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05 - 08/22/2016 COUNCIL MINUTESItem No. 5 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS August 22, 2016 The City Council of the City of Paris met for a regular session at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, August 22, 2016, at the City Council Chamber, 107 E. Kaufman, Paris, Texas. Present: Mayor: A.J. Hashmi Council Members: Billie Lancaster; Aaron Jenkins; Billy Trenado; Matt Frierson; and Cleonne Drake City Staff: 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; and Doug Harris, Utilities Director Absent: Council Member: Steve Clifford 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. 3. Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member Lancaster led the pledge. 4. Citizens' Forum. Billy Bell, 2054 Cleveland — he said he did not believe it was the responsibility of citizens to bear the expense for security cameras for businesses, and suggested adding a police officer. Michael Glatfelter — he proposed that downtown business owners donate space for a police sub - station instead of citizens having to pay for security cameras. He said cameras would invade the privacy of people and the present administration had become complacent. James Belcher, 5a' Street NE — he said he was paying a water bill in the amount of $70.00, which was absorbent when he was a part-time resident. He said the residents in his district should be treated like residents in other districts. Regular Council Meeting August 22, 2016 Page 2 Consent Agenda Mayor Hashmi inquired of Council Members if they wished to pull any items from the consent agenda for discussion. There being none, a Motion to approve the consent agenda was made by Council Member Frierson and seconded by Council Members Drake and Trenado. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 5. Approve minutes from the meeting on August 8, 2016. 6. Receive reports and/or minutes from the following boards, commissions, and committees: a. Main Street Advisory Board (7 -12 -2016) b. Historic Preservation Commission (6 -8 -2016 & 7 -13 -2016) c. Building & Standards Commission (7 -18 -2016) t` d. Paris Economic Development Corporation (7 -13 -2016 & 7 -29 -2016) 7. 7 '' Receive July monthly financial report. 8. r` Receive July drainage report. 9. n . Receive demolition and code enforcement activity reports. 10. Authorize the City Manager to execute a contract for grant administration services with Resource Management Consulting Co. in the amount of $22,750.00. 11.1 Authorize the City Manager to execute a contract extension with EST ` Inc. for construction management and inspections for the 2013 bond project, in an amount not to exceed $108,000. Regular Agenda 12. Discuss and act on a Hotel Occupancy Tax Agreement with the Lamar County Chamber of Commerce. Board Chairman Stephen Gerald expressed appreciation to city staff for working on events with the chamber. Chamber President Ken Higdon explained the major issue for the chamber was the ability to invest large sums to improve the center and make capital maintenance improvements as necessary and that he was asking for a longer lease term of ten years. Mr. Higdon said the two other changes from the existing agreement were the possibility of an additional 1% and granting the LCC board the authority to give priority to events that would bring in overnight visitors. City Attorney Stephanie Harris recommended the opt -out provision be changed from 364 days written notice to 180 days written notice. She expressed concern that 364 days' notice was too long should there be an issue. Regular Council Meeting August 22, 2016 Page 3 A Motion to approve the agreement subject to the opt -out provision being changed to 180 days was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Trenado. Motion carried, 5 ayes —1 nay, with Council Member Drake casting the dissenting vote. 13. Receive presentations and act on the fiscal year 2016 -17 budgets for the Love Civic Center and the Visitors & Convention Council. Ken Higdon presented the Lamar County Chamber and Visitors and Convention Council budgets to the City Council. A Motion to approve the budgets was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Drake. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 14. Receive presentation of budget requests from non -profit agencies. Finance Director Gene Anderson reported the City had received two new budget requests from non - profit agencies, those being the Paris Optimist Club and the Northeast Texas Trail Coalition. Mary Clark gave a presentation to the Council about the Northeast Texas Trail and said they were asking the City to commit to $10,000 on an annual basis for three years to help fund a director position. After hearing the presentation, Mayor Hashmi said it sounded like a good idea, but that the City could only commit to one year at a time. He inquired about the location of the proposed director's office and Ms. Clark said they wanted it to be in Paris. Ms. Clark informed the Council that funding was being requested from other cities, as well as private businesses and foundations. Council Member Frierson said the development of the trail has brought a lot of good things to a lot of people. Ms. Clark inquired of the next step. Mayor Hashmi said it would need to be placed on agenda, voted upon and if there was enough support, it would be put into the budget. 15. Discuss the 2016 -2017 budget for the City of Paris, and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2016- 027: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, CALLING A PUBLIC HEARING FOR SEPTEMBER 6, 2016 ON THE CITY MANAGER'S PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2016 -17; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mr. Anderson said Mr. Godwin had informed them in his memo that he had made a couple of changes in the budget, after receiving the certified tax roll. He also said he thought that the key points Mr. Godwin wanted to emphasize was the tax rate was recommended to remain the same, and they would be able to raise additional revenue at that same tax rate because of the reappraisal done this year. Mr. Anderson said the City had several large expenditures they would need to fund this year and referred Council to the tax rate notice. Specifically, he said the increase in revenue would be used for debt service on two new fire trucks, the new EMS station, Regular Council Meeting August 22, 2016 Page 4 and grant matches for the trail and sidewalks. Mr. Anderson asked that Council set the public hearing for the budget and two rate hearings for the tax rate. Council Member Lancaster asked if something came up that needed to be added to the budget when that could be done. Mr. Anderson said it would need to be done rather quickly, because a public hearing was required on any increases. A Motion to approve this item was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Drake. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 16. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2016 -028: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, CALLING TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS TO RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE CITY'S PROPOSED PROPERTY TAX RATE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2016 -2017; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mr. Anderson said staff was proposing the public hearings be scheduled for September 6 and September 12. A Motion to approve this item was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Trenado. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 17. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2016 -029: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING AND APPROVING A LEASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF PARIS AND ARCHERS FOR CHRIST FOR THE USE OF CERTAIN PROPERTY AROUND LAKE CROOK; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City Attorney Stephanie Harris said Archers for Christ's current lease expires on September 30, 2016 and they wanted to enter into a new agreement. She also said the new lease was identical to the current lease. A Motion to approve this item was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Frierson. Motion carried, 6 ayes — nays. 18. Receive presentation on Surveillance Camera Project and provide direction to staff. Chief Hundley informed the Council that the initial cost for infrastructure for six cameras would cost $49,800. He said the initial install would be in the downtown plaza, the splash park, N. Main, Pine Bluff and Graham Streets. He said any additional phases would require point to point broadcasters at $6,000 each and cameras at $1,200 each. Chief Hundley explained because the cost was near $50,000, they would need to go out for bid prior to moving forward. 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. Regular Council Meeting August 22, 2016 Page 6 20. Discuss bond status and the possibility of selling bonds for streets. Mayor Hashmi said he had asked the city manager to give them an update with regard to how much money the City owed, status of bonds, and what bonds were maturing. Finance Director Gene Anderson said three issues were outstanding, which included a general obligation refunding done in 2010 in the amount of $1,800,000 which will be paid off in 2020; certificates of obligation issued in 2010 in the amount of 3,156,000 which will be paid off in 2030; and general obligation bonds issued in 2012 in the amount of $2,457,000 which will be paid off in 2022. Mr. Anderson also reviewed the water and sewer supported debt of three outstanding issues. Mayor Hashmi inquired the total debt amount. Mr. Anderson said roughly the tax supported debt was $7,400,000 and the water and sewer support debt was in the amount of $51,979,000, which included principal and interest. Mr. Anderson said the City was in adequate financial condition to pay this debt without a problem. Mayor Hashmi inquired the effect to a home owner's property tax if they were to have a $30,000,000 dollar bond and the cost to the City should they divide the amount over a specific number of years. Mr. Anderson estimated that the City would probably have to have an annual debt payment in the amount of $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 depending on the interest rate. Mayor Hashmi inquired about the current interest rate and Mr. Anderson said it was 3.5% to 4 %, but changed every day. Mr. Anderson also said that one penny on the tax rate would bring in about $150,000 and estimated that it would take fifteen cents to fund it. Mayor Hashmi inquired what that would mean to the average property owner. Mr. Anderson said if it took fifteen cents to fund it that would mean about an additional $150.00 per year on $100,000. Mayor Hashmi asked Mr. Anderson to calculate actual numbers and get back to the Council with those numbers. 21. Discuss and act on improvements to the city website and an automated public access channel. Mayor Hashmi said he requested this item and it was discussed in the past, but the Council did not move forward due to the cost involved in hiring additional staff and old technology. He proposed that they look at creating an animated public channel for residents, also accessible by computer and that it be under the IT Department. Mayor Hashmi said information on this channel could include applying for permits, rules and regulations and various ordinances of the City. Mayor Hashmi also said the current website should be easier to navigate instead of having to click on numerous links to find what one needs. He inquired if this could be accomplished using the funds that were set aside from the cable franchise as previously discussed. Mr. Anderson said it was his understanding that it would need to be set up through cable in order to use those funds. He also said the funds had to be spent on capital expenses, not operational expenses. Mayor Hashmi asked about the possibility of going through the cable company and whether or not they could then link it to the City website. Mr. Anderson said it might be a possibility but would have to explore it. Mayor Hashmi asked that Mr. Anderson do that and bring it back to the Council. Council Member Drake said in any event, they needed to improve the City website to make it more user - friendly. Mr. Anderson said it would cost $20,000 to $25,000 to upgrade the City website platform. Regular Council Meeting August 22, 2016 Page 7 22. Discuss and provide direction to city staff for a city -wide cleanup day. Council Member Drake said she requested this item, as she noticed there were still a lot of things at curbs and then depicted photographs throughout the City. Council Member Drake said the City could not do this alone, but would take the community coming together. She suggested contacting civic groups and churches. Council Member Drake said they would need to come up with a date in the fall and publicize in advance. She said there were items in back yards that had been there since the ice storm. Mr. Anderson said the biggest problem was getting it to the curb. Council Member Drake said maybe the boy scouts or other civic organizations could help the citizens get items to the curbs. Mayor Hashmi said this would make the City look better and if the City Manager could come up with a day they could move forward with this. Council Member Frierson said KPB did a lot of great work and maybe this was an opportunity to recharge that effort. Council Member Drake said she would work with the City Manager on this. 23. Consider and approve future events for City Council and /or City Staff pursuant to Resolution No. 2004 -081. Nothing was referenced. 24. Adjournment. There being no further business, a Motion to adjourn was made by Council Member Frierson and was seconded by Council Member Drake. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. The meeting was adjourned at 7:18 p.m. A.J. HASHMI, M.D., MAYOR JANICE ELLIS, CITY CLERK