Minutes May 30 & 31, 1997CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
MAY 30 & 31, 1997
The Council convened into the Annual Planning Session on Friday, May 30 at 10:00 a.m.
at the Marriott Solana, Education Center, Westlake, Texas.
Present:
Mayor Jack Miller, Mayor Pro Tem Brock, Council Members Beasley,
Cochran, Kristoferson and Young.
Absent: Council Member Durrance
Mayor Jack Miller called the annual planning session to order.
City Manager Ted Benavides welcomed Council to the Planning Session and introduced Ken
Bratz.
Ken Bratz, facilitator, presented an overview of discussion items and activities for the
planning session which were designed to assist Council in achieving high performance while
dealing with a variety of diverse issues. Mr. Bratz stated that individual differences and
meshing of ideas made the Council strong.
Annexation
Rick Svehla, Deputy City Manager, stated that Council was provided a map of the city and
the surrounding area. He also stated that Council had expressed concern about the
legislature's discussion of rules and regulations concerning annexation. To date the only
bill which had been sent to Governor was a bill which required Denton to keep a public
record of the extraterritorial jurisdiction which Denton all ready does. Mr. Svehla
provided an explanation of the areas in Denton's extra territorial jurisdiction.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock questioned the status of the other legislation regarding annexation.
Svehla distributed an updated list of the latest action on legislative issues available.
City Manager Benavides stated that unless instructed by Council, staff does not plan to
pursue annexation unless requested by developers.
Council Member Cochran questioned why Denton's extra territorial jurisdiction extended
to the other side of Lake Ray Roberts.
Svehla stated that was because the land in question was part of a two and half mile arc
from the city. On the top part of the lake, the land designated was part of a park.
Council Member Cochran stated he was concerned about zoning of private property on the
north side of the lake.
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City of Denton City Council Minutes
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Page 2
Mayor Miller stated that he was a member of the Denton County Planning Commission
which only had jurisdiction for property around the lake located in Denton County.
Council Member Kristoferson stated that she was concerned that as the city annexed land
that another infill problem was being created. She questioned why the city does not require
the same drainage requirements.
Svehla stated that the city does require developers to build to city standards.
Council Member Kristoferson stated that some of the lots she was questioning were allowed
to have septic systems.
Svehla stated that the city subdivision rules and regulations allowed septic systems in lots
which were a minimum of one acre.
Council Member Kristoferson stated a concern for allowing septic systems to be built which
eventually may not be taken care of properly.
Svehla stated that current subdivision rules and regulations allowed septic systems but
Council could change the rules and regulations if they desired.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that in some developments in the city's ETJ where city
infrastructure was not close to the area that utility connections were cost prohibitive.
Council discussed the cost and legal ramifications of requiring developers to use city utility
services in an area which could have septic systems installed.
Svehla stated that many of the older systems were installed when city and county
regulations were not as stringent as they were currently. Septic systems were better
regulated now and better designed.
Council Member Young requested that staff revisit the infill policy particularly as it related
to situations on Mayhill and Carpenter Road.
The consensus of the Council was to direct staff not to proceed with any further annexation
proceedings directed at the donut holes on the map at the current time but only when
requested by citizens and developers.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
May 30 & 31, 1997
Page 3
Council Committee Assienments
Mayor Miller stated that City Council committee assignments allowed the opportunity for
Council Members to indicate which committees they preferred to serve on for the upcoming
Council Member Young stated he preferred to serve on the Agenda Committee, Municipal
Court Advisory Committee, and the Lalor Fund Committee.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that there were two issues regarding the Agenda Committee.
The first was whether the Council wanted to make the Mayor Pro Tem a permanent
member of the Agenda Committee; and if the Mayor Pro Tem was not a permanent
member of the Agenda Committee, then a vote between Council Member Young and Mayor
Pro Tem Brock was necessary to determine who served on the committee since both had
expressed interest in serving.
The Mayor stated that in the past the Agenda Committee was only the Mayor and the City
Manager. Several years ago a third person was added. The suggestion was made that the
Mayor Pro Tem be a permanent member of the Agenda Committee since the Mayor Pro
Tem presided when the Mayor was absent.
Council Member Cochran requested clarification concerning the policy of individual council
members suggesting items for the agenda and what was the purpose of the Agenda
Committee in the process.
Mayor Miller stated that any Council Member could place an item on the agenda. The
Agenda Committee does not filter the request. The request for placement of an item on the
agenda was made of the City Manager who tracked all of the requests, plus agenda items
which required further discussion, and items coming from boards and commissions and
provided a time frame for consideration by Council. The City Manager prepared a draft
agenda for the committee's review and the amount of time needed to address the issue was
considered.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that the suggestion of using the Mayor Pro Tem was made
because depending on the who was Mayor the involvement of the Mayor Pro Tem changed.
