City Council

Belton City Council Meeting December 12, 2017 - 5:30 P.M. The Belton City Council met in regular session in the Wright Room at the Harris Community Center with the following members present: Mayor Marion Grayson , Mayor Pro Tern Craig Pearson and Councilmembers David K. Leigh , Paul Sanderford , Dan Kirkley and John R. Holmes, Sr. Councilmember Guy O'Banion was absent. Staff present included Sam Listi, John Messer, Gene Ellis, Amy Casey, Brandon Bozon , Chris Brown , Matt Bates, Paul Romer, Bob van Til, Charlotte Walker, Kim Kroll , Angellia Points, Bruce Pritchard, Cynthia Hernandez, Kelly Trietsche and Judy Garrett. The Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag was led by City Manager Sam Listi, the Pledge of Allegiance to the Texas Flag was led by the Councilmember John R. Holmes, Sr. , and the Invocation was given by Deacon Dave Shoemake of Christ the King Catholic Church . 1. Call to order. Mayor Marion Grayson called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m. 2. Public Comments. Assistant City Manager/Chief of Police Gene Ellis invited the Council to attend the Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association Christmas Party following the meeting . 3. Receive Child Safety Fee funds in the amount of $22.233.77 from Bell County. Bell County Tax Assessor-Collector Shay Luedeke presented the City with its share of Child Safety Fee funds received from October 2015 - September 2017 in the amount of $22,233.77. Mr. Luedeke said that the total amount collected and provided to Belton since inception of the program in 2001 is $319,041.93. Mayor Grayson thanked the County, and indicated the City will remit the funds to the School District for use in its school crossing guard program. 4. Consider the minutes of previous meetings: A. November 14. 2017, City Council Meeting B. November 16. 2017, Special Called City Council Meeting Upon a motion by Councilmember Dan Kirkley and a second by Councilmember John R. Holmes, Sr. , the minutes were approved as presented upon a vote of 5-0. Miscellaneous 5. Consider authorizing the City Manager to enter into a professional services agreement with Kasberg, Patrick and Associates for design of the East 6th Avenue Beautification Project. Director of Public Works Angellia Points explained that the East 5 th Avenue Gateway Project is identified in the latest Strategic Plan . City staff evaluated the effort and approach to enhance E 5th Avenue to be a gateway into Belton , similar to Central Belton City Council Meeting December 12, 2017 - Page 2 Avenue. The portion of East 5th Avenue that is under consideration is the corridor between IH-35 and Main Street. She said that Staff has identified areas of potential improvements, construction challenges , and a possible phasing plan . She added that the first construction step will be to relocate dry utilities underground , and stated that it is likely utility easements and/or right-of-way will be required to do so . Mrs. Points said this project is too large for City staff to handle internally, so external engineering services are required to fully complete the evaluations, assess easement needs , and conduct reviews with TxDOT and utility providers for th is project to be successful. She received a proposal from Kasberg , Patrick, and Associates for engineering services to compile a Preliminary Engineering Report for the project. This will establish a project scope for Staff and Council discussions before proceeding to final design which will be a separate contract. The contract with KPA is $57,910, which is proposed to be funded by TIRZ. Councilmember David K. Leigh said with the construction costs being an estimated $3-5M , this is probably not the most critical project the City needs to accomplish . He would prefer to limit the scope at this time to segments of East 5th Avenue , suggesting IH-35 to Penelope or IH-35 to the school property as the possible first segment. He believes that the City will get a better product from the engineer for a smaller segment than the City will get for the entire stretch of East 5th Avenue from IH-35 to Main Street. Mayor Grayson said East 5th Avenue is a main gateway, and she believes that it is ripe for redevelopment. She would like to have the preliminary engineering report for the entire stretch from IH-35 to Main Street. Councilmember Leigh said , "It's a lot of money." He said , "We have an idea that we want X number of feet, and we want sidewalks on both sides , and we want to bury the utilities ... we can say that without having an engineering design." He said it is good to have engineering services on something specific, instead of something more general. "The broader the scope , the less accurate the design , and the more money we will spend. " Mayor Pro Tern Pearson asked , "When we get to the CIP this next year, aren 't we going to need to know the whole price?" City Manager Sam Listi said that there are pros and cons to only doing a part of the project. "If you don't look at it all, you may not uncover issues on the entire project." He added that it is a State road , so there will need to be a lot of coordination with TxDOT. He wondered if there would be a complete picture if the City only studies half of the project. He then added , "And which is the more important half? Is it IH-35 to the middle , or the middle to Main Street?" Councilmember Kirkley thought it would be a better idea to look at the entire project. Mrs. Points said that Staff could be working on easements with or without a preliminary engineering report. Belton