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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-05-13 - Special City CouncilMINUTES OF SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING City of Stephenville - City Council TUESDAY, MAY 13, 2014-5:30 P.M. The City Council of the City of Stephenville, Texas, convened on May 13, 2014, at 5:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers at Stephenville City Hall, 298 West Washington Street, for the purpose of Special Council Meeting, with the meeting being open to the public and notice of said meeting, giving the date, time, place and subject thereof, having been posted as prescribed by Chapter 551, Government Code, Vernon's Texas Codes Annotated, with the following members present, to wit: Mayor Jerry K. Weldon II Mayor Pro -Tem Malcolm Cross Council members Casey Hogan Doug Svien Russ McDanel Alan Nix Brady Pendleton Scott Evans Others Attending Mark A. Kaiser, City Administrator Randy Thomas, City Attorney Cindy L. Stafford, City Secretary Call to Order. The meeting of the Stephenville City Council was called to order at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13, 2014, by Mayor Weldon. II. Canvass Election Results of May 10, 2014 City Election and Consider Passing Resolution No. 2014-04 Mayor Weldon appointed Doug Svien to oversee the canvass of the votes from the May 10, 2014 election. MOTION by Doug Svien Cude, second by Russ McDanel, to approve Resolution 2014-04. MOTION CARRIED. III. Recognize Outgoing Council Members) Mayor Weldon presented a certificate to Malcolm Cross, which read, Presented to Malcolm L. Cross in grateful appreciation for your dedication and service to the City of Stephenville, City Council Member 2000-2014, Mayor Pro -Tem 2008--2014." Cross made the following comments: "Bytradition an outgoingcouncil member isawarded a plaque atthis ceremony, andthen makes a few innocuous remarks about his service and achievements, whilethankingthe citizens for giving him the opportunity to serve and wishingeveryone best wishes for the future. Special Council Meeting May 14, 2013 Stephenville City Council "I have already broken with this tradition by letting it be known I had no interest in receivinga plaque, given that Ihave no needfor any souvenir of the circumstances of my departure. "I now proposetofurther depart from thistraditionbyofferingremarks whichwillbe,l hope, anythingbutinnocuous. "I initially planned to retire voluntarily from the city council at the end of this term. Butl decided to seek another term to prove a point. Lastfall, ata city council meeting, one member said anyone who refused to support the Mayor on a particular issue was violating his oath of office. Really? "Theonlyoathl took was tothe Constitutions of the United States and the StateofTexas- nottoany particular person. Infact,I have nevertaken an oath of loyaltyto any person except on myweddi ngday. "Later that evening after I had switched myvote from support for, to opposition to, the Mayor's initiative, was accosted in the parking lot bytwo citizens who demanded to know why I had voted the way I did, yet who kept tryingto silence me, sayingthey believed nothing I was saying as I tried to explain my position. Under the circumstances, it occurred tome that to retire vol untari ly from the city council atthattime could be seen as an act of cowardice inthe face of unprovoked bullying. The voters decided to retire me anyway, as was their right. But I shall not be bullied into silence. We'll see what, if anything is done tonight. "Of course, I do thank the city employees for the quality and quantity of service they offer, at times in the face of unjustified attacks on their integrity, as befell the Stephenville Firefighters this election season, as well as those who conducted the salary survey onwhichthesoon-to-be implemented pay plan is based. But havinglived 27years in Stephenville and worked 14years with its employees on the council, I am not afraidto say I trust their integrity. "And while we're on the subject of integrity, I'd like to suggest that to question the of Tarleton employees who have served onthecitycouncil is reallytoquestionthe integrityof Tarleton's leadershi paswell. Afterall, if we're puppets ina grand scheme to manipulate, enslave, and exploitStephenvil le and its citizens for Tarleton'sgreater glory, then they must bethe puppet masters. Aside from thefactthat a Tarleton conspiracy issimplythe product of delusional imaginations, questioning Tarleton's leadership makes no sense, given Tarleton's importance to economic development and economic development's importance to Stephenville's future. You will find that to question others' integrity will make working with them more difficult. "But I also thank the voters for electing my late wife's older sister, Sherry Zachery, to the city council. She is a lady of great intelligence, integrity, and ability, even though she and I would have canceled each other's votes out on financialissues Special Council Meeting May 14, 2013 Stephenville City Council "And of course, I also thank the citizens for seven times electing me to the city counci I. As for the results of my eighth attempt at public office -after Winston Churchill lost his bid to be