CITY MANAGER’S U PDATE

FEBRUARY 7, 2014

Included in this CMU: Follow-up from February 1 Council strategic planning session State of the City address reset Father-Daughter Valentine’s Day Dance Animal shelter to close Saturday for cleaning Masonic cornerstone leveling at new public safety building Parks Recreation basketball tournament Spring youth soccer Roadway capital recovery fee process and schedule Ghirardi oak update LCPD K-9 Unit on TV

Follow-up from February 1 Council strategic planning session: In response to Council feedback at last Saturday’s strategic planning session, Monday’s work session is to be held in the meeting rooms at the Johnnie Arolfo Civic Center. Please also remember that Monday’s session is an early start, beginning at 5:30 p.m. instead of the usual 6 p.m. Finally, we have attached a list of goals/projects/initiatives referenced during Council discussions at the meeting. Struck are the new, more informal setting for work sessions (done as referenced above) and the request that staff provide responses to Monday night’s questions earlier on Tuesdays (we will make this a goal beginning next week). Please score each item on the list from 1 to 4, according to the following key: 1=Top priority – we need to do this as soon as possible 2=Moderate priority – we should do this, but it’s not of critical importance 3=Low priority – we could do this, but there’s no real hurry 4=No priority – we don’t need to be focused on this at all right now Please return your responses to me or David Benson by Valentine’s Day (the end of next work week); we will tally the scores across Council (lower scores in the aggregate indicate more group interest in the item) and will plan to present results to you for Council direction at the February 24 work session.

State of the City address reset: Mayor Paulissen’s State of the City address, which had been scheduled for today, has been postponed with the new date expected to fall in April.

Father-Daughter Valentine’s Day Dance: The City’s annual Father-Daughter Valentine’s Day Dance is to be held tonight at Hometown Heroes Park from 6:30-9:30 p.m. The event will include a live DJ, a catered meal from Logan’s Roadhouse and a professional photographer. This is a very popular event that fills up every year. We have increased capacity this year and expect 300 in attendance. Additional activities that evening include door prizes, hula hoop contest and a big end of the evening balloon drop. The fee is $45 per couple for residents and $60 per couple for non-residents, with an additional charge for extra daughters.

Animal shelter to close Saturday for cleaning: The League City Animal Shelter has scheduled a clean-up day Saturday, February 8. Staff and volunteers have plans to scrub and freshen up the dog kennels and front of the building. The shelter will be closed to the public, but staff will be available for residents to collect lost pets.

Masonic cornerstone leveling at new public safety building: The League City Masonic Lodge #1053 has contacted the City with an offer to level a cornerstone for the new public safety building. We are seeking Council feedback on this proposal; so far we have received one question and one indication of support. If you have thoughts on this matter, please contact me or David Benson at your earliest convenience; absent input to the contrary, we plan to provide the Masons with an affirmative response to their offer early next week. Other area buildings receiving similar Masonic ceremonies in recent years include Dickinson ISD facilities, the new Texas City high school and a new Webster fire station.

Parks Recreation basketball tournament: Hometown Heroes Park is hosting the League City Basketball Tournament the week of February 10-15. Sixty-three teams from the Parks Recreation League from age divisions 7 to 14 will compete. The top two teams from each age division will advance to the regional tournament Feb 28-March 2, which will also be hosted by League City.

Spring youth soccer: Parks Recreation’s spring youth soccer registration ends February 14. Many age divisions are already full. Over 700 participants are expected for spring soccer.

Roadway capital recovery fee process and schedule: Attached to this CMU is the most recent update to the City’s schedule for evaluating roadway capital recovery fees as provided by the City’s consultant, Freese & Nichols.

Ghirardi oak update: City Arborist Heather McKnight reports the following from her biweekly visit to the tree with Parks Operations Superintendent Rusty Bolen -- City staff is continuing to monitor the tree, and we are waiting for Spring budding to occur (which will probably be another month or so). The pump/drainage system is functioning well, and we’re still waiting for Landscape Art to install the soil moisture sensors. Hess Landscape Construction forwarded the latest report on the tree’s health and the proposed maintenance/fertilizer schedule for spring (see attached report).

LCPD K-9 Unit on TV: KTRK-ABC 13 has plans to feature the League City Police Department K-9 Unit during the station’s Sunday morning newscast. The station is to interview Sgt. Gabe Gonzales and officers Jason Jones, Jason Hall and Eric Cox. The K-9 unit plans to perform narcotics and obedience demonstrations and mock apprehensions. The League City Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association raised the $7,000 needed for the purchase of the department’s newest K-9, Dina. Dina is training for narcotics detection and patrol work. The department’s two other dogs (Chico and Pako) and their handlers have already racked up 300 narcotics arrests, and just a few weeks ago helped apprehend a suspected criminal who was hiding in a League City subdivision. The suspect was later charged with eight crimes.

