Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2010-08-02 Special 08/02/2010 3372 STATE OF TEXAS )( CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD )( COUNTIES OF GALVESTON/HARRIS )( AUGUST 02, 2010 )( MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY COUNCIL THAT WAS HELD ON MONDAY, AUGUST 02, 2010, 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 JIM HILL COUNCILMEMBER MICHAEL BARKER COUNCILMEMBER PAT MCGINNIS COUNCILMEMBER BILL HOLBERT COUNCILMEMBER JIM BARR COUNCILMEMBER DEIRDRE BROWN CITY ATTORNEY BILL OLSON CITY MANAGER ROGER ROECKER CITY SECRETARY MELINDA WELSH Mayor Smith called the meeting to order. „w 6:00 PM—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. Council convened into Regular Session at 7:00 PM with no action taken later in the meeting. RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION 7:00 PM—REGULAR SESSION The invocation was given by Pastor Jeff Bell with New Life Assembly of God. Mayor Smith led the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States and to the State of Texas. SPECIAL RECOGNITION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A special presentation of the Five Star Spirit Employee Award for the second quarter of 2010 was presented to Sharon Parks, Administrative Assistant in the City Secretary's Office. Sharon Parks has worked full-time for the City of Friendswood since February 2005. Sharon's main responsibilities include assisting with the Mayor and Council, various citizen inquires, and administrative duties of the City Secretary's office. Through her day-to-day work, Sharon continuously displays all five elements of the Five Star Spirit, including being courteous, competent, reliable, professional, and enthusiastic. The City appreciates the service that Sharon Parks has provided this community and congratulates her on being the recipient of the Five Star Spirit Award for the second quarter of 2010. 08/02/2010 3373 ....k RECONVENE PUBLIC HEARING Mayor Smith called a Public Hearing to order, to receive comments from the public, either oral or written, regarding a proposed amendment to Planned Unit Development (PUD) Ordinance No. 2004-20 (West Ranch/Autumn Creek Development, Ltd.) to add additional land into the PUD of 20.445 acres, to increase allowable home sites to 1540, and to add specific signage guidelines. No one spoke in favor or against the proposed amendment. Hearing no further comments, Mayor and Council closed this Public Hearing. JOINT DOCKETED PUBLIC HEARING Mayor Smith and Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Kevin Holland called a Joint Docketed Public Hearing to order to receive comments from the public, either oral or written, regarding a zone classification change request for a tract of land containing 8.3604 acres in the Sarah McKissick League out of Lot 26, Voss Subdivision, property located at FM 518 at Leisure Lane, Galveston County, to change from Office Park District(OPD) to Community Shopping Center(CSC). Travis Brice, Friendswood resident, stated he is a member of the Homeowner's Association and is representing Eagles Point subdivision and would like to speak against the proposed amendment, expressed concerns regarding a potential traffic light at Leisure Lane, possible flooding, and the possibility of a strip mall that would attract crime. Sharon Martin, Friendswood resident, stated she lives in Eagles Point subdivision and would like to speak �"�" against the proposed amendment, most of her neighborhood is opposed and cited the same concerns as expressed by Mr. Brice. Max Weberling, Friendswood resident, stated he lives in Eagles Point subdivision, current zoning allows businesses with daylight operation times. The new zoning designation allows for all day operation, and will increase traffic. David Poston and Tricia Poston, Friendswood residents, stated they live in Eagles Point subdivision and would like to express their concern regarding flooding, lives in a low area of the subdivision and currently experiences what they feel is extreme flooding from water that runs from the opening of the subdivision, believes that a structure placed in the proposed area will increase the problem, also concerned with the aesthetics of a strip center. Pam Buck, Friendswood resident, stated she lives in Eagles Point subdivision, opposed to rezoning based on aesthetics, increased crime, child safety issues, and increased traffic through the subdivision, and further stated if Council does approve the zone change, supports the building of a concrete sound barrier. Heather Correa, Friendswood resident, stated she lives in Eagles Point subdivision, is opposed to the rezoning, pointed out that a junior high school is already being built in this area and a business such as a strip mall will add to an already heavy traffic load, believes traffic will divert through their neighborhood. Eddie Carpenter, Friendswood resident, stated he lives in Eagles Point subdivision, supports the comments from other speakers, added that Friendswood was rated high in a Money magazine article, and making right decisions got us there. ,..,. 