Minutes November 14, 1995 AGENDA
CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL
November 14, 1995
The Council convened at the Campus Theatre at 5:30 p.m. to consider
the following:
RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR LLOYD V. HARRELL
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.
The Council convened into a Work Session on Tuesday, November 14,
1995 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
PRESENT: Mayor Castleberry; Mayor Pro Tem Biles; Council Members
Brock, Cott, Krueger, Miller and Young.
ABSENT: None
1. The Council received an update, held a discussion and gave
staff direction regarding the Solid Waste Master Plan.
Bob Nelson, Executive Director for Utilities, stated that this item
had been reviewed by Council on several occasions. Council
appointed a committee in February of 1994 to look at Denton's long
term waste issues. That Committee worked for about 13 months and
a report was finished in March of 1995. There were some decisions
on equipment and possible contracts for services which needed to be
discussed and finalized. Some of the guiding principles which the
Committee looked at as it worked on the project included: (1) Cost
- minimize the cost of the solid waste system for Denton residents
and businesses; (2) Flexibility - do not commit to a single method
of handling solid waste; (3) Economic development opportunities -
industries associated with the solid waste industry could work with
the City; (4) Risk - minimize the financial, human and
environmental risks to the community; (5) Educational opportunities
- build core programs with the two universities; (6) Environmental
stewardship - minimize the impact of Denton's solid waste on the
environment and public health. The Committee took a middle-of-the
road view in the program recognizing that there was a substantial
cost to recycling. Some of the major components of the program
included (1) constructing a facility for yard waste and wastewater
biosolid composting; (2) implementing a cardboard, office paper and
newspaper baling operation; (3) constructing an intermediate
processing center in 1998; (4) implementing a residential curbside
recycling program; (5) expanding the intermediate processing center
to a materials recovery facility in 2005; (6) expanding the
existing landfill site in 1997. The intermediate processing center
would be a good area for a public-private partnership.
Howard Martin, Director of Environmental Operations, p~emented the
waste diversion rate, based on the recommendations previously
presented, which allowed for a diversion rate of approximately 50-
55% by the end of the planning period. Translated into rates that
would change the current rate of $13 to $17.50 by the year 2004
which correlated with the end of the intermediate processing center
and right before the expansion to the materials recovery center.
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city of Denton City Council Minutes
November 14, 1995
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That rate would increase to $27.60 by the end of the planning
period. On the commercial side, the average rate of $133.45 would
increase to $213.66 by the year 2004 and increase to $273.15 by
2015. Key issues to consider included the financial issues of
Subtitle D; construction costs; closure/post closure liability;
debt retirement of the existing site; and repayment of debt to the
Electric Department. Service issues included frequency of
residential solid waste pickup; curbside collection versus drop-off
centers; automated versus manual collection; franchise fees for
recycled materials collection; and weight-based rates for landfill
customers.
Council Member Cott asked about Subtitle D costs.
Martin replied that those costs were for one area. One way to help
with the costs would be to provide short term financing over the
life of the area.
Council Member Young asked if there were any plans to include
private industry in this program.
Martin replied that that would depend on direction from Council.
Public-private opportunities had been looked at as they pertained
to recycling. If Council desired to move forward with some kind of
curbside program, it was anticipated that it would be some type of
public-private venture.
Council Member Young asked how much extra would be added to the
utility bill for this program.
Martin replied that if all of the money Council provided for
curbside recycling were removed, the rate would be approximately
$12.15 versus the current $13.00 today.
Council Member Young asked if, after a certain amount of time and
after the program was developed, the residential customer would
stop paying for this service.
Martin replied that there would be times when the intermediate
processing center was fully utilized and/or the materials recovery
center was being fully utilized, that there would be a decrease in
%he anticipated ~ate ove~ what would be paid if nothing were done.
Council Member Young expressed a concern with the increase in rates
and expressed a problem with government competing with private
enterprise.
Nelson stated that Option 8, with a lower recycling valuo for the
product, was a 4% per year increase. The inflation factor of 3.5%
was used for trucks, fuel and labor and known numbers for the cost
of the landfill were used in the formula. All the programs
recommended by the Committee were in that 4% per year.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
November 14, 1995
Page 3
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Martin stated that the benefit from this type of program was in the
length of the landfill and how long it would be in operation for
the City.
