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08.12.13 MINUTESMINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS August 12, 2013 The City Council of the City of Paris met for a regular session at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, August 12, 2013, at the City Council Chamber, 107 E. Kaufman, Paris, Texas. Present: Mayor: A.J. Hashmi Council Members: Aaron Jenkins; Billie Lancaster; John Wright; Richard Grossnickle; Matt Frierson; and Cleonne Drake City Staff: Gene Anderson, Interim City Manager; Kent McIlyar, City Attorney; Janice Ellis, City Clerk; Shawn Napier, City Engineer; Larry Wright, Fire Chief; Bob Hundley, Police Chief; Doug Harris, Utilities Director; Alan Efrussy, Planning Director; and Priscilla McAnally, Library Director Opening Agenda Call meeting to order. Mayor Hashmi called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. Invocation. Pastor Brad Aldridge gave the invocation. Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member Grossnickle led the pledge. 4. a. Citizens' Forum. Mayor Pro -Tem Wright opened the citizens' forum. Jim Bell, 720 SE 35th Street — he said he was not against a residential tax abatement, but that they should look at a historic preservation permit and not tie it to a dollar amount. He said this would help preserve property and the property owners would not get slapped with taxes from the other taxing entities. Arjumand Hashmi, 4510 FM 195 — as a citizen of Paris, he expressed concerned about a recent article he read in the electronic media concerning how an item was posted on the agenda, specifically "Presentation by Dr. Hashmi on Paris Economic Development Corporation." Dr. Regular Council Meeting August 12, 2013 Page 2 Hashmi said he conferred with the Texas Attorney General's Office and received information on three court cases that upheld the sufficiency of how agenda items were worded. Dr. Hashmi also referenced item no. 17 posted on the July 22"d meeting and that it was written in a similar fashion, in general terms but no one complained or objected. Anita Sherfield, Dallas, Texas — she said that she owned a house in Paris and her water bill was overpriced. Mayor Hashmi asked Mr. Anderson to check into this matter. Gay Ballew, director of New Hope Center — she invited everyone to a fund raiser for the center, and said they planned to have a murder mystery dinner. Josh Allen, 4779 FM 196, Bogata, Texas, New Hope Center board member — he said the center worked with the elderly on a daily basis and they were holding a pageant on September Stn celebrating women. Don Wilson, 3110 Staci Lane — he said there has been much discussion about whether or not the PEDC's spending on retail promotions and the incubator were legal as related to the 1992 special tax election. He said at the same time the one -fourth of one percent sales tax was passed for economic development, that the citizens also voted an equal amount to be used for property tax reduction. He said in the last three years the Council could have reduced property taxes by 8.29 cents. He also said the Council had been using the sales tax income to build reserves only to turn right around and spend $5,000,863,550 out of the reserves during the same last three years. Mayor Hashmi said the one -fourth of one percent that the City gets was an agenda item for the next council meeting. b. Proclamation declaring the month of August 811 Safe Digging Month. Mayor Hashmi declared August 11th as Safe Digging Day and presented the proclamation to Mr. McGrath from Atmos. Mayor Hashmi said he would like to re -open the citizen's forum as there were a few citizens who arrived late and wanted to speak. A Motion to re -open the citizen's forum was made by Council Member Lancaster and seconded by Council Member Drake. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. Linda Caviness, 4240 Sunrise — she said Mr. Brown was developing property close to her street and that was wonderful. However, she expressed concern about flooding the streets in her neighborhood. Ms. Caviness said she knew that Mr. Brown had filled in a big pool and one resident on Quail Street was having flooding problems because of that. She asked that the City make sure there was proper drainage to ensure their streets would not be flooded. Mayor Hashmi referred this to City Engineer Shawn Napier. David Taylor, 1374 Cope Drive — he said he thought that District 7 should be included in the residential tax abatement zone. He said that the exclusion was not fair and that his neighborhood had their share of derelict houses that would benefit from the same abatement that Regular Council Meeting August 12, 2013 Page 3 had been proposed for all of the other districts. Mayor Hashmi said this item was specifically posted on the agenda and said that District 7 had not been permanently excluded. He explained that in the beginning when discussed at length, Council wanted to focus development on particular areas. Mayor Hashmi said that district and several other areas may be added at a later time. Consent Agenda Mayor Hashmi 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 Drake and seconded by Council Member Frierson. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 5. Approve the minutes from the City Council meetings on July 15, 2013 (special); July 16, 2013 (special); July 22, 2013 (special); and July 22, 2013 (regular). 