Council Member Beasley motioned and Cochran seconded to make the Mayor Pro Tern a
permanent member of the Agenda Committee and to revisit the membership to the
committee next year.
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City of Denton City Council Minutes
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Herb Prouty, City Attorney, stated that if the Council approved the motion official action
was needed to change the Rules of Procedure.
Council Member Beasley and Council Member Cochran withdrew the motion and second
to make the Mayor Pro Tern a permanent member of the Agenda Committee in order that
the issue be revisited next year.
Council Member Kristoferson motioned that Mayor Pro Tem Brock serve on the Agenda
Committee.
Council Member Young motioned that he serve on the Agenda Committee.
In a hand vote, Council Member Young voted in favor of placing himself on the Agenda
Committee.
In a hand vote, Mayor Jack Miller, Mayor Pro Tem Brock, and Council Members Beasley,
Cochran and Kristoferson voted to place Mayor Pro Tem on the Agenda Committee.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock was designated as a member of the Agenda Committee by a 5-1
vote.
Based on Council Member Committee assignment requests, the Mayor announced the
following assignments:
Audit Committee
Mayor Miller
Roni Beasley
Investment Policy Committee
Mayor Miller
Sandy Kristoferson
Municipal Court Advisory Comm.
Sandy Kristoferson
Carl Young
Neal Durrance
Vision for Denton - 21st Century
Euline Brock
Roni Beasley
Lalor Fund Committee
Roni Beasley
Mike Cochran
Carl Young
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City of Denton City Council Minutes
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Page 5
Community Justice Council
Lake Ray Roberts P & Z
(9/1/97)
Neil Durrance
Mike Cochran
Economic Development/Chamber contract/other related issues
City Manager Benavides stated that the Economic Development office consisted not only
of economic development but also Main Street and the Airport. The city currently had a
contract with the Chamber of Commerce for marketing for a little over $160,000 and the
Chamber requested the same funding for next year. He reported that the Chamber had
a committee to review the Chamber's relationship with the city as it related to economic
development and marketing. The city staff attended the meetings at the Chamber. Staff
requested Council direction concerning the amount of effort to put forth for economic
development.
Council Member Beasley questioned why there was a big drop in the city's economic
development budget from last year to the current year.
City Manager Benavides stated the difference in the budget was for the lamp sum payment
of sick and vacation payments made in the current year's budget due to the reorganization
in November.
Mayor Miller questioned whether staff was requesting direction just for budgeting purposes
or required other direction.
City Manager Benavides stated that staff requested direction concerning funding for the
Chamber; whether or not Council wished to continue with a marketing contract with the
Chamber; what the city's economic development department role was as it related to
activities concerning more business retention or attracting new companies, tax abatements,
plan lines, and the effort to be put forth. Staff does financial analysis for interested
prospects which told what effect the company had on city infrastructure and what the city
expected in tax revenue. Along with Airport, Main Street and the development officer, the
department provided a lot of services.
Council Member Cochran asked how much of the funds expended for economic
development came from general fund and how much from utility funds.
Benavides stated that the economic development, Main Street and airport received funding
from the general fund. Economic development received an additional $10,000 from the
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City of Denton City Council Minutes
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Page 6
utility fund. Main Street received $17,000 during the current year from Lalor and next
year staff proposed that ail funding come from the generai fund. Airport got some
revenues to offset general fund expenses. The Chamber contract received approximately
$85,000 from utility funds and the remainder from the general fund. An issue for the next
fiscal year was that the current generai fund portion of the contract was funded from one
time money thinking that if the sales tax passed generai fund dollars were not needed for
administrative costs. Each year water and wastewater included $250,000 in the budget for
plan lines which were considered economic development.
Bob Nelson, Executive Director for Utilities, stated that when companies of a certain size
came to Denton with a large electric use demand, they received a 50% reduction in their
utility bill the first year with a 10% increase each year until they reached 100% which took
approximately six years.
Council Member Cochran stated that he had a problem with spending utility money to
support the Chamber of Commerce. He aiso questioned money spent out of the generai
fund and what the return was on the investment. He requested information concerning
cities in Texas the size of Denton and their funding for the Chamber of Commerce.
Cochran also stated that it was his impression that citizens were not in favor of tax
abatements but that he was willing to consider specific issues.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that it was economically much more profitable to provide
utilities to a very large user. Brock indicated that moving Main Street and the airport into
the economic development office made a lot of sense. She indicated that increased funding
was necessary for expansion of the airport and additionai funding was necessary for the
Main Street program which was one of the city's most successful programs. Brock was
concerned about the marketing contract with the Chamber of Commerce. Even though the
marketing office was separate from the Chamber, because the office was located at the
Chamber, the public perception was that the city was turning money over to the Chamber.
