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02 City Council (5/12/03)MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL May 12, 2003 The City Council of the City of Paris met in regular session, Monday, May 12, 2003, 6:00 P.M. at Paris Junior College, Applied Technology Building, Room 1208, 2400 Clarksville Street, Paris, Texas. Mayor Curtis Fendley called the meeting to order with the following Council Members present: Jim Bell, Jay Guest, Joe E. McCarthy, Francine Neeley, Willie Weekly, Jr., and Benny Plata. Also present was City Manager Michael E. Malone, City Attorney Larry W. Schenk, and City Clerk Mattie Cunningham. Invocation was given by City Councilman Willie Weekly. Mayor Fendley announced that the City Council had been furnished minutes of previous meetings, and asked if there were any corrections or additions. There being none, a motion was made by Councilman Guest, seconded by Councilman Bell for approval of the minutes. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. City Manager Malone advised that the City Council had been furnished with the minutes for the Paris Public Library Advisory Board, Paris Economic Development Corporation, and the Building and Standards Commission with no action being required. The minutes for the Traffic Commission had also been furnished with the recommendation of an ordinance revising the Traffic No-Parking Map adopted in paragraph (b) of Section 31-65 of the Code of Ordinance of the City of Paris, Paris, Texas, to include a No Parking area on 21st Street S.E. ORDINANCE NO. 2003-020 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, PARIS, TEXAS, PROVIDING THAT THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF PARIS BE AMENDED BY REVISING THE TRAFFIC NO- PARKING MAP ADOPTED IN PARAGRAPH (b) OF SECTION 31-65 OF SAID CODE; ESTABLISHING A NO PARKING AREA; PROVIDING FOR Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 2 A PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED $200.00; MAKING OTHER FiNDiNGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES iN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE, WAS PRESENTED. A motion was made by Councilman McCarthy, seconded by Councilwoman Neeley, for adoption of the ordinance. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Mayor Fendley called for a report from the City Council Water and Sewer Subcommittee. City Manager Malone advised that minutes were furnished for the Subcommittee. Councilman Plata said he planned to have another meeting May 22, 2003; and he also planned to have a recommendation at that time. Councilman Plata respectfully asked Mayor Fendley if he would call a special City Council meeting in the last week of May so they can bring those recommendations to the City Council and then they can act on the recommendations and on the water issue that night. Mayor Fendley said he would have everyone review their calendars and see if a meeting could be arranged. Councilwoman Neeley advised that meeting will be at 4:00 P.M. in this room instead of the regular time. Mayor Fendley announced that the next item on the agenda was a presentation by OMI Management, Inc., regarding outside management of municipally-owned water and sewer systems. Mayor Fendley introduced Shirley Ross, Regional Business Manager- Project Development with OMI Management, Inc. Ms. Ross came forward advising that representatives of OMI were present to tell the City Council about their company and what they do. They hope Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 3 that, as the city considers ways to reduce operating costs and keep water rates in check, the city will consider exploring a partnership with a company such as their's to manager the city's water and wastewater systems. Ms. Ross introduced Gregg Higgins, Regional Vice President for OMI in Project Delivery for the central portion of the United States who over-sees all OMI projects in that region. Ms. Ross introduced Randy Massey, Project Manager in Georgetown, Texas, and Jack Noble who is currently a consultant but was formerly a Vice President with OMI and also a City Manager for the City of Stewart, Florida. Ms. Ross said their company was founded in 1980 and they have had about a 15% annual growth rate. They grow by adding clients like Paris to their portfolio every year. She said they do not purchase or acquire other companies. In 2002, they had 175 million dollars in revenue and they currently manage 180 water and wastewater systems in this country and a few overseas, including both municipal and industrial clients. She advised that the company has 125 clients in total and their company is 100% employee owned. Ms. Ross said their company's business strategy is to provide the best-in-class business results for their clients, to follow world- class performance standards, and to really focus on outstanding customer service. Ms. Ross told the City Council that their company has won more than 250 federal, state, and local awards in operations and maintenance since 1996. She said they won the 2000 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award from the U. S. Department of Commerce. They were the only water industry recipient ever to receive that award. Ms. Ross explained that OMI is part of CH2M which is the world's largest environmental engineering company. This year CH2M Hill and its family of companies were put on Fortune Magazine's list of"100 Best Companies to Work For." Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 4 Ms. Ross stated that they have complete capabilities to provide services and design construction along with operation management. She advised that OMI provides a very diversified portfolio of services to their clients and those services includes industrial waste treatment; industrial pretreatment; complete utilities services; public works for some of their clients where they actually operate the distribution and collection systems; garbage pick up; billing and collections; public works services; and water and wastewater treatment services. Ms. Ross showed a map of all of their clients across the United States and all of their projects. Ms. Ross advised that they have a lot of local resources in and are a very large presence in Texas and Oklahoma. They have about 258 staff members throughout this region that work for their company. They have projects in Stephenville, Temple, Georgetown, and Pampa, Texas; Duncan and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; Fayetteville, Arkansas. There are 19 projects throughout this region, and they have regional support offices in Dallas, Houston, Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Randy Massey came forward stating that Paris needs a partnership. OMI has had a partnership with Fayetteville, Arkansas since 1981. It has a wastewater treatment plant rated at 12.4 MGD. They have provided commissioning and start-up for an addition that went into this plant and currently, they are providing services to upgrade the system to 17 MGD. He said they currently do approximately 3.5 tons of land applications a day. This facility is all liquid sludge. They apply biosolids there as that is how they get rid of their biosolids. He said they greatly reduced the chemical and energy costs from the initial take-over and this particular facility has won numerous EPA and State awards. Mr. Massey said that they began providing services for Temple, Texas, in 1994. It was a 7.5 MGD wastewater plant. They also administer the Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 5 industrial pretreatment program in Temple. They have installed lift stations and telemetry systems. They have improved the treatment quality and reduced the chemical consumption through some of the innovations and ideas that they brought into the project. Mr. Massey advised that they have been in Georgetown, Texas, since 1993 and they have multiple water and wastewater facilities. OMI operates five wastewater plants and four water plants for Georgetown. Mr. Massey said they have provided a lot of start-up services to new plants that come on line; and they have made upgrades to existing wastewater facilities to meet more stringent permit requirements. He said they work with the city and the engineer when these plants are designed to incorporate some operational ideas to get the best deal for the cities. Ms. Ross stated that some of the common reasons why cities partner with OMI, besides looking for O&M cost reductions, include stabilizing rates and equipment costs. Some cities are looking for cost effectiveness and better services. Some cities and industries look for the experience that OMI can bring and resources and innovative solutions. Cities want to reduce their risk and provide uninterrupted service to customers. They want to partner with a company who is an environmental steward, takes care of the environment, and meets all compliance requirements. Ms. Ross told the City Council that one of the ways that they can be successful is through their employees. When they take over services for a city, the employees that are working at the plant become their employees. She said being an employee owned company they value their employees greatly. They are the key to their success. So, they provide them with the best employee benefits and salaries in their industry. She said this keeps them motivated and keeps them happy. Ms. Ross said they also provide them with very extensive training and personal development. They place Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 6 emphasis on safety. They give their employees advancement opportunities, incentive compensation programs, and every employee is an owner in the company and receives company stock as a part of their bonus program. Ms. Ross stated that they have nationwide purchasing agreements because they have so many plants. These allow OMI to purchase things at a lesser cost and pass the savings on to their clients. She said that because they operate so many facilities they are able to benchmark or compare each facility and apply what they have learned previously to their new client's facilities. They have energy and chemical management programs, training programs, employee cross-training, incentive compensation, monitoring and control systems, creative capital solutions, and contractual and financing flexibility. Ms. Ross said certain things are necessary for a successful partnership. First, City Council needs to develop a consensus that you want to partner. Then Council needs to direct staff to define a policy and define a scope of services that you want to contract. Then Council needs to establish what it is currently costing the city to provide those services. And finally, the Council needs to compare the proposals from companies with the current cost to the city. She advised that the city should not to focus on just looking for a low cost provider. The city really needs to focus on the quality of service that the city is going to get. Usually, a city establishes selection criteria that not only includes cost but also the quality of service and the treatment of employees. She advised that the city and the contractor need to be able to share responsibilities and risks and really take a partnership approach to the procurement and contracting process. In summary, Ms. Ross felt that partnering with OMI can bring success to Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 7 this project and to the City of Paris and bring their world class operations and engineering capabilities that their company has. Their Company has proven experience with their 1500 experts, access to savings and efficiencies, as well as access to a full range of services including design, construction and operations. Councilman Bell asked if they had seen the city's water and wastewater production sites. Ms. Ross advised that they have reviewed some records, and they are familiar with the size, the amount of