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1975-01-20 CC MinutesCITY OF FARMERS BRANCH CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING JANUARY 20, 1975 Members of the City Council present were: Mayor George G. Grimmer Mayor Pro Tem W. R. Linn Councilmen: Ray Flaherty Bill McClung Bill Binford Member of the City Council absent was: Councilman Ken Quevreaux The Council recognized and excused the absence of Councilman Quevreaux. The absence was due to Councilman Quevreaux being out of town on business. Members of the Administration present were: City Manager Paul M. West City Attorney Doug McCallon City Secretary J. W. Wade Director of Staff Services Glenn Moore Secretary Ruth Ann Parish Mayor Grimmer called the City Council meeting of January 20, 1975 to order at 7:30 P. M. . AGENDA ITEM NO. 1. -INVOCATION. J. W. Wade gave the invocation. EMERGENCY ITEM DECLARED. After some consideration, a motion by Councilman Linn, a second by Council- man McClung, all voting "aye", declared an emergency and placed on the agenda as Item No. 7. a. -Discuss And Consider Resolution No. 75-003 Concerning Support For The City's Position in Tax Suit. AGENDA ITEM NO. 2.. -APPROVAL OF MINUTES, January 6, 1975 After some consideration, a motion by Councilman Binford, a second by Council- man Flaherty, all voting "aye", approved the minutes as submitted of the City Council meeting of January 6, 1975. AGENDA ITEM NO. 3. -PRESENTATION OF SERVICE AWARDS. Mayor Grimmer presented five year service awards to Cindy Cooper of the Fire Department and to Tommie Owens of the Police Department for their employment with the City. Page 1007. AGENDA ITEM NO. 4. -PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATE TO EMPLOYEE FOR CLEANUP CAMPAIGN SLOGAN. Mayor Grimmer stated that to help promote the 1975 Cleanup campaign, a contest was held among city employees to compose the best slogan for the March cleanup campaign. A committee composed of city employees reviewed each slogan with out knowledge of its composer and determined the winner. The winning slogan is "Pitch in with Pride", submitted by Police Chief Roger Robbins. Mayor Grimmer presented a certificate in appreication to Roger Robbins for composing the 1975 Cleanup Campaign slogan "Pitch in with Pride". Major Ward accepted the certificate on behalf of Chief Robbins who was out of town on business. A motion by Councilman McClung, a second by Councilman Linn, all voting "aye", declared the 1975 Cleanup Campaign slogan to be "Pitch In with Pride". AGENDA ITEM NO. 5. -PUBLIC HEARING: CONSIDER RE-ZONING OF THE PROPERTY ALONG GOLFING GREEN DRIVE FROM WEBB CHAPEL ROAD TO BROOKHAVEN CLUB DRIVE FROM A CURRENT ZONING OF R-6 TO A NEW ZONING OF R-4, AND ANY OTHER DISTRICT WHICH IS MORE RESTRICTIVE BY REASON OF LAND USE AND HEIGHT. REQUESTED BY THE CITY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION. Mayor Grimmer opened the public hearing for consideration of re-zoning the property along Golfing Green Drive and Webb Chapel to Brookhaven Club Drive from a current zoning of R-6 to a new zoning of R-4, and any other zoning district which is more restrictive by reason of land use and height. Mayor Grimmer stated the R-4 zoning and R-6 zoning allows the same uses, however, R-4 zoning requires larger home size and larger lot size than R-6 zoning. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommends that the subject area be re-zoned from its current zoning of R-6 to a new zoning of R-4. Mayor Grimmer asked if there was anyone present wishing to speak in favor of the zoning change. No one spoke. Mayor Grimmer asked if there was anyone present wishing to speak in opposition of the zone change. No. one spoke. There being no one wishing to speak, a motion by Councilman Linn, a second by Councilman McClung, all voting "aye", closed the public hearing. After some consideration, a motion bsy Councilman McClung, a second by Councilman Flaherty, all voting "aye , adopted the following captioned Ordinance Number 1052: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS AS HERETOFORE AMENDED, SO AS TO CHANGE THE Page 1008. ZONING DESIGNATION FROM R-6 TO R-4, ON THE AREA GENERALLY ALONG GOLFING GREEN DRIVE FROM WEBB CHAPEL ROAD TO BROOKHAVEN CLUB DRIVE, PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY OF FINE NOT TO EXCEED THE SUM OF TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS ($200. 