08/02/2010 3374 David Hoover stated he is representing the subject property owner Jack Howard, further stated that Mr. Howard has owned the property for eighteen years and has not developed on it because he wanted what he believed was quality development, defined as Mixed Use such as restaurants and banks. The site will be developed to focus on FM 518 and not Leisure Lane. Jack Howard, owner of subject property and applicant for rezoning consideration, stated that he contributes to the welfare of the community by paying significant amounts of taxes, is eighty-one years old and has been presented with an opportunity for sales on this property, will eventually be developed by someone, first time he has requested anything in Friendswood and made an appeal to Council for an affirmative decision. Hearing no further comments, Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Kevin Holland closed this portion of the Joint Docketed Public Hearing. Mayor and Council kept this Joint Docketed Public Hearing open. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC Ruth Pifer, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated she would like to speak regarding the proposed Farmers Market, had a conversation with the lady manager, is not crazy about having it on Sunday, will sell produce, encourage Friendswood producers, why cannot have something over at Old City Hall and keep off downtown street. �,,,, Jackie Gibson, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated her opposition to Ruben Garcia continuing as a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission. She supported her opposition by stating that he is not a Friendswood resident or qualified voter which does not follow the guidelines for eligibility to the Commission, should resign, e-mailed Council and only received a response from two of them. COMMUNICATIONS FROM COMMITTEES AND SPECIAL REPORTS Mayor Smith gave a report regarding the Council-Staff Planning Retreat and stated the Green Event Center was a great venue, congratulated the Mickler's on the facility and thanked them for allowing Council to have there. The purpose of the retreat was to review the Multi-Year Financial Plan. Councilmembers Hill and Barker gave a report of City Council's significant accomplishments during the past year with Councilmember Hill stating such accomplishments include the downtown drainage project being ahead of schedule, work on Deepwood Lift Station which was over thirty years old, 22 inch force main, Stadium Lane parking, new animal control facility, 16 inch water line from Sunset to Sunmeadow, economic development grant in the panhandle, $8 Million dollars back from FEMA, a Texas Department of Rural Affairs grant of over a million dollars with over forty generators, lit soccer fields at Centennial Park, construction on Melody Lane, Sunnyview and Skyview which Galveston County is paying, Phase II of handicap equipment at Stevenson Park, Autumn Creek development, will be ready for road opening at Jr. High, Laura Leigh street, money waived in fees in services and permits to Friendswood Independent School District to help complete their bond issue program, Baker Road detention pond ready to play soccer, selection as town with one of the lowest crime rates in Houston area, and Veterans Memorial being built where the City gave land. Councilmember Barker stated these did not happen accidentally, people say Council does not have a plan, worked on this starting two years ago, required assistance from Galveston County and a lot of showing up at Commissioner's Court meetings, have had obstacles, lots of hard work from Staff, leadership from Council, and a lot of follow through. '.-.. 08/02/2010 3375 � Councilmember Brown stated that although the report is beneficial, she believes that there could be a better way of informing citizens of how their tax dollars are spent rather than an overview, such as providing the budget and the expenditures would be a more effective way to show how tax dollars are spent, aiso discussed the importance of defining a Strategic Master Plan. In reference to the report given by Councilmembers Hill and Barker, Mayor Smith stated that he believes it is noteworthy to point out that the City was able to achieve those goals without a tax increase. Moreover, there was a decrease in taxes. He then shared a recap of the Council Retreat from the previous Saturday, including the five year plan, Council Liaisons, legal services, and Council's Rules of Procedure. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT City Manager Roger Roecker stated he had no report. ACTION ITEMS "*Councilmember McGinnis moved to approve appointments of the City Council Liaisons for 2010-2011. Seconded by Councilmember Holbert. The motion was approved 6-1 with Councilmember Brown opposed. Discussion was held by Mayor and Council regarding an explanation of what the Council liaison role is and all the different organizations this means. *'`*Councilmember Brown made a motion to amend the main motion that the backup material to this item "�"� be modified to read "committee and/or organization". The motion failed for lack of a second. **Councilmember Hill moved to approve the Mayor's recommendation for appointments/reappointments to Boards, Committees and Commissions in Group A and reappointments for Municipal Court Judge for July 2010. Mark Tibbitts was appointed and David O'Farrell and Mark McLean were reappointed to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a term of three years to expire 07/2013. Regular members David O'Brien, Delvin Kendrick, and Ronald