2018-05-01 CC Minutes City Council Minutes May 1, 2018
City of Farmers Branch
City Council Minutes
3 p.m. Study Session
FARMERS 6 p.m. Regular Meeting
"T" 6NCH
Tuesday, May 1, 2018 Farmers Branch City Hall Council Chambers
y� y 13000 o William Dodson Pkwy
Farmers Branch,TX 75234
Presiding: 1 - Mayor Robert C. Dye
Present: 4 - Mayor Pro Tern John Norwood; Council Member
Bronson Blackson; Council Member Ana Reyes;
Deputy Mayor Pro Tern Mike Bomgardner
Absent: 1 - Council Member Terry Lynne
Staff: - Charles Cox, City Manager; John Land, Deputy
City Manager; Amy Piukana, City Secretary;
Pete Smith, City Attorney; Tina Firgens, Director
of Planning; Benjamin Williamson, Assistant to
City Manager, Allison Cook, Director of
Economic Development; Jeff Harting, Director of
Parks and Recreation; Brian Beasley Director of
Human Resources; David Hale, Police Chief; Jay
Siegel, Deputy Police Chief; Steve Parker, Fire
Chief; Shane Davis, Director of Sustainability
and Environmental Services; Marc Bentley,
Director of Public Works; Mitzi Davis, Project
Manager; Renee Estes, Special Project Manager
A. CALL TO ORDER - STUDY SESSION
Mayor Dye called the Study Session meeting to order at 3:00 p.m.
A.1 18-59 Discuss regular City Council meeting agenda items.
Council Member Blackson asked that Agenda Item 1.7, be removed and not discussed.
Council Member Reyes stated she understands not wanting to lose experienced
members, and suggested utilizing the Emeritus status.
Council Member Blackson stated City Council could appoint the Board Chairs and
remove term limits for the Chair positions only. This would allow Council to identify
qualified candidates for Chair positions.
Mayor Pro Tern Norwood stated he disagrees with establishing term limits for one person
with one position. He stated by implementing term limits, it opened seats that had been
occupied for 10-15 years, and suggested allowing new people to rotate on and off the
boards. He further stated he spoke with P&Z Chairman Jason O'Quinn who serves on
another board (non-city board), stating they identify future leaders within the board and
utilize a leadership step process. For example, they serve as a regular member, elevate
to a Vice Chair, then Chair. He stated we could establish a similar process, and begin
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with creating alternate positions to bring in new people and allow more train up time to
the various positions. He stated this process could help phase future board leaders.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tern Bomgardner suggested if a board has 50% membership
turnover, you could extend a member for one year to allow an established member to
train the newly appointed members.
Council Member Reyes stated she supports this idea, noting she is unopposed to no
term limits.
Mayor Pro Tern Norwood asked City Secretary Amy Piukana, and City Manager Charles
Cox to review boards to identify any boards with a 50% turnover. He suggested offering
more training and tools to help advance future leaders in their roles.
A.2 TMP-2633 Introduction of new Parks and Recreation Department team
members.
Director of Parks and Recreation Jeff Harting introduced new Parks and Recreation
Department staff members: Existing Staff Member Kim Chapman, Historical Park
Coordinator; Geoff Fairchild, Special Events Manager; Mike Mashburn Assistant
Director; Bonnie Neuman, Program Coordinator; Victoria Anderson Museum Educator;
Hillary Kidd, Historical Park Curator.
A.3 TMP-2703 Receive the Fiscal Year 2017-18 Second Quarter Financial Report.
Director of Finance Sherrelle Evans-Jones briefed City Council regarding this item. Ms.
Evans-Jones reviewed General Fund Results Summary March 2018 to Fiscal Year to
Date and Budget to Actuals. She stated property taxes are performing slightly better
than budget due to the timing of payments and several parcels converting from
Agriculture to Residential (5 years of property taxes paid.) She reviewed charges for
services, which includes several smaller revenue items, is performing behind budget due
to the timing of receipt of some of those revenue items. She further stated refuse services
is performing behind budget due to the tonnage received into the landfill as a result of
the routing of trucks. She noted Licenses and Permits is performing significantly better
than budget due to West Side Development. She noted fines, forfeits and assessments
are behind budget due to the vacancy of the second Marshal position.
