HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 11/18/2002 - WorkshopI HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the City
Council Workshop of the City of Corpus Christi of November 18, 2002, which were approved by
the City Council on December 10, 2002.
WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, this 10°i day of December 2002.
Armando Chapa
City Secretary
SEAL
MINUTES
CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS
City Council Workshop
November 18, 2002 - 1:34 p.m.
PRESENT
Mayor Samuel L. Neal Jr.
Council Members:
Brent Chesney
Henry Garrett
Bill Kelly
Rex A. Kinnison
John Longoria
Jesse Noyola
Mark Scott
ABSENT
Mayor Pro Tem Javier D. Colmenero
City Staff:
City Manager David R. Garcia
City Secretary Armando Chapa
First Assistant City Attorney Jay Reining
Recording Secretary Rachelle Parry
Mayor Neal called the workshop to order in the Water Garden Room of the Corpus Christi
Museum of Science and History. City Secretary Chapa checked the roll and verified that the
necessary quorum of the Council and the required charter officers were present.
City Manager Garcia said the purpose of the workshop was to prepare the Council on
upcoming decisions regarding the level of protection (LOP) policy and funding of stormwater
programs He noted that the stormwater system is primarily provided by the private sector because
every home and business that is built is required to have such a system. He said the city provides the
backbone of the system through major drainage ways. Mr. Garcia showed a list of the series of
meetings that have been held to solicit public input on the stormwater protection system.
Ms. Valerie Gray, Stormwater Superintendent, described the existing system, which includes
several hundred miles of major and minor drainage ditches, underground storm pipe, and curbs and
gutters. In addition, there are hundreds of acres of drainage and street right-of-way mowing;
thousands of storm inlets and manholes; as well as pump stations, storm gates, storm surge
protection levee gates and bridges. She discussed the diverse characteristics of the different areas of
the stormwater system, including downtown and older developed areas, southside, northwest and
Flour Bluff/Padre Island.
Ms. Gray explained that the area's topography is very flat which limits natural drainage. She
said the system was built incrementally over more than 100 years and a significant portion of it was
constructed by private developers following various standards. Consequently, it lacks a
comprehensive set of adopted level -of -protection standards.
Mr. Angel Escobar, Director of Engineering Services, then discussed the stormwater master
plan, the purpose of which is to serve as a planning tool for existing and new development. In
addition, it will provide guidance for the LOP policies and other stormwater standards. He said the
plan will address the size and direction of stormwater flows as well as design parameters.
Minutes - City Council Workshop
November 18, 2002 - Page 2
Mr. Escobar also explained the entities contributing to the master plan process: policymakers
- Council, Planning Commission and Stormwater Management Advisory Committee; community -
interested citizens, Technical Advisory Group, neighborhood associations, development community,
environmental interests, local engineers and state and federal agencies; city staff - Stormwater,
Engineering Services, Planning and Development, Park and Recreation, and Legal; and the
consultant team - Goldston Engineering, Dodson & Associates, TerraPoint, LLC, and the Rodman
Company.
The Engineering Director said the master plan is intended to evaluate the existing system
design standards and recommend new ones; recommend new stormwater management policies;
develop a design criteria manual; provide city-wide LIDAR elevation contour maps; and provide a
city-wide master plan and hydraulic modeling of major stream miles. He said the plan is scheduled
to be completed in August 2003.
Mr. Escobar said the policy issues to be addressed include level of protection (flood
protection, drainage, and city/developer participation), maintenance, water quality and quality of life.
Responding to Council Member Scott, Ms. Gray said the city's permit currently does not require
treatment of stormwater runoff. She said they are operating under the current permit and have
applied for a new one.
Mr. Escobar then discussed level of protection, which is the depth and/or the spread of
stormwater accepted by the community given a storm event of a certain frequency, duration and
intensity. For example, on October 24, 2002, when the tornados struck Corpus Christi and torrential
downpours occurred, the rain gauges in the downtown area measured 6%z inches in less than three
hours, which categorized it as a 100 -year storm event. Assistant City Manager Ron Massey pointed
out that the official rainfall level at the airport on that date was less than 2 inches.
