COUNCIL MEETING September 16, 2008

 

 

1. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Robin S. Border called the regular meeting of the City of Hilshire Village to order at 3:00 P.M. at 8301 Westview, Houston, Texas 77055. The time change was due to Hurricane Ike and no electricity. Mayor Border stated that there was no life threatening incidences and no one was injured; however, there were some extensive damages. Mayor Border commended the citizens who spent days clearing ditches and helping neighbors. He was so proud of the way we all pulled together. Mayor Border stated that the lift station will continue to be cleaned by an outside vendor until the electricity is restored. The construction on Ridgeley has been delayed until the streets have been cleared of debris.

 

5. REPORTS TO COUNCIL:

5.1. Police: Chief Gary Finkelman discussed the fact that they are going to continue the “operation mall security” in which they continuously patrol with their lights on. The Chief stated that there have not been any reports of looting and the officers are stopping anyone they do not recognize. He stated that CenterPoint is working as quickly and efficiently as possible. Their first priority are hospitals, fire and police, second is water and sewer, third are City agencies, food, gas and critical residences and then residential. Chief Finkelman reminded everyone safety first and security second when it comes to generators. He also said you will have to flag an officer down if you can not find a working phone.

 

5.5. Mayor and Council: Mayor Border stated that he had spent an exorbitant amount of time with CenterPoint to get electricity restored to the lift station. The lift station has had to be cleaned out twice and the City has hopes that the electricity will be restored before a third cleaning is required. Mayor Border stated it would be at least two weeks from today before all the residents in Hilshire would have electricity restored. Mayor Border stated that he was thankful to Council Member Wolfe for her persistence in getting our water back up and running. He warned residents to keep boiling the water because it was not safe to drink. Mayor Border stated that he had the tree company staged at City Hall in preparation of clearing the streets for emergency vehicles. The cleaning crew started at 1:00 A.M. on Saturday, September 13 and they finished Tuesday, September 16th. He stated that he was working on a contract for debris removal and at this time the City is looking at a 75% to 80% reimbursement from FEMA.

 

Mayor Border said that only natural debris would be picked up first. Items such as bags and fences will be picked up at a later date. He stated that manholes, water meters and ditches should not be covered with debris.

 

Mayor Pro Tem Castro stated that she wants everyone to be aware of the effectiveness of the new culverts. She stated that the Hurricane dropped over 5” of rain and an additional 5” of rain fell after the Hurricane. Mayor Border stated the Flores’ crew cleaned all the local clogs and the culverts worked the way they were designed. He stated unfortunately two houses flooded due to rising water.

 

Council Member Wolfe wanted to thank everyone for their community spirit.

 

Council Member Anderson also wanted to thank everyone and to remind everyone not to put clippings in the ravine.

 

Council Member Whiting said that there was actually 12” to 15” of rain and she was pleased that the new drainage system worked.

 

3.4. Engineers: Efrain Him of CMI gave his report regarding Ridgeley Drive Reconstruction Project. Utility Improvements (Package 2) – Metro City is working on the punch list including asphalt patch repairs, lift station site grading and sodding and valve box adjustments. Once all the punch list items are corrected, a final inspection will be scheduled and a final payment will be submitted.

 

                        Paving & Drainage Improvement (Package 3) AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc., has installed the water line along Burkhart Road. After the disinfection test has passed, they will transfer the existing residential services to the new line. The rip rap on the upstream and downstream ends of Channel Crossing B has been installed. The water line crossing at Channel Crossing B passed the pressure and disinfection test resulting in the opening of the valves and the lines being put into service. 18” storm sewer and safety end treatments were installed at Channel Crossing C. The lime stabilization subgrade 3 has been completed. CMI recommends payment to AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc. (Pay Application No. 7) for an amount of $124,799.94 for the completion of approximately 53.4% of the work.

 

4. ACTION ITEMS (CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION):

 

                        4.1 Council Member Whiting made a motion to authorize payment to AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc., for Pay Application No. 7 for work related to the Ridgeley Drive Paving & Drainage Improvements Project in the amount of $124,799.94 seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Castro. A vote was taken to authorize payment to AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc., in the amount of $124,799.94 and the motion passed unanimously.

