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04-A City Council Min 8-27-07 REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, CITY OF PARIS August 27,2007 The City Council of the City of Paris met for a regular session at 6:00 P. M. Monday, August 27, 2007, at the City Council Chamber, 107 E. Kaufinan, Paris, Texas. Present: Mayor: Jesse James Freelen Council Members: Will Biard; Mary Ann Fisher; Don Wilson; Stephen Brown; and Bill Strathern City Staff: Ernie Clark; Interim City Manager; Kent McIlyar, City Attorney and Janice Ellis, City Clerk Absent: Council Members: Mary Ann Fisher and Kevin Gray 1. Mayor Freelen called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.. Ernie Clark gave the invocation. 2. Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member Biard led the pledge. Mayor Freelen asked Council to move item 15 forward, because Judge Hunt had to leave early. A Motion to move item 15 forward was made by Council Member Brown and seconded by Council Member Biard. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. Motion carried. 15. Oath of Office administered to City Manager Kevin Carruth by Municipal Judge Thomas Hunt III. Judge Hunt administered the Oath of Office to Kevin Carruth. 3. Presentation by Pete Kampfer recognizing Rodney Bass and Sims Norment for their service on the Paris Economic Development Corporation Board. Mayor Freelen expressed his appreciation to Mr. Bass and presented him with a plaque. Pete Kampfer stated Sims Norment had been presented a plaque, because he was unable to attend the meeting due to a prior engagement. Mayor Freelen also expressed appreciation for Sims Norment's service on the board. Regular City Council Meeting August 27, 2007 Page 2 4. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Freelen stated they would consider each item on the Consent Agenda separately. A. Approval of minutes from previous City Council meetings. (8/13/07; 8/20/07) A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Strathern and seconded by Council Member Biard. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. B. Receipt of reports and/or minutes from committees, boards, and commissions: (1) Paris Public Library Board. (6120/07; 7/18/07) (2) Paris Economic Development Corporation. (6/18/07; 6/20/07; 7/25/07) A Motion to approve items B. (1) and (2) was made by Council Member Strathern and seconded by Council Member Wilson. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. C. A warding the bid and approving and authorizing the execution of a contract for the 2007 City Street HMAC Overlay Program. Council Member Wilson inquired as to the selection of streets that were to be overlayed. Shawn Napier told Council the Street Department made the determination. Council Member Wilson stated he did not agree with overlaying streets that were not cracked. In addition, he expressed concern about overlaying streets that looked as though they had been overlayed five or six years ago. Council Member Strathern asked if the contractor was locked- in on specified streets. Shawn Napier said they could change some of the streets if there was not a lot of prep work to be done. Mayor Free1en suggested that the Engineer Department evaluate the streets to determine if the list should be confirmed or modified. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Strathern and seconded by Council Member Biard. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. 5. Consideration of and action on the following ordinances: A. ORDINANCE NO. 2007-021: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, EXTENDING MORATORIUM ON THE ISSUANCE OF PERMITS FOR THE ERECTION, CONSTRUCTION, RECONSTRUCTION, AND PLACEMENT OF BILLBOARDS, ELECTRONIC SIGNS, AND OFF-PREMISES SIGNS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS FOR A Regular City Council Meeting August 27, 2007 Page 3 PERIOD OF THIRTY (30) DAYS FROM AND AFTER SEPTEMBER 14, 2007; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Biard and seconded by Council Member Strathem. Council Member Wilson stated he was not comfortable with extending the moratorium for that length of time and would be more comfortable with extending it an additional thirty days. Lisa Wright said she would have something to present to the Code Enforcement Task Force with regard to electronic signs at their next meeting and could have something to City Council by the first or second week in September. A Motion to amend the Motion to Extend the Moratorium for an additional thirty day period from and after September 14,2007, was made by Council Member Biard and seconded by Council Member Brown. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. 6. Consideration of and action on the following resolutions: A. RESOLUTION NO. 2007-094: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, DENYING THE-REQUEST OF ATMOS ENERGY CORP., MID- TEX DIVISION, FOR AN ANNUAL GAS RELIABILITY INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM (GRIP) RATE INCREASE IN THIS MUNICIPALITY, AS A PART OF THE COMPANY'S STATEWIDE GAS UTILITY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM; SUPPORTING STATUTORY REFORM OF THE TEXAS GRIP STATUTE, FINDING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION IS PASSED IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC; AND PROVIDING FOR NOTICE OF THIS RESOLUTION TO ATMOS ENERGY CORP., MID-TEX DIVISION AND THE CITY'S LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Wilson and seconded by Council Member Biard. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. B. RESOLUTION NO. 2007-095: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, ACCEPTING AND APPROVING THE PARIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR OCTOBER 1, 2007, TO SEPTEMBER 30, 2008; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Regular City Council Meeting August 27,2007 Page 4 Ernie Clark stated this matter was tabled at a prior meeting. Upon a motion made by Council Member Wilson and a second by Council Member Biard, the Council voted five (5) for and none (0) opposed to remove this item from the table. The motion carried. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Wilson and seconded by Council Member Biard. Council Member Strathem inquired of Pete Kampfer of his top three priorities with regard to the budget increase. Pete stated he intended to improve marketing; expand and retain local industry; and implement an entrepreneurial development program. vote. Motion carried, 4 ayes - I nay, with Council Member Stathem casting the dissenting C. RESOLUTION NO. 2007-096: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, APPOINTING THOMAS E. HUNT, III AS CITY JUDGE FOR THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Wilson and seconded by Council Member Brown. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. D. RESOLUTION NO. 2007-097: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE APPOINTMENT OF STEPHANIE HARRIS AS ACTING CITY JUDGE FOR THE CITY OF PARIS TO SERVE IN THE ABSENCE OF THE CITY JUDGE; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Wilson and seconded by Council Member Strathem. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. E. RESOLUTION NO. 2007-098: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, APPOINTING LAY REPRESENTATIVES TO THE NORTHEAST TEXAS LIBRARY SYSTEM, WHICH TERMS EXPIRE AUGUST 31,2007; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Regular City Council Meeting August 27, 2007 Page 5 Debbie Anderson and Linda Vandiver were recommended to serve in the positions. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Wilson and seconded by Council Member Brown. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. F. RESOLUTION NO. 2007-099: A RESOLUTION OF CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, APPOINTING MEMBERS TO THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF PARIS, MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mayor Freelen announced the terms expiring were those of Paul Denney, Ann Rogers, Arvin Starrett, and Pike Burkhart, as well as the alternate positions held by Brian Wear and Vanessa Preston. Mayor Freelen asked Council for recommendations. Council Member Strathern said he would like to appoint Jerry Raper. Council Member Wilson said he would like to have the four whose terms were expiring be re-appointed and appoint Jerry Raper in place of Brian Wear. He also stated he wanted to nominate Ben Vaughn in place of Vanessa Preston. Mayor Freelen asked for any other recommendations. There were none. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Brown and seconded by Council Member Strathern. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. G. RESOLUTION NO. 2007-100: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, ADDING ONE MEMBER POSITION TO THE AIRPORT ADVISORY BOARD FOR A TOTAL MEMBERSHIP OF EIGHT (8) MEMBERS AND APPOINTING BILLY COPELAND AS A MEMBER; 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 Wilson and seconded by Council Member Strathern. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. H. RESOLUTION NO. 2007-101: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE RELEASE OF FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION NON-PRIMARY ENTITLEMENT FUNDS FOR FY 2003 AND FY 2004 IN THE AMOUNT OF $300,000.00; AUTHORIZING AN APPLICATION TO THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, AVIATION DIVISIONS, FOR THE USE OF NON-PRIMARY ENTITLEMENT FUNDING REPAIRS TO EXISTING RUNWAYS, TAXIWAYS, APRON, AND DRAINAGE; AUTHORIZING APPROPRIATE CITY OFFICIALS TO EXECUTE ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID RELEASE AND Regular City Council Meeting August 27, 2007 Page 6 GRANT APPLICATION; AUTHORIZING THE EXPENDITURE OF CITY FUNDS AS THE CITY'S LOCAL MATCHING SHARE; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Ernie Clark explained the City did not have adequate funding for a cash match to complete the T hangar projects and that TxDOT had requested that the City return the funds. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Wilson and seconded by Council Member Brown. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. 7. Public hearing on the proposed application for funding through the Texas Department of Economic Development Main Street Program for sidewalk and other improvements in the Downtown area. Mayor Freelen opened the public hearing and asked for anyone who wished to speak about this item to do so. Ray Banks, 3450 Robin Road, spoke in support of sidewalks downtown. In addition, he said the downtown area needed public restrooms. Ken Kohls, 3935 Brandyn Place, stated he did not understand why the City was applying for a grant for sidewalks downtown, because new sidewalks were put in a few years ago. With no one else speaking, Mayor Freelen closed the public hearing. 8. RESOLUTION NO. 2007-102: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, APPROVING AN APPLICATION FOR FUNDING THROUGH THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MAIN STREET PROGRAM FOR SIDEWALK AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA; AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR ACCEPTANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SAID GRANT UPON NOTICE THEREOF; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Wilson and seconded by Council Member Biard. Based on the comment made by Mr. Kohls, Council Member Strathem asked for an explanation. Lisa Wright told Council the City did a two Phase Project and that some of the side streets did not get done. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. Regular City Council Meeting August 27,2007 Page 7 9. Consideration of and possible action on the Leadership Lamar County Class of 2006-2007 project - construction of a lighted walking track and a large open-air pavilion at Leon Williams Park. Charles Richards, on behalf of Leadership Lamar County Class asked for a donation of $15,000.00 for improvements to Leon Williams Park. Council Member Wilson stated it was a good project, but should be addressed during budget discussions. Mayor Freelen suggested they table the matter until further discussion and review. Council Member Wilson said they needed to designate a contact person to keep Leadership Lamar County Class informed as to the status of this request. Kevin Carruth advised Council he would be the contact person. 10. Citizens Forum. Susan Dixon, Texas Veteran's Commission - asked the Council to partner with the County for a joint proclamation to support "Hire a Veteran Month." Marilyn Bellavance, 262-25th N.E. - asked that the City start a pre-emergent program for the parks. 11. Discussion, selection and appointment of members to the City Council Task Force on Code Enforcement. Mayor Freelen announced they should move forward with each Council Member submitting two names. He stated that Council Member Fisher had given him the name of Oscar Johnson. He further stated that he had not received any names from Council Member Gray. Mayor Freelen selected. Bruce Frazier and Cheryl T. Moore; Council Member Wilson selected Zach Saffle and Jerome Pipkins; Council Member Brown selected Marilyn Bellavance and Charles Fulbright; Council Member Biard selected John House and Chris Brown; and Council Member Strathem selected Jim Lassister and Don Taylor. In addition, Mayor Freelen suggested the media be represented by Charles Richards; that PEDC be represented by Pete Kampfer and KPB be represented by Bee Garmon. It was a consensus of the Council to appoint the above-referenced individuals to the City Council Task Force on Code Enforcement. 12. Discussion and possible action regarding goals and objectives of the City of Paris. Council reviewed and discussed the goals and objectives previously submitted by Council Member Strathem. It was a consensus to add items F and G to the list as follows: A. Plan for replacement of water and sewer lines; B. Prepare Strategic Business Plan; Regular City Council Meeting August 27, 2007 Page 8 C. Clean up the appearance of the City by increased emphasis on code enforcement; D. Strive to improve citizens' trust in City government; E. Maintain budget expenditures to no more than 3 % higher nor more than 3 % less than the 2006-2007. F. Software system to monitor complaints made by citizens. G. Benchmark performance of City Staff. Council Member Wilson suggested they place an item on the next Agenda adopting the goals and objectives. Mayor Freelen took a break at 7:42 p.m. and reconvened Council at 7:50 p.m. 13. Review and explanation of proposed 2007-2008 Budget by the City Manager for the City of Paris. Ernie Clark gave an overview of the proposed budget as outlined in his letter of August 17, 2007 (see Exhibit "A" attached hereto). Council set budget workshops for Thursday, August 30, 2007 at 5:00 p.m.; Wednesday, September 5,2007 at 3:30 p.m.; and Monday, September 10,2007 at 3:30 p.m. . 14. RESOLUTION NO. 2007-103: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, CALLING TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS TO RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE CITY'S PROPOSAL TO INCREASE TOTAL TAX REVENUES BY $395,705 OR 4.94% FROM THE PRECEDING TAX YEAR; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Wilson and seconded by Council Member Brown. It was a consensus of Council to schedule two public hearings, one for Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. and the other for Monday, September 10, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. 15. Consideration of and action on a proposal to place on a future City Council agenda an action item to approve a tax rate of .59225 for tax year 2007. Regular City Council Meeting August 27, 2007 Page 9 A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Wilson and seconded by Council Member Biard. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. 17. Information items. A. Five year history of the certified tax roll of the City of Paris. 18. Possible future agenda items. Paris. Mayor Freelen asked for an action item on Adoption of goals and objectives for the City of 19. Adjournment. There being no further business, a Motion to adjourn was made by Council Member Biard and seconded by Council Member Wilson. Motion carried, 5 ayes - 0 nays. The meeting was adjourned at 9:12 p.m. JESSE JAMES FREELEN, MAYOR JANICE ELLIS, CITY CLERK ~\\ El~ ~ .n~ \.~~\~ ~\ } ~ \ rn~l~e.~ *,\"~~~ @'\. ~ ~~.