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Home My WebLink About07/11/2013 - Workshop Minutes City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP CITY OF COLLEGE STATION JULY 11, 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, arrived after roll call James Benham, arrived after roll call City Staff: Kathy Merrill, Interim 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 Berry at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 11, 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 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 11, 2013 in order to continue discussing matters pertaining to: A. Consultation with Attorney to seek advice regarding pending or contemplated litigation; to wit: • College Station v. Star Insurance Co., Civil Action No. 4:11 -CV- 02023. c WKSHP071113Minutes Page 1 • 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 • Cause No. 12- 002918 -CV -361; Tom Jagielski v. City of College Station; In the 361 st Judicial District Court, Brazos County, Texas • State v. Carol Arnold, Cause Number 11- 02697- CRF -85, In the 85th District Court, Brazos County, Texas • Robyn Taylor, individually and as next friend of Faith Taylor, a minor child v. Lincoln Recreation Center, Cause No. 13- 001244 -CV -361, in the 361 st District Court, Brazos County, Texas B. Deliberation on the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public officer; to wit: • City Manager C. Deliberation on economic development negotiations regarding an offer of financial or other incentives for a business prospect; to wit: • Economic Incentives to a business prospect for projects located in various locations in College Station The Executive Session adjourned at 6:02 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. Items 2e and 2j were pulled for discussion. 2e: Chuck Gilman, Director of Capital Projects, explained they focused on facilities ten years or older or have heavy use by citizens or staff. He also stated this is just a base assessment; there is no as -built in the scope. There will be a scoring system to identify issues and capital needs. 2j: Joe Guerra, Transportation Planning Coordinator, presented renderings of the site plan. He also presented the developer's budget for the project. 5. Presentation, possible action and discussion regarding the Brazos Central Appraisal District's Evaluation and Calculation Process. Mark Price, Chief Appraiser with the Brazos Central Appraisal District, outlined the property tax cycle. The first step of the process is Discovery and Valuation done August through May. The deadline to protest valuation is May 31. The Equalization period is June 1 — July 25. They are required to certify the tax roll by July 25. Local taxing units then adopt their budgets and set tax rates, after which the Tax Assessor - Collector collects the taxes. (110 WKSHP071113Minutes Page 2 In 2013, 5,806 (increased 227 from last year) County protests were filed, of which 2,579 (down by 86 from last year) were from College Station. The total number of properties is 29,003 (an increase of 408 properties from last year). The net taxable value, as of July 11, 2013, is $6,265,217,184 reflecting a 5.4% increase over last year's certified net taxable value. 442 accounts are still under review with a net taxable value of $300,575,118. 6. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on the FY 2014 BVSWMA, Inc. Proposed Budget. Bryan Griesbach, Executive Director, provided the BVSWMA FY2014 budget overview. BVSWMA is a non - profit local government corporation created in 2010 to provide solid waste disposal through the operation of the Twin Oaks Landfill and Twin Oaks Compost facilities. It is self - funded through user fees, and the annual principal and interest payments are made to both cities. There are 25 full -time employees with a service area population of approximately 300,000. The Board of Directors is comprised of three representatives from each City and a seventh member from the community at large. Solid waste disposal operations are the core of their business. The Twin Oaks Landfill manages approximately 300,000 tons of municipal solid waste each year. The Twin Oaks Landfill covers 610 acres with a waste footprint of 214 acres. It has a capacity of 37,000,000 cubic yards. Twin Oaks also utilizes a high- capacity wood grinder to efficiently divert more than 8,000 tons per year of wood waste from landfill disposal. Some of the material from the wood grinding operation is sold as mulch, but a larger portion is utilized for compost operations. 