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06-13-2022MINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS June 13, 2022 The City Council of the City of Paris met for a regular session at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 13, 2022, at the City Council Chamber, 107 E. Kaufman, Paris, Texas. Present: Mayor: Paula Portugal Mayor Pro -Tem: Reginald Hughes Council Members: Shatara Moore; Gary Savage, Mihir Pankaj; Linda Knox, and Clayton Pilgrim City Staff: Grayson Path, City Manager; Robert Vine, Assistant City Manager; Janice Ellis, City Clerk; Gene Anderson; Finance Director; Rich Salter, Police Chief; Andrew Mack, Director of Planning & Community Development; M.A. Smith, Public Works Director; Thomas McMonagle, Fire Chief; Clyde Crews, Fire Marshal; and Ron Hervey, Interim Library Director 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. A. Proclamation Recognizing the Paris Jr. College Softball Team. Mayor Portugal read the proclamation and presented it to the coaches and team members. B. Presentation of Mayor's Yard of the Month Awards Mayor Portugal announced the Mayor's Yard of the Month Awards as follows: Aiken Elementary School - outstanding appearance. Beryl Bryant — outstanding appearance Haskell & Deanna Roberts — outstanding appearance Dedy Brock — outstanding appearance Regular Council Meeting June 13, 2022 Page 2 Love Civic Center — commercial property Monique Antiques — best rehab Mayor Portugal presented winners who were present with a Certificate of Appreciation, as well as a gift card from a local business. She said staff would get the certificates and gift cards to those who were unable to attend the meeting. C. Citizens' Forum. Amanda Green — she said she was the doctor for the Paris Lamar County Health Department and was on the smoking committee that approved the original smoking ordinance. She said vaping damaged lungs, that seventy-five other cities had an ordinance against vaping and she encouraged City Council to do the same. 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 made by Council Member Pankaj and seconded by Council Member Pilgrim. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 5. Approve minutes from the meeting of May 23, 2022. 6. Receive reports and/or minutes from the following boards and commissions: a. Paris Visitors & Convention Council Board of Directors (4-18-2022) b. Paris Public Library Advisory Board (4-20-2022) 7. Approve RESOLUTION NO. 2022-039: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF AN AGREEMENT WITH THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (TxDOT) FOR THE TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF STATE RIGHT-OF-WAY IN SUPPORT OF THE 2022, 903 CONCERT SERIES; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 8. Approve RESOLUTION NO. 2022-040: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF A CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PLAN IN SUPPORT OF A TEXAS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM APPLICATION TO THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE MAIN STREET FUND; AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ACT AS THE CITY'S EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE IN ALL MATTERS PERTAINING TO THE CITY'S PARTICIPATION IN THE TEXAS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM. Regular Council Meeting June 13, 2022 Page 3 9. Approve RESOLUTION NO. 2022-041: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF PARIS, TEXAS, DETERMINING THAT AN AREA OF THE CITY CONTAINS CONDITIONS WHICH ARE DETRIMENTAL TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELFARE OF THE COMMUNITY AND CONSTITUTES A BLIGHTED AREA. 10. Approve RESOLUTION NO. 2022-042: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE SUBMISSION OF A TEXAS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM APPLICATION TO THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE MAIN STREET FUND; AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ACT AS THE CITY'S EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE IN ALL MATTERS PERTAINING TO THE CITY'S PARTICIPATION IN THE TEXAS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM. Regular ALenda 11. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2022-043: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS AND PARIS HOTEL, LP; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mayor Portugal said Council Member Pankaj had a conflict on this item and asked for a Motion to recuse him. A Motion to recuse Council Member Pankaj was made by Council Member Savage and seconded by Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. Council Member Pankaj left the meeting. City Attorney Stephanie Harris said that Tom Kirkland was at the meeting and available to answer any questions. Ms. Harris explained that Paris Hotel, LP had made application for incentives under the Program with their construction of a dual branded TownPlace Suites and Fairfield Inn Hotel, and that both hotel brands were by Marriott. She said the proposed economic development agreement provided the following incentives: 1) five annual property tax grants in an amount equal to 100% of the city's M&O property tax assessed in the incremental taxable value attributable to the project. The grants cover the years 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028; 2) three annual sales tax grants in the amount of 50% of the sales tax receipt in the applicable grant period. The grants cover the years 2024, 2025 and 2026. Ms. Harris also said as consideration of these annual grants, Paris Hotel would invest $12,000,000.00 in construction of the project and open the hotel no later than December 31, 2023. Tom Kirkland said they were excited about bringing a Marriott to Paris. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Knox and seconded by Council Member Savage. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. Regular Council Meeting June 13, 2022 Page 4 A Motion to return Council Member Pankaj to the meeting was made by Mayor Pro -Tem Hughes and seconded by Council Member Savage. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. Council Member Pankaj returned to the meeting. 12. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2022-044: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, ACCEPTING THE DONATION OF CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY ADJACENT TO THE LAMAR COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM BUILDING, PARIS, TEXAS; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Ms. Harris explained the city owned the building, which housed the Lamar County Historical Museum and had long leased the premises to the Lamar County Historical Society for that purpose. She said the City did not own any of the land surrounding the building, including the walkway up to the front door, meaning the building was landlocked. Ms. Harris said this had caused significant problems between the LCHS and the owners of Heritage Hall. She also said recently in a three party transaction, a donor had bought property adjacent to Heritage Hall and given it to JoKyle Varner, the owner of Heritage Hall, in exchange for which Mr. Varner was donating certain property around the periphery of the Museum building to the City to provide additional access. Ms. Harris said this was a welcomed solution to the long-standing problem. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Mayor Pro -Tem Hughes and seconded by Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 13. Discuss and act on a request from Supreme All, Inc. for reduction of rent at the Event Center for the months of June, July and August. City Manager Grayson Path explained that in July of 2019, the City and Supreme All, Inc. entered into a lease agreement for the City's Even Center, located at 1875 Fitzhugh Ave. Mr. Path said that Supreme All provided evening meals during the school year to the children at the Boys and Girls Club. He said State Law would only allow one meal to be provided to the children during the summer months and Ms. Black was not providing meals during the summer months, because the school district was already providing one meal to the children. Mr. Path also said that Samantha Black had requested a waiver of rent for June, July and August. Council Member Pilgrim inquired if Supreme All was a 501(c) non-profit and Ms. Black answered in the affirmative. Council Member Pankaj asked if Ms. Black would be at the building during the summer months and Council Member Knox wanted to know if the building would be available for citizens to rent during the summer months. Mr. Path said he had not asked for the keys and to lease the building would require marketing and he did not see that as an option without an amendment to the lease. Council Member Savage said that is why she was asking for a waiver of the rent. Council Member Pilgrim said he thought the City should utilize the building for the summer months because a non-profit entity could not make a profit pursuant to the law. Ms. Black said if she could rent it, she would because she had a lot of people calling her. Council Member Moore asked Ms. Black if she would be conducting training in the Regular Council Meeting June 13, 2022 Page 5 building over the summer months and Ms. Black answered in the affirmative. Mr. Path said we were almost to the month of July and he did not recommend the City taking possession of the building for the summer months to start renting it. Council Member Pankaj said the City should start looking at that in the future. Mayor Portugal inquired about the time for renewal of the lease agreement. Mr. Path said it was April 30th and discussions had begun because there was a two-year renewal option. A Motion to waive the rent for June, July and August and begin paying again in September was made by Mayor Pro -Tem Hughes and seconded by Council Member Savage and Council Member Knox. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 14. Discuss a request from Supreme All, Inc. to consider donating the Event Center to their non-profit corporation. Mr. Path said this lease was attached to the previous agenda item. He also said that Supreme All, Inc had requested that the City consider donating the facility to their non-profit corporation because they wanted to utilize more of the building than just the kitchen area. Mr. Path said their wish was to provide youth development activities on the weekend and weekdays. Mr. Path informed Council that pursuant to Texas Local Government Code 253.011, the City may transfer property to a non-profit at no expense and without notices and bidding on the condition that the property be perpetually and primarily used for public purposes. He also informed Council if that was not followed, then the building would revert to the City and that the stipulation remains with the deed forever. Mr. Path said the alternative was to place this building out for bid and sell it. Mr. Path explained the primary issue was determining if there