1992-06-04 & 05 Retreat
1992 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT
Marriott Solana
DAY ONE: June 4, 1992, 7:30 - 10:00 p.m.
6:30 Overview/Dinner
• City wide staffing
• Interns
• Goals
• Volunteer Project
7:30 Financial Review
8:00 Public Safety Department
• Animal Control Enforcement
• 800 mhz or MDTs
10:00 Adjourn
DAY ONE: June 5, 1992, 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
8:00 Buffet Breakfast/Review
8:30 Public Works
• Streets
• Water
• Sewer
• Drainage
• Parks
• Planning and Zoning
• Building
• Code Enforcement
REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
The narrative which follows is intended to present the City Council
with an overview of several topics to be discussed during the
retreat. The text is not comprehensive in that not every item to
be discussed is included.
REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
City Council Retreat
June 4 - 5, 1992
Table of Contents
Page
I.Public Works
Drainage Maintenance 1
Drainage Master Plan 2
Drainage Utility District 3
Street Patching 4
Right-of-Way Mowing 4
Bond Program 5
Code Enforcement 6
Water 7
Sewer Interceptor & Main Lines 8
Neighborhood Sewers 10
II. Public Safety
Animal Control 11
III. Finance
Governmental Accounting 13
Summary Financial Information 14
Municipal Court Software System 16
Update Utility Billing Software 16
Utility Bills 17
Cash Receipts Software System 17
Group Health/Life Insurance 18
Depository Bank 19
PUBLIC WORKS
Drainage Maintenance
Bar ditch and other drainage way maintenance receives only limited
attention due to the work load of the maintenance crews. In the
area of drainage maintenance, the City will need to spend more work
hours, budget more funds and provide more personnel to meet minimum
expectations of the citizens and to provide adequate drainage for
the city streets.
At present, there are seven (7) employees in the Street Division.
These employees provide the following functions:
1. patch potholes;
2. repair street failures and overlay with
asphalt;
3. mow right-of-ways (6 months);
4. repair and replace all regulatory signs;
5. clean ditches;
6. clear right-of-way as required (brush, etc.);
7. provide street reconstruction on a limited basis; and
8. perform miscellaneous repair work on City
buildings.
Cleaning ditches requires a minimum of five (5) employees; two
driving a truck, one on the gradall and two flagmen (sometimes one
flagman is adequate). That leaves two employees to patch potholes
if no one is out sick or on vacation.
With the passage of the Street Bond Program, the City will be
obligated to provide adequate drainage ditches and facilities for
our newly constructed streets. If two additional employees were
added, then two crews could be working full time; one crew cleaning
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ditches (5) and one crew doing street repairs (4). The street
repair crew would consist of a loader operator, two truck drivers
and one flagman (if two flagmen are required, one truck would be
used). To have two full crews working everyday, two additional
dump trucks would be required. Since no streets will be completed
until summer of 1993, these additional employees and trucks would
not be required until the 1993-94 budget year.
Another area in drainage maintenance that is becoming a problem is
grass lined drainage ditches in dedicated drainage easements other
than bar ditches. The City's Subdivision Ordinance does not
require developers to install concrete lined drainage ditches. If
a drainage ditch is in a drainage easement dedicated to the City,
the City may be responsible for maintaining the ditch.
If the City is to maintain the ditches, Council may want to
consider requiring the developer to install concrete ditches, or
concrete pilot channels in lieu of fully lined concrete ditches,
where a dedicated drainage easement is required.
None of the above addresses maintenance of subdivision bar ditches.
We currently do not have a program of bar ditch maintenance in
subdivisions. Ordinance No. 483, our subdivision ordinance,
provides that property owners must maintain the ditches in front of
their property. However, we receive numerous calls from
individuals requesting the City to do the maintenance. In some
unusual circumstances we have done so following citizens
complaints. If we had a full-time drainage crew we would be able
to more appropriately respond to these type complaints.
Drainage Master Plan
As stated in last year's budget retreat, a master drainage plan
needs to be developed for the City composed of the following:
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1.a detailed inventory of all drainage structures (box
culverts, inlets, etc.);
2.a list of flood-prone areas;
3.delineation of drainage basins;
4.drainage basin flows for 100-year storm and cross sections;
5.cost estimates of all required improvements;
6.two-foot contour maps for each basin;
7.aerial photos that coincide with the contour maps (the
two-foot contour map and aerials are usually done at the
same time);
8.review of existing drainage ordinance;
9.minimum standards for drainage requirements; and
identification of critical structures.
