, either oral or written, regarding a zone change request for .215 acres on FM 2351 between Hope Village Road and Beamer Road from Community Shopping Center(CSC) to Industrial (I). Glen Grath owner of the property stated he would like to allow the dividing property to provide a portion to be Industrial and a portion to be Retail and would provide a need and use identified for this property, is adjacent to a mechanic shop, across from Hope Village, proposed use of Retail in front and Industrial in back, five pad sites proposed to be laid out in the back, needed to meet City required minimum site size. No one spoke in opposition of the request. 08/6/2007 2753 Mayor Smith and Planning and Zoning Commissioner Jim Gibson closed this Joint Docketed Public Hearing. Mayor Smith and Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission Jim Gibson called a Joint Docketed Public Hearing to order to receive comments from the public, either oral or written, regarding a request to amend the zoning ordinance to (1) provide that event centers be permitted uses within the Single Family Residential (SFR) Zones subject to the granting of a Specific Use Permit (SUP) therefore, and (2) amend the application procedure for Specific Use Permit's to allow non-engineered concept plans to satisfy the requirements of Section 9-G-3 of the zoning ordinance. Bobbie Jones, Forest Bend Subdivision, asked what the ordinance means. The City Attorney and Council provided clarification of the proposed change. No one spoke in opposition of the request. Mayor Smith and Planning and Zoning Commissioner Jim Gibson closed this Joint Docketed Public Hearing. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC Bobbi Jones, Friendswood resident, requested to speak regarding streets in the Forest Bend Subdivision. Ms. Jones stated the budget is in process and asked Council to strongly consider funding repairs for a number of streets in Forest Bend, they are 35 year old streets and will cost more if you do not repair now and also will become dangerous, will appreciate consideration in spending street budget in the Forest Bend subdivision for street repairs and drainage, has spoken to Council three times and thought a letter should have been sent to her regarding her requests. Mayor Smith expressed appreciation to Ms. Jones for bringing this to Council and stated there are funds in the proposed budget for repairs in Forest Bend but may not be able to send a letter giving that definitive answer. Councilmember Peden stated he does not want to go away with residents thinking there is not enough money to fix these streets, there are some funds in encumbered funds and there are funds in the proposed budget for some of those repairs but it has not been voted on and it has gotten the Council's and Staff's attention, drainage and streets are a priority. Councilmember Hill stated he will be asking for additional funds for Public Works, this City has an aging infrastructure and the City needs to be moving forward with those repairs. Councilmember Ewing stated with the bridge accident last week in Minnesota and the levee in New Orleans, there is a grave concern with aging infrastructure. City Manager Bo McDaniel stated it is in the City Manager's proposed budget and will get with Public Works Director Kaz Hamidian to understand what the plan is prior to the Public Hearing, to understand the scope, phasing, priority and financing and equality, this can help the Council with understanding what the proposed plan is. Ms. Jones also asked about medians, she stated they are relatively small and if oleanders are not cut monthly they are a terrific hazard, the trees in Forest Bend have hurt just about all curbs and break up streets, when her home was built she did not know what was the right kind of trees to plant. 08/6/2007 2754 CITY MANAGER'S REPORT City Manager Bo McDaniel reported on Friendswood being named one of the 100 Best Places to Live and congratulated Friendswood on being named in CNN/Money Magazine's 100 Best Places to Live. The City recently received the news that Friendswood had been selected as the 51 St Best City to live in the United States and one of only six in Texas. This designation places the City in a very positive light and is a good marketing tool that should be utilized to help promote the overall image and economic development. Current and past Councils are to be recognized for their contributions as well as Staff and volunteers who, over the years, have laid this foundation. In honor of that award, the City has received permission from CNN/Money Magazine to use their logo on our banners, etc. Staff will be placing ten street banners on every other street pole on the east side of Friendswood Drive, at City Hall and it has been inserted on the City's website and the electronic reader board in Stevenson Park. The City Manager reported on the Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) Building Code Effectiveness Rating. The study from the Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) has given the City a rating of 5 out of a possible 10, with 10 being the lowest rating. The City Manager reported on the FM 2351/Clover Acres Drainage Project and stated until the City makes satisfactory progress and/or reach a funding or authorization impasse, this update will be provided at the first Council meeting each month to keep Council and stakeholders advised as to the progress being made and issues at hand. Bea Morris, Friendswood resident of Clover