Without a general oversight committee with representatives from the city, the city was not
supervising the expenditure of the money.
City Manager Benavides indicated that the city received quarterly reports from the
marketing office.
Mayor Pro Tern Brock questioned if the city determined policy on how the money was
spent.
Bcnavides indicated that outside of the generai guidelines of how the moncy was spent the
city does not set policy.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
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Page 7
Mayor Pro Tem Brock indicated that she was not satisfied with the cost benefit information
that had been received. She stated she would like the city to work on developing a report
which indicated the benefit. Brock also was concerned because the marketing operation
grew out of an agreement several years ago between the Chamber and the city with each
providing half of the money. The current operation had no funding from the private
sector. She indicated that the private sector was not contributing to the partnership, and
she thought the benefits of the partnership to the private and public sector should be
reviewed.
Council Member Kristoferson stated that she supported the airport and thought that it was
an under utilized area. Kristoferson reported that Linda Ratliff had indicated to her that
the Chamber provided some work that either Charter limitations or manpower prohibited
the city from performing. She also requested a survey of why businesses were relocating
to Denton.
Council Member Cochran stated that one of the things the Chamber provided which the
city could not was alcohol. He thought the Chamber participation was an expensive
investment.
Council Member Young stated that the Chamber bought alcohol but not with city funds but
used private funds.
Mayor Miller stated that he had spent many years in the private sector and industries
sought out cities in which to relocate. When a private sector organization was looking at
a new community, the first contact was with the private sector. Mayor Miller indicated
that industry looking to relocate to Denton were looking to see if Denton had a strong
private sector organization. The Mayor felt that the City needed to have the private sector
involved in the marketing program and indicated that the city's economic development
office does a great job. The Mayor indicated that he, the City Manager, the city's
economic development office and the Chamber representative met every two weeks to
discuss development efforts. Without some kind of an ongoing partnership, some
opportunities could fall through the cracks. Mayor Miller stated the city needed the private
sector involvement but that the city needed to have in place some organization that the city
was comfortable with and had an investment in the strategic plan. He stated he favored
continuing the current marketing effort with the Chamber and defining the details of the
expectations, organization structure, partnership funding, and so forth.
Council Member Cochran said he agreed with the need for private sector but one of the
ways he defined private sector was private funding. He stated that with a private sector
funded by tax or utility money that there was some question as to whether it was private
or not. Cochran stated that in other communities one of the ways .the private sector
City of Denton City Council Minutes
May 30 & 31, 1997
Page 8
demonstrated its commitment to the community was by sharing in the funding which was
how he felt Denton should also participate.
Mayor Miller indicated that the Denton area was served by other electric utility companies.
Private companies used funds to market the area surrounding Denton that they served.
Because of electric deregulation, utility money needed to be spent on marketing to remain
competitive. Mayor Miller felt it was an appropriate use of funds.
Council Member Beasley stated that during the last year she was concerned with the use
of general fund money for economic development efforts, particularly the Economic
Development Corporation. She stated that her concern for the level of funding the city was
providing and agreed that the public/private relationship be revisited. She questioned what
the Economic Development Transition Committee was and requested more information.
Benavides stated that the Chamber of Commerce had organized an Economic Transition
Committee to research direction and the relationship with the city. Linda Ratliff had
attended the meetings as a city liaison.
Council Member Brock was concerned that the committee was meeting to decide what their
role and position was without any communication with the Council. Her concern was that
the Chamber was setting policy without Council involvement but she felt better after the
City Manager had explained the purpose of the committee.
Benavides further stated that the committee was working to decide what direction they
would take and what participation they requested from the city.
Council Member Beasley stated that in reviewing the Chamber budget that she had a
concern with spending $7,500 for two corporate headquarter visits.
Council Member Young stated that the Chamber of Commerce promoted the city. He
stated that the Chamber provided a quarterly report and had been working hard to sell the
city. He stated that he does not think the city provided enough funding and wanted to fund
the Chamber at the same level in the next budget.
Council Member Cochran stated that part of the Chamber funding from the previous year
was one time funding that was not available in the new fiscal year.
Council Member Young stated that the funds came out of the utility area.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
May 30 & 31, 1997
Page 9
Council Member Cochran stated that a portion came from utilities and a portion came
from the general fund. He stated that he objected to using utility money. Cochran stated
that he felt the Chamber needed to work a little harder.
Council Member Young stated that a reduction in the Chamber budget seriously effected
their effectiveness.
Council Member Durrance arrived at 12 Noon.
