Minutes January 14, 1997CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
January 14, 1997
The Council convened into a Closed Meeting on Tuesday, January 14,
1997 at 5:15 p.m. in the Civil Defense Room of City Hall.
"PRESENT: Mayor Miller; Mayor Pro Tem Brock; Council Members
Beasley, Biles, Cott, and Young.
ABSENT: None
1. The Council considered the following in Closed Meeting:
A. Legal Matters -- Under TEX. GOV'T CODE Sec. 551.071
Discussed and considered Personal Injury Demand of
Attorney for Mr. and Mrs. Fred Evans on behalf of
their daughter, Crystal Evans.
B. Real Estate -- Under TEX. GOV'T CODE Sec. 551.072
Ce
Personnel/Board Appointments -- Under TEX. GOV'T CODE
Sec. 551.074
1. Annual Performance Evaluation of Municipal Judge.
2. Annual Performance Evaluation of City Attorney.
3. Annual Performance Evaluation of City Manager.
The Council convened into a Work Session on Tuesday, January 14,
1997 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of City Hall.
PRESENT: Mayor Miller; Mayor Pro Tem Brock; Council Members
Beasley, Biles, Cott, and Young.
ABSENT: None
1. The Council received a report, held a discussion and gave
staff direction regarding an update on the effect of extended hours
for alcohol sales.
Mayor Miller indicated that this was a review of an ordinance which
allowed establishments to receive an extended hours permit and stay
open until 2:00 a.m. One of the provisions of the ordinance was to
receive information a year after passage and to determine where to
go from there.
Mike Jez, Executive Director of Public Services, stated that on
December 13th he provided Council with a report with comparative
data regarding the first 290 days of the late hours permitting
ordinance. A concern he had expressed at the time of passage of
the ordinance dealt with a shift of the distribution of the police
officers work load. This shift would primarily change the activity
of the officers related with alcohol sale and consumption from the
12:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m. time frame to the 2:00 a.m. - 4:00 a.m. time
frame. It appeared that that shift in activity did take place and
in fact there was an increase in police related activity in the
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2:00 a.m. - 4:00 a.m. time period. The overall net effect in the
shift of activity indicated alcohol-related arrests increased by
only 2.8%; alcohol-related accidents increased 5.7%; alcohol-
related citations decreased by27.2%; domestic citations increased
by 4.4%; loud party/noise-related citations decreased by 11.2%; DWI
arrests decreased by 5.9%. He felt that a 290 day period was a
short period of time to establish a data line.
Council Member Biles agreed with the Chief that a 290 day base line
was insufficient to look at the numbers. Another relevant period
of time was the ability to institute and follow through with a new
effort with the Fry Street Area Merchants Association. The 2:00
a.m. ordinance at 290 days gave rise to number of concerns. He
reassured all that Council had taken a hard look at this. The
greatest area of attention was the Fry Street area. The Merchants
Association, within the last 60-90 days, had an opportunity to
begin new measures and that area of town will continue to receive
the highest degree of attention. The Merchants Association was not
just comprised of the bar owners but also of barber shops, real
estate owners, and other merchants in the area. The steps which
they instituted should be given more time. He was not sure of the
amount of time but it should be enough time to test its
effectiveness.
Biles motioned, Young seconded that the Chief of Police be directed
to continue and intensify efforts in conjunction with the
University of North Texas Police Department, in particular the Fry
Street area. Based on the types of calls he had received, he felt
the complaints were from area residences. The sphere of influence
of the two police department needed to be enlarged to others areas.
During these new hours, the patrols should be increased in the
neighborhoods. The sphere of influence should be increased bythe
two police departments beyond the Fry Street area and continue to
monitor the numbers to see if additional enforcement improved the
circumstances of violations in the area. He felt there would be a
greater degree of information received from the police store-front
in the area. The motion would be to enhance and intensify the
joint efforts with the University of North Texas Police Department
and to enlarge the sphere of influence of patrols during key hours
in the neighborhoods. He had not heard many complaints from other
parts of the city. Since a program was started in that area, there
was a need to continue those efforts.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock asked if there had been a gradual increase in
arrests and accidents related to alcohol.
