HomeMy WebLinkAbout94 0908 min MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
September 8, 1994
The City Council of the City of Plainview, Texas, met in a Work Session on September 8, 1994, at
11:30 a:m. The meeting was held at the Country Club, 2902 West 4th Street, Plainview, Texas, with
Mayor Lloyd C. Woods presiding. Councilmembers present were: Alton Jackson Sr.- Precinct 1,
Mary Virginia Kirchhoff - Precinct 2, Rey Rosas :Precinct 3, Mike Hutcherson - Precinct 4, Barbara
Dorman ~ Precinct 5, Dwain Dodson - Precinct 6~ and Irene Favila - Precinct 7.
Staff members present were: James P. Jeffers - City Manager, Roy L. Osborne- Director of Public
Safety, Muff London Director for Community Development, Norman Huggins - Director of Finance,
John Berry - Assistant Director of Public Works, Barbara Sullivan - Municipal Court Judge, Wally
Hatch - City Attorney, Debby Gibson - Main Street Coordinator, Dora Blanda - PBX Operator, and
Karen McBeth, City Secretary.
News media present: Richard Orr- Plainview Daily Herald.
THIS IS A WORK SESSION AND NO ACTION CAN BE TAKEN
Mayor Woods called the meeting to order at 11:30 a.m. The Council reviewed the agenda for the
upcoming meeting of September 13, 1994. The Council then heard the City Manager's reports.
Council Liaison Reports - Councilmember Barbara Dorman reported the Small Cities Task Force
has produced a new video on Ethics and on Conflicts of Interest.
Fire- County- Councilmember Dwain Dodson said he has visited with Hale County Commissioners
and will soon have a full committee in place to discuss the city/county relationship in so far as fire
protection is concerned.
Muff London, Director for Community Development, introduced Dora Blanda, who has just come to
work for the City as PBX secretary.
Energas - Mr. Jeffers reported Energas is requesting a rate increase. Historically, a steering
committee has been formed by the cities impacted by the rate proposals. This steering committee
usually hires consultants to analyze the proposed rates. Energas officials have advised they need
to raise revenues by 2.3 million dollars in the West Texas region. They propose to do this by
increasing service fees as well as adding $1 to the minimum charge for each customer. The last
rate increase was approximately three years ago. The Council will appoint someone to this steering
committee.
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Budget - Mr. Jeffers reported that only a few items were left in the proposed budget that the Council
had not reviewed. He suggested the Council could meet in one more Budget Work Session on
September 14, if they wished to review these items. The Council had no objections to the
Wednesday, September 14th meeting. This meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.
Development, City Sharing in Cost - Mr. Jeffers said he anticipated seeing a proposal that the
City domo[e t0 promote residential construction. Many developers have said they could build more
housing if it were not so expensive. The developei-s must purchase the land, put in curb, gutter,
water, sewer and paving in addition to building houses, He explained the general idea is the City
could do the paving, curb and gutter, sewer and water construction and be paid back as the lots are
sold. After some discussion the Council had no objection to exploring this possibility.
WalMart Distribution Center · Appraisal - Mr. Jeffers reported the Appraisal District and the
WalUart Distribution Center still do not agree on the appraisal for their tax base. At the present time
WalUart takes the position that their property has been appraised high. Mr. Jeffers said he would
keep the Council informed regarding the disposition of this dispute.
Hale County Central Appraisal District sent a letter to the Mayor, Council and City Manager
addressing the protocol of interacting with the Appraisal District. Mr. Jeffers asked the Council for
direction as to how they wished this letter answered. After a discussion Mr. Jeffers asked the
Council if they objected to attending one of the Appraisal District Board Meetings; the Council had
no objection to this. The date will be determined later.
Security for Public Meetings. Mr. Jeffers said he would like Council input as to the amount of
security they felt comfortable with. He asked if they wanted an armed, uniformed, police officer on
hand when they met, or was the presence of the Chief of Police (who is always armed) sufficient.
He reported that if a threat is made, the person involved would be immediately notified. If the officer
knows who the person making a threat is, a judgement call will be made at that time as to the
disposition of that individual. The Council did not object to continuing with the present practice.
Sharing of Information - Mr. Jeffers stated in the past he has discriminately shared information
among Council members and staff as he believed to be most advantageous to the City and those
involved. He asked if this policy is acceptable. The majority of the Council expressed no objections
to the present policy.
Blue Box Program - Recycling - Mr. Jeffers reported the Blue Boxes placed in the area between
18th Street and 23rd Street had not been used as much for recycling as the Blue Boxes in the other
three areas, and if the Council did not object, he was going to have Sanitation move the boxes in
the 18th to 23rd area to other areas where they would be more likely to be used to gather recyclable
materials. The Council will make a final decision on September 27, 1994.
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The Council will meet in Work Session again on September 22, 1994, at the Plainview Country ClUb.
Mayor Woods adjourned the meeting at 1:35 p.m.
PASSED AND APPROVED on SePtember 27, 1994.
Lloyd C. Woods, Mayor
ATTEST:
Kar"en McBeth, City Secretary
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