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Minutes July 21-22, 1995 CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES JULY 21, 1995 The Council convened into the Annual Planning Session on Friday, July 21 at the Marriott Solana, Westlake, Texas. PRESENT: Mayor Castleberry; Mayor Pro Tem Biles; Council Members Brock, Cott, Krueger, Miller and Young. ABSENT: None City Manager Harrell stated that staff would be presenting reports to the Council and receiving direction when necessary. Most of the presentations would be issues which the Council will need to make a decision on during the next year. This would focus on major items which would be considered later. Bob Saunders would be facilitating the Saturday meeting. Staff had also posted the issue of the hotel/motel occupancy tax funds and related issues. The Council received reports, held discussions and gave staff direction regarding the following: Master Plan Update Ed Hodney, Director of Parks and Recreation, stated that the purpose of the Parks Master Plan was to define a mission and vision which reflected Denton today 'and tomorrow; to establish service priorities, levels and standards; to guide capital improvement decisions; to guide annual budget decisions; to establish a road map for citizens, staff and Policy makers alike to follow~ and to convey a sense of purpose. Recommendations from the 1984 Master Planincluded the construction of a community center on Denton's east side, expand the Senior Center, develop a bikeway master plan, "a~d~'ao~i~e and deVeloP 100 acres for neighborhood parks. Actions · asSOCia2~d wi~h those recom~endationsincluded the CompletiOn of the,' M~2i, Luther Ki,g, Jr. Recreation Center lin 1~89';' the /:c0mpletion of the senior Center expansion i~ 1990; the completion bi ewa¥ master plan draft; and.theacquisiti0n of So,dh. Park in 19~3. 0therrecom~endationslnclUded"theren°vatl°n of' existing parks which was not funded in the 1986 bond program;.the devel°Pment of the North Lakes Soccer c0mpleX'WhichJ:was competed in 1995; the landscaping of highly visible public~reas'suchas--the completion of the landscaping of Dallas Drive, Colorado Blvd., and Lillian Miller Parkway; and expandedprogramming for seniors and youth'which was on going~ A new strategic plan was necessary due to an increase in population, the neWcapital improvements'p~0~ram, the aging of s~me of the facilities, and the ohange~ .in design/c°~struction standards. The Vision project would provide a link between parks, landscaping and economic development with a need to devise new funding strategies; The second step in the Master Plan process was to review Where the Parks and Recreation Department was going, to develop a vision, to define broad strategic issues, and to develop goals; The third step in the Ma~ter Plan was the development of tactical planning in which specific yearly action plans would be developed. Step four would involve the adoption of the Master Plan. The fifth step involved the annual action plans and Step six would begin a new strategic plan in the year 2000. His vision for the Denton's parks would be to have characteristics which were effectively planned, financed and managed in collaboration with others; emphasis on quality over 223 224 City of Denton City Council Minutes July 21-22, 1995 Page 2 quantity; balanced care for existing facilities with the need to grow; equal access to services and facilities; environmentally responsible; and responsive to the diverse and ever-changing needs of the consumer. He felt the parks and recreation services were a vital component of Denton's image and economic development growth strategies. Council Member Cott suggested a botanical gardens as an extension of the Campus Theater. He could see that this might be the next piece in the development. Hodney stated that Denton needed to find something which was creative and innovative. Consumers were changing and were changing rapidly. Council Member Young felt that a water garden was the number one item for Denton. Denton currently had nothing except for a swimming pool. Many people from all over the County came to that pool. Something like a water garden would be a big success and could pick up the tourist trade in Denton. He felt it would be worth a half cent sales tax. Council Member Miller stated that one area to consider was maintenance as it was necessary to maintain what the City currently had. If not, citizens would be skeptical of new facilities. Private sector cooperation was needed including the universities. City Manager Harrell stated that iht he recommended CIPpro~r&~the· vast majority of park money which would be initiatly~Program3med would be to renovate and upgrade