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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2011-02-17 Special 2/17/2011 3488 � STATE OF TEXAS )( CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD )( COUNTIES OF GALVESTON/HARRIS )( FEBRUARY 17, 2011 )( MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY COUNCIL THAT WAS HELD ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2011, AT 5:00 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 JIM BARR COUNCILMEMBER PAT MCGINNIS COUNCILMEMBER BILL HOLBERT COUNCILMEMBER DEIRDRE BROWN CITY ATTORNEY BILL OLSON CITY MANAGER ROGER ROECKER CITY SECRETARY MELINDA WELSH Councilmember Barker was absent from the meeting. 5:00 PM—SPECIAL SESSION � Mayor Smith called the meeting to order. **Councilmember Barr moved to discuss possible action regarding approving the application for a Texas Parks and Wildlife Recreational Outdoor Grant for the future development of Lake Friendswood as a recreational park in the City and authorizing the Mayor to execute the application. Seconded by Councilmember McGinnis. Mayor Smith opened the floor to members of the public for comments. Fred Krch, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated he has wanted to open the lake since he heard about it, compared Lake Friendswood to a similar lake in Pasadena that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, has lights and is stocked with fish, fish in Lake Friendswood are good because the water was tested when it was used in the past for training and it is good. He stated a fence is to either keep people out or keep people in and believes there is no reason to fence Lake Friendswood. If the City does go for a bond it will be specified that all the money will go towards the lake and the City cannot take a penny out of that fund for anything else. He stated he has suggestions for the Parks and Recreation Board that he will make later. Mayor Smith asked if other members of the public would like to speak and no one else spoke. City Manager Roger Roecker thanked Staff for all the hard work they did to prepare for this meeting. He stated at the last meeting there was a lot of confusion about funding with grant applications. Staff understood the grant application stated money has to be available at the time of award; however, the Texas Parks and Wildlife's interpretation is that an applicant must be serious about the grant and must be sure to have the money because they do not want to be told by the City that the funds are not available after the award has been made. He stated what was missing from the newspaper headlines was the fact „�„_ that at the meeting Staff reported having secured grant funds of almost$1.8 million at a cost of$52,220 to the City, and stated that that the concern of dipping into the 90 day reserves has not occurred. Assistant to the City Manager Nick Haby made a presentation on the General Fund budget and balance on the overhead projection device for the public to see. The City Manager explained items that were on 2/17/2011 3489 � the handout he passed to Council, made some corrections to it, and stated Staff brought a menu of improvements to park property at the last meeting, and since that time Staff has reviewed Council's previous joint meeting with the Parks and Recreation Board and also reviewed the February 07, 2011, meeting to see what Council's wishes were and to come up with some options to present to Council to help start and focus the discussion. The goals tonight are to determine whether or not to pursue the March 01, 2011, grant opportunity and, if so, to determine the scope of the project. He stated if the decision is made to pursue the grant a lot of hard work will be ahead. A formalized resolution will be presented to Council at the February 28, 2011, meeting stating the City's intention to move forward with the grant, and there will also be a public hearing at the same Council meeting. The City Manager then presented the Staff-developed options with merits and concerns of each. He stated there are finro options and each option contains three phases, both options present the same result but the way of achieving the results will be the difference, Option "A" assumes the work will be done by City crews and will involve 10 or 11 weeks with an impact to regular City operations but the financial impact on the City is less and is the most cost effective method. He stated that in-kind services and equipment costs count toward the City's match required by the grant. Option "A" improvements for consideration include an 8" crushed concrete roadway, ditch excavation, perimeter fencing, an automatic gate, pavilion, picnic tables, restroom, 2" asphalt overlay of roadway, pavement marking, gazebo, and floating pier. The City Manager presented Option "B", which assumes that the City contracts out all proposed improvements to provide the identical amenities as listed above. Other expense considerations for both options include electricity, bi-weekly mowing, ant bait, janitorial services, insurance of property and facilities. There is currently $65,000 in the Park Land Dedication Fund and Staff estimates the annual maintenance and operation costs at $33,000, can be a rustic setting which would eliminate the mowing and the ant bait but insurance is a given no matter what, and asked if Council is interested in pursuing the grant and at what level. ..