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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2021-02-01 Regular02/01/21 5211 STATE OF TEXAS CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD COUNTIES OF GALVESTON/HARRIS FEBRUARY 1, 2021 6:30 PM — REGULAR MEETING MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY COUNCIL THAT WAS HELD ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2021, AT 06:30 PM AT FRIENDSWOOD CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 910 S. FRIENDSWOOD DRIVE, FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS, WITH THE FOLLOWING PRESENT CONSTITUTING A QUORUM: MAYOR MIKE FOREMAN MAYOR PRO-TEM TRISH HANKS COUNCILMEMBER STEVE ROCKEY COUNCILMEMBER SALLY BRANSON COUNCILMEMBER ROBERT J. GRIFFON COUNCILMEMBER JOHN SCOTT COUNCILMEMBER BRENT ERENWERT CITY ATTORNEY MARY KAY FISCHER CITY MANAGER MORAD KABIRI CITY SECRETARY MELINDA WELSH 1. Call to order Mayor Foreman called the meeting to order. 2. Invocation — Pastor Nicholas Lamm6, Friendswood Church of Christ The invocation was given by Pastor Nicholas Lamm6 with Friendswood Church of Christ. 3. Pledge of Allegiance — United States and Texas (HONOR THE TEXAS FLAG; I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THEE, TEXAS, ONE STATE UNDER GOD, ONE AND INDIVISIBLE) Mayor Foreman led the Pledge of Allegiance of the United States and to the State of Texas. 4. Communications from the Public Communications from the Public (To comply with provisions of the Open Meetings Act, the City Council may not deliberate on items discussed under this agenda item. The Council may refer this item to the City 02/01/21 5213 estimate for the construction of this building. The project budget is $4 million, which includes soft costs such as architectural and engineering services, and are projecting about $400,000 in soft costs that puts the project at about $4.1 million without a contingency. This does not include a replacement burn building, which would cost about $650,000. There is work to do there, but are in the ballpark of where this needs to be. Mr. Arias stated this is a conservative estimate, but a good starting point so that the city can start working with a Construction Manager At Risk (CMAR) to help refine the cost. Later tonight, Council will have a contract for consideration for a CMAR for this project. The city, architect and the CMAR will work together as a team moving forward, will collectively develop a guaranteed maximum price, which will set the final price tag for this project. City Manager Morad Kabiri reminded everyone that this is the same process the city undertook when Fire Station No. 1 was built behind the Public Safety Building with the CMAR. It ended up providing a far better product for the city in keeping within budget, and are proposing to do the same with these two projects. Director of Engineering/City Engineer Jildardo Arias provided an update to the Public Safety Building expansion. The work on this project is ongoing with the architect. In Council's backup material is a current layout and a conceptual layout, which is based on feedback that the architect has gotten from the Police Department, Fire Marshal, and the Municipal Court. It is not where it needs to be cost -wise before the city turns the architect loose on the development of the plans of specifications on this project, so that is something that is coming up in the immediate future. City staff is working hard to evaluate the initial floor plan that was provided, going to ensure that the needs are met and that any necessary renovation to the existing building is balanced with the addition of any new floor space. Also on the agenda tonight is a CMAR for this project, will be engaging the CMAR to help get hard numbers on paper and get this project to its final form. As this project moves forward, the architect will have a final programming presentation within the next month or two. Mayor Pro Tem Hanks asked if there will be any capacity issues at the Police Station while the additions are being made to the building and if the occupants will still have all the usable space that is needed. Director of Engineering/City Engineer Jildardo Arias stated it is yet to be determined as to what level of capacity there will be and how far it can be projected out. The first iteration of the plan is intended to be a 50-year buildout, have yet to see how far the city can project out what needs are being met. City Manager Kabiri stated emergency services will not be disrupted during this process. 02/01/21 5215 Mayor asked if anyone would like to speak in favor or against. No one spoke. B. Proposed amendments to Appendix C, Zoning Ordinance Section 7.Q.2. "Residential Regulation Matrix" to amend sub note F to allow lots in existence that are zoned Single Family Residential and are less than 90 feet wide to continue with the setbacks that were established when the lot was platted or created. Mayor Foreman called a Public Hearing to order to receive comments from the public, both oral and written, regarding proposed amendments to Appendix C, Zoning Ordinance Section 7.Q.2. "Residential Regulation Matrix" to amend sub note F to allow lots in existence that are zoned Single Family Residential and are less than 90 feet wide to continue with the setbacks that were established when the lot was platted or created. Community Development Director/City Planner Aubrey Harbin stated the Planning and Zoning Commission discussed this item and had their public hearing on January 14. There were a lot of subdivisions in Friendswood that were annexed into the city so were platted and planned out when they were located in the county. Many of those lots do not meet the city's minimum 90-foot lot width requirement. When the homes on those properties are destroyed more than 50 percent are required to meet the current setbacks. A 90-foot lot requires 10 ft. on each side, and for a 50 to 60-foot lot that is a large amount of space. This proposal already has an allowance in the ordinance that allows an existing structure to continue a 5 ft. side yard setback, however if the structure is destroyed there is no allowance for that. This corrects that in the case if they are destroyed, they can continue with the 5 ft. side yard setbacks. Mayor asked if anyone would like to speak in favor or against. No one spoke. 