2022 06 09 CC Minutes MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN
June 9, 2022
The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas, met in a Regular Meeting on Thursday, June 9,
2022, at 6:33 P.M. in the Council Chamber of the Baytown City Hall, 2401 Market Street,
Baytown, Texas with the following in attendance:
Chris Presley Mayor Pro Tern
Charles Johnson Council Member
Jacob Powell Council Member
Mike Lester Council Member
Brandon Capetillo Mayor
Rick Davis City Manager
Trevor Fanning Interim City Attorney
John Stringer Sergeant at Arms
Angela Jackson City Clerk
Mayor Capetillo convened the June 9, 2022, City Council Regular Meeting with a quorum present
at 6:33 P.M., all members were present with the exception of Council Member Laura Alvarado
and Council Member Heather Betancourth, who were absent.
The Pledge of Allegiance, Texas Pledge, and Invocation were led by Council Member Charles
Johnson.
1. MINUTES
a. Consider approving the minutes of the City Council Work Session and Regular
Meeting held on May 12, 2022.
A motion was made by Council Member Charles Johnson and seconded by Council Member Mike
Lester to approve the minutes of the City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting held on May
12, 2022, as submitted. The vote was as follows:
Ayes: Mayor Brandon Capetillo, Mayor Pro Tern Chris Presley, Council Member
Charles Johnson, Council Member Jacob Powell, and Council Member
Mike Lester
Nays: None
Other: Council Member Laura Alvarado (Absent) and Council Member Heather
Betancourth (Absent)
Approved
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
June 9,2022
Page 2 of 16
2. RECOGNITIONS AND CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONS
a. Recognize City of Baytown Employees for their Years of Service.
Human Resources Director Carol Flynt presented the item and provided a video presentation for
all the individuals that received the Years of Service award for the month of June.
5 YEAR
Rogelio Gonzalez, Public Works Traffic Control Specialist I/II/III
David Salameh, Public Works Water Plant Operator III
Martha Sotelo, Municipal Court Clerk
Sabrina Martin, Library Community Engagement Manager
Phillip Davis, Human Resources Risk Coordinator
Yorel Stanley, Public Works Grading Specialist
Timothy Bellard, Public Works Heavy Equipment Specialist II
Gilbert June, Firefighter
Chloe Matula, Fire Equipment Operator
Hayden Phillips, Fire Equipment Operator
Zachary Cox, Fire Equipment Operator
10 YEAR
JC Thomas III, Public Works Administrative Technician
Thomas King, Police Patrol Officer
Raeannan Jacobs, Police Administrative Assistant
b. Mr. Sammie Dunn has requested to appear before the City Council to discuss a
flooding issue at 1508 Jones Road.
Mr. Sammie Dunn, resident at 1508 Jones Road, stated he would like to address the issue of
flooding around his property. In using a PowerPoint presentation, Mr. Dunn displayed a map that
exhibited a flood zone and pointed to the red mark depicting where his house was located. Mr.
Dunn relayed he had read the City's bylaws on how citizens were supposed to present who they
had contacted through the years. As the issue had taken place over the last twenty years,Mr. Dunn
displayed an email, which indicated every agency he contacted regarding this issue. For the last
couple of months, Mr. Dunn had requested every agency for a permit to tear out the bridge causing
the issue. Then, he displayed the flood zone map in color. He noted that the red circle on the map
displayed indicated where for the last couple of days the coast guard had been down there due to
leaking barges, which was barricaded off, and caused a strong odor of diesel and oil in that area.
Furthermore,Mr. Dun displayed other well-maintained flooding zones by the City of Baytown and
Harris County. He indicated that he had contacted about fifteen people within Harris County
Commissioner Adrian Garcia's office and no one had returned his phone calls. On his next slide,
Mr. Dunn showed a for sale sign that was put up about six months ago at the edge of Kilgore and
likewise,he contacted them and they have not returned his calls as he was interested in purchasing
the property in order to get out of that flood zone. Mr. Dunn had spoken to City staff about
investigating and finding out who those folks were in regards to the sign; however, he did not
know any further details beyond that.
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June 9,2022
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The next slide indicated the construction happening on Kilgore Road by the Harris County Flood
Control District. Mr. Dunn flipped through more images and stopped to discuss an image of Ward
Road, which showed sewer mains lifting up with all kinds of trash and sewage coming out of it,
which then goes into the ditch and wounds up on Mr. Dunn's front yard. Mayor Capetillo believed
what Mr. Dunn referred to as "sewer mains" was a storm water drain. Mr. Dunn countered that it
did not smell like it and noted that the City continuously put in drains that fed the ditch that fed
his front yard. In continuation, Mr. Dunn displayed an image of said ditch when it was full before
March 6th, of which a part of it was maintained, except where Mr. Dunn pointed to the area that
was ignored completely. As portrayed by another image, Mr. Dunn discussed how his neighbor
rebuilt tugs, covered up culverts, and built himself a road and dam which causes water not to
escape the sewer system and does not make it to the Cedar Bayou waterway.Although an estimated
2% to 5% may drip through there, the rest wound up on Mr. Dunn's and his neighbor's yard,
causing flooding in the whole area.
