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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-4281 - Ordinance - 08/03/2021ORDINANCE NO. 2021-4281 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING A GENERAL AND SPECIAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 2, 2021, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ELECTING A CITY COUNCILMEMBER, PLACE 4, A CITY COUNCILMEMBER, PLACE 6; AND TO SUBMIT PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY CHARTER TO THE QUALIFIED VOTERS OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION; ESTABLISHING EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS AND POLLING PLACES FOR THIS ELECTION; AND MAKING PROVISIONS FOR CONDUCTING THE ELECTION. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION: SECTION 1. A general and special election is ordered to be held by the City of College Station (the “City”) at the various polling places and election precincts within the corporate limits of the City, as hereinafter designated, on November 2, 2021, from the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. This general and special election will be conducted jointly with Brazos County and will be administered for the City by the Brazos County Elections Administrator, but this general and special election is not a county-wide election. At this election the qualified voters of the City will elect City Councilmembers for Place 4 and 6, with each position having a term of three years. In addition, at this election, ballot propositions will be submitted to the qualified voters of the City for proposed amendments to the City Charter, in accordance with applicable provisions of the City Charter and State law. SECTION 2. Should any candidate in the general election fail to receive a majority vote, then in that event a runoff election shall be ordered for every place in the general election to which no one was elected as required by Section 17 (d) of the City Charter, as amended. In the event it becomes necessary to conduct a runoff election, a runoff shall be not earlier than the 20th or later than the 45th day after the date the final canvass of the general election is completed. Canvass of the returns of the runoff election, if necessary, shall be held no earlier than the 8th day and no later than the 11th day following the date of the runoff election or on the next regular business day if the 11th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or official state holiday. SECTION 3. The following proposed text amendments will be submitted to the qualified voters of the City at the election, in accordance with Section 9.004 of the Texas Local Government Code and Section 131 of the College Station City Charter and other applicable laws [proposed deleted text is shown with strikethroughs and proposed added text is underlined.]: AMENDMENT A Shall Article XII (General Provisions), Section 116 (Personal Interest) of the College Station City Charter be amended to read as follows? No member of the City Council shall have a financial interest, direct or indirect, or by reason of ownership of stock in any corporation, in any contract with the City, or be financially interested, directly or indirectly, in the sale to, or purchase from, the City of any land, materials, supplies or services except on behalf of the City; provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall only be applicable when the stock owned by the member of City Council exceeds one percent (1%) of the total capital stock of the corporation. Any violation of this section with the knowledge express or implied of the person or corporation contracting with the City shall render the contract voidable by the City Council or City Manager. Personal Interest Section 116. Members of the City Council and officers or employees of the City shall comply with state law pertaining to conflicts of interest of local government officials, including TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE, Chapter 171. No member of the City Council shall have a financial interest direct or indirect, or by reason of ownership of stock in any corporation, in any contract with the City, or be financially interested directly or indirectly in the sale to, or purchase from, the City of any land, materials, supplies or services except on behalf of the City; provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall only be applicable when the stock owned by the member of City Council exceeds one percent (1%) of the total capital stock of the corporation. Any violation of this section with the knowledge express or implied of the person or corporation contracting with the City shall render the contract voidable by the City Council or City Manager. AMENDMENT B Shall Article XII (General Provisions) of the College Station City Charter be amended to add a new section requiring City Council Members to both disclose any campaign contribution in excess of $500.00 by filing an affidavit with the City Secretary and abstain from participating in and voting on any matter before the City Council if the matter before the City Council would materially benefit the campaign contributor or any business entity in which the campaign contributor has a substantial interest? Campaign Contributions. The acceptance of a campaign contribution in excess of five hundred dollars ($500.00) by any City Council Member shall create a conflict of interest based on an appearance of impropriety with regard to any matter before the City Council that would materially benefit a campaign contributor or any business entity in which the campaign contributor has a substantial interest. Campaign contributions shall include loans, offsets to expenditures, and in-kind donations. For purposes of this section, a substantial interest in a business entity shall have the same meaning for campaign contributors as set out in TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE § 171.002 for local public officials. It shall be the responsibility of the campaign contributor, and not the City Council Member, to identify their substantial business interests impacted by this section. Should a conflict of interest arise under this section, the conflicted