The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2017-07-11 - Regular City CouncilMINUTES OF REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING City of Stephenville - City Council Tuesday, July 11, 2017, 5:30 P.M. The City Council of the City of Stephenville, Texas, convened on July 11, 2017, at 5:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 298 West Washington Street, for the purpose of a Regular Business 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 Doug Svien Council members Mark McClinton Brady Pendleton Rhett Harrison Alan Nix Sherry Zachery Jerry Warren Absent Carla Trussell Others Attending Allen L. Barnes, City Administrator Randy Thomas, City Attorney Cindy L. Stafford, City Secretary Staci L. King, City Secretary Call to Order The meeting of the Stephenville City Council was called to order at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 11, 2017, by Mayor Weldon. II. Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag Pledge of Allegiance to the Texas Flag —"Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible." Mayor Weldon led the audience in the pledge to the United States Flag and to the Texas Flag. Ill. Invocation was given by Curt Plaxco, Church of the Nazarene, Stephenville. IV. Citizens' General Discussion Bruce Delater, 1595 Glenwood Drive, addressed the council regarding the chip seal street maintenance done on Ashwood and Dogwood Streets. Delater stated that the kids in the neighborhood were experiencing more wear and tear on the wheels of their skates and other toys after the chip seal was applied than on the previous road surface. Delater presented to Mayor P Weldon a petition, signed by fourteen of the sixteen residents in the 1500 block of Glenwood Drive, expressing their objections to having a chip seal applied to Glenwood Drive should the street be scheduled for maintenance in the future. Regular Business Meeting —July 11, 2017 Stephenville City Council Justin McClure, founder of Texas Animal Protectors (TAP), a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to help abandoned, abused, and neglected animals, addressed the council concerning the Erath County Humane Society contract. McClure addressed concerns regarding the shelter being full, compliance with Texas Administrative Code Section 25 §169.26. Facilities for the Quarantining or Impounding of Animals, the shelter not taking in animals because of lack of space, and the need to improve procedures upon intake to help speed up adoptions. McClure stated that he and his family are preparing to move out of state, and he is concerned that with TAP no longer available to assist the Erath County Humane Society, more animals will be abandoned and suffer. McClure stated that he thinks additional funding would benefit the Erath County Humane Society, but asked council to consider including in the new contract, guidelines and operating procedures that would ensure the residents of Stephenville and Erath County would have somewhere to take animals that weren't wanted. V. Erath County Appraisal District Report — Jerry Lee, Chief Appraiser Jerry Lee presented the council with his preliminary estimates for 2017. He noted that the Appraisal Review Board still had a couple of weeks to hear protests, so the numbers he presented were not exact, final numbers. Lee said, for the city of Stephenville, market value increased by $1.8 billion, with a taxable value increase of $1.2 billion. There was $468 million in constitutional exemptions, and $119 million in other exemptions. The taxable value increase from 2016 to 2017 was approximately $130 million dollars; Lee estimated that once the Appraisal Review Board finished hearing protests, this number would be a $100-125 million increase from last year. Of the $130 million increase, $9 million was home sites and $15 million was non -home sites. Lee w reported that he did not have a number of how many appeals were filed, but stated that out of 20,000 notices that were sent out, about 700 people had walked in to protest or inquire about their property values. VI. Consider Approval of Resolution No. 2017-R-19 finding that Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC'S ("Oncor" or "Company") application to change rates within the city should be denied and finding that the City's reasonable rate case expenses shall be reimbursed by the Company MOTION by Brady Pendleton, second by Mark McClinton, to approve Resolution No. 2017-R-19. MOTION CARRIED by unanimous vote. VII. Consider Extension of Contract with Erath County Humane Society MOTION by Alan Nix, second by Mark McClinton, to extend the contract with Erath County Humane Society. MOTION