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06/22/2020MINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS June 22, 2020 The City Council of the City of Paris met for a regular session at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 22, 2020, at the City Council Chamber, 107 E. Kaufinan, 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; Janice Ellis, City Clerk; Bob Hundley, Police Chief; Doug Harris, Public Utilities Director; Carla Easton, City Engineer; and Clyde Crews, Fire Marshal Opening A enda 1. Call meeting to order. Mayor Clifford called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. Invocation. Finance Director Gene Anderson gave the invocation. 3. Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member Portugal led the pledge. 4. Citizens' forum. No one spoke during citizens' forum. Mayor Clifford said there were many applicants who were at the meeting to introduce themselves, and the appointments would not be made until toward the end of the meeting. He said he would like to move item 24 up, and that way the applicants could leave after that if they so desired. A Motion to move item 27 up was made by Mayor Clifford, and seconded by Council Member Portugal. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 24. Applicant Introduction. The following applicants introduced themselves, stated where they resided, which board they were seeking to serve on, and asked to be considered for appointment: Sandi Kear, Bill Strathern, Curtis Fendley, Josh Bray, Cody Adams, Austin Anthony, Timothy Hernandez, Regular Council Meeting June 22, 2020 Page 2 Darrell Hawkes, Tylesha Ross, Jennifer Cullum, Glee Emmite, David Taylor, Steve Hellmann, Ken Kohls, Tanner Dobrovolsky, James O'Bryan, Richard Thompson, and Reeves Hayter. Consent A enda Mayor Clifford inquired of Council Members if they wished to pull any items from the consent agenda for discussion. Council Member Portugal asked that item 6d be pulled, citing that the Housing Authority minutes were incomplete. She said the minutes did not reflect who was absent, there was no financial information included but referenced, and in many references there were no details. City Clerk Janice Ellis said she would send the minutes to the Housing Authority and ask that they be corrected. Council Member Knox asked that the City Council minutes of June 2 be corrected to reflect she was not present at that meeting. Ms. Ellis said she would correct them. With the exception of item 6d and the City Council minutes of June 2, a Motion to approve the Consent Agenda was made by Mayor Clifford and seconded by Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 5. Approve minutes from the meetings of June 2, 2020 and June 8, 2020. 6. Receive reports and/or minutes from the following boards and commissions: a. Planning & Zoning Commission (5-4-2020) b. Main Street Advisory Board (5-12-2020) c. Historic Preservation Commission (3-11-2020 & 5-13-2020) d. Housing Authority (3-17-2020) e. Paris Economic Development Corporation (5-19-2020; 5-29-2020; 6-3-2020; 6-4- 2020; 6-5-2020; and 6-9-2020) 7. Receive May monthly financial report. 8. Receive May drainage report. 9. Receive demolition and code enforcement activity reports. 10. Approve the Final Plat of Lot 1, Block A of the Morrell Square Addition, LCAD Property ID 18290 and 18291, located in the 2800 Block of N.E. Loop 286. 11. Approve the Final Plat of Lots 1-4, Block A of the Four C's Addition, City Block 69, LCAD Property ID 402740 and 14628, located in the 600 Block of N.E. 10'h Street. 12. Approve RESOLUTION NO. 2020-024: A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, UPDATING THE DESIGNATED AUTHORIZED SIGNATORIES FOR CONTRACTUAL DOCUMENTS, ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION, DATA ENTRY, AND APPROVAL PERTAINING TO THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS HOME PROGRAM RSP 2019-0013 Regular Council Meeting June 22, 2020 Page 3 Re yular A enda 13. Conduct a public hearing, discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2020-020: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS APPROVING AN AMENDED SITE PLAN FOR A PLANNED DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT — COMMUNITY UNIT DEVELOPMENT (PD -B), PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED THROUGH THE ADOPTION OF ZONING ORDINANCE NO. 94- 030, FOR LOTS 3 AND 4 OF THE PRIMROSE II SUBDIVISION, BEING LOCATED IN THE 4200 BLOCK OF PRIMROSE LANE, PARIS, LAMAR COUNTY, TEXAS; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, A PENALTY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City Engineer Carla Easton said the owner of these two lots was proposing to combine the lots into one, in order to construct a home meeting the minimum requirements in the International Residential Code without fire -rated walls. Mayor Clifford opened the public hearing and asked for anyone wishing to speak about this item, to please come forward. Planning & Zoning Commissioner James O'Bryan said this went very well at their meeting and no one opposed it. With no one else speaking, Mayor Clifford closed the public hearing. Council Member Portugal said this property was in her district and no one on the street was in opposition to this zoning change. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Pilgrim and seconded by Council Member Portugal. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 14. Conduct a public hearing, discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2021-021: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS APPROVING AN AMENDED SITE PLAN FOR A PLANNED DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT — RETAIL SHOPPING CENTER (PD -al), PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED THROUGH THE ADOPTION OF ZONING ORDINANCE NO. 2000-004, FOR PART OF LOT 6, BLOCK 1 OF THE PARIS TOWNE CROSSING ADDITION, BEING LOCATED IN THE 3000 BLOCK OF LOOP 286, PARIS, LAMAR COUNTY, TEXAS; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, A PENALTY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Ms. Easton explained this was a site plan revision for lot 6 under the existing Planned Development Zoning District. Mayor Clifford opened the public hearing and for anyone wishing to speak about this item, to please come forward. With no one speaking, Mayor Clifford closed the public hearing. Regular Council Meeting June 22, 2020 Page 4 A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Pilgrim and seconded by Council Member Portugal. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 15. Discuss and possibly act on removal of Director or Directors from the Paris Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors. A Motion to remove this item from the table was made by Mayor Clifford and seconded by Council Member Hughes. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. Council Member Pilgrim said a few concerned business leaders in town contacted him over an issue that had developed from a PEDC meeting two days prior; citing the PEDC chair had dropped the ball by not timely contacting a local business to explain what had been done in the executive session meeting. Council Member Clayton said in order to mend the relationship with the company, that he, Chairman Hernandez, Mihir Pankaj, Council Member Portugal and City Manager Grayson Path met with the company executives on a Zoom call to apologize for the negligence, and the relationship was mended. Council Member Pilgrim expressed concern about a problem he felt needed to be brought forward. He said he learned that a single PEDC board member, Dr. A.J. Hashmi, had initially reached out to a local manager of the company and offered a helping hand during an economic downturn, without the company's request. Council Member Pilgrim said this company was financially stable, solvent, and was well prepared to weather an economic downturn. Council Member Pilgrim went on to say that, Dr. Hashmi got PEDC Chairman Tim Hernandez and Mayor Clifford to join him on a call with the corporate headquarters to offer PEDC assistance. He said to his knowledge, Mayor Clifford and Tim Hernandez had no knowledge of the initial phone call. In summary, Council Member Pilgrim said it was clear that Dr. Hashmi acted without authority and did not disclose all of his prior actions to the board, and that he was going to call for Dr. Hashmi to resign. Council Member Pilgrim referenced "Article 9 of the Code of Ethics and Conduct for City Council, Employees, Boards, Commissions and Committees from the 2011-025 Ordinance. Based on violations of policies, Council Member Pilgrim said he had asked Dr. Hashmi to step down to retain good faith in the PEDC, the company, and the City. He said Dr. Hashmi was not receptive to his suggestion. In closing, Council Member Pilgrim said as council members, board members, and city representatives, they must have a fiduciary responsibility to the community and call out wrongdoing, no matter how bad it hurt. Council Member Stone stated that due to lack of communication within the PEDC and the Council Members and the many discrepancies in the events that took place, she in good faith could not vote to remove a member from the PEDC. Council Member Hughes said he believes that Dr. Hashmi tries to do what is best for the City. He went on to explain the series of events from his perspective, and said that if the three people who were on the call agree that no laws were violated, he would take their word. Council Member Knox stated that she fell back on the PEDC meeting where this issue was first discussed, and it was voted that nothing inappropriate took place so she would honor their opinion and agree with them. Regular Council Meeting June 22, 2020 Page 5 Council Member Portugal stated that Dr. Hashmi had been resistant in being transparent with his intentions with the PEDC since being on the board. She told Dr. Hashmi the PEDC paid this company $400,000 to do something they planned to do anyway, and that was not fiscally responsible or conservative. Dr. Hashmi stated that the only phone call he made to the local person was after he spoke with Chairman Hernandez and Mayor Clifford, and it was only to get in touch with the executives. Dr. Hashmi stated that he asked Mr. Hernandez if he should call the board first, but since there was no director and since nothing was being discussed other than help, he was told it was not required. Dr. Hashmi then read a letter (email) that was sent to him by Mr. Landry. The letter stated that the company needed the assistance of the PEDC to survive the COVID-19 crisis. He said he had every record of every phone conversation if anyone would like to see it. Mayor Clifford stated that he hated to see division in the Council, but personally, he was not convinced that anything was done wrong. Mayor Clifford said he knows Dr. Hashmi has the best intentions for Paris, as he served as the Mayor for five years. Council Member Hughes stated that there was nothing personal between him and Council Member Pilgrim, and even though they may disagree, that is why they have the democracy of voting. He said the Council has to work together to get through situations like this. Council Member Stone said this was nothing personal, but about doing what was right. A Motion to remove A.J. Hashmi from the Paris Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors was made by Council Member Pilgrim. Motion died for lack of a second. 16. Discuss and possibly act on RESOLUTION NO. 2020-025: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; AMENDING THE BYLAWS OF THE PARIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City Manager Grayson Path informed City Council that Ms. Harris could not be at the meeting, but that he spoke to her and that she suggested that Council vote on each amendment separately. City Council discussed increasing the number of Directors from five to seven members, with one member being a sitting council member and the term for a one-year period. Following a brief discussion with regard to a council member being placed on the board, Council Member Knox suggested that PEDC be allowed to choose the council member. A Motion to increase the number of Directors from five to seven members, and one of those members being a sitting Council Member who will be selected by the PEDC for a term of one year was made by Council Member Hughes and seconded by Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. Next, City Council discussed the amendment requiring City Council approval prior to the corporation's borrowing funds or incurring indebtedness. A Motion to approve this amendment Regular Council Meeting June 22, 2020 Page 6 was made by Mayor Clifford and seconded by Council Member Portugal. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. City Council also discussed removing the provision that the City Attorney act as legal counsel for the corporation. Mayor Clifford said occasionally there had been a conflict with the city attorney representing both the City Council and the PEDC. He said that the board voted unanimously to approve removal of this provision. Mayor Clifford also said that the city attorney would be able to assist the PEDC with some routine matters. A Motion to approve this amendment was made by Council Member Pilgrim and seconded by Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 17. Discuss and possibly act on RESOLUTION NO. 2020-026: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; APPROVING A CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT TO THE ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF THE PARIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF DIRECTORS FROM FIVE (5) TO SEVEN (7). A Motion to approve this item was made by Mayor Clifford and seconded by Council Member Portugal. Motion carried, 6 ayes - 0 nays. 18. Discuss and act on Paris Economic Development Corporation's budget for FY 2020- 2021. PEDC Board Director Mahir Pankaj presented the budget to City Council and answered questions from City Council. Mayor Clifford expressed concern that PEDC was bringing in half as much money as they were expending. Council Member Knox inquired why airport marketing was removed from the budget. Mr. Pankaj said they were not against it and could add that back in. Council Member Portugal said she hopes that the airport will be marketed. Council Member Knox asked about the industry attraction videos. Mr. Pankaj said they plan to start those back up, and use social media. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Portugal and seconded by Council Member Hughes. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 19. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2020-022: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AMENDING SECTIONS 34-22(b), "WATER RATES," AND SECTION 34-23(a), (b) and (c), "SEWER RATES FOR — FOR CUSTOMERS USING CITY WATER," OF CHAPTER 34 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF PARIS TEXAS TO REFLECT CHANGES RECOMMENDED BY THE 2020 WATER AND SEWER RATE STUDY; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, A SAVINGS CLAUSE, A PENALTY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Finance Director Gene Anderson explained that in the short run, the customers would benefit under scenario two but in the long run, it would hurt the City. He reiterated advice from Regular Council Meeting June 22, 2020 Page 7 the consultant with regard to the construction of a new treatment plan and the debt service, and the recommendation of approving scenario one. Council Member Portugal said water and wastewater had to pay for itself, and they needed to keep the bond rating. She said she supported scenario one. Council Member Pilgrim said the City did not want TCEQ coming in and taking over, and that he supported scenario one. Council Member Stone and Mayor Clifford also expressed support for scenario one, citing it was necessary and provided a long-term benefit. A Motion to approve scenario one as presented in the study was made by Council Member Pilgrim and seconded by Council Member Portugal. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 20. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2020-0223: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, EXTENDING THE MAYOR'S DECLARATION OF LOCAL DISASTER FOR PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY AND ORDER DATED MARCH 19, 2020, AS EXTENDED BY RESOLUTION NO. 2020-011 AND BY ORDINANCE NOS. 2020-014 AND 2020-017, FOR AN ADDITIONAL THIRTY (30) DAYS; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Hughes and seconded by Council Member Pilgrim. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 21. Receive and discuss report from Chief Hundley regarding police call volume at local hotels in the City of Paris, Texas, in relation to creating a safe zone. Chief Hundley reported that the police department had been doing more security checks, calls for service were down, and the number of arrests was about the same. He said he believed they were on the right track, citing working with management at the local hotels and without the need of another ordinance. 22. Announcement of Chief Bob Hundley's retirement and Assistant Chief Tuttle's assignment as Interim Police Chief. City Manager Grayson Path announced that after forty-five years of service, Chief Hundley would be retiring on July 2. Chief Hundley said it had been a great honor and privilege serving the City of Paris. Mr. Path announced that Assistant Chief Randy Tuttle would be stepping up to serve as Interim Police Chief. Mr. Path said he planned to start the process of permanently filling the position, once he had filled the positions of public works director and fire chief 23. Discuss and act on the selection process for filling the vacant seat of City Council District Three. City Clerk Janice Ellis explained that in order to move forward with selecting a person to serve as the City Council District Three Council Member, it was necessary to decide on a Regular Council Meeting June 22, 2020 Page 8 process by which to fill the vacant position. She said the options were for Council to nominate and appoint a qualified person to fill the vacant position or to direct staff to announce the vacancy, accept applications, schedule a meeting to interview candidates and make a selection. Council Member Knox favored the option of the procedure of announcing the vacancy and accepting applications, as did Council Member Pilgrim. Council Member Pilgrim said they needed to have a deadline to accept applications to allow the City Clerk to process them. It was a consensus of City Council that the deadline be set for noon on Thursday, July 9. It was also a consensus of City Council that applications be received at their July 13 meeting, and they schedule a special meeting prior to their July 27 City Council meeting to interview applicants. A Motion to approve the procedure set out by the City Clerk was made by Mayor Clifford and seconded by Council Members Knox and Pilgrim. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 25. Discuss and make appointments to the various Boards and Commissions. Mayor Clifford reviewed the procedures City Council recently approved. He reiterated to mark the most points for their first selection, such as if there were fourteen applicants you would give your first pick fourteen points. Mayor Clifford asked Ms. Ellis to let them know if there were any ties. Ms. Ellis provided City Council with their ballots for PEDC and upon completion, she and Mr. Anderson tallied the points. Ms. Ellis announced the three new board members were Josh Bray, Chase Coleman, and Curtis Fendley. Ms. Ellis provided City Council with their ballots for the Planning & Zoning Commission and upon completion, she and Mr. Anderson tallied the points. Mayor Clifford announced that Austin Anthony would be on the commission, and there was a three-way tie between Matthew Coyle, Cody Adams, and Tylesha Ross but only two remaining vacancies. Council Member Hughes suggested they assign points on the current ballot, beside the names of the three applicants. Upon completion, Ms. Ellis and Mr. Anderson tallied the points and Mayor Clifford announced the other two new commissioners were Cody Adams and Tylesha Ross. Ms. Ellis provided City Council with their ballots for the Main Street Advisory Board and upon completion, she and