Loading...
Town Council Minutes - 02/25/ 2020TOWN OF TROPHY CLUB TOWN COUNCIL REGULAR SESSION MINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2020 7:00 P.M. LOCATION: 1 TROPHY WOOD DRIVE, TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS COUNCIL CHAMBERS The Town Council of the Town of Trophy Club, Texas, met in a Regular Session on Tuesday, February 11, 2020. The meeting was held within the boundaries of the Town and was open to the public. TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: C. Nick Sanders Mayor Philip Shoffner Mayor Pro Tern Sean Bone Council Member, Place 3 Karl Monger Council Member, Place 4 Michael Geraci Council Member, Place 5 STAFF PRESENT: Steve Norwood Town Manager Mike Erwin Finance Manager Wade Carroll Assistant Town Manager Tony Jaramillo Director of Parks & Recreation David Dodd Town Attorney Jill Lind Communications & Marketing Manager Sharon David Interim Town Secretary Mike Pastor information Services Manager Patrick Arata Police Chief Tommy Uzee Director of Community Development Gary Cochran Interim Fire Chief Steve Zieverink Information Services Specialist The Invocation was offered by Pastor Brooks with Lake Cities Church of Christ. The Pledges to the American Flag and Texas Flag were led by Council Member Geraci. CITIZEN PRESENTATIONS This is an opportunity for citizens to address the Council on any matter whether or not it is posted on the agenda. The Council is not permitted to take action on or discuss any presentations mode to the Council at this time concerning an item not listed on the agenda. The Council will hear presentations on specific agenda items prior to the Council addressing those items. You may speak up to four (4) minutes or the time limit determined by the Mayor or presiding officer. To speak during this item, you must complete the Speaker's form that includes the topic(s) of your statement. Topics of presentation should be limited to matters over which the Council has authority. Karen Williams, 2516 Trophy Club Drive, spoke on behalf of the Trophy Club pickleball group. She stated there were a number of players in attendance at tonight's meeting, as pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America today, ranging in all ages. As of now, Trophy Club has ages ranging from 10 years to 78 years, is extremely easy to pick up and requires little equipment. The two courts at Harmony Park are in constant use, with over 45+ residents reserving the courts on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. She shared that due to no dedicated pickleball courts and the long wait time, Trophy Club has lost some players, with holiday peak times overflowing with participants. Byron Nelson High School and Medlin Middle School have formed teams but there are no actual regulation pickleball courts located in Trophy Club, only tennis courts that are lined for pickleball playing. Due to the growth, demand and extreme enthusiasm for the sport, Ms. Williams urged Council to take action and research a proposal for installing pickleball courts. She shared that preliminary discussions had taken place according to a Parks & Recreation Board Meeting. She encouraged everyone to visit the courts and share in the health, friendship and community spirit found in playing pickleball. Mayor Sanders thanked Ms. Williams for her presentation and shared that at the March 16, 2020 Parks & Recreation Board Meeting they will be discussing this topic and bringing forth recommendations to the Council. Mayor Sanders welcomed Trophy Club Scout Troop #328 to the meeting. He stated the scouts were earning their badges for communications and citizenship in the community. He invited the Scouts to speak during Citizen Presentations. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REPORTS 1. Receive Town Manager Norwood's update and provide input regarding the following (S. Norwood): March 3, 2020 Primary Election —completed the first week of early voting for Denton County voters at the MUD Building, with Tarrant County voting being held at Southlake Town Hall. Early voting will continue through February 28, 2020. Marquee Update— the project is nearly finished, with the remaining portion being the stonework. The contractor has turned over the monitors to the Town. Staff is addressing the brightness issue that has been a concern. Town Manager Norwood stated that Leticia Vacek, the new Town Secretary, would start on March 9, 2020, and thanked Interim Town Secretary David for filling in during the process. He commended the Council on hiring new Town Secretary Vacek as well as choosing Interim Town Secretary David and applauded her efforts of handling the department's responsibilities, including the General Election process. On behalf of the Council, Mayor Sanders thanked Interim Town Secretary David for filling in. Council Member Bone commented on the marquee sign on Trophy Lakes Drive that displayed a split in the middle, with a portion being dim and a portion being bright. Assistant Town Manager Carroll reported that staff is addressing the issue. CONSENT AGENDA All matters listed as Consent Agenda are considered to be routine by the Town Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will not be a separate discussion of these items. If discussion is desired, that item will be removed from the consent agenda and will be considered separately. 2. Consider and take appropriate action regarding the Town Council Regular Session Minutes dated February 11, 2020 (S. Norwood). 