Acres Subdivision, stated she appreciated the packet of information the City Manager provided prior to the meeting. The City Manager advised that an easement by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has been obtained and clarification as to the working relationship and cooperation with the City, Galveston County Consolidated Drainage District (GCCDD) and TxDOT, The detention pond bid date is set for September 15, 2007 and should be functional six to nine months from award of bid, City Manager has asked TxDOT to clean out bridge and are working with GGCDD with the easements. The City Manager reported on the Glenshannon Drainage Project. The City Manager stated as of this date the closing on the easement property has not been scheduled or completed. The City Attorney is prepared to provide an update, as needed, on this project. The streets and drainage was designed for two year storm that is why there is the drainage issue for these streets, needs some additional review. Kelly McKnight, Friendswood resident, stated there were some things said that she did not understand and was stunned to hear as to why drainage culverts were not checked, thought that this would have been done and does not understand why Phase I has not been started, stated there was discussion at the special session why is the City putting this money into an older subdivision. The City needs to work on what is wrong now and it is not just the streets, during flooding the water is coming up to the houses, has been told by Council this was a high priority, then why has this not been done, residents are walking i n wa i st h i g h wate r. Mayor Smith stated the City has done a lot of work trying to get this drainage moving along, he has been working on this for the last two years, if one of your neighbors had given the easement then this project would have already been completed, Council has met in executive session at least 10 times to move this along, Council has to stay within the bounds of the law to work on your behalf, this has been handed to this Council and these are generational problems, Council is trying to solve this the best they can and are listening to you and are trying to get this project done. 08/6/2007 2755 City Manager Bo McDaniel gave clarification that Staff has been out checking this area and the only thing that has not been done is to run a camera down the pipes. Ms. McKnight stated she appreciates comments and if there is a blockage let us get it out, there was a comment made that possibly the City may need to partner with Glenshannon residents to get this work done, why wouldn't all of Friendswood pay for this, Ms. McKnight stated her taxes have paid for other subdivisions and the comment bothered her a lot, it made her feel like a second class citizen and also asked how much was in the bond amount. The City Manager stated it was about$1.2 million and the cost estimate is about$2 million now. Ms. McKnight asked if Phase 2 could be done without Phase 1. Mayor Smith responded that no, the City will need to do Phase 1 first, the drainage projects have been in the works for at least 10 years by previous Council's and priorities have been developed. Ms. McKnight asked why encumbered funds cannot be used for these projects. Councilmember Peden stated Mayor Smith's point is that these dollars need to be spent for Capital Projects for infrastructures. Mayor Smith stated there may be funding associated with other projects as well as this project and that Council has to look at the whole City's needs. Ms. McKnight asked if Council would consider using these funds for the Glenshannon project? Randal Custard, Friendswood resident, stated he lives in Glenshannon and heard it was said that Glenshannon was just a pond and does not understand why the City is not getting the job done, when the Council is elected the residents should not have to come up here to babysit, it is not the residents fault, it is the City's fault for allowing it, it is all up to Council now, stated while he was in the military an order was received and it got done. Councilmember Hill stated this is the first Council to take the step of condemnation to solve this drainage problem and Council is moving along, a lot has been done and Council has been working for you. Councilmember Rivera stated as a new member of Council no member thinks this is a pond and Glenshannon residents are assured that this is a priority. Councilmember Ewing stated there were three points made and they are the City could pay for it, residents could pay for it or it could be a joint effort, no decision was made and at the time older subdivisions were developed they were developed with what they thought was the right way to develop them and the City is dealing with an aging infrastructure and is working hard for all areas of the City. The City Manager reported on the National Economic Development (NED) Plan Joint Study with Galveston County Consolidated Drainage District. The City has been asked by Jeff Brennan, Brazoria County Drainage District#4, to approve a resolution in support of this project. Councilmember Peden asked to review the process of getting projects to Galveston County and Council would need to visit with Commissioner Ken Clark as to the list that was presented. The City Manager stated he will place this on the agenda for ratification, this has been sent to Council previously. 