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02 City Council (01/12/04) MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 12, 2004 The City Council of the City of Paris met in regular session on Monday, January 12, 2004, 6:00 P.M. at Paris Junior College, Bobby R. Walters Applied Technology Building, Room 1206, 2400 Clarksville Street, Paris, Texas. Mayor Curtis Fendley called the meeting to order with the following Council Members present: Jim Bell, Jay Guest, Fran Neeley, Benny Plata and Willie Weekly, Sr. Also, present were City Manager Michael E. Malone, City Attorney Larry W. Schenk, and City Clerk Mattie Cunningham. Mayor Fendley called the Council’s attention to item No. 2, receipt of the reports from the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. City Manager Malone said each Council Member had been furnished with a copy of the Planning and Zoning and each recommendation would be presented when the council acted on the item this evening. Mayor Fendley moved on to item No. 3, a public hearing to consider the petition of Wanda Whitaker for a change in zoning from a One-Family Dwelling District No. 2 (SF-2) to a Neighborhood Service District (NS) on Lot 14, Block C, Lamesa Heights Addition, being number 2235 Sycamore Street. He declared the public hearing open. Wanda Whitaker of 2235 Sycamore Street appeared in favor of her petition. Ms. Whitaker stated that she was a licensed beautician and would like to have a small salon and she would be the only employee. She mentioned the only changes to her property would be a small building in the back and widening of her driveway. She would only have one or two customers at a time and didn’t plan to have a big sign because she has been in the business a long time and already has her clientele. She related that if she were to sell the property in the future or turn it into rental property, she would come back and have it re-zoned. She didn’t think there would be much more traffic. She felt that one or two cars going through the neighborhood per hour would be a deterrent to the recent drug activity and robberies. She said she would be closing her shop around 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 2 Jeff Merritt, 2225 Sycamore, which is next to Ms. Whitaker’s property, came forward speaking in favor of the petition. Because of the daytime robberies in the neighborhood, he would like the presence of a neighbor during the day to watch over things more closely. He also agreed that the traffic from one or two clients would not alter the flow of traffic through the neighborhood. Mayor Fendley called for opponents to appear and Pat Pulmeri, 2210 Bella Vista Drive, came forward. She cited the fact that this was a small housing development with one road in and one road out and there is hardly room for those there already. She said the proposed zoning created the possibility for other businesses to open up. At the Planning and Zoning meeting, they were told what types of businesses would be allowed under this zoning. She did not want to see that happen in this neighborhood. She also said there were enough automobiles going in and out of there at all hours of the day and night. There being no further discussion, the public hearing was closed. Mayor Fendley called the Council’s attention to item No. 4, consideration of and action on an ordinance amending Zoning Ordinance No. 1710, changing the zoning from a One-Family Dwelling District No. 2 (SF-2) to a Neighborhood Service District (NS) on Lot 14, Block C, Lamesa Heights Addition, being number 2235 Sycamore Street, which was read by City Manager Malone. Mayor Fendley noted that the Planning and Zoning Commission had denied this petition so it would take a unanimous vote to overturn their decision. Mayor Fendley called for a motion to either accept the Planning and Zoning recommendation, which was to deny the zoning change, or to overturn the Planning and Zoning recommendation. Councilman Weekly made a motion to accept the recommendation, which was seconded by Councilwoman Neeley. The vote was 6 ayes, 0 nays. The petition was denied. Mayor Fendley read the next item, which was a public hearing to consider the petition of Shirley and Donna Swindle for a change in zoning from a One- Family Dwelling District No. 3 (SF-3) to a Neighborhood Service District (NS) Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 3 th on Lots 11 and 12, East Park Addition, being number 1730 10 Street N.E. He then declared the public hearing open and asked for anyone who wanted to speak in favor of this petition. Donna Swindle, whose mother is Shirley Swindle, came forward and explained that they wanted to have her mother’s property re-zoned to Neighborhood Service District so Donna can have her beauty shop there. This would be a lot easier for Donna with less stress, because she would be able to be with her mother more. She stated they were going to fix the property which has two gates going into it. One gate would be for the shop area. They would have gravel hauled in to fix it so people could park. This would help her because it is hard to handle two households with all the responsibilities she has. Mayor Fendley asked if anyone had any questions. Councilwoman Neeley asked if the Council had done a zoning change for her about a year ago. Ms. Swindle nd said they had on 22 S. E. Councilwoman Neeley asked Ms. Swindle if she was going to keep that shop. Ms. Swindle stated that the purpose of this request was to have one shop closer to her mother so she could check on her mother while raising two small grandchildren by herself. Councilman Weekly asked if there was plenty of parking. Ms. Swindle assured him there was since the shop was going to be in the back and there would be only two or three cars at a time. Mayor Fendley asked if anyone wanted to speak in opposition to this item. There being no one, he declared the public hearing closed. City Manager Malone related that the Planning and Zoning recommended approval of this request by a vote of 7 to 1. ORDINANCE NO. 2004-001 Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 