HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2010-10-18 Regular 10/18/2010 3422
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STATE OF TEXAS )(
CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD )(
COUNTIES OF GALVESTON/HARRIS )(
OCTOBER 18, 2010 )(
MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY COUNCIL THAT WAS HELD ON
MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2010, AT 7:00 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 (left at 7:59 PM)
CITY MANAGER ROGER ROECKER
CITY SECRETARY MELINDA WELSH
7:00 PM—REGULAR SESSION
Mayor Smith called the meeting to order.
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**Councilmember Brown stated she would like to make a point of order regarding the meeting.
***Mayor Smith overruled her point of order, stating no business had occurred to support a point of order.
Councilmember Brown stated the meeting has been called and that is the business and that because of
the overruling the record will not reflect what the point of order was going to be.
The invocation was given by Children's Pastor Janet Black of Friendswood Friends Church.
Mayor Smith led the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States and to the State of Texas.
With concurrence of Council, Mayor Smith moved to Agenda Item 8.
ACTION ITEM
**Councilmember Barr moved to approve suspending Rule 1 of Council's Rules of Procedure to allow a
regular meeting on October 18, 2010.
Seconded by Councilmember Barker. The motion was approved 5-2 with Councilmembers Brown and
McGinnis opposed.
Mayor Smith requested that the City Attorney weigh in. City Attorney Bill Olson stated Rule 1 provides
that a scheduled workshop meeting may be made a regular meeting by the majority vote of Council. The
rule goes on to provide that the action must be taken at the first regularly scheduled Council meeting of
the month preceding the special workshop. Last month was the first meeting of the month and last month
was the meeting where the rule was changed.
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There was not a request from the last meeting to make this a regular meeting. Council has the authority
to suspend the rules to remove the requirement that the scheduling of the workshop be made at the first
meeting of the month. The charter requires that all ordinances be approved at a regular meeting and he
believes that is why this meeting has been designated as a regular meeting. If it is not designated as a
regular meeting then he recommends that Council postpone voting on the ordinances until the next
regular meeting.
Mayor Smith stated the significance for Council is that the new rule's first affect is occurring tonight.
There are ordinances on the agenda that are time sensitive due to bond sales and if they are not voted on
tonight the City must forego the bond sales. Council needs flexibility and he believes that Council can
clean up Rule 1 at the next meeting by tweaking the rule to make sure there are not going to be these
types of problems again, understands Council's requests to focus on workshop items on the second
meeting of the month and is intent on honoring that.
Councilmember Barr stated that it was his understanding that the October 18 meeting was scheduled
prior to the new procedures for Rule 1 so there is no need to address the rule again. Everyone knew
from the last Council meeting that the actions on tonight's agenda were time sensitive and needed to be
acted upon, is hopeful that Council will at some point have only workshops on the second meeting of the
month.
Councilmember Barker stated that he is fine with suspending the rules this time and sees no problem with
it.
Councilmember Brown stated that after she raised this issue and the agenda was amended, she voted
against Rule 1 at the last meeting because she was concerned with revising Section A of Rule 1, is
concerned with how the policy and procedure goes forward, this means that if this goes forward it can "�°'
happen at any time, this is how minority voices get silenced, that is how policies get pushed through with
what the majority wants. The issue could have been corrected, there was no authority to have this
meeting, and further stated that Council should have had a special meeting regarding this before the
regular meeting, believes some items were not time sensitive, has listened to people who are saying that
they are tired of government manipulating and it is time to stop right here.
Mayor Smith stated he finds Councilmember Brown's accusations to be incorrigible and disingenuous at
minimum to suggest that anything that he or the City Manager has done has been to manipulate
government to the will of a particular person rather than to pay attention to the will of this Council. He
added that Councilmember Brown did not attend a subcommittee meeting to which she was appointed
but rather wrote a resolution that the City Attorney reviewed and tried to work with at the direction from
the majority of Council. Had the subcommittee taken place there would not be these issues now. This is
really about perspective, management and who is in control, when a corral is created government will
slow down to the nth degree and nothing will get done in a timely manner. Council can test his ability on
what he has done in the past and on what he will do in the future but he does not appreciate the
insinuation that he has made this meeting happen.