�. Councilmember Barr asked if the numbers presented included money that has been set aside for Mud Gulley and the City Manager stated that it does. Councilmember Barr asked if the $59,000 needed was for just Phase 1 and the City Manager stated it would be both Phase 1 and Phase 2. City Manager Roger Roecker stated that Community Development Director Morad Kabiri is providing an updated schedule that shows that$74,000 would be an out-the-door cost. Mayor Smith asked if the cash outlay of $59,000 and the matching cash along with time and effort for $493,000 does include restrooms at the park and the City Manager answered yes. Councilmember Hill stated that the grants received were $1.8 million at a cost of approximately $52,000 to the taxpayers. He stated that the City hired a grant writer two years ago and is just now seeing the fruits of that investment. He stated he would also like to clarify for Mr. Fred Krch that this is not a bond issue but a vote to approve applying for a grant which will match the City's contribution dollar-for-dollar and will in effect double the taxpayers' money. Councilmember McGinnis asked when Fire Station No. 3 grant will come through and Morad Kabiri answered the design will be complete within the next 3 weeks and then the project will go out for bid, so in about a month and a half Staff can provide an amount for the project. Councilmember McGinnis asked if the fund balance commitments get added to the fund balance and City Manager Roger Roecker stated it does not. Councilmember McGinnis stated he likes the presentation and especially Option "A" and asked if Option "A" would divert City Staff from other important infrastructure projects and the City Manager answered it would to some extent. Public Works Director Kaz Hamidian stated this project is not beyond Staff's ability and they will do their best to work on the lake along with the other jobs but to say that there would be no effect on other duties would not accurate. He stated there are important summer duties coming up with mowing and street sealing but they can fit it in as there is no time constraint with "'�"" which to comply. The City Manager stated if the application process is approved, Staff will not know if the grant is awarded until September 2011, best case scenario, work can be planned before it starts in order 2/17/2011 3490 � minimize impact on Staff. Councilmember McGinnis asked if this grant is a one-shot deal and the City Manager stated he believes the City can reapply. Councilmember Holbert asked for an explanation of what the Park Land Dedication Fund is intended and the City Manager stated it is money that is set aside as developers come in. Community Services Director James Toney stated it is an impact fee of $300 for every dwelling unit a developer puts on the ground. Councilmember Holbert stated he made some calls to Texas Parks and Wildlife and heard that money that is indeed available for grants, and is money that has already been appropriated in a past budget cycle so waiting may result in no funds being available. These funds will be let as long as the criteria are met. City Manager Roger Roecker stated that Texas Parks and Wildlife does not like to have an entity get awarded a grant and turn it down because the money goes back into the General Fund and is no longer available for a grant to another entity. Councilmember Brown stated she appreciates the work Staff has done because it does make it easier for Council to visualize and to consider what is needed to open the project, asked if the Park Land Dedication Fund of$65,000 is community funds and Rocker Roecker stated yes. Councilmember Brown confirmed that the City would not have to access the reserve funds if Council chose Option "A" and the City Manager agreed, provided the City is awarded the grant. Councilmember Brown credited Staff for coming up with creative funding, and she appreciates the efforts. She asked if applying for this grant would affect the Trails Grant and Community Services Director James Toney stated the funding comes from finro separate funding streams so it would not affect the Trails Grant. Councilmember Brown stated she was looking at it more from a political standpoint and the City Manager stated Staff is not sure how � the process works from a political standpoint. Councilmember Brown asked if Staff has considered getting letters of support to submit with the revised information and the City Manager stated Staff has spoken with Friendswood Independent School District Superintendent Trish Hanks today and she has written a letter of support, and Staff will garner more letters if Council decides to move forward. Councilmember Brown stated she has