 

                        4.1b Council Member Denninger made a motion to approve additional Engineering and Construction Observation Fees associated with the Ridgeley Drive Projects in the amount of $86,458.00., seconded by Council Member Wolfe. Council Member Whiting brought up the fact that Council was told by Harry Walker that there would not be any additional engineering fees to handle the rebidding of the job. She requested that the line items be removed regarding the engineering fees for handling the rebidding of the job. Council Member Denninger stated that he was surprised to see this request and that he wanted to see backup for the projected items. After further discussion a vote was taken to approve additional Engineering and Construction Observation Fees associated with the Ridgeley Drive Project and failed unanimously.

 

The Mayor excused City Engineer Efrain Him of further attendance at the current Council meeting.

 

The Mayor requested that Council extend the Disaster Declaration that was issued by Mayoral Proclamation on September 11, 2008 in response to Hurricane Ike. He requested that the extension be in effect until the next Council Meeting. A motion was made by Council Member Anderson, seconded by Council Member Whiting. A vote to approve the motion to extend the Disaster Declaration until the next regular Council Meeting was taken and unanimously passed.

 

1.2. Present were Mayor Border, Council Members Cheryl Wolfe, John Denninger, Shannon Whiting, Zandra Anderson and Mayor Pro Tem Connie Castro. Also present were Efrain Him, P.E., of Claunch & Millers, Inc., David Olson of Olson and Olson, Attorney for the City and Chief Finkelman.

 

Council Member Anderson wanted to thank the Mayor for a job well done.

 

4. ACTION ITEMS (CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION):

 

                        4.2 Council Member Denninger made a motion to approve an ordinance to change election of Council Members back to General Election where the candidates with the highest votes are elected into vacant council positions, rather than continue the current practice of candidates running for a particular place or open Council position, seconded by Council Member Anderson. A vote was taken to approve the Ordinance to change the election of Council Members back to General Election where the candidates with the highest votes are elected into vacant Council positions and passed 3-2. Council Members Wolfe, Anderson and Denninger voted for the motion and Mayor Pro Tem Castro and Council Member Whiting voted against the motion.

 

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF HILSHIRE VILLAGE, TEXAS, BY DELETING SECTIONS 1.202, 1.203, AND 1.204 OF ARTICLE 1.200 OF CHAPTER 1 THEREOF AND SUBSTITUTING THEREFOR NEW SECTIONS 1.202 AND 1.203 OF ARTICLE 1.200 OF CHAPTER 1, PROVIDING THAT THE ELECTION OF THE CITY’S ALDERMAN SHALL BE BY A PLURALITY AT LARGE SYSTEM; REPEALING ORDINANCE 2007-603, ADOPTED ON APRIL 17, 2007, AND ALL OTHER ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES INCONSISTENT OR IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY.

 

 

City Attorney David Olson stated that this change would have to be sent to The U. S. Department of Justice for approval.

 

4.3 A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Castro to approve the deletion of the

last sentence of ordinance number 371 “Adoption of Rules of Procedures of the City Council of Hilshire Village related to a Consent Agenda”. Section 1 last sentence “The consent agenda is to consist only of bills/expenditures for payment and the acceptance of receipts and funds” and re-writing the ordinance to include other routine business that does not need discussion, seconded by Council Member Denninger. Council Member Anderson had not been able to read the original ordinance due to Hurricane Ike and requested to read the ordinance. After discussion a vote was taken to approve the ordinance 4-1 to allow routine business that does not need discussion to be approved in the consent agenda. Council Members Wolfe, Denninger and Whiting and Mayor Pro Tem Castro voted for the motion and Council Member Anderson voted against the motion.

 

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF HILSHIRE VILLAGE, TEXAS, BY DELETING SUBSECTION (a) OF ARTICLE 1.500 OF CHAPTER 1 THEREOF AND SUBSTITUTING THEREFOR A NEW SUBSECTION (a) OF ARTICLE 1.500 OF CHAPTER 1, PROVIDING FOR; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES INCONSISTENT OR IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY.

