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05 - City Council MinutesItem No. 5 MINUTES OF THE EMERGENCY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS June 2, 2020 The City Council of the City of Paris met for an emergency meeting at 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2, 2020, by video conference. Present: Mayor: Steve Clifford Council Members: Paula Portugal; Renae Stone; Derrick Hughes; Benny Plata; Linda Knox; and Clayton Pilgrim City Staff: Grayson Path, City Manager; Gene Anderson, Finance Director; Stephanie Harris, City Attorney; Janice Ellis, City Clerk; and Bob Hundley, Police Chief 1. Callmeeting to otder. Mayor Clifford called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. 2. Citizens' forum. Mayor Clifford asked Ms. ,Ellis if she had received any e-mails from the public about the items on this agenda, and', Ms. Ellis, said she had not., 3. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2020-020: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, ,CENSURING COUNCIL MEMBER BENNY PLATA PURSUANT TO SECTION 2-302 OF THE CODE OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT FOR CITY COUNCIL, EMPLOYEES, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS NAD COMMITTEES, FOR ENGAGING IN CONDUCT PREJUDICIAL TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OR THAT REFLECTS DISCREDIT UPON THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY. Mayor Clifford read the resolution, and asked Council Member Plata if he would like to give a statement. Council Member Plata said he did not agree with the resolution, and that his comment was taken out of context. He said his comment was not on the George Floyd situation but a comment on Nick Cannon's face book post, in which he was berating America. Council Member Plata said he loved America, that he loved the City he serves, and did not mean to offend anyone. He said he should not have commented at all, and apologized. In the best interest of the City, Council Member Plata tendered his resignation effective immediately. Council Member Stone said that she had known Mr. Plata for twenty plus years and had never seen or heard him make any racial or discriminatory comments. Due to the current state of the Country, she said his comment was inappropriate. She said as the City's leaders, they could not let their emotions get to the best of them and that the City did not need any added controversy. Council Member Stone said Mr. Plata's comments did not represent the City or the Emergency City Council Meeting June 2, 2020 Page 2 City Council, and she respected his decision to resign. Council Member Portugal said each of the Council Members took an Oath of office and that she did not believe they should tell people who disagree with them, to leave America. She said she wanted the community to work together to do the right thing, and in this case the right thing to do was censure Mr. Plata for the sake of the integrity of the City Council. Council Member Hughes stated whether, Mr. Plata's comment was taken out of context just with the article being about George Floyd, his comment was inappropriate. Council Member Hughes said he respected Mr. Plata's decision to resign. Council Member Pilgrim stated he hated what happened to George Floyd, calling it an absolute tragedy. He said the best thing they could do was to keep their comments to themselves and move on. Council Member Pilgrim said he accepted Mr. Plata's apology and resignation. Mayor Clifford apologized to Mr. Plata for the unfortunate situation and stated that everything on social media is permanent and public. He said with the current atmosphere across the Country, unity was needed. Mayor Clifford thanked Mr. Plata for his resignation. Mayor Clifford stated it was important that they act on this issue quickly to show the public the seriousness of the matter. Mr. Plata said it was bad when you could not defend America. A Motion to approve this item was made by Mayor Clifford and seconded by Council Member Hughes. Motion carried, 6, ayes — 0 nays. 4. Discuss and possible act on a request for the resignation of Benny Plata as Council Member representing City Council District 3. Mayor Clifford said this item was no longer needed. 5. Adjournment. There being no further business, a Motion to adjourn was made by Council Member Portugal and was seconded by Council Member Hughes. `Motion carried, 6 ayes -- 0 nays. The meeting was adjourned at 12:19 p.m. STEVEN J. CLIFFORD, M.D., MAYOR JANICE ELLIS, CITY CLERK MINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS June 8, 2020 The City Council of the City of Paris met for a regular session at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 8, 2020, at the City Council Chamber, 107 E. Kaufman, Paris, Texas. Present: Mayor: Steve Clifford Council Members: Paula Portugal; Renae Stone; Derrick Hughes; Linda Knox; and Clayton Pilgrim City Staff: Grayson Path, City Manager; Gene Anderson, Finance Director; Stephanie Harris, City Attorney; Janice Ellis, City Clerk; Bob Hundley, Police Chief, Kent ,Klinkerman, EMS Director; and Carla Easton, City Engineer Opening Agenda 1. Call meeting. to order. Mayor Clifford called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. Invocation. Council Member Portugal gave the invocation. 