Loading...
02/25/2015MINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS February 25, 2015 The City Council of the City of Paris was scheduled for a regular session on Monday, February 23, 2015, and the meeting was postponed due to inclement weather. The City Council met at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 25, 2015, at the City Council Chamber, 107 E. Kaufman, Paris, Texas. Present: Mayor: Matt Frierson Council Members: Richard Grossnickle; Aaron Jenkins; Sue Lancaster; Benny Plata; Edwin Pickle; and A.J. Hashmi City Staff. John Godwin, City Manager; Kent Mellyar, City Attorney; Janice Ellis, City Clerk; Gene Anderson, Finance Director; Shawn Napier, City Engineer; Jerry McDaniel, Public Works Director; Larry Wright, Fire Chief; Bob Hundley, Police Chief; Doug Harris, Utilities Director; and Kent Klinkerman, EMS Director Opening Agenda 1. Call meeting to order. Mayor Frierson called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. Invocation. Reverend Leddy gave the invocation. 3. Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member Pickle led the pledge. 4. Citizens' Forum. a. Citizens' forum. Rev. James Price, 1230 Shiloh - he asked the Council to amend the Charter, so the citizens could elect the mayor. He said the mayor was currently selected like a dictatorship. Ray Banks, 3450 Robin Road - he said he wanted to try to correct some information that was in the Paris News on February 11. Mr. Banks said at the February 10 PEDC meeting, Mr. Wilson provided some charts showing job growth and income growth in Paris. He said Mr. Wilson's information showed the 2 nd quarter of 2012 against the 2nd quarter of 2014, and there Regular Council Meeting February 25, 2015 Page 2 was a difference of 521 jobs. Mr. Banks said he went to the source that Mr. Wilson showed on his chart and couldn't find it, but he did finally find it on the Department of Labor site. He said Mr. Wilson had written the 2012 number down incorrectly, there was a difference of 300 jobs; the number should have been 221 rather than 521. Mr. Banks said he called the Paris News and asked them if they would be willing to reprint that chart with the correction on it. They never said yes or no, but said they would be writing some more articles on the situation. Mr. Banks said Mr. Wilson called and thanked him, that he did write it down wrong, and he was correcting it on all future charts. Mr. Banks said the income level on Mr. Wilson's information showed Paris gained $8,357,100 and if you divide that number by 221 jobs that comes out to a total of $909 per hour, if all those jobs are full time. Mr. Banks said he was questioning if those were actual jobs or was it just payroll information where someone worked a few hours and it was recorded that way. Don McCaskill, 7440 CR44850 - he said he felt sure everyone read the comments of the P &Z Commission meeting last week regarding recycling zoning. Mr. McCaskill referenced The New Testament, "Matthew 12:25 Jesus said every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined and every city or household divided against itself will not stand." He suggested that the Council put aside personal issues and work together for all concerned. Louise Hagood, 556 Fitzhugh Avenue - she said she had two points to make. Mrs. Hagood said she did not live in Morningside, but as a resident of Paris for 65 years was confused by the action of the P &Z Commission last week, as well as the Paris News article. She said one speaker called the recycling depot a mere junkyard and called attention to the traffic problem it would create on Lamar Avenue and the only descending voice in the audience was the attorney for the company. She said was paraphrasing his words when he said they operated a very good trash company. Mrs. Hagood said she wanted desperately for Paris to be a desirable city in which to live and several months ago she spoke and by nodding, Mr. Frierson agreed that if Paris was not pretty it would not attract newcomers and would not therefore increase the tax base. Mrs. Hagood said the City Council was elected because the people thought they had to wisdom to do the right thing for Paris. Ann Ford, 4240 Primrose - she said her front door was approximately 60 yards from the back of this proposed junkyard. She challenged the Council to go to their front door, their front window, look out and visualize what a junkyard would look like at their front doors. She said there was no way metal could be handled in a quiet manner. Ms. Ford said Mr. Godwin admitted that a mistake had been made and now, she was asking the Council to do the right thing. Marcus Roden, 3930 Holbrook — he said property values would definitely be affected if this business was allowed to exist in the proposed location. Mr. Roden said values of their homes would decrease, tax rates would suffer, and there were approximately 225 homes in Morningside. He told the Council they ran for office, and they were to represent the people of Paris. Mr. Roden asked the Council to do the right thing. Regular Council Meeting February 25, 2015 Page 3 James Jaggers, 4015 Jasmine Street — he said it did not seem