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, July 28, 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 at 6:00 p.m. 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 John Pitts, Council, Position #2 Jarrod Beaty, Council, Position #3 Sarah Harris, Council, Position #4 Absent: Paul Raymond, Council, Position #1 and Mayor Pro Tem Chris Hardison, Council, Position #5 A quorum was declared. Others present included Glenn Patton, Karen B. Schrom, City Secretary, Brad Caudle, Police Chief, Kenny Williams, Public Works Director, Linda Pace, Administrative Assistant, Juan Longoria, Wyatt Ringgold, Ronnie Woodruff and Larry Nutt of Brazosport Water Authority, Aaron Farmer, The Retail Coach, Melissa Blanks, Denise Green, Kat Venegas, Garry Ellis and Janet Jackson- Ellis of Keep Richwood Beautiful, Holletta Eudy and Kellie Marriott of the Facts.  V. ANYONE WISHING TO ADDRESS COUNCIL There was no one present who wished to address Council on matters not on the agenda. VI. CONSENT AGENDA Om motion by Councilman Beaty, seconded by Councilman Pitts, with all members present voting aye, the items on the Consent Agenda were approved as presented. A. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meetings B. Payment of bills VII. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS A. Report from Aaron Farmer, Retail Coach Aaron Farmer with The Retail Coach, was present to update Council on their work for the City. They have completed the analysis portion of the study and the next step is to take the information and begin to recruit businesses. The retail trade area includes Richwood and the surrounding area. According to their studies, there are 25,600 in the retail area and has experienced strong growth. The household median number is well above the national average and is $78,268. There is not much retail or restaurants in the retail trade area and approximately $441 million dollars is spent annually in other areas. As a result, they will be contacting retailers and doing aggressive recruitment in the next 15 months. They will also develop a portal which includes all of this information, including an interactive map. He will continue to keep Mr. Patton updated and he is available by email or telephone if Council has any questions. B. Brazosport Water Authority expansion Ronnie Woodruff, General Manager of Brazosport Water Authority, explained to Council the Brazoria County Regional Water Study looked at water needs for our area for the future. As a result, BWA began looking at viable alternatives to be able to supply current and future customers water for the long term. They decied on a de-salinization plant which would extract and treat brine water.  After this study, the City of Rosenberg approached BWA with a proposal to supply 3 million gallons a day. This would require an additional pump station and the installation of the lines. Rosenberg has agreed to enter into a long term contract for the length of the bonds required for the expansion. They would also be able to pick up the TDCJ facilities such as Darrington along the way. BWA will be able to pick up additional surface water allocation if Rosenberg does come online. This is a way for us to firm up water supplies for the future. Mr. Woodruff assured Council that the original participating cities will be taken care of first. They have plans in place to address subsidence issue. They will put up units that will monitor subsidence and will watch the wells in the aquifer as well. The plan is to refill the aquifer in those times whenever possible and hope to recover at least 80% of the water we take. They are asking for approval from the cities before they firm up the contract with Rosenberg. Then they will start the process for the bonds. On motion by Councilman Pitts, seconded by Councilman Harris, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to approve the expansion proposal as presented. C. Presentation to City Council - Governor's Community Achievement Award Presenter: Keep Richwood Beautiful Melissa Blanks, Chairman of the Keep Richwood Beautiful, introduced the members. This is the 3rd time Mr. and Mrs. Ellis have been a part of the team that has won the GCAA award. The last two awards were used to building the signs at the entrances to the City and the large one at the intersection of Hwy. 288B and FM 2004. The committee presented the award to the city as well as a copy of the check and the certificate. She thanked the City for their commitment and gave a KTB Christmas ornament to each member. Mayor Kocurek thanked the committee for all they do for the city and agreed the partnership between KRB and the City Council was a very important one. Councilman Beaty agreed and thanked them. D. Appointment of City's representative to the Brazosport Water Authority Board of Directors  Mr. Ellis Feiner does not wish to be re-appointed due to health issues. Brian Garrett of 32526 Redfish Trail has applied. Mr. Patton visited with Mr. Garrett and recommends Council appoint him. On motion by Councilman Pitts, second by Councilman Beaty, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to appoint Brian Garrett as the City’s representative to the Board of Directors of BWA. E. Ordinance 390A - Amending ordinance requiring inspections of multi-family units The proposed change adds all residential rental properties, including single family residences to be inspected. This is placed on the agenda tonight for Council’s review On motion by Councilman Harris, seconded by Councilman Beaty, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to table this item so Council may review it. F. Proposed ordinance regulating donation drop boxes Ordinance No. 392 will require a permit for donation drop boxes, setting parameters for the construction, placement and maintenance of the boxes and setting a penalty for violations. We currently only have one drop box in the city but we have been getting a number of requests lately to place additional ones. The City did have to remove one in the past because the box had deteriorated to a point it was no longer safe. On motion by Councilman Harris, seconded by Councilman Beaty, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to table this item so Council may review it. G. Approve items pulled from Consent Agenda There were none. H. Executive Session: Consultation with attorney pursuant to Texas Government Code §551.071 in respect to pending or contemplated litigation, settlement offers, and matters where duty of public body's counsel to client, pursuant to code of professional responsibility of the State Bar of Texas, clearly conflicts with this chapter: 1. Richwood Personnel Policy On motion by Councilman Beaty, seconded by Councilman Pitts, with all members present voting aye, this item was tabled until a full Council could  attend. I. Action as a result of Executive Session No action was taken since the executive session was tabled. VIII. REPORTS There were no reports. IX. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT Mr. Patton reported the negotiations with the apartment complex proposed in North Brazos Crossing was still ongoing. They made an initial request for a Chapter 380 contract but he was unhappy as it was all one sided. They are asking for a waiver of all taxes on improvements for a 10 year period as well as a waiver on all permit and tap fees and charges for a lift station. They are also in negotiations with neighboring cities for the project as well. He will continue to talk with them. The plans to annex the property across the street has sparked a lot of interest. X. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Ordinance 390A Ordinance 392 Executive session on the personnel policy Budget Workshop XI. COMMITTEE REPORTS Day in the Park will be held on August 16th from 2 pm. to 6 p.m. Hope to see everyone there. XII. COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS & REPORTS There were none. XIII. MAYOR’S REPORT Mayor Kocurek reported we had gotten the certified roll and have worked on the budget. XIV. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m. APPROVED BY A MAJORITY VOTE OF COUNCIL ON AUGUST 11, 2014 _____________________________________ Clint Kocurek, Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________________ Karen B. Schrom, City Secretary