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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/22/2012 - Special Minutes City Council MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSOP CITY OF COLLEGE STATION MAY 22, 2012 STATE OF TEXAS § COUNTY OF BRAZOS § Present: Nancy Berry Council: Blanche Brick Jess Fields Karl Mooney Katy -Marie Lyles — arrived at 4:50 p.m. Julie Schultz Dave Ruesink - absent City Staff: David Neeley, City Manager Kathy Merrill, Deputy City Manager Frank Simpson, Deputy City Manager Carla Robinson, City Attorney Tanya McNutt, Deputy City Secretary 1. Call to Order and Announce a Quorum is Present With a quorum present, the Special Workshop of the College Station City Council was called to order by Mayor Nancy Berry at 3:19 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22, 2011 at the Carter Creek WWTP, 2200 North Forest Parkway, College Station, Texas. 2. Presentation, possible action and discussion regarding a presentation on construction alternatives for the Wellborn Road and George Bush Drive grade separation project by TxDOT representatives. Bob Appleton, with TxDOT, presented an overview of the alternatives for the Wellborn Road and George Bush Drive grade separation project by TxDOT. • Scenario 1 — "traditional" method under traffic with completion approximately August 2017 • Scenario 2 — close project site to all traffic with completion approximately July 2015 Council consensus was to go with Scenario 2; no further action was needed. L SM052212 Minutes Page 1 3. Presentation, possible action and discussion regarding transportation planning. Bob Cowell, Executive Director of Development Services, presented an overview of the College Station Comprehensive Plan that identifies 5 strategies: 1) develop, implement and maintain, through regular review, a multi -modal transportation plan that supports the planned growth and development pattern; 2) reduce and manage traffic congestion; 3) develop and implement context sensitive transportation solutions; 4) promote and invest in alternative transportation options; and 5) balance changes in land use with the capabilities of the transportation system. Joe Guerra presented an overview of the Thoroughfare plan and the 20 plus years in the scope. He explained that the plan is closely linked to the future land use plan and to development standards. The plan traditionally has relied on the City, TxDOT, and development. A traditional model has been to increase capacity with primary focus on new streets and new lanes (Barron Road, Texas Avenue, Eagle Avenue, etc). Mr. Guerra also explained an increasing focus will need to expand to address capacity maintenance /enhancement that does not involve new streets and lanes (raised medians, intersection improvements, traffic signal synchronization, etc) Further, the City is likely to need to play a more active role with the TxDOT system (design, construction, etc). All this adds up to more expense than in the past, while revenues at all levels (private, city, state) are declining. Staff recently commissioned a study to evaluate TDM and thoroughfare plan if less funding is available than necessary to implement the currently adopted plan Joe Guerra expressed that the thoroughfare plan is the City's focus. At the same time there are many others we coordinate with that are also doing transportation planning, construction, and operations. In general, the planning of these groups is coordinated through the MPO and by interaction among the elected officials and staff of each. The MPO (much like each of the cities and TxDOT) has a long -range transportation plan that works to integrate the efforts of all of the jurisdictions in the area to ensure a regional view toward transportation and mobility. Once projects are identified in the various transportation plans, they are "programmed" into the various capital budgets of each jurisdiction so that design and construction may occur. For the City, that is achieved through the Capital Improvements Program or CIP. For the MPO that is through the Transportation Improvements Program or the TIP, and for TxDOT, that is the State Transportation Improvements Program or STIP. In addition to budgeting and funding for the larger elements of the system, much of the system is constructed initially through private development. The City's development standards (found in the UDO, the BCS Design Guidelines, etc) guide the construction of these facilities to ensure that development does not compromise the overall system and to keep long -term maintenance costs as low as practical. Finally, the operation of the system is critical to maximizing its efficiency. The STIP is developed by TxDOT and is a staged, multi -year, statewide, intermodal program of transportation projects, consistent with the statewide transportation plan and planning processes as well as metropolitan plans, TIPs, and processes. timo SM052212 Minutes Page 2 The TIP is a document prepared by a metropolitan planning organization that lists projects funded with FHWA/FTA funds for the next one to three fiscal year period. Planning and implementation are occurring at the regional level and the local level, and changes to the land use plan impacts the performance of the transportation system. Staff continuously seeks operational opportunities to increase the efficiency of our transportation network, and the City may be required to play a more active role in upgrading the TxDOT system. Greater attention and funding may be warranted for more strategic "capacity- enhancement" projects, such as intersection improvements, access management, signal synchronization, etc. No action was taken. 