~ \~\~ \~~~~_~~~\~J- Honorable Mayor Members of City Council City of Paris, Texas August 17, 2007 Enclosed are the 2006-2007 fiscal year's General Fund, Water and Sewer Fund, Debt Service Fund, Special Revenue Funds, and other minor fund budgets that comprise the' City of Paris' Comprehensive Budget. The effective date of the budget begins on October 1, 2007 and ends on September 30, 2008. The overall economy of the region and City has been stable during the past year, as the property values have increased, as well as the sales tax. Both taxes playa key role in the City's finances. The City has made signjficant improvement in the General Fund balance oyer the past two years, as a result of major reductions in certain operational areas. However, the Water and Sewer Fund continues to struggle to operate within the available resources, especially as a result of this year's cool and wet early-midsummer, which has had an impact on the available revenue for operational purposes. It is recommended that the City adopt the current tax rate that it currently has. The City must consider the effective tax rate that has been calculated under the law, which is. approximately three (3) cents than the current tax rate. Maintaining the current tax rate will require the City to have at least two (2) public hearings under state statutes. The General Fund revenue estimates are covered on pages 1 through 4, and the expenditures are covered on pages 4 through 63. The estimated revenue increase for FY 2007-08 is $874,080 (4.3%) above the FY 2006-07 approved budget. The estimated FY 2007-08 expenditures increased by $1,055,552 (5.2%) over the FY 2006-07 approved budget. The General Fund is estimated to have a fund balance as of September 30, 2007 as follows: Estimated Fund Balance (9/31/07) 25% of the FY 07-08 budgeted expenditures* for a reserve of $7,523,507 -5.314.430 Estimated funds available for other needs Establishment of Equipment Replacement Fund** Other Capital Projects: 2,209,077 -1,250,000 Street Rehabilitation Demolition of old structures Directional Signs Street sign upgrades -250,000 -100,000 -20,000 -25.000 Estimated funds available for other needs $564,077 P.O. BOX 9037 · PARIS TX 75461-9037 · 214-785-7511 *The City should retain 25% of its FY 07-08 budget expenditures for catastrophic events, such as tornadoes, ice storms, major explosions, etc. . **It is proposed that the City set up an Equipment Replacement Fund, starting at $1,250,000 supplementing this Fund each year with $100,000 to $150,000, and not use the Fund until Budget Year 2011. This will allow the Fund an opportunity to grow through budget supplements and earned interest. It is anticipated that a Department would budget for the difference between the original price of a piece of equipment and the purchase price, that difference being budgeted by the Department and the Equipment Replacement Fund would fund the difference. This will require multi-year programming to balance the Replacement Fund, especially as it relates to fire replacement equipment. Most major rolling stock budgeted this year in both the General Fund and Water and Sewer Fund will be leased for a period of three (3) years, as has been done during the past budget year. The City has disposed of more than fifty (50) pieces of rolling stock since February of 2007, and there still is too much redundancy in some departments for back-up. The City should consider adopting a policy that when a new piece of rolling stock is budgeted it is designated to replace a current piece of rolling stock that should be removed from the City's inventory during that fiscal year. This budget includes the consolidation of two (2) pay plans that were adopted several years ago, which appear to have created a deep morale problem. The combination of these pay plans should reduce employee criticism, and with the extension of time for the new pay plan to reach maximum compensation for each position, should improve morale. Included in this budget is a 3% increase in base pay. The cost ofIiving index had increased about 2.7% in July, 2007. With this increase in base pay, also included are increases in associated benefits, such as: the City's share of taxes, taxes, retirement, and unemployment insurance. Several position re- classifications in the Compensation Plan have been made. Two (2) of the position re- classifications are the result of high turn-over for the past several years. Also included are two (2) new positions: Administrative support for the City Manager, and an additional dispatcher. In an effort to clean up and improve our City's appearance, the City will contract out a detailed mowing schedule, as well as transferring Bywaters Park, the Plaza and Farmers Market areas to the Main Street program. The remainder of the grass-cutting and manicuring will be accomplished by the current City staff. The Water and Sewer Fund balance may move from a negative to a positive position at the end of September, 2007; the staff is working very diligently to that end. The Water and Sewer Fund has many needs, several of which will be met during the FY 07-08 budget year. The Water and Sewer rate increase will make more funds available for water distribution improvements and sewer line replacement; however the City cannot adequately address the major problems in these areas unless it has a large infusion of dollars. The City may consider using the available funds for payment on Certificates of Obligation that would give the City the ability to make long- overdue improvements quicker. Looking ahead, the City will have several maj.or improvements which must be made to the water treatment operation and the sewer treatment operation. How these improvements will be financed appears to be through a Capital Improvement Plan financed by borrowing. The City needs to improve its short and long range planning program to identify all the critical needs of the city and the time frame and cost involved. It has been difficult for an Interim Manager to develop this budget because of the lateness in getting started and hoping that a new City Manager would arrive before its presentation to you. I thank the staff, especially the Finance Director and his staff, for all their assistance in helping with the preparation of the budget. , 'J' /j ./ //~ '," d' ~............: .' 1/ ;f/2'~ t1./ '" ,-:- ''"' / 0' /'-'!uU/ t.._r(,' ~_" Ernest R. Clark Interim City Manager