2023 01 18 CC Minutes, Retreat (Day 2) MINUTES OF THE RETREAT, DAY 2,MEETING OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN
January 18, 2023
The City Council of the City of Baytown,Texas,met on the second day of a Retreat on Wednesday,
January 18, 2023, at 8:40 A.M. in the West Parlor Meeting Room of the Grand Galvez Hotel lo-
cated at 2024 Seawall Blvd, Galveston, Texas 77550, with the following in attendance:
Laura Alvarado Council Member
Sarah Graham Council Member
Kenrick Griffith Council Member
Heather Betancourth Council Member
Jacob Powell Mayor Pro Tem
Mike Lester Council Member
Brandon Capetillo Mayor
Jason Reynolds City Manager
Brian Moran Assistant to the City Manager
Chad Wright Consultant
Mayor Capetillo convened the January 18, 2023, City Council Retreat Meeting with a quorum
present at 8:40 A.M., and with all members present.
1. FIGURING THE HOW
a. Creating Stability.
b. Establishing Trust.
c. Defining Success.
After Mayor Capetillo presented welcoming remarks, Consultant Chad Wright began facilitating
the meeting. Mr. Wright led the discussion and allowed Council to come to a consensus on the
framework identified in the previous day of the Retreat. This allowed the Council Members to
build trust with one another, Staff, and City Administration. If that framework was good for the
group,Mr.Wright encouraged those in attendance with the question:how could they begin moving
forward in a new direction? He posed a few additional questions for the group to consider based
on the consensus of what Council wanted to be committed to do and how they wanted to operate.
Mr.Wright closed his presentation recommending the team to think about their healthy leadership
discussion on a regular basis. He encouraged them to use some of their vocabulary so they could
learn how to discuss difficult conversations in a manner that was representative of the group. This
discussion,which had been led by Mr.Wright,focused on the first three bullet points of the agenda:
Creating Stability,Establishing Trust with agreements, and Defining Success.
d. Working with Staff as it pertains to Capacity and Communication.
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January 18,2023
Page 2 of 4
City Manager Jason Reynolds lead the discussion about working with Staff to improve communi-
cation,relationships, and to better understand the organization's capacity.Mr. Reynolds addressed
the changes with their organizational chart by presenting the following information:
• Mr.Brant Gary would serve as Interim Assistant City Manager over operations:
- Public Works and Engineering, Parks, and Planning and Development Services.
• Ms. Carol Flynt would serve as Interim Assistant City Manager over administration:
- Health, City Clerk, Library, Human Resources, and Information Technology.
• Mr.Jason Reynolds would serve as City Manager and would oversee:
- Finance, Legal, Fire, Police, and Public Affairs.
As a part of the change, Finance Director Victor Brownlees would be moving from his role as
Director to oversee the strategic growth and investment for the City. Another change had been
made with the Executive Team that helped Mr. Reynolds with strategy execution. The team con-
sisted of Public Affairs Director Thomas Reeves, Mr. Brownlees, Mr. Gary, Assistant to the City
Manager Brian Moran, Ms. Flynt, and Mr. Reynolds. Mr. Reynolds stated he would reassess
around the seven-month mark to begin filling in the two Assistant City Manager roles permanently.
2. 12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M.- RECESS FOR LUNCH
At 11:55 A.M., Mayor Capetillo recessed for lunch and later reconvened the Retreat at 1:10 P.M.
3. COUNCIL OPERATIONS
a. City Council's Goals and Priorities for 2024.
City Manager Jason Reynolds initiated the discussion on the priorities of Council and made note
of the five strategic directives: Economic Prosperity, Outdoor Recreation and Amenities, Critical
Infrastructure and Traffic Flow, Beautification and Environmental Stewardship, and Building a
Connected Baytown. Mr. Reynolds asked the Council Members to select their top three directives
they believed the City should focus the majority of its time, energy, and resources on.