4 110 Approximately 7,000 tons per year of bio- solids are diverted from landfill disposal for beneficial use as compost and erosion control products. Since BVSWMA was formed, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has found no violations or deficiencies during their inspections of BVSWMA facilities. In fact, in 2012, the TCEQ held their statewide Investigator Training in Bryan- College Station in order to showcase the Twin Oaks Landfill as a model of excellent landfill design and operation. BVSWMA sponsors the spring and fall household hazardous waste collection events that serve the entire Brazos Valley region, typically serving 2,200 participants. Recent activities include: • Completed construction of Cell 2A -1 at the Twin Oaks Landfill; • Final Cover installed on the Rock Prairie Road Landfill; • Discontinued Borrowed Employee Agreement on December 31, 2012; • Additional Board designated funds for future capital expenses; • Now offering easy to handle bagged compost and mulch; and • State fee reduced on June 1, 2013, resulting in a $0.31 /ton decrease in landfill gate rate. For FY 2013, they are ahead on budgeted revenue and under on budgeted expenses. The FY2014 budget has $6,878,600 in revenue. The expense budget is $7,795,724 split between operating expenses in the amount of $5,330,724 and $2,465,000 for capital expense. Reserves (1115 WKSHP071113Minutes Page 3 from the Rock Prairie Closure/Post Closure, Twin Oak Closure/Post Closure, interim cover and C r pre - closure, pipeline relocation, and gas system total $4,648,461. 7. Council Calendar • July 17 BVSWMA Board Meeting at 310 Krenek Tap Road - Municipal Court Building - 2n Floor - Room 203, 11:00 a.m. • July 17 RVP Board Meeting at RVP, 3:00 p.m. • July 18 P &Z Workshop/Meeting in Council Chambers at 6:00 p.m. (John Nichols, Liaison) • July 19 Scott & White Hospital Simply Spectacular Event at 700 Scott & White Drive, 6:30 p.m. • July 23 Audit Committee Meeting in City Hall Administrative Conference Room at 4:30 p.m. • July 25 Executive Session/Workshop /Regular Meeting at 4:30, 6:00 & 7:00 p.m. Council reviewed the Council calendar. 8. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on future agenda items: a Councilmember 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 Schultz requested a workshop on purchasing land for floodplain and the reasons C behind it. She also would like to discuss a requirement for a five -year study on the appraisal of any other land purchases we make. There was consensus. Councilmember Benham asked to hear from staff about video conferencing and how we can do that. There was consensus. Councilmember Fields asked to see a workshop item on the impact of our regulatory environment as it relates to housing affordability. There was no consensus. 9. Discussion, review and possible action regarding the following meetings: Animal Shelter Board, Arts Council of Brazos Valley, Arts Council Sub - committee, Audit Committee, Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Greenways Advisory Board, Bio- Corridor Board of Adjustments, Blinn College Brazos Valley Advisory Committee, Brazos County Health Dept., Brazos Valley Council of Governments, Bryan /College Station Chamber of Commerce, Budget and Finance Committee, BVSWMA, BVWACS, Compensation and Benefits Committee, Convention & Visitors Bureau, Design Review Board, Economic Development Committee, Gigabit Broadband Initiative, Historic Preservation Committee, Interfaith Dialogue Association, Intergovernmental Committee, Joint Relief Funding Review Committee, Landmark Commission, Library Board, Metropolitan Planning Organization, Parks and Recreation Board, Planning and Zoning Commission, Research Valley Partnership, Research Valley Technology Council, Regional Transportation Committee for Council of Governments, Transportation and Mobility Committee, TAMU Student Senate, Texas ty WKSHP071113Minutes Page 4 Municipal League, Twin City Endowment, Youth Advisory Council, Zoning Board of 4 IF Adjustments. Mayor Berry reported on the Council of Governments. Councilmember Benham reported on the bandwidth committee. 10. Adjournment MOTION: There being no further business, Mayor Berry adjourned the workshop of the College Station City Council at 7:13 p.m. on Thursday, July 11, 2013. Nancy Berry, Mayor ATTEST: herry hburn, City Secretary 11 0 0 WKSHP071113Minutes Page 5