right that they had to come to the meeting to plead with the Council to keep a junkyard out of their neighborhood. Mr. Jaggers said there were some businesses and operations that did not fit in some places, and this scrap barn, junkyard, recycling, whatever they called it did not fit in their neighborhood, or in a prime shopping area. He questioned if the Council was not going to look after the residents who would do it. Louise Moseley, 3915 Shannon Drive — she thanked Dr. Hashmi for putting this on the agenda allowing for the citizen's forum. She said if it had not been for Dr. Hashmi the residents would not have been allowed to speak their opinions, because Matt Frierson wanted to do away with the citizen forum. Mrs. Moseley said government was for the people by the people and not one man could stand and rewrite words without asking the Council for their opinion. She also said when she and other citizens went to the PEDC meeting, that Steve Grubbs addressed them and asked them if they needed to spend their time doing better things. Mrs. Moseley said she felt very unwelcomed at the PEDC meeting, that she made it a point for the last year to go to the PEDC meetings to see where the taxpayers' money, a million and a half dollars per year, was going. Mrs. Moseley said all she had heard was Don Wilson talking about what the FBI had on them. Mrs. Moseley said nothing had been accomplished. She said there was $25,000 being spent on testing children and she thought that was illegal. She said the money should be spent on jobs, because that was what PEDC was created to do. Mrs. Moseley said she was totally against the way PEDC was being operated, that they were not using the money wisely, and were wasting money. Mrs. Moseley also said the petition being circulated was for signatures to allow the people of Paris to vote as to what they wanted to do with PEDC. Anna Spencer, 1710 34th Street N.E. — she said she was against the recycling business being put in the location that they want to put it, but that she was for recycling. Mrs. Spencer questioned if there was 2 million dollars a year in recycling as told to them by the Glicks. She also said she was opposed to changes to the Historic Commission and that she thought that decision making should rest with the Board, who made recommendations to the Council. Sara Eatherly, 4134 Primrose Lane — she said the proposed facility was being proposed for the wrong place. She said they did not need a junk yard. She said this facility would consist of a lot of noise and questioned the number of coke cans the facility would have to take in to make a profit. She expressed concern over environmental issues, smell, rodent issues and stolen metals that would come through the facility. Mrs. Eatherly said they were proud of their neighborhood and they moved there for a reason and it was not to have junk yard in their front yards. Sue Lancaster, 1020 Bonham — she said the PEDC has a regular meeting at 3:00 on the second Tuesday of the month, and their goal was to bring manufacturing jobs to Paris, Texas. Mrs. Lancaster said at a recent meeting, Mr. Grubbs greeted the board and visitors with a statement that in part read: "As a board, I think it's important for us to collectively discuss issues of public perception, which includes chatter about an effort to dissolve PEDC. I've seen copies of the statements on social media encouraging citizens to go on certain locations to sign a petition. We're all here to serve the great community. If that's not the case I encourage you to Regular Council Meeting February 25, 2015 Page 4 find better use of your time and efforts. I have put together a factual presentation that compares us with other communities." Mrs. Lancaster said Don Wilson presented the bulk of the presentation, and included numbers that were designed to show how much better Paris was than any community around us. Mrs. Lancaster said as you can see, those numbers presented were bogus; when an error concerning job growth was brought to the attention of the Paris News they declined to print a correction. She said Eparis did print a small correction. Mrs. Lancaster said other mistakes were also listed on the presentation, and that she did not present a call center that was brought to Sherman, but that it was a recycling center called Renew Blue. She said she compared the private handling of the group in Paris prior to 1993, which was led by Mr. Gibbs, and was very successful, as it included Turner Pipe, Campbell Soup, the Power Plant, Kimberly - Clark, and Uarco among others. Mrs. Lancaster said these industries became the backbone of Paris' success and were privately developed. Mrs. Lancaster said if one visited Tyler they would note how robust their town is, and it was quite evident Paris was not robust. The Paris population sign has reflected little or no growth. She said Mr. Wilson wishes to know the source of her data, and that it mostly comes from public information requests to the PEDC, the City, and others. Mrs. Lancaster said everything she reports is documented. She also said a statement about Tyler only looking for companies bringing in 1000 jobs was