City of Canyon Commission Meetings

AGENDA NOTICE OF MEETING Notice is hereby given that the governing body of the City of Canyon will meet at 5:30 p.m. on the 5th day of January, 2015, in the Commission Chambers of City Hall at 301 16th Street in the City of Canyon to discuss the following agenda items: 1. Call to Order. 2. Invocation. 3. Pledge of Allegiance. 4. Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of December 15, 2014. 5. Public Forum – Comments from Interested Citizens. 6. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on 1 Year Progress Review of Substandard Structure Repair at 710 8th Street. 7. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Resolution No. 02-2015, Suspending the Effective Date of the Rate Case Filed by SPS on December 8, 2014. 8. Executive Session Pursuant to Texas Government Code §551.072 Real Property, §551.087 Economic Development Negotiations, and §551.074 Personnel: Appointments to Boards and Commissions (Planning and Zoning Commission, Zoning Board of Adjustment, and Canyon Area Library Board,). 9. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Items Discussed in Executive Session. 10. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Meeting Dates for February and March 2015. 11. Adjournment. Randy Criswell, City Manager I certify that the above Notice of Meeting was posted on the bulletin board of the Civic Complex of the City of Canyon, Texas on the 2nd day of January 2015. Gretchen Mercer, City Clerk City of Canyon City Commission Meeting December 15, 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. Mayor Quinn Alexander presided over the meeting with the following Commissioners in attendance: Gary Hinders and David Logan. Mayor Pro-Tem Jed Welch and Commissioner Justin Richardson 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, Public Works Director Dan Reese, Business and Community Development Director Evelyn Ecker and City Attorney Chuck Hester. Item 1. Call to Order. Mayor Alexander called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m. Item 2. Invocation. Mayor Alexander gave the invocation. Item 3. Pledge of Allegiance. City Secretary Gretchen Mercer led the Pledge of Allegiance. Item 4. Approval of Minutes of the Meeting of November 17, 2014. Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Hinders, to approve the minutes of November 17, 2014. Motion carried unanimously. Item 5. Public Forum – Comments from Interested Citizens. No comments were made. Item 6. Conduct Public Hearing and Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Abatement of Substandard Structures at 1410 9th Ave in Accordance with City Ordinance No. 675, Section 150.55 of the Code of Ordinances. Director of Code Enforcement Danny Cornelius presented a slide show of a home located at 1410 9th Ave with the recommendation to have the building removed and the lot cleared. Mr. Cornelius stated the roof was sagging, windows were broken and the building as a whole was structurally unsound. Mr. Cornelius stated the property was owned by a lender and they agreed the building should be cleared. Mayor Alexander opened the public hearing. There being no comment, Mayor Alexander closed the public hearing. After discussion, Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Hinders to proceed with the abatement process of the substandard structures and clearing of the lot at 1410 9th Ave. Motion carried unanimously. City Commission Meeting December 15, 2014 Page 2 of 6 Item 7. Conduct Public Hearing and Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Abatement of Substandard Structures at 1615 4th Ave in Accordance with City Ordinance No. 675, Section 150.55 of the Code of Ordinances. Code Enforcement Director Danny Cornelius addressed the Commission and asked for direction for the abatement of property located at 1615 4th Ave. Mr. Cornelius stated the property owners had begun work to improve the property by repairing the garage door and windows in back, replacing the windows in front and the construction of an awning in the front and painting the outside. Mr. Cornelius said the owners had a plan for compliance. Mayor Alexander opened the public hearing. Mr. Ronald Spriggs, Attorney representing the owner Sarah Kay Brent addressed the Commission. Mr. Spriggs asked for the Commission to grant time to Ms. Brent to comply with what is needed as directed by Code Enforcement to bring the property into compliance. Ms. Brent stated they were working on the property and thought 3 months would be enough time. Commissioner Logan inquired if she intended to occupy the building and she stated that she did not, and that her ultimate desire is to sell the property. There being no other comment, Mayor Alexander closed the public hearing. After discussion, Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Mayor Alexander to table this item and allow Ms. Brent to bring a plan of action to the Commission at the February meeting to be considered. Motion carried unanimously. Item 8. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on a Livestock Permit Renewal Request by Alberta Evans at 510 US Highway 60. Code Enforcement Director Danny Cornelius presented a request from Alberta Evans to renew her livestock permit for another year and to allow her to house 5 animals, up 1 from the 4 currently allowed. Mr. Cornelius said the permit had been renewed once with the stipulation that a privacy fence be built around the property and the junk vehicles taken care of. Mr. Cornelius presented photos of the property showing the fence had been built with the exception of an opening to get tractors and vehicles through. The Commissioners inquired about the junk vehicles still on the property. Ms. Evans said she was going to be using one of them and had plans to build a “carport / almost garage” to house the vehicles and act as a place to work on them. Mr. Cornelius stated that was something that could be discussed. After discussion, Commissioner Hinders moved, duly seconded by Mayor Alexander to renew the Livestock permit for one year and keep the current limit of 4 animals. Motion carried 2-1 with Commissioner Logan voting nay. Item 9. Conduct Public Hearing and Consider and Take Appropriate Action on a Request to Rezone Lots 69 through 76, Block 9 of Canyon East Unit No. 3 to PD (Planned Development District) from SF-S (Single-Family Suburban Residential District). City Commission Meeting December 15, 2014 Page 3 of 6 Code Enforcement Director Danny Cornelius addressed the Commission. Mr. Cornelius stated Kuhlman and Sons LP and Canyon East Development, LLC have requested a zoning change for Canyon East Unit No. 3 to build zero lot line homes. Mr. Cornelius stated PD is the appropriate district for zero lot line homes allowing homes to be built on the property line where the zero side yard setbacks can be established by an approved site plan. Mr. Cornelius said the same zoning had been allowed for the Gagestone Subdivision for garden homes. Mayor Alexander opened the public hearing. There being no comment, Mayor Alexander closed the public hearing. After discussion, Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Mayor Alexander to approved Ordinance No. 1017 as presented. Motion carried unanimously. ORDINANCE NO. 1017 Rezoning Canyon East Unit No. 3 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF CANYON, TEXAS, REZONING LOTS 69 THROUGH 76, BLOCK 9, CANYON EAST UNIT NO. 3, AN ADDITION TO THE CITY OF CANYON, RANDALL COUNTY, TEXAS, PROVIDING THAT THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION BE POSTED UPON THE ZONING DISTRICT MAPS OF THE CITY OF CANYON, PROVIDING THAT ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH ARE EXPRESSLY REPEALED, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Item 10. Conduct a Public Hearing, and Consider and Take Appropriate Action on a Plat Canyon East Unit No. 4, a Re-Plat of a Portion of Canyon East Unit No. 3. Code Enforcement Director Danny Cornelius presented a Plat for Canyon East Unit No. 4. Mr. Cornelius stated this was a replat of a portion of Canyon East Unit No. 3 and would establish site plans for zero lot line homes on lots 69A through 76A. Mr. Cornelius stated this would also relocate the SPS transformer easements from Unit No. 3 and establish a front yard setback of 15 feet on lots 69A through 76A. Mr. Cornelius said the Canyon Planning and Zoning Commission had considered the plat and approved it unanimously. Mayor Alexander opened the public hearing. There being no comment, Mayor Alexander closed the public hearing. After discussion, Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Hinders to approve Canyon East Unit No. 4 Plat as recommended by the Canyon Planning and Zoning Commission. Motion carried unanimously. Item 11. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Ordinance No. 1018, Amending Table N1102.1.1 of the 2012 IRC and Table R402.1.1 of the 2012 IECC. Code Enforcement Director Danny Cornelius presented Ordinance No. 1018 for consideration. Mr. Cornelius stated when the 2012 Codes were adopted it implemented higher standards for the R values in insulation and fenestration requirements beginning January 1, 2015. Mr. Cornelius City Commission Meeting December 15, 2014 Page 4 of 6 said to avoid jumping to the top of the element requirements and creating problems for contractors, the City of Canyon was following the lead of the City of Amarillo and amending the requirements allowing contractors to ease into the new requirements. After discussion, Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Hinders to adopt Ordinance No. 1018 as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Ordinance No. 1018 Amending the 2012 IRC, Table N1102.1.1, and the 2012 IECC, Table R402.1.1 An Ordinance of the City Commission of the City of Canyon, Texas: Amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Canyon, Chapter 150, Sections 150.24 and 150.30 to Amend Table N1102.1.1 of the International Energy Conservation Code; Providing for Severability; Providing for Repealer; Providing for an Effective Date. Item 12. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Selection of Consultant for a Family Aquatic Facility Feasibility Study. Assistant City Manager for Special Projects Jon Behrens presented the final selection interviewed by the Aquatic Facility Committee in November. Mr. Behrens stated Kimley-Horn/Counsilman- Hunsaker, and Parkhill, Smith, and Cooper/Water Technology Inc. were interviewed. Mr. Behrens said a third firm, Aquatic Design Consultants removed themselves from the interview due to a sudden increase in their workload. Mr. Behrens said the committee felt the most qualified team to perform a feasibility study was Kimley-Horn/Counsilman-Hunsaker. The Kimley- Horn team provided a Scope of Work containing all the aspects of the study with a final presentation date of April 2015. Mr. Behrens stated the total cost for the feasibility study is $38,000. After discussion, Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Mayor Alexander to execute a contract for the feasibility study for an Aquatic Facility for the City of Canyon in the amount of $38,000 with Kimley-Horn & Counsilman-Hunsaker. Commissioner Hinders added he would like to have seen what a million dollars would do to renovate the existing pool. Commissioner Hinders also stated he was concerned about the tax increase needed to take care of not just the pool needs, but also city offices and water. Mayor Alexander agreed this was a good point. Vote for the Motion on the table carried unanimously. City Manager Randy Criswell commended Mr. Behrens and the committee for all the work they’d done on the project. Item 13. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on City of Canyon’s Investment Policy. City Commission Meeting December 15, 2014 Page 5 of 6 Assistant City Manager Chris Sharp presented the City of Canyon’s Investment Policy for approval as required by Local Government Code Chapter 2256. Mr. Sharp stated there were no major changes at this time. After discussion, Commissioner Hinders moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Logan to approve the City of Canyon Investment Policy as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Item 14. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Selection of Auditor for FY 2014. Assistant City Manager Chris Sharp asked for approval for the city to appoint the auditor for the FY 2013-2014 audit. Mr. Sharp said RFQ’s had been sent out and two CPA firms submitted qualifications; Brown, Graham, & Co., and Doshier, Pickens & Francis. Mr. Sharp stated after ranking both proposals and interviewing both firms, city staff recommended contracting with Doshier, Pickens and Francis. After discussion, Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Hinders to appoint Doshier, Pickens & Francis as the City of Canyon auditor for FY 2013-3014. Motion carried unanimously. Item 15. Executive Session Pursuant to Texas Government Code §551.072 Real Property, §551.071 for Consultation with Attorney, §551.087 Economic Development Negotiations, and §551.074 Personnel: Appointments to Boards and Commissions (Planning and Zoning Commission, Zoning Board of Adjustment, Board of City Development, Canyon Area Library Board, Main Street Advisory Board, Canyon Housing Authority Board, Construction and Advisory Appeals Board, and Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Advisory Committee). Mayor Alexander indicated the Commission would adjourn into executive session at 7:00 pm. Item 16. Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Items Discussed in Executive Session. Upon returning from executive session at 9:07 pm, the following action was taken. Commissioner Hinders moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Logan, to authorize City Manager Randy Criswell to purchase 175.38 acres for $524,700 and execute closing documents. Motion carried unanimously. Commissioner Hinders moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Logan to reappoint Andy Carter and Bill Craddock to another term on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Motion carried unanimously. Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Hinders to reappoint Esmerelda DeLao to the Board of City Development. Motion carried unanimously. Commissioner Hinders moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Logan to appoint Tina Finke, Dan Shuman, Andy Hicks and Daisy Balderez to the Main Street Advisory Board replacing City Commission Meeting December 15, 2014 Page 6 of 6 outgoing members Mike Sluder, Tom Burnett, Jolenna Wright, and April McDaniel. Motion carried unanimously. Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Hinders to reappoint Charles Robinson and Joan Van Doren to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Motion carried unanimously. Commissioner Hinders moved, duly seconded by Commissioner Logan to reappoint Paul Lyons to the Construction Advisory and Appeals Board. Motion carried unanimously. Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Mayor Alexander to reappoint Jimmy Lackey, Linda Washington, and Wendell Brown to the Parks, Open Space and Recreation Advisory Committee. Motion carried unanimously. Commissioner Logan moved, duly seconded by Mayor Alexander to reappoint Charles White, Gerry Nickell, Jerry Robinson and Medina Ortiz to the Canyon Housing Authority. Motion carried unanimously. Item 17. Adjournment There being no further business, Commissioner Hinders moved this meeting be adjourned. ______________________________ Quinn Alexander, Mayor ATTEST: ________________________________ Gretchen Mercer, City Secretary  AGENDA To: Mayor and City Commission From: Danny Cornelius, Director of Code Enforcement Date: December 21, 2014 Re: Consider and Take Appropriate Action on 1 Year Progress Review of Substandard Structure Repair at 710 8th St. The commission held a public hearing to consider the abatement or repair of the substandard structure at 710 8th St during the December 9, 2013 meeting. The current owner, Mark Pinkerton, submitted the attached two phase restoration plan. The commission voted to allow repair of the home. Mr. Pinkerton gave a 6 month update on June 16, 2014 and the commission voted to allow him to continue with the repairs. At this point, Mr. Pinkerton has completed most of the exterior repairs and is working on the interior. It is my recommendation that Mr. Pinkerton be allowed to continue with the restoration. City of Canyon  AGENDA To: Mayor and City Commission From: Randy Criswell, City Manager Date: December 30, 2014 Re: Consider and Take Appropriate Action on Resolution 02-2015, Suspending the Effective Date of the Rate Case Filed by SPS on December 8, 2014. ________________________________________________________________________ I’m sure you’re reading this Agenda item and asking yourself, didn’t we just settle a rate case filing with SPS? The answer is, yes, we did. That filing had been submitted around this same time last year. On December 8, 2014, they filed for another increase in Base Rates of $64.8 million. This is an increase of 12.6%. The basic highlights of the filing are: 1. Increase of $64.8 million in base revenue 2. Return on Equity of 10.25% 3. Increase in residential customer charge from $7.60 to $9.50/month 4. For home using 1000 kWh/month, the base increase would be about $11.23/month in the summer, and $8.10/month in the winter. 5. Continue to collect municipal franchise fees in the same way as current, which spreads about 2 to 3% among all customers, and the remainder among municipal customers 6. Revise depreciation rates 7. Reduce the value of Texas-generated Renewable Energy Credits (REC’s) from $1.10 to $0.95 per REC. (Just as a side note, these rate case filings are not going to stop. SPS has an aging system and an ever-growing demand. The EPA is constantly hammering on coal power plants. In fact, it is a fairly common opinion that the EPA has a goal of eliminating coal for fuel. When they do, it’s going to run up electricity costs significantly. So even though SPS keeps asking for more, it’s still going to be cheaper than if we suffer the elimination of coal plants. I hope we don’t see that, but I expect we might.) As always, our consultants recommend that we SUSPEND the effective date of the filing to allow for more analysis and negotiation. Typically, we are able to negotiate settlements in these filings, which is beneficial to our customers. Once we suspend, then at some point later, we will take additional action. The suspension is for a period of 90 days. Resolution 02-2015 has been prepared to this effect. It is staff’s recommendation that Resolution No. 02-2015 be approved. City of Canyon  RESOLUTION NO. 02-2015 A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY OF CANYON, TEXAS (“CITY”) SUSPENDING SOUTHWESTERN PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY’S PROPOSED EFFECTIVE DATE IN CONNECTION WITH ITS STATEMENT OF INTENT SUBMITTED ON ABOUT DECEMBER 8, 2014; AUTHORIZING THE CITY TO JOIN WITH OTHER CITIES IN THE ALLIANCE OF XCEL MUNICIPALITIES (“AXM”) TO DIRECT THE ACTIVITIES OF LAWYERS AND CONSULTANTS; AUTHORIZING THE HIRING OF ATTORNEYS AND CONSULTANTS; REQUIRING REIMBURSEMENT OF REASONABLE LEGAL AND CONSULTANT EXPENSES; REQUIRING PROOF OF NOTICE; FINDING THAT THE MEETING COMPLIES WITH THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, Southwestern Public Service Company (“SPS”) filed a Statement of Intent with the City of Canyon, Texas (“City”) to increase its base-rate revenue requirement for its Texas retail service area by approximately $64.75 million, which is an increase in base revenue of about 12.6%; and WHEREAS, the City is a regulatory authority under the Public Utility Regulatory Act (“PURA”) and under Chapter 33, §33.001 et seq. of PURA has exclusive original jurisdiction over SPS’ rates, operations, and