Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2011-11-14 Special 11l14/11 3812 STATE OF TEXAS )( CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD )( COUNTIES OF GA�VESTON/HARRIS )( NOVEMBER 14, 2011 )( MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY COUNCIL THAT WAS HELD ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2011, AT 12:00 PM AT THE FRIENDSWOOD PUBLIC LIBRARY, 416 S. FRIENDSWOOD DRIVE, FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS, WITH THE FOLIOWING PRESENT CONSTITUTING A QUORUM: MAYOR SMITH DAVID SMITH MAYOR SMITH PRO-TEM JIM HILL COUNCILMEMBER MICHAEL BARKER COUNCILMEMBER BILLY ENOCHS ' COUNCILMEMBER PAT MCGINNIS COUNCILMEMBER DEIRDRE BROWN CITY MANAGER ROGER ROECKER GTY SECRETARY MELINDA WELSH Councilmember Scott was absent from the meeting. Mayor Smith called the meeting to order. City Manager Roger Roecker gave a history of the Iist for today's workshop. He stated these are all potentiai items to be discussed. They are prioritized in Council's order and some did not rank so they are at the end of the list. There is one item that needs discussion and that is the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) 2.2 funding issue. He showed Council the list and stated Council may not necessarily consider these items in the order presented nor may they necessarily address all items listed. Discussion was held between Mayor, Council and Staff regarding the Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) and possible funding sources. City Manager Roger Roecker stated he talked to the comptroller's office and they are scheduled for January to discuss CIP funding. Community Development Director Morad Kabiri stated he had.a list of CIP's to refresh everyone's memory. Mayor Smith asked if Councii was interested in looking at the Iist and Councilmember Brown stated without funding sources there is no need. Mr. Kabiri handed out the list and explained that there are leftover funds from 2006 that can be used for some of the lift station projects. Mr. Kabiri went through and explained the list page by page, stated these are the Iast priorities as determined by Council and there is not a lot of money left in reserves to fund CIP projects. He discussed water and sewer projects such as the Biackhawk facility, water plant facilities, and funding for those needed projects. Mayor Smith stated the items are needed and if it is not taken care of now it will be more expensive Iater and asked how the needed $7 million affects the City's rate structure. Councilmember Brown stated she is opposed to generating revenue through water and sewer revenue, should be gained by bond election raising rates, and should be done by a source that is deductible. Mayor Smith asked if she wants to do through property taxes and Councilmember Brown stated not necessarily. City Manager Roger Roecker stated usually these are self-funded and do not use bonds, would limit what can be done with other needed projects through General Obligation bonds: Mayor Smith stated he is uncomfortable doing it that way, other items need to be funded. Gouncilmember McGinnis stated he is comfortable with it. Councilmember Enochs stated he is comfortable but does not necessarily want rates to rise. Mayor Smith asked Administrative Services Director Cindy Edge about how much of a rate raise would be needed to fund for$7 Million and Ms. Edge stated there are a Iot of factors, $7 million is not insignificant but is not as high as other items funded, is not going to raise the rate a lot. Councilmember Hiil stated rates are going to rise, sympathizes with residents but Councii needs to make sure citizens have water and does not want to commingle debt. 11/14/11 3813 Councilmember Barker stated it is designed to be self-sustaining for a reason and needs to stay its own entity, rates, electricity and others will go up, is not behind the power curve but need to maintain I infrastructure, rates going up is part of it, Council should be concentrating on the CIP for the next five years, need to find a way to raise the money and prioritize needs versus wants, need to spend time on CIP. Councilmember Brown stated infrastructure such as Beamer Road has been added and is ready for commercial development. The City is already mixi�g apples and oranges by already having some that have been done as water and sewer that should have been capital improvements. Mayor Smith asked what project is she talking about and Councilmember Brown stated all three Beamer Road projects. Community Development Director Morad Kabiri stated the expansion of service lines for the panhandle and Mayor Smith stated that is for commercial development just as all are. Councilmember Brown stated the developer usually puts in the infrastructure and the City is doing it. Mayor Smith stated those projects are no different than others and have always been funded from water and sewer. Councilmember Brown stated infrastructure has been funded by developers and General Obligation funds. Councilmember Hill stated if the City had not gotten the grant then where would the funds have come from and City Manager Roger Roecker stated the City has used Certificates of Obligation but has paid them through water and sewer revenues. Mayor Smith stated he would like to see more information on the effect of rates for needed projects. Mr. Kabiri stated there was a similar workshop in 2009 and it helped Staff to take action. Mayor Smith stated Council can give input today and lay out how the next six months are spent. Councilmember Barker stated Gounciimember Scott needs