Mayor Miller stated that large private sector companies such as Lone Star Gas had
economic development coordinators who coordinated private sector to private sector. He
stated that Denton had great qualities that needed to be sold and the city must view
economic development funding as an investment in the community where everyone
benefitted. He suggested that Council needed to have more control over the funding.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that as a representative on the Tax Abatement Committee
that her conclusion was that there was no blanket tax abatements to be given. Each case
was to be reviewed for its benefit to the community before abatements were considered.
Council Member Beasley stated that she was not in favor of blanket tax abatements, and
each opportunity should be reviewed individually.
Benavides stated that the city entertained everything that was requested and considered the
merits and made the prospect an offer which was based on Council approval. He stated
staff direction was to take a more conservative approach based on benefit to the
community.
Ken Bratz assisted Council in identifying that even though they were not in favor of tax
abatements Council would listen to each issue and make a decision based on its merits. The
Council had also determined that they were fiscally responsible, Denton was a great city,
Council was morally responsible to the voters, the city and Chamber would have a
compatible partnership with a proactive marketing effort, Denton was interested in others
and welcomed new people to become a part of the community.
City Manager Benavides stated that he had his direction. He needed to re-establish the true
public/private partnership with the Chamber in funding and discuss what expectations for
the use of the funds were and report back to the Council.
At 12:15 p.m. the Council recessed for lunch.
At 12:45 p.m. the meeting resumed.
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City of Denton City Council Minutes
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Public Trust
Improve Communications with Citizens
City Manager Benavides stated that staff had provided some information on actions other
cities were taking to provide information to citizens by purchasing a full or half page in the
local paper and using it to communicate information. He stated that the information he
received was that the city does a lot of good things but was not getting the word to citizens.
Council Member Kristoferson discussed the quarterly flyer insert that the Deuton
Independent School District provided. Each issue was used to communicate important
information to citizens. The school district received many favorable comments on the insert
and the information provided.
Council Member Young stated that he thought use of the newspaper was a good idea and
the insert was a better idea. Young questioned how communication to citizens who were
not subscribers to the newspaper was to take place and recommended using the cable or
radio.
Council Member Brock stated that on Wednesday's the Denton Record-Chronicle threw the
paper to everyone but that advertisements were more expensive on that day.
Council Member Kristoferson stated that the insert the city currently used in the Parks and
Recreation brochure was wonderful, but that the center newsletter section had become very
wordy. She stated that if the city were to buy space in the newspaper that she opted to
begin with only a half page to start.
Council Member Beasley stated that the city had gotten very good coverage in the Record-
Chronicle with more information concerning local issues. She also stated that she
appreciated the increased coverage of meetings such as the Planning and Zoning
Commission meetings.
Council Member Young stated that his concern in using the newspaper was that some
citizens would not receive the information since they were not subscribers to the paper.
Council Member Kristoferson stated that there was some level of personal responsibility
that the citizens had to take to keep informed if they were interested in local government.
Council Member Beasley questioned how much information was put on the city's
government access channel.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
May 30 & 31, 1997
Page 11
Richard Foster, Public Information Officer, stated that all information that was supplied
including meeting announcements, telephone numbers, holiday solid waste collection
schedule, were examples of some of the information placed on the government access
channel. The government access channel provided unlimited opportunities to display
messages.
Council Member Beasley questioned how many people actually sat and watched the channel
for information.
Council Member Brock stated that she was concerned about using inserts because she does
not read them. She was impressed with the purchase of a half page for city
communication.
Council Member Young stated that it was the consensus of the Council that using the
newspaper was a good idea either by using a paid half page advertisement or an insert.
Council Member Brock recommended increased use of the cable TV to broadcast more city
meetings such as Planning and Zoning Commission either live or videotaped. She
recommended that the more meetings which were broadcasted on the government access
channel the better.
Council Member Beasley requested cost figures to broadcast Planning & Zoning meetings
on the local access channel.
Council Member Cochran stated that more communication helped eliminate some
misconceptions the public had about city government. A lot of questions the public had
could be addressed either in the newspaper or in an informational pamphlet forum.
Kathy DuBose, Executive Director for Finance, stated that even though some citizens were
not receptive to the facts that the opportunity to interact with the public on special projects
and provide the information built a lot of support from citizens involved.
Bratz stated that most people were not interested in issues until it effected them.
DuBose stated that for the last three years a budget in brief was inserted in the city utility
bills to talk about the tax rate and how the city had reduced the rate.
Council Member Beasley stated that the city should use as much free advertisement as
possible. She also recommended that the city use a monthly half page in the new~paper to
further communicate with the citizens.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
May 30 & 31, 1997
Page 12
Council Member Young recommended implementation of the half page advertisement in
the paper on a six month trial basis and the project then evaluated for effectiveness.
