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Minutes August 30, 1994CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES August 30, 1994 Th~ Council convened into the Executive Session on Tuesday, August 30, 1994 at 5:15 p.m. in'the Civil~ Defense Room. PRESENT: Mayor Castleberry; Mayor Pro Tem Brock; Council Members Chew, Cott, Perry, Miller and Smith. ABSENT: None 1. The Council Session: considered the following items in Executive ao Be Legal Matters -- Under TEX. GOV'T CODE Sec. 551.071 1. Considered claims of R. Rodriguez and J. Owens. Real Estate -- Under TEX. GOV'T CODE Sec. 551.072 Ce Personnel/Board Appointments -- Under TEX. GOV'T CODE Sec. 551.074 The Council convened into a Special Called Session on Tuesday, August 30, 1994 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. PRESENT: Mayor Castleberry; Mayor Pro Tem Brock; Council Members Chew, Cott, Perry, Miller and Smith. ABSENT: None 1. The Council considered approval of a resolution ratifying the amendment to the agreement with the Texas Department of Commerce for an Enterprise Zone. Debra Drayovitch, City Attorney, stated that this resolution would ratify the action of the Mayor. The City had submitted a boundary amendment to the enterprise zone in June. Several days ago the City had received information that an amendment to the enterprise zone was due before the Council would meet. The Mayor executed the amendmen~ so that it could be sent with the Georgia Pacific application for enterprise zone funding. Staff recommended approval of the resolution. The following resolution was considered: NO. R94-048 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING ANAMENDMENT TO THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF DENTON AND THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FOR AN ENTERPRISE ZONE (ENT~ERPRISE ZONE II) WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF DENTON AND'~THE EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OF THE CITY; RATIFYING .;fHE ACTION OF THE MAYOR IN EXECUTING THE AMENDMENT; AND'P~OVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 12 City of Denton City Council Minutes August 30, 1994 Page 2 Perry motioned, Brock seconded to approve the resolution, on roll vote, Brock "aye", Cott, "aye", Miller "aye", Smith "aye", Chew "aye", Perry "aye", and Mayor Castleberry "aye". Motion carried unanimously. 2. The Council considered adoption of an ordinance approving the 1994 appraisal roll. Kathy DuBose, Acting Executive Director for Finance, stated that the ordinance would approve the appraisal roll. The Council would also be required to approve the roll after the tax rate was 'set. The following ordinance was considered: NO. 94-156 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, APPROVING THE 1994 APPRAISAL ROLL AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Chew motioned, Perry seconded to adopt the ordinance. On roll vote, Brock "aye", Cott, "aye", Miller "aye", Smith "aye", Chew "aye", Perry "aye", and Mayor Castleberry "aye". Motion carried unanimously. 3. The Council received and considered answers to questions on the 1994-95 fiscal year budget. City Manager Harrell reviewed the supplemental topics from the August 23, 1994 Council meeting. (13) Cable Television - Radio Audience - this item addressed the question regarding radio audience. (14) ADA compliance procedures - this item addressed the question Council had concerning ADA compliance. (15) Sprinkler systems and building on the Square - Veronica Oglesby, Administrative Assistant, stated that staff was asked to study the feasibility of installing sprinkler systems in buildings around the Square. Based on that research, the findings could be separated into four parts; the current policy, the cost involved, the financing alternatives, and staff recommended options. The City's current policy followed the guidelines established by the Unifor~m Building Code requirements. Buildings constructed after June, '~, 1991 of non-combustible materials and having more than 10,~00 'square feet were required to install sprinklers. Those buildings constructed after June 1, 1991 of non- City of Denton City Council Minutes August 30, 1994 Page 3 combustible materials and having more than 5,000 square feet were also required to install sprinklers. Buildings which made additions or enlargements where the total.square feet of all of the additions exceeded 10,000 square feet or the total additions exceeded 25% of the square feet of existing building prior to June 1, 1991 were required to install a sprinkler system. Since the building around the Square were constructed prior to June 1, 1991, they were considered legal non-conforming uses and could not be requir'~ to install sprinklers. According to the Fire Marshall and the Fire Protection Engineers, the cost to install sprinklers in the buildings on the Square would be approximately $1.50 per square foot to install as a part of neW construction and $4.50 to retrofit a building for a sprinkler system. The cost for most buildings would be approximately $12,000 to $20,000. Conflicting information had been received as to whether insurance premiums would increase or decrease with a sprinkler system. There were five possible financing alternatives associated with this issue: (1) Using the General Fund or utility revenues to assist property owners with