the existing parks. ~That bond issue was needed in order to do those projects. Mayor Pro Tem Biles stated that ~he park grounds could:havecolor withoutflowers which would require less maintenance. There was a need to avoid high maintenance kinds of plants rather than something which required a lot of maintenance. Snace Master Plan Update Bruce Hennington, Facilities Manager, stated that he' would be presenting the Master Space Plan History, the objectives forCity Hall Renovation and a strategic approach to space and facility planning. He reviewed an overhead presentation which was inclUded in the agenda back-up materials. Mayor Castleberry asked if any outside space would be leased by the City when the renovation of City Hall West was completed. City Manager Harrell stated that when the City Hall renovation was completed, the City would not be leasing any space. The Community Development Office would office in City Hall when the renovation was completed. City of Denton City Council Minutes July 21-22, 1995 Page 3 225 Council Member Cott suggested looking at the North Texas community College for more than just the current space it was occupyingl The College was considering closing its Lewisville location and perhaps it could be consolidated in Denton. City Manager Harrell stated that that volume could not be accommodated in the Denton Municipal Complex. The City could help the College move into the community but not into the Denton Municipal Complex. Council discussed the.pros and cons regarding the taping of the work sessions and the informal and formal feelings of each type of setting. Brent Byers, Corgan and Associates, presented a videotape of city council chambers from area cities for theCouncil to review. He also reviewed the budget aspects of the renovation. Betty McKean, Executive Director for Municipal ServiCes and Economic Development, stated that the next step would be to seek City Council approval for the Master P1an, bUdgetforlthe City Hali renovation' and hirea project architect. month the amount of disrupti°n Mayor ProTem Bilesexpresseda staff in Byers replied that area while renovation work took City Manager Harrell stated that byl&w, the would appropriated before a contract Was entered would have to be designed and bid for only~stage one work for ~ )O0. year Council would have to return £or stage two, there would be some problems with that type of cOntract~- co .oil M.mb.r ru,g.r ask.d staff to loo at,om-,c.nari0-',? construction taking place in two phases ~n two bUdget YearS'~'f0 cost control. 226 City of Denton City Council Minutes July 21-22, 1995 Page 4 Council Member Brock stated that there should be at least one or more public hearings for public input regarding the proposed renovations for City Hall. Rick Svehla, Deputy City Manager, stated that over the years the Cityhad beenfairly aggressive with annexations. Large amounts of building activity ~ere beginning to take place 'in the general area to thenorth of the City between Sherman Drive and Locust and near LakelRay Roberts. The City of'Aubrey had'also indicated that they would like to' establish an agreement line between the two cities. City Manager Harrell stated that a policy decision was needed from the Council. In the past, the City had taken a policy that when there was ~ubstantial development in' the extraterritorial jurisdiction, especially com~ercial/industrial type development, the City automatically brought that as an annexation issue to the Council. The City had been fairly aggressive in annexation which had resulted in an expansive extraterritorial jurisdiction. Staff needed to know if Council wanted to change that policy and if so, how to change that policy. There needed to.bean underlying policy the City was working towards as any annexationWoUld be opposed by the people in the area. Svehla stated that this issue was revived start~ngin the northern part hadreq~asted an agreement line. City la~ge enough which could reS~ent~ in~ the area. Sma] .permiSSion of:.the residents which Aubrey.wanted to extend its TrinttYRiver~'bUt Green Belt area in that !ocation. protectionfor Lake Ray Roberts. sue. was more City Manager Harrell stated that this had been disCusSed-at the lae~iPlan~ingsession. Currently, the Denton city limits we~t~all the ~ay tothe Lake Ray Roberts dam.