HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/22/2012 - Workshop Minutes City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP
CITY OF COLLEGE STATION
MARCH 22, 2012
STATE OF TEXAS §
§
COUNTY OF BRAZOS §
Present:
Nancy Berry, Mayor
Council:
Blanche Brick
Jess Fields
Karl Mooney
Katy -Marie Lyles
Julie Schultz
Dave Ruesink
City Staff:
L David Neeley, City Manager
Kathy Merrill, Deputy City Manager
Frank Simpson, Deputy City Manager
Carla Robinson, City Attorney
Sherry Mashburn, City Secretary
Tanya McNutt, Deputy City Secretary
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 6:02 p.m. on Thursday, March 22, 2012 in the Council Chambers of the
City of College Station City Hall, 1101 Texas Avenue, College Station, Texas 77842.
1. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on items listed on the consent agenda.
No items were pulled for additional clarification.
2. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on City of College Station 2012 bond sale
and refunding and financing structure. (This item is also on consent agenda item 2d)
Jeff Kersten, Executive Director of Fiscal Services, presented the 2012 Bond Sale Calendar. We
are doing things a little earlier than last year in order to take advantage of the low interest rates.
k iivw He reported that for the negotiated sale, underwriters are chosen through an RFP process. The
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City must have at least a 5% net present value savings on a refunded bond. The City Manager or
IL Executive Director of Business Services is given authority to execute the sale through the
adoption of a Bond Ordinance. We will issue General Obligation bonds in the amount of
$4,260,000 for various streets and transportation projects. General Obligation bonds will be
issued for Parks and Recreation projects in the amount of $4,435,000. We are also looking at
utilizing Certificates of General Obligation in the amount of $17,400,000. Projects include
information technology, electric, and water. The new money total is $21,835,000. Option 1
refunding for Series 2003, 2004 and 2005 bonds will have a projected net present value savings
of $1,765,754 or 5.84 %. Option 2 refunding for Series 2003 and 2004 only had a projected net
present value savings of $1,370,575 or 7.27 %. These options will allow the City to maintain the
flexibility to issue the maximum amount of refunding bonds. As the sale date approaches, we
will assess market conditions and determine whether to refund the 2005 bonds now or next year.
3. Presentation and discussion regarding an update briefing of the City's Technology Plan.
Ben Roper, IT Director, stated that IT efforts are linked to the strategic direction provided by the
Council. He reported that technology is managed as an enterprise capability. The IT
Department is an internal service delivery department. The Plan is updated annually with
direction from the City Manager and input from other departments. IT provides a framework by
which the allocation of critical resources are directed, categorized and aligned with City goals. It
is derived from Council Strategic Initiatives. Their goals are to use technology to increase
government transparency and accountability; technology will be used to more effectively and
efficiently deliver services to citizens, and they must develop and maintain critical technology
L ir infrastructure that supports the delivery of core services. In addition to the department's goals
and objectives, IT also uses guiding principles for developing projects and processes. Their
ultimate outcome is to use technology as a tool to provide City employees and citizens with
timely, convenient access to appropriate information and services. Business needs drive
information technology solutions. Technology is a tool, not a requirement. FY 12 funded capital
projects include Wireless Infrastructure Project (continuation of prior year investment), Fiber
Optic Infrastructure Project (Continuation of prior year investment), the Network and Data
Security Upgrade Project, MDT System Replacement, and the E -mail and File System Migration
Project. Other projects, with no funding requested in FY 12, include Court Software Evaluation
and ERP System Upgrade /Replacement.
The most critical challenges facing the department are keeping up with change in technology and
using technology effectively to meet government business requirements and public expectations.
Major trends impacting technology solutions are:
• The workplace is more mobile; therefore, users are demanding the ability to perform
more functions without being tied to a physical location;
• Communication, collaboration, and information sharing methods are increasingly
automated;
• Information resources must be managed from a full life cycle perspective; and
• Security for information and communications systems and privacy of information are
critical priorities.
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The City's technology architecture is a strategic asset that defines technology components
necessary to support business operations and the infrastructure required for implementation of
new technologies in response to the changing needs of government business. It is a multilayered
architecture that includes Application and Data Architectures; Platform Architecture; Network
Architecture; and Security Architecture.
4. Council Calendar
• March 23 14th Annual Crawfish Boil at the Expo Center, 5:30 p.m.
• March 24 Arts Council of Brazos Valley - "Savor the Arts" at George Bush
Presidential Library, 7:00 p.m.
• March 27 Youth Advisory Town Hall Meeting at A &M Consolidated High School -
180 1 Harvey Mitchell Parkway South, 4:30 p.m.
• April 2 Citizen's University 2012 (Council) in Council Chambers at 7:00 p.m.
• April 4 15th Annual M.B. Zale Lecture and Award "Theo Killion" CEO Zale
Corporation at Ray Auditorium, Mays Business School, 11:30 a.m.
• April 5 P &Z Workshop/Meeting in Council Chambers at 6:00 a.m.
• April 6 City Offices Closed - HOLIDAY
• April 12 City Council Workshop Regular Meeting at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Council reviewed the Council calendar.
5. 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 Fields would like to look at TML, NLC and memberships in general and how
we benefit from membership. City Manager Neeley stated he would provide the Council with a
white paper.
6. 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, Brazos County Health Dept., Brazos
Valley Council of Governments, Brazos Valley Wide Area Communications Task Force,
BVSWMA, BVWACS, Cemetery Committee, Code Review Committee, 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, Outside Agency
Funding Review, Parks and Recreation Board, Planning and Zoning Commission,
Research Valley Partnership. Regional Transportation Committee for Council of
Governments, Signature Event Task Force, Sister City Association, TAMU Student Senate,
Texas Municipal League, Transportation Committee, Zoning Board of Adjustments.
Mayor Berry reported on an Intergovernmental meeting and the Arts Council Sub - committee
meeting.
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Councilmember Schultz reported on the RVP meeting.
Councilmember Ruesink reported on Sister Cities.
Councilmember Brick reported on the Joint Neighborhood Parking Taskforce meeting.
7. Adjournment
MOTION: There being no further business, Mayor Berry adjourned the workshop of the
College Station City Council at 6:59 p.m. on Thursday, March 22, 2012.
fy�
Nancy Berry, ayor
ATTEST:
Sherry Mash rn, City Secretary
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