employees and the technology used; but they have not been to the facilities. Ms. Ross explained that if the City Council votes to go forward with the procurement process, then they will visit the facility and do a complete evaluation. She said that is how they decide how they put together their proposal and cost. Councilman Bell asked if it would cost the city anything to have a request for a bid for them to go out and look at the facilities ,and come back and tell they what you will do. Ms. Ross stated that if you do the procurement process with your staff in-house and develop the request for proposals and documents, that is one way to keep the cost of a procurement down. Ms. Ross said they do not charge anything for coming out and doing an evaluation and putting together a proposal for the city. Councilman Bell said there have been recent rate studies by the city for water production and wastewater and he wanted to know if OMI would eliminate the need for those studies. Ms. Ross said the need and the decision to raise or not raise rates remains completely with the City Council. She said what they would do is put together a proposal and a cost proposal for the city, and usually they are able to save their clients about 10% to 30% depending on the scope of services and various other things. It would still be up to the City Council after that proposal if the city needed to raise the rates. Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 8 Councilwoman Neeley said the question is, if you are on board, does OMI take the responsibility for doing the study and come to the City Council and make recommendations about rates needed or is the city still going to need to have outside consultants come in and do that? Ms. Ross stated that if you want them to take over that responsibility they have the capability to do that, but usually don't, but they could. They would certainly give their opinion, but you may still have to use outside consultants. Mayor Fendley asked if that was one of the items provided in their scope of services. Ms. Ross said it is one of their services. He also wanted to know if Ms. Ross had provided the Subcommittee a listing of the type of services offered. Ms. Ross advised that she actually has the marketing packet that has all of the scope of services, not only for OMI but for the whole family of companies, and she said she would provide those for the City Council. Councilman McCarthy wanted to know if there are other companies like OMI. Ms. Ross said that there were and OMI is the second largest in terms of revenue and they are the largest in Texas. Councilman McCarthy asked that, when a city decides to go with OMI, how long does it take. Ms. Ross advised that it varies, it can be as quick as you want it to be, or as deliberate as you want it to be. It can be a few weeks up to a year for a large city. Councilman McCarthy want to know if there were references from other cities. Ms. Ross said yes, they have a whole list of clients that they service right now and they have on that list the client contact that you can call those cities, and that list has been provided to the City Attorney and to the Water and Sewer Subcommittee. She said they can also provide that to the City Council. Councilman McCarthy wanted to know the average length of their contracts. Ms. Ross said their average length use to be about five years, but now more and more cities are entering into longer term contracts, such as 10 and 20 years, so that average is 8 to 9 years. Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 9 Mayor Fendley asked Ms. Ross if they actually lease the facility. She explained no it is not a lease. The city just contracts for the operation and maintenance and management of the facility, and the city keeps the ownership of the facility. City Attorney Schenk asked if she remembered at the previous presentation when he asked her to send him copies of contracts from their current clients and he stated that he appreciated the fact that she sent a copy of the standard contract. The current client contract and that should be a public record and because of that, he has had to send requests to several cities to get that information. He just wanted to know why they did not furnish that information. Ms. Ross advised they just don't usually provide copies of their clients' contracts. She said that City Attorney Schenk did the right thing by requesting that information from those cities directly. City Attorney Schenk discussed the standard contract and how it can be negotiated with Mr. Massey. After a question and answer session with the representatives of OMI, Mayor Fendley suggested that Agenda Item No. 3 through 6 pertaining to the water issue be tabled because of Councilman Plata's Committee meeting this week, and because there was a request for a meeting to handle nothing but the water issues. After further discussion, a motion was made by Mayor Pro Tern McCarthy, seconded by Councilman Plata, to table Agenda Items 3 through 6. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Resolution No. 2003-084, rejecting all bids for construction of a restroom, restroom/concession building, gateway building, and entry sign (masonry, building, plumbing, electrical, and roofing) as part of the overall completion of Phase I of the Paris Sports Complex Project, was presented. Terry Townsend came forward advising that the bids he had received were too high. Since they had a $500,000.00 grant to build the Sports Complex, Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 10 he had put into the specifications things to make it nice. He said there were items that could be removed and that removal would not take away from the complex. He was still reviewing the bids to determine additional items they could do without. He wanted to rewrite the specifications and seek new bids. A motion was made by Councilwoman Neeley, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem McCarthy, for approval of the resolution rejecting all bids. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Resolution No. 2003-085, awarding the bid and authorizing the execution of a contract for Asbestos Abatement at the building known as the Uarco Building and at the City Hall/Old Central Fire Station to ERI Consulting, Inc., in the amount of $33,303.75, was presented. A motion was made by Councilman Weekly, seconded by Councilwoman Neeley, for approval of the resolution. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Resolution No. 2003-086, approving the ground sublease between the Red River Valley Fair Association and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #3990 of Paris, Texas, was presented. A motion was made by Councilwoman Neeley, seconded by Councilman Plata, for approval of the resolution. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Resolution No. 2003-087, a resolution ratifying an application for a U. S. Fire Administration 2003 Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to purchase fifty-four (54) spare cylinders; authorizing the expenditure of funds; accepting said grant award upon notice thereof; authorizing the execution of any and all documents necessary for acceptance and implementation of said grant upon notice thereof; was presented. Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 11 Ronnie Grooms, Fire Chief, appeared before the City Council. Councilman Plata wanted to know what happens to the old apparatuses. Fire Chief Grooms advised that they have set up a program where the city donates the old SCBA to the Local Association of County Volunteer Firefighters Association. He said that in the event the city does receive this grant, the old equipment will be in the donated to the Volunteer Firefighters. Fire Chief Grooms also stated that this represents part of the City of Paris's match towards the grant. He advised that this is the same grant that they applied for last year, but we had not received a grant. A motion was made by Councilman Guest, seconded by Councilman Bell, for approval of the resolution. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Mayor Fendley advised that the next item on the agenda was the selling of tax delinquent property described as Lot 6, City Block 355, being number 2015 N.W. Loop 286. Councilwoman Neeley asked to be excused due to a conflict of interest. A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem McCarthy, seconded by Councilman Guest, to excuse Councilwoman Neeley from the meeting. The motion carried 6 ayes, 0 nays. The Mayor said this item was tabled at the April 14, 2003, meeting and he would need a motion to bring this item from the table. A motion was made by Councilman Plata, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem McCarthy, to bring this item from the table. The motion carried 6 ayes, 0 nays. City Manager Malone presented the resolution approving the sale of tax delinquent property described as Lot 6, City Block 355, located at 2015 N. W. Loop 286. Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 12 City Attorney Schenk advised that there had been an inquiry by the Girl Scouts expressing interest in this property, but only one formal bid had been received at this point. Connie Stauter, representing the Girl Scout Council of Red River Valley, appeared distributing a handout regarding the Girls Scouts and their programs. She said if the City Council would look on the back page of the handout, there is a copy of a plat, which shows where the Girl Scout's property is located. The property on the east side is the property in question and is located next to the Girl Scouts. Ms. Stauter said they have a vested interest in what is next to them, and, just like any homeowner, they would want to protect what they have. Ms. Stauter also passed out pictures of the property and pointed out that it is an eyesore, and has been an eyesore ever since the Girl Scouts have been next door to it. She said they were very interested in the property and the Commissioners Court had rejected the bid and Paris Junior College and the School Districts have accepted the bid. City Attorney Schenk said it was his understanding that, if the rejection by the county stands, that is the end of the process with regard to this bid regardless of whether the city accepts or rejects the bid. He said that the county has rejected the bid with the idea that the county and city would join with the others and donate their interest in property to the Girl Scouts. He said that, technically speaking, it would take approval from all of the entities involved. Mayor Pro Tem McCarthy said the property has sat there for years in the condition that it is in and he wanted to know if Ms. Stauter made any efforts to purchase the property. She advised that there has been a business of some type on the property. She did not know the property was available until she read in the newspaper that the school district had approved the sales of the property at 2015 NW Loop 286. Ms. Stauter said she contacted the schools Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 13 and started inquiring about the property being available and started trying to acquire the property for the Girl Scouts. She said by having this property, the Girl Scouts would have the option to expand their office or to get to the their property behind their building. At this time they cannot drive a vehicle to the back of their property, but the adjoining property does have a road that would allow them to get to the back of the property. Mayor Pro Tem McCarthy asked the City Attorney if the property would come off the tax roll if Council rejected this bid. He also asked if they could donate the property to the Girl Scouts. City Attorney Schenk advised that the property has been taken for taxes and placed in the hands of the taxing entities with one entity designated as a trustee. If the property is sold the City of Paris would receive their share of the proceeds. Mayor