 

6. Consent Agenda: A motion was made by Council Member Whiting to approve the agenda with the exception of the Mayor’s expenses, seconded by Council Member Wolfe. A vote was taken to approve the Consent Agenda less Mayor Border’s expenses and the motion passed unanimously.

A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Castro to approve the Mayor’s expenses as presented. Council Member Denninger questioned the Mayor’s telecom. Stating that he does not believe it is an incremental charge and does not want to reimburse him for charges that he would have had to spend regardless if he was Mayor. Council Member Anderson questioned mileage to return the rental car used at the Village Parade. A vote was to taken to approve the Mayor’s expenses as presented and the motion was approved 3-2. Mayor Pro Tem Castro, Council Member Whiting and Wolfe voted for the motion and Council Member Anderson and Denninger against the motion.

 

8.6 A motion was made by Council Member Anderson to review the budget and set September 30, 2008 at 6:00 P.M. as the date for Public Hearing. Mayor Border stated that the City should have a 90 day reserve and that we do have that at this time but it really depends on how much reimbursement we receive from FEMA. He stated that the tax hearing roll back rates are the highest rate we can have without an election. Mayor Border stated the budget had been tweaked and there were place markers for unexpected items but not for expenses for a hurricane like Ike. A vote was taken to approve the date for the Public Hearing set for September 30, 2008 at 6:00 P.M. and passed unanimously.

 

9. ACTION ITEMS (CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON)

                       

9.1 A motion was made by Council Member Wolfe to authorize the Mayor to execute a three year City audit contract with Belt & Harris.(Previously Sanderson Knox & Belt), seconded by Council Member Denninger. Council Member Wolfe stated that she received three bids and Belt & Harris was the least expensive. Robert Belt stated the reason the rates were increased was because the AICPA has set regulations with more risk assestment which has increased the time to do audit by at least 25%. A vote was taken to authorize the Mayor to enter into a three year audit contract with Belt and Harris and passed unanimously.

 

9.2 A motion was made by Council Member Whiting to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of August 19, 2008 with changes presented by Mayor Pro Tem Castro to change 4.4 the word “long” to “wide” enough for 2 car widths, seconded by Council Member Anderson. A vote was taken to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of August 19, 2008 with the change of wording and passed unanimously.

9.3 A motion was made by Council Member Anderson to approve the minutes of the Public Hearing of August 19, 2008, seconded by Council Member Whiting. A vote was taken to approve the minutes of the Public Hearing of August 19, 2008 and passed unanimously.

 

9.4 A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Castro to approve an Ordinance to change the City’s Official Newspaper to the Memorial Examiner to reduce cost, seconded by Council Member Whiting. City Secretary Blevins stated the reason for the change is to reduce expenses. A vote was taken to approve an ordinance changing the City’s Official Newspaper to the Memorial Examiner and passed unanimously.

 

                                                AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF HILSHIRE VILLAGE, TEXAS

PROVIDING FOR AN OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER FOR THE CITY; PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF ALL ORDINANCES OR

PARTS OF ORDINANCES INCONSISTENT OR IN CONFLICT

HEREWITH; AND PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY.

                                                                       

 

9.5 A motion was made by Council Member Whiting to approve the City’s Proposed Rollback Tax Rate for 2009, seconded by Council Member Denninger. Mayor Border stated that the .528595 was the best we can do without an election. A vote was taken to approve the City’s Proposed Rollback Tax Rate of .528595 for 2009 and passed unanimously.

 

9.9 A motion was made by Council Member Anderson to approve the temporary closure of Friar Creek Drive and Creekstone Circle for the Hilshire Village Civic Club’s Halloween Party on October 31st, from 5:30 P.M.-7:30 P.M, seconded by Council Member Wolfe. A vote was taken to approve the temporary closure of Friar Creek Drive and Creekstone Circle for the Civic Club’s Halloween Party and passed unanimously.

