The City Council of the City of Abilene, Texas, met for a Special Council Meeting on December 11, 1998 at 9:00 a.m. in the City Council Chambers of City Hall for the purpose of considering a Resolution canvassing and declaring the results of the December 8, 1998 Capital Improvements Bond Election. Mayor Gary D. McCaleb was present and presiding with Councilmen Paul R. Vasquez and A. Don Drennan, Councilwoman Carol Martinez, Councilmen Rob Beckham and Versie L. Brown, Jr., and Councilwoman Kay Alexander. Also present were City Manager Roy McDaniel, City Attorney Sharon Hicks, and City Secretary Jo Moore.

Councilman Don Drennan gave the invocation.

City Manager Roy McDaniel stated that although disappointed that all bond issues did not pass, he feels the positive impact of the three issues that were approved will move our city forward and help prepare us for the future.

City Secretary Jo Moore read the results of the canvass as follows:

Proposition 1: Issuance of $11,520,000 Street and Traffic Control Improvement Tax Bonds passed with 4,527 votes cast for the proposition and 2,288 votes cast against it.

Proposition 2: Issuance of $3,800,000 Senior Citizens Center at Rose Park and Improvements to Other Senior Citizen Facilities Improvement Tax Bonds passed with 3,939 votes cast for the proposition and 2,864 votes cast against it.

Proposition 3: Issuance of $1,930,000 Park Improvement Tax Bonds failed with 3,078 votes cast for the proposition and 3,614 votes cast against it.

Proposition 4: Issuance of $1,120,000 Civic Center Improvement Tax Bonds failed with 3,051 votes cast for the proposition and 3,678 votes cast against it

Proposition 5: Issuance of $2,630,000 Central Fire Station and Other Public Safety Improvements Including Emergency Operations Center Improvement Tax Bonds passed with 4,323 votes cast for the proposition and 2,465 votes cast against it.

Staff recommends Council adopt the Resolution and declare the results of the election.

Councilman Vasquez moved to approve the resolution canvassing and declaring the results of the December 8, 1998 Capital Improvements Bond Election, as recommended by staff. Councilman Brown seconded the motion and the motion carried.

AYES: Councilmen Vasquez and Drennan, Councilwoman Martinez, Councilmen Beckham and Brown, Councilwoman Alexander, and Mayor McCaleb.

NAYS: None.

The Resolution is numbered 39-1998 and is captioned as follows:

There being no further business, Mayor McCaleb recessed the meeting to the Basement Conference Room for a Council/staff workshop.

Mayor McCaleb stated the Workshop Session is for discussion, feedback, and input, with no decisions being made today.

Mr. McDaniel recognized County Commissioners present: Neil Fry, Stan Egger, and County staff member Larry Beville, who are present to give input as to the County’s plans concerning the annexation and zoning issues.

Mr. McDaniel stated the question before the Council today is how much the City wants to manage and/or control in the area of annexation.

Andy Anderson, Director of Community Development, stated Development Services Administrator Jeff Armstrong has put together an outline that frames the annexation issues.

Mr. Armstrong stated annexation and Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) requirements are the two means by which we regulate and control growth. Mr. Armstrong distributed an historic perspective as follows:

1. Annexations since 1990
2. ETJ plats and development concerns,
3. The purpose of annexation, and
4. When annexation is inappropriate.

Mr. Armstrong further stated an annexation plan is possible, and can be prepared to provide guidance to annexation in a reasonable, rational manner to maintain the kind of City we want. Mr. Armstrong then asked for Council input at some point today concerning the future annexation in Abilene.

Councilman Beckham stated the Texas Municipal League Resolution Committee supports counties having zoning authority, then asked if Taylor County would support that and if so, would the City and County be cohesive in that endeavor.

Commissioner Fry stated Taylor County doesn’t really want to be involved in zoning. Mr. Fry then went on to give an historical perspective of zoning in Abilene, reviewing his service as a Councilmember in 1964 when ETJ laws came into effect as a result of land grabs that were taking place at that time.

Mr. McDaniel stated for the last 10 years the City has been reactive to annexation, and staff feels we should be proactive.

Mayor McCaleb stated that since 1990 if you look at what we’ve annexed you will see we have had sound annexation (conservative action). Guidelines for annexation should be prepared for the good of the City and to prevent detrimental effects to the City with the following cautions:

1. prevent abuses
2. avoid negative effect of sprawl
3. people moving away from the undeveloped areas into the City

Commissioner Fry stated the County doesn’t object to the City annexing land, and that Abilene has two unique things for more aggressive annexation, which are density of growth right outside the City, and flooding problems, which involve safety & health concerns. Mr. Fry further stated ETJ subdivision regulations may need to be strengthened.

Council took a 5-minute break at 10:45 a.m. Upon reconvening, Council’s direction for staff concerning annexation included preparing a conservative annexation plan with consideration being given to strengthening the ETJ requirements.

Jeff Armstrong, Development Services Administrator, noted several problems with the current zoning Ordinance. Mr. Armstrong stated what he feels should be done to correct these problems:

1. trash the current ordinance, with the exception of a few items from the old being incorporated into the new,
2. Address significant issues, i.e., streamlining the zoning districts
3. Go to a performance-based zoning ordinance
4. Include more aesthetic features in the new ordinance, and
5. Provide special use provisions

Mr. Armstrong then reviewed the zoning ordinance rewrite process, noting it would take approximately 12 to 18 months to complete.

Andy Anderson, Director of Community Development, stated the zoning ordinance should be a tool that helps the city grow in an orderly manner. Staff and Council find themselves in situations where the zoning ordinance won’t permit things that staff and Council feels are reasonable. The Ordinance as a tool should facilitate, not limit, and a totally new tool needs to be considered.

