Loading...
06/27/2016MINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS June 27, 2016 The City Council of the City of Paris met for a regular session at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 27, 2016, at the City Council Chamber, 107 E. Kaufman, Paris, Texas. Present: Mayor: A.J. Hashmi Council Members: Billie Lancaster; Aaron Jenkins; Billy Trenado; Steve Clifford; Matt Frierson; and Cleonne Drake City Staff: John Godwin, City Manager; Stephanie Harris, City Attorney; Janice Ellis, City Clerk; Gene Anderson, Finance Director; Carla Easton, City Engineer; Larry Wright, Fire Chief; Bob Hundley, Police Chief, Kent Klinkerman, EMS Director; Doug Harris, Utilities Director; Jerry McDaniel, Public Works Director; and Priscilla McAnally, Library Director Opening Agenda Call meeting to order. Mayor Hashmi called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. Invocation. Gene Anderson gave the invocation. Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member Lancaster led the pledge. 4. Citizens' Forum. No one spoke during citizens' forum. Consent Agenda Mayor Hashmi inquired of Council Members if they wished to pull any items from the consent agenda for discussion. Mayor Hashmi inquired about item 12, and Finance Director Gene Anderson explained it was the same service and contract as previous years. A Motion to approve the consent agenda was made by Council Member Lancaster and seconded by Council Member Frierson. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. Regular Council Meeting June 27, 2016 Page 2 5. Approve minutes from the meeting on June 13, 2016. 6. Receive reports and /or minutes from the following boards, commissions, and committees: a. Paris —Lamar County Board of Health (3 -21 -2016) b. Airport Advisory Board (4 -21 -2016) c. Main Street Advisory Board (5 -10 -2016) d. Historic Preservation Commission (5 -11 -2016) e. Paris Public Library Advisory Board (5 -18 -2016) 7. Receive May monthly financial report. 8. Receive May drainage report. 9. Receive demolition and code enforcement activity reports. 10. Approve RESOLUTION NO. 2016 -021: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; ACCEPTING A GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $3,836.65 FROM THE DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, FOR PARIS SWAT EQUIPMENT GRANT PROJECT (NO. 2946702); AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR FILING APPLICATION OF SAID GRANT; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 11. Approve RESOLUTION NO. 2016 -022: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; ACCEPTING A GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $17,057.05 FROM THE DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, FOR A HAZARDOUS MATERIALS /DIVE RESCUE PROJECT (NOS. 3042091 AND 2946902); AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR FILING APPLICATION OF SAID GRANT; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 12. Approve a water service agreement with Paris Generation, L.P. 13. Approve RESOLUTION NO. 2016 -023: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, RATIFYING THE APPROVAL OF FINAL PAYMENT AND CLOSEOUT OF THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD "TWDB" CONTRACT #62525 CID 003 FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF PHASE III WATER SYSTEM REPLACEMENT WITH RBIS, LLC OF TEXARKANA, TEXAS IN THE AMOUNT OF TWENTY -TWO THOUSAND SEVEN - HUNDRED FIFTY - THREE DOLLARS AND 29/100 ($22,753.29); MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND Regular Council Meeting June 27, 2016 Page 3 PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Regular Agenda 14. Discuss and act on guidelines for the downtown loan program. Mayor Hashmi said that he and the city manager met with the bankers to discuss the success of the homeowner program and cited that no one had defaulted. Mayor Hashmi explained they wanted to extend the program to businesses. City Manager John Godwin further explained the program would address deteriorating non - residential buildings in downtown and loans would be based on specific criteria. Mr. Godwin said the purpose of the program was to save buildings. 