2004 03 25 CC Minutes, Work Session MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION
OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN
• March 25, 2004
The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas, met in work session on March 25, 2004, at 4:45
p.m. in the Council Chamber of Baytown City Hall, 2401 Market Street, Baytown, Texas, with
the following in attendance:
Ronnie Anderson Council Member
Coleman Godwin Council Member
Calvin Mundinger Council Member
Don Murray Council Member
Mercedes Renteria IIl Council Member
Scott Sheley Council Member
Pete C. Alfaro Mayor
Gary Jackson City Manager
Bob Leiper Assistant City Manager
lgnacio Ramirez, Sr. City Attorney
Gary W.'Smith City Clerk
The meeting was opened with a quorum present after which the following business was
conducted:
•
Discuss Street Bond Program.
Gary Jackson, City Manager, reviewed the development of the Street Bond Program. Phases I
and Il were developed from Years 1 and 2. The voters approved $20 million for street repairs.
Council directed staff to obtain good data on which to base the decisions of which streets to
repair. In June 2002 the data was presented to Council. The data was reviewed in August 2002
by the Street Bond Committee and a list of streets was recommended. In December 2002
Council selected streets to be repaired. In October 2003 the plans and specifications were
approved. Phase I covers 2.6 miles of streets at a cost of$3,178,600. Amy, McFarland and
Fleetwood are under construction. Country Club Drive is waiting for a gas line relocation before
work begins and the work on Ashwood is beginning. The other streets will follow soon.
Phase II includes S. Pruett and N. Burnet Dr. This involves approximately 2 miles of streets and
will cost approximately $3.1 million. The bid is projected to be awarded on May 13, 2004.
Construction will take 300 days.
At this meeting Council will review the streets proposed to be repaired in Year 3. In April
Council will be asked to approve the streets and approve an engineering contract to prepare the
plans and specifications for the work.
Future projects include joint City-County projects for Raccoon Drive and Kilgore Road.
• The City's share of the Raccoon project is estimated to be$2 million. Harris County is the lead
agency on the project. The City's share of the Kilgore Road project is estimated to be $1.2
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Minutes of the Work Session—March 25, 2004
million. The project is to be considered for inclusion in the 2004-2005 fiscal year budget for
Harris County.
•
The process utilized to determine the streets to be recommended to Council relied on the
Pavement Condition data as the primary information. The 10 worst streets in each District were
selected. The 100 worst segments were reviewed to look for adjacent segments that would
logically fit for reconstruction. Each area was visually inspected. Volume was used as a way to
distinguish between segments that appeared equally in need of repair. Finally the process was
controlled by the $3.2 million yearly limitation and the $1.5 million per district limitation.
The cost estimates vary, based on the replacement material, either concrete or asphalt. The cost
estimates include a 30% contingency.
David Hamilton, Pate Engineers, reported that Pate looked at different types of construction in
developing the costs for each street segment.
Todd Calvin, Pate Engineers, outlined the criteria used in developing the proposed list of streets.
The primary criteria were the Pavement Condition Index developed by FugroBre in 2002. The
street type was residential. The usage was determined by homes per linear foot of roadway and
the geometries of the street. Each street was visually inspected. The proximity of recommended
segments was considered to package the project for efficiency. The expenditure limitation is
$3.2 million. The estimate to replace with concrete is $3.7 million. The estimate to replace with
asphalt is $2.6 million.
The streets recommended in District 1 are Florida and Avenue J. • 11111
•
The streets recommended in District 2 are North 4th, Newman, South 6th, and Hunnicut.
The streets recommended in District 3 are McArthur, Brownwood and Queens Court.
The streets recommended in District 4 are Craig, Bellview, Country Club View, Bridges,
Inwood, Kelly Lane, and McPhail.
The streets recommended in District 5 are Booker, Chaparral, Pecan Manor, Twisted Oak and
Carver.
