City of Canyon Commission Meetings

City Commission Meeting November 17, 2014 The City Commission of the City of Canyon met in regular session at 5:30 p.m. in the City Commission Chambers of the Civic Complex. Commissioner Gary Hinders presided over the meeting with the following Commissioners in attendance: Justin Richardson and David Logan. Mayor Alexander and Mayor Pro-Tem Jed Welch were unable to attend. Also present were the following City Staff: City Manager Randy Criswell, Assistant City Manager Chris Sharp, City Secretary Gretchen Mercer, Assistant City Manager for Special Projects Jon Behrens, Code Enforcement Director Danny Cornelius, Palo Duro Creek Golf Course General Manager John Haun, Palo Duro Creek Golf Course Director Casey Renner, Public Works Director Dan Reese, Police Chief Dale Davis, Fire Chief Mike Webb, Parks and Recreation Director Brian Noel, and City Attorney Chuck Hester. Item 1. Call to Order. Commissioner Hinders called the meeting to order at 5:36 p.m. Item 2. Invocation. Commissioner Richardson gave the invocation. Item 3. Pledge of Allegiance. Gabrielle Sexton led the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Sexton is a student from Reeves-Hinger Elementary School and good citizen. Item 4. Approval of Minutes of the Meeting of November 3, 2014. Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Richardson, to approve the minutes of November 3, 2014. Motion carried unanimously. Item 5. Public Forum – Comments from Interested Citizens. No comments were made. Item 6. Update from City Staff (Regarding Sewer Study). City Manager Randy Criswell informed the Commissioners that the requested information on the expansion of the sewer system and water needs for Canyon was being prepared. Mr. Criswell stated Public Works Director Dan Reese and himself had met with City Engineer Dwight Brandt and that Mr. Brandt was making progress on the report, but needed some more time to gather the information. Item 7. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Request from Jim Christopher to Rename Southeast Park after Ex-Commissioner/Mayor/County Commissioner Paul Lindsey. Jim Christopher approached the Commission in regard to a request he had submitted to rename Southeast Park after long time citizen Paul Lindsey. Mr. Christopher stated Mr. Lindsey had City Commission Meeting November 17, 2014 Page 2 of 5 dedicated more than 65 years of his life to the betterment of Canyon as a Board Member, Commissioner both for the City of Canyon and Randall County, as Mayor of Canyon, and many other boards and Committees. Mr. Christopher said Southeast Park was Mr. Lindsey’s vision and was instrumental in the purchase of the property where the park sits today. Commissioner Richardson asked about the history of naming properties around Canyon after citizens. City Manager Randy Criswell gave the history of the Lois Rice Pavilion, named after former Mayor Lois Rice who served 16 years as Mayor of Canyon. Mr. Criswell said land was purchased for an RV Park and Lois was passionate about that RV Park. When the opportunity presented itself to sell that property for a hefty profit for development, Lois reluctantly agreed to the sale for the betterment of Canyon. Mr. Criswell said when the pavilion was built at Conner Park, it was agreed by the City Commission to name it after Lois since the money from the sale of the RV Park, approximately $400,000 was used to help fund the project. Mr. Criswell said the Kent Johnson Memorial Baseball Complex was named after a former Parks Department employee of the City of Canyon that was passionate about baseball. Mr. Johnson had dedicated himself to Canyon having the best baseball fields within 300 miles, and he accomplished this. Mr. Criswell stated with the sudden passing of Mr. Johnson, the Commission and staff felt it was appropriate to name the complex after Kent Johnson. Mr. Criswell said Hunsley Park’s naming wasn’t really traceable in our records, but was probably named after the developer of the subdivision. Commissioner Logan said he thought that the Hunsley Park property was originally intended as a school site, but never used, so it became a park. Mr. Criswell said Conner Park was named after the founder of Canyon, L.G. Conner. According to history, Mr. Conner donated a lot of land including the land Conner Park is on. Mr. Criswell said there is a plaque set in concrete in front of the clock tower at the Canyon Area Library in honor of Ex-Mayor Phil Langen at the request of his family. After discussion, Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Hinders to rename Southeast Park to Paul Lindsey Park. Commissioner Richardson stated renaming a park after someone was a big decision, and requested to table the issue so the Mayor and Mayor Pro- Tem could be active on the decision. Commissioner Hinders acted on the motion on the table with a vote. Motion carried 2-1 with Commissioner Richardson voting nay. James Lindsey, the son of Paul Lindsey expressed appreciation of bestowing the honor on his late father, Paul Lindsey. Item 8. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Abatement of Substandard Structure at 1410 9th Ave in Accordance with City Ordinance No. 675, Section 150.55 of the Code of Ordinances. Code Enforcement Director Danny Cornelius presented a request to schedule required public hearings for the abatement of substandard structures at 1410 9th Ave. Mr. Cornelius stated he had received numerous complaints about kids getting into the house and breaking out windows. City Commission Meeting November 17, 2014 Page 3 of 5 Mr. Cornelius said the roof deck, ceiling, and second floor all were sagging, and the house as a whole was structurally unsound and unsafe. Commissioner Hinders confirmed that no one was currently living in the home. After discussion, Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Hinders to schedule the required public hearings for the abatement of all substandard structures located on the property at 1410 9th Ave. Motion carried unanimously. Item 9. Consider and Take Appropriate Abatement of Substandard Structure at 1615 4th Ave in Accordance with City Ordinance No. 675, Section 150.55 of the Code of Ordinances. Code Enforcement Director Danny Cornelius presented a request to schedule public hearings for the abatement of substandard structures on property located at 1615 4th Ave. Mr. Cornelius said the windows are broken, doors are in poor condition and the garage door in the back doesn’t stay shut, allowing moisture to get inside causing more structural problems. Mr. Cornelius stated the building is full of lumber and junk, all creating a danger to the health and safety of the general public. After discussion, Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Richardson to schedule the required public hearings for the abatement of all substandard structures located on the property at 1615 4th Ave. Motion carried unanimously. Item 10. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Resolution No. 22-2014 Canvassing the Returns and Declaring the Results of a Local Option Election Held on November 4, 2014. City Manager Randy Criswell presented Resolution No. 22-2014 for consideration. Mr. Criswell said Resolution No. 22-2014 simply verifies the results and that the election was held in accordance with the law. After discussion, Commissioner Richardson moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Logan to adopt Resolution No. 22-2014 as presented. Motion carried unanimously. RESOLUTION NO. 22-2014 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF CANYON, TEXAS CANVASSING THE RETURNS AND DECLARING THE RESULTS OF A LOCAL OPTION ELECTION HELD NOVEMBER 4, 2014 FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUBMITTING LOCAL OPTION 1, VOTING FOR OR AGAINST THE LEGAL SALE OF BEER AND WINE FOR OFF-PREMISE CONSUMPTION ONLY, AND LOCAL OPTION 2, VOTING FOR OR AGAINST THE LEGAL SALE OF MIXED BEVERAGES IN RESTAURANTS BY FOOD AND BEVERAGE CERTIFICATE HOLDERS ONLY, WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF CANYON, TEXAS, RANDALL COUNTY. City Commission Meeting November 17, 2014 Page 4 of 5 Item 11. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Randall County Fire Contract. City Manager Randy Criswell presented an updated Agreement between the County and the City for fire protection services. He stated the current contract for fire services with Randall County had not been updated since 1975, and there have been dramatic changes in the County since then. Mr. Criswell said the contract had been reviewed by staff and City Attorney Chuck Hester. After discussion, Commissioner Richardson moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Logan to approve the contract as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Item 12. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Bids Received for Golf Cars for Palo Duro Creek Golf Course. PDC Golf Pro Casey Renner presented bids for a new golf car fleet. He stated this was a State Contract bid from E-Z-Go, and that he had made several attempts to get a bid from Club Car, but they never submitted a formal bid. The informal bid they submitted was higher than the E-Z-Go bid. Mr. Renner said we really need to get this order placed before the end of the year, to take advantage of the trade-in being a 2014 trade value. He also stated that over the four years we’ve owned the current cars, we’ve been putting money back to help pay for the new fleet. That total is in the neighborhood of $150,000. He also asked for permission to purchase a new Range Cart for $8,900 and a new 3 Gang Picker for $2,195. After discussion Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Richardson, to approve the purchase of 72 new E-Z-Go golf cars for $184,899.52, a new Range Cart for $8,900, and a new 3 Gang Picker for $2,195. Motion carried unanimously. Item 13. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Ordinance No. 1014, Adopting an Updated Water Conservation Plan. Director of Public Works Dan Reese presented the recently updated Water Conservation Plan. He stated that the previously established conservation goals had not been met, so the goals in this plan had been raised, with regard to water usage per person per day. He stated he felt it was more realistic this way. City Manager Criswell stated that we are going the wrong way with this plan. If we’re having to raise our daily water usage goals, we aren’t doing it right. The drought has been a problem, but he stated he felt that we need to be looking at getting more serious about conservation. Commissioner Logan pointed out that we’ve done about everything in the plan except “#6, Landscape water management and control”, so he would suggest that we begin to focus our efforts in that area. There was discussion about irrigation rules, use of “gray” water, water rates, and several other things. Staff was directed to begin studying and investigating methods that can be used to success with regard to landscape water use for discussion at a later date. After discussion, Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Richardson to adopt Ordinance No. 1014 as presented. Motion carried unanimously City Commission Meeting November 17, 2014 Page 5 of 5 ORDINANCE NO. 1014 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CANYON, TEXAS, ADOPTING A WATER CONSERVATION PLAN; ESTABLISHING GOALS FOR THE REDUCTION OF WATER CONSUMPTION; REDUCING THE LOSS AND WASTE OF WATER; IMPROVING EFFICIENCY IN THE USE OF WATER; AND EXTENDING THE LIFE OF CURRENT WATER SUPPLIES; IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE TEXAS WATER CODE AND THE TCEQ AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Item 14. Executive Session Pursuant to Texas Government Code §551.072 Real Property. Commissioner Hinders indicated the Commission would adjourn into executive session at 7:08pm. Item 15. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Items Discussed in Executive Session. Upon returning from executive session at 7:50 p.m., no action was taken. Item 16. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Meeting Dates for December 2014 and January 2015. After discussion, it was decided that there would be one meeting in December, on December 15, and one in January on January 5. Item 17. Adjournment There being no further business, Commissioner Logan moved this meeting be adjourned. ______________________________ Gary Hinders, Commissioner Place 4 ATTEST: ________________________________ Gretchen Mercer, City Secretary