Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packet City Council - 04/12/2005 (SP2)Note: A reception for outgoing Mayor Loyd Neal will be held in the City Hall 6th Floor Conference Room immediately after this Special Council meeting. A. B. C. D. E. AGFNDA CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING CITY HALL - COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1201 LEOPARD APRIL 12, 2005 11:00 A.M. Mayor Samuel L. Neal, Jr. to call the meeting to order. Presentation of the Colors by the Corpus Christi Police Honor Guard. National Anthem to be sung by Andrew Moore. Pledge of .adleglance to the Flag of the United States led by Mayor Samuel L. Neal, Jr. Invocation to be given by The Most Reverend Edmond Carmody, D.D., Bishop of Corpus Christi. Mayor Samuel L. Neal, Jr. Mayor Pro Tern Bill Kelly Council Members: Brent Chesney Javier Colmenero Melody Cooper Henry Garrett Rex Kinnison Jesse Noyola Mark Scott G. 1. H. 2. Poeting of the Colors by the Corpus Christi Honor Guard. City Secretary Armando Chapa to call the roll of the required Charter Officers. City Manager George K. Noe City Attorney Mary Kay Fischer City Secretary Armando Chapa MINUTES: Approval of Regular Council Meeting of March 29, 2005. (Attachment #1) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION ITEMS: Ordinance declaring the results of the General Election held on Apdl 2, 2005 in the City of Corpus Christi for the purpose of electing the Mayor and eight Council Members. (Attachment #2) Resolution commemorating the public service of Samuel L. Neal, Jr. as Mayor, 1997-2005. PRESENTATIONS: Outgoing Council Members speeches and presentations. Benediction to be given by Reverend J. Keith Wyatt, Senior Paster, First United Methodist Church. ADJOURNMENT. POSTING STATEMENT: This agenda was posted on the City~ official bulJ,etin board at the front entrance to City Hall, 1201LeopardStreet, at Il'..~..~ ~_~/p.m., ~J~ ~/~.~ ~ ,2005. Armando Chapa City Secretary 1 MINUTES CITY OF CORPUS CH1LISTI, TEXAS Regular Council Meeting March 29, 2005 - 10 a.m. PRESENT Mayor Samuel L. Neal Jr. Mayor Pro Tem Bill Kelly Council Members: Javier Colmenero Brent Chesney Melody Cooper Henry Gamett Rex Kinnison Jesse Noyola Mark Scott City Staff' City Manager George K. Noe City Attorney Mary Kay Fischer City Secretary Armando Chapa Mayor Neal called the meeting to order in the Council Chambers of City Hall. The invocation was delivered by Pastor Damon Relder with the Wesley United Methodist Church and the Pledge of Allegcance to the United States flag was led by Council Member Garrett. 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. Mayor Neal called for approval of the minutes of the regular Council meeting of March 22, 2005. A motion was made and passed to approve the minutes as presented. Mayor Neal called for consideration of the consent agenda (Items 2-12). There were no comments from the public. A motion was made and passed to approve Items 2 through 12, constituting the consent agenda. City Secretary Chapa polled the Council for their votes as follows: Minutes - Regular Council Meeting March 29, 2005 - Page 3 5.a. RESOLUTION NO. 026183 Resolution authorizing the City Manager or his designee to accept a grant in the amount of $69,538 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the purchase of industrial firefighting equipment and specialized mining. The foregoing resolution was passed and approved with the following vote: Neal, Chesney, Colmenero, Cooper, Garreth Kelly, Kinnison, Noyola and Scott, voting "Aye". 5.b. ORDINANCE NO. 026184 Ordinance appropriating $69,538 fi.om the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Assistance to Fimfighters Grant Program for industrial flrefighting equipment and specialized training in the No. 1062 Fire Grants Fund. An emergency was declared, and the foregoing ordinance was passed and approved with the following vote: Neal, Chesney, Colmenero, Cooper, Garrett, Kelly, Kinnison, Noyola and Scott, voting "Aye". 6.a. RESOLUTION NO. 026185 Resolution authorizing the City Manager or his designee to accept a Clean Cities Grant from the State Energy Conservation Office in the amount of $17,500 for development of a Clean Cities Program and related services. The foregoing resolution was passed and approved with the following vote: Neal, Chesney, Colmenero, Cooper, Gan-eth Kelly, Kinnison, Noyola and Scott, voting "Aye". 