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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2008-03-24 Special 03/24/2008 2889 STATE OF TEXAS )( CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD )( COUNTIES OF GALVESTON/HARRIS )( MARCH 24, 2008 )( MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY COUNCIL THAT WAS HELD ON MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2008, AT 4:00 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 (arr. at 5:48 PM) COUNCILMEMBER LAURA EWING COUNCILMEMBER JOHN LECOUR COUNCILMEMBER JIM HILL (arr. at 4:12 PM) COUNCILMEMBER LESLIE REID COUNCILMEMBER ANDY RIVERA CITY ATTORNEY BOBBY GERVAIS CITY MANAGER BO MCDANIEL DEPUTY CITY SECRETARY MELINDA WELSH Mayor Smith called the meeting to order. SPECIAL SESSION A discussion was held regarding fuel efficient cars and the Vehicle Initiative Grant Program. Councilmember Ewing stated she has gotten several questions on this and wanted Staff's input. City Manager Bo McDaniel stated if there is a grant out there, he is unaware of it. Councilmember Ewing stated she receives mail as a Councilmember that offered these grants. Councilmember Hill stated he has heard of this and thinks it is for a larger volume. Mayor Smith stated one of the things Council needs to discuss is having a person that does grant writing and Friendswood has a citizen who does this as a career, it is something that the City should consider for the funding requirements it has. Councilmember Reid asked if Council approves vehicle replacement and Councilmember Ewing answered yes. Councilmember Reid stated Council will need to ask next time if it needs a replacement and Councilmember Ewing stated there is grant money available and Staff could talk to the City of Houston since they are doing this. Mayor Smith stated Staff needs to get direction from Council on how they want to proceed whether they want to spend Staff time on this matter or not. Councilmember Hill stated he does not know where the City could be more fuel efficient, the police need to have Ford Crown Victoria and the Public Works department has to have heavy duty vehicles, it does not matter either way whether Staff time is spent on this or not. Councilmember LeCour stated he is against spending Staff time on this and Councilmember Rivera stated Staff needs to check with the Houston-Galveston Area Council (HGAC) on what they offer and do minimal time in research. Councilmember Reid stated she agrees with Councilmember LeCour with not spending Staff time on this. The City Manager stated Staff will make initial phone calls to get general information and Councilmember Rivera stated he will make the phone call to H-GAC to ask questions since he is on the Board and if there is grant monies available he will let the City Manager know. 03/24/2008 2890 A discussion was held regarding researching the cost of tree damage to public improvements in the right- of-way. Councilmember Ewing gave background information on the tree damage and stated on July 16, 2007, Council had a workshop regarding this and West Ranch wanted to put in live oaks which were not permitted. On August 6, 2007, Council had a continuation of the discussion and it was determined that Council put Staff in a bad way, the Design Criteria Manual stated different than ordinances. A lot of good discussion took place. In October, it was determined that Staff was overworked and did not have enough time to do research. Downtown Revitalization Committee member Bob Bertrand did a report and stated trees increase value and the decision was to back away from it. Bob Bertrand also researched how much damage these trees had done and it was determined it was $1.745 million spent on infrastructure but some were for areas that were not caused by tree root damage and it was determined that the increase in value was worth the 25% percentage or less of loss, it feels like a decision was made by Council without enough information, it is worth it to have trees in the right-of-way. Councilmember LeCour asked how Mr. Bertrand came up with figures and Councilmember Ewing stated Mr. Bertrand did research based on open records request. Councilmember LeCour asked exactly what data he received to come up with that figure and how did he attribute what tree damage is to infrastructure and Public Works Director Kaz Hamidian stated Public Works does not have it written what infrastructure was damaged by trees in the right-of-way. Councilmember LeCour stated he thinks Council cannot base this on Mr. Bertrand's research since he had no way of knowing which were replaced because of trees in right-of-way. Councilmember Rivera stated the Homeowners Association (HOA) replaces sidewalks so how can it be tracked. Councilmember Hill asked how can the City trim trees that block the right-of-way without making the homeowner unhappy. Kaz Hamidian stated this needs to be addressed because there are upset homeowners that get mad when they trim. Councilmember Ewing stated it is important that the trees get watered because the tree looks for moisture and Public Works could see what the cause is for tree roots coming up. Mayor Smith stated it was not said by Council that there cannot be trees but it depends on what type of tree, for example, live