` As/ai~.res~lt~.De~t~n~had;a ~arge ~xtrate~ritorial jurisdiction. That mean~tha~',oothe~c~ty C°uld~ncorPorate within that extraterritOriaI Jurisdiction. without She 'approv~l of Denton. At the last plann~ng}~Ses~ion, it was discussed whether to annex a strip of ~nd in ~he middle Of the Lake. With another such annexation, Denton'scitylimit bOundarieS would then go the northern side of LakeRay Roberts. It was felt that perhaps there were five years in which~tO complete Such a procedure. There would be other urban".pressUres wh'iCh would develop around the Lake which would foreclose these kinds of opportunities in the future. It was necessaryt0 vision what the City would be in the future. Was it important to have lake frontage on Ray Roberts. When the City startedthis process, there would be only one chance to do it and there would be major opposition from area cities. This proposal had major strategic implications. City of Denton City Council Minutes JUly 21-22, 1995 Page 5 227 Council Member Miller stated that the City was 54 square miles and asked how much was in the extraterritorial jurisdiction. Svehla replied that was probably three times that much. Council Member Miller asked if the City would be responsible for lake protection and fire protection in the area if it were annexed. Svehla replied that Denton would probably be requested to help. However, he felt that the Parks and Wildlife Department would probably take control. Mayor Castleberry stated that the Game Warden was responsible for Lake Ray Roberts. Council Member Cott felt that this would be beneficial for the City. He felt it was a most important item for the future city. He suggested developing a budget first to see how much this wOuld cost. City Manager Harrell stated that annexing a 1000 foot strip would not be the same as annexing open land. This would not be dealing with individual property owners. Mayor Pro Tem Biles asked what advantage this would be to have the city limits in the middle of the Lake and the'city's extraterritorial jurisdiction in Cooke County. WhY~would the City want to do that. The Lake seemed to be a natural barrier and if Denton's city limits were to the dam and was only bordered .by smaller cities, why would Denton want to go higher',into Cooke county. City Manager Harrell stated that the City limits was alreadyat the Lake. A policy decision the Council needed to make was.diditmake sense for Denton to be the controlling voice as urban deve!opment occurred on the north side of Lake Ray Roberts. Mayor Castleberry stated that equally important was the protection of Lake Ray Roberts and the prevention of pollution in the Lake. Mayor Pro Tem Biles felt that the issue was why the City wou!dwant its extraterritorial jurisdiction in the Lake. Mayor Castleberry stated that the City had a large investment in the Lake and should control it. The County was very antiquated on sewer systems, etc. and had no mechanism in placeto handle such. Council Me, er Young felt that the City should annex the area to control what was developed in the area. Council Member Krueger felt that the City did not have the type of control it thought it had. If the City moved its city limits there but had no infrastructure, the control could not be done properly. Lake Ray Roberts Planning and Zoning Commission could control the City of Denton City Council Minutes July 21-22, 1995 Page 6 area as it should be. Svehla replied that the larger tracts of property were being subdivided and that was when the City had control. There was more and more activity in the area. The Council would have to decide where the boundaries of the City wouldbe. Bob Nelson, Executive Director for U~ilities, stated that just by having the prOPerty in theextraterrit°rial ~urisdiotion thelCit~ would have the ability to exercise septic tank rules and regulations,' Currently an acre of area was needed in the extraterritorial jurisdiction before a septic tank was required. The public water system, required a quarter acre for subdivision.. Herb Prouty, City Attorney, stated that if the City did not extend the ex~raterritorial jurisdiction there might be problems with enforcement. Systems would develop but not develop in a form ~compatible with the City's system. Council Member Brock asked what would be the immediate cost to the ~ .'( City ~if'the area was annexed. Svehla,replied that costs would be minimal,"if any. at ail." There might be calls fOr police or fire but thosewould ~every small. Nelson felt.:that these' were issues .With, i.The County now was requiring staf~review. Ifthe area was annexed, review. . ~ asked ~. S eh19 replied ~t would .do,better -'~works::Depar't~ent was cOlleCting allO£ ~'the area Was being subdiVided. asked for an explanation from Denton. Svehlareplied that that was done bythe request.of the who wanted to go into Sanger's ET-J r&th~r than'.be in Aubrey did the same thing. They annexed a strip was illegal and then annexed bypetition..: A decision' the Aubrey issue and Whether the east side of the be a good dividing line. The staff's-positi°n wa east Side of the