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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMn. 2011.05.17 361 MINUTES AGENDA #2814 CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF UNIVERSITY PARK, TEXAS COUNCIL CHAMBER - CITY HALL TUESDAY, MAY 17,2011,5:00 P.M. 3:00 - 3:36 P.M. EXECUTIVE SESSION THE COUNCIL CONVENED INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER TGC 551.071 TO RECEIVE ADVICE FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY REGARDING AN OFFER TO SETTLE IN THE CASE OF MOORE V. CITY OF DALLAS, ET AL. NO ACTION WAS TAKEN. EXECUTIVE CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL. 3:45 - 4:00 P.M. DISCUSS PRESTON CENTER CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES AND ALLOWANCE OF THE PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR TO PROVIDE A WAIVER FOR EXTENDED CONSTRUCTION HOURS. COUNCIL CONFERENCE ROOM, SECOND FLOOR, CITY HALL 4:00 - 5:00 P.M. WORK SESSION FOR AGENDA REVIEW. COUNCIL CONFERENCE ROOM, SECOND FLOOR, CITY HALL I. CALL TO ORDER The Regular City Council Meeting was called into session at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber at City Hall. Present were Councilmember Stewart, Mayor Pro Tern Grable, Mayor Davis, Councilmember Clark, and Councilmember Begert. Also in attendance were City Manager Livingston, and City Attorney Dillard. A. INVOCA TION: Director of Community Development Robbie Corder B. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Director of Community Development Robbie Corder / Boy Scouts C. INTRODUCTION OF COUNCIL: Mayor W. Richard Davis D. INTRODUCTION OF STAFF: City Manager Bob Livingston City Manager Livingston introduced staff in attendance as Information Services Director Jim Criswell, Police Chief Gary Adams, Public Works Director Bud Smallwood, City Secretary Liz Spector, Finance Director Kent Austin, Administrative Assistant George Ertle, Community Development Director Robbie Corder, Human Resources Director Luanne Hanford, Assistant Public Works Director Jacob Speer, Fire Chief Randy Howell and Community Information Officer Steve Mace. Mayor Davis asked the Boy Scout in attendance to come to the lectern. He introduced himself as Casey Evans, from Troop 68. Casey stated he was working on his Citizenship in the Community merit badge. Mayor Davis thanked him for attending the meeting. II. CONSENT AGENDA A. CONSIDER AND ACT: on approval of an interlocal agreement with the City of Dallas 362 for the temporary use of Dallas' transfer stations and landfill in the case of emergencies This item approves an interlocal agreement with the City of Dallas which authorizes the City of University Park to utilize the Dallas transfer stations and landfill as necessary at the prevailing rates. B. CONSIDER AND ACT: on approval of minutes of the May 3, 2011 City Council Meeting City Manager Livingston summarized the Consent Agenda items. He stated that any item may be removed from the Consent Agenda for individual consideration if requested. There were no requests to remove any of the items and Mayor Davis asked for a motion. Councilmember Clark made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Stewart seconded, and the motion carried unanimously. III. MAIN AGENDA A. PRESENTATION: of Youth Advisory Council Report on 2010/2011 Activities Community Information Officer Steve Mace addressed the council. He briefly summarized the Youth Advisory Commission and its activities and asked the Chairman of the group to provide specifics for the Council. The outgoing chair, Highland Park High School senior Kelly Brooks came to the lectern. Ms. Brooks detailed some of the past year's activities. Ms. Brooks said she became a member of the commission as a freshman in its inaugural year, 2008/09. She stated this year the group assisted in making repairs to an elderly widow's home that had fallen into disrepair. She said several members of the commission scraped and repainted the home's exterior. She also mentioned the Public Service Announcement they filmed to promote the document shredding event held by the city. Ms. Brooks said she and other Y AC members also participated in a library focus group conducted by the designers of the city's new library. She said they were asked to come up with ideas to help plan a teen-friendly public library. She also mentioned the group's assistance with annual events such as the holiday tree lighting, the fishing derby, eggstravaganza egg-stuffing, and the July 4 Fun Run. Ms. Brooks said the group hoped to continue working on sustainability issues and other code sweep assistance needs. She thanked the Council for encouraging the Youth Advisory Commission's activities and said they would be happy to help with any other duties thc Council may assign. Mayor Davis thanked Ms. Brooks and all the members of the Youth Advisory Commission for their service to the city. B. CONSIDER AND ACT: on request from the Rotary Club of Park Cities for a static display of an Army Apache Helicopter at Goar Park during the July 4 parade 1 picnic No action was taken on this item and it will be continued to the next meeting. 363 C. CONSIDER AND ACT: on a request to abandon the Hillcrest-Dickens alley right-of- way between Daniel and Haynie Mr. Art Anderson, representing the applicant, addressed the Council. He asked the Council to arrive at a mutually agreeable plan for redevelopment that will reflect both parties' interests. Mayor Davis reminded Mr. Anderson that the issue on the table was to decide if city staff should proceed with obtaining an appraisal of certain rights-of-way. He said the decision on the abandonment would come at a later time. Mayor Pro Tern Grable made a motion to authorize the public works director to obtain an appraisal of the alley between the two Legacy Hillcrest properties betwccn Daniel and Hillcrest with said appraisal to be paid for by Legacy Hillcrest. He withdrew his motion before the vote because Mayor Davis stated that since the item was tabled at the previous meeting, a motion should be made to put the item back on the table prior to making a motion for the appraisal. Mayor Pro Tern Grable made a motion to place consideration of the request back on the table and to provide authorization for the public works director to obtain an appraisal of the alley between the two Legacy Hillcrest properties between Daniel and Hillcrest with said appraisal to be paid for by the applicant. Councilmember Stewart seconded, and the motion carried unanimously. D. DISCUSS: fence heights in rear yards .,- City Manager Livingston summarized