ludicrous, because the City of Tyler only got one company that brought 1000 jobs to their city. She said there were many other inaccurate statements by Mr. Wilson and she looked forward to debunking them. Larry Schenk, 3765 Dawn Drive - he said he wanted to speak about an issue of the appropriate zoning for the proposed recycling facility. Mr. Schenk said in his opinion he believed that the actions taken by the P &Z to recommend a zoning change was in part correct and was in part wrong. He said the proposal as he understood it, was that such uses would be appropriate, in Heavy Industrial zoned areas, Light Industrial zoning areas, and Commercial zoned areas with a specific use permit. He said he believed it was inappropriate for this kind of use to be allowed in a commercial zoned area even with a specific use permit. Mr. Schenk said it does have certain impacts on adjoining property and he thought that it was appropriate only with a specific use permit in light industrial and otherwise in an industrial zoned area. b. Recognition of the Paris Police Department for designation of Storm Ready by the National Weather Service. This item was rescheduled to the March 9, 2015 meeting. Consent Agenda Mayor Frierson inquired of Council Members if they wished to pull any items from the Consent Agenda for discussion. There being none, a Motion to approve the consent agenda was made by Council Member Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Pickle. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 5. Approve minutes from the meetings on January 23, 2015 and February 16, 2015. 6. Receive reports and/or minutes from the following boards, commissions, and committees: Regular Council Meeting February 25, 2015 Page 5 a. Paris Economic Development Corporation (1 -13 -2015 & 1 -16 -2015) b. Main Street Advisory Board (1 -13 -2015) c. Building & Standards Commission (1 -20 -2015) 7. Receive January monthly financial report. 8. Receive January drainage report. 9. Receive demolition report. 10. Accept bids and award contracts for the purchase of roadway materials to the lowest responsible bidder(s) for the twelve month period beginning April 1, 2015. 11. Accept the bid and award the contract for the replacement of concrete curbs and gutters, driveway approaches, and reinforced concrete sidewalks to the lowest responsible bidder(s) for the twelve month period beginning April 1, 2015. Regular Agenda 12. Convene into Executive Session pursuant to: • Section 551.071 of the Texas Government Code, Consultation with Attorney, to receive legal advice from the City Attorney about pending or contemplated litigation and /or on matters in which the duty of an attorney to his client under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of Texas clearly conflicts with this chapter, as follows: Recycler's Depot. • Section 551.072 of the Texas Government Code, to deliberate the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property. Mayor Frierson convened City Council into executive session at 5:56 p.m. 13. Reconvene into open session. Mayor Frierson reconvened City Council into open session at 6:27 p.m. 14. Receive citizen input, discuss and act on placing recycling centers under the industrial classification of the zoning ordinance. Council Member Hashmi said he had placed this item on the agenda and asked if he could begin, to which Mayor Frierson answered in the affirmative. Council Member Hashmi said it was a very important night, a night about accepting wishes of the citizens based on research, and about making the City a better place to live for future years to come. He also said Regular Council Meeting February 25, 2015 Page 6 the recycling matter was sent to Planning & Zoning and they agreed to a place these types of businesses in industrial areas of the cities and in commercial areas with a specific use permit. Council Member Hashmi said recycling was considered an industrial development and had no place in commercial retail areas and certainly not close to residential areas. He recommended that Council follow P &Z recommendation with the exception of allowing this type of use in commercial with a specific use permit. Ray Banks, 3450 Robin Road — he said if Recyclers was allowed to obtain a specific use permit, that the City needed to make sure they were aware that the permit had to be renewed in five years and if in five years that permit was pulled, their business could cease. Brue Carr, 845 42nd S.E. — he said this facility receives, unloads, and stores which constitutes processing. He also said on Mr. Glick's own admission they have a non - stereo junk yard and on his own admission they referred to the facility as a warehouse. Mr. Carr expressed concern about what would happen to the property values in Morning Side if this facility was allowed to be built at this location. Mr. Carr said he would like for the Council to prohibit this facility from the current location, and that a new classification be made for transfer stations in light industrial zones with a specific use permit and heavy industrial zones with a specific use permit. Bret Holbert, 4125 Holbrook — he expressed concern about