6.b. ORDINANCE NO. 026186 Ordinance appropriating $17,500 fi.om the State Energy Conservation Office in the No. 1071 Community Enrichment Grants Fund for development of a Clean Cities Program and related services. An emergency was declared, and the foregoing ordinance was passed and approved with the following vote: Neal, Chesney, Colmenero, Cooper, Garreth Kelly, Kimfison, Noyola and Scott, voting "Aye". Minutes - Regular Council Meeting March 29, 2005 - Page 5 10.b. ORDINANCE NO. 026187 Ordinance appropriating $61,683.50 from the Water Arterial Transmission and Grid Main Trust Fund No. 4030-540450 to pay developer reimbursement request for the installation of 1,090 linear feet of a 12-inch PVC water distribution grid main to develop Monte Verde at Terra Mar Unit 1. An emergency was declared, and the foregoing ordinance was passed and approved with the following vote: Neal, Chesney, Colmenero, Cooper, Garrett, Kelly, Kirmison, Noyola and Scott, voting "Aye". I 1. FIRST READING ORDINANCE Amending Section 10-86, Code of Ordinances, City of Corpus Christi, and the Corpus Christi, Texas, Dune Protection and Beach Access Regulations to adopt the City of Corpus Christi Beach User Fee Plan; increasing the beach parking permit fees; providing for penalties. The foregoing ordinance was passed and approved with the following vote: Neal, Chesney, Colmenero, Cooper, Garreth Kelly, Kinnison, Noyola and Scott, voting "Aye"_ 12. ORDINANCE NO. 026188 Approving the FY 2005 Capital Budget in the amount of $178,074,800. (First Reading - 3/22/05) The foregoing ordinance was passed and approved on its second reading with the following vote: Neal, Chesney, Colmenero, Cooper, Garrett, Kelly, Kinnison, Noyola and Scott, voting "Aye". Mayor Neal referred to the presentations on the day' s agenda. The first presentation was Item 13, an update on the 2005 Buc Days event. Buccaneer Commission Executive Director Barry Box stated the Buc Days celebration was in its 67~ consecutive year. He said the event was one of the largest and most established festivals south of San Antonio. In addition, the event had experienced double digit growth every year, and he expected this trend to continue. Mr. Box discussed the scholarship component of Buc Days. Traditionally, the Buccaneer Commission awarded a $20,000, four-year college scholarship to the winner of the Ms. Buc Days Pirate Queen contest_ This year, the Buc Commission decided to expand the program to disburse over $50,000 in scholarships, with the goal of reaching $100,000 in the next two to three years. He said t[ds goal could only be reached if the Buc Commission continued to attract sponsors. In addition to increasing the available scholarship funds, Mr. Box said other scholarship goals were to touch a broader base of reeipients and to include more colleges and universities. Mr. Box stated the chairman of the Scholarship Committee was Mr. Eddie Garcia_ Minutes - Regular Council Meeting March 29, 2005 - Page 7 Mr. Box stated Mr. Miles Graham was chairman of the parades this year_ The Jtmior Parade would be held on April 23, 2005, and would run along northbound Shoreline Boulevard to the coliseum_ The Illuminated Night Parade would take place on April 30, 2005 would have an abbreviated route this year due to the construction in the downtown area_ The parade route would run down Leopard Street to Upper Broadway, and end on Mesquite Street near the Laredo and Agnes Streets interchange. Finally, Mr. Box stated the Pre-Parade Stadium Show would be chaired by Mr. David Berlanga_ The event would take place on April 30, 2005, and the theme was a salute to the city's "Hometown Heroes". Mr. Box thanked ail city staff for their assistance, especially the Park and Recreation, Engineering, and Solid Waste departments. Mr. Box concluded by briefly discussing future plans for the Buc Days Festival as follows: make the festival more regional; add new events; develop a better understanding oftheh- customers; increase sponsorships; and create scholarship growth and diversification_ Mr. Box then showed a video testimonial promoting Buc Days The second presentation