City Council

CITY OF CASTROVILLE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR CALLED COUNCIL MEETING 1209 Fiorella City Council Chambers August 9, 2022 Tuesday 5:30 P.M. MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Darrin Schroeder called the meeting to order at 5:36 p.m. Mayor Schroeder moved Item #6 Proclamation appointing Aya Kasim Mayor for the Day. VI. Proclamation appointing Aya Kasim Mayor for the Day Mayor Schroeder requested Aya Kasim step forward as he read the proclamation appointing Ms. Kasim as Mayor for the day. Mayor Elect Kasim proceeded to conduct the roll call. II. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Darrin Schroeder Scott Dixon, City Administrator Mayor Pro Tem Phil King Debra Howe, City Secretary Councilmember Sheena Martinez Leroy Vidales, Finance Director Councilmember Paul Carey Devin Fredrickson, Parks and Recreation Director Councilmember Harold Stein Councilmember Herb Dyer Others in Attendance: Cynthia Trevino, City Attorney Clay Binford, Legal Counsel, III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IV. INVOCATION Pastor Mitch Cobb, with Calvary Friendship Church gave the invocation. V. CITIZEN COMMENTS The City Council will hear comments from any citizen or visitor. Speakers must address their comments to the presiding officer rather than individual council members or staff; stand at the podium, speak clearly into the microphone, and state your name and residential address before speaking. Speakers will be allowed a maximum of 3 minutes for testimony. Speakers making personal, impertinent, profane, or slanderous remarks will be given one warning before losing the privilege to speak k or may be removed from the room. In accordance with the State Open Meetings Act, the City Council is restricted from discussing or taking action on items not listed on the agenda. Action can only be taken at a future meeting. Council Meeting Minutes August 9, 2022 Page 2 (Cont.) Jerome Iltis, Commander of the American Legion Weiss-Wurzbach Post 460, 1046 CR 4773, read a resolution from the American Legion in support of keeping September Square as a memorial site with no changes. David Merz,148 Village Path, spoke on a recent sewer leak in his area and wanted to thank the city employees for a prompt response and repair. Mayor Elect Kasim called a recess at 5:45 p.m. to allow staff to address audio issues with the Live Stream. Mayor Elect Kasim called the meeting back into open session at 5:55 p.m. VI. Proclamation appointing Aya Kasim Mayor for the Day This item was moved up. VII. CONSENT AGENDA a. Minutes for July 26, 2022 City Council Meeting. b. Ordinance amending residency for Library Advisory Board members. c. Interlocal Agreement with Medina County for Northern Route. Mayor Schroeder had a correction on the July 26, 2022 minutes on the percentage of sales tax shown. Mayor Schroeder said it should have stated the top 6 businesses with 50 smaller businesses made up 90% and the other 2,000 including online, made up the remaining almost 10%. A motion was made by Councilmember King and duly seconded by Councilmember Carey to approve the Consent Agenda with the noted change. A vote was taken (5:0 all ayes) the motion carried by all present. VIII. Swearing-In of new Police Chief, James Kohler Mayor Schroeder swore in the new Police Chief James Kohler. Several members of the police force were in attendance. IX. Monthly Activity Report from ESD #1 Fire Chief Clint Cooke ESD#1 Fire Chief Clint Cooke briefed the city council on his monthly incident report. Mayor Elect Kasim asked about the recent fire in Medina West Subdivision and the quick response from crop duster Brad Lauderdale. Chief Cooke said the quick response from Mr. Lauderdale in using his plane to help extinguish the fire was greatly appreciated. Chief Cooke said the department was going to reimburse him for any expenses for his help and would be working with him in the future. X. Council Board Liaison Reports Councilmember Martinez was unable to attend the Library Advisory Board Meeting due to illness. Council Meeting Minutes August 9, 2022 Page 3 (Cont.) Councilmember Carey said the Planning and Zoning Commission was meeting the following evening. Councilmember King said the Historic Landmark Commission had not met. Councilmember Stein said the Airport Advisory Board had met and discussed the fencing project at the airport and the board had approved Brad Lauderdale stepping down as chairman. Mr. Lauderdale had several work commitments and would like to remain as a voting full board member. Councilmember Dyer said the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board had met July 20th with updates on the lighting project. Mr. Dyer said the project was complete and very well received. XI. City Administrator’s Report: a. CPS Gas Operations Contract Renewal g. Future Debt Issue b. WM Rate Increase h. City Hall office moves c. Wholesale Electric Contract i. New Parks and Streets Operation site d. GIS Database j. Kiosk update e. City Hall Repairs and Maintenance k. Lions Park Update f. FY21/22 Year-end Budget Requests City Administrator Scott Dixon provided his monthly report and highlighted the waste management contract increases going into effect October 1. Mr. Dixon said the cost to the city was approximately $10,000 for 3 months. Mr. Dixon said the airport fencing project was to