Mike Jez, Executive Director for Operations, stated that the city tended to focus on
problems and not celebrate successes. He stated that in the last ten years a lot of
neighborhood organizations were formed and now over 20 who met on a regular basis. The
city had a number of pamphlets and brochures available for citizens.
Bratz suggested a list be made of citizen communication efforts.
Council Member Durrance stated that the city had the opportunity to further expand the
use of the public access on the cable to cover not only situational problems or information
dissemination but also to communicate future concerns such as electric deregulation. He
felt an interview or presentation process used on cable to begin to discuss the issues in a
more public forum and advise the public on future impact provided information to citizens.
The informational programs could be broadcast during Council Meeting breaks or before
or after the meetings.
Council Member Young stated that some of the efforts discussed were all ready being done
by the Utility Department with information concerning reading meters and detecting water
leaks.
Foster stated that additional costs were involved in producing the half page newspaper
advertisement and the increased cable television operations.
DuBose stated that in past budgets the staff and Council had reviewed costs for increased
cable and press coverage and an increased effort had some costs.
Council Member Cochran stated that agendas and minutes needed to be put on the city's
website. He felt it was very cost effective and simple. He also questioned whether there
was a budget for Council Member's to advertise community meetings for their district or
use of inserts in utility bills.
Layman's Guide to the City Charter
Council Member Cochran stated that in the campaign process his impression was that the
Council existed in a bunker mentality as an exclusive organization rather than inclusive.
He requested that Council take some actions to open up thc process such as making charter
user guidelines. Cochran stated that there seemed to be a public relations issue with the
charter revision for a citizen. He felt the statement which appeared in the newspaper that
City of Denton City Council Minutes
May 30 & 31, 1997
Page 13
the citizen could get a lawyer was a little harsh. The impression was that the city process
was closed. His suggestion was that some guidelines for citizens on how to use the charter
and what the rules were. He felt that if it were the policy of staff and Council not to
accommodate the public that the policy should be changed.
Council Member Young stated how simple the charter was. He felt the Charter was an
easy document to read and follow. The specific incident in question with Mr. George put
Mr. Prouty in a position of being the attorney for the Council and he could not represent
or advise the citizen.
Council Member Cochran stated that a user guide provided the information to the citizens
without jeopardizing the legal staff.
Prouty stated that the citizen group wanted to challenge a Council ordinance and made an
adversarial relationship.
Council Member Beasley stated that the impression that Council was exclusive developed
when citizens were concerned about a specific issue and disagreed with Council's decision
on the issue. She stated that often Council had additional information that the citizen does
not have which effected the decision. The recourse of the public trust was in voting for
their Council representative at the next election.
Mayor Miller stated that the charter was not a complex document.
Council Member Cochran stated that the guidelines were necessary to isolate the issues of
concern for further explanation.
Bratz suggested that Council investigate methods to help citizens understand the charter
rather than rewrite it.
Mayor Miller stated that in the incident in question the citizen understood the charter but
was requesting legal advice.
Prouty stated that when citizen asked about particular provisions of the charter the legal
staff provided a copy of the charter and answered questions.
Council Member Brock questioned who would write the guidelines because after a review
of the particular section she stated it was difficult to make the Charter simpler than it was.
Council Member Beasley questioned what were the repercussions if the guide lead citizens
astray. She wondered what the Council's legal liability was.
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City of Denton City Council Minutes
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Page 14
Council Member Cochran stated that he thought the legal staff provided the guide.
impression was that there was not a consensus to provide the guide to the charter.
His
Freedom of Information
Council Member Cochran stated that it was his impression that there was a general
negative reaction to citizens or press when requesting information from the city. He stated
that an example that he had was when information was requested the person was required
to go through an open records request. He felt that was unnecessary and produced an
image that staff was not cooperative.
Council Member Kristoferson stated that she looked at the process of open records requests
not as a deterrent but as a tracking tool.
Mayor Miller asked that the legal staff to answer the question because he knew that staff
provided a lot of information to citizens without going through a formal process. He stated
that the formal request procedure was used mostly when there was a question of law.
Council Member Cochran stated that the request for the by-laws of the Economic
Development Corporation was a specific example.
Prouty stated he was not aware of the request for Ms. Damico to go through the formal
process. He said that if she was asked to provide the request in writing it was done so that
there was an official request to start the clock ticking. He stated that Ms. Damico
requested the by-laws one day and received them the next. Mr. Prouty stated that 90-95%
of all requests for information received and were supplied without legal review. Only the
requests which could not be released by law or a request where the city had exception to
disclosure under the law which the city exercised if desired and usually were related to
litigation required a written request. In the litigation cases, the legal staff asked the
Attorney General for determination on whether the city could release the information.
