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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-06-02 - Regular City Council MINUTES OF GENERAL BUSINESS MEETING City of Stephenville - City Council TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 1998 - 7:00 P.M. The City Council of the City of Stephenville, Texas, convened on June 2, 1998, at 7:00 p.m., in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 298 West Washington Street, for the purpose of a General 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 : John Moser Councilmembers : Jerry B. Madkins Barbara Terrell Joel Hillin Marshall Shelton K. H. Conatser Rusty Jergins Bea Marin Bill Stanley Others Attending : Don Davis, City Administrator Cindy L. Stafford, City Secretary Randy Thomas, City Attorney I. CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Moser called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and declared a quorum present. II. CITIZENS? GENERAL DISCUSSION Debra Mitchell spoke on the subject of agricultural zoning on College Farm Road which is presently zoned B-1 Neighborhood Business District. She stated that she and her husband, Michael Mitchell, plan to apply for a zone change to their 15 acre tract of land from B-1 to Agricultural zoning. After researching the subject, she noticed that there were approximately nine landowners in the area zoned B-1. She believes that all of these tracts would be more suited to the agricultural zoning classification and asked the council to refer this matter to the Planning and Zoning Commission for consideration of changing the zoning of all of these properties to General Business Meeting -- June 2, 1998 Stephenville City Council agricultural zoning. She advised that she had spoken with all the affected landowners before presenting this to the council. (Attached letter and map from Debra Mitchell.) City Attorney Randy Thomas stated that Ms. Mitchell had spoken with him about this matter and had some legal questions concerning this. Thomas said that he would contact Ms. Mitchell and provide her with the answers to her questions. Elizabeth Zickefoose asked the council when the council room would be equipped with the equipment needed to televise council meetings over the cable station. City Administrator Don Davis advised that the building is wired and set up to do that, and negotiations have begun with the cable company for this service. Zickefoose also encouraged a clean-up of the community. She reported that a former classmate who visited Stephenville was appalled at the appearance of Tarleton Street. III. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS Mayor Moser introduced George Williford from First Southwest Corporation, Hadley Woerner from NationsBank, Stephenville, and Dan Culver from McCall, Parkhurst & Horton. City Administrator Davis reminded the council that it had committed to sell these bonds at the last council meeting. Council member Conatser moved to adopt Ordinance No. 1998-12 authorizing the issuance of general obligation bonds. Upon second by Council member Stanley, the motion carried by unanimous vote. IV. PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION REPORT Mayor Moser announced the opening of a public hearing to consider rezoning a part of Lot 5 and Lot 8, of Block 32, South Side Addition, known as 1755 West South Loop, from B-2 ?Secondary and Highway Business District? to B-4 ?Private Club District?. After reviewing the rules for a public hearing, Mayor Moser asked Betty Chew, Director of Community Development, to present the staff report on this item. Chew reported that the subject property at 1755 West South Loop is operated as Pastafina Restaurant. C. D. Youngblood is the owner of the property, and he has provided the city with a letter stating that he has no objection to the rezoning of his property. The Comprehensive Plan projected land use for the area is commercial. There is an existing building on the premise used as a restaurant. The building has 4,000 square General Business Meeting -- June 2, 1998 Stephenville City Council feet, service area totals 2,543 square feet. At the ratio of one parking space for each 50 square feet of floor area, 51 parking spaces are required. Office and food preparation area have 1,177 square feet and 280 square feet of storage area. Total parking spaces required is 57, and there are presently 60 parking spaces on the property. Chew further reported that the property is served from a 1 1/4 inch service line off of a 6-inch water main located in the Sixth Avenue right-of-way. The property is also served from a 6-inch sanitary sewer main located in the South Loop right of way. The property has frontage on the South Loop, 120 foot right of way, and on South Harbin Drive, 100 foot right of way. Fire hydrant is located on the south side of subject site in the south right of way of the South Loop. The subject property is bound on all sides by B-2 ?Secondary and Highway Business District? zoning. She closed by reporting that the Planning and Zoning Commission is recommending that this property be rezoned from B-2 to B-4, and that the minimum requirements to submit the application have been met. In answer to a question about traffic signals, Chew said no plans exist for a traffic signal light, and that stop signs will be placed stopping traffic from Harbin Drive across the South Loop. Speaking in Favor of the Rezoning: Jim Elliott, attorney at law, representing Pastafina and its manager, Ramiz Halili, spoke in favor