re-elected Prime Minister of Great Britain, his wife tried to console him by saying his defeat was a blessing in disguise. "Well," said Winston,"&it's a blessing in disguise, it is very well disguised." "My defeat does, I believe, have a blessing, and it's not as disguised as Winston's. Let me explain. I lost my re-election bid mainly because the voters were angry over my votes on taxes and spending lastfall. I was concerned becausetrends incur finances indicated that the government had begunto spend more money than it was collecting in revenue. We can do this for short periods of time, given the huge surpluses we accumulated during my f i rstyears on the council, to be spent on capita I projects. But given the rapidity with which we began to diminish our reserves, I was concerned that soon we would eatthrough them and then we would be confronted with unpalatable choices -either raise taxes to higher rates than Iwould favor, or cut spendi ngto lower levels than Iwould favor. "To postpone the day when we hadto confront these choices, I decided the bestthi ngto do was to implement modest spending cuts, and support a modest tax increase now. And bya modest tax increase, Imeant no more than a one penny increase in our property tax rate, raisingthe tax bill by: • $700.00 a year on a house valued at $JDOOpOO; • $70.00 a year on a house valued at $700,000; • $5.00 a year on a house valued $50,000. "Thiswaywecould perhaps buy sometimeformore economic growth to somedaygiveas more revenuewithout the need fortax increases. "I was by no means the only council member who voted for spending cuts and tax increases, but I was the only one who voted for both simultaneously. The fact that my approach was rejected by everyone else on the council should have been seen as presaging its rejection by the public at large. "So what will happen now? "We have $7p00,000 in reserves. Ofthat • $3.5 million must be set aside to maintain three months' worth of funds for emergency operating expenses; and $1.5 million is earmarked as matching funds for various grants. This leaves usjust $2 million dollars in reserves left. "But accordi ng to a letterto the editorfrom another citycouncil member, Stephenville faces "majorwater and sewer infrastructure repairs and updates, milesof street repairs, replacingagingwaterwells and raisingwagesandbenefits, all totaling millions of dollars." With all those problems to fix, those reserves will soon vanish. So what's to be done? Special Council Meeting May 14, 2013 Stephenville City Council "Raise taxes? As the election returns show, the voters won't accept that. Cutspending? How can we do that in the face of the need to address major water and sewer infrastructure repairs and updates, miles of street repairs, replacing water wells, and ma king salary adjustments -all of which will add millions of dollars of year to the budget, despite the absence of any realistic provisionfor new revenue? "Besides, last summer and fall duringthe budget and tax rate hearings, nobody other than Sherry produced any ideas for significantly cutting spending. You may well find spending cuts to be no more popular than tax increases. "Of course, the winners of this election saythatwe can avoidthe unpleasant tasks of raising taxes and cutting spending simply by growing the economy, thereby generating more revenue for more spendingwith no newtaxes. "I appreciate the benefits of economic development. In fact, as a council member, I supported incentives to assistTejas Tubular, St. Gobain, and FMC. Indeed, the last week of my life as a married man, I represented the City of Stephenville as Acting Mayor at FMC's ground breaking ceremony for its expansion project. "However, there are limits to how much additional jobs and revenue economic development projects can generate: • Current economic growth issimply not producing enough new revenue to match the rising cost of current services -hence the need to keep depletingour reserves more rapidly than we can restore them; and • Some projects need years to come to fruition anyway "Butwe haveto be concerned with thefi nancial needs of Stephenville now, ifwe'retoavo!d biggertax increases a nd/orspend I ngcutsinthe nearfuture. "Do we simply borrow more money in the hope you can one day have enough funds to pay off our debts? You're going Washington! "And herein lies the not -so -disguised blessing: The City Council must wrestle with these problems, but ]don't haveto. Havingsuccessfullydodged the rocks for llyears,until now, I get to sit on the sidelines and throw them. For don't forget -I currently lack a vote on the council, but I remain a citizen, a taxpayer, and a voter, with all the rights and privileges to remain involved in ongoing debates on publicaffairs. "So let me leave you with one final thought. The payfor a city council member is$20O.00a month, or $2,400.00/year, unless one is a Tarleton employee, in which case one cannot accept an additional salaryfrom the city. So given the fact that I worked forfree all these years, whatever else you say about the quality—or lack thereof—of my service, you at least got your money's worth out of me." Special Council Meeting May 14, 2013 Stephenville City Council Mayor Weldon presented a certificate to Scott