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HomeMy WebLinkAbout210812 -- City Council -- Agenda Questions Council Questions and Staff Responses for Items on the August 12, 2021, City Council Meeting Item 7.3 – Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding Change Order 2 in the amount of $93,440 with Halff Associates, Inc., the Barron/Capstone Realignment project. Sponsor: Emily Fisher Question: Noting the splitting of the construction plans into two segments: would we build Barron Road Segment this way if UPRR denies the permit to move the crossing? Maybe a low likelihood, but just wondering if something that UPRR might do in their final permit that would leave the rest of our investment in something less than ideal outcome. Response: Although not anticipated, the intersection will function in this configuration without the new UP crossing. It would operate as an offset intersection (ex. Victoria/Welsh and Rock Prairie) and would most likely require an additional signal at Capstone, but the proposed Barron Rd and FM 2154 signal and pavement work could remain. Item 7.4 – Presentation, discussion, and possible action on an ordinance amending Chapter 2, “Administration,” Art. V, Finance, Division 2 Fees, Rates, and Changes.” Section 2-118 by amending certain sections relating to fees. Sponsor: Mary Ellen Leonard Question: Note our fees for ASL 2. Our base fee is $650 more, and the mileage fee is $7 more than the City of San Antonio. How do we set our fees? Response: Under the Sherman Antitrust Act 15 USC $2, the Clayton Act 15 USC $13 and the Robinson-Patman Act 15 USC $$13-13b, 21a, price discrimination was made illegal by the federal government. This means that we must charge each patient the same amount regardless of the insurance arrangement (Medicare, Medicaid, Insurance or self-pay). In traditional industries, products or services have set prices and the consumer is expected to pay that full amount. In healthcare, prices are set by each service provider, like us, but each payer may pay substantially less than what is charged for the service. By federal law, Medicare and Medicaid only pay legislatively approved allowable fees. Those fees are based on the cost of the service provided so the published fees from location to location by the provider can widely vary because each service provider is trying to recover their costs based on the percentage of services provided to these “cost based” federal programs. Commercial insurance, like BCBS / Cigna has pre-arranged reimbursement for services that says they will pay “X” amount for services, and we must collect the coinsurance / deductible per policy. We can’t collect over that amount. Payment by uninsured or self-pay is done through our billing provider and negotiated between the service and the individual. They do what is called “soft collections” on private pay and deductibles at the City’s direction. Soft collections are invoicing and calling. There is no more aggressive collection tactics such as including filing with the credit reporting agencies that is done to collect fees. Because of the complexities on the payment arrangements, you can’t compare rates charged between different locations. The cost in San Antonio is different than in College Station and with a significant portion of our services to “cost based” insurances such as Medicare. The published rate comparison just will not be equitable. Each year, we receive a recommendation from our EMS billing vendor, Emergicon, who makes fee recommendations based on our region. Our fees are currently in alignment within our region including City of Bryan, St. Joseph EMS, and Robertson County EMS. Question: Do we have a non-medical services transport fee? If you are a resident without transportation, is there still a fee? Response: The Treatment/No Transport fee is not charged to College Station residents. It is intended to provide a mechanism to recoup some of the expenses of EMS responses and services provided to non-residents, where some form of treatment is provided but the patient is not transported to the hospital. Question: What is the purpose of the moving permit, the location permit, and the window replacement permit? What is this is fee funding? Response: A Moving Permit is required to relocate or transport a building out of the city, typically issued for the relocation of smaller residential buildings. They must submit size of structure, route, and time of planned move. These permits are reviewed by Fire, Police and Building. The Location Permit is required to transport a mobile building (ex: portable classroom building) or manufactured home to a site within the city. Window Replacement Permit is required to replace windows in a structure. There are minimum energy requirements as well as safety glazing requirements that must be satisfied. These fees are going to the Planning Department Revenue account within