2017-06-23 CC MinutesCity Council
Minutes
June 23, 2017
FARMERS
City of Farmers Branch
Meeting Agenda - Final
City Council Minutes
Heritage Two `
Conference Center
5001 LBJ Freeway
Dallas, Texas 75244
BRANCH
Friday, June 23, 2017
9:00 AM
Strategic Planning Retreat
Presiding: 1 - Mayor Robert C. Dye
Present: 5- Mayor Pro Tern John Norwood, Deputy Mayor
Pro Tern Mike Bomgardner, Council Member
Bronson Blackson, Council Member Terry
Lynne, Council Member Ana Reyes
Staff: - Charles Cox, City Manager; John Land, Deputy
City Manager; Amy Piukana, City Secretary; Pete
Smith, City Attorney; Sara Egan, Records
Management Coordinator; Benjamin Williamson,
Assistant to City Manager; Rachael Johnson,
Assistant to the City Manager; Tom Bryson,
Communications Director; Dean Habel, Deputy
Police Chief; Andy Gillies, Community Services
Director; John Roach, Interim Public Works
Director; Steve Parker, Fire Chief; Gabe Vargas,
Deputy Fire Chief; Brian Beasley, Human
Resources Director; Sherrelle Evans - Jones,
Finance Director; Allison Cook, Economic
Development Director, Kevin Muenchow Fleet
and Facilities Director; Shane Davis,
Environmental Services and Solid Waste
Manager; Alexis Jackson, Planning Manager;
La' Jeana Thomas, Executive Assistant, Hugh
Pender, Building Official; Jeff Harting, Parks &
Recreation Director
A. CALL TO ORDER
City Manager Charles Cox called the Strategic Planning Retreat meeting to order at
9:04a.m.
City Manager Charles Cox briefed City Council regarding today's schedule and
introduced Facilitator Randy Pennington. Mr. Pennington reviewed the definition of
Management verses Leadership. Today is about Leadership. The purpose is to move
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City Council Minutes June 23, 2017
toward a mission, a vision and a set of guiding principles. The Strategic Planning
Session is designed to focus on big picture policy rather than day to day. He noted the
final result must reflect key actions to move forward on the guiding principles. He noted
this is a very broad perspective. Deliverables at the end of the day would be reviewed
and confirm the direction to guide staff. Mr. Pennington asked the audience for ground
rules.
Councilman Lynne stated have an open mind and no preconceived agenda.
B.
B.1 17 -512 Welcome and Introductions
City Manager Charles Cox opened the meeting and introduced Facilitator Randy
Pennington.
B.2 17 -513 Review Agenda and Goals for the day.
Facilitator Randy Pennington reviewed the agenda and goals for the day.
B.3 17 -511 Discuss City Council Standards of Civility and Decorum.
City Manager Charles Cox explained currently the City does not have a policy on City
Council Standards of Civility and Decorum. He further stated these types of policies are
hard to enforce due to First Amendment rights. Mr. Cox explained the current procedure
is to provide applicants running for office the Code of Fair Campaign Practice form which
is provided by the Texas Ethics Commission.
Councilman Norwood expressed concerns regarding negative campaigning from the
recent Mayoral race. He explained he did not endorse either candidate. He explained in
his opinion, it is best remain neutral and not support any one candidate. He urged City
Council to works as a team and not endorse a candidate.
Councilman Bomgardner stated he did endorse a candidate, but in the future will remain
neutral and agreed with Councilman Norwood.
City Council discussed the option of signing a pledge to remain neutral on candidate
endorsement.
Councilman Blackson stated he is open to a pledge to remain neutral on candidate
endorsement if that is the direction of the majority of City Council.
Councilwoman Reyes stated she disagrees with a pledge of non - endorsement of a
candidate. She stated these are open seats within the community. She noted she has
personally experienced discrimination in the past and does not wish to be silent in the
future when it comes to supporting a good candidate.
Councilman Lynne explained he supports moving forward and stated he has pledged
support to new elected Mayor Dye.
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City Council Minutes June 23, 2017
Mayor Dye stated he understands the reasons for endorsement, and expressed gratitude
to Councilman Bomgardner for being honest about stating he supported his opponent
upfront. Mayor Dye explained he has met with all City Council to share his vision for
Farmers Branch. He stated being positive, having a vision and moving the City forward is
his primary goal. He urged future leaders to not engage in negative campaigning
City Council discussed procedures for Citizen Comments. City Attorney Pete Smith
explained the City Council is limited in response to comments due to the topic, noting it
may not be listed on the agenda.
