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Minutes July 25, 1995242 CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES JULY 25, 1995 The Council convened into a Work Session on Tuesday, July 25, 1995 at 5:15 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. PRESENT: Mayor Castleberry; Council Members Brock, Cott, and Miller. ABSENT: Mayor Pro Tem Biles; Council Members Krueger and Young. 1. The Council received a report and held a discussion regarding a request from Denton Taxi to increase taxi rates. Harlan Jefferson, Director of Fiscal Operations, stated that several weeks ago Bob Stormer of Denton Taxi Service had requested Council consider an increase in the taxicab rates in Denton. After the request, staff conducted a survey of area municipalities for current rate structures of their taxicab services. The specific request was for an adjustment in the initial pick-up structure from $1.30 per 1/10 mile to $1.50 per 1/10 mile. The added cost for each additional 1/10 of a mile would remain the same. Council Member Krueger joined the meeting. Jefferson stated that the waiting time structure would change from $.25 per 90 seconds to $.30 per 90 seconds; the extra passenger charge would change from $.50 to $1.00; and the surcharge which currently ran from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. would be eliminated. Staff had contacted the other taxicab companies in the community who also supported the request. Mayor Pro Tem Biles joined the meeting. Jefferson indicated that Denton's current rate structure was slightly above the structure in most metroplex cities. Recently the city Manager approved an increase in the base charge which was based on cost of fuel as per language in the ordinance. Council Member Cott suggested that the rate changes be approved but add some type of taxi commission to assist with these issues. The Commission could involve the customers and the service level they expected. Council Member Young joined the meeting. Council Member Miller felt that this was a reasonable request and recommended that staff proceed to work out the ordinance. Council Member Cott seconded that recommendation. He felt that the consumer might want different type of routes or equipment and that they should be consulted on this issue. Consensus of the Council was to request staff to prepare the necessary legal documents to institute the increase. 2. The Council received a report and held a discussion regarding implementation of a Council Voice Mail system. City of Denton City Council Minutes July 25, 1995- Page 2 Joseph Portugal, Assistant to the City Manager, stated that staff was responding to a Council request regarding a Council voice mail system. One option would create a voice mail system for council members. A phone number would be advertised for citizens to call and leave a message. Staff would retrieve those messages and compile a weekly report for Council. A second option would be to provide an automated attendant system, citizens would have a range of options when calling the Council telephone number. Council could retrieve those messages if desired plus staff could retrieve them and develop a report if desired by Council. Council Member Brock stated that this would be an additional phone number to other numbers which were available. Portugal replied correct. The idea was to provide the number as the Council meeting was being broadcasted, citizens would have a means to respond to the meeting by seeing the phone number during the meeting and calling to leave a message if desired. Council Member Brock asked if it would be possible to show the numbers already available during the broadcast. Portugal stated that he would have to research how to put a message across the screen. The message would not be such that it detracted from the Council meeting while in progress. Mayor Pro Tem Biles stated that Option A would only be a single phone number as opposed to Option B which would have a menu. Would Option A provide a message for the citizens. Portugal replied that it would but not in as much detail as option B. There would not be a menu for the citizens to choose from. The menu would allow a citizen to leave a message for an individual member as opposed to dialing that number and leaving a general message. Mayor Pro Tem Biles asked if the system had a menu, would staff still continue to prepare the messages. Portugal replied correct. The purpose of the automated attendant was to assist citizens further with messages. Mayor Pro Tem Biles felt that the menu system was favored as it would be easier for a citizen to get a message to Council. Another avenue would be to have messages prepared for Council. City Manager Harrell stated that Option A would be for messages a citizen might leave for any one of the Council Members. In that case, staff would have to be involved to retrieve, transcribe and pass those messages on to Council. If Council wanted to go with option B which gave the citizen the opportunity to communicate directly with individual Council Members, staff would not be involved. That type of system was more expensive but there were no labor problems with putting another task on staff to retrieve 243 244 City of Denton City Council Minutes July 25, 1995 Page 3 messages. The only advantage from a menu driven system which targeted Council individually was that a citizen could communicate with one of the Council and might not like staff making his comments available to other Council or for staff to review. Council Member Miller felt that citizens were able to call now and reach the Council Members. He felt that the current system worked well and that another number would not be necessarily more efficient for the Council. Council Member Brock felt that most messages were not for individual Council members but for Council as a whole. Her experience was that people who wanted her personally could find her right away. She felt this would be a considerable clerical expense and was not sure it would add to the communications the Council currently had. Portugal stated that it would be more work from a clerical perspective. This would work with the system already in service. Council Member Young stated that he received many calls at home and felt that both options were good. Besides having direct communication with Council, it would cut down the calls at home which might be at all time of the day and night. Such a system would provide citizens with more participation within city government. Either system would be a win-win situation for Council and citizens. Council Member Cott felt