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05 - City Council MinutesItem No. 5 DRAFT CITY COUNCIL MINUTES MINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS January 8, 2024 The City Council of the City of Paris met for a regular session at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, January 8, 2024, at the City Council Chamber, 107 E. Kaufman, Paris, Texas. Present: Mayor: Reginald B. Hughes Mayor Pro -Tem: Mihir Pankaj Council Members: Shatara Moore, Gary Savage, Rebecca Norment; Clayton Pilgrim, and Rudy Kessel City Staff: Grayson Path, City Manager; Robert Vine, Deputy City Manager; Doug Harris, Assistant City Manager; Stephanie Harris, City Attorney; Janice Ellis, City Clerk; Gene Anderson; Finance Director; Rich Salter Police Chief, Duke McGee, Building Official; and Clyde Crews, Fire Marshal O penin � Agenda Call meeting to order. Mayor Hughes called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. Invocation. Finance Director Gene Anderson gave the invocation. 3. United States Pledge of Allegiance & Texas Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Pro -Tem Pankaj led the United States Pledge of Allegiance and the Texas Pledge of Allegiance. 4. Citizens' Forum. No one spoke during citizens' forum. Consent A Benda Mayor Hughes 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 Kessel and seconded by Council Member Savage. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 5. Approve minutes from the meeting of December 11, 2023. Regular Council Meeting January 8, 2024 Page 2 6. Receive reports and/or minutes from the following boards and commissions: a. Paris Economic Development Corporation (10-17-2023) b. Love Civic Center Board (9-14-2023) 7. Receive November drainage report. 8. Approve the Professional Services Agreement with Hayter Engineering for services related to storm water pollution prevention at Cox Field Airport. 9. Receive the November 2023 Financial Report. 10. Re -approve the City Investment Policy. Re r�1��-A.Aer�c1� 11. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2024-01: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE CITY TO BE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENTS AND APPROVING GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA FOR GRANTING TAX ABATEMENTS IN THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City Attorney Stephanie Harris said the current policy was expiring this month and in order to continue to participate in a tax abatement program, the policy and guidelines would need to be re -adopted. Mayor Hughes opened the public hearing and asked that anyone who wished to speak about this item, to please come forward. With no one speaking, Mayor Hughes closed the public hearing. A Motion to approve this item was made by Mayor Pro -Tem Pankaj and seconded by Council Member Pilgrim. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 12. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2024-002: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS REAUTHORIZING THE CITY TO BECOME ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN RESIDENTIAL TAX ABATEMENTS RELATED TO THE 5 IN 5 HOUSING INFILL REDEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AND READOPTING THE GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA RELATED TO SAME; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATE TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Ms. Harris explained that last January Council approved the creation of the 5 in 5 Housing Infill Redevelopment Program and one of the incentives in the program was a residential tax abatement. She said the current policy was expiring this month and in order to Regular Council Meeting January 8, 2024 Page 3. continue to offer a tax abatement as incentive, they would need to re -adopt the policy and guidelines. Mayor Hughes opened the public hearing and asked that anyone who wished to speak about this item, to please come forward, With no one speaking, Mayor Hughes closed the public hearing. A Motion to approve this item was made by Mayor Pro -Tern Pankaj and seconded by Council Member Pilgrim. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 13. Discuss and act on a request from the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas to build a pavilion on the Lake Gibbons property. Deputy City Manager Rob Vine explained that the Girl Scouts had been leasing property from the City on Lake Gibbons for over 20 years. He said the Girl Scouts were asking permission to perform repairs to the existing boathouse due to extensive damage received during the tornado of November 4, 2022. He also said they were seeking permission to build a Pavilion on the property. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Kessel and seconded by Council Member Savage. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 14. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2024-003: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, IN SUPPORT OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY VETERANS MEMORIAL MUSEUM, INC.'S APPLICATION TO THE US ARMY TANK -AUTOMOTIVE ARMAMENTS COMMAND FOR COMBAT EQUIPMENT FOR STATIC DISPLAY AT THE MEMORIAL LOCATED AT 2035 COLLEGIATE DRIVE AND GRANTING APPROVAL OF THE INSTALLATION AT THE SITE THEREOF; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City Manager Grayson Path said the Red River Valley Veterans Memorial Museum had recently expanded their site and would like to add additional pieces of equipment in the future should equipment become available. He explained that the RRVMM wished to apply to the US Army Tank -Automotive and Armaments Command who required a letter of support and resolution by the City of Paris, as the City is the owner of the property. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Pilgrim and seconded by Council Member Norment. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 15. Receive a presentation on the status of the Celebration Paris Senior Living Housing Project, discuss and act on RESOLUTION O. 2024-004: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS CONTINUING SUPPORT OF JAVELIN PARTNERS, LLC'S CELEBRATION PARIS ELDERLY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN LIGHT OF THE PROJECT'S CHANGE IN SCOPE AND TO A PROPERTY -TAX-EXEMPT Regular Council Meeting January 8, 2024 Page 4 STRUCTURE; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER, OR THEIR DESIGNEE, TO SIGN A LETTER ACKNOWLEDGING THE CITY'S CONTINUED SUPPORT AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mr. Path said two years ago the City Council approved a resolution supporting tax credits for this project through the State of Texas. He also said in September 2023, the City was informed by Celebration Paris that due to a number of financial issues with construction costs that the project was not feasible. Mr. Path reported that Celebration Paris had asked Paris Housing Authority to partner with them on this project and the agreement would be between the two entities but that a resolution supporting the project and partnership between the two entities was needed in order to apply for tax credits. Alan Naul gave City Council a brief presentation about the project, which included the process of getting tenants into the complex, taking vouchers from PHA and then vetting the applicants. He said once the lease expired the ownership would revert back to the PHA. Council Member Savage said this sounded like a good idea. Mayor Hughes inquired about the age requirement, Medicare and Medicaid. Mr. Naul said you had to be 55 and older, and having Medicare or Medicaid did not preclude someone from living there. Mayor Pro -Tem Pankaj inquired about a timeline. Mr. Naul explained the requested change would be submitted to the State and once approved; they would bring the project to the City to get permits. He estimated once approved it would take 14 months for construction depending on weather conditions. Council Member Kessel wanted to know if there were plans for single-family houses and Mr. Nall said there were not. Mr. Nall said the plans were for approximately 60 units. Liz Brooks with Paris Housing Authority said this process would run similar to Town Parc. Mr. Path explained more housing was needed. He explained this property would be tax exempt and becaue it was a partnership, a resolution supporting the project would need to be passed for them to apply for tax credits. A Motion to approve this item was made by Mayor Pro -Tem Pankaj and seconded by Council Member Kessel. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 16. Discuss and act on Amendment No. 3 to the Agreement for Professional Engineering Services with Garver for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Project. Assistant City Manager Doug Harris said the phase 2 construction package had been completed by Garver and the scope of services for Amendment No. 3 of the agreement included bidding services, construction observation, SCADA programming and construction administration, for a total amount of $1,860,098.00. He also said the scope of services and fee amount for Amendment No. 3 were specific to the phase 2 construction package. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Pilgrim and seconded by Mayor Pro -Tem Pankaj. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 17. Discuss and act on the purchase of a replacement pump for Campbell's lift station in the amount of $109,775.14. Regular Council Meeting January 8, 2024 Page 5 Mr. Harris said this lift station was owned by the City but located close to Campbell's which is why it was referenced as Campbell's lift station. Mr. Harris explained this pump had been in service for approximately 38 years and had failed. Due to the age of the pump and the availability of parts, Mr. Harris said it was determined that the pump needed to be replaced. Council Member Savage confirmed with Mr. Harris that this expense would paid for out of ARPA funds. A Motion to approve this item was made by Mayor Pro -Tem Pankaj and seconded by Council Member Norment. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 18. Receive quarterly report on demolition projects. Code Enforcement Supervisor Robert Talley took the City Council through the process of demolition, which included determination of substandard structures, condemnations, procedure for demolishing a structure after condemnation, required notices at different phases, deadlines, Building and Standards Commission procedures, and referenced City Code Article 4.03 and Texas Local Government Code Chapters 54 and 214. He said from 2020 to the present, approximately 193 structures had been presented to BSC for demolition and 133 structures had been demolished from the Orders. He also said there were currently 60 structures remaining on the list. Mr. Talley reported the City had demolished 51 structures during the 2022-23 budget year and had demolished 16 in the first quarter of the 2023-24 budget year. Mr. Talley answered questions from the City Council. He said that staff appreciated that Council had allocated a $150,000.00 budget for the demolition of substandard and dilapidated structures. He explained that the City had a crew that did some of the work and hired out with Sanitation Solutions on some of the projects. Next, Mr. Talley reviewed the number of structures taken down and the current list. Council Member Savage told Mr. Talley he did a great job on this presentation, and was especially glad he took them through the process. 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 Mayor Pro -Tem Pankaj and Council Member Kessel and seconded by Council Member Savage. Mayor Hughes adjourned the meeting at 6:45 p.m. REGINALD B. HUGHES, MAYOR JANICE ELLIS, CITY CLERK