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HomeMy WebLinkAbout95 0124 min MINUTES City Council Meeting January 24, 1995 The City Council of the City of Plainview, Texas, met in a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, January 24, 1995, at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 901 Broadway, Plainview, Texas. The Council met in pre-session at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Pro Tem Dwain Dodson presided. Councilmembers present were: Alton Jackson-Precinct 1, Rey Rosas-Precinct 3, Mike Hutcherson-Precinct 4, Barbara Dorman-Precinct 5, and Irene Favila-Precinct 7. Mayor Lloyd Woods and Councilmember Mary Virginia Kirchhof were absent. Staff members present were: James P. Jeffers-City Manager, Wally Hatch-City Attorney, Muff London-Director for Community Development, John Berry-Assistant Director of Public Works, Norman Huggins-Director of Finance, Bruce Watson-Fire Chief, Roy L. Osborne- Police Chief, Barbara Sullivan-Municipal Court Judge, John Castro-Health Department Director, and Karen McBeth-City Secretary. News media present: Richard Orr-Plainview Daily Herald; Mike Fox - KKYN and Wayland Baptist University. OPEN MEETING 1. Invocation - Alton Jackson Sr. 2. Recognitions/Oath of Office. Mayor Pro Tem Dwain Dodson recognized Fred Douglas Johnson as a Korean Veteran. Valeria Cortez Joiner spoke on behalf of Adult Protective Services and introduced Helen Brooks as her coworker. City Secretary Karen M cBeth accepted the Oath of Office from: Jerry Allen, Pete Strom, Ray Jameson, Francis Adamson, Garry Petras, and Mignon Williams. Police Chief Roy L. Osborne recognized Pat Serrano and congratulated her on passing her Sergeants exam and being promoted to that rank. Chief Osborne stated she is Plainview's newest Police Sergeant and she has done an excellent job in every position she has held with the department. Chief Osborne also introduced Officer Fred Mancias and narcotics police dog Dakota. Dakota demonstrated his abilities by locating two quanities of marijuana which had been hidden previously by the department. He is part of the interdiction team and Officer Mancias is his trainer. Two other officers have purchased dogs at their own expense and are presently receiving the same type training and will also be part of the drug interdiction unit. 3. Consent Calendar. Barbara Dorman requested that the first item on (g) Bids: 1 of 6 Suburban, be removed from the Consent Calendar and considered individually. Mayor Pro Tem Dwain Dodson asked for a motion on the remainder of the Consent Calendar. Alton Jackson moved the remainder of the Consent Calendar be approved; Mike HutcherSon seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously among the councilmembe rs present. a) The minutes were approved. b) Departmental reports were approved. c) Expenditures were approved. d) Board, Committee and Commission appointments: Ingrid Graves was reappointed to the Planning and Zoning Commission; Roy Berner was appointed to the Board of Minimum Housing Standards; Willis McCutcheon was reappointed to the Building Code/Fire Code Board of Appeals; and Gayle thompson was reappointed to the Airport Board. e) Police Environmental Control Officer. Resolution No. R95-101. A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Plainview, Texas authorizing the City to pursue a 50-50 matching grant to continue funding of the Environmental Control Officer position Within the City of an additional one year period. The Resolution was approved. f) Main Street. Texas Capital Fund Improvements Program. Resolution No. R95-102. A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Plainview, Texas authorizing the submission of an application for a Texas Capital Fund Main Street Improvements Program Grant. The Resolution was approved. g) Bids: · Pickup Trucks - 1/2 Ton Mid. Size Pickup with regular cab: Bids were received from Shamrock Chevrolet of Lubbock, TX in the amount of $11,865.00; Gardner Chevrolet of Plainview, TX in the amount of $12,579.16; Jack Morris Ford of Plainview, TX in the amount of $13,334.00; And McGavock Motors of Plainview, TX in the amount of $13,675.00. Alternate Bid - 1/2 Ton Mid Size Pickup with extended cab: Jack Morris Ford in the amount of $14,869.00. · Liquid Asphalt - 90,000 gallons. Fina Oil Company of Big Spring, TX bid $.4847 per gallon for a total of $43,623.00. The bid was awarded to them. · Seal Coat Aggregate - Appian Corporation submitted a bid in the amount of $14.87 per ton; Trans-Pecos Materials submitted a bid in the amount of $17.60 per ton. The bid was awarded to Appian Corporation. h) Platting Variance - Plainview Independent School District. Consider request from the Plainview Independent School District for a variance to subdivision regulations for a 2 acre tract out of the S.E. part of a 33.11 acre tract, being out of the S.W. part of the N.W. quarter of Survey No. 6, Block D-4, Hale County, Texas. The variance request was granted. 