Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 04/25/2006t 1EREBY CI. R7 IFY that the t<>regoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Meeting of the ( rpus Christi City Council of April 25. 2006, which were approved as amended by the Citv ( ouncil on May 9_ .2006. vk 1 TNESSE [i 1 M Y' HANI) ANI) SEA1 . on this the 9th day of May, 2006. Armando Chapa City Secretary SEAT PRESENT Mayor Henry Garrett Mayor Pro Tem John Marez Council Members: Brent Chesney Jerry Garcia Bill Kelly Rex Kinnison Jesse Noyola ABSENT Melody Cooper Mark Scott MINUTES CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS Regular Council Meeting April 2.5, 2006 - 1000 a.m. City Staff: City Manager George K. Noe City Attorney Mary Kay Fischer City Secretary Armando Chapa Mayor Garrett called the meeting to order in the Council Chambers of City Hall. The invocation was delivered by Pastor James Anaya of Travis Baptist Church and the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag was led by Council Member Chesney. Mayor Garrett called for approval of the minutes of the regular Council meeting of April 18, 2006. City Secretary Chapa noted that the minutes incorrectly reflected Mayor Pro Tem Marez's abstention on Item 16.b , which approved the FY 2006 Consolidated Annual Action Plan, by omitting his abstention on the Emergency Shelter for Youth program. A motion was made and passed to approve the minutes as amended. ***,****** Mayor Garrett called for consideration of the consent agenda (Items 2 - 11). City Secretary Chapa announced that Mr. Kelly was abstaining from the vote and discussion on Items 5 and 7. There were no comments from the public. Council members requested that Items 5 and 6 be pulled for individual consideration. A motion was made and passed to approve Items 2 through 11, constituting the consent agenda, except for Items 5 and 6, which were pulled for individual consideration City Secretary Chapa polled the Council for their votes as follows: 2.a. ORDINANCE NO. 026743 Ordinance appropriating $302,000 from the Vehicle Capital Reserve in Fund 5110 Maintenance Services for vehicle and equipment purchases; amending the FY 2005-2006 Operating Budget adopted by Ordinance No. 026385 by increasing appropriations by $302,000 An emergency was declared, and the foregoing ordinance was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett. Chesney, Garcia, Kelly, Kinnison, Marez, and Noyola, voting Ave"; Cooper and Scott were absent. Minutes - Regular Council Meeting April 25 2006 - Page 2 2.b. MOTION NO. 2006-126 Motion approving the purchase and lease purchase of two (2) aerial bucket trucks from Philpott Motors of Port Neches. Texas for the total amount of $135,354. The award is based on the cooperative purchasing agreement with the Houston Galveston Area Council HGAC) These trucks will be used by the Municipal Information Systems and Water Departments Funding for the purchase of one bucket truck is available in the Capital Outlay Budget of the Maintenance Services Fund. Funds for the lease purchase of the second truck will be provided through the City's lease/purchase financing program. rhe foregoing motion was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney, Garcia Kelly Kinnison, Marez and Noyola, voting "Aye": Cooper and Scott were absent. MOTION NO. 2006-127 Motion approving the lease purchase of two (2) front end loader tractors and purchase of three (3) track excavators from the following companies. for the following amounts, in accordance with Bid Invitation No. BI -0102-06, based on low bid, for a total amount of $192,735.89 The construction equipment will be purchased for the Parks and Recreation and Water Departments. Funding for the lease purchase of the front end loaders will be provided through the City's lease/purchase financing program. Funding for the purchase of the excavators ,s available in the Capital Outlay Budget of the Maintenance Services Fund. All of the recommended items are replacements to the fleet. Anderson Machinery Corpus Christi, Texas Item No. 1 $110,378 16 Robstown Hardware Robstown, Texas Item No. 2 $61 360 Grand Total $192,735.89 H & V Equipment Services Corpus Christi, Texas Item No. 3 $20,997.73 The foregoing motion was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney, Garcia, Kelly. Kinnison, Marez and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent. 4.a. RESOLUTION NO. 026744 Resolution authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute a $10,000 Solid Waste Grant Interlocal Cooperation Agreement with the Coastal Bend Council of Governments to develop a Community Media Outreach Campaign for the City's Anti -Litter Ordinance. The foregoing resolution was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney Garcia, Kelly, Kinnison, Marez, and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent Minutes - Regular Council Meeting April 25 2006 - Page 4.b. ORDINANCE NO. 026745 Ordinance appropnating $10,000 from the Coastal Bend Council of Governments in the No. 1051 Solid Waste Grants Fund to develop a Community Media Outreach Campaign for the City's Anti -Litter Ordinance An emergency was declared, and the foregoing ordinance was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett Chesney, Garcia, Kelly, Kinnison, Marez, and Noyola, voting 'Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent. 4.c. RESOLUTION NO. 026746 Resolution authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute a Solid Waste Grant Interlocal Cooperation Agreement with the Coastal Bend Council