Recap of City Council Meeting - 10/12/2022 by Councilmember Hines and Approved by Mayor Rasco
October 12th 2022 Regular Council Meeting
Prepared by Councilmember Debra Hines and approved by Mayor Jeff Rasco
Proceeded by a Public Hearing for the 2022 City of Woodcreek Comprehensive Plan.
Citizen input resulted in an edit of the Comprehensive Plan regarding additional sources of revenue, specifically a Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT).
Consent Agenda:
Item 1: A proclamation was made celebrating the first annual Woodcreek Arbor Day event and it was presented to members of the Tree Board, Dorothy Tasian and Monica Rasco.
Item 2: Minutes from the September 14th meeting passed unanimously without discussion.
Item 3: Was pulled from the consent agenda onto the regular agenda by Mayor Rasco at the request of Councilmember Hines.
Regular Agenda:
Item 3: July 2022 financials pulled from consent for discussion. Councilmember Hines asked for clarification about budget line item 6000.50 for law enforcement. It was much higher than budgeted. (The Mayor followed up via email after the meeting to confirm that the additional expenditures were from the final payment to the Constable for services rendered yet unpaid in the previous year when the contract was terminated.) Councilmember Hines noted that there was a large surplus in unspent funds from the budget at the end of July even with lower revenues than expected in permits, sales tax, inspections, and the disposal service agreement. Additionally, it was noted that the budget was only amended once, that no additional legal funds were spent by the elected body, that Council did not spend the additional legal funds City Manager Lewis had moved in the budget amendment, and Council underspent in majority of budgeted expenditure line items. Councilmember Hines pointed out the item 9077 General Fund Accrual as a location for future anticipated additional revenue for the city to create a “balanced budget” rather than just allocating to other items. The City could in fact plan to contribute to the General Fund each year. Councilmember Hines also noted that the previous City Manager did not bring the Waste Connections contract due date up for discussion with Council before he departed. The contract expired and so it auto-renewed with the previous terms.
Item 4: Jane Little was presented with the “Spirit of Woodcreek” award by Councilmember Pulley and Mayor Rasco. She and her group WOW (Weeders of Woodcreek) were recognized for their superior work and efforts to maintain the main entrance to Woodcreek on RR12. Jane and her group contributed an immeasurable service to the community.
Item 5: An announcement was made that there is now a weekly Farmer’s Market at RR12 and Winter’s Mill in front of the Baptist Church that runs from 2pm-6pm every Thursday.
Item 6: An announcement was made about a Town Hall concerning the Bond Election was made. (The Town Hall occurred on Tuesday, October 18th at 5:30PM at the VFW).
Item 7: Becky Denton was appointed as alternate to the Parks Board. There is one more alternate position to fill.
Item 8: Council voted to send the RFP for a Part-Time Code Enforcement Officer to the Ordinance Review Committee for feedback. Council voted to have a list of requirements created by Council for the last code enforcement officer the City employed sent to the Ordinance Review Committee along with the RFP talking points. Mayor Pro Tem LeBrun shared that there is an organization of trained professionals the City could call upon on an “as needed” basis. It was confirmed that there was room in the budget under personnel services to cover this position. Mayor Pro Tem LeBrun clarified that the expectation would be that the person hired would use their own transportation but be reimbursed for mileage.
Item 9: Council voted to send the RFP for a Part-Time Arborist to the Tree Board for feedback. Council voted to have a list of talking points shared by Councilmember Hines sent to the Tree Board. Topics discussed during this item included identifying the different certifications and specializations required by the City for this work, the different types of work that might be needed, and whether this employee would respond to calls on private property or not and if they could bid on work from these calls.
Item 10: Council voted to direct the City Manager to review all professional service contracts and/or agreements the City currently holds. This includes IT, City Attorney, and Bookkeeping/Accounting. This review will begin after the start of the new year and will start the routine of a review of each such contract every three years.
Item 11: Council voted to share costs for the cart path improvement between Mountain Crest and the City of Woodcreek. It was established that Mountain Crest has a deed to this strip of land, that the path is currently very dangerous, and that the City would only pay up to $600 to be reimbursed once work is completed.
Item 12: Council approved the request from the Parks Board for the budget of $400 to be spent on Woodcreek Parks recognition award items. This is a new community award program sponsored by the Parks Board to recognize citizens for their volunteer work to promote and support our Parks.
Item 13: Council approved a small increase in the Spooktacular Budget to cover actual costs that changed slightly from estimates.
Item 14: Council discussed increasing the Hotel Occupancy Tax which is currently set to Zero. Discussion covered the variety of uses and benefits it could bring the City and its residents. No action or formal vote was taken, but overall Council agreed that the discussion should continue and a draft ordinance could be prepared for consideration.
Item 15: A report was made by Councilmember Hines who is liaison to the Ordinance Review Committee. The items discussed were the masonry requirement and Board of Adjustment portions of the Woodcreek Code of Ordinances. It was determined that these portions of the code were out of alignment with state code and needed to be updated. Council directed staff to submit these corrections to Municode.
Item 16: A Social Media Policy draft was presented and discussed. It was determined that Councilmembers should further review and submit edits to Councilmember Hines for a second draft to be submitted at a later date.
Item 17: The 2022 City of Woodcreek Comprehensive Plan Document was approved and an ordinance to amend and add it into the City of Woodcreek Code of Ordinances was passed. Minor edits were suggested and included in a final draft sent to staff. It is now posted on the City website here: https://www.woodcreektx.gov/bc-comp-plan/page/comprehensive-plan
Item 18: Was removed at the request from Councilmember Hines since it was a duplicate of Item 17.
