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2012 07 26 WS MinutesMINUTES OF THE REGULAR WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN July 26, 2012 The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas met in a Regular Work Session on Thursday, July 26, 2012, at 5:00 P.M., in the Council Chamber of the Baytown City Hall, 2401 Market Street, Baytown, Texas with the following in attendance: Brandon Capetillo Robert Hoskins David McCartney Mercedes Renteria Terry Sain Scott Sheley Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Stephen DonCarlos Mayor Robert D. Leiper Ron Bottoms Kevin Troller Ignacio Ramirez Leticia Brysch Keith Dougherty Parks and Recreation Board Wayne Gray Billy Barnett Michelle Bitterly Carmen Torres Howard Hunt Agustin Loredo City Manager Deputy City Manager Assistant City Manager City Attorney City Clerk Sergeant at Arms Chairman Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Mayor DonCarlos convened the July 26, 2012, City Council Regular Work Session with a quorum present at 5:00 P.M., all members were present with the exception of Council Member David McCartney who arrived at 5:06 P.M. Parks and Recreation Board Member Kevin Jones was absent. 1. DISCUSSIONS a. Discuss the Expansion Master Plan for the Pirates Bay Water Park - Parks and Recreation. City Council Regular Work Session Minutes July 26, 2012 Page 2 of 6 City Manager Leiper presented the agenda item to receive and discuss a presentation from Kimley Horn and Associates and Counsilman Hunsaker and Associates regarding the expansion master plan for the Pirates Bay Water Park. Scott Johnson, Parks and Recreation Director, introduced the following guest speakers: Mark Hatchet and Austin Powers of Kimley Horn and Associates and Kevin Post of Counsilman Hunsaker and Associates. Mr. Mark Hatchet presented an overview of the park and stated that they spent time out at Pirates Bay talking to patrons, staff, Park Board, and visitors regarding what they would like to see at the water park. He also stated that they spent some time going to different water parks in June to help define the concepts to present before Council. He stated that there were recommendations to address more room for more patrons due to the future growth regarding new projects scheduled for Baytown, the issue of the long lines and more shaded areas. Mr. Hatchet stated that during (lie park walkthrough and observations that he park looked good, was well maintained, and that all of the features are well used. He stated that the park could use another feature targeting teens, another attention getting feature, more lockers, more shade, more thrill rides, a wave pool and more signage. Mr. Hatchet stated that during the interviews, there were suggestions of multiple person tube rides, more seating and shade, covered eating area, a stage at the wave pool, an e- stop at all rides, larger guard break area, misted areas, and music and air conditioning at the concession area. Mr. Hatchet stated that with the expansion of the park, there would be a need for another snack bar and restrooms. Mr. Kevin Post stated that during the master plan there was a study done on the demographics and they updated them this year for the next five (5) years. He stated that there is a projected growth of 2% in the next 5 years. He stated that the analysis showed a young population with about 32% less than 20 years of age, whereas the national average is 27 %. Additionally, he stated that the income analysis was right at or a little lower than average and the weather analysis reflected that there were hot summers and limited rain days which creates a good opportunity for a water park usage. Mr. Post stated that three major components are considered when developing a waterpark they are: 1) capacity holders, 2) children's area, and 3) rides and attractions. He stated that the choices for the capacity holders would be a wave pool or lagoon pool; choices for the children's area would be enhance it to create more shade and make it more usable; and the choice for the rides and attractions were the multi passenger rides that families can do together. Mr. Post stated that the recommended rides that would meet the needs of the park would be the Boomerango (2 -3 person raft ride), Aqua Loop (single person thrill ride), Rattler (family ride), and Master Blaster (water rollercoaster). City Council Regular Work Session Minutes July 26, 2012 Page 3 of 6 Mr. Austin Powers stated that Phase I for capacity purposes would be the 10,500 sq. ft. wave pool, a 700 sq. ft. interactive fountain, and 5,200 sq. ft. operations support building. He stated that Phase I would be the 10,500 sq. ft. wave pool which would include a stage and have a capacity of about 400 -500 people at a cost of approximately $4,700,000. He stated that this phase would also include extra parking of about seventy five extra spaces with a service drive for the wave pool pumps, a guards' room, men's and women's bathrooms, and a concession stand to service the back part of the park, as well as an additional locker area. He stated that there were areas that could have extra shade and more picnic tables. Council Member Capetillo inquired how the proposed wave pool compares when compared to the neighboring wave pools. Mr. Powers stated that the capacity would be an average between them. Mr. Powers stated that future phases included: the Boomerango with a cost of approximately $1,700,000, a family raft ride with a cost of approximately $800,000 (which would be added to an existing structure) with an extra parking area; the Aqua Loop with a cost of approximately $1,300,000, the Master Blaster with a cost of approximately $1,600,000, and the Rattler with the cost of approximately $1,900,000. Mr. Post stated that for a waterpark the focus is on capacity in order to get more people in the gate. Council Member Sheley inquired if the parking was doubled. Mr. Post stated that because the parking is shared it was too hard to gauge what was actually parking from the waterpark. Mr. Post stated that for capacity purposes the recommendation for phase I was the wave pool to be followed by the family ride. Council Member McCartney inquired of the expectations on revenue. Mr. Post stated that the final report would have an operational performance detail which would have an estimated number of patrons multiplied by the entry fee. He also stated that additional revenue may result from fee increases. City Manager Leiper stated that staff would provide Council with the order and phasing of the expansion because the construction of the expansion needs to have a minimal impact on the operations of the park. City Manager Leiper stated that the $4.7 million is not just for the wave pool, but it includes the wave pool, parking, concession stand, and other structures and infrastructure. Additionally, he stated that a lot of the plumbing for future slides would go in during phase I. During further discussion, Mayor DonCarlos stated that he wanted