Councilmember Brown stated she drafted a proposed Rule 1 and not a resolution, she communicated
numerous times with Councilmember Barr via email and Councilmember Barr met with the City Secretary.
The issue is how Rule 1A was revised by the City Attorney and voted upon at the last meeting, and she is
showing how things can play out in the future.
Councilmember Holbert stated everything else aside, the business that needs to take place is that the
City would like to refinance some of its bonds, if can get through this, beyond everything else that has
been said, will save$654,000 and thinks it is a fair thing to do.
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**Councilmember Barker moved to approve the October 18, 2010 meeting as a regular meeting.
Seconded by Councilmember Barr. The motion was approved 5-2 with Councilmembers Brown and
McGinnis opposed.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
City Manager Roger Roecker stated that Staff met with the Chamber of Commerce Leadership
Friendswood Class of 2010 this morning and gave them a rundown on how the City works as well as a
tour of several City facilities, appreciates the time they have invested to learn about the City and applauds
them for taking part in this program.
Amanda McLaughlin, the Coalition Manager for the Bay Area Alliance for Youth and Families, accepted a
proclamation presented by Mayor Smith for Red Ribbon Week for the Clear Creek Independent School
District.
COMMUNICATIONS FROM COMMITTEES AND SPECIAL REPORTS
Bill Provenzano, Friendswood Chamber of Commerce's Chairman of the Board, presented the annual
report and thanked Council for their support. He began the report by stating that the Chamber started the
year with the annual Chairman's Gala recognizing volunteers, and provided a membership director�r to
citizens and businesses, partnered with the Historical Society with events and participated in the 4 of
July festivities, Broker Day, Halloween in the Park, the Lighted Christmas parade, and a scholarship
program. Mr. Provenzano introduced the board members and Chamber staff and thanked the
Friendswood Police Department for helping to keep events safe. The Chamber provides opportunities for
networking for businesses with monthly luncheons, that are now being held at the Green Event Center,
"� also have a monthly networking breakfast, a monthly brown bag luncheon, Party on the Plaza mixers,
participates in ribbon cuttings and has a monthly newsletter, and works hard to promote Friendswood and
its businesses.
Mayor Smith stated that the City appreciates all the work the Friendswood Chamber of Commerce
members do within the community.
CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
City Manager Roger Roecker stated he had no report.
With concurrence of Council, Mayor Smith moved to Item 9, Resolutions.
RESOLUTIONS
*"Councilmember Holbert moved to approve Resolution R2010-40 - a Resolution of the City Council of
the City of Friendswood, Texas, approving a contractual agreement for dispatching services between the
Forest Bend Fire Department and City of Friendswood; authorizing the Mayor to execute, and the City
Secretary to attest, the agreement.
Seconded by Councilmember Hill. The motion was approved unanimously.
Discussion was held between Mayor, Council, Staff and Fire Chiefs Kazloski, Sam Scott and Marc Faber
regarding the collaborative effort to consolidate dispatching services, the benefit to the community as well
as the City's insurance rating.
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"*Councilmember Hill moved to approve Resolution R2010-41 - a Resolution of the City Council of the
City of Friendswood, Texas, approving the second Bond Issuance of the West Ranch Management
District, for the proposed amount of$1,815,000.
Seconded by Councilmember Holbert. The motion was approved unanimously.
ORDINANCES
**Councilmember Barr moved to approve the Second and Final reading of Ordinance 2010-27 - an
Ordinance finding that the existing electric distribution rates of CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric LLC
("CenterPoint" or "company") are unreasonable and should be reduced; ordering CenterPoint to reduce
its existing rates within the City of Friendswood; ordering CenterPoint to submit tariffs consistent with the
recommendation of the Gulf Coast Coalition of Cities' consultants in Public Utility Commission of Texas
Docket No. 38339; ordering CenterPoint to reimburse the City for its reasonable costs incurred in this rate
case and any related ratemaking proceedings or appeals of said proceedings; authorizing the Gulf Coast
Coalition of Cities to act on behalf of the City and intervene in any proceedings before administrative or
judicial bodies; requiring delivery of this ordinance to the company and legal counsel.
