HomeMy WebLinkAbout90 0217 minO0 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT FEBRUARY 17-18, 1990 CITY OF PLAINVIEW HOWARD JOHNSON/FIFTH SEASON INN AMARILLO, TEXAS MINUTES The Plainview City CoUncil met in Special Work Session at the Howard Johnson/Fifth Season Inn in Amarillo, Texas on Saturday, February 17, 1990 and Sunday, February 18, 1990. Those in attendance were Mayor E.V. Ridlehuber, Councilmembers Bobby James, Barbara Dorman, Ross Owen, John Kirchhoff, Dwain Dodson and Don Dickson. Alton Jackson was not in attendance. Staff present: James P. Jeffers, City Manager; and David Blackburn, City Attorney. Roy L. Osborne, Director of Public Safety was in attendance on Saturday, February 17, to discuss Public Safety Consolidation and Civil Service. Merit System. The City Council reviewed the status of the pay for performance system and encouraged administration to proceed with such, and continue efforts to make sure that the evaluators are properly trained and that the evaluatees are constantly made aware of the goals and objectives of the performance evaluation system. Public Safety Consolidation. A lengthy discussion was held on Public Safety Consolidation and it was the consensus of a majority of' the Council to continue to pursue such with immediate attention being given to the clarification of goals of the public safety consolidation efforts. Civil Service. The City Council received preliminar~ information on the upcoming Civil Service Election for the Fire Department and encouraged the City Manager to complete said review as soon as possible. Salaries. After reviewing the current salary situation of the City, and discussing the possibility of an additional personnel audit, it was the consensus of the Council to not. pursue an additional personnel audit at this time since the latest audit was just implemented. Travel. The City Council was advised that the travel expenses for the Mayor and Council were going to exceed originally allocated amounts. It was the consensus of the Council that the City Manager use his administrative prerogative to transfer funds within the City Council's bud~et to take care of anticipated overages. Boards and Co~.~ission~. The City Council expressed a desire to establish a policy that Board and Commission appointments be discussed in executive session. Fire - 40 Hou~ Work Week. The City Council expressed a desire to review past iru~ormation which had been generated on the forty hour work week for the Fire Department. 017 Volunteers. The Council expressed no interest in utilizing volunteers to supplement police and fire operations. Personnel Director. The Council was of the opinion that a full time Personnel Director was not. needed at this point in time, but if civil service were implemented, then the need for a Personnel Director would have to be reevaluated. Water Department Mana~r. The City Manager advised that the Council had allocated monies for the retention of a Water Department Manager and it was anticipated that said position would be filled within the next two to three months. Assistant Director of Public Works. The Council was advised that the City was unable to secure qualified engineers who were interested in serving in this position at the current salary. The position would have to reevaluated with special emphasis given to the need for an engineer in that position. Budget. It was the consensus of the Council that the budget review by the Council be spread out over more than one meeting, and also that a detailed quarterly review on budget expenditures and revenues be provided. Library. The Council instructed the City' Manager to review alternatives in enhancing Library operations thru cooperation with other public and private entities within the com~runit¥. Service Center operations were reviewed and it was t_he consensus of the Council to leave as is, but to continue to monitor. Freeport Status. The Council deferred discussion until Wal-Mart contacted City officials on this topic. Tax Increase. The Council. expressed a desire to alter the existing policy of continually but gradually increasing taxes, with the new policy being that taxes would not be increas.edunless there is a demonstrated need. Water Rate Study. The Council was advised that an in depth water rate analysis would be provided during the month of July or August of this year. Bond Issue. It was the consensus of the Council that there was no need for bond issues at this time in the general fund. Hotel/Motel Tax. The Council expressed a desire in establishing a policy whereby the City's reserves would, not be less than $100,900 in the Hotel/Motel Tax Fund, and that historical preservation be given a second priority in said policy. City Hall. The Council discussed the feasibility of moving City Hall to the City National Bank or other facilities within the 2 of 7 community as well as grounds beautification at City. Hall and opted to take no action at this time. Investment Policy. It was the consensus of the Council that the Investment Policy, including the Depository Agreements, following along the lines of past policies. Audit. The Council reviewed the existing policy which calls for the bidding out of the audit once every, three to five years. The Council was of the opinion that the policy should remain the same, but that existing auditors should not be precluded from securing the audit for an additional three to five years. User Fccs Versus Taxes. It was the consensus of the Council that where possible that user fees should continue to be used instead of taxes. Human Relations Co~mission. The City Council activities of this Commission and had no comments. reviewed the City Manager Monthly Newspaper Article. The City Council reviewed and while there were some discussions of increasing the frequency it was the consensus to leave as is for the time being. Public Infomati~ Officer. The City Council. discussed the need for a Public Information Officer, but due to the. cost of providing such opted not pursue the employment of a Public Information Officer at this time. County Jail - Housing City Prisoners. The City Council reviewed the tentative proposal of the Director of Public Safety and the County Sheriff for the housing of City prisoners by the County. In return for housing prisoners, it was proposed that the City would respond to emergency calls adjacent to the City; provide animal control adjacent to the City free of charge; and provide backup to East side clubs. It was the consensus of the Council to continue to pursue said. proposal. Fire Contract with the County. It was the consensus of the Council to leave as is for the time being. EMS Contract. It was the consensus of the Council that this matter should not be pursued until the housing of City prisoners has been completed. Redistricting. The City Council requested additional information from the City Attorney as to the various options that might be pursued in redistricting the County. City/County Precincts. It was requested that the City Manager pursue, with the County, a voter registration list which would identify City residents in their respected precincts, along wi~h County precincts, and along with School District precincts. 