HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2009-07-06 Special 07/06/2009 3163
STATE OF TEXAS )(
CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD )(
COUNTIES OF GALVESTON/HARRIS )(
JULY 06, 2009 )(
MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY COUNCIL THAT WAS HELD ON
MONDAY, JULY 06, 2009, AT 6:00 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 ANDY RIVERA
COUNCILMEMBER MICHAEL BARKER
COUNCILMEMBER JIM HILL
COUNCILMEMBER LESLIE REID
COUNCILMEMBER JIM BARR
CITY ATTORNEY MARTHA WILLIAMS
INTERIM CITY MANAGER ROGER ROECKER
CITY SECRETARY DELORIS MCKENZIE
Councilmember Holbert was absent from the meeting.
Mayor Smith called the meeting to order.
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SPECIAL SESSION
A discussion was held with Harold Whitaker Director of Galveston County Consolidated Drainage District
(GCCDD) Board regarding Wegner Ditch. A historical overview of this drainage project for Wegner Ditch
(Tributary No. 2) was presented and discussed a proposal to go underground and partner with the City
50/50 to fund the project. Would like a town hall meeting to meet with area residents for input for
potential future plans, the cost for the design and survey of the project is approximately $110,000,
propose meeting again with area residents to communicate the proposed plans involving grant writer in
the process. The district will arrange a town hall Meeting to be held at City Hall.
7:00 PM—REGULAR SESSION
The invocation was given by Public Works Director, Kaz Hamidian.
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 Commission Chairman Holland called a Joint Docketed Public
Hearing to order, to receive comments from the public, either oral or written, regarding amending the City
of Friendswood Code of Ordinances, Chapter 26, Environment., Article V. Junked Vehicles.
Bobbie Jones, Friendswood resident since 1963, addressed Council and stated she is in support of
removal of junk vehicles, suggested amending the Ordinance for an expedited process to remove
immediately.
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Vera Smart, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated she is in support of the ordinance, it is
a tremendous help to neighborhoods, the process is slow but complimented the City for getting some it
cleaned up, the City does need an ordinance to prevent accumulation of junk vehicles in yards and would
appreciate faster process.
Hearing no further comments, Planning and Zoning Chairman Holland closed this Joint Docketed Public
Hearing, Mayor Smith left the Public Hearing open at this time.
Mayor Smith and Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Holland called a Joint Docketed Public
Hearing to order, to receive comments from the public, either oral or written, regarding a Planned Unit
Development-Specific Use Permit amendment request for a tract of land containing 5.00 acres, being Lot
1, Gardens at Friendswood Lakes Subdivision, situated in the George W. Patterson Survey, property
located at 1423 W. Parkwood Avenue, Galveston County, TX, to amend a Planned Unit Development
with a Specific Use Permit for Senior Citizen only Multi-Family residential purposes as approved by Ord.
2007-09. (Gardens at Friendswood Lakes).
Wolfgang Horn, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated he is in support of the ordinance.
He lives behind property and presented a number of issues of concerns such as height, notification and
deceit, does not oppose the expansion.
Clay Greyban, Friendswood resident, speaking on behalf of Gardens at Friendswood Lakes Subdivision
Homeowners Association (HOA), the project has changed regarding height, believe adding garages will
actually add to property and adding pool will also to HOA amenities.
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Hearing no further comments Planning and Zoning Chairman Holland closed this Joint Docketed Public
Hearing.
Mayor Smith left the Docketed Public Hearing open.
COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC
Shannon Trocessett, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and spoke on Council holding Executive
Sessions and stated since last December Council has held 17 Executive Sessions in essence conducting
City business in private. Stated nothing is private and should not be discussed in Executive Session, the
Mayor of Hitchcock in his six years never held an Executive Session and suggested Council contact the
Mayor of Hitchcock to ask how he did it.
Tom Timmons, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated he would like to see the utilization
logs for the use of the playing fields. Stated he lives close to one and keeps track of the use and if it used
more than 25% of the time then he would be surprised, it is mostly used by people other than
Friendswood kids, would like to get the log. The agenda published is bare bones and does not have any
meat to it.
Mayor Smith referred Mr. Timmons to the City Manager's Office for the logs and to the City Secretary's
Office for the agenda back up material.
Heten Zaviela, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated she is an Art Teacher and has a
passion for Art. There are not many fine arts opportunities in Friendswood and proposed putting in a Fine
Arts Facility like the Clear Lake Art Alliance. She is involved in Friendswood Area Swim Team (FAST), a
substitute teacher, has four children in Friendswood, is collecting a petition of interest and would like to ,,,�,�
start art in the park to promote art and is looking for community support.
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Yvette O'Toole, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated she is a single mother on a fixed
income. There has been an increase in water rates and she has begun the conservation process. How
can the bill be so incredibly high? If it continues and rates are not monitored, then will not be able to
continue to pay the water bill, possibly look into averaging.