Not all of the items listed above need to be implemented at this
time. The most expensive aspects of a master drainage plan are the
contour and aerial maps. For a City the size of Southlake these
could cost as much as $200,000. The remaining items would cost
between $40,000 to $50,000. Funding for the items listed above,
excluding contour and aerial maps, could come from three different
sources:
1. annual budget
2. street bond program
3. development of a Drainage Utility District
(discussed below)
The funding for the contour and aerial maps could be provided at a
later date.
A master drainage plan would provide the following:
1.identification of problem areas and their solutions;
2.identification of critical drainage structures to be
budgeted for each year; and
3.proper scheduling of drainage improvements.
3
Drainage Utility District
A Drainage Utility District is an alternative method by which
drainage maintenance and structures could be funded with minimal
financial burden on the citizens. One of the first steps in
creating a utility district is a Master Drainage Plan as previously
discussed.
The state statutes provide guidelines to be followed by cities in
creating a Drainage Utility District. The law allows a city to
develop a charge for commercial and residential users that will
fund ongoing drainage maintenance, capital drainage improvements,
and debt service for drainage bonds.
The City will have to conduct a study to determine the charge per
month of each residential and commercial property owner to be added
to their water bill. Area cities have implemented a Drainage
Utility District. The Drainage Utility District may be the only
method to enable Southlake to address drainage concerns throughout
the City.
Street Patching
The City has a regular schedule for patching potholes. The two
member patch crew travels over every road in the City at least once
a month, repairing potholes as they travel. Whenever a pothole is
reported by a citizen, the crew deviates from its regular route
long enough to patch the pothole and then return to its original
schedule. Any pothole reported to be dangerous is repaired within
24-hours.
Whenever a major project requires all seven (7) employees, such as
a large overlay project, the patching crew will assist the major
project for the time required and then return it to its regular
schedule.
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Right-of-way Mowing
There are approximately 81 miles of collector or arterial roads
that the City is responsible for mowing (the City does not mow
subdivision rights-of-way). The City has one tractor mower to mow
the City's right-of-way. With all of the other work that has to be
done, this cuts into the work force.
In years past, staff has not found an independent contractor who is
willing to mow the City's right-of-way at a reasonable cost ($20-
$30/hour) because our right-of-ways are very rough and are hard on
a mower. This year there have been two (2) inquiries about mowing
the right-of-way which were within our cost range. If the
contractor mowers can average two (2) miles an hour, the entire
city can be mowed in a week's time at a cost of $800 to $1,200.
This would allow our crews to concentrate on other repair work.
If contract mowing proves to be a viable method of keeping our
rights-of-ways mowed, then funding will be proposed in the budget
($10,000 to $15,000). Otherwise, the City will need to purchase a
new mower ($15,000 to $20,000) and continue to mow the right-of-
ways with City employees.
Bond Program
The passage of the Street Bond Program will allow the street crews
to spend more time repairing subdivision streets when the program
is completed. Currently, most of the street crew activity is on
the major collectors and arterial streets that are included in the
Street Bond Program. Until the bond improvements are effected, the
crew will continue to repair the collector and arterial streets as
in the past.
Hopefully, the City will be able to utilize the County's forces as
it has in the past to reconstruct streets in areas not included in
the Bond Program, such as Johnson road, Randol Mill, North White
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Chapel, and Florence.
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Staff is currently reviewing the streets proposed to be
reconstructed in the Bond Program. City Council will need to
establish the priority list for the program.
Code Enforcement
As Southlake grows, so does the need for a pro-active code
enforcement program. With the addition of the new inspector last
month, the Code Enforcement Officer will be able to concentrate on
code enforcement.
Areas to be addressed include:
1.removal of unoccupied dangerous buildings
2.junk vehicles
3.illegal signs
4.zoning violations
5.occupied substandard housing
New Programs
Initial funding will be required to start an active program of
removing dangerous dilapidated buildings will require initial
funding. Upon the failure of a property owner to remove a
dangerous building, and following proper notification process, a
building condemned and scheduled to be removed, will be bid. The
low bidder is awarded the bid and the house is removed. All costs
associates with the removal of the building is charged against the
owner and a lien is put on the property. When the owners sell
their property, the liens are paid to the City. Starting the
program could cost between $10,000 to $15,000.