Council Member Miller stated that he was under the impression that
it would cost money to recycle under any scenario. But one
alternative indicated there would be a savings for the recycling.
Martin replied that in the later years of the intermediate
processing center there would be revenues which would offset the
rates. That was the same for the materials recovery center in the
later years.
Council Member Miller stated that there were recycling containers
for other companies in Denton and asked if that had been taken into
consideration.
Martin felt that Council Member Miller's question was was it known
how much recycled material was being pulled from the community by
other vendors. The answer today was no.
Council Member Miller stated that that would have to be factored
into this consideration. Historically 75% of the waste going into
the landfill was commercial and 25% was residential.
Martin replied that residential waste had decreased to
approximately 11%. An equal amount of that was contracted cash
customers.
Council Member Miller asked what percentage was coming from the
commercial market and what percentile was from residential.
Martin stated that with the current method of collection that would
be difficult to determine.
Council Member Miller stated that citizen input was important in
this area. Recycling was a need which needed to be met but there
was a need to be careful to not overtax the citizens. Education
would be very important with a change in the tax for tipping fees
at the landfill. The State would be returning 50% of the money it
collected.
Council Member Brock stated that recycling was a way to extend the
life of the landfill by 20 years. As the landfill costs were very
large, how would the savings be factored over the next 20 years.
Martin replied that was probably the most difficult part of the
analysis of the Committee. The Committee looked at various asDects
of the landfill and assessed the value for that property.
Brock stated that she would be very cautious about having twice-a-
week pickup for recycling unless there was an indication that this
was what the community wanted. The educational component was
critical. She asked if newspaper recycling could b~ don~ with
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November 14, 1995
Page 4
present equipment.
Martin replied yes and that there were dollars in the budget which
were contemplated for that program.
Council Member Krueger felt that the smaller the government, the
better government. He suggested the City work out a partnership
with private enterprise for recycling.
Mayor Pro Tem Biles felt that an excellent approach would be to go
out and gather extra information dealing with privatization. There
was a need to look in the direction of an intermediate processing
center but a materials recovery center might be too far ahead.
After discussion by Council on newspaper recycling and the merits
of how often to collect the recycling, Biles motioned, Young
seconded to direct staff to initiate a pilot project on a trial
basis. There would be a report back to Council and the Public
Utilities Board on the progress of the program. Staff would
proceed with a request for proposal for a variety of the
privatization options for the recycling process. The option for
once or twice a month pickup would be left to the discretion of the
Solid Waste Department. 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 received a report, held a discussion and gave
staff direction regarding U.S. 377.
Council Members Cott and Young left the meeting.
Rick Svehla, Deputy city Manager, stated that this had been a very
long process with a public meeting being held in June.
Council Member Young returned to the meeting.
Svehla continued that all of the property owners had been advised
of that meeting. There were seven - eight landowners at that
meeting.
Council Member Cott returned to the meeting.
Svehla stated that the questions at the meeting dealt with the
raised median and driveway access. An enclosed left turn lane
would be built in the area of 511, 505 and 501 which would be
specific to those businesses. This would be a similar left turn
lane as was at the intersection of Carroll and Pearl. The Highway
Department agreed with that ~onfiguration. There were a number of
other areas where driveways would be added or an agreement had been
worked out with adjacent property owners to make sure their
objectives and needs were met. Staff was asking for Council
approval to proceed with the project. Currently the project was in
the 1997 year of the Transportation Improvement Program of the
Highway Department which was very important. If that slot in the
City of Denton City Council Minutes
November 14, 1995
Page 5
program was lost, the project would be lost in that year and might
be lost in succeeding years depending on scheduling.
Council Member Miller pointed out that the project was from 1-35
north.
Miller motioned, Krueger seconded to proceed as recommended by
staff. On roll vote, Miller "aye", Young "aye", Cott "aye",
Krueger "aye", Brock "aye", Biles "aye", and Mayor Castleberry
"aye". Motion carried unanimously.
3. The Council received a report from the Juvenile Crime
Interagency Coalition and gave staff direction regarding juvenile
intervention programs.
Margaret Smith, Chair-Juvenile Crime Interagency Coalition, stated
that the Coalition was not asking for money. In January of 1995
Council passed a resolution creating the Juvenile Crime Interagency
Coalition which was made up of people from all areas of the City.
