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Item 4BCity of Southlake, Texas M E M O R A N D U M September 10, 2003 TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council FROM: Billy Campbell, City Manager Agenda Item Comments and Other Items of Interest for City Council Meeting SUBJECT: September 16, 2003 4B. City Manager’s Report - Introduction of Kerry McGeath, Library Administrator. As I mentioned in my notes last week, we have hired Kerry McGeath to serve as the new Library Administrator. Kerry was in the retail business for over 25 years, and has worked in several libraries. He brings an in-depth understanding of customer service to the position, important because one of the priorities for the library is improving customer service. Kerry comes to Southlake from the City of Farmers Branch Manske Public Library, where he serves as the adult services librarian, and will be on staff full time beginning September 15th. I will take a few moments to introduce Kerry to you and those in attendance 5A. Approve minutes for the August 26, 2003, Special City Council Meeting; for the August 26, 2003, City Council Budget Work Session; and for the September 2, 2003, Regular City Council Meeting. The minutes are included with your packet information. Contact Lori Farwell if you have any questions or corrections. 5B. Authorize the City Manager to purchase a digital recorder for the 9-1-1 Communication Center located at 667 North Carroll Avenue. The Department of Public Safety is requesting the purchase of a new digital recorder. Police and Fire radio traffic and incoming telephone calls to the 9-1-1 center are recorded twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week on the main channels. The current recorder is at the end of its life cycle and the manufacturer has discontinued the hardware and software support. The cost of the replacement recorder is $29,998.51. This purchase will allow quick retrieval and access to telephone calls or radio traffic and will provide a legal record of the event. Funds currently exist in the DPS budget. Contact Rick Black with questions or comments. Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council Agenda Item Comments and Other Items of Interest City Council Meeting September 16, 2003 Page 2 of 6 st 5C. Ordinance No. 857, 1 Reading, Denying TXU Gas Company's request to change rates in this municipality, as a part of the company's Statewide Gas Utility System. On May 23, 2003, TXU Gas Distribution Company filed a Statement of Intent to change gas rates in all municipalities within the TXU Gas Distribution System. On June 3, 2003, the City Council approved Resolution No. 03-037 to formally suspend the effective date of proposed new rates for the maximum period allowed by law. The resolution also authorized the joining of a coalition of 123 cities. Based on several meetings of the coalition, the Steering Committee has recommended all cities deny the rate increase. Included in Sharen’s memo are several findings of fact to justify denial of the new rates. If you have any questions related this agenda item you may contact Sharen Elam. 5D. Resolution No. 03-072, Approve an amendment to the Fee Schedule. During the budget work session held on August 26, 2003, staff presented proposed building service fee amendments. The fee schedule includes the changes discussed. Also included are the park and recreation fee changes recommended by the Park and Recreation Board (changes are included in the community services section). All proposed changes are indicated in RED on the fee schedule attached to Sharen’s memo. Please call the department director associated with the fee if you have questions. nd 7A. Ordinance No. 855, 2 Reading, Annual Budget for FY 2003-04 and approving the revised SECOND PUBLIC HEARING. budget figures for FY 2002-03. This ordinance formally sets the budget for FY 2003-04 and amends the budget for FY 2002-03. On September 2, 2003, the proposed budget was approved as filed on August 15, 2003 with the exception to th change the personnel numbers to incorporate option B (market adjustments to the 50 percentile). The change would reduce expenditures (all funds) by approximately $100,000. If you have any questions, please contact Sharen Elam. nd SECOND PUBLIC HEARING. 7B. Ordinance No. 856, 2 Reading, Tax Levy Ordinance. This ordinance formally sets the tax rate at $.462 per $100 of valuation for FY 2003-04. After your final approval, the rate is given to Tarrant County to apply to the appraised values as of January 1, 2003 and to generate tax statements. Contact Sharen Elam with any questions. Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council Agenda Item Comments and Other Items of Interest City Council Meeting September 16, 2003 Page 3 of 6 nd 7C. Ordinance No. 480-424, (ZA03-034), 2 Reading, Zoning Change and Site Plan for White Chapel Plaza Office Park. The following changes have been made since the approval of the first reading:  The impervious coverage has been reduced from 67.4 percent to 65.1 percent.  The proposed parking regulation to allow general office parking ratios for all permitted uses, including medical, has been removed. Parking ratios will comply with the zoning ordinance.  Four parking spaces were removed. This resulted in the reduction of impervious coverage and the removal of the need for the driveway stacking depth variance.  The accent trees, also known as under-story trees, have been doubled in the east bufferyard adjacent to North White Chapel Boulevard. Contact Bruce Payne or Dennis Killough if you have any questions. 10A. Approve a variance to Sign Ordinance No. 704-A for Big Bowl Asian Kitchen located at 2700 East Southlake Boulevard. The restaurant owner wants to place a second attached sign on the west side of the building, facing North Nolen Drive, to indicate the location of the pick-up entrance for carry-out orders. Variances for the following conditions are requested: The number of attached signs exceeds the maximum permitted. Only one is permitted per façade fronting a street and a total of two for the building or lease space. This proposal will result in a total of three signs, with two signs facing North Nolen Drive. The three-sided attached sign is not permitted because it is not defined by the sign ordinance. The sign is not centered in the store frontage and is outside of the middle 75% of the facade plane. The location of the pick-up entrance door prevents the sign from meeting this requirement. Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council Agenda Item Comments and Other Items of Interest City Council Meeting September 16, 2003 Page 4 of 6 The gross sign area for the façade exceeds the permitted maximum area. The existing sign is at the maximum permitted area of 65 square feet. The proposed three-sided sign will add another 21 square feet. Contact Bruce Payne or Dennis Killough if you have any questions. 10B. Approve Transportation Task Force report and recommendations. On July 15, 2003, the City Council approved the formation of a transportation task force to study the transportation programs available to and utilized by the senior citizens and those with physical handicaps that prohibit their ability to drive independently. Members of the task force included members of the Senior Advisory Commission, Call a Ride Southlake (CARS) program, and staff representatives from Community Services. Malcolm Jackson chaired the task force, and council members Carolyn Morris and Keith Shankland served as advisory members. The task force has submitted their report and a copy is included in your packet. Their recommendation includes:  a combination of the CARS program and transportation services provided by TxDOT in order to provide coverage of the full service needs for both the seniors and handicapped individuals;  $10,000 annual support to CARS, subject to conditions set out in the scope of services agreement;  $1,600 estimated annual payment to TxDOT. Details of the study and recommendation are included in the report. Contact Malcolm Jackson if you have any questions. 11A. Amendments to the solicitors ordinance, mass gathering ordinance, and the zoning ordinance as it pertains to outside sales. Staff has developed a PowerPoint presentation and will subsequently seek Council input on upcoming proposed changes to the city's solicitation, mass gathering, seasonal sales, and related changes to the zoning ordinance on Tuesday night. This project, which has been underway for approximately one year, began with a comprehensive Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council Agenda Item Comments and Other Items of Interest City Council Meeting September 16, 2003 Page 5 of 6 review of the solicitation ordinance, but given the interrelated nature of the issues governed by these ordinances, expanded to a much larger scope. This effort is directly related to the solicitation moratorium Council passed last February which expired last June. In general, the following changes will be discussed at the meeting:  Clearly distinguishing between solicitation activities and temporary/permanent outdoor sales activities;  Improving control over solicitation within public rights-of-way and public and private property;  Governing special events via the mass gathering ordinance;  Moving the regulation of seasonal sales activities into the zoning ordinance. Staff also will brief Council on the charity drop boxes. Contact Bruce Payne if you have any questions. 11B. Private access drives for office developments. This item has been placed on the agenda t the request of Councilmember Stephen. Please let him know if you have questions or comments prior to the meeting. Other Items of Interest CIGNA Medical Insurance Rate Increase. We recently received our 2003-2004 rate renewals from CIGNA, our current medical insurance provider. The rate increases were much higher than we expected and we immediately began negotiating to lower the cost. After working with CIGNA for several weeks, we have been able to reduce the proposed increase to a 19.95% rate increase, from an initial proposal of 30%. However, based on our recent claims history, we still do not believe this high increase is justified, and are confident we can get better rates if we bid medical insurance. Due to the lateness in the plan year, we will be forced to continue with CIGNA for at least two to three months. During this time, the increased rates from CIGNA will be in effect. In order to provide employees with some relief from the impact of this rate increase, and to avoid immediately negating Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council Agenda Item Comments and Other Items of Interest City Council Meeting September 16, 2003 Page 6 of 6 the positive effect of the pay plan adjustments, the City will temporarily absorb the increase in monthly premiums for dependent coverage while we undertake the Request for Proposals (RFP) process. We estimate this cost to be approximately $10,000 per month and funds are available within our insurance budget. It is certain however, that there will be an increase in premiums with any new provider and once we move to the new provider, we will return to the current levels of City-paid premiums. We will do everything we can to continue the current level of benefits (i.e., co-pays, deductibles, etc.) while keeping the rate increase as low as possible. All other insurance providers will continue as before, we are not seeking bids for other types of insurance. We anticipate bringing a new contract for medical insurance to City Council in early November. Contact Kevin Hugman if you have any questions. Holiday Season. I don’t see any conflicts with the upcoming holidays and your regularly scheduled meeting dates, however, if you have any extended holiday plans that will cause you to miss a regular meeting, please contact Lori Farwell so that we can make sure that a quorum will be present. Otherwise, we can consider canceling a meeting. _____ BC Staff Extension Numbers: Black, Rick, DPS Director, 481-2406 Campbell, Billy, City Manager, 481-1409 Eaglen, John, Assistant to the City Manager, 481-1433 Elam, Sharen, Finance Director, 481-1713 Farahnak, Pedram, Public Works Director, 481-2308 Farwell, Lori, City Secretary, 481-1519 Hugman, Kevin, Human Resources Director, 481-1952 Jackson, Malcolm, Community Services Director, 481-1527 Killough, Dennis, Senior Planner, 481-2073 Last, Greg, Economic Development Director, 481-1671 Payne, Bruce, Planning Director, 481-2036 Yelverton, Shana, Assistant City Manager, 481-1429