Jez replied that he did not have a five year trend analysis for
those figures.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that she was in support of the motion
but felt that there were also responsibilities with extended hours.
The business people started a merchants association and were
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January 14, 1997
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293
working with the City's Development office. There were some
changes already in this area. She challenged the business people
and others in the area to accelerate their efforts which they had
started in the last three months. One area was to reduce the
nuisances in the area, to think of ways to be sure people were not
performing acts which they should not be. She had suggested that
the bar owners use the extra profits to do clean up in the area to
be sure the area was clean. She hoped in the next six months to
see an improvement of appearance in the area. There was a lot of
repair work to do in the area. If the late hours contributed to
the physical deterioration of area as well a people deterioration,
she felt it would need to be looked at again. With everyone
working together, there should be an upgrade of the area. She felt
that the merchants should pay for some of the expenses involved in
upgrading the area. Two consultants who worked with vision felt
that Fry Street had a unique feeling. She felt the area could be
improved and made into a positive area.
Council Member Biles stated that he would like to modify his motion
to include another component. The first was to intensify joint
efforts with the University of North Texas Police Department, the
second was to enlarge the sphere of enforcement and the third was
to direct the Development Office, the University and the Police
Department to specifically address these issues with the Merchant's
Association.
Council Member Young agreed with that addition to his second of the
motion.
Council Member Cott asked if the figures stated by Chief Jez
included only the Fry Street area.
Jez replied no that they included the entire city limits.
Council Member Cott stated that there was no real measures as yet.
He had a petition placed on his desk and asked if that was only
from the Fry Street area.
Mayor Miller stated that Mickey George had submitted the petition
to the Council.
Council Member Cott asked if there were a certain number of
signatures which were required before being submitted.
city Attorney Prouty stated that he had not seen the petition but
to repeal an ordinance or to enact a new ordinance, a petition
required 25% of the registered voters who voted at the last regular
election of the city which would be the last City Council election.
It also had to meet certain specifications as noted in the City
Charter.
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Council Member Beasley stated that she had had discussions with
area merchants. She suggested a different challenge which would be
to have the merchants and neighbors working together to see what
could be done. The complaints and concerns which she had heard
were mainly from the Fry Street area and not from other places in
the City. She suggested having the neighborhood, together with the
merchants, try and work something out to make some of the
improvements. She would support the motion and felt that if all
worked together in the area improvements would be seen.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that some of the club owners had hired
off-duty police officers and should share some of the
responsibility of these improvements. She was concerned that some
club owners felt it was police harassment when they enforced the
issue of sales to minors. That was not the case but was part of
enforcing the law..
Council Member Young felt that not all of the problems were from
the merchants. There were young people who did these types of
things. The merchants upheld their end of the deal made last year.
The problems discussed were social problems experienced all over.
There were young people taking beer from home and drinking it on
Fry Street. Some people were driving by in cars and selling beer
to minors in the area. All needed to get together and work out
ways to solve these problems.
Mayor Miller stated that the motion was to give staff direction to
continue to study the issue and to work to change the behavior of
those involved. As a member of the Council he attend meetings of
the Texas Municipal League and the National League of Cities and
both organizations have sub-groups of communities with
universities. These groups have had discussions on what it was
like to be in a university community. About 98% of the discussions
were very positive but also there was 2% which was not as positive.
The Council was looking at trying to have an environment acceptable
to citizens but must also realize that this was a university
environment. He did not see anything which had caused a drastic
change in the community over the last year's time. He would be
voting for the motion. Everything possible should be done to make
sure minors were not being served. It was the responsibility of
the owners to not continue to serve those individuals who were
obviously over inebriated. This also fell under the noise
ordinance. The noise ordinance indicated that there was a
different level of tolerance after 10:00 p.m. This should be
looked at not just at 2:00 a.m. but at all hours of the evening.
