City Council Regular Meeting

Minutes of City Council The City Council Regular Meeting of Monday, February 24, 2020 BE IT KNOWN THAT, a City Council Regular Meeting of the City Council of City of Richwood was held Monday, February 24, 2020, beginning at 6:15 PM in the Richwood City Hall, 1800 N. Brazosport Blvd. Richwood, Texas. I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6:11 p.m. II. INVOCATION III. PLEDGES OF ALLEGIANCE Pledge of Allegiance & Texas Pledge. IV. ROLL CALL OF COUNCIL MEMBERS Steve Boykin, Mayor Mike Johnson, Position 1 Melissa Strawn, Position 2 Matthew Yarborough, Position 3 Mark Brown II, Position 4 Katie Johnson, Position 5 Other present: Eric Foerster, City Manager; Lindsay Koskiniemi, Finance Director; Kirsten Garcia, City Secretary; Clif Custer, Director of Public Works; Stephen Mayer, Chief of Police; Matthew Allen, City Attorney V. 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 There was no public comment. VI. PROCLAMATIONS A. Vow 22 Day Proclamation VII. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meetings 1. Regular meeting held January 13, 2020 2. Special meeting held January 25, 2020 3. Special meeting held February 3, 2020  B. Payment of Bills On a motion by Mike Johnson, second by Mark Brown II, with all present members voting aye, the consent agenda was approved. VIII. PRESENTATIONS A. FY 2019 Audit Presentation - KM&L Certified Public Accountants Kevin Cadenhead with KM&L presented. IX. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS All public comments will be subject to the following rules: all speakers are permitted to speak no longer than 3 minutes; all speakers will only be permitted to speak once; speakers can not defer their 3 minutes to another speaker. A. Final review and action of re-plat of Lots 21 & 22; Block 1 of Oakwood Shores Subdivision Section 1, also known as 31426 & 31434 Bayou Bend. On a motion by Mark Brown II, second by Matt Yarborough, with all present members voting aye, the consent agenda was approved. B. Discussion and possible action regarding street repair in Oakwood Shores. Lauren LaCount – 2000 Brazosport Blvd - Stated she supports the fire department getting more training ground and the community garden. She added other parts of the community have been waiting for road repair and she is asking for equitable funding to street repair amongst the whole city. Lisa Hall – 33203 Amber Jack Dr – Ms. Hall stated she lives in a cul-de-sac that is 80 percent limestone with no pavement. She added that there are signs and barricades on her road, and she would like council to consider this area and others in bad shape for repairs. Mary Free – 33211 Amberjack Dr – Mrs. Free stated her road is frequently used to hold gravel and machinery, so trucks are constantly tearing up the road. She requests council considers her road for repair. Rory Escalante – 2918 Oakwood Shores Drive – Presented in opposition of current plan for road to be repaired. Charles Free – 33211 Amberjack Dr – Mr. Free stated the potholes have damaged his vehicles. Mark Webb – 32811 Amberjack Dr – Mr. Webb stated his road was repaved and it was great but feels the change in the map is not right. Georgina Neuse – 32111 Bayou Bend – Mrs. Neuse stated no one wants to buy here, in Oakwood Shores because the taxes do not match the roads. She added that she fell off her bike trying to avoid a hole in the road. Tosha Biggs – 33503 Blue Marlin – Ms. Biggs stated the roads did not look like this when she bought her property but since her vehicle have been damaged by the potholes. She added that she pays a lot in taxes and had she known her road wouldn’t be repaired she would not have urged people to pass the bond. She requests the roads go back to the original list. Tam Crabtree – 2903 Oakwood Shores Dr – Property values are being increased based on the pending road repair but now roads are changing. She added that it is also a safety issue to change the roads. Christine Escalante – 2918 Oakwood Shores Dr – Stated her son must ride bike in road and he has fallen many times due to the potholes. So, because of that she said they no longer go outside. She added that the roads are a deterrent from people wanting to move into the area. Justin Neuse – 32111 Bayou Bend – Mr. Neuse asked how many council members live in Oakwood Shores and if they don’t, he asks council to walk a mile in their shoes. Mayor Boykin stated that the developer who originally created Oakwood Shores did not want sewer, only water. Richwood being a small town did not have an engineer while Oakwood Shores development placed the roads; the developer wanted the country living and so they placed blacktop. He added that we have responsibility to the entire city – and we owe it to all the residents to do what’s right with the money we have available. Clif Custer Presented  Melissa Strawn stated she understands it’s not the city’s fault, but we must find a plan to move forward. She states she has a solution that would fund the complete reconstruct of the subdivision by 2021. She added that the roads shouldn’t be this way and we can find the money to get this done. Clif Custer stated that the 4 miles of reconstruct is guaranteed but it does not act in lieu of our interlocal if the construction goes into 2021. Melissa Strawn stated she would like staff to go back and talk to the county about getting more roads. We need to have a plan in place. Discussion held on what bond funding is going to. Mark Brown thanked Council Member Strawn for putting her plan together and stated that Clif had a plan, presented the plan and council approved it. He added that the City has to use the funds equitably across the entire city. Melissa Strawn motioned to go back to the original plan of roads submitted to the county according to the interlocal that was signed by the Mayor and the County Judge, seconded by Mike Johnson. Mark Brown requested clarification on why the roads were changed in the first place. Clif Custer stated he was advised by a Brazoria County Superintendent that the roads chosen would be more likely to fail and the best course of action is a continuous path with no start and stops. Discussion held on road changes. On motion a by Melissa Strawn, second by Mike Johnson, with Mike Johnson and Melissa Strawn voting “aye”, Matt Yarborough, Mark Brown and Katie Johnson voting “nay” the motion to go back to the original plan of roads submitted to the county according to the interlocal that was signed by the Mayor and the County Judge did not carry. Melissa Strawn motioned to earmark funds up to $860,000, half of the bond and restricted funds, to reconstruct remaining 2.5 miles of roads in Oakwood Shoes to produce a 15-20 year roadway, no second – motion died C. Discussion and Action selecting representative for 2020 HGAC On a motion by Mike Johnson, second by Melissa Strawn and all present voting  members voting aye, Matt Yarborough and Mark Brown II will represent Richwood in the 2020 HGAC. D. Discussion and possible action regarding real property located on Oyster Creek Drive and relocating Freedom Park. Pursuant to 551.072 of the Texas Government Code, deliberation regarding purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property, the Mayor requested to recess into executive session. Adjourned at 8:13 p.m. Reconvened at 8:22 p.m. Lindsay Koskiniemi presented information on the appraisal of land at Oyster Creek Drive and FM 2004 and recommended the city retain the property. Discussion held on park land. No further discussion held. E. Discussion and possible action turning former Freedom Park property over to Fire Department for training use once rezoning requirements are met. Mark Brown stated he would like Eric to work with City Attorney and Fire Department for an agreement for use of park. No further discussion held. F. Discussion and possible action moving forward with rezoning process of Old Pool Site on Oyster Creek Drive to park land for use as Community Garden. Kimberly Mayer, Executive Director of KRB, presented plan for Community Garden Mike Johnson asked why raised beds. Mrs. Mayer stated the soil in our area is not good for plants and trees – A&M Ag Extension recommends raised bed for this area. Discussion held on liability. Matt Allen, City Attonrey, stated yes, we could get sued, but it would be no different than faulty playground equipment. This is why there would be insurance coverage. Mark Brown II asked if there was any governmental oversight.  Mrs. Mayer stated she will look into it. Matt Yarborough asked how the food will be harvested. Mrs. Mayer stated that as a Master Gardener she would be able to give instruction to members of the Garden. On a motion by Mike Johnson, second by Melissa Strawn, and all present members voting aye, Council approves rezoning process of Old Pool Site on Oyster Creek Drive to park land for use as Community Garden. X. REPORTS Reports that require no action. A. Election Update - Kirsten Garcia, City Secretary XI. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT No report. XII. COMMITTEE REPORTS A. Keep Richwood Beautiful Kim presented the Scenic City Certification Program. XIII. COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS & REPORTS Mike Johnson – Fire Department Report – Mr. Johnson stated they still haven’t met but he did receive some numbers for call response since the beginning of the year: 2019 - 130 total calls 795 total volunteer hours – 25 mutual aid calls. Mr. Johnson also requested as a future agenda item, information on new subdivision north of Lake Jackson, looks like it’s drainage is Bastrop Bayou. Melissa Strawn stated that executive session is not a time to attack people, and thanked those who helped her. Mark Brown II stated that things got emotional, and he thinks that we need to look at our City as a place of business and not let our emotions get the best of us. We can come here to debate ideas respectfully. Katie Johnson reported that CCPD met last week and they meet again next week to work on budget. XIV. MAYOR’S REPORT Mayor stated he thinks he should’ve been more professional, but he doesn’t agree with comments made about his integrity. He wants to be clear there are no backroom deals  and he did have it checked when he was elected to ensure there was no conflict in his relationship with Clif. XV. ADJOURNMENT Being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:59 p.m. These minutes were read and approved on this 9th day of March, 2020. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: ______________________________________