reached out to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts regarding this project but has not had much feedback, knows the City has a grant consultant but Staff should be given credit because there is a lot of Staff involvement as well. Mayor Smith asked if the original motion maker will redefine the motion for a specific action on the item under tonighYs consideration. Councilmember Barr asked if it is necessary to choose Option "A" or"Option "B" at this point and the City Manager stated yes because the grant application will be done by the next Council meeting which is February 28, 2011. Councilmember Barr stated he assumes his motion is to apply for a $493,000 grant and stated he will take Councilmember Holbert's suggestion. "**Councilmember Barr amended the main motion to state that Council approve the grant application Option "A", Phase 1 and Phase 2, allowing the City Staff to move forward with the grant application through the services of the Riveron Law Firm, with funds coming from Park Land Dedication funds, and giving the Mayor the authority to sign the application. Seconded by Councilmember McGinnis. The amended motion was approved 6-0. ****Main motion, as amended, was approved 6-0. City Manager Roger Roecker stated that he wanted to reemphasize that Staff will continue to provide City ,,,� services as best as possible and will not shirk other duties Councilmember Barr stated he had the opportunity to talk with Grant Consultant Sherry Riveron at length and he thanked the Parks and Recreation Board where they expressed disappointment with Council's 2/17/2011 3491 � initial decision not to support the grant. Fortunately the City is able to circle around and with Sherry Riveron's help there will be a quality application submitted on behalf of the City of Friendswood. Councilrx�ember Brown stated she appreciated Councilmember Barr's comments, has tried to reach Ms. Riveron in the past and there has been no response. She stated she did have reservations at the last meeting because Council was being asked to approve something with no boundaries or definition but Staff has gone light years closer to satisfying the criteria of the application, and to approve the grant at the last meeting would have left ambiguity. Friendswood is an affluent town with a lot of resources, grants from other cities have graphs, PowerPoint presentations, a lot of details and it helps them. She stated that citizens should be aware that Friendswood may not get awarded the grant and may not be able to move forward with opening the lake. Councilmember McGinnis stated the Parks and Recreation Board are passionate about this project and they thought Council made the wrong decision when the grant application was turned down at the last meeting. He stated he agrees with Councilmember Brown that this is a very well crystallized plan and he thinks having the lake open would be in the best interest of Friendswood. Councilmember Hill stated he was concerned with the City's financial situation at the last meeting and spent a lot of time with Administrative Services Director Cindy Edge and the City Manager, worked on researching the lake in the past with former City Secretary Deloris McKenzie, shared the results of the research with Staff and Parks and Recreation Board member Penny Burke and believes it is time to move forward and is willing to try other resources to open the lake even if the City does not get the grant because the lake is the prettiest thing in Friendswood. Councilmember Brown stated Councilmember Hill's research was the subject of a Friendswood Journal article, and suggested Staff include in the application the articles about the lake throughout the years to "" prove that there has been an interest for a long time. Mayor Smith thanked Council for taking their time to reconsider the grant application. Council is not perfect, and the last meeting was long and they had a lot of work to do. It shows him how they feel about their City, appreciates Staff's time and the effort it took to prepare, thanked the Parks and Recreation Board for their time and dedication, and thanked everyone who helped to get this process where it needs to be. Councilmember Barr stated that while speaking to Sherry Riveron she stated that a funding source needed to be indicated in the motion and asked if the motion needed to be amended. ""***Mayor Smith clarified for the record by adding to the motion that by voting yes for Option "A" Phases 1 and 2 the funds would be drawn from the Park Land Dedication Funds. City Manager Roger Roecker stated that the upcoming actions will be first adopting a resolution, hold a public hearing, complete a Program Assurances Form, acquire certified February 17, 2011, Council meeting minutes, and confer with the City Attorney regarding the adoption of a Budget Amendment. A motion was made and approved to adjourn at 5:52 PM. avi J. . ith � Attest: 2/17/2011 3492 ^"" �oF F R�ENps`L n��...�'(,�,• �� � �.Q �� „ O Melinda Welsh, TRMC V � City Secretary * � � s ��TF OF TE�'P� ..... �