The City has not been active in the enforcement of our minimum
standard housing code. The purpose of the housing code is to
provide the basic minimum requirements under which residential
occupancy should be controlled -- requirements deemed essential for
safe and healthful living. The requirements of light and
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ventilation, electrical systems, living space, sanitary facilities,
and structural safety are addressed by the code. There are
numerous buildings in areas of the community that are probably in
non-compliance with the housing code. Prior to implementing a
housing code enforcement program, however, our housing code needs
to be updated.
Water
In the spring, Lewis McClain with staff reviewed the City's water
and sewer rates. The results of the study indicated that for the
next three years (through 1994-95 budget year) the City will not
have to raise water rates if at least a 5% growth factor continues.
Included in the rate structure is a proposed capital improvements
program of approximately $1.3 million.
The proposed $1.3 million capital improvement program consists of
the following projects:
1.replacing inadequate pipe line sizes
along Kimball Road, Shady Lane,
Raintree, Greenbough, Rolling Hills,
Hillcastle and Hilltop Drive: $465,000
2.placing in-service the high pressure
plane (see below): $450,000
3.installing a 12" water line along
SH 114, from White Chapel to
North Carroll: $385,000
Total Cost of 1, 2 & 3 $1,300,000
The installation of larger water lines along the streets listed
above will provide adequate fire protection to those areas.
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The differences in water pressure throughout most cities is so
great that the cities must be divided into two or more pressure
planes. Southlake is currently serviced by one pressure plane. A
second, high pressure plane is proposed to be located between
Florence Road and Johnson Road and the Cross Timbers subdivision
boundary. The remainder of the city is in the lower pressure
plane. The implementation of the high service plane consists of
the following:
1.utilization of Keller pump station and ground storage
capacity on Pearson Lane;
2.installation of a 12" line from the pump station to the .5
million gallon elevated storage tank off Florence Road,
which is currently empty. (When the White Chapel water
tower was installed in 1988 the .5 million gallon tower
which was existing on that site was relocated to its
present location); and
3.installation of a 12" water line along Florence and Randol
Mill Road connecting to the Cross Timbers subdivision.
As growth occurs in other sections of the city, the pressure will
diminish in the high pressure plane area in the summer peak
periods. Since the high pressure plane has previously experienced
problems with low pressure in the summer months and it appears, and
given the growth potential, it is time to plan for the installation
of a high pressure plane.
Staff members have had conversations with the City of Keller staff
about utilizing their pump station. Keller officials have
indicated a willingness to consider an agreement. Utilization of
the City of Keller pump station could possibly give the City of
Southlake a 10 year window before a high pressure plane pump
station will have to be built.
Sewer Interceptor and Main Lines
9
In 1988, the City Council committed to provide municipal sewer
service to the city by contracting with TRA to build two (2) major
interceptor lines: the Denton Creek Pressure System and the Bear
Creek Interceptor Line. The City was also one of the contracting
parties that built the Denton Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
currently in service northwest of Roanoke.
The Bear Creek Interceptor was completed and put in service in the
spring of 1991 at a cost of $12,750,000 of which Southlake is
responsible for 33% of the debt service. The Bear Creek
Interceptor serves the southern half of Southlake.
In 1990, Arvida built the S-4 line that connects to the Bear Creek
Interceptor. Since the Bear Creek interceptor was not built at
that time, the City entered into an agreement with Colleyville to
utilize an existing trunk line until the Bear Creek Interceptor was
built.
In 1991, the S-6 and N-3 gravity lines and the N-3 lift station
were completed. The lift station is located at Dove Creek and
Carroll Road; the N-3 line travels from the lift station southward
through Chapel Downs, Missions Hills and Diamond Circle Estates
subdivisions; the S-6 line travels southward from the end on the N-
3 line through the Mobil property and connecting to the Big Bear
Creek Interceptor.
The N-3 lift station and gravity line are located in the Denton
Creek Pressure System and the S-6 is located in the Big Bear
Interceptor System. By contract with TRA, the City is diverting
effluent by pumping from the Denton Creek Pressure Station to the
Big Bear Interceptor until the Denton Creek Pressure Station is
installed. The diversion will have to terminate prior to December
1, 1996 unless other arrangements are made. To construct the
Denton Creek Pressure line to the Denton Creek Treatment Plant is
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estimated to cost approximately $6,000,000. There are other
alternatives that are being reviewed at this time to provide
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sewerage facilities in the Denton Creek Pressure System at a lower
cost.
The Council entered into an agreement with two other parties in
March 1992 to construct the S-2 sewer line. The design is almost
complete on this line and the City will begin to acquire easements
in the next few weeks.
