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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/19/2015 - Special Minutes City CouncilMINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL RETREAT CITY OF COLLEGE STATION FEBRUARY 19, 2015 STATE OF TEXAS § COUNTY OF BRAZOS § Present: Nancy Berry Council: Blanche Brick Steve Aldrich Karl Mooney John Nichols Julie Schultz James Benham City Staff: Kelly Templin, City Manager Jeff Capps, Assistant City Manager Jeff Kersten, Assistant City Manager Aubrey Nettles, Assistant to the City Manager Carla Robinson, City Attorney Robin Cross, Assistant City Attorney Sherry Mashburn, City Secretary 1. Breakfast 2. Call to Order and Announce a Quorum is Present With a quorum present, the Retreat of the College Station City Council was called to order by Mayor Nancy Berry at 8:25 a.m. on Thursday, February 19, 2015 in the Carters Creek Training Room, 2200 North Forest Parkway, College Station, Texas. 3. Introduction and Retreat Process 4. Goals of the Retreat. Items 3 and 4 were taken together. Mayor Nancy Berry presented a brief overview of what she hoped to accomplish today. RTRT021915 Minutes Page 1 5. Presentation, possible action and discussion of Departmental Initiatives and Major Proiects. Jeff Kersten, Assistant City Manager, provided an overview of the ERP and depository accounts. He noted that the budget process will be starting soon. Related to long term debt, they are looking to do a debt issue in early calendar year 2016. Related to municipal court and fiscal services, things are going well. They anticipate that the ERP system on the utility customer service side will be implemented as seamlessly as possible. A significant project on the IT side will be the CAD, and this should come before the Council soon. This is another ERP project on the public safety side. IT is working on other significant projects, such as GIS for Electric, traffic initiatives, and the open data initiative. Aubrey Nettles, Assistant to the City Manager, reported for Chuck Gilman, Deputy City Manager. His full report is attached. She briefed the Council on projects related to Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Water/wastewater Utilities, Electric Utilities, and Planning and Development. Jeff Capps, Assistant City Manager, reported on Human Resources and their involvement in the ERP project. They are also involved in a comprehensive review of policies and the Employee Handbook, departmental evaluation procedures, a health care clinic, transitioning to electronic files, etc. Community Services includes Northgate parking and capital improvements, community development, and code enforcement. That are also involved in the ICE project. As for the Fire Department, one of the big projects is obtaining national accreditation. They are looking a six new positions, which will be paid by grants. The Police is looking at space needs; some areas may be repurposed. Another big project is the CAD RMS project. They are reviewing policies and procedures for another accreditation process for a dual accreditation (state and national). Kelly Templin, City Manager, briefed the Council on Public Communication, which is working on the City's first marketing plan. Other projects include community outreach, economic development and tourism activities, citizen/employee surveys, and communicating the proposed 2015 bond issue. He also briefed Council on Economic Development, and noted that Natalie Rios has been busy meeting with prospects. It was noted that the City does not fund economic development. MOTION: Upon a motion by Councilmember Aldrich and seconded by Mayor Berry, the Council voted six (6) for and none (0) opposed, with Councilmember Schultz having left early, to move agenda items 11 and 12 for discussion after item 6. The motion carried unanimously. 6. Presentation, possible action and discussion of the Strategic Plan & Seven Strategic Initiatives. Council reviewed the strategic plan. Mayor Berry noted it appears to be on target. Councilmember Nichols proposed a few edits: 1)the citizen survey needs to be updated to provide metrics on the initiatives; 2)on page 11 Performance Measures, third bullet, notes that the City Manager will be provided a quarterly report, and he asked what format that would be; and 3) page 4, Financial Sustainability, to eliminate the fifth bullet. Councilmember Brick asked for clarification of "support municipal empowerment" on page 2, Core Values. RTRT021915 Minutes Page 2 7. Presentation, possible action and discussion of the current Budget and Budgeting Process. Kelly Templin, City Manager, noted that staff has prepared their three-year plans for budgeting purposes. Councilmember Aldrich asked to see a more robust, economic development funding process in the budget. The budget process will be the same, and Council workshops are being schedule for August. 