Pro Tem McCarthy confirmed that if Council accepts the bid the property would go back on the tax roll. City Attorney Schenk explained that if the city accepts the bid, it still leaves the bid not awarded because of the action of the county, but this is presuming the county could also reverse their position with regard to the price. He advised that on the other hand, if at some undefined moment our tax attorney decides that is not going to happen, that the county is not going to agree, then in all likelihood they would go out for bids again. He said they have a progressive schedule on how those prices diminish over a period of time as to the percentage of taxes owed, which that is the minimum price bid for the property. City Attorney Schenk said if the city rejects the bid, it would probably not change much, other than for the potential of making a donation to the Girl Scouts. It is an issue that is sort of halfway in the middle, and it would be important to find out if there is a consensus of what the council would like to do with the property. Would they like to see it sold, or would they rather use it be used for Girl Scout purposes. Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 14 Jeff Roberts came forward advising that he was representing his father on the purchase of this property. He gave the City Council a handout, and said he has talked to the tax attorneys and it does take all four entities to agree to sell this property. Mr. Roberts said the appraisal office had not informed him that they all had to agree to sell the property. Mr. Roberts said he has also talked to Judge Superville and all he would have to do is come back to the county and get on their agenda if the City of Paris was to accept his bid and proposal. He explained the process of what he had to do in order to bid on this property. He pointed out from his handout that he was responsible for all the contamination, possible fuel tanks, asbestos and all the trash that is located on the property. Mr. Roberts noted that page three of his handout shows it was on the courthouse steps on January 3, 2002, and this property was struck. He said he was at the courthouse and at that date he could have purchased the property for $35,000.00, which was the taxes against the property. Mr. Roberts said things happen after a certain period of time, or it use to be like that, but things have changed over a certain time period and you are able to purchase property for a smaller percentage. He said, they were able to process this at that time and that is the reason they came up with the $4,500.00. Mr. Roberts said that on page 4 of his handout that this property has been delinquent since 1982 and the taxes have varied from $800.00 to $1,600.00 a year. At this time, the taxes are $966.00 in the year of 2001. He said that he did not see that the bid should be a problem and this will allow the property to be placed back on the tax roll. Mr. Roberts said what it gets down to is the expense that will be created in order to clean the property up. Mr. Roberts said that he has the equipment to clean this property up, and he is not sure what kind of contamination there could be on the property. He said in the future he plans to have a business, such as a sheet metal shop, on this property. In response to Councilman Bell's question, City Attorney Schenk stated that Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 15 pages 4, 5 and 6 of agenda item 4E shows how prices are calculated for a delinquent property. Page 6 shows how the bid amount is reduced following the date of offer for sale at the courthouse steps. After discussion, a motion was made by Councilman Bell to reject the bid as proposed by H. B. Roberts. The motion was seconded by Councilman Weekly and carried 6 ayes, 0 nays. Mayor Fendley announced that the City Council would take a short break at 7:30 P.M. At 7:39 P.M., Mayor Fendley reconvened the meeting. Resolution No. 2003-088, approving the sale of tax delinquent property described as Lots 11, 13, and 15, Block 4, Harlan Heights Addition; located at 1018 16th Street N.E., to Randy Lahman, was presented. A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem McCarthy, seconded by Councilman Plata, for approval of the resolution. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Resolution No. 2003-089, approving the sale of tax delinquent property described as Lot 1, Block 4, Harlan Heights Addition, being number 1074 16th Street N E., to Randy Lahman, was presented. A motion was made by Councilman Weekly, seconded by Councilman Guest, for approval of the resolution. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Resolution No. 2003-090, declaring certain personal property surplus; approving Reggie McDowra Auctioneer Service Agreement, and authorizing and directing the Mayor to execute on behalf of the City of Paris, the Auctioneer Service Agreement, was presented. A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem McCarthy, seconded by Councilman Guest, for approval of the resolution. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 16 Resolution No. 2003-091, ratifying the filing of an application to the Texas Automobile Theft Prevention Authority for an Automobile Theft Prevention Grant entitled "Northeast Texas Automobile Theft Task Force" project beginning September 1, 2003, and ending August 31, 2004, in the amount of $89,973.00, being approximately 58% of the estimated cost of the Automobile Theft Prevention Program, with $46,016.00 to be provided by the City of Paris in the form of cash and $19,700.00 in the form of in-kind services, was presented. A motion was made by Councilwoman Neeley, seconded by Councilman Weekly, for approval of the resolution. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Resolution No. 2003-092, awarding the bid of Van Noord Janitorial Service for the "Maintenance and Custodial Services for the City Hall, City Hall Annex, City Attorney's Office, Water Billing Office, the Paris Public Library, Public Works Building, and the Cox Field Terminal Project", was presented. A motion was made by Councilman Weekly, seconded by Councilman Plata, for approval of the resolution. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Resolution No. 2003-093, approving Change Order No. One to contract for the construction of the new Animal Shelter; accepting a donation of $40,000.00 from the Mary Cooke Ellis Trust on behalf of the Lamar County Humane Society in furtherance of said project, was presented. A motion was made by Councilwoman Neeley, seconded by Councilman Guest, for approval of the resolution. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Resolution No. 2003-094, appointing Rodney Bass and Sims Norment to serve the unexpired terms of Jay Guest and Curtis Fendley, which ends July 19, 2004, as members of the Board of Directors of the Paris Economic Development Corporation, was presented. A motion was made by Councilman Guest, seconded by Councilman Bell, for approval of the resolution. Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 17 The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Resolution No. 2003-095, that Joe E. McCarthy be, and he is hereby, reappointed and that Curtis Fendley and Francine Neeley be, and they are hereby appointed to serve as members of the Board of Directors of the Ark- Tex Council of Governments for terms of one (1) year, beginning June 1, 2003, and ending May 31, 2004, or for as long as they are members of the City Council, or until their successors are duly appointed, was presented. A motion was made by Councilman Guest, seconded by Councilman Bell, for approval of the resolution. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Resolution No. 2003-096, appointing Brad Archer to serve the unexpired term of Curtis Fendley, which ends December 31, 2003, as a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Paris, was presented. A motion was made by Councilman Weekly, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem McCarthy, for approval of the resolution. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Mayor Fendley announced that the next item on the agenda was discussion of and possible action on possible revisions to Section VII, Subsection F, of the Subdivision Regulations of the City of Paris. Shawn Napier, City Engineer, came forward to discuss with Council the curb and gutter issue which arose at the Thursday night City Council meeting. He said that he, the City Attorney, and the staff have discussed the ordinance and looked at some of the issues. Mr. Napier said there is a Section 16 of the Ordinance that states there are applications where you can do changes in variations to the ordinance through the subdivision regulations. He said that a suspension of any of these rules and regulations may be recommended by the commission, which is the Planning and Zoning Commission, upon showing that there are special circumstances or conditions affecting the property in question. In this case, there would be a Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 18 construction problem with the ditch and the additional width. Upon that, it says upon recommendation of the suspension, any of these rules and regulations by the City Council may, upon finding that there are special circumstances, act on that same recommendation as what Planning and Zoning does. Mr. Napier said, based on this ordinance, his recommendation would be to deny the plat because if they do not the plat it will go through as submitted. It will go back to Planning and Zoning and they will consider the waiver of the requirements of curb and guttering. Mayor Fendley announced the next item on the agenda was consideration of and action on the Preliminary Plat for Lots 10-A, 10-B, 10-C, and 10-D, City Block 317, located in the 2200 Block of 36th Street N.E. He said this had been tabled at the May 8, 2003, meeting and a motion to bring it from the table was in order if the City Council wished to consider this matter. A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Manning, seconded by Councilman Guest, to bring the above item from the table. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. Ms. Betty Beezley, 3640 Brownwood Street, came forward asking clarification of this item going back to the Planning and Zoning Commission and asking if it will come back to the City Council. Ms. Beezley said they did discuss this matter at the Planning and Zoning Commission's meeting and they said they did not have the authority. The City Council had the authority to say that they did not have to put in the curb and gutter. City Attorney Schenk advised that was incorrect. He said that state law requires this City Council to either approve the Plat, or if no action is taken, then the Plat is considered approved even without the engineer's recommendation. It would be approved as filed. City Attorney Schenk advised that no action was formally taken with regard to variance by the Planning and Zoning Commission, but it would need to go back to the Planning and Zoning Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 19 Commission for their consideration on the issue of granting the variance. The City Attorney said if they approve the variance, then the City Council could approve the action as they would anything else. Councilman Bell stated, as a point of information, that it is his understanding that they could start a build one house on one lot. City Attorney Schenk advised that their zoning has been approved and the lack of approval of this Plat would not affect that rezoning, and he deferred to Steve Methven on this issue. Ms. Beezley asked if she could sell a lot to the person that is building the spec house. She said that she has two spec houses that they are going to start. Steve Methven, Building Official, advised that Ms. Beezley is wanting to split a piece of property, the old driving range, into four lots, which requires