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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/15/2018 - Special Minutes - City CouncilRTRT021518 Minutes Page 1 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL RETREAT CITY OF COLLEGE STATION FEBRUARY 15, 2018 STATE OF TEXAS § § COUNTY OF BRAZOS § Present: Karl Mooney Council: Bob Brick Jerome Rektorik Linda Harvell Barry Moore John Nichols James Benham City Staff: Kelly Templin, City Manager Chuck Gilman, Deputy City Manager Jeff Capps, Assistant City Manager Jeff Kersten, Assistant City Manager Aubrey Nettles, Special Projects Coordinator Carla Robinson, City Attorney Tanya Smith, City Secretary 1. Breakfast 2. Call to Order and Announce a Quorum is Present With a quorum present, the Retreat of the College Station City Council was called to order by Mayor Karl Mooney at 8:40 a.m. on Thursday, February 15, 2018 in the CSU Meeting/Training Facility, 1603 Graham Road, College Station, Texas 77842. 3. Introduction and Retreat Process Ron Cox, consultant, presented an overview of the Governance structure review and Roles of Government. Council discussed their views of Roles of Government. Community Vision: College Station will be a vibrant, progressive, knowledge -based community that promotes the highest quality of life. RTRT021518 Minutes Page 2 Community Vision:  Neighborhood Integrity  Enduring particularly Southside & Eastside  Issues (Safety)  Changing Structures with higher occupancy vs. Long term residents (don’t leave them behind)  Historic Resources:  75 years of history  Honoring Structures  Review & Revise (Future Plan) Vision Elements Mission:  On behalf of the citizens of College Station, home of Texas A&M University, we will continue to promote and advance the community’s quality of life. Core Values:  To act out our Mission: health, safety, and well-being, excellence in customer service, fiscal responsibility, citizen involvement, regionalism, plan and collaborate with TAMU, and participation.  Review & Revise (Future Plan) Core Values for Council Organization Values:  Respect everyone, deliver excellent service, risk takers, creative, innovative, one city- one team, personal responsibility, and doing the right thing with integrity, honesty, and have fun. Mission Elements:  Good governance, financial sustainability, core services and infrastructure, neighborhood integrity, diverse growing economy, improving mobility, and sustainable city. Strategic Plans on Roles of Government (Discussion Topics)  Definition of Core Services (General Gov’t): Police, Fire, Roads, Parks  We choose to service (Enterprise): Water, Sewer, Electric, Solid waste  Highest quality of life at least possible cost  Need to look at what we chose periodically 4. Presentation, possible action and discussion regarding sanitation. Chuck Gilman, Deputy City Manager presented an overview of residential services and comparisons. Mr. Gilman provided information on comparisons of services that the City or hauler provides and are funded within the base rates, at no additional cost to the customer. An indication of “Not provided with Base Rates” does not necessarily mean that a city is not funded within solid waste base rates. The service may still be provided for an additional cost or through another city department. Some cities have various cart sizes and charge variable rates based on cart capacity. For these cities, we used the rate for carts most similar to College Station’s cart capacity (64 gallons), which is a current rate of $14.40, lower than 85% of benchmark cities. Recommendations: RTRT021518 Minutes Page 3  Adopt fees under Scenario 1, as presented during the October 2017 Solid Waste Cost of Service City Council meeting  City will collaborate with BVSWMA to evaluate opportunities to lower the landfill disposal rate for City collection vehicles  Increase the residential rates by $1.60 per household per month Council directed staff to develop a modified form of scenario 1 to index cost of services and miner increases over the years. Also, have a cost analysis study every 3 to 5 years and with the consensus of Council to stay with the public sector. 5. Presentation, possible action and discussion regarding City Hall. Chuck Gilman, Deputy City Manager, presented Council a timeline of the planning effects and funding sources for the future City Hall. Jeff Kersten, Assistant City Manager, provided Council funding sources and options to fund for a new City Hall, which were Tax Rate, Electric Utility – 1 time transfer, Electric Utility – increase annual transfer, Dissolve TIRZ #18, Utilize existing debt capacity, Proceeds from sale of city assets and other. Option 1 – Tax Rate • $30,000,000 Certificates of Obligation  Annual cost $2.4 million  2.5 cent tax rate increase Option 2 – Electric Funds and Tax Rate • $10,000,000 one-time transfer from Electric Utility • $20,000,000 CO issue  Annual cost $1,600,000  1.7 cent tax rate increase Other Funding Sources  Possible one time and equivalent ongoing revenue streams to consider  Dissolve TIRZ #18  Projects funded through other mechanisms  $950,000 projected to be in Fund Balance (1 Time)  $260,000 ongoing property tax  Utilize a portion of existing debt capacity Scenario 1 Single-Family Residential $14.40 $16.00 $16.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 Multi-Family Unit Fee $6.75 $7.50 $7.50 $7.75 $7.75 $7.75 Commercial Dumpster (8CY, Twice per Week) $283.00 $283.00 $283.00 $297.15 $297.15 $297.15 Roll-off Pull Fee $153.00 $175.95 $175.95 $202.34 $202.34 $202.34 RTRT021518 Minutes Page 4  Possible one time and equivalent ongoing revenue streams to consider  Increase ongoing Electric Utility transfer  Proceeds from sale of city assets Project Financing/Delivery Mechanism  Credit tenant lease  Traditional financing Staff recommended to move forward with Option 2, consider additional funding sources and bring back detailed funding plan. Also, to issue a RFP for Construction Manager (CMAR) MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilmember Benham and a second by Councilmember Rektorik, the City Council voted seven (7) for and none (0) opposed, to move forward regarding the need of a New City Hall. The motion carried unanimously. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilmember Benham and a second by Councilmember Rektorik, the City Council voted seven (7) for and none (0) opposed, to move forward with the design with City Hall in conformance with the new city architectural standards approved by the Architectural Advisory Committee and at the location Council previously took action to approve. The motion carried unanimously. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilmember Benham and a second by Councilmember Rektorik, the City Council voted seven (7) for and none (0) opposed, to move forward with the RFQ for a design consultant and RFP for a CMAR contract for a new city hall at the location previously determined. The motion carried unanimously. Council directed staff to dissolve TIRZ #18, further discussion on the 1 time transfer from electric, sale of assets, further discussion of the Debt Capacity, with the exception of all the annual transfer 6. Presentation, possible action and discussion regarding staffing considerations. Jeff Capps, Assistant City Manager, presented an update on staffing considerations. Mr. Capps reviewed the issues of the Police Department with the loss of 141 employees but in the same period PD has hired 178 employees. Additionally, in FY17 out of 28 sworn that have left the department, 10 left for other agencies, 8 left for a different profession, 6 did not make it through training and 4 retired. Measures have been taken to cut down on turnover for the immediate, short term and long term. Steps taken:  Finalizing a proposed updated STEP plan. - Focused more on training and certifications as opposed to time in grade. - Will allow us to focus on more experienced certified officers.  Looking at implementing an incentive for those employees who are actively recruiting new officers that are hired on after vetting. Council requested a future executive session for a discussion regarding staffing considerations. RTRT021518 Minutes Page 5 7. Presentation, possible action and discussion regarding Comprehensive Plan. Lance Simms, Director of Planning and Development, presented an overview of 10 year Comprehensive Plan Update. Mr. Simms stated why an update because there is:  Change  New issues emerge while others no longer remain relevant  Action Items  Some will be found impractical or outdated while other plausible solutions arise  Maintain Relevance  Ensure the Plan continues to reflect the overall goals of the community,  Public Support  Periodic review and community feedback is an opportunity to affirm the public’s ownership of the Plan remains strong Staff will bring an update on demographic datasets for use in our travel demand model (Kimley- Horn), existing conditions report, conceptual framework and proposed timeframe, emerging themes, and will request feedback from City Council on February 22nd Council Workshop Meeting. 