oaks cause more damage than a wisteria tree. Councilmember Ewing stated her recollection was that Council told West Ranch they could not have live oaks and the Design Criteria Manual clearly states you cannot have live oaks in the right-of-way. Mayor Smith stated without justifiable statistics and deferring to Staff experience, trusts their advice. Councilmember Ewing stated Mr. Bertrand's CD came to Council in October and it is now March and is afraid it would never get done. There is a need for more Staff and better public education on this issue. If trees are allowed in the right- of-way make the rule that they have to have irrigation. Councilmember Rivera stated Friendswood is very green compared to other cities, in his neighborhood it is required to have 2 trees in front and stated his wife is a real estate appraiser and trees add no value to the property. Councilmember Hill stated Council wastes time talking about this for 2% of the places in the City you cannot plant a tree, have lots of trees that you can plant in the other allowed 98%. Councilmember Reid stated she has no comment one way or another. Mayor Smith stated he does not think the City has a tree problem, only problem is Public Work's struggle to deal with trees in the right-of-way that are already there. Councilmember Ewing stated there needs to be more information sharing about how to care for existing trees. Councilmember Rivera asked if Council could have HOA's do tree damage assessment instead of having Staff do it. Kaz Hamidian stated Blackhawk Boulevard is a perfect example that tree roots are damaging the streets and Councilmember Reid stated roads do deteriorate with age also. The City Manager stated if Council wants Kaz Hamidian to record damage to streets his department can do that but would like an independent person to do this. Mayor Smith stated does not see a problem with trees, developers can do a Planned Unit Development (PUD) to include trees, can Staff work on information sharing through HOA's, newspapers and meetings to help protect the City and personal infrastructure and asked that Kaz Hamidian record what caused damage to streets/sidewalks and what type of tree it is. City Manager suggested Kaz Hamidian do a photo of damage. Councilmember Rivera stated if the City does a study and records this then Council would need to plan on doing something about it and not just have a study for no reason. Councilmember LeCour stated the Council needs to put it in Friendswood Focus newsletter. 03/24/2008 2891 A discussion was held regarding a Youth Advisory Council. Councilmember Reid stated she went to the Youth Area Council (YAC) convention with about 500 teenagers, different cities have YAC where it is similar to a Council but do projects, learn how the government works, comes up with things for the City, Council would appoint and bring kids from both sides of the creek, not just straight A students but students that think outside the box, would like to work on this and have it in place by Fall 2008, did a weekend Council workshop where all applicants came and talked to Councilmembers before they decided who would be on the committee and would go through the same orientation that new Councilmembers go through, grants are used to fund YAC. The Youth Area Council participate in many different projects such as Keep "City" Beautiful, distributes trash bags at parade, research on Skate Sports parks, had employee buddies from the City, had green bike project where they took Police Department confiscated bikes and painted them and put them in parks for whoever to use, organized voter registration drives, Senior Citizen dance and more. Mayor Smith asked if they would need to create a new committee and Councilmember Reid stated yes, a standing committee needs to be created by Council and Councilmember Ewing stated should this include home-schooled students and Councilmember Reid stated any high school student could apply. Councilmember LeCour asked if YAC would make recommendations to Council since they do not pay taxes and Councilmember Reid stated yes. Councilmember Ewing stated there is a training the members would go through and the biggest spenders are kids. Councilmember Reid stated yes she agrees. Councilmember Hill stated the City has plenty of committees and does not need to hear from kids. Councilmember LeCour stated he does not recommend they be an advisory committee but have them research different items and have a limited role. Councilmember Rivera stated he likes a Youth Council but not an advisory Council and Mayor Smith stated he is interested in it as well. The City Manager stated Texas City Manager's have a program called Texas Our Town that is something the Youth Council could get into. Councilmember Rivera stated they have done this in the military and if it is done right it works well. CLOSED EXECUTIVE SESSION Council will convene 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, Section 551.072 — Deliberation regarding real property and Section 551.074— Personnel Matters (Annual Review of the City Secretary). Council convened into Regular Session at 7:00 pm with action taken later in the meeting. RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION 7:00 PM — REGULAR SESSION The invocation was given by Pastor Rick Austin with Friendswood Baptist Church. Mayor Smith led the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States and to the State of Texas. Council moved Resolution R2008-27 from the Consent Agenda to this portion of the agenda. 