City Attorney Sharon Hicks reviewed why the City establishes zoning versus what citizens perceive zoning to be.

Mr. McDaniel stated he would like to see a more flexible ordinance allowing staff to be more creative, but he feels many folks may fear this.

Mayor McCaleb agrees the zoning ordinance is way too cumbersome and complicated, and is horrible for citizens to deal with. Mayor McCaleb stated he also agrees with developing a new zoning ordinance, which should include:

1. Long term plan (comprehensive plan for citizens to know what the city expects in the area of growth).
2. A set of guidelines establishing the guiding principals of good zoning, which should be a lot less complicated than the current one.
3. Good judgment and sound decisions on the part of staff in administering the ordinance.

Councilman Drennan stated a balance that still leaves us with the ability to judge and make good decisions is what is needed.

Councilwoman Alexander questioned what procedures are followed by other cities. Mr. Armstrong replied that many use our ordinance as their guideline.

The Council took a 5-minute break at 11:15 a.m.

Mayor McCaleb stated that before the Council continues with this workshop session, the City Secretary will note a correction on the Exhibit to the Election Resolution. City Secretary Jo Moore noted on the exhibit to the Resolution canvassing the votes the number of early votes cast against Proposition 1 should be 976 instead of 196. Mrs. Moore further stated totals are all correct and there is no change or impact to the results of the Election.

Cindy Cullen, Technology Liaison, presented the following:

The topics for today’s Y2K update include: completed and current projects, testing, minor systems assessment, preliminary assessment trends, mission-critical departments, and thing that need to be done.

What is the Y2K issue? Early computer programs used two digits to identify year; first two digits of year were assumed to be "19". Will codes recognize the year "00"as "1900" or "2000"? Impact depends on sensitivity to date.

Completed "Fixes" – include replacements for water billing, municipal court, fire management. Repairs in accounting have been completed.

In-Process "Fixes" – Replacements in fleet management/inventory/work order management and PCs/network. Repairs are in process in Police communications and payroll.

Major System Testing Criteria - Three dates "roll-overs" to be verified: 12/31/1999 to 1/1/2000; 2/28/2000 to 2/29/2000; 12/31/2000 to 1/1/2001. Test component and system operation; and test procedures (data entry, reports, etc.)

Major System Testing Schedule – Water Billing completed November 19 Y2K COMPLIANT! Municipal Court: December 17, 1998; Fire Management: February 1999; Payroll/Accounting: March 1999; Fleet Management: April 1999; Traffic Signals: To Be Determined.

Assessment of Minor Systems – Division surveys covers over 120 potential applications, identify areas where operations may be affected, identify potential alternate solutions, and identify responsible departments and staff. 91% completed; should be finished by year-end. Assembly of results to determine breadth and criticality of issues, share alternative solutions already identified, develop alternative solutions for problems, and prioritize projects.

SOME THINGS WILL FAIL. Our emphasis is trying to minimize the impact to our citizens.

Preliminary Assessment Trends – Radio communications: important to several mission critical functions, communications services division reports all radios are either Y2K compliant or non-compliant but functional. Electrical power is essential to several departments, need to identify back up generation and mission critical systems. Project team will help in water and sewer and traffic assessments. Embedded chips: computer chips that are included in electronic equipment may or may not be date sensitive and are often difficult to test.

Mission-Critical Departments – Fire: requesting compliance from vendors for fire trucks, CO detectors, thermal imagers, defibrillators compliant, Southwestern Bell working on Y2K-compliant upgrade to 911 database. Police: Communications and CAD/RMS upgrades in progress, determine readiness of external agencies (DPS, FBI, BATF). Refuse: determine compliance of trucks, compactors. Water; availability of electricity most critical issue, embedded chips in systems also may pose problems, checking with suppliers on chemical deliveries; special project team formed to help in assessment. Airport: well-prepared, following FAA guidelines for compliance, on-site back-up generation available. Traffic signals: almost half are electro-mechanical, school-zone time clocks are compliant, special project team to assist in assessment.

Meetings with Utilities: WTU briefing December 4 – reviewed status of Y2K assessment/testing for Generation, Transmission and Distribution, System Control; embedded chips have not posed problems; many contingency plans already in place due to nature of operations; system designed to isolate/bypass failed equipment.

Citizen Y2K Committee: survey developed – what are citizens concerned about? To be included as bill stuffer to water bills. Town Meeting scheduled for 1^st quarter 1999, use information from surveys to determine topics of discussion.

To Do – Meetings with Utilities: gas, phone - 911, telephone communications, cable – emergency alert, weather. What else? Complete divisional assessments, develop alternative solutions, work with vendors on compliance issues, continue major/minor systems testing, updates to Council.

Mayor McCaleb recognized Councilman Beckham’s service on the Y2K Committee and representing the Council on technology issues.

Councilman Beckham noted the following in dealing with the Y2K concerns:

1. Enlighten community and give a sense of security
2. Reality is that no one really knows what might happen in 2000.
3. Adhere to schedule and get as many systems tested as possible.
4. Anticipate reversal in demographics.

Mr. McDaniel stated prioritizing is important.

Mayor McCaleb noted that reports like this are very reassuring, and asked if we are looking at fiscal year expenditures.

Mrs. Cullen replied all issues will be considered.

Councilwoman Alexander, Mayor McCaleb, and Councilman Beckham left the meeting at 11:50 a.m.

Mr. McDaniel informed the Council that although Lake Ft. Phantom is seriously low, staff is watching it closely.

There being no further business, Mayor Pro Tempore Martinez adjourned the meeting at 11:55 a.m.

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Jo Moore, City Secretary

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Gary D. McCaleb, Mayor