have been on this agenda but was moved to a future meeting. Councilmember Martinez asked for an update on the Kiosk. Mr. Dixon said the Kiosk was installed and training would be conducted in the next week, with notification to the public to follow. Mr. Dixon said there had been several changes in city hall with him and the finance department exchanging offices, Utility Clerk moved to Public Works, and Customer Services staying the same at this time. Councilmember Dyer asked about the CPS Gas Maintenance Contract and what were they looking at for new fees. Mr. Dixon said the new proposed fees were much higher, current was $8,800 per month and the proposed fees were $18,724 per month. Mr. Dixon said they were having Schneider Engineering look at the contract and would bring back options including possibly bringing back in-house. Councilmember King asked if the parks trails could be included in the GIS Database. Mr. Dixon said the Parks Group would need to create trail maps to put into the database and that may change the scope of work with an increase in cost. Mr. Dixon would make an inquiry and bring back. XII. Public Hearing (#1) on the proposed FY23 Property Tax Rate Opened: 6:21 p.m. City Administrator Scott Dixon provided a presentation on the proposed tax rate of 0.5233. Mr. Dixon Reviewed information on Medina County exemptions for Castroville citizens. Those exemptions included tax freeze for over 65 and disable veterans. A five-year average home value chart was also provided. Mayor Schroeder said on average a 10% increase was assessed from the County Appraisal District. City Administrator Dixon said the city council had approved holding the tax rate the same for five years and any increase from higher appraisals would go in to the I and S portion for improvements. Council Meeting Minutes August 9, 2022 Page 4 (Cont.) Mr. Dixon said the official proposed budget would be given to the City Secretary on August 12th and the second Tax Rate Public Hearing would be held at the August 23rd council meeting, with adoption on September 13th. David Merz, 148 Village Path, spoke to the city council on the tax rate and was in support of an increase to help cover the debt service. City Administrator Dixon said there was a strong indication the I & S rate would go up to support debt issuance and the goal was to reduce the tax rate for the citizens in the next four to five years. Mr. Dixon said they would look at the value to the city or a tax break. Mayor Schroeder said it was a great strategy to spread out the debt to include new citizens to help pay, not just the current citizens. Closed: 6:48 p.m. XIII. Public Hearing (#2) to receive testimony and hear arguments for and against a petition to annex 9.230 acres of property being 8.730 acres out of Survey No. 8, Abstract 1316, Edward Pingenot, and 0.500 out of Survey No. 97, Abstract No. 1259, L.M. Collard, being a portion of Lot 1 of the Magnolia Subdivision, Castroville, Texas, Medina County Open: 6:49 p.m. No one requested to speak. Closed: 6:49 p.m. XIV. Consider and take appropriate action on adopting an Ordinance approving the annexation of 9.230 acres of property being 8.730 acres out of Survey No. 8, Abstract 1316, Edward Pingenot, and 0.500 acres out of Survey No. 97, Abstract No. 1259, L.M. Collard, being a portion of Lot 1 of the Magnolia Subdivision, Castroville, Texas, Medina County and providing a service plan Councilmember King requested a correction on the title of the agenda item to show 0.500 acres out of Survey No. 97, Abstract No. 1259, L.M. Collard, being a portion of Lot 1 of the magnolia Subdivision, Castroville, Texas. A motion was made by Councilmember King and duly seconded by Councilmember Martinez with the noted agenda wording correction to adopt an ordinance approving the annexation 9.230 acres of property being 8.730 acres out of Survey No. 8, Abstract 1316, Edward Pingenot, and 0.500 acres out of Survey No. 97, Abstract No. 1259, L.M. Collard, being a portion of Lot 1 of the Magnolia Subdivision, Castroville, Texas, Medina County and providing a service plan. A vote was taken (5:0 all ayes) the motion carried by all present. XV. Wastewater Treatment Plant TCEQ Planning Report (Michael Persyn, KFriese Engineering) Michael Persyn, KFriese Engineering, briefed the city council on solutions to the issues at the wastewater treatment plant ponds. Mr. Persyn provided the background, issues summary, alternatives considered at a Council Meeting Minutes August 9, 2022 Page 5 (Cont.) past meeting, recommended solution and value engineering. Mr. Persyn said the main issues were the tree growth on the pond dam embankments, effluent management, Pond 2 spillway not being functional, Pond 1 not having any spillway, the slope stability, erosion upstream side of the dam and dam safety risks. Mr. Persyn provided three alternatives with costs. (A.) Keep both of the ponds (~5.8M), (B.) Breach Pond 1, restore Pond 2 (~5.1M) and (C.) Breach both Ponds (~4.6M). Mr. Persyn said they recommended Alternative C, which was what the city council had been in favor of at the last meeting due to lowest cost, it would eliminate the effluent management challenge, the dam safety compliance/risk, future maintenance concerns and there was potential for future expansion of the park, wastewater treatment plant or for other city facilities on the property. Mr. Persyn