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2002 04 11 WS MinutesMINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN April 11, 2002 The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas, met in work session on April 11, 2002, at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber of Baytown City Hall, 2401 Market Street, Baytown, Texas, with the following in attendance: Ronnie Anderson Councilor Coleman Godwin Councilor Calvin Mundinger Councilor Don Murray Councilor Mercedes Renteria III Councilor Scott Sheley Councilor Pete C. Alfaro Mayor Monte Mercer City Manager Ignacio Ramirez City Attorney Gary W. Smith City Clerk The meeting was opened with a quorum present after which the following business was conducted: Discuss the operating plan for the Baytown Nature Center. City Manager Monte Mercer recognized Janet Simon, Merle and Howard Hunt, Wayne Gray, Susan Sloan and David Dauphin who have been instrumental in the development of the Baytown Nature Center. The Baytown Nature Center Subcommittee has approved the proposed operating recommendations. The Parks Board will again review the operating plan on May 2 and forward its recommendation to City Council. The Nature Center is scheduled to reopen on May 18. Travis Lovelace, Director of the Eddie V. Gray Wetlands Recreation and Education Center, outlined the operating plan. Vehicular traffic is proposed on the entry road to San Jacinto Point and the Butterfly Gardens. The proposal for access to the Reserve area is by pedestrian traffic only. Bicycles would be restricted to the entry road, San Jacinto Point and the Butterfly Gardens. The priorities adopted for the Nature Center are: 1. Conservation of the natural systems. 2. Education. 3. Passive recreation. Page 2 of 4 Minutes of the Work Session —April 11, 2002 The Nature Center has been recognized across the state and nation. When the reconstructed marshlands of the Nature Center are considered with those at the San Jacinto State Park, the total is more than 800 acres of marshland. The Nature Center provides a varied ecosystem and a habitat for endangered species, including the bald eagle and the peregrine falcon. Significant improvements have been made to the facility. The Nature Center is poised to be a significant attraction for "birders." Birding is the fastest growing outdoor activity. The wildlife preserve at High Island attracted 50,000 visitors last year. The recommendations are as follows: • Make the Nature Center a special use facility. • Open the Nature Center 30 minutes before sunrise and close it 30 minutes after sunset. • Restrict fishing to San Jacinto Point and prohibit fishing in the natural areas. • Restrict vehicles from the natural areas. • No pets, except guide dogs. • No fires. • No collecting of natural objects. • No swimming. • No boating. • Collect an entrance fee, gather demographic information on visitors, and provide a day -pass. • Provide safety patrols. The recommendations are modeled after the state plan and similar to Armand Bayou and High Island. Discuss the proposed revisions to the landscape ordinance. Growth Management, Long -Range Planning and the Building Ordinance Review Committee have suggested changes to the landscape ordinance. A joint meeting of the Commissions and Committee are planned to discuss the ordinance. Bob Leiper, Assistant City Manager, reported that the ordinance was adopted in 1998. In October, 2000, the Building Ordinance Review Committee was appointed and reviewed the landscape ordinance, along with other ordinances. The committee submitted its final report in July, 2001 with recommendations for amendments to the ordinance. Long Range Planning has discussed the ordinance at each of its meetings since April, 2001 to the present (except September, 2001). Growth Management has reviewed and discussed the ordinance. A joint meeting was held to reach a general consensus on amendments to the ordinance. Another joint meeting is scheduled for April 23. Page 3 of 4 Minutes of the Work Session —April 11, 2002 i The proposals for change involve additions to the definitions, a reduction in tree height in the credit for existing trees, reduction in the number of required shrubs, elimination of shrubs in the parking area in lots less than 5,000 square feet, in lots between 5,000 and 10,000 square feet, the percentage of landscaping is reduced to 5 %, and in lots over 10,000 square feet, the landscaping is limited to 7 %. The remaining issues relate to the depth of the streetscape and the location of the landscaping. The intention of the changes is to reduce the impact on small businesses. Presently, landscaping is required to be entirely within the parking area. The proposed changes will allow 50% of the landscaping to be outside the parking area. Discuss Fire Department four - person staffing. City Manager Monte Mercer reviewed with City Council the previous meetings during which the subject was discussed. Staff has reviewed the issue since last year. SB 382 has impacted the service level provided by the City. The fiscal considerations for the next budget year include the $250,000 impact of losing the Crime Control and Prevention District funding and the addition of up to 15 firefighters to provide 4- person staffing, at a recurring cost of $670,000. To meet the challenges of the next budget, various issues are being reviewed, including: • Review of new programs and other options to reduce operational expenses. • Defer capital purchases, except those that impact public safety or reduce liability. • Review vacant positions. • Review the operational impact of the bond program. • Contract services, if it presents an opportunity to save operating expenses. • Review enhancements of services. The service level provided is a policy decision. Information will be provided to allow Council to make the decisions about the service levels to be provided by the City. Recruiting for the Fire Department has been successful. Applications have been received from 217 candidates for the May 2 examination. Another 95 persons have called and expressed interest. Human Resources has attempted to contact all portions of the market. Internet and the print media have been used, as well as a diverse mixture of radio station advertisements. The Questions and Answers related to the proposed Charter amendment were reviewed. Councilors expressed their pleasure with the response to the recruiting campaign and encouraged public information concerning the impact on the budget. The average response time of the Fire Department is 4.4 minutes for the first unit to arrive and an additional 1.8 minutes for the second unit to arrive. Page 4 of 4 Minutes of the Work Session —April 11, 2002 Discuss appointments to the Growth Management and Development Commission and the Planning and Zoning Commission. Councilor Godwin reported that he would nominate Larry Haynes as the District 6 representative to Growth Management and Planning and Zoning. Discuss appointments to the Tow Truck Committee. Councilor Sheley stated that he would move the reappointment of Bobby Sutton and Lee Lombard to the Tow Truck Committee. Adjourn. Councilor Mundinger moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilor Anderson seconded the motion. The vote follows: Aye: Councilors Anderson, Godwin, Mundinger, Murray, Renteria and Sheley Mayor Alfaro Nay: None. The motion_�arried and the meeting adjourned at 6:17 p.m. r //( G W. mith ` City Clerk r