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Home My WebLink About11/08/2018 - Regular Minutes - City CouncilRM110818 Minutes Page 1 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF COLLEGE STATION NOVEMBER 8, 2018 STATE OF TEXAS § § COUNTY OF BRAZOS § Present: Karl Mooney, Mayor Council: Bob Brick Jerome Rektorik Linda Harvell Barry Moore John Nichols James Benham City Staff: Student Liaison: Jeff Capps, Interim City Manager Gilbert Rebolloso, Municipal Affairs Jeff Kersten, Assistant City Manager Carla Robinson, City Attorney Tanya Smith, City Secretary Ian Whittenton, Deputy City Secretary Call to Order and Announce a Quorum is Present With a quorum present, the Regular Meeting of the College Station City Council was called t o order by Mayor Mooney at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 8, 2018 in the Council Chambers of the City of College Station City Hall, 1101 Texas Avenue, College Station, Texas 77840. 1. Pledge of Allegiance, Invocation, consider absence request. Proclamation on a Centennial Remembrance of the Armistice to t he fighting in World War I, "Bells of Peace." Mayor Mooney presented a proclamation to honor all the American sons and daughters who serve our nation and to toll the bells in remembrance of the Armistice at 11:00 a.m. local time on November 11, 2018. Hear Visitors Comments James Benham, College Station, came before Council to honor the service of 2nd Lt Thomas W Benham in World War I. CONSENT AGENDA 2a. Presentation, possible action, and discussion of minutes for: RM110818 Minutes Page 2  October 25, 2018 Regular Meeting  October 25, 2018 Workshop Meeting 2b. Presentation, possible action, and discussion regarding ratification of a construction contract (No. 19300084) with Duro-Last, Inc., in the amount of $350,000 for the roofing of the City Hall and Annex buildings. 2c. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on Resolution No. 11-08-18-2c approving an Assist in Construction Request by Bryan Texas Utilities to the City of College Station in the amount of $125,184.51. 2d. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on a Relocation Reimbursement Agreement between the City of College Station and the Explorer Pipeline Company in the amount of $350,000. 2e. Presentation, possible action and discussion regarding approval of Construction Change Order No. 3 in the amount of $213,963.46 to the Lakeway Drive Extension Project construction contract 17300495 with Larry Young Paving, Inc. 2f. Presentation, possible action, and discussion regarding approval of a Real Estate Contract with Olive Margaret Arnold for the purchase of 12.84 acres of land in the amount of $1,665,000 needed for the expansion of the College Station Utilities Service Center facility. 2g. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on the consideration of Ordinance No. 2018- 4053 amending Chapter 38, “Traffic and Vehicles”, Article VI, “Traffic Schedules,” Section 38-1002 “Traffic Schedule II, Four-Way Stop Intersections,” of the Code of Ordinances of the City of College Station, Texas, by implementing an all-way stop at the intersection of Victoria Avenue and Castlegate Drive. 2h. Presentation, possible action, and discussion regarding Change Order 1 to Contract 18300287 with Weisinger Inc. for a deduct of $54,300 from the original $213,657 to replace the pump assembly and motor for Well 7. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilmember Rektorik and a second by Councilmember Benham, the City Council voted seven (7) for and none (0) opposed, to approve the Consent Agenda. The motion carried unanimously. REGULAR AGENDA 1. Presentation, possible action, and discussion of the rendering of the exterior of the New City Hall building as designed by Kirksey Architecture and reviewed by the Architectural Advisory Committee. Erica Wozniak, Construction Project Manager, provided a brief overview on meetings of the Architectural Advisory Committee (AAC) in conjunction with Kirksey Architecture, which developed and reviewed renderings for the exterior design of the new city hall building. The rendering presented today meets the expectations and requirements of the AAC.  Architectural Advisory Committee RM110818 Minutes Page 3 o Met with Kirksey Architecture several times o Presented ideas and refined concepts o Current rendering represents the ideas and concepts discussed during these meetings  Design Features o City Gateway sign o Traditional Texas municipal architecture – Red brick and white stone, pitched roof, columns, arches and clock tower o Representative of College Station’s history – Train station o Three levels with council chambers, offices, and meeting / training rooms. – Main public entrance facing Texas Ave. with staff entrances on all sides of the building – Open lobby area with natural light – Spaces for staff to gather and collaborate – Council Chambers faces Texas A&M University o Additional features – Adjacent parking for both public, staff, and Council – Semi-Circular driveway and drop-off area – Welcoming public spaces outside of the facility – Building name Based on the direction provided by the Architectural Advisory Committee, Staff recommend ed approval of the exterior elevations of the New City Hall as shown and discussed in this presentation. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilmember Harvell and a second by Councilmember Brick, the City Council voted seven (7) for and none (0) opposed, to approve as presented of the rendering of the exterior of the New City Hall building as designed by Kirksey Architecture and reviewed by the Architectural Advisory Committee. The motion carried unanimously. 2. Presentation, possible action, and discussion regarding the possibility of creating an electric advisory board or board of trustees. Aubrey Nettles, Specials Project Coordinator, provided a brief overview on the FY2019 budget workshops where City Council directed staff to look at the possibility of creating an electric advisory board or independent utility board. Since then, staff has reviewed municipally owned utility governance studies and benchmarked similarly situated cities with municipally owned utilities, which had an advisory board or independent board of trustees. Mrs. Nettles presented the following findings and explored options going forward. American Public Power Association (APPA) Significant Findings • 43% of respondents with 20,000 to 50,000 customers are governed by City Councils – 57% are governed by an Independent Board • The incidence of electric utilities with a citizens advisory board increases by customer size class Texas Public Policy Association (TPPA) Significant Findings RM110818 Minutes Page 4 • It is more common for large and mid-sized utilities to be governed by an independent board • Council retains rate setting, bond issuance and eminent domain authority in 88% of the utilities with an independent board City Council Governance Model Pros • Direct accountability to citizens/ratepayers • Direct impact on planning and policy issues of the utility that impact the community • More integration/synergies/coordination on policy issues between the utility and the other city departments City Council Governance Model Cons • Potential for politics to be injected into running the utility • Council members may not have expertise of the utility operations • Council members must focus broadly on many City issues • May focus on the City’s financial needs, possibly with less focus on utility finances Independent Board Pros • Singularly focused on the utility • Members can be selected based on qualifications • Can enhance the business orientation of governance • Can reduce injection of politics into running the utility • If longer terms than Councilmembers then more stability and better long range planning • Could be viewed by the rating agencies as a positive Independent Board Cons • Less direct control and involvement by Council • Could be less accountable to citizen/ratepayers • Some synergies with other City Departments could be lost • Transitioning to a board would require attention to costs, transition time, and other issues • A board could be perceived as just another layer of management A majority of Council directed staff to gather more information and bring back this item for discussion during the Strategic Planning portion of the 2019 Council Retreat. 3. Presentation, possible action, and discussion regarding the appointment of a Councilmember Representative to the Sister Cities. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilmember Moore and a second by Councilmember Rektorik, the City Council voted seven (7) for and none (0) opposed, to appoint John Nichols as Council representative to Sister Cities. The motion carried unanimously. 4. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on future agenda items and review of standing list of Council generated agenda items: A Council Member may inquire about a subject for which notice has not been given. A statement of specific factual information or the recitation of existing policy may be given. Any deliberation shall be limited to a proposal to place the subject on an agenda for a subsequent meeting. No future agenda items were discussed. RM110818 Minutes Page 5 5. Adjournment. There being no further business, Mayor Mooney adjourned the Regular Meeting of the City Council at 7:51 p.m. on Thursday, November 8, 2018. ________________________ Karl Mooney, Mayor ATTEST: ___________________________ Tanya Smith, City Secretary