the environmental impact to the neighborhood. He gave a list of items they would be taking in which included batteries and automobiles, and referenced that they would leak of acid and oil. He expressed about the smell that would be produced by the facility. Mr. Holbert said the only persons who spoke in support were the representatives of Recyclers Depot. Vic Ressler, 4020 Holbrook — he said last time he was at the Council meeting the City admitted they made a mistake. He said it was all about the word recycle and he thought ten people would define recycle as cans, plastic bottles and plastic bags. He also said he thought the same ten people when asked where you would put a wrecked car and tin off of an old barn would say the junk yard or salvage yard. Mr. Ressler said people do not usually associate recycle with iron, steel and metal and in fact, these two concepts were so far apart he did not believe they could be considered together. Mr. Ressler said he was sure this kind of business was already defined in the Ordinance under wrecking or salvage, and required heavy industrial zoning and a specific use permit. He said he believed a specific use permit was necessary because this type of business might not be appropriate in certain places, and it was clear this ordinance did not allow this business in commercial retail. Mr. Ressler told Council to allow this use on Lamar would be another mistake. He said the Council was charged with assuring that any kind of business be in a compatible location and stated this business needed to be away from neighborhoods and restaurants. Louise Hagood, 556 Fitzhugh — she said she was cut off under citizens' forum and she thought Council was elected to hear complaints from the citizens. Mrs. Hagood said two weeks and two days ago they faced 150 people and tonight they were facing 100 people and the problem to her was very simple. She said the City made a mistake and the Council was elected Regular Council Meeting February 25, 2015 Page 7 to honor the wishes of those who elected them and they needed to do the right thing for all of the residents of the City. Christy Wendell, 4142 Primrose Lane — she said the whole situation was unfortunate. She said a lot of things concerning Recyclers Depot had been misrepresented whether by intent to deceive, being incompetent, or an honest mistake. She said the Glicks only planned to collect scrap metal and iron and not recycle paper, plastic or glass at Recyclers Depot. Ms. Wendell said the facility was represented as being completely enclosed, but they now knew that was not true. She also said they were not retail, because they were not going to sell anything to consumers. Ms. Wendell said the Glicks said the cornerstone of their business was cleanliness, but their corporate headquarters in Texarkana had been cited for six EPA violations over the last three years. She also said Ben Glick represented himself as their general counsel, but he was not licensed to practice law in Arkansas or Texas, and the Supreme Court listed his admission to the Bar as deferred. Ms. Wendell said the Department of Labor states recycling of metal could be dangerous for workers and that collection was one of the most dangerous parts. She also said recently in El Paso a bomb squad was called to a scrap metal business. Ms. Wendell said after making three attempts to resolve this issue with the City in a professional manner and being told it was a done deal and nothing could be done, she had no choice but to appeal to Dr. Hashmi for help. Ms. Wendell said during this whole ordeal, Dr. Hashmi was one of very few individuals to remember his responsibility to represent the people of Paris and do the right thing. Ken Kohls, 3935 Brandyn Place — he complimented Mr. Godwin on standing up and admitting the City made a mistake. Mr. Kohls told Mr. Godwin that he owed the City an explanation as to how this happened. He also told Mr. Godwin they wanted to know who did this and what course of action was going to be taken to prevent it from happening again. James Price, 1230 Shiloh - he said recycling was dangerous and that it encouraged people to go through trash and he did not want that. Carolyn Patterson, - she said she owned the property at 4225 Primrose. She asked City Council to picture their neighborhood, one which was quiet and with zero lot lines. She said the home she owned had a garage which was only 30 feet from the parking lot of this proposed facility. She asked Council to imagine what it would be like to smell and hear this business every day and that it should be placed in an industrial setting. Council Member Hashmi expressed appreciation to all those who came to the meeting and particularly Mrs. Hagood, who came out despite bad weather and who reminded Council of their duties. Mayor Frierson said he had received e -mails and phone calls and that he appreciated all of those. He said this was about recycling centers and he initially understood this facility was to be a collection point, but the when he received the packet of information he questioned the ability to accept cars and tractors. He said they needed to address this and he thought