Weatherford
Weatherford City Council, Aug. 9, 2016: 11 items; Presentation of the Fiscal Year 2015-16 (FY16) 3rd Quarter Report
0 consent items, 11 regular items, 3 public hearings, 1 executive-session topic; 9 recorded votes, all unanimous. Written from the minutes.
Presentation of the Fiscal Year 2015-16 (FY16) 3rd Quarter Report. Kyle Lester, Assistant Director of Finance: Budget and Purchasing, presented this report. No action was required or taken. Presentation of the City Manager’s Fiscal Year 2016-17 (FY17) proposed General Fund budget. Mr. Lester presented this item as well. This proposal includes 21 funds and a total of $48.1m, encompassing all City programs and services with the exception of municipal utilities, which are covered in another budget document. This presentation will focus primarily on the General Fund. The proposal takes the Council's strategic plan into consideration and addresses the following action items: utilizes $1.5m of existing fund balance as a reserve for retiree separation costs which involves the reduction of the preferred 120 day reserve policy to a 100 day reserve; increases taxes by 2.5 cents over the published effective rate which will generate approximately $470k in additional property tax revenue to be used to cash fund some City projects over the next several years including, specifically in 2017, land purchases for the City hall and police department expansions; and continues the two-year fleet funding plan utilizing dollars from this year to purchase vehicles for next year since the ongoing funding has been built in. Mr. Lester offered the following General Fund Overview: CC080916 Page 1 [...]
Accept donation of Myers Map. James Hotopp, Assistant City Manager, stated that Mr. John Kirkpatrick recently donated three historic maps to the City of Weatherford. The maps are dated 1887, 1889, and 1905. The Myers Map from 1905 was adopted by ordinance as the official map of the City of Weatherford in 1905. The City recently had the maps restored and appreciates the donation from Mr. Kirkpatrick.
Hold a PUBLIC HEARING and consider approval of Ordinance 797-2016-43 for a zoning change for property zoned AG Agricultural (upon annexation) to R1 One-Family, located along Causbie Road between E. BB Fielder and Lockwood Lane, also described as 31.159 acres predominately in the V.A. Holmes Survey, A-658. ZCH2016-0006 Mayor Swancy announced that this item has been re-noticed. The item will come before the Planning & Zoning Commission on August 24 and to the City Council on September 13. On the motion of Heidi Wilder, second by Kevin Cleveland, the Council voted to table this item until September 13. Motion carried 4 - 0.
Provide staff direction regarding the Parker County Appraisal District’s (PCAD) request for a Resolution of approval for the construction of an addition to the PCAD current building. City Manager Sharon Hayes stated that the Council discussed this item at the previous meeting. At that time, Council had unanswered questions. This item was placed back on the agenda to allow PCAD an opportunity to address the questions. Mr. Rick Armstrong spoke on behalf of PCAD. He stated they plan to add onto the existing building on the north side and noted that the meeting space for Appraisal Review Board (ARB) panel hearings is the most important need. Currently, PCAD has 65 parking spaces and 35 employees. They collect for approximately 30 different taxing entities. The allocated cost is based on levy so the bigger the City gets, the more the cost will be. The intent is to complete the renovation before June 2017. PCAD does not anticipate adding additional staff members at this time; however, as the County is continuing to grow, they will eventually need additional staff. The current PCAD building was expected to last 10 years, and it has lasted 13 years; PCAD hopes the renovations will serve them for another 10 years. If approved, PCAD will extend their building to the north. On the motion of Heidi Wilder, second by Dale Fleeger, the Council voted to approve this item with a cap of $3,000 [...]
