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2016 02 25 WS MinutesMINUTES OF THE REGULAR WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN February 25, 2016 The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas met in a Regular Work Session on Thursday, February 25, 2016, at 5:30 P.M., in the Hullum Conference Room of Baytown City Hall, 2401 Market Street, Baytown, Texas with the following in attendance: Brandon Capetillo Robert Hoskins David McCartney Chris Presley Mercedes Renteria Terry Sain Stephen DonCarlos Rick Davis Ignacio Ramirez Leticia Brysch Keith Dougherty Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Mayor City Manager City Attorney City Clerk Sergeant at Arms Mayor DonCarlos convened the February 25, 2016, City Council Regular Work Session with a quorum present at 5:33 P.M., all members were present with the exception of Council Member Renteria who arrived at 5:43 P.M. 1. a. Discuss amendments to the Baytown Yard Parking Ordinance. City Manager Davis stated that the yard parking ordinance was being brought forth to the Council again for their possible action during the following evening's council meeting. He stated that staff looked across the state regarding this issue in order to give the Council options moving forward. He stated that there are no cities in Texas that allow on lawn parking, but there are some that allow for a defense under certain circumstances should they not have any other alternative to on lawn parking. City Manager Davis stated that Assistant City Attorney Karen Horner would give Council a brief overview of their options regarding changes to the existing yard parking ordinance. Assistant City Attorney Karen Horner stated that the original yard parking ordinance was adopted by the Council in 2008. She stated staff looked at various forms of enforcement of this ordinance to help relieve the urban blight in the city, and that in the last three years staff has only issued 16 citations across the city related to on lawn parking. City Council Regular Work Session Minutes February 25, 2016 Page 2 of 5 Ms. Horner stated that staff had brought forth some proposed amendments for Council's consideration at the September 2015, meeting that included the following: to eliminate the four - hour defense of which states that someone can park on the lawn no longer than four hours; to allow on lawn parking parallel to the existing driveway, as long as it wasn't in front of the home; and to eliminate the four -hour on lawn parking allowance and add a defense. Ms. Homer stated that during the discussion in September, as it relates to on lawn parking, there were issues with creating a uniform system as different houses in different districts have different sizes and lot dimensions, therefore that option did not move forward. Ms. Homer further stated that the option being recommended is to eliminate the four -hour allowed parking and add a defense for on -site parking under certain circumstance, such as: (1) that there is no improved surface on the lot, and (2) no ability to park along the curb adjacent to the property. Ms. Horner explained that the citation process for the Health Department would not change and outlined the new process as follows: • a Health Department employee would go out and review the complaint site, • if there is a violation to the Code, the employee would issue a citations, • the person could then go to court and claim insufficiency to parking as there was no impervious surface and no on street parking available adjacent to the property. It will be at this point that the municipal court judge will decide if there is sufficient evidence to claim this defense and rule according to the information specific to each case. Mr. Mike Lester, Health Director, reiterated Ms. Homer's point that the enforcement of the yard parking ordinance is and will remain complaint driven. When asked to elaborate on the process, Mr. Lester stated that the current process is the following: • Health Department staff receives complaint, • Staff sends the property owner notice of compliance, • Staff will check back on the property in one week, • If the issue is not corrected, a citation is issued to the property owner. Mr. Lester also stated that if the yard ordinance is changed, his staff would undertake an education process that allows citizens some time to conform to the new rules and would send two notices of compliance instead of just one. City Manager Davis stated that staff continues to be pro- active in three categories: (1) substandard housing (2) junked or abandoned vehicles and (3) grass and weeds. The Council briefly discussed inoperable vehicles in yards, but was directed by staff that this item was a separate ordnance and not part of the yard parking ordinance at hand. The Council discussed what is considered a defense should a citizen be issued a yard parking citation. Council Member Presley stated that he felt that the defense option placed too much onus on the property owner and that the variance option discussed in prior meetings seemed to be a City Council Regular Work Session Minutes February 25, 2016 Page 3 of 5 more user friendly option. City Manager Davis stated that staff felt the defense was a cleaner option for this ordinance as citations go directly to the judge versus a variance that would go to someone appointed by staff, which could create a larger bureaucratic problem and make it more difficult to enforce. Council Member Hoskins stated that the statistic given by staff of 16 citations in 3 years is not a true test of what is out there in reality and staff would have to do more drive- byes and research to give Council a more accurate view of the situation. Council Member Hoskins also asked if people are allowed to park behind their homes. Mr. Lester stated people can park in their back yard now as it is permitted in the ordinance. Council Member Hoskins also asked what staff would consider reasonable parking. Ms. Horner stated that reasonable parking would be at the judge's