Neighborhood Sewers
In 1990 the City of Southlake established a sewer assessment
program to construct municipal sewer in the Continental Park
Estates Subdivision neighborhood. The project was completed in
January, 1991. A number of factors were considered in determining
the City's participation with the benefitted property owners in the
program, but special attention was warranted in the CPE
neighborhood due to public health problems associated with septic
tanks on the small lots in the subdivision.
Other neighborhoods have requested connection to the municipal
sewers. The City needs to adopt a policy or program statement to
adhere to in extending sewers to the neighborhoods. The program
statement should address how City participation will be determined.
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ANIMAL CONTROL
Animal control continues to be one of the recurring problems in the
community. The major issues involved are the split in public
sentiment toward animals at large, enforcement, and resources
available.
When the community was sparsely populated, controls were not needed
because there were fewer citizens and fewer animals at large.
Animals were free to roam, and to become a nuisance they had to
travel some distance. With the population increase, smaller lot
sizes, and new subdivisions, different attitudes have emerged
toward animal control. These attitudes create several problems,
the most prominent being calls-for-service directed toward the
Police Patrol Division and its ability to deal with the problems.
Currently the City has taken several steps to address animal
control. A comprehensive ordinance was passed. An contract for
sheltering animals is in place with the Humane Society of North
Texas and the Roanoke Shelter. These efforts were essential, but
stops short of successfully handling the problems. As illustrated
by the attachment, animal control can be a resource-expending call-
for-service. The vast majority of these calls are handled by a
police officer with little training and no equipment, and the
officer is taken out-of-service for the duration of these calls.
The next step in animal control for the City of Southlake is to
improve its handling of animal control calls, by providing some
solutions to stray animals and a more visible deterrent to
violations of our animal control ordinance.
The Roanoke Shelter is an avenue for accomplishments part of our
goals toward proper animal control, i.e., the shelter aspect,
however, current funding is inadequate to provide the control
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function. We can hire and equip animal control officers. Animal
control officers currently need to be certified, but this would not
prohibit providing a City worker with some training, equipment, and
the ability to respond and handle these instances as they occur,
and assign other responsibilities to the officer(s) when not
responding to calls. Multi-city involvement is another avenue,
with the cities providing personnel and equipment for enforcement,
and the Roanoke Animal Shelter providing the housing.
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FINANCE
Governmental Accounting
For the benefit of the new Council Members, an overview of the City
of Southlake's finances and accounting methods is presented. The
City accounts for all financial transactions within operating
Funds. The two major funds are the General Fund and the Utility
Fund. Another fund used by the City is the Capital Projects Funds,
which accounts for major improvements through bond proceeds or
other sources. The City also utilizes Special Revenue Funds, in
which funds received are restricted for specific purposes, such as
the Park Dedication Fees. The General Obligation Debt Service Fund
accumulates property tax revenues for the payment of principal and
interest on long term debt.
The General, Debt Service, Capital Projects and Special Revenue
Funds use a modified accrual basis of accounting. Revenues are
recorded when received, and expenditures are recorded when
incurred. Fixed assets are classified as expenditures in the year
purchased, and are also recorded in the General Fixed Asset Account
Group. No depreciation is recorded.
The Utility Fund accounts for all costs of and revenues derived
from providing water, wastewater, and sanitation service to
customers. Full accrual accounting is employed, with revenues
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recorded as earned, and expenses recorded when incurred.
Depreciation on fixed assets is recorded.
Summary Financial Information
A brief description of the primary revenue sources of the City and
areas of expenditures is included in this report. The major
operating fund, the General Fund, is combined with the Debt Service
Fund to facilitate comparison to last year. An overview of the
Utility Fund is also made.
General Fund/Debt Service Fund Revenues
The City's adopted tax rate this year is $.455 per $100 of assessed
valuation. Of that rate, $.31985, or 70.3% is for General Fund
support, and $.13515, or 29.7% is for General Obligation Debt
Service. Over 60% of revenues is derived from property tax. The
other major revenue sources are sales taxes, permit/development
fees, fines, and franchise fees.
General Fund/ Debt Service Fund Expenditures
There are four departments within the City's operations. They are
General Government, Finance, Public Works, and Public Safety. Debt
service on general obligation bonds is presented for comparison
purposes. The Public Safety Department, due its twenty-four hour
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per day staffing requirement, comprises the largest percentage
(38%) of the total expenditures. Public Works is 22%, while
General Obligation Debt Service is 17% for fiscal year 1992, up 5%
over last year.