Seconded by Councilmember McGinnis. The motion was approved unanimously.
""Councilmember Hill moved to approve the Second and Final reading of Ordinance 2010-30 - an
Ordinance of the City of Friendswood, Texas amending Chapter 1, General Provisions, of the City of
Friendswood Code of Ordinances, by amending Section 1-2 "Definitions" to provide that the "City" is
located in both Galveston and Harris counties; having a severability clause; and providing and effective
date.
Seconded by Councilmember Holbert. The motion was approved unanimously.
""Councilmember Holbert moved to approve the First and Final reading of Ordinance 2010-31 - an """"
Ordinance of the City of Friendswood, Texas authorizing the issuance and sale of City of Friendswood,
Texas Public Improvement Bonds, Series 2010A; levying an annual Ad Valorem Tax for the payment of
said bonds; approving an Official Statement; and enacting other provisions relating to the subject.
Seconded by Councilmember Barr. The motion was approved unanimously.
Ryan O'Hara, Investment Banker with RBC Capital Markets Corporation, stated this ordinance is for the
remaining $3,485,000 of a twenty year bond. He then gave a brief overview of a report on bond funding
that was given to Council. Bonds were issued at $5,460,000 this morning. The current interest rate
environment has not been seen since the 1960's, so the very low interest rates represent a significant
savings to residents.
*'`Councilmember Holbert moved to approve the First and Final reading of Ordinance 2010-32 - an
Ordinance of the City of Friendswood, Texas authorizing the issuance and sale of City of Friendswood,
Texas Public Improvement Refunding Bonds; Series 2010B; levying an annual Ad Valorem Tax for the
payment of said bonds; approving an Official Statement; calling certain outstanding obligations for
redemption prior to maturity; and enacting other provisions relating to the subject.
Seconded by Councilmember Barr. The motion was approved unanimously.
COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBERS
There were no reports from Mayor and Council.
CONSENT AGENDA
**Councilmember Barr moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented: A. Accept September
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Property Tax Report.
Seconded by Councilmember McGinnis. The motion was approved unanimously.
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Mayor Smith called a brief recess at 7:59 PM.
City Attorney Bill Olson left the meeting at this time.
SPECIAL SESSION
Mayor Smith reconvened the meeting at 8:13 PM.
Mayor Smith stated that there have been many forms and fashions of planning retreats by Council, there
are many models from other cities, the City has in the past had facilitators at informal retreats to help with
communications and new ground is being broken for this Council from recent history by using this new
process. A new and better way should be created in order to address the needs of the communities,
there are plans currently in place but a schedule or process will be developed to outline Council's year.
He gave a handout from City Manager Roger Roecker to each Councilmember. He stated previous
Councils have prioritized and named different workshops and the list before them is a list of those
projects and concerns.
Mr. Roecker explained the handout. He stated that Staff has been maintaining this list for some time.
Council was given the list and asked to prioritize the projects in order to come up with the top ten most
important. This handout is a compilation of the noted priorities.
Councilmember Brown stated the new items are not all new items and further stated that she had
mentioned those items at the retreat. She stated that her number one item, which is the development of
a strategic master plan, is not on the list at all, would like the backup documentation used for the
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tabulation.
City Manager Roger Roecker stated that the backup information is available and will be provided and the
strategic master plan was not on the list because it was considered a given.