3 of 7 O00ag. Hale County Central Appraisal District. The City Council requested that the City pursue the selling of repossessed properties for delinquent taxes; request that the. Appraisal District bid out the services for the delinquent tax collection attorney; and that the Appraisal District work on improving its image. Plainview Independent School District. comments at this time. The City Council had no Master' Plan. The City Council reviewed that such be updated and reviewed annually. Zoning Ordinance Alcoholic Beverages. The City Council requested that the City Attorney review such an~ specific recommendations concerning revisions to that portion of the Code. Parks/Frisco Subdivision. It was the conssnsus of the City Council that the availability of grant funds he determined for the acquisition of materials for the construction of a Frisco neighborhood park. Once said determination is made then the project is to be returned to the. Council for review and at that time a decision will be made as to whether or not it will be pursued. Parks/Golf Driving Range. The Council requested that development of such a facility be reviewed in the City Park. the par~/Jogging Trails. such be reviewed. The Council requested that construction of Water Reserves. The City Council discussed the need for a hydrologist analysis of existing water reserves and for the future use of treated effluent.. Annexation. The City Council requested~ that the annexation of the Westridge properties be submitted for review in June, 1990. Council also requested that the annexation of other properties be submitted during the current fiscal year. Impact Fees. The City Council discussed the need to come into compliance with the State Impact Fee Regulations. It was the consensus that the City attempt to exempt itself from the impact fee regulations. Retreat - Quarterly Reports. The City Council requested that the City Manager provide quarterly reports on the status of the various projects reviewed at the annual retreat. Build~ Codes. differences in communities. The City Council requested a review of the the Building Codes of Plainview with area Beautification. With the upcoming competition for the State Beautification Efforts the City Council expressed a desire to 4 of 7 © O0 allocate $500 toward promotional expenses. Plainview/Hale County Industrial Foundation reviewed and the Council had no comments. operations were Chamber of C~muerce operations were reviewed and the Council had no comment. Plainview Downtown Association operations were reviewed, and the Council had no comment. Tax Abatement Polic~was reviewed and the Council had no comment. Enterprise Zone operations were reviewed and the Council requested that the City promote the Enterprise Zone. Private Prisons Of America was reviewed and the Council was reminded that there is a meeting scheduled on March 7, 1990, at 2:00 P.M., to hear a formal presentation from Private Prisons of America officials. High Ground SPS efforts were discusSed and the Council requested a status report on those efforts. Sewer the City Council reviewed the. ongoing projects at the Wastewater Treatment Plant and was reminded by the City Manager that a potential rate increase may be forthcoming due to the requirement of the dechlorination facilities. Sanitation. It was the consensus of the Council that land owners and tenants, in the vicinity of the proposed sanitary landfill, be contacted by the City directly prior to initiation of any contact by the State. The City Council was in concurrence that the City should proceed with requi~ing mandatory sanitation service within the City', and that said services should be provided by the City of Plainview where possible. Water. The Council was informed that th.e Clean Water Act_ may impose some. additional financial requirements on the City sometime in the not so distant future. Storm Water Collection and Treatment was discussed by the Council as an additional potential financial burden upon City residents. Alley Maintenance. It was the consensus of the Council that an analysis be conducted, to determine if a one dollar per month additional chamge would provide enough funds to increase alley maintenance services. Sanitation Bulk Pick-up. The Council requested an analysis of the costs in providing a bulk pick-up service in the alleys both full time and part time.. Koen Studios. The Council. was advised that the owner of Koen's Studios was interested in selling such to the City for $35,000. 5 of 7 Pending Projects. The Council reviewed the following pending projects from last year's retreat: Assistant Director of Public Works; purchasing manual; annexation - Westridge; industrial recruitment policy - special emphasis on environmental issues ( i. e. water consumption); annexation; street sweeping; City Charter amendments. Completed Projects from last years retreat reviewed by the Council were: Civil Service review; City Attorney's Secretary; Grant Writer; TMRS - Fireman's Pensions Review; consolidated Police and Fire; review of parks operations; Library review; Freeport status; water rate adjustment; redistricting County; and water rights/conservation. Priorities. The following items were listed for consideration of high prioritization: Library improvements; Public Safety Consolidation; Enterprise Zone promotion; Hale County Central Appraisal District; Civil Service; Forty Hour Work Week for Fire Department; Master Plan; Surplus property disposal; County redistricting; water rights/reserve study; alley maintenance and bulk refuse pick-up services; impact fees; and Private Prisons of America. Public Safety Consolidation was rated as the number one priority with a specific charge to clarify the goals and identify a means for measuring progress with such to be completed as soon as possible. Hale County Central Appraisal District was established as the second highest priomity with the disposal of surplus properties; changing of the current perceived negative attitude within the office; changing Board representation to Councitmembers, possible Council liaison, bidding out delinquent attorney services; as being the topics that are to be addressed. Library improvement of efficiency was the third priority with the City Council to receive a status report every sixty days. Fire Department review of Forty Hour Work Week, was the fourth priority with said review of existing information to be completed within the next thirty days. Alley Maintenance/Bulk ~efuse Pick-Up was the fifth priority with options being identified and presented to the City Council within 180 days., in time for 'consideration in the upcoming budget preparation and deliberations. Meeting Place. The City Council requested options be identified on potential meeting places for the City Council work sessions. Retreat Evaluation. The City Manage~ advised that he would be contacting individual Councilmembers within the next two weeks for an oral evaluation of the retreat. 6 of 7 O0 0~2 Passed and Approved this 27th day of February, 1990. E.V. Ridlehuber, Mayor ATTEST: J~6%es P.~effers~,~k~~ger 7 of 7