City Council Member shall recuse themselves, stating the grounds for the conflict of interest on the record by filing an affidavit with the City Secretary, withdrawing from debate on the issue, excusing themselves from the meeting room while the item is being considered, and abstaining from the vote on the matter. The recusal requirement applies only to contributions made to the City Council Member for their current elected position and not to any prior elected positions held. In the event a quorum cannot be obtained because of recusals pursuant to this section, abstention is not required, and the impacted City Council Members may remain in the meeting room and debate and vote on the matter as long as the nature of the conflict of interest is fully disclosed on the record. AMENDMENT C ORDINANCE NO. 2021-4281 Page 2 of 7 Shall Article III (The City Council), Section 17 (Number, Selection, Term), Subsection (d) of the College Station City Charter be amended to provide that the general election is to be held on the November uniform election date of each odd-numbered year instead of on the November uniform election date of each even-numbered year; and to provide a process to transition from even-numbered election years to odd-numbered election years? Number, Selection, Term Section 17. (d) The following election process is established to transition from three (3) year terms to four (4) year terms to be elected at the general election held in November of even-numbered years. In 2019, the positions of Mayor and Council Member Place 2 shall be elected at the general election and shall serve three (3) year terms or until their successor has been elected and duly qualified. In 2020, the position of Council Member Place 1 shall be elected at the general election and shall serve a two (2) year term or until their successor has been elected and duly qualified. Thereafter, beginning in 2022, the positions of Mayor and Council Member Place 1 and Place 2 shall be elected at the general election and shall serve four (4) year terms or until their successor has been elected and duly qualified. In 2021, the positions of Council Member Place 4 and Place 6 shall be elected at the general election to serve three (3) year terms or until their successor has been elected and duly qualified. Thereafter, in 2024, the positions of Council Member Place 3, Place 4, Place 5 and Place 6 shall be elected at the general election to serve four (4) year terms or until their successor has been elected and duly qualified.The general election is to be held on the November uniform election date of each odd-numbered year. The following election process is established to transition from general elections held in November of even-numbered years to general elections held in November of odd-numbered years. In 2022, the positions of Mayor and Council Members Place 1 and Place 2 shall be elected at the general election held in November and shall serve three (3) year terms or until their successor has been elected and duly qualified. In 2024, the positions of Council Members Place 3, Place 4, Place 5, and Place 6 shall be elected at the general election held in November and shall serve three (3) year terms or until their successor has been elected and duly qualified. Beginning in 2025 and thereafter, the positions of Mayor and Council Members Place 1 and Place 2 shall be elected at the general election held in November and shall serve four (4) year terms or until their successor has been elected and duly qualified. Beginning in 2027 and thereafter, Council Members Place 3, Place 4, Place 5, and Place 6 shall be elected at the general election held in November and shall serve four (4) year terms or until their successor has been elected and duly qualified. SECTION 4. The ballots for the City election will conform to the requirements of the Texas Election Code, and will have the measures described in Section 3 of this Ordinance stated as propositions as follows: PROPOSITION A FOR/AGAINST Shall Article XII (General Provisions), Section 116 (Personal Interest) of the College Station City Charter be amended to read as follows? No member of the City Council shall have a financial interest, direct or indirect, or by reason of ownership of ORDINANCE NO. 2021-4281 Page 3 of 7 stock in any corporation, in any contract with the City, or be financially interested, directly or indirectly, in the sale to, or purchase from, the City of any land, materials, supplies or services except on behalf of the City; provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall only be applicable when the stock owned by the member of City Council exceeds one percent (1%) of the total capital stock of the corporation. Any violation of this section with the knowledge express or implied of the person or corporation contracting with the City shall render the contract voidable by the City Council or City Manager. PROPOSITION B FOR/AGAINST Shall Article XII (General Provisions) of the College Station City Charter be amended to add a new section requiring City Council Members to both disclose any campaign contribution in excess of $500.00 by filing an affidavit with the City Secretary and abstain from participating in and voting on any matter before the City Council if the matter before the City Council would materially benefit the campaign contributor or any business entity in which the campaign contributor has a substantial interest? PROPOSITION C FOR/AGAINST Shall Article III (The City Council), Section 17 (Number, Selection, Term), Subsection (d) of the College Station City Charter be amended to provide that the general election is to be held on the November uniform election date of each odd-numbered year instead of on the November uniform election date of each even-numbered year; and to provide a process to transition from even- numbered election years to odd-numbered election years? SECTION 5. The Vote Centers (polling locations) for College Station for this election shall be as follows: Vote Centers Vote Centers Arena Hall 2906 Tabor Road Bryan, Texas Church of the Nazarene 2122 E William J Bryan Pkwy Bryan, Texas Lincoln Center 1000 Eleanor College Station, Texas Castle Heights Baptist Church 4504 