HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/08/2011 - Workshop Minutes City Council
MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP
CITY OF COLLEGE STATION
DECEMBER 8, 2011
STATE OF TEXAS §
COUNTY OF BRAZOS §
Present:
Nancy Berry, Mayor
Council:
Blanche Brick
Jess Fields, arrived after roll call
Karl Mooney
Katy-Marie Lyles
Julie Schultz
Dave Ruesink
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
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 2:27 p.m. on Thursday, December 8, 2011 in the Council Chambers of the
City of College Station City Hall, 1101 Texas Avenue, College Station, Texas 77842.
1. Reception to honor service award recipients and Employee of the Year nominees.
• Jay Socol, Director of Public Communications stated that employees with 5, 10
and 15 years were recognized at departmental ceremonies. A list of those
employees can be found in the program for today's presentation.
2. Presentation of service awards for employees with 20 and more years of service,
recognition of Employee of the Year nominees, and announcement of Employee of the
Year.
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• Presentation of awards to employees with 20, 25, 30 and 35 years of service was
made by City Manager David Neeley and Mayor Berry. Mr. Neeley gave a
special thanks to the honorees for their dedication and years of service to the city.
• Mr. Socol recognized all Employee of the Year nominees. Mayor Berry and City
Manager Neeley presented nominees with plaques.
• Employee of the Year Award was presented to Celia Hernandez from the City
Manager's Office by Mayor Berry and Mr. Neeley.
Workshop recessed at 2:50 p.m. for an Employee Recognition Reception. Meeting called back in
session at 3:23 p.m.
3. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on items listed on the consent agenda.
Items 2c, 2q, 2r were pulled for clarification. Councilmember Brick requested that item 2q be
pulled for a separate vote, and that she would be abstaining.
2c: Police Chief Jeff Capps stated in regards to the amendments proposed, all approval will be
brought to Council for review.
2q: Assistant City Manager Frank Simpson stated that the estimated economic impact from out
of town teams would be unknown and difficult to estimate, until the teams attending the bowl are
selected. Brandon Webb, Blinn College, stated that the selection process for determined the
bowl teams is conducted by the NJCAA. The city will be a sponsor of the event, while Blinn
College will plan and run the event.
2r: Assistant City Manager Frank Simpson stated that the Convention and Visitors Bureau uses
the building, owned by the city, rent free and the normal operating and maintenance cost is
covered by the CBV. True capital expenditures are the responsibility of the City, as typical of
most commercial leasing agreements. Mr. Simpson also stated that the building itself is not a
part of the Chimney Hill complex located on the same property.
4. Presentation, possible action, and discussion regarding an update provided by the
Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) on the progress made since the recent CVB Audit.
Shannon Overby, Executive Director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau presented to the
Council further details of the CVB's progress and efforts to correct findings reported to council
during the last audit. Ms. Overby outlined five major points to include; developing a new
method for reporting the CVB's impact to all funding partners, updating the Employee Hand
Book and Policy & Procedures Manual, making a cultural change within the organization, using
check signing controls, which requires two signatures on all checks, and the completion of
backup access to all financial records. Benchmarks for the year 2012 will include focusing on
target market areas, servicing the groups coming into the community for repeat business,
utilizing existing venues, cooperative marketing efforts, online focus through the CVB website
and social media, and carrying over the Relax, Kick your feet up and Enjoy the rewards
Campaign, for booking future events, into 2012. An improved reporting mechanism was also
presented to council for review. Ms. Overby also addressed the issue brought up by the Audit
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Committee in regards to the previous process for reporting numbers of rooms booked. The CVB
now monitors room pick-up and tracks the actual numbers directly from the hotels. The
estimated numbers are then adjusted to reflect the true numbers of rooms occupied with bodies.
