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07/13/2015MINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS July 13, 2015 The City Council of the City of Paris met for a regular session at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July 13, 2015, at the City Council Chamber, 107 E. Kaufinan, Paris, Texas. Present: Mayor: A.J. Hashmi Council Members: Billie Lancaster; Benny Plata; Steve Clifford; Matt Frierson; and Edwin Pickle City Staff: John Godwin, City Manager; Gene Anderson, Finance Director; Kent McIlyar, City Attorney; Janice Ellis, City Clerk; Larry Wright, Fire Chief, Bob Hundley, Police Chief; Director; Doug Harris, Utilities Director; and Shawn Napier, City Engineer Absent: Council Member: Aaron Jenkins Opening Agenda 1. Call meeting to order. Mayor Hashmi called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. Invocation. Pastor Phil McKay gave the invocation. 3. Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member Lancaster led the pledge. 4. Citizens' Forum. Cindy Allcorn, 870 -S.E. 41St Street, HPC board member — she referenced the HPC rules and said election of their officers in July needed to be rescinded, because their rules say elections of officers must be done in August. Cheri Bedford, Main Street Director — she expressed appreciation to KPB for the flowers in front of city hall. She also asked for anyone wishing to nominate a business for the Texas Treasure Award to contact her. Ms. Bedford informed the public that in order to qualify for the award, the business had to be in operation for fifty or more years. James Price, Shiloh Road — he urged Council to make whatever expenditures were necessary for clean -up of the entire City. Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 2 Michael Glatfelter — he said his name was listed under item 16 and he would speak at that time. Consent Agenda Mayor Hashmi inquired of Council Members if they wished to pull any items from the Consent Agenda for discussion. Council Member Pickle asked that item 5 be pulled for discussion. 5. Approve minutes from the meeting on June 22, 2015. 6. Receive reports and /or minutes from the following boards, commissions, and committees: a. Airport Advisory Board (5 -28 -2015) b. Historic Preservation Commission (3 -11 -2015 & 4 -13 -2015) c. Paris -Lamar County Board of Health (4 -30 -2015 & 5 -18 -2015) d. Traffic Commission (5 -5 -2015) 7. Approve Final Plat of Lot 1, Block A, Farris 167 -A Addition, located in the 400 Block of S.E. Loop 286. With regard to item 5, Council Member Pickle referenced the city council minutes from June 22, 2015, specifically page 4 where "Mayor Hashmi pointed out that the City Manager was fully aware of these meetings and none of the meetings were conducted without information being provided to the entire Council or the City Manager." Council Member Pickle said that this was not true, because he was not aware of the meeting with the police chief and Council Member Plata and accidentally found out about the meeting with the redistricting attorney. He said they were not notified of the three meetings that day. Mayor Hashmi inquired if Council Member Pickle checked his e -mail and said the City Manager had emailed all Council Members. Council Member Pickle said he did not receive notice of the meeting. Mayor Hashmi told him to check with the City Manager. Mayor Hashmi said he received the e -mail and he had asked the City Manager to make sure every Council Member was not only informed, but also to find out if they wanted to attend the meeting. Council Member Pickle said he did not receive that e -mail and Council Member Frierson said the only e-mail he received was about the recycling meeting. Mayor Hashmi said all three meetings were posted by the City Manager. Council Member Pickle asked if he could see the e -mail and Mr. Godwin said he would look for it in his e- mails. Mayor Hashmi said he had received an email from the City Manager and it was copied to the entire Council. He also said that he had spoken to the City Manager who told him no more than three Council Members could attend, and Mayor Hashmi said he told Mr. Godwin to post the meetings in case there were more than three Council Members at the meetings. Council Member Lancaster said she got the e -mail and Council Member Frierson said he did not. Mayor Hashmi said the email from the City Manager was dated and timed. Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 3 Mayor Hashmi said to bring everyone up to date, there were three meetings conducted and the City Manager sent notice of those meetings to the Council. Council Member Pickle inquired if there was a way to determine if Council Members had received the emails. Mayor Hashmi said it shows the time you opened it. Council Member Pickle said not only did he research it, but another Council Member researched it also and it had come to their attention that there was not an email sent to any members of the Council about these meetings. Council Member Pickle said it appeared these meetings were actually conducted without the entire Council's knowledge, which is similar to a situation that Mayor Hashmi called Council Member Frierson out on last year about this time. Council Member Pickle expressed concern because Mayor Hashmi had made a presentation about transparency and honesty within the City Council, and he indicated an email was received by everyone but there was no evidence of such. He also expressed concern that Mayor Hashmi and Mayor Pro -Tem Lancaster had gotten together and decided that they were going to back each other's stories, when there were no emails sent, yet they said they got them. Council Member Pickle asked that this conversation be reflected in the minutes. Mayor Hashmi inquired of Mr. Godwin if he informed all of the Council Members of these meetings. Mr. Godwin said that he did according to his best recollection. Mayor Hashmi also confirmed with Mr. Godwin that Mr. Godwin told him that no more than three Council Members could attend, and that he then told him to make sure that the meetings were posted just in case the other Council Members came to the meetings. Mr. Godwin said he believed that was correct. Council Member Pickle inquired of Mr. Godwin if those e -mails were sent. Mr. Godwin said the day after the last Council meeting he found where he sent notice of two meetings, but could not find notices on the other two. He also said he had not yet done an exhausted search. Council Member Pickle said he checked and there was no e -mail sent out about