Ms. Evans-Jones explained property taxes are performing better than budget due to the
timing of payments and growth of property tax base. She explained interest, contributions
are included with the $75K of revenue at 3/31/17 related to Mercer Developer advances.
She stated this revenue was a gross up of the income statement as there was also a
corresponding $75K of expense related to this item.
Ms. Evans-Jones noted August 15, and August 16 are the set dates for the City Council
budget retreat. She reviewed three retreat options, with locations for the City Council to
consider. Option 1)Tanglewood Resort& Conference Center; Option 2)The Inn on Lake
Grandbury; Option 3) Rough Creek Lodge and Resort.
Council Member Reyes stated she understands having an offsite retreat but had some
concerns with residents being able to attend and addressing questions or concerns.
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Ms. Evans-Jones stated residents may contact her now with any questions or concerns,
noting residents would be provided many opportunities to have questions addressed
about budget items.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tern Bomgardner stated he also had those concerns with citizen
participation. He stated within the past two years, less than two residents have attended
the retreats, noting it may not be an issue.
Mayor Dye suggested recording or broadcasting online to allow the public to view.
City Manager Charles Cox stated he would check with Communications to see if this is
an option.
Mayor Pro Tern Norwood stated the Lake Granbury location has a historical area, and
suggested meeting with the Granbury City Manager to educate the Council and City Staff
on their setup.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tern Bomgardner stated he would not be in town during the month of
August.
City Manager Charles Cox stated he would follow up on the Granbury option to see if the
City Manager would be available to speak at the retreat.
A.4 TMP-2682 Receive an update on Fire Station No. 2 Conceptual Design
Development.
Fire Chief Steve Parker provided an update and budget review. He stated on April 12,
2018 the second of two community meetings was held regarding the development of a
conceptual design for the new Fire Station. He explained at this meeting PGAL Architects
presented a conceptual site location and building design based on the Fire Department
and the community's input. He further stated PGAL Architects are developing a budget
based on the conceptual design.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tern Bomgardner asked about heating and cooling costs associated
with having all glass at the building entrance.
PGAL Architect Julio Noriega replied stating the current Building Code requires thermal
efficiency glass to be installed.
Council Member Blackson asked if a third bay is necessary, and if future needs have
been addressed.
Council Member Reyes stated if a third bay is necessary, funding needs to be addressed
now.
Chief Parker stated a third bay is not necessary at this time, noting drone technology
may
be utilized in the future.
Mayor Pro Tem Norwood stated the Fire Chief is not asking for a third bay, noting
expansion could be made in other areas.
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Deputy Mayor Pro Tern Bomgardner stated if we construct a third bay now, we could end
up accruing heating and cooling costs with a space that may be unutilized for the next
twenty years.
Council Member Reyes asked Fire Chief Steve Parker if the proposed station is sufficient.
Chief Parker replied stating he feels the project is sufficient for current Fire needs. He
further stated a more conceptual plan will be presented at the May 15, 2018 City Council
meeting by PGAL Architects, which includes 3D visual perception.
City Manager Charles Cox asked if the two bays would allow for stacking.
Chief Parker replied yes.
Council Member Blackson clarified, by stacking, do you mean the space allows for
stacking of two ambulances, not Fire Trucks.
Chief Parker stated two ambulances could be stacked.
Council Member Reyes suggested using ballistic glass in Fire facilities.
Mr. Cox explained all city facilities have resistant film installed.
Mayor Pro Tern Norwood stated he supports ballistic glass to protect employees.
Mayor Pro Tem Norwood asked if the proposed Fire Station is energy efficient.
Building Official Hugh Pender stated the glass is double paned glass with special coating
to protect from solar heat and provide insulation. He stated this is more efficient than the _
other stations.
Chief Parker provided a recap of the public meetings, noting citizens provided positive
feedback on the new Fire Station design.
