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MINUTES
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CITY COUNCIL MEETING
__ CITY OF UNIVERSITY PARK, TEXAS
COUNCIL CHAMBER - CITY HALL MODULAR BUILDING
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2008, 5:00 P.M.
Mayor James H. Holmes, III, opened the regular City Council Meeting at 5:00 p.m. in the Council
Chamber in the City Hall Modular Building. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly Walker and Council members
Syd Carter, Bob Clark, and Jerry Grable were in attendance. Also in attendance were City Manager
Bob Livingston, City Attorney Rob Dillard, Acting City Secretary Brandy Voge and Assistant City
Secretary/Payroll Specialist Liz Spector.
CONSENT AGENDA
Mayor Holmes asked if there were any items to be removed from the Consent Agenda before
approval, and there were none. Mayor Pro Tem Kelly Walker moved approval of the Consent
Agenda. Councilmember Syd Carter seconded, and the vote was unanimous to approve the
following:
CONSIDER AND ACT ON A CONTRACT WITH SOUTHWEST GENERAL SERVICES
TO PROVIDE OURSOURCE BILLING AND COLLECTIONS FOR EMERGENCY
MEDICAL SERVICES: Initial billing for EMS services is currently being handled by the Fire
Department Administrative Assistant. Collections on outstanding balances for private pay accounts
greater than 120 days outstanding and Medicare/Medicaid balances greater than 60 days
outstanding are currently being outsourced. Southwest General Services will provide both initial
billing and collection services for 7% of net collected. The outsourcing of this function is projected
to increase the percentage of fees recovered and to allow staff time to work on other projects.
CONSIDER AND ACT ON APPROVAL OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES FOR
AUGUST 26, 2008.
MAIN AGENDA
CONSIDER AND ACT ON A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS
ADVISORY COMMITTEE REGARDING ENCROACHMENTS INTO THE ALLEY RIGHTS-
OF-WAY: Assistant Director of Public Works Jacob Speer addressed the council regarding the
alley rights-of-way and gave a Power Point presentation outlining the recommendations from the
Public Works Advisory Committee. Mr. Speer stated that Staff endorsed the Public Works
Advisory Committee's recommendations and said they should be incorporated into an ordinance
amending the applicable sections of the code of ordinances and presented to the City Council for
consideration at a future meeting. The Public Works Advisory Committee met on March 12, 2008,
April 17, 2008, May 15, 2008 and June 12, 2008 and made recommendations as follows: 1) The
adjacent property owner is responsible far the maintenance of the alley parkway (area between the
alley pavement and the property line). Currently, the City performs maintenance involving ruts and
other drainage issues in the alley parkways; 2) Homeowners should not be required to pave the alley
parkway with concrete in conjunction with any construction activity. Currently, the alley parkway
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is required to be paved with concrete anytime a permit is issued for work valued in excess of
$10,000; 3) Grass, gravel, pavers, and other permeable surface materials are encouraged within the
alley rights-of-way. Concrete is permitted and new installations must be done in accordance with
City specifications. Currently, only grass and concrete are allowed in the alleys; 4) Man-made
structures or objects are prohibited in the alley rights-of-way, except licensed public utilities.
Prohibited items include trash cans, wood racks, fences, retaining walls, raised planting beds, etc.
Currently, all structures (including trees and shrubs) are prohibited; 5) No vegetation greater than 8
inches in height is permitted within 1 foot of the edge of the alley pavement with a minimum height
clearance of 15 feet. Current restriction is the edge of alley pavement and 8 feet height clearance; 6)
All materials placed within the City's alley rights-of-way are subject to removal, relocation, or
damage during the course of the operation and maintenance of the City's water, sewer, and alley
system. In such cases, surface materials will be replaced with a material of the City's choosing.
Private use of the alley parkway which is allowed by ordinance, including the placement of trees
and vegetation, is at the risk of the adjacent property owner. Currently, this is not directly addressed
by ordinance; 7) Residents with significant physical barriers to right-of-way compliance can appeal
to a body of the Council's choosing. Currently, there is no provision for an appeal process; and 8)
These provisions should apply to all properties and conditions within the City upon passage of a
revised ordinance. Current ordinance references 1992 and 1997 effective dates which allowed some
conditions to be "grandfathered."
After his presentation, Mr. Speer stated that he and the chairman of the Public Works Advisory
Committee, Mr. Tommy Stewart, would be available for any questions from Council or residents.
Mayor Holmes asked if Council had any questions and then stated that they would have further
discussion after the residents spoke. Mr. John Sewell, 3520 Marquette asked Council if the City
was going to make reparations to residents who had complied with the previous Ordinance by
removing gravel now that the proposed amendment to the Ordinance will allow gravel. Mayor --
Holmes said that at the time Mr. Sewell was asked to remove the gravel in his alley it was a valid
code enforcement action. Mayor Holmes stated that he understood Mr. Sewell's concern and was
sorry that happened, but Council was trying to do what was best for the future. Mr. Sewell added
that he would agree with Mayor Holmes if the previous code enforcement actions taken by the City
were taken more uniformly, rather than what seemed to be arbitrary. Mr. Sewell felt that Council
unintentionally acted detrimentally to a few residents by requiring them to correct a situation that
was now permitted. Mayor Holmes again apologized to Mr. Sewell and thanked him for his
comments. Mayor Pro Tem Walker asked Mr. Speer how many residents had the same issue that
Mr. Sewell was concerned about. After conferring with Code Enforcement Officer Pat Grecco, it
was estimated that there were possibly 70 to 80 residents who had previously complied with having
a situation remedied that would be permitted under the proposed Ordinance Amendment. Mayor
Pro Tem Walker asked about the approximate cost to these homeowners and Mr. Sewell stated that
he had spent approximately $350 to have his gravel removed.
