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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2016-02-16 Special 02/16/16 4531 i STATE OF TEXAS X ' CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD Xi COUNTIES OF GALVESTON/HARRIS X FEBRUARY 16, 2016 X MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY COUNCIL THAT WAS HELD ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016,AT 6:00 PM AT FRIENDSWOOD CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS{ 910 S. FRIENDSWOOD DRIVE, FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS, WITH THE FOLLOWING PRESENT CONSTITUTING A QUORUM: MAYOR KEVIN HOLLAND MAYOR PRO-TEM JIM HILL COUNCILMEMBER STEVE ROCKEY COUNCILMEMBER BILLY ENOCHS COUNCILMEMBER PAT MCGINNIS COUNCILMEMBER JOHN SCOTT COUNCILMEMBER CARLGUSTAFSON CITY ATTORNEY ARNOLD POLANCO CITY MANAGER ROGER ROECKER CITY SECRETARY MELINDA WELSH REGULAR SESSION Mayor Holland called the meeting to order. The invocation was given by Danny Mercer with Friendswood Church of Christ. Mayor Holland led the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States and to the State of Texas. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC Sally Branson, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and thanked them for their service to the community, has been a resident of the City of Friendswood for over 40 years, a lot of changes have occurred in that time, change is scary, believes control can relieve the fear factor, is at the meeting to discuss controlling the change. Congratulated Council on approving the 1/8 cent sales tax for the May.' ballot, have allowed the citizens of Friendswood the opportunity to speak their minds, believes when the proposed sales tax passes Council will have the final say in any changes and how the revenue will be utilized. Ms. Branson read an excerpt from Friendswood Historian Joycina Bakers book, "the problems Council was addressing in the 1980's and 1990's were the same ones Friendswood has been dealing with since the 1960's, streets and sewage, the control of signs, flooding and drainage, taxes, city personnel and annexations. As usual there were differences of opinions on each issue, and politics, emotions, back scratching, and personalities played a part in each decision. Among the more controversial issues was the issue of annexations, one group of settlers wanted Friendswood to remain a small, restricted, highly zoned, bedroom community, and another group equally wanted for Friendswood to annex areas which could include housing developments across Clear Creek and an industrial district to help lighten the tax load for homeowners." If a sunset clause was added to the 1/8 cent sales tax proposition it would have already failed, Once again Council is in control of change, encourages Council to put the 1/8 cent sales tax proposition before the citizens with no limitations, will allow the community to be heard. In closing, Ms. Branson quoted from Joycina Baker's book, "no one can know or even imagine the changes the future holds, one can only trust that the special characteristics of Friendswood will never change, those who have chosen Friendswood want to believe that its heart will never change, that it will always remain a settlement of friendly folks, the past is our heritage, the present is our responsibility, and ' the future is our challenge." Jerry Ericsson, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and quoted from Joycina Baker's book, "if the 1960's could be described as the City's birth to childhood, perhaps the 1970's could be described as the 02/16/16 4532 City's teenage years". Mr. Ericsson stated that having long-term vision is part of good leadership, and the City of Friendswood has traditionally emphasized planning for the future. Former Mayor Ralph Lowe was ' one of those visionaries. He purchased the land that is now Stevenson Park, was thought to be an irrelevant and expensive piece of land far from the downtown area, and the creation of the Houston- Galveston Area Council is further proof of Mr. Lowe's visionary leadership. The benefits of such visionary investments require nurturing and time to receive the best rewards, some cities without vision would cook the goose that lays the golden egg. Advised Council to follow Friendswood's own precedence, be visionary, think long-term, and make the City of Friendswood's future better for the City's children. The City of Friendswood has one economic life span, suggested Council nurture it and not inhibit it by placing nearsighted time limits on the proposed 1/8 cent sales tax investment for the City's downtown area. Gerry Stacy, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated he has lived in the City of Friendswood for 30 years, thanked Council for approving the proposed 1/8 cent sales tax for downtown to be placed on the ballot, and would like to see the City of Friendswood have its own unique look and feel. He stated he is a member of the Friendswood Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce, and has seen positive results due to partnering with the City. The Rotary