626
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
Wichita Falls, Texas Memorial Auditorium Building September 20, 2005
Item 1
The City Council of the City of Wichita Falls, Texas met in regular session on the above date in the Council Chambers of the Memorial Auditorium Building at 8:30 o’clock a.m., with the following members present:
Lanham Lyne - Mayor
Ray Gonzalez - Mayor Pro Tem
Jim Ginnings - Councilors Linda Ammons - Dorothy Roberts-Burns - Charles Elmore -
Darron Leiker - City Manager Bill Sullivan - City Attorney Lydia Ozuna - City Clerk
Michael Norrie - Absent
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Mayor called the meeting to order.
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Item 2a
Pastor Demotis Sherman, Jr., Antioch Baptist Church, gave the invocation.
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Item 2b
Councilor Gonzalez led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
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Item 3
Mayor Lanham Lyne and City Clerk Lydia Ozuna canvassed the returns of the Special Municipal Election held in the City of Wichita Falls on September 10, 2005.
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Item 4
ORDINANCE NO. 69-2005
ORDINANCE CANVASSING THE RETURNS OF THE SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION HELD IN THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS ON SEPTEMBER 10, 2005; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Gonzalez that Ordinance No. 69-2005 be passed with the blanks being filled in as follows.
… 638 voters voted in said election, and that votes were cast as follows:
For the Recall of Councilor District 5 Charles Elmore received 252 votes.
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Item 4 continued
Against the Recall of Councilor District 5 Charles Elmore received 385 votes.
Motion seconded by Councilor Roberts-Burns and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None ------
Item 5
The Texas Council on Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke honored the City of Wichita Falls with honorable mention for combating the leading causes of death in Texas, heart disease and stroke. A plaque and brochure were awarded to the City recognizing these efforts. Mr. Douglass Dunsavage, Public Advocacy Director of the North Texas Area for the American Heart Association, expressed appreciation to the City for combating heart disease and stroke.
On behalf of the University Kiwanis, Mr. Elmer Emory presented the City a check in the amount of $4,000 from the YMCA’s baseball this summer. These funds are proceeds from the Kiwanis Park concessions.
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Item 6
Steve Wilkinson, 3203 Sue Ann, representing the Wichita Falls Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 432, submitted a petition to the City Clerk petitioning the right to meet and confer with the City Council.
Bob Johnston, 2944 Blankenship, requested that the Council look into funeral escorts and that they consider using off-duty police officers.
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Item 7
The Minutes of September 6 and September 9, 2005 were approved as distributed.
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Items 8a-9d
City Manager gave a briefing on the items listed under the Consent Agenda.
Councilor Ginnings stated that he did not want to remove any items but had several questions related to the Consent Agenda.
Moved by Councilor Ginnings that the Consent Agenda be approved.
Motion seconded by Councilor Ammons.
Councilor Ginnings asked if there was an asbestos issue on the floor tile removal and replacement. City Manager informed that it had been looked at and we have remediation built into that. Whatever steps need to be taken to minimize exposure and to comply with state and federal laws will be taken. Also, the schedule will be such that removal and installation will not be done during public hours.
Councilor Ginnings asked if the Health Department inspects the animal facility. Mr. Reuben Warren replied that they do that at least annually.
Motion carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Items 8a-8b
Minutes of the following board and commission meetings were received. a. Wichita Falls Economic Development Corporation – June 20, 2005 b. Traffic Safety Commission – August 3, 2005
Item 9a
RESOLUTION NO. 121 -2005
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING A CONFLICT OF INTEREST WAIVER FOR CITY EMPLOYEES QUALIFYING FOR VARIOUS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT FUNDED PROGRAMS; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Item 9b
RESOLUTION NO. 122-2005
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE AWARD OF BID FOR REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT OF FLOOR TILE AT THE MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM TO BREEGLE BUILDING PRODUCTS IN THE AMOUNT OF $60,842.00; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Item 9c
RESOLUTION NO. 123-2005
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF WICHITA COUNTY, TEXAS, FOR CERTAIN ANIMAL CONTROL SERVICES; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Item 9d
RESOLUTION NO. 124-2005
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, TO AWARD BID AND CONTRACT FOR THE 2005 PUMP REPLACEMENT PROJECT, CWF05-550-20; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
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Item 10a
A public hearing was held for the FY 2005-2006 Transit Grant for Capital, Planning, and Operating Assistance for the Wichita Falls Transit System.