8. Presentation, possible action and discussion on current and future space needs for City Hall. This item was not discussed. 9. Executive Session In accordance with the Texas Government Code §551.072 -Real Estate, and §551.087 -Economic Incentive Negotiations, the College Station City Council convened into Executive Session at 11:54 p.m. on Thursday, February 19, 2015 in order to continue discussing matters pertaining to: A. Deliberation on the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property; to wit: • Property located generally southeast of the intersection of Texas Avenue and Francis Drive in College Station B. Deliberation on offers of financial or other incentives for a business prospect that the Council seeks to have locate, stay or expand in or near the city; to wit: • Economic incentives for a proposed development located generally southeast of the intersection of Texas Avenue and Francis Drive in College Station Councilmember Schultz returned at 12:00 noon. The Executive Session adjourned at 12:54 p.m. No action was required from Executive Session. 10. Presentation, possible action and discussion of FY15 Capital Improvement and/or FY15 Bond Issues. Aubrey Nettles, Assistant to the City Manager, briefed the Council on the public forums that will be held. Staff liaisons reported on their respective sub -committees. 11. Presentation, possible action and discussion on the use of Hotel Occupancy Tax. This item was taken out of order and discussed after item 6. RTRT021915 Minutes Page 3 Jeff Kersten, Assistant City Manager, projects the HOT funds to be in the neighborhood of $14 million. Kelly Templin, City Manager, provided the Council with a rendering of what a possible build out of Veteran's Park would look like, with an estimated cost of $10-11 million. MOTION: Upon a motion made by Mayor Berry and seconded by Councilmember Schultz, the Council voted seven (7) for and none (0) opposed, to have staff go forward with the implementation of new ball fields. The motion carried unanimously. 12. Presentation, possible action and discussion on the City's Economic Development Program. This item was taken out of order and discussed with item 11, after item 6. Kelly Templin, City Manager, noted this had been discussed with item 5, and there are gaps in our processes. Staff is seeking direction and will come back before Council. 13. Discussion and possible action on the efficacy of various committees. Carla Robinson, City Attorney, noted the Planning Department is preparing a report on the Landmark Commission for Council's review. She did note that their specific duties and responsibilities are laid out in the UDO. 14. Council Goals for 2015. Councilmember Mooney said he would like to see a feasibility study on a natatorium and to explore the possibility of a third party operator. Councilman Nichols said he looks forward to seeing the bond issue package put together. He wants to finish the year with a stronger dialog the TAMU leadership. He also wants to see implementation on neighborhood issues regarding rental registration and enforcement of the "no more than four" rule. He would like to see decisions made on City Hall. Councilmember Benham said the band width effort is progressing, and he would like to see the open data initiative achieve the first objective by the end of year. He also wants to see the City maintain its income and live inside that. He wants a five-year, not a seven year bond issuance. He would like to consider aquatics outsourcing, and there are other operational areas he would like to see evaluated for cost savings. Councilmember Aldrich wants to implement a more robust economic development process and culture in city. Councilmember Brick wants to discuss costs and benefits and the fairest way to fund economic development issues. Councilmember Schultz would like to see the City take on more of its own marketing and establish its own identity. We need to build more of a brand and identity. RTRT021915 Minutes Page 4 Mayor Berry stated she concurs with all the goals stated. Economic development is critical. Passing a sound budget that is forward looking is important, as well as keeping up with the infrastructure. Adiourn. MOTION: There being no further business, Mayor Berry adjourned the Retreat of the College Station City Council at 2:46 p.m. on Thursday, February 19, 2015. Nancy BerryYMayor ATTEST: )?