Dyer and Alternate Members Glen Grayban, Linda Thornton, and Carol Thelen, and were reappointed to the Zoning Board of Adjustments and Appeals for a term of three years to expire 07/2013. James Woltz was reappointed as Municipal Court Judge and Richard P. Flake was reappointed as Associate Court Judge for a term of two years to expire 07/2012. Seconded by Councilmember Holbert. The motion was approved 5-2 with Councilmembers Brown and McGinnis opposed. Discussion was held between Mayor and Council regarding the process in place for appointments and reappointments, Council Liaison from committees give recommendations to the Mayor, concerns with recommendations for the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) appointee, what about others interested, was process complete, did everyone have a fair shot, explanation about how volunteer forms were reviewed, feels can work with this person, P&Z chair was consulted, also gave history on prior process when appointments used to be made by Mayor recommending to Council and approved with Council concurrence, is an evolution to the committee process, less political issue than it used to be, when Council makes the decision they are more involved in appointment recommendation process, P&Z appointee has significant amount of engineering experience, work on P&Z is akin to this field, others had engineering background also, questioned if all 17 applicants were contacted to see if they are still interested, interested in process and nothing against appointee, concerns about objective process, discussed whether Group A and B need to be a resident of the City, and does not have notice of any „� being a qualified voter. 08/02/2010 3376 Mayor Smith recognized Planning and Zoning Commissioner Chair Kevin Holland who returned from their meeting and stated the zone classification change request with a vote of 1-4 for a tract of land containing 8.3064 acres in the Sarah McKissick League out of Lot 26, Voss subdivision, property located at FM 518 at Leisure Lane, Galveston County, to change from Office Park District (OPD) to Community Shopping Center(CSC)was denied 1-4. '`'Councilmember Barker made a motion to remove from the table the procedure for the review of certified agendas and recordings of Executive Sessions by current Councilmembers. Seconded by Councilmember Holbert. The motion was approved unanimously '"`Councilmember Barker moved to deny Councilmember Brown's request for any and all Executive Session information prior to her June 14 election to Council. Seconded by Councilmember Holbert. The motion was approved 4-3 with Councilmembers Barr, Brown, and McGinnis opposed. Discussion was held between Mayor and Council regarding not finding anywhere where a Councilmember that was not on Council has the right to executive session information, argument used for it was a past ruling that did not apply to this situation, and pointed out that Councilmember Brown chose not to come to tonight's executive session where most of her questions could have been answered. Councilmember Brown made a point of order, stating that the motion to deny Executive Session material is inappropriate based on the City Charter that states that all meetings are to be open to the public with a reasonable opportunity to be heard, therefore, no vote should be necessary. � Mayor Smith overruled Councilmember Brown's point of order. ***Councilmember Brown moved to overrule Mayor Smith's point of order ruling. Seconded by Councilmember McGinnis. Mayor Smith's ruling was upheld 2-5 with Councilmembers Barker, Barr, Hill, Holbert and Mayor Smith opposed. Councilmember McGinnis stated is skating on thin ice, feels that rights and responsibility goes with Council position and disagrees with Council that newly elected Councilmembers cannot listen to executive session tapes. Councilmember Brown stated she did not attend executive session because she believes the charter prohibits executive sessions, asked for legal opinion from City Attorney, City Charter states that all meetings should have access to the public, did some research on similar case in City of Richardson and feels is in a gray zone on whether executive sessions are legal, completed an open records request today, provided at length what she provided to the City Secretary in an earlier e-mail, excuse is hearing for not having access to executive session tapes prior to being on Council is legal liability of the City Secretary, will not attend any executive session until she sees written opinion from City Attorney or Attorney General saying that it is okay. Councilmember Barr stated he has struggled with this, is not sure this information cannot be made available by the City Manager or City Attorney, would welcome a legal opinion, only a judge could order to open, is neutral, has nothing to hide, can share with Councilmembers McGinnis and Brown what they need to know, is not sure that City Manager cannot answer their questions for them. Councilmember Barker stated there is a point regarding who can request an Attorney General (AG) .— opinion and provided a handout that Councilmember McGinnis read aloud on who can seek an AG opinion under what circumstances. 