3. Consider and take appropriate action regarding Resolution approving the submission of a Grant Application to participate in the Ramen Spectroscopy Drug Detection Program (TruNarc) for the Police Department; authorizing the Mayor or his designee to execute all necessary documents; and providing an effective date (S. Norwood). 4. Consider and take appropriate action to approve re -surfacing the competition and youth (kiddie) pools, not to exceed $171,957; authorizing the Mayor or his designee to execute all necessary documents; and providing an effective date (S. Norwood). Motion: Motion made by Council Member Bone, seconded by Council Member Monger, to approve Consent Agenda Items No. 2 through No. 4. Motion carried unanimously 4-0-0. REGULAR SESSION Town Council Minutes February 25, 2020 Page 2 of 6 S. Receive an update on the 2020 Census (Mayor Sanders). Mayor Sanders welcomed Chris Carathers from the Dallas Regional Census Center. Mr. Carathers gave a presentation on the 2020 Census, outlining the steps that were in place for a successful census survey. He had previously met with Assistant Town Manager Carroll as well as the Police Department. He reported that the Census Bureau was the largest short-term employer in the United States and shared the two reasons a Census was taken; 1). to help determine the representation for each State in Congress, which began in 1790, and 2). the distribution of federal funds that help communities provide school lunches, hospitals, water, and roads. He also shared that all Census information was confidential, never shared with any agency and every employee was required to take a life-long pledge to never share personal information. This year the Census Bureau will launch its first time online census taking, with a safe and secure site. All residents will receive a card in the next 3 weeks that has a specific code to log in for the online census, followed by five mailings to ensure the resident had completed these steps. He shared that last year extensive canvassing was done to match the houses with the correct addresses, which would help ensure an accurate census taking. Mr. Carathers stated that local Police Departments had been notified that the agents would be out in the field soon and stressed the importance of never giving out any personal information such as a driver's license number, social security number, bank account, or a donation, as these questions would never be asked. He added that if this happens, immediately close the door and call the local Police Department. The Census Bureau was working diligently to hire hundreds of thousands of part-time workers, at $23/hour, with background checks on every person, but will soon end as 6-8 weeks of training was required before an agent is sent out and shared the link to apply www.2020census.gov/lobs. He stated that the Census Bureau was working with local communities, businesses, organizations and churches in the next month to highlight the importance of participating in the census. He stated that lower economic communities had the lowest response rate, especially the elderly, and college age as well as children under 5 years of age not being counted for, with efforts to break the negative cycle by utilizing the Response Outreach Area Mapper (ROAM) to help these communities understand the reasoning behind the census and help the communities receive the funding necessary for improvements. He also mentioned that partnerships with local businesses, organizations, schools, hospitals and churches were needed to help send out emails, post on social media, and host an awareness event. Mayor Sanders stated that Trophy Club had a solicitation ordinance that required registration and receive a badge and asked if the census takers would be wearing badges. Mr. Carathers reported each person would have a paper badge, satchel imprinted with the US Census logo, an !Pad and would identify themselves as a Census employee. Mayor Sanders asked if they would have business cards and Mr. Carathers confirmed no. Mayor Sanders gave direction to Town Manager Norwood and Chief Arata to work with Mr. Carathers on helping address any solicitation issues that might arise from the Census taking. Mr. Carathers confirmed that the Town Staff would be notified before the agents are out in the field. Town Manager Norwood said staff would look at different ways to campaign/market to the citizens what would be taking place. Mayor Sanders thanked Mr. Carathers for his informative presentation. 6. Receive an update from Republic Services regarding trash services and current status of contract (S. Norwood). Town Manager Norwood introduced Geri Harwell with Republic Services to give an update. He stated that the Republic Contract was nearing the end of the existing contract and that specific steps were involved to move forward with a new contract. Ms. Harwell reported that the Trophy Club Contract with Republic would expire on April 30, 2020. She stated that Town Council Minutes February 25, 2020 Page 3 of 6 Republic provides free trash services for all Trophy Club facilities and events, that include the Spring/Fall clean-ups, Christmas tree recycling, document shredding, and that the franchise fee included in the current rate at twelve percent. Trash services include twice a week pick-up and once a week recycles. The current rate includes a limit of two bins but many homes go over this rule. The current residential rate is $12.37 for trash and $3.77 for recycle, which included the franchise fee. In 2010 Republic lowered