to be a part of this and he is not here yet. Mayor Smith stated Mud Gully is on the books and Mr. Kabiri stated he met with Galveston and Harris Gounties and gave an update, this project will be done in phases, discussed funds to pay for this project by all entities, and gave an update on the paving of Blackhawk, Wandering Trail and Oak Vista, gave an update on Fire Station No. 3 improvements and stated it may be complete in mid to late February, and the City Manager stated it now has a pitched roof i�stead of a flat roof. Councilmember McGinnis asked if detention ponds can be dual use such as parks and Mr. Kabiri answered it is outside the City limits so Harris County would decide that but the City could approach because the City has done that with Galveston County before. Mayor Smith stated it may be too far away for a park, has been discussed and prioritized before so Council needs to figure out a way to do. Councilmember Barker stated Wegner Ditch shouid be a Drainage District project so it should be removed from the list. Mr. Kabiri stated it is a tributary of Cowards Creek. Councilmember Hill stated the Texas Department of Transportation stated they would not do any improvements on FM 2351 until the City does. Mayor Smith stated it may need to stay on the list just in case a funding source becomes available later and he asked Councilmember Barker to think about it. Councilmember Barker stated Lake Friendswood is a need and not a want. Counciimember Hill stated most are wants. Councilmember Brown stated the Parks Fund could fund Lake Friendswood. City Manager Roger Roecker stated the Parks Board is looking for Council to pass an ordinance combining the Parks Fund and the Neighborhood Park Fund. Administrative Services Director Cindy Edge stated if the fund changes then may not be able to move but start from here. Mayor Smith stated the City Attorney needs to give an opinion on this and the consensus was to ask the City Attorney. Councilmember Enochs stated there may need to be a change philosophically, the Parks Board is frustrated because they have nothing to do and they should be allowed to come up with projects and work on them. Councilmember Hill stated the Parks Board has brought projects to Council in the past and they have done projects but it is different with the current economy, and stated these are major acquisitions and there may need a different way, not being able to issue Certificates of Obligations has hamstrung the City. Councilmember Brown stated the City is not hamstrung, different funding mechanisms can be used as long as it meets the guidelines in the City Charter, agrees with Councilmember Enochs except to not give the Parks Board decision making capabilities. Mayor Smith stated the Neighborhood Parks Fund has approximately �200,000, with parks throughout the City, those funds can only be used in zones where they are collected. The Parks Board can help with what to do with each park zone, and agrees with Councilmember Brown that they do have the ability to do Certificates of Obligation, the issue is whether there will be the same citizen outcry that voters did not � have input. Councilmember Brown stated no projects meet the Certificate of Obligation requirement, and i there should be a legal opinion on this. Councilmember McGinnis asked if this was on the list for the Charter Review Commission to review and Councilmember Barker stated yea I 11/14/11 3814 Councilmember Enochs discussed the Iibrary expansion as opposed to buiiding a new library. Councilmember Barker stated the library needs expansion but is not for a �6 million expansion. Mr. Kabiri stated the amount on the list is for a new building and, depending on Council's scope, it would have to be brought up to Downtown District standards, does not have to be a full scale expansion but whatever Council wanted. Councilmember Enochs stated there may need to be tv✓o line items so it will not be pushed to the end of the list. Library Director Mary Perroni stated the Library Board has discussed different ways. Community Development Director Morad Kabiri stated Staff can give a figure amount and , can use just iike they did with the Animal Control facility. Counciimember Hill asked what amount and Mr. ' Kabiri stated the amount depends on whether it is a new building or an expansion. Council stated expansion, Councilmember Barker asked if$2 million would help and Mr. Kabiri stated a lot can be done with that amount, an architect can be brought in tomorrow to give an estimate. Councilmember Hill asked from where the funds will come and Ms. Perroni stated there are funds currently available. Councilmember Brown stated there are Public Education Government (PEG) channel funds available to make this meeting room a community center for PEG Channel and there may be a better way to do planning. Councilmember Enochs stated there are a couple of peopie on the Library Board who have experience. Mayor Smith stated Staff should be prepared with a conception if the City decides to do a bond and invest in plans so pubiic can see all of the information. Mr. Kabiri suggested to create three different conceptual plans and take them all to voters..Councilmember HiII asked about past design plans and how much money has been spent, and Mr. Kabiri stated it was just a conceptual. Councilmember HiII stated the past plan had the library ciosed for nine months and Ms. Perroni stated if Councii chooses the scaled back plan then the library can stay open. Mayor Smith stated it sounds like there is interest on Council. Councilmember Brown stated