of Governments in the amount of $10,380 for salary for a third year of grant funding for an Assistant Compliance Officer The foregoing resolution was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney Garcia, Kelly, Kinnison. Marez, and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent 4.d. ORDINANCE NO. 026747 Ordinance appropriating $10,380 from the Coastal Bend Council of Governments in the No. 1051 Solid Waste Grants Fund for salary for a third year of grant funding for an Assistant Compliance Officer An emergency was declared, and the foregoing ordinance was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett Chesney, Garcia, Kelly, Kinnison, Marez, and Noyola, voting 'Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent. 4.e. RESOLUTION NO. 026748 Resolution authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute a Solid Waste Grant Interlocal Cooperation Agreement with the Coastal Bend Council of Governments in the amount of $4,500 to pay for disposal of scrap tires collected during the City's Neighborhood Initiative Program. The foregoing resolution was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney Garcia, Kelly, Kinnison. Marez, and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent. 4.f. ORDINANCE NO. 026749 Ordinance appropriating $4,500 from the Coastal Bend Council of Governments in the No. 1051 Solid Waste Grants Fund to pay for disposal of scrap tires collected during the City's Neighborhood Initiative Program An emergency was declared, and the foregoing ordinance was passed and approved with the following vote Garrett Chesney, Garcia, Kelly. Kinnison, Marez, and Noyola, voting Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent. Minutes - Regular Council Meeting April 25. 2006 - Page 4 4.g. RESOLUTION NO 026750 Resolution authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute a Solid Waste Grant interlocal Cooperation Agreement with the Coastal Bend Council of Governments in the amount of $20,000 to purchase new collection units for used -oil and HHW storage modules for the new Collection/Transfer Station at the J. C Elliott Landfill. The foregoing resolution was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney Garcia, Kelly, Kinnison, Marez, and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent 4.h. ORDINANCE NO. 026751 Ordinance appropriating $20,000 from the Coastal Bend Council of Governments in the No. 1051 Solid Waste Grants Fund to purchase new collection units for used -oil and HHW storage modules for the new Collection/Transfer Station at the J. C. Elliott Landfill. An emergency was declared, and the foregoing ordinance was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett Chesney, Garcia, Kelly. Kinnison, Marez, and Noyola, voting Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent. RESOLUTION NO. 026754 Resolution expressing official intent to reimburse costs of the Packery Channel Improvement Project The foregoing resolution was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney Garcia, Kinnison Marez, and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Kelly abstained; Cooper and Scott were absent 8. MOTION NO. 2006-128 Motion authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute a testing agreement with Kleinfelder, of Corpus Christi, Texas in the amount of $40,559 for the Water Main Improvements Leopard Street and Third Street project. The foregoing motion was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney, Garcia, Kelly Kinnison, Marez and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent. Minutes - Regular Council Meeting April 25 2006 - Page 5 MOTION NO. 2006-129 Motion approving the application from The Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce to temporarily close the following street section for the Corpus Christi Chamber Mixer Event, May 11, 2006 at 12:01 a.m to May 11, 2006 at 11:59 p.m The two inside travel lanes of Northbound Shoreline Boulevard from Power to Palo Alto, exclusive of the median crossovers at Power and Palo Alto, beginning at 12:01 a.m., Thursday. May 11 2006 through 11:59 p.m.. Thursday, May 11, 2006. 2. Southbound Shoreline Boulevard from Power to Palo Alto, exclusive of the median crossovers at Power and Palo Alto, beginning at 12:01 a.m., Thursday, May 11, 2006 through 11:59 p.m Thursday. May 11. 2006 The foregoing motion was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney, Garcia, Kelly Kinnison, Marez and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent. 10. MOTION NO. 2006-130 Motion authorizing the City Manager to execute a Deferment Agreement with Mr. Raju Bhagat, (Developer), in the amount of $42,900 for the installation of storm, sanitary and water public improvements to serve Whelan Tract, Unit 4, Block 1, Lots 1 and 2, located east of Navigation Boulevard and south of Interstate Highway 37 (IH 37), in accordance with the Platting Ordinance Section V -Required Improvements, Subsection A.3(b). The foregoing motion was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney, Garcia. Kelly Kinnison, Marez and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent. 11.a ORDINANCE NO. 026755 Ordinance authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute a Lease Agreement with Peter Bryant (MMD Communications) for a term of 8 days in April, 2007, for the Texas international Yacht and Jet Plane Show at the Peoples Street T -Head. An emergency was declared, and the foregoing ordinance was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney, Garcia, Kelly, Kinnison, Marez, and