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Home My WebLink About01/24/2013 - Workshop Minutes City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP 0 CITY OF COLLEGE STATION JANUARY 24, 2013 STATE OF TEXAS § § COUNTY OF BRAZOS § Present: Nancy Berry, Mayor Council: Blanche Brick Jess Fields, arrived after roll call Karl Mooney John Nichols Julie Schultz James Benham, arrived after roll call City Staff: IC, Frank Simpson, Interim City Manager Kathy Merrill, Deputy City Manager Carla Robinson, City Attorney Sherry Mashburn, City Secretary Tanya McNutt, Deputy City Secretary 1. 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 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 24, 2013 in the Council Chambers of the City of College Station City Hall, 1101 Texas Avenue, College Station, Texas 77842. 2. Executive Session In accordance with the Texas Government Code §551.071- Consultation with Attorney, §551.074 - Personnel, and §551.087- Economic Development Negotiations, the College Station City Council convened into Executive Session at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 24, 2013 in order to continue discussing matters pertaining to: A. Consultation with Attorney to seek advice regarding pending or contemplated litigation; to wit: C. WKSHP012413Minutes Page 1 • 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. • 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. • Shirley Maguire and Holly Maguire vs. City of College Station, Cause No. 11 -0025 16- CV -272, in the 272nd District Court of Brazos County, Texas. • Patricia Kahlden, individ. and as rep. of the Estate of Lillie May Williams Bayless v. Laura Sue Streigler, City of College Station and James Steven Elkins, No. 11- 003172- CV -272, in the 272ndDistrict Court of Brazos County, TX • Tom Jagielski v. City of College Station, Cause No. 12- 002918 -CU -361, In the 361 District Court of Brazos County, Texas • State v. Carol Arnold, Cause Number 11- 02697- CRF -85, In the 85th District Court, Brazos County, Texas B. Deliberation on the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public officer; to wit: • City Attorney C. Deliberation on economic development negotiations regarding an offer of financial or other incentives for a business prospect; to wit: • Discuss economic development incentive negotiations with T AMUS • Discuss approval of economic development incentives to Woodbolt International The Executive Session adjourned at 5:59 p.m. 3. Take action, if any, on Executive Session. No action was required from Executive Session. 4. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on items listed on the consent agenda. This item was not discussed. 5. Presentation and discussion regarding information the University Community Next Generation Innovation Project by Executive Director Blair Levin. Blair Levin, Executive Director, Gig.U, discussed the economic opportunities available with increased computing power, increased bandwidth and increased data storage. Using a football analogy and the Green Bay Packers as an example, he noted the City of Green Bay's advantages as they applied to big bandwidth: there is an early adopter advantage; incentives to serve long - run community interests; and a financial structure that allows the small to compete with the large. He quoted former President Clinton, who addressed Dell World as to why the United States needs better broadband: "You want to help small businesses, you want to help your .4) entrepreneurs, you want to make it possible for people living in remote towns and upstate New WKSHP012413Minutes Page 2 York and West Texas to be part of the global economy? Then stop pretending we can do it with South Korea having average download speeds of four times ours." Most of the fastest communities in the world are in Asia. The US lags other countries in bandwidth consumption and is projected to fall farther behind. Instead of planning upgrades, providers talk of bandwidth caps and charging for "overages ". We shouldn't give up on America yet because there are public and private interests working to increase the availability of high -speed broadband. The National Broadband Plan recommended the nation needed a critical mass of ultra high -speed test beds. The Strategic Bandwidth Advantage provides fast and cheap enough bandwidth to the right places to drive bandwidth -based innovation growth. It was noted that, historically, new inputs drive economic growth. Goods, services, information are increasingly delivered over bandwidth and not delivered by trucks. Ultra high- definition televisions await content and speeds to transmit that content; we do not have the pipes to deliver 4K television. Ultra high- speed data transfer can help unlock a cure for cancers; DNA sequencing depends on high speed data transfer. Effective learning platforms need bigger pipes to perform; immersive gaming is the future of training. Big Data is unlocking a new economic reality. Unfortunately, the returns for the investor do not justify the investment. Historically, investments are made when policy alters equation. The barrier to gigabit