that the current system was best in that the citizens could call him personally. Council Member Krueger stated that he received many calls at home which were beginning to bother his family. If that could be lessened somewhat he would be in favor of one of the options. He favored Option B as it would not involve so much staff time. Council Member Young motioned to adopt Option B. Mayor Castleberry stated that a motion could not be presented at this meeting. He asked if it would be possible, with Option B, to retrieve messages from the Council Member's homes. Portugal replied yes that each individual could personally retrieve their messages. Mayor Castleberry asked about a computer printout of the messages. Portugal stated that staff would attempt to retrieve those calls but Council might prefer staff not do that. Council Member Miller found that people who called in and left a message after going through a menu often were frustrated by the time they got through the menu. City of Denton City Council Minutes July 25, 1995 Page 4 Mayor Castleberry felt that the consensus of the Council was to proceed with Option B. He asked that staff check for the availability of a hard copy of the calls. Council Member Brock hoped that the Council was not sending out a message that it was putting a buffer between Council and citizens. Mayor Castleberry stated that a citizen might be reluctant to call during the day and it would help to have a system where he could call during the night. 3. The Council received a report and held a discussion regarding late night programming at the recreation centers. Ed Hodney, Director of Parks and Recreation, stated that Council Member Miller had made a request regarding extending programming hours at the recreation centers, specifically late night hours. Late night hours was defined as any program after 9:00 p.m. Staff had contacted other programs in the city such as the Police Action League, the Denton Police Department, the united Way, and others to find out from their perspective whether or not they felt there was a need for additional programs, specifically late night programming. There was an indication that there was the need. Although the City had recently expanded recreation center hours, late night programming had not been specifically addressed. Council Member Krueger left the meeting. Hodney felt this kind of programming had merit but was not sure if it had merit in Denton. He would like to do additional research for what was needed, objectives for the programs, and what actions were recommended. Council Member Cott expressed concern regarding violation of the noise ordinance upon leaving such as loud cars or patrons. Council Member Young stated that he had done some research on this issue over the weekend. The young people were excited about.the possibility about late hour programs. He felt that there might be a problem with the hours. It would be ideal if more than just basketball could be done such as some type of training. Council Member Krueger returned to the meeting. Council Member Young felt that some type of life social skills could be taught. Council Member Brock stated that this would have to be a budget item. The type of programming which Council Member Young suggested would be very beneficial but would be more expensive to provide. She asked staff develop information as to the cost of such a service. Hodney stated that late night programming was a way to get people in the door with recreation programming but could accomplish more 245 246 City of Denton City Council Minutes July 25, 1995 Page 5 than that. His staff would develop costs along with programming recommendations. Mayor Pro Tem Biles felt that it would be necessary to make distinctions between the age groups addressed. Children as opposed to juveniles as opposed to adults. There were different kinds of micro-needs which affected the macro-approach. The cost factors associated with each different age group would be different. There would be associated costs such as additional labor, utility costs, etc. and each area needed to be looked at fiscally. Council Member Miller felt that the issue was something to explore. Herman Wesley had suggested the programming to him and Miller passed it on to Council. If Council agreed there was a need, there would be a need to talk about how to move forward. Other people in the community such as the DISD, the United Way, the Police Athletic League, the probation system, etc. needed to be involved. The resources of the community should be utilized to help with the program. There would be a cost for such a program but the cost of not doing such a program also needed to be addressed. Council Member Krueger stated that he agreed with the concept but needed a cost estimate for the youth and teenage portion. The adult portion could be provided for by a user fee. There was a need to look at who needed the service the most which was in his opinion, the youth and teenagers. He felt there was a need to look for a profit in the adult programs as there were other costs involved such as utilities. Council Member Young stated that the school age children already had a program. This programming was to try and reach individuals between the ages of 20-30 who had no programs for them. Midnight basketball would be good for the young adults. This group was the most unemployed group in the City and charging a users fee would take away from the program. Those youth already felt that no one cared for them. This type of programming would have all the elements of the community working together for the youth of the community. Mayor Castleberry suggested that perhaps not all the centers would remain open. Council Member Brock wanted to be sure that this type of programming would be available for all to use. Council Member Krueger suggested starting a pilot program and do in just one place. 