Council Member Cott asked that the motion be repeated.
Mayor Miller stated that the motion was in three parts. The first
was to have the Police Department work more closely with the
University of North Texas Police Department to enhance enforcement,
the second was to enlarge the area of enforcement beyond Fry
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Street/Avenue A, and the third was for the Development Office and
the Police Department to work with the Merchants Association to
develop specific issues to address and to work towards those
issues.
On roll vote, Beasley "aye", Brock "aye", Cott "aye", Young "aye",
Biles "aye" and Mayor Miller "aye". Motion carried unanimously.
2. The Council received a report, held a discussion and gave
staff direction regarding the adoption of the Parks and Recreation
Department Strategic Plan. (The Parks and Recreation Advisory
Board recommended approval.)
Ed Hodney, Director of Parks and Recreation, stated that the
purpose of the document was to replace an old existing plan made in
1984. That plan had been accomplished and it was now time to move
on. The new document would provide guidance until the year 2000 for
capital improvements recommendations and projects. It would
provide guidance for budget development and for service and program
development. It would also provide a philosophical foundation for
the City's response for anything which was not specifically
addressed at this point in time. The document created a model for
change as a department and for a management tool as well. It would
help the department maintain its eligibility to apply for and
receive State funds for grants. The new plan set the stage for
real progress for the next few years. Throughout the process,
which took approximately three years, about 400 individuals had
some role to play in the development of this plan. A large number
of those individuals gave their input through a survey. This
process incorporated the work of the Vision project. The Executive
S,,mmary of the Strategic Plan indicated a statement of core values
and principles. It provided an operational feel for each of the
team members. There were nine major goals, twenty nine specific
strategies and eighty five specific actions included in the plan.
1995 was the first year of plan. The strategies defined the way to
specific goals and actions and how to complete the strategies.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock asked about a wild plant center which was a
consideration and if that would conflict with a botanical garden
which was included in the plan.
Hodney replied that the wild plant center could be a formal garden
setting or informal with a wild flower demonstration area. It
could be on the ordar of a nature center at South Lakes Park.
Staff was looking to see if there was any interest in the concept.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that one area to consider would be
whether there would be any overlap or conflict between those two
ideas.
Hodney stated that another area of the plan was a study on ways to
boost productivity in certain areas and to determine the best ways
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to improve services. The plan would also work on understanding how
much the operation cost. An annual review of fees and charges for
facilities was recommended in the plan. The Denton Parks
Foundation had been fairly inactive in the past. The purpose of
the Foundation would be to gather fund raising support for parks
and recreation activities. One goal of the plan was to get the
Foundation back up and running to assist with the funding of
proposed programs.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that last week the Council was looking
at two proposed developments which had proposed a private park
system. There was some discussion on whether that type of park
would be maintained by a homeowners association and then become a
part of the city system. She assumed that when a park was operated
and financed by a homeowners association, the general public did
not have access. If the City was running and financing it, all the
public would have access.
Hodney replied that it could work that way. One of the
developments had proposed that the land be dedicated immediately as
public park land but the cost of running the park would be absorbed
by the homeowners association.
Council Member Beasley stated that she liked the accountability
portion which would review progress during the year.
Council Member Young stated that he always said that Denton had
good schools and good parks. He hoped there would be a park in the
Willow Creek area but did not see anything in the plans at this
point in time. He felt that staff needed more diversity in hiring
in order to truly reflect the community.
Council Member Biles requested a list itemizing and describing each
of the CIP projects and a current inventory of parks.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock asked where the hike/bike trail system came in.
Hodney stated that there were two major elements in the system. It
was not placed in the document as it was still in a draft mode.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock asked what was the completion date of the rail
to trail plan and the Ray Roberts trail.
