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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/29/2013 - Special Minutes City Council MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL RETREAT 4D CITY OF COLLEGE STATION JANUARY 29, 2013 STATE OF TEXAS § § COUNTY OF BRAZOS § Present: Nancy Berry Council: Blanche Brick Jess Fields, arrived after roll call Karl Mooney John Nichols Julie Schultz James Benham City Staff: Frank Simpson, Interim City Manager Kathy Merrill, Deputy City Manager Carla Robinson, City Attorney Sherry Mashburn, City Secretary 1. Call to Order and Announce a Quorum is Present With a quorum present, the Retreat of the College Station City Council was called to order by Mayor Nancy Berry at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 29, 2013 in the College Station Utilities Training Facility, 1603 Graham Road, College Station, Texas 77842. 2. Presentation and overview of the Retreat Agenda. Bob Cowell, Executive Director of Planning and Development Services, presented a brief overview of what he hoped to accomplish today. 3. Executive Session In accordance with the Texas Government Code §551.086 — Competitive Matters, the College Station City Council convened into Executive Session at 8:31 a.m. on Tuesday, January 29, 2013 in order to continue discussing matters pertaining to: C w. A. Deliberation on a competitive matter; to wit: RTRT012913 Minutes Page 1 • Power supply The Executive Session adjourned at 9:58 a.m. on Tuesday, January 29, 2013. 4. Take action, if any, on Executive Session. No action was required from Executive Session. 5. Presentation, possible action and discussion on the Parks and Recreation and Code Enforcement service level impacts due to the budget reductions of the past few years. David Schmitz, Director of Parks and Recreation, updated the Council on the budget reductions and implications on Parks services. A comparison of the past several years was provided. A lot of changes related to how we provide services to the citizens have occurred. One major operational change was separating out a Recreation Fund from the General Fund. The Parks Master Plan changed to address neighborhood and community parks. Grounds maintenance operations in both public works and parks and recreations were consolidated for a good savings in the budget. The Aquatics Division was audited and many recommendations were provided; in 2012, the program was converted to a more seasonal -type program. All staff training is now done through the Red Cross, and we have reduced offerings at the Natatorium due to being charged for use. In 2012 there was a reduction in staff. The organization was flattened at the top for a savings; an entire level of supervision was eliminated. They also combined a lot of duties within the department, and some duties were outsourced to other departments. They have tried to do all they could to save money without impacting the level of service. Currently, there is a push to renovate existing parks to bring them back up to speed, but there are some new parks scheduled for 2013 as new development occurs. They are also looking to purchase a large parcel of property for another community park. A program survey will be used to determine what the citizens expect from the parks programs. For FY 13, $15 million is budgeted for Parks and Recreation projects, such as the artificial turf fields in Veterans Park. Bob Cowell, Executive Director of Planning and Development Services, updated the Council on the budget reductions and implications on Code Enforcement services. For years, Code Enforcement was under the purview of the Fire Department and was moved to Planning and Development. In the past, there were four code officers and a supervisor; in 2009, we had six officers, a supervisor and a staff assistant. Due to the 2011 budget cuts, staff was reduced to four officers and a supervisor. The case load per officer has been fairly stable over the years, with 12,000 cases in 2008 and 10,500 in 2011. 2011 is also when the City introduced See Click Fix. The cases coming in by See Click Fix are increasing each year. In 2012, we had 9,000 cases. We moved from being proactive to being more reactive when we made the budget changes in 2011. It is important that we protect the core services of code enforcement, responding to those complaints submitted. When we shifted to a reactive mode, the number of cases went down because we weren't out looking for violations. Each individual code officer now handles commercial enforcement instead of one dedicated officer as in the past. They would like to keep the case load at no more than 3,000 cases per officer. It has become more manageable because we have shifted to a reactive mode. . RTRT012913 Minutes Page 2 Slow 6. Presentation, possible action, and discussion regarding the planning, financing, and construction of public infrastructure to development areas within and adjacent to the City of College Station. Bob Cowell, Executive Director of Planning and Development Services, provided an overview on the possible extension of infrastructure. His objectives were to help Council understand how the City has provided for infrastructure in the past and what has changed that affects that delivery, where infrastructure is needed, where we are currently constructing and what is need for the future, and the financing options. Initially, the City's development was compact and the infrastructure needs were very limited. Development has sprawled, and we are now almost fifty square miles. Most of our basic infrastructure was delivered through a combination of City, TXDOT and development. City facilities have been through debt, rates, grants, oversize participation, and limited impact fees. Things have changed, such as stagnating revenue sources, less TXDOT funding, aging infrastructure, increased sprawl, increased regulatory requirements, and increased resistance to financing tools. These mean we have slower growing debt capacity, needs are going unmet, a greater share of rates and debt are needed for rehabilitation and replacement. It