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05-25-1999 (City Council) Minutes MINUTES Wylie City Council Tuesday, May 25, 1999 - 7:00 p.m. Wylie Municipal Complex-Council Chambers 2000 State Highway 78 North,Wylie Texas Call to Order Mayor Mondy called the City Council Meeting to order,Tuesday,May 25, 1999 at 7:00 p.m. with the following Councilmembers present: Joel Scott,Reta Allen,Lavern Ramsey,Merrill Young,J.C. Worley and Chris Trout. Staff members present were:Mike Collins,City Manager;Mindy Manson,Assistant to the City Manager; Brady Snellgrove,Finance Director; Tobin Maples,Planning Director and Barbara Salinas, City Secretary. Invocation Councilman Scott was asked to give the Invocation. Pledge of Allegiance Councilman Trout was asked to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Citizens Participation James Russell,Jr.,929 Heatherwood Mr.Russell expressed his concern regarding high grass and weeds on Heatherwood. Mr. Russell stated that he has spoken with both Mr. Maples and Mr. Collins regarding this problem and understands the shortage of staff necessary to address code issues. Mr. Russell also expressed concern regarding the high traffic joints on Heatherwood, stating that they are beginning to break and that this needs to be addressed now to avoid costly repairs. Mr.James Wright, 113 A&B Ballard Street. Mr.Wright expressed his concern regarding amendments to the existing ordinance dealing with Special Events. Mr. Wright is opposed to any amendments because he feels that it effects his Saturday business. Mrs.Mary Wright Mrs. Wright stated that she agrees with her husband,James,with regard to amendments to the Special Events Ordinance. She also stated that we need to explore our options,other than closing downtown. Ms.Donna Larson,Mr.Kent Crane and Mr. Carter Porter asked Council if they could make a presentation during the Work Session. Mr.Jim Favor, 1335 F.M. 1378 Mr. Favor expressed his concerns regarding the process to obtain a building permit for a barn. Mr. Collins provided Mr.Favor with a copy of a letter from the City Attorney,Richard Abernathy,that rendered his opinion and interpretation of the Zoning Ordinance. Mr. Favor then stated his opposition to the interpretation of the Zoning Ordinance. Mr. Collins complimented Mr. Favor for his attempts to obtain his building permit using the process and advised Council that if Mr. Favor wished to seek changes to this Ordinance,this would be the next step. Mr. Favor disagreed and felt that City Staff should help him obtain his permit. Wylie City Council Minutes May 25,1999 Page 1 Mayor Mondy stated that Staff is working with the existing Codes and the interpretation by the City Attorney. He stated that Mr. Collins is offering him an opportunity to continue the process in order to construct his building. The Mayor concluded by asking staff to visit with Mr. Favor and assist him with the process, advising Council as to how they may assist Mr. Favor with the construction of his barn. Mr.Gary Bowland,Ballard Street Cafe Mr. Bowland asked to reserve his comments for the Work Session. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of the Minutes from the Regular Meeting of May 11 and the Special Called Meeting of May 13, 1999. Councilman Scott requested the following corrections to page 1 of the May 13 Minutes. 1)Page 1 should reflect Councilman Swartz rather than Councilman Ramsey. With no further corrections,Councilman Scott made a motion to approve the minutes from the Regular Meeting of May 11 and the Special Called Meeting of May 13, 1999. Councilwoman Allen seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed, 7-0. ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION 1. Hold the Second of two Public Hearings for the Annexation of all of a certain 136.339 Acre tract situated in the William Patterson Survey, Abstract No. 716, Collin County, Texas and being a portion of a 157.53 acre tract of land according to the deed recorded in Volume 254, page 563 of the Deed of Records of Collin County. Mr. Tobin Maples addressed this item. Mr. Maples stated that this was the second of two Public Hearings for the annexation of a 136.339 acre tract. Mr. Maples gave a brief description of the property location and annexation procedure. The Mayor then opened the Public Hearing asking that anyone wishing to speak either in favor of or in opposition of the annexation to come forward,stating their name and address for the record and limiting their comments to three minutes. Mr. Ronald Krause,Representing the applicant D.R. Horton,4222 Rosehill Road, Garland, Texas. Mr. Krause expressed his support in favor of the annexation. With no further response,the Mayor then closed the Public Hearing. 2. Consider and act upon the award of a contract for the relocation of two 15" sewer lines located under the proposed KCS rail alignment. Mr. Collins asked to table this item until the June 8 Regular Meeting. Councilman Scott made a motion to table Item No.2 until the June 8 Regular Meeting. Councilwoman Allen seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed,7-0. Wylie City Council Minutes May 25,1999 Page 2 3. Consider and act upon approval of an Ordinance granting a franchise to CoSery Gas Company. Mr.Jim Holcomb addressed this item. Mr.Holcomb stated that CoSery Gas Company has requested a franchise agreement to provide natural gas within the City of Wylie. Mr. Holcomb stated that Mr. Don Leverty, Representative from CoServe was present to address any questions from Council. Council inquired regarding service to other areas and future infrastructure needs. Mr. Leverty stated that the focus of CoSery is new development and that they have no plans to buy additional infrastructure. There was some discussion with regard to the five year contract and future contract extensions and the city's choice to not extend the contract. After discussion,Councilman Worley made a motion to approve the Ordinance granting a franchise to CoServe Gas Company. Councilman Young seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed, 7-0. 