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HomeMy WebLinkAbout13 0423 minThe Plainview City Council met on April 23, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of the Plainview City Hall at 901 Broadway. The agenda for this meeting was posted in City Hall at 4:30 p.m. on April 19, 2013. Mayor Wendell Dunlap presided. Councilmembers present were: Charles Starnes - District 1, Cathy Waggoner- District 2, David Garcia - District 3, V. O. Ortega- District 4, Shane Martinez- District 5, Lionel Garcia - District 6 and Eric Hastey- District 7. Staff members present were: Greg Ingham -City Manager, Jeffrey Snyder- Assistant City Manager, Leslie Pearce -City Attorney, Mike Gilliland- Director of Public Works, Todd Kennemer- Community Development Manager, William Mull - Police Chief, Daniel Born - Information Technology Specialist, Rusty Powers -Fire Chief, Sarianne Beversdorf- Director of Finance and Belinda Hinojosa -City Secretary. News Media Present: Jessica Thornton - Plainview Herald Guests Present: Ricky Mason, Franklin Ebeling, Angie Ebeling, John Hopkins, Rebecca Hopkins, Jobita Lopez, Roy Tullis, Judy Tullis, David Murphree, Mark Hardin, Teressa King, Ricky King, Ralph Miller, Alice Miller, Cary Eaves, Gary Devos, J. B. Roberts, Louis Flores, and Chris LeFevre Mayor Wendell Dunlap delivered the invocation and led in the pledge of allegiance. Councilmember Waggoner moved to adopt the consent calendar. The motion was duly seconded by Councilmember David Garcia and carried by unanimous vote. Items approved on the consent calendar included the approval of the minutes of April 9, 2013 and April 18, 2013; approval of financial reports; and the approval of Resolution R13- 284, a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Plainview, Texas, Approving the Request of Plainview Y.M.C.A. To Host The "Y.M.C.A. Beat The Heat Mini — Triathlon "; Authorizing The Filing Of The Agreement For The Temporary Closure Of State Right - Of -Way With The Texas Department Of Transportation For This Event; Declaring That The Event Serves A Public Purpose; And Agreeing To Comply With Regulations. Mr. Ingham presented for consideration on first reading, Ordinance No. 13 -3596, an Ordinance Adopting the City of Plainview Comprehensive Plan Pursuant to Chapter 213 of the Texas Local Government Code; Purpose to Promote Development And Public Health, Safety, And Welfare; Providing A Savings Clause; Cumulativeness Clause; Conflicts Clause; Severability Clause; Repealer Clause; And Providing An Effective Date. The City is moving into the final stages of the development, consideration, and adoption of an updated Comprehensive Plan. A Comprehensive Plan is an important document for a city and the last time the City of Plainview updated its plan was 1989 — 24 years ago. The Comprehensive Plan provides a vision of what Plainview can be in the next twenty years and provides a framework for guiding future development, redevelopment, and community enhancement. About a year ago, the City kicked off the formal Comprehensive Planning process with Kendig Keast Collaborative, a Planning Consultant out of Sugarland, Texas, by conducting an Issues /Needs Joint Workshop between the City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission. Shortly after this meeting, the City appointed a 26- member Comprehensive Planning Advisory Committee. The Committee was given the City Council Minutes April 23, 2013 Page 1 of 6 195 196 responsibility of overseeing the development of the comprehensive plan over the next year. Mr. Ingham introduced Mr. Gary Mitchell with Kendig Keast Collaborative to provide an overview of the project. The project began a year ago. The advisory committee appointed by the City Council has been very effective and have had very good attendance. Mr. Mitchell reviewed the plan. The document is meant to be used to make decisions. It can help with priority settings and provides guidance and assists with acquiring grants. This plan sets direction for the future. Councilmember Charles Starnes moved to open a public hearing on Ordinance No. 13- 3596. The motion was duly seconded by Councilmember Lionel Garcia and carried by unanimous vote. Mayor Dunlap asked for public comment regarding Ordinance No. 13 -3596. Ricky Mason who lives at 1305 Yonkers stated he had served on the Comprehensive Planning Committee. He stated it was a great goal, but as we all know, the current circumstances in Plainview, Texas. It would be a good thing to do if everything was good at this point and time. He trusts that this Council will hold back at this time. They do not want more taxes at this time. There are some things that need to be worked on such as economic development. He also stated it should not take a year to get something to happen and it would be a big benefit if we can work with people and begged the Council to look at these things. Teresa King who lives at 409 Mesa Circle asked if the rental housing maintenance section has been taken out. She was advised it had been. She stated that Chapter 2 dealing with economic portion is very vague. We need to have a good business plan that gives you mile markers and incentives. She also stated it would be of great help if we could have town hall meetings. People are starving for information. She added that Facebook is a good tool to use. J. B. Roberts, 1400 Amarillo Street stated that things have been going on in Plainview for last 20 years. We have gone downhill. He is one of six people that got Wal -Mart to come here. They raised $400,000 to buy the property for Wal -Mart. The town was growing. He commented that Plainview is not happy now; we are a depressed, dejected city. We are not user friendly. We need an industrial park. He