15. Discuss and make appointments to the various Boards, Commissions and Committees of the City of Paris. City Clerk Janice Ellis said there were two vacancies on the Airport Board. Mayor Hashmi opened the floor for nominations. Council Member Lancaster nominated Ray Ball; Mayor Hashmi nominated Jimmy Noble; and Council Member Trenado nominated Gary Tolleson. There being no additional nominations, Mayor Hashmi closed the floor for nominations. Next, Mayor Hashmi called for a vote on each nominee with Ray Ball receiving 7 votes and Jimmy Noble receiving 4 votes. Ms. Ellis reported there were three vacancies on the Band Commission. Mayor Hashmi opened the floor for nominations. Council Member Drake nominated Joe Watson; Council Member Frierson nominated Betsy Mills; and Council Member Drake nominated Byron Myrick, II. There being no additional nominations, Mayor Hashmi closed the floor for nominations. Mayor Hashmi called for a vote on each nominee with Joe Watson, Betsy Mills and Byron Myrick, II each receiving 7 votes. Ms. Ellis informed Council there were two vacancies on the Building and Standards Commission and Mayor Hashmi opened the floor for nominations. Council Member Jenkins nominated Skipper Steely; Council Member Trenado nominated Johnny Norris; and Council Member Drake nominated Matthew Allen. There being no additional nominations, Mayor Hashmi closed the floor for nominations. Mayor Hashmi called for a vote on each nominee with Johnny Norris receiving 7 votes and Matthew Allen receiving 6 votes. Ms. Ellis said there was one vacancy on the Paris Economic Development Corporation. Mayor Hashmi opened the floor for nominations. Council Member Jenkins nominated Derrick Hughes. There being no additional nominations, Mayor Hashmi closed the floor for nominations. Mayor Hashmi called for a vote on the nominee and Derrick Hughes received 4 votes. Ms. Ellis reported there were four vacancies on the Historic Preservation Commission. Mayor Hashmi opened the floor for nominations. Council Member Drake nominated Skipper Regular Council Meeting June 27, 2016 Page 4 Steely; Council Member Lancaster nominated Pat Conrad; Council Member Lancaster nominated David Alarid; and Council Member Frierson nominated Phillip Peeples. There being no additional nominations, Mayor Hashmi closed the floor for nominates and called for a vote on the nominations. Each of the nominees received 7 votes. Ms. Ellis said there were three vacancies on the Housing Authority and those were to be appointed by the mayor. Mayor Hashmi appointed Terry K. Haynes, Tyesha Mathis and Gary Savage. Ms. Ellis informed Council there were two vacancies on the Library Advisory Board. Mayor Hashmi opened the floor for nominations. Council Member Clifford nominated Connie Dodd and Council Member Frierson nominated Carol James. There being no additional nominations, Mayor Hashmi closed the floor for nominations. Each nominee received 7 votes. Ms. Ellis reported there were two vacancies on the Main Street Advisory Board. Mayor Hashmi opened the floor for nominations. Council Member Frierson nominated Shelley McDowell and Mayor Hashmi nominated Cody Kelly. Ms. Ellis reminded Council that one of the members must be a member of the Main Street Board and that Mr. Peeples had been appointed to serve on Main Street. Mayor Hashmi nominated Phillip Peeples. Shelley McDowell received 5 votes and Phillip Peeples received 7 votes. Ms. Ellis said there were two vacancies on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Mayor Hashmi announced that Mr. Misbah worked for him and because of a possible conflict Mr. Misbah had withdrawn his application. Mayor Hashmi opened the floor for nominations. Council Member Drake nominated Randall Chad Lindsey and Council Member Frierson nominated John Lee. Randall Chad Lindsey received 7 votes and John Lee received 6 votes. Ms. Ellis said Mr. Lindsey was currently serving on the Building and Standards Commission, and asked Council to appoint a member to that board to fill the vacancy. It was a consensus of the City Council to appoint Joseph Scott to the Building and Standards Commission. Ms. Ellis reported there were three vacancies on the Traffic Commission and while they had one application, Mr. Jason Warwick had expressed an interest in serving on this commission if not selected to serve on PEDC. Mayor Hashmi nominated John Eyler and Jason Warwick and both received 7 votes. 16. Discuss and appoint City Council Liaisons to serve on the various Boards, Commissions and Committees. Mayor Hashmi inquired of Council Members about volunteering to serve as liaisons and it was a consensus to do so. Council Members volunteered as follows: Airport Board- Council Member Lancaster; Band Commission- Council Member Drake; Building & Standards- Council Member Frierson; Civil Service Commission -Mayor Hashmi; Paris Economic Development Corporation -Mayor Hashmi (required) & Council Member Trenado; Historic Preservation Regular Council Meeting June 27, 2016 Page 5 Commission- Council Member Frierson; Library Advisory Board - Council Member Frierson; Main Street Advisory Board- Council Member Drake; Planning & Zoning Commission- Council Member Clifford; Traffic Commission - Council Member Jenkins; Zoning Board of Adjustment - Mayor Hashmi; VC &C -Mayor Hashmi (required) and Council Member Drake; and Ark -Tex Council of Governments -Mayor Hashmi (required) and Council Member Trenado. 