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Home My WebLink About07/14/2011 - Workshop Minutes City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP CITY OF COLLEGE STATION JULY 14, 2011 STATE OF TEXAS § COUNTY OF BRAZOS § Present: Nancy Berry, Mayor Council: Blanche Brick Jess Fields Karl Mooney Katy-Marie Lyles Julie Schultz Dave Ruesink City Staff: David Neeley, City Manager Kathy Merrill, Assistant City Manager Frank Simpson, Assistant City Manager Carla Robinson, City Attorney Sherry Mashburn, City Secretary Tanya McNutt, Deputy City Secretary Call to Order and Announce a Quorum is Present With a quorum present, the Workshop of the College Station City Council was called to order by Mayor Nancy Berry at 3:03 p.m. on Thursday, July 14, 2011 in the Council Chambers of the City of College Station City Hall, 1101 Texas Avenue, College Station, Texas 77842. 1. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on items listed on the consent agenda. 2f Jeff Kcrsten, Chief Finance Officer, stated that this service probably could not be done in- house. 21. David Neeley, City Manager, said this item would be addressed in workshop item #4. 2. Presentation, possible action, and discussion regarding Ordinance 2011-3357, amending existing ordinance regulating taxicabs operating within the city limits of College Station. WKSHP071411 Minutes Page 1 Larry Johnson, Assistant Police Chief, updated the Council on the taxicab ordinance. This was presented to the Council in October 2009 and approved the display of rates. It was referred to the Council Transportation Commission, and the committee engaged stakeholders. Three meetings were held. The current ordinance does not regulate taxi fare rates. The State does not regulate fares either. The current ordinance only requires that rates be displayed in a "conspicuous place" inside the taxi. Recommendations include that rates be posted in a conspicuous place on the inside of each taxicab for passengers in the front and back seats and to have the rates posted on the outside of the taxi as well. It is also recommended that all rates and fares including flat, metered and additional fees be posted. The Police Department is the central point of contact for any complaints or issues regarding taxicab companies. The non-emergency contact phone number is also to be included in the posting. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilmember Lyles and a second by Councilmember Ruesink, the City Council voted six (6) for and one (1) opposed, with Councilmember Fields voting against, to adopt Ordinance 2011-3357, amending Chapter 4 Business Regulations by amending Section 6 Taxicabs of the Code of Ordinances. The motion carried. 3. Presentation, possible action, and discussion rej!ardinj! update to the existing ordinance regulating Jitneys operating within the city limits of College Station. Larry Johnson, Assistant Police Chief, reminded Council that James Byrne came before Council in March 2011 to request some modifications to our Taxi ordinance as it pertains to jitneys. A jitney is a vehicle for hire that falls between a taxi and conventional bus. They usually take passengers on a regular route without timetables, usually leaving when all seats are filled. Most stop anywhere to pick up or drop off passengers. Mr. Byrne requested a process for inspections, if any UDO changes would be needed, a permitting process, possible fixed routes, and an occupancy limit of twelve to fifteen. The current taxi ordinance addresses jitneys, and jitneys are exempt from other taxi regulations. There is a maximum of twelve persons, including the driver and operates on a fixed route. The Traffic Management Team reviewed his request and recommends to allow, but not to require fixed routes. It should be regulated the same as a taxi service. They did agree to increase the occupancy limit to fifteen, including the driver. Staff was directed to draft the amendment to the taxi. ordinance and bring it back for Council's consideration. 4. Presentation, possible action, and discussion regarding the regulatory and compliance issues that have presented themselves to the electric utility in the last five to ten years. David Massey, Director of Electric Utilities, reported on regulatory and compliance issues. He noted there is very limited oversight by the state. Any prior oversight was through the service territories and the substantive rules of the Public Utility Commission. This began to change in the late 1990's when transmission-owning municipalities were brought under PUCT oversight for the first time. In 2002, electric deregulation gave ERCOT additional authority over transmission operations. A major blackout in the northeast United States in August 2003 resulted in Congress approving the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This act expanded the authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to impose mandatory reliability standards WKSHP071411 Minutes Page 2 on the bulk electric system in the U.S. In 2006, FERC certified the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) as the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) to develop the mandatory standards for reliable planning and operations of the bulk electric system. ERCOT formed the "Texas Regional Entity" or "TRE" as an independent entity to handle reliability issues. The question we had to ask was which entity do ERCOT utilities deal with - NERC or TRE? In 2008, the College Station Audit had NERC and TRE as the asserting authorities. NERC/TRE policies addressed physical security of critical assets, data and material; cyber security of critical data and material; etc. College Station conducted a risk assessment and did an internal review of immediate action to be taken. Some steps taken were to restrict access to CSU facilities, equipment and data; security measures were achieved with additional door locks, cameras, and check in. Additionally, we reviewed existing policies and record keeping. In 2008, the Council approved a contract with a consultant, KEMA, for an extensive