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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 01/16/2003 - JointI HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Joint Council Meeting of the City of Corpus Christi of January 16, 2003, which were approved by the City Council on January 28, 2003. WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, this 28'h day of January 2003. Armando Chapa City Secretary SEAL MINUTES JOINT MEETING OF THE CORPUS CHRISTI CITY COUNCIL AND NUECES COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT January 16, 2003 - 3:10 p.m. CITY COUNCIL Mayor Samuel L. Neal Jr. Mayor Pro Tem Javier Colmenero Brent Chesney Henry Garrett Bill Kelly Rex Kinnison John Longoria Jesse Noyola Mark Scott COMMISSIONERS COURT County Judge Terry Shamsie Chuck Cazalas Betty Jean Longoria Oscar Ortiz Frank Schwing City Staff Present City Manager David R. Garcia Deputy City Manager George Noe City Secretary Armando Chapa City Attorney James R. Bray Jr. Recording Secretary Rachelle Parry Mayor Neal called the meeting to order in the Watergarden Room of the 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 to conduct the meeting. Judge Shamsie also verified that there was a quorum of the Commissioners Court. Both the Mayor and the County Judge asked the respective staff members of the city and county to introduce themselves. City Manager Garcia introduced a computer presentation regarding enhanced services through shared opportunities. He said there are many issues that necessitate coordination between the city and county because of mandates by the Texas Legislature, requirements of existing contracts, and recent changes such as annexation. Mr. Garcia said the areas of common interest are: public safety/courts - county jail services, crossing guards/child safety, MetroCom, fire services; development/environmental -dune protection, platting, transportation planning (i.e., Metropolitan Planning Organization); quality of life - library and beach services; fiscal -cooperative purchasing, resource sharing, service delivery partnerships. Regarding joint legislative issues, Mr. Tom Utter, Special Assistant to the City Manager, said that of the approximately 6,000 bills that will be introduced during the 2003 legislative session, about 2,500 will affect the city, the county or both. He then reviewed issues that may be of interest to both entities. Responding to Council Member Noyola, Mr. Utter said the city's legislative position is to oppose broadening the existing collective bargaining statutes. Judge Shamsie also asked about the child safety registration fee legislative issue. (The city supports legislation to amend the current law to increase the optional vehicle registration fee for child safety from $1.50 to $3.00 and to allow cities to impose the fee.) Mr. Utter said there would be either the optional county fee or the optional city fee but not both. Mr. Garcia said if that legislation passes, the city will have the authority to impose the tax directly and have it collected by Minutes - City/County Joint Meeting January 16, 2003 - Page 2 the county, which would be paid an administrative fee for that service. A discussion ensued regarding the child safety registration fee, including whether it could be used to pay for crossing guards for parochial schools, current costs of the city's crossing guard program, and possible revenues generated by the fee. Judge Shamsie asked Commissioner Ortiz and Mr. Steve Waterman, Executive Assistant, to represent the county on a committee to study that issue and bring back a recommendation in 10 days. Mayor Neal asked Council Member Kelly and Assistant City Manager Jorge Cruz-Aedo to serve as the city's representatives on that committee. Commissioner Schwing asked Mayor Neal to read a letter from him to the Mayor and City Council dated January 14, 2003, regarding the historic Nueces County Courthouse. Acknowledging in his letter that the deteriorating building has been a source of contention , Mr. Schwing discussed the concept of the South Texas Exploratorium. He said in order for that project to succeed, Nueces County will need the City of Corpus Christi to accept a substantive role, including pledging its cooperation in the exercise of its code enforcement responsibilities. Mr. Schwing also stated in his letter that he hopes the city will assist the county in its pursuit of grant monies and pledge to participate financially. Mayor Neal asked about the grant deadline imposed upon the old courthouse. Mr. Tyner Little, Executive Assistant, said the courthouse committee of the Texas Historical Commission will meet in San Antonio on January 30th, at which time they will make a decision about a $1.9 million grant. He also discussed other aspects of the courthouse project. Mr. Schwing said the county needs a pledge of about $200,000 in case the bonds do not sell for the amount they anticipate. Ms. Brooke Sween -McGloin, a local architect who is actively involved with the courthouse project, responded to additional questions