stated that timing was bad and we need to get on positive side and be pro- active and that there are too many regulations. Alice Miller, 1111 Jefferson asked what compensation there was to people who sell their real estate to someone as a homeowner. Mr. Gary Mitchell stated it was used in other cities and it is more focused on the renter trying to own their own home. The real focus is to try to get people to own their own homes. Louis Flores, 1318 S. Broadway asked what was achieved from the 1989 Comprehensive Plan. He asked why we didn't follow that plan. He also asked how we could be compared to North Richland Hills. We have to compare apples to apples before we can compete with the Jones'. He said he had heard we had lost businesses that wanted to come to town but they were run out because the City didn't work with them. He has lived here 48 years now and has an interest in Plainview. He is not City Council Minutes April 23, 2013 Page 2 of 6 against codes but need to have common sense enforcing the codes and regulations. Larry Williams, 124 SE 9 St. stated he is a contractor. They go in 5,000 houses a year. The plan looks really nice but when school lets out we are going to have a mass exodus. Bill Wells is trying to open a business; it is costing $500,000 more. He has spent a year fighting red tape over sewer and water. The City needs to start with industrial park. Something needs to be done rapidly. Ralph Miller, 1111 Jefferson said that son -in -law Mike Williams who is manager of Red River Commodities tried to come to Plainview but had no cooperation. They went to Lubbock and Lubbock gave them incentives. They now have two plants with over 500 employees. There was also a steakhouse that wanted to come here. Would like to see some of the regulations cut back to make it a little easier. Cary Eaves, 3304 W. 18 Street stated he is a Plainview native. He was looking at Comprehensive Plan, Chapter 2. Plainview has grown less than 3,000 in 30 years. Talks about community interest in economic development. Create a community owned industrial park and find appropriate land to do what we need to do. He also asked if the City had considered our sales tax. Mark Hardin, 806 S. Austin stated he is a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission. They did a good job with this document in looking at it from his point of view. There are several items that cost money, but it is just a plan, just something to look at. He is afraid we are signing a blank check and how are we going to go about in reaching these goals. David Murphree, 3009 Navasota Drive stated this is a good plan. There are some things we agree with and some we don't agree with. This is his future and he expects for the leaders to take this and run with it and to get the town growing. Councilmember Starnes moved to close the public hearing. The motion was duly seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Waggoner and carried by unanimous vote. Mayor Dunlap closed the public hearing at 7:55 p.m. Councilmember Lionel Garcia moved to postpone this plan for at least two weeks. They received plan on Thursday and would like to get a better sense of it. Councilmember Eric Hastey seconded the motion. Mayor Pro Tem Waggoner stated this plan has been worked on for over a year now. Citizens from our town have worked diligently. This is a tool for us to use. We hear your comments and we will do our very best to get this done. Just because we adopt does not mean this will go into effect immediately. It is a good basis to work on and grow on. There is no need in waiting two weeks. Councilmember Ortega stated this is just a framework. It is a 20 year plan and every bit has to be approved by Council. He thanked the committee for their work. Councilmember Martinez stated he had seen it only two weeks himself. It is not that he doesn't trust the public that worked on the plan. Sometimes you don't understand everything because you don't see everything that happens. He understands a lot of City Council Minutes April 23, 2013 Page 3 of 6 197 198 work was put into it. He has spent many hours trying to read over it. It is important to really understand the plan. He needs more time. Councilmember Starnes stated the plan has been posted on city website for weeks. The public has viewed the plan and he himself got a copy of the plan from the website. The plan has been well discussed and well studied and there have been plenty of chances for any citizen to review it. Adopting the plan will not create any new taxes or create any ordinances; it will simply set the blueprint for city staff in order to get Plainview moving. Councilmember Lionel Garcia said we have been talking about this plan being a tool for this city. How many have bought a tool and don't read those instructions and tool does not work? Then we have gone from a very positive thing back in the summer to a negative thing the last four weeks. We have yet to figure out who put this at the top of the scale. This was nowhere near at top at meeting that he went to. He would like a little more time to go over some of this. Councilmember Starnes stated that the plan contains provisions for amendments, adjustments and revisions throughout process. It is being monitored and reviewed. That can be done through the amendment process. Mayor Dunlap stated that by delaying this all we are slowing down is process of recovery. Almost everything that has been mentioned, it is being worked on at this very moment. All entities have been meeting a number of times. Mayor Dunlap asked for a vote on the matter. Councilmembers Shane Martinez, Lionel Garcia and Eric Hastey voted "for" the motion. Mayor Dunlap, Councilmembers Charles Starnes, Cathy Waggoner, David