review of College Station's exposure to the new regulatory and compliance issues. Their findings resulted in the development of operating procedures including a formal policy development, reporting requirements, and a compliance oversight program. They also found that additional physical and cyber security is required if critical infrastructure is declared. There should be physical security perimeters around computer and telecommunication rooms, control and operations centers and other locations housing critical cyber assets, and electronic security perimeters protecting CSU's network of devices (servers, PCs, switches, SCADA) from unauthorized access. The following were declared critical infrastructure of the College Station Electric Utility: • All Existing Electric Substations and Future Substations; • The Primary Control Center for Electric Transmission Activity; and • The Backup Control Center for Electric Transmission Activity. By May 2012, CSU needs to complete the physical security requirements, complete cyber security requirements, and the electric system operators need to be NERC certified operators. 5. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on the FY 12 Budget Calendar. Jeff Kersten, Chief Finance Officer, presented the Council with a proposed budget calendar. The proposed budget will be presented at the August 11 meeting. Budget workshops are proposed for August 15-August 18. The Public Hearing will be held on September 8. The budget adoption and tax rate adoption are proposed to be scheduled for a special meeting, either September 13 or 14. The budget must be adopted by September 27. 6. Council Calendar • July 15-16 2011 Newly Elected City Officials' Orientation in Austin at 8:00 a.m. • July 18 IGC Meeting at BVCOG, 12:00 p.m. • July 19 Grand Opening/Tour - TAMHSC Medical Research and Education Building at the TAMHSC Bryan Campus - 8447 Hwy 47 at 4:00 p.m. • July 20 Exploring History Lunch Lecture at CS Conference Center, 11:30 a.m. • July 21 CS Business Council Meeting at CS City Hall - Administrative Conference Room - 1101 Texas Avenue, 12:00 p.m. • July 21 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting in Council Chambers at 6.00 p.m. WKSHP071411 Minutes Page 3 • July 28 City Council Workshop/Regular Meeting at 3.00 p.m. & 7.00 p.m. Council reviewed the calendar. Council consensus was to move the July 28 meeting to July 25. 7. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on future agenda items: a Council Member may inquire about a subiect 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 Council directed staff to hold a Public Hearing regarding Senate Bill 100 at the July 25 meeting. Councilmember Fields requested a workshop item on deregulation of electric utilities. There was a consensus to hold this. Councilmember Ruesink requested a joint workshop item to brief both cities on the hotel/motel tax. There was a consensus to do this. 8. Discussion, review and possible action regarding the following meetings: Animal Shelter Board, Arts Council of the Brazos Valley, Audit Committee, Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Greenways Advisory Board, Brazos Countv Health Dept., Brazos Valley Council of Governments, Brazos Valley Wide Area Communications Task Force, BVSWMA BVWACS, Cemetery Committee, Code Review Committee, Design Review Board, Historic Preservation Committee, Interfaith Dialogue Association, Intergovernmental Committee, Joint Relief Funding Review Committee, Landmark Commission, Library Board, Mayor's Council on Physical Fitness, Mayor's Development Forum, Metropolitan Planning Organization, National League of Cities, Outside Agency Funding Review, Parks and Recreation Board, Planning and Zoning Commission, Research Valley Partnership, Regional Transportation Committee for Council of Governments, Signature Event Task Force, Sister City Association, TAMU Student Senate, Texas Municipal League, Transportation Committee, Wolf Pen Creek Oversight Committee, Zoning Board of Adiustments. Councilmember Ruesink reported on the CVB and noted they are requesting a joint workshop to brief the two cities on hotel/motel tax. Councilmember Lyles reported on the Arts Council. The audit was completed and has been submitted to the City. They sent out checks to the affiliates, and are actively pursuing fund raising efforts. Also, City Hall has been selected as a gallery-at-large. Mayor Berry reported on the MPO. On August 4 there will be an all day MPO 101 event for the public. 9. Executive Session WKSHP071411 Minutes Page 4 In accordance with the Texas Government Code §551.071-Consultation with Attorney, and §551.074-Personnel, the College Station City Council convened into Executive Session at 5:05 p.m. on Thursday, July 14, 2011 in order to continue discussing matters pertaining to: A. Consultation with Attorney to seek advice regarding pending or contemplated litigation; to wit: • City of Bryan's application with TCEQ for water & sewer permits in Westside/Highway 60 area, near Brushy Water Supply Corporation to decertify City of College Station and certify City of Bryan • Clancey v. College Station, Glenn Brown and Kathy Merrill, Civil Action No. 09-CV- 01480 • Rachel Rahn v. Alma Martinez, The Arkitex Studio, Inc. et al, cause No. 09-000656- CV361 • Chavers et al v. Tyrone Morrow et al, No. 10-20792; Chavers v. Randall Hall et al, Case No. 10 CV-3922 • College Station v. Star Insurance Co., Civil Action No. 4:11-CV-02023 B. Consultation with Attorney to seek legal advice; to wit: • Legal issues regarding possible revenue sharing and legislation in bio-corridor • Possible enforcement action - 818 Avenue B C. Deliberation Regarding Personnel; to wit: • Council self-evaluation The Executive Session adjourned at 6:57 p.m. on Thursday, July 14, 2011. No action was required from Executive Session. 11. Adiournment MOTION: There being no further business, Mayor Berry adjourned the workshop of the College Station City Council at 6:58 p.m. on Thursday, July 14, 2011. Nancy Berry, Mayor ATTEST: Sherry Masl rn, City Secretary WKSHP071411 Minutes Page S