the item. He said that during the work session, staff discussed how several owners of properties with significant grade changes requiring retaining walls have applied for variances with the Board of Adjustment to allow additional fence height. Staff said in most or all of these applications the BOA did grant the extra fence height. Mr. Livingston said BOA members have subsequently proposed modifications to the zoning code to address this issue which would allow staff to make individual determinations. Mr. Livingston said staff recommends the Council forward this request to the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee and ask them to report their recommendations to the Council. Councilmember Clark made a motion to approve to refer the request for changes to the section of the Zoning Ordinance addressing fence heights in rear yards to the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee for further study. Councilmember Begert seconded, and the motion carried unanimously. E. DISCUSS: rental registration and inspection program for residential units City Manager Livingston introduced the item. He said staff had been approached with a request to institute a rental property registration and inspection program. He said if the Council wished to institute such a rental registration program, they should refer the item to ZOAC for their recommendation. Councilmember Begert made a motion to not refer the request for a rental property 364 registration and inspection program to ZOAC for further study. Mayor Pro Tern Grable seconded, and the motion carried unanimously. F. DISCUSS: drainage from residential building sites City Manager Livingston stated that during the work session, staff discussed an issue that has generated a number of complaints related to standing water in gutters or alleys. He said staff recommended referring the issue to the Public Works Advisory Committee to discuss potential remedies. Mr. Livingston said during the work session, Bud Smallwood discussed how other municipalities deal with this runoff. He said Mr. Smallwood advised referring the item to PW AC for their study and recommcndations to the Council. Councilmember Clark made a motion to refer the issue of drainage from residcntial building sites to the Public Works Advisory Committee and, if staff sees fit, to the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee for their review and recommendation. Mayor Pro Tern Grable seconded, and the motion carried unanimously. H. CONSIDER AND ACT: to provide direction to staff to regulate contractor working hours for Plaza at Preston Center City Manager Livingston discussed the item. He said the contractor for the renovations at Preston Center Plaza requested the city allow construction activites to continue through the overnight hours. The contractor stated this would benefit the city because it would allow the hauling out of excavated rock, concrete, and dirt to proceed during off- traffic hours at the center. He also said this would allow the first phase of construction to be completed approximately two months sooner. The contractor stated they would construct a 20-foot sound attenuation wall around the area to minimize noise. He said they conducted sound studies at the site to determine how the sound wall would control the excavation noise. Director of Public Works Bud Smallwood stated while he did have authority to grant waivers for construction hours, that authority was intended to be for occasional or periodic work. He asked the Council to permit him to grant this waiver to the construction company under a longer-term agreement. Mayor Davis said the Council is disposed to give authorization for this permit with the understanding that if problems associated with noise levels arise, the permission to work overnights will be rescinded by the director of public works. Mayor Pro Tern Grable made a motion to give the Director of Public Works authorization to provide a waiver to allow overnight work for certain construction activities at the Plaza at Preston Center. Councilmember Stewart seconded, and the motion carried unanimously. I. CONSIDER AND ACT: on approval of offer to settle in Moore v. City of Dallas, et al City Manager Livingston said during the closed session the Council was informed of their options regarding the city's involvement in the case of Moore v. City of Dallas, et al. During the closed session, the Council gave the City Manager authority to move forward with a settlement offer for the city's liability in the case. Mr. Livingston said 365 the final offer will be presented to Council for their approval once the agreement has been drafted. Mayor Pro Tern Grable made a motion to approve an offer to settle in Moorc v. City of Dallas, et al. Councilmember Begert seconded, and the motion carried unanimously. 1. CONSIDER AND ACT: on approval to cancel or reschedule specific City Council Meetings during June, July and/or August 2011 City Manager Livingston said due to planned absences by Councilmembers, the July 5 and the August 2 Council meetings will be cancelled. He also said the Council agreed to move the regularly scheduled August 16 meeting to August 23. Mr. Livingston said the budget will be transmitted to the Council on August 2, however, this does not need to occur during a Council meeting. Mayor Davis said if a cancelled meeting date needs to be reinstated, the Council will be able to reschedule it. V. ITEMS FROM THE FLOOR City Manager Livingston read through the rules that describe how the Council is allowed to respond to comments from the floor. He reminded the audience that the Council could not respond to questions on any issue not on the current agenda. Resident Carolyn Loy addressed the Council. Mrs. Loy asked the Council to allow the helicopter to be present at the July 4 parade. Mayor Davis said the Council was informed this afternoon by a representative of the FAA that it is unlikely the FAA will approve the helicopter to land due to clearance concerns. Mrs. Loy also asked if the Arbor Newslwetter could be delivered sooner. Mr. Livingston explained that water bills were sent out in two cycles. He stated that residents could also rcgister on website to receive the newsletter electronically on the first of each month. Community Information Officer Steve Mace mentioned the newsletter is posted on thc website's homepage on the first of every month. As there were no more requests to address the Council, Mayor Davis adjourned the meeting. Considered and approved this 7th day of June, 2011. U/~ W. Richard Davis, Mayor