she is interested in seeing the three conceptual plans. Mayor Smith asked if Council is interested in the Library Board and Staff working on it and Councilmember Brown stated Staff only. Councilmember Barker agreed with Staff driving and Library Board looking at it. Councilmember McGinnis asked if there was still interest in combining the Activity Center/Community Center and most stated no because the City has more meeting rooms than it used to. Ms. Perroni stated the library meeting room is in demand and space is still needed. Mayor Smith stated other meeting rooms are not cheap and is hard for non-profits to find a less expensive alternative. Mayor Smith stated he would love to see a rework on library plans and do three plans. Mr. Kabiri stated Staff can meet with an architect and have three conceptuai plans done by February. Counciimember Enochs asked if $5.5 million on the list for the library can be changed to �2 million and the consensus was yes. Mayor Smith asked about Iumping things together such as park items, but thinks Parks Maintenance Building Phase 1 and 2 should not be lumped together, and there are five items for Parks. Councilmember Barker asked how bad the FM 518 Improvement Phase 2 is needed and Mr. Kabiri stated most of the area is already developed, adding detention to that area will not add any more developable opportunities, is ultimately needed but as far as the bang for the buck it is not a huge issue. Counciimember Barker stated it can be on down the line so do not strike it out but do move down the Iine. Mayor Smith stated it can be pushed Iower on the list and also erittany Bay Boulevard can be moved down the Iist because it is developer driven, and a list needs to be made of items for grant opportunity purposes of needs that the City cannot fund. Councilmember Enochs asked City Secretary Melinda Welsh about records storage and the City Secretary explained the need for a records storage facility for the City's lo�g-term records needs because of the State requirements for document retention. Council discussed a priority list of projects, cost, priority level and funding. Number one on the list is the Streets/Master Pavement Plan. Public Works Director Kaz Hamidian gave a rundown of street needs and Council discussed in detail. City Manager Roger Roecker stated revenue to fund street maintenance needs to be discussed. Councilmember Barker stated it has to be a bonded issue. Mayor Smith stated he is looking at it from a palatable standpoint and is saying �2 million a year is palatable. Councilmember Enochs asked if CIP money can be used for maintenance and Mr. Kabiri stated yes but doing small point repairs is not good. Public Works Director Kaz Hamidian stated point repairs are $1.2 miliion not including Baker Road which will be $3,000 to $400,000, will take ten years to do what is on the Iist now and with the drought is getting worse, funds can be included with the bond issue as a package and the repairs can be tackled a lot faster. Council discussed their priority, cost of projects and possible funding sources. Y 11/14l11 3815 Mayor Smith stated Friendswood Link Road Phase 2, which is a widening of the road befiveen Blackhawk ' Boulevard to FM 518 and wilf expand the existing bridge. Mr. Kabiri stated preliminary engineering is , done but is doing environmental study that is yet to be approved by the State, is an evacuation route so the City can get funding if Council decided to do. Councilmember Barker asked about traffic and Mr. Kabiri stated it is already affected at FM 518. Counciimember Barker asked about other property and Mr. Kabiri stated it will impact other property and has already affected some rights of way. Mr. Kabiri stated it can be done different ways and the State is concerned about mollusks. Police Chief Bob Wieners stated if the volume of traffic is considered, anything that can be done to get vehicles in and out better would be helpful. Councilmember Barker asked if this can be used with recent grant opportunity. Councilmember Brown asked if the City would have to come up with matching mo�ey a�d the Assistant to the City Manager Nick Haby stated no we would not. Council recessed at 1:55 PM and resumed at 2:16 PM with Councilmember Brown out of the room. City Secretary Melinda Welsh stated the annual cost for records storage is $3,828.00. Mayor Smith stated the best shot in getting a Records facility is to build it with the Iibrary expansion or with the fire department. The City Secretary explained why a stand-alone building is needed for security of documents, and long-term records storage needs due to the State's retention schedule that is required of most governmental agencies. Fire Marshai Terry Byrd stated there has been discussion about the fire departmenYs desire to move out of Fire Station No. 1 and discussed what size and type of records building would be needed as well as different Iocations, building a bigger building and finishing it out as needed. Councilmember Barker stated may need to wait on the building. Mayor Smith stated is there a possibility to consolidate Parks Department (Community Services) and Public Works Department out of Gity Hall and use their space for records. The City Manager stated they have invested a Iot in the Public Works facility. Public Works Director Kaz Hamidian stated they are safe as far as not getting water in the building, and is a good Iocation. Mayor Smith stated if there was not a security problem then they may need to it keep where it is. Councilmember Barker stated they need to come up what to do with