Mayor Smith referred Ms. O'Toole to speak with the City Manager or Public Works for an explanation as
to why rates have increased.
Fred Krch, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and read portions of the Bill of Rights and stated
there is a right to assemble and petition government to express grievances. People are worried about the
economy, there are a lot of empty homes, commented on legalize plunder and the ball fields expansions,
Council is not giving full information to the public, did not give public a chance to vote, does Council not
trust the people or is Council afraid of the people.
Ken Truman, Friendswood resident of over 48 years, addressed Council and stated he has had flooding
for over 40 years and spoke on current flooding in three homes in Clover Acres Subdivision. What is the
problem and why can't it be resolved? Council spoke on communication in past Council meetings and
spoke on ball field acquisition outside the City and Certificate of Obligations (CO) issued, concerned with
the process and is opposed to Council making decisions that are against the will of the people.
John LeCour, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and congratulated everyone involved in the
Fourth of July event under the harsh conditions. Has been off Council for over a year and wanted Council
to make the decisions. Addressed concerns regarding purchase of property outside of the City, there are
,,,,,, other areas that land could have been used for playing fields and wonders about the decisions made by
Council. The worst thing seen is as to how citizens have been treated, suing citizens to make them
responsible and financially responsible if opposed, bring this to the bond election and let the public vote
on this.
Steve Hayden, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and spoke on streaming video, urged Council to
implement something like that. With all of the equipment the City has it should be easy to do, to put on
main page, could be done easily and free services are available, Council could meet their communication
goal to reach the people that are not attending the Council meetings and would like to volunteer to help
with that process.
CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
Interim City Manager Roger Roecker reported on Council Meetings on Streaming Video. The Council
meetings will begin streaming tomorrow. After a bit of research and development, the City is now ready
to launch the video of City Council meetings on the City's website. At this time, the City can store
approximately 3.5 hours of video, or 1-2 meetings on the website at a time. The City will begin this
program by only archiving the most recent meeting on the City's website. In the future, we may decide to
archive more than just the most recent meeting on the website. If or when, the City does so, there will be
an additional cost associated with larger storage space. However, the cost is well within the current
operating budget. Should the City decide to upgrade in the future, the storage ability could store up to as
many as 120 meeting hours. City staff will be monitoring exactly how many viewers are watching the
videos, and for how long to determine the most appropriate amount of storage space for the City to
purchase. At some point down the road, it might become more cost effective to switch to a hosted video
streaming solution that not only archives the meetings but also divides the meetings up by chapter, so
that the video for each agenda item can be immediately called up at the click of a mouse. However, the
..,� current solution is a good start, and it will give Staff an indication of how many people will watch the video
online.
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The City Manager reported on the current status of various Grants that the City has already secured or is
currently pursuing. The City has already secured $2 Million from the Department of Commerce's
Economic Development Administration for infrastructure improvements in the City's panhandle area.
These funds will be used to stimulate economic development activities that will benefit the regional
economy by creating water and sewer infrastructure in the Harris County portion of Friendswood, near
Beamer Road and FM 2351. Initially, the City was advised by the State of Texas that the City was not
going to receive any of the Hazardous Mitigation Grant funding that was available. However, in mid June
the City was notified that one of our projects is now under consideration to be funded. This particular
project will provide a new natural gas fueled 150 KW generator for City Hall. This generator will have a
total cost of $69,971. The grant will pay for 75°/a of the cost of $ 52,478 and the remaining 25 % of
$17,493 will have to be paid by the City of Friendswood. At this time, the City's grant application for this
project is being processed by the State of Texas for approval. The City has met the June 30, 2009
deadline for grant applications for the $2.5 Million allocated from the Community Development Block
Grant Program (CDBG) and Office of Rural and Community Affairs (ORCA) funds to The City
Friendswood by Galveston County Commissioner's Court. Of the 57 projects initially reviewed by ORCA,
only 39 were identified by ORCA as being eligible for this round of funding. The estimates that have been
worked up by the Community Development Department indicate that we will be able to fund all 39 of
these projects with the $2.5 Million available. A total of $210 Million will be available through the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Friendswood is eligible to apply for up to $5
million to build a new fire station. This is a 100% funded grant, and no matching funds are required. The
basic criteria established by the grant requirements give a higher priority to projects that have been in the
planning stages for a long period of time, projects that have already acquired land, the availability of
utilities and drainage and a station location that improves response times.
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ACTION ITEMS
"`'`Councilmember Rivera moved to approve two contracts for disposition of RFP No. 2009-07 for
Lighthouse Cooking Team and John Colelloi (Cardinal Culinary Services, LLC), Catering Services
following Emergency Events.
Seconded by Councilmember Hill. The motion was approved 6-0.