08/02/2010 3377 ..., Councilmember McGinnis stated is appearance of impropriety, reeks of it, gives appearance of something to hide. Councilmember Brown stated she would like to clarify that this handout does not appiy to what she is speaking about. Councilmember Hill asked City Attorney if it is a violation of City Charter to have executive session with City Attorney Bill Olson answering no it is not. Councilmember Holbert stated Councilmember McGinnis was recently in executive session and heard all information he needed, waters down all Councilmember Brown's speeches tonight, whole issue is indemnification of City Secretary Melinda Welsh, has heard that people want to ask Melinda Welsh to rob a bank so Councilmember Brown can go to jail for her as she said at a previous meeting, theatrics is wasting a lot of time. Mayor Smith asked for Councilmember McGinnis to look at the last meeting to look at what concerns are, is not as simple as it seems, has nothing to hide, voiced concern at the last meeting, worried about switching responsibility to City Secretary when there are potential criminal penalties involved, brought up Attorney General (AG) request, with all due respect first brought up without bringing up legality, reported that Councilmember Brown has submitted an Open Records Request, if City Secretary says no will ask for an AG opinion, explained the process and will go forward, is Council going to give out material and put at risk, asked the City Secretary what the retention is on executive session tapes or certified agendas and she answered two years unless litigation, further stated can have an AG opinion but this is the same AG that says cities can sell Certificates of Obligation and a judge said differently, is Council hiding things, yes, real estate issues, does not make decisions in executive session, has to make it in public, and that is �" the best explanation he can give. Councilmember Brown stated makes a good argument for tabling the motion and asked City Attorney Bill Olson if he has read the City of Richardson opinion she provided, asked for the open records proceeding to take place, is not urgent, Councilmember Barker put this item on the agenda, agreed with Councilmember Holbert about all the time taken on this. Councilmember Holbert stated he would like to call the question. **Mayor Smith made a motion to call the question. The motion was approved 5-2 with Councilmembers Brown and McGinnis opposed. ""Councilmember Hill moved to approve the Mayor to execute a contract with LJA Engineering & Surveying, Inc., for design services for Fire Station No. 3 over and above the improvements included in the Texas Department of Rural Affairs Grant(TDRA), and the appropriation of funds. Seconded by Councilmember Holbert. The motion was approved unanimously. RESOLUTION "*Councilmember Holbert moved to approve Resolution R2010-32, a Resolution of City Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas, authorizing the Mayor to execute and the City Secretary to attest a third amendment to the Utility Services contract by and between the City of Friendswood, Autumn Creek Development, Ltd., a limited partnership, and the West Ranch Management District. Councilmember Holbert made a motion to approve. Seconded by Councilmember Hill. The motion was approved unanimously. „�,,,, 08/02/2010 3378 � ORDINANCE **Councilmember Holbert moved to approve the Second and final reading of Ordinance T2010-17, An Ordinance amending Ordinance No. 2004-20 creating the Planned Unit Development (PUD) District on the property being developed as the master-planned community of West Ranch, by adding an additional 20.44 acres of land, increasing the allowable home sites to 1,540 and adding signage guidelines for the PUD; rezoning the additional 20.44 acres of land from SFR to PUD-Cluster Homes. Seconded by Councilmember Brown. The motion was approved unanimously. Mayor Smith called a brief recess at 9:48 PM. With concurrence of Council, Mayor Smith moved to Item 14 on the agenda. ACTION ITEM **Councilmember Barr moved to approve the disposition of Bid No. 2010-09 for the Water Plant No. 6 Replacement Project, contingent on the appropriation of funds, and award the contract to Long and Son, Inc. Seconded by Councilmember Hill. Councilmember McGinnis stated he heard that a concrete tank was better and this is stainless steel, with Director of Community Development Morad Kabiri stating would have to take down power lines if concrete and power company is not willing to do. � Councilmember Brown asked if the City Attorney had reviewed the contract information, and Mr. Kabiri replied that he had. **"Councilmember Barr amended the motion to approve the contract contingent upon the City Attorney's further review. Seconded by Councilmember Brown. The motion was approved unanimously. With concurrence of Council, Mayor Smith moved to Item 23A on the agenda. RESOLUTIONS **Mayor Smith moved to approve Resolution R2010-30: A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas, approving the application of the Texas Housing Finance Corporations Act to property located with in the portion of the City that is within Harris County, Texas and granting approval to the Harris County Housing Finance Corporations to make the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) Programs available within that portion of the City of Friendswood that is within Harris County, Texas. Seconded by Councilmember Holbert. The motion failed 2-5 with Councilmembers Barker, Barr, Brown, Hill, and McGinnis opposed. A question and answer session took place between Mayor, Council and Steven Harris with Harris Housing Advisors, LLC, with an explanation of what this resolution means, will help people trying to sell their property, in favor of tax refund or credit but housing bubble in 2008 which started the great recession, federal legislature had been created years ago to help people achieve this, max limit and max home purchase price, someone making what they say, cannot really afford the house they qualify for, is afraid is opening the door to people that cannot afford and will end up in foreclosure, other cities nearby ....