The largest expenditure category is for personnel services. It
comprises almost half of total expenditures. Operations cost is
28%, while capital expenditures account for 8%.
Utility Fund
Southlake purchases all its water from the City of Fort Worth.
Wastewater treatment is provided by the Trinity River Authority.
The sanitation service contract was recently awarded to Lakeside
Sanitation. The cost of providing these services is accounted for
within the Utility Fund. Rates are derived from the cost of
providing these services and estimates of water volume to be sold
during the year.
The City has recently updated its cost of service study. Based
upon cost and volume estimates for the next three years, no rate
increase will be required, assuming annual debt service on any new
debt is paid from impact fees. Infrastructure needs will continue
to dominate financial planning within the Utility Fund. Some
major concerns the Council needs to address is the City's financial
17
participation/commitment to extending wastewater lines to existing
subdivisions. A consistent policy is important in order to adhere
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to the annual budget and subsequent year's projections. The
citizens need to know the Council's position.
Municipal Court Software System
In April the City Council authorized the purchase of a replacement
Municipal Court computer system. This system is scheduled for
delivery in late May and will be interfaced with the existing
Police System. We will be working toward a smooth transition to
this personal computer based system.
Update Utility Billing Software
In 1985, the City installed a Utility Billing computer system. In
the year since its installation, no computer system upgrade has
been made. An upgrade would provide several advantages. There is
expanded reporting and payment record-keeping capability. Also,
the system would maintain a twenty-four month history of accounts.
Currently this is limited to twelve months. There is also a
utility clerk input screen which has the ability to interface with
a work order software system. Service, or work orders would be
generated automatically from utility clerk input on accounts within
the utility billing system.
This upgrade has been available from our software vendor, Cameo,
for over two years. This is an upgrade that should have been made
when first available. It is important for the City to remain
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current with our software provider and their products. An outdated
software program can require more specialized and costly support
the longer it is retained.
Utility Bills
The 1991-92 Budget provided funds to modify the current utility
bill, which is now a 4" x 6" card. Several alternatives have been
reviewed, including contracting the billing service with a company.
The contractor would process the monthly bills, plus allow for
items such as the monthly newsletter to be inserted with the
billing. This alternative required the monthly billing data files
to be submitted on a data tape. The City does not have a tape
drive system on its computer. After reviewing this option, it was
determined this would prove more costly than keeping the billing
in-house.
The utility billing clerk is in the process of reviewing all
billing forms and notices. The recommendations will be evaluated
by the City Manager and Finance Director. The changes can be
publicized through the City's monthly newsletter. It is
anticipated these new forms can be implemented before the end of
the fiscal year.
Cash Receipts Software System
The City retains one central cashier that receives and records all
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funds coming into the municipal coffers. This function is one of
the few in the City that is not computerized. The cashier now
writes receipts for payments other than for utility bills,
primarily development related fees. A cash register with a cash
drawer validates the amount and date on the receipt. In an effort
to support internal controls over cash, it is proposed to purchase
and implement a Cash Receipts software program in the next year.
This program is a batch file process, whereby daily receipts are
processed as of the end of the day, then updated to accounts. The
general ledger account entries to record the daily business are
automatically generated, eliminating the need for a keyed daily
entry. The program generates a cash receipt summarizing each
transaction, eliminating the need to hand-write receipts.
The cost of this system is approximately $7,750 for the software
licenses, plus $5,970 for the required hardware, installation, and
training, for a total of $13,720. This program was proposed last
year. Almost all financial activity for the City is derived from
transactions processed by the Cashier. The system would provide an
opportunity to integrate this activity with the General Ledger and
subsidiary ledgers.
Group Health/Life Insurance
Some discussion has been made concerning the City's group health
insurance plan. The City currently uses Texas Municipal League
21
Group Benefits Risk Pool. The City pays 100% of employee cost, and
the employee pays any dependent premium. This is an indemnity
program, 80%/$5,000, $200 deductible. Included for this year is a
prescription card. The plan also provides dental coverage, plus
life and accidental death/dismemberment up to $25,000 maximum
annual salary. Texas Municipal League periodically bids each of
these plans with several underwriters. For 1991-92, the City
monthly pays $170.61 per employee for medical, $15.26 for dental,
plus approximately $.35/$1,000 salary for life/ADD. Based on 75
employees, the annual total premium is approximately $175,000.
Staff believes this is a competitive product and rate, and
employees as a whole are satisfied. The TML program requires
little City staff administration.