As his speaking time was coming to an end, Mr. Dunn quickly flipped through more images of his
flooded yard and the surrounding area. One image showed the dirt pile that a City Inspector was
once called down for, and who stated that it would not fill up and would not cover that ditch.
Another image was of the bridge completely flooded and an image of that same bridge when it
was dry. Mr. Dunn noted it was not constructed well and he expressed fear to drive across it. He
indicated there was water to the left and right of the bridge with no drainage at all.
In closing, Mr. Dunn stated that Council now had seen part of the damage on his property and
surrounding area. He had written letters to everybody concerned and nobody had answered him as
to whether anything was being done about it and if permits were required. Thus, Mr. Dunn stated
he, himself, would tear that bridge out to save his house from flooding again. Mr. Dunn asked the
City, the County, and the Flood District to notify that the people on the other side needed
transportation or emergency vehicles to be able to get in that area, and reiterated that he did not
receive a response. Lastly, Mr. Dunn expressed his financial struggles regarding rebuilding.
Mayor Capetillo expressed that he appreciated Mr. Dunn for the pictures and for coming out to
speak. As there could not be an exchange during Citizen Communication, Mayor Capetillo wished
for Council to hear from Mr. Dunn's Council Member representative. Council Member Lester
confirmed that Mr. Dunn had visited with the Mayor and himself, and that he had gone down to
the bridge himself to inspect the property. He noted that Mr. Dunn was correct in that it was on a
private road, which was Jones Road. The bridge was built out of a couple of large culverts with a
metal plate put across. Council Member Lester noted the issue was that as it was down a private
road and the culvert bridge was on private property. It also crossed the Harris County Flood
Control ditch. Council Member Lester confirmed that the bridge needed repairs.
Mr. Dunn had contacted Harris County Flood Control, but had no response, so Council Member
Lester and Mayor Capetillo requested Public Works and Engineering Director Frank Simoneaux
and his crew to have a look. The Public Works staff agreed it was occluded, plugged up, and
needed to be cleaned out and the whole section, in fact, needed repairs; however, it was a Harris
County Flood Control issue. Council Member Lester's understanding was that the City had
reached out and got Harris County Flood Control to place the issue on some type of maintenance
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June 9,2022
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list. Although the City of Baytown does not control Harris County, Council Member Lester
understood that it was now on their list for maintenance.
Mr. Dunn had indicated on a number of occasions that he would just take the bridge out despite it
not being on his property, but again, it was a Harris County Flood Control ditch on other peoples'
private property. Council Member Lester stated that bridge served two residential areas, so he
advised Mr. Dunn not to do that as that would be a civil issue. Most of the pictures Mr. Dunn
showed had been when there was heavy flooding on the entire District 6, some of which was due
to Hurricane Harvey and major rainfall. Council Member Lester explained Mr. Dunn's image of a
tidal surge that backed up and covered the bridge and believed Harris County needed to step up,
clean out the rest of the ditch, and clean that culvert out. He was not aware if Harris County was
aware that the culverts were put in place, but that was an issue for Harris County Flood Control to
deal with. Council Member Lester indicated that District 6 had a lot of flooding issues, which
concerned him.
In conclusion, Council Member Lester noted the bridge was down a private road on private
property that crossed the Harris County Flood Control ditch and there was nothing the City could
do. Council Member Lester reiterated the City had reached out to Mr. Simoneaux who used his
influence to try to get that on the County's maintenance list. Mayor Capetillo assured Mr. Dunn
that the City would do everything within its authority and additional abilities to help.
3. PROPOSED REZONING OF 2111 ONTARIO AVENUE FROM GC TO SF2
a. Conduct public hearing concerning a request to amend the official zoning map to
rezone approximately 0.079 acres at 2111 Ontario avenue from General Commercial (GC)
to a Mixed Residential at Low to Medium Densities (SF2) zoning district.
At 6:55 P.M., Mayor Capetillo opened the public hearing concerning a request to amend the
official zoning map to rezone approximately 0.079 acres at 2111 Ontario avenue from General
Commercial (GC) to a Mixed Residential at Low to Medium Densities (SF2) zoning district.