Kevin Holland, Planning and Zoning Chairman, gave a recommendation for Junk Vehicles and Gardens
at Friendswood Lakes, with a unanimous agreement.
**Councilmember Barr moved to approve the certification of two petitions for the holding of a Local Option
Election to legalize the sale of mixed beverages in restaurants by food and beverage certificate holders
only and the sale of beer and wine for off-premise consumption only, in the dry area of the City limits.
Seconded by Councilmember Rivera. The motion was approved 6-0.
Mayor Smith acknowledged the City Secretary's Office for the many hours of work done on the
certification process.
**Councilmember Rivera moved to approve ratifying and confirming an application for the Hazard
Mitigation Grant.
Seconded by Councilmember Reid. The motion was approved 6-0.
"'`Councilmember Hill moved to approve City Staff to make application for grant funding from the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)for a construction grant for a new Fire Station.
Seconded by Councilmember Rivera. The motion was approved 6-0. ....
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**Councilmember Rivera moved to approve the Mayor's execution of an amendment to the application
with the Office of Rural Community Affairs Disaster Recovery Program by adding Administrative Services
Selection Forms and an Engineering Services Selection Form.
Seconded by Councilmember Barr. The motion was approved 6-0.
RESOLUTIONS
"*Councilmember Rivera moved to approve Resolution R2009-39: a Resolution of the City Council of the
City of Friendswood, Texas, adopting rules of procedure for City Council meetings; and repealing all other
resolutions inconsistent or in conflict herewith.
Seconded by Councilmember Reid. The motion was approved 6-0.
**Councilmember Barr moved to approve Resolution R2009-40: a Resolution of the City Council of the City
of Friendswood, Texas, expressing intent to finance expenditures to be incurred by the City for expenses
associated with the projects listed in the Waterworks and Sewer System Revenue Bonds, Series 2009.
Seconded by Councilmember Rivera. The motion was approved 6-0.
'"`Councilmember Rivera moved to approve Resolution R2009-41: a Resolution of the City Council of the
City of Friendswood, Texas, expressing intent to finance expenditures to be incurred by the City for
expenses associated with the FM 518 Drainage Project as listed in the Permanent Improvement Bonds,
Series 2009.
Seconded by Councilmember Hill. The motion was approved 6-0.
,,,,_, ORDINANCES
**Councilmember Rivera moved to approve the First and Final reading of Ordinance T2009-12 - an
Ordinance authorizing the issuance of City of Friendswood, Texas, Waterworks and Sewer System
Revenue Bonds, Series 2009.
Seconded by Councilmember Barker. The motion was approved 6-0.
""Councilmember Barr moved to approve the First reading of Ordinance T2009-13: an Ordinance
amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Friendswood, Texas, by amending Chapter 26, Article V
"junked vehicles" to be consistent with State law; making certain findings; providing a penalty of an amount
not to exceed $200 for violation of any provision hereof; repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances
inconsistent or in conflict herewith; and providing for severability.
Seconded by Councilmember Reid. The motion`was approved 6-0.
"*Councilmember Rivera moved to approve the First reading of Ordinance T2009-14: an Ordinance
amending City of Friendswood, Texas;'Ordinance No. T2007-09, same being an amendment to Appendix
C (Zoning Ordinance) of the Code of Ordinance� of the City, said Ordinance No. T2007-09 that changed
the zoning classification of a 5.0 acre traet°bf land located at 1423 Parkwood from Community Shopping
Center(CSC)to Planned Unit Development District(PUD) and granted a Specific Use Permit to authorize
use of property within said PUD for Senior Citizen Multi-Family purposes; providing for an amendment of
the site plan for such Planned Unit Development to allow garages, a pavilion, and a swimming pool;
providing a penalty in an amount not to exceed $2,000 for each day of violation of any provision hereof;
and providing for severability.
Seconded by Councilmember Barr. The motion was approved 6-0.
COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBERS
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Councilmembers Rivera, Reid, Barker and Hill had no report.
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Councilmember Barr reported on the Fourth of July celebration and gave hats off to the Fourth of July
Steering Committee and to the City Staff. This event is planned one year in advance.
Mayor Smith stated that he agreed with Councilmember Barr, hats off to the volunteers planning and
working the Fourth of July celebration, long standing celebration, good turnout, could not do it without City
Staff and volunteers, true professionals all the way, recognized virtually all departments across the board.
CLOSED EXECUTIVE SESSION
No Executive Session was held 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.
CONSENT AGENDA
Councilmember Hill left the Council Chambers at this time.
'`*Councilmember Barr moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented A. A contract renewal with
Hill Sand Co. for debris management services for emergency management purposes
Seconded by Reid. The motion was approved 5-0.
Councilmember Hill returned to the Council Chambers at this time.
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A motion was made and approved to adjourn at 8:42 PM.
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Mayor David J.H. Smith
Attest:
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Delo s McKenzie, TRMC
City Secretary * *
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