Hodney stated that the rail trail was proceeding into design and
would be completed approximately by 1998. The Ray Roberts Green
Belt was currently under construction and was to be completed by
October of 1997. The only question was what happened between the
two points. There was a need for some type of funding to make that
connection.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that one suggestion of the Tree Board
was a legacy forest in which someone would buy a tree and maintain
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it in honor or dedication to someone. It might be good to include
that idea in the master plan.
Hodney stated that it was indirectly mentioned under promoting tree
planting efforts. The legacy forest program was already initiated
and staff was working on promotional materials for the program.
Young motioned, Beasley seconded to return with an ordinance for
consideration at the following Council meeting. On roll vote,
Beasley "aye", Brock "aye", Cott "aye", Young "aye", Biles "aye"
and Mayor Miller "aye". Motion carried unanimously.
3. The Council received a report, held a discussion and gave
staff direction regarding Robertson Street funding.
Rick Svehla, Deputy City Manager, stated that there were two
projects in the CIP related to this issue. One was a study for the
Downtown area and the other was funding for Robertson Street. A
consultant was hired to look at the design for Robertson Street.
The study began with looking for a way to pipe the water around the
railroad overpass on Robertson. Once that study was started, the
consultant began looking not only at how to pipe the water around
the overpass but also piping it under Bell Avenue. That was done
for two reasons. A longer structure to carry drainage water was
more efficient. The second reason was that the Utility Department
was looking at building a large water main in the same area. There
were three options for this project. The first was an open
channel. The advantage of an open channel was that it was the
least expensive but if it was built on Robertson Street, there
would no longer be a street. That option was not really viable.
The second option was a box culvert which was a buried square pipe.
The advantage of this option was that it would leave the same
height clearance for the Robertson Street underpass. The
disadvantage was that it did not carry much water in terms of
efficiency. The third option was a crown span which was the most
efficient and the most expensive of the alternatives. It would
change the height capacity of the railroad overpass by one foot.
This option was favored because with this structure and the
existing pipe strucutre, all of the water in a 100 year storm would
be carried and thus there would be no flooding at Bell and
Robertson Streets.
Mayor Miller asked if the open ditch would remain.
Svehla replied yes plus the street would be realigned.
Mayor Miller asked if trucks would be able to get through if the
height were reduced.
Svehla replied that some trucks were some higher than 10½ feet.
The major effect would be on utility trucks which would have to use
another street. Some emergency vehicles would not be able to fit
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under the crown span such as the quint. That would require a
change in route runs in order to not change response time. Chief
Chadwick was comfortable with a change in route and felt that it
would not impede fire response.
Council Member Young asked if option two would change the height of
the overpass.
Svehla replied no but it also was not as efficient.
Council Member Young asked if it would cover a 100 year flood.
Svehla replied no.
Council Member Young expressed a concern about a fire truck
response in that area of the city.
Svehla replied that a smaller crown span could be built but it
would not carry as much water.
Council Member Young stated that that area was crucial as it was
the only way to get into that area when there was a train on the
tracks.
Council Member Biles stated that with the crown span the road
surface would be raised but there would still be flooding.
Svehla replied there would not be flooding if the overpass were
shortened one foot. All the water would be in the channel and
drainage structure.
Mayor Miller stated that the crown span was 7 feet high and the box
culvert was 8 feet high. What was the difference in design.
Svehla replied that there could be no direct travel on a crown span
while there could be driving on a box culvert. In terms of cost,
the open channel was the cheapest. The box culvert was estimated
at $350,000 and the crown span was estimated at $500,000. There
was $200,000 in the current CIP. There was $100,000 in the CIP
left from the Good Samaritan project. There was $200,000 in the
sixth year of the CIP which was unfunded. All of those funds added
up to the $500,000. A loan would have to be taken from Utilities
for the project. After reviewing the options, the CIP Oversight
Committee was in favor of the crown span and this scenario of
funding. They suggested looking for an opportunity to repay the
loan from the Utility department as soon as possible. The
recommendation from staff was to use the crown span, to cross
everything at one time, use $200,000 plus $100,000 from Good
Samaritan plus a $200,00 loan from Utilities with options to repay
Utilities.