4. Consider and act upon the approval of amendments to the Wylie Economic Development Corporation By-Laws. Ms. Mindy Manson, Assistant to the City Manager addressed this item. Ms. Manson highlighted the changes to the existing By-Laws, including reference to the name change from Development Corporation to the Wylie Economic Development Corporation; Qualifications for service to the Board; Tenure; Insurance and provision for board members to make recommendations to Council regarding board vacancies. Councilman Scott asked for clarification of the language"professional capacity"and asked this to be defined. Also the language found on Page 6, Tenure,"after initial term of office"was questioned and determined to be unnecessary. Mr.Marvin Fuller addressed Council and stated that the language"professional capacity may have been an oversight when reviewing for changes.After some discussion,it was determined that this would not effect the intent. Councilman Young made a motion to approve the amendments to the Wylie Economic Development Corporation By-Laws. Councilman Scott seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed, 7-0. Staff Reports Mindy Manson,Assistant to the City Manager reported that she met with Amy Warner,the consultant that was hired to work with staff to research the downtown area for historical purposes. Ms. Manson stated that a meeting will be scheduled within the next few weeks with the Downtown Merchants Association and that staff would keep Council updated. The Mayor then called for a five minute recess before adjourning to Work Session. Worksession Mayor Pro Tem Worley convened into Work Session at approximately 7:30 p.m. Mr. Collins provided Council with a brief introduction regarding the special events survey conducted by staff. He then asked that Ms. Manson detail the results of the survey. Wylie City Council Minutes May 25,1999 Page 3 Worksession-continued Ms.Manson stated that she surveyed approximately one half dozen area cities and received a broad and varied response. She reported that Garland does have an ordinance regulating special events that includes application fees and specified deadlines. Applications are administered by the Building Official and other related departments. The City of Allen does not have an Ordinance and relies on good judgement. Allen reportedly does not host events that require street closure in the downtown area. The City of McKinney utilizes a three member committee made up of city staff to administer special events. The sponsor works with the committee to ensure that all aspects of the event are coordinated. The City of Fort Worth is host to special events that close their downtown streets for two to three days. The Downtown Corporation,comprised of businesses, is involved in the organization of special events and do all of the leg work to ensure that all aspects of the event are coordinated. The City of Richardson does have a special events ordinance that they combine with special activities such as block parties,races,parades and street closures. Some events do require business property owners to be notified, but do not require 100%agreement or participation. Their main concerns are for emergencies and the safety of the community. Ms. Manson stated that Plano was contacted but we received no response. Council expressed concerns regarding use of major thoroughfare,liability insurance,costs incurred by the city and the implementation of fees. Mr. Gary Bowland asked,"who protects the Merchants?". Ms. Manson responded that those surveyed stated that the concern was directed toward health and safety only. There was some discussion by the merchants as to how special events can effects their businesses, specifically that parking is a concern when events close the downtown area. It was also mentioned that currently the existing ordinance required 100%participation and that after months of planning one person(a new tenant)could say decline and stop the event. Councilman Young stated that the role of the Governing Body was to establish an ordinance and not try to address the marketing issues. Councilman Swartz agreed that the existing ordinance may need to be evaluated to come up with a solution that will benefit everyone. Ms.Donna Larson provided Council with a hand out with suggestions for a special events ordinance for Council's consideration.Mr. Kent Crane, Shoemaker and Hardt address Council stating that there are flaws in the system and that continued growth dictates organization. He stated that the Ordinance should give a broad direction to cover all events and that the current Ordinance was not accurately used to make decisions. He stated that the complaints are valid. Mr. Crane outlined the suggestions for a special events ordinance and offered the Downtown Merchants Association to draft the ordinance. The Mayor stated that city staff would be drafting the ordinance. Mr. Crane stated that they could not conduct another event with the current ordinance. Mrs. Mary Wright disagreed that future events would have to be canceled. Mr. Carter Porter stated that the downtown area is a jewel and that we need to have an ordinance to control for the benefit of Wylie for the good of Wylie overall. The Merchants continued discussion on the problems with the current ordinance,citing 100%participation as a primary concern. Mr. Crane added that time was an issue in order to continue with special events. Councilman Scott asked Mr. Crane to clarify an earlier statement,that if a new ordinance is not in place we will not have July Jubilee? Mr. Crane said the Merchants would not participate in July Jubilee. It was clarified that the Chamber's function is the Parade and Rodeo. The Mayor stated that the perhaps the Ordinance could be structured to allow flexibility as to the percentage of business owners agreed participation dependent on the length of the event. There was some discussion on the number of votes allowed each business address. Wylie City Council Minutes May 25,1999 Page 4 Worksession-continued Council was in agreement that an Ordinance needs to be drafted as soon as possible and that input was welcome. Mr.Collins added that we do currently have an ordinance that it does apply and staff will work to ensure that we do have July Jubilee that the community will enjoy. The Mayor suggested a matrix similar to that of Fort Worth that will define different type of events as well as those held within residential areas. Mr. Collin advised Council that staff has been working steadily to coordinate the Ranch Rodeo. The Mayor stated that if necessary,the City will organize July Jubilee. Ms.Larson stated that there has been discussion to move this event to October during cooler weather. Mr. Collins stated that staff would work with the merchants to make July Jubilee happen. There was some discussion with regard to future downtown parking locations before the Mayor adjourned the meeting. Adjournment With no further business to come before Council,the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Jo ayor Attest: 0, !va, tart ., SEAL ara A. Sa s, City S retary $ t / m L/ �� .` �i'�4i� yC IE,TE*P `. iniummumO Wylie City Council Minutes May 25,1999 Page 5