Mayor declared the public hearing open.
City Manager informed that the City has a transit grant application each year with the State and federal governments and we receive 75% of our total operating budget for the transit system from them. We are required to conduct two public hearings and this is the second public hearing. Council has a summary of those projects. The cost is less than last year because we are not planning to replace any buses in the next year. The biggest capital item is the preventative maintenance in the amount of $315,800 as well as the Transit Shop Roof Replacement Project. He reviewed the other items listed on the attachment. Summary of our total funding is under $1.4 million and the federal government pays $728,000 of that and the State pays over $297,000.
Councilor Ammons commented that at times some of the buses are empty, and she asked if this was looked at to discontinue usage if there are not any passengers? City Manager replied that one thing they are going to look into is the size of the buses. There are some 30-passenger buses carrying only a few passengers and that seems like a big waste. We are looking at what buses are available that will still be durable and reliable for use for at least ten years. There are new smaller buses on the market and the next round of replacements we are going to look at that. 629
Item 10a continued
Councilor Ammons stated that it does seem like such a waste of fuel and so forth. She put in a word for the Police Department suggesting that, although the Police Department does not currently have a command center but when they do, that one of these buses go to that.
Councilor Ginnings asked if the shop roof replacement was an insurance item. City Manager replied that it was not. The Central Services Shop is 21 years old and we are starting to experience roof problems. Since part of that building houses the transit mechanical we can repair that section of the roof with state and federal funds. That is why we are programming it in this budget. Two-thirds of the building roof repair will need to be paid from General Fund. Councilor Ginnings asked if we are insured against natural disasters. City Manager replied that we are self- insured for a lot of that and we do have some catastrophic coverage that would cover major disasters.
Mayor called for additional public comments. There being none, Mayor declared the public hearing closed.
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Item 10b
A public hearing was held on the 2005-2006 City of Wichita Falls Preliminary Budget.
Mayor declared the public hearing open.
Mr. Jim Dockery informed that State law requires that the City conduct a public hearing before the budget is adopted. He stated that the total expenditure budget being considered by the Council is $123,886,291. This is an opportunity for the public to comment.
David Brock, 320 Hilltop, commended the Council for keeping the tax rate the same and not having a tax increase. He expressed concern because it looks like the City’s spending increased at three times your revenue increase. He wanted to know where the rest of that money was coming from and if the City is looking at an inevitable tax increase next year. If so, the Council should inform the public so we can begin planning for it.
Mr. Dockery stated that he does not know where Mr. Brock got some of numbers that he mentioned in reference to three times the amount of increase. Mr. Dockery explained that we do have a General Fund operating budget that is in a deficit-funded situation of $755,000. We have programmed that in, based on the fact that this current year we estimate we are not going to end the year in the situation that we budgeted last year. We programmed those appropriations in trying to keep the fund balance of appropriate reserve levels around $8 million. What David Brock is talking about is those types of expenditures that are for one-time type non-recurring items. We are very careful not to program in reserve appropriations or contingencies for annual recurring events. That would put us in a situation where we are deferring the inevitable. I think we are in a position with this budget that if we do not have these type one-time annual increases we would still be able to operate with the existing tax rate.
Mr. Brock clarified where he obtained the numbers, and added that the City’s employee health care plan needed to be addressed.
Mayor stated that there were one-time expenditures that will not be there next year. He informed that next year we are beginning a new planning process that is an overall plan and we are trying to do that prior to the budget season to see where we need to go.
Mayor called for additional public comments. There being none, Mayor declared the public hearing closed.
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Item 11a
ORDINANCE NO. 70-2005
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, ADOPTING THE ANNUAL BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2005 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2006, AND APPROVING REVISIONS TO THE 2004-05 BUDGET; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
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Item 11a continued
Moved by Councilor Ammons that Ordinance No. 70-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Gonzalez and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 11b
ORDINANCE NO. 71-2005
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, LEVYING, ASSESSING, AND FIXING THE TAX RATE FOR THE USE AND SUPPORT OF THE WICHITA FALLS MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT AND PROVIDING FOR THE INTEREST AND SINKING FUND FOR THE 2005-06 FISCAL YEAR; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY; AND FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Roberts-Burns that property taxes be increased by the adoption of a tax rate of $0.59246. This is set out in Ordinance No. 71-2005.
