MINUTES City of Dickinson CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING

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1 Julie Masters, Mayor Charles Suderman Bruce Henderson Walter Wilson MINUTES City of Dickinson CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING Wally Deats, Mayor ProTem Louis Decker William H. King III Julie M. Robinson, City Administrator July 8, 2014 NOTICE is hereby given of a REGULAR MEETING of the City Council for the City of Dickinson, County of Galveston, State of Texas, to be held on TUESDAY, July 8, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. at: 4403 Highway 3, Dickinson, Texas for the purpose of considering the following numbered items. The City Council of the City of Dickinson, Texas, reserves the right to meet in a closed session on any of the below items should the need arise and if applicable pursuant to authorization by Title 5, Chapter 551, of the Texas Government Code. ITEM 1.) CALL TO ORDER AND CERTIFICATION OF A QUORUM: Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Masters called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Chief Building Official Kevin Byal gave the Invocation and Council Member Suderman led the Pledge of Allegiance. City Secretary Carolyn Anderson called roll and certified a quorum. Council Members present were as follows: Mayor Julie Masters, Mayor Pro Tem Wally Deats, and Council Members Charles Suderman, Walter Wilson, Bruce Henderson, Louis Decker and William H. King, III. Also present were City Administrator Julie Robinson, Administrative Services Manager Jessica Rogers, Public Works Director Kellis George, Chief Building Official Kevin Byal, Management Assistant Zach Meadows, EMS Director Derek Hunt, Library Director Vicki McCallister, Police Chief Ron Morales, Captain Melvin Mason and City Attorney Donna Johnson. ITEM 2.) PROCLAMATIONS AND COUNCIL COMMENTS: COUNCIL COMMENTS: Welcome and thanks to all citizens and City Staff for being in attendance Happy Birthday to Council Member Wilson Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July Request to publicize different civic events Knights of Columbus Fish Fry at the Knights of Columbus Hall August 1 st Great event by the Optimist Club who sponsored the Little Buddies Fishing Tournament at Paul Hopkins Park awards and ribbons were provided by the Dickinson McDonald s July 8, 2014 Regular Council Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 5

2 ITEM 3.) PUBLIC COMMENTS: At this time, any person with city-related business may speak to the Council. In compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, The City Council may not deliberate. Comments from the public should be limited to a maximum of three (3) minutes per individual speaker. None. ITEM 4.) CONSENT AGENDA: CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: The following items are considered routine by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will not be a separate discussion on these items unless a Council member requests, in which event, the item will be removed from the consent agenda and discussed after the consent agenda. A. Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of June 24, Council Member Deats made a motion to approve the consent agenda, and Council Member King seconded the motion. There being no discussion, Mayor Masters called for the vote. OLD BUSINESS ITEM 5.) CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION CONCERNING: Update of Public Works Projects A. Update on Status of Second Round of Street Maintenance Sales Tax Projects th Street Reconstruction Project (Street Maintenance Sales Tax Project) 2. Imite Street Reconstruction Project (Street Maintenance Sales Tax Project) 3. Pine Oak Drive (Street Maintenance Sales Tax Project) B. Update on Status of Street Maintenance Sales Tax Projects C. 501 Old Bayou Drive Drainage Project D. Phase 1 Gum Bayou Drainage Project Public Works Director Kellis George presented Council with an update on the Public Works Projects and addressed the questions of Council. ITEM 6.) CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION CONCERNING: Update on Activities of Houston-Galveston Area Council of the meeting of June 17, 2014 July 8, 2014 Regular Council Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5

