09/14/2020MINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS
September 14, 2020
The City Council of the City of Paris met for a regular session at 5:30 p.m. on Monday,
September 14, 2020, at the City Council Chamber, 107 E. Kaufman, Paris, Texas.
Present: Mayor Pro -Tem: Paula Portugal
Council Members: Derrick Hughes; Gary Savage; Linda Knox; and
Clayton Pilgrim
City Staff: Grayson Path, City Manager; Stephanie Harris, City
Attorney; Janice Ellis, City Clerk; Randy Tuttle,
Interim Police Chief; Kent Klinkerman, EMS
Director; Carla Easton, City Engineer; M.A. Smith,
Public Works Director; and Clyde Crews, Fire
Marshal
Absent: Council Members: Steven Clifford and Renae Stone
O pe ting, Agenda
Call meeting to order.
Mayor Pro -Tem Portugal called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
2. Invocation.
Finance Director Gene Anderson gave the invocation.
Pledge of Allegiance.
Council Member Hughes led the pledge.
4. Citizens' forum.
Mihir Pankaj, 3055 Oak Creek — he said one of his businesses is the Days Inn located at
2650 N. Main and that a nearby apartment complex had a fire on April 14. He said the name of
the complex was Meadowview and was located at 520 Deshong. He said the complex was in
shambles, it looks horrible and shingles were blowing onto his property. Mr. Pankaj said it had
been four months and nothing had been done, and he asked that this be looked at. He also said
C&C Rentals located at 2720 N. Main had dug a trench behind their property. He said when it
rains; all of the dirt comes off and coats dirt on all of Deshong, and in front and back of his hotel.
Mr. Pankaj said he would like to know what is going on and what the end plan would be because
the entire road looks bad. Mr. Pankaj reiterated he wanted to work with these two businesses.
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September 14, 2020
Page 2
Consent A Benda
Mayor Pro -Tem Portugal inquired of Council Members if they wished to pull any items
from the consent agenda for discussion. Council Member Savage asked that item 6d be pulled
for discussion. He inquired if the Housing Authority was obligated to forward their minutes to
them for approval. City Harris Stephanie Harris said she was not aware of a Statute. Finance
Director Gene Anderson said the City was obligated for some funding to the Housing Authority
and retracted information from their minutes. There being no further discussion, a Motion to
approve the consent agenda was made by Council Member Hughes, and seconded by Council
Member Pilgrim. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 0 nays.
5. Approve minutes from the meetings on August 17, 2020 and August 24, 2020.
6. Receive reports and/or minutes from the following boards and commissions:
a. Library Advisory Board (7-15-2020)
b. Airport Advisory Board (5-21-2020)
c. Paris Visitors & Convention Council Board of Directors (6-15-2020 & 7-21-2020)
d. Housing Authority (3-15-2020 corrected & 6-16-2020)
Regular A enda
7. Conduct a public hearing on the City's proposed tax rate for 2020-2021.
City Manager Grayson Path gave a presentation regarding the tax rate and noted that the
rate had decreased compared to prior years.
Mayor Pro -Tem Portugal opened the public hearing and asked for anyone wishing to
speak about this item, to please come forward. With no one speaking, Mayor Pro -Tem Portugal
closed the public hearing.
8. Conduct a public hearing on the City Manager's proposed budget for fiscal year 2020-
2021.
Mr. Path gave an overview of the budget.
Mayor Pro -Tem Portugal opened the public hearing and asked for anyone wishing to
speak about this item, to please come forward. With no one speaking, Mayor Pro -Tem Portugal
closed the public hearing.
9. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2020-033: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, ADOPTING A BUDGET FOR THE
ENSUING FISCAL PERIOD BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2020, AND ENDING
SEPTEMBER 30, 2021, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CHARTER OF THE CITY
OF PARIS; APPROPRIATING THE VARIOUS AMOUNTS THEREOF; MAKING
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September 14, 2020
Page 3
OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; PROVIDING
A REPEALER CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Mayor Pro -Tem Portugal inquired if City Council had any questions for Mr. Path.