property where old public safety building is located in the five year or ten year plan. Counciimember Barker stated the records facility may need to wait another five years. Police Chief Wieners talked about a round building on Laurel that looks like a bunker that may be considered for records. Council discussed the priority, funding and potential funding sources for a records retention center, Civic Center, and parks improvements such as old City Park, Friendswood Sportspark, Imperial Estates Park, and parkland acquisition. Mayor Smith stated Staff made a presentation to the Parks Board regarding 1776 Park and buyout properties at Imperial Estates and creating a trail system that extends an existing trail. Councilmember McGinnis stated a neighbor suggested having a dog park at that Iocation. The City Manager stated Staff has heard Iots of suggestions. Mayor Smith stated that the park is already being used as a dog park but is not being calied that, and a trailhead would give it different accessibility. Mayor Smith stated Staff is not recommending spending a lot of money on this. Discussed old City Park improvements such as a bridge and Mayor Smith stated cars could be parked at Old City Park and go to Stevenson Park. Community Services Director James Toney stated Stevenson Park has two lots, property owners have discussed a wiilingness to sell their property. The consensus was parks improvements with a cost of a�1 million. Mayor Smith stated he and John Scott discussed improvements to Lake Friendswood with the Parks Board and they talked about doing the bare minimum. Counciimember Hill stated an aIl-weather road would have to be made, and a cyclone fence could be used to gate and fence the park. Councilmember Barker asked where to put the gate and fence if the City does not own the land. Councilmember Hill stated the City limits go around the lake, asked if a fence could be placed on City property and Community Development Director Morad Kabiri stated yes except for the Tostada property. Mr. Kabiri stated there is a gate on the League City side but vegetation is growi�g. Police Chief Wieners stated a barbed wire fence is there. Mayor Smith asked what price I Council is comfortable spending to open. Councilmember Barker stated the City needs to own all the land. Councilmember Hill stated it is hard to reach the property owner. Councilmember Barker stated if !I the City owned it alI it would be different, unless the City does own all the Iand or they have a Iegai i document saying the City will not be sued they are building on very shaky ground. ' 11/14/11 3816 Mayor Smith stated it has been talked about for a Iong time, and this was his position at the beginning. The City has been working on it for seven years so do the best with what there is to work with, is possibie to section off to allow the remainder to be used but the City needs to make sure nearby neighborhoods are secured, time has come to get something done and make it available. The lake is already being used so the cat is out of the bag. It now needs to be contained and have law enforcement. Mayor Smith stated a dolfar Iimitation needs to be placed on it and $200,000 is his Iimit. Council further discussed the priority of this project. Councilmember Enochs stated the Parks Board asked for $80,000 recently with limited access. Councilmember Hill stated how about $500,000 and find out if the City can fence around Tostada property and talk to Texas-New Mexico Power Company. Community Development Director Morad Kabiri stated the City has to have road access. Police Chief Wieners stated the City has to have ambulance access, but is not as worried about the police department and the fire department. Police Chief Wieners asked about obtaining a legal opinion as to whether or not the City can open it without owning it all. Councilmember Hill stated if a gate is placed on Sierra Madre the City will hear from neighborhood. Mayor Smith stated there are folks that Iive on Rancho Viejo that do not want it open, times are changing and kids are accessing from League City. Police Chief Wieners stated controlling it is a good strategy instead of reactive mode, firearms discharge is coming from outside City limits. City Manager Roger Roecker stated Sierra Madre would be a locked gate and not public access, only 911 access. Police Chief Wieners stated ambulance access may have to get where they need to based on ', where victim may be, may need to get close to the water. Councilmember Hill stated Friendswood is not keeping Alvin or League City people out by doing this. Counciimember HiII stated the police department cannot get out there because there is no access, should improve Windemere Road with crushed concrete. Police Chief Wieners stated Councii plussed out the police department when EI Dorado Boulevard opened and the public safety building was moved outside of downtown, nothing will change in staffing if Lake Friendswood opens or Friendswood Link Road opens, the police department will not need to change its staffing model and they wiil be able to police the same. Councilmember Hill stated emerge�cy services have the people but not the access. Councilmember McGinnis stated $500,000 is a good dollar figure to open. Councilmember Enochs stated he likes the dollar figure but fears it is a good idea that may blow up in the City's face, suggested doing the work on the legal side and going back with three to five options. Mayor Smith stated he wiil agree with $500,000 but will say it was this Gouncil that decided it was worthwhile for the community to improve