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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMn 08-28-07 ------' 212 MINUTES #2717 CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF UNIVERSITY PARK, TEXAS COUNCIL CHAMBER - CITY HALL MODULAR BUILDING TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2007, 5:15 P.M. Mayor James H. Holmes, III, convened the City Council into an executive session in the conference room at 4:00 p.m. for consultation with the City Attorney under Section 551.074 of the Government Code. The executive session was concluded at 4:18 p.m. No action was voted on or taken during the meeting. Mayor Holmes opened the regular City Council Meeting at 5:15 p.m. in the Council Chamber in the City Hall Modular Building. Present were Mayor Pro Tempore Harry Shawver and Councilmembers Syd Carter, Jerry Grable and Kelly Walker. Also in attendance were City Manager Bob Livingston, City Attorney Rob Dillard and City Secretary Kate Smith. Councilmember Walker moved approval of the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Carter seconded, and the vote was unanimous to approve the following: CONSENT AGENDA CONSIDER APPROVAL OF FREQUENCY RECONFIGURA TION AGREEMENT: On November 08, 2005, the City Council approved the acceptance of a proposal from Tusa Consulting to act on the behalf of the City to negotiate with Nextel cellular service on a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruling that 1,700 public safety agencies throughout the United States must relinquish their 800 MHz frequencies to Nextel. Nextel's frequencies were within the operating range of these public safety frequencies and often caused interference on the public safety channels. FCC ordered Nextel to supply the 1,700 public safety agencies with new frequencies away from their operating range. Each of the 1,700 public safety agencies had to negotiate a Frequency Reconfiguration Agreement that ensures each agency received good operating frequencies and that all costs would be born by Nextel. The reconfiguration must be completed on each and every mobile and portable radio the Public Safety and Public Works Departments utilize, including all repeater radios. Also, all Highland Park and SMU mobile, portable and repeater radios must be reconfigured since automatic aid, mutual aid and first response runs are made with these entities. A major concern in this process was the fact that the Public Works portable radios could not be moved to the new frequencies. Nextel was therefore required to replace these radios. We were able to purchase a better quality radio and the City agreed to pay a difference of approximately $7,500.00. Nextel must pay for the time each City employee will be away from their regular duties while their radios are being reprogrammed. Approximately 442 hours will be spent away from duties while the radios are reconfigured, a cost of $15,000 that Nextel must reimburse. CONSIDER UNIVERSITY PARK LIBRARY SPECIAL SECTION FOR THE OCTOBER 2007 ARBOR: In order to update the community on various Library programs and services, U.P. Friends of the Library has asked the City for permission to use pages 3 and 4 of the October ,-_.._---~---~-~_.- 213 2007 Arbor. They will match our font and color scheme. Several days before going to press, the group will provide the Community Information Officer with print-ready copy and photos. Under this arrangement, the City's content in the October edition will appear on pages 1 and 2. The November Arbor will return to four pages of City content. CONSIDER AGREEMENTS WITH CARUTH/PRESTON ROAD ASSOCIATES, LTD. FOR PRIVATE USES OF THE CITY'S RIGHTS-OF WAY WITHIN THE PLAZA AT PRESTON CENTER: The license agreements allow the management of the Plaza at Preston Center to use the City's right-of-way at two specific locations for improvements at Taco Diner and at Cafe R&D. Taco Diner proposes to expand the outdoor dining area on the Villanova frontage and construct an arbor above the area. Cafe R&D proposes to construct a shallow Koi pond near the entrance to their restaurant. Improvements at both locations encroach on the R -0- W, and as with facilities in Snider Plaza, the license agreements establish the parameters by which this would be allowed. The improvements at both locations would include re-routing the public sidewalk in a manner acceptable for ADA compliance. Several parking spaces would be displaced, but the shopping center still exceeds the number of spaces required by the Zoning Ordinance. CONSIDER LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH MAX-A-MILLION CARRIAGE RIDES: Max-A-Million Carriage Rides would like to operate horse-drawn carriage rides through University Park during the Christmas holiday season, or between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2007. This is a