Councilmember Brown stated Council will have to deal with components of what a plan is and provided
examples from other cities, there have been problems with independent plans coordinating with each
other, a critical element that is missing is an economic development plan, one of the City's biggest issues
is land wars, there needs to be a core component of a strategic master plan and use it to catapult from it,
many of these issues can be dealt with without a big review, reviewing the ordinances should be more
important because if the ordnances could be reviewed it would stop problems and ordinances are key
components of a strategic master plan. Council should look at the short plan now and work on a strategic
master plan such as in 1998 working on Vision 2020. This type of planning is not a novel concept,
concern with the City's growth is that the economic development core is being sidestepped. The City will
continue to have a bad reputation of not being developer-friendly if this continues, pipeline safety is a
concern, start planning now so the City does not have a major problem down the line, does not believe
that she is on the same page as others, was hoping for a master strategic plan approach and not this.
City Manager Roger Roecker stated the City has done a fairly good job with planning over the years.
Four of the Cities Councilmember Brown provided as examples spent$24,000 to $50,000 to pay for their
strategic master plan process.
Councilmember Hill stated that most of the items on the list have been worked over many times. One
problem with development is that the City is almost built out. The City works hard to bring quality
businesses in but not every citizen is pro-business and are very verbal with their concerns.
,....
Councilmember Barr stated he agreed with Councilmember Hill that many of the items have been on the
list a long time. Most of these items are not short term solutions and some will cost a large amount of
money to provide. Some of the items are important and able to be done relatively easily, thought
tonight's meeting was to determine where to start so that the subjects for the meeting in mid-November
can be decided within this month.
10/18/2010 3427
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Mayor Smith stated that he is not opposed to coming up with a master strategic plan as Councilmember
Brown suggested, believes that the work that has been put before Council which is made up of all the
sub-plans is a reflection of the value of the community. When a new idea does not match the current
rules it is because the new ideas have not been addressed yet. There are few residential areas of the
City that will not be affected by commercial development, suggested that the topics on the priority list be
divided into thirds, A, B, and C issues. "A" issues are the bigger priority and "B" and "C" are less complex
respectively, every workshop meeting will have an "A", "B", and "C" item.
Councilmember Barr suggested that the list be reconstructed based on what each individual
Councilmember believes are A, B, and C topics, gave the Parks Master Plan as an example by stating
that the work was divided and given to individuals and the plan came together.
Mayor Smith agreed with Councilmember Barr and stated that some items may be given back to Staff
with suggestions.
Councilmember Barker stated that this is just one component, this is an intentions list, there needs to be
an abilities list to see what the City can afford, need a financial forecast before some topics can be
tackled. Council cannot come up with a list and just decide which ones to complete, "will" is needed to
make some of these projects come into being.
Mayor Smith stated that the City does have a financial plan and part of the work is how the City is going
to pay for this.
Councilmember Holbert stated that this is why nothing gets done, his first engagement into the City and
City Hall was the result of $250,000 spent on a plan to see what downtown was going to look like, the
plan froze any development in downtown Friendswood, previous Councils had to go back and undo the """''
hard and fast rules because it was not possible to foresee all the different eventualities because of
ordinances, a lot has been done to break down the ordinances to turn them into guidelines that allow for
common sense. He stated he laughs when he hears the phrase "eat the elephant", it must be eaten
because it costs too much and cannot afford to feed any longer, everyone sitting here has constituents
with whom they communicate on a regular basis, the ranking of the projects is clear, if the strategic
master plan is number one then how it is paid for must be decided. The City already has a pavement
plan and a drainage plan, line it up and tell the people up front. Lake Friendswood/Windemere can be
opened for the amount this process will cost, is not against a strategic master plan but it is a book with all
the other books in it and is an index. There is a risk of freezing everything when one tries to guess every
eventuality and stated he feels he is not smart enough or clairvoyant to see every eventuality and does
not think anyone else is either, suggested telling the citizens what is needed and how much it costs and
let them decide. Projects can be studied to death and development will pass the City by. Friendswood is
not like the larger cities because it is landlocked and there is very little land left, is aghast at what this
process is becoming. Council needs to communicate to the citizens what they can have and what it will
cost. This makes it easy to point fingers and the hard questions are not being asked, line it up, knock it
out and be done with it, vote it up or down, it is being made too complicated.
