City Council

,~\• City ofAlvord Caleb Caviness, Mayor MINUTES ALVORD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR SESSION December 19, 2024 6:00 p.m. The City Council of the City of Alvord, Texas met in regular session on Thursday, December 191'1, 2024, in the Council Chambers of City Hall. The meeting was called to order at 6:03 p.m. and a quorum was present. Mayor Caviness was present and presiding with Mayor Pro-Tern Sherwood, Council Member Hatzenbihler, and Council Member Quintana. Also in attendance were City Administrator Troy Gregg, Assistant City Administrator Martha Nivens, City Secretary Delise White, City Attorney Jim Shepherd, Alvord Fire Chief Heather Redder, Alvord Assistant Fire Chief Jordan Hodges, and Public Works Director Jerry Anderson. There were 2 people in attendance from the public. Council Member Ballinger and Council Member White were absent Council Member Quintana gave the invocation and the Pledge ofAllegiance to the American flag was recited. CITIZENS FORUM No one requested to speak during this time. NEW ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION AND APPROPRIATE ACTION a. Discuss possible ESD with Fire Department. No action taken. Heather Redder stated she had a meeting with Jordan Hodges, Attorney Jim Shepherd, Mayor Caviness, and City Administrator Troy Gregg. Heather provided a packet to explain what the ESD is and how it will serve the community. There will be three options for the city to choose. This will also be an item on the January meeting. Heather showed a map of the projected area for the ESD and explained that meetings were had with other local fire chiefs to determine the area. A five-year plan was created a lthough it was noted that the board if created may have different plans or ideas for a five-year plan. Mayor Pro-Tern Sherwood asked if they will still provide mutual aid with Sunset. Heather states that mutual aid will still exist, but contracts would have to be redone. Heather states the ESD will help with funding in improving equipment. Mayor Caviness asked what's the benefit in creating a new ESD instead ofjoining. Heather stated to create an ESD you only need one vote but to join would mean more votes are needed. Troy asked if it can it be a simultaneous vote? Heather was unsure of the answer. Mayor Caviness asked how the voting will work. Will each area or town vote separately or is it the projected ESD area as a whole? Heather states it is as a whole. Troy asked if Heather knows what the other ESD's tax percentage is? ESD # 1 is sitting at 3%. Council Member Hatzenbihler asked about option 2. Would anyone want to still volunteer if they opt out of the ESD? Is the ESD wanting to buy the VFD equipment? Heather states the board, once created, would have to decide how they want to address that. Mayor Caviness said they would ask us our intent. Troy states it's relevant to have conversations on what is wanted or expected before the ESD is created. Heather states no one can make agreements or decisions because it would be a board decision if they are created. Council Member Hatzenbihler asked if there are benefits to joining another ESD? Heather stated the same issues would be in place whether we join or create our own. Attorney Jim Shepherd states we need direction on what we are doing. Decisions are between the City and the board but the board is not selected yet. Also, not every nickel would come to Alvord. Mayor Caviness thinks going in with a lease agreement makes sense as they won' t have any money on day 1. Jim states the ESD would have to determine how the tax revenue would need to be divided. Troy asked if the vote is in May when would the ES D start? Jim agrees that it would start June I. The ESD wouldn't have funds until end ofyear when taxes are being paid. Heather states that the May election is reasonable. Council Member Hatzenbihler asked what is the budget you the ESD will have? Heather estimates between $1.6 and $2.6 million. Mayor Caviness wants them to present a lease Alvord City Council Meeting December 191\ 2024  ,.;.\ City ofAlvord agreement. Troy brought up some statistics for the City of Alvord and asked if the Chief had a meeting with commissioners which they did and state that he is in agreement with the ESD. Before citizens and the Council can choose which option they want, they need to be presented with all the information. Mayor Caviness wants to see what the payout would look like. Option I is citizens inside and outside city being taxed same amount across the board. Mayor Caviness states we would need to get an appraisal on all the equipment and answer the following questions. Would we contract with the ESD? Would the contract be based on each call or a percentage ofcalls? Is there a way to lease to the ESD without citizens being taxed? Jim states the ESD is a separate local government and that would not work. Jim states all this is a good reason to have someone on the board. Heather