Recap of City Council Meeting - 8/10/22 by Councilmember Hines

Received by City Staff on August 13, 2022.

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Aug 10th Regular Meeting Recap

Submitted by Councilperson Debra Hines and approved by Mayor Jeff Rasco

Item 1: Presentation from Robin Gary of the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association

Drought:

• We are currently experiencing extreme drought and water shortages are occurring
• Jacob’s Well is at 0 flow, only the 5^th time in recorded history with the first being in 2009
• There has been a significant increase in population growth in the Wimberley Valley since 2003
• The Hays Trinity is in the most severe management phase demanding a 40% reduction in use
• The monitor well at Mt. Baldy hit lowest point on record in 2021
• WE ARE A GROUNDWATER DEPENDENT COMMUNITY
• The community is experiencing an economic impact through the reduction in tourism as swimming holes close
• Mass loss of aquatic life
• Bulk water drops are Increasing as wells dry up and rainwater collection cisterns empty

Conservation:

• The Middle Trinity can recharge, and the community needs to preserve these recharge areas
• While pipelines are one possible solution, they will continue to lead to population growth which in turn will reduce recharge areas for the aquifer, drilling through the limestone features here will be costly, and they are not a solution for now as there would be considerable time in the planning and construction of this type of project.
• Creation of the Cypress Creek Water Protection Plan brought successes and grant money
• Creation of Jacob’s Well Management zone to help protect Jacob’s Well and Cypress Creek is influential for Woodcreek specifically
• Drought contingency plans must be followed and water usage needs to decrease
• Finding ways to recycle water like the methods used to construct the Blue Hole Primary One Water School will serve the community well
• WHAT CAN YOU DO? Install a leak detection and monitor usage through an app on your phone, use drought tolerant landscaping, install low water use appliances, collect AC condensation, consider rainwater collection, consider retrofit “purple piping” to recycle water, and decrease usage

Item 2: Presentation from Linda K Rogers from the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District

• Parts of Woodcreek are in the Jacob’s Well Management Zone
• Our aquifers are at historical lows
• Mandatory reductions are in place
• Aqua Tx is responsible for enforcing reductions
• No existing pipeline plans are in place, but water pipelines are in discussion
• No new permits are allowed in the Jacob’s Well Management Zone into the middle Trinity aquifer
• The recent RV park permit approved north of Jacob’s Well is drilling down lower into the lower Trinity aquifer which does not share water with the middle trinity aquifer where Woodcreek and Wimberley get their water. The water in the lower Trinity is of unknown quantity and does not recharge. It is not a suitable longterm solution for the larger community.

Mayor Rasco moved items 12,13, & 14 up in the agenda to allow the guest speaker, Michael Sledge from Grant Works, the opportunity to present without waiting. Grant Works is a grant writing company that specifically works with municipalities and helps find grants for which a city qualifies. Grant Works can submit a proposal for the grants proposed.

Item 12: Community Development Block Grant is designed to help communities improve infrastructure. For Woodcreek this grant can be used to improve drainage and streets. Council unanimously approved “request for proposals and qualifications” in order to seek administrative assistance in applying for this grant program.

Item 13: Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Grant Programs and Building Resilient Infrastructure & Communities (BRIC) are designed to help communities improve infrastructure. Woodcreek can use these to address drainage and flooding concerns and to pursue some of the measures outlined in the CEMAC report created after the extreme freezing event of 2021. Council unanimously approved a “request for proposals and qualifications” for engineering services related to applying for this grant.

Item 14: The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds will be used to address drainage issues throughout the City. The Platinum Panel has identified key areas of concern for the use of these funds. Engineering Services are needed to proceed, and a portion of the ARPA Funds can be directed to pay for these services. Council unanimously approved going out for a “request for proposals and qualifications” to secure engineering services to begin these projects.

Items 6 and 7 were moved to this point in the agenda because guest presenters, Linnea Bailey (Chairperson of the Platinum Panel) and Andre Ayala from Hilltop Securities, were in attendance to assist with this discussion. In addition, item 6 is related to item 14 above and item 7 would impact budget discussions to follow later.