Motion seconded by Councilor Ammons and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 11c
ORDINANCE NO. 72-2005
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, AMENDING SECTIONS 90-96, 90-126 AND 90-128 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO ADJUST SANITATION RATES FOR RETAIL CUSTOMERS; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Ginnings that Ordinance No. 72 -2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Roberts-Burns.
Councilor Ammons commented that she was aware of other cities picking up trash once a week, noting that the fuel costs are out of sight, as well as equipment costs. The bad thing about raising rates is that it is hard to go back. She would like to table this item until they have an opportunity to look at the rate increases. She felt we could have the same level of services with less money if we only pick up once a week. If people need to have trash picked up twice a week we can give them two trash bins to be picked up on the same day. I want us to look at this.
Mr. Scott Taylor informed that they have not evaluated what would be needed in order to have once a week pick up. He was hesitant to say it could be done in four days. We would have to do some studies to determine the most optimum routes to make that happen. Also, going to once a week pick up does not necessarily reduce your cost to operate. For instance, Killeen has a higher sanitation rate than what we are proposing and they have once a week pick up and it costs them more and their rates are higher. I would urge that we take the time to do a detailed study and a detailed cost benefit study to assure ourselves that we can do it and what the cost would be.
City Manager commented that this is an idea that we should explore, however, I am not willing to change my recommendation with respect to this budget. I think we need to do an operational cost analysis. People will expect that their bills will be cut in half if their service is cut in half and clearly that will not happen. Some cities that pick up once a week have larger containers than we do and we have 30,000 containers that would need to be replaced. I would like to survey customers as to what their desires are: a.) pay a couple of dollars less a month for once a week pick up or b.) stay with twice a week pick up. It is a valid point to look at that but it will take time, 631
Item 11c continued
and tabling it for two or four weeks I do not think will be enough time. He added that alley containers fill up and once a week would not work; we may need to look at larger containers or setting out multiple containers, and that would have an operation impact.
Councilor Ammons suggested that in order to better serve the public, that staff look into providing longer hours at our transfer station. City Manager said that we could look into that separate from this to see if we need to expand those hours. Mr. Scott Taylor informed that when you look at increasing the hours, there is a follow-up impact at the landfill. Our permit for the transfer station requires that there be no trash left in the landfill over night; we can store brush there but not trash. I am not saying it cannot be done but there is a lag time at the landfill to perform final operations.
Councilor Ammons stated that we still have trash and if people cannot get their trash to the landfill they still have the trash in their yards. I would rather have it at the transfer station and the landfill rather than in their yards. Mr. Taylor agreed, but the issue is that you are going to affect the cost of service because we will have to keep people on at the transfer station and the landfill. Councilor Ammons suggested that if we cut back to once a week trash pick up, that cost could possibly be offset.
Councilor Gonzalez expressed concern that once we vote on this and increase rates you never see it go back down. I would rather see this item tabled and have a detailed study done of the services and what could be done.
Councilor Elmore asked how long it would take to get a detailed study done? Mr. Taylor replied that a conservative time frame would be approximately 2-3 months. He explained what it would entail.
Councilor Roberts-Burns said she would like to see this tabled if it is going to take two- three months. She did not think the rates would go back if they were increased.
City Manager stated that if we do the public survey we would have to tell them what the trade off would be. Going to once a week pick up and leaving the rates the same would not be very palatable. We can postpone this; from a revenue standpoint I do not think it will break the Sanitation Fund and we can do the survey and the study.
David Brock, 310 Hilltop, suggested that Council implement a temporary rate increase to offset the fuel cost we are facing right now, and put a time limit on it. This would give staff time to do the study. He concurred with Councilor Ammons’ suggestion for once a week pick up.
City Manager agreed with David Brock, however, the increase is only a portion to pay for fuel and the rest is to pay for street maintenance that is an ongoing cost, and employee raises, etc.