the park, there is a great possibility there, would like it to be opened with sanctity of neighborhood considered, do not hold folks back who want to use Lake Friendswood when others are already using it. Lake Friendswood, cost �500,000. Community Services Director James Toney asked about eminent domain and Mayor Smith stated has been tried before and the City Iost but time has gone by and it can be asked again, the property has changed hands from the dad to the son. Councilmember Hill stated that the son will not give his number to his siblings so he is hard to reach. Councilmember Barker stated the City needs to own ail of it. Mayor Smith stated the City can give access and it will be okay, questioned if Council wants to use the Staffs and City Attorney's time by contacting the owner, or to determine the process of eminent domain and if it is at the City's disposal. Councilmembers McGinnis and Enochs both went with number one, but do homework first. Councilmember Hiii asked if the taxes are being paid, the answer was yes and Staff can get access to an address through the tax bill. Mayor Smith asked if the City has made attempts to contact the owner and Community Services Director James Toney stated he did by telephone calls and a letter. Mayor Smith stated that came from Council direction. Councilmember Hill stated he put a Ietter on the door of where the son was staying to get him to contact but he never heard from him. The City Manager asked if Council would rate it as a goal. Mayor Smith stated open it with respect to neighborhood and emergency access, with fencing and accessible roadway. Mr. Kabiri stated if had separate emergency access can open other road with less. The City Manager asked if Council was opposed to a 911 gate. Mayor Smith stated he heard Gouncil say to fix the road for all access. Mayor Smith asked about the Friendswood Sportspark and Mr. Toney stated it is for new softball fields and improvements to existing fields. Mr. Toney explained about a bridge needed for Stevenson and OId City parks. Council discussed their priorities for parks improvements, including Lake Friendswood, what dollar amount they were willing to fund and from where they were willing to fund it. Mayor Smith stated it has been worked on for a while and it cannot keep being putting off. ( 11/14/11 3817 i The City Manager stated he was �ot sure if the fire department would be happy with a station built next to �i the public safety building and Councilmember McGinnis asked if they would be happy with a new fire station at current Iocation. Councilmember HiII stated they are edging toward expanding Fire Station No. 4 and making it their headquarters. Gouncilmember Brown returned at 3:28 PM. Councilmember Hill stated that is not a good Iocation. Mayor Smith stated next to the public safety building is a good location for access. If Fire Station No. 1 was located near a residential area Staff would hear more complaints. Council discussed their priorities for fire stations, what dollar amount they ' were wiiling to fund and from where they were willing to fund it. Councilmember Brown she does not know of a fire station to be funded with Community Development Block Grant funds. Community Development Director Morad Kabiri stated Fire Station No. 4 can be expanded. Counciimember Enochs stated he is not convinced it is a big priority, and the City has done an expansion and built a new one. Council then discussed the Library, their priorities for the Iibrary, what dollar amount they were willing to fund and from where they were willing to fund it. Mayor Smith stated he needs to move on to other agenda items. Mayor and Council discussed the annual budget process. City Manager Roger Roecker stated Councilmember Enochs suggested this item. Councilmember Enochs stated Council has talked a lot about budget, he was lost throughout the process and then it was over, there needs to be a written explanation about how process works, all need to be working from the same sheet of music. The City Manager stated there is a calendar they use in the Administrative Services Office, and Council may need to get together in February. Mayor Smith stated Staff spent months working on the budget and then towards the end Council started to review the budget, that practice has changed over the years and Staff has moved Council's involvement earlier to give input and guidance so there was no clash at the end, the i process has evolved. The City Manager stated it is a challenge to have a budget by August 1 and an election in May. Councilmember McGinnis stated it would be a good idea to give a budget book during i the candidate process. Councilmember Brown stated she Iooked at last year's budget to study the benchmarks. The City Manager stated there can be some discussion about the budget and process to see what Council wants to do this next year. The City Manager stated they would first go through the Multi-Year Financial Plan, if there are specific things Council has interest in, Iooking for big picture consensus such as no tax increase, new priorities. Councilmember Enochs asked for the calendar to be placed in the new candidate packet. Councilmember McGinnis asked to lengthen the time that Council is involved to start in February. Councilmember Hill stated getting input early is good, has never liked the terms Forces At Work and Decision Packages. Decision Package should be called special needs or wants. Mayor Smith stated when the lay person is looking for information for them to understand right away it makes it difficult to grasp what it