was Item 14, an FY 2005 second quarter (period ended January 31, 2005) report of the Health Benefits/Risk Management Fund. Director of Human Resources Cynthia Garcia fwst provided a status on the Health Benefits fund. She reported the number of claims filed by plan in the second quarter of this year were higher than the claims filed during the same period last year. She noted first quarter claims were also higher this fiscal year than last fiscal year. She said staffwould study the claims numbers closely to see if staxff could take any additional measures to slow the pace down_ Ms. Garcia also reported the dollars paid by plan including prescriptions were higher than dollars paid in the second quarter last year_ Specifically, the total dollars paid this year amounted to $7,900,000, which was $670,000 more than the fzrst half of last year_ Ms. Garcia stated the average cost per claim in this quarter was $214.39, compared with $191.09 for the second quarter last year. The FY year-to-date average per member cost are $363.50 for Citicare; $378.78 for Fire; and $505.34 for Public Safety. Ms. Garcia said premiums were increased and budgets were adjusted in anticipation of these increases predicted by the city's actuary. She said the city had just received the actuarial report that will help determine changes in the next fiscal year. Staffwas in the process of reviewing the report, and would report their findings to the Council in the near future. Ms. Garcia provided an update on the workers' compensation fund. She said staff was exta-emely pleased and cautiously optimistic with the status of the fund this quarter. She reported the number of c!almn filed in the first six months of this fiscal year was 480, compared to 511 claims filed last fiscal year at the same t/me. The total cost incurred was $565,031, compared with $1,139,845 for the six months last year. She said the city had currently paid 49 percent of the Minutes - Regular Council Meeting March 29, 2005 - Page 9 Mr. Kelly remarked that he expected to see a decrease in injuries in the Solid Waste department due to the automation of the city's trash collection. Mr. Nce answered the city has already implemented the first two phases of the automated trash collection, where the bulk of the collection was automated. The final phase, which was implemented last year, was not fully automated. Thus, Mr_ Noe said the city would not see the same potential reduction in injuries from the last phase of automation as seen in the prior phases. He said staff was analyzing the data now and would follow-up. Regarding the claim and cost increases in health benefits, Mr. Kinnison asked staffto better educate employees about the difference in costs between service providers, He told Ms_ Garcia he would provide her with documentation on his family's experience with this issue. Mr. Colmenero asked staff to provide data on how many employees use out-of-network services. Ms. Garcia replied staffwould provide this information in the next quarterly report. Mr. Noe added there was an incentive for employees to seek services in the network because the cost was lower than out-of-network. There was no incentive at this point, however, for employees to seek services from lower-cost service providers (e.g. pediatrician vs. clinic). Mayor Neal asked how the city's health benefits plan covered employees 65 years of age and older. Health Benefits Manager Quentin Masters replied the city's plan would supplement Medicare - i.e. Medicare would be the primary payer, and the city plan would be the secondary payer. Mayor Neal referred to Item 15.a., and a motion was made, seconded and passed to open the public hearing on the following right-of-way closure: 15.a. Public hcarmg to consider abandoning and vacating an 81,172-square foot portion of an undeveloped and unsurfaced 60 foot wide dedicated public right-of-way out of Lots 5 and 12, Section 5, Range VIII, Gugenheim and Corn' s Farm Lots (intersecting with the southern portion of the Junior Beck Drive right-of-way, south of Bear Lane). There were no comments from the audience. Mr. Chesney made a motion to close the public heating, seconded by Mr. Scott, and passed. City Secretary Chapa polled the Council for their votes as follows: Minutes - Regular Council Meeting March 29, 2005 - Page 11 with Engineering Services. Since the proposed project was an affordable housing development, Mr_ Kelly said one of his primary concerns was the neighborhood's reaction to the project. He asked who was going to manage the project once it was complete. The applicant, Mr. Charles Tryon, replied he was not going to manage the project, but would continue to own the project. He said he would hire at least one or more individuals to maintain and manage the project. The project was designed to construct a 20-unit apartment complex to provide affordable housing in the area_ There were four cottages existing on the property in question. He said they planned to relocate the four cottages and replace them with the apartment complex. He said Oak Park Elementary School was being built in the area, so he felt a new housing complex would be needed as families relocated to this arem Mr. Kelly asked if there had been any recent economic development in the area. Mr_ Gunning mentioned one project, but he was uncertain about the status of the project. Mr. Kelly felt the affordable housing project was a good economic development project for the area, and he said the area leaders he had spoken with agreed. In response to Mr. Colmenero's question, Mr. Tryon replied there would be adequate lighting on the property itself. He agreed with Mr. Rangel that the area was in need of more sidewalk and lighting improvements, and he hoped the city would do their part to address the problems. Mr. Abel Alonzo spoke in support of the affordable housing project. Mr. David Noyola, 4433 Valdez, spoke in opposition to placing an apartment complex in a residential neighborhood A motion was made, seconded, and passed to close the public hearing. City Secretary Chapa polled the Council for their votes as follows: 16. ORDINANCE NO. 026190 Amending the Zoning Ordinance, upon application by Advanced Housing Alternatives Corporation by changing the zoning map in reference to the Woodlawn Subdivision, Block 2, Lots 8A and 8B from "R-2" Multiple Dwelling District to "A-2" Apartment House Dwelling District; amending the Comprehensive Plan to account for any deviations from the existing Comprehensive Plan. An emergency was declared, and the foregoing ordinance was passed and approved with the following vote: Neal, Chesney, Colmenero, Cooper, Garrett, Kelly, Kimxison, Noyola and Scott, voting "Aye". Mayor Neal referred to Item 17, and a motion was made, seconded, and passed to open the public hearing on the following zoning case: Case No. 0205-02. Kiko's Restaurant: A change of zoning f~om a "R-IB/SP" One-family Dwelling District-Special Permit and "AB" Professional Office District to a "B-I" Minutes - Regular Council Meeting March 29, 2005 - Page 13 could re, apply, since he understood the applicant normally had to wait one year before reapplying. City Attorney Fischer confirmed that Mr. Barrera would be able to reapply with/n the 12 months since this case did not involve the denial of a zoning change. Mr. Kinnison spoke in favor of staffs recommendation. Mr. Kinnison made a motion to amend the ordinance to reflect staffs recommendation for a new Special Permit in the "R-1B"/SP District and a Special Permit in the "AB" District, seconded by Ms_ Cooper, and passed. City Secretary Chapa polled the Council for their votes on the amended ordinance as follows: 17. ORDINANCE NO. 026191 Amending the Zoning Ordinance, upon application by Kiko's Restaurant by changing the zoning map in reference to the Gardendale Subdivision, Block 3, Lots 3 and 18 (Lot 3 - currently zoned "R- 1B"/SP One-family Dwelling District with a Special Permit and Lot 18 - currently zoned "AB" Professional Office District) by granting "AB" Professional Office District on Lot 3 with a Special Permit for a banquet hall and parking lot subject to eight (8) conditions and by granting a Special Permit with the same conditions on Lot 18; amending the Comprehensive Plan to account for any deviations from the existing Comprehensive Plan. An emergency was declared, and the foregoing ordinance was passed and approved as amended with the following vote: Neal, Chesney, Colmenero, Cooper, Garrett, Kelly, Kinnison, Noyola and Scott, voting "Aye". Mayor