� do not offer, principals in the corporation are Steven Harris, owner of Harris Housing Advisors, LLC. __ __ _ 08/02/2010 3379 ..., Steven Harris offered a history of housing finance corporations, have had reverse effect, because of structuring of program, classes and benefits of having tax credit will help solve household cost problem and helps avoid foreclosure and default, Harris County has completed seven of these programs, has great influx of interest, tax credit directly reduces federal income taxes, half of families helped are 80 percent below median income and gave further explanation, Houston has their own programs, other cities are in other programs, is direct 30 percent tax credit. No action was taken to approve Resolution R2010-31: A Resolution of the City Councii of the City of Friendswood, Texas, approving the application of the Texas Housing Finance Corporations Act to property located within the portion of the City that is within Galveston County, Texas and granting approval to the Galveston County Housing Finance Corporations to make the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) Program available within that portion of the City of Friendswood that is within Galveston County, Texas. With concurrence of Council, Mayor Smith moved to Item 24D. ORDINANCE ''*Councilmember Barr moved to approve First reading of Ordinance No. T2010-21, An Ordinance 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 19'h day of November, 1984. and being the Zoning Ordinance of the City, by changing the Zoning Classification of a certain tract of land containing, 8.3604 acres in the Sarah McKissick League out of Lot 26, Voss Subdivision, located at FM 518 at Leisure Lane, Galveston County, from Office Park District (OPD) to Community Shopping Center (CSC); � providing for the amendment of the City's Official Zoning Map; providing a penalty in an amount not to exceed $2,000 fore each day of violation of any provision hereof; and providing for severability. Seconded by Mayor Smith. Councilmember Brown recommended withdrawing the motion to give the applicant more flexibility to move forward or not. Councilmember Holbert agreed with Councilmember Brown, stating he would like to hear the reasons the Planning and Zoning Commission did not approve the ordinance before voting. ""*Councilmember Barr withdrew his motion to approve Ordinance T2010-21 and the second was also withdrawn. With concurrence of Council, Mayor Smith moved to Item 15. ACTION ITEMS **Councilmember Holbert moved to approve the First Amendment to the License and Lease Agreement with Friendswood Independent School District dated January 4, 2010. Seconded by Councilmember Barr. The motion was approved unanimously. **Councilmember Barr moved to approve the application for a grant to fund a Pedestrian-Bicyclist Planning Study requiring a fifty percent match from the City. Seconded by Councilmember Brown. The motion failed 1-6 with Councilmembers Barker, Barr, Hill, Holbert, McGinnis, and Mayor Smith opposed. .,.� 08/02/2010 3380 � Discussion was held between Mayor and Council regarding the grant with an explanation for the grant and study, should have a hike and bike plan, if study given then may need to reevaluate the plan, is not parks, is connectivity with streets, will not help with parks, rather buy concrete for streets, have done studies that have gone nowhere, whether Parks Board was involved with the answer being no, grant application is time sensitive, cost could be $10,000, are too many if, if and ifs about this, do not want to throw money, too quick of a trigger, not a clear understanding of where we want to be when this is over with, do need a plan, this is a vehicle for developing a plan, need to pay attention to it, lot of people riding bikes out there, several schools that have no busing, would be helpful to have plan, would be a good marketing tool being bike friendly, would help economic development with bikers coming through the City, have voted on issues that were not definite before. '`*Councilmember Brown moved to direct Staff to prepare a Request for Qualifications for a City Attorney as well as special counsel in areas that the Staff believes would be sufficient, such as construction, contract review, construction disputes, employment issues, bonds, and litigation. Seconded by Councilmember McGinnis. The motion was approved 6-1 with Mayor Smith opposed. Discussion was held between Mayor and Council regarding the need to prepare a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to see what is out there, is a good idea, need RFQ for all attorneys or special, look at the sample RFQ provided, can do for all, in the past City Manager Roger