City Manager's Office 215 E. Mckinney St., Denton, TX 76201
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City Manager’s Office 215 E. McKinney St., Denton, TX 76201 (940) 349-8307 MEMORANDUM DATE: October 2, 2020 TO: The Honorable Mayor Watts and Council Members FROM: Todd Hileman, City Manager SUBJECT: Friday Staff Report I. Council Schedule A. Meetings 1. Committee on the Environment Meeting on Monday, October 5, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. via video/teleconference – City Council Work Session Room. 2. City Council Luncheon on Monday, October 5, 2020 at 11:30 a.m. via video/teleconference – City Council Work Session Room. 3. Work Session of the City Council on Tuesday, October 6, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. followed by a Regular Meeting at 6:30 p.m. via video/teleconference – City Council Work Session Room. Public Comment Available 4. Library Board on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. via video/teleconference – City Council Work Session Room. Public Comment Available 5. Cancelled - Agenda Committee Meeting Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at 2:30 p.m. in the City Manager’s Conference Room. 6. Work Session of the Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. followed by a Regular Meeting at 6:30 p.m. via video/teleconference – City Council Work Session Room. Public Comment Available 7. Community Development Advisory Committee Meeting on Thursday, October 8, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. via video/teleconference – City Council Work Session Room. OUR CORE VALUES Integrity Fiscal Responsibility Transparency Outstanding Customer Service II. General Information & Status Update A. Mayoral Approval for Outdoor Event – On September 28 and October 2, 2020, Mayor Chris Watts issued letters of approval for the following outdoor events that will be more than 10 people. • Trunk or Treat at Teasley Commons • 2020 Twilight Tunes The Mayor’s letters of approval are attached to this report as are the request materials for the events. Staff contact: Ryan Adams, Customer Service and Public Affairs B. General Manager of Utilities – Dr. Kenny Banks recently notified us of his decision to retire from the City effective November 6. Dr. Banks has been an invaluable member of the City’s leadership team in his role as General Manager of Utilities as well as being an expert resource for all environmental and sustainability matters impacting the community. Dr. Banks served the Denton community for 20 years. He plans to relocate to Rockport, Texas and has accepted a position with another city in that vicinity. We ask you to join us in congratulating Dr. Banks and wish him well in this next stage of his professional career. Staff is currently evaluating proposals from several executive recruitment firms to conduct a national search to refill the position of Director of Environmental Services and Sustainability. We anticipate the search process will take 3-4 months. In the interim, the Environmental and Sustainability groups will report to Tony Puente, Executive Manager of Utilities, until a permanent replacement is in place. Staff contact: Tony Puente, Utilities C. Positive COVID-19 with Denton Parks and Recreation – • North Lakes Recreation Center - On Wednesday, September 29, staff learned that a person who visited North Lakes Recreation Center the evening of Friday, September 25, for a program tested positive for COVID-19. The person was wearing a mask the entire time they were at the facility. North Lakes Recreation Center was cleaned that evening by staff on duty and again by the City’s contract janitorial service before opening Saturday. The facility will remain open. However, the program has moved to a virtual platform for the next two weeks. Staff Contact: Caroline Seward, Parks and Recreation • Vela Sports Complex – On Tuesday, September 29, staff learned that two individuals who attended the Youth Flag Football game at 11:30 a.m. tested positive for COVID-19. The individuals were spectators for the game and maintained their social distance from others. The spectators did not interact with anyone else outside of the immediate family. Again, on September 30, staff received a report that a person who attended the Youth Flag Football game at 3 p.m. tested positive for COVID-19. The individual was also a spectator for the game and maintained their social distance from others. The spectator wore a mask in and out of the facility and only removed it when they were socially 2 distanced from others while seated. The spectator did not interact with anyone else outside of the immediate family. Based on the information provided, Parks and Recreation athletic staff do not have reason to believe that either case is related as they include different age divisions, took place in a later part of the day, and involved new individuals in attendance. The Youth Flag Football program has established additional safety measures for the players, spectators, coaches, and staff members: • The playing