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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/10/1986 - Workshop Minutes City Council MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1986 4:00 P.M. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: VISITORS PRESENT: Mayor Ringer, Councilmen Tongco, Brown, Boughton, Bond, Jones, Haddox None City Manager Cole, Assistant City Manager Ragland, City Attorney Locke, City Secretary Jones, Director of Capital Improvements Ash, Director of Parks and Recreation Beachy, Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation Cisneros, Municipal Court Clerk Choate, Council Coordinator Hooks See guest register. Agenda Item No. 1 - Council Concerns. Councilman Brown stated a concern about state election signs that remain posted on locations around town. City Manager Cole re- plied he was not sure about the sign regulations regarding elec- tion sign pickup, but he would follow-up on this question. Mayor Ringer mentioned that he talked with the Mayors' Committee for the Disabled and they were very appreciative of the City's support. He pointed out that partial funding will be used toward transporting the disabled during the evening hours to the Arts Council events. Councilman Boughton stated that Tony Jones indicated to her that a group of A&M Consolidated supporters would like to have permis- sion to paint "Home of the Fighting Tigers" on the water tower located at Texas Avenue and Holleman. She added that the suppor- ters would pay for the work. Councilman Haddox commented that if the idea were carried out, it would need to be professionally done. City Manager Cole added that painting costs are extremely expensive. 005969 CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1986 PAGE 2 Councilman Bond stated his support for the Tigers, but pointed out that the Council would need some time to consider the idea because of the permanency of such a project. After further dis- cussion by the Council, Mayor Ringer stated that Councilman Boughton could notify Tony Jones to investigate the cost that would be involved. He noted that if Mr. Jones decided to pro- ceed, the question could be placed on the Agenda for January. AHenda Item No. 2 - City Manager Concerns. City Manager Cole recalled that the meeting of the legislative session is near. He passed to each Council member a memorandum stating the key issues to be discussed by the legislature. Mr. Cole responded to Councilman Brown's concern about the High- way 30 project. He stated that the Highway Department has re- ported that due to existing weather conditions, the project may not be finished until spring. Mr. Cole noted that a "Good Sportsman Award" should be given to Bud Ward of Bud Ward Volkswagon for the patience he has shown during the renovation of the College Station water tower located next to his business. Agenda Item No. 3 - Discussion of proposed ~egulations for solicitation, as submitted by the Better Business Bureau of the Brazos Valley. Pete Tucker, a member of the Better Business Bureau, addressed the council about problems connected with telephone and advertis- ing solicitation being conducted in Bryan/College Station. He reported that out-of-town professional groups request permis- sion from one of the local organizations to present shows or con- certs on behalf of the local organization's name, and in turn, leave the area with most of the money. He mentioned that the Rainbow Foundation, which operated in the Bryan/College Station area, sold tickets to "dying children" dances through telephone solicitation and pocketed all of the money. Mr. Tucker described the proposed regulations written by the Better Business Bureau Committee. He explained that the applica- tion and regulations would not hinder any local, legitimate orga- nization from raising funds in the City. Councilman Bond asked how the committee will determine the legit- imacy of an organization. Mr. Tucker responded that the three page application form asks for detailed information, such as ,05970 CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1986 PAGE 3 financial statements, history of criminal involvement, etc.; and, this information will be used to determine whether the per- mit is to be issued or denied. Councilman Brown asked how the groups will be policed. Mr. Tucker replied that the committee will come to the Council and announce that the group has not met the standards set by the committee and action will be taken. Mr. Tucker suggested that the Committee consist of seven persons including representatives from the City of College Station and the Better Business Bureau. Mayor Ringer pointed out that it might be more appropriate to have a joint commission including the City of Bryan. Councilman Tongco commented that she sees a problem in legislat- ing 90% of the population and 90% of the honest organizations in order to capture 5%-10% of the population which are fraudulent. She continued to explain that there may be a problem in organiz- ing a committee which has legislative enforcement police power. She asked what type of educational programs have been publicized to make organizations aware of the type of solicitation problems occurring. Mr. Tucker replied that the Better Business Bureau has assistance from the local media when these events happen, but since the solicitation has increased, it is very difficult for the BBB to intensively review each group. Councilman Haddox asked how the proposed regulations were com- posed and what cities also use this procedure. Mr. Leroy Balmain replied that the City of San