Item 6: Discussion on the Platinum Panel Suggestions on the use of American Rescue Plan Act Funds occurred. Council unanimously approved proceeding with improvements to drainage issues at Brookhollow and Westwood. The Platinum Panel will begin developing the “request for proposal” for this project. Council unanimously approved asking Camp Young Judea to consider assisting in drainage and road approvements through a matching funds request to Jack Miller and Doolittle. This will occur after proposals for Brookhollow and Westwood are received since the costs and drainage improvement needs of the two areas are similar. It was established that the $5000+ donation the City receives from CYJ annually is meant to be allocated for street repairs.

Councilmember Joe Kotarba left at this time.

Item 7: Recommendations from the Platinum Roads Panel for priority street repairs, including: streets to be addressed, recommended repair treatment, cost estimates, and suggested financing methodology for these repairs occurred. The Platinum Panel suggested that Council move to pursue a tax note to fund road repairs, returning the tax rate for debt service to .0780 which matches the 2021-2022 rate to borrow 1.3 million. In addition, the Platinum Panel recommended that the City create a maintenance schedule for regular road repairs and that unrestricted funds in the General Fund Balance be used to repair a selection of small side streets with milling and chip seal repair. Council unanimously approved asking the Platinum Panel to develop a Master Transportation Policy for Council that will cover a schedule and plan for regular road maintenance. Chairperson Linnea Bailey and the Platinum Panel have already completed much of the work for this request and it will need to be compiled into a policy format. Council unanimously approved allocating $227,000 of unrestricted General Fund Balance to put towards immediate street repairs as recommended by the Platinum Panel. This is not committing the funds to specific roads or repair methods but did create a motion to adjust the budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year with the understanding that the Platinum Panel will continue to advise Council on which smaller side streets to repair and what method to use. Council unanimously declined to purse the tax note for general road repairs. During the discussion, Mr. Ayala from Hilltop Securities was asked in his professional opinion what was the most financially responsible method for funding road improvements. His response was that the City should consider a Bond Election. He outlined the following points:

• Council could make the November election deadline for the Bond Election making funds available as soon as early 2023
• Bonds could provide all funds needed for the entire project
• The plan to use a series of tax notes over 6 years or more is dependent on future growth and increases in property values in the City to re-finance
• Bonds lock in interest rates once funded, whereas tax notes pose a greater risk in rising interest rates
• The ability to role a tax note into a bond in the future is currently allowed under State law, but that might change. So, the “tax note now, rolled into a bond later” plan may not be possible in the future.
• Bonds allow borrowers to access more funds using the same tax rate as a tax note. So, .0780 debt service provides 1.3 million with a tax note, but a bond provides 2.7 million

Concerns were expressed about whether voters would support a bond. Councilmember Grummert pointed out in the recent Road Funding survey that residents voted Bond Election as their top pick for funding road improvements. Mayor Pro Tem LeBrun noted that fixing the roads was the number one priority listed in the Summer 2021 Comprehensive Plan Survey. Platinum Panel Chairperson Linnea Bailey explained that one of the major reasons the Platinum Panel chose a tax note approach was that they were under the impression that the funds from a Bond would not be available until summer 2023 after a May election. Thus, the ability to make the November election and have funds sooner could have altered that recommendation to pursue tax notes. Councilmember Hines expressed concerns over needing significantly more funds than the tax notes would provide. Additionally, Councilmember Hines noted that the administrative fees for issuing a bond or tax note are approximately the same. However, it is only a one-time administrative fee for Bond preparation, whereas using multiple tax notes means multiple administrative fees. Council unanimously declined to pursue the Platinum Panel recommendation to pursue tax notes. A motion was presented for the City to contact Bond Counsel to pursue writing a Bond Election ordinance for a Bond Election to be held in November. A Special Meeting was called to be held Wednesday, August 17th at 4pm to present the ordinance to call for the election and discuss. Council passed the motion to contact Bond Counsel to consider a single bond election for general road improvements with a tax rate increase of 2 cents from the current debt service rate. Voting yay: Councilmembers Hines and Grummert and Mayor Pro Tem LeBrun. Councilmember Pulley abstained and expressed concerns that the agenda lacked specific details to allow for such a motion. City Attorney Bud Wymore offered that the agenda item as listed allowed for discussion and possible action to be taken on Road Funding. Mr. Wymore stated that given the reports from the Platinum Panel in combination with the recommendations made by the Hilltop Security representative asking for Bond Counsel to proceed was in line with the agenda item as presented. A Bond Election has not been called at this time, this motion was only to have Bond Counsel prepare the ordinance for further discussion and consideration on Wednesday, August 17^th at 4pm.

