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07/14/2014MINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS July 14, 2014 The City Council of the City of Paris met for a regular session at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July 14, 2014, at the City Council Chamber, 107 E. Kaufinan, Paris, Texas. Present: Mayor: Matt Frierson Council Members: Richard Grossnickle; Aaron Jenkins; Billie Lancaster; Benny Plata; Edwin Pickle; and A.J. Hashmi City Staff: John Godwin, City Manager; Kent McIlyar, City Attorney; Janice Ellis, City Clerk; Gene Anderson, Finance Director; Alan Efrussy, Planning Director; Shawn Napier, City Engineer; Jerry McDaniel, Public Works Director; Larry Wright, Fire Chief, Bob Hundley, Police Chief, and Priscilla McAnally, Library Director Opening Agenda 1. Call meeting to order. Mayor Frierson called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. Invocation. Gene Anderson gave the invocation. Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member Grossnickle led the pledge. 4. Citizens' Forum. James Price, 1230 Shiloh - he referenced Keep Paris Beautiful, specifically Leon Williams Park, and Record Park. He asked everyone to come together to clean up all of Paris. Mr. Price also said there was a lady on 1St N.E. whose dog was bitten by a snake and died. He said he mowed the lot for her. Louise Moseley, 3915 Shannon Drive — she said she opposed Don Wilson serving on the PEDC Board, because he had been mentioned in the investigation by Defenbaugh. Mrs. Moseley said that anyone that was that personally involved should not be on the Board. Regular Council Meeting July 14, 2014 Page 2 Arjumand Hashmi, 4510 FM 195 — He reminded the Council Members that he was not allowed to finish his statement at the last meeting. Dr. Hashmi then read a Texas Attorney General Opinion DM -95, as follows: Deliberations among a quorum of members of a governmental body may be subject to an Act even if a quorum never gathers in one place at one time, but communicates by telephone or by circulating a memorandum. Moreover, if a member or a group of members of the governmental body knowingly conspires to circumvent the Act by meeting in numbers less than a quorum for the purpose of secret deliberations, it is a violation of the Act. The person or persons commit a criminal offense. We caution members of the governmental body to be aware of this provision when purposing items for inclusion. Dr. Robert Moseley, 3915 Shannon Drive — He said with the investigation and Don Wilson having the 5 million dollar loan, that he thought Don Wilson should not be on the PEDC Board. He said when he was on the Health Board that he did not treat inmates, because the rules were you could not make any financial gain or be in conflict. He said he believed Don Wilson did not qualify in that area. He said he heard rumors about the water being sold and he wanted it addressed. Troy Jones, Jr., 609 W. Sherman — he said he was a lifetime resident of West Paris, and there were several large vacant buildings in West Paris. Mr. Jones said he would like to see what they could do to draw some businesses to fill those vacant buildings. He referenced the former Fords Grocery Store, the former Eckerds /Palace Drug and the former True Value Hardware. Consent Agenda Mayor Frierson inquired of Council Members if they wished to pull any items from the Consent Agenda for discussion. Council Member Lancaster asked that the minutes from the City Council meeting of June 30, 2014 be pulled. She said they were not inconsistent and specifically asked that more of the conversation be included between herself and the city attorney and during the time the motion was made and amended. City Clerk Janice Ellis said she would expand on the conversations and bring them back to the Council. With the exception of the update to the minutes of June 23, 2014, a Motion to approve the consent agenda was made by Council Member Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Plata. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 5. Approve the minutes from the City Council meetings on June 23, 2014 and June 30, 2014. 6. Receive reports and /or minutes from the following boards, commissions, and committees: a. Paris Economic Development Corporation and Airport Advisory Board Subcommittee (5 -1 -2014) b. Paris Public Library Advisory Board (5 -21 -2014) c. Planning and Zoning Commission (6 -2 -2014) d. Main Street Advisory Board (6 -10 -2014) Regular Council Meeting July 14, 2014 Page 3 7. Approve the Final Plat of Lots 1, 2, 3, and 4, Block A, Paris SMPC Addition 322, located at the N.E. corner of Loop 286 and Stillhouse Road, and accept two off -site easements. 8. Approve the Final Plat of Lot 1, Block A, Langdon 266 Addition, located at 2340 N.E. Loop 286. 