City Council Regular Meeting

Minutes of Regular Meeting The City Council City of Richwood A Regular Meeting of the City Council of City of Richwood was held Monday, April 14, 2014, beginning at 6:00 PM in the Richwood City Hall, 1800 N. Brazosport Blvd. Richwood, Texas. I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Clint Kocurek, Mayor and presiding officer. II. INVOCATION The invocation was given by Glenn Patton, City Manager. III. PLEDGES OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance and the Texas Pledge of Allegiance was recited by those in attendance. IV. ROLL CALL OF COUNCIL MEMBERS Roll call showed the following members present: Clint Kocurek, Mayor and presiding officer Paul Raymond, Council, Position #1 John Pitts, Council, Position #2 and Mayor Pro Tem Jarrod Beaty, Council, Position #3 Morgan Laird, Council, Position #4 Absent: Donna Lacy, Council, Position #4 A quorum was declared. Others present included Glenn Patton, City Manager, Karen B. Schrom, City Secretary, Kenny Williams, Public Works Director, Brad Caudle, Police Chief, Jessica Bailey, Lieutenant, Kevin Nutt and Zeus, Aaron Farmer, Retail Coach, Ken Mueller, Vic Wade, Charles Smith, Chase Terry, Laurie Atkins, Mili Mezulic, Steve Hill, and Garry Ellis. V. ANYONE WISHING TO ADDRESS COUNCIL  Charles Smith and Chase Terry spoke on behalf of the Southern Conservative branch of the Texas Tea Party. Their overall mission is to aid in the fight to maintain all our freedoms. They will not tolerate any infringement of their constitutional rights. They are hoping that Council will adopt the resolution to send a statement to Washington to preserve these rights, specifically the 2nd, 4th and 9th amendment to the Constitution. Ken Mueller addressed Council on his request for water and sewer services at his trailer park outside the City limits. He is willing to pay 1 ½ times the in city rate and will be responsible for the costs. He had been in talk with the City about annexation and both he and Mr. Patton agree that it would not be beneficial to either party at this time. Chief Caudle introduced our newest officer, Zeus, to City Council. He has been on the streets for 1 ½ weeks. VI. CONSENT AGENDA Item D, Resolution to Protect and Defend the Constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms was moved to Discussion and Action Items. On motion by Councilman Beaty, seconded by Councilman Laird, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to approve the remaining consent agenda items as presented. A. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meetings 1. March 17, 2014 B. Payment of bills C. Authorization to sell water to Ken Mueller's RV park at one and 1/2 times the in city rate - D. Resolution to Protect and Defend the Constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms E. Offer to purchase property at 503 N. Mahan F. Authorization to let bids for annual Storm Debris Removal - Annual Contingency Contract G. Authorization to let bids for Debris Monitoring, Recovery, and Other Related Services H. Accept resignation of Morgan Laird, Council Position #4 VII. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS A. Presentation by Retail Coach - Retail Economic Development Plan Aaron Farmer, Vice President of The Retail Coach, explained to Council they work with cities to build a stronger retail base. They have helped over 225 communities in the 15 years they’ve been in business and of those, 175 have been in Texas. One of their first projects was to bring Chili’s to Angleton 12 – 13 years ago. In the past year in Bastrop, they’ve added 750,000 square feet of retail space. He drove around Richwood prior to the meeting and visited with some of the residents. Most of those he spoke with stated they’d like a grocery store, casual sit down dining and fast food restaurants. There is good traffic flow through the city and we need to work to capture those dollars. Council will place this on the April 28th agenda for consideration. B. Request by Luke Guidry to discuss water quality at 101 Meadowlark Ct. Mr. and Mrs. Guidry have lived at their home for 5 ½ years and have had problems with water. It smells like mildew and rotten eggs. It is mainly in the master bath and kitchen. The City has tested the water several times over the years, including tests by an independent laboratory. The City will test the water again and we will keep them informed of what we find. C. Applications for Keep Richwood Beautiful Council chose to handle each application separately. Melissa Blanks On motion by Councilman Pitts, seconded by Councilman Beaty, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to appoint Melissa Blanks to KRB. Denise Green On motion by Councilman Laird, seconded by Councilman Beaty, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to appoint Denise Green to KRB. Katherine Venegas  Ms. Venegas’ application was incomplete. On motion by Councilman Raymond, seconded by Councilman Pitts, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to deny Katherine Venegas until we receive a completed application. Janet Ellis On motion by Councilman Pitts, seconded by Councilman Beaty, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to appoint Janet Ellis to KRB. Cinda Puckett The motion by Councilman Pitts failed due to a lack of a second. Garry Ellis On motion by Councilman Beaty, seconded by Councilman Pitts, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to appoint Garry Ellis to KRB. Ophilia Martinez The motion by Councilman Pitts failed due to a lack of a second. Rocky Martinez There was no motion. New Keep Richwood Beautiful Richwood members are Melissa Blanks, Denise Green, Janet Ellis and Garry Ellis. D. Update Personnel Policy Changes to the Personnel Policy included changing City Administrator to City Manager, bringing into compliance with the Charter and amending the Grievance Procedures. On motion by Councilman Beaty, seconded by Councilman Pitts, with all members present voting aye, the updates to the Personnel Policy were approved. E. Budget Priorities for the next 5 years - Administration, Municipal Court, and Police Department This item was tabled until after the May election.  F. Approve Items Pulled from Consent Agenda 1. Resolution to Keep and Bear Arms Mayor Kocurek stated that the City will have our attorney review the Resolution and this will give the City a chance to talk with the residents. VIII. REPORTS Reports that require no action. A. Financial Reports Par for the period ending March 31, 2014 is 50%. Most departments are over and are being monitored. B. Administration and Municipal Court Department Reports Ms. Schrom brought the Council up to date on the Administration and Court departments from last year and current year to date. Revenues are up this year. Changes implemented to the departments include setting up online payments for Court and hope to have credit card scanners attached to both the Court and Utility computers. The City has developed a process to add more information to the back of the utility bills and a surveyed was created and distributed online and via paper. C. Police Department Report The Police Department has seen calls increasing. Last year they ran 9,129 calls and they are seeing a 16.97% increase to date. The department has a good clearance rate for crime thanks to Leads on Line. Of the 110 crimes reported on the UCR report, 72 of them have been cleared. The Police Department also built the jail in the new building. IX. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT Mr. Patton reported that he had met with the Palladium Group. They build high end apartment buildings and are very interested in building in the area. The owners of the undeveloped property in Glenwood Bayou has been in contact with a realtor out of Angleton and they are looking to replat the property so they can sell it. On May 14th, they will meet with the chamber to discuss ambulance service. TxDot has received our request for a traffic light at Cedar and Brazosport Boulevard.  X. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Resolution – right to keep and bear arms Traffic – speed limit on Oyster Creek Drive and Moore Keep Richwood Beautiful Parks and Recreation Retail Coach XI. COMMITTEE REPORTS There were none. XII. COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS & REPORTS There were none. XIII. MAYOR’S REPORT BCCA will be hosted by Surfside, April 16th. The City Wide Clean up went very well, ROTC and the Grace Community Church helped. Barbeque Cookoff and the Easter Egg Hunt is this weekend. Mayor Kocurek and the other Councilmembers thanked Morgan Laird for his service. XIV. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:53 p.m. APPROVED BY A MAJORITY VOTE OF COUNCIL ON APRIL 28, 2014 _________________________ Clint Kocurek, Mayor ATTEST: _________________________ Karen B. Schrom, City Secretary