4. Presentation, possible action and discussion regarding the city's efforts to protect and enhance existing roadway capacity. Bob Cowell, Executive Director of Development Services, explained that this item is intended to build on the previous discussion regarding how we plan and build our transportation system to how we operate and protect that same system. A key component to an efficient transportation system is protecting and enhancing capacity in as low -cost a fashion as possible. The most expensive way to enhance capacity is to add lanes or build new streets. Therefore, the City goes to great lengths to ensure that what gets built and how it operates can "squeeze" every bit of capacity efficiency as possible. The transportation system is directly linked to how land is used. The City's Future Land Use Plan provides a broad overview that helps identify generally what roads are needed, where, and to a certain extent, when. Mr. Cowell explained that the impact a specific use of land will have on the existing system requires a completely different set of tools and responses. To that end, as mentioned in the previous slide, the City requires a TIA for most new non - residential and multi - family projects. This helps us understand what improvements may be required with the development to help protect that capacity. One recent example is the TIA that was performed for the HEB at Tower Point which identified the need to address the u- turn ramp on the frontage road. Had the TIA not been performed and the improvement not constructed, this private land use would have compromised the operations of that system and eventually led to the need for further public expenditures. Concurrent with these efforts, the City itself is constantly conducting and refining studies. Mayor Berry called for break at approximately 5:20 p.m. Mayor Berry returned from break at approximately 5:38 p.m. Chuck Gilman, Director of Capital Projects, discussed the City's traffic signalization synchronization program, another key component in maximizing system capacity. Staff recommended to Council we continue to enforce current development standards and regulations, synchronize FM 2818 from George Bush to Texas (extend fiber), synchronize George Bush from Texas to FM 2818 (extend fiber), update timing: University Drive West — included in Phase II of the Pedestrian Safety Improvement Project, University Drive East, Texas Avenue, FM 2818, and coordinate with BCSMI Partners to refine the goals of the partnership. SM052212 Minutes Page 3 No action was taken. 5. Presentation, possible action and discussion regarding the city's pavement management plan. Chuck Gilman, Director of Capital Projects, discussed the Updated Pavement Rating Guidance Manual, which includes: thirteen different distresses, density of the distresses, and a Utility Value based on severity of individual distress to determine overall score. He also presented a Maintenance Plan based on pavement reconstruction projects included in the draft capital plan (e.g. Luther, Francis, Rock Prairie, etc), Street reconstruction associated with utility rehabilitation projects is included in the draft capital plan, along with a decision matrix to determine maintenance strategy (type of distresses present, density of distresses, and roadway classification), with a Maintenance Strategy assigned to each street (crack sealing, patching & crack sealing, seal coat, resurfacing with thin overlay and partial reconstruction), with the costs from the maintenance strategy based on TxDOT's 12 -month low bids. The next step is to continue coordinating with Fiscal Services through the development of the FY 2013 budget, to continue to refine the unit costs for each maintenance strategy, and to develop an annual work plan based on the maintenance plan. 6. Presentation, possible action and discussion regarding the establishment and seating of a Council Committee on Employee Benefits. thoso Jeff Kersten, Executive Director of Fiscal Services, reminded Council that on May 14, 2012, staff recommended that the City Council form a subcommittee to discuss compensation and benefits issues. There are a number of policy issues that are proposed to be brought to this subcommittee, including policies related to overall compensation and employee benefits, including health insurance and retirement. Retiree health insurance is another area where policy direction will be needed. City Manager David Neeley stressed the educational benefits and understanding this will give Council, and the need for Council to be a part of the budget process with the committee and policy issues related to benefits and retirement. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilmember Lyles and a second by Councilmember Mooney, the City Council voted six (6) for and none (0) opposed, to approve a resolution to create an Ad Hoc Committee of the City Council and nominated Mayor Berry and Councilmembers Schultz and Brick to the committee. The motion carried unanimously. 7. Executive Session In accordance with the Texas Government Code §551.086 - Competive Matters, City Council convened into Executive Session at 6:19 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 in order to continue discussing matters pertaining to: SM052212 Minutes Page 4 L A. Deliberation on Competitive Matters; to wit: • Power Supply The Executive Session adjourned at approximately 6:37 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22, 2012. 8. Take action, if any, on Executive Session. No action was required from Executive Session. 9. Adjournment MOTION: There being no further business, Mayor Berry adjourned the Special Workshop of the College Station City Council at approximately 6:38 p.m. on Tuesday, May 22, 2012. Nancy Berry, Mayor ATTEST: Sherry Mash , City Secretary L SM052212 Minutes Page 5