A.5 18-64 Receive an update on the Employee Engagement Survey.
Assistant to City Manager Ben Williamson briefed City Council regarding the employee
engagement survey. Mr. Williamson stated the City began measuring employee
engagement in 2017, utilizing the Gallup Q12 platform. He reviewed the definition of
employee engagement, and components the City measures. He explained managers
are the secret to success. He stated the results indicated 330 respondents this year,
noting participation is up with a 5 to 1 ratio of engaged employees to non-engaged
employees. He stated this is above average ratings.
Council Member Blackson asked how many participants the survey had last year, and if
the data could be reviewed with Federal and State numbers.
Mr. Williamson replied stating the process is to hire the right folks, and get them into the
City's Vision and Mission. He further stated 270 respondents participated last year.
Council Member Reyes asked what is the approach to encourage participation.
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Mr. Williamson stated he actively went out and fixed internal errors such as emails to
increase participation. He stated every team exceeded from last years numbers.
Mr. Cox stated employees felt that management was listening and had reacted to
employee concerns.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Bomgardner asked if there was any feedback on the City Council.
Mr. Williamson stated questions were specific, and none related to elected officials.
Director of Human Resources Brian Beasley stated staff feels support from this Council,
noting many of his staff members watch the Council meetings.
Mr. Cox stated the support from Council is top priority.
Deputy City Manager John Land stated instead of focusing on the low scores,
Management focused on the green (higher ratings) to see what drives success in these
departments.
Council Member Blackson stated this is a great example of employee successes.
Mr. Beasley stated the REACT model, if adopted by Council, could push the culture
forward to future Councils.
A.6 TMP-2718 Receive an update on a City Facility Rental Policy.
Assistant to City Manager Ben Williamson reviewed City facility rental updates. He
explained the goal is to increase access to meeting space in Farmers Branch, develop a
baseline rental policy for all City Facilities, keep the policy efficient, add alcohol to the
policy mix, keep facility specific policies to one page. He reviewed rooms, which
included Recreation Center, Senior City, Aquatics Center, City Hall and Library. He
explained the HUB is a room update, which just opened the end of April. He explained
the rental policy updates include sponsored programs and events, aligned fee structures,
basic language updates, and an alcohol policy. He stated the next steps are to update
the alcohol policy, bring facilities to ActiveNet software to provide online reservations,
and update all fees as part of the FY 19 budget.
Council Member Reyes asked if residents could pay online.
Mr. Williamson stated the goal would be to reserve and pay online through the software.
Mr. Cox stated staff is hearing we need more meeting room space. He stated the city
has spaces; they are merely underutilized. He thanked Mr. Williamson for his assistance
on this proposed policy.
Mayor Pro Tem Norwood suggested reviewing data collected in the future to see how we
are utilizing facilities.
Council Member Blackson suggested adding sports fields, and pavilions. He asked how
soon the program would go into effect.
Mr. Williamson stated he is aligning the structure and fees to be included in the FY19
budget.
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A.7 TMP-2418 Discuss agenda items for future City Council meetings.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tern Bomgardner asked for an update on the Holiday Lighting
program, and an update on the Oncor street lighting breakdown of old vs new street
lights.
Council Member Reyes asked for an update on Camelot.
Mayor Pro Tern Norwood asked for a future agenda item to discuss speed limits.
Mayor Dye recessed the meeting for a break at 5:08 p.m.
Mayor Dye reconvened the meeting at 5:19 p.m. and recessed into closed executive
session at 5:20 p.m.
B. EXECUTIVE SESSION
B.1 18-65 Council may convene into a closed executive session pursuant to
Section 551.072 of the Texas Government Code to deliberate
regarding:
• Discuss the purchase, exchange, lease, or sale of real
property located at 13811 Lillard Lane.
Mayor Dye recessed from closed executive session at 5:34 p.m.
C. CALL TO ORDER (6 P.M. REGULAR MEETING)
Mayor Dye called the regular meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
D. INVOCATION & PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Pro Tern Norwood provided the invocation, and led the Pledge of Allegiance and
Pledge to the Texas Flag.
