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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 04 08 Goar ParkORDINANCE NO. 0 4 / 0 8 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF UNIVERSITY PARK, TEXAS, MAKING LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS REGARDING CURRENT CITY FACILITIES AND SERVICES; APPROVING THE USE OF A PORTION OF GOAR PARK FOR EXPANSION OF THE UNIVERSITY PARK CITY HALL; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, Chapter 26 of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code requires that a city must make certain determinations prior to the approval of any project that requires the use or taking of any public land designated and used as a park; and WHEREAS, the City Council has provided 30 days' written notice to the Parks Director and the Chairman of the Park Board of a public hearing to consider a proposed project to expand the University Park City Hall into a portion of Goar Park; and WHEREAS, notice has also been given to the public by publishing a notice once a week for three consecutive weeks, the last of which publications was not less than one week or more than two weeks before the date of the public hearing, and which notice was published in the newspaper of general circulation, published at least six days a week in Dallas County, Texas; and WHEREAS, the public hearing on the proposed project was conducted by the University Park City Council on February 3, 2004, at which time all those desiring to do so presented written or oral testimony; and WHEREAS, the City Council has considered clearly enunciated local preferences in the course of such public hearings; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF UNIVERSITY PARK, TEXAS: SECTION 1. That the City Council of the City of University Park, Texas, finds that the premises hereof are tree and correct and determines and finds the following facts from the public hearing and its investigation: A. The current City Hall is 70 years old and many of its systems have reached the end of their useful life; B. Operational conditions have changed since the last time the City Hall was remodeled, requiring a more extensive use of sensitive computer systems, provision of emergency ambulance service, provisions for protection against biohazards, Page 1 Co Do Fo Go Ho Jo Ko additional and more complicated record keeping requirements, and other operations developments required by law; A portion of the City Hall is located in the 100 year flood plain, the main floor of the building is only six inches above the 100 year level, and the fire equipment bays have had as much as 21 inches of water in them in recent years during rain storms; Meeting and training room space is inadequate for the police department, fire department, and other city departments housed in the current City Hall building; Additional off-street parking spaces are needed to serve the employees and public who use the building for public business; A centralized, secure location for the city's computer equipment, including adequate room for maintenance, is needed; Additional space is needed for police dispatchers so as to provide for two or more dispatchers to be on duty at the same time and to provide for the addition of dispatchers in times of emergency; Necessary equipment for dispatch computers, CAD systems, radios, direct alarm monitoring, and other electronics should be located so that dispatch personnel can access them without having to leave the dispatch area; A restroom is needed so that dispatch personnel do not have to leave the dispatch area for a break; Police patrol offices should be relocated to the first floor so that patrol officers can easily access them from the parking lot; Creation of a sally port is necessary to securely transport prisoners directly to and from the jail, without having to go through the building or outside the jail area; Page 2 L. A secure location, adequate in size, is necessary to process DWI violators with required video surveillance; M. A private first floor location is necessary for officers to meet with citizens, rather than in the public hallway as is the current practice; N. Additional office space is needed for detectives since three detectives currently share one room; O. Private interview rooms for suspects are needed adjacent to the jail; P. Adequate locker facilities for both male and female officers are needed; Q. A detail room to assemble shift personnel for announcements is needed by the police department; R. A juvenile holding facility that meets current state requirements is needed; S. Additional file and storage space is needed by the police department; T. Operations areas, sleeping rooms, day room, clean room, training room, medical supply room, and other rooms are needed on the first floor adjacent to the equipment bays for quicker and safer responses by the fire department; U. An equipment bay large enough to allow all department vehicles to be stored inside at one location is needed by the fire deparlment; V. A secure, segregated facility for paramedics to safely handle equipment and clothing contaminated by biomedical agents is needed by the fire department; W. Locker and sleeping rooms adequate to accommodate fire fighters of both sexes are needed; X. Provision of any of these at the Peek Center or any other location in the City is impractical, would result in more inconvenience to citizens, would reduce response Page 3 times of the police and fire departments if they were moved, would not solve the flood plain problem in the City Hall, and the cost of acquiring additional land would be prohibitive; and Y. Use of a portion of Goar Park, without disrupting park uses, for expansion of the current City Hall and parking area is the best, most cost effective, and reasonable solution for the continuance of the present level of City services. SECTION 2. The City Council further finds and determines, after the public heating and testimony, and in its legislative capacity, that: (1) There is no feasible and prudent altemative to the use or taking of a portion of Goar Park for the expansion of the University Park City Hall; (2) The project includes all reasonable planning to minimize harm to the Park resulting from the use or taking; and (3) The City Council has considered clearly enunciated local preferences, and is the opinion and finds that approval of the project is justified in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 26 of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code. SECTION 3. That based on the findings and determinations made herein, approval is hereby given by the City Council of the City of University Park, Texas, to the expansion of University Park City Hall into a portion of the property occupied by Goar Park; plans to minimize harm to the Park resulting from the use or taking are hereby approved; and, the City Manager is directed to proceed with the additional planning and steps necessary to give effect to the project. SECTION 4. That this ordinance shall take effect immediately from and after its passage, as the law and Charter in such cases provide. Page 4 DULY PASSED by the City Council of the City of University Park, Texas, on tho~8~ day of February, 2004 HAROLD PEEK, MAYOR APPROVED AS TO FORM: r---. CITY ATTORNEY (RLD/jh/1/16/04/62020) ATTEST: ~. 'N A~~~ITY SECRETARY Page 5 l Jll" ~