The top three directives chosen by Council were as follows:
1. Critical Infrastructure and Traffic Flow
2. Economic Prosperity
3. Beautification and Environmental Stewardship
Furthermore, the Council Members listed their individual priorities as follows:
Sarah Graham-District 1
• Old Kmart Building on Pruett(Council Member Alvarado concurred with this item)
• Old Vacant Homes on W Texas: How Could They Be Addressed?
• Utilize and Capitalize on Baytown's Waterfront
Laura Alvarado-District 2
City Council Retreat Meeting Minutes
January 18,2023
Page 3 of 4
• Old and Vacant Buildings
• Small Business Retention and Development
Brandon Capetillo-Mayor
• Pro-Business Plan in Baytown
• Local Trade(Plumbers, Electricians, HVAC) Round Tables
- Intent: keep constant communication with them and receive feedback.
• Move the Election to May
Heather Betancourth-District 4
• Policy that states Council, and possibly former Council Members, cannot be involved
with Economic Development(ED) Programs
• Term Limits for Committees
• Staff Resources for Code Enforcement
• Developer Backstops
- Intent:put something in place so developers cannot rezone on a conceptual idea,
change their mind after, and build something else (e.g. Blue Heron).
Kenrick Griffith-District 3
• Develop the Bayway Corridor
• Traffic on Pin Oak and Bayway
Mike Lester-District 6
• City Owned Properties
• Code Enforcement
• Reduce Amount of Regulations
Jacob Powell-District 5
• Answer Traffic Calming Requests on Baytown Engage
b. City Council's Code of Conduct
No discussion on this item had been recorded by the Staff present at the Retreat.
c. Revision of Scope and/or Creation of New Committees.
The discussion on Council sub-committees first centered over the rules and procedures as well as
who served on the Architectural and Engineering Committee and the Finance Committee. City
Manager Jason Reynolds noted Staff would work with each committee to determine a framework
on responsibilities, focus, and overall policy that would be adopted by the entire Council. He ad-
ditionally recommended to change the Architectural and Engineering Committee to the Capital
Improvement Plan(CIP) Committee. The change was so there would be more focus on determin-
ing the projects in the CIP and for increased communication on those large-scale capital projects.
The Council Members serving on the committees mentioned were listed as follows:
City Council Retreat Meeting Minutes
January 18,2023
Page 4 of 4
Finance Committee Members: Council Member Betancourth and Council Member Powell
CIP Committee Members: Council Member Lester and Council Member Alvarado
Mr. Reynolds mentioned an additional committee could be created if Council so desired. The City
Charter allowed for Council to oversee slum and blighted districts; thus, further discussion took
place over the possibility of creating that committee. Council Member Betancourth expressed in-
terest in serving on that committee if it were created.
Moreover, there was discussion on the Animal Control Advisory Committee. Emphasis was given
to cats and that the City reassessed the formula it used for their adoption/survival rate. Council
Member Lester provided the group with the No Kill definition that had been established by Coun-
cil.No Kill,by definition,was the 90%survival rate of animals that come out of the City's shelter.
d. Council Discretionary Funds.
Discussion took place over being in better alignment with the Municipal Court and City organiza-
tion.
4. ADJOURN
With there being no further business to discuss, Mayor Capetillo adjourned the January 18, 2023,
City Council Retreat, Day 2, at 3:30 P.M.
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NOTE: In the City Council Regular Meeting held on March 9, 2023, Council made the following
corrections to Items 3.a. and 3.b. of the City Council Retreat, Day 2, held on January 18, 2023:
3. COUNCIL OPERATIONS
a. City Council's Goals and Priorities for 2024.
Sarah Graham—District 2
• Old Kmart Building on Pruett(Council Member Alvarado concurred with this item)
• Old Vacant Homes on W Texas: How Could They Be Addressed?
• Utilize and Capitalize on Baytown's Waterfront
Laura Alvarado—District 1
• Old and Vacant Buildings
• Small Business Retention and Development
b. City Council's Code of Conduct
As Council previously held the discussion on their Code of Conduct in the City Council Retreat,
Day 1, held on January 17, 2023, no further discussion took place on the item.