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20 May Agenda Questions and Responses 20 May 2025 Agenda Questions and Responses smartsheet amftern Number Department - Response 05/18/25 Council Member Jester Work Session A 25-339 Audit and Parks&Recreation Please provide examples of instances where we utilize Parks and Recreation delivers its programs through a blend of staff-led initiatives and contracted services.Staff Independent Contractors v.employees in our typically manage broad programming like special events and general summer camps,while specialized programs Recreation Facilities? Is this a small or large such as tennis lessons and niche camps are often handled by external contractors.Roughly 40%of program percentage? instruction is provided by staff,with the remaining 60%facilitated through contractual agreements. 05/18/25 Council Member Jester Work Session B 25-893 Animal Services Prohibition of euthanasia of animals due to space Animal Services does not euthanize for space,instead the staff utilize the following strategies when capacity is constraints?Then what do we do with the animal once reached: we are at capacity? -Staff will continue to take in stray drop offs from the public and stray animals officers catch in the field. •Reduce owner surrender to need based-prioritizing animals who need to be surrendered due to aggressiveness, eviction,domestic violence,etc,and providing rehoming resources to others on the list. -Promote reduced adoption fees to increase adoptions and make space. -Stray Foster-Encourage finders of stray animals to foster the animal while on stray hold and/or allow residents to foster animals while they are on stray hold.This keeps the animal in a home and out of the shelter. •Rearrange housing area designations to meet operational needs(i.e.Switch dog quarantine and dog isolation areas).If one area has space,staff can temporarily flip the function of the space to meet needs. -Communicate capacity status to the County and request they encourage stray foster for any finders of stray animals. 05/18/25 Council Member Jester Work Session B 25-893 Animal Services Dangerous Dog Sign$100 proposed fee.What is this? Owners whose dog has been deemed a"Dangerous Dog"by the court must meet certain requirements laid out in Sec.6-38 of Chapter 6-Animals Ordinance to be able to retain the animal.One of the requirements is to"display signs of permanent nature at the property lines located on the front and rear of the property and on the secure 3 enclosure of the dog;notifying of a dangerous dog on the property."The sign must meet certain criteria also laid out in the ordinance.Animal Services can provide the signs and has previously charged the owner for supplying the sign; however,there was not a fee established for such.The cost of$100 recovers the expense to the department for procuring the sign. 05/18/25 Council Member Jester Work Session B 25-893 Animal Services Prohibited Animal Permit Fee?If it is prohibited,why do City Ordinance(Chapter 6,Section 30)provides an exception to the prohibition of a prohibited animal based on 4 we issue permits? certain criteria.In addition to meeting the criteria,a person wishing to keep a prohibited animal must also apply for a permit.Typically,these are for rehabilitators or educators.Permits are reviewed and issued or denied by the Animal Shelter Advisory Committee. 05/18/25 Council Member Jester Work Session B 25-893 Animal Services Owner Surrender Fee-will they not just release into Animal dumping is a possibility.Many municipalities charge an owner surrender fee,and the fee varies widely among the streets if we charge too much? the various municipalities.The cost to Animal Services for taking in an animal is$77.68 which includes the exam, vaccinations,dewormer,and microchip.If the animal is unaltered,there is an added average cost of$93. This does not include any housing costs for the time the animal stays in the shelter.The proposed fee of$45 for altered 5 animals and$75 for unaltered serves to help recover some of the cost for taking in the animal.The fee is also in place to help encourage an owner to rehome the animal themselves.The schedule of fees does provide for the department director to waive fees in cases of need or in the best interest of the animal.Staff are proposing to instate the fee and collect data over the next year,including data regarding the frequency of animal dumping.Alternatively,if Council wishes to eliminate the fee,direction can be provided in that regard. 