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Home My WebLink About03/22/2021 - Special Minutes - City CouncilSPW032221 Minutes Page 1 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORKSHOP MEETING CITY OF COLLEGE STATION MARCH 22, 2021 STATE OF TEXAS § § COUNTY OF BRAZOS § Present: Karl Mooney, Mayor Council: Bob Brick John Crompton Linda Harvell Elizabeth Cunha John Nichols Dennis Maloney City Staff: Jeff Capps, Interim City Manager Jeff Kersten, Assistant City Manager Carla Robinson, City Attorney Tanya Smith, City Secretary Ian Whittenton, Deputy City Secretary 1. Call to Order and Announce a Quorum is Present With a quorum present, the Special Workshop Meeting of the College Station City Council was called to order by Mayor Mooney at 4:04 p.m. on Monday, March 22, 2021 in the Council Chambers of the City of College Station City Hall, 1101 Texas Avenue, College Station, Texas 77840. 2. Special Workshop Agenda. Items below were presented out of order. 2.1. Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding an industry recruitment with the Brazos Valley Economic Development Corporation. (Presented 5th) Matt Prochazka, Brazos Valley Economic Development President and CEO, stated that College Station Economic Development staff worked in conjunction with the Brazos Valley Economic Development Corporation to recruit businesses to launch, grow, and locate in College Station. Together the teams have successfully landed a variety of businesses in 2020 and continue to successfully recruit in 2021. Project Steps  Lead Generation  Jurisdictions Informed of Company’s Interest SPW032221 Minutes Page 2  Available Location Identified in Consultation with Jurisdictions’ Staffs  Respond to RFP; Potential Incentives Offered  Site Visits  Finalist/Decision  Incentives Finalized with Jurisdictions if Offered Aubrey Nettles, Economic Development Assistant Director, explained that in this presentation, dives into our recruitment efforts, while reviewing 2020, taking an initial glance in 2021, and reviewing the Check Out College Station promotion efforts detailed below.  Access to the Texas Market  More than 70% of Texas population resides within a 3-hour drive  Educated Workforce  62% of the population has a post-secondary degree  Short Commute to Work  15-minute travel time across College Station  Research Collaboration  $922 million invested annually in research at TAMU  Elite School District  School district ranks tops 2% in Texas 2.2. Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding city ordinance Chapter 6 Sec. 6- 147 pertaining to the keeping of fowl within the city limits. (Presented 1st) Billy Couch, Chief of Police, stated that Council requested information from staff pertaining to the keeping of fowl in the city limits of College Station. Keeping of a Fowl is allowed according to the following land use zoning: (R) Rural Zone; (WE) Wellborn Estate; and (E) Estate. Keeping allowed with Permit  Allowed in all single-family residential zones consistent with the land use regulations  And, upon issuance of a permit  And, by meeting other applicable regulations as set forth herein  $35 permit required annually  Currently we have fifteen livestock/ Poultry permits on file in the City Keeping Fowl in Enclosures  Must prevent escape upon public streets, highways, alleys, right of way, or parkways of the city, or upon private property of others.  Enclosure must be 100 feet from any dwelling other than owner’s dwelling  A deviation of the distance can be considered upon proper application before the zoning board of adjustment  Roosters Prohibited Quality of Life Considerations  Predators brought into more densely populated areas – Snakes for eggs – Bobcat, Fox, Raccoons for chickens – Increased risk to area pets  Potential for Noise/ Odor complaints  Increased oversight and possible enforcement required SPW032221 Minutes Page 3 Staff Recommendation  The ordinance intent is to keep chicken coops on parcels of land that are large enough to maintain them while not impacting the quality of life for those around them.  Given the few current permits, the limited number of variance requests and inquiries for chicken coops, staff feels the current distances in our ordinance serve the city well. Majority of Council directed staff to bring back language to move the minimum distance to 50 feet, with an annual review of permitting, and a maximum of 6 fowl. 2.3. Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding Bee Creek drainage in the area of Brison Park and Dexter Drive. (Presented 3rd) Donald Harmon, Public Works Director, stated that on November 23, 2020, Councilmember Maloney requested this presentation as a future agenda item on the drainage area of Brison Park and Dexter Drive. He reviewed the history of the area, evolution of drainage control and agreements, the existing drainage conditions in the area, and discussed options for drainage improvements. 