Loading...
01/25/2016MINUTES OF THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS January 25, 2016 The City Council of the City of Paris met for a regular session at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, January 25, 2016, at the City Council Chamber, 107 E. Kauftnan, Paris, Texas. Present: Mayor: A.J. Hashmi Council Members: Aaron Jenkins; Billie Lancaster; Benny Plata; Steve Clifford; and Edwin Pickle City Staff: John Godwin, City Manager; Gene Anderson, Finance Director; Janice Ellis, City Clerk; Stephanie H. Harris, Interim City Attorney; Larry Wright, Fire Chief; Bob Hundley, Police Chief; Director; Doug Harris, Utilities Director; Jerry McDaniel, Public Works Director; and Kent Klinkerman, EMS Director Council Member: Matt Frierson Opening Agenda 1. Call meeting to order. Mayor Hashmi called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. Invocation. Gene Anderson gave the invocation. 3. Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member Lancaster led the pledge. 4. Citizens' Forum. Sybil Colson, 819 Lamar Avenue — she said she wanted to speak about items 14 and 15 and sought approval to speak at that time. Mayor Hashmi said she would be able to do so. Grover Glatfelter, 1345 S.E. 6a' — he said after reviewing the Tri-State Metal v. Paris, Texas, lawsuit he came to the conclusion the Council had a responsibility to ask for a civil or criminal investigation for conflict of interest on the part of Judge Biard, former mayor, who is presiding over this case. He said they needed to investigate Barney Bray, who sold that property while on the Planning and Zoning Board and further said he believed Barney Bray should be suspended from Planning and Zoning during the pendency of the lawsuit. He said Council had Regular Council Meeting January 25, 2016 Page 2 ignored some situations and they needed to start protecting the interests of the taxpayers and must engage in recovery of monies that disappeared in past situations. Consent Agenda Mayor Hashmi 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 Lancaster and seconded by Council Member Plata. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 5. Approve minutes from the meeting on January 11, 2016. 6. Receive reports and /or minutes from the following boards, commissions, and committees: a. Main Street Advisory Board (12 -8 -2015) b. Historic Preservation Commission (12 -9 -2015) c. Paris Economic Development Corporation (12 -8 -2015 & 12 -29 -2015) d. Paris Visitors & Convention Council (11 -12 -2015) e. Paris Public Library Advisory Board (12 -16 -2015) 7. Receive December drainage report. 8. Receive code enforcement activity report. 9. Approve RESOLUTION NO. 2016 -004: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, ORDERING THE REGULAR MUNICIPAL ELECTION FOR THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, TO BE HELD ON THE FIRST SATURDAY IN MAY 2016, SAME BEING THE 7TH DAY OF MAY 2016, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ELECTING MEMBERS OF THE PARIS CITY COUNCIL IN DISTRICTS 1, 2, 3, & 6, FOR THE ENSUING TWO YEARS; DESIGNATING POLLING PLACES; AND ORDERING NOTICES OF ELECTION TO BE GIVEN; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 10. Approve RESOLUTION NO. 2016 -005: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING AND APPROVING A CONTRACT BETWEEN THE CITY OF PARIS AND THE LAMAR COUNTY ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR TO ASSIST, COORDINATE, SUPERVISE AND HANDLE CERTAIN ASPECTS OF ADMINISTERING THE GENERAL ELECTION FOR MAY 7, 2016, FOR THE CITY OF PARIS; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 11. Approve RESOLUTION NO. 2016 -006: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, APPROVING A JIOINT ELECTION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF PARIS AND PARIS INDEPENDENT Regular Council Meeting January 25, 2016 Page 3 SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR THE MAY 7, 2016 ELECTION DATE; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 12. Approve RESOLUTION NO. 2016 -007: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF AN EQUIPMENT LEASE/PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE ACQUISITION, PURCHASE, FINANCING AND LEASING OF A FIRE TRUCK; AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF DOCUMENTS REQUIRED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH; AND AUTHORIZING THE TAKING OF ALL OTHER ACTIONS NECESSARY TO THE CONSUMMATION OF THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED BY THIS RESOLUTION. Reiular Aeenda A Motion to move item 16 forward on the agenda was made by Council Member Pickle and seconded by Mayor Hashmi. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. 16. Receive presentation from United Way regarding a fixed -route transit system in Paris. United Way Director April Carl introduced Chris Brown, Executive Director with Ark - Tex Council of Governments in Texarkana and Nancy Holmes, Transportation Manager. They cited the need for public transportation in Paris and provided City Council with a map of proposed routes. Following the presentation, Council Member Pickle explained that several other entities were contributing toward this needed project and said he had given the city clerk an agenda item request form for February 8. He said he would be asking the Council to consider a contribution from the City in the total amount of $75,000, to be spread out over the next three years. 