said the value engineering was they could fill in later, reduce the fill/leveling of pond bottom, eliminate fill on downstream slope, consider pipe jacking for dam breach and look at permitting sludge in place/test sludge contents to reduce limits of removal required. Councilmember Dyer asked if the ponds were a restricted area until improved. City Administrator Dixon said the area was currently fenced and would need to get TCEQ’s approval. Mr. Persyn said there would be some requirements from TCEQ to close. Mr. Persyn said there would be a cost for treatment, putting soil on top of the area or leave alone. Councilmember King suggested doing a breach in the corner of the pond and drain or pipe jack between and drain and dry out. Vicki Ortega said that was a possibility at a cost of 3.5M to 3.6M. Mayor Schroeder said with this option it would not encroach into the park. Ms. Ortega confirm that was correct and the city could reclaim at a later date. Mayor Schroeder asked about using the ponds for park projects. Mr. Persyn recommended looking at uses for expansion of the wastewater treatment operation in the future due to the investment already made at the current site before incorporating into the park. Mr. Persyn said they were looking for guidance from the council on which option they felt would be best for the city to move foward. City Council agreed they were in favor of breaching the ponds. Ms. Ortega said the options including using the channel to move the water to the river would be discussed further during the design phase. City Administrator Dixon said a suggestion could be to put money toward a wetland feature. He would speak with Patrick Connor and Helen Delevan more. Mayor Schroeder said he was in favor of putting the water in the river and a wetlands feature would be a good filtering system. Mayor Schroeder wanted to do what was most cost effective with least amount of impact to the budget. The consensus of the council was to look at breaching pond #2 at the southwest corner and go down the channel, least impact on the park and budget for the city. XVI. Consider and take appropriate action on awarding bid for Lafayette Water Main Project Michael Persyn, KFriese Engineering, briefed the city council on the proposals the city received for the Lafayette Water Main Project. Mr. Persyn said the lowest bid was submitted by Sovrex, Inc for $555,737.00 and the lowest alternate bid was submitted by Rangeline Utility Service for $543,230.47. Mr. Persyn said after meeting with Rangeline Utility Service and discussing pipe bursting it was decided that this technique was best for this project. Mr. Persyn said this type of process was being used more often and was faster, the old line was left in place and the pipe was pulled through and fused together. Mr. Persyn said there were less leaks with this process. Councilmember Carey said this line was the main source through out the city. Mr. Persyn said they would be adding valves and would be doing prep work to try and minimize the impact on the citizens. Mr. Persyn said the recommendation was to award the bid to Rangeline Utility Service. A motion was made by Councilmember King and duly seconded by Councilmember Carey to approve the City enter into a contract with Rangeline Utility Service for the Lafayette Water Line Replacement Project in the amount of $543,230.47, with the authority to have the City Administrator to approve or Council Meeting Minutes August 9, 2022 Page 6 (Cont.) increase the amount for contingency funds not to exceed 10% of the accepted bid price. A vote was taken (5:0 all ayes) the motion carried by all present. XVII. Consider and take appropriate action on awarding bid for Country Village Channel Improvement Project City Administrator Scott Dixon briefed the city council on staff contacting five contractors for bids on this project. Mr. Dixon said two bids had been submitted. Mr. Dixon said staff was recommending the city council reject the bids due to receiving a much lower bid after the deadline. A motion was made by Councilmember Carey and duly seconded by Councilmember Martinez to reject all bids received for the Country Village Channel Improvement Project. A vote was taken (5:0 all ayes) the motion carried by all present. XVIII. Consider and take appropriate action on application submitted for open position(s) on City boards and commissions City Secretary Debra Howe briefed the city council on the applications for the Zoning Board of Adjustment open positions. Ms. Howe said the application of David Merz had been submitted for consideration at the last meeting and the application from Beatrice Hurtado, current board member, would be considered at the next meeting. Ms. Howe recommended Mr. Merz be placed in the open alternate position on the ZBOA. A motion was made by Councilmember Carey and duly seconded by Councilmember Stein to appoint David Merz to alternate position #2 with a term ending in 2023. A vote was taken (5:0 all ayes) the motion carried by all present. XIX. Presentation on updating City Logo (Darin Hamm, Tourism/Business Director) Tourism/Business Director Darin Hamm briefed the city council on the previous meeting discussion and provided three examples of a refreshed logo for consideration. Mr. Hamm said all three were very similar in style with a consensus of the council liking the logo #3 with full trees. Me. Hamm