City Council Meeting December 12, 2017- Page 3 Mr. Leigh said the amount of the contract is not the issue. He said that the product received for the money spent is more the issue to him. He also wondered if the City should be spending money on a State road. He thinks the scope of the project is too broad . Mr. Listi said Staff could work with the Engineer to come up with some options for segments. Mayor Pro Tern Pearson said he would like to see some options. Councilmember Leigh made a motion to table this item to a future meeting . Mayor Pro Tern Craig Pearson seconded the motion which was unanimously approved upon a vote of 6-0 . Work Session : 6. Receive a presentation and discuss proposed changes to the City's Design Manual. Director of Public Works Angellia Points presented the proposed changes to the Design Manual (see Exhibit "A"). Councilmember Leigh asked that Staff address multi-residence postal units stating that they should be located similar to those in commercial or apartment complexes. Mrs. Points said that manholes may be constructed off-site, but there needs to be an access road to the manhole for the sewer vacuum truck to have access to the manhole. Councilmember Leigh asked if there would ever be a time that a manhole is put in an area that doesn 't need to be accessed. Mrs. Points said it depends on where the sewer shed is that is feeding the sewer line . Points added that generators will also be required at each lift station with fuel storage up to 16 hours. Originally Staff proposed 48 hours of fuel storage, but the development community explained that would lead to a lot of wasted fuel. Mrs. Points said Staff reviewed outage over the last five years, and determined that 16 hours of fuel should be sufficient since the longest outage was 14.5 hours. City Attorney John Messer pointed out, "That's a significant change for this City, and we are cutting it real close. If something goes wrong with a lift station , that's a real problem. " Mayor Grayson asked who refuels the generators, and Mrs. Points replied , "We do." She explained further that the City currently has one portable generator serving 17 lift stations , and that is not sufficient if there is a major event. Mr. Listi added that the large lift stations already have generators. Councilmember Kirkley asked how many lift stations could be done away with . Mrs. Points said there are two that are possibilities, and she will bring further information to the Council at a later date. Belton City Council Meeting December 12, 2017 - Page 4 Mayor Pro Tern Pearson said that Staff has done a good job, but he suggested a joint workshop with Planning and Zoning be scheduled before conducting the public hearing and adopting the design manual. No action was required of the Council on this item at this time. 7. Receive a presentation and discuss the Hunden Strategic Partners' Report regarding a potential Conference Center and Hotel. Director of Finance Brandon Bozon presented information regarding a potential Conference Center and Hotel (see Exhibit "B"). Mayor Grayson said she feels the free market will provide the information as to what type of incentive may be required . She definitely would like to use the report as a marketing tool. Councilmember Leigh said , "If it makes sense for business, business will make it work. " He said the study was a good use of public funds , but he added that specific incentives are tough in this environment. He asked Mr. Bozon about the types of incentives that may be available . Mr. Bozon explained a few different public fund incentive scenarios. Bozon said that he and Ms. Garrett will make the report public, and they will provide any feedback received to the Council. No action was required of the Council on this item at this time. Executive Session At 6:35 p.m. , the Mayor announced the Council would go into Executive Session for the following items: 8. Executive Session pursuant to the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Govt. Code, Vernon's Texas Codes Annotated, in accordance with the authority contained in Section 551.072, for a deliberation regarding real property. 9. Executive Session pursuant to the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Govt. Code, Vernon's Texas Codes Annotated, in accordance with the authority contained in Section 551.071, consultation with attorney. 10. Executive Session pursuant to the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Govt. Code, Vernon's Texas Codes Annotated, in accordance with the authority contained in Section 551.074, personnel matters. Belton City Council Meeting December 12, 2017 - Page 5 The Mayor reopened the meeting at 7:28 p.m. , and there being no further business , the meeting was adjourned . ATTEST:  EXHIBIT "A" Revised Design Manual COUNCIL WORKSHOP DECEMBER 12, 2017 Background The City of Belton adopted its current construction Design Manual and Standard Details in June 2002 Since 2002, changes in regulations and industry standards and practices caused some of the City’s standards to be outdated or even obsolete The City contracted with KPA to propose a revised manual, comparable to area cities Following 2 years of internal and external reviews, Staff compiled the revised manual and asked for reviews from the stakeholder community (contractors, builders, TABA, engineers, etc.) ◦ 1st Review: June 9, 2016 – September 16, 2016 ◦ 2nd Review: February 21, 2017 – April 28, 2017 ◦ 3rd Review: May 31, 2017 – June 30, 2017 Stakeholder’s Meetings *Summary of the Manual’s Review Phase: 1. March 28, 2017 at 3:00pm Three rounds of comments and revisions, 2. March 30, 2017 at 8:30am balanced approach of encouraging 3. June 22, 2017 at 3:30pm development but emphasis on constructing sustainable public infrastructure.  