Mr. Escobar said that currently the LOP for residential streets in the city is that ponding of
water is allowed to the back of the walk in a five-year design storm and ponding into yards in a 100 -
year storm. The proposed design standard is to allow ponding only to the back of the curb in a five-
year design storm and to ensure that the finished floor of structures is a minimum of 18 inches above
the top of the curb. He said that currently homes are between 12-13 inches above the curb top.
A discussion ensued about how improved LOPs would affect different areas of the city. Mr.
Massey said a drainage project could be constructed in a high-priority area without waiting to include
it with a particular street project. Responding to Council Member Noyola, Mr. Escobar noted that
even if the number of inlets are increased, the size of the drainage outfall areas (such as Oso Creek)
are a factor in drainage.
Mr. Escobar said the proposed design standard for collector streets is to keep a minimum of
one traffic lane open in each direction. For arterial streets, the proposed standard is to limit ponding
to the outside lanes in a 25 -year design storm. With regard to major ditches, the current standard in
the city is a 25 -year storm while the proposed standard is a 100 -year storm. In order to not overload
Oso Creek too quickly, Mr. Escobar said retention ponds can be created. He also compared Corpus
Christi's proposed levels of protection with those in other cities.
Minutes - City Council Workshop
November 18, 2002 - Page 3
Mr. Escobar said staff asked the consultants to determine the cost impact of the proposed
standards. Using a hypothetical 16.4 -acre subdivision, the cost of drainage improvements per lot
would be as follows: current practice - $540 for 120 lots (4,500 square feet) and $925 for 70 lots
(7,800 square feet); proposed standard - $1,330 for the smaller lots and $2,280 for the larger lots.
The difference between the two standards is $790 for the smaller lots and $1,355 for the larger lots.
The subdivision development cost for stormwater infrastructure in the hypothetical subdivision is
$64,630 under the current practice and $158,480 under the proposed standard, for a difference of
$93,850. Factors contributing to the extra cost are more drainage inlets, more underground pipe and
higher building slabs. Mr. Escobar also discussed costs in the existing subdivisions of Casa Blanca
Estates, The Lakes -Unit 10, and Northwest Crossing.
Mr. Escobar then referred to three scenarios of off-site participation: Scenario #1 is the
current practice with a five-year pilot ditch. The current practice encourages minimal infrastructure
development, discourages new development, and burdens the city's capital improvement program
(CIP) for future expansion. He used the example of Northwest Crossing, which consists of 100 acres
and 180 lots. The cost per lot is $6,320 and the project cost is $1,137,175 with no costs picked up
by the city. Responding to Council Member Chesney, Mr. Escobar discussed the difference between
collector ditches and major ditches.
He said that Scenario #2 is the current practice with an upgrade to a 25 -year channel. Using
the example of the Northwest sub -basin (1,300 acres and 2,340 lots), the developer would not share
in the cost while the city's costs would be $445 per lot and $1,037,360 for the whole project. The
factors in this scenario are that the cost is shared by the entire community as the project competes
for CIP funding. However, those factors make the project's completion uncertain.
Mr. Escobar said that Scenario #3 is the proposed policy with 25 -year and 100 -year channels
whereby both the developer and the city share the costs. In the Northwest sub -basin, the developer's
cost for 180 lots in Northwest Crossing would be $1,205 per lot and $216,900 for the project, and
the city's cost for 2,160 lots would be $1,205 per lot and $2,602,800 for the project, for total costs
of $1,205 per lot and $2,819,000 for the project. The proposed policy distributes the cost burden
equitably; increases the flood protection; avoids a build-up of CIP projects; fosters in -fill
development; and increases infrastructure costs by 30%. Staff also outlined the costs to retrofit the
Crossgate Subdivision. A brief discussion ensued.
Mr. Escobar outlined the recommendations of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for city -
developer participation (subject to the availability of funding): the developer is responsible for the
construction of on-site minor, collector and major system improvements; reimburse on-site major
system improvements; reimburse off-site right-of-way dedication; reimburse off-site construction
cost of over -sized minor and collector system improvements as well as major system improvements;
and promote orderly growth (planning, design, acquisition and construction) of collector and major
system improvements.
Council Member Kinnison asked how this reimbursement policy compares to other cities.
Mr. Ron Dodson, of Dodson & Associates, said the trend in stormwater funding is to try to match
the cost to the services being provided, and those reimbursements are a good example of that. He
said some cities have had these policies in place for many years while others are adopting them.