said he would complete and send out so there would be consistence throughout. XX. Consider and take appropriate action on adopting a Resolution supporting the lecture series “Our Past Guides Our Future” Mayor Schroeder briefed the city council on the upcoming lecture series he was supporting. Mayor Schroeder said the goal was to provide the members of the community with good information from professionals to help prepare for future growth. Mayor Schroeder said the traffic was a huge problem and this would be discussed and the speakers would help others to understand what measures to take. Mayor said it was a community led effort. Councilmember Carey felt it was an excellent idea to have a planner speaking at these meetings. Councilmember Martinez was pleased that the citizens would be involved. Councilmembers King and Stein was in favor of the series. Councilmember Dyer said the mayor had spoken Council Meeting Minutes August 9, 2022 Page 7 (Cont.) with him at length on his ideas but he was not in agreement with the Mayor’s ideas. Mr. Dyer said he did not see the need and felt the city had good ordinances to go by and a good development agreement. Mr. Dyer was against what he felt was more governmental control measures on the citizens and property owners should decide what they want for their property. He felt the city should protect the property owners from encroachment. Mr. Dyer said Mayor Schroeder wanted to engage an affiliated Architect on staff to be consulted by a business owner’s Architect on design criteria and he was not in favor of doing this. City Administrator Dixon said he saw two different items on this – (1) UDO discussion and (2) Structure series. Councilmember Dyer said the series was not a city event, but it could be very educational. Mr. Dixon said this was brought to the city council to have discussion on this other than hearing it through a presentation and make a decision of supporting or not. Mayor Schroeder said they had not asked the community to speak on what they want the city to be, and this would be the platform for the council to make better decisions. Councilmember King and Carey will be unable to attend on a few of the series meetings due to previous commitments. Mayor Schroeder said they will be recorded and hopefully Live Streamed. A motion was made by Councilmember Carey and duly seconded by Councilmember King to adopt a Resolution supporting the lecture series “Our Past Guides Our Future”. A vote was taken (4ayes:1 nay(Dyer)) the motion carried by a majority vote. XXI. Discussion on possible updates to the current Comprehensive Plan and the city’s ongoing efforts to develop a unified development ordinance City Administrator Scott Dixon briefed the city council on staff review of the comprehensive plan and moving toward development of a unified development ordinance (UDO). Mr. Dixon said the council had heard from Bryce Cox, a planner with city attorney’s office and an individual from San Antonio had came to the city and wanted to help prepare the citizens through the upcoming series of lectures on growth. Mr. Dixon said he would be monitoring the interest of the citizens and see if the city needs a UDO. Mr. Dixon said it was large undertaking and will look at what the council wants and what was in the development agreements. Mayor Schroeder said there were three designs - core elements, underground utilities, city design, and also walkability. Mayor Schroeder said to look at a combination of these and design fundamental elements. Councilmember Carey said the city needed a UDO saying the ordinances have been looked at for years and were hard to interpret. XXII. Consider and take appropriate action on a Resolution authorizing the execution of a Utility Service Agreement with Victory Lane Partners, LTD. and other matters in connection therewith Legal Counsel Clay Binford asked that this be skipped. XXIII. Consider and take appropriate action on a Resolution authorizing the execution of a Multiparty agreement to pay design costs associated with planned expansion of the city’s water system to support city development and other matter in connection therewith Legal Counsel Clay Binford briefed the city council on the eastside development and the need for water and wastewater to support new development. Mr. Binford said the city council had recently approved the Council Meeting Minutes August 9, 2022 Page 8 (Cont.) engineering task order with RESPEC for a new water tower in the last month and this agreement was a commitment from the four developers to pay design costs associated with the expansion of the water system to support their future developments. Mr. Binford said three had paid the shared cost as of the deadline, with a conformation today of a wire from Alsatian Oaks with a total of $268,000. City Administrator Dixon asked about future PID’s and Mr. Binford said those may come in the next few months. Mayor Schroeder commended Mr. Binford on his expertise on working with a multitude of parties on these agreements that benefit everyone. A motion was made by Councilmember Carey and duly seconded by Councilmember King to adopt a Resolution authorizing the execution of a Multiparty agreement with identified parties to pay design costs associated with planned expansion of the city’s water system to support city development and other matter in connection