Recap of City Council Meeting - 1/11/2023 by Councilmember Hines and Approved by Mayor Rasco
Recap Jan 11 2023 Regular Council Meeting
Submitted by Councilmember Debra Hines and approved by Mayor Jeff Rasco
Councilmember Chrys Grummert was absent.
Consent
Item 1: Approval of Minutes from December 14th, 2022, Regular City Council meeting passed unanimously by all those present.
Reports
Item 2: P&Z report by Councilmember Hambrick stated that in the last meeting of the board they discussed short-term rentals (STRs) and reviewed the legality of an effort to ban STRs in the City in addition to a consideration of proposed regulations. P&Z recommends that a Public Hearing occur to discuss the matter if an ordinance is proposed at a later date.
Item 3: Ordinance Review Committee report by Councilmember Hines state that the committee will likely be finalizing their update of the Important Woodcreek Ordinances document in February. They also postponed the election of a Chairperson and Vicechair in anticipation of new appointments since applications had been submitted.
Item 4: Pat Rawling provided a report for the Parks Board announcing the receipt of the signed POSAC Grant award followed by a round of applause. Their last meeting surrounded discussion and preparation for the Luminaria Event on Christmas Eve.
Item 5: Platinum Panel report by Councilmember Bailey stated that a revised RFP was received from K.Friese and it will be reviewed by the Panel on the 19th of this month.
Item 6: Tree Board report by Major Pro Tem Pulley stated that a rough draft of the RFP for a City Arborist is coming together and that the Tree Board would like to be included in the interview when the time comes. Concerns about Oak Wilt spreading to City owned property commonly referred to as “The Triangle” was expressed and prevention measures are being considered. Arbor Day has been set for November 3rd, 2023. The Tree City USA application received regional approval and is being forward to the State and National levels. The Oak Wilt Abatement Application is still under review.
Item 7: City Manager Rule provided an extensive report on City business:
- Limb and Brush pick begins Monday, Jan 16th. To receive this service residents must register in advance.
- City Hall will be closed Monday, Jan 16th to observe MLK Day.
- Starting after Jan 31st residents are strictly prohibited from trimming Oak trees to help prevent the spread of Oak Wilt. This policy remains in effect until July 1st.
- A new tree trimming and new tree removal permit and procedure will be in place starting Feb 1st.
- There is a new button on the homepage of the City of Woodcreek website that links directly to important tree information for the City.
- There will be a Drainage meeting concerning the area of Westwood and Brookhollow. It is open to all residents, but the City asks that people who live in that area please attend in order to receive information and provide feedback. The meeting will be on Jan 24th at City Hall beginning at 5:30 PM.
- The City has switched from IPVideo to a new video system, Microsoft Teams, to address on-going sound quality issues. So far reports coming in have been positive on the new system.
- A new agenda template is in place for all official meetings of the City and it brings procedure better into alignment with Robert’s Rules.
- Be sure to check out the article in the Wimberley View about the Parks Board and POSAC grant!
Item 8: No report was given by City Secretary Mac Kenzie.
Item 9: No report occurred on the ARPA Review
Item 10: Councilmember Hines provided a report on the efforts to update Chapters 154-157 stating that a final draft of 154 is nearly complete and will be shared with the Ad Hoc workgroup this week. A first draft has been created of 155 – 157 that joins the work of K.Friese with existing ordinances, with final drafts to be submitted to the Ad Hoc group soon. Submission to governing and advisory bodies is still expected to hit the February target for some or all pending Chapter updates. The new Chapter 157 is an Environmental Protections Chapter as created and suggested by K. Friese.
Special Orders
Item 11: Roger Gordon received unanimous support in appointment by all those present as Interim City Attorney. Councilmember Hines clarified that the review of contracts followed by the posting of a RFQ previously voted on and approved by Council prior to the resignation of Mr. Wymore will suffice as direction for staff to officially post the position of City Attorney per City policy. All City contracts are under review at this time.
Unfinished Business
Item 12: Cynthia Jones was awarded the Spirit of Woodcreek. In her absence, Mayor Pro Tem Pulley will present the award to her at her home later.
Item 13: Appointments to open terms on advisory boards received unanimous approval by all those present.
- Ordinance Review Commitee: Emma Davenport was made an alternate per her request, James Miller was appointed as a full member. There is one open spot left to be filled by appointment by Councilmember Grummert later due to his absence from this meeting.
- Tree Board: a vote was tabled for the next meeting. Staff were directed to review all advisory board terms and provide an updated list of what terms expire and when. The new ordinances in the past year have impacted terms per counsel provided by Mr. Gordon. He advised Council to bring all appointments into alignment with the new ordinances which may mean some advisory board positions on the Tree Board and Parks Board could be subject to reappointment.
New Business
Item 14: Changes to Committee Liaisons were approved unanimously. Councilmember Hambrick will work with the Parks Board and Councilmember Grummert will work with P&Z.
Item 15: Parks Board appointments received unanimous approval by all those present. Member Karen Poe submitted her resignation, which Council accepted, and alternate Cody Abney was appointed to serve in the position. An open alternate position remains. Council unanimously supported Chairperson Pat Rawlings and member Elizabeth Maurer serving the remainder of their terms which expire at the end of 2023. Concerns over how the new ordinances passed in the last year could impact existing terms if Council were to bring appointments into alignment with code at this time prompted the motion. Appointments per the new ordinances run in congruence with Elected Body terms and so there has been a period of adjustment to bring all positions into alignment with the new code. The motion to have existing Parks Board members (Rawlings and Maurer) serve the remainder of their terms will suffice to bring this group into alignment with the new code.
Item 16: HOT Committee appointments were unanimously approved by all present. The following individuals will serve on the Committee if they accept their appointments: Danny Rose, Mike Schneider, Cherri Maley, Lynnsey Hastie, Ann-Tyler Konradi, and Tomas Palm. A single appointment remains open to be made by Councilmember Grummert at a later day. All 7 members have full voting rights. Mayor Rasco is the liaison for this Committee and City Manager Kevin Rule will be assisting. The first task of this committee will be to conduct research and review HOT tax possibilities, rates, and usage for the City of Woodcreek. Their work will help advise the Council in any future decisions or considerations regarding the possibility of raising the Hotel Occupancy Tax. The only qualifications asked for of Committee members were relevant experience in the field of lodging operation and HOT policy. Additionally, no members were chosen based on a personal stance for or against the tax. The goal is to facilitate objective discussion and conduct research on the topic. Applications and qualifications can be seen in the agenda packet beginning on page 31: https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/woodcreek-pubu/MEET-Packet-fa1668d93fc840c0b963fec8f6131565.pdf
Item 17: The new Investment Policy was reviewed and approved by City Council. This review occurs annually, and this year City Manager Rule provided an updated policy that added additional specifications on quarterly and annual reports, expanded upon required training, set investment time limits, and outlined internal controls among other additions. Mr. Rule will be reviewing the City’s investment strategies and activities. City Manager Rule has extensive training and experience in this area of City business. A report on City financials and investment strategies is expected in February.
Item 18: A motion to renew and reconsider the vote to add minimum lot sizes to the pending zoning code ordinance update passed. A final vote approved adding these into the pending ordinance update with Councilmembers Hines, Hambrick and Bailey voting yes, and Mayor Pro Tem Pulley abstained. Approving this addition and consideration will mean a Public Hearing will be required prior to the passage of any final ordinance.
Item 19: The Citizen Survey of 2023 draft was approved for publication and distribution. The survey will be available and distributed as an online form, plus a single paper copy will be mailed to residents that can be filed out and returned to City Hall. The City asks that all residents only take the survey one time, please do NOT submit a digital AND paper copy. Any adult may take the survey; it is not limited to one per household.