Should the Council decide that TML not be used, the City could send
Requests for Proposals to health care insurance providers.
Insurance is not exempt from State bidding requirements as a
personal service. Under state law, the City may not use a broker,
or any person who may derive income from any source other than the
City to place this type of insurance without first submitting to
Requests for Proposals. Council can engage on a fee basis a
consultant that can draft specifications and analyze needs and
proposals. Consultant fees would range from $5,000 to $10,000.
Depository Bank
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The City has as its depository bank Texas National Bank. The Bank
handles all demand account transactions. The City uses two demand
bank accounts, Pooled Cash and Payroll. During a year
approximately 2,400 accounts payable checks are issued, as well as
over 2,000 payroll checks. The Bank also places all certificates
of deposit for the City through Texas Independent Bank in Dallas.
Certificates with maturities beyond 30 days have the interest
deposited monthly to the City's Pooled Cash account, thereby
maintaining the required $100,000 deposit limit with each bank.
Texas National Bank is also required to pledge a portion of their
investment portfolio to the City's accounts that are in excess of
$100,000. The City would have claim to these pledged securities in
the event of default.
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Public Works Department
I. DRAINAGE
A. Drainage Maintenance:
Bar ditch and other drainage way maintenance receives only limited
attention due to the work load of the maintenance crews.
In the area of drainage maintenance, the City will need
to spend more man hours, budget more funds and provide
more personnel to meet minimum expectations of the
citizens and to provide adequate drainage for the city
streets.
At present, there are seven (7) employees in the Street Division.
These employees provide the following functions:
1. patch potholes;
2. repair street failures and overlay with
asphalt;
3. mow right-of-ways (6 months);
4. repair and replace all regulatory signs;
5. clean ditches;
6. clear right-of-way as required (brush, etc.);
7. provide street reconstruction on a limited
basis; and
8. perform miscellaneous repair work on City
buildings.
Cleaning ditches requires a minimum of five (5) employees; two
driving a truck, one on the gradall and two flagmen
(sometimes one flagman is adequate). That leaves two
employees to patch potholes if no one is out sick or on
vacation.
1
With the passage of the Street Bond Program, the City will be
obligated to provide adequate drainage ditches and
facilities for our newly constructed streets. If two
additional employees were added, then two crews could be
working full time; one crew cleaning ditches (5) and one
crew doing street repairs (4). The street repair crew
would consist of a loader operator, two truck drivers
and one flagman (if two flagmen are required, one truck
would be used). To have two full crews working
everyday, two additional dump trucks would be required.
Since no streets will be completed until summer of
1993, these additional employees and trucks would not
be required until the 1993-94 budget year.
Another area in drainage maintenance that is becoming a
problem is grass lined drainage ditches in dedicated
drainage easements other than bar ditches. The City's
Subdivision Ordinance does not require developers to
install concrete lined drainage ditches. If a drainage
ditch is in a drainage easement dedicated to the City,
the City may be responsible for maintaining the ditch.
If the City is to maintain the ditches, Council may want to
consider requiring the developer to install concrete
ditches or concrete pilot channels in lieu of fully
lined concrete ditches where a dedicated drainage
easement is required.
None of the above addresses maintenance of subdivision bar
ditches. We currently do not have a program of bar
ditch maintenance in subdivisions. Ordinance No. 483,
our subdivision regulations, provides that property
owners must maintain the ditches in front of their
property. However, we receive numerous calls from
2
individuals requesting the City to do the maintenance.
In some circumstances we have done so following citizens
complaints. If we had a full-time drainage crew we
would be able to more appropriately respond to these
type complaints.
B. Drainage Master Plan
As stated in last year's budget retreat, a master drainage
plan needs to be developed for the City composed of the
following:
1. a detailed inventory of all drainage structures
(box culverts, inlets, etc.);
2. a list of flood-prone areas;
3. delineation of drainage basins;
4. drainage basin flows for 100-year storm and cross
sections;
5. cost estimates of all required improvements;
6. two-foot contour maps for each basin;
7. aerial photos that coincide with the contour maps
(the two-foot contour map and aerials are usually
done at the same time);
8. review of existing drainage ordinance;
9. minimum standards for drainage requirements; and
10. identification of critical structures.
Not all of the items listed above need to be implemented at this
time. The most expensive aspects of a master drainage
plan are the contour and aerial maps. For a City the
size of Southlake these could cost as much as $200,000.