field has markings for the spectators that are 10 feet back from the sideline, with circles painted along the field’s length with a circumference of 4 feet set at 6 feet apart. • The players sanitize their hands prior, in between, and after each game. • The game ball is sanitized and rotated out throughout the game. • Officials and staff members wear a face covering and maintain social distance from other individuals. • It is recommended that coaches and players wear masks, but this is not required because they are considered active on the playing field. • Spectators must wear face coverings when going in and out of the facility and when unable to social distance from non-family groups. The Flag Football league activities will resume as normal. Staff will provide an update if any further development occurs. Staff contact: Chris Escoto, Parks and Recreation D. Council Contingency Funds – At the beginning of each Fiscal Year, each Council Member is allocated $1,700 in Council Contingency Funds that can be distributed to local non-profit organizations as requested by the Council Member. Because the funds are reset on October 1, they are usually available for Council Members who were elected into office during the previous May’s elections or continuing to serve their second year. Because the election has been rescheduled from May to November this year due to COVID-19, staff will postpone processing all Council Contingency Fund requests until November, following the election, so that newly seated Council Members have the ability to allocate the Council Contingency funds that are available for their seat. Staff contact: Stuart Birdseye, City Manager’s Office E. Denton County COVID-19 Relief Fund (CRF) Eviction Prevention Program Update – As of September 25, the United Way of Denton County (UWDC) COVID-19 Relief Fund (CRF) Eviction Prevention program has provided 2,073 households in Denton County with 3,493 months of financial assistance. To date, 694 Denton residents have been provided 1,286 months of assistance. Beginning the week of September 14, UWDC transitioned away from processing CRF referrals internally and began referring households in need of CRF assistance back out to local agencies. This change comes in preparation for the current December 31, 2020 end-date for CRF assistance, as Congress has still not passed legislation that would extend the use of these funds into the new year. UWDC will continue to maintain enough capacity to receive direct referrals for COVID-19 related utility assistance from the City of Denton’s Customer Service team. The United Way of Denton County shared the attached furlough notice (with personally identifying information redacted) given to a client whose first-time request for assistance was approved September 25; the notice is representative of the 3 continued economic reverberations of the pandemic. Staff contact: Courtney Cross, Community Services F. FEMA Reimbursements – Due to the disaster declaration resulting from the COVID- 19 pandemic, local governments are eligible to seek partial reimbursement through FEMA for certain expenses incurred related to the management and mitigation of COVID-19. FEMA accepts reimbursement requests for eligible Category B expenses, defined as (emergency protective measures such as medical, personal protective equipment, disinfectant). The deadline to submit for reimbursements was September 25, 2020. The City is eligible to submit for a 75% federal cost share reimbursement for eligible Category B Expenses (emergency protective measures such as medical, personal protective equipment, disinfectant) incurred due to the COVID- 19 pandemic. Staff has submitted three separate project applications for reimbursement for certain COVID-19 expenses for a total of $219,333. The City’s anticipated reimbursement of $166,950 assumes full 75% reimbursement and is subject to final approval by FEMA. Staff will continue to track COVID-19 related expenses not submitted in the three projects and explore the possibility of utilizing CRF funding for reimbursement. The Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) is the Recipient of federal funding and will make all designated funds available to the City once projects are approved by FEMA. The process in its entirety should take approximately 4 to 6 weeks. Staff will update Council on the status of the projects as they progress. Staff contact: Cassey Ogden, Finance G. Non-annexation Agreement (NAA) Update – As of Thursday, October 1, 2020, the staff has received a total of 125 signed NAAs out of 148 that were mailed out or emailed to property owners that have Ag exemptions on their properties. This leaves 23 NAAs still outstanding. Because we want to give property owners additional time to submit their signed NAAs and to bring forward as many NAAs for your consideration at one time, staff is moving the agenda item to consider the NAAs from October 6 to October 20. Between now and October 20, staff will continue to reach out to those that have not yet submitted their signed NAAs.