those three meetings. He said the point was that there was no email sent about these three meetings and that not only were the emails not sent, but then they were lied to by Mayor Hashmi and by Mayor Pro -tem Lancaster. Mayor Hashmi said first of all that he did not lie and secondly, he took all steps to inform the Council of these meeting by asking the City Manager to notify the entire Council. Mayor Hashmi said the City Manager was supposed to have done that and if he did not, then that was on him. Mayor Hashmi reiterated that he did not lie. Mayor Hashmi said there was nothing about those meetings that were to be hidden and there was a big difference between these meetings and what Mr. Frierson did. He also said that minutes were taken at all three minutes and sent to the entire City Council. Mayor Hashmi said if there was anything to hide, there would have been no reason for him to have the city clerk attending the meetings to take notes with instructions to send them to the entire City Council. Mayor Hashmi said he did not lie and if they found that Mr. Godwin did not carry out his job, they could place that on his evaluation. Council Member Pickle said he was confused in that if he did not think Mr. Godwin sent the e- mails, but the mayor was saying he received them and that Council Member Lancaster received the e -mails but no one else received any e -mails that were not sent. Council Member Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 4 Pickle said someone was not being honest. Mayor Hashmi said it was not him and to ask the City Manager. Mayor Hashmi said he received his e -mail from the City Manager and that is why he was at the meeting. Council Member Pickle said that Mayor Hashmi said they each received..... Mayor Hashmi said he was not going to respond further as he had already responded by telling him that at his direction the minutes of those meetings were sent to the entire Council by e -mail. Council Member Lancaster said to her knowledge she did receive some notification, however she had not gone back through her e -mails but would do so. She said there was nothing in those meetings that were hidden and that anyone could have come and taken part in those meetings. Council Member Lancaster said she took real exception to Council Member Pickle calling her a liar. Council Member Pickle said he was simply saying to look at the evidence. Council Member Lancaster said she thought he owed people an apology for calling them liars. Council Member Pickle told her to prove him wrong. Council Member Lancaster said her point was that he had done this in the past himself and now he was going to try to paint everyone else with the same broad brush. Mayor Hashmi told City Clerk Janice Ellis that she could make any adjustments to the minutes that Council Member Pickle wanted her to note. Ms. Ellis said she would include this conversation in the minutes of this meeting. There being no further discussion, a Motion to approve the Consent Agenda was made by Council Member Frierson and seconded by Mayor Hashmi. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. Regular Agenda 8. Conduct a public hearing, discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2015 -030: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE APPLICATION FOR THE EDWARD BYRNE MEMORIAL JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT (JAG) PROGRAM, GMS APPLICATION NUMBER 2015- H4184- TX -DJ; AUTHORIZING AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH LAMAR COUNTY; AUTHORIZING THE EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS; ACCEPTING SAID GRANT AWARD UPON NOTICE THEREOF; AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR ACCEPTANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SAID GRANT NECESSARY FOR ACCEPTANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SAID GRANT UPON NOTICE THEREOF; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Chief Hundley said if grant monies were awarded that it would be divided equally between the Paris Police Department and the Lamar County Sheriff's Office. He said a public hearing and Interlocal Agreement was a requirement of the grant application process. Chief Hundley also said if the grant was received the police department would receive $6,118.50 and would use the funds for a search and rescue drone, which was a controlled expense and part of the DOJ requirement, was approval by the City Council. Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 5 Mayor Hashmi opened the public hearing and asked anyone wishing to speak in favor or opposition to this item, to please come forward. With no one speaking, Mayor Hashmi closed the public hearing. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Lancaster and seconded by Council Member Clifford. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 9. Conduct a public hearing regarding the completion of the Texas Community Development Block Grant #7214077 for disaster relief. City Manager John Godwin explained the City applied and received reimbursement of $350,000 from the Texas Department of Agriculture, which represented a portion of the funds spent on clean -up of the 2013 ice storm. He said a public hearing was required for completion of the process. Mayor Hashmi opened the public hearing and asking for anyone wishing to comment on this item, to please come forward. With no one speaking, Mayor Hashmi closed the public hearing. 10. Conduct a public hearing to receive public comment regarding the completion of the 2013 Texas Capital Fund Main Street Sidewalk Replacement Project. Mr. Godwin said this grant money was used for replacement of sidewalks downtown and a public hearing was required to close out the project. City Engineer Shawn Napier said before the City could apply for another similar grant, close -out of this project was required. Mayor Hashmi opened the public hearing and asking for anyone wishing to comment on this item, to please come forward. With no one speaking, Mayor Hashmi closed the public hearing. 