discretion and that the new defense option only spoke to abutting roads when considering on street parking options. Mayor DonCarlos stated that Council could not create a legislation that would cover any and all scenarios for why and how people park on their lawns however, he believed the defense options was fair and a good compromise. He further stated that should the defense option not work well, Council could revisit the ordinance and make appropriate changes. The Council's general consensus was that the enforcement of the yard parking ordinance should remain complaint driven. b. Discuss the City of Baytown Water Conservation Rate Structure. City Manager Davis stated that this item was brought forth at the Council's urging after the high water bill issues that the City encountered over the summer. He stated that the utility rates are a part of the water and sewer fund, which is separate from the City's general fund. He further stated that about 10 years ago, the City conducted a water and sewer rate study that also projected the expenses for maintenance and capital for our water and sewer systems. Since then, the City has increased its rates according to the plan of 5% each year. Mr. Davis also noted that the City is looking at some very heavy capital expenses in the next few years that the City is looking towards this fund to cover those expenses and any change to the City's rates could have a negative impact on the City's ability to complete said projects. Mr. Davis notes that the water and sewer revenue fund for 2016 will be used as follows: Operating: $24,170,840 Debt: $6,419,876 Capital: $5,789,135 He further noted that only $11.15 of the rate paid is used to cover the cost of operations and that the City depends on its rates for everything else. Mr. Davis also noted that the City's conservation rates are high and are in effect all year long. City Council Regular Work Session Minutes February 25, 2016 Page 4 of 5 Mr. Davis stated that there are some things that can be done to help alleviate some of the issues we saw over the summer. Consumer education is helping by providing information to the public about and the effects of water conservation rates on water bills. Council Member McCartney suggested increasing the water conservation rate for the first tier before moving to the next tier; he believes this will solve a lot of the issues with high water bills without impacting the revenues. Council Member Capetillo inquired about the average consumption for the general public. Ms. Gina Rivon, Utility Billing Manager, stated that the City has an estimated 22,000 customers with an average household consumption of 8,000 gallons of water per billing cycle. The Council discussed having seasonal water conservation rates, but decided it would be too confusing and could also negatively impact our elderly customers. Council Member Hoskins inquired about having a flat rate for some citizens, which staff felt that adjusting the rates in that manner could potentially have an adverse impact on operations and capital projects. City Manager Davis updated the Council on the capital projects planned for the next few years, in order to comply with an agreement in place with TCEQ that must be completed. He also noted that certificates of obligation and debt payments will be better in 2019, but that right now, the City is looking at 36 million in revenues with 41 -43 million in capital projects. The Council inquired how is it that the City's rates are higher than others. City Manager Davis informed the Council that the situation that the City is in now, is based on: (1) management decisions made years ago that decided against making needed improvements to the City's infrastructure, in order to not spend money; (2) we are an older community with aging infrastructure; and (3) the City's water and sewer needs have only started to get addressed in the last 10 years. He also noted that there are other cities who are subsidizing utility rates with their general fund, which was not something that he recommended doing at this time. Mr. Davis stated that the City has aggressive rates, but also has very aggressive maintenance on our water systems, which is one of the best systems in the state and in the country. He reminded the Council that the capital projects are required per the City's agreement with TCEQ and he urged the Council not to kick the can to the next Council and to tackle the needs of our water and sewer system now. Mr. Davis also reminded the Council that a system has been put into place at the staff level to protect our most vulnerable customers, when dealing with high water bills. The Council discussed other items that can be done to assist with the water conservation structure, such as changing the tiers, renaming the rate to schedule, doing more outreach, education and etc. Council Member Hoskins stated that if the capital expenditures of $5.7 million were a requirement, then staff needed to carefully review the operational expenditures and see what can be done to reduce the $24 million in operational expenditures. He identified the use of alternative water sources at a lower cost, the use of staff, best bid practices for purchases of equipment/chemicals and to check the meters to see where we were possibly losing water. City Council Regular Work Session Minutes February 25, 2016 Page 5 of 5 The Council and staff briefly discussed how the water was metered for residential, commercial and the City from BAWA, but due to the time constraints had to end the discussion. Council Member Hoskins requested that staff provide the Council with a diagram of how and where the water was metered throughout the City. C. Discuss any or all of the agenda items on the City Council Regular Meeting Agenda for February 25, 2016, which is attached below. This item was not discussed. �Nr With there being no further business to discuss, Mayor DonCarlos adjourned the February 25, 2016, City Council Regular Work Session at 6:29 P.M. f •••R\ r Leticia Brysch, City C City of Baytown