Minutes December 17, 2001 SCCITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
December 17, 2001
The City of Denton City Council convened in a Work Session on Monday, December 17, 2001 at
11:30 a.m. in the Council Work Session Room at City Hall.
PRESENT:
Mayor Brock; Mayor Pro Tem Beasley; Council Members Burroughs, Fulton,
McNeill, and Phillips.
ABSENT: Council Member Redmon
1. The Council continued a discussion and gave staff direction regarding City Council
meeting structure and procedures.
Robert Hanna, Management Assistant, reviewed the comments made at the Council's prior
meeting as noted in the agenda materials.
Comments from Council on procedures included:
Council Member McNeill suggested allocating a specific amount of time for a public
hearing item.
Mayor Pro Tem Beasley liked the three minute approach used at the last public hearing.
Council Member Burroughs suggested a sliding scale for more complex issues for the
developer's presentation. He also suggested additional time to address those types of
issues over and above a zoning issue.
Mayor Brock suggested that a developer send a written summary in the agenda backup
rather than present all the information at the meeting.
Dave Hill stated that as the developers went through the Development Review
committee, a consistent message could be given to the developers to provide presentation
materials to Council in advance as well as the fact that they would have limited time
during public hearing. More presentation materials could be provided in advance by the
developer.
City Manager Conduff stated that staff would look at what procedures other cities were using
and put together a draft for Council to review.
Council discussed the citizen report aspect of the agenda with a consensus to not change the
procedures for citizen reports at this point in time.
Council discussed the proposed meeting schedule for 2002.
Council Member Redmon joined the meeting at 12 noon.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
December 17, 2001
Page 2
Consensus of the Council was to follow the staff recommendation for a change in the meeting
time and procedure and to begin the new schedule in January.
2. The Council received a report, held a discussion, and gave staff direction regarding
expenditure of the council contingency funds.
Dottie Palumbo, Assistant City Attorney, reviewed the provisions of the legal constraints for the
use of the contingency funds.
Herb Prouty, City Attorney, stated that Council could follow the guidelines presented and if a
question arose, ask the Legal Department for an opinion as to whether the expenditure would be
appropriate.
Council Member McNeill suggested a check-list for organizations to follow when receiving the
money.
City Manager Conduff stated that staff would devise a check-list for the recipients to use that
would include how long it would take to receive the money.
3. The Council held a discussion and gave staff direction regarding staff assistance with
public meetings.
Council Member Redmon felt that there were times when it was necessary to get facts out to the
public regarding certain issues. He felt that he had had problems getting assistance with the
meetings he wanted to hold. He wanted to have the City in with his meetings so as to not
position in the City as "bad" and help with the assistance of the meetings.
Council Member Burroughs felt that there was a line to draw between public and political
meetings. He felt that if the meeting was advocating or tending to support an individual in a
district for whatever reason that that was more personal than public and that was where the line
was to be drawn. The distinction between the two types of meetings was one meeting was to try
and change people's minds or perspective versus an educational meeting on an issue. If the
meeting was an educational meeting, then it could be run by the City. If it were run by an
individual, it would not be a City meeting. If the meeting involved city business, then the City
needed to run the meeting and not the individual.
Mayor Brock felt that it needed to be a Council decision rather than individual council member's
decision on what constituted a city run meeting. The publishing of information about a part of
city would be helpful for citizens but Council needed to approve the process and not an
individual.
Council Member McNeill stated that postage was part of the equation. He suggested having
money in budget for mail-outs for the council members.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
December 17, 2001
Page 3
Council discussed the differences between a public meeting and a private meeting held by an
individual. Consensus of the Council was that a public meeting sponsored by the City would be
one held for broad subjects or targeted as an outreach of the City as a whole. Council members
might be present at such a meeting but the meetings would be held to give out information from
the Council as a whole and not an individual.
City Manager Conduff restated the Council consensus that if there was a perceived need for an
educational session for the public on an issue or issues, the Council as a whole would authorize a
city sponsored meeting. If a Council Member made a request that staff was uncomfortable with,
staff would ask the entire Council for direction.
4. The Council received a report, held a discussion, and gave staff direction regarding the
Council 2002 meeting calendar.
This item was discussed with Item #1.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned 1:00 p.m.
EUL1NE BROCK, MAYOR
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
JENNIFER WALTERS
CITY SECRETARY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS