City Council Regular Meeting

Minutes of City Council Regular Meeting The City Council City of Richwood A City Council Regular Meeting of the City Council of City of Richwood was held Monday, September 18, 2017, beginning at 6:00 PM in the Richwood City Hall, 1800 N. Brazosport Blvd. Richwood, Texas. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Mark Guthrie called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. INVOCATION Michael Coon, City Manager gave the invocation. PLEDGES OF ALLEGIANCE Pledge of Allegiance & Texas Pledge Mark Guthrie led the pledges. ROLL CALL OF COUNCIL MEMBERS Mark Guthrie, Mayor Lauren LaCount, Council member Frank Blanks, Council member Sarah Reed, Council member Chris Hardison, Council member Paul Raymond, Council member -ABSENT Others present: Michael Coon – City Manager; Giani Cantu – City Secretary/Finance Director; Bryan Corb – Police Chief; Clif Custer – Public Works Director; Kenny Williams – Permits/Inspections PUBLIC COMMENTS All public comments will be subject to the following rules: all speakers will be permitted to speak no longer than 3 minutes; all speakers will only be permitted to speak once; speakers cannot defer their 3 minutes to another speaker; the first five individuals who sign up for the public comment section will be permitted to speak James Hughes, 314 Four Oaks, reported flooding is a recurring issue and something needs to be done. He feels the City could have helped more with evacuations. Tony Krause, 101 Audubon Woods Rd, asked Council to think about where they live and whether they flooded. Mr. Krause polled the audience to see who was affected by the flood. Mr. Krause advised residents that they would see a decrease in their property values but tax rate won’t go down. Mr. Krause asked that an audit be completed of the city’s financials. Leslie Klug, 105 Hummingbird Ct, reported her house was not directly flooded. However, she would like to thank the city for timely and frequent updates during evacuations. Many have lost so much, including some Council members. Ms. Klug thanked Lauren LaCount for staying on social media to try to address resident concerns and officially requested a town hall question and answer session. Alex Garza, 141 Robin Trail, stated he wished he wasn’t here and asked Council to consider allowing additional speakers. Mr. Garza stated he would like to make a request for written actions on steps taken after last flooding event, written requests for assistance during current flood and written steps of actions taken during current flooding event. Mr. Garza stated he believes the City’s non actions led to damage to personal properties. Paul Rodriguez, 527 N. Yaupon, reported he heard that Lake Jackson pumped directly from Brazos River and flooded Richwood out. He would like to know what the City of Richwood is going to do about it. Mr. Rodriguez stated it was ridiculous to have to watch everything you worked for go down the drain. PROCLAMATIONS Proclamation declaring September 17-23, 2017 as Constitution Week Mayor Guthrie read the proclamation declaring September 17-23, 2017 as Constitution Week. CONSENT AGENDA Approval of Minutes of Previous Meetings Payment of Bills Approve Interlocal with Brazoria County for emergency debris management and removal Approve 2018 Holiday Schedule On motion by Lauren LaCount second by Sarah Reed with all present members voting “aye” the following consent items were approved: Approval of Minutes of Previous Meetings Payment of Bills Approve Interlocal with Brazoria County for Emergency Debris Management and Removal. Approve 2018 Holiday Schedule DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS Discuss and consider an ordinance adopting the Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Budget Michael Coon gave updates from proposed budget review. Sarah Reed made a motion to adopt the Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Budget. Frank Blanks seconded. Lauren LaCount stated she would feel more comfortable if there was a date to re-estimate what the figures will be going forward and wants to make sure the city is financially conscious that the revenues may not be as much as projected due to the effects of flooding event. She also stated there is no drainage addressed in budget. Mark Guthrie stated that any large projects would require Council approval in the future and a lot of the projects will require assistance. The budget is setting budget for what we anticipate going forward. Chris Hardison asked if any and all capital project expenses over $1,000.00 be brought to Council. Sarah Reed amended her motion to include all capital spending over $1,000.00 has to come back to Council for approval prior to purchase. Lauren LaCount seconded. Lauren LaCount thanked Council for being flexible. With all present member voting “aye” the ordinance adopting Fiscal Year 2017-2018 budget was passed and budget was adopted. Discuss and consider an ordinance adopting the effective tax rate of .0634444 for the City of Richwood Mark Guthrie stated this item was put out in error. It will be corrected to come back at a future meeting for adoption so that public has accurate information. Discuss and consider an ordinance amending Sections 21-27, 21-29 and 21-54(b) of the Code of Ordinances, repealing ordinance 81L-15 and setting fees for water, sewer and solid waste collection services Lauren LaCount made a motion to postpone discussion. Sarah Reed seconded. Sarah Reed asked why the motion to postpone. Lauren LaCount stated she feels there is no way currently to gauge the impact to the residents during this difficult time and feels that it is insensitive to adopt any increase to fees at this time. Frank Blanks asked how long can increases wait. Mark Guthrie stated it has been ongoing for over 10 years and audit shows every year that utility fund is not fully funding itself. However, it would hurt any to wait a few months. With all present members voting “aye” the motion to postpone discussion passed. Discuss and consider authorizing City Manager to issue letter of intent to purchase Fire Engine in Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Clint Kocurek, Fire Chief, reported there is a current need to replace the engine that is over 20 years old and gave a review of the current apparatus and funding. He is asking City Council to authorize the City Manager to sign a letter of intent to purchase the Fire Engine, with the understanding that the City will reimburse the Volunteer Fire Department upfront costs as soon as funds are available. The vehicle is being held on good faith, however, with the flooding event other agencies are also in need of new equipment. Chris Hardison made a motion to authorize city manager to sign letter of intent. Sarah Reed seconded. Lauren LaCount asked when the purchase is actually made will it come back to Council for approval before. Clint Kocurek stated the letter will have to have 30 day clause, so we’ll need to move quickly. Frank Blanks asked what happens to old truck and will it be traded in? Clint Kocurek reported it will be sold and the funds would come back to Fire Department. Further discussion was held on potentially Council not authorizing purchase in 6 months or so and the effects on pricing of new vehicle. Discussion was held on rotation of purchasing engines every 10 years. With all present members voting “aye” the motion to authorize City Manager to sign a letter of intent to purchase was granted. Discuss and review of Hurricane Harvey and Flooding emergency operations Bryan Corb, Police Chief, gave brief overview of the emergency operations for Hurricane Harvey. Public in the audience asked for a date to be set for a town hall meeting for residents to get answers and responses to their questions. Reject all bids received on 215 Halbert On motion by Lauren LaCount second Sarah Reed with all present members voting “aye” all the bids were rejected. Approve items removed from Consent Agenda REPORTS Reports that require no action.  CITY MANAGER’S REPORT Michael Coon gave an update on debris cleanup, engineering to damage assessment, and engineering for hydrology studies. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS COMMITTEE REPORTS COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS & REPORTS Sarah Reed reported as someone who lost their home during the flood she would like to thank first responders for their response. Chris Hardison reported that City Council members contact information is on the City website. Council members want to help and want the residents to know that the City is doing all they can do. Lauren LaCount reported she did participate in emergency operations and her husband is volunteer in firefighter. She reported surrounding cities brought resources. City staff were working 12-16 hour days to do the best they could for the residents. MAYOR’S REPORT Mark Guthrie reported it’s important to state that no lives were lost and there were no serious injuries. We all will recover. The City is in this together and doing all they can possibly do. The mayor thanked Unity Baptist Church for their volunteer efforts. He stated people were risking their well-being for the betterment of our city. All decisions may not be agreed with but staff and volunteers did the best they could in the situation. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 7:39 p.m. These minutes were read and approved on this day of , 20 . Mark Guthrie, Mayor Attest: Giani Cantu, City Secretary