8. Presentation, possible action and discussion regarding the review of progress on the FY 17-19 Strategic Plan. Ron Cox, consultant, presented an overview of the City’s progress on the FY17-20 Strategic Plan: Fiscal Year 17  Good Governance  Complete design of new city website running in 2018.  Prepare a comprehensive staffing plan to meet growth. (Ongoing)  Keep focus on competitive wages throughout the organization. (Ongoing)  Core Services and Infrastructure  Continue to investigate interest in the redevelopment of city hall site. (Victory)  Explore opportunities for a multi-generational center. (Victory)  Explore opportunities for public/private partnerships. (Victory)  Establish a plan to re-purpose Arts Council building. (Victory)  Neighborhood Integrity  Pursue efforts to preserve the integrity of neighborhoods. (2018 & 2019)  Utilize TAMU to distribute code requirements for residential areas. (Victory)  Diverse & Growing Economy  Facilitate development of Spring Creek Corporate Campus. (Victory)  Effectively communicate facility and infrastructure needs. (2019)  Expand of tourism opportunities/events. (Victory)  Finalize scope and funding of Phase One of Southeast Park. (Victory) Fiscal Year 18  Good Governance RTRT021518 Minutes Page 6  Implement and go live with new city website.  Decide utility smart meter technology and equipment.  Core Services & Infrastructure  Begin construction of police facility. (2019)  Begin construction of new city hall.  Evaluate impact of Birkdale extension.  Establish plan for Fire Station #7. (In progress)  Implement the plan to re-purpose the Arts Council building. (Victory)  Finalize City Hall funding and CMAR  Neighborhood Integrity  Pursue efforts to preserve the integrity of neighborhoods. (2018 & 2019)  Diverse & Growing Economy  Complete construction of two synthetic fields at Veterans Park and Athletic Complex (From 2017)  Begin design of final phase of Veterans Park and Athletic Complex synthetic fields. (Remain in 2019)  Design Phase One of Southeast Park.  Conduct one joint City of College and CSISD annually  Sustainable City  Complete evaluation the comprehensive plan and identify items that need to be updated. (2019)  Implementing need phase of annexation Fiscal Year 19  Core Services & Infrastructure  Review & Revise Vision Elements/Core Values for Council  Complete Arts Council building improvements  Diverse & Growing Economy  Begin construction of Phase One of Southeast Park.  Begin design of Final Phase of Veterans Park. (2020)  Effectively communicate facility and infrastructure needs.  Continue City TAMU meetings on quarterly basis.  Continue development of Spring Creek Campus  Amend UDO with an eye toward reducing regulative  Review & Update E.D. Plan  Role of Publicly around property in E.D.  Property with annexation plans  Neighborhood Integrity  Pursue efforts to preserve the integrity of neighborhoods. (2018 & 2019) Fiscal Year 20  Core Services & Infrastructure  Finish construction of police facility. (2020)  Begin constructions of new city hall. (2020)  Diverse & Growing Economy  Complete construction of Phase One of Southeast Park. RTRT021518 Minutes Page 7  Begin Construction of Phase Two of Southeast Park.  Diverse & Growing Economy  Comp Plan Completed Fiscal Year 21  Core Services & Infrastructure  Complete City Hall Construction (2021)  Complete annexation 9. Presentation, possible action and discussion regarding Revise Strategic Plan. Ron Cox, consultant, discussed the City’s Revised Strategic Plan, and identified issues and challenges. Council discussed which issues and challenges to incorporate into a Revised Strategic Plan. Mr. Cox will incorporate the revisions and bring back to staff for Council’s approval at future date. 10. Presentation, possible action and discussion regarding Council education, training and travel. Mayor Mooney presented Council the need for an increase to the Council travel and training budget, as well as memberships and sponsorships. Mayor Mooney also requested Council to consider increasing the budget in FY19 for travel and training, sponsorships and memberships. Council directed staff to bring budget concerns to the Budget and Finance Committee to revisit and make recommendations. Also, Council requested staff to keep a log of all the sponsorships we receive throughout the year. 11. Presentation, possible action and discussion regarding support of and participating in local organizations’ events. Presented along with item #9. 12. Adjourn. MOTION: There being no further business, Mayor Mooney adjourned the Retreat of the College Station City Council at 4:34 p.m. on Thursday, February 15, 2018. ________________________ Karl Mooney, Mayor ATTEST: _______________________ Tanya Smith, City Secretary