river/green belt. ~City Manager Harrell stated that six votes on neededtobegin the annexation to the middle of the Lake, woUld have to be willing to proceed or the would proceed ahead of Denton. City of Denton City Council Minutes July 21~22, 1995 Page 7 229 Mayor' Castleberry stated that he would be in favor of the annexations.butWas not willing to go through what happened'With theother annexations proposed last year. Last year the Council agreed to prooeedwith some annexations within the City and then did nothave the votes when necessary. Council Member Brock stated that last s-mmer the annexations were presentedas possibilities. Council did notreceiVe any cons with ,.thOse a~exa~i~.s and whencounCil became aware of those!¢O,s, it cOUld not[: proCeed. -- ' This',itemWas considered later in the meeting. Fire Station Location John Cook, Fire'Chief,-presented maps indicating fire zones~ithin The State Board of Insurance used a 1.5 mil. ~ zone key rate ISO up did not areas on the south side City Manager Harrell stated that when' the Council was faO~dWith the pr°po~.t~o,ilof building a new station, the' citY~iwa'Si~n eoonom~period~o£'~i~ime which could noti ~uPplY the°~e~a~io~-.and maintenan~e',oOsts!~o open the station. ~e P'~lic~- debate-i!the CoUncil Went through at the timewas whether there a way'ito~!~se existing resources and open the station. CounCil looke~ response circles to provide coverage. The problem was that---with Central there was amajor overlap with the other stations. made a decisiOn at that point in time, frOm a CoSt-.effaot~~', City of Denton City Council Minutes July 21-22, 1995 Page 8 to transfer that manpower to the new station and toclose Central. Now Council'would b~ discussing whether or not t° reoPen'ce"traI~' If central Was reopened and Put back on line, there w°u~d be an overlap even with the new standard. Relocating Central would be possible as opposed to the current Central which would spread the coverage factor out and allow the shifting of the overlap to ~the next station. Cook stated that now that Denton had grown to its station in the downtown area might not be 2 a good building, excellent location and could be used options. Mayor Castleberry asked if 85-90% of the'cal[swere EMS calls. Cook replied that there was an increase volume of calls ~n the EMS side which was greater than fire calls. Fire calls were influenced by the weather. Council Me~ber Cott asked if the out-of-Denton calls were cost separated. MaYor Pro Tem Biles asked if the IOOF site Was big through the median at Carroll. Cook replied that there was already a median cut The downside of that lot was that it was it would beneoessary to do some to b~ stopped when there was a call. Council Ne~_ber Krueger asked for the funding scenario station. Cook stated that the latest estimates were square foot and a new station could be City of Denton City Council Minutes July 21-22, 1995 Page 9 half million dollars. The utilities werealreadyOnsite ~nd.the City/owned the PrOpertY; There Currently was~$200,O00'~inl''the res~rve~fund as a down~ayment for the elation. There hadbeen ' discussion regarding the Electric Utility Departmentusing Central for a communications department. City Manager Harrell stated that staff was not forf ane~i'stati~n.at this point i~ timebut, underetand~.theimP!ications of opening Central permanent b&sis, ~here would be implications on future andma~tenance oostson fire coverage. Mayor Pro Tern Biles a~Sekreed t~.at ifa new station was opened, hOw many 'stations would th r be ~ Svehla replied there would be 6 stations. City ManagerHarrell stated that there would k~ station~3as'the.new Station woUld provide at:¸ 231 C°unCil Member Krueger stated that heWal ,StatiOn but Was~nOt ln ~a~Or of~issui.o ~ :i~iicat~' o~; ~ Mayor castle~r~Osked ~f a new station ~Cook~ state~ that Sta~on 5 was us~ for ~ e~ipment. A new station WOUld ~ closer ,~ of Denton City Council Minutes 21-22, 1995 10 Mayor Castleberry felt that it was not right for fire f~ghters to ~e'worki~g on their own vehicles while on du~y. Hefelt i%Was'bad Publicrelations for the City. Council Member Young felt that it was bad for fire fighters to be out playing tennis while on duty. Cook replied that playing tennis was part of their physicalfitneSs sChedule~ ~ity Manager Harre11 stated that work schedules had beenmodified in Order to be aware of public perception. Those activities Were doneafter the normal work shift for regular employees. Police/Fire Computer CounCil Member Young left the meeting. 