the installation of sprinkler systems on the Square. The Lega! Department indicated that an initiative of this type other than for use on historic sites might violate the State constitution regarding the giving of gratuities to private businesses. The only funds which might be used must comply with the guidelines for the use of Lalor funds. (2) Providing tax abatement relief for historic buildings. The Texas Tax Code indicated-that a city could exempt from taxation, a part or all of the assessed value of a structure if it was designated by the governing body as a historic site. The current tax abatement ordinance exempted 50% of the assessed value for historic sites. An initiative of this type could be used to provide an additional abatement to those who' installed sprinklers. Currently there were 25 historic designations in Denton. Sixteen of those existed in the Oak- Hickory Historic District, five in the immediate Square area and four others located in the Central Business District. (3) Using hotel/motel tax funds. The Texas Tax Code allowed the use of Lalor funds for historical restoration and preservation projects or advertising which encouraged tourism in historic sites and museums. If Council found that installing sprinklers met these requ~rements, the Lalor funds could be used. The revenues each year were limited as almost all of the local tax authorized by State law had been allocated. (4) Providing a tax abatement. Council would designate a sprinkler district and the buildings in such a district codld qualify for tax abatements if sprinklers were installed.. This option would require an amendment to the current ordinance and only the excess assessed~value generated by the improvement could be abated. (2) Establishing a public improvement district. Designation of a publi= improvement district was authorized by the Texas Local Governmen~ ~ode and provided improvements or services 14 City of Denton City Council Minutes August 30, 1994 Page 4 to a designated area. Public Improvement Districts were funded by income by the assessment generated from property owners in the district. To initiate a public improvement district a petition signed by owners of more than 50% of the appraised value of taxable real property and one of the following two options - owners of more that 50%. of the area per square foot of the taxable property or more than 50% of the record owners of the real property. The Texas Local Government Code authorized improvements such as water, wastewater, public safety, security, business recruitment and development. Staff felt that no one program would be effective but a combination of programs was recommended. Such a program would include a tax abatement for improvements, tax relief for historic sites with additional tax abatement for buildings with sprinklers and the use of Lalor funds. Mayor Pro Tem Brock asked if individuals interested in the formation of a public improvement district and sprinkler district would have to vote on whether to create such a district. Oglesby replied yes that a petition would have to be received from more than 50% of the appraised value owners and then either a petition from 50% of area owners or a petition from more than 50% of the record owners. City Manager Harrell stated that staff was not recommending to proceed with the option of a public improvement district. Creating a sprinkler district would result in an amendment to the tax abatement policy. The City could set out an area for such a district and a business located in the area would qualify for additional tax abatements. Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that a public improvement district would be an area where the majority of the property owners would agree to tax themselves while in a sprinkler distric% the businesses would simply become eligible for additional tax abatements. Council Member Cott felt that this would not be a valid system if not all the businesses participated. City Manager Harrell stated that the installation of a sprinkler system in any building would be advantageous. Council Member Miller felt that the use of tax abatement alone would not be much incentive. If 100% of the taxes were abated, it would take approximately.~0-74 years for a business to recover the cost of sprinkling the building. He felt there was a need to find out the interest in.s~inkling the buildings. City of Denton City Council Minutes August 30, 1994 Page 5 City Manager Harrell stated that no one single program could be used exclusively and encouraged involvement in the program. Three programs under a unique set of circumstances might promote the program. Council Member Miller stated that with the tax incentive portion, even if 100% of the tax were abated, the dollars would not be available. He felt that the financial incentive was quite limited. City Manager Harrell replied that that would be correct except if the sprinkling was done as a part of an improvement which was going to be done anyway. This would be an incentive to proceed with a sprinkler system. Council Member Perry felt that it would be a good idea to carry f°~ward with the staff discussing the options with the property owners to determine if they were interested in proceeding with the project. Council Member Cott felt that the sprinkler concept was not the whole concept and that the Central Fire