CITY COUNCIL MEETING

March 28, 2002, 8:30 A.M.

CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ABILENE, TEXAS

CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF CITY HALL

The City Council of the City of Abilene, Texas, met in Regular Session on March 28, 2002, at 8:30 a.m. in the City Council Chambers of City Hall. Mayor Grady Barr was present and presiding with Councilmen Norm Archibald, Kris Southward, Anthony Williams, Jimmy McNeil, and Councilwoman Kay Alexander. Also present were City Manager Roy L. McDaniel, Assistant City Manager Michael Morrison, City Attorney Sharon Hicks, City Secretary Jo Moore, and various members of the City staff. Councilman Rob Beckham was absent.

Councilman Kris Southward gave the invocation.

Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilman McNeil.

Councilwoman Kay Alexander assisted Mayor Barr in presenting Certificates of Recognition to Wylie High School 2002 State Track Champions, and the 2002 Individual State Swimming Champion. Mayor Barr recognized the Wylie ISD coaches, Superintendent, and Principal.

Mayor Barr recognized Felix Serrano, fifth-grader at Ortiz Elementary School, and the school’s community coordinator Mrs. Blackmon. Mayor Barr then asked Felix to lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.

City Manager Roy McDaniel introduced Officer Mike McAuliffe, Criminal Justice Officer at Abilene High School. Officer McAuliffe gave a presentation of the Police Department’s Youth Division, stating the school resource officers are liaisons between the schools, Police Department, and the community. Officer McAuliffe reviewed the division’s duties, program cost, teen academy, Supporting Neighborhood and Parents (SNAP) Program, Campus Crimestoppers, major fundraisers, and Operation Outreach. Officer McAuliffe reported the program has expanded to include all AISD middle schools, and that numerous students are seeking careers in law enforcement as a result of the program.

Mayor Barr and the Council commended the Police Department, Police Chief, and City Manager, citing cooperative collaboration, rapport, and camaraderie.

No Council action was required.

DISPOSITION OF MINUTES

Councilman Southward stated on page 5 of the March 14, 2002 Regular City Council Minutes in the paragraph that begins with “Councilman Southward” the sentence that reads “If City Hall renovation bids come in at an acceptable budget, then Council will decide on where to borrow the money to proceed with those renovations and to pay that debt back with the CO sale of 2003.” should read “If City Hall renovation bids come in at an acceptable budget, then Council will decide on where to borrow the money to proceed with those renovations and it is the City Council’s intent to pay that debt back with the CO sale of 2003”. There being no deletions, corrections, or further additions to the March 14, 2002 Regular City Council Minutes, Councilman McNeil made a motion to approve the minutes with the additional wording as noted. Councilman Archibald seconded the motion and the motion carried.

AYES: Councilmen Archibald, Southward, Williams, McNeil, Councilwoman Alexander, and Mayor Barr.

NAYS: None.

CONSENT AGENDA

Councilwoman Alexander made a motion to approve consent agenda items 3.1 through 3.4, and first reading of items 3.5 and 3.6. Councilman McNeil seconded the motion and the motion carried.

AYES: Councilmen Archibald, Southward, Williams, McNeil, Councilwoman Alexander, and Mayor Barr.

NAYS: None.

Resolutions:

3.1 Oral Resolution approving a Public Safety Communications Consultant contract with RCC Consultants, Inc. in the amount of $70,000.00 plus out of pocket expenses not to exceed $10,000.00.

3.2 Oral Resolution accepting the Lytle Lake Water Control & Improvement District Certification of unopposed candidates for the May 4, 2002 Election.

3.3 Oral Resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into an agreement with Dataprose Billing Solutions, Inc. for utility bill printing and mailing services.

Bid Awards:

3.4 Hazardous Devices/Hazardous Materials Robot for Police Department, Bid #CB-2046. The bid was awarded to HDE Manufacturing, Inc. of Ft. Worth, TX in the amount of $27,700, as recommended by staff.