6. Receive reports and/or minutes from the following boards, commissions, and committees: a. Paris Public Library Advisory Board (6 -12 -2013) b. Paris Economic Development Corporation (6 -26 -2013; 6 -27 -2013 & 7 -1 -2013) c. Paris -Lamar County Health Department Report (7 -2013) d. Planning and Zoning Commission (7 -1 -2013) e. Building and Standards Commission (6 -17 -2013) 7. Approve bids for chemicals to be used at the Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants. 8. Approve RESOLUTION NO. 2013 -028: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; DESIGNATING GENE ANDERSON, INTERIM CITY MANAGER AS AN AUTHORIZED SIGNATORY FOR THE CITY OF PARIS FOR THE HOME RESERVATION SYSTEM PROGRAM AS ADMINISTERED BY THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Regular Agenda 9. Conduct a public hearing, discuss and act on AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, DESIGNATING A CERTAIN AREA WITHIN THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED IN EXHIBIT "A" ATTACHED HERETO, AS REINVESTMENT ZONE NO. 2013 -1 FOR RESIDENTIAL TAX ABATEMENT DESCRIBING THE BOUNDARIES THEREOF; PROVIDING FOR ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR TAX ABATEMENT WITHIN SAID ZONE; PROVIDING REQUIREMENTS FOR TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENTS AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Regular Council Meeting August 12, 2013 Page 4 City Attorney Kent McIlyar said in follow -up to the Council meeting of July 15th, staff took directions and developed a new map identified as reinvestment zone 2013 -1. Council Member Drake said Jim Bell's comments brought up questions and how much would the residential tax abatement help the citizens. She also said there were three areas in her district that she would like to eventually add to the zone. Council Member Grossnickle questioned how much tax relief the residents would actually receive. Council Member Lancaster said she would like for them to give some relief to the citizens and Council Member Jenkins agreed. Council Member Wright said he thought they should move forward with the abatement, because every little bit helped the citizens. Mayor Hashmi said he thought they should carry out what they initially discussed and make adjustments later, as needed. Mayor Hashmi opened the public hearing and asked for anyone wishing to speak in support or opposition of this item, to please come forward. Daigone Garner a member of the PJC Board of Regents, spoke in opposition of this item. She wanted to know who would profit from the abatement and who was going to oversee it. Ms. Garner said she understood there were a lot of realtors buying property and letting them deteriorate and questioned if that was helping the poor people and they couldn't help people who did not want help. Johnny Lee, 2306 Simpson, said he was not for or against the residential tax abatement. He said he supported Mr. Bell's view, but was not clear of the impact it would have on him. He also said for those who live on a fixed income, taxes were regressive. Jim Bell, 720 -39th, he reiterated that he did not say the abatement would not help and the real problem was when residents got the increase from the other taxing authorities. Carol Hufnagel, 720 Bunker, she inquired about listing the delinquent tax notices in the local paper and asked if that could be done. Mr. Anderson said that could be published in the newspaper and in the past, the City did so. He said the current practice was to assign collection to the delinquent tax attorney. Larry Schenk, 3765 Dawn Drive, he inquired why rehabilitation relief was not applied for District 7. He said there were a lot of retirees in his area and essentially on fixed income. With no one else speaking, Mayor Hashmi closed the public hearing. Council Member Wright said he would like to give the abatement, but would like to consider other issues and it might be best to have additional time on this item. Council Member Jenkins agreed. Council Member Lancaster said the abatement was the first step and that she would like to explore other ways to help with rehabilitation and development. Council Member Grossnickle said he did not have a problem with postponing this item. Council Member Frierson agreed with Council Member Grossnickle and asked that Council be provided with a formal report from the housing committee. Council Member Drake favored tabling this item until the questions brought forward could be answered. Mayor Hashmi said he liked Mr. Schenk's ideal and was in agreement to postpone this item to allow for additional review. A Motion to table this item was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Drake. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. A Motion to bring item 19 forward on the Agenda was made by Council Member Wright and seconded by Council Member Lancaster. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. Regular Council Meeting August 12, 2013 Page 5 19. Discuss and possibly take action regarding unoccupied space at the Depot, 1125 Bonham Street. Mr. Anderson explained the depot was a city owned property and housed the genealogical library and the PEDC offices. He said there were two areas unoccupied and they were the meeting room and community room, which were previously used for the transportation museum. Mr. Anderson said the City no longer had to maintain space for the transportation museum. Mayor Hashmi said he had been contacted by Mrs. Gene Stallings regarding use of the space for Valley of the Caddo Museum. Dr. Phil Bandel, 1055 Wilburn, Board President for Valley of the Caddo Museum, told the Council they would like to expand the museum in order to proceed with display of exhibits. Dr. Bandel said they would retain hours similar to historical museum. He also said the board had been in existence for about eight years and they had worked with the Smithsonian. Mayor Hashmi said he favored the ideal of some type of lease between the museum and the City with the museum being responsible for maintenance expenses and a nominal lease amount. Council Members expressed this type of arrangement was a good ideal and it was a consensus of City Council to have staff draft a lease agreement and bring back to Council. 