4 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, PARIS, TEXAS, AMENDING ZONING ORDINANCE NO. 1710 OF THE CITY OF PARIS, PARIS, TEXAS, AND CHANGING THE BOUNDARIES ESTABLISHED BY THE ZONING MAP OF SAID CITY; ESTABLISHING A NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE DISTRICT (NS) ON LOTS 11 AND 12, BLOCK B, EAST PARK ADDITION, ON PROPERTY BELONGING TO SHIRLEY AND DONNA SWINDLE, SO AS TO INCLUDE THEREIN TERRITORY FORMERLY DESIGNATED AS A ONE-FAMILY DWELLING DISTRICT NO. 3 (SF-3); DESIGNATING THE BOUNDARIES OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE DISTRICT (NS) SO ESTABLISHED; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED $2,000.00; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE, WAS PRESENTED. Mayor Fendley called for a motion. Councilman Weekly made a motion to adopt the ordinance. Councilman Guest asked what the difference was between the last consideration and this one. City Manager Malone stated that it was neighborhood opposition. Councilman Guest also asked how these both fell within the Master Plan of the city. Steve Methven, Chief Building Official of the City of Paris, explained that a Neighborhood Service District was a use in a residential district for a personal service like a beauty or barber shop and things of that nature. Methven stated that the Master Plan provided for that and the property would keep that zoning unless it was changed back by proper notice and petition. Methven also stated that the first petition was in a completely residential area and the neighborhood for this petition already has a restaurant, a couple of beauty shops, and is zoned commercial toward the end of the street. Mayor Fendley asked if there was a second to Councilman Weekly’s motion to accept Planning and Zoning’s recommendation and adopt the ordinance. Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 5 Councilman Bell seconded the motion which passed 6 ayes, 0 nays. City Manager Malone stated item No. 7 was consideration of and action on an ordinance approving the site plan for Lot 14E, City Block 249, Red River Business Park, being located in the 2900 block of Pine Mill Road. City Manager Malone related that the Planning and Zoning had recommended approval of the site plan subject to the memo issued by the City Engineer dated 12-29-03. City Manager Malone read the items listed on the City Engineer’s memo. ORDINANCE 2004-002 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, PARIS, TEXAS, APPROVING THE SITE PLAN FOR A PLANNED DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT-MEDICAL CENTER AND HOSPITAL (PD-d) AND OFFICE CENTER (PD-f), PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED BY THE ADOPTION OF ZONING ORDINANCE NO. 2000-038, FOR LOT 14-E, CITY BLOCK 249, RED RIVER BUSINESS PARK; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE, WAS PRESENTED. A motion was made by Councilman Bell to approve the ordinance upon completion of those items. The motion was seconded by Councilman Guest and was approved on a vote of 6 ayes, 0 nays. Mayor Fendley called the Council’s attention to item 8, consideration of and action on the Preliminary Plat of Northwest Paris Industrial Park, being located at the 3100 block of Loop 286 N.W. City Manager Malone said the Council had been furnished a copy of the City Engineer’s memo, which had 8 items on it and that Planning and Zoning had recommended this item subject to the City Engineer’s recommendations. Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 6 Councilman Bell made a motion to approve the Preliminary plat, which was seconded by Councilman Guest. The motion carried 6 ayes, 0 nays. Mayor Fendley moved on to item 9, consideration of and action on the Replat of Lots 1A, 1B, 1C, and 6, City Block 315, being located in the 3700 block of Loop 286 N.E. City Manager Malone stated that Planning and Zoning had recommended approval of this item subject to the memo by the City Engineer, listing 6 items to be completed. Councilwoman Neeley made a motion to approve the Replat subject to the City Engineer’s memo. The motion was seconded by Councilman Guest and passed 6 ayes, 0 nays. Mayor Fendley called for consideration of and action on the Replat of Lots 5, 6, and 7, Block 8, Springlake Addition, being number 200 N. Collegiate Drive. Councilwoman Neeley made a motion to approve the replat. The motion was seconded by Councilman Weekly. The motion carried 6 ayes, 0 nays. Mayor Fendley called for consideration of and action on the Final Plat of Lot 1, Block A, Springlake Estates, Phase 6, being number 790 N. Collegiate Drive. A motion was made by Councilman Weekly to approve the plat. This was seconded by Councilman Guest. The motion carried 6 ayes, 0 nays. On a question from Councilman Bell as to why it took from September when these were presented until now to be approved, City Engineer Shawn Napier explained that the developer had sewer lines to be built and the engineer for the developer had been slow getting the plats back to the city. Mayor Fendley asked the Council members if there were any corrections or additions to the copies of the previous Council minutes that had been furnished. Councilman Bell moved to table this action as the minutes had just been handed to them and they had not had time to go over them. Councilman Plata seconded the motion, which passed 6 ayes, 0 nays. Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 7 Mayor Fendley called for receipt of reports from the Housing Authority of the City of Paris, the Library Advisory Board, and the Paris Economic Development Corporation. Councilwoman Neeley questioned why they were receiving Housing Authority minutes from 2002. City Manager Malone said there had been difficulty getting minutes from the Housing Authority and they were probably that far behind. Gary Vest, Director of Economic Development and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, presented the PEDC annual report. Mr. Vest said PEDC developed quite a few leads from their advertising campaign. They attended several trade shows including the Food Processing and Machinery Expo, the North American Manufacturing Association Show with the World Economic Development Alliance, and the National Plastics Exposition in Chicago with the Texas Economic Development Department. The trade shows generated 98 leads. PEDC advertised in a number of magazines which produced a lot of leads. They did a direct mailing of 20,000 post cards with the “Paris Has It” theme to food processing companies. They ran ads in the Dallas Morning News, also on its website, the Greater Dallas Industrial Guide, the Dallas Business Journal, and Black’s Guide. The PEDC has a billboard on I-30 using the “Paris Has It!” theme. They continued their association with many economic development organizations. They received 7 leads through their association with the Texas Department of Economic Development; three which resulted in prospect visits. C-Tech was one of those prospects. C-Tech is located in the old Helig-Meyers building and will have the first building constructed in the new Paris Industrial Park. They have spent a lot of time on the Campbell Soup project and the Paris Industrial Park. PEDC will have a pre-construction meeting on Thursday. The Hearne Street Project has been approved and they have received the bids which will be awarded at the next PEDC meeting. Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 8 Mr. Vest said it was a legislative year and they spent a lot of time working with the Legislature, trying to preserve and protect the 4-A sales tax which is what gives Paris Economic Development Corporation its funding. Mark Homer’s bill No. 2912 passed the Legislature. This bill defines what projects they can do and what kinds of projects economic development corporations can enter into under the sales tax provision. Mr. Vest was asked what prospects they had for the Industrial Park. Mr. Vest said there was a tentative agreement with a distribution center but no contract has been signed. It is a company out of Long Beach, California, and they are waiting for the water and sewer to be constructed. Mr. Vest assured the Council that all the easements had been cleared. Mr. Vest said that if the Council approves the plat, then construction can begin tomorrow. Earl Erickson came forward to present the 2003-2004 Lamar County Leadership Class project for the year and ask for the Council’s endorsement and support. The project named “The Trail to Paris” is to provide an off road bicycle trail for the children of Paris to safely ride on inside Loop 286. The location of the project is the abandoned 2 and 3/4 mile Missouri-Pacific Railway Corridor that th begins at 8 S.E. Street and continues east to Loop 286. Activities on the trail will include biking, walking, and jogging and it will be covered with asphalt. It will be a safe route for bikers and walkers to take to school. The project will be funded by donations of materials, time, equipment, and money from the private sector. They have gotten permission to construct the trail from Greater Paris Foundation, who has the deed to the property. They have a bridge which th has been donated to the city to cover a 100' wide drainage ditch between 8S.E. th and 12 S.E. Street. He asked the Council’s help to put in motion the proper procedure to accept this donation at the appropriate time. He indicated that when the project was completed, the 2003-2004 Lamar County Leadership Class would donate it to the City of Paris. At that time, the Greater Paris Foundation will offer the City a 99 year lease of the trail property for $1.00. Mayor Fendley said the trail initially will be almost 3 miles, with future plans Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 9 to extend it west. Robert Slider of Lamar County Leadership said they had a meeting to get the right of ways to go all the way to the Loop on the west side and then north and south. Mayor Fendley said that it is important for recruiting industry to improve the quality of life in Paris. Councilwoman Neeley said she was glad that the “Safe Route to School Program” was getting support. Mayor Fendley said no motion was necessary because this was just an informative presentation to make everyone aware of what was going on, but later, when it came time to place the bridge, the organization would come before the Council again. Erickson said there was a similar project also completed in Roxton and they wanted to connect with that some time in the future. There were similar projects in Texarkana and New Boston and their intent was to connect with Clarksville. He indicated that if they all connected, that would be about a 100 mile off road corridor which would impact the regional economy. Councilman Guest made a motion to give the Council’s confidence and support, which was seconded by Councilman Bell. The motion carried unanimously. Mayor Fendley called for a presentation from Freese and Nichols on the Water Treatment Plant Evaluation and Production Study. Mike Morrison, Vice President with Freese and Nichols, came forward, stating that the Paris Plant was a well operated plant. He introduced the project manager, Hisam Mussulam, also known as Hutch. Mr. Mussullam stated that the purpose of the study was to evaluate the capacity of the water treatment plant and to also estimate the water demand projections through 2025 and to review current and future regulations. The study compared the City of Paris Water Treatment Plant with other cities that have water treatment plants with similar capacities. Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 10 Freese and Nichols studied each component of the Water Treatment Plant and found a problem in the sedimentation basins. Mr. Mussullam stated the plant was rated at 32.3 MGD but the reliable capacity of the sedimentation basins is really about 20 MGD. He said when the sedimentation basins were designed the effluent quality was at 1.0 NTU and is now less than 0.3 NTU which indicates a need for bigger sedimentation basins. He related that the plant’s filtration is at 31.1 MGD which is much higher than its rated capacity. They projected about 28,800 residential water customers in 2025 with about 12,300 connections. Mr. Mussullam indicated the contract with Lamar County Water Supply promises them up to 5 MGD. The study projected 25,000 population served with about 10,000 connections in the county, excluding the City of Paris. He stated that industrial customers, which includes Campbell’s Soup, Kimberly- Clark and Tenaska, and Lamar Power Partners, accounted for 50% of the total production of the water treatment plant. Mr. Mussullam said this means the plant is producing enough water for a 50,000 or 60,000 population. In looking at the Water Treatment Plant demand analysis, Mr. Mussullam said what is important is population projections, historical use of the customers, the number of connections (because the TCEQ regulates the treatment plant capacity based on the number of connections, which is .6 G per minute per connection), contractual obligations, industrial and wholesale, which means that the Water Treatment Plant should be capable of meeting the worse case scenario water demand. Taking all that into consideration, the study came up with a 32.3 MGD for 2025. Mussullam cited a TCEQ ruling that when a plant has reached 85% of its capacity, it has to start planning for expansion. That would be when the plant reached 27.4 MGD which would be in about 2010. However, he reminded them that the reliable capacity was only 20.0 MGD, so something needs to be done to bring the capacity up to the projected MGD. Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 11 The study also projected, using the same criteria, that Lamar County Water will need 9.4 MGD in 2005 and 11.52 in 2025. The plant will be under capacity if this happens. Upon a question from Councilwoman Neeley, Mr. Mussullam indicated that if the sedimentation basins were fixed and there was no big increase in demand, then the plant could stay in compliance for the next five to ten years. Mr. Mussullam went over various regulations that the Water Treatment Plant has to be in compliance with. The study compared cities with comparable water treatment plants to review their staffing. There is a recommended minimum of 2 operators per shift, so there will be a back-up in case of emergencies. He said, currently, the City of Paris has 2 operators on the day shifts, but only one operator on the night shift. Freese and Nichols has determined during their studies that the newer plants take less maintenance personnel and the old plants take more maintenance personnel. Because the Paris plant is not a new plant, it takes more maintenance personnel. Taking an average between the older and newer plants, the study came up with a figure of 6.8 maintenance for a treatment plant the size of Paris. Also because of various duties of the maintenance personnel, the study showed Paris to be short one maintenance person. Mr. Mussullam said the recommended improvements were divided into three phases. Phase 1, the most critical, would bring the Water Treatment Plant to its reliable capacity of 32.3 MGD. He indicated they would need to replace the rapid mixers, add the sedimentation basins, and add the chlorine injector after the filters to add flexibility to the disinfection scheme. Mr. Mussullam estimated the cost of Phase 1 to be about $3,450,000. He continued with Phase 2, which consisted of relocating chlorinators and constructing a barrier wall around the chlorine storage for safety, and also Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 12 constructing a 200,000 gallon elevated storage tank to improve the backwash water supply. Phase 3, Mr. Mussullam explained, included replacing the filter under-drains, most of which were installed in 1966, installing air-scour to improve filter performance and efficiency, and constructing a building for the air-scour. Councilwoman Neeley asked for clarification on the sedimentation basins in Phase 1, and asked if he had said the four existing basins needed to be repaired. Mr. Mussullam indicated if they needed to go beyond the 32.3 MGD reliable capacity, then that would be the only way to gain additional filtration capacity. Mr. Mussullam related that the probable project costs were about $3.35 million for Phase 1, which adds up to 30 cents a gallon, $900,000 for Phase 2, and about $1.75 million for Phase 3. These do not include bringing the plant to a capacity over 33 or 34 MGD. Mr. Mussullam indicated that they could possibly see a 20% savings in chemical costs because of these improvements. Mr. Mussullam said that if everyone wanted the maximum gallons of water stated in their contracts and the City of Paris needed its maximum, the plant could not meet these needs safely. Mayor Fendley asked the Council to go to item 18, which was discussion and direction on privatization since the consultants were in the council meeting. Mayor Fendley asked what the consultants exposure to privatization had been and if it had been good or bad. Robert Slide of Freese and Nichols said privatization had been in Texas for a long time. Mr. Slide explained that privatization meant contract operations to run the water plant. He indicated the City of Pampa had been privatized longer than anyone else in Texas. He also mentioned Georgetown, the City of Houston, which was privatized and has gone back to its own employees, the City of Laredo, and the City of Atlanta, who has cancelled it contract. He Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 13 indicated there has been mixed results from privatization. He also mentioned that a lot of cities had good results from privatization of their solid waste collection and disposal. Mr. Slide said there were two major issues in contract for service on a water systems, the cost in operation and how much control the city wanted to maintain their systems. He did say the State had approved privatization operations in Texas. Three main areas Mr. Slide felt that a privatization company usually focuses on, personnel to reduce salary costs, chemical cost savings, and energy savings. He indicated that because these companies have a central warehouse, chemicals could be bought in bulk. Other benefits include central maintenance and central technical and operational support. Mayor Fendley indicated that the Council had the survey results compiled by Staff from 9 of the 31 cities that had been surveyed. Mayor Fendley said they were waiting for more responses. The Council took a five minute break at 7:31 P.M. and reconvened at 7:36 P.M. ORDINANCE NO. 2004-003 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 SECTION 26-1 OF SAID CODE TO AUTHORIZE THE STAFFING LEVELS OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE, WAS READ. City Manager Malone explained this would eliminate 2 police private positions. Councilman Bell made a motion to adopt the ordinance, which was seconded by Councilwoman Neeley. The ordinance passed 6 ayes to 0 nays. Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 14 ORDINANCE NO. 2004-004 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, PARIS, TEXAS, ADOPTING A NEW SECTION 26-9 TO ARTICLE I, CHAPTER 26 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, ENTITLED SENIORITY PAY; ESTABLISHING THEREBY A PROGRAM OF SENIORITY PAY WITHIN THE PARIS POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR CERTIFIED POLICE OFFICERS BELOW THE RANK OF CHIEF BASED ON YEARS IN SERVICE AND RANK ACHIEVED IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 143.041 (c) 1 OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE, WAS READ. A motion was made by Councilwoman Neeley, seconded by Councilman Bell, for approval of the ordinance. The motion carried 6 ayes to 0 nays. Resolution 2004-001, affirming that the city of Paris has complied with the requirements of the Public Funds Investment Act; amending the city’s Investment Policy; making other findings and provisions related to the subject; and proving an effective date, was read. Councilman Bell asked what was being amended. Director of Finance, Gene Anderson, indicated that the amendments were minor and involved some account numbers, but that the Council had to vote on it every year. A motion was made by Councilman Guest and seconded by Councilman Weekly. The motion carried 6 ayes to 0 nays. Resolution 2004-002, stating the City of Paris’ continued support of the Regional Controlled Substance Apprehension Program and the continuing efforts of the Tri-County Drug Task Force to target illicit controlled substance and organized criminal activity, was read. Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 15 Councilman Bell moved to accept the ordinance which was seconded by Councilwoman Neeley. The motion carried 6 ayes, 0 nays. A resolution approving and authorizing a grant application to the Office of the Governor, Criminal Justice Division, Texas Narcotics Control Program, for a Regional Controlled Substance Apprehension Program Grant was read. Police Chief Karl Louis explained that the monetary amounts in the resolution were left blank because Red River County and Clarksville are no longer participating agencies, but Sulphur Springs and Hopkins County have lost agencies, also. Chief Louis indicated they would all be combining forces, which would make the Regional Task Force larger. He said they would probably be coming back with a combined grant application for council approval. Councilman Bell moved to table action on the resolution. Councilwoman seconded the motion, which carried 6 ayes, 0 nays. Resolution 2004-003, accepting the Texas State Library and Archives Commission Loan Star Libraries Grant and authorizing the execution of the Grant Agreement No. 442-04363, making other findings and provisions related to the subject, was read. A motion was made by Councilwoman Neeley, seconded by Councilman Weekly, to accept the resolution. The resolution passed 6 ayes, 0 nays. Resolution 2004-004, authorizing the execution of a purchase order for one (1) ambulance through the Texas Local Government Purchasing Cooperative; making other findings and provisions, was presented. City Manager Malone said the price was $95,790 plus a fee of $800, less the value of the trade-in, $9700. Councilman Bell asked if this was in the budget. City Manager Malone affirmed that it was. Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 16 A motion was made by Councilwoman Neeley and seconded by Councilman Guest. The motion carried 6 ayes to 0 nays. Resolution 2004-005, amending Resolution No. 2003-176 to amend the grant application filed with the Ark-Tex Council of Governments for a Regional Solid Waste Grants Program Grant, making other findings and provisions related to the subject, was presented. Councilman Weekly moved to accept the resolution, which was seconded by Councilman Plata. The motion carried 6 ayes to 0 nays. Resolution 2004-006, declaring surplus and approving the sale and transfer of property described as Lots 21, 22, and part of Lot 23, Block 1, Gibbons Park Addition, being numbers 845 and 855 E. Polk Street, respectively, to Paris Living, a Community Development Corporation, for purposes of developing housing for low income individuals and promoting community-based revitalization; reserving perpetual five foot (5') wide street right-of-way and utility easement thereon; making other findings and provisions related to the subject, was read. A motion to accept the resolution was made by Councilwoman Neeley. Councilman Weekly seconded the motion and it passed 6 ayes, 0 nays. Resolution 2004-007, approving the sale of tax delinquent property, being Lots 1 and 2, Block 2, South Park Addition, being located at the southwest corner th of the intersection of 4 Street S.W. and Orange Street, was presented. A motion to accept the resolution was made by Councilman Bell and seconded by Councilwoman Neeley. The motion carried 6 ayes to 0 nays. Mayor Fendley explained that items I through S were items going out for bid and wanted to take them as one motion. Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 17 Resolution 2004-008 authorizes the advertisement for bids for Self-contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBAs) for use in the Fire Department. City Manager Malone indicated that this item was some internal changing in the budget to delete the Thermal Imaging Cameras and apply that money to purchase the SBCAs because the city did not get the grant. Resolution 2004-009 authorizes the advertisement for bids for Flexible Base Material (White Rock) for use in the Street Division of the Public Works Department. Resolution 2004-010 authorizes the advertisement for bids for Portland Cement Concrete for use in the various divisions of the Public Works Department. Resolution 2004-011 authorizes the advertisement for bids for CRS-2 Emulsion Asphalt for use in the Street Division of the Public Works Department. Resolution 2004-012 authorizes the advertisement for bids for Flexible Base Material (Red Rock) for use in Street Division of the Public Works Department. Resolution 2004-013 authorizes the advertisement for bids for Hot Mix Cold Laid Asphalt, Type “B” (Fine Base), Material for use in the Street Division of the Public Works Department. Resolution 2004-014 authorizes the advertisement for bids for SS-1 Emulsion Asphalt (Tack Oil) for use in the Street Division of the Public Works Department. Resolution 2004-015 authorizes the advertisement for bids for Hot Mix Cold Laid Asphalt, Type “A” (Coarse Base), Material for use in the Street Division of the Public Works Department Resolution 2004-016 authorizes advertisement for bids for Aggregate Cover Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 18 Stone (Type B, Grade 4, Uncoated) for use in the Street Division of the Public Works Department. Resolution 2004-017 authorizes the advertisement for bids for Aggregate Cover Stone (Type B, Grade 5, Uncoated) for use in the Street Division of the Public Works Department. Resolution 2004-018 authorizes the advertisement for bids for Hot Mix Cold Laid Asphalt, Type “F” (Fine Mixture), Material for use in the Street Division of the Public Works Department. Councilman Bell made a motion to let items 16I through 16S out for bids. The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Neeley and carried 6 ayes, 0 nays. Resolution 2004-019, amending Resolution No. 2003-183 to reflect the correct term expiration date of certain members of the Airport Advisory Board, was read. A motion was made by Councilwoman Neeley, seconded by Councilman Weekly, to accept the motion. The motion carried 6 ayes, 0 nays. Mayor Fendley called for Betty Landon, Director of the Paris Public Library, to give a staff report. Ms. Landon called the attention of the Council to the literature the library hands out in their packet. She stated that the local library belongs to the Northeast Texas Library System, one of 10 such systems in the state. Ms. Landon said they do what they need to do to qualify to belong to the system so they can also qualify for state money. For fiscal activity, Ms. Landon cited that 337,947 items that were checked out, which equals 25,000 items per staff person. She stated 54% of those items were print items, which means people are still reading in Paris. She also mentioned that the Library added 8,610 items to its collection. Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 19 The Library has 17 regular volunteers, who worked 2,981 hours, checking in and shelving books. Ms. Landon indicated if it were not for the volunteers, they would need more staff. She reminded the Council that she started opening the library 6 days a week when she came here 2 years ago; so, the library was open for 297 days. Ms. Landon noted that they saw almost 130,000 people at the library this past year. The library added new shelving this year and moved shelving to meet ADA requirements. She said they also consolidated the adult and video section into one area and the large print books into one area. Ms. Landon implemented procedures to clean and weed videos on a regular schedule and started a DVD collection with state funds. Also, she stated that state funds were used to buy 3 new computers, 2 printers, a scanner and software. For future plans, Ms. Landon said they would continue weeding, which every library should do. She said they also plan to purge patron records, which has not been done since 1994. She will be implementing some staff training and more measures to get books returned. She stated their number one priority and long range goal was to work with the Library Board to find more space because of crowding. Kent Klinkerman, EMS Administrator, came forward and presented the report of accomplishments in 2003 and goals. Mr. Klinkerman stated that user fees generated a little over $1.6 million and the contract is estimated at $250,000, which brings the year’s total to a little over $1.9 million. The requests for service were a 5.17% increase over the prior year, and, he said that equaled 6517 transports. Mr. Klinkerman stated the collection rate, including mandatory write-offs, etc., was at 83.76, which has remained roughly the same for the last 4 or 5 years. He state one of his goals for 2004 was to increase the efficiency in collections. As to training, Mr. Klinkerman said all medics continue to maintain their certifications with mandatory training. He explained that the City of Paris has Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 20 a training program for the first responder groups, which trained 13 new ECA’s and 31 recertifications/audits. Eight people took the EMT-Basic training. He called the Council’s attention to Emergency Medical System map of Lamar County. He stated that there are 18 first responder groups registered with the Texas Department of Health in Lamar County, under the City of Paris EMS license. According to Mr. Klinkerman, several industrial first responders were added this year and he is hoping to expand that even more this year. He said there were more than 150 certified people in the collective first responder groups. Mr. Klinkerman stated that his goal was to be prepared for whatever emergency might come. To this end, the department has added a repeater/transmitter. He stated his goal was to continue the replacement schedule to insure dependability and capacity and to standardized the equipment, which helps with patient care. He stated they upgraded the pagers to the