the franchise fee to six percent and then did a fourth modification to include no annual price increase and trash rates remained the same. Ms. Harwell stated that in 2015 the Council voted to change the Franchise fee back to twelve percent and in 2018 Council voted to increase the $1.20 recycle rate based on current conditions. Ms. Harwell mentioned she brought this up as Trophy Club is about built out, and is not receiving the franchise fees, as well as Republic not recognizing that specific revenue and this would need to be factored into the contract. Ms. Harwell shared that the residents seem happy with their current level of service, with the twice a year community clean-up events being extremely popular. She stated that last year Republic processed 250 cars in 2 hours and recommended extending this particular event to three hours to accommodate the amount of cars that come through. Ms. Harwell stated there had been no additional increase in the past five years, as well as for commercial and industrial rates. Many cities were doing once a week trash service and wanted to mention if Trophy Club were interested. She also shared that with Lewisville's landfill closing in the next eighteen months to twenty four months, Republic has facility locations in Lewisville, Arlington, and Ft. Worth. Ms. Harwell encouraged the renegotiation of the Republic contract with Trophy Club and encouraged the Town to not put the trash contract out to bid. She also shared the importance of putting a contract out to bid, but could share competitive rates to help save the Town this step and looked forward to the opportunity to share what Republic Services could offer to the Community. Mayor Pro Tern Shoffner praised Geri Harwell and Republic Services for their work, always addressing all concerns and did not feel any change was necessary at this time. He commented on Town Manager Norwood's ability to negotiate a respectable contract with Republic Services and bring back to the Council. He added never having trash issues while serving on Council and felt the current service was a very good move when the contract was turned over to Republic. Mayor Sanders agreed with Mayor Pro Tern Shoffner's comments and applauded Republic Services for delivering good service. He stated that trash services and rates were a hot topic when attending mayor meetings. He shared that one area that could be improved was having additional lines available when complaints were received. He asked Town Manager Norwood to look at the pros and cons of recycle roll-on containers versus bins. He also agreed on passing along the trash fee and was divided upon the number of homes and the number of events that Republic Services provided to the Town at no charge. Lastly, he agreed on extending the hours on the twice a year Community Clean-up. Council Member Geraci recommended that Town Manager Norwood begin negotiations for a reasonable agreement with Republic. Town Manager Norwood stated staff would start negotiations this week and follow-up on recycle issues and the additional hour for the Community Clean-up. Council Member Bone asked when the contract expires. Town Manager Norwood confirmed the contract expires April 30, 2020. Council Member Bone asked if the Town had looked at a month to month contract versus annually. He suggested a month to month contract be presented. Council Member Geraci agreed with reviewing a month to month contract. Town Manager Norwood stated that Republic offers a month to month contract and expects the contract to be finalized by May/June 2020. Ms. Harwell commented that her intention would never be to cancel a Town's trash service due to a contract expiring and would begin working with Town Manager Norwood to draft a mutually agreeable contract to both parties. Mayor Sanders thanked Ms. Harwell for her informative presentation and sharing her facts regarding trash and recycling. Town Council Minutes February 25, 2020 Page 4 of 6 7. Discussion of items for Future Agendas to include agenda items for consideration on the February 25, 2020 Council agenda and items from the Town Council Future Agenda Items list (S. Norwood). This item allows Council to request the placement of items on upcoming agendas when the topic of discussion requires research and review that cannot be accomplished in the time frame between regular Council meetings. However, a Council Member may request that an item be placed on the next regularly scheduled meeting without first placing that item on the Future Agenda Items list. All requests for agenda items must comply with Charter requirements. Mayor Sanders reported there were no future agenda items due for discussion at tonight's meeting but this was the opportunity for Council to add items for future discussion. Mayor Pro Tern Shoffner recommended removing Greg Lamont's name on Item #1 and replace with his name as he serves on this Committee with Mayor Sanders. He felt it was beneficial to get a second Council member to support an item before placement on the Future Agenda Items list. Mayor Sanders was in agreement with this recommendation. It was stated that Mayor Sanders can add an item but before staff begins researching items and bringing back to Council, sit would be beneficial for items placed to get a second Council member to support the discussion. It was recommended Greg Lamont's name be removed and place Mayor Pro Tern Shoffner's name as well as Mayor Sanders since they are on the committee. Mayor Pro Tern Shoffner noted that most items have