E. CEREMONIAL ITEMS
E.1 TMP-2680 Proclamation recognizing the month of May as Older Americans
Month in Farmers Branch.
Mayor Dye read aloud a proclamation recognizing the month of May as Older Americans
Month in Farmers Branch. Ms. Roberts spoke thanking the City Council and staff for
supporting the Senior Center and Senior Advisory Board.
E.2 TMP-2688 Proclamation recognizing the month of May as National Bike
Month in Farmers Branch.
Mayor Dye read aloud a proclamation recognizing the month of May as National Bike
month in Farmers Branch.
E.3 TMP-2676 Consider accepting an anonymous donation in the amount of
$10,000 for landscaping at the Farmers Branch Historical Park;
and take appropriate action.
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Motion made by Mayor Dye to accept an anonymous donation in the amount of $10,000
for landscaping at the Farmers Branch Historical Park. Motion seconded by Mayor Pro
Tem Norwood. Motion prevailed by the following vote:
Aye: 4 - Mayor Pro Tern Norwood, Deputy Mayor Pro Tern
Bomgardner, Council Member Blackson; Council
Member Ana Reyes
F. REPORT ON STUDY SESSION ITEMS
Council Member Blackson provided a report on Study Session items.
G. MAYOR AND CITY MANAGER'S REPORT ON ITEMS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST
City Manager Charles Cox provided the City Manager's report on items of community
interest.
• After months of planning and preparation, it is finally opening weekend for the Farmers
Branch Market and it's new Twilight hours schedule. This year, the market will operate
every Saturday from 5 until 8 p.m. through September. This opening weekend will feature
live music from the Royal Dukes Band, more than 40 vendors, special activities and much
more. Find out all about the 2018 Farmers Branch Market at farmersbranchmarket.com.
• Big thanks go out to the thousands that helped make the 2018 edition of Fishin' Fun in
Farmers Branch one of the most successful ever. The kids fishing tournament saw lots of
kids, ages 16 and under, pulling large catfish and blue gill out of Rawhide Creek. We hope
to see everyone back out again next year.
• Early voting for the Charter Amendment Special Election ends within the hour at 7 p.m.
tonight. Election Day is Saturday, May 5. Find out more about the Charter Amendments at
farmersbranchtx.gov/elections.
• Please mark your calendars for the Metrocrest Law Enforcement 2018 Memorial Service.
The Farmers Branch Police Department is hosting officers from Addison, Carrollton and
Coppell for this year's service, planned for Thursday, May 17 at 6 p.m. at Parish Episcopal
School, 4101 Sigma Road.
• And, if you're fond of caffeine, there are two events coming up you want to be aware of:
• The "Local Fuel" pop-up coffee shop will be popping up at the Farmers Branch Historical
Park on Tuesday, May 15 from 8 until 11 a.m.
• And, the next edition of"Coffee with a Cop" is coming up on Saturday, May 19 from 9 until
11 a.m. at the McDonalds at Josey and Valley View.
• Finally, please be aware that a document shredding event has been planned for Saturday,
May 19 from 9 a.m. until 12 noon at City Hall. Farmers Branch residents are encouraged
to bring personal documents for destruction on site. The event is free.
• You can sign up for that eNews at farmersbranchtx.gov to have current City news and
information delivered directly to your eMail box.
H. CITIZEN COMMENTS
There were no citizens that wished to speak.
CONSENT AGENDA
1.1 18-60 Consider approving minutes of the regular City Council meeting
held on April 17,2018 and the Special Called City Council meeting
held on April 23, 2018; and take appropriate action.
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1.2 18-68 Consider excusing the absence of Council Member Mike
Bomgardner from the April 23, 2018, Special Called City Council
meeting; and take appropriate action.
1.3 R2018-41 Consider approving Resolution No. 2018-41, authorizing the City
Manager to enter into all necessary agreements with the Texas
Municipal Retirement System to extend Federal Health Insurance
Benefits (Medicare) to the officers and employees of the City of
Farmers Branch; and take appropriate action.
