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Home My WebLink About07/25/2011 - Workshop Minutes City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP CITY OF COLLEGE STATION JULY 25, 2011 STATE OF TEXAS § COUNTY OF BRAZOS § Present: Nancy Berry, Mayor Council: Blanche Brick Jess Fields, absent Karl Mooney Katy-Marie Lyles Julie Schultz, absent 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 Shelley Major, Records Management Coordinator 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 3:08 p.m. on Monday, July 25, 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 ay-enda. There were no items pulled from the Consent Agenda. 2. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on a report from the Arts Council of Brazos Valley rep_arding the activities of the organization. Chris Dyer, Executive Director of the Arts Council of Brazos Valley, provided a brief overview of the operating structure. There are sixty Brazos Valley Arts, Culture and Heritage organizations. The board of the Arts Council has no more than fourteen members, and members WKSHP072511 Minutes Page 1 must reside in the Brazos Valley. This membership includes three members appointed by the College Station City Council. Staff is comprised of an Executive Director, an Operations Manager, and the Program Director. The Arts Council manages and operates the Regional Arts Center. They provide affiliate meeting, office and event space. They also operate the community box office. Grant programs for FY 2010-11 include College Arts scholarships, donor designated grants, Partners in Excellence grants, and annual operating and program grants. The City of College Station assists with the funding for the Partners in Excellence grants and the operating and program grants. Mr. Dyer presented a brief overview of the annual grant process and timeline, which began in July 2011 and will culminate in October/November 2011. Additional information was presented on the Partners in Excellence grants. Annually, 10-20% of remaining HOT funding is dedicated to this program, with each request limited to $2,500. He also presented an overview of the impact of grant projects. They distributed $215,700 to twenty- seven different arts, culture and heritage organizations; an estimated 1.1 million persons were directly impacted. Approximately 4,000 room nights resulted due to the funded programs. 369 new positions were gained. The Arts Council provides board meeting agendas, minutes and financials monthly to the City of CollegeStation. A detailed narrative and financial report is provided to the City quarterly. The Arts Council is audited annually by an outside firm. The Arts Council has responded to requests for financial conservatism and reduced their budget over the past several years. Mr. Dyer noted that 43% of their budget is pass-through funding. 3. Presentation, possible action, and discussion regarding a presentation on the real property owned by the City of College Station not being utilized to deliver city services. Chuck Gilman, Director of Public Works, updated the Council on City land holdings. A map was shown, highlighting properties owned by the City. There are additional properties in northwest Brazos County, not shown on the map, that are owned by the City that were purchased by Water Services for future production. The City also owns property in Robertson County that was purchased for water wells. The map showed properties with municipal uses, property purchased for greenways, as well as properties utilized for drainage, detention ponds, etc. Parks properties were shown, as well as properties owned by the City that are not currently being utilized to deliver city services. Staff recommendation for Tracts 1-3 is to proceed with the liquidation of those tracts using the most cost effective options available. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilmember Mooney and a second by Councilmember Ruesink, the City Council voted five (5) for and none (0) opposed, to liquidate the tracts per staff recommendation. The motion carried unanimously. Tract 4 is known as the First Street property in Northgate. It encompasses the whole block bounded by Wellborn Road, Louise Avenue, First Street and Church Avenue. Mr. Gilman reported the City purchased ten lots in 2008 to complete the block. A portion of the property is currently encumbered by a long-term lease, but is a significant redevelopment asset. Staff recommends keeping the property until the market improves to ensure a unique diverse development occurs in this block of First Street. Council directed staff to go out for an RFP. WKSHP072SIl Minutes Page 2 The Chimney Hill Shopping Center was purchased in 2008 for a convention center. Currently, the property has positive cash flow. It is a unique site with 360-degree access, with a strategic location. Redevelopment potential will grow exponentially. If the Council has no desire to construct a convention center in the future, then the property should be liquidated, utilizing a broker or by RFP. Council consensus was to get more information on the Chimney Hill property on the cost for remediation. Council also directed staff to go out for an RFP. The Holleman tract has already received direction from the Council, and staff is moving forward on that. Tracts 7-9 were acquired along the Krenek Tap corridor for municipal facilities as approved by the citizens of College Station. Staff recommendation is to keep the properties to allow for future construction of municipal facilities along the Krenek Tap corridor. Council agreed with staff s recommendation. Tract 10 was purchased in 2003 to re-locate the intersection of Barron Road and State Highway 6. Staff recommends keeping Tract 10 in place, as it is, until the extension of Barron Road East is complete. Council agreed with staff s recommendation. Spring Creek is the second phase of the Business Center at College Station. It is completely master planned and was platted in 2002. It is immediately adjacent to the Medical Corridor. Staff recommends keeping the property until market conditions improve to ensure the City is able to realize the full potential of this property. There are many covenants and restrictions that come with the Business Center. There are stringent site requirements and architectural design standards, and certain land uses are prohibited. The recommendation is to continue seeking opportunities to locate existing or future business operations into the Business Center. Council agreed with staff s recommendation. The last tract discussed was Tract 15, located on Rock Prairie Road, adjacent to Lick Creek Park. This is true surplus property, and staff recommends liquidating it. Council agreed with staffs recommendation, but also directed staff to go out for an RFP. 4. Council Calendar • August 4 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting in Council Chambers at 6:00 p.m. • August 5-6 2011 Newly Elected City Officials' Orientation in Austin at 8:00 a.m. • August 10 Brazos Valley Food Bank "Celebrity Server" at Brazos Center, 11:00 a.m. • August 11 City Council Budget/Workshop/Regular Meeting at 3:00 p.m. & 7:00 P.M. The calendar was discussed. 5. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on future agenda items: a Council Member may inquire about a subject for which notice has not been given. A statement of specific WKSHP072SIl Minutes Page 3 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 items were proposed. 6. 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 County 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 Adjustments. There were no reports. 7. Executive Session In accordance with the Texas Government Code §551.071-Consultation with Attorney, the College Station City Council convened into Executive Session at 5:05 p.m. on Monday, July 25, 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 • Ongoing criminal investigation of municipal court missing funds • Claim related to 9254 Brookwater B. Consultation with Attorney to seek legal advice; to wit: • Legal issues regarding possible revenue sharing and legislation in bio-corridor WKSHP072SIl Minutes Page 4 The Executive Session adjourned at 6:07 p.m. on Monday, July 25, 2011. No action was required from Executive Session. 8. Adiournment MOTION: There being no further business, Mayor Berry adjourned the workshop of the College Station City Council at 9:33 p.m. on Monday, July 25, 2011. Nancy Berry, Mayor ATTEST: Aerr ash n,City Secretary WKSHP072511 Minutes Page 5