13. Receive update from the city manager on the status of Paris Warehouse 107 Tax Abatement, discuss and possibly take action. Mayor Hashmi said Council Member Clifford placed this item on the agenda. Council Member Clifford said he wanted Mr. Godwin to explain what was going on, as well as explain something he sent to Council in his manager's report. Mr. Godwin said the tax abatement committee had met twice and the math was still not done. Mr. Godwin said the tax abatement was to have begun in January 2005 and gone through 2011 and that in 2005, the building was not finished. He also said the years 2012 and 2013 were also abated and they should not have been. Mr. Godwin said the first year issue was the issue. He said the tax abatement agreement said they would be charged 1.3 million dollars and they were actually charged 3 million dollars, so that was an error by someone in 2005 or 2006 in favor of HWH. Mr. Godwin reported he got an e -mail from Jerry Patton, chief appraiser that day with some numbers but did not wish to talk about those until he had a chance to review them. Mr. Godwin said the final thing, which was a little disturbing was the e -mail recently received from Steve Gilbert who was making an effort to tie the Paris Warehouse 107 negotiations with some trail easements the City needs for the Trail Regular Council Meeting January 25, 2016 Page 4 de Paris. Council Member Clifford asked for further explanation. Mr. Godwin said Steve Gilbert suggested that once the tax abatement was settled, that HWH would be willing to grant the easements to the City of Paris. Council Member Clifford asked Mr. Godwin for his opinion. Mr. Godwin said the two had nothing to do with each other. Council Member Lancaster asked if HWH was proposing to trade property for taxes they owed. Mr. Godwin said they had not made any proposal, and the City was ready to start construction on the project and at the eleventh hour he received the e -mail from Steve Gilbert. Council Member Lancaster said it was a strange question and then asked if she could trade property for taxes she owed and Mr. Godwin said no. She said she didn't think so. Council Member Lancaster said she was disturbed by that e -mail. Mayor Hashmi inquired what happens if the City does not get the easements. Mr. Godwin said they have to have the easements on two pieces of property to complete the project and if the City does not get the part that is further East that the City will not be able to start the trail and if the City doesn't get the part from the West the City will not be able to complete the trail. Mr. Godwin explained timing was important because the Texas Parks and Wildlife grant was contingent upon the trail being built by a certain time. Mr. Godwin said not getting the easements could cost the City the grant. Council Member Lancaster said that sounded like black mail to her and she was very upset about this. Council Member Clifford said the Council voted to 100% enforce the contract and asked if anyone had addressed the fact that all required documents have not been filed. Mr. Godwin said HWH has been told that and HWH said they have them, but that he has not received them. Council Member Clifford said they were required to be filed with sixty days or the contract was not valid. Mr. Godwin said that was correct. Council Member Clifford said he wants the 100% enforcement discussed. Council Member Pickle reminded everyone that the e -mail came from an employee and not by anyone who signed the contract. 14. Receive public input, discuss and act on a Resolution in support of LW Development, LLC's Application to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA), and the proposed development of Saddlebrooke Estates located at 4660 Pine Mill Road; and approving LW Development, LLC's request for a de minimis contribution for development of Saddlebrook Estates. A Motion to remove this item from the table was made by Council Member Pickle and seconded by Mayor Hashmi. Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. Mayor Hashmi opened the item to receive public input. Syble Colson, Karl Louis, and Lisa Gandy, opposed this development based on an increase in traffic in an area that was already a high traffic area, portions of the property were in a FEMA flood area, the negative effect on infrastructure, and concern of a decline in their property values. Ms. Colson also said the City could end up in a lawsuit if they continue developing on the east side which is detrimental to the west side. Ms. Colson also questioned why the City did not fill in the vacant lots with this development. She said the City had sufficient affordable housing. Greg Mauter emphasized that Pine Mill Road would not be able to handle this type of traffic and added that affordable housing should be spread throughout the City. Darrell Bulls pointed out that the city manager had written in his memo that the life span of this housing development was short. Mr. Bulls also said he was Regular Council Meeting January 25, 2016 Page 5 the longest living resident in Pine Valley and opposed the development in this area. Wallace Elvie said the City Council had an opportunity to go through the City and use the money to develop the not so beautiful areas of town. Donald Lewis said he was the one that sold this property and the Garretts were not putting in Section 8 housing, but a tax credit project. He said the apartments were of good quality and the tax credits allowed them to rent for less and that it did not adjoin the neighborhood but was close to the highway. Mayor Hashmi told