Councilor Ginnings said he thought the budget was built around all these parameters, one which was the increase on the sanitation rates. He was surprised that the City Manager would say that it does not adversely affect us. I agree that we could reduce the rate temporarily and just have that understanding. I sense we are going to require the Public Works Director to make this study and I would like to ask them to incorporate a pilot program. For clarification he explained that this is where you institute something on a small scale and use those results to expand and extrapolate to the entire program. Also, State requirements to operate our transfer station and landfill get very pressing. Do we ever consider if the City could set these operating rules ourselves, not ignoring environmental rules? Can we devise something more practical and useful for ourselves and if so, why don’t we get on the case of the State and get these bent like we would like and still address these concerns? We cannot leave any landfill trash uncovered at the end of the day. Maybe there are some ways, which have not been considered, to address that. He suggested incorporating this sort of activism as staff studies this whole problem.
Mr. Taylor said that changing what you want might be a problem; the State has stepped up their requirements for the landfill, which has to do with a recent lawsuit where the State and a private landfill lost a major lawsuit. The State has made even more requirements and the only way to get to them is through the legislature. It does not mean that it is not worth the effort to see if we couldn’t find some relieve in the future for that. He also agrees with having a pilot program; we have done that in the past with the curbside containers.
Councilor Ginnings said we would need to have recommendations from staff on how they address this. Mr. Taylor stated that staff could present to the Council some of the areas we would like to see addressed regarding the rules and regulations issue.
Mr. Jim Dockery reminded Council that this is a $1 million issue that they are considering here. As the City Manager mentioned, postponing this will not break the Sanitation Fund but if you 632
Item 11c continued
will recall when we went through the budget presentations we were showing a decline in our reserves in the Sanitation Fund over the last five years. We suggested that we reverse that trend and therefore the recommendation was to increase the rates. If you postpone this for too long, keep in mind that this is a $1 million issue to the operating fund. Regarding rolling back the rates, when the curbside service was implemented the rates were adjusted downward.
Mayor stated that we did go through budget hearings and this was one of the items. He felt this was the wrong time to make the adjustment. We can roll it back after a study but we went through budget hearings for that purpose to discuss these same things and at that time it was accepted.
Motion carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Roberts-Burns, and Elmore
Nays: Councilors Ammons and Gonzalez
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City Council recessed at 9:00 a.m. and reconvened at 10:00 a.m.
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Item 11d
ORDINANCE NO. 73-2005
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, TO AMEND SECTION 106-989 (B)(2), (B)(3), AND (B)(4) OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO ADJUST STORMWATER UTILITY CHARGES; DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Roberts-Burns that Ordinance No. 73-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Ginnings and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 11e
ORDINANCE NO. 74-2005
ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 22, ARTICLE III, SUBDIVISION 4. SECTION 22-401 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TO ADOPT THE 2005 EDITION OF THE NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Ammons that Ordinance No. 74-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Elmore and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 11f
ORDINANCE NO. 75-2005
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES AT CHAPTER 26, ARTICLE VI, FOOD AND FOOD VENDORS AND ESTABLISHMENTS, BY THE DELETION OF SECTION 26-542, PENALTY FOR VIOLATION, AND THE ADDITION OF SECTION 26-665, PENALTY FOR VIOLATION; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Roberts-Burns that Ordinance No. 75-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Ammons and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 11g
ORDINANCE NO.76 -2005
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUND FOR GRANT FUNDING RECEIVED FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Elmore that Ordinance No. 76 -2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Gonzalez and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 11h
ORDINANCE NO. 77-2005
AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT A BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT AND TO APPROPRIATE FEDERAL FUNDS INTO THE BUDGET; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Elmore that Ordinance No. 77-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Ammons and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 11i
ORDINANCE NO. 78-2005
ORDINANCE MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUND FOR ADDITIONAL GRANT REVENUE FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS FOR THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION COMPREHENSIVE SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM WAVE GRANT (FY 2006) FOR TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT SAME; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Ammons that Ordinance No. 78-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Elmore and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 11j
ORDINANCE NO. 79-2005
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, WAIVING SECTION 82-58 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO PERMIT THE DRIVING OF A VEHICLE UPON THE GRASS AND TRAIL BY THE WFISD RIDER HIGH SCHOOL IN LAKE WICHITA PARK DURING THREE TRACK EVENTS ON SEPTEMBER 29, OCTOBER 20, AND OCTOBER 28, 2005; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Elmore that Ordinance No. 79-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Gonzalez.