Evans, which read, "Presented to Scott Evans in grateful appreciation for your dedication and service to the City of Stephenville, City Council Member 2008-2014." Evans made the following comments: "I want to thank the people who voted for me. I have served a total of 14 years as a city council member on two different occasions. I see a lot of people in the audience tonight that have been friends of mine for a long time and I know that you did not vote for me. Time will heal this wound; and I have no doubt thatwe will be friends again, because in the end, I thinkwe all love Stephenville. To staff, I want to say 'thank you', and I especiallywant to say 'thank you' to you, Mark. I think the city is lucky to have you. You've shared with me on more than one occasion your vision for Stephenville, and I hope you get to see your vision completed before your retirement day comes. For the council members that I have served with—past and present—I want to say 'thank you'. I think you have to be a council member before you truly understand what being one's about. I want to thank my favorite council member, Alan Nix. I love you. You're a good man. I first decided to run for city council back in 1989. 1 had been in business at that time for about ten years, and I'd had some success. My wife, Sherrie, was teaching school, and we had three handsome boys. Sherrie and I both came from good families. I was the perfect candidate. I received enough contributions that year to buy a few yard signs, and we bought one of those ads in the paper that listed the names of all the people that supported you. That year I won in a landslide. Saturday, I received 44 less votes than Adam Cash. Today things are much different. While we have been arguing about committee assignments in 1996 orwho did or did not sign multi -jurisdictional agreements for volunteer fire departments or whether a penny tax increase is justified or not or to have or to not have an economic development coordinator, there have been forces that have kept their eye on the big money. They've hired political consultants and they've received contributions from corporations outside the city. They could care less about Lowe's. You see, the decisions that are going to be made the next few years will involve hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars. The new council is going to decide who pays for what—who pays the money and who receives the money. To Boyd and to Sherry and to Jerry, I do not believe that you got to your station in life without having some common sense and some good instincts. I thinkyou're all good people that have no idea of what you've gotten yourselves into. Soon the people that supported you are going to come calling, and I wish you all the best of luck. Thank you." IV. Oath of Office of Newly Elected Council Members City Secretary, Cindy Stafford, administered the oath of office to Kenny Weldon, Mayor; Boyd Waggoner, Place 2; Russ McDanel, Place 4; Alan Nix, Place 6; Sherry Zackery, Place 7; and Jerry Warren, Place 8. Mayor Weldon welcomed the new council members and offered each council member the opportunity to speak. Boyd Waggoner thanked the people of Stephenville for their support. He said that he will do the best he can for Stephenville. Special Council Meeting May 14, 2013 Stephenville City Council Doug Svien welcomed the new council members. Russ McDanel made the following comments "During my campaign, I said, 'This election will chart our path for years to come' and I still believe that is the case. Last September in this chamber, a new budget was approved and tax rate hearings were held. Citizen after citizen spoke at the podium, but as you know, the vote did not go your way. Looking back, I believe that was the catalyst or defining moment that you concluded it was time for a city council that truly LISTENED to the PEOPLE and then voted the WILLof the PEOPLE! We have a hard-working, experienced Leader in Mayor Kenny Weldon buttoo often a majority of the council did not support his initiatives. You as informed citizens saw what was occurring and took action. You saw the opportunity to become directly involved in your local government. "Candidates stepped forward with clear goals in mind. It was ourjob to communicate our message to you and it was up to you, the voters, to decide who would truly represent your will. An intense nine weeks of campaigning followed, with candidates using all methods to get their message to the voters. Debating the issues is healthy and the voters were given clear choices. I personally ran on my six-year voting record of keeping taxes low, city services efficient and to empower our community. "My first call on election night was from my best friend, with the words, "Congratulations Russ, you won!' My son, Jay, my daughter, LaShay, and my love, Julie, were all by my side. When I learned that Mayor Weldon had also been re-elected and Jerry, Sherry and Boyd had also won their races; I thought'how sweet it is!' The voters have spoken and the will of the People was exercised at the ballot box. In nine years of local politics I have never seen the amount of debate and discussion between citizens themselves. "Many of you are in the audience today or are watching at home, THANK YOU to each and every one of you that worked on my campaign, shared my literature with neighbors and tirelessly informed the voters on the issues and the candidates. This was NOT about me, this was about 'charting our path for years to come." "We have great opportunity ahead and we are heading in the right direction. Please be patient with us, it won't happen overnight. Keep encouraging and supporting our efforts and great things will come. "Lastly, I want to share a text I received election day afternoon: 'I hope you're enjoying the beautiful day the Lord has given us and feeling good about yourself and your campaign. You have conducted yourself honorably! 