05/18/25 Council Member Jester Work Session B 25-893 Animal Services Proposed Removal of Rates-why not charge if Livestock falls under the responsibility of the Sheriff and/or the County.Animal Services will assist in trying to locate someone's horse or mule gets out and we must pick it an owner,but does not have the means to catch,dispatch,transport,impound,or house livestock. up? 05/18/25 Council Member Jester Work Session C 25-241 Finance Mid-year Strategies:Evaluating existing and future We evaluate the internal transfers from the General Fund(an expense)to our internal service or special revenue transfers between funds-please explain how this funds,which cover in-house services like technology support,facilities,and fleet.For example,if there are vacancies saves the City money or the reasoning behind this held in these internal departments,it will decrease the expense to the General Fund.Our goal is to identify potential strategy. year-end"savings,"as reduced costs in these internal service areas lead to decreased transfers from the General Fund.With all funds focused on cost savings this year,we anticipate a lower total transfer amount needed from the General Fund at year-end. 05/18/25 Mayor Hudspeth Work Session C 25-241 Legal and Finance What were litigation cost this FY for State of TX vs.City FY 23-24: $103,812.88 of Denton?Please provide litigation estimates for next FY 24-25: $94,053.57(through April invoice) levels of litigation should it proceed(State of TX vs. Estimate of proceeding(discovery,motions,appeal,trial):$400,000-$500,000 City of Denton). 05/18/25 Mayor Hudspeth Consent J 25-900 Finance&Environmental What is the value of the land currently and estimated The area used as the PD Outdoor Gun Range is portion of a larger approx.40-acre tract of land valued at 9 Services value over the next 5 years? $4,790,419 per the Denton Central Appraisal District.Staff would estimate the value to remain steady for the next 5 years.The proposed cleanup is necessary to meet Texas Commission on Environmental Quality(TCEQ) requirements. 10 5/19/25 Council Member Beck Consent C 25-754 Parks Any updates on the county's plan other than what's in Through our ongoing conversations,the County plans to preserve the buildings onsite and create a historical park. the backup. 5/19/25 Council Member Beck Consent D 25-878 Development Services Under what circumstances can the noise exception be The exception can be revoked for any reason.Realistically,revocation would occur if the applicant violates any of the 11 revoked? provisions as provided in the ordinance.For example,equipment exceeding the DBA,work being performed closer than proximity,or work performed out of excepted hours. 5/19/25 Council Member Beck Consent 1 25-899 Human Resources& What was the previous contract cost per annum? Over the past five years,the average annual expenditure has been approximately$257,000.The old and proposed 12 Technology Services contract includes a budget estimate for equipment and as-needed services such as analytics,as well as a contingency.The City will only pay for services rendered and is not obligated to the full contract unless needed. 5/19/25 Council Member Beck Consent J 25-900 Environmental Services Are there any estimates on the aggregate load sizes Staff estimates 13,000 cubic yards of impacted soil may be required for removal.Concrete is planned for recycling. expected to be taken to the landfill?What volume of Areas with visible lead or shot fragments will be handled to recover the lead for recycling.Since the range operated disposal is anticipated? for over 50 years,staff reviewed aerials,performed soil sampling,and used professional experience to create the 13 estimate.Loads are estimated at 20 cubic yards per truck.Depending on weight and truck availability loads could increase up to 40 cubic yards.Additionally,the Denton Landfill is not scheduled to take any of this waste.Per the contract(PDF page 52 and 62)Class 1 Waste will go to Lewisville,Class 2 will go to Itasca,and Hazardous Waste will go to US Ecology in Robstown. 5/19/25 Council Member Beck Public Hearings A 25-753 Water&Development Services Are there already SS uses in the SS easement,or the Staff are not aware of any other SS easements.This project is part of the City's Wastewater Master Plan. easement is still unaltered land? 5/19/25 Council Member Beck Public Hearings A 25-753 Parks&Development Services Can staff describe in more detail why it was deemed This project is a regional wastewater line,not specific to the development.The Wastewater Master Plan identifies the le ecessary to make use of this alternative through general path of the line based upon topography.Large wastewater interceptors follow the drainage basins to utilize blic lands rather than obtaining adjacent property gravity flow instead of pump stations in order to increase efficiency,longevity,redundancy and reduce operational sements? costs.The alignment through Vintage Park replaces an existing 21-inch sanitary sewer with a 48-inch interceptor sewer. The increase in pipe diameter will require the easement to be increased from 20 feet to 50 feet. Tamarack Park doesn't have an existing sewer line.However,the identified route represents the most efficient path to cross Vintage Blvd.and US-377 to access the site of the future Hickory Creek Water Reclamation Facility. Exported on May 19,2025 3:08:57 PM PDT Page 1 of 2 Date Submitted By Type Item Item Number Department Question/Comment Staff Response 5/19/25 Council Member Beck Public Hearings A 25-753 Parks&Development Services Tree mitigation costs exist to incentivize natural This is a City facility.Charging for City infrastructure will only increase the expense to utilities.The Roark Branch will preservation.By zeroing mitigation costs,are we not be partially funded by the use of Bond funding. 