Ordinances:

3.5 Z-01402 – Rezone from RS-6 & RM-2 (Residential Single Family & Residential Multi-Family) to LC (Limited Commercial) zoning district property located in the 2700 block of Buffalo Gap Road, and set a public hearing for April 11, 2002 at 8:30 a.m.

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 23, “PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT,” SUBPART E, “ZONING,” OF THE ABILENE MUNICIPAL CODE, BY CHANGING THE ZONING DISTRICT BOUNDARIES AFFECTING CERTAIN PROPERTIES, AS DESCRIBED BELOW, DECLARING A PENALTY, AND CALLING A PUBLIC HEARING.

3.6 Ordinance amending the Abilene Fire Code, and set a public hearing for April 11, 2002 at 8:30 a.m.

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 10, ARTICLE III, “FIRE PREVENTION CODE,” DIVISION 1, SEC. 10-46 OF THE ABILENE MUNICIPAL CODE BY AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS AS SET OUT BELOW; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND DECLARING A PENALTY.

REGULAR AGENDA

Ordinances:

4.1 Jeff Armstrong, Development Services Administrator, briefed the Council on an Ordinance considered on second and final reading - Z-01202 – Rezone from AO (Agricultural Open Space) to LI (Light Industrial) zoning district property located in the 8200 block of Military Drive. The Planning and Zoning Commission and staff recommend approval.

Mayor Barr opened a public hearing on the item, and there being no one present and desiring to be heard, the public hearing was closed.

Councilman Archibald made a motion to approve the Ordinance to rezone from Agricultural Open Space to Light Industrial zoning district property located in the 8200 block of Military Drive, as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission and staff. Councilman Southward seconded the motion and the motion carried.

AYES: Councilmen Archibald, Southward, Williams, McNeil, Councilwoman Alexander, and Mayor Barr.

NAYS: None.

The Ordinance is numbered 11-2002 and is captioned as follows:

4.2 Jeff Armstrong, Development Services Administrator, briefed the Council on an Ordinance considered on second and final reading - Z-01302 – Rezone from AO (Agricultural Open Space) to MH (Mobile Home) zoning district property located at 342 Anson Avenue. The Planning and Zoning Commission and staff recommend approval.

Mayor Barr opened a public hearing on the item, and there being no one present and desiring to be heard, the public hearing was closed.

Councilman Southward made a motion to approve the Ordinance to rezone from Agricultural Open Space to Mobile Home zoning district property located at 342 Anson Avenue, as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission and staff. Councilman Williams seconded the motion and the motion carried.

AYES: Councilmen Archibald, Southward, Williams, McNeil, Councilwoman Alexander, and Mayor Barr.

NAYS: None.

The Ordinance is numbered 12-2002 and is captioned as follows:

Mayor Barr recessed the Council into executive session pursuant to Sections 551.071, 551.074, and 551.072 of the Open Meetings Act, to seek the advice of the City Attorney with respect to pending and contemplated litigation, to consider the appointment and evaluation of public officers, and to consider the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property.

The Council reconvened from executive session and reported no action taken.

There being no further business, the meeting was recessed to the Basement Conference Room for the Critical Issues Workshop.

CRITICAL ISSUES WORKSHOP

Council reconvened in the Basement Conference Room for the Critical Issues Workshop.

Mayor Barr called the meeting to order, and asked City Manager Roy McDaniel to brief the Council on the workshop’s agenda.

Mr. McDaniel asked Councilman Archibald to present information on the proposed Mission Statement. Councilman Archibald briefed the Council, noting that he and Assistant City Manager Michael Morrison had hosted a group of employees to discuss and draft a mission statement for the organization. Members of that group included Andy Anderson, Odis Dolton, Mike Hall, Richard Gertson, Denise Hamilton, Ronnie Kidd, and John Vedro. The purpose was to review the existing City of Abilene mission statement and determine if the statement truly captured the purpose of the city organization. After several meetings, the group agreed to a statement that they felt defined the purpose of the organization’s existence. Mayor Barr subsequently asked several community leaders to review the statement. Individuals included in that review included Celia Davis, Ray Ferguson, Joe Ed Canon, Nancy Jones, Dee Moore and others. There was general agreement that the statement fit what these individuals felt was the purpose of the City of Abilene. Councilman Archibald further noted the committee has recommended Council adopt the new Mission Statement as follows: “We work together to build a community of the highest quality for present and future generations”; and to promote the proper use of the statement in all appropriate situations.

Council comments included appreciation of the brevity of the statement and the need to display it in all possible areas (i.e.; post in City buildings and place on water bills).

The proposed Mission Statement will be placed on the April 11 Council agenda.

Mr. McDaniel distributed a revised list of Critical Issues, stating the issues are for Council’s discussion with no action expected today.

Council reviewed the following issues:

Fiscal

Several payroll and personnel items approved in the current budget were only partially funded. The 2002-2003 budget will have to address the balance of these items which will include the cost for a full year of fire department and civilian compensation adjustments (approximately $1,000,000) and a full year for the new positions (development services, public information, refuse driver) authorized by the Council (approximately $200,000). The City Council approved a number of items for the current budget impacting the FY 2002-2003 budget. We will start this year's budget process seeking ways to accommodate these items.

Health care costs have continued to rise, resulting in significant financial impact on the budget and the individual employee.

The process for replacing the public safety communication system is ongoing. Current estimates for system replacement are $8 to $10 million. We continue to seek outside sources to fund the project, but the City may need to budget as much as $3 million as early as spring 2003.

The city's payroll/accounting system will require replacement in the next 1-2 years and will require a significant expenditure.

New Government Accounting Standards Board requirements will cause major changes in the City's accounting standards and will require significant staff and outside consulting time to implement.

Council and staff discussion included: factors involved in determining if the City’s self insurance program is competitive, including identifying benefits and compiling numerical data and other types of data regarding where cost is being utilized, and waiting to review the self insurance program until the actuary is completed.

Water

Additional water resources available from Possum Kingdom Lake need to be secured.

Modifications to Abilene's contract with the West Central Texas Municipal Water District need to be considered to allow the most efficient operation of the water system.

The current drought may result in recalculation of reservoir yields. We must monitor the situation and determine the need to modify our water operation policies as a result of any yield reduction.

Staff noted the fact that these issues will not help alleviate the current drought problem.

Public Safety

Emergency Management Program modifications need to be fully implemented, with emergency planning becoming a priority for the organization.

Abilene Regional Airport may have new responsibilities in the security arena. Any redefinition of security responsibilities will result in reallocation and expansion of staff needs.

Infrastructure

City owned facilities (civic center, community centers, fire stations) have aged and experienced a great deal of deferred maintenance. Ongoing maintenance costs of these buildings combined with deferred maintenance will be significant over the next several years.

In the original report that was developed for the City Services Group of the ACE committee there were two elements of the street upgrade program that were addressed:

1. Maintenance of the 80% of the City's streets which are neither in very good nor very bad condition. If each of these streets received the appropriate level of light to moderate maintenance during the next 20 years, we would need a commitment of $3,000,000 annually in addition to the current maintenance budget for materials of $500,000. At the time, it was suggested that 50% of these monies be budgeted each year and the other 50% developed through periodic bond sales for the moderate maintenance or structural overlays. The 1998 Bond Committee recommended regular (every 3-5 years) bond elections to address infrastructure needs.

2. Reconstruction projects which should be handled through the CIP process. At the time of the report, the needed commitment for this element of the street improvements was projected to be $3.6 million annually over a 10-year period.

As a result of the drought, major repair to irrigation systems throughout the parks system should be anticipated in the coming year.

Most of the water and wastewater system was installed in the city between the 1950s and 1960s. Ongoing infrastructure rehabilitation will be critical to maintain system integrity. The ACE Committee identified this need as critical to our overall ability to deliver water to our citizens.

Airport runways and taxiways will need to be crack-sealed, and in some cases, reconstructed. Maintenance has been deferred due to lack of funds and personnel. Improvements to the airport were a high priority of the ACE Committee.

Council and staff discussion included: 1) what it would take to greatly improve the condition of city streets, addressing chip sealing and reconstruction, 2) the $3.6 million capital improvement program being separate and different from the $3 million for maintenance, 3) consideration being given to another bond election, 4) the City’s decision 20+ years ago for the internal street division to only do maintenance and to contract out construction or reconstruction, and 5) the $3 million being subject to inflationary measures over a period of time, so as the plan develops, miles of streets, yards of gravel, etc. will also need to be addressed.

Community Planning and Economic Development

Full implementation of the Airport Master Plan will require an aggressive legislative agenda and significant matching funds.

Public participation in the development of the comprehensive plan remains a challenge. The new public information position, along with the web site and traditional public hearings should help in improving participation. The comprehensive plan was a top priority of the ACE Committee.

Growth in southern Taylor County will have potentially negative impacts on our water quality and on our drainage problems.

Future land use encroachment around Dyess Air Force Base needs to be addressed. This was a high priority identified in the ACE Committee.

The downtown redevelopment effort should continue; alternative funding sources need to be identified. The ACE Committee identified this as a priority.

The target industry study was a recommendation of the ACE Committee and will help define what our community will be in the future. The City Council needs to be actively involved/informed of the study's progress and recommendations.

(ACE Committee rec.)

Strengthening neighborhoods, enabling residents to develop and implement locally created solutions.

Implement building sub-code that encourages renovation of existing structures.

Improvement to major entryways.

Support involvement in the planning and development of new water resources at the local and regional level.

Council and staff discussion included: 1) the DCOA having tabled the target industry study and the need to move forward with that study, 2) the status of the chipper that was approved in August and the need to have that moved forward, 3) the impact the school issues will have (i.e., closing of schools and use of vacant buildings, etc.) on surrounding neighborhoods and to city services.

Customer Service

Implementation of a coordinated development services concept to improve customer service. The ACE Committee reinforced this critical issue.

Our ability to fully develop the city's web site will impact the ability for the public to obtain information, conduct business, and access government services via the Internet.

Council and staff discussion included: communicating that the web exists, and listing on the City’s website the hotels located in Abilene in order to avoid having to link to the Chamber of Commerce or Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau website to view this information.

Workforce

Maintaining compensation parity with ten comparable cities will have an ongoing impact on employee retention, recruitment, and on the budget.

Loss of personnel to retirement will result in experience gaps in critical areas.

Identifying the correct staffing level at the correct location to adapt to changing circumstances. For example, municipal attorneys must be adept as corporate attorneys handling multiple levels of document preparation as well as litigation attorneys who can handle matters in municipal, state, and federal court. This diversity takes a special person to give such a commitment and be able to juggle diverse legal issues on a daily basis. Most attorneys in the private sector practice only in a specialized area of law, not multiple. The City’s legal division is a firm of five attorneys. Not counting the Council and City Manager’s office, there are ten departments with approximately 60 divisions that require assistance with documents, contracts, resolutions and ordinances, litigation, and municipal court. The Legal division provides assistance by contract to the 911 Board, the DCOA, and the Housing Authority. To handle the large volume of business that the City generates, two additional attorneys would be optimal. If a second municipal court is created, additional staff will be required.

There are other examples in the organization where proposed or approved changes in service delivery will impact staffing levels.

Council and staff discussion included: 1) reviewing the 10 benchmark cities, 2) potential liability due to being short staffed, 3) retaining attorneys, 4) being reactive versus preventive, 5) combining jobs (i.e., Public Works Director and City Engineer), and 6) reallocating and/or reducing staff.

Council concluded the workshop with discussion on: 1) history of bond elections, 2) five year plan for capital improvements, 3) routinely having a bond election every 4 or 5 years, 4) the benefit to having the public informed and knowledgeable, and 5) choosing the issues that are the most pressing and affordable in order to keep the City in good condition.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:45 a.m.

_____________________________ ______________________________

Jo Moore Grady Barr

City Secretary Mayor