00) FOR EACH OFFENSE; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. AGENDA ITEM NO. 6. -CONSIDER CITY'S POSITION ON REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION. REQUESTED BY MAYOR GRIMMER. Mayor Grimmer stated that the City had had correspondance from Commissioner's Court asking for the City's position on regional transportation. Mayor Grimmer presented for consideration a resolution that had been prepared by the Administration upon his request. There was discussion concerning Section 3 of the proposed resolution. The Council suggested that a copy of the resolution be sent to all Dallas County, State Representatives, State Senators, the Council of Governments, and members of the Commissioner's Court. After more discussion, a motion by Councilman McClung, a second by Council- man Binford, all voting "aye", adopted Resolution No. 75-004 with the inclusion in Section 3 as previously discussed. (Resolution attached) AGENDA ITEM NO. 7. - CONSIDER CITY'S POSITION ON NEW TML TECHNICAL ADVISORY SERVICE. Mayor Grimmer stated that this item concerns information from Texas Municipal League concerning the establishment of a Technical Advisory Service. He stated that T. M. L. is inviting cities to participate in a poll being conducted by the T. M. L. Board of Directors on the question of whether the League should establish a utility advisory service as an on-going staff function of the Texas Municipal League. Criteria from T. M. L. concerning this new service was discussed by the Council. After more discussion, Councilman Binford made a motion to inform the Texas Municipal League that the City of Farmers Branch is for establishing a utility advisory service as an on-going staff function of the Texas Municipal League; and, to relate to TML that the City of Farmers Branch is opposed to any form of state regulation or any other action that would dimish local government. Councilman Linn seconded the motion and all voted "aye". AGENDA ITEM NO. 7. a. -DISCUSS AND CONSIDER RESOLUTION NO. 75-003 CONCERNING SUPPORT FOR THE CITY'S POSITION IN TAX SUIT. Mayor Grimmer stated that the Attorney for the City in the tax suits has asked that the City solicit support in various forms for the City's position in these cases including briefs, encourage suits by other municipalities taking similar positions, and financial support to help pay for the legal suits through the trial and appellate stage. Page 1009. A proposed resolution that had been prepared by the Administration was reviewed by the Council. There was discussion that if the resolution is adopted a letter should be sent with it explaining in detail where the city stands in the case, what we are trying to accomplish, and some word on how the cost would be alloted on their cost. Councilman McClung made a motion to adopt Resolution No. 75-003. Councilman Linn seconded the motion. There was discussion of an alternate Section 1 and 2 that was presented for the resolution. Councilman Linn withdrew his second to the motion. Councilman McClung withdrew his motion. After more discussion, Councilman McClung made a motion to adopt Resolution No. 75-003 with Alternate Sections 1 & 2 making Section 2 in original Resolution as Section 3, and with a cover letter as discussed. Councilman Linn seconded the motion and all voted "aye". (Resolution attached) AGENDA ITEM NO. 8. - CONSIDER AMENDING THE BUILDING CODE TO CONSIDER WAIVING DEMOLITION PERMIT FEES FOR CERTAIN STRUCTURES. City Manager Paul West gave the following information: The current building code requires a permit fee for the demolition of buildings or structures (the amount of the permit fee is based upon the value of, or the cost of demolition of the building or structure). The City's Building Code, Dangerous Building Ordinance, and Substandard Housing Ordinance requires some unsafe buildings to be demolished when notified by the Building Official. To help reduce the costs involved in demolishing a structure, and to encourage owners to demolish unsafe structures and clean their property, Ordinance No. 1051 is proposed. The ordinance would require a permit for demolishing the structure, however; the permit fee would be waived when the structure is declared unsafe, and ordered to be demolished by City ordinances. After some consideration, a motion by Councilman Flaherty, a second by Councilman McClung, all voting "aye", adopted the following captioned Ordinance No. 1051: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS, AMENDING THE 1973 EDITION GF THE UNIFORM BUILDING CODE, AS HERETOFORE AMENDED AND ALSO KNOWN AS THE BUILDING CODE OF THE CITY OF FARMERS BRANCH, BY ADDING PARAGRAPH (e) WAIVER OF DEMOLITION PERMIT FEE; PROVIDING A PENALTY OF FINE NOT TO EXCEED TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS ($200. 00) FOR EACH OFFENSE, REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Page 1010. AGENDA ITEM NO. 9. -CONSIDER UP-DATING DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM. City Manager Paul West gave the following information: The collection and processing of information is becoming increasingly more of a problem in each Department of the City. The information can be collected and processed by the computer we have installed; however getting the information to the computer is becoming a time consuming process. The information must presently be handled by the Departments of the City and sent to our Data Processing Division to be handled again and stored for future use in the computer. Mr. West stated that the Administration proposes to update the computer in order to eliminate the handling of information twice. The system being proposed would allow the departments to send information directly to the computer. This would eliminate the handling of the information by the Data Processing Division other than to furnish reports required by the departments. The additional cost of the new system would be $3, 100. 