Antonio, Wichita Falls, and Abilene were among the cities who enforce similar regulations. He con- tinued to say that 80%-90% of the money received by these promot- ers is taken out of the City. Mr. Balmain emphasized that the major reason for this proposed procedure is to learn how the money is taken and how it will be spent. Councilman Bond inquired about the standards set by the commis- sion and on what basis will the permit be issued or denied. Mr. Tucker replied that the permit process requires the appli- cants to provide their past history and to reveal other important information; this allows enough criteria to determine if an or- ganization should be approved or denied. Councilman Jones asked what incentive would the outside promoters have to fill out these forms. Mr. Tucker replied that these forms will be issued to all major local organizations. Council- man Jones noted that the commission will have some control on the local organizations, but will probably not have any control on the outside promoters. 05971 CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1986 PAGE 4 Councilman Haddox suggested that the City Manager contact the cities which use this type of application and obtain opinions from them. City Manager Cole concurred and added that the City Attorney will need to provide input. Mayor Ringer noted that Bryan and College Station should work to- gether in this effort if they choose to do so. Councilman Haddox noted that the citizens should be made more aware of these solic- itors, by newspaper, television, or radio. He suggested that one step could be made by placing a message on the local access Channel 24. Mayor Ringer suggested that the Council keep this item under con- sideration and asked the City Attorney for input concerning the regulations. Agenda Item No. 4 - Final Report from LWFW on the study performed on the City's data processing operations. City Manager Cole noted that LWFW consultants, Chip Collins and Jerry Collins were present to begin their final report of the data processing operations. Mr. Collins began by explaining the goals and objectives of the study. First, the objectives of Phase I were to plan for data processing expenditures and resource requirements and to provide the City with the methodology to correct the weaknesses the audit firm discovered during the study; and second, to provide City personnel with guidance in relation to the status of and future planning for the City's data processing systems. Mr. Collins described background information on the firm and pro- vided a list of the study team. He pointed out that the City also devised a Study Team composed of senior level managers. He explained that the study included five project steps. The first step involved the understanding of the City's users of com- puter operations. He stated that LWFW conducted an intro-ductory meeting for the key personnel. A series of question-naires were provided for their completion. He explained that the first questionnaire asked the manager what the goals and objec-tives are in relation to data processing. The second question-naire asked the users of the current system to rate their system. The third questionnaire was directed toward the data processing staff about their skill capabilities. The completed questionnaires were reviewed and interviews were conducted with key City manage- ment and staff. .05972 CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1986 PAGE 5 Step Two related to the findings of the questionnaires, LWFW operations, and interviews. Mr. Collins stated that the City of College Station utilizes an NCR 1-9050 series for the utility billing/customer service, general ledger, and payroll. He re- ported the 1-9050 series has not been historically reliable for College Station, but within the past few months this viewpoint has changed. He noted that the Data Processing Budget for 1987 is $572,000; this is exceptionally low for a city this size. Mr. Collins pointed out that the City's software application pro- grams installed are heavily customized. Mr. Collins explained Step Three. A prioritization worksheet was given to the study team asking them to rate the value of the ap- plication and software systems in regards to costs, complexity, installation time, etc. Step Four consisted of final recommendations. During another workshop with the City's study team, potential approaches/ strategies for data processing were discussed. The strategies were: (1) Do nothing (baseline); this strategy reflects no changes to the existing data processsing environment. (2) Retain current data processing philosophy; this strategy reflects no changes to the current data processing environment until 1987 other than those required to satisfy near-term capacity require- ments in support of the existing application software systems. (3) LWFW recommends using total distributive (departmentalized) processing. He explained that this strategy reflects a totally distributive data processing plan and organization. Mr. Collins explained a key recommendation is to make data processing a city- wide support and service function. LWFW would like to establish a Management Information System steering committee comprised of four to six senior managerial representatives; and, finally, to establish user groups. Mr. Collins stated that Step Five is the long range plan. He ex- plained that the starting date would begin January-February 1987. LWFW is recommending that the City replace the financial/ accounting/payroll system with a comprehensive financial/accoun- ting/payroll/personnel system; and, that the