the best way was to go with industrial and light industrial uses and he favored light industrial with a special use permit. Council Member Hashmi said he was fine with industrial, light with a special Regular Council Meeting February 25, 2015 Page 8 use permit or heavy with a special use permit, but he was completely opposed to commercial. Mr. Godwin said if they chose light industrial with a special use permit it would be more restrictive than allowing it outright. Council Member Grossnickle said this type of use should be in heavy or light industrial with a special use permit in order to protect everyone and that he opposed commercial zoning for this type of business. Council Member Lancaster agreed with Council Members Hashmi and Grossnickle, and also said this type of facility should not be close to a neighborhood or retail as it would be detrimental. 15. Discuss and possibly act on RESOLUTION NO. 2015 -009: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; ACTING ON THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION PURSUANT TO SEC. 8 -109 OF THE CITY ZONING ORDINANCE REGARDING THE PROPER ZONING CLASSIFICAITON FOR A NEW AND UNLISTED USE DESCRIBED AS A RECYCLING TRANSFER STATION; MAKING OTHER DETERMINATIONS CONCERNING THE CLASSIFICAITON OF SUCH USE; DIRECTING THAT A ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT BE PREPARED AND BORUGHT FORWARD CONSISTENT WITH THIS RESOLUTION; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. A Motion to deny Planning and Zoning's recommendation of a commercial zoning classification for recycling transfer stations and to approve a light industrial zoning classification with a specific use permit and a heavy industrial zoning classification with a specific use permit for recycling transfer stations was made by Council Member Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Lancaster. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 16. Conduct the second public hearing and discuss the City's intent to expand its boundaries and annex approximately 95.173 acres of land and right -of -way adjacent to Stillhouse Road and north of Stone Avenue, Lamar County, Texas. More particularly described as follows: Stnllhouse Road ROW (2.17 acres): 2.17 acres being the 2800 -2900 block of Stillhouse Road /County Road 41100 being 1,572.89 linear feet of 60 foot wide Right of Way (R.O.W.) beginning at the intersection of said road centerline and current City Limit boundary, which is located approximately 330 linear feet Northeast of the intersections of the centerlines of Stone Ave and said road; Tract 25 -1 -A (4.169 acres): Tract 25 -1 -A of Abstract A786 r Russell Survey, being 4.169 acres of vacant land in the 2800 block of said road owned by Erickson, Marrero, Chadwick and Wilkerson per deed dated 3/25/04 vol. 1454 pg. 67 of the Lamar County Official Public Records (LCOPR); Regular Council Meeting February 25, 2015 Page 9 Tract 25 -IAI (83.834 acres): Tract 25 -AIAI of AbstractA786 R Russell Survey, being 83.834 acres of vacant land in the 2800 block of said road owned by Randall, Underwood and Spencer, LP per deed dated 1/26/08 instrument #061130 -2008 of the LCOPR; Tract 25 -1A (5,000 acres): Tract 25 -1A of Abstract A786 R Russell Survey, being 5.00 acres of improved land addressed as 2900 Stillhouse Road owned by Stillhouse Health Holdings per deed dated 5/30/12 instrument 3097109 -2012 of the LCOPR also known as Stillhouse Rehab and Healthcare. Mayor Frierson opened the public hearing and asked for anyone wishing to speak in favor or in opposition to this item, to please come forward. With no one speaking, Mayor Frierson closed the public hearing. 17. Discuss and award a bid to the highest responsible bidder for the purchase of city -owned property, more specifically described as 12.662 acres of land at Paris Cox Field Airport situated within the limit of the City of Paris, County of Lamar, and State of Texas, part of the William Scott Survey #856, and being part of a called 1552.97 acre tract of land conveyed to the City of Paris by deed recorded in Vol. 308, Page 287, in the Deed Records. City Engineer Shawn Napier stated this property was advertised for sale in the Paris News on February 6t' and 8th and the City received one bid. Mr. Napier said the one bid was received from Agpro in the amount of $90,100 and staff recommended selling the property to Agpro. A Motion to award the bid to Agpro was made by Council Member Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Plata. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 18. Receive annual report from Paris Economic Development Corporation. This item was rescheduled to the March 9t' meeting. 19. Discuss and award a bid to the lowest responsible bidder for the Stillhouse Road Landfill remediation and closure. Mr. Godwin referenced the poor conditions and recent failed inspection of the old landfill on Stillhouse Road and said a bid process was initiated for the Stillhouse Road Landfill Closure Remediation project. Mr. Godwin informed the City Council that one bid was received by Waver Boos Consultants in the amount of $85,800 and staff recommended awarding the bid to Waver Boos. A Motion to award the bid to Weaver Boos Consultants was made by Council Member Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Pickle. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. Regular Council Meeting February 25, 2015 Page 10 20. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2015 -010: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING A REQUEST TO THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORATATION (TXDOT) TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES PROGRAM (TAP), FOR FUNDING TO COMPLETE THE TRAIL DE PARIS WEST TO THE CITY LIMIT, INCLUDING A CONNECTION TO THE WEST PARIS TRAIL; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mr. Godwin introduced Earl Erickson and Mike Donovan who gave a presentation to the City Council about the grant application and their proposal to complete the Trail de Paris west to the city limit. Mr. Donovan explained there would be a 20% local match for construction, but because Lamar County was considered a disadvantage county that the City would receive a 51 % discount off of the match if awarded the grant. He estimated the preliminary project cost to be $980,000. Council Member Plata mentioned there was a part of the trail from the college to the loop that was in need of maintenance and Mr. Godwin said he would be bringing something to the Council about that. Council Member Pickle reminded everyone they could make donations to the Trail through their water bills. Mr. Donovan told the Council that the application deadline was May 4, 2015, and that the project selection and award would be sometime between July and September 2015. A Motion to approve the Resolution authorizing the grant application was made by Council Member Grossnickle and seconded by Council Member Lancaster. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 21. Receive presentation from the Main Street Advisory Board about the accomplishments of the Main Street Program. This item was rescheduled to the March 9t' meeting. 22. Discuss and act on expenditures in an amount not to exceed $90,000 for the downtown spray park. Mr. Godwin reminded City Council that last May the City reached an agreement with First United Methodist Church to convert their front parking lot into a spray park with a public restroom. He said the public restroom had been paid for through donations and fund - raisings. Mr. Godwin also said the park would be open to the public, but the operating and maintenance costs would be the responsibility of the church. Mr. Godwin said the spray park and other improvements would be a great asset to downtown and were consistent with downtown planning and the Parks Master Plan and that the church was asking the City to pay for one -half of the costs. He said staff recommended spending up to $90,000 for one -half the costs of the actual park. Council Member Pickle inquired where the $90,000 was going to come from and Mr. Godwin told him from the general fund and there were enough reserves to cover it. Council Regular Council Meeting February 25, 2015 Page 11 Member Hashmi said he thought it was great, but wanted to know if it was legal and appropriate since it was on private property. City Attorney Kent McIlyar said it was legal, because the City had a recreational easement and that it would be open to the public. He also said there would be a written agreement with the church prior to proceeding with this project. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Lancaster and seconded by Council Member Grossnickle. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 23. Receive update on the Grand Theater renovations and provide direction to staff. Mr. Godwin told the City Council that portions of the Grand Theater still needed environmental remediation and the remaining cleanup estimate was $200,000. He said long -term plans had been to complete the remediation before moving forward with a long -term management lease to a local non - profit group. He also said another option was to offer the facility for sale to a local group, and grant a credit to that group for the cost of the remediation work. Mr. Godwin said the group could begin fund raising as the owners of the historic theater. Mayor Frierson said he did not know that he would advocate selling the Grand, as Lamar County Leadership took on this project and raised funds for it. Mayor Frierson inquired of Mr. Godwin if they had pursued grants and Mr. Godwin said yes, and that they had just about exhausted government grants. Mayor Frierson suggested staff seek other grants including private grants, as well as contact VC &C. Council Member Grossnickle inquired if anyone had stepped forward with a proposed use. Mayor Frierson answered in the affirmative, but cited there was still asbestos that needed to be cleaned up. 24. Discuss possible changes to the Historic Preservation ordinance. Mr. Godwin said this item was for discussion only and that it would be taken to the Historic Preservation Commission at their next meeting to get feedback. He said the needs had changed and the City's in -house staff had enhanced their expertise in the last two year. Mr. Godwin