After discussion, Councilman Bomgardner suggested having an agenda item closer to
election time to encourage fair campaign practice and compliance with the Code of Ethics.
He also suggested restrictions of City Council Members from meeting with Developers.
Mr. Cox replied stating it's the perception of being seen with the Developer. Deputy City
Manager John Land encouraged Council to utilize City Hall (a public building) when
meeting with Developers.
B.4 17 -514 Discuss the role of Boards & Commissions and review the Boards &
Commissions applicant list.
City Manager Charles Cox provided an overview regarding Boards and Commissions,
noting some boards are not moving forward, and seem to be struggling. He asked City
Council to review each board and the expectations. He explained the boards' purpose is
to provide advice and recommendations to assist City Council with direction. He asked
City Council to specify if they prefer Council /Board Liaisons or if they prefer Board updates.
Councilman Blackson explained when he served on the Planning and Zoning Commission,
he did not feel he had clear direction and supports clear communication from City Council
to include joint meetings.
Councilman Lynne suggested a quarterly update. He stated he will serve as the Liaison
to the Senior Advisory Board.
Council discussed the option of combining the Parks and Historical Park Boards, but
decided to maintain the existing configuration.
Mayor Dye suggested City Council attending periodic board meetings to hear feedback
and stay on top of each board. He asked City Council to provide clear directions for the
boards.
Councilman Norwood stated boards influence spending within the City. He also suggested
obtaining feedback and providing guidance.
Mr. Cox stated he holds quarterly lunches with all Board and Commission Chairs. He
stated clear direction could be given during those meetings. Councilman Norwood asked
Mr. Cox to invite Council to attend.
City Council agreed that the following key boards provide updates to City Council:
Animal Advisory Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment/BOA — Updates annually.
Community Watch, Senior Advisory, Library — Updates biannually.
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City Council Minutes June 23, 2017
HISTORICAL PRESERVATION & RESTORATION BOARD
LIBRARY BOARD
PI
Top Candidates:
Term Expires
I
Lisa Neumeyer
6/30/2019
2
Bill Stolp
6/30/2019
7
Bitsy Laney- Reappoint
6/30/2019
9
Tamara Cleghorn
6/30/2018
10
Gail Cope
6/30/2019
11
KayLynn Lyon- Reappoint
6/30/2019
LIBRARY BOARD
MUNICIPAL DRAINAGE SYSTEM ADVISORY COMMI
Pl
Top Candidates:
Term Expires
I
Natasha Moser
6/30/2019
2
Jennifer Bauer
6/30/2019
6
Whitney Thomas
6/30/2019
7
Weber Baker
6/30/2019
9
Jessica Rodriguez
6/30/2019
11
Rick Lyon - Reappoint
6/30/2019
MUNICIPAL DRAINAGE SYSTEM ADVISORY COMMI
PARKS & RECREATION BOARD
Plac
Top Candidates:
Term Expires
I
Amy Rogers (Resident)
6/30/2019
2
Mike Sheaffer (Business)- Reappoint
6/30/2021
4
Berry Grubbs (Development)- Reappoint
6/30/2021
5
John Norwood (Council)
6/30/2021
New
Todd Womble (Resident)
6/30/2021
New
James Dan Heard (Resident/Alternate)
PARKS & RECREATION BOARD
Pl
Top Candidates:
Term Expires
2
Marc Traynor
6/30/2019
4
Jan Wooldridge- Reappoint
6/30/2019
6
Christine Dimon
6/30/2019
City Council Minutes June 23, 2017
ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
NORTH DALLAS WATER SUPPLY CORPORATION
PI
Top Candidates:
Term Expires
5
Michael Rogan - Reappoint
6/30/2019
2
John Tarleton - Reappoint
6/30/2019
6
Robin Bernier (Alternate)- Reappoint
6/30/2019
NORTH DALLAS WATER SUPPLY CORPORATION
13.5 17 -515 Receive a presentation and discuss the results of the 2017 Resident
Satisfaction Survey.
Assistant to the City Manager Ben Williamson provided a PowerPoint presentation
regarding the 2017 Resident Satisfaction Survey. Mr. Williamson reviewed the respondent
demographics, educational attainment data, school locations, retirement ratings (82.6 %),
and quality of service to residents (78.8 %). He reviewed the Fire Department, noting the
City received 22 pages worth of compliments, with 3,262 inspections and 4,710 calls for
service. Mr. Williamson reviewed the Police Department results noting the City received
21 pages worth of compliments with a 4:09 response time, and 20,341 calls for service.