2 of 6 i) Plat - Final - West End Addition. Resolution No. R95-103. A Resolution of the City of Plainview, Texas, approving the final plat of (Combination) West End Addition, Unit No. 2, Plainview, Hale County, Texas. The Resolution was approved. j) Plat - Final Parish Acres, Unit No. 1. Resolution No. R95-104. A Resolution of the City of Plainview, Texas, approving the final plat of (Combination) Parish Acres, Unit No. 1, Hale County, Texas. The Resolution was approved. Bids: Suburban - The Council turned to the topic of the bid for a Suburban which was requested to be discussed prior to the approval of the Consent Calendar. Councilmember Barbara Dorman stated she felt the purchase of a Suburban type vehicle waS not needed at the present and it was inappropriate to purchase one at this time. Councilmember Alton Jackson stated he believed the City needed it. Mayor Pro Tem Dwain Dodson stated he believed it was needed, and will ultimately phase out car allowances. He said the new Director of Public Works is not receiving a car allowance, but will use a City vehicle. Mayor Pro Tem Dodson made a motion to award the bid to Shamrock Chevrolet in the amount of $11,865.00, as theirs was the lowest bid. Other bids were from Gardner Chevrolet for $12,579.16; Jack Morris Ford for $13,334.00; and McGavock Motors for $13,675.00. Councilmember Rey Rosas seconded the motion. Jackson, Rosas, Hutcherson, Dodson, and Favila voted for the motion; Dorman voted against the motion. The motion passed. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS 1. Precinct 1 - Public Comment. Mayor Pro Tem Dodson turned the meeting over to Alton Jackson Sr., Councilmember of Precinct 1. Councilmember Jackson asked for public comment from those living in his precinct. P~osa Zuniga spoke to the Council, stating she believed things to be much improved in her area of the precinct during the past year. She stated Code Enforcement has done a good job of keeping the weeds down. She stated communication with City Hall was much improved and the neighborhood and City Hall were working together toward a better Plainview. She did say however, that flies in the summer time were bad and Frisco Park needed more lights. She said the youth in the neighborhood could play safer, and longer, if there was more lighting. City Manager Jeffers stated the City may be getting grant money and can possibly spend more on park improvements. Mrs. Zuniga thanked the Council and Muff London for their cooperation and Code Enforcement for the good work they have done. Rafel Lopez Jr., 1101 Winchell, congratulated Alton Jackson for his help in achieving the goal of building a park in the Frisco area. His only complaint was a better and larger basketball court was needed. He said many children and young people really enjoyed basketball and the half-court simply did not suffice. He stated he hoped in the future the City could build a baseball field and possibly an area for football. Possibly a shelter house over the barbecue grill and possibly some tables also. He said they really needed more lighting. He thanked the City for mowing the yards and vacant lots. He 3 of 6 suggested the City might spray more often for mosquitoes in the summer. Mr. Lopez said the railroad crossings are in bad shape because the railroad does not maintain their right of way very well. He also stated the street striping and signs to define the curve of streets need to be redone as a safety measure. He thanked the Council for what they have done in the Frisco area. Cynthia Hearn spoke, stating she did not live in Precinct 1, but she went to church there and has family living in that precinct. She said her main concern was for an overpass somewhere going over the railroad tracks leading in and out of the precinct. She stated the railroad is dangerous and sometimes all of the roads leading into that area are block by trains, at least twice a day. She said the park was not kept up and that none of the things the City had promised have been done. She stated the City needs to be responsive to the needs of all the citizens, not just the ones that live in the West part of town. She asked the Council to consider putting an overpass in that area. The Reverend Gregory Franklin spoke, stating he did not live in Precinct 1, but he was speaking for the members of his church that live in that precinct. He stated that Precinct 1 has an excessive amount of sub-standard housing and no one is doing anything about it. He said Code Enforcement, the Police Department, the Sanitation Department do not take care of the Austin Heights the way they should. He said the parks are not taken care of and that the citizens there get secondary treatment. He said Precinct 1 has been grossly neglected by the Council. Rev. Franklin made several other remarks taken to be derogatory and Mayor Pro Tem Dodson asked him to sit down or he would have him removed from the Chamber. Marleta Davis, 114 Bullock, complained the Precinct 1 area has been ignored by the Council. She said no improvements have been made to the parks. She asked that the Council put a full basketball court in the park areas and to be fair. She said an overpass is needed to go in and out of the area because trains blocked the tracks so much of the time. Councilman Jackson said he would tour the area and with the rest of the Council, he would see what could be done about putting a full basketball court in one of the parks, determine what else was needed, and see what improvements could be made. He stated he doubted seriously if an overpass was feasible, due to the cost of construction, as well as the engineering problems with acquiring the necessary property. 