1 Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member Portugal led the pledge. 4. Citizens' forum. Bill Strathern, 4905 Trails End — he said he was making application for appointment to the PEDC Board, and was available if anyone had any questions. Consent Agenda Mayor Clifford 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 Pilgrim, and seconded by Council Member Portugal. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 5. Approve minutes from the meeting of May 11, 2020. 6. Receive reports and/or minutes from the following boards and commissions: Regular Council Meeting June 8, 2020 Page 2 a. Paris -Lamar County Board of Health (1-21-2020, corrected & 2-18-2020, corrected) b. Planning & Zoning Commission (4-6-2020) c. Paris Economic Development Corporation (4-21-2020) d. Paris Visitors & Convention Council Board (2-17-2020) 7. Receive April monthly financial report. 8. Receive April drainage report. 9. Receive April demolition and code enforcement activity reports. 10. Approve RESOLUTION NO. 2020-021: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, APPROVING THE SUBMISSION OF AN APPLICATION FOR AN EXTENSION OF A MOTOR VEHICLE CRIME PREVENTION AUTHORITY (MVPOA), FORMERLY THE 1,AUTOMOBILE BURGLARY AND THEFT PREVENTION AUTHORITY (ABTPA), GRANT FOR CONTINUATION OF THE NORTHEAST TEXAS AUTO THEFT TASK FORCE; APPROVING A CASH MATCH FROM THE CITY OF PARS IN CONNECTION WITH SAID GRANT EXTENSION; ,AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR ACCEPTANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SAID GRANT UPON NOTICE THEREOF; ;MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Re` ular Agenda A Motion to move item 19 up was- made by Mayor Clifford and seconded by Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 19. Discuss and possibly act on removal of Director of Directors from the Paris Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors pursuant to Sec. 4.11 of the Bylaws of the Paris Economic Development Corporation. Council Pilgrim said the city attorney told him that all five board members should have been informed about this item, in writing and seven days in advance. He said the item needed to be tabled. Council Member Hughes inquired if the bylaws required they be notified in writing. City Attorney Stephanie Harris said it was not required but it was the best practice. Council Member Hughes said this had been going on for several weeks and all of the board members knew about it. Council Member Knox wanted to know why the City Council was just learning this information. Council Member Pilgrim said he received an e-mail from the city attorney on Thursday informing him. Regular Council Meeting June 8, 2020 Page 3 Following additional discussion, a Motion to table this item to the next meeting was made by Council Member Pilgrim and seconded by Council Member Portugal. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 11. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2020-022: A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE PRIVATE RE -SALE OF A TRACT OF TAX FORECLOSED PROPERTY, AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE DEEDS. Tax Attorney Tracy Pounders explained the Westgate Apartments fell into disrepair, a lot of taxes were not getting paid, and a lawsuit was filed to collect those taxes. Mr. Pounders said this was a complicated matter, with heirs that had to be found and liens against the property. He also said it was placed for auction with a minim bid of $170,500.00, but no one was interested in it. Mr. Pounders said subsequently it was struck off to the City of Paris, and a buyer was found who was willing to pay $75,000 for the property. He explained if the item before them was approved, they would be able to proceed but still needed approval from Lamar County and Paris Jr. College. Mayor`Clifford inquired what kind of guarantee the City would have that the buyer would actually refurbish the apartments into habitable spaces. Mr. Pounders said they did not have a guarantee. Mayor Clifford said he' wanted a guarantee because it was a large piece of property for the amount of money. Mr. Pounders said he did not know if they could do that at this point, but might be able to do that in the near future. Council Member Pilgrim wanted to know how Ion g the City of Paris had possession of the property. Mr. Pounders said since January and this was the best offer they had been able to get. Council Member Pilgrim wanted to