Ms. Melinda Matter, 3613 Granada, addressed the Council with her concerns regarding her alley
right-of-way. She asked Council to come up with a positive solution to this issue, rather than
having her remove her flower beds in her alley. She stated that her flower beds were behind a
telephone pole and were not in the way. Mayor Holmes stated that the City has no control of the
utility companies placing objects in the alley rights-of-way. Mr. Don Mills, 2804 Hanover, asked if
the alleyways were going to be repaired in the future because the large trucks traveling the alleys
were leaving ruts and potholes. These ruts filled with water which caused a mosquito problem.
Mayor Holmes stated that alleys were being replaced along with the City's Mile-Per-Year program
which is addressing replacement of streets, sewers, curbs, etc. in a schedule of maintenance. Mayor
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Pro Tem Walker mentioned that Public Works Director Bud Smallwood cited that the city is
spending over sixty thousand dollars per year replacing tires on the garbage trucks due to structures
in the alley rights-of-way which is another reason the City is looking to remedy the rights-of-way
_~ problems. Mayor Holmes stated that this matter will come back to Council. The City has studied
the problem for months and after this discussion, the Public Works Department will tweak the
recommendations from PWAC and come back to Council with a reasonable solution. He
apologized to any residents who felt inconvenienced but that he wanted to preserve the integrity of
the alley rights-of-way. City Manager Bob Livingston asked Council what they wanted to do at this
time. Mayor Holmes asked Assistant Public Works Director Speer to bring back the memo with
revised recommendations for Council to consider.
DISCUSS SPECIFIC ZONING ISSUES RECOMMENDED BY THE SNIDER PLAZA
STRATEGIC PLAN COMMITTEE AND PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF: Community
Development Manager Harry Persaud addressed Council regarding specific zoning changes that
will require Public Hearings before Planning and Zoning and the City Council. Mr. Persaud stated
that he would like to move forward with Zoning Issues One and Two of his 8/26/08 Agenda Memo
per the direction of the Mayor and Council at the previous council meeting. These issues include:
1) Update Snider Plaza PD to incorporate the proposed development standards as detailed in the
8/26/08 memo to council. These include maximum building height of 3 stories or 46 feet provided
that the floor to site area ratio does not exceed 3:1 and the second story does not exceed 32 feet in
vertical height. Establish build-to lines based on average block face (if average block face is greater
than 20 feet, then the average build-to line shall be between 12 and 16 feet) with 3 feet of setback
for every additional foot of building height above 35 feet adjacent to a residential zone and any third
story facing Snider Plaza having a setback of 8 feet from the face of the building; and 2) Adopt
proposed parking ratios for the following land uses: a) restaurants provide one parking space per
100 square feet of gross floor area and b) hair/nail salons provide one parking space per 100 square
feet. Councilmember Carter asked whether the proposed parking ratios were for all new restaurants
and salons or were to include all existing establishments and Mr. Persaud replied that the proposed
new ratios would be for new uses. Councilmember Grable moved to direct Staff to take the
proposed changes to Planning and Zoning for their recommendations to update the PD and then
bring the updated Ordinance amending the PD back to council. Councilmember Clark seconded the
motion and the vote was unanimous to bring the updated Ordinance back to Council after Planning
and Zoning consideration and input.
PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED FY2009 BUDGET AND TAX RATE: Texas statutes
require that cities provide notice and hold Public Hearings before adopting an annual budget and
property tax rate. At the City Council meeting of August 12, 2008, Finance Director Kent Austin
gave an in-depth discussion regarding the proposed FY2009 budget. At the September 2 meeting,
the second of the required two public hearings, Mr. Austin provided copies of the proposed Fiscal
Year 2009 budget, and the Mayor opened the public hearing. Mayor Holmes asked if there were
any questions or if anyone would like more detail. As there were no questions, Mayor Holmes
closed the public hearing and thanked Mr. Austin and said he looked forward to approving the
ordinances adopting the budget, tax rate and salary plan at the next Council Meeting scheduled for
September 16, 2008.
CONSIDER AND ACT ON APPOINTMENT TO COMMERCIAL RETAIL ADVISORY
COMMITTEE: The City Council appointed individuals to this committee to represent the various
shopping areas located in University Park. Roger Fullington, who was appointed to represent
property owners on Snider Plaza, has indicated to Mayor Holmes that he wishes to resign due to
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other commitments. Mayor Holmes stated that Mr. Fullington had recommended Mr. Jerry
Washam, a University Park resident, as his replacement on the committee. Hearing no opposition
from Council, Mayor Pro Tem Walker moved to appoint Mr. Jerry Washam to the Commercial
Retail Advisory Committee replacing Mr. Roger Fullington. Councilmember Grable seconded the _
motion and the vote was unanimous to appoint Mr. Jerry Washam to the Commercial Advisory
Committee.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Mayor Holmes asked if there were any public comments and stated that anyone who wished to
address an item not on the agenda could do so at this time. Resident Kitty Holleman wished to
speak with regard to Pickwick Lane. She asked Council to keep one side of Pickwick open and to
make the No Parking restrictions permanent. Councilmember Carter asked if Ms. Holleman had
noticed if the speed of cars increased or decreased with the clearing of the street due to the No
Parking signs and she said she had not noticed speeding. She also stated that she would like to see
better restrictions on backyard swimming pools. Seeing no one else who wished to speak, Mayor
Holmes adjourned the meeting at 6:00 p.m.
PASSED AND APPROVED this 9th day of September, 2008.
m s H. Hol es, II, M yor
ATTEST:
Brandy Voge, i Secret