connectivity is not technology or economics. The barrier is organization; specifically, organizing demand and the better use of underutilized assets. Over the past few years, Seattle has made itself a prime candidate for investment in a gig. Officials in Kansas City continue to work with Google in terms of policy such as having a single point of contact and having inspections within two hours. Community efforts can change the math: reduce capital expenses and operation expenses; reduce risk; increase revenues; and increase ecosystem benefits. He asked how can community assets be more effectively managed to create a favorable environment for investment in a project? He stated Gig.0 created a worksheet for communities to use to assess potential assets and opportunities and noted that engaging residents and businesses is crucial to potential upgrades. For communities seeking a gig, they should consider various routes such as WiFi; involving the community early and often to help manage expectations and show potential revenue streams for projects; they should also consider ways the community can become an attractive investment partner as soon as possible. He stated the City's choices now will determine the community's bandwidth destiny — and whether College Station will lead or follow. 6. Presentation, possible action, and discussion, and a joint meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council regarding the 2013 Planning & Zoning Commission Plan of Work. With a quorum present, the Joint Meeting of the College Station Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chair Mike Ashfield at 6:43 p.m. on Thursday, January 24, 2013. Bob Cowell, Executive Director of Planning Services, provided a brief overview of the draft Plan of Work. He noted the Commission is seeking input from the Council on the draft Plan of Work. Council items related to affordable housing, neighborhood parking, and block length are either already in the Plan or were omitted due to having already been reviewed in the past. WKSHP012413Minutes Page 3 MOTION: Upon a motion made by Councilmember Mooney and a second by Councilmember Nichols, the City Council voted seven (7) for and none (0) opposed, to accept the 2013 Plan of Work. The motion carried unanimously. There being no further business, the Joint Meeting of the City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission adjourned at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday, January 24, 2013. Mayor Berry recessed the Workshop at 7:05 p.m. The workshop reconvened at 9:14 p.m. 7. Council Calendar • Jan. 28 & 29 Council Strategic Plan Retreat at MTF Assembly Room - 1603 Graham Road, 8:00 am. • Jan. 30 RVP Board Meeting at RVP, 3:00 pm. • Jan. 31 CSPD Annual Awards Banquet, MTF Assembly Room - 1603 Graham Road, 7:00 pm. • Feb. 4 Bicycle, Pedestrian & Greenways Advisory Board Meeting, Council Chambers, 3:00 pm • Feb. 4 Audit Committee Meeting, Administrative Conference Room, 4:30 pm. • Feb. 5 -6 Chamber Legislative Trip, Austin, Texas, 8:00 am. • Feb. 7 P &Z Workshop/Meeting, CSU Training Facilities, 6:00 p.m. (Julie Schultz, Liaison) • Feb. 14 Executive Session/Workshop /Regular Meeting at 5:00, 6:00 & 7:00 p.m. Council reviewed the Council calendar. A correction was made to the CSPD Awards Banquet. It will be held at Christ United Methodist Church. 8. 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 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. Councilmember Benham asked to see Gig.0 at a future workshop. 9. Discussion, review and possible action regarding the following meetings: Animal Shelter Board, Arts Council of the Brazos Valley, Arts Council Sub - committee, Audit Committee, Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Greenways Advisory Board, Blinn College Brazos Valley Advisory Committee, Brazos County Health Dept., Brazos Valley Council of Governments, Bryan /College Station Chamber of Commerce, BVSWMA, BVWACS, Convention & Visitors Bureau, Design Review Board, Historic Preservation Committee, Interfaith Dialogue Association, Intergovernmental Committee, Joint Neighborhood Parking Taskforce, Joint Relief Funding Review Committee, Landmark Commission. Library Board, Metropolitan Planning Organization, National League of Cities, Parks and Recreation Board, Planning and Zoning Commission, Research Valley Partnership Regional Transportation Committee for Council of Governments, Sister City Association, WKSHP012413Minutes Page 4 TAMU Student Senate, Texas Municipal League, Youth Advisory Council, Zoning Board 4 1PF of Adjustments. Mayor Berry reported on the Intergovernmental Committee, BVSWMA, and the MPO. Mayor Berry honored former Councilmember Homer Adams and noted his recent passing. Councilmember Fields reported on the Arts Council. He also announced that he and his wife are expecting their first child on August 3. 10. Adjournment MOTION: There being no further business, Mayor Berry adjourned the workshop of the College Station City Council at 9:24 p.m. on Thursday, January 24, 2013. -1 firdIAJI0/ • Nancy Be #, Mayor ATTEST: Sherry M.4,, burn, City Secretary WKSHP012413Minutes Page 5