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Regular Council Meeting February 27, 2017 Page 4 16. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2017 -008: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS DECLARING UNOPPOSED CANDIDATES IN CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS 4, 5 AND 7 FOR THE MAY 6, 2017 GENERAL ELECTION BE ELECTED TO OFFICE; DETERMINING THAT NO GENERAL ELECTION BE HELD IN DISTRICTS 4, 5, AND 7; DIRECTING THAT A COPY OF THIS ORDINANCE BE POSTED AT APPROPRIATE POLLING PLACES; DIRECTING THAT A CERTIFICATE OF ELECTION BE ISSUED TO THE UNOPPOSED CANDIDATES; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City Clerk Janice Ellis reported that one candidate for each of the three districts made application and had no opponents. Mayor Hashmi confirmed that the bond election would still take place in May and that only the council election was being cancelled. A Motion to approve this item was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Drake. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 17. Discuss development practices, procedures, and act on streamlining of permitting process. Mayor Hashmi said three months to get a permit was extremely bad and it discouraged people. He said once a city official signed off on the paperwork, that a permit should be issued and the rules should not be changed just because there was a new city employee. Mayor Hashmi also said that people found it difficult to get a permit and did not like to come to the city or come back. He suggested creation of a board to include a council member, the city manager and a resident from that district to hear complaints or issues. Council Member Drake said the only complaint she had received was about the length of time it took to get a permit. Council Member Clifford said he would like to streamline the process to make it quicker, but he did not want to sacrifice safety and public health issues. Council Members Trenado and Jenkins favored streamlining the permitting process. Council Member Lancaster also favored streamlining the permitting process, but only if it does not jeopardize inspections and safety issues. She referenced the Christian in Action fire. Mayor Hashmi pointed out that some of the buildings downtown would cost more to repair to bring into compliance than they were actually worth. Mr. Godwin explained that staff had been meeting over the last several weeks to review the process and procedures, and explained staff needed two things from Council. Mr. Godwin said there was a Building Review Board that had not been active in years and the membership was for people in building trades. He asked City Council to allow the City Clerk to advertise for this board when advertising for the other boards. Mr. Godwin said he would also like to bring new codes forward for adoption. Mayor Hashmi said when adopting new codes that common sense needed to be used. Mr. Godwin said staff would have amendments to go along with the codes. Mayor Hashmi said if the Building Review Board is advertised, there will be no need for an additional committee.