Revised Design Manual Overview Basic to comprehensive Clarify requirements for construction processes (i.e., backfill and compaction, Up-to-date for current, local industry and asphalt prime) regulatory standards and requirements Improve safety in drainage infrastructure per Focus on reliable infrastructure to reduce approved Strategic Drainage Plan maintenance needs; proactive approaches to reduce interruptions in services for Belton’s Provide details for engineers and developers; citizens and businesses; pavement reduces number of details pulled from other preservation cities’ design manuals for construction drawings Enhance and make-up for deficiencies in existing standards Topics of stakeholder’s comments/concerns General Requirements – Proposed Changes Preconstruction meetings may be required before starting subdivisions (upon request byCity) Notification to City prior to beginning construction General Requirements – Proposed Changes Warranty Period - Although the requirement for the 1 year warranty period is proposed to remain unchanged, the requirement for a maintenance bond will be enforced. Any repairs required within the warranty period will require an additional 1 year warranty from the date the City accepts the repair work. ◦ Subdivision Ordinance, Section 401: Upon completion of all subdivision improvements, the following shall be submitted to the City Engineer: … a maintenance bond covering all improvements in the amount of ten percent (10%) of the total construction cost and be in effect for a period of one (1) year from date of acceptance of improvements… Temple Reserves the right to require a maintenance bond, but is typically not implemented Killeen 10% Maintenance Bond Water/Sewer (1 year warranty) 15% Maintenance Bond Street (1 year warranty) 15% Maintenance Bond Drainage (2 years warranty) However, if water or sewer is placed under existing street without full base backfill (3 year warranty) Denton 100% Maintenance Bond (1 year warranty) Less than $25,000, escrow in lieu of bond accepted Georgetown Maintenance Bond: Amount specified at the time of Final Plat submittal (1 year warranty) Roanoke 10% Maintenance Bond (2 years warranty) Purpose: If the developer fails to respond to warranty issues, City has ability to require the developer to do the work or the City can use the maintenance bond to complete the work. Transportation – Proposed Changes Street design standards and sections updated to reflect Last course of base shall receive a layer of chip seal OR adopted Thoroughfare Plan the base may need to be watered and tested prior to placement of more base or HMAC Pavements shall be designed based on revised traffic loads and demands Minimum thickness of HMAC on any pavement changed from 1.5” to 2” Geogrid and lime stabilization added as options Type D HMAC is required on all roadways Direction for high plasticity subgrade soils Traffic Control Plans may be required Provide California Bearing Ratio value for subgrade soils Cul-de-sac lengths refers to Subdivision Ordinance Base material shall meet TxDOT 2004 & 2014 specs Drawings shall include cross sections at every 100 feet and shall be compacted to 100% of TEX-113-E including 100-year flood plains, percent slopes, top of standards curb elevations, info on all turns and radii, pavement markings, street signage Allows Recycled Asphalt Product to be used Added “visibility triangle” requirements Added a temporary all weather driving surface Sidewalks, when required, to be located at the right-of-way line, not at the curb Drainage – Proposed Changes Engineer to consider 100-year storm and positive Junction boxes are required at bends overflow provisions in all stormwater conveyance systems New stormwater manhole cover Runoff coefficients increase per storm event Allow flumes; fully concrete lined channels can have vertical walls; anything over 1 foot needs rail or fencing for safety Rip-rap aprons (grouted) Concrete wash-out areas are required Construction drawings requirements including plan and profiles of stormwater infrastructure, percent slopes, inlet and outlet elevations; report to include carrying capacity, hydraulic grade lines All inlets will be recessed Drainage – Proposed Changes HDPE is acceptable in non-paved areas Allows for precast stormwater infrastructure Unlined channels can’t be steeper than 4:1 All channels and detention ponds need concrete pilot channels Minimum pipe size for stormwater is 18 inches Fuel storage is allowed on site with proper containment General Utilities - NEW New section to cover common requirements for water and sewer infrastructure (i.e., embedment, backfill, encasement, lift or pump station signage, air and vacuum release valves, etc.) Describes utilities as they relate to one another within the ROW Detectable tapes Concrete requirements Hatches for vaults Encasement details Dig Once Policy – Reserved Water – Proposed Changes Adoption of 2015 International Fire Code will require minimum waterline size to be 8 inches, unless otherwise demonstrated (Will need to modify Section 23-36 of Code of Ordinances) Modified pipe materials to industry standards (i.e., 3” difficult to maintain) Ductile iron pipe is required for 12” and greater Added tapping sleeve, bends and fittings, pressure reducing valves, and backflow requirements New water meter boxes for AMI system Added detail for large