03/24/2008 2892 **Councilmember Peden moved to approve Resolution R2008-27: A resolution of the City of Friendswood, suspending the April 10, 2008, effective date of CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp., D/B/A CenterPoint Energy Entex and CenterPoint Energy Texas Gas (CenterPoint) requested rate change to permit the City time to study the request and to establish reasonable rates; approving cooperation with the Gulf Coast Coalition of Cities and other cities in the CenterPoint area to hire legal and consulting services and to negotiate with the company and direct any necessary litigation and appeals; ratifying the selection of Lloyd Gosselink as legal counsel; requiring reimbursement of cities' rate case expenses; finding that the meeting at which this resolution is passed is open to the public as required by law; requiring notice of this resolution to the company and legal counsel. Seconded by Councilmember Rivera. ***Councilmember LeCour moved to amend Resolution R2008-27 to delete legal representation from the resolution. Seconded by Councilmember Peden. The motion failed 2-5 with Councilmember Ewing, Hill, Reid, Smith, and Rivera opposed. The main motion was approved 6-1 with Councilmember Peden opposed. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC Friendswood High School students Sydney Hale and Jake Riley requested to speak regarding requesting the City to donate the carport at the old Public Safety Building site for the school's Agriculture (AG) barn. Jake Riley, a Junior at Friendswood High School, thanked Kevin Holland and Jim Barr for their help and Mr. Brink for the donated land. Sydney Hale made statements about what Future Farmers of America (FFA) does and their activities, the donation would allow FFA to have eight heifers in the carport. Councilmember Ewing stated they did a great job in speaking and likes the idea of recycling parts of the old public safety building site for a good use. Councilmember LeCour asked if they are asking for donation of the carport or carport land. Sydney Hale stated it would be the carport, there is someone who would help with relocating the carport and Jake Riley stated part of the fundraiser was to raise funds for relocating the carport. Councilmember Hill asked how many FFA members are there and Sydney Hale answered fifty members. Councilmember Hill stated he appreciated their hard work toward getting something at a lower cost. Mayor Smith stated they would need to speak to the City Manager and then it will come before Council for approval. Tony Banfield, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated he was on the Downtown Revitalization Committee since it's inception in 1999 and would like to talk regarding the items on the agenda regarding the sidewalk widths, went through personal preferences the Committee all had when they first started and is concerned if Council starts changing the concept as in pedestrian zone and others then it will not be good, as far as the weather not being good for outdoor cafe or pedestrian there are several restaurants that have patios that people use. The conceptual plan that the City paid $250,000 for needs to be moved to hard detail plan, a major change would gut the whole concept and put it back to square one. Fred Krch, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated he recently spoke to Trish Hanks with Friendswood Independent School District (FISD) and stated the City should have two libraries at two intellectual levels with one adult library and the other a children's library, further stated that Ms. Hanks said the school libraries are geared toward the students age levels. Mr. Krch stated he discussed a joint venture with Ms. Hanks for doing a City/school library and stated she spoke to the School Board and understands she has a meeting with the City Manager Bo McDaniel this week and the City would not have to worry about a new building or acquiring land for a second library. Mr. Krch stated he would like to talk about Lake Windemere. Mayor Smith stated he placed the item regarding the lake on the agenda so that Council could respond and make comments. Mr. Krch stated all the information states the lake is pristine with no contamination, it was stocked by Parks and Wildlife with 28,000 fish, people are fishing 03/24/2008 2893 and catching five and six pound bass, has been told he is not allowed to fish on the lake because of safety reasons and feels he has more expertise on safety because that has been his life's work writing safety manuals, does not find any reason why the City has not been able to move on purchasing the lake. He stated he has also been told about rebar being in the lake and feels that has been an excuse, also was told there is no access to the lake and agrees that is partially correct, there is a paved street that the City owns that leads straight to the lake. Mayor Smith reported on the existing circumstances at Lake Friendswood and comments regarding free speech