Mr. Lewis he thought item 15 was the property which he was speaking about. Don Pryor said the majority of people attending the meeting were there to oppose item 14 and his experience with rental property had not been good. Council Members Pickle and Lancaster suggested looking at other sites within the City. Laura Myrick with LW Development spoke in support of this item, citing they were going to build single family units and the program was administered through the IRS. Mayor Hashmi said he did not believe anyone was opposed to the project but opposed to the location. He said he had heard from many citizens who were opposed to the location and for that reason he opposed it. A Motion to deny this item was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Clifford. Motion carried 6 ayes — 0 nays. 15. Receive public input, discuss and act on a Resolution in support of GS Paris Family, LP's Application to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA), and the proposed development of a new apartment complex located at 4800 Lamar Avenue; and approving State Street Housing, LP's request for a de minimis contribution for development of a new apartment complex. Mayor Hashmi opened the item to receive public input. Lisa Gandy expressed concern about the high volume of traffic that was already in existence and the number of wrecks in front of the gym. Mrs. Gandy said this was not the best location for the number of units they were proposing to build there. Donald Lewis said he could not disagree that freeway traffic was dangerous. He also said criminal background checks would be done on all renters and there was a requirement that all school age children had to attend school. Council Member Pickle said he would rather see retail in this area. Council Members Clifford, Plata, Lancaster and Jenkins opposed this project at this location. A Motion to deny this item was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Clifford. Motion carried 6 ayes — 0 nays. 17. Approve a Professional Services Agreement with Garver USA to provide the professional engineering services for conceptual design of the City's wastewater treatment facility rehabilitation. Mr. Godwin said they had been discussing this over the last several years and that this was a long -term project and that the City needed to start really soon. Utilities Director Doug Harris explained that each firm made a presentation to the City evaluation team in April 2014 Regular Council Meeting January 25, 2016 Page 6 and final evaluations of each were completed in October 2014 and based upon extensive evaluation, site visits and direct interviews, the team of Garver USA/Freese and Nichols /Hayter Engineering was selected to manage the project. Mr. Harris also said Garver was introduced to the City Council in January 2015 as the engineering firm selected to manage the project and the FY 2015/2016 budget included up to $320,000 to complete conceptual design for rehabilitation of the city's wastewater treatment plant. Jeff Sober, vice - president of Garver, introduced the team and took the Council through the timeline for the project. Council Member Plata said he agreed with Mr. Harris that the plant was old, but at the same time Paris was not growing. He said several years ago they spent 5 million dollars for some rehabilitation and this time it would be in the millions again. Council Member Lancaster said not all of the plant was old, it was well operated and she was hesitant to proceed with additional rehabilitation. Council Member Pickle said the costs will continue to escalate the longer they do not proceed with rehabilitation. He favored moving forward to allow Garver to advise them where improvements needed to be made and stated it was already in the budget to hire them. Mayor Hashmi wanted to know if the affluent met TCEQ requirements and Mr. Harris said the plant was in compliance. Mayor Hashmi opposed moving forward with the conceptual design. Council Member Clifford agreed with Council Member Plata in that he did not believe they needed to spend an additional $320,000 for another study. He questioned as to how many studies had already been done. Mayor Hashmi asked Mr. Harris what they needed to fix and Mr. Harris mentioned the plant grid. Council Member Plata said since it was budgeted, he would be okay with Garver figuring out what the City needed to do to rehab the plant. Council Member Clifford wanted to know the cost of the final design and Mr. Sober said he could not answer that question without going through the conceptual design. Council Member Pickle inquired if the City qualified for a low interest loan and Mr. Sober answered in the affirmative. He also said if the City does not move forward with this phase, they will lose their place in line to get a low interest loan. Mayor Hashmi said the City had a lot of other important projects. A Motion to deny this item was made by Mayor Hashmi and seconded by Council Member Clifford. Motion carried, 4 ayes — 2 nays, with Council Members Pickle and Plata casting the dissenting votes. 