City Council Meeting Recap - 12/14/2022 by Councilmember Hines and approved by Mayor Rasco
Recap Regular Council Meeting December 14th 2022
Submitted by Councilmember Debra Hines and approved by Mayor Jeff Rasco
CONSENT AGENDA:
Item 1 was removed as Council already edited and approved these minutes.
Items 3-4 were unanimously approved.
REPORTS:
(If no report was made the item is omitted from this list.)
Item 6: Ordinance Review Committee is currently working on the Important Woodcreek Ordinance sheet and updating it. Their December meeting was cancelled due to a lack of quorum. Regular business is expected to resume in January.
Item 7: Parks and Recreation Board had the LCRA grant denied. This was meant to repair the Memorial Plaza structure and retro-fit ADA compliance on the Bocci Court at Augusta Park. Be sure to pick up your Luminarias!
Item 8: Platinum Roads Panel elected a new Chair and Vice-Chair. A guest speaker from the County presented to the panel and provided discussion on different road materials and recent product updates. Commissioner Lon Shell has designated the individual as an advisor for the group as needed moving forward. K. Friese is revising their drainage plan and bid package. They will present again after the New Year.
Item 9: Tree Board is working on the RFP for a City Arborist per Council request. Recommendations were given on edits to the Oak Wilt Assistance Application and an update on the Tree City USA application was presented. The application is pending review of additional submissions of necessary ordinances.
Item 10: City Manager Rule highlighted the organizational change in the agenda format. Trainings in parliamentary procedure are in the works for advisory board members. Time stamps are being added to meeting minutes, the tree removal and trimming permits are being updated, a new checklist for construction is in process, and City Hall will be closed December 22nd, 23rd, and 26th.
SPECIAL COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Item 12: The second round of ARPA fund applications are still pending submission.
Item 13: Chapters 155-157 are in review and re-write. A draft is in composition. The Ad-Hoc group has had some delays in meeting due to member illness and the holidays. A projected timeline for draft presentation is late January.
SPECIAL ORDERS:
Item 14: City Manage Kevin Rule was unanimously approved as a signatory on the City’s Texas Regional Bank accounts.
Item 15: The 2023 Holiday Calendar was unanimously approved.
Item 16: Councilmember Pulley was unanimously voted as Mayor Pro Tempore.
Item 17: October Financial Reports were unanimously approved with review of possible errors. Line item 8900.30 Special Projects was highlighted for review. City Manager Rule announced that Council should expect some changes in the financial reports and budget documents formats and that he was in the process of a full review of financial and accounting practices for the City. This is a background area of expertise for Mr. Rule.
Item 18: November Financial Reports were unanimously approved. Council may see a budget amendment proposal in the future as Mr. Rule evaluates current expenses and planned future expenditures. The Public Notices line item in the budget is one item where the budget will need to be adjusted to account for the added expenses of the full-page Bond Election notices that were required.
NEW BUSINESS:
Item 19: Presentation of the Spirit of Woodcreek award to Cynthia Jones was postponed.
Item 20: A presentation was made by Jim Sabonis from Hilltop Securities on the next steps for Bond issuance and planning. Page 37 in the meeting packet begins the materials shared in the presentation.
- The amount of $3,348,000 will be available after cost of issuance and debt pay off. This will raise the I&S portion of the debt service from an estimated 7.8 to 9.3 (projected from current interest rates, home values, and debt service tax rate).
- Mr. Sabonis gave some market history and talked briefly about current interest rates. The City would not be looking at issuing debt for several months still and thus the interest rate is subject to fluctuation. Currently the projected rate for General Bond Obligation is 4.85% on average.
- Mr. Sabonis talked about how the City currently has no credit rating, but is considered in “good standing” and so he will be working with City Manager Rule to review policies and accounts to help secure that rating in order to proceed in the borrowing process.
