City Council Meeting Recap by Councilmember Hines
Jan 12th 2022 City Council Meeting Recap
Submitted by Councilmember Debra Hines and approved by Mayor Jeff Rasco
The meeting began with recognition of City Secretary Linda Land for exemplary service. A gift was presented to honor her contributions. A standing ovation proceeded to thank her and show appreciation for her honorable dedication to the City.
We will miss you Linda and we are so grateful for the time you spent working for The City of Woodcreek!
Consent Agenda:
Items 1-4 included the November 2021 and December 2021 budgets and the meeting minutes from December 8th 2021 and December 22nd 2021. These were approved with a majority vote of those present.
Consent Agenda Items 5-12 were placed on the Regular Agenda by Mayor Rasco per citizen request.
Regular Agenda:
Item 5 requesting that the P&Z begin to review, adjust, and/or create clear guidelines for development within the City Limits and ETJ, with a focus on conservation and benefits for citizens, to present to Council for review and consideration passed. This includes topics such as Planned Unit Development Districts, Planned Development Districts, Conditional Use Permits and Mixed-Use Districts. Discussion on this item highlighted the increased development in the area as a reason to review and amend or establish guidelines.
Item 6 to remove the room divider and return the City Hall meeting space to its original configuration passed with a majority vote. This discussion centered around the desire to have the space for smaller meetings and Councilmember Hines noted the importance of being able to maintain the best practices for COVID-19 safety protocols out of respect for the safety and well-being of staff and fellow Councilmembers when conducting these City business meetings. Regular City Council meetings and Special Council meetings when possible are still scheduled to meet at Camp Young Judaea.
Item 7 fixing the wording of City code regarding 55% masonry requirements to align with State law passed unanimously. This had been addressed by a previous Council but the correction did not occur due to preference from leadership at the time to wait until a larger bundle of code changes was needed as there is a fee and significant process to make these changes. Mayor Rasco made note of this wisdom.
Item 8 instructing staff to consult with the City accountants to link expenses on the monthly check registers to budget line items on the annual budget document passed unanimously. It was established that this process already occurs but is not currently visible to the public. There should only be a minimal charge for making this change.
Item 9 requesting that the Parks and Recreation Board consider expanding their event schedule for the 2022 year and encouraging them to consider how some events could be used to generate additional funds for the City Parks passed unanimously. Discussion centered around how much citizens loved these events, thanking the Parks Board once again for their efforts on this matter, and established Council support for continuing and expanding these efforts because of the benefit they bring to the community.
Item 10 directs the City Attorney to begin drafting an ordinance to protect right-of-way green spaces and street trees to be able to regulate parking in these areas and to be able to direct funds for their care and maintenance. This passed unanimously. Councilmember Brizendine noted that directing funds would not be needed in the ordinance as the City already has funds designated for this purpose once they are established as parks or protected green spaces. So, the motion was amended to remove that line.
Item 11 requests that the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board develop annual plans for Spring beautification efforts and community events to improve our City green spaces. It passed unanimously. Mayor Rasco asked that the Parks Board receive support in this effort from 1-2 Councilmembers and that citizens consider getting involved in the planning and organization process.
Item 12 instructs staff to begin the process of accepting applications for vacancies on the Parks Board, Tree Board, and for the alternate place on Planning and Zoning. It passed unanimously. Councilmember Grummert made a note that in some instances this process has already begun.
Item 13 regarding the Pulley v Whitehead lawsuit began in executive session. Post executive session a majority vote passed the motion to mutually dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice.
Item 14 regarding the agreement with Hays County Precinct 3 for services provided began in executive session. Mayor Rasco announced no action would be taken post executive session.
Item 15 sought to establish the state and location of the City flush values, maintained by Aqua TX, that could potentially serve as a source of water in a fire event. This was postponed until the next Regular Council Meeting. The goal being to bring in the local Fire Chief for a report on this topic, establish the location of these flush valves, and develop the information for posting this item on the website. Further details can be found on the City website at this time in the CEMAC report, but the goal of this item would be to publish information on this topic on the website in a distinct location for easy access for residents. These flush valves are not designated as fully functional fire hydrants in that a consistent and strong enough pressure is not maintained to receive that designation. It was noted this is common for private water sources in Texas and that our local fire station is aware of this matter. In the event of a fire emergency, a tanker may be brought in to supply water on an as needed basis.
Councilmember Judy Brizendine exited the meeting due to illness. The follow votes reflect the remaining 4 Councilmembers.
Item 16 involves a review of the City Policy and Procedures binder and the documents it contains. The motion to review, update as needed, and post in an easily accessible location on the website passed with a unanimous vote of those present. Councilmember Grummert confirmed that these documents could be posted, and the City Manager confirmed that some (if not all) should already be posted but only accessible through the search bar function on the website. Mayor Rasco asked that a Councilmember volunteer to assist staff in this process and noted that he would be willing to work on it as well.
Item 17 No action was taken on this item as it was scheduled for discussion only for this meeting. Councilmember Pulley worked with the City Attorney to draft ordinance surrounding the building permit process with two purposes in mind: 1) define alter and 2) create clear guidelines for when a permit is needed and when it is not. Additional materials were submitted by Councilmember Pulley during the meeting that were not in the packet. These items will be incorporated in the final document and an overall re-write will occur to compile both sets of materials into a final draft ordinance for presentation and review at a future meeting.
Item 18 sending the final draft of the Brookmeadow 1 acre zoning overlay to P&Z for review and recommendation back to Council passed with a unanimous of those present. An outline for the public hearing process and next steps has been created by City Staff and can be made available upon request.
Item 19 involves drafting a timeline for the permit process and a FAQ section for this process on the permit application page. Councilmember Hines volunteered to create that skeleton and assist staff in editing the website. This motion passed with a unanimous vote of those present.
Item 20 a final draft for the guidelines for establishing the Ordinance Review Committee was approved by a unanimous vote of those present. Amendments were suggested by Mayor Pro Tem LeBrun and accepted unanimously by those present to change Alderman to Councilmember, begin accepting applications, and to fix any minor typographical errors in the final document.
Item 21 involved Mayor Rasco asking City Manager Brenton Lewis to act as Deputy City Secretary, in addition to his other duties, in the interim period while the City looks for a replacement and to approve the request for applications to fill the role on a more permanent basis since our current City Secretary Linda Land has resigned effective Friday, January 14th 2022. Both motions passed with a unanimous vote of those present.
Item 22 established the mechanisms for the creation of the Mayor’s Platinum Panel to address a transportation plan, road improvement funding and more. This passed with a unanimous vote of those present. Next steps will be to begin accepting applications and to establish the guidelines for this panel. Councilmember Hines and the City Attorney recommended that the Ordinance Review Committee Ordinance as the template.
Item 23 Councilmember Hines moved to postpone review and discussion of the first draft of the informal roads funding survey until the next Special Council Meeting.
Reports:
Mayor Rasco announced that Council would be meeting twice a month for the foreseeable future. The next Special Council Meeting was tentatively set for January 26th @6:30 PM at CYJ. This will be confirmed later via official City communications.
City Manager, Brenton Lewis, announced a 6.06% rate increase from Waste Connections and noted that there was no rate increase last year. More information on this topic was included in the Agenda Packet.
