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06-14-2021MINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS June 14, 2021 The City Council of the City of Paris met for a regular session at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 14, 2021, at the City Council Chamber, 107 E. Kaufinan, Paris, Texas. Present: Mayor: Paula Portugal Mayor Pro -Tem: Reginald Hughes Council Members: Renae Stone; Gary Savage; Mihir Pankaj; Linda Knox; and Clayton Pilgrim City Staff Grayson Path, City Manager; Stephanie Harris, City Attorney; Janice Ellis, City Clerk; Gene Anderson; Finance Director; Richard Salter Police Chief; Russell Thrasher, EMS Director; M.A. Smith, Public Works Director; Andrew Mack, Director of Planning & Community Services; and Clyde Crews, Fire Marshal Opening Agenda 1. Call meeting to order. Mayor Portugal called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. Invocation. Finance Director Gene Anderson gave the invocation. 3. Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Pro -Tem Hughes led the pledge. 4. Citizens' forum. Cheri Bedford, Main Street Director — she invited everyone to the two events taking place on Saturday, June 26, both beginning at 1:00 p.m. She said one event was the 100x` Birthday of City Hall and the other event was Imagine the Possibilities Tour. Consent Agenda Mayor Portugal 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 Regular Council Meeting June 14, 2021 Page 2 made by Council Member Pankaj and seconded by Council Member Savage. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 5. Approve minutes from the meeting on May 24, 2021. 6. Receive reports and/or minutes from the following boards and commissions: a. Airport Advisory Board (2-25-2021) b. Housing Authority of the City of Paris (4-20-2021) c. Board of Adjustment (5-4-2021) d. Traffic Commission (12-1-2020) e. Planning & Zoning Commission (5-3-2021) f. Main Street Advisory Board (5-11-2021) Re ular Agenda 7. Discuss and act on a Resolution changing the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. Park to the Joan Mathis Park. City Manager Grayson Path said at the last meeting a citizen requested that the name of Johnson Park be changed to Joan Mathis Park, and that Council Member Stone requested that the item be placed on this agenda. Mr. Path said research reflected that the name of the park was changed from Johnson Park to Martin Luther King, Jr. Park in 1989. Council Member Stone said the park was in her district and she was under the assumption it was Johnson Park. She also said that Joan Mathis was a wonderful person but she did not think they should change the name of this park, because Martin Luther King, Jr. had done so much for so many. Council Member Stone suggested they look at 10th Street Park to Joan Mathis Park and that a marker be placed at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Park reflecting the name of the park. She said she would like to table this item to allow her time to meet with her constituents. Council Member Savage agreed with Council Member Stone, in that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great man and he had done a lot but that he had a street in Paris named after him and a lot of other things named after him. Council Member Savage said Ms. Mathis had done a lot for the people in community, that she lived down the street from this park, and this would be a great area and honor to Ms. Mathis and people in Paris. Council Member Stone said there were a lot of great people in Paris, but did not feel like they should take Dr. ML King's name from the park and she would like to get a monument there. Council Member Hughes said most of the citizens he spoke with did not know that it was MLK Park, and questioned why it was not marked. He also said when everyone found out the name, that no one opposed it being change to the Joan Mathis Park, and he was not opposed to changing it. He said Ms. Mathis is worthy of this honor and that the park was directly on the Regular Council Meeting June 14, 2021 Page 3 path to her home. He also said he understood that Council Member Stone wanted to speak with her constituents, and he would support tabling this item. Council Member Pankaj inquired if it would be possible for Council to get a list of all City parks, and Mr. Path said staff would get that to the Council. A Motion to table this item was made by Council Member Stone and seconded by Council Member Pilgrim. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 8. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2021-015: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AMENDING THE TRAFFIC CONTROL MAP ADOPTED IN SECTION 11.02.005, OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; ESTABLISHING A STOP SIGN AT THE INTERSECTION OF 32ND N.E. AND HOUSTON STREET STOPPING SOUTH -BOUND TRAFFIC ON 32ND N.E.; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, A SAVINGS CLAUSE, A PENALTY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Assistant Chief Tuttle explained that Traffic Commission received a request to place a stop sign at 32nd N.E. and Houston Street, and currently there was no traffic control device at this intersection. He said that the Traffic Commission voted unanimously to approve this item. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Pankaj and seconded by Council Member Savage. Motion carried, 7 ayes - 0 nays. 9. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2021-016: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AMENDING THE TRAFFIC CONTROL MAP ADOPTED IN SECTION 11.02.005, OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; ESTABLISHING A STOP SIGN AT THE INTERSECTION OF 37TH N.E. AND VILLAGE BEND STOPPING WEST- BOUND TRAFFIC ON VILLAGE BEND; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, A SAVINGS CLAUSE, A PENALTY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Assistant Chief Tuttle explained that Traffic Commission received a request to place a stop sign at 37th N.E. and Village Bend, and currently there was no traffic control device at this intersection. He said that the Traffic Commission voted unanimously to approve this item. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Pankaj and seconded by Council Member Pilgrim. Motion carried, 7 ayes - 0 nays. 10. Receive and discuss the 2021 Water & Wastewater Cost of Service Rate Study; and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2021-017: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AMENDING APPENDIX A, "FEE SCHEDULE," Regular Council Meeting June 14, 2021 Page 4 ARTICLE A10.000, "UTILITY RATES," SECTION A10.003, "WATER RATES," OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS TO REFLECT CHANGES RECOMMENDED BY THE 2021 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 said the City had treated water contracts with four local industries and one of the requirements of those contracts was for the City to have an independent rate consultant conduct a cost of service study each year. Mr. Anderson introduced Chris Ekrut with NewGen Strategies & Solutions. Mr. Ekrut presented the 2021 Water and Wastewater Cost of Service Study. He reviewed the water and wastewater retail increase of June 2020, the wastewater retail rate increase of February 2021, and the rate maintenance policy established in 2010, which required the setting of water and wastewater rates. Next, Mr. Ekrut reviewed the findings which were as follows: 1) water utility retail revenue requirement increased 1.4% over prior fisal year; 2) wastewater utility retail revenue requirement increased 1.9% over prior fiscal year (WWTP debt recognized in FY 2022); 3) currently, funds are sufficient to satisfy the Rate Maintenance Policy's Interest and Sinking Fund, Reserve Fund, and Contingency Fund requirements; 4) retail water rates are currently insufficient (residential consumption decreased by 5.0% and commercial consumption decreased by 3.4%); and 5) the City adopted wastewater rate increases every six months through April 2026 in consideration of the future WWTP Investment. Mr. Ekrut explained the proposed residential and commercial water rate increases in monthly bills, which included the size of pipes and usage. Following discussion and explanations by Mr. Ekrut, a Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Pilgrim and seconded by Council Member Hughes. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 11. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2021-017: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, APPROVING RUSSELL G. THRASHER AS THE EMS DIRECTOR AS RECOMMENDED BY THE CITY MANAGER IN CONFORMANCE WITH SECTION 23 OF THE CITY CHARTER; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City Manager Grayson Path said Kent Klinkerman retired in November and the interview team composed of him, Thomas McMonigle and Sandy Collard went through the process of finding the next EMS Director. Mr. Path said he was pleased to select Russell Thrasher as his selection for EMS Director, that he had over twenty years of service with the City EMS Department, and had served as Interim EMS Director for the last six months. Mr. Path also said Mr. Thrasher had done an outstanding job taking on a massive workload while also combatting Co-Vid-19 in the community. Council Member Savage said he had spoken to a number of people and that Russell Thrasher did not do a good job but a great job. He said Mr. Thrasher was a great selection. Regular Council Meeting June 14, 2021 Page 5 Council Members echoed Council Member Savage's praise of Russell Thrasher. Mayor Portugal also complimented Mr. Path for instilling teamwork in the City departments. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Savage and seconded by Council Member Pilgrim. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 12. Discuss and take any necessary action regarding the Non -Profit Organization Contracting Policy in preparation for receiving and reviewing applications at a future meeting. Mr. Path said in February City Council passed a new policy for the purpose of accepting, reviewing and contracting with non-profit organizations, which included the City Council would make the decision as to the amounts that would be permitted for each organization. Mr. Path also said all of the organizations were worthy but the City only had a certain amount of funds. City Attorney Stephanie Harris said they had received twelve applications. Mr. Path inquired of City Council wanted to conduct a special meeting to conduct receive presentations from the non- profit organizations and limit presentations to five minutes. Mayor Portugal favored a special meeting, citing the presentations would add an extra hour to a regular meeting. It was a consensus of the City Council to call a special meeting in July or August. Mayor Portugal asked that Grayson and Janice work together in scheduling a special meeting once she and Ms. Harris had completed their parts. 13. Discuss and act on the GEXA Energy Invoice of $450,005.34 for additional ancillary charges from the February 2021 Winter Storm. Mr. Path said these were ongoing costs from the February winter storm due and these expenses were not budgeted. He explained that normally prices were in the $30-$40/MWh range, but prices soared to $25,000/MWh. He also said this was a typical supply and demand situation where entities were able to make a massive profit knowing that power was in demand and unfortunately, this comes at the expense of the tax payers. Mr. Path said that the TCAP had been attempting to convince the Legislature to go back and reprice the power that was sold during the storm but there had been no willingness by the Governor or Legislature to pass nay of the various bills. Mr. Path explained this was an official bill that must be paid. He outlined the options as 1) _pay the full amount of $450,005.34 upfront; 2) pay a monthly charge of $24,224.65 from June 20201 through December 2022 with a 2.25 interest rate; 3) pay a monthly charge of $6,763.48 from June 2021 through December 2028 with an 8.7% interest rate. Mr. Path recommended paying the full amount of $450,005.34 upfront using the former CARES Funding. City Council favored the idea of paying the full amount upfront using the former CARES Funding. A Motion to pay the full amount of $450,005.34 upfront using the former CARES Funding was made