11. Discuss, conduct a public hearing and act on ORDINANCE NO. 2015 -017: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AMENDING ZONING ORDINANCE NO. 1710 OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AS HERETOFORE AMENDED, SO AS TO REZONE LOT 9, CITY BLOCK 151, BEING LOCATED AT 616 W. WASHINGTON STREET, IN THE CITY OF PARIS, LAMAR COUNTY, TEXAS, FROM A PUBLIC LANDS AND INSTITUTIONS DISTRICT (PLI) TO A TWO- FAMILY DWELLING DISTRICT (2 -F) ADDING A SPECIFIC USE PERMIT (9) FOR INSTITUTIONS OF RELIGIOUS OR PHILANTRHROPIC NATURE; DIRECTING A CHANGE ACCORDINGLY IN THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP OF THE CITY; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, A SAVINGS CLAUSE, A PENALTY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 6 Mr. Napier explained the City had been approached by a group who wanted to rent this building, Planning and Zoning had approved the request for a change in zoning and staff also recommended the zoning change. Mayor Hashmi opened the public hearing and asked for anyone wishing to speak in favor or in opposition of this item, to please come forward. With no one speaking, Mayor Hashmi closed the public hearing. A Motion to approve this item was made by Council Member Pickle and seconded by Mayor Hashmi. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 12. Discuss disannexation requests and provide direction to staff. Mr. McIlyar informed Council that the City had received approximately 27 applications disannexation from owners inside the original 1228.89 acres, tract 12 which was on the north side of FM 1508. He said the City had also received approximately 7 disannexation requests on the south side of FM 1508 Airport Road, which was from tract 8 from the original 1999 disanexation. He noted that tract 12 and tract 8 were from two different annexation ordinances, that tract 12 was in 1997 and tract 8 was in 1999. Mr. McIlyar depicted the map provided by the engineering department and said four or five of the properties were owned prior to annexation and the remainder changed ownership after the City annexed the land into the City limits. Mr. McIlyar said that the majority of property owners from tract 8 and tract 12 had requested disannexation. Mr. McIlyar explained that the only problem was that the number 10 tract and the number 28 tract on the west side, which were the two large hundred acre plus tracts, if disannexed would create a problem for the City because it would cut off everything east of those two tracts including the Cox Field Airport and the AgPro site, out onto an island outside the corporate city limits. For that reason, Mr. McIlyar said he could not recommend that the two large tracts be disannexed. Council Member Pickle confirmed with Mr. McIlyar those two large tracts were tracts 10 and 28. Mr. McIlyar also said the City received a disannexation request from Jo Blalock, and that property was not located on Airport Road, but located north of Clarksville Road off by itself. Mr. McIlyar said to disannex the Blalock tract would create a donut hole inside the City limits, and that it did not meet the policy and procedures for disannexation and that he did not recommend disannexation of this property. Next, Mr. McIlyar addressed the Denison property, Lot 14 in the Wildwood Subdivision. He said it was 5 acres and if the City disannexed that lot, then lot 16 would be cut off from the City and placed on an island by itself. Mr. McIlyar said under Texas Case law, creating islands outside corporate city limits which were not adjacent to city boundary lines was not permitted. Mr. McIlyar said for this reason he could not recommend disannexation of the Denison property. He also said if the property owner of lot 16 applied for disannexation, and the Council want to do so then it could be done. Mayor Hashmi said if he understood this correctly, Mr. McIlyar was advising that lots 10, 27 and 28 should not be disannexed by law. Mr. McIlyar said that was correct and added that lot 31 owned by the Whites, should be included in those that should not be disannexed. Mr. McIlyar said lot 31 was on Airport Road and was surrounded by tracts that apparently wanted to remain in the City limits and to allow 31 to disannex would create a hole in the City limits. Mayor Hashmi asked Mr. McIlyar if that was his opinion about these lots or was it according to Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 7 law. Mr. McIlyar said it was according to the law and referenced the Willow Park Case which does not allow you to create islands or carve off portions of the City. Mrs. Hudgens confirmed they owned their property prior to it being annexed in 1997. She said at the June 8th meeting it was a consensus of the Council that their property be allowed disannexation. She said the minutes said the City Council directed city staff to proceed with those proceedings and then asked if the delay was because of the other requests for disannexation. Mr. McIlyar said at that meeting the Council asked staff to make sure the City heard from everyone and then set a time limit of two weeks for property owners to get their requests for disannexation filed with the City. Mr. McIlyar said those requests had been trickling in over the last couple of weeks. Mrs. Hudgens said theirs was actually approved a month before that. Mr. McIlyar said it was not approved until two public hearings were conducted and an ordinance passed by the City Council. Mrs. Hudgens said that was right and then asked why the hearings had not been set. Mr. McIlyar explained that the requests needed to be all together; because her property was right in the center and without consideration of all of them together the City could have a piecemeal ordinance. Mr. McIlyar explained the procedures and said the Council would have to formally vote on an ordinance after the statutory public hearings and that the Council wanted to give everyone in that area a chance to filed their disannexation requests. Charles Keys explained that Mr. Godwin was to have provided him with a copy of the map and if he had done so, then the property owners would have been prepared. Mr. Keys said not all of the property owners were reflected on the map who had either e- mailed the City for reinstatement of disannexation requests file in 2013 or filed disannexation requests. Mr. Keys said the following had done one or the other: Boyd & Deborah Hudgens, Ann Huffman, Larry & Patsy Smith, Marty Fitzgerald, Cleve Fendley, Jason Petty, James Jones, Beverly Moore, William Whitis - Randall Sebolt;, Marry White -Jimmy Hodges, Donna Johnson, Peggy Wilson - Todd Worthey, Wayne Chapman, Charles -Rima Ausmus, Vernon Worthey, Larry and Patsy Smith (again), Bari -Ilmi Mehmeti, Patrick Devoss - Sylvena, William- Pamela Fuller, Charles Keys, DFW Vending, Charles Allee, Odessa King, Jody -Vicki Humphrey, Alan Parks, John Cody -Lorie Woodard, and Larry -Mary Lou Coe. Mr. Keys said the only gap was the Clifford property. He also said they had not heard from the Whites. Council Member Clifford said he did not know if that was property was maybe land his brother or parents owned or had owned. Mr. McIlyar said he would double check with the engineering department the names given to him. Council Member Plata said they should wait until everyone gets their information into them prior to proceeding with disannexation. Mayor Hashmi said if they could not legally disannex 10 or 28, then they would have to abide by the law. With regard to the rest of the properties, he said they should be allowed to disannex from the City. Mr. McIlyar said he needed to confirm whether or not they had heard from the Whites, because the surrounding property owners had filed for disannexation and they would have a problem in that the City would be placing the White property on an island. Mr. McIlyar expressed concern in that without that boundary break, the City would not be able to connect back to the airport. Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 8 Mr. Keys said at the last meeting it was explained by the city attorney that the majority of an area would carry the decision, whether others did not request disannexation or not. Mayor Hashmi said he did not think that is what they were saying. Council Member Pickle questioned how they could disannex property that was not requested to be disannexed. He expressed concern about all of the property that would be an island. Patsy Smith, residing at 1508 Airport Road, said she had lived there her entire life. She also said if she had wanted to be in the City, she would have purchased land in the City. She said she wanted to be taken out of the City because services that were promised to her were not provided to her. Council Member Frierson said it was a touchy subject, but agreed with the residents in that the City had not provided the services. Council Member Clifford said he was in favor of disannexing the people that wanted to be disannexed and with regard to the island problems; if they could legally disannex them he thought they should do so. Mr. McIlyar said the biggest problem was the Cox Field Airport, the 1500 acres out there. Council Member Clifford said they cannot have the airport disannexed. Mr. McIlyar emphasized this is something that City Council needs to think about, whether or not they want to keep the airport and AgPro in the city limits. Council Member Clifford said they have to keep the airport in the city limits, and that they did not want to disannex Cox Field. Council Member Plata stated he was not in favor of disannexation. Council Member Lancaster said she had a problem having residents in the City if the City could not provide the services, and she did not think the City should be collecting taxes from them. Mayor Hashmi said he was in favor of disannexing anyone who wants to be disannexed particularly where the City has failed to provide services that the City promised to them. Mayor Hashmi asked if they disannexed all of the properties and the airport was left separate could the City continue to hold the airport and AgPro. Mr. McIlyar said he would like to do additional research, because what he had read so far is if you create islands and outside of your corporate city limit boundary, your core corporate city limit boundary, that could potentially end up being in the county, whether you disannex it or not just because of the fact that you cut it out, you cut it away from your contiguous city limit boundary. Mayor Hashmi asked if Mr. McIlyar was suggesting at least of one these properties would have to remain I the city limits. Mr. McIlyar said it appears that one or two tracts would have to remain in the City. He said staff needed to check on the Jimmy Hodges property. Mr. McIlyar said staff would bring this back to Council. Council Member Pickle said he would like to ask or encourage the city manager, the city attorney, or whoever to contact all of these people to find out if they want to be disannexed. Mayor Hashmi said that was fine except he did not see a reason to keep the people who had requested disannexation from doing so. Mr. McIlyar reiterated there was a problem with some of the parcels of land, and that staff had not been able to reach some of the property owners. Council Member Frierson said as the process continues, he would like to know what sort of revenue tax base the City would be losing with budget time right around the corner. Mrs. Hudgens said she understood they wanted to wait on the other applications but in the June 8t' minutes her property and David Denison property was approved to proceed. She said they had paid $15,000 in property taxes over the years. Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 9 Mayor Hashmi suggested they begin with the process of disannexation for Mrs. Hudgens and Mr. Denison. With regard to the others, he suggested they let them proceed as long as the City is able to keep Cox Field Airport within the city limits. Council Pickle asked if that was not allowing number 10, number 27, and number 28 from being disannexed. Mayor Hashmi said yes, that number 10 and number 28 bylaw could not be disannexed. Mayor Hashmi inquired if that was okay with all of the Council Members. With the exception of Council Member Plata, the other Council Members were okay with Mayor Hashmi's suggestion. 13. Discuss and act on RESOLUTION NO. 2015 -031: 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 CLASSIFICATION FOR A NEW AND UNLISTED USE DESCRIBED AS A TATTOO SHOP OR BODY PIERCING SHOP; MAKING OTHER DETERMINATIONS CONCERNING THE CLASSIFICATION OF SUCH USE; DIRECTING THAT A ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT BE PREPARED AND BROUGHT FORWARD CONSISTENT WITH THIS RESOLUTION; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mr. Napier informed City Council that a person had applied to put in a tattoo and body piercing shop and the current zoning ordinance did not contain a listed use for this type of shop. He said that Planning and Zoning recommended creation of a new use under Section 8 -106 Retail and Service Type Uses. A Motion to approve this item was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Clifford. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 14. Receive a report from the Charter Review Committee, discuss and possibly act. Committee Chair Jim Hamaker reported that the committee reviewed the Charter, particularly with respect to election of a city -wide mayor, the effect of redistricting and the recall procedures. Mr. Hamaker further reported after review of the Charter, it was a consensus of the committee that no changes needed to be made to the Charter. 