Station was also a part of the situation. Mayor Pro Tem Brock agreed that it would be a good idea to pursue the alternatives with the property owners. She did not consider these incentives as an alternative to adequate fire protection and suggested a continued discussion regarding the staffing of the fire department and the placement of fire stations. Council Member Smith stated that monitored smoke alarms might be another option for the downtown area and might be another method for the early warning of a fire. Mayor Castleberry stated it was important to be concerned about the City's historic buildings. He felt that Council wanted staff to look into the possibilities of a combination of the proposals including monitored smoke detectors. Staff would work with the property owners and return with a work session item. City Manager Harrell stated that staff's intention was to hold meetings with the area merchants, review the possibilities and solicit input and suggestions for modification. Those would then be brought back to Council for Council deliberation. Council Member Smith s~gested including information regarding monitored smoke alarms tar the merchants. (16) Automatic doors ~t the Senior Center 16 City of Denton City Council Minutes August 30, 1994 Page 6 Bruce Hennington, Facilities Manager, stated that there were two options regarding automatic doors at the Senior Center. One was to install automatic doors similar to what was at City Hall at a cost of $2,900 and the second option was to install one set of automatic doors similar to what was at a grocery store. Council Member Cott asked if option one could be installed with automatic opening at a lesser price. Hennington replied that the door at City Hall was run by push button which would open the door. It was timed to remain open for a designated amount of seconds and then would close. This type of opener would be needed for both sides of the door at a cost of approximately $2,900. Mayor Pro Tem Brock felt that the people at the public hearing had a valid point regarding the doors at the Senior Center. Those were difficult doors for the elderly and felt that an automatic door was needed. She felt that the grocery store type of opener would better fit the needs of the Center. Council Member Smith felt that it might be awkward to have doors opening into people and agreed with option 2. Mayor Castleberry asked about the ADA schedule for the Senior Center. Hennington stated that all requirements in that building had been completed and only the tennis center had uncompleted items. Council Member Chew stated that there was a need for the doors and that Option 2 should be included in the budget. (17) Space eXpansion - The remaining building projects were City Hall West and City Hall. City Hall West was on a good time line and should be back to Council with bids for the building remodeling for the Planning and Engineering Departments. The budget for City Hall West was very modest. One item bid as an alternative was the installation of fire sprinklers in the building with an estimated cost of $80,000. That amount was not included in the project budget. Council might want to address that during the budget discussions. The current City Hall had only $224,000 budgeted for the entire building and with theexpectations of the Council on how the building would be done, there would not be enough allocation of funds. An option to deal with the issue was to set aside some additional funds from th~ budget in a reserve account for City Hall remodeling or pus~ the project back a few months to work out alternatives and deal ~£th it in the next year's budget. City of Denton City Council Minutes August 30, 1994 Page 7 Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that the City had applied for a grant for a sprinkler system for City Hall West and questioned when the City would learn of the outcome of that request. city Manager Harrell stated that there were several steps involved in that issue. Council Member Miller stated that Denton's project was ranked 10th out of the tentatiVe list sent for COG consideration. City Manager Harrell stated that once that local step was cleared, the next step was to go to the State for rankings. Mayor Castleberry asked if the City could proceed with the funds for a sprinkler system and if the grant was awarded that money would be freed up so that the time frame would not be slowed down. Svehla replied that if funds were spent before receiving a grant, that money could not be reimbursed. Staff was in the process of finding out more about the ranking of projects and the time table regarding the grant. City Manager Harrell stated that staff would look at the award schedule and modify when to award the bids to fit that schedule. If the City did not receive the grant and did not put $80,000 in the budget for the sprinkler system, there would be a problem. It would be a lesser problem if $80,000 could be earmarked ahead of time. Council Member Perry felt that if the renovation of the City Hall were delayed, the costs of the project would rise. He was in favor of setting aside money for the project which in the long term would save money. Mayor Castleberry felt that it was important to proceed with the project and Council should set aside funds for the renovation. There was a need to have a sprinkler system for City