Minutes September 14, 1999CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
September 14, 1999
Work Session of the City of Denton City Council on Tuesday, September 14, 1999 at 5:00 p.m.
in the Council Work Session Room at City Hall.
PRESENT: Mayor Miller; Mayor Pro Tem Beasley; Council Members Burroughs, Cochran,
Durrance, Kristoferson and Young.
ABSENT: None
1. The Council received a report, held a discussion and gave staff direction regarding
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revisions to the draft 1999 City of Denton Comprehensive Plan. On September 8, 1999, the
City Planning and Zoning Commission declined to make a recommendation to City Council,
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electing instead to submit individual comments for use during the September 14 Council Work
Session.
City Manager Jez presented a clarification on public input. The process began with staff
preparing its best professional recommendations; took those recommendations to the pubic for
input; collected and summarized the public comments and present those to Council. Council was
then to begin the process to revise the plan based on public and Council input. He suggested
Council determine those areas where they were in agreement and/or had consensus and set them
aside as agreed on. After determining those areas, the Council could then return to those areas
where they had a difference of opinion and identify those one by one.
Jim Englebrecht, Chair-Planning and Zoning Commission, stated that the Commission had sent
the plan to Council without a vote. He reviewed some common responses from citizens and
some commissioners. Those included the fact that the draft plan had no revisions over the course
of the meetings; a criticism on the density proposed in the plan; the need to add a ratio of single-
family to multi-family housing; a desire for explicit provisions in regards to manufactured
housing; concerns regarding the function of neighborhood groups not being clearly expressed in
its own section; statements made regarding mass transit and the feeling that citizens would not
use such even in greater quantities and the issue of “skinny streets”. He felt that the narrower
streets did not slow traffic and did not know how larger vehicles would be accommodated on
narrow streets. There was a need for strong parking regulations that were enforced if narrow
streets were to be successful. He felt smaller lots and narrow streets would not work well
together.
Council reviewed the proposed plan chapter by chapter to determine which ones they were in
agreement with. Those sections were Section 7 – water services, Section 8 – wastewater
services, Section 10 - solid waste, Section 11 - electric, Section 12 - parks and recreation, Section
19 - maintenance and enforcement and Section 20 - public involvement.
Council reviewed the individual chapters of the plan presenting suggestions for changes for the
Planning Department to incorporate into the document.
Following the completion of Work Session Item #1, the Council convened in a closed meeting to
consider the specific item listed below under the Closed Meeting section of this agenda.
Mayor Miller left the meeting.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
September 14, 1999
Page 2
1. The Council considered the following in Closed Meeting:
A. Consultation with Attorney - Under TEX. GOV’T. CODE SEC. 551.071.
1. The Council conducted a private consultation with the City’s attorneys, including the
City’s outside legal counsel, and obtained legal advice regarding the legality and
advisability of adopting a single ordinance governing all electric service providers
operating or to be later operating within the City of Denton, Texas; including a discussion
regarding the strategy involved in negotiating for, collecting, and enforcing any obligation
for unpaid electric franchise fees and/or related taxes. Obtain the advice and
recommendations of legal counsel respecting these matters; and determine the City’s
strategy and negotiating position vis-à-vis TXU Electric and CoServ Electric on these
matters. To discuss the foregoing matters in an open meeting would clearly conflict with
the duties and responsibilities of the City’s attorneys to their client under the Texas
Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.
Following the completion of the Closed Meeting, the Council reconvened into open session and
considered the following:
2. The Council received a report, held a discussion and gave staff direction regarding
adoption of a single ordinance governing all electric service providers operating within the City
limits of Denton.
Sharon Mays, Director of Denton Municipal Electric, presented an overview of the proposed
ordinance along with objections from CoServ and TXU.
Steve Taylor, TXU, stated that the proposed ordinance would provide many concerns for the utility.
He suggested staff meet with them and work on negotiations for the issues of the proposal. He felt
there was no hurry regarding the passage of this ordinance and requested that the Council provide
them time to study the proposal ordinance.
Consensus of the Council was to continue to negotiate the conditions of the ordinance and return on
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October 4 for consideration.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:15 a.m.
_______________________________
JACK MILLER, MAYOR
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
___________________________
JENNIFER WALTERS
CITY SECRETARY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS