ABILENE
CITY COUNCIL RETREAT
OCTOBER 29, 2002
ABILENE, TEXAS
Councilman Jimmy
McNeil gave the invocation.
Mayor
Barr noted the Council’s prioritized list for discussion for today’s meeting
includes: 1) Council meetings being held at night, 2) holding public hearings
on Certificates of Obligation, and 3) holding joint County, AISD, and City
meetings. Mayor Barr stated today’s meeting will conclude by 1:00 p.m. due to
the conference room having been reserved for another event. The Mayor expressed appreciation to
Councilman Archibald for coordinating the Council’s retreat and asked
Councilman Archibald to relay the Council’s appreciation to Mike Waters,
President of Hendrick Health Systems.
The
Council expressed interest in 1) holding night Council meetings possibly once a
quarter at various locations (i.e., recreation centers) for the express purpose
to receive public input; 2) having public hearings on issuing Certificates of
Obligation; 3) holding Economic Development town hall meetings and inviting
people representing specific groups to address what direction they feel the
City needs to be going; 4) televising Council meetings; 5) reviewing the board
appointment process to determine how to get more minorities involved in serving
on city boards.
It was noted that City Manager Larry
Gilley, Mayor Barr, Councilman Anthony Williams, and two ACU employees had met
and discussed neighborhood issues, specifically the erosion of the North side
of Abilene and the center section of the City. This discussion also included:
1) the need for the establishment of Neighborhood Associations, 2) working with
the 3 universities to establish initiatives to prevent erosion, and 3)
addressing specific concerns of what the condition of these areas will be five
years from now if nothing is done.
Councilman Hill distributed a handout
entitled, “Neighborhood issues include”:
Ideas outlined on the handout and
discussed by Council were as follows:
§
Developing
neighborhood associations that can informally deal with appearance issues and
safety issues to benefit homeowners.
This is already done through block watches and could be done with
voluntary neighborhood deed restrictions.
§
Revitalization
around the three universities to make the schools more appealing and augment
our education export base. In the case
of HSU and ACU, these universities also serve as gateways to the community.
§
While neighborhood
associations can create groups of discontent citizens supporting single issues,
this process also makes city government relevant to a town that, at present,
has a 4% participation rate in local elections.
§
Neighborhood
associations would be integral to the acceptance of our proposed comprehensive
land use plan that directs infill to the underutilized city center.
§
Neighborhood
associations that deal with neighborhood appearance issues can create a more
appealing Abilene that is attractive to new business and economic development.
§
Neighborhood
associations could be used to deal with environmental issues, such as
neighborhood recycling programs and as a means of disseminating water
conservation measures.
§
Given the financial
limitation of our public sector, neighborhood associations can be used to
harness our service ethic to accomplish outcomes often provided by the public
sphere.
Mr. Gilley addressed the city’s need
to be involved with the development of neighborhood associations. Council discussed the pros and cons of
supporting AISD decisions, sharing of information, and the importance of
respect for other entities.
Council and staff discussion included: 1) joint use programs and services provided by the City and AISD as outlined in a 6-page report received by Council; 2) developing a closer working relationship with AISD & WISD; 3) holding another joint meeting with AISD and Taylor County to share the City’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan; 4) partnering with developers in addressing concerns of property development; 5) Council’s opinions being carefully articulated concerning AISD possibly closing schools to avoid misunderstandings; 6) offering the public the opportunity to address, within acceptable time limits, the issue of COs; 7) choosing recreation centers for quarterly evening Council meetings and providing the public with ample notice of the meeting; 8) communicating positive issues through the quarterly meetings; 9) proactively, seeking input from various groups (i.e., board of realtors, DAFB & educators), informing them that the budget process has started and Council is studying issues, looking to the future, and is requesting their input on how the budget, taxes, bonds, COs, etc. impacts them; and 10) holding a separate meeting from the regular Council meetings, possibly calling a special meeting in January 03, and targeting specific issues.
Mr. Gilley stated if acceptable to Council an agenda and proper format for a first quarterly meeting will be developed for a meeting in January, 2003 (consideration will be given to the January 23, 2003 meeting possibly starting at 5:30 p.m.).
Council recessed for
a break at 10:30 a.m. and reconvened at 10:45 a.m.
Council and staff discussion continued, and included: 1) televising Council meetings as another form of communication with consideration being given to cost & quality; 2) the ACE Report being utilized and comparing Abilene’s fund balance to other cities as we look at annualizing cost (i.e., giving raises in October versus January); 3) the positive aspects of tourism, economic development, Frontier Texas, the Expo Center, and Shotwell Stadium.
Mayor Barr asked for Council recommendations on bettering tourism. Suggestions included: 1) providing good signage at the gateways in order to encourage travelers to leave the Interstate and come into Abilene; 2) emphasizing the importance of the comprehensive land use plan; 3) adequately providing “way” finding signs to communicate location to people; 4) the benefits of the city web page linking to information on hotels, shopping etc; 5) capturing sales tax dollars by promoting Abilene through signs on I-20, 6) many promotional Frontier Texas signs being needed long before you get to Abilene; 7) the city being more aggressive in acquiring Federal funds and Council realizing and agreeing that comes with a cost.
Mr. Gilley briefed the Council on the new process being implemented in evaluating services and programs and explained future plans for the process. Mr. Gilley stated Council may want to consider identifying, and adding or eliminating programs within the next year. Mr. Gilley further stated the commitment to long range financial planning will be strengthened by issues Council has discussed today and will also be a benefit in looking at the City’s overall financial health.
Council and staff concluded their comments noting the positive benefits resulting from the two-day retreat.
Dr. Halter stated short-term issues discussed during the retreat can be resolved quickly, but the long-term issues will take time. Dr. Halter further stated he has learned a lot about tourist opportunities in Abilene, minority involvement, and school closings.
Mayor Barr reiterated Council’s appreciation to Councilman Archibald for coordinating the retreat and asked Councilman Archibald to relay to Dr. Waters and Hendrick Health Systems their appreciation for the use of the facility.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:40 a.m.
_____________________________ ______________________________
Jo Moore Grady
Barr
City Secretary Mayor