'Mike Jez, Chief of Police, stated that in 1994 certificates of obligat~on were approved for the purchase of a combined fire/police which had beenincreased 'the .needs of the Municipal In addition care. This was an sO that ',was=eceiVing ' he 'officers nfor a OnwOuld p :inthe pOl~cevehiOles. Such GIs SYstem. process of looking lookingat the two systems and final pricing information. Council Member Cott asked how the Court of Jez stated that Municipal Court and working well. The paper work involved was causing Department was looking for these kinds of .app] these processes more efficient. Council Member Young returned to the meeting. City of Denton City Council Minutes July 21-22, 1995 Page 11 Mayor Pro Tem Biles asked if the emergency vehicle on the street would'have a terminal to access' the informa%ion °rW0uldtheye-still have to make a request from the dispatcher. Jez replied that that would depend on the availability of funds-for the'system. City Manager Harrell stated that initially it would.no~beP0ssible to put a terminal in all of the cars. Jez replied correct and that he was concerned about the0osting of the system and the way the process was developing~ Cook stated that a fire vehicle wouldbeable toac0eSs'information as to what might be on the premises. Mayor Pro Tem Biles stated that the Court:system'would not be able to access background information from the police .side/and' visa versa. Jez stated that this ~ every variousstatutesand the same respect', an possible. Council Member in of the City Nanaqer Harrell stated that. and indicate what could bePurchased Lona'Ranae Comnuter Study Greg Gal~ 233 Numerous users had stand alone and retrieval lacked printed information into other information to diskette copy _ Strengths o£ the current system included-the a showcase system which computing, DYNIX was a recent technology 'and a public safety consideration. Numerous islands City as funding had been secured for~ purchases. The user commun~tywas currently in place. The current the technology curve. -'In some cases July 21-22, 199§ Page 12 and ~ ' ut ' the or'fixes no longer occurring~ consultants and the Director for ;federal were of ~ -':'Onewas ':Act of assesslthe-n~turg:of unmanaged runoffa.d to ~rOgram~to'~ad~$s any identified problems mUnicipalities of 100,000 'or industrial activities to obtain federal .~!:-~qumlitY.of'tbeir storm water · City of Denton City Council Minutes July 21-22~ 1995 Page 13 Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. The Texas Water Code reqUired all cities with 5,000 Population or greaterto establish water pollution control and abatement programs. The Storm Water Utility' Advisory Committee was formed in 1990 and Was ohargedtO establishing Water review and evaluate the nece~sity of a storm management Utility for the City and submit an evalUatiOn'to: the Public Utilities Board which would include a rec°mmendati°~ of whetherthe City should pursue the establishmentofsuch a uti~'}t¥; ShoUld theCommittee recommend theestablishmentof said~utiii~Y,~ the Committee'.woUld providerecommendations tothe publiCUt~lities Board" on the best meth°d fo= implementing said UtilitY~- The committee felt that the Council Sh~ld Pursue'theestabl!S~entof a storm'water utility and thatthebest-methodfo~..aSse~sme~'wa~ t° aS'~ess a 'fee based on impervious acreage. COuno~l::~0n~idere the recommendations ofthe committee inCluding arec°mmendationto reduce Property tax at the time the storm water-utility was impl~ente~. The issue was tabledafter considerabledeba~e'.The Pl.a~m~,g and Zoning Commission and V~Sloning-~ W°u!d-~.be/'maktng recommendations re~arding this issue Pi.us ~he ~l~oming'bond electiOn was anoth~r issue to consider in connec~ Wi~h-this item. It was felt that this ite~ should be constdered:'b~:f~e the >:::bond .election. stated that~ 235 from a .be : stated if the base and charged $2 per improvements could be done. City Manager Harrell stated that that wOuldbe for .a residential' base. The larger amount of dollars would cOme base Which would address the impervious advantage to Denton was the tax exemptproperty to the problembut:did not contribute tosolvingthe~prob~m'w°uld be included. Council Member Brock stated that at first she opposed ~othesto~ water utility as she felt it was premature as cities thes~ze of Denton would not h~ve to compl~ plus she had ~°me:-;oOn~erns City of Denton city Council Minutes July 21-22, 1995 Page 14 regarding the proposed rate structure. Several things had happened since then to perhaps change her mind. Mayor Pro Tem Biles asked how much time would be needed to implement this utility. DuBose stated that the Council could take as much time as necessary. Public hearings and public education would take the most time. Mayor Castleberry stated that had this passed before the City would be further ahead in drainage. In the past he had been in favor of the utility