Jeff Kersten, Executive Director, Fiscal Services, added that private companies who provide
auditing services, to include investigating the practices of hotel reporting procedures, are an
option. The city has had conversations with at least one company previously. Staff will continue
to look at these companies in the future as a possibility. Ty Elliott, City Auditor, added that
when conducting the initial audit of the CVB, the idea of using these companies was looked at,
but it must be noted that Hotel Occupancy Tax funds might not be authorized by law to cover the
cost of these companies.
5. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on an overview of the employee benefits
plan.
Alison Pond, Director of Human Resources & Risk, present an overview of the 2012 employee
benefits plan. The City of College Station's health plan is self-insured and administered by Blue
Cross and Blue Shield. Being self-insured, the City also purchases stop loss (reinsurance) to limit
the risk of the cost of high dollar claims. The 2012 plan year projected costs are based on a
monthly average of 840 employees, retirees and COBRA participants. This represents a cost to
the City of approximately $807 per employee per month, or $9684 per employee per year.
Claims projections include a 9% increase over 2011, which trends with the national average.
Ms. Pond added that retirees are eligible at the time of their retirement, to access the city's health
plan. Retirees receive health care at a retiree rate different from current employees until the age
of 65, when they become eligible for medicare.
6. Council Calendar
• December 9-10 Christmas at the Creek, Wolf Pen Creek Park
• December 15 Groundwater Conservation District Board Meeting in Council Chambers
at 3.00 p.m.
• December 15 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting in Council Chambers at 6:00
P.M.
• December 23 City Offices Closed for Christmas - HOLIDAY
• December 26 City Offices Closed for Christmas- HOLIDAY
• January 2 City Offices Closed for New Years- HOLIDAY
Council reviewed the Council calendar.
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 subiect on an agenda for a subsequent meeting.
Council requested a future work shop item in regards to outsourcing services for the city's
recycling program.
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Council requested that staff provide review of the city's comprehensive street parking plan,
starting with school zones.
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 County Health Dept., Brazos Valley Council of
Governments, Brazos Valley Wide Area Communications Task Force, BVSWMA,
BVWACS, Cemetery Committee, Code Review Committee, Convention & Visitors Bureau,
Design Review Board, Historic Preservation Committee, Interfaith Dialogue Association,
Intergovernmental Committee, Joint Relief Funding Review Committee, Landmark
Commission, Library Board, 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, Zoning Board of
Adjustments.
Councilmember Brick reminded Council that the Bicycle, Pedestrian and Greenways Advisory
Board's driving Greenways Tour will be on December I P at 3:00, starting at City Hall.
Councilmember Fields stated that the Arts Council of the Brazos Valley made decisions on an
updated budget that would create a reserve fund out of unexpended monies.
Councilmember Lyles updated Council on the previous Brazos County Health Board meeting,
where the primary topic of discussion was food establishment inspections. The Health Board also
approved changing their meeting time from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m.
Councilmember Ruesink attended the Sister Cities Home Tour on Tuesday night.
9. Executive Session
In accordance with the Texas Government Code §551.071-Consultation with Attorney,
§551.072-Deliberation Regarding Real Property, the College Station City Council convened into
Executive Session at 4:58 p.m. on Thursday, December 8, 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
• 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
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• Woodruff v. College Station, Cause No. 10-000515-CV-272
• Ongoing criminal investigation of municipal court missing funds
• Legal issues related to Public Works' employee complaint
• Shirley Maguire and Holly Maguire vs. City of College Station, Cause No. 11-002516-
CV-272, in the 272nd District Court of Brazos County, Texas.
B. Consultation with Attorney to seek legal advice; to wit:
• Legal issues regarding possible revenue sharing and legislation in bio-corridor
C. Deliberation Regarding Real Property; to wit:
• Property located generally northwest of the intersection of First Street and Church
Avenue in College Station
The Executive Session adjourned at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 8, 2011.
No action was required from Executive Session.
12. Adjournment
MOTION: There being no further business, Mayor Berry adjourned the workshop of the
College Station City Council at 9:45 p.m. on Thursday, December 8, 2011.
Nancy Be y, Mayor
ATTEST:
Sherry Mas rn, City Secretary
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