Contractors License # 950867 GENERAL LIABLITY WORKERS COMP INJURY & ILLNESS PREVENTION PROGRAM (800) 278-1726 www.hesstrees.com

! ! January 15th, 2014 Tree Evaluation

RE: Ghirardi Oak Inspection/ Drainage Installation

Inspection Date: January 07 2014, January 11 2014 Inspection Time: N/A Inspector: Erik Hess, Hess Landscape Construction, Inc. In Attendance: 08/08/2013 Rusty Bolen, Heather McKnight, Scott Tuma, Rick Gonzales Species: Quercus x comptoniae, Compton Oak

Visual Canopy Inspection: Canopy was thin and showed sings of some foliage drop during construction phase, Noted no slim flus or new formations of Canker with in canopy, we did note two smaller limbs that showed signs of Canker yet minimal and looked to be from last year and was missed during pruning procedures. Winter Conditions during inspection so leaf drop is mild and no new bud growth due to seasonal time frame.

Visual / Invasive Rootball Inspection: Upon inspection of the rootball top grade or mulch level (0-3”) we found the mulch to be wet and signs of breakdown into organic matter without fungus growth. Upon excavation we noted dead root structure had begun to breakdown further; upon excavation into the original rootball we found that the roots originally cut had signs of major root rot as well as complete breakdown into organic matter and were breaking off. No fibrous root structure formation was noted and those fibrous that we did locate and showed to all parties were either dead or showed signs of rot. Trunk flare and all buttress roots looked to be in a healthy condition and no correction measures appeared to be needed. Trunk was again normal in color and not spongy to touch, as was the case in the summer inspection post mulch removal. (6-10” below subgrade) several areas showed no signs fibrous root growth within this soil location we noted sever moisture levels in this zone and the odor of soil breakdown due to water levels and rot. With numerous locations (85% visually Inspected) the rootball was well beyond recommended levels of moisture and showed limited or no fibrous root structure growth or establishment with major root rot. In areas (12-18”) we noted similar findings of heavy water levels and similar root conditions as in the previous zones. In areas below (18”-60”) we found standing water as well as pockets of water below the rootball, (approximately 1500 gallons estimated) we have also noted sever decomposition due to organic mater breakdown. We believe water levels are high due to surrounding areas filtering water into this zone due to aerated planting soils during installation and thus compacted areas are filtering off into those less dense soil planting zones.

Page 1 of 2 Mailing Address: Antonio Parkway L1-457!! Ladera Ranch, California 92694 Toll Free (800) 278-1627 Ext. 723 ! Fax: (949) 266-9534

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Contractors License # 950867 GENERAL LIABLITY WORKERS COMP INJURY & ILLNESS PREVENTION PROGRAM (800) 278-1726 www.hesstrees.com

Corrective actions taken: 1. Drainage system installed and has been noted to be working as intended and removing water from rootball. 2. Monitor rootball moisture levels as well moisture levels outside of rootball perimeter. 3. DO NOT WATER 4. Apply fungicide upon rootball dry out; do not apply if rootball is wet. 5. Spring Fertilizer, to be applied in late July to allow current applications to take hold. 6. Monitor Foliage bud growth and possibly apply spray to leaves during bud growth to eliminate insects damage and maintain maximum growth potential. 7. Rootball moisture monitoring, rootball moisture monitoring must be probed to a depth of 5' minimally.

Expectations:

Over the next 4 Months Hess will look for new root development as well as bud growth on canopy limbs, punning must be kept to a minimum as well as watering applications through the summer months. The root growth is at a critical state due to wet soils as well as root rot conditions created by those saturated soils. With the implementation of the 360-degree drainage system we have created a buffer zone from current grade to well below seven feet.. All water traveling towards our tree location should enter this zone and leach into the drainage system thus being removed by the pump installed within that system.

The key to survivability is a “damp rootball “ abut we fist must removal the standing water away and from within the rootball as well as keep in mind that checking moisture to 5-6’ is critical to understand the rootballs condition. From this point on will need to regenerate new root growth due to the losses as well as be mindful that we have a rootball root structure that is considerably smaller than what we originally relocated due to that damage caused by the root damage as well as the Hydp. canker. Please note we ill not see a dense canopy this year and it may be several years after this before we have enough root structure to support a canopy density as we had 2 years ago.

Our next two critical inspections will be April 2014 for foliar bud development and June 2014 for new root growth inspections. Between these inspections we should concentrate on water removal as well as Insect abetment for new foliage in spring.