The remaining items would cost between $40,000 to
$50,000. Funding for the items listed above, excluding
contour and aerial maps, could come from three different
sources:
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1. approved budget
2. street bond program
3. development of a Drainage Utility District
(discussed below)
The funding for the contour and aerial maps could be provided at a
later date.
A master drainage plan would provide the following:
1.identification of problem areas and their solutions;
2.identification of critical drainage structures to be
budgeted for each year; and
3.proper scheduling of drainage improvements.
C. Drainage Utility District:
A Drainage Utility District is an alternative method by which
drainage maintenance and structures could be funded with
minimal financial burden on the citizens. One of the
first steps in creating a utility district is a Master
Drainage Plan as previously discussed.
The state statutes provide guidelines to be followed by cities
in creating a Drainage Utility District. The law allows
a city to develop a charge for commercial and
residential users that will fund ongoing drainage
maintenance, capital drainage improvements, and debt
service for drainage bonds.
The City will have to conduct a study to determine the charge
per month of each residential and commercial property
owner to be added to their water bill. Area cities have
implemented a Drainage Utility District and are having
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good success. The Drainage Utility District may be the
only method to enable Southlake to address drainage
concerns throughout the City.
II. STREETS
A. Street Patching
The City has a regular schedule for patching potholes. The
two member patch crew travels over every road in the
City at least once a month, repairing potholes as they
travel. Whenever a pothole is reported by a citizen,
the crew deviates from its regular route long enough to
patch the pothole and then return to its original
schedule. Any pothole reported to be dangerous is
repaired within 24-hours.
Whenever a major project requires all seven (7) employees,
such as a large overlay project, the patching crew will
assist the major project for the time required and then
return it to its regular schedule.
B. Right-of-way Mowing
There are approximately 81 miles of collector or arterial
roads that the City is responsible for mowing (the City
does not mow subdivision rights-of-way). The City has
one tractor mower to mow the City's right-of-way. With
all of the other work that has to be done, this cuts
into the work force.
In years past, staff has not found an independent contractor
who is willing to mow the City's right-of-way at a
reasonable cost ($20-$30/hour) because our right-of-ways
are very rough and are hard on a mower. This year there
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have been two (2) inquiries about mowing the right-of-
way which were within our cost range. If the contractor
mowers can average two (2) miles an hour, the entire
city can be mowed in a week's time at a cost of $800 to
$1,200. This would allow our crews to concentrate on
other repair work.
If contract mowing proves to be a viable method of keeping our
rights-of-ways mowed, then funding will be proposed in
the budget ($10,000 to $15,000). Otherwise, the City
will need to purchase a new mower ($15,000 to $20,000)
and continue to mow the right-of-ways with City
employees.
C. Bond Program
The passage of the Street Bond Program will allow the street
crews to spend more time repairing subdivision streets
when the program is completed. Currently, most of the
street crew activity is on the major collectors and
arterial streets that are included in the Street Bond
Program. Until the bond improvements are effected, the
crew will continue to repair the collector and arterial
streets as in the past.
Hopefully, the City will be able to utilize the County's
forces as it has in the past to reconstruct streets in
areas not included in the Bond Program, such as Johnson
road, Randall Mill, North White Chapel, and Florence.
Staff is currently reviewing the streets proposed to be
reconstructed in the Bond Program. City Council will
need to establish the priority list for the program.
III. CODE ENFORCEMENT
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As Southlake grows, so does the need for a pro-active code
enforcement program. With the addition of the new inspector,
the Code Enforcement Officer will be able to concentrate code
enforcement.
Areas to be addressed include:
1. removal of unoccupied dangerous buildings
2. junk vehicles
3.illegal signs
4.zoning violations
5.occupied substandard housing
New Programs
A.To start an active program of removing dilapidated buildings
will require initial funding. Following proper
notification process, when a building is condemned and
scheduled to be removed, the bidding process is
initiated. The low bidder is awarded the bid and the
house is removed. All costs associates with the removal
of the building is charged against the owner and a lien
is put on the property. Starting the program could cost
between $10,000 to $15,000. When the owners sell their
property, the liens are paid to the City and the fund
perpetuates.
B.The City has not been active in the enforcement of our minimum
standard housing code. The purpose of the housing code
is to provide the basic minimum requirements under which
residential occupancy should be controlled --
requirements deemed essential for safe and healthful
living. The requirements of light and ventilation,
electrical systems, living space, sanitary facilities
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and structural safety are addressed by the code. There
are numerous buildings in areas of the community that
are probably in non-compliance with the housing code.