means, may be better language to make it easier to understand. Councilmember Brown stated a formal workshop in February would be good, suggested putting calendar in candidate packet. Mayor Smith stated the next agenda item is street improvements, asked if it was tackled during the CIP discussion. Councilmember Enochs stated there should be funding in the budget on an annuai basis, and it has to be maintained. Mayor Smith stated he thinks the annual budget for street issues is important and would support a small tax increase to fund. Counciimember Hill stated he has never felt there was enough funding for streets. Councilmember McGinnis stated there is a fund that can be done just for these improvements and City Manager Roger Roecker stated the 4B sales tax. Mr. Kabiri stated other cities have done street improvements through other fees. Councilmember Brown stated she met with Harris County last week regarding the Whitcomb property and park plan, may need to do public/private plan tied to Blackhawk, the developer is trying to donate some park land to the County so they can get a road built since the City cannot afford to do it. Mayor Smith stated they have sources. j Councilmember Brown stated there is a short window, the County was respoosive and Mr. Kabiri will be , the point of contact. 11(14/11 3818 Councilmember Barker briefly left the room at 3:56 PM. Mayor Smith stated the Multi-Year Financial Plan was discussed earlier and there will be a workshop to discussfurtherin February. Discussion was held regarding pipelines, pipeline construction and seismic testing. Community Development Director Morad Kabiri stated standards were last done in 1999. League City used a three- tiered approach and spent about $18,000. He asked if Friendswood wants to beef up their standards to not allow, depending on Council's response it can be expensive or not. Councilmember Hill asked about existing pipeline in corridors and Mr. Kabiri stated would need to get a permit from the City and there are now two seeking permits. Mayor Smith stated the silence from Councii makes him think they do not want more pipelines or seismic testing and asked what needs to be done to strengthen the ordinances. Counciimember Enochs stated Friendswood is a bedroom community and the idea of noise and pollution is not desirable. Cou�cilmember McGinnis stated Friendswood is a residential city a�d there is not a lot of undeveloped land, seismic testing brought a great outcry because it would open the door to new wells and there is a fear that mineral rights may trump property rights. Councilmember Hill stated Friendswood got in a battle over an ethane line and Exxon Iine, do have eminent domain, panhandle already has wells, asked if they can come in and put up a rig and put in deeper and Mayor Smith answered yes. Councilmember Hill stated it needs to be kept 1,000 feet from residential. He is for making it impossible to drill a new well. Councilmember Brown stated a Iegal opinion needs to be obtained regarding restrictions, is in favor of restrictions being in place but does not favor banning it in wholesale and wants to preserve the bedroom community feel. Councilmember Barker stated Iegal advice needs to be obtained and the City Manager asked if there is funding. Mr. Kabiri stated he will check and get back with Council, cost was$12,000 for the other city. Councilmember McGinnis asked if another workshop wili be done. Mayor Smith stated there has to be public input for an ordinance change. Councilmember Brown stated if the City Attorney comes for an overview and want attorney/client privilege then do not do open meeting first. Mayor Smith stated will need to do executive session first and then ope� meeting. Mr. Kabiri stated an overview and re-writing would cost$12,000,just overview would be less. Discussion was held between Mayor and Council ensued regarding Council's Rules of Procedure. Mayor Smith stated some Councilmembers have particular items and thoughts to discuss. Rule 16, which is titled Order of Business, had to do with how someone can make a presentation to City Council that does not necessarily require action but a transfer of information. Councilmember Brown stated she always thought that was what "Special Reports" were. Mayor Smith stated "Special Reports" were used for committee reports, he and the City Manager have discussed this and it is hard to find a place to have a special meeting in the regular agenda. Mayor Smith stated another item can be created, but questioned what is allowable and what can be put under presentations, if ail seven want to give a report then there will be a timing issue, what information is going to be dealt with and what is a priority for one is not necessarily a priority for another. If one Councilmember believes an item is important enough to be placed under the agenda then it can be done, if all of Council does not want to hear it then they can take care of it, it would be fair to have three other Councilmembers decide if they want an item to be presented. Counciimember Brown stated with respect to making a presentation no one has requested, when content-specific approaches are made there are constitutional guarantees and ruies as to the order of business are not broken, and stated there was an item that came up that no one wanted to hear and move on. Mayor Smith stated there can be a special report but have never applied it to having a workshop, is looking for win-win, but is not really an issue and it was not broken, is looking for a way to satisfy disagreements. Councilmember Brown stated they can have special meetings within the meetings and can have an action item to vote on a workshop. Mayor Smith stated it aIl boils down to trust in Mayor Smith and City Manager Roger Roecker and is mandated by charter as to what items can go on the agenda, Cou�cilmember Brown stated the issue is opening up items from another entity and Mayor Smith stated is not what they are talking about. Councilmember Enochs stated should Communications from Mayor and Council be an open discussion and Mayor Smith stated no. Councilmember Brown stated one cannot have an open discussion, content-specific approach is a dicey approach. 