and public safety. Mayor Smith stated to Mr. Krch that Mr. Krch has been an enigma, paradox and problem since the Mayor has been on Council and would like to discuss with Mr. Krch concerning the lake and the way Mr. Krch has interacted with Council so he has placed on the agenda Lake Windemere and the discussion of freedom of speech. Mayor Smith stated he supports the development of the lake and thinks that it is an asset that the City of Friendswood should take advantage of but does not support it without a greater plan, believes the lake should be developed it is just a matter of time, making public statements as to the development of the lake could increase the cost of those developments and could cost the taxpayers of Friendswood more money to discuss the lake publicly and does not want to talk more about it publicly until Council decides collectively it is a priority, would like to see development happen in Council's time and not in Mr. Krch's time. Mayor Smith stated he would like to also discuss freedom of speech with Mr. Krch and placed a letter on the projector that Mr. Krch mailed to Council concerning Lake Windemere with a sticker stating "Shooting is my Olympic sport". The Mayor asked Mr. Krch what that was about. Mr. Krch stated he supports an Olympic rifle shooting team and the stickers were sent to him by the post office. Mayor Smith reminded Mr. Krch of a shooting incident that happened in Kirkwood, Missouri where a citizen was angry with the City because of actions Council took. Mayor Smith stated that he does not think Mr. Krch meant any harm in that but the sheer act of putting that sticker on the letter and sending it to Council was not a wise thing to do and asked that Mr. Krch be a little more cautious as to the communication he has with Council and be more respectful of Council's time. Councilmember LeCour stated he had no fear in what Mr. Krch did and Mayor Smith should have spoken with Mr. Krch in private concerning the sticker placed on the letter rather than put it on the agenda, feels as a Council that the citizens should not be limited as to what they are able to discuss, it is Council's job to listen to what the people have to say. JOINT DOCKETED PUBLIC HEARING Mayor Smith and Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Gibson called a Joint Docketed Public Hearing to order, to receive comments from the public, either oral or written, regarding amending Appendix B, Subdivision Ordinance of the City of Friendswood Code of Ordinances, regarding revising platting requirements for various subdivisions of tracts, lots or parcels of land. No one spoke for or against amending Appendix B, Subdivision Ordinance. Hearing no further comments, Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Gibson closed this Public Hearing. Council left open the Joint Docketed Public Hearing for a future meeting. 03/24/2008 2894 SPECIAL SESSION A discussion was held regarding Downtown Development options with the Planning and Zoning Commission and Community and Economic Development Committee members. Mayor Smith placed the Downtown Plan of Action on the overhead for the audience to see and explained he is working with Mr. Buzbee to get his project running again, has worked on this plan of action, number one would be to add additional Staff support with asking the City Manager immediately for a Staff liaison and study and develop options for long term need for staffing support such as additional Staff (Ombudsman), a consultant, Executive Director to Local Government Corp., Downtown Coordinator, Deputy City Manager or Executive Director to a 4B ED Corporation. Number two is deregulation and incentives by completing sidewalk ordinance work, creation of Neighborhood Empowerment Zone (Chapter 378) on top of Downtown Zoning District by removing permit and impact fees from downtown, expansion of existing Chapter 380 Grant program by streetscaping and tax abatements and number three would be the long term needs in conjunction with multi-year financial plan such as Council commitment to 4B Sales Tax Referendum next May to split '/ cent for downtown and other economic development and '/ cent for parks and sports field needs. Discussed funding for capital improvement needs and support through Capital Bonds for: drainage, utilities, Staff and process support, discussed appointing Staff liaison for downtown development as a short-term solution and long-term would be to study and develop options for long term need for staffing support. City Manager Bo McDaniel stated he would like the Community Development Deputy Director Morad Kabiri to be the appointed Staff person. Councilmember Hill stated this is just another bureaucratic mess to increase regulations, sales tax and more and this will make problems worse for Mr. Buzbee, not better. Councilmember Peden stated he agrees with Councilmember Hill and Mayor Smith asked Council to keep an open mind until the information had been presented and then will hear what they have to say. Councilmember Hill stated he would like to see Staff given directions to find solutions, Staff is capable. Councilmember Ewing stated Staff is capable but may need one person to handle, development is confusing for people who do not do this regularly and are trying to revitalize, this is not brand new and will have these problems with anybody coming in to develop and not just Mr. Buzbee, also thinks the Community Development Department is understaffed and overworked. Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) boardmember Holland stated he does not feel the love and does not understand the document presented since he has not seen it yet. Mayor Smith apologized because he thought P&Z was given this document and had reviewed it. It was decided that this could be discussed at the planning meeting next Monday. Councilmember Reid stated people are accusing Council of sending mixed signals. Councilmember Hill stated people voted the plan down that they did not want a downtown plan. Hearing no further comments, Planning and Zoning Chairman Gibson closed this Public Hearing. Mayor Smith stated the downtown area is not the only area that has development needs and further explained his document. Mayor Smith asked the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) to discuss some of the needs of creation of Neighborhood Empowerment Zone (Chapter 378) on top of the Downtown Zoning District and remove permit and impact fees from downtown at their upcoming April retreat and asked the City Manager to make sure all information goes out to the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Community Economic Development Committee (CEDC) for the next meeting. Councilmember Peden stated the City needs to define the problem before it can be solved and asked if any of this fixes the problem Council is talking about, it is premature to discuss solutions since the problem has not been decided on, is this Staff interpretation or is the developer not understanding or are there too many regulations. Mayor Smith stated after a discussion with Mr. Buzbee he stated it was not any three of those but the types of developers Friendswood attracts, do not have a Staff person that deals with these issues primarily, that is why the City needs more Staff, need additional incentives to attract because the City is asking developers to do special things that add more money to their projects. Councilmember LeCour asked if this could be workshopped, there needs to be more information on sales tax options as promised previously. Councilmember Ewing stated Council has had workshops with the City Manager explaining different funding options and the backup material tonight explains it clearly. 03/24/2008 2895 CITY MANAGER'S REPORT City Manager Bo McDaniel reported on an update to the new Public Safety Building Project. The new Public Safety Building was substantially completed in June 2007 and the City Staff moved in. There were numerous unfinished items at that time and still are to date. Community Development Deputy Director Morad Kabiri prepared a memo to provide Council with a report on the project as it stands and also provided a punch list with the outstanding items to be completed. The City Manager reported on the Galveston County Tax Office program at the Friendswood Library. Vance Ready with the Galveston County Tax Office will be presenting a program at the Friendswood Library on how to lower property taxes. The program will be held on Wednesday, April 2, 2008, at 6 PM, in the library's main meeting room. The City Manager reported on the Friendswood Link Road extension. The extension of Friendswood Link Road outside the City limits (EI Dorado in Harris County) is anticipated to be bid next month and Staff is in the process of acquiring the necessary easements. Staff is also working with Harris County to provide alternatives to the current design plan to address the transition into EI Dorado. Currently, the plans show a two lane, open ditch road connecting to a future four-lane EI Dorado Boulevard. This poses a potential traffic hazard and necessitates a transition of at least 200 feet to graduate from two to four lanes of traffic. Community Development Deputy Director Morad Kabiri provided a memo to Council with an update on this project and more information on the options available to the City. The City Manager reported on the West Ranch Management District Park Dedication and stated at the last City Council meeting, March 3, 2008, Councilmember Ewing requested a report on the status of the dedication of the West Ranch Management District Park. The City Manager suggested a future work session with Mayor and Council, the Parks and Recreation Board, Friendswood Development, and the West Ranch Management District to develop a calendar for the transfer of the proposed park property per the Utility Agreement. ACTION ITEMS **Councilmember Ewing moved to approve a 3.5% raise to City Secretary Deloris McKenzie. Seconded by Councilmember Hill. The motion was approved unanimously. **Councilmember Peden moved to table item creation of a Neighborhood Empowerment Zone. Seconded by Councilmember Rivera. The motion was tabled unanimously. **Councilmember Peden moved to table item amending the existing Chapter 380 program. Seconded by Councilmember Rivera. The motion was tabled unanimously. **Councilmember Peden moved to table item providing staff/consultant support for the Downtown initiatives. Seconded by Councilmember Rivera. The motion was tabled unanimously. **Councilmember Peden moved to table item 4B Sales tax for Economic Development. Seconded by Councilmember Rivera. The motion was approved unanimously. **Councilmember Ewing moved to approve a supplemental appropriation of $1,500.00 to send two Councilmembers to the Space Exploration program with one being Councilmember Rivera and the other Councilmember Reid. Seconded by Councilmember Peden. The motion was approved unanimously. 