Pavilions that are located in Stevenson Park are a testimony of what can be achieved together. Annual events led by the Chamber of Commerce and the support that the Chamber of Commerce provides to the City, businesses, and individuals, attest to their ability to work with and for the City and the community. Local governments in upstate New York have worked with their Chamber of Commerce to get the best bang for their buck on computer systems, budget funds were limited, by working with the government and vendors the city was able to stretch public dollars successfully. He stated he believes the best way to spend tax money is to improve the downtown area with the City, local businesses, and citizens of the community teaming up together, will take time to improve and receive the best results, and will have the opportunity to borrow and have investors on the project if a timeline is not placed on the project. Brett Banfield, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated $130 Million is the annual number ' that represents unmet demand by Friendswood residents for general merchandise, restaurants, and specialty shops. This is what average residents spend outside the City of Friendswood on basic goods and services, is the portion of disposable income in Friendswood that residents are spending at the full tax rate of 8.25%, which is not being spent in their hometown. Residents are spending their money in other cities because they cannot spend it in the City of Friendswood. If the City of Friendswood could generate just 1/3 of this it would generate $800,000 in tax revenue, could pay for a lot of future projects if spent in the City of Friendswood. Investments take time but are worth the wait, downtown upgrades are a good investment, do not put this investment at risk with a time limit, let the groups and Council work together and bring these sales tax dollars back to the City of Friendswood. Benette Rowley, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated she has lived in the City of Friendswood for 16 years, is the General Manager for Dunn Brothers Coffee, President of Friendswood Farmers Market, and Vice Chair of the Friendswood Chamber of Commerce. She helped open Dunn Brothers Coffee and has been the General Manager since 2011, is crowded from 6:00 AM until they close at 10:00 PM, constantly number one store in the nation, listed the groups that meet at their facility weekly, and the functions that go on at their facility. Dunn Brothers is a destination for many people from miles around, Friends Uncorked located near Dunn Brothers is also a destination, the businesses benefit from each other, it would be nice to employ Friendswood residents with new businesses coming to town and would also benefit all the preexisting businesses. As a member of the Friends of Downtown Friendswood Association (FDFA) she believes that the group's long-term support and efforts will make it easier for other businesses to follow, would be a benefit for all the existing businesses in downtown and most importantly the citizens of Friendswood, FDFA is a caring organization made up of residents and key leaders, asked that Council not put up roadblocks and not place a time limit on the process, thanked Council for being visionary and not stuck in the past. Lynda Harris, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated that residents know it takes revenue ' to keep up with the City's growth and to sustain infrastructure, some of the burden should be shifted to a sales tax that is paid in part by those other than Friendswood citizens. Even if someone is opposed to the proposed 1/8 cent sales tax to revitalize downtown, join the team and give it your best, what does 02/16/16 4533 shortsightedness do to the effectiveness of all the groups dedicating themselves to improve the looks and ' finances of the City, and advised Council to not tie their hands. Daniel Gage, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated he and his wife attended Friendswood High School, grew up in the City of Friendswood, started their careers outside of Friendswood, had a vision to start a business in the town they grew up in, started his business of Shear Pleasure Salon and Day Spa in 1976. As a very young businessman he did not know about demographics, the importance of business location, or how the mindset of Councilmembers could affect future growth. All he had was a long-term vision and a good work ethic. For the first 15 plus years, 70% to 80% of his business came from outside the City of Friendswood, currently has 11,138 clients in his database and out of those 5,010 have a zip code of 77546, is convinced that if there were more businesses in downtown many of their clients that come from outside of Friendswood would spend more money in the City of Friendswood. Successful businesses breed other successful businesses, had a dream of having a location on Friendswood Drive, old location was on FM 2351, Kroger at the time offered to buy out his lease to own his location so that they may expand, met with a client who stated he could build him a