08/6/2007 2756 ACTION ITEMS **Councilmember Peden moved to approve the request from IESI TX Corporation for Solid Waste Collection Contract renewal and rate increase with a 5% cap on the increase and direct preparation of contract to be brought back to Council. Seconded by Councilmember Ewing. The motion was approved unanimously. **Councilmember Rivera moved to approve the purchase of two fire trucks for the Friendswood Volunteer Fire Department. Seconded by Councilmember Ewing. The motion was approved unanimously. **Councilmember Ewing moved to approve the disposition of RFP 2007-11 for a Classification and Compensation Study and authorize the Mayor to execute the agreement with KG and associates. Seconded by Councilmember Rivera. The motion was approved 5-1 with Councilmember Peden opposed. No action was taken regarding planting of trees in the City's right-of-way. **Councilmember Peden moved to accept the next lowest qualified bidder for RFP 2007-05 for construction of Fire Station #4 Project and required steps to approve a subsequent contract with Gamma Construction Company for the construction thereof. Seconded by Councilmember Rivera. The motion was approved unanimously. No action was taken regarding a proposal from R. West Development Company, Inc., for development options for the former Sunmeadow Golf Course. Councilmember Hill read a letter that was sent two years ago and asked if Council has some interest in learning more about this and would propose that a future workshop be set up. Council stated there are a lot of options available and agreed that all options should be considered. Mayor Smith suggested the owner should be asked if they would be interested in hearing more about this proposal. Brett Nichols, Friendswood resident, stated he has discussed this proposal with Mr. Tiedje, if the City wants to discuss with Mr. Tiedje a meeting could be set up in the next couple of days. Councilmember Peden stated he thinks that all involved need to get together and come up with a resolution, there is a solution. Councilmember Reid stated what would Council's role be with Mayor Smith advising it would be a Municipal Utility District. Councilmember Ewing moved to approve a proposal to request Friendswood Independent School District and Clear Creek Independent School District to appoint liaisons to represent/participate with the Community and Economic Development Committee, Library Board and Parks and Recreation Board. Seconded by Councilmember Rivera. The motion was approved unanimously. 08/6/2007 2757 ORDINANCE **Councilmember Peden moved to approve the Second and final reading of Ordinance No. 2007-09, an ordinance of the City of Friendswood changing the zoning classification of a 5.0 acre tract at 1400 FM 528, in Friendswood Lakes, from CSC to PUD/SUP Multi-Family Residential, Senior Citizen Housing. Seconded by Councilmember Rivera. The motion was approved unanimously. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBERS Councilmember Ewing reported she would like to send her condolences to Susie Westphal who lost her elderly mother on Sunday, gave thanks to Community Services Director James Toney and the Parks Board for trying to bring proposals for the playing field for children, Developers of West Ranch Subdivision made a presentation to the Parks Board regarding green space, the Community Appearance Board continues to be busy with medians and the Library continues to work with architect for expansion. Councilmember Reid reported she would like to send her condolences to Susie Westphal and congratulates Melange Spa at Acadian Plaza on their grand opening and Mark Griffon as the new Principal of Friendswood High School and to Dr. Sandra Mossman upon her retirement as Clear Creek Independent School District Superintendent and thanked Staff for a great job on the proposed budget. Councilmember Peden congratulated his son Noah who starred as Kenickie in the play Grease at Batava located in League City and most of the stars are from Friendswood, congratulated his parents who celebrated 47 years of marriage. The Kilgore family of Life Tabernacle dedicated a new auditorium and also thanked the City Manager and Staff for a job well done on the budget, best budget since he has been on Council. Councilmember Rivera reported he feels the same as Councilmember Reid on the budget, Community Economic Development Committee had a great meeting and Planning and Zoning Commission is working on the Comprehensive Plan. Mayor Smith reported he would like to send his condolences to Susie Westphal in the loss of her mother, she was a wonderful soul and always was a great wit and would like to let the family know how much everyone thought about her, would also like to mention of another loss this past week, Fred Gillfoil who will be missed by his family, reminded everyone tomorrow night is National Night Out, there are 18 subdivisions participating and it starts around 6:30 PM and encouraged everyone to participate, reported his mom's birthday is today and wishes her the best. CONSENT AGENDA **Councilmember Ewing moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. A. Approve Banner Permit Application for Friendswood Music and More Carnival on August 25, 2007. B. Approve Minutes of July 16, 2007 and July 23, 2007 Meetings. Seconded by Councilmember Rivera. The motion was approved unanimously. Reconvene into Executive Session A motion was made and approved to adjourn at 9:52 PM. 08/6/2007 2758 ���.�..� �.. t � i�.�.��..,.._.. A�o�avid J.H. Smith Attest: � � �f fR�llr�� � � �O De oris McKenzie, TR C V o City Secretary � � r a�.