HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/07/2012 - Regular Minutes - Citizens Charter Review CommissionMINUTES OF THE CITIZENS' CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION
MARCH 7, 2012
STATE OF TEXAS §
COUNTY OF BRAZOS §
Present:
Brian Bochner
Terry Childers
Chuck Ellison
Patrick Gendron
Paul Greer
Gary Halter
Tony Jones, absent
Lynn Mcllhaney, Chair
Buck Prewitt
City Staff:
Carla Robinson, City Attorney
Sherry Mashburn, City Secretary
Jason Stuebe, Assistant to the City Manager
1. Call to Order and Announce a Quorum is Present
With a quorum present, the Citizens' Charter Review Commission was called to order by Chair
Lynn McIlhaney at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 in the Administration Conference
Room, City Hall, 1101 Texas Avenue, College Station, Texas 77842.
2. Hear Visitors
There were no citizen comments.
3. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on minutes for February 15, 2012 Regular
Meeting.
MOTION: Upon a motion made by Commissioner Bochner and a second by Commissioner
Prewitt, the Commission voted eight (8) for and none (0) opposed, to approve the minutes of the
February 15, 2012 Regular Meeting, as submitted. The motion carried unanimously.
4. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on Article XI Franchises and Public
Utilities within the City Charter.
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Carla Robinson, City Attorney, distributed a redline and clean draft of the article with the
proposed language. She briefly explained each proposed change, which included:
• Section 102: Remove itemized listing of public services;
• Section 103: Struck out cumbersome language related to transferred franchises and
replaced with simpler language;
• Section 104: Number of required readings reduced from three to two, reduce petition
numbers from 40% to 10 %; inserting language to be compliant with state law as it
pertains to election date, ballot language, and who shall bear the expenses of publication;
• Section 105: Removed cumbersome language in first paragraph, and adding language to
(7) "as may be permitted by the laws of the State of Texas; and
• Section 113: Striking the outdated language, but retaining "The City shall maintain a
public record of public utility franchises ".
Commissioner Halter proposed adding language to state that where state law does not dictate the
fees, then it shall be based on all sales and services.
The Commission expressed some concern over Section 105 related to transfers of assigned
property and the power of the Council to approve transfers. Consensus was to keep the last
sentence of the first paragraph.
The City Attorney said she is most comfortable with the changes in Section 104, and noted this
has been in place since the original charter was adopted in 1952. She recommends making those
simple changes in 104 and leaving the rest of the article alone.
MOTION: Upon a motion made by Commissioner Childers and a second by Commissioner
Ellison, the Commission voted eight (8) for and none (0) opposed, to adopt the changes proposed
by staff, leaving in the last sentence on section 105, and to have staff research to see if we can
include language creating a basis for franchise revenue, if needed. The motion carried
unanimously.
5. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on Article X Initiative, Referendum and
Recall within the City Charter.
Consensus of the Commission is to require in Section 96 that a petition signer must have voted in
the election in which the officer being recalled was elected. There was also consensus to include
the exception language found in Sections 83 and 84 into Section 94 as well.
MOTION: Upon a motion made by Commissioner Ellison and a second by Commissioner
Halter, the Commission voted seven (7) for and one (1) opposed, with Commissioner Prewitt
voting against, to leave the percentages the same. The motion carried.
6. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on amending the attached Plan of Work,
any items on the Plan of Work, and possible criteria to be used in order to add items to the
Plan of Work.
The City Attorney will update the Plan of Work for the next meeting.
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7. Discussion and possible action on future agenda items.
No future agenda items were brought forward.
8. Adjournment
MOTION: Upon a motion made by Commissioner Prewitt and a second by Commissioner
Bochner, the Commission voted eight (8) for and none (0) opposed, to adjourn the regular
meeting of the Citizens' Charter Review Advisory Commission on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at
5:30 p.m. The motion carried unanimously.
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