meter vaults Revised detail for water services Water – Proposed Changes New automatic flush assembly detail and requirements for assemblies at all dead-end lines Construction drawings shall include plan and profile of all waterline and top of pipe elevations Waterlines shall be installed with a minimum slope of 0.1% Number of valves required at intersection of waterlines Hydrants required at beginning of all cul-de-sacs Sample stations are required per subdivision or one per 100 lots Wastewater – Proposed Changes Maximum manhole spacing of 500 feet Manhole coating specifications for manholes that will experience increased levels of H2S (i.e., lift station wet wells, force main discharges and one manhole upstream as appropriate) Revised testing requirements New manhole cover design Minimum gravity line size shall be 8 inches in diameter Service line details Construction drawings shall include plan and profiles, flowlines, percent slopes, and report to include line capacities Concrete collars are required for manholes in pavement Wastewater – Proposed Changes Offsite manhole requirements: Access road: min 12’ wide with1.5” of asphalt along offsite manholes, any manholes outside of access pavement cannot be more than 10’ outside of edge of access road pavement and must have concrete/diamond collars and reflective marker. Lift station requirements ◦ O&M Manuals are required ◦ Equipment submittals during construction ◦ Access road: min 12’ wide with 1.5” of asphalt ◦ Coatings ◦ Generator is required, fuel to last 16 hours 10 Feet Wide Wastewater - Offsite Manholes & Lift Stations THREE CREEKS LIFT STATION AND MANHOLES SECTION VIEW: 12’ WIDE WITH RIBBON CURB Wastewater - Offsite Manholes & Lift Stations LIFT STATION ROAD FOR HUBBARD BRANCH SECTION VIEW: 12’ WIDE, DRAINAGE DITCHES Wastewater - Manholes DESIGN MANUAL: CONCRETE COLLAR NEW MANHOLE COVER DESIGN Design Manual Summary and Next Steps Multi-year development of revised manual Next Steps: Multiple reviews and revisions 1. Consider scheduling the Public Hearing for Revised to industry’s standards and regulatory January 9, 2018. requirements 2. Consider adoption on January 23, 2018. Deficiencies in 2002 Design Manual are addressed Included details typically used from area cities' design manuals Typical questions and issues are clarified Balanced the compromise between infrastructure preservation and maintainability with possible developer’s costs to build infrastructure  EXHIBIT "B" Hotel-Conference Center Feasibility Analysis Results Hunden Strategic Partners  Selected for recommendation based on factors including experience, professional qualifications, creativity and credibility of approach, proposed price, references and current workload  Services  Comprehensive market analysis as well as specific site analysis  Strategic plan for hotel recruitment efforts  Financial analysis  Funding analysis and financing alternatives Hotel-Conference Center Feasibility Analysis  Need for Analysis  Bell County Expo Center Expansion  UMHB Growth  Request from developer  Scope of Analysis  Boutique hotel up to full-service hotel with conference center  Three key sites:  Bell County Expo  Downtown Belton  Belton Lake Process  Site Visit  Expo tour  City tour  Visit to area hotels and convention centers  Stakeholder Meetings  Community leaders  Tourism and convention industry officials  Data Collection  Room rates and occupancy  Tourism demand generators Analysis  Economic, Demographic & Tourism Analysis of Belton  Conference, Meeting, and Event Industry Analysis; Trends  Meetings Market Analysis; Meeting Planner Survey  Conference Hotel Development Trends  Hotel Industry Trends; Local Hotel Market Analysis  Site Analysis  Implications and Recommendations  Demand and Financial Projections Market Strengths and Weaknesses  Strengths  Demand generators: Expo Center, UMHB, Lake Belton  Visibility and Access: IH-35 and IH-14/US 190  Growing community in Central Texas, close to many markets  Weaknesses  Lack of traditional demand generators: corporate, tourist destination  Hotel rates: $95 average rate  Primarily weekend market  Small market current market Site Discussion  Bell County Expo Center  Strengths: Visibility from the interstate and proximity to Expo! Events  Weaknesses: Proximity to dining and entertainment options  Outlook: Development likely in the near future  Lake Belton  Strengths: Natural beauty and opportunity for a unique venue  Weaknesses: Lack of visibility from the interstate, proximity to dining and entertainment options and challenges of land acquisition or lease agreement with Corps  Outlook: Development not likely in the near future  Downtown Belton  Strengths: Attractive setting  Weaknesses: Land acquisition, parking, proximity to dining and entertainment options  Outlook: Development likely in the near future Development Scenarios  120-room Hampton Inn  Limited Service  Cater to leisure travelers  Limited function space  150-room Courtyard by Marriott  “Select service on steroids”  Cater to mix of corporate and leisure travelers  Greater function space  250-room Luxury Resort  Full service  Cater to leisure travelers as well as large meeting groups  Convention space  Market may not yet be mature for any options Moving Forward  Report as a marketing tool  Distribution to developers  Publication on website (BEDC/Retail Dev)  Council interest in public participation  Priority relative to other projects  Extent of participation Questions and Discussion  Brandon Bozon, Director of Finance  Judy Garrett, Tourism Manager/ Retail Development Coordinator