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, February 13, 2017, 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 Mark Guthrie, Mayor and presiding officer. II. INVOCATION The invocation was given by Michael Coon, 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: Mark Guthrie, Mayor and presiding officer Melissa Blanks, Council, Position #2 Jarrod Beaty, Council, Position #3 Lauren LaCount, Council, Position #4 Chris Hardison, Council, Position #5 Absent: Paul Raymond, Council, Position #2 A quorum was declared. Others present included Michael Coon, City Manager, Karen B. Schrom, City Secretary, Clif Custer, Public Works Director, Bryan Corb, Police Chief, Katherine Venegas, KRB Patricia Mayes, Aaron Palaran, and Patti Guthrie.  V. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments on items not on the agenda. VI. CONSENT AGENDA On motion by Councilman LaCount, seconded by Councilman Beaty, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to approve the Consent Agenda as approved. A. Approval of Minutes of a Previous Meeting B. Payment of bills C. Appoint members of Keep Richwood Beautiful D. Order May 6, 2017 Election E. Joint Election Agreement and Contract for Election Services VII. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS A. Property owned by Janet K. Vernor along Brazosport Blvd and Cypress Drive Patricia Mayes was present to represent the family. She explained her dad acquired the properties between 1970 – 1976 and there were several rental homes on the property. The properties need a lot of work. The family is considering transitioning the residential lots to commercial. Family members own several RV parks in the area. Their idea is to generate revenue from the venture and improve the look of the place. In a few years, they will either sell the property or put up another venture. Mayor Guthrie appreciates they included the City in their plan but he would rather see them come up with an idea other than a RV park, something more sustainable. Ms. Mayes agreed the demand for RV parks will end in 5 or 6 years and it is planned to be just a temporary business venture. Councilman LaCount stated the City had received a lot of feedback from residents not wanting to see additional RV parks based on previous request. Ms. Mayes stated she was willing to work with City Council on development of the property. B. Request for partial closure of Highway 288B and FM 2004 for Triathlon The proposed event will begin at Mammoth Lake in Clute with a swim, then a  run, and then conclude with the bicycle portion. The event will take place Sunday, November 12, 2017 at 6:45 am, the first bicyclist should reach Richwood close to 7:15 am, and the course should be picked up by 10 am. The event coordinator advised they will place electronic signs along the route prior to the event to warn motorists about the upcoming event. The event organizer further advised they would begin to cone off the route at 3 am the morning of the event. On motion by Councilman Hardison, seconded by Councilman Beaty, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to approve the request for partial closure of Highway 288B and FM 2004 for the Triathalon. C. Request to close portion of Audubonwoods Drive for Barbeque Cookoff, April 14 - April 15 in the event of rain On motion by Councilman LaCount, seconded by Councilman Blanks, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to grant the request to close portion of Audubonwoods Drive for the Barbeque Cookoff on April 14 & 15 in the event of the rain. Councilman Blanks stated this event would not have happened this year if volunteers had not stepped forward. D. ICMA-RC Resolution - 457 Deferred Compensation Plan On motion by Councilman Hardison, seconded by Councilman Beaty with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to approve the 457 Deferred Compensation Plan. E. Resolution No. 17-03, In opposition to legislative interference with local services Mr. Coon explained there have been numerous bills filled by the State Legislature that if adopted would negatively impact the City’s ability to provide basic services to our residents. Just to name a few examples, bills have been proposed that would push all municipal elections to November, place a 4 percent cap on municipal property tax revenue, and place term limits on local elected officials. Compounding the issue even further, is that the State continues to push more and more of their responsibilities to the local governments. On motion by Councilman Hardison, seconded by Councilman Blanks, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to approve Resolution No. 17- 03, in opposition to legislative interference with local services. F. Request for Suspect Identification Technology for Police Department On motion by Councilman LaCount, seconded by Councilman Hardison, with all  members present voting aye, the request for Suspect Identification Technology for the Police Department was denied due to lack of funds. G. Racial Profiling Report for 2016 On motion by Councilman Beaty, seconded by Councilman LaCount, with all members resent voting aye, it was duly adopted to accept the Racial Profiling Report for 2016 as presented. H. Amend Personnel Policy to require Driver's checks on an annual basis rather than semi-annually Current policy requires a driver’s license check be conducted every 6 months on all employees or volunteers operating a City vehicle. City staff is asking Council to amend the policy to require an annual driver’s license check. City staff feels that an annual check is more than sufficient, especially since the Personnel Policy requires that anyone who operates a City vehicle must report any DWI violation(s), arrest(s), charges, or driver’s license suspension to their supervisor immediately. On motion by Council LaCount, seconded by Councilman Blanks, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to require Driver’s License Checks on an annual basis rather than semi-annually. I. Amend Personnel Policy to cap vacation at 200 hours Richwood’s current vacation policy allows employees to earn up to 320 hours, or the equivalent of eight 40-hour weeks, of vacation. The City’s leadership team has expressed concerns that allowing that much leave can impact the level of service we can provide to our residents. After reviewing the vacation policies of 11 cities in the greater Houston region, staff is recommending the policy be changed to allow employees to earn up to 200 hours, or the equivalent of five 40-hour work weeks. On motion by Councilman LaCount, seconded by Councilman Beaty, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to amend the policy to cap vacation at 200 hours. J. Amend Personnel Policy to include Administration Leave This change to the Personnel Manual would grant 40 hours of administrative leave to each exempt employee. Exempt employees are not entitled to overtime. This policy change would allow the City to provide those employees with some  form of compensation for their dedication and the many long hours that they put in. The administrate leave would be granted at the beginning of each calendar year and cannot be rolled over from year to year nor could it be sold back. With these conditions, this proposal will not increase the City’s personnel costs. On motion by Councilman Beaty, seconded by Councilman Blanks, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to amend the Personnel Policy to include Administrative Leave. K. Budget Amendment to pay for Road Repairs After the recent construction of the apartments at Creekwood Landing, the entrance to Creekwood Landing off of B-288 is in disrepair. Mr. Helms and the 210 Development Group have agreed to reimburse the City for the complete cost of repairing that section of road, which is $9,500. To account for the reimbursement, this amendment would have the following impact on the General Fund: Increase the Street Projects budget by $9,500, making the revised budget $29,500. Increase the Miscellaneous Income budget by $9,500, making the revised budget $69,500. On motion by Councilman Hardison, seconded by Councilman Beaty, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to approve the budget amendment to pay for road repairs. L. Authorization to hire part time City Secretary/Finance Director Karen Schrom has agreed to help with the training of her replacement. As a sign of appreciation towards Karen, I would like to re-hire her as a part-time employee until the new City Secretary is trained. There would be a nominal additional cost to the City due to the payroll taxes. As a part-time employee that City would need to make contributions in Ms. Schrom’s behalf for Medicare, workers compensation insurance, and unemployment insurance. As a part-time employee, Ms. Schrom would not receive any medical or retirement benefits. On motion by Councilman Hardison, seconded by Councilman Beaty, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to hire Ms. Schrom as part time City Secretary/Finance Director.  M. Recognition of staff Mayor Guthrie commended the Department Heads for all their hard work making this transition seamless. Mayor and Michael were talking – compensate Bryan and give 10% additional pay. $3,850 – lump sum for him stepping up. Still have savings in the Administration budget to cover this cost. Chief Corb did a great job stepping up after Mr. Patton’s retirement. He showed initiative and took the lead on numerous projects that were important to the City. In recognition of the Chief’s dedicated service, we would like Council to consider rewarding the Chief with some additional compensation. On motion by Councilman Hardison, seconded by Councilman Beaty, with all members present voting aye, it was duly adopted to pay Chief Corb interim pay as detailed below. Chief Corb Interim Pay Start Date: 8/8/2016 End Date: 1/20/2017 Interim Pay: 10% Rate Amount ($) Salary $34.30 $3,293 Medicare 1.45% $48 Workers Comp 4.15% $137 Unemployment* N/A $0 Retirement Contribution 11.43% $376 Total $3,854 * Unemployment is only paid on the first $9,000 in wages. N. Approved items removed from Consent Agenda There were none. VIII. REPORTS A. Financial Reports Par for the period ending January 31, 2017 is 67%. IX. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT  Mr. Coon reported he has been talking to a developer looking for property for townhomes. He has discussed beefing up parks requirements for subdivisions with staff. Staff is looking at developing a 5 year plan using Council’s objectives for strategic plan. His plans include having a meeting with the public on the proposed budget in June. Day in the Park/Earth Day/Easter Egg Hunt will be March 31 to April 1 There are two interviews scheduled for the City Secretary’s position. Hope to bring someone to Council at the next meeting. Blue Crab Court recently became impassable. Mr. Custer and his crew patched it for the weekend and are looking for a long term plan for fixing it. He also stated he will be bringing proposals for evaluations at the next meeting. X. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Sixtieth anniversary XI. COMMITTEE REPORTS Ms. Venegas reported she will be meeting with TxDot on the GCAA project on Thursday. XII. COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS & REPORTS Councilman Blanks reminded everyone that the deadline to sign up to run for Council is this Friday. She will not be running this year. Mr. Beaty also stated he will not be running. Councilman Blanks and Hardison thanked Mr. Coon for his reports. XIII. MAYOR’S REPORT Mayor Guthrie stated that serving on Council is a great way to get involved with the community. If anyone knows someone who would be interested, let them know. He has enjoyed the opportunity to fill this role and will run again. He also thanked the volunteers who stepped up to the plate to make sure the Barbeque Cookoff will happen again this year. He read a letter from Holly Eudy, 531 Oyster Creek Dr., commending Clif Custer on a job well done regarding a leak in her ditch. XIV. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:34 p.m. APPROVED BY A MAJORITY VOTE OF COUNCIL ON March 13, 2017. ____________________________________ Mark Guthrie, Mayor ATTEST: ___________________________________ Karen B. Schrom, City Secertary