new location in 90 days. Former Mayor Ralph Lowe made it possible for him to build at the location he is currently at. He knows what it is like to work with a Council who is not cooperative. In 1990, his business outgrew its parking lot, there was a piece of land the City owned behind his parking lot, asked the City if he could purchase, they denied him, later asked to lease the property, they rejected that also, and finally had Councilmembers persuade the City to enter into a license agreement to lease the property. Hopes this Council will not be shortsighted but have a long-term vision for the City's downtown area, and be visionary like leaders in the past. David O'Farrell, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated the City has grown, has been nothing but good, thanked Council for their service to the community, Council represents a great heritage of great leadership that the community has enjoyed, and thanked Council for allowing the proposed 118I ' cent sales tax to appear on the May ballot. In regards to the sunset clause on the proposed 1/8 cent sales tax, he had a decision to make with his company on whether or not to turn it over to his son, sort of turned it over to his son, micromanaged his work, second guessed his decisions, and most of all he clung real tight to the checkbook, within two years both were frustrated, had a decision to make, had to put the reins down and let his son take over or step back in and run it himself, finally let go and the son exceeded all expectations. He believes this story is parallel to what Council is up against now, in the room you have the City of Friendswood's hardest working, most dedicated, gifted citizens, they have Friendswood in their hearts, are asking Council to let them run with this project, promise is they are going to exceed every expectation, and Council's decision tonight is critical in the pfocess. ACTION ITEMS "Councilmember McGinnis moved to discuss an amendment to Ordinance No. 2016-09 to add a sunset provision of four years to the ballot proposal. (Ord. No. 2016-09, An ordinance of the City Council of Friendswood calling for the holding of a Special Election on May 07, 2016, for the purpose of authorizing a Local Economic Development Sales and Use Tax at the rate of one-eighth of one percent pursuant to Chapter 505, Texas Local Government Code; and making other provisions related to the subject.) Seconded by Councilmember Scott. Discussion took place between Mayor, Council, and Staff regarding if a sunset provision should be included in the ballot proposal language for a Type B Sales and Use Tax, state law provides a four year sunset provision for the proposed street maintenance sales tax. Council could bring accountability to public money, a future Council would be able to do an evaluation and make a decision to continue the Type B sales and use tax and place the issue back on a ballot. This meeting is the 13'"meeting in four years that Council has discussed a proposed increase in sales tax, in that four years there has been no discussion regarding placing a sunset provision on the proposed sales tax, street maintenance and ' economic development are different entities, and suggestions were made for an appropriate time frame for a sunset provision if Council decided to amend the ballot language. The City Attorney gave a brief explanation of how the 4B Corporation would operate, considered a separate governmental body, Council would have the ability to place four councilmembers on a board of seven, incorporated separately from 02/16/16 4534 the City, and would be responsible to acquire any services needed on their own. ***Councilmember McGinnis amended the main motion to approve an amendment to Ordinance No. ' 2016-09 to add a sunset provision to the ballot proposal. (Ord. No. 2016-09, An ordinance of the City Council of Friendswood calling for the holding of a Special Election on May 07, 2016, for the purpose of authorizing a Local Economic Development Sales and Use Tax at the rate of one-eighth of one percent pursuant to Chapter 505, Texas Local Government Code; and making other provisions related to the subject.) Seconded by Councilmember Scott. The motion failed 3-4 with Mayor Holland and Councilmembers Rockey, Enochs, and Gustafson opposed. City Attorney Arnold Polanco stated no action could be taken on Agenda Item 6, First and Final reading of Ordinance No. T2016-16, due to the failure of the previous motion. No motion was made on the First and Final reading of Ordinance No. T2016-16 —An ordinance of the City Council of Friendswood amending Ordinance No. 2016-09 calling for the holding of a Special Election on May 07, 2016, for the purpose of authorizing a local economic development sales and use tax at the rate of one-eighth of one percent pursuant to Chapter 505, Texas Local Government Code; limiting the period for the imposition of such tax; and making other provisions related to the subject. The meeting was adjourned at 7:26 PM. Mayor I evin olland ' Attest: ••'911: •�oF F F2E/y��`L Melinda Welsh, TRMC City Secretary ;*i •••9T�0F �Ee'•• 1