HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 06/21/2017 - Workshop 6§6.13:
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I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Workshop
Meeting of the Corpus Christi City Council of June 21, 2017 which were approved by the City
Council on July 11, 2017.
WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, on this the 11th day of July, 2017.
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Re ecca Huerta
City Secretary
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Corpus Christi 1201 Leopard Street
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Meeting Minutes
,1
City Council Workshop Session
Wednesday,June 21,2017 3:00 PM Basement Training Room
1201 Leopard Street
THE USE OF CELLULAR PHONES AND SOUND ACTIVATED PAGERS ARE
PROHIBITED IN THE TRAINING ROOM DURING MEETINGS OF THE CITY
COUNCIL.
A. Mayor Joe McComb to call the meeting to order.
Mayor McComb called the meeting to order at 3:02 p.m.
B. City Secretary Rebecca L. Huerta to call the roll of the required Charter Officers.
City Secretary Rebecca L.Huerta called the roll and verified that a quorum of
the City Council and the required Charter Officers were present to conduct the
meeting.
Charter Officers:
City Manager Margie C.Rose,City Attorney Miles Risley,and
City Secretary Rebecca L.Huerta.
Present 7- Mayor Joe McComb,Council Member Rudy Garza Jr.,Council Member
Paulette Guajardo,Council Member Michael Hunter, Council Member Ben
Molina, Council Member Greg Smith,and Council Member Carolyn
Vaughn
Absent 1 - Council Member Lucy Rubio
Note: Council Member Guajardo arrived at 3:04 p.m. Council Member Vaughn
arrived at 3:06 p.m.
C. BRIEFINGS TO CITY COUNCIL:
1. Strategic Plan for Active Mobility (Phase 1: Bicycle Mobility Plan)
and Water Utility Rate Update
Mayor McComb referred to Item 1.City Manager Margie C.Rose provided
opening remarks regarding the Strategic Plan for Active Mobility(Phase 1:
Bicycle Mobility Plan)and the Water Utility Rate Update.
Director of the Corpus Christi Metropolitan Planning Organization Jeff Pollack,
presented information on the following topics: key destinations;planning
outreach; network vetting and refinement;CoastalBendlnMotion.org;
infrastructure type and network miles;demand analysis;infrastructure
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City Council Workshop Session Meeting Minutes June 21,2017
prescription by segment;facility selection;bike boulevards;one-way cycle
track,both sides(unconstrained and constrained rights-of-way);specialized
intervention crossings;infrastructure design/maintenance standards;
custom/local engineering standard details;and a summary.
Council members,Mr.Pollack and staff discussed the following topics: air
quality regulations;local air attainment requirements;and the pros and cons of
on-and off-street bicycle lanes.
Assistant City Manager Mark Van Vleck presented information on the following
topics: rate review schedule;water system components;and assumptions.
Assistant Director of Support Services for Utilities Treatment Reba George
presented information on the following topics: inside-city-limits water rate
options;water rate sample bills at various levels of monthly water usage;
inside-city-limits wastewater rate options;the pros and cons of the following
wastewater fee options: winter quarter averaging,flat use fee,and tiered
actual water usage;and that staff recommends moving from winter quarter
averaging to the tiered actual water usage option.
Council members and staff discussed the following topics: the median versus
mean water usage in gallons;the effect of increasing rates;higher-volume
residential users'water use does not change during the year or as a result of
rate increases;average wastewater use in gallons;modifying the number of
gallons of water associated with the minimum charge;that the rate options
presented are revenue neutral;rates being higher for higher-volume users or
lower-volume users under different water rate options presented;the
frequency with which the City makes rate adjustments;water system
improvements;revenue from outside-city-limits customers;that industry
represents approximately 50%of demand for water furnished by the City;
industry demand is outside-city-limits and does not,therefore,have a
stormwater fee component;treated versus raw water sales;that water system
improvement costs are factored into the treated water rate charged to
outside-city-limits users;rounding the dollar amount of rates versus
to-the-penny;and contractual limitations relating to rounding of rates.
MOTION OF DIRECTION
Council Member Vaughn made a motion directing the City Manager to round
up water and wastewater rates where possible,seconded by Council Member
Hunter and passed unanimously(Council Member Rubio-Absent).
Council members and staff discussed the following additional topics: the rate
cap associated with 25,000 gallons of monthly water usage;verifying the
accuracy of the calculations in the rate options presented;combining the
various cost components of water on utility bills;historical water sales trends;
the aggregate increase in revenue resulting from the water rate option
recommended by staff;that City employee health benefit costs and Step salary
increases are factored into the water rates presented;whether private industry
employees are receiving salary increases;City employee health insurance
premiums proposed to take effect October 1,2017 versus premiums paid by
employees in private industry;concerns about including Step increases in the
FY 2018 proposed city budget;concern about the effect of water rate increases
on higher-volume users;higher-volume users having more resources to pay
for an increase in water rates than lower-volume users;not wanting to increase
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rates for low-/fixed-income users;the financial impact of rounding up water
and wastewater rates;the$13.35 million to be added to Wastewater Operating
annually for'pay-as-you-go'Collection System Repair and Replacement
Program;the impact of water rates on the Capital Improvement Program(CIP);
eliminating winter averaging;Step increases in City employee pay being tied to
certifications/licensure versus being an annual pay increase;the purpose of
Step increases in pay being to correct pay inequity in order to ensure tenured
City staff,many of whom may not have received a raise over many years,are
not paid less than new staff who may have to be paid more due to the rising
cost of wages in general;raising raw water rates five cents per 1,000 gallons;
that raw water rates are calculated by contractually defined formulas;the
impact of holding water rates as they are;and resolving water-related issues.
D. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 5:04 p.m.
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