City Council Regular Meeting

Minutes of Special Meeting The City Council City of Richwood A Special Meeting of the City Council of City of Richwood was held Monday, August 24, 2015, 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 & 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 Jarrod Beaty, Council, Position #3 and Mayor Pro Tem Sarah Harris, Council, Position #4 Chris Hardison, Council, Position #5 Absent: Melissa Blanks, Council, Position #2 A quorum was declared. Others present included Glenn Patton, City Manager, Karen B. Schrom, City Secretary, Bryan Corb, Police Chief, Clif Custer, Public Works Foreman, Eric Wagnon, Ron Boone and Lauren LaCount. V. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS A. Public Hearing - FY 16 Tax Rate This budget will raise more total property taxes than last year's budget by $139,144 or 10.05%, and of that amount, $66,944 is tax revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year. The Public Hearing was opened at 6:01 p.m. With no one present wishing to speak, the Public Hearing was Closed at 6:02 p.m. B. Contract with Waste Connection On motion by Councilman Beaty, seconded by Councilman Harris, with all members present voting aye, the Contract for Solid Waste Disposal with Waste Connections was approved as presented. C. Traffic Control on Cardinal Drive Bryan Corb, Police Chief reported he had worked on a Traffic Management Plan for the entire City and he has provided each member of Council with a copy. He also developed a proposal for Cardinal Drive. Markers and a painted stop sign were added recently to bring attention to the stop sign on Cardinal. They have monitored speed data and have worked the street for the past two weeks. Most of the violators are residents. He is not an advocate of speed bumps as a traffic calming device. If this is the direction Council choses to go, he’d rather see speed humps instead. They are designed for residential streets and take emergency vehicles into consideration. He has also been in contact with an agency to do a traffic study city wide, as well as the use of a covert speed machine to monitor speeds. A Traffic Engineer will need this data to determine the speed limits. Councilman Beaty stated he’d like to have citizen involvement in this and asked the Chief to elaborate. Chief Corb stated they will send a survey to the residents which would allow each adult resident on Cardinal to respond. It will include what traffic calming device will be used. Since they must be placed at 300-600 intervals, there will be 8 – 10 at the cost of $2,500 each. It will affect more than just Cardinal. They will send out the surveys to people in Audubonwoods II & III and some on Cardinal. They are looking for an 80% affirmative response before implementing any type of traffic calming device. In response to the Mayor’s question, Chief Corb stated they would do the survey first to determine if the residents want it. Then they will do the traffic study. It was also suggested the cost and extent of the program as well as a diagram be included in the survey. Social media, utility bills, and the City’s website will be  used to communicate. VI. REPORTS Reports that require no action. A. Plans for Lift Station #4 Mr. Custer reported the plan is to have Lift Station #4 rehabilitated within a 2 year period instead of 3. He feels this is an ambitious program but is doable. Year One: Bypass Pumping Install Liner Remove and replace valves and piping Year Two: Electrical Panel Prep existing manhole 1” aver cement build up. This will be paid out of the Water/Sewer Contingency and the Water/Sewer Budget for FY 16 and FY 17. VII. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT Mr. Patton reported Waste Connections is beginning to deliver the new cans this week. This is Waste Management’s last week and they should start picking up their cans. He spoke with Evan Sharp with Waste Connections and the recent fire at the Recycling Center will not affect recycling. He also asked Council to think about the types of businesses they’d like to see the City pursue for economic development. The Richwood U has been developed and now need interested residents. VIII. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Public Hearing – August 31  IX. PUBLIC COMMENTS Lauren LaCount spoke regarding traffic control on Cardinal Dr. She is impressed with Chief Corb’s plan. She did express concern that since the police are focusing on Cardinal so closely, the rest of the city is not covered. She also questioned how this plan will affect the older areas of town with no sidewalks. Eric Wagnon appreciates the plan Chief Corb is implementing. This is not a recent issue. There has been lots of construction going on, with 18 wheelers now using Cardinal Dr. He understands the costs involved but feels $25,000 is a small price to pay compared to a life. X. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 6:45 p.m. APPROVED BY A MAJORITY VOTE OF COUNCIL ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2015. ______________________________ Clint Kocurek, Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ Karen B. Schrom, City Secretary