9. Deny the Final Plat of Lots 1 & 2, Block A, Oak Ridge 318 Addition, located in the 3000 Block of N.E. Loop 286. Regular Agenda 10. Discuss and /or action concerning the change of agenda item and replacement of agenda item 21 with different language on the June 23, 2014 meeting. Council Member Lancaster said this happened to her. She referenced a copy of the agenda prior to it being amended and specifically that when Council was to come out of executive session there wasn't anything stated to be done. She said she amended that and submitted it which was dated stamped June 20, 2014, and it said to please add the following item to the Monday night meeting following the conclusion of the executive session — the item stated discussion and /or action concerning the Forensic Investigation of PEDC and Defenbaugh and associates contract. She said she was prompted to put this on by her constituents. She said she was an at large member and was elected to represent District 2. She also said when the people tell her they are concerned about that and they want to see it handled, that she is their spokesperson so she brought it forward. She said later in the weekend before this meeting that it was changed without her permission or any notice. She further said that the agenda stated reconvene into open session and possibly take action on those matters discussed in executive session. Council Member Lancaster said it was her agenda item and only because she was a little rude and broke in, was she able to make the motion she made. She said it was her assertion that a Council Member should never be muzzled in regard to what he or she is trying to do for their district and that was what concerned her. She said to do so, goes against freedom of speech. Council Member Lancaster said she could not see why there would be change in honored traditions of granting a member of the Council to put something important to his or her district on this agenda. She said she did not want this to happen to any other Council Member. Mayor Frierson said her point was well taken and he did not know exactly where the miscommunication occurred. 11. Discuss and /or action of the proposal for the city to maintain sidewalks known as Safe Sidewalks for Kids. Proposal brought about due to safety concerns. Council Member Lancaster said this was another item that was brought to her attention. She said they built the safe sidewalks going to elementary schools to try to keep the kids out of the streets to keep them safe, a place where they could ride their bikes or walk. She also said they had a young man killed on Graham because he was riding his bike in the street going to school, and the problem was there were really high weeds growing all along the sidewalks. She said some children were going out into the street to avoid high grass. She said she would like to Regular Council Meeting July 14, 2014 Page 4 see the City take over mowing just the safe sidewalks, so the children would not be in any danger. Council Member Lancaster reported that they seemed to be developing a large snake population, and that she did not want children running into snakes. She thought it would be very beneficial for the City to handle the sidewalks. Mr. Godwin said Public Works Director Jerry McDaniel would take care of it. 12. Discuss and /or action on the proposal to clear drainage ditches in the city. These include areas in District 5 — 3rd SE through 81h SE — District 2 — 3rd SW — 7th SW, District 2 — 12th NW through 15th NW, District 1 — 3rd NE, 4' NE and 5th NE. These are only a few. There are also some in District 3. Council Member Lancaster said she brought this forward, because there was a problem with the drainage ditches before the ice storm and afterwards they were considerably worse. She said if the City gets heavy rains there was going to be water in a lot of homes, and that two houses had already gotten water in them. Council Member Lancaster said those drainage ditches were put there for a purpose and Paris has flooded. She strongly urged that all of the drainage ditches that had been there for quite a long time, be cleaned out so they did not have to worry about flooding. Mayor Frierson agreed and said there would be an agenda item on the next agenda to specifically discuss the progress of those ongoing projects. Council Member Lancaster asked if there was any history of when these were built. Mr. Godwin said he did know, because he was not here during that time. He said there were many and it was difficult to track them all down citing some were underground. Council Member Lancaster said while driving around in her district on Sunday and when on Henderson Street, she noticed not only was there a really snaky looking bad drainage ditch, but a horrible smell of sewage. Council Member Plata asked if there was any work going on with cleaning drainage ditches. Mr. Godwin answered in the affirmative, and said during this time of year most of the parks peoples were spending time spent on parks. He said that two weeks ago he mentioned that staff had not been able to do a lot during the winter, because they had been cleaning up from the ice storm and had gotten behind. Mr. Godwin said a report would be brought back in two weeks. 