18. Discuss revisions to the animal control ordinance and provide direction to staff. Chief Hundley explained the animal ordinance had not been significantly reviewed over the past many years and that changes included a dangerous dog definition and procedure, the type of animals that can be kept in the City and how they are to be kept, as well as changes in how to respond to animals which create disturbances in neighborhoods. It was a consensus of City Council to move forward with adoption of the revisions. Regular Council Meeting January 25, 2016 Page 7 19. Discuss disannexation requests received from 36th N.E. Street property owners as follows: • Kay White, 2325 36th NE • George William "Bill" Madding, 2225 36th NE • Wildred & Donna Hargis, 2245 36th NE • Terry & Sandra Fitzgerald, 2335 36th NE • Greg Winn, 2235 36th NE • William & Lindsay Thorns, 2425 36th NE Interim City Attorney Stephanie Harris explained the City had received applications requesting disannexation of their properties because they do not receive certain city services, such as water or sewer in areas. She also said they do receive police, fire, EMS and sanitation pick up. Mayor Hashmi said he felt if the City was not going to provide services they should be allowed to disannex. Council Member Pickle said they were not paying for services they did not get, but only for services they do get. Bill Madding, 2225 361h NE. — he said when he bought the property sixteen years he was told they should be getting sewer. Mayor Hashmi asked Mr. Madding it would be acceptable if they made a conscious effort to get sewer to that area. He said they could ask the city manager to come up with some options. Mr. Madding also said that drainage issues continued to the point of washing away top soil and filling up ditches. Mayor Hashmi asked the citizens to give them a couple of Council meetings to allow time for the city manager to come up with a plan. 20. Discuss disannexation requests received from FM 79 property owners as follows: • Terry & Dedra Dollins, 3356 FM 79 • Peter & Lisa Zacharias, 3388 & 3384 FM 79 • Jessie Tucker, 3930 FM 79 • O.B. McCuin, 3928 FM 79 • Stacy & Shelia Pendergraft, 3790 FM 79 • Ronald Dockray, 3197, FM 79 • Carolyn Patterson, 2 acre tract, Rt. 1, FM 79 and 2.5 acres, FM 79 • Arthur & Joyce Lay, 3248 FM 79 • Carol Diggs, FM 79 Council Member Clifford said he previously brought this up and was told there was no sewer service in this area and no plans to do so, because it was cost prohibitive. Mayor Hashmi inquired if disannexing this area would create an island and Ms. Harris said she would find out. Deidra Dollins, Joyce Lake and Ronald Dockery said they wanted to be disannexed because they had no sewer or water from the City. Mayor Hashmi said if the City was not going to provide services, he felt they should be disannexed. Mr. Godwin said he would bring this back to the City Council. Regular Council Meeting January 25, 2016 Page 8 21. Discuss and act on a lighting policy for the Plaza. Mr. Godwin explained that a number of groups had requested to turn the lights at the plaza to different colors for a month at a time to honor certain causes and several problems had arisen. He said sometimes the City receives overlapping requests, or complaints from citizens who do not like the changes, and because the light fixtures were historical and difficult to handle the staff increased the risk of permanent damage every time they were changed. Council Member Clifford said breast cancer awareness was of great significance to him, and citizen Louise Moseley said it was dear to her heart. Following discussion about the possibility of not changing out light bulbs but placing LED lamps with the ability of changing colors, it was a consensus for Mr. Godwin to make necessary changes to the policy and bring it back to the Council for approval. 22. Receive status report from the police chief about activities in the police department. Mayor Hashmi said during the budget process, Chief Hundley had made some promises about the police department and he would like a report. Chief Hundley reported to the Council that all officer positions were filled, but there were three recruits in the basic academy, two officers in field training and two officers remained on light duty for work related injuries. He said they had not lost any officers since July and two returned to the department when the police department received raises. He also reported that open positions in the CID and OPS Office had been staffed, which included the replacement of a drug investigator. Chief Hundley said that seniority was still used for off -duty work, but changes had been made to allow more opportunities for less senior officers. He also said they had opened training opportunities for officers to serve as instructors for the department and other moves were in the progress to replace officers in administrative positions with civilian personnel. Mayor Hashmi inquired if the drug task force had been created and Chief Hundley said no, but that normally the police department and sheriff's office works together. Mayor Hashmi inquired if he had added a K -9 unit and Chief Hundley said he had explored it, but that it came down to they did not have the personnel. Mayor Hashmi asked if the drug investigator was not willing to take that on and Chief Hundley said he had not asked the investigator. Council Member Pickle said recently there had been a chase and what he heard was the police department had done everything right. 23. Consider and approve future events for City Council and /or City Staff pursuant to Resolution No. 2004 -081. None were referenced. 24. Adjournment. There being no further business, was seconded by Council Member Plata adjourned at 8:00 p.m. I JANICE ELLIS, CITY CLERK Regular Council Meeting January 25, 2016 Page 9 a Motion to adjourn was made by Mayor Hashmi and Motion carried, 6 ayes — 0 nays. The meeting was SUE ANCASTER, MAYOR PRO -TEM