It is worth noting that a 2-cent increase in debt service for a Bond will still result in a lower total tax rate than was issued in 2021-2022.

Since this meeting occurred, notice was provided that the debt service rate for the City as calculated by the Hays County Tax Assessor is .0687. This is lower than what Council anticipated in their initial tax rate discussions. Council will discuss this update at the Special Meeting in addition to the Bond Election.

Item 3: A final draft of the 2022-2023 budget was unanimously approved by all those present. It features a surplus in the basic maintenance and operation of the City, after the debt service payments, to be directed to the use for special projects such as a $5000 library donation, grant matches including POSAC, and the requested $227,000 in Road Improvements funds from the Platinum Panel. With the addition of the road improvement funds to the budget there will be a transfer of funds from the General Fund balance of around $170,000 to cover the remainder of the costs of the roadwork not covered by Ad Valorem taxes collected. Mayor Rasco noted the importance of and value in using the tax money already collected in previous years to achieve a commonly stated goal of road improvements rather than letting it sit in the General Fund year after year not drawing significant interest.

Item 4: Council discussed tax rates projected with information provided by the Hays County Tax Assessor. The numbers used were estimates, as the final calculations had not yet been received prior to the meeting. Council unanimously approved the M&O rate of .1152 which is a little higher than the no new revenue rate but lower than the voter approval rate. This rate in combination with the debt service rate will reflect a reduction in taxes due as a result of the increase in property values and the number of homes within the City.

Note: Estimates on the debt service rate used in the meeting were slightly higher than what has now been received from the County. So, the total tax rate discussed in the meeting will likely be reduced from .1869 to .1839 at the next Special Meeting to reflect the new information gathered from the Tax Office on the debt service rate. The M&O rate which is what Council directly voted on will remain the same unless a new vote is taken.

Councilmember Pulley left at this time.

Item 8: An update to the General Fund Balance Policy was unanimously approved by all those present to adjust wording to better reflect the City’s fund management practices by clarifying certain terminology. Review the item in the packet for specific details. Look for the highlighted passage and note the strike throughs to be removed and additions in red.

Item 9: Council unanimously approved setting up the Tree Board ordinance to mirror other advisory bodies and to place it within the same section of the code. It was previously located in the Tree Ordinance and only contained basic instructions for its appointments and operations.

Item 10: All those present on Council unanimously approved the Building Across Adjacent Lot Lines Under Unified Ownership ordinance. This contained only minor changes as discussed by Council in the previous meeting. See the document in the packet for specifics.

Item 11: An update to the Chapter 91 Tree Ordinance passed unanimously by all those present. You can view a copy of the updated ordinance on page 71 of the packet: https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/woodcreek-pubu/MEET-Packet-76567a495b0a489699635cc6853eb8fb.pdf

Major changes from the last meeting included incorporating the Tree Board recommendations, reduced regulations in the ETJ, better explained site construction guidelines, and addressed public comments about lion tailing and topping. Pruning regulations were also addressed in this version. See all highlighted portions for changes from the Ordinance from when it was last reviewed by Council and the Tree Board.

A brief Executive Session was held by Mayor Rasco. No votes were taken.