of this matter. He stated that the application for rezoning had been filed on May 5, 1998, and that there is no intention of operating a private club in the sense that some people think of a private club. There will not be a bar area and no alcoholic beverage will be served beyond beer and wine. He reminded the council that the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted to grant the rezoning. Elliott stated that based on the following facts the council should vote to rezone this property. Facts listed were 1) applicant is in compliance with the codes and is adequately served by city services and meets minimum requirements for application; 2) all property surrounding subject property is zoned B-2; 3) applicant has consent for zone change from the property owner, C. D. Youngblood; 4) applicant has received a letter of support from the neighboring property owner, Cecil Ford; 5) no person has filed a protest against rezoning and no person appeared before P&Z to object to this rezoning; and 6) applicant has adequate parking. Elliott stated that he feels the matter is not a political issue as much as it is an application of existing law in accordance with the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance. General Business Meeting -- June 2, 1998 Stephenville City Council Speaking in Opposition of the Rezoning: Jim Kirby, 129 Blue Jay, Stephenville, said that he had nothing against the restaurant, that he and his family have enjoyed dining there. He referred to the City Charter, Sec. 20 which deals with rezoning and provides for a public hearing. He said he wanted to emphasize that if meeting all the requirements was all there was to rezoning, the charter would not have provided for public hearing. Kirby said that he would have opposed this issue before the Planning and Zoning if he had known about. He said that there is a contradiction in messages when a newspaper publishes information about a private club hearing and an advertisement for ?Don?t Drink and Drive? in the same issue. Kirby said that because Pastafina is located on one of the major thoroughfares through town, he considers this to be a problem. He said ?the people of Stephenville don?t want this, and I think we do need to respect that?. Rebuttal in Favor of Rezoning: Jim Elliott addressed the issue raised by Kirby of drinking and driving. Elliott said that was not the issue before the council. Concerning the location of the business, Elliott said it was interesting in that the last time he argued in favor of B-4 rezoning before the council, the argument was made that the street was too narrow. He said now the argument is being made that the street out here (South Loop) is too big. He said that someone could always find something to argue about. Elliott said the consideration here is if the requirements have been met and that this is a legitimate business. He said that even though the public is in favor of a dry county, they still want to allow private clubs. Elliott further said that he had received a letter from Rodger Weems [minister of the Graham Street Church of Christ], who has protested B-4 zoning in the past. Elliott said that Rev. Weems concedes with this filing for B-4 zoning, and considers the applicant a benefit to this community. Rebuttal in Opposition of Rezoning: Jim Kirby said that it is interesting to him that opposition to matters such as this has declined. He said maybe it?s because the application is sound and maybe it?s because people are really getting ?worn out?. He told the council he considered the vote on this matter a precedent setting decision; and if B-4 passes, it would be a ?rubber stamp? for future applications. Donza Huffman said that she does not feel the opposition is dwindling, but that no General Business Meeting -- June 2, 1998 Stephenville City Council one new the matter was on the Planning and Zoning Commission?s agenda. She said that family values need to be upheld; that beer and wine have destroyed many families. Bob Kimball said that he didn?t mind someone having a little beer or wine with their meal. However, he asked what assurance the city has that this property will not be operated as a ?honky tonk? or ?nightclub? in the future. Debra Mitchell asked for a reading of the list of primary uses for B-4 ?Private Club District?. Betty Chew advised that they are as follows: 1. Fair grounds and exhibition areas; 2. Country club and golf course; 3. Hotel and motel; 4. Private clubs; 5. Restaurant or cafeteria without drive-in service; and 6. Fraternal organization, lodge or civic club. Mayor Moser closed the public hearing, and discussion was had among the council members. Council member Jergins said that he was not voting for or against alcohol, but in support of the Planning and Zoning Commission. He said ten qualified members sacrificing many hours considering the matters before them. Jergins reiterated that no one spoke in opposition to this issue at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. Council member Conatser made a motion to adopt Ordinance No. 1998-13 rezoning part of Lot 5, Lot 8, Block 32, South Side Addition, Stephenville, from B-2 ?Secondary and Highway Business District? to B-4 ?Private Club District?. Council member Marin seconded the motion which passed by the following vote: Ayes: Council members Marin, Jergins, Conatser, Stanley, and Shelton. Noes: Council members Hillin, Terrell, and Madkins. V. DISCUSS SPRINT?S EXPANDED LOCAL CALLING SURCHARGE Mayor Moser introduced Robert