Recap May 24, 2023 Special City Council Meeting, Submitted by Council Member Debra Hines and approved by Mayor Jeff Rasco
Received by City Staff on November 1, 2023
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City Council meeting recaps are unofficial summaries of Council meetings. They are not minutes of the meetings, which can be found on the city's website along with video recordings of the meetings. The recaps have been very popular with citizens – they contain more information than official minutes and are less time consuming than watching the videos. Councilmember Debra Hines has generously given her time to produce the recaps since taking office in 2021.
This Recap submitted by Councilmember Debra Hines and approved for distribution by Mayor Jeff Rasco
May 24th 2023 Special Council Meeting Recap
REPORTS
Planning and Zoning: Reviewed the draft pool ordinance update. A report is pending. Concerns were shared about the water source and that trucking of water would come from outside the aquifer the City relies on. A public hearing is set for June 7th
Ordinance Review: They are reviewing fire prevention and fireworks and are on their second draft of these chapters. They are also starting a review of animal control.
Parks and Recreation: They are collecting bids and preparing a package for proposal to Council for the use of the POSAC grant funds to improve two parks and one greenspace in the City.
Platinum Roads: They received the bid package from K.Friese and will review the final draft June 1st. They received it on the 22nd of May. They found some typos, mapping looks good, how much milling is needed is still unclear. They will send corrections to the City Manager over the weekend to get to K. Friese. By mid-June the City should anticipate going out for bids and they are expecting to close bids in July. September and October are the best times to work on roads, so this is a good timeline. Deerfield may have the Community Block Grant come through to complete work in that area, otherwise there are about 9 miles (32 roads) remaining with 1-3 miles to be considered for chip seal.
Tree Board: Arbor Day event is being planned for November 4th 10-2pm. It may occur at CYJ. Karl Flocke is being asked to do a walking tour of Oak Wilt. Earth Day activities are being planned. This will incude food, cookies and saplings at The Triangle. Volunteers will work on various areas throughout the City to clean up parks and greenspaces. This includes the dam at Cypress Point and Augusta Park. A water fountain has been donated by Aqua. This is for people and has a pet feature. This will be installed at the Triangle. A new tree review is being discussed for July to review ice damage and oak wilt. The RFP for an arborist is out and they would like a full tree inventory after contracting with a certified arborist.
City Manager: A new office support specialist has been hired: Taffy Barker. She started Monday. She previously worked at the Wimberley View for many years. There will be a workshop on May 30th to discuss anSTR permit and proposed budget priorities for next year. The new social media accounts are being set up. Ms. Barker will manage the posting on those. Facebook is done, but the Nextdoor account name has had some issues and remains under the City Manager’s name rather than the City of Woodcreek. Council will review the list of pending business items with staff at the May 30th workshop. The Community Block Development Grant application was submitted. We will hear back in Nov or Dec of 2023.
City Secretary: no report provided.
Ad Hoc Workgroup, Chapters 154-157: Finished the group meetings. All chapters are in final review. In reference to the recodification process directed to them by Council, the group members would like to wait to see how these Chapter updates are received. In addition, they would like to invite additional members from other advisory bodies to join the group should the recodification process resume.
SPECIAL ORDERS
Financial Statements for March 2023 were approved after some discussion. A new sales tax income sheet was added. Ice storm FEMA fund repayments have been registered for, but we do not have a timeline for when the City will receive these.
NEW BUSINESS
Item 2: Presentation on Plan of Finance by Brad Angst occurred. This covered the estimated tax base increases due to additional homes and appraisal values going up. Other topics included the length of the bond term, bond insurance, bond credit rating, the City’s financial performance, and what required documents are needed to proceed with the Bond issuance. Some discussion occurred on the merits of paying off the existing tax note debt versus rolling it into the bond. To watch this presentation in full tune in to minute 51:52 at this link: https://www.woodcreektx.gov/citycouncil/page/special-city-council-meeting-city-hall-1.
Item 3: A resolution for the Issuance of the General Obligation Bond was passed unanimously by all those present. This is the first step for the City to take to enter the Bond sales process. Additional opportunities to review the bond structure and timeline will occur.
Item 4: Council unanimously approved of paying off the existing Tax Note, Series 2017 rather than rolling it into the bond debt. This is an “early” payoff of this debt.
Item5: A public hearing for June 2023 was unanimously approved.
Item 6: Resolution for a calendar for specific timely submission windows for certain development permits for the City of Woodcreek was discussed. This is the second draft of this document. It was unanimously approved with minor amendments. This document creates windows for submission for large development projects and permits for new construction so that City Staff can be better prepared to address these permit requests in a timely manner and line up necessary engineering review and other third-party services.
Item 7: An Emergency Management Plan was approved with minor typographic edits.
Item 8: Preferred Communication Policies Procedures was not approved. Council communicated that this change in code was not their preferred method for these changes and that a resolution addressing a broader set of communication policies was needed. This item did not go to vote. It was requested that staff revisit this item and come back to Council with recommendations.
Item 9: Traffic report and additional measures. A presentation was made regarding the on-going traffic stops made by the off-duty deputies while working for the City of Woodcreek. The officers are now working two times a week in two hour shifts rather than once a week in a four-hour shift. The conversation shifted to what more can and should the City do at this time. A traffic calming study was requested by Council and staff will seek quotes on the cost of this item from City Engineers. The goal for the study would be to cost less than $15,000 with staff presenting these options by June 14th. Some discussion occurred about what was planned for traffic calming during the road improvements. Councilmember Bailey stated that the primary focus of the Platinum Panel has been the road improvements. Councilmember Hines discussed a temporary, movable speed cushion plan in development based on citizen concerns and requests. City Manager Rule confirmed that non-concrete or permanent structures had been recommended by K.Friese because long-term road maintenance is easier and less expensive with the semi-permanent options.
Item 10: Executive Session occurred for Personnel Matters, but no action was taken during the session. After the closing of the executive session Council reconvened and unanimously approved a 6% increase in salary for City Manager Rule. The vehicle stipend term limit had passed and Mr. Rule is still commuting. This 6% increase is basically equivalent to that stipend without term limit.