16 artificially and inequitably making it cheaper for us to develop greenspace?If Landmark is the source of the need,why are they not the paying mitigation costs. 5/19/25 Council Member Beck Public Hearings B DCA24-0011 d Development Services I have read the backup,but the need for this change Current market development has led to the inclusion of multiple animal related land uses under one building.Our 17 remains unclear-what problems have cropped up that current definitions of"Kennel"and"Personal Service,General"do not allow staff to completely capture the proposed this change addresses? uses in a clear and definite manner. 5119/25 Council Member Beck Public Hearings B DCA24-0011d Development Services Animal Sales uses are notably removed relative to prior Animal sales will fall under one of the existing retail land use definitions.Additionally,the uses provided in the 18 definitions-why are animal sales now excluded?This definition of"Commercial Animal Services"center around the care of animals rather than the outright sale. was not addressed in the narrative. 5/19/25 Council Member Beck Public Hearings B DCA24-0011 d Development Services Livestock seems to be used to mean agricultural or The definitions of"Livestock"and"Domestic Animal",as used in these amendments,are provided for and consistent food production livestock versus domestic livestock with Chapter 6:Animals of the Denton Code of Ordinances. (household pets:cat,dogs,small animals)-Are the definitions consistent with our other animal use language? 5/19/25 Council Member Beck Public Hearings B DCA24-0011 d Development Services Why are specific parking minimums addressed for Minimum parking requirements across all developments are dictated based on the land use.The snippet of Table these uses rather than relying on default zoning class 7.9-I:Minimum Required Off-Street Parking in the redline document refers to the relevant portion of the table and minimums? does not include the entirety of land uses. 5/19/25 Council Member Beck Individual Consideration A&B 25-454/455 Finance,Water,&Capital Water projects notifications are$22M above the Staff anticipated WIFIA funding through the EPA would be available by the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year to Projects ordinance-mostly in the RRWTP,Service Center, partially finance the large water and wastewater projects.However,application and approval timing were affected by 2019 program,and Milam Creek line items.Can staff Federal changes at the start of the calendar year.It is anticipated that WIFIA will be available the first or second provide additional detail on these differences, quarter of next fiscal year.This has necessitated increasing the CO issuance to cover these projects which will particularly on whether and how the notification can be account for the match required by WIFIA.Amounts included in the NOI,which exceed the RO,may not be used in in excess of the ordinance? advance but may be used after issuance.The RRWTP Capacity Rerate and Upgrades project is running ahead of schedule and is expected to require the full amount in the current fiscal year. 5/19/25 Council Member Beck Individual Consideration C 25-963 Audit The phrase"current financial condition"is a bit vague. As indicated in the earlier Work Session Budget item presentation(ID 25-241),civil service overtime was identified Please describe what conditions necessitate a delay of by Finance staff as a contributing factor to the City's expected net operating deficit.This amendment would expand 5 program audits.Trying to understand the the scope of the originally planned Fire Overtime Audit(300 est.project hours needed)to include other City priority/urgency of the need. departments with significant overtime expenditures(i.e.,actual OT expense was greater than$100,000 during FY23 &FY24 and actual overtime expense was more than than 5%of gross wages for the department).This expansion would result in three reports instead of one:(1)Public Safety Overtime(Police,Fire,and Animal Services);(2)Public Works Overtime(Water,Wastewater,and Streets);and(3)Utilities(DME,Solid Waste,and Facilities).Each additional report is estimated to add 100 hours of time to the estimated project hours needed(i.e.,200 additional hours needed). All audit projects being proposed for delay are follow-up reviews.Council may provide direction to do a mix of these projects(e.g.,only expand the overtime audit scope to include one or two of the proposed reports and conduct some of the follow-up reviews).Information on expected time needs for follow-up reviews will be provided during the Council meeting tomorrow so a more informed decision on the potential audit plan amendment can be made by the full Council. Exported on May 19,2025 3:08:57 PM PDT Page 2 of 2