from the Council members and Commissioners. Mayor Neal asked Ms. Sween -McGloin to give the Council a presentation about the courthouse on January 21, 2003. Mayor Neal said the next issue to consider was platting procedures for areas of extra- territorial jurisdiction (ETJ). Mr. Utter explained that several years ago the state legislature approved a statute requiring cities and counties to decide who controls the platting process outside the city limits. He said many cities and counties have decided that inside the ETJ (but outside the city limits), the city takes the lead in platting while the county has the opportunity to attend the platting session and outside the ETJ, the opposite occurs. He said the City of Corpus Christi and Nueces County should decide how they will address this issue before the state imposes its own process. Responding to Council Member Kelly, Mr. Garcia said there is no cost to the city in this process. He said the issue is whose platting and subdivision requirements will be imposed on developers within the ETJ. He said the city's requirements are much more strict than the county's requirements. Mayor Neal suggested that city staff meet with Commissioners Ortiz and Longoria on the platting issue. Mayor Neal said another issue of interest was dune protection authority. Mr. Utter said that in order to develop on a barrier island, a developer generally needs a beachfront construction permit and a dune protection permit. He said that under state law, dune protection is the responsibility of counties, which can in turn delegate that responsibility to cities. In Nueces County, there are two cities located on the barrier island (Port Aransas and Corpus Christi). He said that Port Aransas received dune delegation authority in 1993 and the City of Corpus Christi has requested the same Minutes - City/County Joint Meeting January 16, 2003 - Page 3 authority from the county. Council Member Scott said he has had several conversations with developers regarding the need to simplify the process within the Corpus Christi city limits. Dr. Jennifer Smith, Chairperson of the Nueces County Beach Management Advisory Committee, said that citizen input is very important in determining how Mustang and Padre Islands will be developed. She said a separate citizens' advisory committee should be created to specifically address the dune permitting issue because the requirements are extremely complex. A discussion ensued regarding barrier island development and related bureaucratic issues. Judge Shamsie said he and Commissioner Cazalas will work on the dune protection issue and Mayor Neal said that Council Members Scott, Garrett and Chesney and Dr. Smith should also be involved in those discussions. Mr. Chesney asked if the city and county could investigate ways to share administrative costs on their health insurance plans so as to lower their costs and provide better coverage. Mayor Neal said there are vast differences between the two health care plans, including negotiated plans for the city's fire and police unions. Mr. Noyola asked about joint purchasing possibilities. Judge Shamsie said they can discuss that issue in the future. With regard to the county jail, Judge Shamsie said there is a problem with follow-up reports not being provided by city police officers for some of the jail inmates, which creates a backlog. Police Chief Pete Alvarez described the process that is followed, saying that sometimes the lab tests for drug-related arrests are delayed. Council Member Garrett commented on the number of city employees who are working at the jail. Additional discussion followed and Judge Shamsie said he and City Manager Garcia can further explore the jail issue. Mr. Kelly raised the issue of the rural fire districts (RFD) in the northwest and Flour Bluff, saying that citizens there are paying double taxation for fire service. Mr. Scott pointed out that the citizens in those areas voted to create the fire districts. Mr. Garcia said that city staff, including Fire Department staff, recommended against them. First Assistant City Attorney Jay Reining said the RFD in the northwest cannot be dissolved and he doubts there is any action the county could take either. Assistant Fire Chief Richard Hooks described problems that have arisen as a result of the rural fire district in the northwest. Mr. Kelly also noted that there are road projects underway in the northwest and he asked if ditches can be developed in conjunction with those projects to improve drainage. Mr. Angel Escobar, Director of Engineering Services, said staff is developing a master plan which will include the location of potential sites for drainage outfalls. Mayor Neal thanked the County Judge, Council members and Commissioners for their participation and said additional joint meetings will follow. Judge Shamsie said they will do what they can to make the right decisions for all citizens. There being no further business to come before the Council, Mayor Neal adjourned the joint meeting at 5:38 p.m. on January 16, 2003.