services within the municipality; and WHEREAS, in order to maximize the efficient use of resources and expertise in reviewing, analyzing and investigating SPS’ rate request and its changes in tariffs it is prudent to coordinate the City’s efforts with a coalition of similarly situated municipalities; and WHEREAS, the City, in matters regarding applications by SPS to change rates, has in the past joined with other local regulatory authorities to form the Alliance of Xcel Municipalities (“AXM”) and hereby continues its participation in AXM; and 1 of 4  WHEREAS, SPS’ rate request, which was filed on about December 8, 2014, consists of a voluminous amount of information including SPS’ rate-filing package, pre- filed direct testimony, exhibits, schedules, and workpapers; and WHEREAS, SPS proposed January 12, 2015 as the effective date for its requested increase in rates, which is the 35th day after the date SPS submitted its application; and WHEREAS, it is not possible for the City to complete its review of SPS’ filing within 35 days; and WHEREAS, the City will need an adequate amount of time to review and evaluate SPS’ rate application to enable the City to adopt a final decision as a local regulatory authority with regard to SPS’ requested rate increase. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION FOR THE CITY OF CANYON, TEXAS THAT: Section 1. The findings set out in the preamble are in all things hereby approved. Section 2. SPS’s proposed effective date of January 12, 2015 for its filing of December 8, 2014, is hereby suspended for an additional ninety (90) days, or at least until April 12, 2015. Section 3. The statutory suspension period will be extended automatically day for day should SPS extend its proposed effective date, and may be further extended if SPS does not provide timely, meaningful, and proper public notice of its request to increase rates, or if its rate-filing package is materially deficient. Section 4. The City continues its participation with other cities in a coalition of cities known as the Alliance of Xcel Municipalities (“AXM”) with the understanding 2 of 4 that the Steering Committee of AXM is to provide direction and guidance to Special Counsel representing said cities. Section 5. The City employs Herrera & Boyle, PLLC as Special Counsel to represent the City with regard to SPS’ requested increase in rates and related proceedings before local and state regulatory authorities and any court of law and authorizes Special Counsel to employ such rate experts as may be necessary for review and evaluation of SPS’ rate application. Section 6. The City, in coordination with the Steering Committee, shall review the invoices of the lawyers and rate experts for reasonableness before submitting the invoices to SPS for reimbursement. Section 7. SPS shall reimburse the City on a monthly basis, through AXM’s coordinating city, the City of Amarillo, Texas, for the reasonable costs of attorneys and consultants and expenses related thereto, upon the presentation of invoices reviewed by the City of Amarillo. Section 8. No later than seven days after SPS has completed publication of notice of its proposed increase in rates, SPS shall notify AXM that it has completed notice by providing proof of notice to the City Attorney for the City of Amarillo and such proof shall be in the form of an affidavit from a representative from SPS that has personal knowledge that SPS has published notice; such affidavit shall include a copy of notice SPS published. Section 9. The City Secretary or other appropriate city official shall notify SPS of this Resolution by sending a copy of the Resolution to Evan Evans, Regional Vice President, Rates and Regulatory Affairs, and Brooke Trammell, Rate Case Manager, Southwestern Public Service Company, P.O. Box 1261 Amarillo, Texas 79105-1261 and also Stephen Fogel and Matthew Loftus, Xcel Energy Services, Inc., 816 Congress Ave., Suite 1650, Austin, Texas 78701-2471; and AXM shall be notified 3 of 4 by sending a copy of this resolution to Mr. Marcus Norris, City Attorney, City of Amarillo, Texas by fax to 806-378-3018. Section 10. The meeting at which this resolution was approved was in all things conducted in strict compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 551. Section 11. This resolution shall become effective from and after its passage. PASSED AND APPROVED this 5th DAY of January 2015. ____________________________________ QUINN ALEXANDER, MAYOR ATTEST: _________________________________________ GRETCHEN MERCER, CITY SECRETARY 4 of 4 February 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Commission Meeting 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Washington’s Birthday 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 March 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Commission Meeting 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 CISD—Spring Break 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31