2. Warrant Officer. Consider reassignment of the Municipal Court Warrant Officer to the Police Department. Mayor Pro Tem Dodson said this subject has been studied in Work Session, as well as during the budget process. The question was it not more important to have the Warrant Officer on the streets full time as a police officer, rather than being a full time Warrant Officer? Mr. Dodson said the entire police force could serve warrants during the normal course of their daily duties and he did not believe there would be a drop in the amount of warrants served and collected. Councilmember Jackson said he believed the present set up was very efficient and he believed it should stay the way it is. Councilmember Rosas said he believed the Warrant Officer does a good job, but the city really needed another officer on the streets and in fact the city needed two or three more officers. Councilmember Hutcherson said he believed the city needed a full 4 of 6 time warrant officer and there was no point in issuing citations if we could not collect them. Mayor Pro Tem Dodson said he believed the entire police force could serve and collect warrants and that a person could be hired at a lesser pay rate to do the data processing required to track warrants. Councilmember Dorman said she believed the history of the warrant process within the department has proven the warrant officer more than pay.s._~er own way and if the city needs another police officer maybe the Council should look into hiring one. She stated that when the Warrant Officer was at work, she was already on the street and was available for duty as a police officer. Councilmember Favila thanked Judge Barbara Sullivan for all of the information she has furnished the Council and stated she believed the Warrant Officer was doing a good job, but that she was needed as a police officer more than she was needed as a warrant officer. Mayor Pro Tem Dodson made a motion to abolish the position of Warrant Officer and reassign Angle Asebedo to the Police Department; Irene Favila seconded the motion. Rey Rosas, Dwain Dodson and Irene Favila voted for the motion. Alton Jackson, Mike Hutcherson and Barbara Dorman voted against the motion. The vote resulted in a 3-3 tie, therefore the motion failed due to lack of a majority. 3. Cable TV. Consider request of Plainview Cable TV for rate increase. Nathan Geick, of TCA, read a statement to the Council confirming his company's intent to increase the basic cable rate for Plainview by $.91 a month and that this was definitely within the benchmark prices allowed by law. He said TCA appreciated the cooperation received from Plainview's City Council in the past and was looking forward to being good neighbors with them in the future. Mayor Pro Tem dodson thanked him for coming and that although he disagrees with the rate increase. Dodson stated he was glad TCA was planning on making improvements to their system in Plainview, but he also hoped they would add more channels and provide a camera to Wayland Baptist University, as they had promised in the past. Councilmember Dorman thanked Mr. Geick for coming back and stated that he was a guest and apologized if he felt he was not treated with respect at his last visit. Mayor Pro Tem Dodson made a motion that the Council not approve the requested rate increase; Alton Jackson seconded the motion. Dodson, Jackson and Favila voted for the motion; Rey Rosas and Barbara Dorman voted against the motion; Mike Hutcherson abstained from voting. The motion carried. 4. Speed Limit. Second Readin~l. Ordinance No. 95-3031. An Ordinance of the City of Plainview, Texas, amending Section 23-168 of the Code of Ordinances. to establish a maximum rate of speed for vehicles traveling eastbound and westbound on FM 3466 (S.W. 3rd Street); Providing for a penalty; Cumulativeness clause; Conflicts clause; Severability clause; And effective date. City Attorney Wally Hatch reviewed the ordinance, stating this was done by the State and that it changed the speed limit by five miles per hour for a very short distance on this street. Alton Jackson made a motion that Ordinance No. 95-3031 be approved; Rey Rosas seconded the motion; the motion passed unanimously. 5 of 6 Passed and approved on February 14, 1995. Adjournment. Mayor Pro Tem declared the meeting adjourned. ATTEST: K~ren McBeth, City Secretary Lloyd C. Woods, Mayor 6 of 6