Council Member Knox said she had a comment. She said everyone had complimented Mr. Path
on his budget preparation and presentation, and it had been a wonderful process. Council
Member Knox said Mr. Path was well prepared, and had answered all of her questions. She also
said that he had been very generous to acknowledge how helpful staff was and she wanted to
thank him and staff. Mayor Pro -Tem Portugal echoed Council Member Knox's comments.
A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Pilgrim and seconded by
Council Member Savage. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 0 nays.
10. Discuss and authorize City Staff and SAMCO Capital Markets, the City's financial
advisor, to proceed with refunding the City's outstanding Combination Tax and Limited
Pledge Revenue Certificates of Obligation, Series 2010, so long as certain savings
thresholds can be achieved.
Finance Director Gene Anderson explained that ten years ago the City issued $3,005,000
in certificates of obligation for improving and expanding South Collegiate Drive. He said that
SAMCO recommended the city redeem the certificates and issue new ones because the City
could save approximately $172,000 from this process and that the refunding would not extend
the maturity date on the 2010 CO issue.
A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Knox and seconded by
Council Member Pilgrim. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 0 nays.
11. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2020-034: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, APPROVING A NEGOTIATED
SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THE ATMOS CITIES STEERING COMMITTEE
("ACSC") AND ATMOS ENERGY CORP., MID-TEX DIVISION REGARDING THE
COMPANY'S 2020 RATE REVIEW MECHANISM FILING; DECLARING
EXISTING RATES TO BE UNREASONABLE; ADOPTING TARIFFS THAT
REFLECT RATE ADJUSTMENTS CONSISTENT WITH THE NEGOTIATED
SETTLEMENT; FINDING THE RATES TO BE SET BY THE ATTACHED
SETTLEMENT TARIFFS TO BE JUST AND REASONABLE AND IN THE PUBLIC
INTEREST; APPROVING AN ATTACHED EXHIBIT ESTABLISHING A
BENCHMARK FOR PENSIONS AND RETIREE MEDICAL BENEFITS;
APPROVING AN ATTACHED EXHIBIT REGARDING AMORTIZATION OF
REGULATORY LIABILITY; REQUIRING THE COMPANY TO REIMBURSE
ACSC'S REASONABLE RATEMAKING EXPENSES; DETERMINING THAT THIS
RESOLUTIONS WAS PASSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS
OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT; ADOPTING A SAVINGS CLAUSE;
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September 14, 2020
Page 4
DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND REQUIRING DELIVERY OF THIS
RESOLUTION TO THE COMPANY AND THE ACSC'S LEGAL COUNSEL.
Mr. Anderson explained that in late March, Atmos filed a rate increase requesting 141.2
million dollars in additional revenues, and later the request was reduced to 136.3 million dollars.
Mr. Anderson said 98.7 million dollars of the 136.3 million applied to cities that make up the
Atmos Cities Steering Committee. Mr. Anderson further explained that negotiations between
Atmos and ACSC resulted in an 8.7 million dollars reduction in requested revenues by Atmos.
He said if the City rejects the RRM increase, Atmos will appeal to the Railroad Commission and
the City residents may end up paying higher rates. He further said if the City ignores the matter,
Atmos might implement the settlement or they could still appeal to the Railroad Commission.
Mr. Anderson said it was recommended to approve the negotiated settlement.
Council Member Pilgrim inquired if there would be an increase. Mr. Anderson said
typical residential customers would see a monthly increase of $5.15 and typical commercial
customers would see a monthly increase of $15.48. Council Member Hughes wanted to know
how long this increase would be good. Mr. Anderson said he believed they could come back
every year, if justified. Council Member Hughes wanted to know when the increase would take
place and Mr. Path said it would take place December 1.
A Motion to approve this item was made by Council member Pilgrim and seconded by
Council Member Hughes. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 0 nays.
12. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2020-035: 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, 2020-017, 2020-023, AND 2020-
030 FOR AN ADDITIONAL ONE HUNDRED TWENTY (120) DAYS; MAKING
OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND
DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
City Attorney Stephanie Harris said when this item was first taken to City Council, staff
was extending the declaration every thirty days, then sixty days and CoVid was not done. She
recommended an extension of one -hundred twenty days.
A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Hughes and seconded by
Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 0 nays.
13. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2020-036: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF
A SOLID WASTE COLLECTION PERMIT TO SANITATION SOLUTIONS, INC.
FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENGAGING IN THE BUSINESS OF COLLECTING
AND/OR TRANSPORTING SOLID WASTE FROM COMMERCIAL AND
INDUSTRIAL UNITS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF THE CITY OF PARIS,
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TEXAS; FINDING A PUBLIC NECESSITY AND CONVENIENCE OF ISSUANCE
OF SAID PERMIT; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO
THIS SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
City Clerk Janice Ellis said items 13-18 were the solid waste collection ordinances and
would require individual votes. Ms. Ellis explained that JOTS Rentals was a new company and
the other five were returning companies. She said each company had submitted an application
and had submitted the required certificate of insurance.
A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Savage and seconded by
Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 0 nays.
14. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2020-037: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF
A SOLID WASTE COLLECTION PERMIT TO RAYMOND C. TABOR D/B/A
WASTE CONNECTION OF NORTHEAST TEXAS, FOR THE PURPOSE OF
ENGAGING IN THE BUSINESS OF COLLECTING AND/OR TRANSPORTING
SOLID WASTE FROM COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL UNITS WITHIN THE
CITY LIMITS OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; FINDING A PUBLIC NECESSITY
AND CONVENIENCE OF ISSUANCE OF SAID PERMIT; MAKING OTHER
FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THIS SUBJECT; AND DECLARING
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Pilgrim and seconded by
Council Member Hughes. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 0 nays.
15. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2020-038: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF
A SOLID WASTE COLLECTION PERMIT TO RICHARD MARK BOSWELL, JR.
D/B/A DUMPSTER DROP, LLC FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENGAGING IN THE
BUSINESS OF COLLECTING AND/OR TRANSPORTING SOLID WASTE FROM
COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL UNITS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF THE
CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; FINDING A PUBLIC NECESSITY AND CONVENIENCE
OF ISSUANCE OF SAID PERMIT; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND
PROVISIONS RELATED TO THIS SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Hughes and seconded by
Council Member Savage. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 0 nays.
16. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2020-039: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF
A SOLID WASTE COLLECTION PERMIT TO NELSON AND TANNA STOLL
D/B/A COUNTRYSIDE DISPOSAL FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENGAGING IN THE
BUSINESS OF COLLECTING AND/OR TRANSPORTING SOLID WASTE FROM
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September 14, 2020
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COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL UNITS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF THE
CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; FINDING A PUBLIC NECESSITY AND CONVENIENCE
OF ISSUANCE OF SAID PERMIT; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND
PROVISIONS RELATED TO THIS SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Knox and seconded by
Council Member Hughes. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 0 nays.
17. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2020-040: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF
A SOLID WASTE COLLECTION PERMIT TO MJ OUTDOORS, LLC FOR THE
PURPOSE OF ENGAGING IN THE BUSINESS OF COLLECTING AND/OR
TRANSPORTING SOLID WASTE FROM COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL
UNITS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; FINDING A
PUBLIC NECESSITY AND CONVENIENCE OF ISSUANCE OF SAID PERMIT;
MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THIS SUBJECT;
AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Savage and seconded by
Council Member Pilgrim. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 0 nays.
18. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2020-041: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF
A SOLID WASTE COLLECTION PERMIT TO JOTS RENTALS, LLC FOR THE
PURPOSE OF ENGAGING IN THE BUSINESS OF COLLECTING AND/OR
TRANSPORTING SOLID WASTE FROM COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL
UNITS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; FINDING A
PUBLIC NECESSITY AND CONVENIENCE OF ISSUANCE OF SAID PERMIT;
MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THIS SUBJECT;
AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Knox and seconded by
Council Member Hughes. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 0 nays.
19. Discuss and act on a recommendation to remove one board member from the Historic
Preservation Commission for failure to attend meetings and for failure to take the oath of
office; and appoint one member to fill the vacant position.
Ms. Ellis said that Timothy Alexander was appointed to serve on HPC but had been
nonresponsive to staff members, had not taken the oath of office, and had not attended the two
meetings. She said staff did not know if he was unwilling or unable to serve. Ms. Ellis asked
that he be removed and that a member be appointed to take his place. Ms. Ellis said since her
initial memo to Council, they had received another application. She said the two applicants were
Jennifer Long and Michael Montgomery, and both were qualified applicants.
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Council Member Savage said when appointed to serve on a board, it was important to
attend and he thought they should move forward with removal. A Motion to remove Tim
Alexander from the Historic Preservation Commission was made by Council Member Pilgrim
and seconded by Council Member Savage. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 0 nays.
Mayor Pro -Tem Portugal opened the floor for nominations. Council Member Pilgrim
nominated Jennifer Long. There being no further nominations, Mayor Pro -Tem Portugal closed
the floor for nominations and called for a vote. Motion carried, 4 ayes — 1 nay, with Council
Member Hughes casting the dissenting vote. Jennifer Long was appointed to the Historic
Preservation Commission.
20. Discuss and approve a Professional Services Agreement in the amount of $129,999.00
with Sterling, Inc. to upgrade the City's Data Center Hardware.
IT Director Kent Klinkerman said the primary data center hardware was five years old
and the secondary data center was eleven years old and cited that hardware and software needs of
the City were constantly evolving. Mr. Klinkerman said these components needed to be replaced
on a regularly scheduled basis to insure reliability, performance, security and planned expenses.
He said the total cost was $130,000 and the expenses would be split between 2019-20 and 2020-
21 budget years. He also said Sterling was being utilized under a professional services contract
using Dell Technologies components in consultation with Dell Storage engineers. Mr.
Klinkerman said the equipment was being purchased based on Texas Department of Information
Research pricing.
A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Savage and seconded by
Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 0 nays.
21. Discuss and authorize $31,000 from the 2019-2020 Community Development underspent
budget to hire Hargis Electric & Bryco & Co. to install landscape lighting for the Plaza.
Main Street Director Cheri Bedford said the Main Street Board was very excited about
the possibility of getting new lighting installed. Ms. Bedford explained that more light was
needed to help showcase the water oak trees and the downtown Plaza, but more importantly to
provide greater safety for downtown business owners and visitors. She told of the trees being
wrapped with lights in the past, but they reflected very little lighting. Ms. Bedford also
explained the expense of continuously having to replace them due to squirrels chewing the wires
into. She said with the new lighting, everything would be underground, and the new lighting
would greatly enhance visibility and mitigate downtown safety concerns. Ms. Bedford expanded
on the feature that will allow over 300,000 different color combinations, that would be used for
special seasonal and holiday events. Council Member Knox said this will be great for downtown
and confirmed that the company planned to do the installation by the end of September. Council
Member Savage asked about the watts and Ms. Bedford said she knew the warranty would be for
ten year. Council Member Hughes inquired if they would be LED and Ms. Bedford answered in
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Page 8
the affirmative and added they would be very bright. She invited everyone for a mock lighting
on Wednesday evening.
22. Convene into executive session pursuant to:
A. Sec. 551.087 of the Texas Government Code, (1) to discuss or deliberate regarding
commercial or financial information that the governmental body has received from a
business prospect that the governmental body seeks to have locate, stay, or expand in
or near the territory of the governmental body and with which the governmental body
is conducting economic development negotiations; or (2) to deliberate the offer of a
financial or other incentive to a business prospect described by Subdivision (1), as
follows:
• Project Rock X
• Project Rainwater Falls
B. Sec. 551.072 of the Texas Government Code, to deliberate the purchase, exchange,
lease, or value of real property.
Mayor Pro -Tem convened City Council into executive session at 6:20 p.m.
23. Reconvene into Open Session and possibly take action on those matters discussed in
Executive Session.
Mayor Pro -Tem Portugal reconvened City Council into open session at 6:56 p.m. and
said no action was required.
24. Consider and approve future events for City Council and/or City Staff pursuant to
Resolution No. 2004-081.
Council Member Pilgrim reminded everyone of the special meeting scheduled at 5:30
p.m. on the following evening.
25. Adjournment.
There being no further business, a Motion to adjourn was made by Council Member
Savage and was seconded by Council Member Hughes. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 0 nays. The
meeting was adjourned at 6:56 p.m.
PAULA PORTUGAL, yfAYORPRO-TEM.........................
ELLIS, CITY