Councilor Elmore asked if a policy could be established to allow the City Manager to combine these waivers and give him the authority to allow or reject these type waivers? City Attorney said that staff can bring you back guidelines for Council to do that, if you want us to look into adopting these issues by the City Manager or whoever Council chooses. Councilor Elmore felt that should be done. Mr. Jack Murphy commented that it would be used only in the event of an emergency or a need.
Motion carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 11k
ORDINANCE NO. 80-2005
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, WAIVING SECTION 82-58 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO PERMIT THE DRIVING OF A VEHICLE UPON THE GRASS AND TRAIL BY THE BURKBURNETT HIGH SCHOOL DURING THEIR TRACK EVENT ON OCTOBER 13, 2005, IN LUCY PARK; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Roberts-Burns that Ordinance No. 80-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Ammons and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
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Item 11k continued
Nays: None
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Item 11l
ORDINANCE NO. 81-2005
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, WAIVING SECTION 82-58 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO PERMIT THE DRIVING OF A VEHICLE UPON THE GRASS AND TRAIL BY THE WICHITA FALLS HIGH SCHOOL DURING THEIR TRACK EVENT ON SEPTEMBER 22, 2005, IN HAMILTON PARK; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS ORDINANCE WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Gonzalez that Ordinance No. 81-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Ammons and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 12a
RESOLUTION NO. 125-2005
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, APPROVING AN ANNUAL BUDGET FOR THE 2005-2006 FISCAL YEAR FOR THE WICHITA FALLS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Ammons that Resolution No.125 -2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Gonzalez.
Tim Chase, Board of Commerce and Industry spoke in favor of this resolution and provided detailed information on funds allocated to military affairs.
Motion carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 12b
RESOLUTION NO.126 -2005
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE AGREEMENT WITH EXCALIBUR PAINT AND COATINGS, INC. AND AMENDING THE 2004-2005 BUDGET OF THE WICHITA FALLS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Ginnings that Resolution No. 126-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Roberts-Burns.
Randy Funston, owner of Excalibur Paint, spoke in favor of this resolution.
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Item 12b continued
Motion carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 12c
RESOLUTION NO. 127-2005
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING AN AMENDMENT TO THE WICHITA FALLS 4B SALES TAX CORPORATION 2005-2006 BUDGET FOR A CONTRIBUTION TO THE WICHITA FALLS AREA MILITARY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Ginnings that Resolution No. 127-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Gonzalez and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 12d
RESOLUTION NO.128 -2005
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, AMENDING THE 2004-2005 BUDGET OF THE WICHITA FALLS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL RECONCILIATION FOR AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE AGREEMENT WITH SHARP IRON, INC.; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Roberts-Burns that Resolution No. 128-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Ginnings.
Mark McMullen, 2450 Burk Road, spoke in favor of this resolution.
Motion carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 12e
RESOLUTION NO. 129-2005
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE AGREEMENT WITH SAINT GOBAIN, VETROTEX AMERICA AND AMENDING THE 2004-2005 BUDGET OF THE WICHITA FALLS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Ginnings that Resolution No. 129 -2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Roberts-Burns. 637
Item 12e continued
Ron Lane, President, North American Operations of St. Gobain, and Tim Chase, Board of Commerce & Industry, spoke in favor of this resolution.
Motion carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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City Council recessed at 11:25 a.m. and reconvened at 11:40 a.m.