Councilmember Brown agreed that is it not complicated, it is organization, getting a team in place and
running the ball. There is a Parks Board Master Plan and the City can choose to use a consultant or not.
Capital improvement projects get dramatically changed every time it gets reviewed. The plans in place
are not stagnant plans, has been no community outreach on any economic development initiatives, is not
sure if it is good to have a fire station on Main Street, initiatives need to be integrated with the economic
development plan and have an economic development committee. Council needs to invite citizens to the
table for input. Parks have been an issue for two years and there are several available tracts of land that
could possibly be purchased for parks space. She further stated that Lake Friendswood/Windemere has
been talked about since she moved here, and asked why it is not bubbling up, would be an outstanding �"�""
resource for the City and would fund that before other parks land because it is an untapped resource.
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Big cities are not the only ones doing strategic master plans, is not a novel concept or an expensive
concept, proposed three tracts with the first being overall strategic master planning, the second being
Planning and Zoning issues, the third being simple items such as a workshop list and get those done, this
can be knocked out with teamwork and the key of organization.
Councilmember Hill stated that there is nothing on the project list that has not been talked about over and
over again. He further stated that when he first came on Council there were so many restrictions that it
was impossible to develop downtown and a previous Council discussed sidewalks for ten hours. He
stated that he goes to Clear Creek drainage meetings and has yet to move a shovel of dirt, is with
Councilmember Holbert's idea to do take each item one at a time and complete them. The City runs quite
well and everything does not have to be redone. Rule 1 was amended and came back to bite Council at
the first meeting it was in effect and suggested working on the projects in the order that Council
suggested.
Planning and Zoning Chairman Kevin Holland stated that it is important to identify low hanging fruit which
are the easier and less expensive projects, and work with input from committees and Council. The items
listed for the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) have already been worked on and are ready to
present to Council. P&Z is willing to work to get these issues accomplished, an hour was just wasted
while discussing this, let us just"get`er done".
Mayor Smith stated that it is not easy for seven Councilmembers to agree about anything and trusts the
cumulative wisdom of the Council. If Council trusts him and City Manager Roger Roecker to make the
decisions, they can divide the list into thirds. If the item has an existing committee attached to it then the
committee should be invited and asked Mr. Roecker if this would provide enough to get the meetings
� started.
Councilmember Brown stated she thinks the committees need to be met with to see what their priorities
are instead of letting Mayor Smith and City Manager Roger Roecker decide the priorities.
Mayor Smith stated that it is tough to get all the players together and is not asking Council to leave the
decision up to him. Council's priorities are what woufd go not what Council wants, if someone has not
weighed in then they should.
Councilmember Brown stated there is a lot of low hanging fruit that can be knocked out, committees are
ready to meet, do the short term projects now and work on long range planning, believes that committee
input is needed, feels Council is working in a vacuum now, especially the new Councilmembers who have
never met with any of the committees, meetings can be arranged in many ways such as streaming and
webinars, there is some way to make it happen and suggested starting with P&Z.
Councilmember Barr stated he believes the A, B, C strategy works and he likes P&Z Chairman Holland's
low hanging fruit analogy referring to "A" being quick and easy, "B" could be the more complex, and "C" is
large and expensive projects.
Councilmember Barker stated he likes the idea of getting the easy items done quickly and then move to
the more difficult, and added that he believes that some of the projects do not belong on this list.
Mayor Smith stated that he is all for getting things done quickly, for instance an "Item A" could be
discussed and it could be decided quickly, and would like to take a project from each of the three lists.
''*Councilmember Brown made a motion to have the second meeting in November be a workshop with
„w the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Mayor Smith interrupted and stated the motion is inappropriate.
10/18/2010 3429
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Councilmember Barker stated that what is on the list as policy with no cost involved such as the smoking
ordinance and the grass ordinance, believes it makes sense to get rid of the low hanging fruit so that it
unclutters the list, there are six items with no dollars attached that can be gotten out of the way.