Minutes - City Council Workshop
November 18, 2002 - Page 4
Responding to Mayor Neal, Mr. Escobar discussed the platting fees and processes and he
reviewed the master plan time line. The Mayor then called for a brief recess.
When the meeting was reconvened, Mr. Mark McDaniel, Director of Management and
Budget, discussed the stormwater funding needs. He said the existing stormwater CIP projects total
$85.2 million, of which $68 million is in the long-range CIP (years 4-10). He noted that they are
based upon existing policies and standards and are not all-inclusive. In addition, city/developer
participation in new development is pending.
Mr. McDaniel said there are different funding approaches to consider. He said the Council
could continue funding stormwater costs through the combined utilities (water fund). He said staff
will be presenting the Council with the proposed CIP and capital budget at their regular meeting on
November 19, 2002. He said staff added $5 million per year to the short-range CIP, which equates
to a 0.5% increase in FY2002-03. He said an additional 1% rate increase would yield $790,815 per
year in revenues and $9.9 million in capital improvement project capacity in FY2004. He added that
the rate model reflects $5 million every year, which will be $55 million at the end of 11 years.
The Budget Director said another possible funding approach is a new utility fee which would
fund capital improvements only. He said the fee of $1 per customer per month would generate
$912,876 per year in revenue and $10.5 million in bonding capacity. Mayor Neal said the $1 fee
would remain in place for 20 years no matter what happens to the rates in the future. Mr. McDaniel
said other funding approaches are general obligation bonds (2004 and beyond), drainage district,
impact fee program or a combined approach.
Mr. Chesney asked how the funding would apply to specific projects and Mr. McDaniel said
the $5 million per year would have to be prioritized among different projects. Mr. Chesney also
asked about the relationship between the seawall reconstruction and the need to improve drainage
in the downtown area, which Mr. Escobar explained.
Mr. McDaniel also showed lists of cities which utilize drainage fees and drainage districts;
a brief discussion ensued. Mr. Kinnison and Mr. Scott asked about the rate model which Mr.
McDaniel discussed. Mr. Garcia said that for the last two years, Mr. McDaniel, Mr. Escobar and Mr.
Mario Tapia, Assistant Budget Director, have been examining each capital improvement project in
order to provide much more detailed information for the utility rate model. There was a discussion
of specific CIP projects using the proposed CIP document. Mayor Neal asked about alternative
funding options. Mr. Garcia said there has been a discussion about separating the Stormwater
Department from the Water Department.
Mr. Kinnison asked what would have happened if millions of dollars of drainage
improvements were made downtown and a rain event occurred similar to October 24 (a 100 -year
storm). Mr. Garcia said the flooding would not have been as severe nor would the water have stayed
as long. Ms. Gray referred to the 1998 drainage study which identified downtown areas that are
prone to flooding for many reasons. There was additional discussion about the downtown flooding.
Mr. Massey said the next steps are the adoption of the capital budget and long-range CIP in
December 2002; completion of the stormwater master plan in August 2003; adoption of stormwater
Minutes - City Council Workshop
November 18, 2002 - Page 5
policies in January 2003 (including level of protection and city/developer participation); and
additional consideration of funding options. Council members and staff discussed revenues that
would be generated by different rate increases. Mr. McDaniel pointed out that the rate increases
alone cannot fund all the stormwater needs. Mr. Garcia reiterated that staff will be coming back to
the Council with recommendations in early 2003.
Mayor Neal asked staff to provide funding options if the Council opted to do an additional
$20 million in stormwater improvements starting next year. Mr. Kinnison asked staff to also indicate
how that would affect the General Fund over the next few years and the proposed Bond 2004
program.
Following additional discussion, the Mayor said he believes the majority of the Council are
asking for ways to address the city's stormwater issues. He said while they cannot solve all the
drainage problems, they are one more major rain event away from experiencing huge losses of
property and some of those areas are already on the CIP list.
Mr. Escobar introduced the consultants and Mayor Neal thanked the Stormwater
Management Advisory Committee members who attended the workshop. There being no further
business to come before the Council, the Mayor adjourned the workshop at 4:30 p.m. on November
18, 2002.
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