Roecker has looked for special counsel and did research on 6-7 different attorneys, does not limit, just locks in rates, bring RFQ back to Council to approve, does City Attorney mean attorney firm or individual, and answered what is in the charter, clarification given to City Manager on what Council is asking, looking for a City Attorney firm or just for specialized areas, can work with Staff on this initiative, clear direction should be given from the ,,r„ dais, is searching for an RFQ looking for City Attorney services and special counsel, City Manager can do in 1-3 months. "*Councilmember Brown moved to remove Ruben Garcia from the Planning and Zoning Commission, given that he lives and has a homestead exemption in Alvin. Seconded by Councilmember McGinnis. The motion failed 1-6 with Councilmembers Barker, Barr, Hill, Holbert, McGinnis, and Mayor Smith opposed. Discussion was held between Mayor and Council regarding definition of what resident is, common belief that a resident is someone who lives in the town, Mr. Garcia previously lived in Friendswood, owns land in Friendswood, resident does not mean you keep a homestead exemption in another town, needs to resolve, define resident, use common sense, has to be a resident and qualified voter, do not make specific to Mr. Garcia, what happens if you lost your home in a natural disaster and had to move but had plans to rebuild, would you resign your Council seat, emergency is a different matter, needs definition, homestead exemption is not the defining factor since it would preclude a renter, take Mr. Garcia's circumstances under consideration, understand Mr. Garcia has plans to rebuild, have an agenda item to work on definitions but also work on exclusions, economic situation may be considered a disaster that should be taken into consideration, happened right after Hurricane Ike, should Council define residency, are the elected officials, maybe ought to let an ad hoc committee of Council and citizens define what a resident is, situation where may own land but not be able to get financing because of economic situation, if natural disaster hit would someone withdraw homestead exemption, if it meant a cost savings then yes, no work going on at the property, living in too much gray area, was a Friendswood resident when originally appointed, need to put some clarification to this, is inappropriate to single out by name, one person, is a clarification of the code, when figure it out can apply, motion is inappropriate, why is this being brought forward, who is bringing forward, are there other motives, who would benefit if Mr. Garcia is not on Planning and Zoning Commission, ferret out issues of why this is being brought up, should not „_. have gotten to this point, some on Council think they are City Attorney, which is who should be giving opinion, should take politics out and remove the man's name and define residency, and not in favor of picking on people. 08/02/2010 3381 .... Councilmember Holbert stated he would like to call the question on Councilmember Brown's motion. Mayor Smith asked for any objections and none were heard. *'`Councilmember Barker made a motion to make it the official policy of the City to not permit the Mayor or any individual Councilmember to designate or empower any persons other than City Staff members to act as an intern or assistant to any City of Friendswood elected official. Seconded by Councilmember Hill. The motion failed 2-5 with Counciimembers Barr, Brown, Holbert, McGinnis, and Mayor Smith opposed. Discussion was held between Mayor and Council regarding whether there is a real need for a Councilmember to have an intern, should not delegate privilege or authority to have Staff take direction, intern could be used to harass Staff, Councilmembers already have plenty of information provided, is a way for students to get involved, is widely accepted to have interns in other cities, concern is empowering someone to take on the duties of a Councilmember, intern is just another person that would have no power, need to spell out what they could and could not do, can amend the motion accordingly, all Councilmembers could use help, internships are part of the fabric in many levels of government and industries, if they can do research that is great, should not put roadblocks, could be a good public relations for future, has not heard from the Friendswood Youth Committee because of summer vacation, will probably get back when school starts, these kids might be interested in learning what it is all about, giving them special access would not be a good idea, work on a summer intern for Staff as well, will come out in favor of an intern program if its well defined, need an internship policy to bring it to Council, is interested in limiting the interns' ability to engage Staff, should have no authority, cannot be supported by tax dollars, concern with badgering Staff and is already chasing rabbits, do not need an eighth person for Staff to answer to, can assure concern by not allowing intern contact City Staff, asked City Attorney Bill �"' Olson about the Open Meetings Act and how it would be affected working with an intern, cannot speak to more than two Councilmembers or citizens without involving the chain, have constricted the ability, with Bill Olson answering that State law would not allow to circumvent the