Councilmember McGinnis stated that he does think Council should contact committees through the
liaisons to see what they think about the list, decisions should be flexible and not set in stone so that
Council may change priorities as needs allow, feels they need feedback from the committees and the
liaisons can go to the meetings and receive the feedback.
Mayor Smith stated that liaisons are supposed to be ears and not voices.
Councilmember Barr suggested working on low hanging fruit but also schedule committees individually as
it pertains to specific workshop items because the committees can help work through these items, does
not want to wait three to four months to meet with the committees, believes that it would not do justice to
each committee to meet with more than one at each workshop.
Councilmember Holbert asked how many committees there are and City Secretary Melinda Welsh
answered approximately thirteen. He further stated that it will take a year to start action, likes
Councilmember Barker's idea to work on items that require no dollars and take everything that requires
money or meeting or committee input and work on those later.
***Councilmember Brown reasserted the motion to make the second meeting in November be a
workshop with the Planning and Zoning Commission which addresses items 8, 17, and 18 along with
some of the new items added on the list.
Seconded by Councilmember McGinnis.
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Councilmember McGinnis stated this is a way to move forward and this is the first step in the journey.
Councilmember Hill asked P&Z Chairman Kevin Holland if P&Z is ready to meet.
Mayor Smith stated that the Parks Board, Keep Friendswood Beautiful, and other boards and committees
are ready to meet as well, will Council now decide at every meeting for a Councilmember to make a
motion to decide what item will be the subject of the next meeting, proposes to have the City Manager
and Staff compile a calendar for the next year based on the items Council suggested and let Staff
schedule with the committees, if Council wants to manage meeting by meeting that is one way to do it but
does not agree.
Councilmember Brown read from Rule 1 and suggested that Council get from here to the next meeting,
nothing in Rule 1 leaves this to Staff, was designed so Council can get their hands on what they have not
been able grasp over the last years. Council has spent months talking about these items and it is time to
move forward to get things done.
Mayor Smith stated that is not what he understood Rule 1 to be, thought new items would be moved to
discuss at the next meeting, not to prioritize on a piece by piece basis and thought this is what this
meeting was to be.
Councilmember Barr asked Councilmember Brown to amend her motion to make December a Parks
Board meeting and the January meeting be for Staff related issues, understands what Mayor Smith is
stating but he hears the majority of Council saying to go to the Planning and Zoning projects first.
*'`''*Councilmember Brown amended the motion to state that the second workshop in November will be a
meeting with the Planning and Zoning Commission to deal with Planning and Zoning issues, that the �"'
second workshop in December will be a meeting with the Parks Board and Parks Board issues, and the
second workshop in January will be a Staff driven meeting, and to clarify that Staff is invited to all
workshops.
Seconded by Councilmember McGinnis. The amended motion was approved 4-3 with Mayor Smith,
Councilmembers Barker and Holbert opposed.
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Councilmember McGinnis stated that this should not devolve into a real contentious issue for Council,just
by putting structure into it through this motion does not preclude the process Mayor Smith describes
continuing to happen.
Mayor Smith stated he hears that his instruction is that nothing else will be on the agenda, this is a matter
of management and he will accept this the way it is, this will be a scheduling disaster area and it will not
be an easy thing to do.
Councilmember Hill stated that the changes to Rule 1 did not preclude having a workshop before the
regular meeting at the first meeting of the month.
Councilmember Brown stated the motion on the table does not deal with any issue before the next
Council meeting so will have the first November meeting, if the second November meeting needs to be a
regular meeting it can be voted at the first November meeting, will help Council in the long run, and added
that Council should not be dealing with fires, should know what is coming up, the motion does not set in
stone the only item on the agenda.
""Councilmember Barr stated he would like to call the question to cease further debate. No one objected
to calling the question. The motion to call the question was approved 4-3 with Mayor Smith,
Councilmembers Barker and Holbert opposed.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:31 PM.
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ayor Da ' J H. Smith
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