Council Member Cochran stated that there has been some misconception on the by-law
request.
Council Member Durrance stated that the freedom of information request was one of the
most simple documents to write. He stated that government was open but some instances
provided for private thought and conversations. To build public trust, Council must show
that it complied with all the legal provisions and took a very cautious and judicious
approach to any request or question.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
May 30 & 31, 1997
Page 15
Council Member Cochran suggested an approach which gave an appearance of a positive
reaction with caution.
Council Member Durrance stated that could be accomplished by the Council with their
relationship with staff.
Mayor Miller stated that the Council had to work individually and had to be accessible to
the public.
Council Member Kristoferson stated that she had made it a point to be informed about her
government representative and stated that she thought that was part of the level personal
responsibility people must take for themselves.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that she witnessed staff providing a great deal of information
to citizens. She does not think freedom of information requests were requested on each
request.
Council Member Cochran sugested that some information people requested was
embarrassing to the city and that was not a reason for protection. He felt he was bringing
a fresh viewpoint concerning perceptions and misconceptions of the citizens.
Council Member Young stated that when he joined Council two years ago he felt the city
discriminated against minorities. When he became aware of city processes, he discovered
that was not true at all.
Council Member Cochran also requested citizen input at work sessions.
Council Member Young stated that citizens asked a question at work sessions with
permission from the Mayor, and he had never seen the Mayor turn anyone down.
Central Fire Station
Mike Jez, Director of Operations, stated that staff needed direction concerning renovation
of Central Fire Station at the current location. Central Fire Station had major structural
problems primarily in the shifting floor. A map was provided showing each fire station and
the area of its coverage. Jez stated that the history of the situation was that when Central
Fire Station was closed the thought was that at some time Central was to be relocated
somewhat south of its current location and ultimately Fire Station//3 was to be closed and
a new fire station built in the southwest part of the city. Now that Central had reopened,
Chief Chadwick's plan stated the city was safe in delaying the opening of another station
City of Denton City Council Minutes
May 30 & 31, 1997
Page 16
for at least five years or so. The current thought was that the new station was to be located
somewhere in the southwest portion of the city if growth trends continued. Jez requested
direction from Council concerning staff's recommendation to renovate Central Fire Station
at the current location.
Council Member Beasley stated she was in agreement.
Council Member Young stated that he thought Central Fire Station should be relocated to
a location on Oak Street between Austin Street and Bell Avenue. He felt the land located
near IOOF cemetery was too far away from the central business district. Young stated that
he was not certain that more money needed to be spent on Central and that he was
uncertain if Central was large enough to accommodate future growth. He felt a state of
the art station in the downtown area needed to be built in a different location.
Council Member Beasley stated that she felt the city should renovate the current Central
Fire Station at the estimated cost of $950,000. She felt the cost of building a new station
at the current time was too costly.
Council Member Young stated that it was his understanding that a future station in the
southwest portion of the city by the Airport was to be funded partially by the federal
government.
Jez stated that originally staff had talked about putting a station near or on airport
property because federal money was available. Research into the funding possibilities had
determined that federal money was not available for a fire station.
Council Member Young stated that if renovating Central was the wish of Council, Council
investigate the purchase of the land on Oak Street.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that the people in Denton had made it clear that Central
needed to stay where it was.
Council Member Durrance questioned whether the first phase of renovation which replaced
the flooring entailed removing all of the flooring down to the dirt.
Jez stated that it does.
Durrance stated that based on the renovation that was planned he felt it was a better idea
to renovate Central.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
May 30 & 31, 1997
Page 17
Mayor Miller stated that he was not in favor of moving Central one inch. He was
convinced that a fire station needed to be in a downtown location and that location was
where the current Central was located and supported the renovation.
Council took a ten minute break at 2:15 p.m.
Council resumed the meeting at 2:25 p.m.
Use and Maintenance of Park Facilities for Youth Recreation Activities
Mike Jez, Executive Director for Operations, stated that staff was looking for direction
from Council concerning park maintenance and field utilization. Council was provided an
overview of the current situation. He stated that staff does not have any supplemental
funding requests in the 98 FY budget to increase service at the athletic fields which meant
no more staff.
Council Member Kristoferson stated that her request was not for more staff but directed
at the dilemma of the contract that Parks & Recreation currently had with the yoUth
Sports Association. Her concern was that every Spring 3,370 children participated mostly
in two sports, soccer and baseball, and many of the children participated in both sports.