business venture and riders will be charged a fee. These are the same horse- drawn carriage rides offered in Snider Plaza the last few years. It is recommended that Max-A- Million Carriages be allowed to set up the two additional signs this year in Snider Plaza that were allowed in the last two previous years at the points where customers will board the carriages. These two signs are to be set up and taken down at the beginning and end of each day of operation. It is also recommended that Max-A-Million be allowed to operate Wednesday through Sunday. Allowing this request sets forth certain conditions including: a $500.00 fee with $300.00 to be refunded if all conditions are met; cleaning of storage spaces and other areas affected by the horses; a design or plan for the use of the parking spaces to be approved by the Chief of Police; an indemnity clause; and a one million dollar public liability insurance policy with a Certificate of Insurance. CONSIDER INTERLOCAL CONTRACT WITH THE HARRIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOR COOPERATIVE PURCHASING: This contract with Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) would facilitate participation in HCDE's contracts. Specifically, HCDE has a contract with Nouveau Construction and Technology Services for Job Order Contracting (JOC). The Facilities Maintenance Division has expressed interest in using JOC for some routine maintenance projects. This type of cooperative purchasing is allowed through the Interlocal Cooperation Act (VTCA Government Code, Chapter 791). CONSIDER INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF FORT WORTH AND COOPERATIVE PURCHASING OF FUEL: The City's annual contract with Petroleum Traders (Bid #05-15, June 2005) for the purchase of fuel expired on July 31, 2007. The City of Fort Worth has existing cooperative contracts for the purchase of gasoline and diesel fuel. Fort Worth achieved lower mark-ups on their contracts due to the high volume of fuel purchased annually and aggregating the purchases of other Metroplex agencies in their contract. Attached is a list of --'-------_.._----~_..~"'~-_.._.,'---... 214 other participating agencies. Fuel is priced based on a mark-up or mark-down from the daily average wholesale fuel prices for the Dallas/Fort Worth area as published by the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS). Last year, the City spent $316,165.16 in fuel. CONSIDER RESOLUTION TO ADOPT 2007 CERTIFIED PROPERTY APPRAISAL ROLL: Each year by July 25 the Dallas Central Appraisal District (DCAD) provides the City with the certified tax roll. The roll is a list of all property parcels in the city and their associated market and taxable values. The total taxable value then becomes the basis for the City to set its property tax rate for the upcoming budget year. Official adoption of the tax roll occurs by Council resolution. This year's taxable value is $5,444,836,544, a 13.3% increase from last year's value of $4,804,267,737. Total market value rose 17.7% to $7,510,495,590. Of the $1.13 billion increase in market value, over $186 million is from new construction, compared with $136 million from the year before. While the average single-family home value increased 15.9% from $918,583 to $1,064,621, the taxable value increase is capped at 10% per year. RESOLUTION NO. 07-16 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF UNIVERSITY PARK, TEXAS, ADOPTING THE 2007 APPRAISAL ROLL OF THE DALLAS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT FOR THE CITY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES: FOR AUGUST 7, 2007 MAIN AGENDA PUBLIC HEARING PROPOSED FY2008 BUDGET AND PROPERTY TAX RATE: Texas statutes require that cities provide notice and hold public hearings before adopting an annual budget and property tax rate. State law requires that a budget hearing be held no sooner than 15 days after the proposed budget is filed with the municipal clerk. Using August ih as the filing date, a hearing on August 28th meets this requirement. A second budget hearing is scheduled for the September 4 Council meeting; and a third hearing will occur at the September 18 meeting, when the Council acts upon the proposed budget and tax rate. Mayor Holmes opened the Public Hearing. Finance Director Kent Austin presented the proposed FY08 budget. The proposed FY08 budget of $39.577 million is 4.48% larger than the adopted FY07 budget of $37.879 million. The proposed budget includes a tax rate decrease, rate increases for water or sewer service, and $5.163 million in capital project funding. The property tax is the General Fund's primary source of revenue. The proposed FY08 rate is $0.26836, an 8.32% reduction from last year's adopted rate of $0.29272. The certified taxable property base rose 13.3%. The proposed budget would collect $548,385 