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June 5, 2006 Minutes CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES June 5, 2006 After determining that a quorum was present, the City Council convened in a Special Called Work Session on Monday, June 5,2006 at 11 :30 a.m. in the Council Work Session Room. PRESENT: Mayor McNeill; Mayor Pro Tern Kamp; Council Members Heggins, McElroy, Montgomery, Mulroy, and Thomson. ABSENT: None 1. The Council received a report, held a discussion, and gave staff direction regarding the draft business master plan for the proposed Public Safety Training Facility. Tommy Abercrombie, consultant on the project, presented the draft business master plan. He reviewed the mission statement of the Center. Objectives of the Center were to provide state-of- the-art training to 100% of the City of Denton Fire and Police personnel that not only met regulatory requirements, but also exceeded them by providing training that was beneficial to improving the safety of the citizens and employees of Denton. It would also become a source of quality training for surrounding communities and local private agencies thus improving multi- agency /multi- jurisdictional capabilities. Council Member Mulroy objected to the statement in the Executive Summary indicating "the most important consideration has little to do with economics." He felt this discussion would center on the funding and cost of the facility. There was no information on the original regional scope of the program. Abercrombie stated that his presentation would detail why the project grew in dollar amount. Mayor McNeill stated that there would be internal/external training programs with transferability of credits to other institutions. He felt it was not clear on how the budget went from $8 million to $16 million and how much would be received from outside courses. The first objective was to train City of Denton personnel, then outside individuals. He asked about the visualization concept with the coordination with NCTC. Would the City contract with NCTC to perform the training operations? Abercrombie showed a chart detailing the concept of a joint public safety training facility with a joint advisory committee offering a police and fire academy and continuing education unit opportunities. Lee Ann Nutt, NCTC, stated that the college had the opportunity to assist with continuing education units and to help coordinate the cost of the programs for participants. Abercrombie stated that the market alone would not sustain the cost of the training. Council Member Mulroy stated that the facility was not meant to be a positive cash flow but to produce a state-of-the-art facility; there must be a larger base than just the City of Denton personnel. Mayor McNeill asked if training personnel would be kept in both organizations or would NCTC do all of the training. City of Denton City Council Minutes June 5, 2006 Page 2 Chadwick stated that city personnel would continue to provide training. The day-to-day training would be done with in- house staff. There would be two parallel programs going on at the same time. Council Member Thomson asked about the advantage to partner with DISD and UNT with an academy for police recruits. Nutt replied that participants could transition from the DISD Technology Center to NCTC and associated academies. It was a natural progression for participants. Mayor McNeill felt that the course pricing was delayed too long. Abercrombie stated that the Phase I development costs included the classroom building, the live fire building with gas simulation, the firing range and tactical shoot house, and emergency driving track for a total cost of $16 million. He stated that the business plan was dependant on whether additional funding was available or whether the plan would remain within the $8 million. Council Member Mulroy stated that direction could not be given unless there was a menu for a proforma for choices. Mayor McNeill stated that there was a need for a long-range plan for first class facility. It was not clear what was being started with, what would be added next, and what was first. A minimum would be the police and fire academies. What could re done with the $8.2 million approved by the voters? Council Member McElroy suggested establishing a business plan to determine if it would be compatible with the cost of the facility. Council Member Montgomery asked if the program could be done in increments rather than all at once. Mayor McNeill felt that the finances had not been appropriately addressed. Consensus of the Council was to go back and rework the business plan with details on numbers. Obtain details on costs of exactly what was being proposed. Bring back what the original bond program was presented to citizens. The operating costs should be included and suggestions on how to make up the projected $8 million shortfall. Mayor Pro Tern Kamp stated that she was not in favor of reducing anything in the building. Mayor McNeill questioned what was needed for a contract from the college perspective. Nutt stated that a better understanding on exactly how many people from the outside agencies would be trained and whether the college would be paying rent to be in the facility or because of the college's contract funding hours, the cost would be a wash. City of Denton City Council Minutes June 5, 2006 Page 3 2. The Council received a report and discussed the City of Denton's emergency management program and planning process. Mike Penaluna, Emergency Management Program Manager, presented the program update. He reviewed the structure on the federal, state and local levels and the incident organization structure. Types of disasters included flooding, drought, Avian Flu, hurricanes, technological disasters such as chemical spills, domestic violence, and tornados. He indicated that detailed emergency planning was in place for the City. A new program, the National Incident Management System, was in place. This system was a nationwide approach to disaster management utilizing Incident Command Systems. This was an unfunded mandate tied to cities receiving federal grant funds. It included a detailed local notification system that included partnerships with KNTU, DTV, Charter Cable, the City website, warning sirens, weather radio, cityWatch, and the emergency alert system. The City participated in a wide range of training and drills in conjunction with emergency preparedness. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1 :30 p.m. PERRY R. MCNEILL MAYOR CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS JENNIFER W ALTERS CITY SECRETARY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS