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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 09/08/1998 - JointI HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Joint Meeting of the Corpus Christi City Council and the Crime Control and Prevention District Board of Directors of September 8, 1998, which were approved by the City Council on September 15, 1998. WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, this 15th day of September, 1998. Armando Chapa City Secretary SEAL MINUTES JOINT MEETING OF THE CORPUS CHRISTI CITY COUNCIL AND CRIME CONTROL AND PREVENTION DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS September 8, 1998 12:10 p.m. CITY COUNCIL Mayor Samuel L. Neal Jr. Javier D. Colmenero Alex L. Garcia Jr.* Dr. Arnold Gonzales Betty Jean Longoria John Longoria Dr. David McNichols* ABSENT Mayor Pro Tem Edward Martin Melody Cooper Terry Baiamonte (Crime Control District) Mike Hummel (Crime Control District) Dr. Sandra L. Lerma (Crime Control District) Arthur Serrano Jr. (Crime Control District) CRIME CONTROL DISTRICT BOARD Rose Vela, Chairperson Leon Loeb, Vice Chairperson Jeanette Cantu Bazar Rex Kinnison Isaac Valencia City Staff Present City Manager David R. Garcia City Attorney James R. Bray Jr. City Secretary Armando Chapa Assistant City Secretary Mary Juarez Police Chief Pete Alvarez Acting Finance Director Michael Harty Mayor Neal called the meeting to order in the Basement Training Room of City Hall. Assistant City Secretary Juarez called the roll and verified that a quorum was present to conduct the meeting. Ms. Vela called the roll of the Board of Directors of the Corpus Christi Crime Control and Prevention District and she verified that a quorum of the Board was present. Ms. Vela said the Board has been meeting monthly, and she noted that the Council members had been given an update on the district's projects, including the school/police partnership program, the juvenile truancy and assessment center, and the Citizen's Advisory Council (community policing program). Ms. Bazar, Chairperson of the School/Police Partnership Committee, distributed a proposal to allocate crime prevention funds for that program based on elementary school free and reduced lunch rates in the school districts of Calallen, Corpus Christi, Flour Bluff, Tuloso-Midway, and West Oso. She said the program would not only provide increased campus security but it would also allow police officers to be seen as role models on the school campuses. Ms. Bazar, Ms. Vela, and Chief Alvarez further described how the formula for the distribution of funds was developed, and they noted that the superintendents had supported the proposal. *Council Member Garcia arrived at 12:20 p.m. Minutes Joint Meeting September 8, 1998 Page 2 Following further discussion, Council Member John Longoria made a motion to direct the Crime Control Board to ask the school district trustees of each independent school district to pass a resolution approving the allocation of crime prevention funds as recommended by the Crime Control Board. Council Member Betty Jean Longoria seconded the motion, and it passed (Cooper, Martin, and McNichols absent). Responding to Council members' questions, Ms. Vela read from a draft letter to the school districts notifying them of the types of expenditures they can make with crime prevention funds. City Attorney Bray pointed out that the letter refers to an interlocal agreement that will need to be developed. Mr. Longoria suggested that rather than ask the school boards to pass a resolution, they could send the school boards the interlocal agreements, which will contain the allocation formula. Mayor Neal commented on the need to move quickly on this issue, and Ms. Vela said the Board will work with city staff in preparing the interlocal agreements. She added that the districts will receive the funds on a reimbursement basis and they will be required to report back to the Crime Control Board. In response to a question about the crime control district's funding, Mr. Harty said that as of July 315' there is an unreserved balance of $802,926, which represents three months of sales tax and 11/2 months of interest earnings. He said that figure is approximately $79,000 below the estimate for the first three months. He said the State Comptroller's Office advised them that it is difficult to estimate the revenues for the first six to nine months of a new initiative such as the crime control district. Mr. Loeb, Chairman of the Citizen Advisory Council Committee, said there have been several discussions regarding the boundaries that should be used in forming the Citizen Advisory Councils. It was finally determined that the boundaries should be based on the high school attendance zones with the further subdivision of Flour Bluff into the Padre Island and Flour Bluff districts. *Council Member McNichols arrived at 12:32 p.m. Mr. Loeb said they are now developing a job description for the position that will be created to staff the Citizen Advisory Council program; that person will work in the Community Relations Division of the Police Department. He said they have not yet determined how that position will be funded. Chief Alvarez explained that once the additional police officers are hired, eight of them will be assigned to address the concems of the citizens from the 16 Citizen Advisory Councils that will be formed. Additionally, three people from each council will be elected to meet with Police personnel. He said the structure of that program will include the Neighbors on Watch program which Minutes Joint Meeting September 8, 1998 Page 3 consists of dedicated citizens concerned about crime prevention and control. A brief discussion ensued. Ms. Vela said that Mr. Hummel, who was not able to attend the meeting, is the Chairman of the Street Lighting Committee. She explained that the committee members have been meeting with the City Traffic Engineer and CPL representatives regarding the street lighting issue. She said $50,000 has been allocated in the district's budget for street lighting and the Police Department has identified 42 sites as having a high priority. The Council members and Board members discussed the importance of enhanced street lighting in diminishing crime rates and vandalism, and they commented on the need to quickly proceed with this issue as well. Mayor Neal suggested that when an area's street lighting is improved, citizens should be made aware through a sign or other means that that project represents their crime control dollars at work. Mr. Loeb suggested that the city verify that CPL is relamping city street lights as per the required schedule. Ms. Vela said Ms. Baiamonte could not attend the meeting but she would report on the efforts of the Juvenile Truancy and Assessment Center Committee, which Ms. Baiamonte chairs. She said the Board members approved the development of a request for proposals to create the juvenile truancy center, which she explained. She said there is approximately $555,000 budgeted for the center and the plan calls for looking at existing facilities and agencies rather than trying to construct a new facility from the ground up. Chief Alvarez added that the RFP will state that the center will have to be centrally located. Council Member McNichols commented that the Crime Control Board should have some target, such as April 1999 (one year after the sales tax began to be collected) to provide the public with an update on progress that has been made on the five-year crime control plan. Other members agreed, adding that there are other opportunities to publicize the district's progress, such as the street lighting and school/police partnership programs. There being no further business, Mayor Neal adjourned the meeting at 1:10 p.m. * * * * * * * * * * * * *