10. Discuss and act on a RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE CITY TO BECOME ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN RESIDENTIAL TAX ABATEMENT AND APPROVING GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA FOR THE RESIDENTIAL TAX ABATEMENT PROGRAM; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mayor Hashmi said this item was not needed, because item 9 was tabled. A Motion to table this item was made by Council Member Frierson and seconded by Council Member Drake. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 11. Conduct a public hearing and take action on ORDINANCE NO. 2013 -025: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, APPROVING A SITE PLAN FOR A MEDICAL FACILITY IN A PLANNED DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT ESTABLISHED ON LOT 1, BLOCK A, PINE MILL MEDICAL PARK, BEING LOCATED IN THE 2900 TO 3000 BLOCK OF PINE MILL ROAD, PARIS, TEXAS; 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. Planning Director Alan Efrussy explained the applicant and owner of the properly was Paris Hilltop Real Estate Properties and they were proposing a site plan for a medical facility. Regular Council Meeting August 12, 2013 Page 6 Mayor Hashmi opened the public hearing and asked for anyone wishing to speak in support or opposition of this item, to please come forward. With no one speaking, Mayor Hashmi closed the public hearing. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Drake and seconded by Council Member Grossnickle. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 12. Conduct a public hearing and take action on ORDINANCE NO. 2013 -026: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AMENDING ZONING ORDINANCE NO. 1710 OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AS HERETOFORE AMENDED, SO AS TO REZONE A 1,808 ACRE PROPERTY BEING LOCATED AT EAST END OF THE 4200 BLOCK OF SUNRISE DRIVE IN, THE CITY OF PARIS, LAMAR COUNTY, TEXAS, FROM AN AGRICULTURAL DISTRICT (A) TO A ONE - FAMILY DWELLING DISTRICT NO. 3 (SF -3); DIRECTING A CHANGE ACCORDINGLY IN THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP OF THE CITY; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE; A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, A SAVINGS CLAUSE, A PENALTY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mayor Hashmi inquired if the Planning and Zoning Commission approved the amendment and Mr. Efrussy answered in the affirmative. Mayor Hashmi opened the public hearing and asked for anyone wishing to speak in support or opposition of this item, to please come forward. With no one speaking, Mayor Hashmi closed the public hearing. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Frierson and seconded by Council Member Lancaster. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 13. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2013 -029: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, ACKNOWLEDGING FORMAL RECEIPT OF THE 2013 CERTIFIED APPRAISAL ROLL FOR TAX APPRAISAL PURPOSES; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mr. Anderson said that Article 26.04 of the Texas Property Tax Code required the assessor for a taxing unit to submit to the governing body the entity's appraisal roll showing the total appraised (market) assessed, and taxable values of all property and the total taxable value of any new property. A Motion to receive and accept the appraisal roll was made by Council Member Frierson and seconded by Council Member Wright. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. Regular Council Meeting August 12, 2013 Page 7 14. Appoint members to various Boards, Commissions and Committees of the City. Mayor Hashmi said since the appointments were previously made, there had become additional vacancies. He said the Historic Preservation Commission had a vacancy for an architect or designer and Beatrice Ardila was the only applicant at that time. A Motion to appoint Beatrice Ardila to the Historic Preservation Commission was made by Council Member Drake and seconded by Council Member Frierson. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. Mayor Hashmi said the Main Street Advisory Board had one vacancy, which had to be filled by a HPC member and the two applicants were Carolyn Hicks and Beatrice Ardila. A Motion to appoint Carolyn Hicks to the Main Street Advisory Board was made by Council Member Wright and seconded by Council Member Lancaster. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. Mayor Hashmi said there was one vacancy on the Housing Authority and the mayor was required to make that appointment. Mayor Hashmi appointed Rachel Braswell to the Housing Authority. 15. Discuss possible charter amendments and provide direction to staff. City Clerk Janice Ellis stated that she had received the November 5th Election calendar from the State and if the City Council wanted to call a Charter Election, it would have to be done no later than August 26, 2013. Mayor Hashmi asked for the list of possible amendments that had been mentioned over the past year. Ms. Ellis said she did not have the list with her, but recalled that Council want to review the sections dealing with budget to possibly amend to mirror State Law, and there had been mention of council terms. Mayor Hashmi said that the Charter required appointments of department heads be approved by City Council and that termination of department heads should also be approved by City Council. Ms. Ellis said she would e -mail to the Council the list. It was a consensus of the City Council to add discussion of Charter Amendments to their special City Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, August 20tH 16. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2013 -030: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF PARIS AND PARIS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT PERTAINING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT FUNCTIONS ON PISD PROPERTY; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Chief Hundley explained that PISD had elected to form their own Department of Safety and Security with sworn peace officers instead of paying for Paris officers to be assigned to their district. He said the Texas Education Code 37.081(g) required the two agencies, PISD -DSS and the Paris Police Department to outline reasonable communication and coordination efforts between the two agencies. A Motion to approve the Interlocal Law Enforcement Agreement with Paris Independent School District as made by Council Member Drake and seconded by Council Member Frierson. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. Regular Council Meeting August 12, 2013 Page 8 17. Discuss railroad tracks on South Church and Sixth Streets. Council Member Wright said he requested this agenda item and brought to the attention of everyone how rough the railroad tracks were crossing Church Street and Sixth Street. He said he would like for the City to exert any pressure on whoever was responsible for repairing the railroad tracks. Mr. Anderson said the Church Street track was on the list to be repaired by the railroad and that staff would contact them about Sixth Street. 18. Discuss Personnel Policies and Procedures for the City of Paris. Council Member Drake said she asked for this agenda item and wanted the Council to know that the committee would be having its first meeting the following morning at 10:00 a.m. She said when Mr. Godwin returns, they would bring him up to speed on it. 20. Discuss the 2013 -2014 Budget for the City of Paris. Mr. Anderson said the budget was provided to the Council on July 22nd and included with that budget was a letter summarizing the key points. He said he had estimated the City tax rate to be around $.51, but had since received the tax roll and that tax rate would be $.50195 which was almost a penny decrease from the current rate. Mr. Anderson said that Council could take some pride in the fact that since 2003, the City tax rate had dropped 27.7% as a rate as Council had been working on lowering the rate to make it more attractive to residents and industry. Mr. Anderson said the budget was basically identical to the current year budget, except the general fund was several hundred thousand dollars less than the current year budget. It was a consensus of City Council that Council discuss their questions during their budget workshop. 21. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2013 -031: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, CALLING A PUBLIC HEARING FOR AUGUST 26, 2013 ON THE CITY MANAGER'S PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013 -2014; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mr. Anderson said the Charter required a public hearing on the proposed budget and he said he thought by the time they meet on August 26t", the budget would be in final form. He recommended the Council set a public hearing for August 26tH A Motion to schedule the public hearing for August 26th was made by Council Member Drake and seconded by Council Member Lancaster. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 22. Convene into Executive Session as follows: • Pursuant to Section 551.071 of the Texas Government Code, Consultation with Attorney, to receive legal advice from the City Attorney about pending or Regular Council Meeting August 12, 2013 Page 9 contemplated litigation and /or on matters in which the duty of an attorney to his client under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of Texas, clearly conflict with this chapter, as follows: a. Ed Darnell v. Robert Talley. b. Sewer back -up claim. • Pursuant to Section 551.074 of the Texas Government Code, to deliberate the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public officer or employee as follows: city manager and interim city manager. Mayor Hashmi convened City Council into Executive Session at 6:38 p.m. 23. Reconvene into Open Session and possibly take action on those matters discussed in Executive Session. Mayor Hashmi convened City Council into open session at 7:23 p.m. He said Council discussed that the fact that Interim City Manager Mr. Anderson should be reimbursed for the time spent serving has Interim City Manager and as a result of those discussions, Mr. Anderson should be paid in the amount of $1,250.00 per month. Mayor Hashmi also said Council discussed the Interim City Manager's evaluation and the Council had nothing but positive comments about Mr. Anderson and expressed appreciation for all of his hard work for the City and the City Council. Mayor Hashmi said Council discussed a sewer back -up claim and out of that discussion was instructing the City attorney to contact the claimant with Council's instructions. Mayor Hashmi said that Council discussed Mr. Godwin's return to work and Council Member Frierson would address that. Council Member Frierson said although they were anxious to have Mr. Godwin return to work, that Council wanted to ask Mr. Anderson to continue to work with Mr. Godwin in his return to work limitations, if there were any. 24. Consider and approve future events for City Council and /or City Staff pursuant to Resolution No. 2004 -081. None were referenced. 20. Adjournment. There being no further business, a Motion to adjourn was made by Council Member Frierson and was seconded by Council Member Drake. Motio arried, �yes — 0 nays. The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 p.m. n A.J. HASHMI, MA NICE ELLIS, CITY CLERK