was public purpose going into the transaction and then being maintained throughout the life of the new ownership. He said the Council would need to make factual findings that the uses to which Ms. Black intends to put the property are indeed public purposes. Mr. Path explained that Supreme All, Inc. would need to pay for a survey in order to survey off the property for platting purposes and it was advisable that the City require the parking lot be included in this. He said that Ms. Black was at the meeting tonight to answer any questions they might have. Council Member Pankaj said this sounded like a business decision and he could not make a decision without seeing the property. He inquired about the programs and funding. Ms. Black said they were getting the grants going. Council Member Pankaj said he wanted to study this and have more discussion prior to making a decision. Council Member Moore that she thought this would be awesome because the building was close to low-income housing where the kids could walk over to participate in programs. Mayor Portugal asked if there was a board of directors, and said she would like to see the financials of Supreme All. She said they were responsible for tax dollars and it was important that they were transparent. She inquired about grants and fundraisers. Ms. Black said under the current lease agreement, she could not hold fundraisers at the building. Council Member Pilgrim said he would like to see the tax returns for 2019, 2020 and 2021 and the balance sheets. He wanted to know who would regulate the deed restrictions. Mr. Path said the City would not be policing the deed restrictions but if they received a complaint, they would look into it. Council Member Pilgrim asked for an explanation Regular Council Meeting June 13, 2022 Page 6 of the restrictions. City Attorney Stephanie Harris said donated property to a non-profit would remain with the non-profit as long as the property was being used for public purpose. She said according to deed restrictions, the facility might not be able to be rented for family reunions and similar events. Ms. Harris said if the City found out that it was not being used as a public purpose, the City had a duty to take care of it. Council Member Knox wanted to know if they rewrote the lease if that would allow Supreme All to rent it to others. Ms. Harris said yes, and that would be between her and the board. Mayor Portugal suggested to Ms. Black that she apply for funding through United Way, as many of non -profits did so. Mr. Path said he understood that the City Council wanted more information. Council Member Pilgrim said the fair board needed to be made aware of this. Mr. Path said he would meet with Ms. Black to discuss the options of donating the building or renegotiating the lease and would bring back an item to the City Council. 15. Discuss and act on an Ordinance amending Section 7.03, "Smoking," of the Code of Ordinances to prohibit vaping in public places and to include a variance process for businesses with semi -enclosed places of employment. Assistant City Manager Robert Vine said e -cigarettes and vaping had become very popular and some e -cigarettes contained nicotine and some did not. He explained that current City ordinances did not regulate the use of e -cigarettes. In addition, Mr. Vine referenced the discussion they had some time back regarding instituting a variance process by which a business could apply for a variance to the prohibition against smoking in semi -closed areas such as Turner Pipe's welding bay that had retractable walls or large garage doors. Mr. Vine said that the City Attorney had drafted the variance procedure as set out in the ordinance and added a provision prohibiting the use of e -cigarettes in public areas. Council Member Knox said all of this started when the City Council asked that they be presented with a petition by the employees from Turner, which was to include a variance request signed by the plant manager and the HR Director. Council Member Pankaj said he was opposed to smoking but if a variance was needed in order to keep employees then he was fine with doing so. Council Member Pilgrim wanted to know if a company could allow employees to smoke or not and Ms. Harris answered in the affirmative. He said he would rather this be a company decision. City Council discussed the application and imposing an application fee. It was a consensus of City Council to make this change and bring the ordinance back for consideration. 16. Discuss and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2022-034: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS AMENDING CHAPTER 10, "STREETS, PARKS AND OTHER PUBLIC WAYS AND PLACES," ARTICLE 10.05, "STREETS AND SIDEWALKS," OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS TO ADD DIVISION 8, "MICRO -TRENCHING" TO PROVIDE REGULATIONS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE INSTALLATION OF CONDUIT FOR FIBER OPTIC CABLE IN THE CITY'S RIGHTS OF WAY; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE, A SAVINGS Regular Council Meeting June 13, 2022 Page 7 CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, A PENALTY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mr. Vine explained that the City was experiencing internet fiber being installed within the city limits and should expect more fiber to be installed in the very near future. He said when deploying a fiber network, traditional trenching methods could be expensive and time- consuming, and cause extensive disruption to the local area, specifically to public roadways. Mr. Vine also said that the proposed ordinance sets forth the constructing a micro -trench within the City limits and establishes the requirement of a permit prior to any micro -trench being constructed and articulates the necessary steps required to successfully be awarded a permit. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Pankaj and seconded by Council Member Pilgrim. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 17. Discuss and confirm appointment of Ron Hervey as Interim Library Director. Mr. Vine said Tim DeGhelder, Library Director, announced his resignation effective June 3, 2022 and that City Manager Grayson Path had identified Ron Hervey to serve as Interim Library Director. A Motion to approve the confirmation of Ron Hervey as Interim Library Director was made by Council Member Knox and seconded by Council Member Pankaj. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 18. Discuss and provide direction on pursuing a Pension Bond and agreement with the Paris Firefighters Pension Board. City Manager Grayson Path explained that the City of Paris provided two separate retirement programs for its employees and one of those was the Texas Municipal Retirement System for non -fire department personnel and the other one was the Paris Firefighters' Relief and Retirement Fund for fire department personnel. Mr. Path said the Pension was created around 1941, was regulated under the Texas Local Fire Fighters Retirement Act, and was managed by a local Board of Trustees. Mr. Path said in August 2020 he read an article from a Dallas newspaper discussing the various TLFFRA funds throughout the State, which reflected the Paris Pensions was the least funded in the State of Texas, and from there he began investigating the Pension. He also said he learned the Pension would become fully funded in approximately 30 years under the current contribution and payout formula and learned that this had been the expectation for the previous approximately 40 years. Mr. Path said this was a moving target. He said in November of 2021, he met with the Board of Trustees to get an update on the Pension and noted the contributions, along with the current balance of approximately $5 million in' the fund, as an investment was what was keeping the fund afloat. He also said he learned that they were spending more annually on benefits to current retirees than they were bringing in through collection. Mr. Path reported the trajectory would not be accomplished without an increase in the contribution and/or a large deposit of funding into the Pension fund and added whether a firefighter made higher Regular Council Meeting June 13, 2022 Page 8 rank pay or lower rank pay, they would still receive the same benefit amount for the same number of years of service. Mr. Path reviewed the conclusions of this research, and said that something needed to change. Mr. Path said they set out to explore an option of moving the Paris Fire Fighters from the Pension over to the City's TMRS and they reached out to the TMRS and the Pension actuary to explore the options. He said they were working out a plan where the City would freeze the Pension and move all existing and future employees over to TMRS accounts. He said to do this would require the City to take out a large bond to fund the unfunded liability of the Pension. He said the Board of Trustee's actuary had opined that an approximate amount of $12 million would be needed in a bond to fund the Pension. He said it was determined that the TMRS retirement benefit would be more advantageous than the Pension retirement benefit for the employee. He said TMRS had made it plain that they would not touch the Pension itself; the Pension would forever be the responsibility of the City and Board of Trustees. He said they, however, would onboard all of the fire department employees as if they were brand new employees and would start with a zero balance in their TMRS account, but that would grow with their contributions. Mr. Path said along with the City's financial advisor and bond counsel, they were working out the needed steps to issue a 20 year pensions bond under State Law. He also said they had reached out to the Attorney General to see if there were any additional steps that would be required of the City. Mr. Path reviewed the budget aspects of this issue and set out the options. Following questions from City Council and discussion, it was a consensus of the City Council that Mr. Path bring back an agenda item pursuing this project and an agreement with the Pension Board. Mr. Path said he planned to bring an item forward in July. 19. 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: Lionshead Paris, LLC, Mayor Portugal convened City Council into executive session at 7:27 p.m. 20. Reconvene into open session and possibly take action on those matters discussed in executive session. Mayor Portugal reconvened City Council into open session at 7:55 p.m. and said no action was required. 21. Consider and approve future events for City Council and/or City Staff pursuant to Resolution No. 2004-081. No future events were referenced. Regular Council Meeting June 13, 2022 Page 9 22. Adjournment. There being no further business, A Motion to adjourn was made by Council Member Mayor Pro -Tem Hughes and seconded by Council Member Savage. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. Mayor Portugal adjourned the meeting at 7:55 p.m. PAULA PORTUGAL,'YOR