- Mr. Sabonis compared the different scenarios of early pay off debt from reserves versus restructuring the debt. Those comparisons can be found on page 40 and 41 of the Council Meeting packet. Mr. Sabonis mentioned that the decision to restructure or pay off would be better made during the budget planning process which aligns in the provided timeline for an anticipated first date for debt issuance consideration. See page 39 of the packet for that current (estimated) timeline.
Item 21: No action was taken on the consideration of an early pay off on the tax note. It can be brought up at a later date if Council would like to reconsider the item. Some discussion surrounded the desire to preserve the estimated $200,000 in reserves since the benefit to an early pay off did not yield significant debt relief in the I&S rate.
Item 22: Council liaisons were unanimously approved as follows:
- Bailey to the Platinum Roads Panel
- Grummert to Parks Board
- Hambrick to Planning and Zoning
- Pulley to Tree Board
- Hines to Ordinance Review
Item 23 and Item 24: The following appointments were unanimously approved.
- Parks: Justin Camp, Karen Poe, Ruth Ann Gilbert with alternate Cody Abney
- Ordinance Review: Emma Davenport, Karen Duncan
- Tree Board: Dorothy Tasian, Terri Burney-Bisett with alternate Cynthia Jones
- Platinum Roads Panel: Cody Abney, Rogers Holt, Jack Boze with alternates Aurora LeBrun and Joe Kotarba
Item 25: The proposal to include minimum lot sizes in the zoning code failed with Mayor Pro Tem Pulley, and Councilmembers Bailey and Hambrick voting “no.” Councilmembers Grummert and Hines voted “aye.” Discussion on this item centered around concerns over how this impacts existing lots and what size minimums are consistent with Woodcreek’s current averages and what residents would prefer to see in any future development and/or subdivision. This item would not have changed code as there was no ordinance presented. It was simply to decide if minimum lots sizes should be incorporated in the zoning chart in the larger update of 154-157 that is pending. A formal public hearing will always be held when actual zoning changes are presented with an ordinance.
Item 26: A report was shared with Council on recommendations for the consideration of a Compliance Officer for the City. The full list can be found in the packet starting on page 60 with the Ordinance Review list on page 61.
Item 27: A draft citizen survey for 2023 was postponed until the regular January meeting.
Item 28: Occurred earlier in the meeting than listed in the agenda due to the presence of a guest speaker. There were no public comments during the public hearing. A representative from Grant Works reviewed grant options for the Texas Department of Agriculture. It was established Woodcreek was only eligible for the Community Development Block Grant and specifically to use it for road infrastructure and drainage.
Item 29: Council unanimously approved moving $25,000 from Contingency Reserve to a restricted annual budget line item specifically designated as a match for the $500,000 Community Development Block Grant. This will earn the City 50 pts in the application process. It is the single largest point earning action the City can take. City Manager Rule confirmed typically a budget amendment is made in conjuncture with type of transfer of funds. Council can expect one to follow at a future meeting.
Item 30: EXECUTIVE SESSION OCCURED
Item 31: Council unanimously approved retaining Roger Gordon at a flat rate for his services as special counsel for the month of December.
Item 32: Council unanimously accepted the resignation of City Attorney Kent Wymore and appointed Roder Gordon as interim City Attorney.
Item 33: Council unanimously approved guidelines to make sure that all communications with outside contracted vendors (such as a City Attorney or Engineer) have the City Manager copied on the communication and that staff is directed to draft a Council and Staff Communications Policy,
Item 34: Council unanimously approved directing Interim City Attorney Gordon and City Manager Rule to work on a plat process calendar that will consider setting four weeks a year for the consideration and approval of large development and subdivision applications and other building permits. This will not impact the typical homeowner looking to do repairs and remodels.
Item 35: Council unanimously approved directing Interim City Attorney Gordon and City Manager Rule to develop a policy to outline plat process procedures.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Item 36: Reminder that all advisory boards need to elect a Chair and Vice Chair at the start of the new year.
