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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/20/2023 - Special Minutes - City CouncilCCM 022023 Minutes Page 1 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING (RETREAT) CITY OF COLLEGE STATION FEBRUARY 20, 2023 STATE OF TEXAS § § COUNTY OF BRAZOS § Present: John Nichols, Mayor Council: Mark Smith William Wright Linda Harvell Elizabeth Cunha Bob Yancy Dennis Maloney City Staff: Bryan Woods, City Manager Jeff Capps, Deputy City Manager Adam Falco, City Attorney Leslie Whitten, Deputy City Attorney Tanya Smith, City Secretary 1. Call to Order and Announce a Quorum is Present. With a quorum present, the meeting of the College Station City Council was called to order by Mayor Nichols at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, February 20, 2023, in the CSU Meeting Training Facility City Hall, 1603 Graham Road, College Station, TX 77845. 2. Executive Session Agenda.  No Executive Session was held. 3. REGULAR ITEMS 3.1. Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding an overview of the state of the City. Jeff Kersten, Assistant City Manager, provided a summary of the state of the City. Net Budget Summary General Fund Assigned & Unassigned Fund Balances CCM 022023 Minutes Page 2 Grant Fund Impact  State Funds - $6.4M  City is subrecipient of State Grant  Amount utilized for Fire and Community  All funds utilized  Federal Funds - $29.0M Debt Capacity  Capacity is the unscheduled project amounts for the years that there are scheduled projects – typically a 5-year period. Current Capacity is $55 million. Mr. Kersten explained that one penny on the tax is approximately $14 million capacity and the maximum amount available for tax reduction right now would be the .57 cents on the tax rate. We strive to keep the debt rate at 2% of assessed valuation. Council discussed the possibly of looking into a convention center, but Majority of the Council stated since there is a RFQ out there for a recreation center to review the proposals received for the recreation center before directing staff to pursue a convention center. Mayor Nichols recessed the meeting at 10:55 a.m. The meeting resumed at 11:07 a.m. 3.2. Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding the City Council's Strategic Plan and Strategies. Mayor Nichols opened up for the Council to discuss the City Council's Strategic Plan and Strategies for any changes, updates, additions and etc. CCM 022023 Minutes Page 3 Councilmember Maloney good with how the Strategic Plan and Strategies are. Councilmember Yancy would like to see Public safety its own platform. He also wanted a possible convention center added to the first bullet point under Core Services and Infrastructure for FY24 Strategies. Councilmember Cunha would like to remove Phase 2 of the Texas Independence Ballpark from Diverse & Growing Economy. She would also like the City to talk with contractors working on construction projects regarding Bike Lanes, would like to work on the response on the city reduces energy and water consumption. Councilmember Harvell stated that the City needs more code enforcement staff to meet the goal of proactive code enforcement under Neighborhood Integrity Actions. She would also like the second bullet point under neighborhood integrity objectives “Citizens are satisfied with the quality of life in their neighborhoods” removed from the document. Councilmember Wright would like to see us put entrepreneurship in the Core Values and under Good Governance would like the city to add a goal of reviewing all interlocal agreements with Brazos County, the City of Bryan, and Texas A&M University to ensure they are fair and beneficial to the City of College Station. Councilmember Smith stated supported CM Wright’s stance on interlocal agreements, and he requested that staff review the bullet point on Library Services. Mayor Nichols stated the second bullet point under Improving Mobility should be revised to include developing new relationship with Federal entities. Mayor Nichols recessed the meeting at 11:43 p.m. The meeting resumed at 12:30 p.m. 3.3. Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding Financial Sustainability and Good Governance. Bryan Woods, City Manager, gave a brief overview of Management Team Retreat and Employee Compensation, 5% across the board cost of living raises. Looking at the different aspects of that can vary with not adding positions, talking with consultants and other pieces of data. Council discussed the Employee Compensation for all employees and concurs with overview of the Management Team Retreat discussion. Majority of Council would like to look into increasing the compensation of the Seasonal Employees. Mayor Nichols recessed the meeting at 1:23 p.m. The meeting resumed at 1:37 p.m. 3.4. Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding core services and infrastructure. Emily Fisher, Public Works Director, provided a brief overview Multi-Family Solid Waste Collection. CCM 022023 Minutes Page 4 Solid Waste Utility Rates  Single-Family Dwelling: $18.78/mo  Multi-Family:  City-Issued Containers: $8.58/mo per unit  Rolling/Compacting Containers: varies on compactor size and quantity  Self-Contained Compactor Unit: $203.39/pull + landfill tonnage fees + taxes  Temporary Roll-off box (bulk overflow): $43.89/delivery & set-up fee + daily rental fee + landfill tonnage fees + taxes  Bulk overflow (one-time collection): $76.34/load Option 1  Add bulk/brush pick up to multi-family rate  Requires additional boom truck and operator  One-time cost - $525,000  Recurring cost - $200,000  Rate increase to approx. $15 per unit  Complexes would designate an approved area onsite for disposal  Pick up would be on-call, not a set day  20 CY pick up limit Option 2  Add additional pick-up day to multi-family rate (3 x per week)  Requires two additional front-end loaders and operators  Requires two additional commercial side loaders and operators  One-time cost - $2,600,000  Recurring cost - $800,000  Significant rate increase; surpass single family rate Legacy Properties  Alleys inaccessible either due to condition or size  Located within private access easements Option 3  Address legacy properties  Outreach  Improve infrastructure  Significant investment in pavement rehabilitation  Assume ownership of alleyways  Other  Underground systems o Investment in additional vehicle - $300 - $400k o Only feasible in ROWs; relocation of utilities  Smaller vehicles - $300k o Smaller containers  Routing Other Considerations  Add additional roll off boxes and truck  Continue to encourage compactor units  Private haulers  Average base rate $372 Council requested staff to bring back a clear picture of a Legacy Property Plan and Option 1. CCM 022023 Minutes Page 5 Richard Mann, Fire Chief, presented an overview of College Station Fire-Department Updates and total SLAs from 2018-2023 of $5,585,362: One Time - $2,821,438, Recurring - $2,760,924, and 17 FTEs. 2018 Service Level Adjustments 3 FTE’s: 1) EMS Safety Captain 2) Accreditation Manager 3) Fire Inspector Equipment purchases put on capital replacement cycle • 12-lead monitors – put on capital replacement cycle • Thermal imagers • Rescue equipment 2019 Service Level Adjustments Step pay plan implementation • Good initial phase, need to revise to be competitive in market Online Paramedic • Online paramedic school ~$8000, TEEX ~$6000, Blinn~$7000 • Clinical overtime (440 hrs x $45 = 19,800 / student) • Successfully funded 14 students and clinical time through FY2020 AFG $700,000 • Utilizing Senate Bill 8 funding for Blinn students for 2023 – tuition / books only – does not cover clinical time backfill • Future will need to allocate annual funding for paramedic training ($140,000 / yr for 5 paramedic students) 2020 Service Level Adjustments (6) FTE’s added through SAFER grant: • $911,476 over 3-years – 75%, 75%, 25% Federal funding • Members hired 2/3/20 2021 Service Level Adjustments COVID reductions • Frozen BC position 2022 Service Level Adjustments Peak Ambulance placed in service October 2021 Cancer reduction initiative - Diesel direct capture exhaust removal completed for all stations • Stations 1, 2, 4 previously completed with AFG grant, Stations 3, 5, 6 not grant eligible 2023 Service Level Adjustments (7) FTEs added through SAFER Grant: • $1,942,269 funded at 100% for three years (1) FTE Staff Admin – Fire/EMS Regulatory Compliance & Educator Billy Couch, Police Chief, provided updates on the College Station Police-Department and SLAs. Department Challenges / Agency Threats  Limited interest due to Public perception → Recruiting / Retention Challenges  Competition with other Regional Agencies  Retirement eligible candidates are leaving LE  New Generation expects work-life balance → Less likely to absorb the Stress of the job → See it as a job and not a career CCM 022023 Minutes Page 6  As Vacancies Increase, Burnout increases → Less Job Satisfaction leads to Turnover  Recruitment / Retention of Dispatchers  Northgate → High Liability and a Drain on Resources  Mental Health Calls → Multi-disciplinary approach / Avail Solution  Population Growth → Outpacing Departmental Growth  Increase Boundary Footprint / Infill  Inner-City Policing Demands  Case Evidence Expectations Police Personnel Recruiting and Attrition Service Level Adjustments FY19-FY23 Positive Impacts upon Department CCM 022023 Minutes Page 7 Steve Wright, Parks and Recreation Director, provided an overview of the Parks Board Strategic Plan and a 501 (C) organization – Parks Foundation that is represented by David White. College Station Parks Board Strategic Plan  5.6: Identify and secure public and private funds for the acquisition of parks, greenways, and facilities. Ensure adequate parkland and greenway provisions through the Parkland Dedication Ordinance, the Capital Improvements Program, annual budgets, City property acquisition programs, external dollars, foundations, and public-private partnerships.  