by Council Member Pankaj and seconded by Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 14. Discuss and approve termination of the Airport Management Agreement and FBO Agreement, purchasing the FBO Agreement from JR Aviation for a total of $89,000.00 plus the cost for the fuel of about $30,000.00 (TBD), hire a full-time employee to become Regular Council Meeting. June 14, 2021 Page 6 the next Airport Manager and FBO, and authorize the City Manager and City Attorney to prepare a Bill of Sale to be brought back at the next City Council meeting. Mr. Path explained that Jerry Richey with JR Aviation had informed him that he wishes to retire and terminate both his Fixed Based Operator Management Lease Agreement and Agreement for Airport Management of the City of Paris Municipal Cox Field Airport. Mr. Path said the Airport Management Agreement upon termination would revert back to the City for overall management but that was not the same of the FBO Agreement. Mr. Path also said that Mr. Richey had asked the City if it would like first right to purchase his FBO Agreement. Mr. Path explained the City did not pay Mr. Richey for his FBO Agreement, but did for the Management Agreement. Mr. Path said Mr. Richey had given the City an asking price of $89,000.00 which would include ownership of two fueling trucks, some small equipment and buyout of the remaining contract. Mr. Path said City Staff believed $89,000.00 to be a fair asking price and recommended approval. He also said the City would need to purchase an approximate 10,000 gallons of fuel for a price of approximately $25,000 - $30,000 and that Mr. Richey had agreed to sell the City the fuel for the price he paid. Mr. Path said the actual number of gallons and price would be determined based on the day that was set in the agreement as fuel was continuously being purchased and sold at the airport. Mr. Path explained if the City purchases the FBO and equipment, it would assume control of the Airport through a full-time employee. He said Mr. Richey would carry the City over to this point and then transition with the new employee. Mr. Path estimated approximately three months from start to finish, assuming the City found a full-time employee to hire. He said if the City could not find a full-time employee, it would have to revisit hiring another third party contractor. Council Member Pankaj inquired if Mr. Path had any leads on a full-time employee. Mr. Path said a job description had been written. Council Member Savage asked if two part-time employees had been considered instead of one full-time employee. Mr. Path explained that a full-time employee was needed at the airport. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Savage and seconded by Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 15. Discuss and act on procedures for the appointment of the board and commission members. City Clerk Janice Ellis explained the City Council would be appointing members to the boards and commissions at their next meeting. She inquired if they wished to follow the procedure similar as to what they did last year, which was scoring applicants on a point system and then the applicants with the highest number of points would be nominated to each board or commission. Ms. Ellis said prior to last year, the Mayor would open the floor, accept nominations and vote on the applicants. City Council Members favored the procedure where they score applicants on a point system. City Attorney Stephanie Harris reminded City Council that it would be necessary to still vote on the applicants who received the highest number of points. Regular Council Meeting June 14, 2021 Page 7 A Motion to approve Option One, the procedure of assigning points to the applicants was made by Council Member Pilgrim and seconded by Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 16. Discuss the Charter Review Process and consider engaging the services of a third party consultant to guide the City through the process. City Clerk Janice Ellis said in the past the City had hired consultants to lead the committee and staff through the Charter Review process, because this was a complex process and staff felt they needed to engage the services of an expert. She asked that Council consider doing so. Ms. Ellis also said staff had spoken to Don Edmonds with Public Affairs Consultants, as he came highly recommended from the city secretary in Texas City. Council Member Pankaj said it was a good opportunity to get more information about the charter review process, and he was in favor of it. Council Member Pilgrim said he sure would like some guidance. Ms. Ellis said if after hearing from Mr. Edmonds, if they wanted to hear from others staff could reach out to other experts in the area. Council Member Knox said she was all for having a consultant, but was not ok for hand picking a consultant. She said she would like for staff to advertise or put out requests for qualifications so that other consultants can participate. Mr. Path said staff would put some kind of advertisement together for that. 17. Convene into executive session pursuant to Section 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: HWH Downtown Development. Mayor Portugal convened City Council into executive session at 6:37 p.m. 18. Reconvene into open session and possibly take action on those matter discussed in Executive Session. Mayor Portugal reconvened City Council into open session at 7:47 p.m. and said there was no action to be taken at that time. 19. Consider and approve future events for City Council and/or City Staff pursuant to Resolution No. 2004-081. Mayor Portugal said that at the next City Council meeting she would like to discuss having a City Council workshop in the fall. Mayor Portugal also said she would like for the Committee to report on the results of the employee evaluations, the dates and the processes. Regular Council Meeting June 14, 2021 Page 8 20. Adjournment. There being no further business, a Motion to adjourn was made by Council Member Savage and was seconded by Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. The meeting was adjourned at 7:47 p.m. e PAULA PORTUGAL, Y �r NICE EL S, CITY CLEI.��.