15. Discuss and act on the financing of construction for drainage and parks projects. Mayor Hashmi said he had placed this item on the agenda, because they had discussed drainage issues and parks over the last several years but still had homes flooding. He asked Finance Director Gene Anderson to explain some of the City's finances as related to debt payments related to the 2012 refunding bond. Mr. Anderson explained that the debt payment for a 2012 bond which was supported by taxes was reduced by approximately $190,000 a year. When asked about certificates of obligations, Mr. Anderson replied they could issue certificates of obligation in the amount of 2.5 million dollars without raising the tax rate. Mayor Hashmi Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 10 said if they were to issue certificates, then they could work on drainage and possibly spent $250,000 on one park in East Paris and $250,000 on one park in West Paris. Council Member Pickle said he was opposed to certificates of obligation as taxes would go up and he thought people should have the right to vote on this. Council Member Frierson agreed and inquired how far the money would go on projects. Mr. Godwin said it would take care of about one drainage project, but that it would make a difference. Council Member Clifford said he sees a lot of ditch problems and this is something they needed to think about. Council Member Plata said he thought the citizens should have a say in this matter especially if taxes were going to be increased. Council Member Lancaster said they need to start addressing these issues. Mayor Hashmi said he was not in favor of certificates of obligation, but if spending 2.5 million dollars would make a difference he would like to consider it. Mayor Hashmi asked Council Members to think it over and suggested they discuss it again at a future Council meeting. Council Member Frierson said he would like to see what Mr. Godwin suggested in way of a plan or projects. A Motion to table this item was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Pickle. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 16. Discuss and act on a request to remove Grover "Michael" Glatfelter from the Historic Preservation Commission. Council Member Pickle referenced policies and the code of conduct for boards, commissions, committees. He said things got out of hand at the PEDC meeting and he felt like the only way to put a stop to this was to remove Mr. Glatfelter from the HPC. Council Member Pickle said Mr. Glatfelter's behavior at the PEDC meeting and other meetings had been less than desirable and that he hoped the mayor and mayor pro -tem agreed with him, in that this type of behavior was unacceptable for a board member. Mr. Glatfelter said he went to the PEDC meeting to talk to new members and within ten seconds Mr. Grubbs stopped him from speaking and they began talking over each other. He said one of the board members ran a hospital that neglects and abuses patients, one of the board members had tried very hard to sell the City's water while trying to recruit industry and another board member works for PJC and received endowments for the jewelry department yet was planning to shut down the jewelry department. Mr. Glatfelter also said the PEDC audit reflected there was a lot of criminal activity at the PEDC and the report needed to be forwarded to the federal government. Mr. Glatfelter apologized for yelling at the board and then stated that Council Member Pickle wanted to punish him for exercising his right to freedom of speech. Council Member Frierson said as leaders they had a responsibility to maintain a positive image and conduct themselves in a professional manner. He said he was not at the meeting but heard about it and was disappointed. Council Member Frierson informed the Council he had heard from multiple downtown business owners who had difficulty with Mr. Glatfelter in his capacity as a HPC member. Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 11 Council Member Clifford said he understood the passion that drives Mr. Glatfelter and appreciated it. He also said Mr. Glatfelter was clearly familiar with the massive waste and abuse of the public funds at PEDC over the last several years, and that Mr. Glatfelter wants those responsible for the waste and abuse to be held accountable. Council Member Clifford said unfortunately he could not condone Mr. Glatfelter's actions during the recent PEDC meeting, because they still have to maintain civility even if they disagree. Council Member Plata agreed with Council Member Clifford and Frierson citing you should conduct yourself with professionalism. Council Member Lancaster agreed with Council Member Clifford and stated she thought everyone should always be civil to each other and maintain decorum. Mayor Hashmi inquired of the City Attorney about the procedure for removal of a board member. Mr. McIlyar advised it was addressed in the policies Council adopted, which was they could remove a board member with a majority vote of the Council. Citizen Carol Hufnagle said she was at the meeting and after the exchange of words and as Mr. Glatfelter was walking out the door, that the public was frightened. Colton Wicks, a downtown owner, said the HPC no longer serves it purpose and could be better served by a city employee. Board Member Cindy Allcorn said that Ruth Ann Alsobrook had nominated Mr. Glatfelter to serve as the HPC Chair because he had the longest tenure, but that Ms. Alsobrook had not been aware of what had taken place at the PEDC meeting. A Motion to remove Michael Glatfelter from the Historic Preservation Commission was made by Council Member Pickle and seconded by Council Member Frierson. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 17. Receive presentation from Council Member Plata, discuss and act on possible organizational and compensation changes in the police department. Council Member Plata said with the permission of Chief Hundley and the City Manager, for the past 2 %2 weeks he had been meeting with police officers, both current and past. He said these meetings were initiated because of retention problems with police officers in the City of Paris. Council Member Plata reported the biggest complaint was the way security jobs were selected for police officers, because the highest ranking officers were allowed to sign up for four jobs first, leaving the junior officers with no security jobs to sign up for or for less desirable jobs. Council Member Plata further reported that Chief Hundley indicated he was going to make a change with regard to this issue. Secondly, there was a complaint that no additional pay or incentive was offered for bilingual interpretation, when that officer ends up having to come in on an off day and render interpretation services. Council Member Plata said the third complaint was how the Emergency Detentions were handled, but after meeting with Chief Hundley they could not come up with an easy solution to this problem. He said the fourth issue was the concerns from junior officers that the people that had been there for a long time got preferential treatment, which brought about the issue of no trust in upper management. He said this exemplified itself in that when he spoke with the officers they wanted to remain anonymous. Council Member Plata said the first two points were something that needed to happen as soon as possible, and he knew there would always be disgruntled people. Council Member Plata referenced growth of the Hispanic population and said they should attempt to work with these people instead of being Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 12 hardnosed. Council Member Plata concluded that Chief Hundley needed to make attempts to reach out to his junior officers. He said if any preferential treatment existed that it needed to stop. He also said Chief Hundley had people under him to help manage his department and that if more than two or three officers were disgruntled by problems taking place from people in charge that Chief Hundley needed to take steps to rectify the situation. Council Member Plata said another problem he observed is with the perception that the City Manager has given the department managers free reign of the respective departments which is fine, but the problem is when issues are brought forth to the city manager by council people or others, and at times there were no signs of change to address these issues. Council Member Plata said when changes are not made, everything continues as usual. In conclusion, Council Member Plata said more money alone would not retain officers. He said he agreed that they could probably use more money, as everybody could. Council Member Plata said if certain changes are not made, there was a possibility that more officers would be leaving. He said he hope these issues could be addressed and a resolution reached. Mayor Hashmi said he understood there were several factors as to why Paris lost officers to other cities, and his understanding was that money was the main factor. Police Officer Josh Crawford said he had been an officer for a little over 5 years and was also president of the Police Officers Association. He said they could not put a value on what it was worth to have a bilingual officer especially in a dangerous situation. Officer Crawford said the ultimate reason people quit and the reason they cannot retain officers is the salary. Police Officer Robert Milton said he had been with the Paris Police Department for almost 25 years. Officer Milton said the problem was pay. He said he had worked for two chiefs in 25 years and there had always been a gripe about how the extra duty jobs were handled. He said it had always been done by seniority, that he waited his turn to move up on the list, and he thought everybody else should do the same. Chief Hundley presented to the City Council an outline reflecting there were 59 positions plus the chief position, and explained the department was nine officers short at this time. He further explained there were three guys in the academy who will be graduating at the end of July, two guys that were just hired, and two guys on injury leave. Chief Hundley reported in the last 15 years, 82 officers had gone through the police department. He said they were lost to either other cities or the private sector and the major factor was money. He depicted a comparison salary chart and stated the City of Paris was not in the average salary range, but lower salary range. Chief Hundley said there are changes he would like to make such as adding extra enforcement in narcotics, adding a K9 unit but without sufficient staff that was not possible. Next, Chief Hundley addressed crime statistics which were previously reported and added that report came from a burglar alarm system company who was trying to sell alarm systems. Chief Hundley said crime statistics reflect that in the last four years the crime rate in Paris has been decreasing. As far as reorganization of supervisors, He said this went back to morale and they had too many lieutenants. Chief Hundley said they had a lieutenant opening and they had already tested for it. He said a promotion is something people look forward to but this is something that may not happen, depending on the money and what they need to do to get decrease some of the extra supervision the police department currently has. Mayor Hashmi inquired the cost of training an officer and the total cost to the city as a result of losing 23 officers over the last five years. Chief Hundley explained from the time an Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 13 officer begins until they can be placed in a car by themselves, it cost approximately $35,000. He said over the last five years it cost the City about $700,000 as a result of the loss of 23 officers from the police department. Mayor Hashmi inquired what it would cost the City if they paid the officers comparable to the closest city. Chief Hundley said if they were to increase each officer's salary by $3,000 the estimated cost would be $180,000. Council Member Pickle asked if it was still a stipulation for an officer to commit to three years upon being hired. Chief Hundley answered in the affirmative and added they stay three years and then leave. Council Member Pickle confirmed with Chief Hundley that he became chief in 2009 and that his budget was 5.6 million and that it had not increased much since that time. Council Member Pickle said he had always felt that if someone wanted to go to Frisco or McKinney; they were going to go anyway. Council Member Pickle said he was opposed to issuance of certificates of obligation for utilities because they needed to come up with the money from somewhere for police, fire and drainage ditches. Council Member Frierson asked when the K -9 unit was last in existence. Chief Hundley said around 2004 -2006. He confirmed with Chief Hundley that a large number of crimes were drug related. Council Member Clifford said he agreed with Council Member Pickle in