Planning and Development Services Director Martin Scribner summarized the subject matter of
the hearing related to Item 3.a., and stated that the rezone request was less than a tenth of an acre
on the corner of Ontario Avenue and Lanier Drive, south of Texas Avenue and right by Highway
146. He noted the public hearing for the rezoning went before the Planning and Zoning
Commission in May with no opposition. As portrayed by the Future Land Use Map, the area was
in the Business, Education, and Arts District. Mr. Scribner relayed a bit about the history of the
property in that it was a small acreage due to Highway 146 coming through seventy years ago and
taking a large portion of that property. It now stood at less than a tenth of an acre as GC to which
Mr. Scribner stated it was not usable in that way. Thus, the owner proposed to rezone to SF2 and
would possibly build a small home on that property. Staff and the Planning and Zoning
Commission felt that was appropriate and unanimously recommended approval.
Mayor Capetillo stated no one from the public had signed up to speak on the matter, and so he
inquired for questions from City Council As there were none, Mayor Capetillo asked if there was
a home built on the property already. Mr. Scribner replied only the property to the south had a
billboard on it and that the property in question did not have anything on it. Mayor Capetillo
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June 9,2022
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indicated he knew of an individual that was building really single family homes in the area and he
would like to see that continue. Mr. Scribner noted that individual would probably need a couple
of variances from the Board of Adjustment in order to do anything at all,but that would be handled
under a different process.
At 6:58 P.M.,Mayor Capetillo closed the public hearing concerning a request to amend the official
zoning map to rezone approximately 0.079 acres at 2111 Ontario avenue from General
Commercial (GC) to a Mixed Residential at Low to Medium Densities (SF2) zoning district.
b. Consider an ordinance concerning a request to amend the official zoning map to
rezone approximately 0.079 acres at 2111 Ontario avenue from a General Commercial (GC)
district to a Mixed Residential at Low to Medium Densities (SF2)zoning district.
A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Chris Presley and seconded by Council Member Mike
Lester to approve Ordinance No. 15,113, related to Item 3.b. The vote was as follows:
Ayes: Mayor Brandon Capetillo, Mayor Pro Tem Chris Presley, Council Member
Charles Johnson, Council Member Jacob Powell, and Council Member
Mike Lester
Nays: None
Other: Council Member Laura Alvarado (Absent) and Council Member Heather
Betancourth (Absent)
Approved
ORDINANCE NO. 15,113
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN,
TEXAS, AMENDING THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP OF THE CITY OF
BAYTOWN TO REZONE APPROXIMATELY 0.079 ACRES LOCATED AT
2111 ONTARIO AVENUE, LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS TRACT 6A, BLOCK
13 IN THE CENTRAL HEIGHTS REPLAT SUBDIVISION, BAYTOWN,
HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS, FROM A GENERAL COMMERCIAL (GC)
ZONING DISTRICT TO A MIXED RESIDENTIAL AT LOW TO MEDIUM
DENSITIES (SF2) ZONING DISTRICT; PRESCRIBING A MAXIMUM
PENALTY OF TWO THOUSAND AND NO/100 DOLLARS ($2,000.00);
PROVIDING A REPEALING CLAUSE; CONTAINING A SAVINGS CLAUSE;
AND PROVIDING FOR THE PUBLICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE
THEREOF.
4. PROPOSED ANNEXATION OF APPROXIMATELY 62.02 ACRES LOCATED
GENERALLY EAST OF N. MAIN ST AND E. WALLISVILLE ROAD AND FM 1942
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June 9,2022
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a. Consider a resolution granting the petition for the proposed annexation of
approximately 62.02 acres of land located generally east of North Main Street between East
Wallisville Road and FM 1942.
Planning and Development Services Director Martin Scribner presented the item and explained
that Council would be accepting the application for the proposed annexation as it was the first step
in the annexation process for the property in question. Mr. Scribner recalled that the year prior,
Council had annexed and zoned the portion of about seventy acres to Mixed Residential at Low to
Medium Densities("SF2"). South of that,Castle Rock Development had been rezoned to SF2 with
the intention of putting about 270 single-family homes on that property. However, it was recently
brought to staffs attention that the developers were looking to expand that project. Thus, the
property would be part of Bay Creek.
Mr. Scribner noted that the City had a Development Agreement and a Public Improvement District
("PID") for that property as well. However, the developer would not be allowed to add to the
existing PID and would have to do an additional one if that was what they chose, which would be
done in a separate process and the rezone would be a separate process as well. The intent was to
go to an SF2 to extend the residential development; however, the owner had not yet applied for
the rezone.