Neal called for a brief recess to present proclamations and commendations. The Council returned from recess, and Mayor Neal called for petitions from the audience. Ms. Becki Jones, C.R. 32, spoke regarding her concerns that the Animal Control department was allowing pit bull-mix dogs to be adopted. Ms. Sherry Dunlap, 5825 Hopkins Road, announced that the animal fights organization called CCARE decided to drop the animal contxol petition it had previously filed with the City Secretary's Office. Mayor Neal referred to Item 18, and a motion was made, seconded, and passed to open the public hearing on the following zoning case: Case No, 0205-03, Steven Krol: A change of zoning from a "R-lB" One-family Dwelling District to a "B- 1" Neighborhood Business District, resulting in a land usc change from low- density residential to a neighborhood business in Alameda Park Subdivision, Block 6, Lot 22, located along the northeast comer of Everhart Road and Han-y Slxeet. City Secretary Chapa said the Planning Commission and staffrecommended the denial of Minutes - Regular Council Meeting March 29, 2005 - Page 15 19. ORDINANCE NO. 026193 Amending the Zoning Ordinance, upon application by BL Holding Company by changing the zoning map in reference to the Tyler Subdivision, Block 1, Lots 2 and 12 referred to as Tract 1, and Tyler Subdivision, Block 2, Tract C referred to as Tract 2, (currently zoned "R- lC" One-family Dwelling District) by granting a Special Permit for an event center subject to eight (8) conditions and site plan for Tract 1 and by changing the zoning on Tract 2 fi.om "R-lC" One-family Dwelling District to "AT" Apartment Tourist; amending the Comprehensive Plan to account for any deviations from the existing Comprehensive Plan. An emergency was declared, and the foregoing ordinance was passed and approved with the following vote: Neal, Chesney, Cooper, Garrett, Kelly, Kinnison, Noyola and Scott, voting "Aye"; Colmenero was absent. Mayor Neal opened discussion on Item 20, a contract with Maverick Engineering for the Airport Industrial Park. City Manager Noe explained the industrial park project was a joint project between the city, the Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC), and the Corpus Christi Business and Job Development Corporation (4A Board). He said this item authorizes the execution of the next step in the process, the contract for engineering. Director of Aviation Dave Hamrick reported the airport staff negotiated an agreement with the EDC to provide commercial non-aviation development services. He said the EDC had advised the airport that there was a lack of sufficiently sized industrial/warehouse facilities available inside the city. He said the city has identified approximately 50 acres of property west of the airport entrance that was being recommended for use as a light industrial park. Mr. Hamrick stated the fast phase of the development was the design of the infi'nstructure, including stxeets, street lighting, water, wastewater, and storm water, to support the anticipated future growth of the site. He said staff?had negotiated a cona'act with Maverick Engineering to design the infrastructure and provide engineering services, including preparation of bid specifications, cost estimating, and bid evaluation. He asked EDC President/CEO Ron Kitchens to discuss the importance of the project. Mr. Kitchens emphasized the city's need to invest in infrastructure for potential industrial sites in order to be more competitive with other cities. He said the city had the second lowest availability of commercial buildings in the U.S., and the city's rating for available commercial sites was nearly as low. Regarding the proposed airport industrial park, he said the EDC was focusing their efforts on locating a developer for the initial property construction. If these efforts were unsuccessful, then Mr. Kitchens stated he would ask the city and the 4A Board to assist with the funding. There were no comments from the audience. City Secretary Chapa announced that Mr. Noyola was abstaining fxom the vote and discussion on this item. Mr. Chapa polled the Council for their votes as follows: Minutes - Regular Council Meeting March 29, 2005 - Page 17 Council meeting at 12:47 p.m. on March 29, 2005.