Minitor VI System, and all full-time, part-time and shift personnel have this pager. He said they are updating the keynote pagers for the EMS reserves. Mr. Klinkerman stated that the goal was to have all available personnel able to respond to an emergency anywhere in Lamar County within 40 minutes. This means that 7 to 10 vehicles along with at least 200 people would be available. The department is upgrading radios and computers. Mr. Klinkerman discussed the community outreach programs for the department. He wants to fully implement the computer field data system to save data entry time out in the field and in the billing office. He felt as a result, the billing clerks will have more time to pursue more collections. He is also trying to implement and inventory control system which will help maintain tighter control over supplies. In community outreach, Mr. Klinkerman stated they wanted to continue to Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 21 reach 10% of the Lamar County population, through injury and illness prevention and awareness programs. Mr. Klinkerman has implemented a wellness program to help reduce worker’s compensation claims and major medical, by starting a strength and conditioning assessment. He said participation in the assessment was mandatory for all personnel. Gene Anderson, Finance Director for the City of Paris, came forward to give the Quarterly Report. Mr. Anderson called the Council’s attention to the report included in their packet. He explained that some of the numbers on the Key Revenues, budget versus actual, were a little strange. He cited that the current property tax collections show about 10% less collected this year compared to the prior year. He explained that his usual practice was to wait for a report from Lamar County Appraisal District to reconcile that figure. He explained that he did not receive the report in time to do so. Also, Mr. Anderson called their attention to the YTD Franchise Fees, which also shows a discrepancy. He reminded the Council that last year, the city received some additional money from TXU and TXU gas to make up for and underpayment. Mayor Fendley called for referrals. The referrals included a request in the Historic Overlay District #2 by Steve Methven to change that from various zonings to Historic Overlay District, and a request by Cindy Gates to change the zoning of Lot 3, Block 328, being the 3800 Block of SW Loop 286 from an Agriculrtural District (A) to a Commercial District (C). They were referred to nd the Planning and Zoning Meeting scheduled for February 2 and back before th the City Council at the meeting scheduled February 5. Mayor Fendley called for a report by the City Council Benefits Subcommittee. Councilman Guest stated the handout is a summary of the Employee Benefits Committee findings. Councilman Guest stated that the first item was Health and Life Benefits. He Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 22 said that one of the attachments, Exhibit I, showed the current and proposed benefits. Gene Anderson explained that in network, there is no out of pocket limit as opposed to out-of-network, where there is a limit. He said this would give employees an incentive to stay in network. Mr. Anderson said the City is currently contributing $450 per employee to the plan. Councilman Guest said this was about a $2 million expenditure for the city. Councilman Guest said the Committee proposed to add sister-in-law, brother- in-law, grandparent and guardian to the definition of immediate family under leaves of absence for funerals. He stated the employees could currently accumulate 135 days of sick leave before having to go on COBRA and civil employees have no limit. Councilman Plata asked what happened to sick leave over the 135 day limit. Mr. Anderson said there was a sell back option that the employees could participate in every year for excess sick leave. Mr. Anderson stated that he looked back over the past five years at the sell back, which also includes some vacation days. He stated last year’s figure was $98,725.00 and the year before was $113,000.00. This year’s figure was $188,000.00, Mr. Anderson said, which he felt like was because of all the talk of cutting employee benefits. He predicted next year’s figure wouldn’t be near that much. On a question from Councilman Plata about abuse of sick leave, Mr. Anderson said there was probably some abuse, but he felt the employees generally did not abuse it. He felt like one of the deterrents to abuse was the policy of requiring a doctor’s excuse if an employee was off three days or one day, if abuse is expected. Councilman Guest said he felt like 135 days was too much, although there was no recommendation, as the budget had already been set. Councilwoman Neeley suggested that the committee get information from other public entities, such as the schools, on the cap for sick leave accumulation. Mr. Anderson said that some industries don’t have sick leave because it wasn’t Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 23 negotiated under their contract and others buy risk insurance that bears the cost of sick leave. Councilman Bell said he thought that cutting that number would just be a one time deal and wouldn’t amount to much, but that he felt like, when the employees sell the sick leave and vacation leave back, it should be counted as an increase in pay and should be considered in the salary surveys. He did mention in their comparisons, they found that city employees were paid much less than industry employees, but he felt like these kind of perks made them have good jobs. Councilman Guest said he felt like the 2001 Wage Survey should be updated taking these kinds of things into consideration, but felt like the employees should be given a wage they could live on. Councilman Plata said there were a lot of tax paying citizens that do not make what the city employees make. He said some people don’t realize how much city employees make and felt they would be surprised. He felt like they would be mad about all the benefits the employees get. Councilman Guest said there were four attendance holidays if no sick leave is taken, one per quarter, if they’ve been employed at the city under 10 years. He also stated that civil service employees get three civil service holidays. He indicated there was no suggested action on these. On vacation time, Councilman Guest said that employees with less than 10 years service get 12 vacation days a year and employees with more than 10 years service get 18 vacation days. Currently, unused vacation days may be carried forward with no maximum. The Committee recommended that there be a maximum of 45 days accumulated vacation time. He stated that 56 employees currently have more than 30 days of accumulated vacation time. Mr. Anderson said if they counted the Health Department, thirty (30) employees had 45 days or more. Councilman Bell felt this would encourage the employee to take a vacation, because vacation time was there for a reason. Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 24 Councilman Plata said that he felt like they should use or lose their vacation in that year. Councilman Bell said there was discussion about the 45 days being too much, but since there was no limit, the committee felt like the 45 day limit was a step in the right direction. Councilman Bell said that sometimes an employee taking off can cause a gridlock, because no one else can do that employee’s job. He used Shawn Napier, City Engineer, as an example, who had to come in on one of his vacation days to execute some documents. City Manager Malone said that when he became city manager, there were five engineers and now there is one. Councilwoman Neeley said a lot of these things have been caused by cutbacks in the departments. Mayor Fendley said a lot of these kinds of things can be handled with proper planning. Councilman Guest said the City has two retirement plans. One plan is for regular employees with the Texas Municipal Retirement System. There is mandatory participation where the employee contributes 6% of their pay and with a 2 to 1 match by the city. He stated that the annual cost to the city was $1,124,007.00 and the average employee contribution was $3535.00. Councilman Plata asked why there was mandatory participation. It was the consensus that it was a state law. Mr. Anderson stated that the city opted into TMRS sometime in the sixties and the same state law says that once you are in the plan, you have to stay in it until all obligations are fulfilled. Councilman Bell said some cities were looking at private plans, in which case, those city would have to offer both plans. Councilman Guest said the next plan was the FRRF, which covers the firemen. The firemen contribute 10% of their pay with an 11.1% match by the city. This costs the City $220,569.00 annually. The employee receives a City contribution of $3869.00 annually. Councilman Guest discussed legislation recently passed concerning non-statewide retirement programs, which preserves the benefits at the current contribution levels. Mr. Anderson said that current TMRS legislation had reduce the amount of years for vesting from 10 to 5. He also stated that under the Fire Department system, they have to have Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 25 20 years and be 55 to meet the minimum requirement. He also explained that in TMRS, the employee would have to be 60 to draw the retirement. Councilman Guest said that Exhibit 5 was an attachment on car allowance, which was another thing they discussed. He indicated the last four listed were for the Health Department. Councilman Plata felt like the allowances needed to be cut or at least reduced. Councilman Guest, in summary, said that retirement and health benefits accounted for nearly 50% what is left of the property taxes. He reminded the Council that for every $107, 000.00 trimmed from the budget represented a penny of tax per $100.00 property valuation. He also stated that property taxes are not the largest source of income for the city, but it basically balances the books. Revenues also come from sales tax, fees and money for services performed. Councilman Guest said the only monetary beneficial recommendation was on the changes to the health insurance but the members of the committee had individual opinions concerning the direction of future benefit considerations. He felt that although it began as a process to review and possibly inform, it became a process of gathering information, which the committee is respectfully submitting to the Council. Councilman Bell said the City is at the higher end on the property tax rate and the water rate. The Council needs to see what they can do to keep competitive with the employees and benefits and at the same time, hold the line on the property tax and water rates. He felt there were innovative ways to address these things. Mayor Fendley said everyone needs to look at these recommendations and think about what needs to be done, so it can be discussed in a future Council Meeting., before budget time. He said that they will discuss this in March and make recommendations to staff. Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 26 Mayor Fendley reminded the Council that it was the time of year to start the evaluations of the City Manager, City Attorney, and the Municipal Judge, a process which was begun last year. He called the Council’s attention to the evaluation forms in their packet and copies of last year’s evaluations. Councilwoman Neeley, who was a part of the committee that produced the form, stated that there needed to be discussion on the process before the evaluations were done, so all of the Council would understand the process. Mayor Fendley stated that it needed to be put on the February Council agenda, at which time they can discuss if they feel like any changes need to made to the evaluation form. It was the consensus that this would be discussed in February. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned. ___________________________________ CURTIS FENDLEY, MAYOR ATTEST: ___________________________________ MATTIE CUNNINGHAM, CITY CLERK Regular City Council Meeting January 12 , 2004 Page 27