said the proposed changes to the ordinance would allow a faster and easier turn- around for applicants. He said the proposed changes included clarification of the role of the preservation officer, reducing the size of the historic commission and slightly changing qualifications, expanding the items that could be reviewed and approved at the staff level, reducing the number of required meetings, and adding demolition by neglect. Mr. Godwin said he had spoken to the Main Street Board a couple of weeks ago and planned to talk to the Historic Preservation Commission at their next meeting. Michael Glatfelter, vice chair of HPC said he heard about the proposed changes when he read about it in the Sunday news. He said that he called Brad Patterson of the Department of Community Heritage of the Texas Historical Commission who informed him the Commission would not meet regulations of a certified local government if they had less than five members. Mr. Glatfelter said if that happened, the City would be ineligible for historic grants. Mr. Glatfelter expressed dissatisfaction about not being notified of the proposed changes. Mayor Frierson said this was for discussion only and no action was to be taken. Regular Council Meeting February 25, 2015 Page 12 Syble Colson said she owns four buildings in the Historic District. As a property owner, she questioned why she was not notified of any changes that were going to seriously impact her rights. She said she could not get in touch with anyone at the city to send her the information and that she was not sure that staff should be making these decisions. Ms. Colson said one of her concerns with the Historic Preservation Commission was that the property owners were never notified of any possible changes, and there needed to be a real effort to notify people whose property was involved. She said if they were going to be making changes they needed to be done properly and legally, and if the City was going to propose a law or statute they should have their City Attorney review it. Mr. Godwin said this would be taken to the Commission for their input, and that he just wanted to get feedback from the Council. Council Member Pickle said he would much rather HPC review the proposed changes before Council takes any action. Mayor Frierson said he had several downtown business owners who expressed to him this was a good concept. Mr. Godwin said the boards and commissions work for the City Council and that he felt obligated to let the City Council know first, prior to going to a board to tell the board he was was thinking about changing a board. Mayor Frierson said a board member had asked him about Council reviewing this. Council Member Hashmi said his personal suggestion was to let the Commission review the proposed changes and advise the City Council of their suggestions. 25. Discuss drainage funding options. A Motion to table items 25 and 26 to the March 9t' meeting was made by Council Member Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Pickle. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 26. Discuss utilities bond projects and provide direction to staff. 27. Reconsider and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2015 -003: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AMENDING ZONING ORDINANCE NO. 1710 OF THE CIYT OF PARIS, TEXAS, AS HERETOFORE AMENDED, SO AS TO REZONE LOT 1, BLOCK A, OF THE HALL ADDITION CB 154, BEING LOCATED AT 1190 S.W. 6TH STREET, IN THE CITY OF PARIS, LAMAR COUNTY, TEXAS, FROM A ONE - FAMILY DWELLING DISTRICT NO. 2 (SF -2) TO A ONE - FAMILY DWELLING DISTRICT NO. 3 (SF -3); GRANTING A SPECIFIC USE PERMIT (39) FOR A MOBILE HOME ON THE PROPERTY; DIRECTING A CHANGE ACCORDINGLY IN THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP OF THE ICYT; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, A SAVINGS CLAUSE, A PENALTY CLAUSE, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. A Motion to reconsider this item was made by Council Member Plata and seconded by Council Member Hashmi. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. Council Member Plata said he asked that this item be placed on the agenda, because he went out and looked at the location and determined that in order to access the mobile home a person would have to drive across almost an acre. He also said the owner was going to place the mobile home behind a row of trees. Council Member Hashmi asked him if this was in his Regular Council Meeting February 25, 2015 Page 13 district and if he was comfortable with it. Council Member Plata answered in the affirmative and Council Member Hashmi said he was fine with it. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Plata and seconded by Council Member Hashmi. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 28. Consider and approve future events for City Council and/or City Staff pursuant to Resolution No. 2004 -081. Nothing was referenced. 29. Adjournment. There being no further business, a Motion to adjourn was made by Council Member Pickle and was seconded by Council Member Plata. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m. MATT FRIERSON, NfAYOR NICE ELLIS, CITY CLERK