11/14/11 3819 I Councilmember McGinnis stated he agrees and does not think there needs to be a content or time length j approach, he strayed once and was asked to put his item on a later agenda. Mayor Smith stated it is not just about items that are up for discussion, they should not be discussing agenda items under Communications from Mayor and Councii, and that is also not the time for opinion, it is one thing to talk about benign issues but another thing to give an opinion that crosses the Iine, getting into that is straying, Council should not be giving thoughts but facts. Councilmember Barker stated he thinks if someone wants to put an agenda item on it then do it, there is no need to discuss this further, attempting to fix it may make it worse. Councilmember HiII stated he does not think it is broken. City Manager Roger Roecker read a written e-mail from Gity Attorney Arnold Polanco. Councilmember Brown stated if an item is posted then it can be discussed, when Counciimember McGinnis posted a forum then he can discuss, she has reviewed videos and minutes. Mayor Smith asked if there are any other issues and Councilmember Enochs stated allowing comments for special meetings asked if it still makes sense, is it worth having it as a line item. Councilmember Hili stated people have the right to make a comment. Mayor Smith stated is not hurting but speaks to relevance that no one has spoken, he reads that it is before a decision is made. Councilmember Enochs stated it seems silly to have it several times on the agenda. Councilmember Brown stated shouid go to Council Rules of Procedure Rule 15, which is titled Citizens Right to be Heard, and please read it. Councilmember McGinnis stated there is a procedure for submitting an agenda item, asked if there is a screening out of items. Mayor Smith stated no, it is only the issue of where that item goes on the agenda, there have been similar items that have been combined, if there is a submitted item that he has information to help then he will call a Councilmember and tell them. Councilmember McGinnis asked if there should be a rufe that would make Mayor Smith and City Manager have to do before. Mayor Smith stated no, that would make it harder and they have to talk several times before the agenda. Councilmember Brown stated she does not know how many agenda items are being submitted until the draft, it may behoove them to give a call and ask to move items that can be moved forward. Councilmember Enochs asked about the Rules of Procedure Rule 11, which is � titled Reconsideration of a Subject, and Mayor Smith stated is a Roberts Rule of Order. If one votes negative and changes one's mind it can be brought back before 90 days. Mayor Smith stated they would suspend Rule 11 and then Iist it on the agenda. Councilmember Barker stated is not necessariiy negative but the prevailing side. Councilmember Enochs asked about the City Attorney bill and it is growing at a rapid rate like an open checkbook, people are making decisions about spending money and not going through the proper channels, there should be some level of protocol. Mayor Smith gave some history and Council decided to form a rule that if one is giving something to Council that would take more than an hour then they would have to check with Council. Councilmember Enochs stated most are bouncing everything off of City Attorney Arnold Polanco to be on the safe side but is costing. Councilmember McGinnis asked if questions can be asked during regular meetings. Mayor Smith stated he would Iike to go back and take a look at the biil, all need to be respectful of the City Attorney's time, if all doing the same thing what would the impact be, there should be an equity. Councilmember McGinnis briefly left the room at 4:40 PM. Community Development Director Morad Kabiri stated may need to not outsource for this service. Mayor Smith stated may just be an abuse issue and the resource is being overly used. Councilmember Brown stated all opinions that the City Attorney issued should be seen by Council, all Councilmembers should be copied so everyone knows what is going on. If ineetings occur then Council should be notified. Mayor Smith stated is laborious and should not have to notify when there is just the transfer of information on subject matter from the City Attorney, can create an open meetings problem, and has not seen a big problem but will go and look at it. Discussion was held regarding the upcoming meeting with the Charter Review Commission. City Manager Roger Roecker stated the Charter Review Commission is scheduled to present to Council at the ! January 09, 2012, meeting at 6:00 PM and will give a copy of the report prior to that time. � 11/14/11 3820 Councilmember McGinnis asked if Council is encouraged to attend and the City Manager stated it would give a different flavor to the meeting. Mayor Smith stated if there is an issue to review then go through the City Secretary. Mayor Smith