utility billing system continue processing on the NCR 9050. Mr. Collins stated that the City should implement Electronic Office Systems on a microcomputer-based Local Area Network; and, during the next 18 months, the City should phase out all Osborne and Phillips word processors. q05973 CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1986 PAGE 6 He presented the estimated data processing costs for the years 1987-1991 and noted that the estimated costs for 1987 are $834,000.00. He pointed out that the concrete plan is only good for an 18-month period and that the important part of this plan is the management methodology. He noted that if the plan is suc- cessful, costs may be higher. Agenda Item No. 5 - Report and recommendations from Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on parkland development. Steve Beachy, Parks and Recreation Director, presented this item. He explained that the parkland dedication funds are divid- ed into seven escrow accounts based on seven zones in the city. The funds are derived from developers of residential neighbor- hoods and apartment complexes, etc. and these funds have one separate interest account. Councilman Bond asked to which zones does the interest correspond. Mr. Beachy replied that the recom- mendation is to utilize the interest to several zones. Council- man Bond asked if the City is legally constrained by any ordi- nance on the control of these earnings. Ms. Locke replied af- firmatively. Mr. Beachy showed a slide presentation of each zone illustrating the parks in those areas. Zone 1 is the Hensel Park Playground where improvements have been made to the playground equipment. The City coordinates with TAMU and the Hensel Park Committee on the needs of the park. The Hensel Park Committee recommended that the City add two picnic shelters; their estimated cost is $10,000. Zone 2 includes Parkway Park, where a need exists for the re- placement of the wood structure and the addition of topsoil and sod on gravel slopes; estimated cost is $8,000. Mr. Beachy stated that the Richard Carter Park has erosion problems in the west part of the site. Also, the Board felt strongly about placing a flower garden and trees in this area and an irrigation system in the Park. He pointed out that the majority of this funding would need to be allocated from the interest fund ac- count. The recommendation for Merry Oaks Park is to plant crepe myrtles and plants around the signs. The Oaks Park in Zone 2 needs trees and shrubs to replace the post oak trees lost in this area. Changes to the Lions Club Park include improvements to the playground area with permanent curbing. q05974 CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1986 PAGE 7 Mr. Beachy noted that Thomas Park has annual flower beds along Francis Drive and additional flower beds will be displayed throughout the park. He mentioned that recommendations have been made for toddler play equipment at the swimming pool, and for re- placement of hackberry trees with live oaks. He also described Eastgate Park and explained that the proposal for it is to pro- vide flowers and trees that require minimal work. Zone 3 includes the Brentwood Park, a new and undeveloped project located north of Colgate Street in the vicinity of Brentwood Sub- division. For Central Park, the recommendation is to install a basketball court. Zone 4 contains Raintree Park, which has erosion problems; the Board is recommending that crepe myrtles, flowers, and shrubs be planted. Also, Woodcreek Park is a dedicated park which needs initial clean-up and signage. Sandstone Park is 13 acres of un- developed land and includes 2 acres for the fire station. Mr. Beachy noted that no public hearings have been held for this parkland. The Emerald Forest Park site plan is before the Plan- ning and Zoning Commission at this time. There will need to be initial development such as clean-up work and bridge repairs as required. Zone 5 consists of Southwood Athletic Park; recommendations are for trees and landscaping in the large park. Zone 6 includes Gabbard Park; recommendations are for trees, flowers, and shrubs. Also, Brison Park needs flowering trees and plantings at the new signs. Mayor Ringer noted that the City Attorney has concerns about the use of interest monies. Cathy Locke responded that she will re- search this further and meet with Steve Beachy. Councilman Haddox asked if a developer dedicates a certain amount of money to a particular zone, would there be an obligation to go beyond the expenditure of money set aside for that zone. City Attorney Locke replied that the monies designated to a particular zone should be used accordingly for that zone. Mayor Ringer stated that the Council should wait for the city attorney's recommenda- tions and his concern is the long range implication of main- tenance at the new parks; furthermore, the police station will need to be maintained at an earlier date. City Manager Cole con- curred. Mayor Ringer asked the Council Finance/Budgeting Commit- tee to review the impact of new park development and report back to Council with recommendations. He stated that this item will be placed on a January agenda. q05975 CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1986 PAGE 8 Agenda Item No._6..- Adjourn. Mayor Ringer adjourned the meeting at 6:50 p.m. APPROVED: ~or ATTEST: · , ) Dian Jo~r, C~i-ty Secretary "105976 GUEST REGISTER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1986 4:00 P.M. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. e 23. 24. 25. 10. 26. 11. 27. 12. 28. 13. 29. 14. 30. 15. 16. 31. 32. 005977