but now was in favor of lowering taxes and was not sure if he was still in favor of the utility. He was for lowering taxes and was not ready to raise fees. Nelson stated that the rate looked at before was $1.43 per month per home and $14 per acre for parking lots. DuBose stated that that was for status quo with no provision for any future projects. Council Member Miller suggested bringing the issue back as soon as possible before the CIP for consideration. Mayor Pro Tem Biles felt that this was a fabulous approach and citizens probably would have no problem with this type of utility issue. He was concerned about the rates and would like more accurate numbers to reflect current operation and maintenance and debt issue. Council Member Krueger felt that citizens would be willing to pay the extra fee in order to not have the drainage problems currently in the City. Council Member Cott stated that the fee would be for all homes and businesses including tax exempt. DuBose replied correct. The fees would have to be looked at again to update the figures. council Member Miller stated that the utility could be set up without any fee structure. If Council had gone ahead and done that a fee could be imposed at any time. Council needed to decide if it wanted the utility and then determine the fee structure. Solid Waste Master Plan Bob Nelson, Executive Director for Utilities, stated that the solid waste master plan had been studied for a long time. Major issues of the plan dealt with the landfill expansion and some form of recycling activity. City of Denton City Council Minutes July 21-22, 1995 Page 15 Howard Martin, Director of Environmental Services, stated that in January 1994 a citizen committee representing a cross section of the community started to develop a solid waste management plan to address waste disposal issues. A variety of alternatives were looked at from doing nothing, to maintaining what was currently done, to a high tech operation. A goal for the Committee was to look at recycling which would provide 50% waste diversion over a 20 year period. The Committee established expenses for each alternative, program revenue, assessed the worth of the landfill which would not be used over the 20 year period and established a net worth of each alternative. The Committee recommended a phased approach. A long range solid waste management plan was recommended which included a public education program, a recycling progran, composting, expansion of the landfill and economic development. The recommendation supported the development of an intermediate processing center which would receive recycling materials only and exclude solid waste materials. Key components of the plan included the successful expansion of the landfill, the development of an intermediate processing center by the year 1998 and the expansion of the IPC to a material recovery facility by the year 2005. Continuing the composting program to complete a composting facility by 1996 and continue the once a week pickup for yard waste was also recommended. Economic development activities would provide opportunities to develop resource recovery industries which would be located near the IPC. Research and educational program cooperatives as well as regionalization opportunities were explored by the Committee. Staff would continue to refine the costs associated with the report. city Manager Harrell stated that Phase One costs associated with implementing the recommendations were included in the proposed budget. Martin stated that there was approximately $312,000 which was associated with the recommendations in the Master Plan. Mayor Pro Tem Biles asked for the elements of the plan. Martin replied that the Committee had established a time line for when specific recommendations were to take place. Mayor Pro Tem Biles stated that he understood that curbside recycling did not pay for itself and was not economical. Martin replied correct. The Committee recognized that it might not pay for itself but that residents were willing to pay an extra charge to have that service provided. City Manager Harrell stated that there had been some change in the past months as prices for recycling had increased. Martin stated that the plan was to maintain a drop box program for everything except for those items which would be picked up at the 237 238 City of Denton City Council Minutes July 21-22, 1995 Page 16 Mayor Pro Tem Biles questioned going to a dirty MRF if the City was not going to recycle those materials. Martin stated that that was some of the flexibility which was available. A problem with plastics was their weight and transportation. A materials recovery center could be re-evaluated every three - five years and keep that flexibility to change direction on what to recycle. Council Member Young stated that recycled newspaper was $5 a ton and going up. The feasibility of recycling plastic was down. Recycling was done to save place in the landfill and to slow down the pace of cutting trees down. He asked if the City would be able to recover methane gas from the landfill and would the City be competing with private business with this venture. Martin replied that the City could recycle methane off the landfill but the issue was one of the volume of gas produced. With the size of Denton's landfill, unless the City was forced to do so, it would not be cost effective. As far as competing with private business in recycling, the City would have to compete for recycled products with other private businesses. Private businesses would be after the commercial waste stream the same as the City. City Manager Harrell stated that if the Council made a decision to go forward with the intermediate processing center, the City would evaluate the possibility of partnering with a private provider to make that facility possible as opposed to doing it only by the City. Council Member Brock stated that one reason for acquiring land around the current landfill was not just for expansion but for the possibility of having private industries which would be manufacturing from the recycled materials. If Denton was a regional center other cities would find it to their advantage to bring materials to the City's center. Council Member Miller asked if the budget assumed curbside recycling for newspaper. Martin replied correct. Council Member Miller stated that the tipping fees for outsiders had been increased and asked if there had been a drop-off in service. Martin replied that that had worked well and the people targeted had left which had allowed for a drop in ¢u~i¢ yards. City Manager Harrell stated that another factor for the intermediate processing center was the ready work force to work in the center. City of Denton City Council Minutes July 21-22, 1995 Page 17 Council Member Young asked for the number of new jobs associated with the center. Nelson replied that there would be three contract people for maintenance and fifteen people for contract labor. Bolivar Water Bob Nelson, Executive Director for Utilities, stated that large lot subdivision activity, some with platting and some without platting, had increased considerably in Denton's ETJ and in Denton County in general over the last year. Denton County had recently stepped up its review activity concerning subdivisions that had not been platted. A good deal of subdivision activity was taking place in the area between IH35 and Sherman Drive. Development in this area raised a major and immediate issue regarding water service. In 1976 Denton was issued a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity by the State to be the single provider of water and sewer service in much of the area north of Denton. Denton's subdivision regulations allowed the use of wells and septic tanks in the ETJ as an alternative to extending water and sewer lines so development could take place without the extension of Denton water and sewer lines. Bolivar Water Supply Corporation had started extending small lines into the area without a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) in the late 1970's. Last year the Texas Natural Resource Conversation Commission awarded the Corporation a single CCN status along and within 200 feet of the Corporation's existing water lines which had been installed along most roads in the area. Denton had proposed duel CCN status in the area but the Corporation's financial supporter would not loan money to the Corporation if its service area was not single certified. Thereafter, Denton adopted the policy to strictly adhere to state law wherein the Corporation would serve the water in their single certified area and Denton would enforce the subdivision rules and regulations, particularly as it related to water service, in the ETJ where Denton was singly certified. This meant that any lots platted in Denton's single certified CCN, which was any lot more than 200 feet from an existing road, would need to drill a well and get appropriate approval for a septic tank. The reason for this policy was to prevent expansion of substandard development, including water systems, that Denton would later be required to upgrade. These upgrades were very expensive and were paid with Denton citizen tax or utility revenues when the area was annexed. Staff would continue to apply Denton's subdivision rules and regulations in the ETJ and protest the Corporation's extension of their water lines in Denton's single CCN area unless the Council gave new directions. city Manager Harrell stated that a policy issue was the concern that if substandard systems were allowed to be established at some point in time that area would be brought into the City and there would be problems with that system. 