City of Sulphur Springs, Texas

1CITY OF SULPHUR SPRINGS, TEXAS

REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL

JULY 2, 2013

7:00 p.m.

Mayor John Sellers called the regular meeting of the Sulphur Springs City Council to order at 7:00 p.m. The following council members and staff were present:

Mayor John Sellers Mayor Pro Tem Freddie Taylor Councilman Craig Johnson Councilman Clay Walker Councilman Oscar Aguilar Councilwoman Emily Glass Councilwoman Kayla Price

Absent:

Staff: Marc Maxwell, City Manager Gale Roberts, City Secretary Jim McLeroy, City Attorney Peter Karstens, Director of Finance Shane Shepard, Director Community Development James Bayuk, Police Chief Robert Lee, Utilities Director Russell Ham, Water Plant Superintendent

PLEDGE AND INVOCATION Mayor Sellers led in the pledge of allegiance to the United States Flag and the Pledge to the Texas Flag. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor led in the invocation.

PRESENTATIONS, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND PROCLAMATIONS Tommy Allison, Jim Perez, and Gary Hall presented the City Council with a Certificate of Appreciation for Loyalty and Patriotism to Our Country by publicly and proudly displaying the United States flag.

1 Mayor Sellers recognized Sgt. Matt Glenn and Officers Eddie Moon, Derrick Williams, and Seth McDaniel by presenting each of them with a silver coin for their quick and decisive response to the Best Western Trail Dust Inn fire which occurred June 8, 2013.

Mayor Sellers also presented Officer Eddie Moon with a proclamation for his life saving heroics by rescuing an elderly gentleman from the fire without any hesitation.

Chief Bayuk also recognized Dispatchers Sarah Anderson and Kimberly Williams for their hard work during the Best Western Trail Dust Inn fire. They performed their jobs effectively and efficiently during a very difficult and arduous situation.

MANAGER’S REPORT THE SQUARE – Work on Jefferson Street is completed. Work will begin on the Jefferson/Church intersection on Monday. The Capital Construction Division will work 6 days per week, 10 to 12 hours per day to expedite the job. Expect the job to last 6 weeks.

NEW CITY HALL – Progress continues on the addition and the main building. Steel framing on the addition is moving quickly along. On the main building the new limestone blocks have been placed around the base where broken stones were removed. Work continues on the interior of the new building as KBL Restoration plasters and paints walls, sands wooden floors and installs new windows.

SUMMER PAVING PROGRAM – Here is a list of summer paving projects for this year.  Freeman, from Como to Carter.  Live Oak, west of Helm Lane.  Davis Street N., from Atkins to Houston.  Kyle, from Davis to Gilmer.  Spence, from Fisher to Gilmer.  Vonda, from Wright to concrete.  Terry, from Azalea to dead end.  Soft spot repair, various locations.

INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION – Kudos to the Hopkins County Symphony League. Last weekend’s celebration was a smashing success by any standard. The music was fantastic, the fireworks were beautiful, and the weather was perfect. I believe that was the most crowded I have ever seen the square.

THE BATTLE OF THE BOWLS – The glass restrooms have been nominated for a national contest for best bathrooms sponsored by Cintas Corporation. You can learn 2 more about the contest by visiting http://www.bestrestroom.com/us/. You can also watch a video about the contest at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC4F2LsJK-8. In August, Cintas will announce 10 finalists, and then the internet public can begin voting on them. I bet we make it into the top 10.

CLAIMS – The City had two minor Workers’ Compensation claims in June. Both were treated and released to duty.

Two liability claims were sent to TML last month. A driver struck a dip a little too fast and tried to collect damages. That claim was denied. A resident is claiming damages from a sewer blockage that resulted on a flooded bathroom and bedroom. That claim will be likely be denied unless we actively did something to cause the overflow.

REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES – Finance Director, Peter Karstens will present a year-to-date review of revenues and expenditures.