She stated that the baseball league which desired to end their schedule by the end of the
school year had started the baseball schedule so early that soccer could not finish without
overlapping. She stated that what developed for Parks & Recreation was the dilemma of
having to maintain both sets of fields simultaneously to the caliber that neither was if they
were taken care of one at a time. Kristoferson proposed that Parks & Recreation find a
way to sit down with all the sports organizations and work out a schedule to Council's
satisfaction. She stated that seven and eight year olds were playing baseball until 10:30
p.m. on school nights. Last year in the Parks & Recreation CIP, expansion of fields and
increased lighting were designated the top priority. She stated that the funding for the
projects was in the last year of the CIP. She stated that an increased number of fields that
could be utilized for games eliminated late hour games. Kristoferson requested that Parks
& Recreation staff meet with sports officials and state there was to be no sport overlap so
fields could be maintained and facilities maintained properly and no late games while school
was in session.
Mayor Miller stated that he had received the same concern from a parent.
Council Member Young stated he agreed with Council Member Kristoferson's
recommendations. He also questioned what had become of the PAL boxing program.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
May 30 & 31, 1997
Page 18
Jez stated that when the program started six to eight years ago 250 children participated.
The program ran for four years and when the program ended about two years ago only
about five children were participating.
Council Member Beasley requested information on what was needed to restart the program.
Jez stated that in regard to sport scheduling staff would meet with the officials from the
various programs. He stated that staff expected to receive major opposition from DYSA. ~
Council Member Kristoferson stated that she believed there was a solution to the problem
and all sports organizations must understand that a solution was imminent.
Jez stated that historically compromise between leagues was not successful.
Council Member Beasley stated that the city was in a better position than it had been many
years ago and was working in the right direction to remedy concerns about adequate
number of playing fields and maintenance. She had served as chairman of the Parks bond
committee and had serious discussions when considering what was included in the CIP with
some of the sports organizations trying to resolve the same problems of overlapping
schedules. All of the groups indicated a need for more fields. The bond committee found
that the city does not necessarily need more fields but a better scheduling mechanism. The
reason field expansion was moved further out in CIP because the current fields were only
utilized during a certain period of time and then sat empty. The committee felt that
currently there were adequate playing fields but growth of the city required additional
fields in future years. The bond committee requested at that time that Parks & Recreation
work with the sports organizations to establish a better schedule. She stated she would
work with staff and the groups to resolve the scheduling problem.
Council Member Kristoferson stated that Denton Boys Baseball had received so many
complaints from parents that she felt they were willing to work on a new schedule. She
also stated she had heard the same concern from the soccer association.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that a few years ago during a tough budget year, the Council
eliminated the staff position that scheduled the sports activities. The elimination of the
position saved $18,000 and allowed the organizations to do their own scheduling.
Council Member Young stated that the city needed more fields in future. He recommended
that staff meet with the organizations and work out the scheduling with what was available
now.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
May 30 & 31, 1997
Page 19
Jez clarified that Council Member Kristoferson was requesting that there be no overlapping
schedules, that there be no late scheduling for children under 10 during the school year and
that staff meet with DYSA to resolve the schedule.
Council Member Kristoferson stated that the sports associations be informed that no
additional staff was budgeted for field maintenance so each organization needed to submit
a schedule that had no overlap of the season. She stated that each had the opportunity to
reconcile the concern.
Council Member Durrance stated that he recommended that Council allow the sport groups
to solve the problem themselves.
Mayor Miller stated that Council let the groups know ali the information concerning
maintenance so that they had adequate information to resolve the problem and that Council
was in agreement that overlapping schedules were not acceptable.
Jez stated that with the direction of Council staff would determine what impact a schedule
with no overlap of seasons had on city maintenance services.
Posting Notice of Open Meetings
City Manager Benavides stated that there was a concern about which meetings were posted
such as neighborhood meetings.
Mayor Miller stated that if the meeting were called by city government proper posting took
place.
City Attorney Prouty stated that a survey of other cities indicated that all city advisory
board meetings were posted. He stated that the other cities had not had any experience
with posting neighborhood meetings that were not initiated by the local government. He
stated that the concern was that the Open Meetings Act probably required posting of the
meetings if two or more Council Members were in attendance and participated in the
meeting. He stated that the problem was that the city does not necessarily know when
neighborhood groups met. Prouty stated the option Council had was to post the meetings
when possible or to have Council Members attend but remain silent so as not to violate the
Open Meetings Act.
Council Member Young questioned whether five Council Members could attend dinner
together.
60
City of Denton City Council Minutes
May 30 & 31, 1997
Page 20
Prouty stated they could if it were purely a social occasion. He stated the rule on social
events, TML meetings, and educational meetings that a quorum of Council could attend
and have discussion as long as it was incidental to the activity or event.