'Listening to the PEOPLE' is not just some slogan on a sign and there are literally yellow signs ALL over town evidencing our respect for your service. It's a good day.' "Thank you for your prayers, faith and continued support. Sincerely, Russ McDanel" Special Council Meeting May 14, 2013 Stephenville City Council Brady Pendleton expressed appreciation for the work that was accomplished by Malcolm Cross and Scott Evans. Pendleton thanked them for their dedication to Stephenville. To Boyd Waggoner, Jerry Warren, and Sherry Zachery, he offered congratulations and stated that he looked forward to serving with them on the council. He said that he hopes everyone on the council will work together for what's best for Stephenville. Alan Nix said that two of his very good friends have left the council. He thanked Malcolm Cross and Scott Evans, saying that they are honorable men who served the city well and who have a great love for this community. Nix said he looks forward to working with the new council members and welcomes the opportunity to make new friends. He thanked those citizens of Stephenville who voted in the election. Nix pledged that hewill continue to do his best for the City of Stephenville. Sherry Zachery thanked everyone who helped in her first run for city council. She thanked her friends and the new acquaintances for encouraging her during the campaign. She thanked those voters who exercised their right to vote. Jerry Warren said that he is "happy to be here" and truly thankful for those who worked toward a successful campaign. He especially thanked his wife, Cheryl, for "putting up with him" and for serving as his campaign treasurer. Mayor Weldon made the following comments: "Thank you to the Lord,mywife, myfamily, mysupporters and to all the citizens who voted in the election. "It is an extreme and humbling honor to serve this community as your Mayor ... I believe incur FUTURE. And Iwant to Promote and Preserve the uniqueness and value of Stephenville ...... this wonderful and amazing place. "WHY ARE WE HERE? We live in a Free Country and are blessed byour Creator with inalienable rights; our government provides a structure for us to achieve what we all want. "We all want to live in a safe community with good water, streets, parks, public safety, and a great quality of life. "The City Council and our City Government exist to provide for the citizens of our community. "The mayor's duty is to carry out the shared responsibilitywithother council members to establish policy-identifyi ng the needs of the city, developing programs to satisfy those needs, and evaluating the extent to which municipal services satisfactorily reflect the policy goals of the council. "So, HOW do we achieve this goal? Special Council Meeting May 14, 2013 Stephenville City Council First let me caution us what not to do. We should not assume we have all the answers. Nor assume the solution is black and white. The needs of our community continue to develop. We are blessed with a diverse economy—agriculture, education, manufacturing, regional medical, and regional retail. But we are in competition both regionally and statewide for limited resources. Our competition isn' t local, it's Cleburne, Weatherford, Cranbury, Mineral Wells, Brownwood, Commerce, Canyon, Killeen and many others. Add to this a growing Stephenville population and aging infrastructure. "The regional competition with other cities and our own city's growth creates a situation where change is inevitable and we can choose to lead, follow, keep pace or decline. I'd prefer we lead with a unity of purpose that will preserve the uniqueness and value of Stephenville. We should never expect to get something, for nothing. "So HOW do we meet the needs of our community? "Ithinkitall starts with apositive Attitude. Mygoal,as Mayor, isto lead the council to perform our duty, and the role of city government, with a positive, service -minded approach, built on a transparency and level of communication that builds trust and cooperation. "And I BELIEVE We CAN leverage our strengths to a successful future. "We are blessedwith a Diversified Economy and great Peoplewho are the Heart of our community... "I believe that if our City Government should focus on the following four areas: 1. "Most importantly, we must communicate. The citizens of our community deserve a level of transparency that builds trust and cooperation. This includes continued efforts with Erath County & Tarleton State University, by sharing information and opportunities. The best decision is an informed decision. We must seek to