3 Council Member King was attending the Texas Municipal League Leadership Academy Level I training and was unable to attend the Houston- Galveston Area Council meeting of June 17, ITEM 7.) CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION CONCERNING: Report To Council On Results Of Refunding Bond Sale And New Bond Rating From Standard And Poor s. Drew Masterson and Kristin Blomquist with FirstSouthwest provided Council with an updated written report of the City s current bond status. Ms. Blomquist stated that the refunding bond sale went very well and that the City s new bond rating from Standard and Poor s was upgraded two notches from A+ to AA. Ms. Blomquist stated that the City s bonds were well received in the market, and, as a result of the new bond rating, the City was able to get a better interest rate on the sale of the refunded bonds. Ms. Blomquist stated that the 8.27% net present value savings on the refunded bonds was much higher than expected equating to $637,000 over the life of the bonds. Mr. Masterson and Ms. Blomquist addressed the questions of Council. There being no further questions, Council thanked Mr. Masterson and Ms. Blomquist for their excellent work on the refunding bond sale. NEW BUSINESS ITEM 8.) PRESENTATION, BRIEFING AND DISCUSSION CONCERNING: Texas- New Mexico Power s Customer Base, Facilities Maintenance Program, Storm Preparation Program, And Future Plans For Upgrades To Its Facilities In The City Of Dickinson (Pauline McCorkle Moore and Vincent Herrera). Pauline Moore, Director, TNMP T&D Business Units, Vincent R. Herrera, P.E., Manager South Texas Engineering, and Kedrick Bryant, Senior Forester provided Council with an update on the TNMP customer base, reliability standards, outage causes, vegetation management, customer education regarding tree planting and removal, system improvements, outage management, automated meters, and their Emergency Operations Plan. Following the presentation, the TNMP representatives addressed the questions of Council. Topics of discussion were SmartMeter fees and the possibility of relocating wires underground. Mayor Pro-Tem Deats then presented pictures depicting damaged and nonfunctioning power poles and low-hanging wires. A discussion followed regarding the responsibility of lines and poles and the communication between the utility companies with regard to repairs. The TNMP July 8, 2014 Regular Council Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 5

4 representatives requested that a copy of the pictures be forwarded to their office for review. ITEM 9.) CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION CONCERNING: Ordinance Number AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DICKINSON, TEXAS, APPROVING AND ADOPTING A FIRST AMENDED BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF DICKINSON, TEXAS FOR FISCAL YEAR ; MAKING CERTAIN FINDINGS AND PROVIDING OTHER MATTERS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mayor Masters read Ordinance No by caption only. Council Member Henderson made a motion to approve the ordinance, and Council Member King seconded the motion. There being no discussion, Mayor Masters called for the vote. ITEM 10.) DISCUSSION AND DIRECTION CONCERNING: Proposed Social Media Policy. Management Assistant Zach Meadows presented Council with a draft of the proposed City of Dickinson Social Media Policy. Mr. Meadows asked Council for comments, recommendations and direction regarding proceeding with a resolution to adopt a social media policy. A discussion followed regarding clarification and comments on the language for departmental websites and the individual departmental pages. There being no further discussion, City Administrator Julie Robinson advised Council that the requested revisions would be made and a resolution adopting the social media policy would be on the agenda for the July 22 nd City Council meeting. ITEM 11.) DISCUSSION AND DIRECTION CONCERNING: Revising Section 18-70, Building Design Standards, of Chapter 18, Zoning, of the Code of Ordinances to Increase the Use of Masonry Products on Exterior Construction. Mayor Julie Masters provided the background for the request that this item be placed on the agenda. Mayor Masters expressed her concerns regarding the use of Hardi Board being used currently in the new construction of homes and businesses in the City. She asked that Council consider at least upgrading the ordinance to require 75 to 80 percent brick for new construction. Mayor Masters requested consideration of this item to upgrade construction requirements to match the vision of the City. July 8, 2014 Regular Council Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 5

5 Chief Building Official Kevin Byal addressed the questions of Council on the City s current regulations. A discussion followed among Council regarding possibly restricting citizens by a certain percentage of brick on new construction and the requirements that will be required with the new Flood Zone maps. After extensive discussion, City Administrator Julie Robinson requested direction from Council on how to proceed. It was the consensus of Council to continue to explore the options that the City might have regarding the increase in the use of masonry products on exterior construction. Mrs. Robinson was requested to put together draft regulations that would address the percentage of masonry required on new construction and skirting materials. Additionally, Mayor Masters requested that Council submit any specific issues they would like to see addressed directly to Mrs. Robinson to be included in the draft regulations. ITEM 12.) ADJOURN Council Member King made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:47 p.m. Council Member Henderson seconded the motion. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this the day of July, ATTEST: Carolyn E. Anderson, City Secretary Julie Masters, Mayor July 8, 2014 Regular Council Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 5