Mr. Williamson explained the data shows that City of Farmers Branch has a very low crime
risk. He reviewed Animal Services noting they received 2,583 field service calls, with 1,183
animals taken in, nearly 100% adoption rate with 3,642 Facebook followers. Mr.
Williamson reviewed the Code Enforcement statistics noting they had 6,969 Code
Enforcement cases, 80% voluntary compliance rate, with an average closure of 17.5 days,
80% of cases were initiated by staff and 14% resulted in a citation. He reviewed Library
Services, stating 60% of respondents had visited the Library, 163, 949 people walked
through the Library's doors, 710 events were hosted by the Library, with an excellent to
good range of 84% to 94% for performance metrics. Mr. Williamson reviewed the Parks
and Recreation strengths and opportunities noting the City has over 28 parks with 259.13
acres, held over 6,898 recreation center class registrations with 63,439 senior Center
program attendance and 36,395 Aquatics Center attendances. Mr. Williamson reviewed
the Special Events, stating there were 12 events, with 68,211 attendees. He reviewed
Communication results, explaining they received excellent feedback and will soon have an
updated website. Mr. Williamson reviewed Trash & Recycling noting the City had an 84%
participation rate in the recycling program with 20,079.09 tons of trash collected, with
1,807,048 tons of recycling collected. He reviewed the Retail Gap (51 %) and the
Revitalization Gap (38 %), noting the Economic Development statistics are 9
Demo /Rebuild applications were approved, five properties sold, exceeding the goals from
the 2016 -17 Strategic Plan. Mr. Williamson explained residents will be surveyed again in
2019, noting the City has set the bar high.
B.6 17 -516 Review Fiscal Year 2016 -17 Strategic Plan.
PI
Top Candidates:
Term Expires
6
Sherrelle Evans -Jones
1/1/2019
13.5 17 -515 Receive a presentation and discuss the results of the 2017 Resident
Satisfaction Survey.
Assistant to the City Manager Ben Williamson provided a PowerPoint presentation
regarding the 2017 Resident Satisfaction Survey. Mr. Williamson reviewed the respondent
demographics, educational attainment data, school locations, retirement ratings (82.6 %),
and quality of service to residents (78.8 %). He reviewed the Fire Department, noting the
City received 22 pages worth of compliments, with 3,262 inspections and 4,710 calls for
service. Mr. Williamson reviewed the Police Department results noting the City received
21 pages worth of compliments with a 4:09 response time, and 20,341 calls for service.
Mr. Williamson explained the data shows that City of Farmers Branch has a very low crime
risk. He reviewed Animal Services noting they received 2,583 field service calls, with 1,183
animals taken in, nearly 100% adoption rate with 3,642 Facebook followers. Mr.
Williamson reviewed the Code Enforcement statistics noting they had 6,969 Code
Enforcement cases, 80% voluntary compliance rate, with an average closure of 17.5 days,
80% of cases were initiated by staff and 14% resulted in a citation. He reviewed Library
Services, stating 60% of respondents had visited the Library, 163, 949 people walked
through the Library's doors, 710 events were hosted by the Library, with an excellent to
good range of 84% to 94% for performance metrics. Mr. Williamson reviewed the Parks
and Recreation strengths and opportunities noting the City has over 28 parks with 259.13
acres, held over 6,898 recreation center class registrations with 63,439 senior Center
program attendance and 36,395 Aquatics Center attendances. Mr. Williamson reviewed
the Special Events, stating there were 12 events, with 68,211 attendees. He reviewed
Communication results, explaining they received excellent feedback and will soon have an
updated website. Mr. Williamson reviewed Trash & Recycling noting the City had an 84%
participation rate in the recycling program with 20,079.09 tons of trash collected, with
1,807,048 tons of recycling collected. He reviewed the Retail Gap (51 %) and the
Revitalization Gap (38 %), noting the Economic Development statistics are 9
Demo /Rebuild applications were approved, five properties sold, exceeding the goals from
the 2016 -17 Strategic Plan. Mr. Williamson explained residents will be surveyed again in
2019, noting the City has set the bar high.
B.6 17 -516 Review Fiscal Year 2016 -17 Strategic Plan.
City Council Minutes June 23, 2017
Councilman Blackson stated his priority is to keep the City moving forward in a positive
direction and for City Council to be unified as a team to accomplish this goal.
Mayor Pro Tern Norwood stated his priority is to help improve the City Council's reputation
and promote the City's many accomplishments.
C. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Mayor Dye adjourned the meeting at 4:23 p.m.
SIGNED:
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Mayor
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