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Item 12f
RESOLUTION NO.130 -2005
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN ENCROACHMENT AGREEMENT WITH UNITED REGIONAL HEALTH CARE SYTEM 11TH STREET CAMPUS, WICHITA FALLS, WICHITA COUNTY, TEXAS FOR A GREASE TRAP THAT WILL ENCROACH APPROXIMATELY 136 SQUARE FEET INTO THE CITY’S RIGHT-OF-WAY; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Roberts-Burns that Resolution No. 130 -2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Ammons and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 12g
RESOLUTION NO. 131-2005
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF WICHITA FALLS, INC. ACTING AS AN ELIGIBLE COMMUNITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION (CHDO) UNDER THE HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Gonzalez that Resolution No. 131-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Elmore and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 12h
RESOLUTION NO. 132 -2005
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS AND THE NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS MEDICAL FOUNDATION FOR THE PROVISION OF MEDICAL SERVICES TO THE WICHITA FALLS-WICHITA COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DISTRICT; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW 638
Item 12h continued
Moved by Councilor Roberts-Burns that Resolution No. 132-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Elmore and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 12i
RESOLUTION NO. 133-2005
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, TO AWARD BID AND CONTRACT FOR THE 2005 ALLEY REHABILITATION PROJECT, CWF05-530-09; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Ammons that Resolution No. 133-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Gonzalez and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 12j
RESOLUTION NO. 134-2005
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, TO AWARD BID AND CONTRACT FOR THE 2005 BUDGET UTILITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (BUIP), CWF05-550-19; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Ammons that Resolution No.134-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Elmore and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 12k
RESOLUTION NO. 135-2005
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, TO AWARD BID AND CONTRACT FOR THE SCOTLAND SANITARY SEWER IMPROVEMENT PROJECT PHASE IV, CWF05-550-21A; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Ammons that Resolution No. 135-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Gonzalez and carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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639
Item 12l
RESOLUTION NO. 136-2005
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING THE TERMINATION OF A CONTRACT WITH NICE SYSTEMS, INC. FOR A DIGITAL LOGGING RECORDER AND AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASE OF A DIGITAL LOGGING RECORDER FROM EXACOM, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $89,994; FINDING AND DETERMINING THAT THE MEETING AT WHICH THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED WAS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AS REQUIRED BY LAW
Moved by Councilor Ammons that Resolution No. 136-2005 be passed.
Motion seconded by Councilor Gonzalez.
John Vasquez, Police Department, informed that the NICE System, a digital logging recorder, was installed in March but it has not performed properly. NICE Systems, Inc. attempted to correct the deficiencies without success, therefore the Police Department recommends that the contract with NICE Systems, Inc. be terminated and awarded to Exacom, Inc., who was the second bidder when this system was bid. NICE Systems, Inc. has agreed to reimburse the City 100% of what has been paid.
Motion carried by the following vote.
Ayes: Mayor Lyne, Councilors Ginnings, Ammons, Roberts-Burns, Gonzalez, and Elmore
Nays: None
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Item 13a
Dave Clark referred to the City’s population and informed that correspondence has gone out to address the population count. The City does an annual population count that shows we are growing and we will forward that information to the Census Bureau.
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Item 13b
Councilor Roberts-Burns reminded everyone that the Neighborhood Mentor Program would be held Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. at the MLK Center. This is a program to help stop drugs in the community. Mayor also noted that there would be a golf tournament this Friday to support the various programs at Martin Luther King Center.
Councilor Elmore thanked all the persons of District 5. He was extremely satisfied with the number of people who turned out to vote. It was a big turnout and he expressed appreciation for the support from District 5 folks.
Councilor Ammons asked if the Health Department conducted UAs, hair follicle tests for drug testing. Mr. Reuben Warren replied that they do not right now, but they have looked into that. Councilor Ammons asked if that would be a profit center for us? Mr. Warren replied that they are looking at that and would possibly facilitate some of the needs of the City overall. At this time it is just a matter of taking a hard look at all the lab work we are able to perform and put a pencil to that to see what it would cost. We are looking into that.
Councilor Ammons asked the City Manager if he had checked into the nepotism issue. City Manager replied that he had not had a chance to do that but he was going to look at that.
Mayor Lyne thanked the City Staff during the past few weeks when we were working on the Katrina evacuees. Our Community has done an outstanding job of accommodating these people. We have about 500 evacuees here. He congratulated everyone that has been involved. You may have to be called upon again shortly, depending on Hurricane Rita.
Mayor Lyne informed that he had asked Councilor Ginnings to put a committee together to look at the curb and gutter ordinance. Also, we are moving forward in setting up the insurance committee to look at the employee health care issues.
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640
Item 13c
City Council went into Executive Session at 12:25 p. m. as authorized by Section 551.071 of the Texas Government Code.
City Council reconvened at 1:38 p. m.
Mayor announced that no votes were taken during Executive Session.
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City Council adjourned at 1:40 p. m.
PASSED AND APPROVED this ______day of ______, 2005.
______LANHAM LYNE MAYOR
ATTEST:
______Lydia Ozuna City Clerk