stated he has shied away to give them the freedom. Councilmember Brown stated the deadline for setting the charter items is in February. Discussion was held regarding traffic calming measures. Community Development Director Morad Kabiri stated citizens have been having problems with speeding and traffic in their neighborhoods, is expertise in-house do some review but can do multi-way stop signs, speed bumps, chicanes and other items, need Council's review for funding and importance. Police Chief Wieners stated he wiil get a group of citizens with good intentions who try to get Council involved, but is not something in which Council should be involved, most of issues are not issues that relate to speed compliance but has to do with a high voiume of traffic going through their subdivision during rush hour, are subdivision issues, closing off streets will have a more negative impact on a Iarger group of people, need a uniform approach, need a traffic calming program, do not need to satisfying just one person in one neighborhood. Mayor Smith stated data needs to be gathered before making changes and Mr. Kabiri stated they would not do it without data. Mayor Smith asked the cost of a study and Mr. Kabiri stated about $15,000 per subdivision. Mayor Smith stated need a policy and Mr. Kabiri stated have an informal one. Police Chief Wieners stated have to have a process used every time there is an issue so there is a rational decision-making model, can gate a community, and do not have officers in subdivisions writing for one mile over the speed Iimit. Mayor Smith stated would want to know subdivision is in support of considering the item, wouid need to agree with covering 50 percent of study before Staff would consider, if have no agreement from Homeowners Association (HOA) to put something monetary behind it with consensus unless Staff saw there was a true issue. Councilmember Barker stated is a public safety issue but if there is not some documentable buy-in then it is a lose-Iose situation where can cause problems elsewhere, could be a slippery slope and look at carefully. Councilmember Brown stated she agrees, needs a policy, gave examples, is opposed to making HOA pay part of the study, would have to have a critical oumber of people expressing concems, HOA Board may not know the treffic concems,'and budget for HOA is tight. Councilmember Barker stated search for a remedy at the lowest Ievel possible. Police Chief Wieners stated do not spend funds until there is buy-in, and every single one of HOA covenants are written differently. Mayor Smith stated if a study costs $10,000 to $15,000 and has to come before Council for approval, put a limit on number of people to get a petition started. Councilmember Brown stated make sure they are within a mile in proximity. Mayor Smith stated he wants to insert measure of accountability before bringing it to Council, asked Mr. Kabiri to bring a matrix for review. Discussion was held regarding the Fair Housing Activity Statement-Texas (FHAST). City Manager Roger Roecker asked for projects for which to apply for funding in the Community Development Biock Grant Round 2 application. Assistant to the City Manager Nick Haby explained to Counciimember McGinnis what this was and the deadlines since he missed the last Council meeting. Councilmember Hill asked how much money is available and heard $4 plus million for this round. The City Manager asked Council to go over the list and is in random order. Councilmember McGinnis asked if new fire truck was , requested by the fire department and Fire Marshal/Emergency Management Coordinator Terry Byrd stated no. Councilmember Barker asked if Wegner Ditch is a possibility and the City Manager stated drainage is in a number of areas but needs some work. Mr. Haby stated a criteria is a failure to function such as what happened during Hurricane Ike. Councilmember Hill stated what would cover Friendswood Link and Mr. Kabiri stated $4.6 million is an estimate for Friendswood Link. Mayor Smith stated a new fire truck could be funded from donations, drainage could be funded by Drainage District, do not need $4 million for generators. Mr. Kabiri stated they could do Friendswood Link project with these funds. Councilmember Barker asked Mr. Byrd if road fails can it go to something else and Mr. Byrd stated yes. Mayor and Council further discussed what their priorities were for these proposed projects. 11/14/11 3821 Discussion was not held regarding scheduling meetings with City committees, the policy for appointments to boards, commissions and committees, developing a Comprehensive Master Strategic Plan, policies , and procedures for athletic facilities and field usage, zoning regulations and establishing a vesting ordinance, the City's deveiopment fees, a Farmers Market ordinance, the creation of a new Single Family Residential - Estate Zone and the City's Comprehensive Land Use Plan, the City's Economic Development Strategic Plan, prohibiting or restricting smoking in certain public places, improving the City's interaction with the Harris County Appraisal District, the City's sign ordinance, inciudi�g but not limited to bandit signs, for sale/lease signs and window signage, or the regulation of donation boxes/containers throughout the City, or City operations, planning and goal setting. Mayor Smith stated he is grateful for the work done today by Council and Staff. The meeting was adjourned at 5:27 PM. or David J.H. Smith Attest: — �� i�F"t9�N�yS � �O � �� g ��� Q � O l/`�`-�` � elinda Welsh, TRMC � * City Secretary � `�A Py ��� Of ��� i � (