Vote to Propose the City of Weatherford Property Tax Rate for Fiscal Year 2017. CC080916 Page 6 of 10 Assistant Director of Finance Kyle Lester presented this information. He stated that the vote tonight is to propose the maximum that the City can discuss for this upcoming FY. He explained the effective tax rate and how it is calculated. Considering only the properties that existed on both tax rolls for 2015 and 2016, values declined. • The effective tax rate is higher than the current rate by 0.97 cents. – From 48.66 cents to 49.63 cents – Proposal: 48.66 (current) + 0.97 = 49.63 cents (effective rate) 49.63 (effective) + 2.5 (extra increase) = 52.13 (proposed) Notice will be given this weekend for Public Hearings to be held on August 23rd, and September 13th. Staff recommends a vote to propose a tax rate of $0.5213/$100 (52.13 cents per $100 of assessed value). Mr. Lester provided the following revenue change comparison: On the motion of Heidi Wilder, second by Kevin Cleveland, the Council voted to free form to propose a tax rate of 52.13 cents per $100 of valuation for the fiscal year 2017 budget. Motion carried 4 - 0.
Consider approval of a Preliminary Plat for Crown Valley Phase 2-3A, an approximate 19.226 acre tract, situated in the Ann McCarver Survey, Abstract No.910, and the J.B. Wynn Survey, Abstract No. 1637, an addition to the City of Weatherford, Parker County, Texas. SBD2015-0037 Craig Farmer, Director of Planning and Development, presented this item. This phase is 2-3a which is the next phase of the development. Mr. Farmer stated that, for phase 2-2, Council required an all-weather emergency access road. He stated that the developer looked at everything and decided that instead of grading the roadway and etcetera to build the gravel emergency access for phase 2-2, that it would be more feasible to go ahead and plat out this phase and build the actual road instead of just the emergency access road. The developer will build and maintain an asphalt road, which is the standard for the remainder of their development, which are all private roads. On the motion of Kevin Cleveland, second by Heidi Wilder, the Council voted to approve this item. Motion carried 4 - 0.
Consider a Final Plat of the Heights of Weatherford, Phase 1 and a waiver to provide surety prior to approval, on an approximate 22.716 acre tract, situated in the John Davis Survey, Abstract No.349, located at BB Fielder and Marion Drive and being an addition to the City of Weatherford, Parker County, Texas. SBD2016-0017 Mr. Farmer presented this item as well. This is the Final Plat and the developer has asked for a waiver of the requirement to provide surety for this phase. The City will not certify or sign the Final Plat until all the public improvements are completed. No permits will be issued until the plat has been filed. Mr. Farmer reviewed the normal process for Final Plat approval. Basically, the developer does not want to put up the surety because the public improvements will be completed within a few weeks, which is less time than the time it will take for this item to travel the City's normal process for approval of the Final Plat at the Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council. CC080916 Page 7 of 10 Applicant Don Allen with Lackland Holdings stated that the paving is complete but has not yet been accepted by the City because he is finishing up some final items. He advised he is just asking for a waiver to not provide surety and in lieu, the City will wait to certify and file the Final Plat at the County until the City has approved everything. On the motion of [...]
Consider and/or act upon approving the City Manager to enter into a contract agreement with Frost Benefits Services for the provision of insurance procurement and other services relating to insurance and risk management programs. Diana Allen, Director of Human Resources, stated that with this contract, Frost will act as a third party to assist employees in dealing with TML on insurance issues. This contract will improve the customer service experience for our employees and it will help the City stay current and in-line with the Affordable Care Act. Frost will also conduct a feasibility study to determine if the City should self-insure; staff has been advised that the City is at the threshold now where it might make sense to self-insure. This is an annual contract, and either party can terminate the agreement. City Manager Sharon Hayes stated that staff hopes to see a real benefit by the end of this year, and included that the agreement will probably not be renewed if we do not see a real benefit. Ms. Allen confirmed that a turning point in the level of customer service provided by TML occurred when TML transitioned to multi-state. The services provided by this contract will definitely take a burden off of the Human Resources Department. On the motion of Heidi Wilder, second by Dale Fleeger, the Council voted to approve this item. Motion carried 4 - 0.