17. Discuss and act on procuring a contractor to clean out all drainage ditches and channels in the City. Mayor Hashmi said this was his item. He said the city workers were working hard on this and it was extremely slow because of the amount of work to be done. He also said this project was pulling the workers off of the work they were suppose to be doing. Mayor Hashmi expressed concern if they keep the current pace, it will never get finished. He also said that he asked Mr. Godwin to put something together for Council to consider in order to possibly hire a contractor and get the work finished all at one time. Mr. Godwin reported that the City had two contract crews working on these projects and the current contract was going to reach $50,000. He said in order to be legal; the City needed to go out for bids and his best guess was this would cost approximately $600,000. He said he hoped to be able to bring some good bids back to Council on July 11. Mayor Hashmi said they needed more details of what was going to be included, such as a comprehensive list with a timeframe and then he would be ok with bidding it out. Council Member Lancaster inquired if Council could supply the City Manager with a list and Mr. Godwin answered in the affirmative. Council Member Drake said she was glad they were doing this. A Motion to develop a comprehensive list and bid this project was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Frierson. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 18. Receive presentation, discuss, and possibly act on operations plans and budget needs for EMS, Police, Fire and Library Departments. City Council heard from EMS Director Kent Klinkerman, who explained the need for a new station on the north side of town. He gave a proposed timeline beginning with asking for funds this year for the design, citing approximate cost to be $25,000 to $30,000. Council Member Frierson said when he and Dr. Hashmi came on the Council five years ago they were discussing the need for a new EMS station. Mr. Godwin said he intended to recommend in the budget an architect for station design and would give them a 10 year CIP and then in the next budget cycle propose building the station. Mayor Hashmi said he would like to see the entire project done in this budget cycle, as did the entire Council. Library Director Priscilla McAnally said that she was not asking for funds in the upcoming budget. She explained that the library would be getting a new roof due to donations, the funds already budgeted and the fact that the roofer was going to allow for a pay -out. Ms. McAnally also explained that restoration of some of the artwork had been completed. Regular Council Meeting June 27, 2016 Page 6 Fire Chief Larry Wright said he had two requests and they were to go to a 14 day cycle instead of 28 day and to acquire new fire bunker gear and SCBA. After explaining the pay cycle, City Council asked for further detail in writing and Chief Wright said he would get something to the city manager to be forwarded to them. Chief Wright said their equipment was outdated although some of the equipment still had a couple of years on the life cycle. He proposed all new air packs through a ten year lease purchase plan and explained they would be able to get some credit for packs that still had remaining years on their life cycle. He said to purchase a couple every year would cost the fire department about the same as if they did the lease purchase plan for all new air packs. Council Member Frierson inquired if he thought it was better to replace all of the equipment when there was still a life cycle on some of it and Chief Wright said yes, because of the trade in allowance and they would be getting the latest technology. Mayor Hashmi inquired about the life of an air pack and Chief Wright said the life cycle was 15 years. Mayor Hashmi wanted to know if it was possible to lease the equipment on a five year basis and whether or not it would be less expensive. Chief Wright said they had not explored that but would do so. Police Chief Bob Hundley presented the police department's needs, priorities and an update on projects in his department. He said they were exploring security cameras to be placed throughout the city to help deter criminal activity. He said they received a grant for body