Hall West and the City should set the example for sprinkler systems. He stated that when it was appropriate during the budget discussions, he would like to have Council consider setting aside funds for further renovations for City Hall West and City Hall. Council Member Smith asked if the grant was approved, would 100% of the costs be covered. Svehla replied that the"grant was submitted with matching funds. ? City of Denton City Council Minutes August 30, 1994 Page 8 Council Member Smith stated that the estimates from an earlier report stated that $80,000 would not do the entire project. John Cook, Fire Chief, stated that the cost for both buildings had been estimated at $100,000. This was an estimate from a contractor and an engineer at $4 per foot. He felt this was very high and that the cost would be closer to $2.50 per foot. (18) - Teen Court - Harlan Jefferson, Treasurer, stated that Council had requested staff to investigate implementation of the Juvenile Diversion Task Force recommendations. There were three items to investigate for Council consideration. One was to obtain office space for Youth and Family Counseling. Their proposal required the City to provide office space and utilities and originally it was felt that such space could be donated. That did not work out and as a result, staff began contacting agencies in Denton which might allow the service to use their facility. RSVP expressed an interest and would charge approximately $4200 for office space which would increase the cost of the Youth and Family Counseling proposal from $27,091 to $31,291. The second area of investigation was to contact agencies for support for implementation of the Task Force recommendations. A presentation had been made to the DISD Board and was well received. The Board could not vote on the item as it was not listed on the agenda but would be discussing the proposal at a future work session. Discussions had also been held with the Denton County Bar Association and there was an indication that they would be willing to serve as judges for the Teen Court. The Boy Scouts of American had been contacted and they would be asking permission to help sponsor the Teen Court. The final area of investigation was in the area of public counseling. Staff had received three other proposals for counseling from TWU, UNT and the Counseling Center of Denton. A core group of the Task Force met and discussed these proposals. That group was recommending that all three of the local proposals be used as opposed to Youth and Family Counseling as it was felt that a combination of the services would be more beneficial to Denton. The Presiding Judge would determine which agency to use. Assuming that DISD provided one third of the funds and if the revised recommendations were accepted, the total cost for the proposal would be reduced from $45,031 to $31,750. It was felt that if implemented, the recommendation would reduce the work load in Municipal Court. Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that staff would continue to work with the County for funding. .~' Jefferson stated that~aff was still working with the County but was using different avenues. Staff did not want to assume the City of Denton City Council Minutes August 30, 1994 Page 9 County would make a contribution for budget implications. Council Member Miller supported the idea of moving ahead. If the DISD provided one third of the costs and the County did not provide funding, the City's costs would be $18,600 for the next year to .implement all of the recommendations of the Task Force. The Task Force was satisfied that all of the counseling services would be adequate and had a similar quality. Jefferson replied correct. Ail agreed that it would be a better option to use local facilities. City Manager Harrell stated that in order to balance the general fund, $3,360 of lost revenue would have to be added to the $18,000 to get a true increase for budged costs. Jefferson stated that the cost would be $18000 with a revenue reduction. City Manager Harrell stated that the impact on the budget would be $22,009 assuming the DISD provided one third of the costs. Council Member Cott stated that the DISD had set up a special program for their disciplinary needs and the City had to deal with those problems. He felt it was necessary to have people pay for services. (19) Drainage concerns at 3011 Santa Monica Drive - a report was presented to Council on a citizen concern regarding drainage. Council Member Cott felt that the problem was the whole drainage channel. Lee Allison, Director of Water Engineering and Operations, stated that the western most lot line for Lot 6 in Zone X was subject to a 500 year flood. The flood plain boundary was 2/3's over the lot. Without any improvements, a 100 year flood would rise to that level. The home and foundation~appeared to be above the 100 year flood area. The next area was the flood way and was the area where building was not allowed. There was a storage building located in that area. Studies and maintenance work were being done in the area. Mayor Pro Tem Brock asked about flooding in the Wisteria Street area. She asked if there.