A motion was made by Council Member Charles Johnson and seconded by Council Member Jacob
Powell to approve Resolution No. 2787, related to Item 4.a. The vote was as follows:
Ayes: Mayor Brandon Capetillo, Mayor Pro Tem Chris Presley, Council Member
Charles Johnson, Council Member Jacob Powell, and Council Member
Mike Lester
Nays: None
Other: Council Member Laura Alvarado (Absent) and Council Member Heather
Betancourth(Absent)
Approved
RESOLUTION NO. 2787
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN,
TEXAS, GRANTING THE PETITION OF CASTLEROCK COMMUNITIES,
LLC, FOR THE PROPOSED ANNEXATION OF APPROXIMATELY 62.02
ACRES, LOCATED GENERALLY EAST OF NORTH MAIN STREET
BETWEEN EAST WALLISVILLE ROAD AND FM 1942, IN THE GEORGE
ELLIS LEAGUE, A-21, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS; AUTHORIZING THE
PREPARATION OF A SERVICE PLAN; AND PROVIDING FOR THE
EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF.
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June 9,2022
Page 7 of 16
5. REPORTS
a. Receive a report on a new sign kiosk program for residential builders in the City of
Baytown.
Planning and Development Services Director Martin Scribner presented the item and relayed the
City had been approached several times in the past asking about what they were doing for bandit
signs that were all over the City, especially, the signs out on weekends that residential home
builders put out to get traffic going on their current projects. He noted other cities used a program
where they had signed kiosks in the right of ways for directional signs for home builders with the
intent of cutting back as much of that bandit sign blight as possible.
Mr. Scribner noted the City had been approached again by a local company and they had a Home
Builder Program at no cost to the City. The company managed the entire program, so the City
would get the company to set up the locations of the signs and what the signage would look like.
The builders, themselves, paid for the program and the company that managed it. The builders
endorsed that type of program because they understood the value of it. Mr. Scribner noted the
builders were major players that wanted to be good partners with the City as well.
Mr. Scribner stated that the City did have some options on the design of the signs with, again, no
cost to the City. The City Manager and Mr. Scribner discussed that they would get all the details
ready to get that going. At the current stage, staff wanted to make sure that when the Council
Members saw the sign kiosk, they would know how that came about and where that came from.
As the report was not an action item, Mayor Capetillo inquired for any questions or comments
from Council. Council Member Johnson asked if the City had already considered where they
would put those signs. Mr. Scribner replied they had not gotten to that level of detail as they had
not signed a contract with the company yet. Council Member Johnson requested Council receive
a heads-up as to where they would be looking to place them. Mr. Scribner assured Council that
City staff would dictate where those signs would go and not the company. The company would
come with recommendations and staff would ultimately decide and oversee that.
In regards to the statement that the building community supported the program, Mayor Pro Tem
Presley wondered if they were aware Council was considering it and had been sent a letter or
something to that fact. Mr. Scribner answered with that specifically, no. Staff only knew as a
general rule that larger builders—D.R. Horton, Lennar, Castle Rock—dealt with that particular
company on a regular basis. However, the City could provide that letter if Council so wished.
Mayor Pro Tern Presley believed that was a good step so the builders would have the opportunity
to go before Council and object if they so desired. Mr. Scribner noted the program would not
change the current code in any way and it provided the builders with an additional way to get
advertising on the street. At which point, the City would enforce the current code more strongly
as the City provided that opportunity. Mayor Pro Tern Presley requested clarification that the
builders could then augment or supplement with bandit signs. Mr. Scribner reiterated there would
be no change to the sign code. However, staff would propose some changes to the sign code soon,
but that would be a separate item.
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June 9,2022
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Council Member Lester echoed Mayor Pro Tem Presley's concern to make sure companies that
wanted to be in that program, but would still be allowed to have their small signs if they wanted
to do that. Mr. Scribner confirmed they would be allowed to do that on the weekend as that was
the current code that was not changing. For the long term, staff did see that as a code enforcement
issue that they would like to clean up as the program, in and of itself, did not do that.
6. DISCUSSIONS
a. Receive and discuss a presentation from Frontier Communications, relating to
infrastructure expansion.
Assistant to the City Manager Brian Moran introduced Mr. Davis Russell who was the Vice
President of External Affairs for Frontier Communications. Mr. Moran relayed Mr. Russell and
his team would share the exciting news that Frontier planned to bring high-speed internet to
Baytown. The Frontier team would discuss their timeline, the impact their project would have on
residents, as well as the improved services.
Mr. Russell further introduced himself, his presentation, and his colleagues present with him that
night. On to his presentation, Mr. Russell stated Frontier would build the network by extending
fiber optic cables to customers' homes and businesses directly from their local switching center.