Open Meetings Act and intern would not create more difficulty in complying with the Act and discussions should be had at dais, be mindful that communications with that individual could be construed as communication with that councilmember. **Councilmember Hill moved to amend the Rules of Procedure to prohibit wireless communication at the dais during a Council meeting. Seconded by Councilmember Barker. The motion was approved 5-2 with Councilmembers Brown and McGinnis opposed. Discussion was held between Mayor and Council regarding the unfair advantage to some Councilmembers with wireless communication, hates to do away with wireless since is used for emergency, is overkill, can block Twitter, Facebook, and others at the dais, ability to access internet to do research during a meeting, open meetings violation, Information Technology Deputy Director Todd Yeager can audit to see any websites Council has been on, have had former Councilmembers use air cards during meetings to discuss things with the audience, info should come to everyone, should not store any information on personal electronics, send to the City Secretary for record keeping, can have the Code of Ordinances and City Charter on the computers at the dais, means cannot talk to others electronically while meeting is going on, if a Councilmember is doing during a meeting chastise them after, does it violate Rule 15 of Rules of Procedure with City Attorney Bill Olson answering if there is information perceived in public that all Councilmembers should receive is not sure. .... 08/02/2010 3382 '"'Councilmember Brown made a motion to amend the main motion to reflect that all communication with other individuais, whether it be Twitter, Facebook, texting, or other wireless communication, is not allowed. Seconded by Councilmember McGinnis. The motion failed 3-4 with Councilmembers Barker, Hill, Holbert, and Mayor Smith opposed. *"Councilmember Barker moved to approve regarding discussing zoning changes for a Farmer's Market. Seconded by Councilmember Hill. Discussion ensued between Mayor and Council regarding the process in which to prepare and present the said zone changes, window was missed for publishing so fhere is no ordinance on this agenda, placed on the agenda for the sake of discussion, applicant has not submitted an amended Specific Use Permit, has already been tabled so be careful in considering again, does not need to be reconsidered by Planning and Zoning Commission, thanks to the subcommittee that worked on this, Mr. Buzbee proposed this months ago and Council had done nothing, although Staff had been working on, should do an ordinance on Farmers Market, should give direction to Planning and Zoning Commission to prepare, disagreement on whether it should be addressed by Community Economic Development Committee since this was discussed by them. **'Counciimember Hill made a motion to close the discussion. The motion was approved unanimously. '"Councilmember HiII moved to approve the issuance of the remaining 2003 Generai Obligation bonds authorized for street improvements. Seconded by Councilmember Holbert. The motion was approved unanimously. With consensus from Council, Mayor Smith moved to Item 246. ORDINANCES "Gouncilmember McGinnis moved to approve the First reading of Ordinance No. T2010-19, An Ordinance of the City of Friendswood repealing Ordinance No. 70 which declared a school speed zone and fixed the prima facie speed limit at 25 mph along FM 518, from a point fifty feet northwest of Magnolia Avenue, to a point fifty feet southeast of Spreading Oaks Avenue, a distance of approximately 0.199 miles; fixing the new prima facie speed limit at 30 mph; providing a penalty of an amount not to exceed $200 for each violation of any provision hereof; and providing for severability. Seconded by Councilmember HiII. The motion was approved unanimously. '*Councilmember Barker moved to approve the First and finai reading of Ordinance No. T2010-20, An Ordinance of the City of Friendswood amending City of Friendswood, Texas, Ordinance No. 2009-22, passed and approved July 12, 2010, same being an Ordinance approving and adopting the City's General Budget for Fiscal Year 2009-2010, by approving "Budget Amendment VIII" to the "Original General Budget of the City of Friendswood, Texas, for the Fiscal Year 2009-2010"; providing for supplemental appropriation and/or transfer of certain funds; providing for severability; and providing other matters related to the subject. Seconded by Councilmember Holbert. The motion was approved 6-1 with Councilmember Brown opposed. ' COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBERS '� Mayor Smith and Councilmembers stated they had no report. I 08/02/2010 3383 i CONSENT AGENDA ' i **Councilmember Holbert moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented A. Authorize Council to invoke Rule 1(A) of the Rules of Procedure, due to the Labor Day Holiday, to scheduie a regular City Council meeting for September 13, 2010 B. Approve Minutes of June 7, June 14, and June 21, 2070, Meetings. Seconded by Councilmember Hiil. The motion was approved unanimously. A motion was made and approved to adjourn at 11:44 PM. � �� � ..�}.�� . Mayor David J.H. mith� �— Attest: F ����NQ O �'� ( �^� `�n.�--L�'/ _ V�Vw�-,`d � � O 9 Melinda Welsh, TRMC � � City Secretary J�y, Py '� �9p� AF Z�� i �