2004 11 11 WS MinutesMINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION
OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN
November 11, 2004
The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas, met in work session on November 11, 2004, at
5:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber, Baytown City Hall, 2401 Market Street, Baytown, Texas,
with the following in attendance:
Ronnie Anderson
Council Member
Sammy Mahan
Council Member
Don Murray
Council Member
Scott Sheley
Council Member
Calvin Mundinger Mayor
Gary M. Jackson
City Manager
Bob Leiper
Deputy City Manager
Ignacio 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 the East Little League's submission of a new appraisal and the acquisition of 15
acres on Ward Road.
Gary Jackson, City Manager, reminded City Council of the prior discussions of the land
acquisition and the prior appraisals. In 2001 the Scanlan Foundation had an appraisal performed
that determined the fair market value of the property to be $260,000. In 2003, the City
contracted with Chet Theiss for an appraisal of the property. The appraisal determined the fair
market value of the property to be $140,000. East Little League contracted with Gerald Teel to
perform an appraisal. The fair market value, according to the Teel appraisal, is $200,000.
Tim Treadway, appraiser with Gerald Teel, addressed City Council. He explained that he
performed the appraisal on October 14, 2004, using the sales comparison approach. He found no
direct comparables; therefore he used comparable sales in the area of tracts with similar utilities
and use. Mr. Treadway explained that the Vallone appraisal used smaller tracts and may have
overstated the value of the property. The Theiss appraisal included dated sales. This may have
understated the value. The zoning of the property and the current pressure for residential
development indicated a higher value.
Keith Ware, East Little League, stated that the Scanlan Foundation has verbally agreed to accept
an offer based on the Teel appraisal.
Mayor Mundinger asked staff to discuss a possible earnest money contract with the Scanlan
Foundation. If it appears that an earnest money contract can be negotiated, based on the Teel
appraisal, then the next agenda should include an item to approve the earnest money contract.
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Minutes of the Work Session — November 11, 2004
Council discussed the agreement with East Little League to bring the current facilities to the
standards currently used by the Parks and Recreation Department. Only when the facilities meet
the current standards will the City assume responsibility for maintenance of the facilities. Bob
Leiper, Deputy City Manager, noted that the City may elect to build new facilities.
Discuss filling of vacancy for Council District 3.
Mayor Mundinger stated that Council would determine if they were still at a deadlock on filling
the position. If the deadlock persists, then the Council should look at other applicants so that
District 3 has a representative. The seven applicants will be considered first, if no agreement is
reached, then other persons should be considered.
Council Member Sheley urged finding other persons with interest in serving District 3.
Council discussed the willingness of the original applicants to serve. Upon inquiry, it was
determined that Martha Barnett no longer was interested in seeking the appointment. Brandon
Capetillo was interested in seeking the appointment. No other applicant had expressed a desire
to be removed from consideration.
Mayor Mundinger concluded the discussion by noting that if no representative is selected during
the November 11, 2004 meeting, then more people will be solicited for consideration.
Discuss Police Neighborhood Overtime project.
Mr. Jackson stated that during the budget process, additional funds were added to the Police
Department overtime budget to be used in a manner that will best benefit the Police Department
and the neighborhoods.
Byron Jones, Chief of Police, reviewed the process used to solicit input from the neighborhood
watch groups and associations during the month of October. Based on the information, the
recommendation is to use the funds equally between the nine patrol districts. The use will be
determined when the neighborhood concerns are identified.
When asked how information and concerns would be received from the neighborhoods that do
not have active associations, Chief Jones responded that the Police Department would rely on the
Council Members to provide the information and concerns.
Chief Jones reminded Council that the usual overtime allocation was available to address
problems that arise in high crime areas.
Mr. Jackson stated that the plan was presented during the work session and that he anticipated
that Council would provide feedback to provide the final plan.
Mayor Mundinger stated that the original concept was a neighborhood traffic and crime plan.
The effort is to provide the widest impact in the community. This was not intended to chase "hot
spots."
Council Member Renteria arrived at 6:07 p.m.
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Minutes of the Work Session — November 11, 2004
Mayor Mundinger commended Chief Jones for the expenditure of his personal time in gathering
the information.
Discuss Enterprise Zone incentives and the nomination of Bayer MaterialScience LLC.
Mr. Jackson reviewed the previous actions of Council related to the ExxonMobil nomination and
the previous nomination of Bayer MaterialScience LLC. The public hearing on the regular
agenda will allow Council to approve all existing incentives in the City and to adopt them in a
resolution in order to be included in scoring by the state. The project will retain investment and
employment in the area. The proposed actions tonight are an effort to assist Bayer in making the
most competitive application.
Mr. Leiper stated that Bayer was nominated at the Council meeting on October 26, 2004. Since
that time, staff has learned of ways to assist Bayer in improving its application. Community
incentives are currently in place. If Council holds a public hearing and then includes the
incentives in the resolution, the actions will improve the application. The current and proposed
incentives were reviewed. All are presently offered. The proposed actions simply include the
incentives on the list.
Discuss the Decker Drive Landscape plan.
Jaime Hendrickson, Clark Condon & Assoc., addressed Council and described the plan. Spring
Gully is the northern boundary of the plan and the improvements stop before Rollingbrook. The
design is limited by the setbacks required by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
The setbacks vary from entrances, exits, main lanes and the frontage lanes. The plan will place
shade trees and ornamentals in the green areas where allowed by the setbacks. A denser planting
is planned for the area beside the elevated portion of the freeway. A complementary plan was
proposed for the area north of Spring Gully. This area is outside the current plan boundary.
Scott Johnson, Director of Parks and Recreation, stated that the City would provide the water for
the irrigation system. The area south of Rollingbrook was not included due to the presence of
concrete instead of grass, the setbacks, and the future plans of TxDOT to complete the
interchange.
Consider appointments.
Baytown Housing Finance Corporation.
Mayor Mundinger asked that Council consider the appointment of Sandra Miks to the
Corporation board.
Construction Board of Adjustments and Appeals.
No action was taken on this item.
Community Development Advisory Board.
No action was taken on this item.
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Minutes of the Work Session — November 11, 2004
Adjourn.
Council Member Renteria moved adjournment. Council Member Mahan seconded the motion.
The vote follows:
Ayes: Council Members Anderson, Mahan, Murray, Renteria, and Sheley
Mayor Mundinger
Nays: None.
The motion carried. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 6:26 p.m.
(laryOW. Smith
City Clerk