that they lose people to Frisco because they wanted to move there. He said understood the cost of living was higher in those type areas and that he would like to see a broken down cost of living comparison of the cities, because that was needed in order to be factored into any across the board increase. Chief Hundley said Council Member Clifford was right in that some police officers want to be here because of family. He also said if they made enough money to be comfortable here, then they were less like to go to Frisco. Council Member Clifford said the most difficult part was to retain bilingual officers because they were in such demand. Council Member Plata said he did feel like money was a big factor but questioned if three of four years down the road would they be facing the same issues. Chief Hundley said an increase of salary might not completely stop officers from leaving, but that he felt like it would slow down the turnover rate. 18. Receive presentation on operations plan and budget needs for EMS and IT. EMS Director Kent Klinkerman presented the department's operations plan and budget needs, which included the North District Station being relocated from PRMC North campus, land purchase for the new EMS Station, needed budgeting of funds for the building, life cycle of capital equipment and step increase for paramedics similar to that of other departments. 19. Receive presentation on operations plan and budget needs for the Fire Department. Chief Wright presented the department's operations plan and budget needs, which included the attrition rate of firefighters, needed increase of salaries, and capital equipment needs. Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 14 20. Receive presentation on tax and utility rates. Mr. Godwin gave a presentation on tax and utility rates, which reflected a comparison to twenty other cities with regard to their current ad valorem tax rates. He summarized that Paris' rate of $0.50195 per $100 of valuation, compared to the survey average of $0.6092. Mr. Godwin reported that fourteen of the other cities had higher rates than Paris. Mr. Godwin informed Council that the recent Texas Municipal League Annual Survey of water and wastewater rates across Texas reflected that Paris' water rates was below the state average on all four measuring points, but above average on all four for sewer. 21. Update from city engineer on status of West Houston (3400 to Loop) infrastructure project, discussion, and possible action. City Engineer Shawn Napier reported that staff had looked at all the driveways and some of the sidewalks and had come up with a basic game plan for each one. He said seven out of fifteen were cracked and a couple of the sidewalks needed work. He said staff would like to get in touch with those fifteen property owners and get their feeling on what should be done on their driveways to accommodate them. After that, he said staff would come back Council to let them know what they find out from the property owners and then address it with the contractor. Council Member Clifford said he wanted this project brought up to contract specifications. Council Member Clifford said the inspection reports relating to the bond project on Houston Street that he received from Mr. Godwin were pretty much attendance reports, weather reports and work related completion reports. Council Member Clifford referenced the first test report sent to him that was dated January 15 had the sole notation "hydrostatic tested and passed 6 inch new water main from 34th Northwest to 30h Northwest." He said the next day one more test was done, it said "hydrostatic tested and passed last block of 6 inch new PVC water main on Northwest Houston Street." Council Member Clifford said the next two days reflected there was no testing, then on January 21st a notation was made "back T tested new 6 inch water main on Northwest Houston Street." He said from January 22nd through March 91 , there was nothing but attendance reports, weather reports and work completed. Council Member Clifford said the last two tests that he had a record of were for March 10th which said "testing passed 3 manholes from 34th Northwest Houston Street, and March 11th the notation was made, "test passed last 4 manholes on Northwest Houston Street." According to the contract, Council Member Clifford said all test reports must be filed with the engineering department and all test reports must be sent to the city manager. He inquired of Mr. Napier is these were the only tests that were performed on Houston Street. Mr. Napier said as far as he knew that was about the limit of what you could test. Council Member Clifford read a portion of the contract as follows "In place density tests of compacted embedment and trench backfield materials, select embedment material, a minimum of one density test on each side of the pipe per 100 linear feet or less of pipe alignment." He said they were required by the contract and asked if those test were done. Mr. Napier said he believed there were five density tests.... Council Member Clifford questioned why he did not have them and why the City Manager did not have them when they were required to be in his Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 15 possession. Council Member Clifford said he did not receive them, and Mr. Napier said he could get the density report to him. Council Member Clifford referenced random trench backfield material, a minimum of one density test every other compacted lift of random trench backfield material per 100 linear feet or less of pipe alignment and asked if those tests were performed as required by the contract. Mr. Napier said no, those were not done but there would have been visual inspections. Council Member Clifford stated they were required by contract and the contract said we must do them. Council Member Clifford referenced a minimum of three density tests of the trench zone material for each day of trench back - fielding operations. He asked if those required tests were performed and Mr. Napier told him no. Council Member Clifford said the City was paying someone to do the work as part of the $45 million bond project and the City gets one shot at doing this right, and all of a sudden we don't have all of this done according to contract. He then referenced a deflection mandrel test, perform mandrel, diameter must be 95% of inside diameter of pipe, the mandrel test was mandatory for every single pipe in that project, and said as he understood it, that was the most important testing of all. He