4. The Council held a discussion regarding the timeline for the Blue Ribbon Committee and bond election and gave staff direction. City Manager Harrell stated that there was a bond election timetable in the Council back-up materials. The schedule indicated three different dates and the steps needed to be taken before an City of Denton City Council Minutes July 25, 1995 Page 6 election. It would take approximately 4-5 months from the point when a committee was appointed and began its deliberations to the point where all of the projects had been finalized and were ready to be submitted to the voters in an election. One of the scenarios modeled the time schedule used in the 1986 bond election. There were some major decision points which would have to be made quickly to keep within that time line. The second scenario would have the Council appointing a citizen committee on October 24th with an election on February 24th. The third scenario would have the Council appointing the citizen committee on January 2nd with an election to be held in conjunction with the Council election on May 4th. The schedules were not set and Council could have any date desired. At the Council's planning session one of the highest priorities expressed by Council were projects dealing with storm water improvements. The proposed draft CIP had $9 million of drainage projects. A refinement of the drainage issues indicated only $7 million. Council also expressed a concern that the storm water improvements tended to be scheduled for the end of the five year program. There was little storm water work scheduled for year 1 and 2 but escalated in later years. Council had asked staff to look further at the possibility of some type of storm water fee which could be earmarked for CIP improvements dealing with drainage and which could be done quicker than the proposed CIP schedule. If Council wanted a storm water fee which would fund the $9 million projects, a storm water management monthly fee would be implemented plus revenue bonds for $9 million would be issued. The fees would have to be sufficient to retire that debt for the bonds over a 20 year period of time. $900,000 would have to be collected to retire the $9 million bonds. It would probably take 2-3 years to complete such a program. With the worst case scenario of performing the $9 million, the single family rate would be $1.70 per month and the monthly charge for impervious acre for non-residential property would be $21.33 per month. In addition to the $9 million capital used, the city also financed operation and maintenance expenses for current storm water projects. Approximately $440,000 was spent for that kind of activity. If the Council was interested in doing not only the $9 million worth of projects but also levying a fee sufficient to recover the operations and maintenance costs associated with the storm water system, the single family monthly fee for operation and maintenance would be $2.53 and a per acre charge would be $31.76 per month. The final option included doing the $9 million worth of improvements with the $440,000 plus include approximately $221,000 which was currently used for debt payments on past storm sewer improvements. The fee would be $2.95 for residential and a per acre charge of $37.00 per month. Bob Nelson, Executive Director for Utilities, presented a time line for Council consideration. If staff had a recommendation by August 1st to hire a consultant, the time line as indicated in the handout would be followed. The consultant would be hired by August with public hearings on 10/17, 10/31 and 11/14. The law required three public hearings and the ordinance would be adopted on December 19th with billing in January of 1996. This was an aggressive time frame but necessary if Council de~ired thi~ in conjunction with the CIP. 247 248 City of Denton city Council Minutes July 25, 1995 Page 7 This could have an impact on the operating and maintenance and some debt service which was programmed into the budget Council Member Miller asked if the public hearings had to be two weeks apart. Nelson replied that the law indicated three public hearings with the first one 30 days prior to the adoption of an ordinance. Council Member Miller asked if this could be done in conjunction with the CIP election held on February 24th. Given that time frame, the appointments would be made on October 24th. According to the proposed time frame, the public hearings would not be done until November 14th. Council could not make a decision on the fee system until after the public hearings. He felt that if the CIP was presented with no drainage, the process should already have been started. Nelson stated that the public hearings should be done before the Blue Ribbon Committee had a full charge so that there would be some sense of how to proceed. Council Member Miller suggested compressing the public hearings so that they were faster to complete. Mayor Pro Tem Biles suggested that rather than hold the public hearings as proposed, hold special call meetings at 7:00 p.m. in between the noted meetings. This would have the public hearings on three consecutive weeks rather than skip weeks. Information from the public was necessary before proceeding with the CIP. Council discussed the time frame for public hearings and appointments to the Committee. After that discussion, Miller motioned, Krueger seconded to proceed with the committee appointments by September 25th, have staff prepare a new time line and begin at the next meeting. That time line would be available before beginning appointments. The bond election would be held on February 24th. Mayor Pro Tem Biles suggested making nominations for the CIP committee at a regular meeting rather than at a work session. He suggested starting nominations at the next meeting. Miller motioned, Krueger seconded to consider nominations for the CIP committee at the next meeting. On roll vote, Miller "aye", Young "aye", Cott "aye", Krueger ."aye", Brock "aye", Biles "aye", and Mayor Castleberry "aye". Motion carried unanimously. City Manager Harrell stated that Council wanted staff to proceed with a proposal for a consultant to do the necessary work for the storm water fee. Consensus of the Council was to proceed. City of Denton City Council Minutes July 25, 1995 Page 8 249 8:00 p.m. 1. Council cons-idered a resolution of appreciation for retiring Board/Commission members. The following resolution was considered: NO. RA95-017 RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR RETIRING BOARD/COMMISSION MEMBERS. Brock motioned, Biles seconded to approve the resolution. On roll vote, Miller "aye", Young "aye", Cott "aye", Krueger "aye", Brock "aye", Biles "aye", and Mayor Castleberry "aye". Motion carried unanimously. 2. The Council considered a resolution of appreciation for retiring Council Members. NO. RA95-018 RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR RETIRING COUNCIL MEMBERS Brock motioned, Biles seconded to approve the resolution. On roll vote, Miller "aye", Young "aye", Cott "aye", Krueger "aye", Brock "aye", Biles "aye", and Mayor Castleberry "aye". Motion carried unanimously. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned. NNIF~WALTE~S TY SECRETARY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS BOB CASTLEBERRY, MAY~R CITY OF DENTON, TyS ~ ACC002A3