239 City of Denton City Council Minutes July 21-22, 1995 Page 18 Nelson stated that the problem was that to upgrade the system to an urban system would be very costly. If it could have continued to serve a rural type of system, it might have been reasonable. Consensus of the Council was to not allow Bolivar to extend its lines and to enforce subdivision regulations. TMPA Issues Bob Nelson, Executive Director for Utilities, stated that there were several items connected with TMPA. (1) TMPA coal conversion at the Gibbons Creek Plant. TMPA provided Denton with 65% of its energy requirements. Through conversion to Powder River Basin low sulfur coal and through streamlining operations with consequential operating cost reductions, TMPA demand plus energy costs should be reduced to below $.04/KWH. (2) Amendment to Power Sales Agreement - TMPA's power sales contract prohibited upgrading of Spencer units or purchasing a long-term power supply from other utilities. Revision of the power sales contract that would give Denton the flexibility to pursue these options was presently stalled at the TMPA Board due to Greenville's disagreement on a fixed cost allocation rate. (3) TMPA Rate Savings - under proposed burning of Powder River Basin coal and streamlined plant operations, TMPA's rate would drop to $.04/KWH in 1996. The TMPA Board would be considering establishing a new rate structure reflecting the decreased operating costs. A question to consider was should the rate be dropped to its member cities or should the rate be kept as it with cash income generated by TMPA placed in a funding source for bond defeasance. (4) Future Relationship with TMPA cities - As the TMPA cities brought costs under control at Gibbons Creek with a definition on how Gibbons Creek was operated in order to reduce costs to member cites, Denton's relationship with other TMPA cities would be examined. Other issues dealt with the retail wheeling, flexible rates to customers, and future power projects. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned. CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES JULY 22, 1995 The Council convened into the Annual Planning Session of the City of Denton City Council on Saturday, July 22, 1995 at the Marriott Solana, Westlake, Texas at 8:45 a.m. PRESENT: Mayor Castleberry; Mayor Pro Tem Biles; Council Members Brock, Krueger, Miller and Young. ABSENT: Council Member Cott 1. The Council received a report, held a discussion and gave staff direction regarding requests from various organizations to receive hotel occupancy tax funding. City of Denton City Council Minutes July 21-22, 1995 Page 19 241 Mayor Castleberry stated that there was approximately $31,000 additional Lalor funds available for consideration, and that Council should make an allocation for civic renovation and place the funds in reserve. Council Member Miller stated that Council should leverage the funds, hold those in receipt of the funds accountable, and allow the organizations one year to demonstrate their ability to manage the funds effectively. Those organizations receiving the funds should meet the legal test under the law and standards and expectations should be established by the Council up front. A discussion was held among the Council that funding should be allotted to those organizations which worked actively to promote and support tourism and development. An additional consideration should be that the organizations be in Denton County and bring tourism to Denton. Young motioned, Brock seconded to increase the reserve by 1% to $5,000. On roll vote, Miller "aye", Young "aye", Krueger "aye", Brock "aye", Biles "aye", and Mayor Castleberry "aye". Motion carried unanimously. Miller motioned, Young seconded to allocate the rest of the funding as stated below in the form of one-year contracts. Additionally, the Legal Department would ensure all recipients meet the requirements for receipt of Lalor funds and insurance requirements should be waived. Main Street Black Chamber of Commerce Denton County Amphitheater ArtsFestival Historic Landmark Commission $15,000 $ 5,000 $ 3,000 $ 2,000 $ 1,000 On roll vote, Miller "aye", Young "aye", Krueger "aye", Brock "aye", Biles "aye", and Mayor Castleberry "aye". Motion carried unanimously. iNNIF~R WAL~ERS TY ~ECRETARY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 a.m. CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS/ / ACC002A1