therewith. A vote was taken (5:0 all ayes) the motion carried by all present. XXIV. Consider and take appropriate action on a Resolution authorizing preparation of a preliminary reinvestment zone financing plan and publication of notice of a public hearing regarding the possible creation of a reinvestment zone and other matters in connection therewith City Administrator Scott Dixon briefed the city council on the resolution and map attached for consideration. Mr. Dixon said this had been discussed at a previous meeting and the map was a preliminary map for illustration only. Mr. Dixon said the area of designation for historic district development would be a future discussion item for council with the Historic Landmark Commission being included in the discussion on the projects. Legal Counsel Clay Binford said it was a starting point with public hearings, and a financial plan. Mr. Binford said it would be a good investment and money would be put back into the area. A motion was made by Councilmember King and duly seconded by Councilmember Carey to adopt a Resolution authorizing preparation of a preliminary reinvestment zone financing plan and publication of notice of a public hearing regarding the possible creation of a reinvestment zone and other matters in connection therewith. A vote was taken (5:0 all ayes) the motion carried by all present. XXV. Consider and take appropriate action on authorizing staff to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for Information Technology (IT) related services Mayor Schroeder asked that the request for proposals for IT services be delayed. Mayor Schroeder did not feel the proposal was ready to go out and the city council needed to discuss further. Councilmember Dyer who worked with the Mayor and City Administrator on the RFP said the city had needed this for along time but there was no guidelines/policy in place for the City Administrator to follow. Mr. Dyer thought it might warrant a workshop on this and he saw many things left out such as more security measures. Mayor Schroeder recommended hiring an IT Consultant to come in and do an evaluation of the system, look at storage on sight and cloud base, assessment model with a cost model. City Administrator Dixon clarified he was to solicit for an IT Consultant to provide an assessment of the system with a possible cost of $25,000 to provide this service. Council was in favor of moving forward to contract with a consultant before going out for an RFP. No formal action was taken.  Council Meeting Minutes August 9, 2022 Page 9 XXVI. Consider and take appropriate action on approving Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) expenditures for Streets - Bobcat, Parks – UTV and Pickup Parks and Recreation/Streets Director Devin Fredrickson briefed the city council on the vehicles he wished to purchase for the parks and streets. Councilmember King asked about the UTV and the unit being a two seater. Mr. Fredrickson said the police department had suggested a unit with a longer bed to accommodate a stretcher, needed to transport a person down from the trails area. Mr. Fredrickson said to get this he had to get a two-seater. Councilmember King said he would like to see more details on the measurements of the unit before he made a decision. Mr. King also had questions on the additional cost of doors verses no doors for a unit to be used for work. Mayor Schroeder clarified the Bobcat shown would be equipped with a planer and would be used for streets. Mr. Fredrickson said was assigned to streets. Mr. Fredrickson was asked about the truck he was purchasing and what department it would be in. Mr. Fredrickson said this unit would be assigned to the parks department. A motion was made by Councilmember King and duly seconded by Councilmember Carey to Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) expenditures for Streets - Bobcat, Parks – UTV and Pickup with the understanding the City Administrator would review the UTV options. A vote was taken (5:0 all ayes) the motion carried by all present. XXVII. Review of EAA Policies for water restriction levels and demonstration of our preparedness to support Stage 4 restrictions City Administrator Scott Dixon briefed the city council on conservation measures the city were taking to conserve water. Mr. Dixon said the citizens appeared to not be following the restrictions ass they should and staff was looking at signage to remind the community when to water. Mayor Schroeder wanted more communication and enforcement. Mayor Schroeder recessed the meeting to go into Executive Session at 9:34 p.m. XXVIII. EXECUTIVE SESSION: The City Council will meet in Closed Session under provisions of the Texas Government Code, Section 551.071 (entitled “Consultation with Attorney) and Section 551.085. (entitled “Deliberation regarding Economic Development Negotiations”) a. Land purchases b. City land c. El Portal d. Hampton Inn and Suites Open: 9:43 p.m. Closed: 10:30 p.m.  Council Meeting Minutes August 9, 2022 Page 10 XXIX. Reconvene in open session Mayor Schroeder reconvened the meeting in open session at 10:30 p.m. XXX. Consider possible action(s) resulting from items posted and legally discussed in Executive Session No action was taken. XXXI. ADJOURN Mayor Schroeder adjourned the meeting at 10:31 p.m. Darrin Schroeder Mayor ATTEST: Debra Howe City Secretary *Signatures on file