Council Member Cochran questioned whether there had to be some sort of intent to
circumvent the Open Meetings Law to make it impossible for two or more Council
Members to attend a neighborhood meeting. He felt the posting of all meetings was an
undo restraint on Council Members.
Prouty stated that the staff advice was to be conservative. If Council wished to attend and
participate in neighborhood meetings, agendas should be posted. If the agendas were not
posted, he advised them not to speak.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock suggested staff request neighborhood groups to notify the city of
their meetings.
Bratz suggested when the request was made of the neighborhood groups that the
neighborhood groups were informed why the city was requesting the information which was
based on legal restraints for Council attendance.
Council Member Cochran requested the city attorney request an Attorney General opinion
concerning attendance at meetings of less than a quorum of the Council.
Prouty stated that requests from the Attorney General on the issue had to be made by a
State Representative.
Mayor Miller suggested contacting Scott Joslove concerning the matter prior to requesting
an opinion.
Board & Commission Appointments
Council Member Cochran stated that he was not well informed on some processes. The
briefing at the last work session plus materials provided from thc City Secretary had
explained the process.
Council Member Young stated that he wanted to be sure that persons wishing to be
reappointed be noted in the materials.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
May 30 & 31, 1997
Page 21
Mayor Miller stated letters were sent to all members who were eligible for reappointment
asking if they were interested in being reappointed to let the city secretary know. She
reported that information to Council.
Council Member Young questioned whether it was State law that Council had to vote on
nominees in open session.
Mayor Miller stated that it was. He stated that all decisions of Council were made in an
open meeting, and Council rules were that board and commission members were elected
by the entire Council.
Council Member Beasley stated that last year it was decided that the two boards with less
than seven members that nominations were accepted from the entire Council. She
requested clarification if that meant that each Council Member could nominate someone
for each spot on the two boards and then the Council voted based on the nominations.
Council Member Kristoferson questioned what would happen if the applicant pool was not
large enough to fill the vacancies so that everyone not nominate the same person.
Mayor Miller stated that once a person had been selected and contacted to serve on a board
if they were called by another Council Member the nominee declined the second
nomination. He stated that even though Council had applications, appointments were not
confined to that group.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that prior to the Attorney General opinion on the Open
Meetings Law appointment determination was discussed in the Executive Session. After
the opinion was issued, the new system was established and the process was being refined.
Council Member Young stated his concern that minorities be nominated to the Public
Utilities Board and the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board.
Lalor Fundine
Kathy DuBose, Executive Director for Finance, reported that now that the committee
members had been assigned a meeting could be called to present the history of Lalor
funding, establish new procedures and a timeline with a goal of having a recommendation
to Council by mid July.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
May 30 & 31, 1997
Page 22
City Manager Benavides stated that the funding procedure which was approved was very
confusing to monitor and for the recipients to budget. He requested that the formula be
reviewed by the committee.
Neighborhood Preservation
Council Member Cochran questioned who was the steward in the city for neighborhood
organizations.
Council Member Young stated that Chief Jez had been good with all neighborhoods and
the COPs program.
Council Member Cochran stated that he thought Cecile Carson had done a lot of work with
neighborhood organizations.
Benavides stated that Cecile Carson had done neighborhood research. He had requested
that David Hill look at the organization for other ways to structure the organization as it
related to the citizens and neighborhood groups.
Mayor Pro Tem Brock stated that the Vision neighborhood group had not abandoned
neighborhoods. She stated Cecile had been very effective in working with neighborhood
organizations and staff needed to identify someone who could focus on neighborhood needs.
Council took a 10 minute break at 3:20 p.m.
Council reconvened at 3:30 p.m.
Bratz facilitated the Council through exercises designed to assist in creating a high
performance environment. The Council worked through group activities and individual
projects to identify and create a proactive environment.
With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
The Council convened into the Annual Planning Session on Saturday, May 31, at 8:30 a.m.
at the Marriott Solana, Education Center, Westlake, Texas.
Present:
Mayor Jack Miller, Mayor Pro Tem Brock, Council Members Beasley,
Cochran, Durrance, Kristoferson and Young.
Absent: None
City of Denton City Council Minutes
May 30 & 31, 1997
Page 23
Mr. Ken Bratz, facilitator, continued exercises designed to assist in creating a high
performance environment. The Council worked through group activities and individual
projects to identify and create a proactive environment.
Council worked on a draft vision for the city for the next three to five years and suggested
rules for interaction which were designed to be proactive. Council agreed to revisit the
suggestions from the session at some future date.
With no further business, the planning session was adjourned at 1:00 p.m.
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
DEPUTY CITY SECRETARY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
AMM00A75