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Biles motioned, Beasley seconded to proceed with the crown span
with the funding as indicated. Staff would bring back to Council
the listing of options to repay the $200,000.
Council Member Young stated that if the response time by the quint
was reduced more than a minute he would have to vote against the
motion. He was not willing to trade one unsafe deal with another
unsafe deal. He did not want to use the crown span.
Svehla replied that Chief Chadwick indicated that the first truck
to respond would be from Station Two which was on that side of the
tracks.
Council Member Beasley stated that it was very important to
correctly fix the drainage at this area. She also agreed with the
Chief that fire safety was important. She was comfortable with the
Chief's opinion that fire protection would be available to the
area.
Council Member Cott suggested delaying consideration for one week
in order to continue to study the issue.
Council Member Biles withdrew his earlier motion and motioned to
postpone consideration until the meeting of January 28th. Mayor
Pro Tem Brock seconded the motion. On roll vote, Beasley "aye",
Brock "aye", Cott "aye", Young "aye", Biles "aye" and Mayor Miller
"aye". Motion carried unanimously.
4. The Council received a quarterly update from the City's TMPA
Board members.
Bill Giese, TMPA Board Member, stated that this was the first
quarterly report to be given and that more would be scheduled in
the future. There had been organizational changes, operational
changes, financial changes and regulation/litigation changes at
TMPA. In the area of organizational changes, there was a power
sales agreement amendment. All of the involved cities had passed
that agreement and were currently seeking approval from the Bond
Insurers and Bond Counsel. A new mission statement was adopted at
the last meeting and read "to provide reliable power to member
cities in an economically competitive and efficient manner". The
Personnel Committee was currently developing a profile for the
appointment of a General Manager. The selection of a General
Manager would proceed as rapidly as possible. Under operational
changes the conversion to Powder River Basin coal was complete with
improved productivity. The total staffing of TMPA will be reduced
to 138 positions effective April 1997. In 1995 TMPA had 310
positions prior to conversion.
Council Member Cott asked about the amount of debt.
Giese replied that it was approximately $1.3 billion.
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Council Member Cott asked if any of that had been devalued to the
original bond holders.
Giese replied no. Other operational changes dealt with land
management. The Agency managed approximately 40,000 acres of which
about 30,000 was owned. The policy was to maximize revenue with an
orderly disposition of land that was considered surplus. Financial
changes included an investment advisor and bond counsel were
proceeding with a bond issue of $29 million to acquire ownership of
one dragline and a conveyor belt and a release from leveraged lease
provisions. The Construction Fund and Special Restricted Fund were
substantially depleted. The funds were used or would be used to
finance a rotary car dumper and a turbine upgrade. In the
regulations, legislation and litigation area, the Public Utility
Commission had ruled on how rates were to be charged on the
transmission of power from Texas Utilities to College Station for
1996. College Station might appeal that ruling. College Station
had been billed $3.56 million plus interest for the first 11 months
of 1996. Future transmission rates were still to be determined.
The Public Utility Commission had recommended that 'retail
wheeling" be deferred until the year 2001. The Texas legislature
and U. S. Congress had yet to take a final position. The "stranded
cost" issue was still unresolved.
Council Member Beasley asked if College Station was taking any
power from TMPA.
Giese replied no that it was taking power from Texas Utility. In
order to get that power, they have to transmit it over TMPA's power
lines and pay for those transmissions.
Mayor Miller thanked Mr. Giese for his report.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
R, MAYOR
CITY'OF DENTON, TEXAS
JEnNiFER FALTERS
CI~I~J SECRETARY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
ACC0035C