Prior to implementing a housing code enforcement
program, however, our housing code needs to be updated.
IV. WATER
In the spring, Lewis McClain with staff reviewed the City's water
and sewer rates. The results of the study indicated that for
the next three years (through 1994-95 budget year) the City
will not have to raise water rates if at least a 5% growth
factor continues. Included in the rate structure was a
capital improvements program of approximately 1.3 million
dollars.
The 1.3 million dollar capital improvement program consisted of the
following projects:
1.Replacing inadequate pipe line sizes along Kimball
Road, Shady Lane, Raintree, Greenbough, Rolling
Hills, Hillcastle and Hilltop Drive. $465,000
2.Putting in service the high pressure plane
$450,000
3.Installing a 12" water line along SH 114,
from White Chapel to North Carroll.
$385,000
_________
Total Cost of 1, 2 & 3 $1,300,000
The installation of larger pipe lines along the streets listed
above will provide adequate fire protection to those areas
which currently do not have.
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The differences in pressure throughout most cities are so great
that the cities must be divided into two or more pressure
planes. Southlake is currently serviced by one pressure plane.
The high pressure plane is proposed to be located between
Florence Road and Johnson Road and the Cross Timbers
subdivision boundary. The remainder of the city is in the
lower pressure plane. The implementation of the high service
plane consists of the following:
1.Utilization of Keller pump station and ground storage
capacity on Pearson Lane;
2.Installation of a 12" line from the pump station to
the .5 million gallon elevated storage tank which
is currently empty. (When the White Chapel water
tower was installed in 1988 the .5 million gallon
tower which was existing on that site was relocated
to its present location); and
4.Installation of a 12" water line along Florence and
Randall Mill Road connecting to the Cross Timbers
subdivision.
As growth occurs in other sections of the city, the pressure will
diminish in the high pressure plane because it cannot meet the
demand in the summer peak periods. The high pressure plane is
experiencing low pressure in the summer months and it appears,
with the growth potential, that now is the time to plan for
the installation of a high pressure plane.
Staff members have had conversations with the City of Keller about
utilizing their pump station and Keller officials have
indicated that an agreement could be reached. By utilizing
the City of Keller pump station, this could possibly give the
City of Southlake a 10 year window before a high pressure
plane pump station will have to be built.
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If these improvements are approved by the Council, staff would
start the design late this year.
V.SEWER
In the last three years the City has made great strides in the
development of its sewer infrastructure.
In the mid 1980's, the City Council committed to provide gravity
sewer service to the city by contracting with TRA to build two
(2) major interceptor lines; the Denton Creek Pressure System
and the Bear Creek Interceptor Line. The City was also one of
the contracting parties that built the Denton Creek Wastewater
Treatment Plant currently in service northwest of Roanoke.
The Bear Creek Interceptor was completed and put in service in the
spring of 1991 at a cost of $12,750,000 of which Southlake is
responsible for 33% of the debt service. The Bear Creek
Interceptor serves the southern half of Southlake.
In 1990, Arvida built the S-4 line that connects to the Bear Creek
Interceptor. Since the Bear Creek interceptor was not built
at that time, the City entered into an agreement with
Colleyville to utilize an existing trunk line until the Bear
Creek Interceptor was built.
In 1991, the S-6 and N-3 gravity lines and the N-3 lift station
were completed. The lift station is located at Dove Creek and
Carroll Road; the N-3 line travels from the lift station
southward through Chapel Downs, Missions Hills and Diamond
Circle Estates subdivisions; the S-6 line travels southward
from the end on the N-3 line through the Mobil property and
connecting to the Big Bear Creek Interceptor.
The N-3 lift station and gravity line are located in the Denton
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Creek Pressure System and the S-6 is located in the Big Bear
Interceptor System. By contract with TRA, the City is pumping
from the Denton Creek Pressure Station to the Big Bear
Interceptor until the Denton Creek Pressure Station is
installed. The pumping will have to terminate prior to
December 1, 1996 unless other arrangements are made. To
construct the Denton Creek Pressure line to the Denton Creek
Treatment Plant is estimated to cost approximately $6,000,000.
There are other alternatives that are being reviewed at this
time to provide sewerage facilities in the Denton Creek
Pressure System at a lower cost.
The Council entered into an agreement with two other parties in
March 1992 to construct the S-2 sewer line. The design is
almost complete on this line and the City will begin to
acquire easements in the next few weeks.
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