know if the property was repairable, i and City Engineer Carla Easton answered in the affirmative. Council Member Stone' said she personally toured the property and it was in bad shape, and it would take a lot of money to get it habitable. She said if the buyer was willing to do that, she was in favor of this. Ms. Easton said staff met with about five people,but ended up with only one investor who was seriously interested. Council Member Portugal wanted to know if it could be sold with a contingency. Mr. Pounders said a contingency was not in the offer presented. Council Member Pilgrim said he had some concern about individuals purchasing property in Paris, applying for tax credits and then spending that money in other cities on other properties. Council Member Hughes said the person interested had contacted him and the buyer planned to do the apartments in stages. He said he was in favor of this as long as they so something, either restore or demolish it. Council Member Stone said if they did not move forward with this, that they would be having the same discussions this time next year. After hearing all of the discussion, Mayor Clifford said he was comfortable with moving forward with the sale. A Motion to approve this item was made by Mayor Clifford, and seconded by Council Member Portugal. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 12. Receive an update on the status of the 2017 Street Bond Projects, status of prioritized roads under the bond, general road maintenance, and discuss and act on any adjustments to prioritized road list. Regular Council Meeting June 8, 2020 Page 4 City Engineer Carla Easton said in May 2017, voters authorized a $9.5 million bond sale for street improvements, and in July of that year, the City Council approved a 3 -year plan to address priority projects. She explained the list contained 25 streets prioritized by city staff and approved by Council to receive improvements as funding allowed. Ms. Easton said of the 25 streets identified, the top 14 projects were originally funded by the $9.5 million available funds. She also said staff was proposing to leave $100,000 in the First Street Project so they could apply for a grant. Ms. Easton said project 15 was Fitzhugh Street. Ms. Easton reported that streets that had been completed under the program were Church from Hearne to Clarksville; E. Cherry from 25th N.E. to 20th N.E.; Yd S.E. from Sherman to Provine; 7th N.W. from Graham to Center; 7th S.W. from Washington to Bonham; Collegiate from Lamar to Clarksville; 33rd S.E. from Lamar to Clarksville; Graham from Yd to the Railroad; and 17th S.E. from Lamar to Clarksville. Next, Ms. Easton explained the general road maintenance of streets typically done by the Streets Department. She explained repairs to roadway base material, chip seal surface treatment, mill. and overlay, and the .comparison of expenses _related to the different applications.. She also explained pavement cuts, were required for utility work and the difference between hot mix and cold mix for asphalt patches. Following Ms. Easton's report, she answered questions from City Council. Mayor Clifford said he was appalled about the enormous safety hazard on W. Sherman Street. Mr. Path said he addressed that with stiff and informed them of his expectations. Council Member Stone said there were some dangerous spots on MLK and 20th N.E. Council Member Portugal wanted ;to know why contractor was digging :on the loop and Collegiate. Ms. Easton explained that last year the contractor left a 400 feet gap and they came back to finish it. Council Member Pilgrim said downtown was looking good. Ms. Easton answered additional questions about the downtown streets, and said the streets should be getting striped next week. Council Member Hughes expressed concern , about' the northwest corner being the most dangerous, and Ms. Easton "said that puppy tracks would be placed there, as well as several other places. It was a consensus of City Council to proceed with staffs plans as proposed. 13. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2020-023: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE SIGNING OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, CERTIFICATES AND OTHER NECESSARY DOCUMENTS TO PURSUE THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND (CRF) CREATED BY THE CARES ACT; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL DOCUMENTS TO PURSUE THE FUNDING; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City Manager Grayson Path explained that he was made aware of the Coronavirus Relief Fund Cares Act and with the help of Mayor Clifford, a letter was sent to the Governor requesting that a portion of funding come to smaller local governments. Mr. Path said Governor Abbott agreed to set aside about $1.85 billion for smaller governments. He explained that the City of Paris would be allocated a maximum amount of $1,393,150.00 and that about $20% ($278,630.00) would be allocated immediately upon signing the agreements, and the remainder would be available as reimbursement upon receipt of the submitted requests. Mr. Path explained Regular Council Meeting June 8, 2020 Page 5 the restrictions for use of these funds, and said he would be seeking a third -party administrator to administer this grant on behalf of the City. Mr. Path answered questions from City Council regarding of tracking expenses and reimbursement of expenses. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Portugal and seconded by Council Member Pilgrim. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 14. Discuss and act on the procurement process for the Love Civic Center Restoration Project. Mr. Path said the Chamber engaged the services of an architectural firm to perform an assessment of the Love Civic Center, which produced nearly $3 million in potential rehabilitation/restoration work. He explained that the 2% Hotel Occupancy Tax rate increase funded $1.5 million and out of those funds, $1.28 million was remaining. Mr. Path said upon his arrival in late April, the Chamber contacted him asking for his assistance with .this process. He said together they decided to take a step back and re-evaluate the status of theyroject. He said the City and Chamber had been working together reviewing the original list of work items and were in agreement remaining tasks ,were large ticket, items that would require the services of an Architectural or`like firm to properly design for -bid. '�Mr. Path explained the two phases in order to ;move forward with procurement process; and brought to the attention the request for qualifications and contract to be used for a professional services' firm. Mr. Path answered questions from City Council._ Council Member ;Portugal',said she was so impressed with the request for qualifications that Mr. Path had written. Mayor 'Clifford expressed his appreciation for Mr. Path's approach. Council Member Pilgrims said he was in favor with moving forward with this approach. Council Member Hughes inquired if Council would see the study.prior to acontract being signed. Mr. Path answered in the affirmative. A Motion to move forward with the process outlined by Mr. Path was made by Council Member Pilgrim, and seconded by Mayor Clifford and Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 15. Receive and discuss the 2020 Water & Wastewater Cost of Service Study. Chris Ekrut with NewGen Strategies presented the findings of the rate study. In summary, Mr. Ekrut said the retail rates for both water and wastewater were insufficient, as well as commercial water and wastewater rates. He also said when considering the rates, they should consider the rate impact of the future Wastewater Treatment Plant investment. He went over the proposed residential and commercial water rates and wastewater rates, providing two scenarios for each. Council Member Pilgrim inquired if during the budget process they might be able to offset costs, especially for customer services. Mr. Path said he was not sure if they could get that done this summer, as he had not had a chance to review the budget in depth. With regard to the Regular Council Meeting June 8, 2020 Page 6 two scenarios, Mayor Clifford asked Mr. Ekrut for his recommendation. Mr. Ekrut said he was torn primarily because of the impact of CoVid, but would probably go with scenario two. He said they wanted to make sure they get the best bond rating and lowest possible interest rate with moving forwarding with construction of the future WWTP. 16. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2020-018: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, ISSUING A LICENSE TO MICHAEL GLENN TURNER D/B/A TEXAZ TRANSPORTATION TO OPERATE A TAXICAB BUSINESS ON THE PUBLIC STREETS OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; FINDING A PUBLIC NECESSITY AND CONVENIENCE FOR ISSUANCE OF SAID LICENSE; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City Clerk Janice Ellis said this was Mr. Turner had made application to operate a taxicab business_in Paris, and that the City had received the required insurance. certificate. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Pilgrim and seconded by Council Member Portugal. Motion ,carried, 6 ayes — b nays. 17 Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO., 2020-019: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE XI OF CHAPTER TWO, SECTION 2-551 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS TO REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE MAYOR NOMINATE MEMBERS FOR THE MUNICIPAL BAND COMMISSION; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE `SUBJECT; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mayor Clifford said he had been reading the Band Bylaws and he would like to change the procedure to allow all Council Members to nominate band members, not just the mayor. Mr. Path said staff would be reviewing all boards over the next several months in an effort to have more uniformity. A Motion to approve this item was made by Mayor Clifford and seconded by Council Member Hughes. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 18. Discuss and act on procedures for the appointment of the board and commission members. Mayor Clifford proposed new procedures for City Council during the appointment process of board and commission members, and reviewed his proposed procedures (See Exhibit "A.") Mayor Clifford said he wanted to delete item 19 on the list. Council Member Knox inquired if it were legal for them to vote by ballot. Mayor Clifford said they would mark their ballots, give to staff to tabulate, and staff would go into the other room to tabulate, bring back to the Council and new members would be announced. He said the ballots would be public record, Regular Council Meeting June 8, 2020 Page 7 and each Council Member would have their name on their ballot. Council Member Knox said she wanted to make sure it was legal. Stephanie Harris said she wanted to do a little more research. Mayor Clifford said he was trying to void humiliation for anyone and in the past, there were some people who did not get votes. He said with this process everyone would get some points. Ms. Harris said as long as they were not going into executive session and doing this, she felt that would be fine. Pending approval of the city attorney, Council Member Hughes made a Motion to approve the proposed Procedures presented by Mayor Clifford, and Council Member Pilgrim seconded the Motion. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 19. Consider and approve future events for City Council and/or City Staff pursuant to Resolution No. 2004-081. No future events were referenced. 20. Adjournment. There being no further business, a Motion to adjourn was made by Council Member Pilgrim and was seconded by Mayor Clifford and Council Member Hughes. Motion carried, 6 ayes .- 0 nays. The meeting was adjourned at 7,x:06 p.1 STEVEN J, ,CLIFFORD, M.D., MAYOR _m ..._._......... JANICE ELLIS, CITY CLERK Approved by City Council June 8, 2020 PROCEDURES FOR APPOINTING MEMBERS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS 1. The first committee to be voted upon will be the PEDC. 2. The second committee will be Planning and Zoning. 3. The order of the rest of the committees will be determined by the number of people applying. The committee with the most applicants will be voted upon next. This will progress until all committees have been filled. 4. Any of these rules can be suspended or changed by a simple majority vote of the council. 5. If any committee has applicants equal to or less than the number of vacancies on that committee, the council may fill the available positions with a majority vote. 6. Each vote for committee membership will be preceded by a council discussion about any of the applicants. 7. Any applicant will be permitted to address the council regarding the board position that he or she is applying to. 8. After all discussion, each council member will rank the applicants in order from one to the number of applicants for the board being voted upon. 9. Each council member will sign his or her ballot. 10. Each ballot will include a ranking of each candidate from number one down to the total number of people applying for the board. 11. After the ballots have been submitted, each candidate will be given a numerical ranking on each ballot based upon adding the point total from all ballots. The number one person on any ballot will be assigned a number of points equal to the number of applicants for the position(s). 12. The number two person on each ballot will be given a number of points equal to the number of applicants minus one. 13. This will continue until the last choice on each ballot will be given one point. 14. The points will be totaled, and the people with the top points will be placed on the appropriate board. 15. If there is a tie, the two people who tied will be brought back to the council for a public vote. 16. If the public vote ends in a tie, then the person who obtained the highest votes by individual council members on the original ballot will be determined the winner. 17. If there is still a tie, the place may be determined by random lot or by a future vote of the council at the council's discretion. 18. In the event that someone has applied for multiple board positions, every effort will be made to place the applicant in his or her most preferred board position at the discretion of the council. Ther- 7Yffill'f1T'a'77Tgnne 1"CSIeaRy ITGgTI 20. If there are any problems or inconsistencies that arise from the above rules, the council will amend these rules by a simple majority vote. EXHIBIT "A"