Noyola, voting Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent. 11.b. FIRST READING ORDINANCE Authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute a Lease Agreement with Peter Bryant (MMD Communications) for a term of 8 days in April, 2007, for the Texas international Yacht and Jet Plane Show at the Peoples Street T -Head; providing for two 5 year renewals upon City Manager. or designee, finding show successful for City. The foregoing ordinance was passed and approved on its first reading with the following vote: Garrett. Chesney, Garcia, Kelly, Kinnison, Marez, and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent. Mayor Garrett opened discussion on Item 5, a resolution to determine whether to sell or retain the City Library's mineral interests in the Anita Neyland Trust. In response to Mr. Garcia's question, Director of Libraries Herb Canales stated that staff's recommendation was to retain the City's mineral rights Mr Canales further explained that there were three other beneficiaries to Mrs. Minutes - Regular Council Meeting April 25 2006 - Page 6 Neyland's Trust, and they dad decided to retain their rights. Mr Garcia asked how much money the City Library had received to date from the Trust. Mr. Canales replied that the City Library had received over $365,000 in proceeds from the Trust thus far; they expected to receive between $500,000 and $600,000 once all the assets were sold. Mr. Garcia asked how the funds were being used. Mr Canales replied that in 2005, the Council approved a plan to use the entire $600,000 in proceeds for capital improvements at Parkdale Library. In addition he said the Friends of the Library had raised $52,000 toward the project. The Council also approved staffs recommendation to rename the Parkdale Library in honor of Mr. Neyland once the improvements were completed Mr Garcia asked Mr. Noe to look into improving the Carmel Parkway and Staples Street intersection near the library. Mr Canales mentioned that Parkdale Plaza had been sold to a new owner, but their redevelopment plans. which included this intersection, were unknown at this time. Mr Kinnison asked City Manager Noe if he had decided to retain the mineral interests, or if he planned to solicit offers for sale. City Manager Noe replied that staff recommended retaining the mineral interests. but the resolution was crafted to allow the City to sell the mineral interests in the future if it was more profitable. City Secretary Chapa polled the Council for their votes as follows 5. RESOLUTION NO. 026752 Resolution amending Resolution 026056 by adding Section 2 that also authorizes City Manager or designee, to determine whether to retain or sell City of Corpus Christi Library's 25% beneficial interest in the mineral interests owned by the Anita Neyland Trust, established under the W. T Neyland Last Will and Testament. The foregoing resolution was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney. Garcia, Kelly. Kinnison, Marez, and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent Mayor Garrett opened discussion on Item 6 regarding Packery Channel. Mr. Kinnison asked if staff knew what the city's chances were to receive this grant. Special Assistant to the City Manager Tom Utter stated that it was soon to tell. He said the city was submitting two grant applications for this project and for the Lawrence Street L -Head parking lot project. He said the city would find out if they had been awarded the grants in late June or July. Mr. Kinnison asked what would happen if the city did not receive the grants. Mr. Utter replied that if the city was not awarded the grants then staff would scale back the projects so they could be completed with the $300,000 budget City Secretary Chapa polled the Council for their votes as follows: 6. RESOLUTION NO. 026753 Resolution authorizing an application to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for assistance in funding a public parking lot and access road on Packery Channel; declaring the City eligible for such assistance; authorizing the City to be local sponsor of the project; and directing and authorizing the City Manager to file the application and to execute all documents pertaining thereto. The foregoing resolution was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney Garcia, Kinnison Marez and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Kelly abstained; Cooper and Scott were absent Minutes - Regular Council Meeting April 25 2006 - Page 7 Mayor Garrett referred to Item 12, a presentation on the City -Wide Wireless Fidelity Broadband Mesh Network Business Plan Director of Municipal Information Services (MIS) Ogilvie Gericke stated that the Corpus Christi Digital Community Development Corporation held their first Board meeting on April 17, and elected Mr. Bud Harris with Del Mar College as chairman. He introduced Mr Roland Mower with the Economic Development Corporation and Mr. Jimmy Bray, legal consultant. On behalf of the -C. Digital Community Development Corporation Board, Mr. Harris thanked the Council for appointing them to assist them with the Wi-Fi Initiative. At their first Board meeting on April 17 he said the Board discussed future endeavors and reviewed the business plan. He said the business plan was a technical, comprehensive document, and the Board viewed it as a starting point for the process as they learned more about it. He said the Board welcomed the Council's input and comments on the Wi-Fi initiative business plan during staffs presentation today. He said the Board was committed to making the initiative a success, and they wished to carry out the Council's will on the project. Finally, he thanked staff for their efforts on developing the business plan. Mr. Kinnison asked Mr. Harris if the Board had access to a third party review of the business plan. Mr. Harris responded negatively. Mr Gericke stated that since Mr. Brian Anderson with Next Step Consulting could not be here today, he would be discussing the business plan in Mr. Anderson's place. Mr. Gericke stated that the goals of the business plan were as follows: improve city services; improve other govemmental services (school districts. RTA, Port. county, and State); provide access to individuals and businesses; and grow jobs Mr Gericke stated that the principles of the business plan were as follows: to maximize the economic value; to provide a level playing field; to bridge the digital divide; to provide framework that maximizes creativity in developing the portal; and to find partners that would bring assets. Mr Gericke discussed the market trends for the Wi-Fi initiative as follows: broadband was emerging as a critical infrastructure; applications drive the bandwidth requirements; fixed and mobile broadband access was emerging as a user requirement; and metro Wi-Fi networks enable competitive consumer value. Mr Gericke covered the components of the business model, designed to foster a partnership with access to all; as follows network (fiber and wireless); portal; Internet Service Providers (ISP); and applications Mr Gericke stated there were four phases to the city's implementation strategy: Phase 1 - establish core Wi-Fi network services; Phase 2 - establish a community network portal; Phase 3 - create Digital Community Development Programs; and Phase 4 - expand network services and coverage Regarding the network, Mr Gericke stated that the City needed to partner with an Internet Service Provider (ISP); create a level playing business field for all ISPs; ensure a maximum market penetration. and higher community/consumer value. Mr Gericke discussed the community portal concept. He said initially, the portal would offer free network access and then later could access value-added services such as eCommerce, advertising services, syndicated news, and community newsletters. Finally, he said subscription and value added services access could be provided through Earthlink AOL, and MSN platinum. Minutes - Regular Council Meeting April 25 2006 - Page 8 Mr Gericke stated that staff had developed four different business scenarios with detailed cost projections as follows Scenario 1 city operation only; Scenario 2: city and corporation/ Wi-Fi network alliance; Scenario 3: city, corporation/Wi-Fi Network Alliance, and community portal; and Scenario 4 city, corporation/WISP Alliance, community portal, and government. Mr Gericke stated that under Scenario 1, the city would solely fund the implementation (debt) and maintenance and support, with a five percent annual increase over Years 1 through 5. The city would implement cost reduction and service improvement Wi-Fi applications. The community would have limited access alternatives in this scenario Under Scenario 1 Mr. Gericke said the city's current network services expenses were approximately $2.5 million. He said the city was investing $7 million in the Wi-Fi initiative, and if the city chose not to partner with another entity, it would have to repay the costs over a 20 -year period. He pointed out, however, that the city expected to see cost savings from city programs using the Wi- Fi technology, such as the automated meter reading (AMR) and automated vehicle location (AVL) systems He noted that the city's costs under Scenario 1 would increase from $2.6 million in Year 1 to $3 1 million in Year 5 Mr Gericke discussed Scenario 2, which assumed that the city had partnered with a major Internet service provider (ISP) that would share their customer base. He said the city and the ISP would share the costs of operating and maintaining the network as well as building it out. The benefit under this scenario was that the city could make the Corpus Christi Digital Community Development Corporation responsible for the $7 million debt, and work with the ISP to pay the costs. He said the city had spoken with a national ISP that was interested in partnering with the city in the endeavor The ISP felt they could pay the corporation an average of $8 per subscriber per month. Under this scenario. Mr Gericke said staff felt the city could keep their 0 & M costs constant at $2.5 million from Year 1 through Year 5 In addition, he said the city's total network operating expense would decrease in Year 1 to $2.2 million. compared to $2.6 million in Scenario 1. Mr Gericke covered Scenario 3. which included the same assumptions as in Scenario 2 but also included community portal services. He said small businesses could use the portal for E- commerce opportunities to attract outside business. The city's costs under this scenario would remain the same as in Scenario 2, but the corporation would probably see higher profits that could fund Digital Community Development programs He provided cost projections from Year 1 to Year 5 Mr Gericke discussed Scenario 4. which included the same assumptions as in Scenarios 2 and 3 but assumed that the corporation would expand the network infrastructure to the greater metro area locations In addition, the corporation could provide low-cost (wholesale) Wi-Fi access services to other government agencies. He provided cost projections from Year 1 to Year 5. Mr Gericke discussed the corporation's expenses related to the Wi-Fi project as follows: to maintain a small administration staff of four individuals; pay debt for Wi-Fi implementation and start-up capital; to fund network upgrades to meet carrier grade service requirements; to fund temporary professional services resources to support development and operations; to fund host services (no infrastructure cost) for portal and E-commerce marketplace; and to fund marketing and digital community programs based on board priorities and available funds. He then reviewed a detailed chart of the corporation's revenues and operating expenses for five years. Mr Gericke discussed the schedule for the Wi-Fi implementation. He said Northrup Gromman was in the process of installing the Wi-Fi network, with a scheduled completion date in August 2006. Thus. the city needed to sign an agreement with an ISP in July or August so the network could be fully used Minutes - Regular Council Meeting April 25 2006 - Page 9 Mr Marez expressed concern that the national media was not recognizing the city for its groundbreaking efforts on Wi-Fi, City Manager Noe replied that he had spoken with Business Unit Manager Leonard Scott about allocating funds for marketing efforts. He said the only way to substantially increase the publicity would be to retain a firm to educate the national press about the city's Wi-Fi initiative. He said this type of expense was not built into the budget but could be added if the Council desired. Mr Marez spoke in support of hiring a marketing firm to publicize the city's efforts. Mr Kinnison stated that while he supported the city's Wi-Fi initiative, he and staff differed significantly on the Wi-Fi business plan He expressed concern that a third party evaluation was not completed on the business plan. He also expressed concern that the city did not have an ISP partner for the initiative yet, he said other cities with a Wi-Fi initiative had a partner from the onset. He said he knew of two unfavorable reviews of the City's Wi-Fi initiative that were a cause of great concern to him In response to Mr. Kinnison's question, City Manager Noe replied that the corporation had to receive Council approval of their budget before they could start making expenditures. Mr. Kinnison asked that if the corporation generated excess profits, could the funds be transferred to the city s general fund Mr. Jimmy Bray, legal counsel, answered affirmatively, saying that by statute, any funds remaining after Wi-F= operating expenses and reserves were met could be transferred to the general 4'und. Mr Kinnison asked about the administrative staff line item of $355,000. City Manager Noe stated that the staff included one person in charge with three key support staff members. Mr. Gericke added that the primary staff member would develop new business, two would keep track of business transactions, and one would provide administrative support. Mr. Kinnison pointed out that in other cities, these types of positions were eliminated once the city entered into a partnership with an ISP Mr. Noe replied the city did not intend to duplicate any positions, so if there was no need for four positions. they could be eliminated. In response to Mr. Kinnison's question, City Manager Noe replied that the business plan assumed that the city's share of the costs would remain constant at $2.5 million. Ultimately, he said the city's goal was to reduce their share of the costs over time if the project was successful. He said the plan treated the $2 5 million as a financial transaction between the city and the corporation in which the city was buying their services Mr. Kinnison asked the Corpus Christi Digital Community Development Corporation Board to carefully review the proposed business plan. He said he would provide the Board members with more information. He said he wished to see the Wi-Fi initiative become a success, but he did not understand why the city's approach differed so much from the course other cities had chosen. He hoped the city would enlist business professionals to run this business, so the city could get back to doing what it does bestnamely providing municipal services. In response to Mr. Garcia's question, Mr. Gericke replied the city would see a return on its investment immediately if the Corporation could assume the debt for the project because the city would not be responsible for that payment. Mr. Garcia spoke in favor of the Wi-Fi project. He agreed with Mr Marez's comments about more publicity efforts for the initiative, but he felt the more successful the program was, the more publicity it would attract. Mr. Garcia asked for staffs thoughts on how successful the project could be. Mr. Gericke replied that the city was in the unique position of having a fairly large network and having the resources, through Del Mar College, to train small businesses on its use. He felt the city had the community partnerships it needed to ensure that the network would be used extensively Minutes - Regular Council Meeting April 25 2006 - Page 10 Mr Noyola asked about the city's prospects for ISP partnerships. City Manager Noe replied staff had discussed the Wi-Fi initiative with a number of major companies, including Google, IBM, Earthlink, and Sysco He said several companies were expected to become lead partners in the endeavor. based on the advanced state of the negotiations. He predicted that once the corporation was up and running the city would have an agreement with the lead company. Mr Noyola agreed with Mr. Kinnison's comment that he did not want to see taxpayer dollars paying for this initiative He would rather see the city turn over the management to their partner. City Manager Noe replied that the business plan showed that the city's cost for these services would remain constant at $2.5 million over the five-year period. Additionally, the plan was to have the corporation assume the debt for the entire system, to be repaid out of the partnership revenues. Thus, the city was relieved of its obligation to pay the $7 million in debt currently in the utility system. Mr Noyola asked staff to comment on Mr. Kinnison's assertion that the city's approach to Wi-Fi was vastly different from the approach taken by other communities. Mr. Gericke replied that the city began considering Wi-Fi at a different point than most communities. Initially, the city's interest in Wi-Fi was limited solely to municipal services like automated meter reading (AMR) operations Other cities thought about Wi-Fi as a way to provide Internet access at the start. Mr Noyola stated that he was depending on staffs recommendations regarding this project since this wasn't his area of expertise. He said his main concern was that the city provided the basic services that citizens depended on, like police, fire, and street maintenance. He said he hoped the city was going in the right direction with this project. in response to Mr Kinnison's question, City Manager Noe replied that the connectivity services of the MIS department were being transferred to the corporation. The corporation in turn would re -contract the services and reimburse the city. Mayor Garrett opened discussion on Item 13 regarding the agreement between the city and CC Digital Community Development Corporation. Mr. Jimmy Bray, the city's legal consultant, explained that the agreement provided the basic framework under which the Corporation would operate, coupled with the Articles of Incorporation and the by-laws that the Council had previously approved. He referred to a three-page summary in the Council's agenda packet that highlighted the agreement's major provisions. There were no comments from the audience. City Secretary Chapa stated that Item 13.a. would be considered as an emergency ordinance rather than a first reading ordinance. City Secretary Chapa polled the Council for their votes as follows: 13.a. ORDINANCE NO. 026756 Ordinance approving the Agreement for Services between the City of Corpus Christi and the CC Digital Community Development Corporation regarding Wi-Fi Network. The foregoing ordinance was passed and approved on its first reading with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney, Garcia, Kelly, Marez, and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Kinnison voting "No"; Cooper and Scott were absent Minutes - Regular Council Meeting April 25 2006 - Page 11 13.b. MOTION NO 2006-131 Motion authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute a Wi-Fi Facility License Agreement with AEP Corporation The foregoing motion was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney, Garcia, Kelly Marez, and Noyola voting "Aye"; Kinnison voting "No"; Cooper and Scott were absent 13.c. FIRST READING ORDINANCE Granting to the CC Digital Community Development Corporation a non-exclusive franchise to operate, maintain, construct, extend, and upgrade facilities of the City of Corpus Christi Citywide Integrated Wi-Fi Network in the Public Rights -of -Way. The foregoing ordinance was passed and approved on its first reading with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney, Garcia, Kelly, Marez. and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Kinnison voting "No"; Cooper and Scott were absent Mayor Garrett opened discussion on Item 14 regarding the city's tax abatement guidelines and criteria. City Secretary Chapa announced that this item was being withdrawn by staff. City Manager Noe stated that the item would be rescheduled for the May 9 Council meeting. 14. WITHDRAWN Mayor Garrett opened discussion on Item 15 regarding an amendment to the Corpus Christi Business and Job Development Corporation's Guidelines and Criteria for Granting Business Incentives Director of Economic Development Irma Caballero stated the proposed amendment was designed to provide the corporation with as much flexibility as possible to grant business incentives. She said staff recommended the removal of Section 4(g), which limited the maximum amount of incentives pre job created to $5,000. Instead, the Board, with input and recommendations from the Economic Development Corporation, would set the amount of incentive on a per project basis. She explained that in many other communities, the incentive amounts were in the range of $15,000 to $20,000 per job. To be competitive, Ms Caballero said the Board needed this added flexibility. In addition Ms. Caballero stated that the term "enterprise facilitation" was being recommended for inclusion in Section 1 Definitions (e) under "Business Incubator". This would allow the Board to consider funding for small business through enterprise facilitation type programs. Mr Kelly asked if the city still had the same amount of resources for economic incentives had changed. Ms. Caballero answered affirmatively. In response to Mr. Kelly's question, Ms. Caballero stated that if the city was serious about attracting a major manufacturer with higher paying jobs to the area, then the city needed to be prepared to offer greater incentives. Mr Kelly asked that if the city changed its guidelines, would there be companies that would consider locating in Corpus Christi now that had not looked at us previously. Mr. Roland Mower, Director of the Regionai Economic Development Corporation (EDC). replied affirmatively, saying that the EDC was extremely supportive of these changes. In his previous position with the Bryan/College Station EDC, they commissioned a study to analyze the use of 4A incentives. The findings indicated that to attract manufacturing jobs around the state. a number of communities were Minutes - Regular Council Meeting April 25 2006 - Page 12 willing to offer $15,000 to $20,000 incentives. In addition, he said many communities did not have any return on investment (ROI) requirements that had to be repaid to the city. The City of Corpus Christi, an contrast, looked at a positive ROI of greater than six percent that would be paid back in less than seven years. City Manager Noe added that the proposed amendment was consistent with the recommendations from the city's Economic Summit in January Mr. Mower stated that the EDC had hired Mr. Bill Fruth, the economist who presented at the Economic Summit, to create an incentive matrix and to build a rational economic incentive policy. Mr. Kelly stated that if the Council passed the proposed amendment, they were going to expect more results out of the EDC. Mr Noyola, Mr Marez, and Mr Garcia spoke in support of the proposed amendment because it would make the city more competitive in attracting new businesses. In response to Mr. Garcia's question, Mr. Noe stated that the 4A sales tax generated approximately $4.5 million a year; $2.1 million went to repay the debt on the baseball stadium, $500,000 went to affordable housing, and $1 8 million went to economic incentives for small businesses Mayor Garrett asked for public comment. Mr. Abel Alonzo suggested that the 4A Board work with WorkSource to ensure that the city had a trained workforce already in place to fill any new jobs created City Secretary Chapa polled the Council for their votes as follows: 15. RESOLUTION NO 026757 Resolution approving an amendment to the Corpus Christi Business and Job Development Corporation's Guidelines and Criteria for Granting Business Incentives to provide flexibility in the approval of incentive for capital investment/facilities and to include a definition of an enterprise facilitation The foregoing resolution was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney. Garcia, Kelly, Kinnison. Marez, and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent Mayor Garrett opened discussion on Item 16, a resolution directing publication of the Notice of Intention to issue Certificates of Obligation on the landfill projects. Director of Financial Services Cindy O'Brien explained that the city planned to issue up to $20 million, but would fine-tune the amount so it would be closer to $18 million in project costs. She said the bond proceeds would be used to complete work or J.C. Elliott landfill and finalize arrangements for the Cefe Valenzuela landfill so it would be completed by the deadline In addition, she said staff was asking Council approval to retain the services of M E. Allison as financial advisor, and McCall Parkhurst and Horton as bond counsel Mayor Garrett asked if the landfill project was on time. Assistant Director of Engineering Kevin Stowers replied affirmatively, saying that staff anticipated an August opening date. City Manager Noe added that staff planned to arrange a tour of the landfill site at the end of a future Council meeting. There were no comments from the public. City Secretary Chapa polled the Council for their votes as follows. Minutes - Regular Council Meeting April 25 2006 - Page 13 16. RESOLUTION NO. 026758 Resolution by the City Council of the City of Corpus Christi, Texas, directing publication of Notice of Intention to issue Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligation (Landfill Project): and resolving other matters relating to the subject. The foregoing resolution was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney. Garcia, Kelly, Kinnison, Marez. and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent Mayor Garrett opened discussion on Item 17 regarding the Oso Water Reclamation Plant project. Assistant Director of Engineering Services Kevin Stowers stated that approval of the item would provide for an alternate power facility upgrade to the plant. City Engineer Angel Escobar further explained that the item was comprised of three parts. The first part appropriated the interest earnings to fund the project. The second part awarded the construction contract to R.S. Black Civil Contractors. Finally. the third part approved an electrical power agreement with AEP to bring the power source into the plant There were no comments from the public. City Secretary Chapa polled the Council for their votes as follows: 17.a. ORDINANCE NO. 026759 Ordinance appropriating $5,198,719 from the unappropriated interest earnings from Wastewater 1995A Capital Improvement Program Fund 4242 for the Oso Water Reclamation Plant Electrical/Alternate Power Facility Upgrade Part 1; amending Capital Budget adopted by Ordinance No 026188 by increasing appropriations by $5,198,719. An emergency was declared, and the foregoing ordinance was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney, Garcia, Kelly, Kinnison, Marez, and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent. 17.b. MOTION NO. 2006-132 Motion authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute a construction contract with R.S. Black Civil Contractors, Inc./Machinery & Materials, Inc. (a joint venture), of Corpus Christi, Texas in the amount of $5,118,719 for the Oso Water Reclamation Plant Electrical/Alternate Power Facility Upgrade Part 1 The foregoing motion was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney, Garcia Kelly Kinnison. Marez and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent. 17.c. MOTION NO. 2006-133 Motion authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute an electrical power agreement with American Electric Power (AEP), of Corpus Christi, Texas in the amount of $80,000 for the Oso Water Reclamation Plant Electrical/Alternate Power Facility Upgrade Part 1 The foregoing motion was passed and approved with the following vote: Garrett, Chesney, Garcia, Kelly Kinnison, Marez and Noyola, voting "Aye"; Cooper and Scott were absent. Minutes - Regular Council Meeting April 25 2006 - Page 14 Mayor Garrett called for petitions from the audience. Mr. Gabe Lozano Jr., 4602 Mokry, spoke in favor of transferring Scott Davison and Brenda Gonzales to their former positions at Oso Golf Course. Mayor Garrett replied that the City Council did not get involved in personnel matters; he advised Mr Lozano to speak with City Manager Noe. City Manager Noe noted that he had spoken with Mr Lozano regarding this matter before, but he would meet with him again if he wished. Mayor Garrett called for the City Manager's report. City Manager Noe reported that tomorrow from 7:30 a.m. to noon, the Storm Water department would hold its annual exercise to drill on storm surge levee preparations during the hurricane season. He said portions of North Port Avenue would be restricted to traffic during the exercise. City Manager Noe reported this Thursday, the city would hold an Open House at the Customer Call Center beginning at 11:00 a.m. to publicize the new city assistance number, 826 - CITY. He said the center was receiving over 35,000 calls per month. The city was also going to expand the call center's hours until 7:00 p m. initially. City Manager Noe announced that the third \\I 1'i educational roundtable would be held for local school districts this Thursday from 1 30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Sixth Floor Conference Room. Another roundtable was scheduled for small businesses in May. City Manager Noe reminded the Council that the mid-term retreat would be held next Tuesday, May 2 from 8'.30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mayor Garrett reported that he was receiving positive comments about the Customer Call Center and he asked City Manager Noe to let them know. Mayor Garrett called for Council concerns and reports. Mr. Marez asked City Manager Noe to look into complaints about the Glasscock landfill between Marina del Sol Condos and the Holiday Inn Emerald Beach He asked code enforcement staff to investigate. Mr. Noe replied that there had been complaints about individuals camping out in the area, and staff would look into it. Mr. Marez also thanked Ms Annie Leal and the Call Center for their responsiveness. Mr. Noyola asked City Manager Noe to consider giving Annie Leal and the Customer Call Center staff an "At Your Service" Award He also said that he drove by the Peter Piper Pizza at the Mission Plaza, and noticed that orange sandbags had marked the missing curb that he mentioned last week He preferred to see the area marked with orange netting so people could see it more easily. Mr. Noe replied that the area was under TxDOT control, but staff would follow up on it. Mr Noyola presented City Manager Noe with a copy of ordinances and resolutions regulating shelter and rehab locations in cities nationwide. He asked him to provide copies to the rest of the Council for their information. A discussion ensued about whether the Council had directed the Planning Commission to develop a potential ordinance on zoning issue for shelters, rehab facilities, and the like. City Manager Noe replied that when the Planning Commission considered the Metro Ministries case, they asked for a presentation on the issue at one of their future meetings. He said staff was currently researching the types of ordinances regulating this issue in other cities, and had asked their UDC consultant, Duncan and Associates, to research the issue as well. He said staff had not crafted an ordinance at this time, and it was soon to say that they were developing an ordinance. Minutes - Regular Council Meeting April 25 2006 - Page 15 Mr Kinnison. Mayor Garrett, and Mr. Chesney spoke against the development of an ordinance regulating shelters and rehab facilities because they did not feel the majority of the Council wanted an ordinance. They asked staff communicate to the Planning Commission that the Council had not directed them to craft an ordinance Mr Noyola stated that he was not asking for an item to be placed on the agenda regarding this issue. He said the media had mistakenly portrayed him as advocating an ordinance. Rather, he was simply asking staff to research the issue. Mr. Kelly spoke in support of Mr. Noyola's request, saying that the public perception was that the city was planning to aggressively move the homeless out of the city and into industrial areas He thought Mr. Noyola's request was appropriate and should be accommodated There being no further business to come before the Council, Mayor Garrett adjourned the Council meeting at 11 35 a.m. on April 25 2006. *********