7. Communications from the Public Communications from the Public (To comply with provisions of the Open Meetings Act, the City Council may not deliberate on items discussed under this agenda item. The Council may refer this item to the City Manager or direct this item to be placed on the next regular Council agenda. Out of respect for those speaking during public comment, please refrain from any outbursts or interjections to include, but not limited to, applause and/or disparaging noises from the audience. Doing so discourages others from voicing their thoughts and opinions, and disrupts the meeting. Furthermore, any personnel complaints against a City employee aside from the City Manager, City Secretary, City Attorney or 02/01/21 5217 Area Boulevard property, and the combination of the detention ponds on Bay Area Boulevard. It is anticipated that within the next two or three months the city will hear something. Again, the state received five times the amount of funds available in applications, so it is going to be a fierce competition. C. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Update City Manager Kabiri reported that with respect to COVID-19, the city has received some of its Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) from the Harris County side of the city, submitted a reimbursement request from the Galveston County side of the city and are awaiting reimbursement, and believes that is forthcoming within the next few weeks. Operations continue throughout all city services with no disruption in service with the exception of a few parks still not having full goals at the basketball facilities, but every facility is open to the public. As a reminder, the City of Friendswood is not a provider of the Coronavirus vaccine, nor a distribution center for the vaccine, are working closely with Galveston County, as well as the Health District, to provide support for the regional hubs for vaccinations. Both Galveston and Harris County have opened up a waitlist approach so those that are eligible in either the state's Group 1A (healthcare workers) or 1 B (over the age of 65 and/or have a pre-existing health condition) can sign up for the vaccine, and when an appointment becomes available the person will be notified, as opposed to trying to fight the mass rush of people getting appointments early on. The city continues to operate as usual, have had no citations issued regarding Governor Abbott's orders, nor has the city shut down any businesses related to Governor Abbott's orders. D. Annual Crime Report City Manager Kabiri reported that the Police Department continues to do an amazing job, and crime went down this year. Even more telling with the crime rate going down is that the national standards for reporting have changed since last year so one crime previously reported is now reported as multiple crimes, depending on the incident. Even with that additional statistical data point, the city continues to operate just fine and reduced the crime rate. Chief Wieners stated he provided a hard copy of the crime report to each member of Council. Even with the crime reporting category additions going from 8 categories to 24, crime is still down. Chief Wieners reviewed the report, explaining the data in detail, and further stated there has been a lot of hard work and reorganization by the Police Department to meet the community's needs. Mayor Foreman stated people move to Friendswood for the lower crime rate and appreciates everything the Police Department does to keep it lower. 1 02/01/21 5219 10. Resolutions Consideration and possible action regarding the following: A. Resolution No. R2021-03: A resolution of the City of Friendswood, Texas, authorizing aerial spraying over Friendswood by the Galveston County Mosquito Control District for the County -Wide Mosquito Control Program. **Councilmember Scott moved to approve Resolution No. R2021-03 — A resolution of the City of Friendswood, Texas, authorizing aerial spraying over Friendswood by the Galveston County Mosquito Control District for the County -Wide Mosquito Control Program. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. B. Resolution No. R2021-04: A resolution of the City Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas, designating the Mayor as the city's representative in seeking eligible grant funds under General Victim Assistance Direct Services Program; and authorizing the submission of such grant application to the Criminal Justice Division of the Office of the Governor. **Councilmember Scott moved to approve Resolution No. R2021-04 — A resolution of the City Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas, designating the Mayor as the city's representative in seeking eligible grant funds under General Victim Assistance Direct Services Program; and authorizing the submission of such grant application to the Criminal Justice Division of the Office of the Governor. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. C. Resolution No. R2021-05: A resolution of the City Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas assigning to the City Manager the authority to supervise the City Secretary. **Councilmember Scott moved to approve Resolution No. R2021-05 — A resolution of the City Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas assigning to the City Manager the authority to supervise the City Secretary. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. D. Resolution No. R2021-06: A resolution of the City Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas, designating the Mayor as the city's representative in seeking eligible grant funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program; and authorizing the submission of such grant application to the Criminal Justice Division of the Office of Governor. **Councilmember Griffon moved to approve Resolution No. R2021-06 — A resolution of the City Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas, designating the Mayor as the 02/01/21 5221 provided by law; repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent or in conflict herewith; and providing for severability. **Councilmember Scott moved to approve the First reading of Ordinance No. T2021-04 — An ordinance amending Appendix C Zoning Ordinance "Section 7.P.6. Permitted Use Table" to allow less dense residential uses in higher dense residential districts by defining residential uses in the table and amending "Section 7.13. (R-2 and R-3) MFR-L, Residential, General Purpose and Description," "Section 7.C. (R-4) MFR-M, Residential, General Purpose and Description," and "Section 7.D. (R-5) MFR-H, Residential, General Purpose and Description" to require the less dense residential use located in higher dense residential districts to meet the district regulations of the less dense district; providing a penalty for violation in an amount not to exceed $2,000, or as otherwise provided by law; repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent or in conflict herewith; and providing for severability. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. C. Ordinance No. T2021-05: First reading of an ordinance amending Appendix C Zoning Ordinance "Section 7.Q.2. Residential Regulation Matrix" to amend sub note F to allow lots in existence that are zoned Single Family Residential (SFR) and are less than 90 feet wide to continue with the setbacks that were established when the lot was platted or created; providing a penalty for violation in an amount not to exceed $2,000, or as otherwise provided by law; repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent or in conflict herewith; and providing for severability. **Councilmember Scott moved to approve the First reading of Ordinance No. T2021-05 — An ordinance amending Appendix C Zoning Ordinance "Section 7.Q.2. Residential Regulation Matrix" to amend sub note F to allow lots in existence that are zoned Single Family Residential (SFR) and are less than 90 feet wide to continue with the setbacks that were established when the lot was platted or created; providing a penalty for violation in an amount not to exceed $2,000, or as otherwise provided by law; repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent or in conflict herewith; and providing for severability. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. D. Ordinance No. T2021-06: First and Final reading of an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas, calling for the holding of a General Election on May 01, 2021, for the purpose of electing a Mayor and two (2) Councilmembers (Position Numbers 1 and 3); and making other provisions related to the subject. **Councilmember Rockey moved to approve the First and Final reading of Ordinance No. 2021-06 — An ordinance of the City Council of the City of 02/01/21 5223 Councilmember Branson welcomed back Councilmember Rockey and is glad he is here. Mayor Foreman wished a happy birthday to Councilmember Branson. Councilmember Rockey stated he is glad to be back after being in the hospital for 12 days with COVID, which left him with pneumonia. Many people reached out through calls, texts, and social media posts. When he was in isolation, any contact was precious and it meant a lot, is very happy to be sitting here, was touch and go for a while so is really nice to be here. Mayor Foreman stated Friendswood's City Secretary, Melinda Welsh, has announced her retirement. Her last day will be March 19. We are going to miss her and will be some tough shoes to fill, and will be a while before we forget her. City Secretary Melinda Welsh stated she appreciates those words, has been an interesting career, is grateful for all the people that have come and gone, even the difficult ones because you learn from them all, has been a good career, have loved being at the City of Friendswood, appreciates all of the support and kind words, and will miss all of you. With concurrence of Council, Mayor Foreman moved to Agenda Item 6, Public Hearing. 13. Consent Agenda Consideration and possible action regarding the following: A. Authorizing the acceptance of the City of Friendswood's Blackhawk Boulevard Reconstruction Phase II Package "A" project and initiate the contractor's one year maintenance bond B. Approve the ratification of the Mayor's signature on a contract with Galveston County for Election Services C. Excusing the absence of Councilmember Steve Rockey from the January 11, 2021, City Council Meeting D. Approving the disposal of two decommissioned Police Department vehicles through Houston Auto Auction E. Accepting the December 2020 Tax Report F. Approving the minutes of the December 7, 2020, City Council Meeting **Councilmember Scott moved to approve the Consent Agenda. 02/01/21 5225 Melinda Welsh, TRMC .* • :* . City Secretary N, *.OF 1 1