Council approval. He said that Nelson had to do a survey of all of the golf course and there is a Minor Plat that had to be filed before they do this one, which does not require Council approval. Mr. Methven said that if the city files the Minor Plat, which would be the golf course and taking the whole piece out, not just four lots, there could be one building permit. Mr. Methven said currently she could bring it back next month. Mayor Fendley asked Ms. Beezley if she would have need to do more than that in the next 30 days. Ms. Beezley advised that she had been through the proper channels and was not told the correct things and now was having to wait. City Engineer Napier said she would not have to escrow the money at this time because that comes at the time of the Final Plat. He said she could come in with a Minor Plat and the city could get it filed and she could start the one house and continue with her construction plans and continue with everything else during this time. Mayor Fendley said she should go ahead and get on the Planning and Zoning Commission's agenda and come back next month Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 20 and then back before the City Council and she can still sell the lots. Mayor Fendley advised that the next meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission will be on June 2, 2003, and the city will hear those issues on June 5, 2003. City Attorney Schenk advised that the issue is going to be whether or not she would have to pledge any funds for the drainage. Mayor Fendley called for consideration of and action on the Preliminary Plat for Lots 10-A, 10-B, 10C and l-D, City Block 317, located in the 2200 Block of 36th Street N.E. A motion was made by Councilman Bell, seconded by Councilman Guest, to reject the Preliminary Plat. The motion carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. At 8:03 P.M., Mayor Fendley convened the meeting into an Executive Session pursuant to Section 551-071 of the Texas Government Code, Consultation with Attorney, to receive advice of legal counsel pertaining to pending or possible litigation regarding demand for sewer service at old First State Bank building from Downtown Investments. At 9:05 P.M., Fendley declared the executive session closed and the open session back in session. Mayor Fendley called for discussion demand for sewer service at the old Downtown Investments Group. of and possible action regarding First State Bank building from Steve Asay, 33 E. Plaza, came forward advising that he was representing a group of investors requesting sewer service to 33 E. Plaza in downtown Paris. He said the building was built in 1917 and had several bathrooms that operated depending on the city sewer system from 1917 until the closing of Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 21 the Corner Drug Store in the mid 1970's. He said that at this point until about a year ago, the building was allowed to go into a decline. They purchased the building about a year ago from a local business man who had started improvements. Since then, they have made improvements aiming for an early summer 2003 opening. Mr. Asay said the problem that they have is they have no sewer service and the City of Paris does not feel any responsibility to provide them with one. Mr. Asay advised that his request is that the City of Paris provide sewer service to the property. Mayor Fendley said it was Council's understanding that the line Mr. Asay is trying to tie onto has collapsed. Mr. Asay said that to his knowledge there is a collapse in the line about two feet beyond his property. They have run a sewer camera into it and could not go very far beyond their boundaries. Mayor Fendley asked if the line runs to the north. Mr. Asay said no, he did not think so. He said he thinks the line runs to the east under the adjoining building. Mr. Asay said the city does not have records or plats to indicate where the original lines were, because they have asked for those and the city cannot provide those records. Councilman Guest asked when they ran water through that line to blow it out originally, did it not come up in Mr. House's building. Mr. Asay advised that when they ran water under normal pressure from Mr. House's city water meter, it ran for hours before it backed up anywhere and they assumed they had an open line. When it became time to pump the basement out, which had filled with city water time and time again, with a two inch hose with more pressure, it did back up into House Jewelry and Gene the Jeweler's. City Attorney Schenk wanted to know if it was Mr. Asay's understanding that the line is collapsed from the city owned line. Mr. Asay said it was his understanding that anything beyond his property was the city's responsibility. City Attorney Schenk said that was not correct. It is a Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 22 privately owned line and Mr. Asay is responsible for the maintenance. said the city cannot go on private property and repair private lines. He Mr. Asay discussed the sewer line and told the City Council that the line that they can find hits a sewer line that is above ground that you can shine a flashlight into. It is a four inch vent pipe that is vertical and the sewerage that served the next two buildings is above ground. City Attorney Schenk said the reason for them being here today was the City of Paris has done something to cause him not to have sewer. City Attorney Schenk said he was asking him if the city has done anything to cause him to not have service because the complaint was the collapsed line was a city line, and that is what Mr. Asay's attorney's letter had said. City Attorney Schenk asked Mr. Asay if it was correct that there is a sewer main there and every other building around him is currently tapped into it. Mr. Asay said he assumed that is correct. City Attorney Schenk said the city has sewer service in the street there, and the line that was complained about was