understand the financial implications of each decision and clearly communicate the opinions and options considered. And sometimes, we must also make decisions without fully understanding the outcome ... this implies some risk. But the pursuit of a perfect solution 's always the enemy of progress. The council's primary duty is policymaking --identifying needs, formulating programs, and measuring effectiveness of municipal services. We must, as a council, focus on the development of policy to establish adequate planning, budgeting, and services to our citizens. This is the HOW. The identification of needs include: water, traffic flow (thoroughfare), infrastructure (roads/water/sewer), and land -use planning. Program development to meet these needs. And, measures to gauge our efforts as a community. 2. "l believe Economic Development isthe key to success in meeting the"WHYWE ARE HER E" mentioned earlier. The key is growth of our tax base through managed, economic development. This does not mean simply recruiting retail or providingtax abatements. Economic development should seekto createjobs Special Council Meeting May 14, 2013 Stephenville City Council with higher wages and housing, using our existing community strengths. We should promote the long-term interests of existing local business- let's attract companies to relocate here that use or produce prod uctsthatsupportexisting localbusiness. Thiswill bringjobsto Stephenville, help local business, and create a tax baseforthe city. How our city government participates inthe development process is also very important to economic development. Our ordinance and building code enforcement processes must ensure we provide the proper incentives to development, while upholding community standards. We setthe pace with our ability to promote business and housing construction in an efficient and effective manner. This is critical to our success. 3. "Our budgeting process must address both current year and five year projections, so we keep pace with street, water, and sewer projects to adequately support the long-term needs of city infrastructure. Thisapproach wi I I also support informed decision- making. Weneedtocreate and inplementa 5 -year infrastructure improvement plan, to guide our water, sewer, and road maintenance. Our city employees are also critical to our success. We must retain a qualified workforce with an adequate pay and staffing planwithinthe city staff. 4. "Finally, we must continue to celebrate our heritage as a community so citizens can enjoy their shared interests. The 4th of July parade, the summer concerts, museum pioneer days, Texan Military Appreciation Day and parade, and Western Heritage Week are examples of these opportunities. "So,we begin this eveningthe work needed to promote our strengths to a successful future. We live ina very special place and we should be excited about the future ...I AM. And now, I'm asking you to please join me to Promote and Preserve the uniqueness and value of Stephenville. "Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands. And May God Bless Stephenville, Texas. V. Adjourn MOTION by Russ McDanel, second by Doug Svien, to adjourn the meeting. MOTION CARRIED and the meeting was adjourned at 6:21 p.m. W _ Jerry . Weon II, Mayor ATTEST: !O , / Special Council Meeting May 14, 2013 Stephenville City Council RESOLUTION NO. 2014-04 A RESOLUTION CANVASSING THE RETURNSAND DECLARING THE RESULTS OF THE CITY GENERAL ELECTION. There came to be considered the returns of an election held on the 101h day of May, 2014, for the purpose of electing the hereinafter named officials, and it appearingfrom said returns, duly and legally made, thatthere were cast at said election 1,564 valid and legal votes; that each of the candidates in said election received the following votes: MAYOR CITY COUNCIL, PLACE 2 Brady Pendleton 502 Malcolm L. Cross 622 Kenny Weldon 1,054 Boyd Waggoner 895 CITY COUNCIL, PLACE 4 CITY COUNCIL, PLACE 6 Perry D. Elliott 646 Adam Cash 607 Russ "Rusty" McDanel 886 Alan Nix 864 CITY COUNCIL, PLACE 7 CITY COUNCIL, PLACE 8 Sherry Zachery 858 Jerry Warren 954 Justin Shane Allison 62 Scott Evans 563 Rustylergins 601 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS: That said election was duly called; that notice of said election was given in accordance with law, and that said election was held in accordance with law, and that: Kenny Weldon was duly elected to Mayor; Boyd Waggoner was duly elected to City Council, Place 2; Russ "Rusty" McDanel was duly elected to City Council, Place 4; Alan Nix was duly elected to City Council, Place 6; Sherry Zachery was duly elected to City Council, Place 7; and Jerry Warren was duly elected to City Council, Place 8; Said above-named parties are hereby declared duly elected to said respective offices, subject to the taking of their oaths of office as provided by the laws of the State of Texas and the Charter of the City of Stephenville, Texas. Canvass Resolution—Page 1 PASSED AND APPROVED by the City Council of the City of Stephenville, Texas, this the 13h day of May, 2014. Mayo Cindy L. 61fiord, City Uvretary Reviewed by Mark A. Kaiser, City Administrator Approved as to form and legality Randy Thomas, City Attorney Canvass Resolution—Page 2