more in current property taxes than last year, a 3.9% increase. Due to the intricacies of the official effective tax rate (ETR) calculation, the proposed $0.26836 rate that will raise 3.9% more tax revenue represents an effective tax increase of only 1 %. The ETR drives the notice and hearing requirements a city must meet per the Texas Truth- in- Taxation law. The Dallas County Tax Assessor-Collector performs the effective tax rate calculation. The ETR's purpose is to identify the tax rate that produces the same revenue dollars this year as last year. Instead of using the new 2007 certified tax roll ($5.444 billion) as the base, the ETR calculation considers only those properties that were on the tax roll one year ago, after adjustment for changes in exemptions, values under protest, and court-ordered reductions. The ----,~..__.~-------~-~-'-'_.'"<_._._-_..._. 215 resulting tax base number is known as the "2007 Adjusted Taxable Value" and omits the $192 million added by new construction in University Park this year. This new construction makes up 17% of the $1.13 billion increase in the certified taxable value. At the same time, the taxes levied one year ago are also adjusted for refunds and are known as the "Adjusted 2006 taxes with refunds." Dividing this figure ($13.28 million) by the adjusted tax base ($4.677 billion) produces an effective tax rate of $0.26569/$100. Comparing the new proposed tax rate of $0.26836 against the ETR yields an effective tax increase of 1 %. While the average single- family home, with a market value of $1.064 million, would pay $2,286 in City property taxes, the existing 10% appraisal cap reduces the tax bill for residents who owned their home last year. The proposed 8.32% tax rate reduction combined with the 10% appraised value increase results in a tax bill of $2,169, only $18 more than last year. In response to continuing complaints about speeding and traffic violations, the proposed budget also includes a new three-officer Police traffic enforcement unit at $265,903. If approved as proposed, the number of full-time employees will be 245, still below the 247 employed in the early 1990's. Also proposed in the budget is $159,292 for services for the University Park Public Library. This $68,800 increase would allow the library to add two new positions, a receptionist and children's librarian. Dr. David Ellis, immediate past president of the University Park Library Board, was present at the meeting to answer any questions. Mr. Ellis indicated that this year, there have been approximately 40,000 items checked out ofthe library, 20% ahead of this time last year. He also noted that they have about 11,000 library card holders and that they had more summer reading program participants this year than last. Ms. Kitty Holleman, 3939 Marquette, asked ifthere is a library at each school. Councilmember Carter responded that there is, but that they are not open during the summer. Finance Director Kent Austin noted that the The Finance Advisory Committee met on August 16, 2007 to review the proposed budget. Although a quorum (six members) was not present, the five attending Committee members recommended approval of the proposed budget. They made two other recommendations: 1) that the three-officer traffic enforcement unit be approved; and 2) that the City's percentage contribution to the firefighter retirement fund not exceed the percentage contribution to the Texas Municipal Retirement System. He indicated that two other Advisory Committees - Employee Benefits and Property/Causality/Liability Insurance - will meet soon. Mayor Holmes closed the Public Hearing and noted that a second Public Hearing on the proposed FY2008 Budget and Property Tax Rate will be held on Tuesday, September 4,2007. CONSIDER PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION ON 25 MPH SPEED STUDY: During the June 19,2007, City Council meeting, a presentation on the 25 MPH speed study was given by Director of Public Works Bud Smallwood. After discussion by council, traffic consultant Dannie Cummings and members of the community, the matter was sent to the Public Safety Committee for review and recommendation. The Public Safety Committee met on July 10, 2007. The 25 MPH speed study was the lone agenda item and the only business discussed. The committee voted to recommend the same speed study be conducted a second time with the addition of enforcement to determine if the speeds could be reduced. It was decided by the committee, that the second study begin after the traffic unit (as proposed in the FY2008 budget) was established, when officers could be assigned to work the designated area. The study will be conducted in the same area for the same length of time. Mayor Pro-Tempore Shawver moved approval of the Public Safety Committee's recommendation to conduct a second -_._--~---,.