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Home My WebLink AboutCC Minutes 2019-08-12 Special 08/12/19 4979 STATE OF TEXAS " CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD )( COUNTIES OF GALVESTON/HARRIS )( AUGUST 12, 2019 )( MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FRIENDSWOOD CITY COUNCIL THAT WAS HELD ON MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2019 AT 7:00 PM AT FRIENDSWOOD CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 910, S. FRIENDSWOOD DRIVE, FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS, WITH THE FOLLOWING PRESENT CONSTITUTING A QUORUM: MAYOR MIKE FOREMAN MAYOR PRO-TEM SALLY BRANSON COUNCILMEMBER STEVE ROCKEY COUNCILMEMBER TRISH HANKS COUNCILMEMBER ROBERT J. GRIFFON COUNCILMEMBER JOHN SCOTT COUNCILMEMBER BRENT ERENWERT CITY ATTORNEY MARY KAY FISCHER CITY MANAGER MORAD KABIRI CITY SECRETARY MELINDA WELSH SPECIAL SESSION i Mayor Foreman called the meeting to order. The invocation was given by Pastor Mike Ross with Friendswood Church of Christ. Cub Scouts Joseph Ford and Vincent Ford with Boy Scout Pack 452, Mary Queen led the Pledge o Allegiance to the United States and to the State of Texas. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC Brady Mora, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated $41 Million will not solve Friendswood's flooding problems, and knocking down trees and throwing dirt around will not solve flood, problems. The problem is the City of Houston is upstream from the City of Friendswood, during his lifetime 20,000 acres have been developed in Houston, freeways displace rivers, flooding is here to stay) will not get better and will only get worse. He further stated he is in favor of elevating houses and buyout properties, stop building out and start building up, and start restoring native grasslands in the upper. watershed. There are 450 species of birds that call Clear Creek home, channelization and terracing are just catchphrases for habitat destruction, and believes the creek is worth fighting for. Mike Ross, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated he is glad to call the City of Friendswood his home, recently had surgery and had to walk for recovery, have seen a lot of trash on the streets, should hold Waste Connections accountable for their inefficiency, Stevenson Park is a gem to the community, and is grateful for city Staff that provides the upkeep. He reached out to Keep Friendswood Beautiful and made a suggestion to coordinate an attractive flyer for curbside policing on trash. Thanked Mayor and Council for their service to the community. Phil Ratisseau, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated the citizens of Friendswood want drainage fixed along Clear Creek, need the appropriate amount of money in bond propositions, do not want a history of Friendswood underfunding projects, partners are available to join the city on the journey of getting drainage problems solved, if partners do not have funds the city will have to come up with the ' funds, failure will ruin the reputation of the city, and impact citizens. Ron Jenkins, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated he served on the Citizen Advisory Team (CAT) drainage subcommittee, early in meetings asked if the city was committed to passing the I 08/12/19 4980 bond and seeing projects through, and Council stated they were. He heard it was not the city's responsibility to fix the drainage problems, that is an excuse, why should residents who did not flood pay ' for those that did, and why are all excuses and negative talk aimed at drainage. The CAT has been treated like an enemy since day one, subcommittee dared to change the number based on need, do not shortchange drainage projects, leaders do not make excuses, stand up and do what needs to be done, Council cannot guarantee there will not be another flood, but should try to do what can be done. Ron Lovely, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated input from the Citizen Advisory Team drainage subcommittee was not mentioned at the last Council meeting, omissions found were obvious, are dealing with lives and property, overwhelming sentiment from the public has been to caution underfunding, federal partners would price the project, would use at least a 3% inflation rate, $41 Million Council approved last meeting only included 2% inflation rate, do not chance, make a safe place for everyone to send their runoff, do not underfund, and let voters decide. Connie Ratisseau, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated she appreciates the difficulty of Council's position and the hard decision that must be made on behalf of Friendswood citizens. She was part of a political action committee Citizens for Clear Creek Independent School District who asked taxpayers to question a $487 Million bond proposition, not opposed to bonds but should be done responsibly and as fiscally conservative as possible, learned it is hard to beat a bond proposition, and if you want to influence a bond proposition do not wait until the wording is on the ballot. The Citizen Advisory Team (CAT) drainage subcommittee was told from the beginning not to redo the work of the Drainage Subcommittee, citizens have the right and duty to question any bond, discussed merits of terracing, estimates for funding were flawed from the beginning, reason CAT drainage subcommittee has fought hard to increase the bond proposition amount, savings from future damage along with the city's local 25% match may be the best bang for the city's buck. Linda Jenkins, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated city leaders and Staff have ' continually reminded the Citizen Advisory Team and citizens that the city has no responsibility to fix the ongoing Clear Creek drainage issues, whose responsibility is it to keep six feet of water out of streets during a flood event, leadership should fight for citizens safety and security after years of catastrophic flooding, and has city leadership consistently lobbied on behalf of Friendswood for Clear Creek. She applauds the city for being willing to propose a bond proposition for drainage, not fair and open to citizens to ignore the data and number suggested by the Citizen Advisory Team, and asked Council to not lowball the bond proposition amount for drainage. Sarah Van Riper, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated that the Citizen Advisory Team drainage subcommittee is pleading with Council to be great leaders, do not blame Galveston County Flood Control District for not fixing the city's flood disasters, do not wait on League City to design drainage for Friendswood, do not underfund the bond, chances of being awarded grant money could be lost to other cities that have proper funding, use Rice University model to further develop the drainage project, build on the existing study, why pay League City to do their drainage study, would take too long to wait, on League City study, include that terracing will be designed in the ballot language, put clear language into proposition, do not want drainage pipe like City of Houston, remove dredging from the proposition language since it will not be done, and provide voters a clear vision of what Council believes the terracing project will include. Gail Lovely, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated flood mitigation weighs heavily on her, has seen the research and possible solutions for Clear Creek flooding, numbers provided by the Drainage Subcommittee did not add up, Citizen Advisory Team drainage subcommittee fact-checked the cost numbers, did not reengineer any of the work already done, worked hard to determine if there were gaps or extras in cost numbers, the drainage proposition is the only proposition that has been cut over and over, has been difficult to see amounts added to other propositions, thought city leadership would take active roles in getting other entities involved in partnerships, and Council, needs to take the lead by ' considering it their job to protect citizen's homes. 08/12/19 4981 Lee Coggins, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated Council should make sure they use sound engineering fundamentals to develop drainage along Clear Creek, do not limit themselves, there are many opportunities the city can take, disappointed in the tone of the Council last meeting, going to be an expenditure for the city, and he would like to hear that drainage plan is an investment for the city. His hometown Rochester, Minnesota, was faced with the same situation 35 years ago, showed pictures and discussed solutions used to address their flooding issues, and asked Council when they discuss the drainage bond issue to make it an investment not an expenditure for the city. Lillian Wilson, Friendswood resident, addressed Council and stated everyone wants the same thing, a community that is safe, and a community that does not leave out neighborhoods that cannot prosperi because of repetitive flooding. At the last Council meeting was curious at the manner Council approached the bonds, and city needs to have sufficient amount of money to pair up with other organizations. She further stated she spoke with some citizens this week and they would vote no because they do not trust the city with that much money and would not finish what is supposed to be done, use the Rice'University 'study, and allow the Citizen Advisory Team members to advocate for the bond. ACTION ITEM '*Councilmember Griffon moved to approve a contract with Galveston County for Election Services. Seconded by Councilmember Branson. The motion,was approved unanimously. RESOLUTION **Councilmember Rockey moved to approve Resolution R2019-25 — A resolution of the City Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas, providing for the administration of a bond election. ' Seconded by Councilmember Griffon. The motion was approved unanimously. ORDINANCE **Councilmember Rockey moved to approve the First and Final reading of Ordinance No. 2019-34 —An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas, calling a Bond Election to be held within the city on November 5, 2019; and containing other provisions incidental thereto. Seconded by Councilmember Griffon. The motion was approved unanimously. Discussion took place between Mayor, Council, and Staff regarding reviewing projects presented at previous Council meetings for bond funds, amounts per proposition to fund proposed projects, total of six propositions, and ballot language provide by bond attorney. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBERS Councilmember Branson stated on August 9, 2019, there was a ribbon cutting for the Pollinator Garden in Stevenson Park, two Keep Friendswood Beautiful Committee (KFB) members were honored, and thanked KFB again for all they do in the city. Councilmember Griffon stated the correct date for the Senior Citizens Grand Casino Extravaganza at the Senior Activity Center is August 16, 2019, at 3:00 PM, invited everyone to come and have a great time. Councilmember Rockey stated that the Friendswood Public Library is hosting their first ever gala on October 4, 2019, tickets will by $100 per person, formal attire, roaring 1920's theme, there will be a wellL known guitarist, silent auction, and a live auction item of dinner with the Mayor, and all funds raised go to support the Friends of the Library. ' Councilmember Erenwert stated he agreed with Mike Ross's comments regarding keeping Friendswood beautiful, as a community everyone can try to pick up trash and keep the city beautiful, and keep passing the word on to everyone. 1 08/12/19 4982 Mayor Foreman and Councilmembers Hanks and Scott stated they had nothing to report. ' CONSENT AGENDA "Councilmember Scott moved to approve all items on the Consent Agenda as presented: A. Authorize the City Manager to sign an agreement for Crossing Guards with Clear Creek Independent School District. B. Approve the minutes of the July 01, 2019, City Council Meeting. Seconded by Councilmember Griffon. The motion was approved unanimously. This meeting was adjourned at 8:20 PM. a I l � Mayor Mi Foreman Attest: 00 ll�-`�-'L-� O� F�� NB'. S Melinda Welsh, TRMC o O O City Secretary o� .0 9j Cl). �•FOF TE�:•