CARRIED by unanimous vote. Vill. Stephenville Economic Development Authority Report —John Hubbard, Ph. D., CEcD, EDFP, Executive Director John Hubbard gave a report on projects that are in progress and for which SEDA has submitted proposals. He also presented a retail gap analysis from The Retail Coach. IX. PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING —Case No. PP2017-02—Consider approval of Preliminary Plat of Christy Plaza II Development located on Christy Plaza at US 377, Stephenville, Erath County, Texas Jeremy Allen, acting Planning and Building Services Director, presented the staff report on this matter outlining the specifics of this plat. Regular Business Meeting —July 11, 2017 Stephenville City Council Mayor Weldon opened a public hearing. No one came forward to speak either in favor of or opposition to this preliminary plat, and the mayor closed the public hearing. MOTION by Mark McClinton, second by Sherry Zachery, to approve the preliminary plat of Christy Plaza II Development. MOTION CARRIED by unanimous vote. X. Consider Acceptance of Golf Country Estates II — Phase I Subdivision Jeremy Allen, acting Planning and Building Services Director, presented the staff report on this matter outlining the specifics of this subdivision. Jack Graham, developer, addressed the council to explain that the original developer's engineer would not or could not provide as -built or as - recorded drawings and engineer's certification as required by the subdivision ordinance. In lieu of these requirements, Mr. Graham proposed to extend the maintenance bond from two years to three years. Allen explained that city staff had been present during some of the construction and city staff was comfortable accepting the subdivision with the extension of the maintenance bond. Nick Williams, Director of Public Works, expressed his agreement with the recommendation. MOTION by Brady Pendleton, second by Alan Nix, to accept Golf Country Estates II — Phase I Subdivision on the condition that the city is provided with a three-year maintenance bond. MOTION CARRIED by unanimous vote. XI. Monthly Budget Report — Monica Harris, Finance Director Monica Harris, Finance Director, highlighted the following points of the report: • Property tax—$54,000 received in May 2017; $85K increase over funds for same time last year. Amount collected through May reflects 97.3% of total amount budgeted this fiscal year. • Sales tax—$523K received in May; $166K over target budget through May • Revenue—$17.5 received in operating revenue, which is a $2.2 million overage • Expenditures—$929K under budget • New Programs--$489,287 of the $886K budgeted for street improvements as of May 31; this includes $136k carryover from last fiscal year XII. Consent Agenda MOTION by Mark McClinton, second by Alan Nix, to approve the consent agenda. MOTION CARRIED by unanimous vote. A. Consider Approval of Council Minutes 1. Regular Council Meeting on June 6, 2017 2. Special Council Meeting on June 13, 2017 B. Consider Authorizing the Sale of City Property XIII. Comments by City Administrator • July 131h —Texstar Ford Summer Nights Concert Series — Casey Donahew • July 18th — Planning and Development Committee Meeting • July 25th — Council Committee meetings to discuss charter amendments and the Erath County Humane Society contract • Applications for the Citizen's Police Academy are being accepted from July 17-Aug 4. The academy will begin on August 24 and will be held every Thursday for 10 weeks from 6-9 p.m. Regular Business Meeting —July 11, 2017 Stephenville City Council I would like to thank Cindy for the last five months - making my integration into Stephenville smoother and a whole lot more fun. I wish you the best in your retirement. XIV. Comments by Council Members Council members expressed their thanks and appreciation to retiring city secretary Cindy Stafford for her 23 years of service to the City of Stephenville. A celebration will be held on Friday at City Hall at City Limits. Council members also expressed their thanks to city staff and volunteers for their hard work coordinating the July 4th Celebration. Mayor Weldon reported that council and staff have been working on budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Tarleton will be hosting the Texas A&M System Board of Regents on October 17 -19; this means that the chancellor, vice chancellors, presidents, vice presidents, and provosts from all thirteen A&M system universities will be visiting Stephenville. XV. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 7:18 p.m. V n, Mayor ATTEST: L King{ City Secretary Regular Business Meeting —July 11, 2017 Stephenville City Council