wants a community member from each city to be on the board. Jim states the biggest hurdle will be getting citizens to agree to a I 0-cent tax increase. Jim wants to see more financial information. Mayor Caviness asked if they can have more idea what it cost if we opted out? Jordan stated he believes it's based on a percentage. Mayor Caviness stated he doesn't agree that Alvord should create their own Volunteer Fire Department. Heather and Jordan state the responses to incidents won't change and each area will cover their own areas and we will still have mutual aid. Mayor Caviness asked if our next meeting in January is soon enough to get on the May vote. Mayor Pro-Tern Sherwood asked if it goes on the May vote and didn't pass would they have to wait or be able to get it on the ballot in November? Heather states they believe they would be able to get it on the November Ballot. Heather states they need I 00 signatures in the entire proposed ESD area to get on the ballot. Jim mentioned it states in government code that it if Chico votes for it and Alvord doesn't then the ESD can still be created but without Alvord joined. Council agreed on a wish list including wanting to see option 3, what the money numbers would be to contract with them, appraisal on equipment, how long equipment would last, and lease agreement options. b. Discuss and take appropriate action on Fire Department By-Laws Troy, Jim, Heather have been working on the bylaws for 2 months and everyone all agree on the final draft of bylaws. Mayor Pro-Tern Sherwood made a motion to approve the Fire Department By-Laws. Council Member Hatzenbihler seconded the motion. All votes were yes. Council Member Quintana abstained from voting. The motion carried. c. Consider and take appropriate action to approve the minutes from the meeting on November 21 st, 2024. Council Member Hatzenbihler made a motion to approve the minutes from the meeting on November 21st, 2024. Mayor Pro-Tern Sherwood seconded the motion. All votes were yes. The motion carried. STAFF REPORTS a. City Secretary Delise White Delise informed the Council that there were several single trade permits. National Home Corp started the second round of 20 houses to be built at Whispering Winds. About half of the first 20 houses have passed building finals and residents are moving in. There will be a zoning change request placed on the next agenda. April and June meetings are on days when City Hall will be closed and Delise is looking into when to reschedule those. Jim stated they will need to be scheduled as special meetings. b. Finance Director Martha Nivens Martha informed Council she is working with Fundview to get the reconciliations fixed and completed. c. Public Works Director Jerry Anderson Jerry informed the Council that the 287 tower is complete and operable now. Started working on potholes and will be working on it more after the first of the year. Everything at the waste water treatment plan is good except for the rain. Had a few small water situations and 1 sewer situation. Alvord City Council Meeting December 19th, 2024  ,.;.\ City ofAlvord d. Volunteer Fire Department-Heather Redder 21 calls total. 5 calls in the city 16 calls in the county. 8 medical, 1 structure fire, 2 grass fires, 1 vehicle fire, 5 major accidents 4 lift assists. 3 people starting school in January. Heather states that she appreciates that Andrew is able to respond to calls during the week. e. EDC Staff Report - Dawn White There was no one to speak and no meeting was held in December. Troy stated he is concerned about EDC because meetings aren't consistent and several people have dropped off. Citizens wanting assistance from EDC but they never meet. Asking Jim about options. Christmas lights got put up that Council hadn't approved. Martha hasn't received invoice from lights. Jim states dysfunctional board that is taxing citizen is a problem and he has seen EDC 's go vacant for years but nothing exercised over it. Jim advised that EDC needs new board members if current members aren't working. Jim also states that every single expenditure has to be approved by council. f. City Administrator Troy Gregg Troy states the City is doing good. There were a few water leaks. One side of 287 water tower was painted Martha is having issues with Fundview but working on getting it resolved. Christmas market went well despite weather. Heard good news on fire department with Santa going around. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS No future agenda items at this time. ADJOURN There being no further business, Mayor Pro-Tern Sherwood made a motion to adjourn the City Council meeting at 7:43 p.m. on Thursday December 19111, 2024. Council Member Quintana seconded the motion. The Council voted four (3) in favor and none (0) opposed. The motion carried. These minutes were approved on the 16th day of January 2025 . APPROVED: ATTEST: Caleb Caviness, Mayor Alvord City Council Meeting December 191\ 2024