not a city sewer line that had collapsed. He said that the city's records do not indicate that it is not a city maintained line and he asked what Mr. Asay wants the City Council to do. Mr. Asay asked City Attorney Schenk if he had a solution to this problem. City Attorney advised that he was looking for Mr. Asay to propose a solution. Mr. Asay replied that he was proposing anything that the City of Paris will permit and pay for. Mayor Fendley asked Mr. Asay his feelings if the City Council directs the city staff to work with the state and get a more defined cost on extending that line and work with you in order to solve this problem. Garvey House came forward stating that he was accompanying Steve because his property is next to Steve's. He said he was anticipating further development of his property and certainly will work with the property owners downtown. Mr. House said that he knew that the property owners Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 23 downtown and the City of Paris are encouraged by the development of property that people will be wanting to rent and produce income from. Mr. House said when he had his property remodeled, they ran into it and he knew that they had to go next door into Chip Harper's Building, and then tap into that sewer main that is in the alley. Mitch Campbell came forward stating the he felt there is some confusion on the part of the investment group. Mr. Campbell said he went to the City Engineer and talked with him and the City Engineer said he did not know what those lines were. Mr. Campbell said the confusion is that the city is telling them that we do not know where those lines are and asked how can the city tell them 100% that those are not city lines because the city says they run on private property while, in newly annexed territory, instead of Iearing up the street, the sewer lines were run across in front of private property. All of this was done years ago, how are they suppose to know proof positive that those lines were not run by the city on private property. The City Engineer told him that when downtown was burned, a lot of things were done and no records were kept and they are uncertain what happened. City Attorney Schenk said he was going on what they also told him, which is there is no evidence that the city has ever done anything to those lines. City Attorney Schenk said that those lines were redone at private expense recently. The city has no indication that there was an easement that was dedicated to the city in the alley, no history of having maintained the alley and the history that the city has of private individuals installing lines in that easement. He said that should not happen if it is a dedicated city easement. After further discussion, a motion was made by Councilman Bell that the City Council ask the city staff to get with the owners of the property to first establish the facts and determine where the sewer line runs. Secondly, city staff, the builder-developer, and the investors should explore and discuss the possible solution both in cost and the ability to serve the facility and bring Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 24 those solutions back to the City Council. It should include an investigation of the claim that city water is infiltrating this facility. They need to establish and see what can be done to solve both problems at a reasonable cost and bring back a recommendation to the City Council. Councilman Bell pointed out that there is to be another City Council meeting this month and asked that this be brought back to the City Council post haste so their opening is not delayed any longer than necessary. The motion was seconded by Councilman Guest, and carried 7 ayes, 0 nays. City Attorney Schenk presented the following petition for rezoning: Donald G. Wilson, Part of Lot 14, City Block 259 from a Single Family Dwelling District No. 2 to a Pda District. Mayor Fendley referred the petition to the Planning and Zoning Commission for their study and recommendation at their meeting scheduled for June 2, 2003, and before the City Council June 5, 2003. Kent Klinkerman, EMS Supervisor, came forward to present the six month quarterly status report for the Emergency Medical Service. He stated that his figures would be compared to the same time period for the previous fiscal year. This year they had received 3,865 requests for service; last year they received 3,828. This is a difference of 37 or a .0096% increase. The debits for the current fiscal year total $1,354,639; debits for the prior fiscal year were $1,318,178. This is a difference of $36,461.00 or an increase of 2.7%. The projected revenue for the first six months of this fiscal year was $700,000.00. The actual revenue collected was $831,051.00 or a difference of $131,051.00 or 18.7%. City Attorney Schenk informed the City Council that the city has deeds from all three property owners for the right-of-way for the Hearne Street Project. There are minor title issues to resolve. The City Attorney said he is Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 25 anticipating finishing those by the end of this month. He said the next stage will be to develop engineer designs for construction of a new street on Hearne Street. Mayor Fendley said the construction will be this summer. City Manager Malone informed the City Council that the start of construction will depend on engineering and how long it takes to develop that and what type problems they run into. He said a cost estimate will need to be developed based on the engineering. The City Manager informed the Council that they will be crossing a slab, which was part of the old cotton compress, and they do not know what problems that will present in terms of cost. He also said the consulting engineer has not been hired for that and it is something that cannot be done in-house. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. CURTIS FENDLEY, MAYOR ATTEST: MATTIE CUNNINGHAM, CITY CLERK