cameras, that two officers had been sent to murder investigation training and two more were scheduled, that they had completed the selection process for the canine unit, and that they were planning to add a third narcotics officer in August or September. Chief Hundley said the exterior of the Police and Courts Building needed repair, because bricks were falling off the building. Chief Hundley also addressed animal control initiatives and said the relationship with the Lamar County Humane Association was great and they did a great job in getting animals rescued. He said they wanted to convert the old store room into a place where they could bring animals for evaluation and it would need A/C, heating, electrical updates, new windows or repair of windows, and cages. He estimated that it would cost $20,000. Mr. Godwin said this was an action item and he recommended taking action now. Mayor Hashmi said he had a problem with spending $20,000 when the City had huge drainage issues. Council Member Clifford said he had looked at the room and that $20,000 seemed high to him. He mentioned the possibility of bricking up the windows. Council Member Lancaster inquired whether or not they had someone on staff that could do some of the work. Chief Hundley said the most expensive cost was the cages. Council Member Drake wanted to know if the money was budgeted and Mr. Godwin said it was not. Mr. Godwin said they might be able to get some of the cages donated, and that staff would be careful with the amount of funds for the conversion if approved by Council. A Motion to move forward with conversion of the room was made by Council Member Frierson and seconded by Council Member Lancaster. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 1 nay, with Mayor Hashmi casting the dissenting vote. 19. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2016 -020: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, PROVIDING FOR THE PROVISION Regular Council Meeting June 27, 2016 Page 7 OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES IN THE CITY OF PARIS; CREATING AN OFFENSE FOR PROVISION OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES BY ANY EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PROVIDER OTHER THAN CITY OF PARIS EMS; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; PROVIDING A PENALTY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SAVING CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mr. Godwin explained that Paris EMS was a highly regarded emergency medical service which provides a high level of care to the citizens of Paris and Lamar County. He said from time to time, other EMS services would attempt to come into Paris to provide non - emergency transport services and in order to control the quality of service, the Paris EMS wanted to continue to be the sole provider of these services and the ordinance would allow Paris EMS to continue to provide all in -City ambulance transfers. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Frierson and seconded by Council Member Drake. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 20. Consider and possibly approve appointment by city attorney of contact prosecutor pursuant to City of Paris, Texas Charter Sec. 28. City Attorney Stephanie Harris said at the meeting of April 25, 2016, City Council appointed her to serve the City in the position of city attorney leaving the assistant city attorney position open. She also said at that time, Council instructed her not to fill the position of assistant city attorney, but expressed understanding that it would be necessary for her to hire, at minimum, a contract prosecutor. Ms. Harris said she had been covering both positions since her appointment as interim city attorney on January 11, 2016. Ms. Harris explained she had reached an agreement with Zachary Ressler to undertake limited prosecutorial duties under terms that would result in a substantial savings to the City. A Motion to approve this item was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Frierson. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 21. Consider and approve future events for City Council and/or City Staff pursuant to Resolution No. 2004 -081. Council Member Drake invited everyone to hear the Paris Municipal Band on July 3rd in celebration of July 4d' . Regular Council Meeting June 27, 2016 Page 8 22. Adjournment. There being no further business, a Motion to adjourn was made by Mayor Hashmi and was seconded by Council Member Frierson. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. The meeting was adjourned at 6:52 p.m. A.J. HASHMI, M. MAYOR NICE ELLIS, CITY CLERK