From the local switching center, Frontier would use high intensity lasers to direct communications
over the different wavelengths of light in to individual homes and businesses. Mr. Russell noted
that would not replace Frontiers existing Copper Network and people could remain on Copper if
they so choose to. Nonetheless, the new network would provide broadband speeds from fifteen
megabits per second up to two gigabits per second—with the potential to provide even faster
services in the future.
When speaking to people, Mr. Russell received the reaction of why there was a need to be faster
than two gigabits per second. Mr. Russell relayed that he was fortunate enough to have that Fiber
Optic service at his home for eighteen years. However, eighteen years ago, he had a fifteen
megabits of download speeds,which was awesome at that time,but that was not adequate anymore.
The Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") identified download speeds of twenty-five
megabits as the minimum amount and noted an increase in demand was inevitable as more devices
were enabled to use that type of network. Frontier's Fiber Optic Network using laser technology
would be able to handle that.
Next, Mr. Russell displayed a simplified depiction of how Frontier's Fiber would reach customers.
Frontier's Fiber Optic Network was almost identical to Frontier's Copper Network—only a lot
faster. With some companies, a customer had to share bandwidth with their neighbors but that was
not the case with Frontier's network. Frontier's network was different because it was symmetrical.
Mr. Russell explained that meant the speeds were the same in both directions. If customers signed
up for a five-hundred megabits,they would have five hundred megabits for downloads and uploads
which was fairly unique in the industry at that time.
Mr. Russell gave further examples of how the network could help and be useful to Baytown and
customers. To build the network, Frontier would have to place new cables around town with the
help of the City's Public Works Department in getting those permits that Frontier needed. Mr.
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Russell stated Frontier would be placing cables throughout the rest of the year and probably into
2023 as Baytown was a large market. Frontier planned to cover almost all of the community within
their serving territory, which sometimes did not match up exactly with city limits. Thus, there
could be some parts of the City that were not in Frontier's serving territory.
Before building, Frontier would work with the City on permits and also planned to distribute door
hangers to homes and businesses in the area. The door hangers would have information about what
Frontier was doing and contact information if people had questions. Mr. Russell could not
guarantee that people would not call City staff, but Frontier's goal was to try to take as much of
that load off of the City as possible. In addition to the door hangers, Frontier would post signs at
the main entry points working with the City on any sign ordinance they may have.
On another note, Mr. Russell stated Frontier required vendors to take pictures or videos before
construction. In that way, Frontier would know what things looked like before and would make
sure that in their restoration efforts it would look that way once finished. With that, Mr. Russell
displayed images of what the buried facilities would look like. Frontier did not dig open trenches,
but backfilled any holes created by the boring once the work was completed. Mr. Russell further
discussed that installation process and noted the safety of their customers, employees, and vendors
were of the utmost importance. Frontier would take the steps necessary to make residents aware
of what was happening and ensure that the work would be performed safely and to city standards.
Mr. Russell notified there could be traffic control during the build due to the equipment at use.
Furthermore, Mr. Russell went through more images and discussed how those would be set up. It
was noted that the service was scalable for technology that would come done the road five or ten
years from now as the capacity for Fiber was enormous. Mr. Russell mentioned he was aware that
Council had been discussing options for bringing high speed broadband to Baytown and hoped the
investment he described that night would help address that strategic initiative for the City. Frontier
was ready to build out for the first 16,000 homes in the first phase of the project right away. After
a few more words of appreciation, Mr. Russell wished to address any questions or concerns from
Council.
Council Member Lester requested to see Frontier's service area that was mentioned to may or may
not be in the full city limit. Mr. Russell replied Frontier would provide maps and drawings to City
staff as they worked. Frontier had to build out from their switching centers where the main truck
cables would branch off to go to different neighborhoods. Then, Frontier would be able to provide
those maps to the City as they did that. Council Member Johnson questioned what area of town
would those first 16,000 homes. Mr. Russell deferred to his colleague present who was a subject
matter expert, who relayed he would not share that information that evening due to competitive
reasons, but he could get with City staff to provide that to Council.
Council Member Johnson further questioned how far ahead would those door hangers be placed
in neighborhoods. Mr. Ryan replied, typically, it would be forty-eight hours, but some
municipalities had asked for seventy-two. Frontier would work with City staff. Whatever was
recommended, that was what Frontier would follow. With that, Council Member Johnson
suggested as much time as possible to let citizens know. Mayor Capetillo briefly inquired about
the work Frontier would do and it was noted there would not be any road closers. Mayor Capetillo
believed that was pretty minimal and opined the door hangers were mainly just a courtesy. Council
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Member Johnson countered noting it was mentioned there would be a need to direct traffic. Mr.
Ryan stated there could be some areas in residential areas, if the streets were narrow, were they
may need traffic control. Nonetheless, it would it be on their permit drawings. There was further
discussion confirming traffic impact would be as minimal as possible.
Mayor Capetillo expressed his appreciation to Frontier for coming to Baytown and bringing Fiber.
It was utility that Mayor Capetillo believed would be needed now and as Baytown continued to
grow. The perspective of Mayor Capetillo was that Baytown was in need of high-speed Fiber and
not just in the new areas,but the older areas too. He appreciated everything Frontier and City staff
could do to try to get that installed and constructed with minimal impact as possible.
In mentioning the older areas,Mayor Pro Tern Presley noted Council Member Alvarado had talked
on that point numerous of times over the last six years. Mr. Russell assured Frontier would build
out to their entire network in the new and older parts of town. One thing the City could help
Frontier on, as they went through the permitting process, was that the City could make Frontier
aware of new development as they would like to accommodate those new homes on the front end
rather than they come in after the fact. Mayor Capetillo replied that he hoped staff could
communicate that on residential development. In addition,Mayor Capetillo commented he wanted
it to be a requirement that developers lay the conduit in the ground for that type of infrastructure,
if possible. As Council had discussed about that service and as it was also in the City's Strategic
Plan, Mayor Capetillo commented it was good to see it progressed thus far.
b. Receive and discuss a presentation from Accessology Too, LLC relating to the ADA
Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan.
Assistant to the City Manager Brian Moran introduced Ms. Kristi Avalos, President and CEO of
Accessology. Accessology was the consulting firm that would assist Baytown with the
development of the City's Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") Transition Plan. During the
last three months, Ms. Avalos and her team had evaluated the City's buildings, facilities, parks,
playgrounds, sidewalks, and signalized interactions. Also, Accessology would review the City's
policies, programs, and activities over the next several months.
Ms. Avalos first wished to discuss the goals and objectives of the whole ADA Transition Plan that
would start with making the community more accessible for anybody regardless of their abilities.
Ms. Avalos introduced her Accessology and Kimley-Horn team. The goals and objectives of the
ADA Transition Plan were listed as the following:
• Improve Accessibility for All Citizens
• Encourage Participation from the Local Disabled Population
• Educate the City on the Requirements of the ADA
• Develop a Comprehensive List of Barriers
• Provide Detailed Outline of Methods to Remove Barriers
• Provide a Schedule with Cost Projections for the Removal of Barriers
• Identify Funding Sources that could be Utilized for Barrier Removal
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She noted the ADA was not the only law involved when it came to accessibility as it went all the
way back to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Ms. Avalos explained it had been a requirement to
have a Transition Plan since then and was also a requirement under Section 504. As that was put
together, Mr. Avalos's team would satisfy both the ADA and the 504 requirements to make sure
the City was fully protected. It was nothing new, but the ADA had been the driving force.
The basic requirement was that anything the City had or did would have to be for everybody. The
ADA was not a law that came in and stated what the City had to do so, any program that the City
offered would have to be offered to everybody. If a building were built, it needed to be built to
meet everyone's need.The basic requirement,as a government entity,expected the City to develop
and maintain a Transition Plan. Ms.Avalos and her team would put that in a format where it would
be like a living document. It provided the community with a voice and to understand what was
happening in their community. Ms. Avalos added her team would also help provide a schedule for
the upgrade and the remediation of curb ramps.
Ms. Avalos relayed there were four main elements to the Transition Plan. First, there was the list
of everything that needed to be fixed on the City's physical barriers, which she referred to that list
as "inventory." If it did not say how it would be fixed, when it would be fixed, and who was
responsible for fixing it, it was not a plan. Therefore, Ms. Avalos and her team would add those
elements once they received that inventory to create a full plan. She reiterated they would not tell
the City what to do, but they would sit with the team that Mr. Moran had assembled and discuss
what would work for Baytown.
Moreover, Ms. Avalos and her team would describe the method that would be necessary to remove
the barriers. The team would have picture documentation of any barrier that they would find.
Likewise, Ms. Avalos added her team would go through other things as well. For example, an
annual event hosted by a third party in a City park. If the third party brought in inaccessible porta
potties and the City then received a complaint,there was a contractual agreement between the third
party and the City that stated whose fault it would really be. Ms. Avalos and her team would look
at those contractual agreements to make sure the City had the protections necessary so that
requirement would be on the third party. Ms. Avalos further listed other programs that her team
would want to make sure were held in accessible locations and that the requirements for
participation would not be exclusive.
The facilities up for ADA Evaluation were listed as the following:
• 38 Buildings
• 42 Parks
• 115 Signalized Intersections
• 202 miles of Right of Way Sidewalk
• 25.2 miles of Park Trails
• 67 Transit Stops
At that time, Ms. Avalos and her team had done about forty-five of the City's buildings and parks,
all of the signalized intersections and public right of ways, and the majority of the park trails. The
team had not started on the transit stops yet, but would through the end of June. Ms. Avalos
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June 9,2022
Page 12 of 16
explained it would all be done live and the data would be available almost immediately. From
there, staff could ask questions and the team would get a report for every barrier that they find.
There would be a dashboard that would allow the City to do planning and budgeting. It was a
simple GIS database with a dashboard that Accessology would provide and teach the City how to
use and presented an image of what a GIS ArcMAP Display looked like.
The Transition Plan's development process was to prioritize improvements,develop improvement
costs, and develop an implementation schedule. On the costs, Ms. Avalos stated they would
provide budgetary numbers and not the full cost estimation as they would not know, for example,
what would be behind walls. It would just be a cost estimation for the barrier removal itself. The
team would help the City develop a schedule which they could not develop until they knew the
costs. Ms. Avalos relayed the Department of Justice did not care how long the City's program
would be as long as it was reasonable to the size of the entity. Another factor mentioned, would
be the City's budgetary constraints. On the note of prioritization,Ms.Avalos discussed a case were
a sidewalk was at an 11.4%cross slope and a disabled person in a wheelchair tipped over,hit their
head, and was killed. Thus, severe issues with a lot of pedestrian traffic would be prioritized to
level one. Her team would approach that in a risk management perspective.
Ms.Avalos displayed an image of and talked through what a report would look like. For buildings,
the team would use the Means ADA Compliance Pricing Guide software program. For public right
of ways, the team would use the current Texas Department of Transportation ("TxDOT") twelve
month moving statewide averages. Contingencies would also be added. Engineering, or
architectural, design would have an added 15% and construction contingency would have an
additional 20%. Ms. Avalos explained that was for the City to have a good budget number to work
with over the years. Those planning level improvement costs were estimates just for the
accessibility related improvements. Additional considerations, such as aesthetic upgrades, were
things that the City might want to consider while having the barrier upgraded. Current market
conditions and constructions challenges that were not visible to the team should also be something
for the City to consider.
On a final note, Ms. Avalos stated the team would be providing sixteen hours of training with
twenty-seven different courses the City would get to choose from. With that, Ms. Avalos was
happy to entertain any questions from Council. Mayor Capetillo asked that if there was a citizen
that would contact them regarding an issue, how would the City receive that. Ms. Avalos replied
all that information would be under the living document she previously discussed. Also, there was
a requirement under the law that the City put in a grievance process for citizens to communicate
complaints.Then,those would go directly to the person the City decided to address that efficiently.
Mayor Capetillo gave an instance where the City may have some sidewalks that met all the needs,
but then something would be built and changed, and asked what would happen when that private
or commercial development did not meet accessibility Ms.Avalos responded they generally would
recommend that the City have in their construction package for builders in the community the
City's list of requirements for what they do when building in the community. Other cities had even
set up an ordinance that required developers before building to have ADA training.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
June 9,2022
Page 13 of 16
7. CONSENT
A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Chris Presley and seconded by Council Member Charles
Johnson to suspend Consent Agenda Item 7.b. The vote was as follows:
Ayes: Mayor Brandon Capetillo, Mayor Pro Tem Chris Presley, Council Member
Charles Johnson, Council Member Jacob Powell, and Council Member
Mike Lester
Nays: None
Other: Council Member Laura Alvarado (Absent) and Council Member Heather
Betancourth(Absent)
Approved
A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Chris Presley and seconded by Council Member Jacob
Powell to approve Consent Agenda Items 7.a. through 7.d., with the exception Item 7.b., which
was suspended. The vote was as follows:
Ayes: Mayor Brandon Capetillo, Mayor Pro Tem Chris Presley, Council Member
Charles Johnson, Council Member Jacob Powell, and Council Member
Mike Lester
Nays: None
Other: Council Member Laura Alvarado (Absent) and Council Member Heather
Betancourth (Absent)
Approved
a. Consider an ordinance authorizing the closeout, acceptance,and fmal payment of the
2018 Annual Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation contract year three to Texas Pride Utilities,
LLC.
ORDINANCE NO. 15,114
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN,
TEXAS, ACCEPTING THE 2018 ANNUAL SANITARY SEWER
REHABILITATION PROJECT—YEAR 3; AUTHORIZING FINAL PAYMENT
OF THE SUM OF FORTY-NINE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED SIXTY-
FOUR AND 20/100 DOLLARS ($49,864.20) TO TEXAS PRIDE UTILITIES
LLC, FOR SAID PROJECT; AND PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE
THEREOF.
b. Consider an ordinance to reject the bids for the Annual Sulfur Dioxide Contract,
which were received on April 29, 2022, at 2:00 P.M.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
June 9,2022
Page 14 of 16
Item was suspended.
c. Consider an ordinance authorizing Amendment No. 15 to the Interlocal Agreement
with Harris County for Circulator Bus Service in the City of Baytown.
