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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-11-18 - Special City CouncilMINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING City of Stephenville - City Council WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1992 - 5:30 P.M. The City Council of the City of Stephenville, Texas, convened in spec- ial session on November 18, 1992 at 5:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 354 N. Belknap, 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 Article 6252-17, Section 3A, V.T.C.S., with the following members present, to wit: I 1 Mayor: Lavinia Lohrmann Mayor Pro Tem: Scott Evans Councilmembers: Alan Nix Donald L. Zelman George Swearingen William F. (Bill) Johnson Dan Collins Bill Bailey Absent: Sam Taylor Others Attending: Don Davis, City Administrator Joyce Pemberton, City Secretary Randy Thomas, City Attorney I. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Lavinia Lohrmann called the meeting to order and declared a quorum present. Also, the Mayor announced a change in the order of the agenda items. II, wAL-MART SUBDIVISION FINAL PLAT AND SITE DEVELOPMENT PLANS. Don Davis, City Administrator, commented that the recommendations ^ for approval from the Planning & Zoning Commission were included in the agenda packet. He said this had been held up trying to resolve a couple of issues and we feel that now is the time to go forward with it. Tom Galbreath, representing Wal-Mart, presented the final plat and site development plans. Richard Haggard, owner of adjacent Plaza Mobile Home Park, addressed the Council stating his concerns regarding his pro- perty and the Wal-Mart development. After a lengthy discussion, Councilman Scott Evans moved to table this item until the December 1st Council meeting. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Councilmen Don Zelman, Scott Evans, Dan Collins, Bill Bailey and Mayor Lavinia Lohrmann. NOES: Councilmen Alan Nix, George Swearingen and Bill Johnson. III. FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT. A. Requested Budget Amendment for Municipal Court 1 Councilman Alan Nix reported that the Committee had met and discussed the budget amendment requested by the Municipal Court. The specific request was for $3,000 for a maintenance contract on the computer software that Judge Miller uses in administering the Municipal Court. By unanimous vote, the Committee recommends approval of this budget amendment to continue the maintenance program on her software. Councilman Scott Evans asked the Committee if there are any plans to address amount of this maintenance contract in the - 220 - future? Seems like $6,000 ($3,000 from the City and $3,000 from the County) is very high. Councilman Nix said the Committee did not specifically address whether this was a good price or not. Councilman Evans said he had asked staff to do some checking on prices. They called some cities of comparable size and the prices obtained are considerable different from this price. The Council will look at it again at budget time. Sometimes its cheaper to start over than it is to maintain what we have. ( 1 Councilman Scott Evans moved approval of the Finance Committee's recommendation and pay the $3,000 bill. Council- man Bill Johnson seconded the motion. The motion carried UNANIMOUSLY. Councilman Alan Nix moved approval of a budget amendment to fund the $3,000 spent out of the Unrestricted Reserve of the General Fund. Councilman Scott Evans seconded the motion. The motion carried UNANIMOUSLY. Councilman Dan Collins said he would be willing to volunteer some free consulting to help analyze that situation and report back to the appropriate body. Said he thought he could be objective in determining whether or not we are getting what we are paying for. IV. CONTRACTS FOR SERVICES AT THE LANDFILL. Don Davis, City Administrator, reviewed a chart depicting the various assignments of responsibility between the City, T.S.U., the engineers and Earth Care. A. Contract With Texas water Commission Mr. Davis advised that we have not received the contract with the Texas Water Commission. B. Contract With Earth Care, Inc. Mr. Davis advised that Earth Care is a contractor out of Arkansas, who is in the composting business. Earth Care submitted a proposal to get into this compost of municipal solid waste, along with the dairy waste. Of the three pro- posals received, the Committee felt that Earth Care's is the best. After a lengthy discussion and several motions made and with- drawn, Councilman Bill Bailey moved to enter into a contract with Earth Care, with Randy negotiating clearing up any poten- tial problems, especially the ones he has mentioned to us tonight. Councilman Don Zelman seconded the motion. The motion was amended to include authorization to Don to authorize them to continue on with what they are doing, as long as this can be worked out. Councilman Don Zelman seconded the amendment. The motion carried UNANIMOUSLY. C. Contract With Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research. City Attorney Randy Thomas advised that he had no problems / \ with this contract. Councilman Dan Collins moved approval of the contract with Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research, subject to working out the Earth Care contract. Councilman Scott Evans seconded the motion. The motion carried UNANIMOUSLY. Councilman Alan Nix commented that he felt the Council should commit to expending local funds, should the grant from the State not come through. We have already incurred expenses with Earth - 221 - Care whether we get the grant or not. Mr. Thomas said Mr. Nix's comments were valid, but he did not think any action was necessary. There being no other business to come before the Council, Mayor Lohrmann adjourned the meeting at 8:00 p.m. �\ ATTEST: ( 1 e Pemberton, City Secretary "- � L � 4 � ��d- Lavinia Lohrmann, Mayor - 222 - CITY OF STEPHENVILLE POLICY ON WATER BENEFIT FOR VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS Effective November 10, 1992 1. Efective this date, persons becoming a member of the Stephenville Volunteer Fire Department will no longer be eligible /1 for the water benefit provided by the city to members as has been the practice in the past. 2. Persons who were members, retired members, or widows of retired members on or before this date will continue to receive the 240,000 gallon annual allocation per household, in which they reside. 3. If a person, who was a member on or before this date, stops being a member of the volunteer department, and later becomes a member, they will not be eligible for the water benefit. 4. As per a policy passed on November 3, 1981, persons who were members on or before that date will remain eligible for the lifetime water benefit, provided they complete a minimum of 20 years continuous service in the department. Retired members and widows of retired members, who were receiving the benefit on or before this 1981 date, will continue to do so. 5. Paid fire department personnel, who are active members of the volunteer fire department, will no longer receive the water benefit. However paid personnel, who were members on or before November 3, 1981, and remain volunteer members for 20 continuous years, will remain eligible for the lifetime benefit. 6. Other city employees, who became a member of the volunteer fire department after March 19, 1992, are not eligible for the water benefit, but if an employee was a member before this date, and their membership is uninterrupted, they will continue to be eligible for the benefit. 7. The party requesting the benefit must reside in the residence for which they are requesting it. This benefit is not to be used for commerical purposes. 8. The annual allocation per recipient of this benefit is 240,000 gallons. Any amount in excess of the 240,000 gallons shall be paid for by the recipient at normal rates. 9. Members, on or before November 10, 1992, who live or move outside the city limits, and later move into town, will remain eligible for this benefit, provided they have continuous service with the department.