The Coalition's charge was to look at the situation with youth and
devise programs to try and help the courts with juvenile crime.
The Coalition started the effort by talking with different agencies
about the need of such a program. They looked for ways and means
to provide programs in those areas.
Tom Josey, Court Administrator, stated that the Coalition had found
a Title V grant to apply for. Given the time constraints, the
application was completed before coming to Council and they since
had received notification that they had received this grant. The
grant was for $94,000 to be used for several programs. The teen
court was one of the top programs and the Coalition wanted to
expand it to a full-time teen court which would serve more youths
in that manner. The Boys and Girls Club would provide for after
school, weekend and summer activities for approximately 50 youths
at the Fred Moore Learning Center. The program would provide
activities and tutoring for the children. The teen court was the
intervention portion of the program. The Coalition would like to
apply for a second grant which came from a private charity in
Canada. The "Contract and Bonuses" program was being used in
several area cities and involved children with counseling and
offered cash rewards for certain activities. This grant would be
for $34,700 and the Coalition hoped Council would agree to allow
them to pursue that source.
Young motioned, Miller seconded to allow the City to pursue grant
funding for Title V delinquent prevention and "Contracts and
Bonuses" and to implement as recommended by staff.
Council Member Cott asked what happened to children who were
disruptive in the programs.
Josey stated that the program was designed for a child who would
not be disruptive and the children with those types of behavioral
problems were screened out.
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City of Denton City Council Minutes
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Page 6
On roll vote, Miller "aye" Young "aye" Cott "aye" Krueger "aye"
Brock "aye", Biles "aye", and Mayor Castleberry "aye". Motion
carried unanimously.
4. The Council received a report, held a discussion and gave
staff direction regarding appointments to the committee that would
advise the Planning and Zoning Commission about updating the Denton
Development Plan.
Frank Robbins, Director for Planning and Development, stated that
the Council had adopted a program for the update of the Denton
Development Guide on October 17th. After those nominations were
made, the Council could consider the resolution appointing those
individuals to the Committee.
Young motioned, Brock seconded to develop a policy committee made
up of two members of the Planning and Zoning Commission selected by
the Planning and Zoning Commission, two members of the City Council
selected by the Council, one business representative for each three
Chambers of Commerce selected by the Chambers of Commerce, one real
estate professional selected by the real estate association, one
development professional selected by the appropriate professional
association, one representative from the DISD selected by the DISD,
one representative from TWU selected by TWU, one representative
from UNT selected by UNT, four representatives of City geographic
areas one from each City Council district chosen by neighborhood
associations, three members appointed by the Council with
suggestions by staff and/or represented professional associations
from the architect, professional planners - not staff members,
professional engineer and a chair to be appointed by the city
Council.
Council Member Cott suggested a time limit to complete the
procedure in a timely manner. He felt the four representatives of
geographical areas should be increased to seven and should be
chosen by Council.
Mayor Castleberry stated that there would be a total of 19 people
if the chair was selected from the group or 20 members with a
chair.
Council M~mber Young wanted a 20 member committee.
Council Member Cott stated that many of the neighborhood
associations were just now forming and that it would be difficult
to choose four representatives. He felt that it was a wrong time,
at this point in time, to use that for a base for choosing the
rcpr~ntative~.
Mayor Pro Tem Biles expressed a concern on how to select or not
select the neighborhood associations which were legitimate to
participate in the process. Could the neighborhood associations
communicate to Council their preferences for representatives.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
November 14, 1995
Page 7
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Krueger stated that the motion indicated that the four
representatives of the geographical areas would be chosen by the
neighborhood associations. There was nothing in the motion to
indicate that the Council would choose a member.
Council Member Miller asked if the appointees had to be residents
of the City.
Council Member Young agreed to put a residency requirement in his
motion. Council Member Brock agreed with that in her second.
On roll vote, Miller "aye", Young "aye", Cott "nay", Krueger "aye",
Brock "aye", Biles "aye", and Mayor Castleberry "aye". Motion
carried with a 6-1 vote.
5. The Council received a report and held a discussion regarding
the City Hall in the Mall project and the City of Denton Volunteer
Program.