Erik D. Hess President Hess Landscape Construction

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Page 2 of 2 Mailing Address: Antonio Parkway L1-457!! Ladera Ranch, California 92694 Toll Free (800) 278-1627 Ext. 723 ! Fax: (949) 266-9534

! The following is an update of the Roadway CRF study to date and the schedule of project task and milestones to come:

Tasks Completed September 8, 2013 Project Kick-off Meeting

October 14-16, 2013 Existing Data Collection (traffic counts)

October 22, 2013 Resolution by City Council to appoint Capital Improvements Advisory Committee (CIAC). Planning and Zoning Commission appointed

January 6, 2014 CIAC Meeting. Study overview, direction on growth rates for Land Use Assumptions (LUA), input on preliminary CIP

Upcoming Task/Milestones February 24, 2014 Draft LUA Report delivered

March 10, 2014 Review of LUA and development of preliminary CIP

April 7, 2014 CIAC meeting. Review/approve Draft LUA/CIP, review preliminary CIP and cost of CIP

April 8, 2014 Resolution by City Council establishing a Public Hearing Date to consider LUA and CIP (May 27, 2014)

April 21, 2014 LUA/CIP report to City

April 25, 2014 Publish Notice of Hearing on LUA and CIP (at least 30 days before, LUA/CIP report available to public)

May 27, 2014 Public Hearing on LUA and CIP; Resolution/Ordinance approving LUA and CIP

July 15, 2014 CIAC meeting on CIP, capital recovery fee calculations, benchmarking. Consideration/recommendation of capital recovery fee

July 22, 2014 Resolution by City Council establishing Public Hearing date to consider possible adoption of roadway capital recovery fee (September 9, 2014)

August 8, 2014 Final Roadway CRF report to City. Publish Notice of Public Hearing on capital recovery fee (at least 30 days before, report made available to public)

August 15, 2014 Capital recovery fee written recommendation to City Council by CIAC

September 9, 2014 Public Hearing on Capital Recovery Fee; Resolution/Ordinance approving capital recovery fee

Please&rate&each&item&from&1&(high&priority)&to&4&(no&priority) Meeting'with'developers/builders'to'gather'feedback'and'input'on'City'permitting' requirements'and'processes Tree'ordinance Council'questions'provided'by'10'a.m.'Mondays'when'possible New'less'formal'location'for'Monday'work'sessions Change'focus'from'small'businesses'to'larger'employer(s) Seek'voters''decision'on'new'quarterEcent'sales'tax Seek'voters''decision'on'reprogramming'of'4B'tax'(expand'corporation's'scope'to'include'all' options'allowed'under'state'law) Industrial'business'park Convention'center Accelerate'Grand'Parkway'construction Mobility'improvements* Seek'voters''decision'on'general'obligation'bonds'for'nonEutility'projects Evaluate'selfEfunding'option'for'employee'health'insurance Direct'staff'to'research'opportunities'for'increasing'economic'development'resources' through'a'sales'tax'and'shifting'tax'burden'from'homeowners Focus'on'water'conservation Citywide'wiEfi Evaluate'opportunities'for'using'"transfer'of'development'rights"'approach Follow'up'on'roadway'impact'fee AdoptEaEhighway'program Household'hazardous'waste'recycling Expand'role'of'communications'office* Amend'building'code'to'increase'stormEresistance'of'new'homes Restrict'"lowEgrade"'apartments Taxpayer'bill'of'rights Joint'meeting'of'city/county/school'officials Main'Street'improvements* Streamline'budget'process* Use'easements'for'trails/greenways Revisit'accessibility/placement/design'of'parks Expand'water'reEuse Progress'on'Five'Corners Improve'relations'with'school'board Citizens'academy Youth'entrepreneurial'programs City'youth'academy'and/or'youth'council Citizens'committee'to'review'City'ordinances/regulations Trail'development Revisit'all'design'contracts* Add'Western'Regional'Park'to'CIP Preserve'history Preserve'green'space Council Calendar Saturday, February 08, 2014 – Friday, February 21, 2014

Time zone: (UTC-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) (Adjusted for Daylight Saving Time)

February 2014 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa

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TML - Elected Officials' Conference Sat, Feb 08 to Sun, Feb 09 San Antonio

Council Worksession Mon, Feb 10 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Council Chambers

Clear Creek Watershed Steering Tue, Feb 11 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM Committee Meeting 1605 Whitaker Council Meeting 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM Council Chambers

BayTran - Monthly Luncheon Wed, Feb 12 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Cullen's Upscale American Grille

Helen Hall Library Board of Thu, Feb 13 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM Trustees meeting Libary Board Room

Finance Committee Meeting Mon, Feb 17 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM City Hall Planning & Zoning Commission 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Meeting Municipal Court

NGCCC - Monthly Luncheon Tue, Feb 18 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Landry's - Kemah Boardwalk Ethics Review Board Meeting 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM TBA

Historic District Commission Thu, Feb 20 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Meeting Municipal Court