Mr. Anderson tallied the points. Mayor Clifford announced that Glee Emmite and Emily Temple were new commissioners and there was a tie between Tanner Dobrovolsky and Timothy Hernandez. Mayor Clifford asked Council to mark points for the tie vote on their ballots. Upon completion, Ms. Ellis and Mr. Anderson tallied the points and Ms. Ellis announced Tanner Dobrovolsky was the new board member. Ms. Ellis provided City Council with their ballots for the Historic Preservation Commission and upon completion, she and Mr. Anderson tallied the points. Ms. Ellis announced the four new commissioners were Matthew Coyle, Randy Hider, Linda Vandiver, and Timothy Hernandez. Regular Council Meeting June 22, 2020 Page 9 Mayor Clifford said there were five vacancies on the Building and Standards Commission and four applicants. A Motion to appoint the four applicants was made by Council Member Knox and seconded by Council Member Pilgrim. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. Mayor Clifford announced that the new members were Reeves Hayter, Kenneth Kohls, Richard Thompson, and Andra "Kim" Walker. Mayor Clifford announced there were four vacancies on the Library Advisory Board and two applicants. A Motion to appoint Jennifer Cullum and Steven Hellmann to the Library Advisory Board was made by Mayor Clifford and seconded by Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. Ms. Ellis provided City Council with their ballots for the Airport Advisory Board and upon completion, she and Mr. Anderson tallied the points. Ms. Ellis announced the three new members were Scott Avery, Zachary Ebbs, and Bartley Jamar. Mayor Clifford announced there were two vacancies on the Traffic Commission and one applicant. A Motion to appoint Michael Ellis to the Traffic Commission was made by Mayor Clifford and seconded by Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. Mayor Clifford announced there was one vacancy on the Band Commission and two applicants. A Motion to appoint Betsy Mills to the Band Commission was made by Mayor Clifford and seconded by Council Member Portugal. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. Mayor Clifford said State Law required the mayor was to make appointments to the Housing Authority. He also said he did not have a problem giving up some authority and asked everyone to give the applicants points and he would probably appoint members based on the Council's recommendation. City Council did not have a ballot but assigned points to the applicants on their work sheets and upon completion, Ms. Ellis and Mr. Anderson tallied those points. Based on the recommendation of the Council, Mayor Clifford appointed Dewayne Dangerfield, Gary Savage and Jenny Wilson to the Housing Authority. 26. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2020-023: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, APPOINTING MEMBERS TO FILL THREE REGULAR MEMBERS EXPIRED TERMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 16 OF THE CITY ZONING ORDINANCE AND THE CITY'S POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR STANDING BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES; REAPPOINTING CHRIS FITZGERALD AND APPOINTING REEVES HAYTER AND KIM" WALKER TO SERVE AS REGULAR MEMBERS FOR TWO YEAR TERMS AND APPOINTING JERRY HANING TO SERVE AS AN ALTERNATE MEMBER FOR A TWO YEAR TERM; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Ms. Ellis explained that after writing the agenda memo, she had received an additional application, one withdrew and that she had not prepared a ballot. She said there were four vacancies, which included an alternate position. Council Members scored applicants on their Regular Council Meeting June 22, 2020 Page 10 work sheets and gave them to Ms. Ellis to tally. Ms. Ellis announced the new members as follows: Chris Fitzgerald who had the most points, Reeves Hayter, Andra "Kim" Walker and Jerry Haning. 27. Discuss and appoint City Council Members to serve as liaisons to the various Boards and Commissions. Council Members volunteered to serve as liaisons to the boards and commission, as follows: Band Commission — Mayor Clifford Historic Preservation Commission — Council Member Knox Main Street Advisory Board — Council Member Portugal Paris Economic Development Corporation — Council Members Pilgrim and Stone Planning & Zoning Commission — Mayor Clifford Traffic Commission — Council Member Hughes Building & Standards Commission — Council Member Hughes Ark -Tex Council of Governments Executives Committee — Council Member Stone Visitors & Convention Council — Council Member Portugal Love Civic Center - Ex -officio to the Board — Council Member Knox 28. Consider and approve future events for City Council and/or City Staff pursuant to Resolution No. 2004-081. No future events were referenced. 29. Adjournment. There being no further business, a Motion to adjourn was made by Mayor Clifford and seconded by Council Members Pilgrim, Portugal and Knox. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. The meeting was adjourned at 8:44 p.m. hl ®y: STEV. i l' . CLIF.; MAYOR CE ELLIS, CITY CLERK