1.4 R2018-42 Consider approving Resolution No. 2018-42, approving the
Amended and Restated Bylaws for the North Texas Emergency
Communications Center; and take appropriate action.
1.5 R2018-46 Consider approving Resolution No. 2018-46, denying the Oncor
Electric Delivery Company LLC's application for approval of a
Distribution Cost Recovery Factor to increase distribution rates
within the City of Farmers Branch; and take appropriate action.
1.7 ORD-3500 Consider adopting Ordinance No. 3500 amending Chapter 2,
Section 2.37(f), eliminating term limits for Board of Adjustment
and Planning and Zoning Commission members; and take
appropriate action. (This item was pulled and no action was
taken.)
Motion made by Council Member Blackson to approve Consent Items 1.1 through 1.6, as
presented. Motion seconded by Deputy Mayor Pro Tern. Motion prevailed by the following
vote:
Aye: 4 - Mayor Pro Tern Norwood, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem
Bomgardner, Council Member Blackson; Council
Member Ana Reyes
J. REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS
J.1 R2018-34 Consider approving Resolution No. 2018-34 authorizing
execution of a Residential Demolition/Rebuild Program Incentive
Agreement for the owner of the property located at 3061 Selma
Lane; and take appropriate action.
Economic Development Director Allison Cook briefed City Council regarding this item. Ms.
Cook explained the applicant Cynthia Garcia is applying for the Demo Rebuild incentive
based on the program details prior to the February 2018 change. Due to her contract
timing, she is eligible for the former grant structure. This includes an incentive that is based
on the increase over the course of five (5) years in the City Property taxes paid on the
difference between the original and new home appraised values(excluding the land value),
as determined by the Dallas County Appraisal District. This option also includes a
reimbursement of up to $12,500.00 of the cost of demolition of the original home following
completion of demolition.
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Council Member Reyes asked the applicant if there are any sustainable aspects.
Ms. Jessica Garcia spoke stating the she is using stone, and block materials for the
balcony.
Council Member Reyes asked Ms. Garcia if she is a current Farmers Branch resident.
Ms. Garcia stated she grew up here and loves the City of Farmers Branch.
Motion made by Council Member Reyes to approve Resolution No. 2018-34,as presented.
Motion seconded by Deputy Mayor Pro Tern Bomgardner. Motion prevailed by the
following vote:
Aye: 4 - Mayor Pro Tem Norwood, Deputy Mayor Pro Tern
Bomgardner, Council Member Blackson; Council
Member Ana Reyes
K. TAKE ANY ACTION AS A RESULT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION.
As a result of closed executive session, motion made by Deputy Mayor Pro Tern
Bomgardner to authorize the City Manager be authorized to negotiate and sign contracts
and such other documents that are reasonable and necessary to sell to the Farmers
Branch Local Government Corporation for the Purpose of resale to Christopher and
Kristina Johnson and/or assigns the property described as Lot 16, Block 7 Valwood Park
27th installment, known as 13811 Lillard Lane for a purchase and sales price of not less
than $130,000 with the resale of said property to be subject to a restriction agreement
requiring construction of a single family residence of not less than 3,000 square feet of
air conditioned space with an assessed value of the property upon completion of
_ construction, inclusive of both land and improvements, to be not less than $500,000.
Motion seconded by Council Member Blackson. Motion prevailed by the following vote:
Aye: 4 - Mayor Pro Tern Norwood, Deputy Mayor Pro Tern
Bomgardner, Council Member Blackson; Council
Member Ana Reyes
L. ADJOURNMENT
Council Member Blackson made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by
Deputy Mayor Pro Tern Bomgardner. Motion prevailed by the following vote:
Aye: 4 - Mayor Pro Tern Norwood, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem
Bomgardner, Council Member Blackson; Council
Member Ana Reyes
The meeting adjourned at 6:21 p.m.
Signed: , - ' Attest: �,�.. Age
Mayor City Se f etary
C
t
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