‘)//ki,( )14 ..44 Sherry Ma&urn, City Secretary RTRT021915 Minutes Page 5 1 Department Highlights for Retreat Human Resource: • Comprehensive Benefits and Salary Review o Joint (City of Bryan) RFP (Salary Survey) scheduled to go out this week. o Anticipate Results late spring • ERP (ICE) Project o Participation and preparation for HR/Payroll module that will be kicking off in April. • Comprehensive review of our Employee Policy/ Handbook Review • Review of our Performance Evaluation Process o Gathering information from each department and will evaluate in an attempt to standardize. • Employee Clinic discussions & proposals. • Transitioning to Electronic Records for our Employee files • Conducting a review of our Risk & Safety policies and Procedures. Community Service • Northgate o Finishing up a review of our parking rates and does not appear that we will be recommending any increases for this year. o Capital Improvements anticipated for our garage facility this summer — result of facility assessment completed in 2010 • Thermal & Moisture Protection - $270,579 Estimate* • Parking Gargage Concrete Repairs - $217,805 Estimate ** • Parking Garage Masonry Repairs - $97,560 Estimate ** *This was scheduled for last summer but was delayed due to the storm drain repair. **These may be delayed until next summer depending upon the results of the Storm Drain Line repair complete last summer. They want to ensure that the drain line repair completely eliminated any additional foundation movement prior to repairing the damages caused by the movement over the years. o Currently researching options to replace a failing multi -space metering system that currently serves the surface lot in Northgate. 2 o Working with our Public Works Department • Addressing drain issues surrounding the compactor ■ Options to replace the bollards that are currently deployed in NG during peak hours for pedestrian safety. • Code Enforcement o There has been a reorganization of areas and assignments in an effort to increase efficiencies. o The addition of a Staff Assistant has allowed officers more time in the field. o Currently underway is a Review and standardization of enforcement procedures — focusing on our top 10 violations. (Getting everyone on the same page) • Part of that includes a review of our current ordinances that may provide complications for our Code officers to enforce and ultimately for our prosecutors to prosecute. • Standardization of our See Click Fix responses and educational outreach. o Working on tracking module that will be a part of the overall ICE project. • Community Development o Adoption of revised program guidelines — working to market information throughout community o Processing multiple applications for Housing Assistance under new guidelines resulting in completion of one Down Payment Assistance loan so far this year; one Minor Repair project; and approval of three full Rehabilitation Loan Program projects. o Completion of Phase 2 of Community Development Master Plan in first quarter — Phase 3 plan development underway — Community Outreach on needs and gaps in service identified in Phase 2 o Initiated 2015 — 2019 Community Development Consolidated Plan process and 2015 Annual Action Plan development. Plans are due to HUD in August 2015. o Preparing for CDBG Monitoring by Houston HUD Regional Field Office during the week of February 23 — 26 • Admin o Training new staff assistant who started in December o Training new Business Manager who started on February 9th Fire Department • Accreditation — (National) Center for Public Safety Excellence o Our goal is to become accredited in August of 2015 with a fall back date of March 2016. The accreditation hearings are held every six months. Currently only 6 fire depts. In Texas are accredited. 3 • Safer Grant o Currently working on a grant proposal for 5 fire fighters and 1 safety officer. o If the grant is successful it will fund 6 positions for two years if the city agrees to keep them on after the grant runs out. • Station 7 o The Fire Department has been involved with submitting the plans for station 7 to the CIP facilities committee. • SLA's for FY 2015 o Cardiac Defibrillators and Auto Load Stretchers ■ Both items are currently in field testing to let the crews determine which works best for them in the field. ■ Tentative purchases in April. o 4 New Fire Fighters and an EMS/Safety Captain ■ New Fire Fighters will be hired in late March ■ Captains Test will be given within 120 days Police Department • Working with PGAL on Facilities assessment o Need for additional office space, training facility/multipurpose room, jail expansion, evidence room, communications department, Forensic bay, etc... o Evaluating a full-fledged new facility vs. a phased in approach. • CAD/RMS Project — This process has been on-going for a little over a year. o Currently working with a vendor that has been identified by a focus group on a contract. Those negotiations have been on-going for two to three months now. • Currently have a group that is reviewing the Police Department's policies, procedures and processes for State Accreditation. (Texas Recognition Program) o Will allow the department to be dually accredited. 