Officer Jeryl Golden, Business Area Coordinator for the Police
Department, stated that one of the first duties assigned to him was
to open an office in the Mall. There were three different
coordinators placed into position at the same time. Two were
residential, responsible for staffing the two existing offices. The
Department was contacted by the Mall which offered space at the
Mall. The Mall had been very helpful with this project and donated
a significant financial contribution for the renovation of the
space. The office will be located next to the Old Country Buffet.
The bid from the contractor to renovate the space was $62,000 which
required them to take another look at the renovation plans. A
substantial amount of the money for the bid dealt with the
demolition of the area. Police labor was used to do that work
which kept the project under $30,000. The Mall had donated $15,000
and the rest was paid for by seizures from local drug dealers.
Several officers spent large amounts of time in the area for the
renovation. The Mall will now have 24 hour security as they will
have an office in the area. There will also be a customer service
counter in the office which will provide services for paying
utility bills, paying taxes, direct access to a hot line,
registration for park activities, library applications, maps for
utility line applications, volunteer opportunities, signing up for
Civil Service tests, alarm permit applications, and trash bags.
Other use of the space would include holding crime prevention
classes, self-defense classes, robbery prevention classes, forgery
prosecutions, space for community use, non-profit organizations
could use the space for meetings, city meetings and business groups
could use the space. The Utility Department had committed an
individual to work at the offi~ from 11~00 a.m.- ~00 p.m. Monday
- Friday. There would also be volunteers to help with information
questions.
Veronica Rolen, Administrative Assistant, stated that the volunteer
program, Project CD, was a program of citizen volunteerism in
D~nton City government. Th~r~ was a two fold mi~ion with the
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City of Denton City Council Minutes
November 14, 1995
Page 8
first to provide an opportunity for citizens to make a meaningful
contribution to the community. Second it allowed staff to increase
the quality of services provided while maintaining or reducing
costs. The program would complement the staff positions in the
City. In order to facilitate the accomplishment of the mission,
she had been appointed the Volunteer Coordinator to implement a
city-wide volunteer program. There were now seven departments which
had volunteer positions available. The goal of the program was to
have volunteer positions available in every city department. A
plan of action included coordinating with RSVP, TWU, UNT, local
churches, neighborhood groups and civic organizations. Currently
they were recruiting volunteers to staff the mall office and would
assist the full-time staff in the beginning. It was hoped that the
hours of the volunteers could be expanded to include all of the
Mall hours.
6. The Council convened into a Closed Meeting to discuss the
following:
Legal Matters -- Under TEX. GOV'T CODE Sec. 551.071
Considered and discussed settlement and the defense
of Rodqers v. City of Denton.
e
Discussed settlement and defense of litigation
concerning efforts to rezone 3.753 acres from SF-7
to Office zoning on the south side of 1-35E and
Lindsey Street.
B. Real Estate -- Under TEX. GOV'T CODE Sec. 551.072
Ce
Personnel/Board Appointments -- Under TEX. GOV'T CODE
Sec. 551.074
Held a briefing regarding the selection of a Fire
Chief.
Following the completion of the Closed Meeting, the Council
convened into a Special Called Meeting.
PRESENT: Mayor Castleberry; Mayor Pro Tem Biles; Council Members
Brock, Cott, Krueger, Miller and Young.
ABSENT: None
1. The Council considered approval and took action on an
ordinance authorizing the Mayor to execute a compromise settlement
agreement in th~ ma~r ~f RP$ Joint Venture, et al v. City of
Denton, Texas.
Jan Bailey stated that she was representing the Denia Area
Community Group. The Group asked that the Council not use their
political power in this issue. She felt it was unwise when it was
a legal issue which should be settled in court.
City of Denton city Council Minutes
November 14, 1995
Page 9
53
The following ordinance was considered:
NO. 95-235
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, APPROVING AND
AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE A COMPROMISE SETTLEMENT
AGREEMENT IN THE MATTER OF RPS JOINT VENTURE, ET AL. V. CITY
OF DENTON, TEXAS; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Young motioned, Biles seconded to authorize the Mayor to execute
the compromise settlement agreement in the matter of RPS Joint
Venture v. the City of Denton.
On roll vote, Miller "nay", Young "aye", Cott "nay", Krueger "aye",
Brock "nay", Biles "aye", and Mayor Castleberry "aye". Motion
carried with a 4-3 vote.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:40 p.m.
NiFE~WAL~ERS
Y SECRETARY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
ACC002D0
CITY OF DENTON, T