two council members in support and recommended taking the bottom four off until the council member could receive additional support on these items. He noted that the Town's Rules and Procedures require two council members to add an item on the agenda and it was a disservice to staff to begin researching and spend time if there was no support from the Council. Council Member Bone recommended removing Item #7 and adding his name to Item #3. Mayor Sanders recommended adding his name to Item #12. Mayor Pro Tern Shoffner recommended adding his name to item #13 as this was brought up at the February 1, 2020 Town Council Retreat. Mayor Sanders mentioned that since Ms. Fleury was no longer on Council, would another council member want to adopt her items. It was recommended by Council Member Monger that Items #10 and #11 be left on the list, since these items were important enough to add to a future Council agenda. Mayor Pro Tern Shoffner asked if it would be beneficial to present an item or wait until two council members were in agreement on an item as the Rules and Procedure did not address this. He felt that when staff started research on an item and did not have the support of the Council this was where it should clearly be written in the Rules and Procedures. He also recommended Item #8 not be brought up until after the May 2020 election. He asked that incentive vouchers for hotel occupancy be added to the list. Council Member Bone agreed with this recommendation. Mayor Sanders asked if there were any additional comments from Council. Council Member Geraci shared his concern over controversial items being discussed during an election and felt it would be best to complete an election and then address any sensitive issues. Mayor Sanders disagreed and expressed that with annual elections, the Council should continue to function and deal with items appropriately, regardless of sensitive topics. He shared examples of a Citizens' Survey related to trash and a Loop Road issue. Council Member Geraci clarified his statement was meant to verify that framework needed to be established before staff began researching a project for a proper time to formulate future agenda items. Mayor Sanders commented on some of the items remaining on the list a long time which didn't indicate staff is spending time on the item and that Town Manager Norwood would review the list to see if any items should be removed or stay on for future discussion. Council Member Monger stated the items did not have to be up for discussion right now but if it's an idea that Council thinks should be for future discussion, it was a good way to keep items fresh in everyone's mind and not be forgotten. Mayor Sanders recapped the recommendation for removal of Items #7, Town Council Minutes February 25, 2020 Page 5 of 6 #10 and #11, add Council Member Bone's name to Item #3 and Mayor Sanders' name to Item #12, as well as add the incentive hotel vouchers. Mayor Sanders reported NISD will present the proposed bond issue at the March 24, 2020 Town Council Meeting. He stated there were many online discussions happening, and recommended Council watch the presentation before the next Council Meeting. He stated the purpose for the bond was to help forecast the growth within the school district. Mayor Sanders also reported the Metroport Chamber will provide a presentation that would affect the Town's budget process. At this time, the Chamber was building a permanent facility, which had debt involved and were proposing a portion of the building to have leasable office space to generate revenue to help pay for the new facility. Fundraising efforts will include stone pavers for organizations and residents to purchase, three to five year pledges, as well as adding twenty-five percent to annual membership dues. The presentation would help staff with budgeting for Chamber events. EXECUTIVE SESSION 8. Pursuant to the following designated section of the Texas Government Code, Annotated, and Chapter551 (Texas Open Meetings Act), the Council convened into executive session to discuss the following: A) Section 551.074 Personnel Matters to discuss or deliberate the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline or dismissal of a public officer or employee: Town Secretary Employment Agreement (S. Norwood) B) Section 551.082 Deliberation regarding Economic Development Negotiations under Subsection (1) to discuss or deliberate regarding commercial or financial information that the governmental body has received from a business prospect that the governmental body seeks to have locate, stay or expand in or near the territory of the governmental body and with which the governmental body is conducting economic development negotiations and Subsection 92) to deliberate the offer of a financial or other incentive to a business prospect that the Town seeks to have locate within the territory of the Town: North of State Highway 114, east of Trophy Club Drive and west of Town limits (Mayor Sanders) CONVENED INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION — START TIME— 8:00 p.m. RECONVENED INTO REGULAR SESSION — START TIME — 9:15 p.m. RECONVENED INTO REGULAR SESSION Motion: Council Member Bone made a motion, seconded by Council Member Geraci, to approve the Town Secretary Agreement with Ms. Leticia Vacek. Motion carried unanimously 4-0-0. ADJOURNMENT )r Sanders adjourr�d4!e m . I .\1 rNon David, Interim Town Town of Trophy Club, Texas Town Council Minutes gad PMWA( }�A25, 1 V VPTI y�.L 20 a n uers, Trophy Page 6 of 6