City Council

630 East Hopkins City of San Marcos San Marcos, TX 78666 Meeting Minutes City Council Tuesday, March 24, 2020 4:00 PM City Council Chambers 630 E. Hopkins - Special Meeting MEETING IS VIRTUAL stream online at www.sanmarcostx.gov/videos or watch on Grande channel 16 or Spectrum channel 10 I. Call To Order With a quorum present, the special meeting of the San Marcos City Council was called to order by Mayor Hughson at 4:02 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, 2020. This meeting was held virtually. II. Roll Call Present: 7- Council Member Melissa Derrick, Mayor Jane Hughson, Mayor Pro Tem Ed Mihalkanin, Council Member Joca Marquez, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Mark Rockeymoore, Council Member Maxfield Baker and Council Member Saul Gonzales 1. Receive status reports and updates on local response to COVID-19 pandemic; hold Council discussion, and provide direction to Staff. Chase Stapp, Director of Public Safety, provided status reports and updates on response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Governor Abbott Issued the Executive Orders in accordance with federal guidelines to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 In Texas. On Thursday, March 19, 2020 the following were issued: • Order No. 1: every person in Texas shall avoid social gatherings in groups of more than 10 people. • Order No. 2: people shall avoid eating or drinking at bars, restaurants, and food courts, or visiting gyms or massage parlors; provided, however, that the use of drive-thru, pickup, or delivery options is allowed and highly encouraged • Order No. 3: people shall not visit nursing homes or retirement or long-term care facilities unless to provide critical assistance. • Order No. 4: schools shall temporarily close. On Sunday, March 22, 2020 the following were issued: • Order No. 5: cancellation or postponement of all medical procedures not medically necessary • Order No. 6: allowance for hospitals to maximize available bed space by caring for more than 1 patient per room City of San Marcos Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes March 24, 2020 The City has closed all playgrounds and certain parks facilities where people are more likely to gather in close proximity: - Playgrounds - Dog and Skate parks - Park restrooms City efforts to address the emergency Emergency management and response staff participating in multiple daily calls • Monday 3/16 - Facility Closures with high public access like the Library and Activity Center and Pool • Friday 3/20 - Public Facing City Counters Closure – Include Utility Billing, most of City Hall, as well as our public counters in the Municipal Building, Grant Harris Building and others. • City Director team meeting via remote conference daily and established measures to protect employees – Virtual Meetings – Changes to delivery of services – Teleworking and Shift work separation • 3/23 Successfully tested Zoom remote meeting for Council The city website is updated regularly with resource information for residents and businesses. The City has initiated an awareness campaign regarding the need to wash your hands after touching gas pump and public building door handles Joe Pantalion and Stephanie Reyes, Assistant City Managers, provided a presentation on financial assistance strategies to assist the local business community and residents due to COVID-19. City Council provided direction to implement or further research the following strategies: Strategies that are currently in place: • Temporarily Halt Utility Service Disconnections for Nonpayment (evaluate after 90 days) • Utility Bill Payment Arrangements • Waive Utility Bill Late Fees (evaluate after 90 days) Council agreed to the items above, implemented as suggested by staff. • Waive/Modify Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) Late Payment Penalties – additional direction to waive penalties for small, local hotels, modify penalty City of San Marcos Page 2 City Council Meeting Minutes March 24, 2020 structure for large chains (evaluate after 90 days) Council agreed to consider this which this will require an ordinance on a future agenda. Strategies requiring additional research: • Re-allocate CDBG Funds • Grants and Loans – focus on local businesses and investigate all possibilities • Increase City Manager Authority to $500,000 • Strategic Initiative Funding/Special Economic Development Fund – additional request to focus on Downtown NOT RECOMMENDED/NOT FEASIBLE UNDER CURRENT REGULATIONS Property Tax, Sales Tax, Utility Rates reductions • Hotel Occupancy Tax – Postpone Collection of Hotel Taxes • Issue Certificates of Obligation for Business Assistance City Council requested that both of the following items be added to the information provided by the City at http://www.sanmarcostx.gov/covid19info: - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on March 18, 2020 authorized the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to implement an immediate foreclosure and eviction moratorium for single family homeowners with FHA-insured mortgages for the next 60 days. - The Texas Supreme Court issued an emergency order on March 19, 2020 halting all evictions until April 19. Staff will continue to update City Council on the implementation of these strategies as well as information that is being shared with the public. 2. Discuss the Governor’s proclamation regarding the resetting of elections to be held on May 2, 2020 as it applies to the scheduled special election to fill the vacancy for Place 5 on the City Council, and provide direction to Staff. Tammy Cook, Interim City Clerk, and Michael Cosentino, City Attorney provided a brief introduction on the item Council provided consensus to postpone the May 2, 2020 Special Election to November 2020. III. Adjournment. Mayor Hughson stated: "At this time I will entertain a motion to go into executive session under the City of San Marcos Page 3 City Council Meeting Minutes March 24, 2020 authority of section 551.071 of the Texas Government Code to seek advice from the city attorney regarding items posted on today’s agenda." A motion was made by Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Rockeymoore, seconded by Council Member Derrick, to enter into Executive Session at 6:03p.m. This ended the public portion of the Special Meeting. The motion carried by the following vote: For: 7- Council Member Derrick, Mayor Hughson, Mayor Pro Tem Mihalkanin, Council Member Marquez, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Rockeymoore, Council Member Baker and Council Member Gonzales Against: 0 Executive Session Executive Session began at 6:10 p.m. and adjourned at 7:52 p.m. Tammy K. Cook, Interim City Clerk Jane Hughson, Mayor City of San Marcos Page 4