ORDINANCE NO. 15,115
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN,
TEXAS, AUTHORIZING AMENDMENT NO. 15 TO THE INTERLOCAL
AGREEMENT WITH HARRIS COUNTY FOR CIRCULATOR BUS SERVICE
IN THE CITY OF BAYTOWN; AUTHORIZING PAYMENT TO HARRIS
COUNTY IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY
THOUSAND AND NO/100 DOLLARS ($280,000.00); MAKING OTHER
PROVISIONS RELATED THERETO; AND PROVIDING FOR THE
EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF.
d. Consider an ordinance approving the First Amendment to the Interlocal Agreement
with Harris County for Market Street Improvements.
ORDINANCE NO. 15,116
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN,
TEXAS, AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO
EXECUTE AND THE CITY CLERK TO ATTEST TO THE FIRST
AMENDMENT TO THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH HARRIS
COUNTY FOR THE MARKET STREET IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT; AND
PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF.
8. APPOINTMENTS
a. Consider appointments to the Baytown Municipal Development District.
Mayor Capetillo noted a citizen had signed up to speak regarding this item.
(Zoom) Mr. Davis Isaac stated he would like to discuss the Municipal Development District
("MDD"). As Council was aware, he noted there were historically representative issues with
Baytown's power structures. Mr. Isaac believed one of those, specifically, was the MDD Board.
The Mayor and Council were already on that Board with only three or four members of the
community.Mr. Isaac stated the members being reappointed that night were not listed on the City's
website. Ms. Mary Hernandez was to be reappointed for the sixth time and if reappointed,the new
term would expire in May of 2024. Mr. Isaac expressed frustration with that term limit and wished
for more representation. The MDD Board dealt with the City's sales tax and he would like to see
transformative leadership out of the City Council. With committee appointments, Mr. Isaac
reiterated his frustration if Ms. Hernandez had been on the MDD Board for over eighteen years. If
that were the case, Baytown had serious representative issues in the government. Mr. Isaac noted
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
June 9,2022
Page 15of16
appointees could not appear at the meetings to get their reappointments which he would like to see
those citizens to be able to show up to City Hall.
Mayor Capetillo thanked Mr. Isaac. Since two of the Council Members were not present, Mayor
Capetillo recommended Council table the item to the July 14th meeting, as he did not have time to
review all four of the submitted applicants. Mayor Pro Tern Presley had seen the applications and
stated it was good to see some new names that were not already appointed on other committees.
A motion was made by Council Member Charles Johnson and seconded by Council Member Jacob
Powell to suspend Agenda Items 8.a. and 8.b. to the City Council Meeting scheduled for July 14,
2022. The vote was as follows:
Ayes: Mayor Brandon Capetillo, Mayor Pro Tem Chris Presley, Council Member
Charles Johnson, Council Member Jacob Powell, and Council Member
Mike Lester
Nays: None
Other: Council Member Laura Alvarado (Absent) and Council Member Heather
Betancourth (Absent)
Approved
b. Consider appointments to the Baytown Hospitality Public Facilities Corporation.
Agenda item considered in conjunction with Item 8.a., as it is composed of the same members as
the Municipal Development District.
9. MANAGER'S REPORT
As the City Manager was absent, Council did not consider Agenda Item 9.a.
10. COUNCIL MEMBER DISTRICT REPORT
a. Receive a report from Council Member Laura Alvarado as it relates to Council
District No. One.
As Council Member Alvarado was absent, Council did not consider Agenda Item 10.a.
11. EXECUTIVE SESSION
a. Recess into and conduct an executive session pursuant to Section 551.071 of the Texas
Government Code to seek the advice of the City's attorneys regarding pending or
contemplated litigation involving the City of Baytown.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
June 9,2022
Page 16 of 16
At 7:49 P.M., Mayor Capetillo recessed and convened in to an executive session pursuant to
Section 551.071 of the Texas Government Code to seek the advice of the City's attorneys regarding
pending or contemplated litigation involving the City of Baytown.
At 8:12 P.M., Mayor Capetillo reconvened the open meeting and announced that in accordance
with the 551.102 of the Texas Government Code, no action was taken in the Executive Session.
12. ADJOURN
With there being no further business to discuss, Mayor Capetillo adjourned the June 9, 2022, City
Council Regular Meeting at 8:12 P.M.
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