The City Council of the City of Abilene, Texas, met in a Pre-Council Work Session on July 8, 1999, at 8:30 A.M. in the Basement Conference Room of City Hall. Mayor Grady Barr 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 L. McDaniel, Assistant City Manager Mike Morrison, City Attorney Sharon Hicks, City Secretary Jo Moore, and various members of the City staff.

Marva Pritchett, Director of Public Works, introduced Georgi Brooks-Newton, the new Refuse Division Program Manager. Marty Blubaugh, Director of Economic Development, introduced David Snow, Abilene Regional Business & Education Center (ARBEC) Administrator. Mr. Blubaugh then briefed the Council on the operations of the ARBEC. Mr. Blubaugh described the operations of the Business Incubator, as well as the benefits it provides for the community, how it was established, who oversees the ARBEC, the status of the Business Innovation Center (BIC) and its performance to date, a sampling of successes from the program, and what the direction for BIC is. Mr. Blubaugh continued to outline the realignment of services at the ARBEC and listed the core values for the ARBEC. The Council briefly discussed various consent and regular agenda items as follows: Mr. McDaniel stated Item 3.1, Rehabilitation of N. 1^st Street from Pioneer Drive to Leggett Drive, Bid #CB9049 will be removed from the agenda today and brought back before Council in a couple of weeks. Tom Lindley, Contract Paving Co., asked Council for careful consideration and award of the bid to his firm in 2 weeks. Mr. Lindley stated the project bid in June, and his company was the low bidder. Mr. Lindley further stated there have been questions concerning a project Contract Paving has with the State on Antilley Road involving the contractor not being responsible for relocating utilities, but he stated he doesn’t feel it relates to this bid. Mr. McDaniel stated Item 3.5, Z-03199 – Rezone from RM-3 (Residential Multi-Family) to GC (General Commercial) zoning district property located at Buffalo Gap Road & South 32^nd Street, was amended at the request of the proponent from the General Commercial zoning to O (Office), and was approved for O (Office) zoning by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Jim Berry, Deputy Police Chief, noted on Item 3.7, Ordinance amending Chapter 20, "Offenses", Article V, Burglar Alarms, of the Abilene Municipal Code, that no definitions are changing, and five false alarms in one year will still be allowed. There being no further discussion, the meeting was recessed to the City Council Chambers until 9:00 a.m. for the regular Council Meeting.

Mayor Barr reconvened the City Council of the City of Abilene, Texas, into Regular Session July 8, 1999, at 9:00 a.m. in the City Council Chambers of City Hall.

Councilman Rob Beckham gave the invocation.

Pledge of Allegiance was led by Austin Graves, 4^th grader at Wylie Elementary School and grandson of City Manager Roy McDaniel. Also in attendance were Austin’s parents, Tim and Rhonda Graves and his sister, Rachel.

Jo Moore, City Secretary, assisted Mayor Barr in the presentation of the Employee Service Awards as follows:

20 Years, Joe G. Garcia, Maintenance Crew Chief, Street & Drainage Services

20 Years, Plutarco O. Cisneros, Equipment Operator II, Refuse Collection

20 Years, James O. Frazier, Fire District Chief, Fire Department

20 Years, Dennis K. Haas, Fire Lieutenant, Fire Department

20 Years, Jerry L. Tarver, Firefighter, Fire Department

20 Years, Jay Pace, Police Officer, Police Department

Mayor Barr, assisted by Employee Committee vice chair Flisha Stewart, presented Employee Scholarship Awards to the following individuals:

Melissa Odom, daughter of Terry Odom, Police Officer;

Ashley Harendt, daughter of Lee Ann Harendt, Public Health Nurse, Health Department;

Courtney Jackson, daughter of Lynthia Jackson, Program Worker, Senior Citizens Division;

Mayor Barr recognized Mr. Ralph Thornhill and his Speech Communication class, and thanked them for expressing their interest in City Government by attending today’s meeting.

Councilman Vasquez moved to approve the minutes of the June 24, 1999 Pre-Council and Council Meeting as printed. Councilwoman Martinez seconded the motion and the motion carried.

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

NAYS: None.

Item 3.1 was removed from the Consent Agenda to be considered at a later date. Item 3.7 has been amended at the request of the proponent from General Commercial zoning to Office zoning and has also been approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission for Office zoning. Councilman Beckham moved to approve consent agenda item 3.2, and approval of first reading of items 3.3 through 3.7 as recommended by staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission. Councilman Brown seconded the motion and the motion carried.

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

NAYS: None.

1. James Condry, Assistant Director of Public Works, briefed the Council on the pros and cons concerning the installation of speed humps in Abilene. Mr. Condry stated the Planning and Zoning Commission discussed the issue and there is general acceptance of the idea with the issue of payment being the most common concern among citizens. Council and staff discussion included: police enforcement of speed versus the reduction of speed by humps, the cost of police personnel versus the installation of speed humps, installing speed humps in one area causing traffic to move to other areas, empowering neighborhoods by involving them in the process to make changes in their own neighborhood, cost sharing for the installation of the speed hump which range from $1,000 to $2,000 each. For those who can’t afford the cost, it was noted scholarships may be available. Further discussion included: the need for some sort of mechanism to ensure the notification of a potential traffic pattern change (i.e., cars moving to other streets) because citizens may not be aware that traffic flow might change, receiving public input, limiting the installation of speed humps to residential areas, and establishing a petition process. The Council noted the benefits of possibly helping the community by decreasing accidents with the installation of speed humps. Mr. McDaniel stated if the Council wants to pursue the issue, staff can develop a policy establishing the rules and regulations to bring back to the Council.

Councilman Beckham made a motion to direct staff to pursue the research and study of the issue of speed humps as discussed and to develop the appropriate documents for Council consideration. Councilman Drennan seconded the motion and the motion carried.

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

NAYS: None.

Following the regular agenda and prior to the Executive Session, Councilwoman Martinez left the meeting.

Mayor Barr stated following the executive session, Council would reconvene to the Basement Conference Room for the Worksession on water and drought issues; and review of the minor and major improvement program, including Certificates of Obligation.

Mayor Barr then recessed the Council into executive session pursuant to Sections 551.071 and 551.074 of the Open Meetings Act, to seek the advice of the City Attorney with respect to pending and contemplated litigation, and to consider the appointment and evaluation of public officers.

The Council reconvened from executive session and reported no action taken. Mayor Barr welcomed those in attendance to the Council worksession and asked the City Manager to brief the Council on the Worksession agenda. City Manager Roy McDaniel stated items on the agenda are water and drought issues; and review of the minor and major improvement program, including Certificates of Obligation. Mr. McDaniel further stated the Water District members have been invited to attend the Worksession and are expected to arrive around 11:00 a.m. so David Wright, Director of Finance, would begin with the review of the minor and major improvement program, including Certificates of Obligation.

Mr. Wright distributed a chart and presented an overview of the Abilene Improvement Maintenance System including the minor/major improvement programs, Federal, State, private grants and donations, assessment paving, equipment replacement, facilities and infrastructure improvement/maintenance and the annual operating budget.

Mr. Wright also presented historical information on bond elections held in Abilene from 1979 thru 1998 as they pertained to the establishing of the major/minor improvement programs, and on the Certificates of Obligation Projects from 1992 through 1999 noting the equivalent tax rate for each year.

Council and staff discussion included the following concerns: issuing Certificates of Obligation in the year of a successful bond election especially for similar items, issuing Certificates of Obligation to fund items that failed a bond election, voters perspective on feeling they’ll never see bonds retired, unsuccessful bond elections, the lack of a structured bond election program, the need for continued maintenance of the City, determining what is maintenance vs. capital and the appropriate funding for these items, and increasing the tax rate if necessary.

City Manager Roy McDaniel stated that today’s worksession is to provide information to the City Council as well as receive input from the Council on any changes or modifications they feel might be necessary to the improvement program. Mr. McDaniel stated that he would not recommend any changes and hopes the Council agrees with him that the program is a good one.

General consensus of the Council was that the program is a prudent approach and the least painful manner in which to provide for our citizens.

David Bell, General Manager for the West Central Texas Municipal Water District, Jim Nichols and Tom Gooch of Freese & Nichols of Fort Worth, and the following West Central Texas Municipal Water District board member were present: Fred Lee Hughes, Abilene; Fred Sandlin, Abilene; Glenn Picquet, Albany; Greg Pitzer, Breckenridge; Paul Prater, Breckenridge; Ray Ferguson, Abilene; Roger Huber, Anson; V. E. Spurgin, Jr., Anson; Betty Ray, Abilene; Kathy Webster, Abilene.

Mayor Barr welcomed those in attendance and asked the City Manager to brief the Council and the West Central Texas Municipal Water District Board on the water/drought issues. City Manager Roy McDaniel introduced Dwayne Hargesheimer, Director of Water Utilities, who then briefed the Council and Water District members on the history of Lake Abilene, Lake Kirby, and Fort Phantom Hill Lake and the processes taken to enhance the watershed to Lake Fort Phantom. Mr. Hargesheimer noted in the late 1950’s, Hubbard Creek Reservoir was built and then dedicated in 1962. In 1974, a major pump was installed to Lake Fort Phantom in order to pump water from Hubbard; and the process was incorporated into a plan to economize the operation of the system in the 1980’s. Fort Phantom Hill Lake and Hubbard Creek Reservoir are the city’s current primary source of water with the O. H. Ivie Reservoir planned for future use.

Mr. Hargesheimer stated historically the size of a reservoir is determined by its watershed. Watershed sizes are: Fort Phantom Hill Lake, 278 square miles; Hubbard Creek Reservoir, 1,100 square miles; Lake Abilene, 110 square miles; Lake Kirby, 44 square miles; and O. H. Ivie Reservoir, 3150 square miles. Currently, Ft. Phantom Hill Lake is at 42% of its capacity, Hubbard Creek Reservoir is at 78%, Lake Abilene is at 20%, Lake Kirby is at 8%, and OH. Ivie is at 72%. Mr. Hargesheimer further stated due to the lack of rain, the reservoirs are being pulled to a deficit and we will have to continue to draw from the Hubbard supply.

The Council, Water District members, and staff discussion included: addressing citizens questions concerning why a pipeline to O. H. Ivie is not currently being built, the need to inform the public that currently it is more cost effective to economize the Fort Phantom Hill Lake/Hubbard situation than to build the pipeline. It was noted the last projected date to build the pipeline to O. H. Ivie was 2010 with a more realistic date, due to population growth, being 2015. Further discussion was held concerning the future re-use of wastewater to irrigate the golf courses and educating the public to the safety of this water use.

The meeting recessed for lunch from 12:00 to 12:45 p.m.

Upon reconvening from lunch, City Manager Roy McDaniel recognized Mr. Jim Nichols and Mr. Tom Gooch of Freese & Nichols, who addressed the issues of increasing the capacity of reservoirs resulting in less yield, evaporation occurring on the increased area, and raising the level of reservoirs versus constructing dams.

Mayor Barr noted the importance of lowering the public’s anxiety by clarifying that we have water, although careful use is needed in order to avoid waste.

Discussion continued with Mr. Hargesheimer noting Fort Phantom Hill Lake has the highest quality of water and that Hubbard Creek Reservoir has twice the chemical content of Fort Phantom. Mr. McDaniel noted the City does have a water use contract with the District and the District is also preparing a Drought Contingency Plan. Mr. Fred Lee Hughes stated the Water District Board understands the lack of water situation and wants to work with all the cities. Mr. Hughes further stated the primary emphasis for the District is the Drought Contingency Plan and once the plan is completed, the Abilene/West Central Texas Municipal Water District contract could be reviewed as needed.

Councilwoman Carol Martinez returned to the meeting at 1:05 p.m.

Mr. Jim Nichols stated Abilene has always been very far sighted in planning their water supply and that although it is wise to be prudent in the use of water based on historical records and in the best judgment of Freese & Nichols, Abilene has enough water for the foreseeable future.

City Manager Roy McDaniel reiterated that today’s worksession was held in order to update the Council and to give all parties involved the opportunity to receive the same information, to ask questions, and to provide input. Mr. Hargesheimer will supply the Council and Water District with the packet of information that was presented today.

David Bell, General Manager of the Water District, stated the District’s appreciation for being invited to today’s worksession.

Mayor Barr adjourned the worksession at 1:15 p.m., stating appreciation to those present for having attended the meeting.

Jo Moore, City Secretary

Grady Barr, Mayor