~ould be a treatment of the problem in the uDcoming CIP. Allison replied that he was not aware of it in the CIP. 20 City of Denton City Council Minutes August 30, 1994 Page 10 Svehla stated that there was a report in Item 24 regarding the CIP projects. There was a project on Wisteria which was recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the '91 Committee. (20) Visual Arts Center Air Conditioning Options Bruce Hennington, Facilities Manager, stated that there were four options to assist with the air conditioning problems at the Visual Arts Center. (1) Hire an engineer to do a study and evaluate the air conditioning problems at the Center; (2) Install 8 ceiling fans in Festival Hall; (3) Install screening materials on all windows; and (4) Install double pane windows in Festival Hall. Mayor Castleberry asked how much the ceiling fans would help. Hennington stated that Richard Foster's letter indicated that fans could produce a chill factor from 3-5 degrees. Council Member Miller suggested installing the ceiling fans and to wait with the other options to see if this would do the job. (21) - Health insurance rates Tom Klinck, Director of Human Services, stated that the City was experiencing a positive experience with Harris Methodist Health Plan. claims for the three month experiences was a 142% loss ratio which was very high. Half were in catastrophic claims but the City would need to see that trend reduced as the City moved throughout the year. One option from Harris was a no rate increase which would maintain the current options. The second option was a 2.5% rate reduction if a new prescription drug program were initiated with a split co-pay plan. Either option was a considerable difference from the proposal of an 8% increase. A majority of those present at a recent Employee,Insurance'Committee meeting and a majority of the Executive Directors agreed to accept renewal for the drug rider and a 2.5% rate reduction for employees. A majority of the employees would experience a $4 decease per month in premiums. One area of concern was not covering the smoking cessation patches. The Employee"Insurance Committee recommended using $3,000 to help with one half of the cost of a one time six month smoking cessation treatment. A letter had been written to Harris Methodist regarding the use of Denton Regional Medical Center. Harris was in final negotiations with an anticipated response within 3-4 weeks. (22) TTRIPS - this was ihformation for Council regarding a program run by the Denton ISD~ City of Denton City Council Minutes August 30, 1994 Page I1 (23) Street lighting - street lighting expenses for the upcoming budget had been underestimated and $35,000 would have to be placed in the budget for street lighting expenses. (24) CIP program Jon Fortune, Budget Officer, stated that at a prior Council meeting, the '91 Committee had presented several options to Council which would enable the City to postpone a bond election for one year. He reviewed those options as detailed in the agenda backup materials. Council Member Cott asked if First Southwest had been contacted regarding not delaying a bond election due to the ever changing interest rates. City Manager Harrell stated that the timing for holding a bond election was not the critical issue on interest rates. (25) Municipal Cost Survey - this was information provided for Council after including Gainsville and McKinney in the survey area. (26) and (27) Fire Station Relocation Analysis and Fire Department Staffing options Rick Svehla, Deputy City Manager, stated that Council had asked about station locations and recommendations for locations. In 1991, staff had presented some possible locations. Given a choice, the best location would be at a different location from either one of those two proposals. There was a great deal of overlap if both of those stations were occupied and there were advantages and disadvantages to each. In 1991 Station Three was recommended based on the financial situation of the time. The best strategy was to build another station rather than occupy both stations. There were reserve funds available to find a new location in the area if desired. Council Member Cott stated that from the calls he had received, the feeling was to reopen Station One. People viewed this as a principal entrance to the City and if anything happened in the area, it would be very serious. Council Member Miller stated that the perception was that the location for a fire station was downtown. He had many calls and contacts with citizens r%garding this issue and had not heard from anyone who did not wan~ a station downtown. This was a budget issue. Council was fa=ed with making a decision between services and the cost to citizens. The basic decision made in 1991 was a City of Denton City Council Minutes August 30, 1994 Page 12 budget issue and it still was a financial issue. He felt that Council needed to find out if the citizens were willing to pay for the stations. He proposed getting information which would enable Council to add firefighters on an incremental basis this year and looking at the possibility of reopening Station One on a temporary basis while looking at the options of having a permanent station in the downtown area. He asked if Item 26 and Item 27 could be combined as it was not just a location issue but also a staffing issue. He requested the figures on adding three firefighters in January and three later in the year. He asked how many additional firefighters were needed to adequately cover fire protection in the City. This would make the citizens aware that this was an issue of dollars for new firefighters and new stations. He suggested Council look at the budget to put in place the possibility to take the necessary steps. Council Member Smith asked for figures regarding the cost of overtime and how that would be affected if more firefightes were hired. How would the number of firefighters needed be determined and were there different standards which had to be met. Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that she had received much comment regarding this issue from citizens. Those who were supporting better coverage of the downtown area had been very reasonable and responsible for budget considerations. She felt that sometimes decisions made sense from a technical standpoint but not from a practical standpoint. Possible placement of a future station on Carroll Blvd. would require the consideration of future planning issues. Council Member Cott stated that perhaps the Council did not have to just look at the fire budget in this case. There might be the ability to take dollars from another part of the budget for 1995. Council Member Miller stated that he still had some questions for Chief Cook regarding staffing and station locations. Mayor Castleberry felt that there was a need to decide why additional firefighters were needed. He felt that Council should hear from Chief Cook after the information was gathered and what his opinion was regarding the issue. He asked if overtime were taken out, how would that affect the income of existing firefighters and how they budgeted themselves. Council Member Miller askg~ for Chief Cook's input. Mayor Castleberry aske4'if Council wanted to hear from Chief Cook at this meeting. ' ~-~ City of Denton City Council Minutes August 30, 1994 Page 13 Council Member Chew stated that he would like to have the Chief do some research and return with the data to the Council at a later date. Council Member Perry asked that the research include coverage, response time, key rate, and all factors involved in how many men and stations were needed. (27) Fire Department Staffing Options Rick Svehla, Deputy City Manager, stated that as part of Council's discussion at the last meeting, questions had been asked regarding staffing and suggested staffing levels. The Fire Department operated on three shifts. If different manning strategies were considered and more added stations, there would be a need to do personnel in multiples of three because multiples of three allowed personnel to be added to each shift which allowed more flexibility over all the operation. Three was the minimum with additional costs due to overtime, sick leave and vacation, c. He recommended if more firefighters were hired, that it be done in groups of three to assist with scheduling. The second issue dealt with the transfer of ambulance service. It was felt that this was a good idea and might generate some revenue for the City. Staff was researching with the Legal Department the issues involved with an exclusive service in Denton. Council Member Miller asked for the cost figures of adding six firefighters on the basis of hiring three in January and three in July. He suggested reopening Station One until a decision was made regarding the overall concept for the City. Mayor Castleberry indicated that he had Speaker Cards from Norma Seeley and Art Seeley who supported the Fire Department. Ken Gold stated that the City needed more firefighters. If the Council was considering adding more firefighters, he urged the Council not to increase the level of service. 4. The Council discussed and considered the listing of major budget issues and gave staff direction. City Manager Harrell stated that at the next Council meeting, staff and Council would work through the various issues of the major budget report and then would consider the items added at this meeting. He asked Council if there were other major issues to consider which needed to~ be added to the list. City of Denton City Council Minutes August 30, 1994 Page 14 Council Member Chew requested consideration of additional part-time staffing for the MLK Center. City Manager Harrell stated that that was a package which was requested but not recommended for funding. Council Member Miller asked about a tax abatement for the handicapped. Mayor Castleberry suggested using the same level as the DISD. City Manager Harrell stated that the utility fund issues would also be included in the discussion for the next week. Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that when the Council got to the point of deciding on a tax rate, she would like to review the legal requirements for reducing the ad valorem tax in proportion to the income from the half cent sales tax and what the Council was required to do and what it could do in those terms. 5. The Council held a discussion and gave staff direction regarding additional issues concerning the 1994-95 fiscal year budget. This item was not considered as it was included in Item 4. Mayor Castleberry stated that staff was recommending a 24.5% decrease in the property tax and he would like to make a major budget issue to round off that decrease to 25%. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. NYP~ WALTERS Y ~,~RETARY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS BOB CASTL~R~ CITY OF DENTON ACC00207