1991 the department received National Accreditation through CALEA, which is the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. • Working on several upcoming promotions o With Scott's promotion to Chief, will be backfilling an Assistant Chief Position, a Lieutenant and Sergeant, plus one extra Sergeant for a recent vacancy due to a retirement. • SLA's for FY 2015 o Two Traffic Officers ■ We will have recruit officers completing the academy in May and hope to fill the traffic positions in the June time frame. o Assistant Manager in Information Services ■ Hope to have it filled in in the next month or two. 4 ■ Currently working on converting paper reports and will use that space and convert it into office space for this individual. o GIS Technician — will be hired soon. This hire is to be coincided with the securing of a CAD/RMS vendor so they will be in place prior to implementation of the new system. Public Works 1. American Public Works Association (APWA) Reaccreditation 2. ICE Project Implementation / Cayenta Application (Work Order System) 3. Integrate Mobile Devices to Increase Efficiency 4. ITS Master Plan Implementation (Year 2 of 5) 5. Facilities Corrective Maintenance (Year 2 of 10) 6. Corrective Maintenance Street Repair (3 Year Rolling Pavement Assessment Plan) 7. Tree Maintenance Management Plan Implementation 8. Complete Drainage Master Plan 9. Complete Design/Construction of Remaining 2008 Bond Projects 10. Use Vehicular GPS Data to Increase Efficiency 11. Project Delivery Plan for 2015 Bond Projects Parks & Rec 1. Coordinating with Public Works on several large capital projects: Lick Creek Park Nature Center, Lincoln Recreation Center Expansion, Ringer Library Expansion 2. Fun for All Playground: Design firm in contract negotiations; Fundraising started 3. Veteran's Park Build -Out: Design Firm creating Master Plan 4. Southeast Community Park & Landfill Property: Design Firm creating Master Plan 5. Aquatics Outsourcing: RFP being written 6. Hosting of State 7 on 7 Football: July 9 - 11 7. Hosting of 2015 TAAF Games of Texas: July 30 — August 3 Water 1. Bee Creek WW Trunk Line ($14m) — Phase 1 complete; Build last 3 phases in FY -15/17 2. Sandy Point Pump Station — Site work underway for new cooling tower and chlorinator 3. Cross -Training Pay — 13 Operators doing cross training, benefits already apparent 4. Water Master Plan — Almost complete, need third water tower in 5 years 5. Wastewater Master Plan — Scope of work done, will request contract approval in April 6. New Field Ops positions — Improved Field Ops job description, 3 recent new hires 7. Continue push BVGCD to create Rule to protect Historic Use in the future 8. Lick Creek WW Trunk Line ($9m) — Build in FY -16/17 for Medical District development Electric 1. Add manpower for engineering, GIS, and line work needs. 2. Manage New Power Supply contracts and costs. 3. Implement new Design/Project Management/GIS software that will integrate with Cayenta. 4. Continue a "padmount equipment rehabilitation program" to extend the life of our equipment. 5. Serve load growth including CIADM, Century Square, hotels, and residential subdivisions. 6. Begin an "Animal Deterrent" program in our substations to minimize animal related outages. 7. Install a 2nd substation transformer in Northgate Sub in 2015 and in Dowling Road Sub in 2016. 8. Proposal to begin a three year LED lighting retrofit program in 2017. Planning 1. Successfully implement CRW software 2. Continue quality review of the built environment 3. Process annexation of approximately 233 acres 4. Implement items identified in five-year comprehensive plan report 5. Review and adopt 2015 International Codes 6. Complete ADA Transition Plan 7. Agreements related to Brazos County MUD No. 1 8. Continue implementation of adopted neighborhood and community plans 9. In terms of single-family permits, 2014 was a record-breaking year. We issued 753 permits for single-family homes in 2014, eclipsing the record of 740 permits set in 2002! Planning & Development staff also reviewed, approved, and inspected almost $300 million in construction in 2014 (a 31% increase from the previous year). The building inspectors had a busy year as well, performing 14,774 inspections.