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Home My WebLink About03/27/1997 - Workshop Minutes City CouncilMayor LYNN MCILHANEY Mayor Pro Tempore HUB KENNADY City Manager GEORGE K. NOE COLLEGE STATION Council Members STEVE ESMOND LARRY MARIOTT DAVID HICKSON DiCK BIRDWELL SWlKI ANDERSON MINUTES COLLEGE STATION CITY COUNCIL Workshop Meeting Thursday, March 27, 1997 at 3:00 p.m. COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Mcllhaney, Mayor Pro rem Kennody, Councilmembers Hickson, MoHair, Birdwell, Fox COUNClLMEMBER ABSENT: Councilman Martin STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Noe, Assistant City Manager Brymer, Assistant City Secretary Casares, Acting City Aflorney Nemcik, Police Chief Feldman, Budget Director Cryan, Public Information Officer Calliham, Director of Development Services Callaway, Cily Planner Kee, Economic and Community Services Director Ash, Parks and Recreation Director Beachy Agenda Item No. I - Discuss consent and statutory agenda items listed for the regular meeting. Items 4a, 5e and 5j were removed for discussion by councilmembers. Staff members Charles Cryan, Bill Angelo and Edwin Hard addressed the questions. Agenda Item No. 2 -- Discuss Vision Statement #6 - Arts and Cultural Affai rs. Mayor Mcllhaney reminded council of a recent presentation by the Ads Council regarding current projects. Af that meeting, a brief discussion was held. However, this item was brought forth for fuHher council input. She opened the floor for council discussion. Councilman Fox inquired about permanent aH displays in College Station. Providing Customer Service Excellence Council Workshop Meeting Thursday, March 27, 1997 Page 2 Mayor Mcllhaney replied that the Ads Council indicated space limitations in the city. City Manager Naa suggested one project per year within the City of College Station to be included as part of the contract wilh the Ads Council. The council concurred. Councilman Fox proposed use of Wolf Pen Creek Amphitheater with free conceals during the summer season. The council agreed to place Ibis item on a future agenda. Agenda Item No. 3 -- Present report on opening ceremonies for the George Bush Library by Dr. Jerry Gaston. Dr. Jerry Gaston of Texas A&M University reported fo the City Council the dates for opening ceremonies of fha George Bush School and Library. The Bush School of Government and Public Services will be dedicated September 9-10, 1997. The Presidential Library will be dedicated November 5-7, 1997, but fha precise events for each day are not certain. Dr. Gasfon anticipated President Clinton attending the library dedication. Consequently, traffic concerns will need to be addressed. Agenda Item No. 4 -- Discuss formation of citizen committees. Mayor Mcllhaney suggested the formation of a citizens' committee fo propose improvements of communication between city government and citizens. Councilman Fox suggested using the current citizens committees for informational purposes. Mayor Mcllhaney stated the importance of council/citizen committee ongoing communication to ensure everyone is working together toward similar goals. Mayor Pro tem Kennady proposed an ad campaign to explain city decisions to the public. Councilman Fox suggested publishing the agendas in the city newspaper. Councilman Hickson suggested televised council meetings. City Council Workshop Meeting Thursday, March 27, 1997 Page 3 Councilman Birdwell suggested inserts in the utility bill describing upcoming council issues. He agreed with televised council meetings as well as publishing the agendas in the newspaper. Council directed staff to schedule this item for a future agenda. Agenda Item No. 5 - Discuss policy relative to the concept of gating streets in College Station. City Planner Kee described the concept of gated communities and the trend in Texas. She highlighted two concerns. · Whether to allow gates on public streets or to allow only private streets to be gated. · Under what conditions would gates be allowed in terms of street maintenance and the development of standards. Councilmembers expressed their concerns on gated subdivisions and requested staff to obtain more information on this item. Agenda Item No. 6 -- Present end discussion of current policy and ordinances regarding sewer extensions, FoxfirelSandstone sanitary sewer master plan and possible changes to existing ordinances. Asst. City Engineer Morgan presented this item. She stated that College Station has several ordinances and policies which relate to the provision of sanitary sewer service fo individual lots. Dudng the past summer, problems arose with how these ordinances and policies operate together. In an allempt to solve a problem occurring in the Foxfire Subdivision, Council passed the Water and Sewer Main Extension Policy. This ordinance allowed individuals to recoup cost from neighbors who would eventually tie on to the line they constructed. There have been problems with how this ordinance works with other City ordinances that regulate sanitary sewer. To clarify this ordinance, staff brought several ordinances to the Council last summer for passage. To recap, these ordinances amendments would have required lots lo tie on to a gravity sewer when their septic license came up for renewal (these licenses are good for 5 years). There were several Foxfire residents present at the meeting who spoke against the ordinances and Council directed staff to work with the residents on solutions. Since that time, staff City Council Workshop Meeting Page 4 Thursday, March 27, 1997 met with the Foxfire residents to hear their concerns and obtained additional legal advice for possible solutions. Ms. Morgan presented four options. Option 1 & 2: Water/Sewer Extension Ordinance Option 3: Impact Fees (New & Existing Lots) Option 4: Impact Fees and Access Charges Councilman Mariott disagreed with the city staff proposal in which a homeowner would be forced Ia connect a sewer line if a line is built within 250 feet of the homeowner's Iot line. Councilman Birdwell agreed that the sewer line should be 250 feet to the closest point of the building as opposed to the Iai line. Additionally, the ordinance should allow private line builders to collect interest from citizens who connect to the line for the years between construction and connection. The Council, by consensus, directed staff to study the costs of installing the remaining sanitary sewer lines in the area, estimate the impact fee each lot would be charged, and survey residents to find out whether they want the city to complete fha work at the proposed quotation. Agenda Item No. 7 -- Review and discuss the Texas Municipal League legislative update. Budget Director Cryan presented an update of several impodant bills affecting cities. Agenda Item No. 8 - Committee Reports: Councilman Fox reported that a meeting between the City and College Station Independent School District will be held on April 22, 1997 to discuss the impodance of the two entities exchanging information and ensuring everyone is communicating equally. Secondly, discussion at the recent Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting reported construction to begin within five years to widen Texas 21 West. Councilman Hickson repoded on the Community Appearance Committee meeting. The committee members are working on submitting the winners of the Community Appearance awards and placing the banners along George Bush Drive prior to the Library grand opening. City Council Workshop Meeting Page 5 Thursday, March 27, 1997 Councilman Mariott conveyed concerns from the citizens on basketball goals being placed at the curb. Mayor Pro tern Kennady noted the Northgate Committee has approved a water feature and gateway features. Agenda Item No. 8 -- Council Calendars The Mayor highlighted the upcoming events for March and April. Aglenda Item No. 9 - Executive Session Council moved into executive session al 6:00 p.m. A. Pending or Potential Litigation and consultalion with legal counsel on other mailers wilhin the attorney-client privilege (LOC 551.071} B. Land Acquisition {LGC 551.071} C. Legal Report {LGC 551.071} D. Staff Reporl {LGC 551.075} 1. Economic Development Prospect The workshop and executive sessions will adjourn following the regular meeting. PASSED AND APPROVED THE 12ih June, 1997. ATTEST: C~ty Se, retc~ ¢,onme Hooks APPROVED: Ma~)r Lynn dcllh'aney~"