will be more expensive to deliver a dispersed infrastructure, and a greater share of rate /debt is needed to meet regulatory compliance. He noted we only have so many tools in the tool kit; the more tools we reject, the fewer tools we have to use. We will not be able to meet our future needs if we continue to rely only upon our current policies, tools and resources. Chuck Gilman, Director of Capital Projects, provided a brief overview of the City's five -year plan. In the works is the reconstruction of Bird Pond Road, Cooner Street, Rock Prairie Road East, Luther, and Munson. Also included in the Plan is the extension/widening of Jones Butler, HSC Parkway, Rock Prairie Road West, Rock Prairie Road Overpass, and Barron East/Lakeway South. Dave Coleman, Director of Water, noted the water /wastewater infrastructure needed in association with these projects. Mr. Cowell reported they have identified six major areas for development: 1) the area by the Texas Speedway and south of Pebble Creek (area is lacking basic infrastructure); 2) the area by Arrington (a proposed low density development lacking all basic infrastructure); 3) the Medical district; 4) the west side by Great Oaks (a fairly dense development lacking basic infrastructure); 5) the area adjacent to George Bush and Wellborn (lacking the infrastructure to accommodate future needs); and 6) the Biocorridor. He noted that development is also occurring in Northgate; the infrastructure there now is appropriate, but additional infrastructure will be needed as it develops. These are all significant pieces of infrastructure. Various Master Plans are needed to serve future development, such as the Thoroughfare Plan, the Water Master Plan, and the Wastewater Master Plan, in addition to several others. Mr. Gilman and Mr. Coleman listed the types of infrastructure that will be needed in these areas. Mr. Cowell said we need to continue to prioritize projects for future bond initiatives, continue to use /increase rates, continue to invest in maintenance to avoid expensive replacement, and maximize the efficiency of systems to defer expensive replacements /expansions. We will, more than likely, be required to increase our participation in TXDOT projects and seek ways to ( reimburse City expenditures. We should look at targeted impact fees, development agreements, RTRT012913 Minutes Page 3 assessments, and the strategic use of TIRZ, MUD and MMD. The City needs to focus its funding on big projects with the traditional tools of debt and rates for arterials, wastewater treatment plants, water towers, etc. The City should participate in strategic partnerships to fund projects with the traditional tools of debt and rates. Also, the City should allow /create tools that will enable reimbursement to the developer who fronts the cost of infrastructure delivery through tools such as an MMD, MUD, etc. Staff recommends a series of workshops to develop policies for each of these areas and to tailor our policies and tools for the specific development/redevelopment areas. They each have their own challenges. Consensus was to provide the Council with multiple tools (scenarios) with the next development submission. 7. Presentation, possible action, and discussion regarding the 2013 update of the City Council's Strategic Plan. This item did not require further discussion (see minutes from January 28, 2013). 8. Presentation, possible action, and discussion regarding the development of the Lick Creek Park Nature Center. This item did not require further discussion (see minutes from January 28, 2013). 9. Presentation, possible action, and discussion on options for the future of the Conference Center facility and operations. J This item did not require further discussion (see minutes from January 28, 2013). 10. Presentation, recap and discussion regarding next steps. Bob Cowell, Executive Director of Planning and Development Services, reviewed the Council's direction from yesterday's meeting; to wit: • Revise goal for financially stable city to remove "current" • Under core services add additional PD strategies - need to talk through what these are Revise continued support of agencies engaged in community programs and strike specific programs and add "when they demonstrate good stewardship of public funds Revise Neighborhood Integrity to reflect that we work with HOA's and NA's to address specific neighborhood issues /concerns Revise Neighborhood Integrity goal to add "safe" • Revise diverse growing economy strategy on incompatible encroachments add "medical district" • Revise strategy with tourism to add "support & diversification" • Add "Support diversification and expansion of non - consumer economy - business to business" • Revise strategy talking about diversification efforts focused on job growth versus just biotech Add strategy on supporting private delivery of broadband tech - need language from James Benham For Improving Mobility revise second strategy to add promoting -.04) RTRT012913 Minutes Page 4 "safe" walkability and remove reference to sidewalks, short block length, and landscaping • Possible new initiative, revised mission, or incorporation into multiple initiatives regarding good governance - responsive, accountable, transparent, effective, efficient, etc. with strategies such as strategic planning, community surveys, etc. Staff will consolidate /refine the direction given at yesterday's meeting. There will be further discussion on unresolved items, if necessary. The finalized Plan will be presented to Council for adoption, possibly in March. Department service plans will also be presented. The budget/mid- year review will be May -July. Performance measure reports will be provided to the Council quarterly. Mayor Berry asked Council to provide an evaluation of the retreat to the City Manager or City Secretary. 11. Adiournment MOTION: There being no further business, Mayor Berry adjourned the Retreat of the College Station City Council at 1:01 p.m. on Tuesday, January 29, 2013. Nancy Be ,Mayor ATTEST: A s k Sherry M. 4' burn, City Secretary L RTRT012913 Minutes Page 5