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Minutes January 12, 19941 CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES JANUARY 12, 1994 The Council convened into a joint session with the DISD Board of Trustees on Wednesday, January 12, 1994 at 12 noon. PRESENT: Mayor Castleberry; Mayor Pro Tem Smith; Council Members Brock, Chew, Cott, Perry, and Miller. ABSENT: None Mayor Castleberry indicated that the City's December sales tax which did not include all the christmas business, was up 35% for the year. 1. The Council held a discussion regarding mutual assistance between the City of Denton and the DISD and encouraged continued joint efforts. Albert Thomas, Superintendent of Schools, reviewed the mutual assistance projects between the city and School District which included shared election expenses, participating in the city's Open House, participating in "A vision for Denton - the 21st Century", joint use of local cable access - Channel 26, participation in the Adopt-A-School program, participation in the DARE program, participation in fire prevention and safety programs, participation in the After School Action site program, joint use of the proposed South Lakes park, joint use of facilities, gyms, athletic fields, and recreation center, and participation in the school crossing guard program. He indicated that he hoped the list of mutual projects would continue to grow. 2. The Council held a discussion regarding the broadcasting of City Council meetings and DISD School Board meetings using the local cable access via Channel 26. Lloyd Harrell, City Manager, stated that Council had started televising Council meetings approximately three months ago. The experience with the televising and the feedback received was very positive. It was felt that many individuals were watching at least a portion of the meetings. Issues relative to the DISD included formalizing an agreement regarding the sharing of equipment to televise the meetings and the potential conflict of meeting dates. Currently the Council was holding work sessions on the second and fourth Tuesdays which might be of community interest. As those were the evenings of the DISD meetings, there might be a potential conflict with televising. There needed to be a discussion regarding the expansion of the Council meetings and potential conflict with the DISD meetings. 3. The Council held a discussion regarding a new elementary school in Denton. City of Denton City Council Minutes January 12, 1994 Page 2 Dr. Thomas indicated that the growth of the DISD district appeared to be in the east and southeast portions of the City. Issues of racial mix, socio-economic mix, etc. had to be considered when looking at a potential school site. The DISD had a commitment to make the new elementary school, Tomas Rivera, the best possible school for Denton ISD students. There was a need for an additional elementary school but a site was not known at this time. Council Member Cott indicated that a high school tax rate was not desirable in Denton and asked how long it took to break even with regards to individuals paying school taxes. Thomas replied that the new school would house 620 students and only a few portables would be eliminated. There never was really a break even point when it came to dealing strictly with tax dollars. Mayor Pro Tem smith asked how the school district boundaries were originally defined. Thomas replied that the lines evolved over time and through consolidation of smaller districts. 4. The Council held a discussion regarding the proposed one-half cent sales tax proposal to reduce property tax. Lloyd Harrell, City Manager, stated that there would be a special election on Saturday, January 15th to propose increasing the sales tax by one-half of one percent and reducing the property tax an equal amount. If approved, the proposal would go into effect October 1, 1994. It was estimated that property taxes for the city of Denton would be reduced by approximately 20%. 5. Miscellaneous Matters Dr. Thomas noted that the DISD was dealing with the issue of student safety and school safety in the area of the jails. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:10 p.m. CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS BOB CASTLEBERRY, MAY~R CITY OF DENTON,T~S ~