the General Fund. Question: Why is there a permit required for rabbits and ferrets? What is the revenue used for? Response: The last revision to this ordinance occurred around 2010 and the Council at that time chose to include the rabbits and ferrets in the permitting to better control the population. Revenue goes to the general fund. Question: Why is the TAMU game day parking fee at Parks & Recreation facilities (Wayne Smith & Crompton Park) only $10 per day? I thought it was discussed the fee would be $5 per hour. Response: This has been in place for several years and is independent of the recent discussion for a remote pay parking system. We intend to examine how all paid parking works together as we move forward. Question: Why do the non-resident rates vary so widely? On the non-resident rates for pool rentals, how are the increases determined? Response: Regarding the non-residential fees, they are 20% residential user fees except for Central Park and Bachmann Park Pavilions. Below are the rates for both resident and non- resident users for pavilions at Central and Bachmann Parks. Also, there was an error in the fees for Central and Bachmann Park Pavilions. The corrected rates are below. RESIDENT Deposit -$200 Monday-Thursday -$300 Friday-Sunday & Holidays -$350 NON-RESIDENT Deposit -$200 Monday-Thursday -$360 Friday-Sunday & Holidays - $420 Question: I had hoped to see the rates for using community rooms in Fire and PD. Where are those? Response: Meeting rooms such as those in Police and Fire – in addition to Carters Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility and the CSU Meeting & Training Facility – have specific policies and requirements based on security and operational needs. Staff is reviewing and developing policies related to these rooms to allow for additional public uses as is feasible. These rooms will likely have greater constraints on reservation timelines, availability, and allowable usage than standard rental rooms due to the nature of their function. Question: Northgate on-street parking is listed as $10 and $5 in the fee schedule. Can you explain the difference in the pricing? Response: Chapter 38: Traffic and Vehicles, Sec. 38-108 Northgate on-street parking is being revised to include all on-street parking: Sec. 38-108 Northgate and Remote Pay on-street parking. The fee amount per hour recommended and included in the fee ordinance is "Per hour fee up to $10.00 per hour". The summary on page 285 of the Regular Agenda Packet did not include the revision. This revision was made following the July 22nd Council meeting when staff received direction to move forward with the Remote Pay On-street Parking (Game Day) program. Question: Wasn’t the proposed remote pay system for TAMU game days coming back to council for approval? Wasn’t it last a workshop item for exploration only? Response: Council received a presentation at the July 22nd Workshop regarding a Remote Pay Parking Program for paid on-street parking during special events, like football games. Council provided direction for staff to move forward with the program, conduct public outreach, develop the details of the program, and report back to Council. Council adopted the enabling ordinances to allow for the implementation of the program through the Consent agenda on July 22nd. Staff is moving forward with public outreach and will provide a summary of the program details at a meeting in the future. Item 7.8 – Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding approval of an annual blanket price agreement for emergency medical supplies with Bound Tree Medical, LLC for an estimated annual expenditure of $120,000. Sponsor: Richard Mann Question: Please explain the second paragraph of the letter from Bound Tree Medical. Response: The cost of medical supplies and medications is continually increasing. The last year, for example, has seen significant increases in the cost of PPE. There are on-going shortages of some emergency medications as pharmaceutical companies choose to reduce production of these lower profit margin medications in lieu of newer, higher profit margin drugs on the market. As a result, our vendor, Bound Tree, has let us know that they will do everything they can to control these fluctuating costs, but in the event, this is beyond their control, they will notify us of the price increases. Item 7.9 – Presentation, discussion, and possible action on the second reading of a franchise agreement ordinance with CTTV, LLC dba Team 3 Rentals and Services, Inc., for the collection of recyclables from commercial businesses and multi-family locations. Sponsor: Pete Caler Question: Why do we require weekly washing of trucks? Response: The washing requirement is in place to maintain minimum sanitary conditions for solid waste collection vehicles. City-owned collection vehicles are washed daily to maintain sanitation and ensure safe vehicle operation.