Burns, Public Affairs Manager, and Brad Denton, Regulatory Affairs Director, Dennis Manning, District Manager, all with Sprint. Burns gave a history of expanded local calling (ELC). Prior to 1993, for communities General Business Meeting -- June 2, 1998 Stephenville City Council to request to be able to call another community was very laborious because of the restrictions. In 1993, a coalition of 100 cities joined together and hired an attorney, Jim Boyles of Austin. As a result of his representation of these cities, legislation was introduced that would allow for communities of less than 10,000 to be able to call their neighboring communities within 22 miles without any justification, and up to 50 miles if they could prove a ?community of interest? (a major trade center, county government, schools, hospitals, and universities). When the legislation was passed, provided for a charge for ELC was $3.50 for a residential customer and $7.00 for a business. Further legislation stipulated that it was designed to be revenue neutral to a telephone company. In other words, the telephone company was neither to make money nor lose money from ELC. A lot of communities immediately took advantage of ELC, with some communities being able to call as many as 15 to 20 neighboring communities. What it did was to create a large expense for a telephone company that $3.50 would not recoup. Therefore, the only alternative for a telephone company was to place a surcharge on its customers. In 1995, the law was amended by House Bill 2128 which capped the number of towns that communities could call. They could petition five towns for the $3.50 charge, plus each additional town would be $1.50 per town. Sprint feels that it is an unfair burden for non-participating towns like Stephenville who pay $2.40 and then will have to bear the $3.19 surcharge. A participating community pays $3.50 and $7.00, and a non-participating will be paying $5.59. Sprint has recommended to the Public Utility Commission to enact a state- wide surcharge rather than a non-participating surcharge, and that surcharge would be $1.24 to all customers across the state. Council member Stanley asked, ?How did all this come about? How are we paying the fee for a service we don?t want? Brad Denton stated that Sprint is not in favor of the law that has brought the surcharge about. Denton also said that, based on the facts already reported by Robert Burns, the law gave communities an opportunity to be able to petition to receive local calling for up to $3.50. The telephone company had no ability to contest this. Sprint serves 59 communities (called exchanges) in the state of Texas. Three of those communities do not qualify to petition for ELC--Athens, Palestine, and Stephenville, because they have over 10,000 access lines. There are seven other communities that have not applied or have requested an arrangement beyond the 22 miles, within the 50 miles, and the Commission decided they did not have a community of interest or the people did not vote in favor of it. From the original 59 communities, less the 10 mentioned, there are 49 communities, which have implemented 415 routes of what used to be toll calls and are now local calls. Based on a usage sensitive rate that used to be out there and used to have a lot of growth, and Sprint was forced to put it on a flat rate service for $3.50. As mentioned before, the law was written to be revenue neutral. Denton said Sprint wants the ability to spread the cost over its entire customer base rather than communities like Stephenville picking up more of the cost. General Business Meeting -- June 2, 1998 Stephenville City Council Burns explained the petitioning process as follows. Under law, five percent or 100 people out of an exchange file for the expanded local calling. Once the petition is filed, then it goes to the Public Utility Commission who determines whether or not the community meets the criteria established by law. Once met, the telephone company is notified to define a ballot, send it to the PUC for approval, then the community has an opportunity to vote ?yes? or ?no? for each exchange that was on the original petition. Of the returned ballots, 70% has to approve each exchange. Upon question by Council member Stanley as to who sponsored the original legislation, Burns answered, Senator Florence Shapiro sponsored Senate Bill 632, and Representative Keith Oakley sponsored House Bill 2128. Burns emphasized to the Council that the situation was not caused by Hico customers or Dublin customers. It?s what happened all around the state and is not local sensitive. Following further discussion, the council instructed City Attorney Randy Thomas to research the constitutionality of the surcharge and report back at the July 7th meeting. Stanley also said he would like the opportunity to work with the City Attorney to prepare a resolution in opposition to the surcharge to present to the PUC before the July 10th deadline for intervention. VI. PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE REPORT A. Consider hiring an engineer for the West Side Development Project Council member Jergins explained that the West Side Development Project is the extension of Frey Street and the completion of Wolfe Nursery Road. Schrickel, Rollins and Associates had previously designed Wolfe Nursery Road and had done some preliminary work in that area. In 1996, the council retained Schrickel, Rollins and Associates on an ongoing basis for engineering work on a project-by-project basis. The committee is recommending to the council that the city employ Schrickel, Rollins and Associates to engineer and design the improvements for the West Side Development Project. Jergins noted that Sanford LaHue was present representing Schrickel, Rollins. Council member Jergins moved that the council authorize staff to employ Schrickel, Rollins and Associates to conduct the work associated with the West Side Development project outlined in their proposal dated May 22, 1998 and that the firm will use the fee schedule that they submitted and a not-to-exceed amount as outlined. Council member Conatser seconded the motion, which passed by unanimous vote. General Business Meeting -- June 2, 1998 Stephenville City Council B. Consider hiring an appraiser for the West Side Development Project Jergins reported that local appraisers had not yet been contacted to submit proposals for this work. After local appraisers have been contacted and any proposals from them are received, then the committee will review these and make a recommendation to the council as to the most qualified appraiser. C. Discuss code enforcement VII. PERSONNEL COMMITTEE REPORT A. Discuss merit pay Council member Madkins reported that the committee has decided to table any further action on this matter until the end of the evaluation period for 1998. B. Discuss specific measures on evaluations Madkins reported that the committee reviewed the evaluation forms, but had no recommendation to the council at this time. C. Discuss Employee Accident Review Board Madkins stated that some revisions may be made to this policy and that the committee will discuss it further at its next meeting and report back to the council. VIII. PRESENTATION BY COMMITTEE FOR A CLEANER COMMUNITY Betty Heath, representing a group called Committee for a Cleaner Community presented the council will the attached proposal for implementing a program of clean up and beautification for Stephenville. Following discussion by the council, Council member Jergins moved to refer this matter to the Planning and Development Committee for further study. Council member Conatser seconded the motion which passed by unanimous vote. IX. CONSIDER WAIVING TAXES AND LIENS AND DONATING THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 408 BROADWAY Betty Chew reported that Erath County has been approved for an affiliate for Habitat for Humanity, and the target area for the first building program is in the Clifton Heights Addition where this property is located. This property is owned by the City General Business Meeting -- June 2, 1998 Stephenville City Council of Stephenville, Stephenville ISD, and Erath County, having been received through back taxes. Taxes owing to the city are approximately $345.00, and demolition and clean up costs are due in the approximate amount of $1,300.00. Habitat is requesting that the city waive the payment of taxes and clean up fees on this property. Habitat will pay through the resale deed for court costs associated with this. The county has approved the waiving of its taxes and the school board will receive this proposal at its next meeting. Council member Conatser moved to waive the ad valorem taxes and liens on the property located at 408 Broadway. Council member Stanley seconded the motion which passed by unanimous vote. X. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF TOBACCO LAW ENFORCEMENT GRANT Chief Wade explained to the council that the Police Department has been awarded a $2,000.00 grant from the State Comptroller of Public Accounts to enforce the new statutes regarding underage tobacco use. His department has prepared an operation using off-duty employees to monitor the sale in local stores and use volunteer teenagers to see if they can buy tobacco products. In addition to enforcement, public flyers will be distributed throughout the community, educating residents about the new laws. Council member Marin moved to accept the Tobacco Law Enforcement Grant. Council member Jergins seconded the motion which passed by unanimous vote. Council member Marin moved to accept the consent agenda as follows: XI. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of Minutes 1. Regular Business Meeting on May 5, 1998 2. Special Business Meeting on May 19 , 1998 B. Bid Specifications for Personal Computers Council member Hillin seconded the motion which passed by unanimous roll call vote. XII. CITY ADMINISTRATOR?S REPORT City Administrator Don Davis had nothing to report. General Business Meeting -- June 2, 1998 Stephenville City Council Council member Jergins asked Davis to report on the matter of the railroad crossing at Harbin Drive. Davis stated that there is a problem between Texas Department or Transportation and the railroad regarding the signalization of this crossing. More specifically, the railroad maintains that they cannot put up the signals at that crossing until all the other signals in town are brought up to standards and are upgraded to meet the technology that the railroad company is using. TxDOT has advised that the cost of that upgrade is approximately $900,000. This matter will be referred to the proper committee for further study. XIII. ADJOURN Mayor Moser asked for any other business or comments. There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m. _____________________________________ John Moser, Mayor ATTEST: ____________________________________ Cindy L. Stafford, City Secretary General Business Meeting -- June 2, 1998 Stephenville City Council