Garcia, and V. O. Ortega voted "against" the motion. The motion failed. Councilmember Ortega moved approval of Ordinance No. 13 -3596 on first reading. The motion was duly seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Waggoner. Councilmember Starnes stated he served on Comprehensive Planning Advisory Committee and he had a great time listening to all the input. During his review of this ordinance he finds that we are deficient in a couple of areas; specifically in the implementation and the follow through which was the failure of the previous plan that was adopted over 20 years ago. He moved that we amend Section 6 first paragraph adding to the first paragraph the statement: "The amendment process detailed in Chapter 8 of the Comprehensive Plan will be observed." And adding a new paragraph to Section 6, second paragraph of Section 6, "An annual progress report will be developed by staff and presented to City Council and other city commissions that provide oversight and guidance on aspects of the Comprehensive Plan. The five year evaluation and appraisal report will be prepared by staff to evaluate the successes and shortcomings in plan implementation. Contents of the annual and five year report will be as specified in Chapter 8 of the Comprehensive Plan." The motion failed for lack of second on the amendment. City Council Minutes April 23, 2013 Page 4 of 6 Councilmember Starnes commented that the plan as written does not specify in strong enough language that city staff will present updates and annual reviews. Mayor Pro Tem Waggoner thanked everyone that came out tonight and assured them that they did listen to their comments. She also thanked everybody that was on the committee. She said they need to be responsible to make sure things need to be implemented. Councilmember David Garcia thanked all the people involved. He stated this is just a guide to be able to help the city grow. Councilmember Ortega stated this is the framework for the next 20 years. He expressed concern over the rental part but added as these come up the council will look at budget. Just because something is in the plan, doesn't mean that the Council is going to approve. Council will hold ourselves and city staff accountable and make sure implement and see progress. Councilmember Martinez stated we need more time to review the plan. He said it is important and appreciates everybody that came out. He stated he would be happy to listen. He said that grants are important budgetary wise. Councilmember Lionel Garcia thanked everybody that was involved in putting plan together. A lot of hours and money was spent. He, as an elected official, does not take lightly limitations placed on them regarding number of questions they can ask. Councilmember Hastey stated he was not involved in any of the process. As far as grants application is this something that is needed? Mr. Mitchell said for example in the Parks and Wildlife department, if you don't have this in place then you are not in the door. Mr. Hastey added that he more for limited government in any way you can, but also knows you have to have governing in place. The City needs to move forward and needs fresh new ideas. There is still hope for us. Mayor Dunlap stated he was really pleased with large number that was a part of this; hundreds of people that were involved in this process. He agreed that we need more town hall meetings. He said if approved, we will work diligently to work on issues raised today. City staff has been meeting to find ways to fund industrial park. We are faced with struggle but we need to stay positive. The City is not your enemy. Mayor Dunlap asked for a vote on the matter. The motion carried with Mayor Dunlap, Councilmember Starnes, Waggoner, David Garcia, V. O. Ortega, Shane Martinez and Eric Hastey voting "for" the motion and Councilmember Lionel Garcia voting "against" the motion. Mayor Dunlap presented for consideration on second reading Ordinance No. 13 -3594, an Ordinance Amending the Zoning Map of the City of Plainview By Issuance of a Specific Use Permit to Operate an Electrical Substation in Residential Zoning Districts, Said Parcel Being Located on a Tract of Land at the Southwest Corner of the Intersection of 24 Street and Date Street, the Same Being 312 E. 24 Street, City of Plainview, Hale County, Texas; Cumulativeness Clause; Conflicts Clause; Severability Clause; and Effective Date. Since this was the second of two readings, the Council chose to forego staff briefing and asked for public comment. There was no public City Council Minutes April 23, 2013 Page 5 of 6 199 200 comment. Councilmember Martinez moved to approve Ordinance No. 13 -3594 on second reading. The motion was duly seconded by Councilmember David Garcia and carried by unanimous vote. Mayor Dunlap presented for consideration on second reading Ordinance No. 13 -3595, an Ordinance Amending the Zoning Map of the City of Plainview, Texas for Rezoning From a Retail ( "C -2 ") Zoning District to a Commercial General Business ( "C -3 ") Zoning District, Said Tract of Land is Odom's Corner Plv Lot 1 -2, .554 AC the Same Being 2401 N. Interstate 27, City of Plainview, Hale County, Texas; Cumulativeness Clause; Conflicts Clause; Severability Clause; And Effective Date. Since this was the second of two readings, the Council chose to forego staff briefing and asked for public comment. There was no public comment. Councilmember Starnes moved to approve Ordinance No. 13 -3595 on second reading. The motion was duly seconded by Councilmember Ortega and carried by unanimous vote. There being no further business, Mayor Dunlap adjourned the meeting at 8:24 p.m. Belinda Hinojosa /j/ City Secretary City Council Minutes April 23, 2013 Page 6 of 6