03/24/2008 2896 Mayor Smith stated Council should send Councilmember Rivera and decide about sending a second person from Council, a second person was not budgeted so it would need to be decided if Council should send another person. Economic Development Coordinator Karen Capps stated the cost is $1,500.00 to send another person. Councilmember LeCour stated he has not decided if he will go for his work or not and Councilmember Rivera stated most of the modern technology today has been as a result of the space program. Councilmember Peden stated his daughter went last year and will go again this year, stated he would go on his own dime as well. **Councilmember Rivera moved to approve funding for supplemental mosquito spraying. Seconded by Councilmember Ewing. The motion was approved unanimously. RESOLUTIONS **Councilmember Peden moved to approve Resolution R2008-25 - a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas, authorizing and directing Staff to proceed with the update of drainage improvement plans for the Prairie Wilde Subdivision, including update of design work, obtain permit from TxDOT to outfall into FM 2351, and easement acquisition, and expressing the commitment to appropriate up to $100,000 for these components of the project. Seconded by Councilmember Hill. The motion was approved unanimously. **Councilmember Ewing moved to approve Resolution R2008-26 - a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas, authorizing the Mayor to execute and the City Secretary to attest an easement agreement by and between the City and LinGo FLWest-Land, Ltd., for the purpose of constructing, reconstructing, altering, and maintaining public roadway and drainage and utility facilities in, under, over, upon, and across two certain one (1) foot reserves necessary for the development of the Friendswood Lakes West. Seconded by Councilmember Reid. The motion was approved unanimously. ORDINANCES **Councilmember Reid moved to approve the Second and final reading of Ordinance No. T2008-07, an ordinance amending an ordinance of the City of Friendswood, Texas, Ordinance No. 2000-01, as amended, originally adopted the 17th Day of December, 2000, being Appendix B of the Friendswood City Code, and being an ordinance providing rules and regulations governing plats and the subdivision of land, by amending Section V thereof by adding a new Subsection (C) to authorize payments in lieu of sidewalk installation and creation of a sidewalk installation fund; providing a penalty of an amount not to exceed $2,000 for each day of violation of any provision hereof; and providing for severability. Seconded by Councilmember Hill. The motion was approved unanimously. **Councilmember Rivera moved to approve the Second and final reading of Ordinance No. T2008-08, an ordinance of the City of Friendswood amending Appendix C of the Friendswood City Code, said Appendix C being City of Friendswood, Texas Ordinance No. 84-15, as amended, originally adopted the 19th Day of November, 1984, and being the zoning ordinance of the City, by amending Section 8 (N), Subsection 6 to provide an alternative to the minimum sidewalk requirement; providing a penalty of an amount not to exceed $2,000 for each day of violation of any provision hereof; and providing for severability. (Amended on first reading 03/03/08) Seconded by Councilmember Hill. ***Councilmember LeCour moved to table Ordinance No. T2008-08, an ordinance of the City of Friendswood amending Appendix C of the Friendswood City Code. Seconded by Councilmember Hill. The motion was approved 5-2 with Councilmember Rivera and Mayor Smith opposed. 03/24/2008 2897 Councilmember Peden moved to approve the First reading of Ordinance No. T2007-19, an ordinance of the City of Friendswood, Texas, amending the Code of Ordinances by adding a new paragraph to Section 14-253 of Article IV of Chapter 14 thereof; providing certain amendments to the International Plumbing Code, 2003 Edition; providing for the issuance of permits for the installation of irrigation systems; providing that permits for the installation of irrigation systems shall be issued only to irrigation system installers licensed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; providing other matters relating to the subject; providing a penalty of an amount not to exceed $2,000 for each day of violation of any provision hereof; and providing for severability. (Previously tabled 02/04/08) Seconded by Councilmember Reid. The motion died due to Councilmember Peden and Reid withdrawing the motion. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBERS Councilmember Hill reported on the downtown drainage and stated plans have been done to help with downtown and need to move water out. Councilmember Hill also thanked Community Appearance Board (CAB) members that planted flowers all around the City. Councilmember LeCour reported that he was the Galveston County Republican Chair candidate and was elected and announced he would not run for Council. An important class is coming up on how to protest appraisal values, home values have diminished and is important to take a look at that. The class will be held on Wednesday April 2, 2008, at 6:00 PM, he attended the class and saved $1500 one year. Councilmember Ewing reported she attended several Planning and Zoning Commission meetings and has learned a great deal, also attended Hope Village Fish Fry which was great and the Senior Citizen spaghetti luncheon, thank you to the ROMEOs (Real Old Men Eating Out), and attended the Galveston County Mayor and Council (GCM&C) meeting about taxation, announced that April 12, 2008, is Spring Sparkle where citizens can take big items to discard, it is not a hazardous item day, the hazardous items need to go to Pearland and announced on April 19, 2008, is the Friendswood is Great (FIG) Festival sponsored by the Friendswood Chamber of Commerce, the Heritage Festival and Auto Show will also be that day and on April 17, 2008, Betsy Miller would like to donate a special painting to the City. Councilmember Reid wished Councilmember Ewing a happy birthday and reported she attended a West Ranch Day and also attended a Management District meeting and Homeowners Association (HOA) meeting, attended the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) conference that was discussed in the workshop earlier in the meeting, there were 500 screaming teenagers and is excited that the City may start a Friendswood Youth Council and attended a Senior Citizen Committee meeting in Councilmember Rivera's absence and they are impressive. Councilmember Peden wished Councilmember Ewing and Community Development Director Les McMahen a happy birthday and reminded everyone to vote, tomorrow is the last day of early voting and Election Day is on Saturday, congratulated Councilmember LeCour on his election win and announced he also will not be running for Council again, will keep working towards clarity and has enjoyed his three years on Council, thanked the citizens for putting him there, accomplished everything he wanted to do and looks forward to sitting next to Dan Illerich in the June Council meeting. Councilmember Rivera reported everyone needs to exercise their right to vote. Mayor Smith reported on the FIG (Friendswood is Great) Festival, Fun Run, Auto Show and other activities that will be held on that day and also mentioned there would be museum tours and the new Lions Club will be holding a chili cook-off, attended many meetings as the other Councilmembers have. 03/24/2008 2898 � CONSENT AGENDA **Councilmember Rivera moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented with the exception of Item F1 which was considered earlier in the meeting and approved. Resolution R2008-27 A resolution of the City of Friendswood, suspending the April 10, 2008, effective date of CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp., D/B/A CenterPoint Energy Entex and CenterPoint Energy Texas Gas (CenterPoint) requested rate change to permit the City time to study the request and to establish reasonable rates; approving cooperation with the Gulf Coast Coalition of Cities and other cities in the CenterPoint area to hire legal and consulting services and to negotiate with the company and direct any necessary litigation and appeals; ratifying the selection of Lloyd Gosselink as legal counsel; requiring reimbursement of cities' rate case expenses; finding that the meeting at which this resolution is passed is open to the public as required by law; requiring notice of this resolution to the company and legal counsel. A. Approve Interlocal agreement with Clear Creek Independent School District for Law Enforcement Services (DWI/Alcohol) and authorize the Mayor to execute. B. Approve the disposition of public safety vehicles through public auction. C. Accept streets, drainage and utilities in West Ranch Stonecreek II Subdivision for the contractor's one-year maintenance period, accept a five-year maintenance bond for certain pavement sections, and accept a performance bond for the future installation of certain sidewalks. D. Accept streets, drainage and utilities in West Ranch Creekside II Subdivision for the contractor's one-year maintenance period, accept a five-year maintenance bond for certain pavement sections, and accept a performance bond for the future installation of certain sidewalks. E. Approve an Interlocal agreement with the City of Pearland for the use of Pearland's Recycling Center and authorize the Mayor to execute. F2. Resolution R2008-28, A resolution of the City Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas, determining that an easement is needed for construction and maintenance of utilities as part of the Deepwood Force Main project; approving the purchase of said easement from the Autumn Creek Community Association, Inc., property owners. G. Accept February 2008 Property Tax Report. H. Approve Minutes of February ,_„� 18, 2008, Meeting. A motion was made and approved to adjourn at 10:10 PM. Ma avid J.H. Smith Attest: �►�4 f R��a � " �'o De ris McKenzie, TRM V p City Secretary * � a �'�rE � �,�' �