05 - 08/22/2016 COUNCIL MINUTES - Laserfiche WebLink

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Regular Council Meeting August 22, 2016 Page 5 Mayor Hashmi asked Chief Hundley to address concerns they heard during the public forum. Chief Hundley said the reason cameras would be helpful was that some people do not come forward when they see a crime, either because they do not care or fear retribution. He said cameras would be placed in public areas and it may give the police leads should a crime occur. Chief Hundley referenced a recent burglary in a downtown business and stated the surveillance camera helped the police department solve the crime. Chief Hundley also said that no one has a right of privacy in a public place. Council Member Lancaster said it was her understanding that there were several downtown business owners who expressed a willingness to contribute to the costs of cameras. Council Member Drake said the City should talk to those individuals in an effort to help toward the costs. Chief Hundley said he would do so. It was a consensus of the City Council that the businesses be contacted about contributions toward the cameras and that staff go out for bids. 19. Discuss and provide direction to staff regarding renovation of existing buildings. Mayor Hashmi said he requested this item and that neither he nor family members owned downtown property. He said he recently faced issues and learned some very good information. Mayor Hashmi also said as they look toward improvement of the appearance of the City, one area that quickly pops out is the downtown area and old dilapidated buildings that are uninhabited. In summary, Mayor Hashmi spoke about the location of the City, population growth compared to the City of McKinney and that to rehabilitate a downtown building would cost the owner more than the value of the property. He suggested they form a committee comprised of city staff members, downtown owners and the fire chief, and ask them to bring back new suggestions that would help with growth and renovation of downtown properties. Mayor Hashmi also suggested a check list for those who wanted to renovate a building making it easier to understand what was required of them. Fire Chief Larry Wright agreed with Mayor Hashmi about a check list. He told the Council he recently made a presentation to HPC regarding myths, such as the requirement of sprinklers in downtown building. Chief Wright explained that many downtown buildings were not large enough to require a sprinkler system, because the building had to be over 5,000 feet. He said an exception was if a commercial building was being used as a residence. He also said the cost of a sprinkler system for a commercial building was about $1.50 per square foot. Chief Wright further explained that a building could not house warehouse storage but could contain store inventory being used in the business. He also explained when a certificate of occupancy is needed. Mayor Hashmi told Chief Wright it seemed that he had addressed most of the issues and maybe a committee was not needed. Chief Wright said they could follow the codes and still work with people because of the clause about authority having jurisdiction, which gave him authority to waiver from the center line. Mayor Hashmi said he thought a check list was needed. Chief Wright said he would get with the city engineer and building official to combine everything into one check list.