asked if they were done and Mr. Napier said you have to wait until everything was in place, which was at least 30 days. Council Member Clifford said it had been longer than 30 days. Mr. Napier said he did not believe the testing had been done yet and the longer they waited was better because of ground settlement. Council Member Clifford said he understood about failures, because he had seen the work on a sewer line on a sidewalk, some work on asphalt, and the City had replaced these things in order to increase reliability and the City already had to have two repairs. Council Member Clifford emphasized if this project was not done according to the required specifications, which is all he wanted to be done, then the City may have the same number of problems they already had and the City will have gained nothing, the City will have spent $45 million and have nothing. He said he had no confidence that this project had been done to specifications, none whatsoever, referencing visual inspection of the concrete was the one thing that he could see. At the previous Council meeting, he said all of them had agreed that it was wrong, there were no expansion joints as required, only half of the sections were replaced on a lot of the work, and it appeared that many of the essential tests that were required by the contract had not been performed on the bedding material or the pipes. Council Member Clifford said if there are project problems they needed to know immediately so that they can correct the problems and be certain that the rest of the project will be performed to specifications. Council Member Clifford said he wanted to make sure that the firm that comes in is going to check all of the bond projects, and do so very carefully because this is the future of Paris. He said he simply wanted to see it done by specifications, so that it will last the rest of their lifetimes and so that they do not have to do it again in ten years. Council Member Lancaster said the specifications in the contracts need to be adhered to and otherwise how could they be guaranteed the City gets what it has paid for. Mayor Hashmi said his only comment was that he insisted on proper inspections and they had asked the city manager to look for an engineering firm. Mayor Hashmi expressed Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 16 appreciation to Council Member Clifford for all of the time and research he had done on this item. Mr. Godwin said they advertised last week so they could start the process. Council Member Clifford said he simply wanted the project done according to specifications; that he did not want any more, and he did not want any less. He said if these projects were not done to specifications, the City of Paris residents will pay for this for the rest of their lives, because the City will never have the money to do this again. Council Member Clifford said he wants to make sure this is all done right. Council Member Clifford said it was mandatory to follow the contract. 22. Discussion and possible action on agreement between the Red River Valley Fair Association and City of Paris /Lamar County Fair Grounds Event Center located at 1875 Fitzhugh Street. Council Member Clifford said this building was owned by the fair, was located on the corner of Fitzhugh, and previously used for bingo. He said he had been approached and the fair association wanted to give the building to the City. Nancy Anderson, officer of the K -9 Association reported they had been doing dog shows for four years and had used several different locations, and that Ms. Haynes told them if the City took over this building they might have better access. Mrs. Anderson explained there were a lot of people who wanted to be involved in dog obedience, but there was no place to conduct it. She said the City could rent the building and it would be used for many purposes. Council Member Pickle said he would like to see presentations in advance of being asked to make a decision. Council Member Clifford asked Mrs. Anderson if she thought they could bring visitors to Paris. Mrs. Anderson said when they have dog shows; they usually got about 70 dogs for an entire weekend, which brought in 100 people. She also said they could conduct 4H shows at the location which would bring additional people into Paris. Mrs. Anderson told the Council that the building was empty 90% of the time. Mayor Hashmi inquired if there would be liability for the City and Mr. McIlyar said if the City acquired the building that it would be insured like other City property. Mayor Hashmi inquired of Mr. Godwin what he thought about the City taking over the building and Mr. Godwin said he would like to do some research on the use and feasibility of it. Mrs. Anderson said the building would be continuously used. Fair Association board member Ricky Lucas said they owed about $22,000 on the building, they had been renting it on a regular basis, and they had just put in a new air conditioning system. Mayor Hashmi said the City would expect the building to be paid off prior to taking it over. Council Member Frierson said he would like for Mr. Godwin to put together some hard numbers. Council Member Clifford said he thought they should table this item until they could speak with Ms. Haynes and gather additional information. A Motion to table this item was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Clifford. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 23. 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 Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2015 Page 17 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 conflict with this chapter, as follows: disannexation/boundary issues. City Council did not convene into executive session. 24. Reconvene into Open Session and possibly take action on those matters discussed in Executive Session. 25. Consider and approve future events for City Council and /or City Staff pursuant to Resolution No. 2004 -081. Council Member Pickle reminded everyone of the Tour de Paris bicycle rally on Saturday. Council Member Lancaster said she would like an investigation and report about the old pipes that were not removed on 3rd NE and 3rd SE, as well as the two fire hydrants that were sitting side -by -side and marked. 26. Adjournment. There being no further business, a Motion to adjourn was made by Council Member Frierson and was seconded by Council Member Pickle. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. The meeting was adjourned at 8:54 p.m. X t Q410� Q�n NICE ELLIS, CITY CLERK