Consider and/or act upon approval of Resolution R2016-21 formally supporting the Parker County Judge for a seat on the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) of the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Terry Hughes, Director of Capital Transportation, presented this item. The bylaws of the RTC state that only elected county officials are eligible to hold a membership seat on the RTC. Since our inclusion into the Metropolitan Planning Organization, from which the RTC is derived, Judge Mark Riley has represented Parker County, the cities of Weatherford and Mineral Wells, Wise County and the cities of Decatur and Bridgeport, which are clustered together to form one seat. The proposed resolution formally supports the Parker County Judge as the City's primary representative on the RTC. On the motion of Dale Fleeger, second by Heidi Wilder, the Council voted to approve this item. Motion carried 4 - 0.
Discuss the proposed Parker County Transportation plan and/or act upon approval of Resolution R2016-22 giving formal consent to Parker County for the use of Eminent Domain to secure certain properties within the corporate boundary of the City of Weatherford. Mr. Hughes presented this item as well. The request for approval to use eminent domain within the boundary of the City of Weatherford is a statutory requirement. If approved, the proposed resolution will give formal consent to Parker County to exercise eminent domain authority to secure two parcels of land near the IH-20 and Centerpoint Road Interchange, which is inside the municipal boundary of the City of Weatherford. Mark Riley, Parker County Judge, gave a general overview of the project. He spoke about the savings during the west loop project which, in part, were due to the economy, but have also been leveraged from partnerships with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the RTC, and other cities in Parker County. The cost for the east loop is $56m; however, the total cost of the entire priority list that might be submitted to voters for a bond election is $76m. The entire priority list includes projects in other precincts and areas such as Aledo, Brock and Springtown. The County is considering a bond election for these transportation priorities. The Judge has proposed a budget with a lower tax rate because [...]
Future agenda items: Council requested a 4:30 p.m. Work Session at the next meeting to further discuss the tax rate and options.
Update Regarding Zebra Mussels Rick Shaffer, Director of Water/Wastewater/Engineering, presented this item. Zebra mussels were first reported in Lake Texoma in 2009 and have been detected in multiple lakes since then, including: Ray Roberts Lake; Lewisville Lake; Lake Bridgeport; Belton Lake; Lake Lavon; Lake Waco; Eagle Mountain Lake; Lake Worth; Lake Livingston; Lake Ray Hubbard; and Lake Fork. The spread of zebra mussels can occur through natural river flow, by boats, and by raw water transfers between water sources for water supply. Public education is the key to prevention. Signs have been posted at the Lake Weatherford Marina and at the Cartwright Park boat ramp. Brochures are handed out at public events. The key message is to clean, drain, and dry your boat after each water source. Staff conducts monthly sampling by suspending bricks in the lake at two different levels and inspecting them for evidence of zebra mussels. Potential impacts include: biological; out-competing other mussels and some fish for food; operational and maintenance issues; attaching to intake screens, raw water pipelines and valves, which could restrict flow of water; recreational; and that the shells are sharp and could be hazardous to people walking barefoot. CC080916 Page 9 of 10 Zebra mussels do not pose a drinking water issue. Mr. Shaffer stated there are both chemical and non-chemical [...]
Action on executive session items: To take action, if necessary, Pursuant to Chapter 551, Texas Government Code, VTCS, (Open Meetings Law): In accordance with the authority contained in: * Section 551.071 - Pending or contemplated litigation and Section 551.072 - To deliberate the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property: Lots 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 and 12 of Block B, Estates of Timber Creek On the motion of Heidi Wilder, second by Kevin Cleveland, the Council voted to approve Resol
Executive session topics, as posted: with the authority contained in: * Section 551.071 - Pending or contemplated litigation and Section.
Compiled from the city secretary's minutes by the Ledger's extractor, in the minutes' own wording, item by item; the Ledger adds no characterization. Read the minutes for the full record.
Sources: City of Weatherford: council minutes, Aug. 9, 2016 (Granicus); Agenda for this meeting (Granicus); Meeting video (Granicus)