MISCELLANEOUS – Elsewhere around the City, employees:  Sold 4,000 gallons of JetA fuel and 1,442 gallons of AvGas.  Assisted with the planning, setup, and take-down of the Independence Day celebration.  Treated 143 million gallons of drinking water.  Checked out $3,576 materials from the library and served 1,789 computer users, and saw monthly Saturday attendance of 215.  Served 1,135 patrons with programed library activities like summer reading.  Responded to 39 accidents, made 72 arrests, wrote 644 traffic citations and recorded 62 offences.  Said “farewell” to retiring police lieutenant Buddy Williams.  Hired 2 dispatchers.  Received training in arrest, search and seizure, use of force, crime scene investigation, S.W.A.T. and Spanish. Promoted Pat Leber to Lieutenant, and promoted Lonnie Taylor to Sergeant.  Responded to 244 animal control calls, and achieved a 76% adoption rate.  Repaired 25 water line ruptures and replaced 23 water meters.  Unstopped 13 sewer mains.  Washed 79,000 feet of sewer mains and camera inspected 3,442 feet of sewer mains.  Made 13 sewer repairs resulting from previous camera inspections.  Processed 559 tickets through municipal court.  Responded to 111 fire/rescue calls including 2 structure fires.  Conducted 60 fire inspections.  Performed preventative maintenance on 72 fire hydrants. 3  Wrote 5 weed tickets.  Aerated and fertilized athletic fields.

 Achieved a daily average total suspended solids reading of 14.86 mg/L, above our permit limit of 12 mg/L. This is the third month we have blown our permit. One more month and we will come under enforcement.  Began adding hydrogen peroxide and installed blowers to address severe problems at wastewater treatment plant brought on by changes to the pre-treatment operation at Saputo. The new apparatuses are produced by Blue Frog Systems and are pictured below as taken from sales literature. So far, it is not working as the sales literature suggests.

Before After???

 Put up temporary fence for t-ball tournament this weekend.  Installed a fountain at the Municipal Airport’s pond.  Turned off school zone lights.

CONSENT AGENDA The following items on the Consent Agenda were reviewed: Consider for approval the City Council meeting minutes of June 4, 2013; Special City Council minutes of June 20, 2013; the Downtown Revitalization Board meeting minutes of June 18, 2013; and the Economic Development Corporation meeting minutes of May 28, 2013. There was no one to speak to the issue. Councilwoman Price moved to approve the consent agenda as presented. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor seconded and the vote was unanimous.

The motion carried.

DISCUSSION/ACTION ON PUBLIC HEARING FOR SECOND AND FINAL READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 2634 APPROVING AND ADOPTING RATE 4 SCHEDULE RRM – RATE REVIEW MECHANISM FOR ATMOS ENERGY CORPORATION, MID-TEX DIVISION, TO BE IN FORCE IN THE CITY FOR A PERIOD OF TIME AS SPECIFIED IN THE RATE SCHEDULE; ADOPTING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; DETERMINING THAT THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT; DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND REQUIRING DELIVERY OF THIS ORDINANCE TO THE COMPANY AND ACSC LEGAL COUNSEL ACSC and Atmos renewed discussions to develop revisions to the RRM tariff, and have reached a tentative agreement on the form of the RRM to be in effect for a four-year period from 2013 – 2017. If the RRM process is to continue to function as a substitute for the GRIP process, cities that exercise original jurisdiction must adopt a tariff that authorizes the process. There was no one to speak to the issue. Councilwoman Price moved to adopt the ordinance on the second and final reading. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor seconded and the vote was unanimous.

The motion carried.

DISCUSSION/ACTION ON FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 2635 AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR FY2012 – 2013 Finance Director Peter Karstens presented the staff report. He stated the budget amendment increases the overall expenditure limit by $250,000. The source of the funds is the additional sales tax that the city is collecting which is in excess of the $260,000 being recognized by this amendment. Those line items receiving additional funds include Professional Services in Administration which is the result of increased legal fees; Professional Services and Community Promotion in the Community Development as a result of all the activity the department is doing downtown; Salaries, ERE, Health Insurance and Street repair material in the Street Department, and finally, Hospital Gas in Department 30 (which has a corresponding revenue increase). $70,000 is transferred from the General Fund to the Capital Fund to add funds for the Downtown Façade Grant Program. $10,000 is transferred from the General Fund to the Airport Fund to partially replace revenue lost when GSC sold its plane. Most of the other revenue shortage is being dealt with through budget cuts at the Airport. The difference between the $250,000 increase of the expenditure limitation and the $260,000 increase in Revenue is the $10,000 transferred to the Airport to replace revenue lost. There were a couple of questions asked of Mr. Karstens. There was no one else to speak to the issue. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor moved to approve the ordinance on the first reading. Councilwoman Price seconded and vote was unanimous.

The motion carried.

DISCUSSION/ACTION ON BIDS AND AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR 5 CHEMICALS AT THE WATER TREATMENT AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS The City advertised for bids on the following chemicals to be used at the Water and Waste Water Treatment Plants:

Aluminum Hydroxide Aluminum Hydroxide Copper Sulfate Blend Liquid Chlorine Sulphur Dioxide Caustic Soda Chlorine Dioxide (sodium chlorite solution) Liquid Ammonium Sulfate Ortho Poly Phosphate

The low bid received on June 19, 2013 for each chemical is as follows:

New Price Old Price

Aluminum Hydroxide 197.18 ton 199.60 ton Aluminum Hydroxide Copper Sulfate Blend 1% 236.16 ton 260.00 ton Aluminum Hydroxide Copper Sulfate Blend 2% 276.16 ton 285.00 ton Liquid Chlorine 512.00 ton 723.00 ton Sulphur Dioxide 725.00 ton 723.00 ton Caustic Soda 574.00 ton 568.00 ton Chlorine Dioxide 0.733 per lb. 0.715 per lb. Liquid Ammonium Sulfate 0.093 per lb. 0.095 per lb. Ortho Poly Phosphate 0.675 per lb. 0.860 per lb.

There was no one to speak to the issue. Councilwoman Price moved to accept the low bids as presented. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor seconded and the vote was unanimous.

The motion carried.

CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING FOR CITIZEN COMMENT REGARDING 6 GRANT THROUGH THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TEXAS CAPITAL FUND DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION PROGRAM Mayor Sellers opened the Public Hearing at 7:31 p.m.

There was no one to speak to the issue.

Mayor Sellers closed the Public Hearing at 7:31 p.m.

DISCUSSION/ACTION ON RESOLUTION NO. 1054 APPROVING AN APPLICATION FOR FUNDING THROUGH THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TEXAS CAPITAL FUND DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION PROGRAM; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE City Manager Maxwell presented the staff report. Kim Lacey, Municipal Development Services, was also available to answer any questions. With approval of this resolution staff would submit an application for grant funding to the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Downtown Revitalization Program for grant funding for $150,000. If approved the City would provide a required match of $45,000. After subtracting $15,000 for grant administration we would have $180,000 to construct new downtown sidewalks. There was no one to speak to the issue. Councilwoman Price moved to approve the resolution as presented. Councilman Aguilar seconded and the vote was unanimous.

The motion carried.

PRESENTATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL REGARDING WATER BY MARC MAXWELL City Manager Maxwell presented a power point regarding water issues. Cooper Lake is about 8’ low and this is about as bad as we have seen it this early in the season. The North Texas Municipal Water District and the City of Irving each own 36.9% of the storage rights which is not the same as diversion. The City of Sulphur Springs along with the cities of Commerce and Cooper are members of the Sulphur River Municipal Water District. Sulphur Springs owns 12.4%, Commerce has about 11.1% and Cooper has 3%. The City of Commerce has sold their water for the next several years, though not their water rights. The City of Cooper has sold almost all of its water rights. We have 33,750 acre/feet for storage but only 18,128 acre/feet for diversion due to evaporation and percolation. There have been many discussions about dredging the lake and projections made to determine availability. Because Irving and the NTMWD using their legal right of diversion the lake level went below 418 feet the months of October, November, and December, 2012. If the City of Sulphur Springs had wanted to divert water at that time it would have been below the silt barrier line. Now there is a silt barrier build-up between 7 our water inlet tower and the main body of the lake. The encouraging news is that the U. S. Seasonal Drought Outlook for June 20 – September 30, 2013 shows that drought removal is likely. If we were to dredge to the original bottom of the lake it would allow us to pump our conservation storage and sediment reserve barrier which is very important. It would cost an estimated $5 - $6 million with our part being approximately $619,000 to $804,000, but wording in the contract allows us to be a non-agreeing party with no obligation to reimburse the agreeing parties. There have been some emails back and forth about dredging but none lately. This presentation is to inform the City Council of the situation. It would cost $125,000 a year to pump into Lake Sulphur Springs from Cooper Lake and we couldn’t even keep up with the loss of evaporation. On average we evaporate 7,000,000 gallons a day out of Lake Sulphur Springs and even more during the summer months.

Councilwoman Price thanked City Manager Maxwell for keeping an eye on the water issues. She also stated he had done a great job in keeping the City Council informed which keeps them focused on what may lay ahead unlike what happens in other cities.

Councilman Aguilar asked about the last slide which contained a picture of the zebra mussel. City Manager Maxwell said there had been sightings at Lake Lavon and believes the zebra mussel will come since it only takes one infected boat to start it all. The zebra mussels can take a 30” pipeline and take it to 6” in just a few short years. They are very invasive and the lines would eventually have to be reamed. Hopefully, it will not happen here.

PRESENTATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL REGARDING DISC GOLF BY TODD McCOY Todd McCoy is a local resident, an Algebra II teacher for the Sulphur Springs Independent School District and a disc golf enthusiast. He introduced himself and passed out materials such as a map of the proposed course, a costs analysis for various pieces of equipment and the estimated total cost for the course. He explained the game of disc golf and even brought a basket and disc. There are several courses in the metroplex and a few in surrounding areas. Each hole will have two tee boxes, one for beginners and one for intermediate players. Mr. McCoy has been soliciting sponsorship for each of the tees and has been met with great enthusiasm. Twenty-nine (29) of the thirty-six (36) tees available for sponsorship are pledged. The course will not interfere with the current activities occurring day-to-day in Coleman Park but will actually enhance those areas that are underutilized. Mr. Bell has stated he would provide 10 cubic yards of concrete at no cost and any more than that would be greatly discounted to $90 per yard – delivery fee free. There was a general discussion among the City Council and Mr. McCoy.

8 DISCUSSION/ACTION ON HIRING ROGER BROOKS TO DEVELOP THE BRAND FOR THE CITY OF SULPHUR SPRINGS Roger Brooks made a presentation to the City Council on June 20th about the art of branding. Councilman Johnson moved to hire Roger Brooks in the amount of $65,000 to develop a brand for the City of Sulphur Springs in the new budget year. Mayor Pro Tem Taylor seconded and the vote was unanimous.

The motion carried.

VISITORS AND PUBLIC FORUM Wilfred Pobursky addressed the City Council about several items.

Keith Bland addressed the City Council about the west side of the wall of his business at 214 Main Street and the portion of his building that faces Tomlinson Street..

Mayor Sellers thanked everyone, the City Council, citizens and friends, for their support during the loss of his mother. He wanted to publicly thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers as they have sustained him these past two weeks.

ADJOURN With all business complete the meeting was adjourned at 8:14 p.m.