E. Hwy 21 Bryan, Texas ORDINANCE NO. 2021-4281 Page 4 of 7 Memorial Student Center (MSC) Texas A&M Campus, Room L526 College Station, Texas First Baptist Church - Bryan 3100 Cambridge Drive Bryan, Texas College Station ISD Administration Building 1812 Welsh College Station, Texas Living Hope Baptist Church 4170 Texas 6 Frontage Rd College Station, Texas Parkway Baptist Church 1501 Southwest Parkway College Station, Texas Beacon Baptist Church 2001 East Villa Maria Road Bryan, Texas Bob & Wanda Meyer Senior & Comm. Center 2275 Dartmouth St. College Station, Texas A&M Church of Christ 2475 Earl Rudder Fwy S. College Station, Texas Wellborn Baptist Church 14575 FM 2154 Rd College Station, Texas Fellowship Freewill Baptist Church 1228 W. Villa Maria Road Bryan, Texas Zion Church of Kurten 977 N. FM 2038 Kurten, Texas College Station Utilities Meeting & Training Facility 1603 Graham Road College Station, Texas Millican Community Center 22284 Pierce Street Millican, Texas Christ United Methodist Church 4201 State Hwy 6 College Station, Texas Brazos County Elections Admin 300 East Wm. J. Bryan Pkwy, Suite100 Bryan, Texas Galilee Baptist Church 804 N. Logan Bryan, Texas Bryan Ballroom 701 Palasota Dr. Bryan, Texas College Heights Assembly of God 4100 Old College Rd. Bryan, Texas St. Francis Episcopal Church 1101 Rock Prairie Rd College Station, Texas Brazos Center 3232 Briarcrest Drive Bryan, Texas Texas A&M College of Medicine 8447 Riverside Parkway Bryan, Texas SECTION 6. Joint early voting shall be conducted by personal appearance and by mail. The period for early voting by personal appearance for the general and special election shall be October 18 through October 29, 2021. Optical scan ballots shall be used for early voting by mail and direct recording electronic voting machines shall be used for early voting by personal appearance. The Early Voting Clerk for said elections shall be the Brazos County Elections Administrator. She shall determine the number of election workers to be hired and arrange for training of all election workers. Early voting by personal appearance for the general and special election shall be conducted jointly at the locations and on the following dates and times specified by the Brazos County Elections Administrator: Main Voting Location - Brazos County Administration Office – 300 East Wm. J. Bryan Pkwy, Suite 100, Bryan, Texas ORDINANCE NO. 2021-4281 Page 5 of 7 Arena Hall – 2906 Tabor Road, Bryan, Texas Galilee Baptist Church – 804 N. Logan, Bryan, Texas College Station Utilities Meeting & Training Facility – 1603 Graham Road, College Station, Texas Memorial Student Center (MSC) –Texas A&M University, Room L526, College Station, Texas October 18 – October 22 8:00 am – 5:00 pm (Monday – Friday) October 23 8:00 am – 5:00 pm (Saturday) October 25 – October 27 8:00 am – 5:00 pm (Monday - Wednesday) October 28 – October 29 7:00 am – 7:00 pm (Thursday - Friday) SECTION 7. Early voting by mail ballot shall be conducted in accordance with applicable provisions of the Texas Election Code. The address of 300 E. William J Bryan, Suite 100, Bryan, Texas, shall be the early voting clerk's mailing address to which ballot applications and ballots voted by mail may be sent for the City. SECTION 8. All early votes and other votes to be processed in accordance with early voting procedures pursuant to the Texas Election Code shall be delivered to the Early Voting Ballot Board at the Brazos County Election Administrator’s office. Early votes shall be counted at the central counting station. The Early Voting Ballot Board shall perform in accordance with applicable provisions of the Election Code. SECTION 9. A Direct Record Electronic (“DRE”) System, as the term is defined in the Texas Election Code, shall be utilized in connection with the election. This system shall be utilized for all early voting as well as for all precinct voting conducted on Election Day. The Brazos County Elections Administrator will appoint a programmer, who shall prepare a program for the automatic tabulating equipment. Ample voting equipment shall be provided for early voting and in each of the various precincts on Election Day. The central counting station is established as the Brazos County Election Administrator’s Office, 300 E. William J Bryan, Suite 100, Bryan. SECTION 10. The Brazos County Elections Administrator will appoint the Early Voting Ballot Board, a Presiding Judge of the Central Counting Station, a Tabulation Supervisor of the Central Counting Station, and a Central Counting Station Manager, which can be contacted at thancock@brazoscountytx.gov. SECTION 11. The election will be held in accordance with the provisions of the Charter and Ordinances of the City of College Station and the laws of the State of Texas. SECTION 12. Notice of the election, including a Spanish translation thereof, will be published at least once in a newspaper published in College Station on or after October 6, 2021, and on or before October 13, 2021, and will be posted on the bulletin board at City Hall on or before September 27, 2021. ORDINANCE NO. 2021-4281 Page 6 of 7 SECTION 13. A writ of election as required by the Texas Election Code will be delivered on or before October 18, 2021, by the Brazos County Elections Administrator to the presiding and alternate judges of each election precinct in which the election is ordered to be held. SECTION 14. Testing of the automatic tabulating equipment will be performed and notice thereof will be given in accordance with Subchapter D of Chapter 127 of the Texas Election Code. SECTION 15. If any portion of this Ordinance is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions of this Ordinance shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 16. That this ordinance shall be effective immediately upon adoption. APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of College Station this 3rd day of August 2021. CITY OF COLLEGE STATION: __________________________________ Karl Mooney, Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________________ Tanya Smith, City Secretary APPROVED AS TO FORM: _____________________________________ Carla A. Robinson, City Attorney ORDINANCE NO. 2021-4281 Page 7 of 7