The streets recommended in District 6 are N. 4`h, Briarwood, Peggy, Parkway, Lanes End, and
Danubina.
Mr. Jackson presented the costs of the phases and years by District.
Council Member Murray supported keeping Craig and Bellview as asphalt streets and did not
support the reconstruction of Country Club View and Kelly Lane.
Council Member Mundinger agreed that the streets in District 2 should be paved with asphalt.
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Minutes of the Work Session—March 25, 2004
Discuss possible reconfiguration of the traffic signals at the intersection of Garth Road and
• Riceland Avenue/Baytown Central Boulevard.
Mr. Jackson stated that the intersection needs evaluation, especially with new development
proposed at the intersection.
Bob Leiper, Assistant City Manager, reviewed the existing configuration and described the
changes for the proposed configuration. He related that often traffic stops when it is not intended
for the traffic to stop. The new configuration could be accomplished by moving the signals
controlling southbound Garth Road and upgrading the intersection with vehicle loops. If Council
approves by consensus, the matter will be taken to the A&E Committee for recommendation of
selection of an engineering firm to design the new configuration.
Mayor Alfaro determined that the consensus was for the matter to move forward.
Discuss Charter amendment process.
Mr. Jackson informed Council that the Charter Review Committee has asked staff to perform a
section by section review of the Charter for statutory or case law changes and changes for
efficiency. Staff has estimated that it will take 90 days to accomplish the task. After the
administrative review the committee will look at other changes. The other changes may require
further review.
• TML responded to an inquiry that the largest number of proposed amendments submitted on a
Charter election ballot was 77. This was done without a Commission. If multiple amendments
are proposed and not all are approved. additional interpretation problems may arise.
Mayor Alfaro related that Chairperson Floyd indicated that the public forums to be held by the
committee will come later in the process. He asked whether Council thought the public input
should be received by the Council or by the committee. Council Member Sheley suggested a
joint meeting between the Council and the committee and Council Member Mundinger
suggested that the committee be left to do its work.
Lawrence Wallace, Vice-chairperson. addressed Council and stated that the committee was
reorganizing its efforts and defining and redefining its path. He related that the committee would
prefer to work without regular interaction with Council and use city staff as a resource. The
committee will seek staff input on legal issues and changes that produce efficiencies in
government. The committee requested copies of the notebook that Council Member Sheley
prepared on how other cities amended their charters. The committee has discussed adding 2-4
additional members to the committee. The committee may appoint subcommittees to deal with
special issues. Presently the committee membership should remain the same. Finally, the
committee will consider whether it is the correct vehicle to recommend changes to the Charter.
Council Member Anderson questioned whether there was a practical limit on the number of
changes that can be proposed before the ballot becomes too long for a voter to consider.
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Minutes of the Work Session—March 25, 2004
Appointments.
Interim/Municipal Court Judge
40
Interim/Associate Municipal Court Judge
Discussion of these items were reserved for the regular session.
Discuss proposed adoption of 2003 International Codes.
Kevin Byal, Chief Building Official, explained that building safety depends on the utilization of
the best available regulations. The international Codes are being used by more entities than any
other set of codes. The,International Codes support each other and are consistent between codes.
The International Codes protect residents and occupants of structures during minor or major
disasters. The Fire Code provides a design to protect personnel involved in fire suppression.
Energy efficiency is gained through the Energy Conservation Code. The Property Maintenance
Code provides safety through proper maintenance of existing buildings. The new International
Existing Building Code provides flexibility in dealing with the refurbishing and revitalization of
existing buildings.
Adjourn.
There being no further business, Council Member Renteria moved adjournment. Council
Member Mundinger seconded the motion. The vote follows:
Aye: Council Members Anderson, Godwin, Mundinger, Murray, Renteria, and Sheley
Mayor Alfaro
Nay: None.
The motion carried and the meeting adjourned at 6:26 p.m.
Gary W. Smith, City Clerk