 

9.10 A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Castro to approve the extension

of the City Clerk Position to a permanent part time position effective October 1, 2008, seconded by Council Member Whiting. Council Member Wolfe stated she wanted to see justification that a part time clerk was needed. Council Member Anderson stated she did not understand why another person was needed when the City was handled by one part time person in the past. The Mayor stated that we have a professional staff that has researched and found extra funds through permitting and has established a rapport with other Village City Secretaries to learn the duties that is required by a City Secretary. Council Member Whiting stated that the work was there and we needed to treat them as real employees. A vote was taken to approve a part time clerk as a permanent part time position effective October 1, 2008 and failed 2-3. Mayor Pro Tem Castro and Council Member Whiting voted for the motion and Council Members Anderson, Denninger and Wolfe voted against the motion.

 

9.11 Mayor Pro Tem Castro made a motion to approve the payment of the Mayor’s telecom expense of $90.00 per month, seconded by Council Member Whiting. Mayor Border stated that the worksheet he turned into Council was real numbers and incremental charges. Council Member Whiting stated there was definitely value for the Mayor to have email capabilities on his phone. Personally she feels the benefit and she knows the City Secretary appreciates this benefit. Council Member Wolfe wanted to know what the percentage of the Mayor’s phone calls were personal. A vote was taken to approve the payment of the Mayor’s telecom expense of $90.00 per month and failed 2-3. Mayor Pro Tem Castro and Council Member Whiting voted for the motion and Council Members Anderson, Denninger and Wolfe voted against the motion.

 

 

8. MAYOR AND COUNCIL COMMENTS: The Mayor stated he was disappointed in Council. The Mayor also reminded Council that there would be items put on the agenda at the Special Meeting on September 30, 2008 due to timing issues.

 

9. ADDITIONAL CITIZENS COMMENTS: Margaret Labbe’, 1311 Pine Chase Drive stated that she was extremely upset with Council for insulting the Mayor’s integrity and that she was embarrassed to say that this Council represents her City.

Russ Bourquein, 1327 Glourie Drive stated that “embarrassed” was not the word for it. The word is “angry”. He was ashamed of Council and if he had to he would take up a collection to pay for the Mayor’s monthly phone bill.

Kathy Sheppard, 1323 Pine Chase Grove stated she has not been coming enough to Council and she was going to check into impeachment.

Former Mayor Edward Davis, 1103 Glourie Drive wanted to commend Mayor Border on the job he did regarding the Hurricane. The one reason he left Council was because of the minutia that this Council started when he was Mayor.

Jim Cullen, 1315 Pine Chase Grove stated that Council needs to give the Mayor a phone that is used strictly for City business.

Mark Groesbeck, 1229 Ridgeley wanted to express his feelings on how great a job the Mayor did on handling the hurricane. He could not believe how quickly the streets were addressed.

A resident wanted to thank Mr. Groesbeck for his generosity and hard work in bringing his church group in to help neighbors.

Cathy Cullen 1315 Pine Chase Grove stated that she did not feel it was the City’s responsibility to discard personal debris. She has spent thousands of dollars cleaning up tree debris. She also stated that she was astonished with how little the City’s budget is and that she would be for voting in higher taxes. Mrs. Cullen wants a higher quality of standards from the City.

Robert Belt 1202 Glourie Drive stated that if the City did not take on the responsibility of cleaning up the debris there would be more flooding in the Village due to those residents who did not discard their debris.

 

10. ANNOUNCEMENTS: NONE

 

11. ADJOURNMENT: It was moved by Council Member Anderson and seconded by Council Member Whiting to adjourn.

 

12. ADDITIONAL COUNCIL COMMENTS

 

Council Member Wolfe stated that she was the new kid on the block and no one had come to her with any concerns and that there are two sides to every position and all she wants is documentation before she votes on an issue.

Council Member Denninger stated that the Mayor’s phone bill was not a new issue and he was sorry about the personal issue but that this has been going on for over a year. He stated that he does not have hard feelings for the Mayor. The timing was bad on this issue.

Council Member Anderson stated that the Mayor’s phone bill has a long history and she also would like a breakdown on the issue.

 

13. ANNOUNCEMENTS: NONE

 

14. ADJOURNMENT: A motion was made by Council Member Whiting and seconded by Council Member Anderson to adjourn the meeting.

 

                                                                                                                                                                        ____________________

                                                                                                                                                                        Robin S. Border, Mayor

ATTEST:

 

__________________________

Susan Blevins, City Secretary