__.,,"_."~---,,--,._-,,~--.-._..- 216 speed study in the same area with enforcement. Councilmember Grable seconded, and the vote was unanimous to conduct a second speed study with enforcement. CONSIDER AMENDMENT TO CITY ORDINANCE REGULA TING PHOTO ENFORCEMENT AND RED LIGHT CAMERAS: The 80th Session of the Texas Legislature enacted legislation that regulates photo enforcement of traffic signals by Texas Cities. In order to be in compliance with the new legislation, the existing ordinance has been amended to reflect and adopt all required changes. These changes include: setting a cap on late fees, that 50% of all revenues received by the City will be sent to the State of Texas for use in trauma centers across the state and if any additional intersections were to be red-light enforced, a traffic-study would have to be conducted. Councilmember Carter moved approval of the amendment to the city ordinance regulating photo enforcement and red light cameras. Councilmember Walker seconded, and the vote was unanimous to approve the amendment to the city ordinance regulating photo enforcement and red light cameras. ORDINANCE NO. 07/30 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF UNIVERSITY PARK, TEXAS, AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF UNIVERSITY PARK, BY AMENDING ARTICLE 10.1600A "AUTOMATED TRAFFIC SIGNAL ENFORCEMENT"; PROVIDING A REPEALING CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR THE IMPOSITION OF CIVIL PENAL TIES; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. CONSIDER COFFEE PARK MASTER PLAN DESIGN FEES: In November 2006, the City Council approved a new concept drawing for a Master Plan of Coffee Park. Since that time, staff has been working with the architect and a citizen committee to finalize additional park components and cost estimates. These additional components include: discussion, design and placement of a barrier free playground, a sculpture designed by Bob Coffee, a historical timeline and narrative stations, and also project cost estimates. The architect is requesting additional funds for meetings, project design and construction services. The original contract was based on a project cost estimate of $300,000. The amended proposal reflects design fees based on an estimated $700,000 plus project cost. The current contract for architectural services is $28,865.00. The amendment request is $28,635.00 for a new contract amount of $57,500.00 Mayor Holmes stated that in the Council Meeting Pre-Session, they discussed approving the design fees, but would like to send this item to the Capital Projects Committee for further review and recommendation. Councilmember Grable moved approval of amending the contract with GGOArchitects in the amount of $28,635.00, for a new total contract amount of $57,500.00. Mayor Pro-Tempore Shawver seconded, and the vote was unanimous to approve the contract amendment with GGOArchitects in the amount of $28,635.00, for a new contract amount of $57,500.00 CONSIDER POOL MASTER PLAN - PHASE I: In April 2007, the City Council approved a design contract with The Brannon Corporation to develop concept plans for upgrades at Curtis Park Swimming Pool. For the past few months, the Park Advisory Board has been working with Brannon to identify potential pool water features, mechanical upgrades and address ADA -~----_...~,_.,----------------'_.~._.... . 217 compliance issues. Based on the overall costs associated of the entire project, the Park Advisory Board has recommended separating the project into two phases. Phase I will address the children's pool and Phase II will address the main pool. The proposed contract with The Brannon Corporation for Phase I is in the amount of $30,000.00 for design, construction and bid documents. Staff will also review the project with the Capital Projects Committee. Mayor Holmes moved approval of the contract with The Brannon Corporation in the amount of $30,000.00 for Phase I design, construction and bid documents, with removal of the Limitation of Liability clause. Councilmember Grable seconded, and the vote was unanimous to approve the contract with The Brannon Corporation in the amount of $30,000.00 with removal of the Limitation of Liability clause. ITEMS FROM THE FLOOR Ms. Kitty Holleman, 3939 Marquette, stated that she would like to be on a committee to discuss and address McMansions and design standards. She also feels that SMU needs to build more student housing. She noted that a large old tree had died as a result of new home construction in the 3800 block of Marquette. Mayor Holmes asked Park Director Gerry Bradley to look into this matter and see ifit is a possible violation of the City's Tree Ordinance. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. PASSED AND APPROVED this 4th day of September 2007. ATTEST: