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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 01/28/1992MINUTES CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS Regular Council Meeting January 28, 1992 2 p.m. PRESENT Mayor Mary Rhodes Mayor Pro Tem Cezar Galindo Council Members: Leo Guerrero Betty Jean Longoria Edward Martin Joe McComb Dr. David McNichols Clif Moss Mary Pat Slavik City Manager Juan Garza City Attorney James R. Bray, Jr. City Secretary Armando Chapa Mayor Rhodes called the meeting to order in the Council Chamber of City Hall. The invocation was delivered by Herb Kinard, Missionary for Radio KBNJ, following which the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States was led by Council Member Moss. City Secretary Chapa called the roll and verified that the necessary quorum of the Council and the required charter officers were present to conduct the meeting. It was noted that the Minutes of the January 21st Council Meeting are scheduled for approval on February 4. s s s s s s s s s s s s s Mayor Rhodes called for consideration of consent motions, resolutions, ordinances and ordinances from previous meetings on Items 1 thru 7, and Council Members requested that Items 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 be withheld for discussion. City Secretary Chapa polled the Council for their votes and the following were passed: 1. M92-018 MICROFILMED Minutes Regular Council Meeting January 28, 1992 Page 2 Motion approving a supply agreement for radiator repair service for City owned automobiles, trucks and equipment in accordance with Bid Invitation No. BI -0056-92 with A C & W Radiator Service, Inc., Corpus Christi, Texas based on low bid for an estimated annual expenditure of $10,000. The term of the contract will be twelve months with option to extend for up to an additional twelve months subject to the approval of the supplier and the City Manager or his designee. This contract will be administered by the Maintenance Services Department and funds have been budgeted for FY 91-92. The foregoing motion passed by the following vote: Rhodes, Galindo, Guerrero, Longoria, Martin, McComb, McNichols, Moss and Slavik voting, "Aye? 6. ORDINANCE NO. 021324 AUTHORIZING $31,154 FROM THE LIBRARY TRUST FUND, FUND NO. 111- 000-243.05-000, FOR THE LIBRARY FOR ANTICIPATED EXPENDITURES BY THE LIBRARY DURING THE 1991-1992 FISCAL YEAR; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. An emergency was declared and the foregoing ordinance passed by the following vote: Rhodes, Galindo, Guerrero, Longoria, Martin, McComb, McNichols, Moss and Slavik voting, "Aye." Relative to Item 2, approving a supply agreement for printing paper, Council Member McNichols noted that the majority of the items covered in this contract are not available in recycled materials which is why the City is not using recycled material. He stated that the City should take the lead in establishing markets for recycled materials and inquired if staff conveys that the City prefers a recycled product. City Manager Garza stated that the City presently has a contract for recycled paper and attempts to purchase recycled paper products as often as possible. Council Member McComb inquired why this purchase was not pursued through the cooperative venture with the other taxing jurisdictions, and Mr. Garza stated that the contract he just spoke about is through that joint purchasing effort. F. D. Glenn, Purchasing Agent, stated that this particular paper is mostly for the print shop and is not stationery type paper. He stated that the City uses the cooperative purchasing for other items. Council Member Slavik inquired about the chemicals used in Item 3, supply agreement for 750 gallons of loop detector sealant, and City Manager Garza stated that he does not know the particular chemicals. Minutes Regular Council Meeting January 28, 1992 Page 3 Responding to questions raised by Council Member Slavik on Item 4, supply agreements for food service items, City Manager Garza clarified wording in the agenda memorandum relative to rebidding a supply agreement for insignificant price increases. Relative to questions raised by Council Member Longoria on Item 5, ordinance approving the submission of a grant application to the Texas Commission on alcohol and drug abuse to implement a middle school DARE program, as well as a summer day camp for children entitled Camp Kid, Pat Eldridge, Police Department, stated that all school districts will be asked to participate in Camp Kid. Regarding the middle school Dare Program, she stated that six schools will be targeted at this time with possible expansion. Mrs. Longoria asked what the selection of the middle schools would be based on, and City Manager Garza stated that staff hopes to involve children that have received the DARE training at the elementary school level and reinforce what they learned. With reference to Item 7, Use Privilege agreement Koch Refining Company, Council Member Martin commented about the nominal fee of $10 and expressed the opinion that this should at least pay the expense of the lawyers drafting up the documents. City Manager Garza indicated that this is not a new agreement, stating that the condition is pre-existing. City Secretary Chapa polled the Council for their votes and the following were passed: 2. M92-019 Motion approving a supply agreement for printing paper in accordance with Bid Invitation No. BI -0034-92 with Monarch Paper Co., Austin, Texas based on low bid for an estimated annual expenditure of $20,691.24. The term of the agreement shall be for twelve months with an option to extend for up to an additional twelve months subject to the approval of the supplier and the City Manager or his designee. This printing paper will be used by the City Copy Center for City printing needs. Funds have been budgeted for FY 91-92 by the City Copy Center. The foregoing motion passed by the following vote: Rhodes, Galindo, Guerrero, Longoria, Martin, McComb, McNichols, Moss and Slavik voting, "Aye." 3. M92-020 Motion approving a supply agreement for approximately 750 gallons of loop detector sealant in accordance with Bid Invitation No. BI -0037-92 with Gillard, Inc., Corpus Christi, Texas based on low bid for an estimated annual expenditure of $16,462.50. The term of the agreement shall be for twelve months with an option to extend for up to an additional twelve months subject to the approval of the supplier and the City Manager or his designee. This material will be used by the Traffic Engineering Department for vehicle detection and traffic signal control. Funds have been budgeted for FY 91-92 by Traffic Engineering. Minutes Regular Council Meeting January 28, 1992 Page 4 The foregoing motion passed by the following vote: Rhodes, Galindo, Guerrero, Longoria, Martin, McComb, McNichols, Moss and Slavik voting, "Aye." 4. M92-021 Motion approving supply agreements for food service items in accordance with Bid Invitation No. BI -0011-92 with the following companies for the following amounts based on low bid and best bid, for an estimated annual expenditure of $36,985.39. The term of the agreements shall be for twelve months with an option to extend for up to an additional twelve months subject to the approval of the supplier and the City Manager or his designee. The food service items will be used by Senior Community Services for the Elderly Nutrition Program. Funds have been budgeted for FY 91-92 by Senior Community Services. Century Papers Corpus Christi. Tx $17,154.45 (recycled paper trays, gloves) bid Sysco Food Services Corpus Christi. Tx $17,611.70 (utensils, foil trays and sheets, poly bags, plastic cups/lids) low bid Gulf Coast Paper Corpus Christi. Tx $2,219.24 (napkins, PVC sheets, sandwich bags) low bid and best bid GRAND TOTAL - $36,985.39 The foregoing motion passed by the following vote: Rhodes, Galindo, Guerrero, Longoria, Martin, McComb, McNichols, Moss and Slavik voting, "Aye." 5. ORDINANCE NO. 021323 ORDINANCE APPROVING THE SUBMISSION OF A GRANT APPLICATION TO THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE TO IMPLEMENT A MIDDLE SCHOOL "DARE" PROGRAM AND A SUMMER DAY CAMP FOR CHILDREN ENTITLED "CAMP KID," AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE CONTRACT ACCEPTING THE GRANT, AND DESIGNATING THE CHIEF OF POLICE AS THE OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CITY; APPROPRIATING ALL MONIES RECEIVED FROM TCADA PURSUANT TO THE GRANT AND APPROPRIATING THE REQUIRED FIVE PERCENT MATCH FROM THE LAW ENFORCEMENT TRUST FUND, FUND NO. 111-000-243.12-000; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Minutes Regular Council Meeting January 28, 1992 Page 5 An emergency was declared and the foregoing ordinance passed by the following vote: Rhodes, Galindo, Guerrero, Longoria, Martin, McComb, McNichols, Moss and Slavik voting, "Aye." 7. FIRST READING AUTHORIZING A USE PRIVILEGE AGREEMENT WITH KOCH REFINING COMPANY FOR THE RIGHT TO INSTALL AND MAINTAIN A RAW WATER PUMP STATION BUILDING AND A RAW WATER PIPELINE WITH THE CUNNINGHAM WATER TREATMENT PLANT PROPERTY FOR A ONE TIME FEE OF $10. The foregoing ordinance passed on first reading by the following vote: Rhodes, Galindo, Guerrero, Longoria, Martin, McComb, McNichols and Moss voting, "Aye"; Slavik voting, "No." R i i* f i► i i i# t Mayor Rhodes referred to Item 8, utility cost -of service rate changes, and stated that the motion to change the present rate structure for the water and wastewater utilities to a true cost -of -service rate structure will be presented for approval next week, along with the formation of the Public Utilities Advisory Committee. City Manager Garza provided background information and stated that he would Iike the Council to hear the presentation by the consultant to see how the various rates are derived. He spoke about several important issues that will have to be dealt with by the Council in regard to the rate structure. Mr. Dave Hassen, chief economist for CH2M Hill, stated that they conducted the utility rate studies for the City which involved cost -of -service for water, wastewater, and gas utilities. He stated that under the proposed restructuring, some utility bills would increase and others would decrease, depending on the amount of water used monthly by individual residents and businesses. Mr. Hassen gave a slide presentation of the general nature of the study and the concepts behind it. He reviewed numerous charts dealing with cost -of -service studies, rate study objectives, revenue adequacy, cost -of -service rate making steps, rate structure options, and winter average water use. Council Member Moss suggested that the City look at costs in other cities or other utilities so that our costs are not out -of -line. He asked if that was considered by the consultant, and Mr. Hassen stated that every utility is financed and operated differently so they had not considered that. A series of specific questions were raised by the Council regarding the samples of analyses, and Mr. Hassen, the City Manager, and Victor Medina, Public Utilities Director, responded to the various questions. Minutes Regular Council Meeting January 28, 1992 Page 6 Council Members McComb and Slavik expressed concern about the rate structuring if it entails eliminating incentives for conservation and attracting new businesses. Discussion ensued and Council Member Martin expressed the opinion that the charts are difficult to read and are confusing in some cases. He stated that they indicate that the transition approach is totally unacceptable and unworkable. He stated that if you look at all of the water rates and the cost -of -service rates, the City is already there and we are considering about going through a massive change. Mr. Martin expressed the opinion that the City should go to a winter averaging system for wastewater and keep the water rate structure the way it is. He stated that he was of the opinion that the real assignment is to deal with the issue of the wastewater winter averaging approach. He stated that no changes should be made but the City should consider the important issue of how much money is needed and if an increase rate is necessary. City Manager Garza stated that in looking at the charts, the variances are close but at what point is close enough so that they are defensible. He stated that another issue is how much do you want to encourage economic development, how much consideration do you want to show for low income individuals, and how much concern do you want to show for conservation of water versus a flat rate. Council Member Martin and Mayor Rhodes commented about a possible challenge to the six -percent cap voted on in the Charter election, and City Manager Garza stated that staff researched that issue and is comfortable in taking this approach. Mayor Rhodes advised that the Council and the advisory committee have a written position in this regard. Following more discussion, Council Member McNichols asked if the study's recommendation is to go to cost -of -service, and Mr. Hassen replied in the affirmative. Dr. McNichols asked if major capital improvements, particularly in the wastewater section and the acquisition of new water sources, would be covered by the current recommendations made, and Mr. Hassen replied that those improvements could not be funded by these rates. Dr. McNichols expressed the opinion that if a study is done and it indicates that this is the way it needs to be done, it does not make sense to start devising all kinds of political reasons why it should not be that way. He stated that the Council should decide this issue; the public elected the Council to make these tough decisions; and we cannot allow the public to decide how to set the utility rates. Dr. McNichols asked when we will be able to incorporate the information from the utility operations analysis, and City Manager Garza stated that item would be brought back with the recommendation for a rate change in the systems. Mayor Rhodes stated that the Council is not asking the public to set the rates any more than the Planning Commission decides on zoning cases or the Charter Revision Committee decides what the charter revisions should be. She indicated that the Council will make the final decision and it is very appropriate to get input on the utility rates. Minutes Regular Council Meeting January 28, 1992 Page 7 Discussion ensued dealing with the mission of the Public Utilities Advisory Committee, and City Manager Garza stated that once the committee is established, it should have two missions. One is to annually look at the rates and hold some public hearings on any proposed rate changes, and secondly, he would like to see the committee involved with staff in moving forward with the recommendations of the operations analysis. Council Member Slavik referred to the Council Meeting of January 22, 1991, when the Council passed a motion to establish a Public Utilities Advisory Committee and noted that it was never implemented. 8. Deferred Motion to approve changing the present rate structure for the Water and Wastewater Utilities to a true cost -of -service rate structure. Mayor Rhodes called for consideration of Item 9, storm water permitting, and City Manager Garza stated that this recommendation was presented last week and the recommendation was defeated by a four -to -four vote. He stated that the recommendation is to allow him to negotiate a contract with Camp, Dresser & McKee for professional services related to storm water management, including: conducting a wet weather sampling program, developing a public education program and performing a feasibility study for establishing a storm water utility. Mr. Garza discussed reasons why the City needs professional expertise and he elaborated on the role of the consultant. Council Member Moss asked if the City looked into what other cities are experiencing, and Deputy City Manager Garza responded in the affirmative. He identified other cities that have done this and related their costs. He also showed an example of a part 1 application submitted by the city of Tulsa. Council Members Moss and Slavik expressed concern that this information was not in the background information presented to the Council. Mrs. Slavik referred to task 3, storm water feasibility study for $125,000, and expressed the opinion that staff could gather this data. She expressed concern about another taxing authority and about spending $125,000 on something that is going to be a political decision of the Council. Deputy City Manager Garza stated that it will be a political decision of the Council. He stated that it will not be a taxing authority; it will not be a tax assessment; it will be a rate assessment. Mr. Garza continued by stating that the Texas Municipal League and the various public works associations have worked diligently to minimize the impact that these regulations would have on municipal corporations. He stated that his understanding is that when the City does these applications, parts 1 and 2, and does them well and presents good data, the City will be able to have a management program that is practical and affordable. Minutes Regular Council Meeting January 28, 1992 Page 8 Mrs. Slavik referred to a possible ninety -day halt of federal rules, and Mr. Garza stated that if President Bush declares a moratorium on this specific program, the City would put this on hold. Council Member Martin noted that Congress passed the act and EPA is simply administering it. He stated that the concept makes sense and the City should be concerned about raw dumping into water occurring. He stated that there was nothing in the material that requires treatment of storm water but an act that states that it is the City's obligation to come up with a plan to remove pollutants from storm water. He stated that the key to this issue may be how well the City does now, not how well it does later. He stated that the level of participation by staff concerns him. Mr. Martin raised various questions about Task 2. He referred to the laboratory services and questioned why this could not be done by the City's water lab, and Mr. Garza stated that it will require some specific tests. Mr. Martin stated that the City's lab could do this work if they had the proper tools and he asked staff to look into this. Mr. Martin referred to the storm water utility feasibility study and concurred with Council Member Slavik. He referred to the public education program and expressed the opinion that there is a point where the City has to do something. He expressed concern about the consultant doing the public education for our citizens. He stated that he supports the equipment and the installation and the portion of the laboratory services that have to be done after it has been looked into, but he cannot support the $125,000 for the storm water utility feasibility study and the $30,000 for public education. Mayor Rhodes stated that the motion is only to negotiate the contract, pointing out that the Council is not voting on the tasks. Council Member McComb noted that for all intent and purposes, it has never been determined that the City currently has a problem with our storm water being polluted. He stated that the EPA did not do any environmental impact studies to determine if the City has a storm water drainage problem. A series of specific questions were raised by the Council and an extensive discussion followed. Council Member McNichols stated that the City should have some leeway in the way it develops the permit applications. He stated that one concern about doing this is if we authorize the whole program right now, that is money that we are using instead of something that we might do that plans for the water, wastewater and storm water needs of the City. Dr. McNichols stated that the concept is environmentally sound; he is not against going ahead with studying it; be is against studying further into the future then what is demanded of us at this time. Deputy City Manager Garza stated that the wet weather monitoring program to collect the samples will not be enough to give us the data that we will need to develop the second part of that program. He stated that he would not want the City to be caught in a situation where we did not take the necessary steps early enough to prepare that Minutes Regular Council Meeting January 28, 1992 Page 9 information and be shortchanged because we did not have all the data necessary. He talked about the risks of not doing this and stated that he would not recommend omitting this. Mayor Rhodes asked if it would be appropriate when negotiating the contract to separate the various phases. Mr. George Oswald, Camp, Dresser & McKee, stated that the City has to move forward now with the part 1 permit application which is due May 18. He stated that the wet weather sampling does not have to begin immediately, but it does have to be completed by May, 1993. He stated that there are no numerical requirements in the regulations; it is a negotiated process; but the wet weather testing is the critical piece of information to negotiate what the City will have to do in the future to limit pollutants. In regard to the storm water utility, he stated that the regulations do mandate that the City must identify a source of funding to support the implementation of the program. Mr. Oswald responded to questions from the Council and stated that it is in the City's best interest to develop a region specific data base on storm water quality for negotiation of those permit terms. He presented justification for the storm water utility feasibility study. Following more discussion, Mayor Pro Tem Galindo stated that this requirement is not going to disappear and recommended that the Council support the recommendation. Mr. J. E. O'Brien, 4130 Pompano, expressed concern that this item is on the agenda after it was defeated last week. He noted that the regulations might be put into abeyance and urged the Council to consider very strongly how they will vote on this issue. Ms. Carlene Gunter expressed opposition to the federal regulations being forced on cities. City Secretary Chapa polled the Council for their votes and the following motion passed: 9. M92-022 Motion authorizing the City Manager or his designee to negotiate a contract with Camp, Dresser & McKee (CDM) for professional services related to storm water management, including: conducting a wet weather sampling program, developing a public education program and performing a feasibility study for establishing a storm water utility. The foregoing motion passed by the following vote: Rhodes, Guerrero, Galindo, Longoria, Martin and Moss voting, "Aye"; McComb, McNichols and Slavik voting, "No." Council Member Martin declared that he will not vote for the items in the contract dealing with the storm water utility feasibility study and the public education program. Minutes Regular Council Meeting January 28, 1992 Page 10 Mayor Rhodes called for the City Manager's report and there was no report. Mayor Rhodes called for Council liaison reports. Council Member Martin inquired when recycling will start, and City Manager Garza stated that it will begin in February but he will check on the exact date. Mr. Martin commented about public education and expressed concern that he has not seen any information about recycling. Mr. Martin referred to an audit letter and asked if it is a new version of the management letter, and City Manager Garza reported on the audit letter and stated it was delivered a couple of weeks ago, but was dated October 28 which is when they completed their field work in the audit. Mr. Martin asked for an answer on alternative uses for the Land Mass Funds that were set aside in the Insurance Fund. Council Member Slavik asked for a full report on the floor problem at the Ethel Eyerly and Lindale Senior Centers. City Manager Garza stated that the floor replacement is not at the City's cost, it is at the contractor's cost. Mrs. Slavik commented in regard to the emergency home repair program and asked staff to look into reducing the waiting period to six months. Council Member Moss asked about a street access into Parkdale Library, and City Manager Garza stated that the project was dismissed at the direction of the Council. He stated that the library has the same access to the easement through the parking lot. Mr. Moss asked if that could be paved and if a lien could be put on the property. Mayor Pro Tem Galindo interjected that he would like the following streets paved also: Baldwin, Ayers, Staples, Buford, Craig, etc. Council Member McNichols spoke about the inadequate storm water drainage situation and requested staff to be particularly responsive during these times when the City is having unusual rain events, and City Manager Garza reported that the storm drainage crews have been called out in several of the storms to clear up areas where there is blockage. Council Member McComb complimented the new agenda format, and the majority of the Council concurred. Mr. McComb commended Deputy City Manager Garza on his new position as Executive Director of the Water Commission. Council Member Guerrero commented about the water drainage problem on Corpus Christi Beach. Minutes Regular Council Meeting January 28, 1992 Page 11 Council Member Longoria referred to a letter in the Council packet dealing with the administrative staff at the Fire Department and requested a report on this matter. Mrs. Longoria referred to the annual report from the Animal Control Advisory Committee and stated that Item #7 makes note of the fact that violators of ordinances pertaining to animal control are not held accountable in municipal courts. She asked that a follow-up be done on this matter. The Council went into closed session pursuant to Article 6252-17, Section 2(e), V.A.C.S., regarding (1) Voting Rights Lawsuit, Alonzo et al v. City, and (2) Southwestern Bell franchise. Mayor Rhodes reconvened the Council Meeting and called for petitions from the audience on matters not scheduled on the agenda. Mr. Frederico Martinez, 1155 Kaler, a former City Animal Control employee, spoke on the subject of his termination. City Manager Garza advised him to go to the Personnel Department and request to see when he is scheduled for a hearing before the Civil Service Commission. Mr. Martinez stated that he had already done that but they would not give him a date for the hearing, and Mr. Garza stated that he will look into this matter. Ms. Carlene Gunter raised questions about City -related items, such as concession at the coliseum, snack shack on the T -head, clock needed on the east front of the school administrative building, algae growing on the new arts center building, and an egg roll participation to help raise money for schools. Mr. Ron Hudson, 3556 Austin, presented maps to the Council and commented in regard to land at Parkdale Plaza. There being no further business to come before the Council, Mayor Rhodes declared the Council Meeting adjourned at 5:45 p.m. on January 28, 1992. I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of the City of Corpus Christi of January 28, 1992, which were approved by the City Council on February 4, 1992. WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, this the 14th day of February, 1992. Armando Chapa City Secretary