2.4. Presentation, discussion and possible action on summer events and activities at Wolf Pen Creek. (Presented 2nd) Barbara Moore, Assistant to the City Manager, stated that this item will discuss plans for events and activities at Wolf Pen Creek this summer and the remainder of the year. Both the Parks and Recreation Department and the Tourism Division are working to bring events and activities and Wolf Pen Creek and the city this summer and beyond. Impacts of COVID  Events at Wolf Pen Creek were greatly impacted by COVID, with all events planned after March 2020 being cancelled.  The first events at Wolf Pen Creek since February 2020 were held earlier this month by several student organizations and Greek-Life groups.  As of March 2021, 4 events have been held at Wolf Pen Creek, with the largest crowd having 750 attendees.  Difficult to plan summer events with impacts of COVID unknown. Mrs. Moore explained on possible improvements for a residential solar installation, there is already single-phase infrastructure in place serving the homes. In Wolf Pen Creek, there is only a three - phase loop serving the facilities and no single-phase infrastructure. To install infrastructure to tie solar to the electric system could be costly depending on the location and number of solar installations. • Average panel is 18.5 square feet. • Maximum peak output per panel is 350 watts (average ceiling fan used 75-100 watts). • Output degrades by 0.5% to 1.0% per year. • Solar panels are usually warranted for 20 to 25 years. • Inverters warranted for 10 years. • Installation and material cost: about $1,000 per panel. • Drainage • Erosion control • Excessive silting SPW032221 Minutes Page 4 • Flooding near the stage • Army Corp of Engineers involvement with projects At 5:07 p.m., the Mayor recessed the Special Workshop Meeting. The Special Workshop Meeting reconvened at 5:35 p.m. 2.5. Presentation, discussion, and possible action on Resolution No. 03-22-21-2.5 regarding health and safety protocols in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Presented 4th) Brian Piscacek, Assistant to the City Manager, stated that at the March 11, 2021, City Council meeting, Councilman Crompton requested a future agenda item on a resolution to encourage the reinstatement of the statewide mask mandate. With consensus among Council, staff was directed to bring back an item at the next Council meeting to discuss health and safety protocols in response to the continuing pandemic. Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order GA-34 on March 2, 2021, and the order went into effect March 10, 2021. The order allows for businesses and other establishments to operate at 100% capacity, rescinds the statewide mask order (GA-29), and prevents local jurisdictions from penalizing failure to wear a face covering. Mr. Piscacek presented elements of a draft resolution which included affirmation that the threats posed by COVID-19 continue and necessitate adherence to the mitigating protocols, such as wearing a face covering, maintaining proper social distance, and observing good hygiene practices. Also, that the resolution would include that in the interest of the health and public welfare of the College Station community, individuals are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings over the nose and mouth wherever it is not feasible to maintain six feet of social distancing from another person not in the same household. At approximately 6:15 p.m., Mayor Mooney opened for Citizens Comments. Daniel Cortes, College Station, stated that as a resident of College Station he was appalled to read in The Eagle that the city decided to have a presentation and discussion on trying to convince Governor Abbott to take away our freedom of choice again. Mr. Cortes stated that the science does not support wearing masks as a prevention measure. He believes that if you think a mask keeps you healthy, then you wear it, but you have no right to tell him what medical device he needs to wear when he leaves his home. There being no comments, the Citizens Comments was closed at 6:20 p.m. Councilmember Cunha left the meeting at 6:32 p.m. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilmember Crompton and a second by Councilmember Nichols the City Council voted six (6) for and none (0) opposed, to approve Resolution No. 03- 22-21-2.5 regarding health and safety protocols in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The motion carried unanimously. 3. Adjournment. There being no further business, Mayor Mooney adjourned the Special Workshop Meeting of the College Station City Council at 7:06 p.m. on Monday, March 22, 2021. SPW032221 Minutes Page 5 ________________________ Karl Mooney, Mayor ATTEST: _______________________ Tanya Smith, City Secretary