5.7: Continue inter-agency coordination and establish new public/private partnerships to provide additional amenities, funding, networking, and co-production opportunities. Seek partnerships with other public agencies to provide recreational amenities, greenways, and services where mutually beneficial opportunities are available. College Station Parks Foundation  501 (C) organization.  The primary focus of the Foundation is to secure, manage and invest privately raised funds, gifts, and bequest in support of the Department’s programs, services, and facilities.  The Foundation operates as a legal entity separate from the city.  Governed by a Board of Directors, none of whom are employees of the city.  Initially run by volunteers, but ultimately will hire staff to run the Foundation. 3.5. Presentation, discussion, and possible action regarding a diverse and growing economy. Natalie Ruiz, Economic Development, presented a summary on diverse and growing economy for current and the future of College Station:  Increase property tax value  Tax revenue  Higher-paying jobs  ED opportunities and new businesses Some primary strategies are targeted development, strategic redevelopment and enhancing the tourism economy. Targeted Development  Midtown  Caprock Crossing  Tower Point Mrs. Ruiz explained that existing land use in the city limits from an Economic Development recruitment & development standpoint – moving from traditional recruitment to more complicated CCM 022023 Minutes Page 8 redevelopment & infill development. This is a paradigm shift for College Station and impacts the entire city – planning, police, fire, sanitation, etc. On the fringes of the city limits, traditionally we’ve seen more single family. We’ve also made some investments/EDA’s that may not be favorable in the future – Southern Point. We must be more strategic where we encourage development – infrastructure investments, servicing costs, etc. Strategic Redevelopment  Providence Park  Redevelopment of 180,000 sq. ft former Westinghouse Building  New ecosystem of offices, manufacturing, restaurants, and retail space  Partnership to encourage & expedite the repurposing and renovation  Recent sale to major life science investor  Northgate  Buildings currently under construction in Northgate:  315 College Main – “The Rev” – 19 Stories - 298 Units – 802 Bedrooms  500 College Main – “The Everett at A&M” – 8 Stories – 95 Units – 280 Bedrooms  401 First Street – “First Street Student Housing” - 10 Stories – 341 Units – 745 Bedrooms  Post Oak Mall  Vision Planning for Redevelopment  10-Year Evaluation & Appraisal Report o Launched in 2019, adopted by City Council in October 2020 o Recommended comprehensive plan modifications in response to changing conditions o Scenario planning for several areas, including Post Oak Mall  Engagement with current owners of Post Oak Mall and accompanying boxes  Potential of alternative uses, increasing density, high utilization in key corridor  University Drive and Texas Avenue  Hensel Park Strategic Initiatives  Leading in Hospitality  Hilton: Total of $18M – renovations are underway, including lobby, entrances, pool, and a roof top bar (latest technology and walk-in showers)  Current Paradigm - Do not invest in new convention & meetings facilities and use what’s on A&M’s campus. Therefore, the City negotiated the PAA. Invest our HOT funds in the expansion of Kyle Field and have preferred access to specific facilities on campus. This is an area we must address long term. Current issues:  Limited access to facilities,  Price of facility – room is free, but we’re charged for every chair, table, air conditioning, etc.  Disconnect of meeting space and a hotel. Meeting planners want to limit risk and look for turnkey solutions – meeting space, hotel rooms and food & beverage  Local Hotel Market  Traditionally a weekend market – leisure travel for football or events association with A&M.  Overbuilt in terms of new rooms – almost doubled in inventory around 2014 and still haven’t recovered. During COVID expected several hotels to close – we have 1 that sold and converted to a senior living facility.  Free market – We only limit hotel development by zoning – currently allowed in general commercial.  Sports Tourisms Expansion  Veteran’s Park – softball & flat fields, almost at capacity. CCM 022023 Minutes Page 9  Texas Independence Ballpark at Midtown – important because it adds a new sport to our portfolio – baseball. Our current fields are predominantly for kids under 12/13. 4. Adjournment. There being no further business, Mayor Nichols adjourned the Meeting of the City Council at 5:21 p.m. on Monday, February 20, 2023. ________________________ John P. Nichols, Mayor ATTEST: ___________________________ Tanya Smith, City Secretary