13. Appoint two board members to the Paris Economic Development Corporation. Mayor Frierson said last time they did all their board appointments and were successful, with exception of the PEDC Board. He said there were two vacancies and both of those terms were three year terms. Mayor Frierson opened the floor for nominations. Council Member Pickle nominated Don Wilson and was seconded by Council Member Plata. Motion carried, 4 ayes — 3 nays, with Council Members Jenkins, Lancaster and Hashmi casting the dissenting votes. Council Member Hashmi said he thought they had broken policies and procedures in that board appointments were suppose to be done by the 30th of June. He inquired why this item was not placed on the June 30th agenda when they had a quorum present. He said Council talked about not breaking the rules, but they did not follow their own policies and procedures. Mr. Godwin said it did not occur to him to add this item to the June 30 agenda, because it was a Regular Council Meeting July 14, 2014 Page 5 workshop and that no one requested it be placed on the agenda. Mr. Godwin also said the policy stated the appointments were to be made at the second regular meeting in June and this item was on that agenda. Council Member Hashmi said he thought that the City should follow their policies and procedures and they should not be broken. Council Member Pickle nominated John Brockman and was seconded by Council Member Grossnickle. Motion carried, 5 ayes — 2 nays, with Council Member Lancaster casting a dissenting vote and Council Member Jenkins abstaining from the vote. 14. Discuss, conduct a public hearing and take action on the petition of Charles Braswell for a change in zoning from a One - Family Dwelling District No. 2 (SF -2) to a One - Family Dwelling District No. 3 (SF -3) with a Specific Use Permit (39- Mobile Home) on Lots 29 and 30, City Block 197, located at 1838 Maple Avenue. Planning Director Alan Efrussy explained this was a zoning change request from Charles Braswell; that Planning and Zoning conducted a public hearing, and the Commission voted unanimously to recommend to the City Council denial of this mobile home request. Mayor Frierson opened the public hearing and asked for those wishing to speak about this item, to please come forward. Petitioner Charles Braswell, 737 CR 4400, spoke in support of the zoning change. Ray Banks, 3450 Robin Road, spoke in opposition to zoning change citing that everyone was always commenting that they needed to improve West Paris. Also, speaking in opposition to this item were James Price and Mary Davenport. Mr. Efrussy read a letter from Margie Bell, who could not be at the meeting but wanted the Council to know that she opposed this zoning change. With no one else speaking, Mayor Frierson closed the public hearing. Council Member Pickle asked if there was a mobile home policy adopted several years ago and Mr. Napier said it was never approved, but there would be an upcoming item at the Planning and Zoning meeting in August. A Motion to deny the zoning request was made by Council Member Pickle and seconded by Council Member Plata. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 15. Discuss, conduct a public hearing and take action on the petition of Terry Arnold for a change in zoning from a One - Family Dwelling District No. 3 (SF -3) to a One - Family Dwelling District No. 3 (SF -3) with a Specific Use Permit (39- Mobile Home) on Lot 2, Block 8, Maxey Addition, located at 1631 West Campbell. Mr. Efrussy explained this was a zoning change request from Mrs. Catherine Arnold, that staff recommended to the Planning and Zoning Commission at their July 7 meeting that the applicant be allowed additional time to obtain and submit requested data to staff, because the submittal was incomplete. Mr. Efrussy said the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial based on the request as submitted and staff supported the position of the Commission. Mayor Frierson opened the public hearing and asked for those wishing to speak about this item, to please come forward. With no one speaking, Mayor Frierson closed the public hearing. Regular Council Meeting July 14, 2014 Page 6 A Motion to deny the zoning change was made by Council Member Lancaster and seconded by Council Member Plata. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 16. Discuss, conduct a public hearing and take action on ORDINANCE NO. 2014 -012: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, APPROVING A SITE PLAN FOR A ALDI FOOD MARKET IN A PLANNED DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT ESTABLISHED ON LOT 1, BLOCK A, MIRABEAU SQUARE 287 ADDITION, BEING LOCATED AT 3518 LAMAR AVENUE, PARIS, TEXAS; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, A SAVINGS CLAUSE, A PENALTY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mr. Efrussy explained this site plan was for a food market and that the Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve the request. Mayor Frierson opened the public hearing and asked for anyone wishing to speak about this item, to please come forward. Bryan Burger, civil engineer for ALDI spoke in support of this item and answered questions from Council about parking spaces. Also speaking in support of this item, was Rickey Utley, 320 N.E. 34th Street. With no one else speaking, Mayor Frierson closed the public hearing. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Lancaster and seconded by Council Member Pickle. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 17. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2014 -025: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING A GRANT REQUEST TO THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (TXDOT) AVIATION DIVISION REQUESTING GRANT MONEY TO CONSTRUCT T- HANGARS AND EXTEND HANGAR ACCESS TAXIWAY; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City Engineer Shaw Napier explained that on March 3, 2013, the City Council approved submission of a letter of interest to Texas Department of Transportation Aviation Division requesting grant money to construct hangars. He said TxDOT Aviation recently sent a request asking for a resolution from the City Council, which would authorize expenditure of 10% of the project cost. Mr. Napier said since Friday, the numbers had changed and the current project cost was estimated at $1,206,666 with a match of $120,666.60, which included engineering and construction for the 10 -unit T- Hangar and hangar access taxiway. Mr. Napier explained there was a maximum dollar amount that the FAA would not go over and that FAA was locked in at paying $600,000 for construction of T- Hangars. Council Member Hashmi expressed concern about the increase in numbers and that the City would not really know what their match was going to be for this. He said if the construction cost of the hangars goes up, then the City's Regular Council Meeting July 14, 2014 Page 7 match will go up. He inquired whether or not the people on the waiting list were residents of the City. Mr. Napier said about 75% were residents. Council Member Hashmi said they would not be able to determine the timeframe for the City to recover any funds on what the City was expending on construction, because they did not know the exact costs. He inquired about rental fees. Mr. Napier said the least expensive hanger was for an open hangar and that rented for a monthly fee of $135 and the other type hangar rented for approximately $160 a month. Council Member Hashmi wanted to know why the airport was not profitable and whether or not they could have non - resident renters pay an increased rate. Mayor Frierson said there were a number of people on a hanger waiting list and he knew of one Southwest Airline pilot who had been on the list for eight years. He also said there was a need for hangars and this was one way to help develop the airport. Council Member Grossnickle asked if the lease agreement had been revised. Mr. Napier said they were in the process of doing that and were looking at three different types of leases, which consisted of private hangars, aircraft business and commercial business. Council Member Grossnickle inquired if Mr. Napier had studied other similar airports with regard to lease agreements. Mr. Napier said that process had begun, but was not complete. Council Member Grossnickle suggested the monthly rental fees be set at the higher end, because there was such a demand. Council Member Plata said he knew they wanted do develop the airport, but expressed concern about spending a lot of tax payer money when it only benefited a small portion of the residents. Council Member Lancaster said they were trying to bring development to the airport, so that a profit could be made. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Grossnickle and seconded by Council Member Lancaster. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 18. Consider and approve future events for City Council and /or City Staff pursuant to Resolution No. 2004 -081. Mr. Godwin reminded everyone about the Tour de Paris scheduled for July 19 and Mr. Price's announcement at the event at the park. 19. Adjournment. There being no further business, a Motion to adjourn was made by Council Member Pickle and was seconded by Council Member Grossnickle. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m. MATT FRIERSON, MAYOR NICE ELLIS, CITY CLERK