00 per .month. Mr. West told of savings to offset the additional cost. After some discussion, a motion by Councilman Flaherty, a second by Councilman McClung, all voting "aye", authorized the Administration to update the data processing system of System 3 Model 15. Mr. Terry Roberts, Brooktown Apartments, questioned why the city would go to the expense of installing a new system if the present system was doing the job. He also stated that since there are person unemployed why not hire extra people, AGENDA ITEM NO. 10. -CONSIDER ORDINANCE NO. 1050 REGULATION FOR NO PARKING ON PUBLIC STREETS. City Manager Paul West stated that the purpose of proposed Ordinance No. 1050 is to vest the Traffic Engineer with the authority to establish no parking zones on streets and alleys and highways or portions thereof within the City of Farmers Branch and to post signs directing that there shall be no parking, standing or stopping on said public ways within the City of Farmers Branch. Secondly, the Traffic Engineer can establish no parking, standing or stopping for certain time periods. This will prevent a multiplicity of ordinances. There was discussion of an alternate section that had been proposed for the ordinance which provides for citizen appeal. After some discussion of including the alternate section in the ordinance, a motion by Councilman McClung, a second by Councilman Flaherty, all voting "ayeadopted the following captioned Ordinance No. 1050: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS, DELEGATING TO THE TRAFFIC ENGINEER THE AUTHORITY TO DETERMINE UPON THE BASIS OF AN ENGINEERING AND TRAFFIC INVESTIGATION, NO PARKING, STANDING OR STOPPING ZONES ON STREETS, ALLEYS OR HIGHWAYS IN THE CITY OF FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS, AND MAKING IT UNLAWFUL TO Page 1011. PARK, STOP OR STAND ANY VEHICLE ON ANY STREET, ALLEY OR HIGHWAY OR PORTION THEREOF IN VIOLATION OF THE RESTRICTIONS STATED ON SUCH SIGNS WHEN SUCH SIGNS ARE ERECTED; PROVIDING A PENALTY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A REPEALING CLAUSE; PROVIDING AN EMERGENCY CLAUSE. AGENDA ITEM NO. 11 . - CONSIDER PARKING REGULATIONS ON FORD ROAD. Since Ordinance No. 1050 in the preceding agenda item, there was no need for this item to be considered, Councilman Binford made a motion to delete Agenda Item No. 11 from the agenda, Councilman Linn seconded the .motion and all voted "aye MAYOR GRIMMER ANNOUNCED THAT THE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA FOR THE GENERAL SESSION HAVE BEEN CONCLUDED AND THERE ARE ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. Mayor Grimmer explained that Article 6252-17, Section 2 of the open meeting law provided that such item as Personnel Matters may be discussed in closed session. Mayor Grimmer asked if there was anyone in the audience who would like to ask any questions or make any statements. The following spoke: Mr. Ken Wallace, 3606 Chellen Drive, made statements opposing statements that were in a recent newspaper article concerning a study that had been made reporting that zoning laws prevent the poor and minorities from living in Farmers Branch. Mr. Terry Roberts, Brooktown Apartments, reported the need for a sidewalk from the Brooktown Apartments north to the Shopping Center. He was informed that this area is in the City of Addison, Mrs, Cynthia Stanaland, 12220 Brisbane, requested that the audience be given more information about the items that are being considered by the Council. THERE BEING NO MORE COMMENTS, THE COUNCIL WENT INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. AGENDA ITEM NO. 12. -EXECUTIVE SESSION. a. Discuss Personnel Matters. Appointments to the Zoning Board of Adjustment and Building Code Board of Appeals were discussed. City Manager Paul West reported on information from Dallas County Manpower Department concerning a Public Service Employment Program. City Manager Paul West gave a status report on the sanitary landfill property. Page 1012. City Manager Paul West informed the Council on the policy that no city employee shall use any city equipment or supplies for any use other than city business. THE MEETING WAS OPENED BACK INTO GENERAL SESSION. 12, a. Appointments to the Zoning Board of Adjustment and Building Code Board of Appeals. Upon a motion by Councilman Flaherty, a second by Councilman McClung, all voting "aye", reappointed Bill Morgan and Darwin to serve on the Zoning Board of Adjustment and Building Code Board of Appeals for a term to expire December 1, 1976, and reappointed Robert Hoch to serve as an alternate member on the Zoning Board of Adjustment and Building Code Board of Appeals for a term to expire December 1, 1976, conditioned upon their acceptance to serve. ADJOURNMENT. Upon a motion by Councilman McClung, a second by Linn, all voting "aye", adjourned the City Council meeting of January 20, 1975 at 8:55 P. M. May r eorge G. immer City retary J. W. Wade Page 1013.