Council and staff to be mindful of the Baytown residents regarding the entrance fee. City Manager Leiper stated that our increase would be below the market in the area. City Manager Leiper stated that it is unlikely that the City could fund capital at the current fee rate and that an increase would help add a new signature piece to the park. City Council Regular Work Session Minutes July 26, 2012 Page 4 of 6 Council Member Renteria inquired if the wave pool would be considered a signature piece. Mr. Post stated that because there are others in the area, it would not be, but it is needed for capacity purposes. Council Member Sain inquired if the fee increase would be after the construction of the next phase was complete. City Manager Leiper stated that the new fee would be at the grand opening of the expanded waterpark. Council Member Capetillo inquired if there were any privileges for season pass holders. Mr. Post stated that there are tiers of season passes at an additional cost with privileges such as cups for free refills; park opens 30 minutes early, etc. Mayor DonCarlos stated that Pirates Bay Waterpark set a new income and attendee's record. City Manager Leiper stated that staff would come back before Council with a phasing recommendation along with cost and funding as well as a proposed fee increase in order to retire the capital with operating dollars. Council Member Capetillo inquired if there could be a zip line feature added. Mr. Post stated that there could be one done but other features may have to be substituted or removed. Wayne Gray, member of the Parks Board stated that the board is in agreement with the progress of the facility and wants to keep the momentum going. Additionally, he stated that he agrees with the City Manager to move forward quickly but in a responsible manner. Council Member Sheley inquired if people would be able to see that we are expanding while the park is still open. Mr. Johnson stated that some of the other smaller enhancements may be done before the opening of the expansion. b. Discuss Noise Ordinance - Administration. City Manager Leiper presented the agenda item to discuss the City of Baytown noise ordinance and stated the discussion would start by talking about some components for the noise ordinance through definitions and expanding it to make it clear that it applies to up to 5000 ft in the ETJ. He stated that one of the challenging features was setting the DVa which have been set at 70 during the day and 65 at night. Additionally, he stated the goal was to pass an ordinance that is enforceable and not set at such a low level that everyday ambient noise exceeds the number set in the ordinance and that he accepts responsibility for setting the starting point of 70. Mayor DonCarlos stated that it is custom not having the audience address Council during the work session, he requested that City Manager Leiper ask one spokesperson to address their thoughts on the item. He also stated that Council Member Capetillo brought a City Council Regular Work Session Minutes July 26, 2012 Page 5 of 6 NASA noise meter which tracked City Manager Leiper speaking at a 65 DVA. He stated that Council wanted a good noise ordinance to prevent continuous offensive noise that hurts residents' standard of living and that it may take some time to craft to our city, but Council wants to accomplish the residents request so that our police can enforce the ordinance. Mr. Jerry Jones stated that paperwork from surrounding areas regarding noise ordinances show the following: Webster 60/65, Rosenburg and LaPorte 58/65, and Beaumont 50/55. He stated that none of the day time decibels listed exceeds 65. He stated that any company could engineer their work to greatly reduce noise and comply with the 65 DVA. Mr. Jerry stated the following question/comments from others as follows: Chris Buckner stated that if residential is abutting industrial it is understood that they would meet the maximum allowed; but if the resident is far away from the industry, the noise should be way below the maximum level and feels that Council should address property owner needs and not that of industry; Alan Hudgins stated that one person within City Council should be the focal point to the residents of Baytown to ask and receive questions as it relates to noise ordinance; Beverly Valentino and Paul Lawrence and Keith Holman were at the group meeting to provide their input, but could not attend the work session due to work schedule. Mr. Jones stated that there was nothing preventing any citizen from sending or calling any council member with their thoughts, ideas and concerns regarding the noise ordinance. Mayor DonCarlos inquired of City Manager Leiper of what other information would was needed before moving forward with an outline. City Manager Leiper stated that there were a number of components to an enforceable noise ordinance; the bench mark would be the decibal level that includes how it's measured, the time period, and other items. He also stated that another key piece was the enforcement of this ordinance as this would be a criminal citation and that currently there is no specific noise police to deal with these violations. City Manager Leiper requested that Mr. Lester provide some data for Council. Council Member Capetillo inquired if Council could receive information from other cities in how many citations are issued for these violations. City Manager Leiper stated that other cities have it on the books but do not enforce them and that the only city that was found to have issued citations was La Porte on complaints against the Port of Houston. City Council Regular Work Session Minutes July 26, 2012 Page 6 of 6 Mr. Mike Lester, Health and EMS Director stated that this is a very complicated issue and is monitored according to an average period of time. He stated that the City should have supportive information once a citation is enforced. City Manager Leiper stated that there were actual copies of ordinances that address the pipe noise which is the initial issue for the reviewing of the ordinance and that one option was to have a multi - faceted process. Council Member Hoskins stated that if you write the ordinance in a multi faceted process it won't work and recommended to include a peak low which if exceeded could be granted a citation and hold up in court . Council Member Capetillo recommended including cars and loud music in the ordinance. Mr. Lester stated that Council should also be mindful of the compounding issue which is pushing noise higher than the decibel noise level. City Manager Leiper stated that just because you can hear a noise does not mean that it is a violation. City Manager Leiper stated that he would like to work with Council Members Hoskins, Sain and Capetillo so staff can start crafting something that could be brought before Council in a few weeks. Mayor DonCarlos requested for the City Manager to start working on the ordinance soon and pick a meeting where there is not a work session already scheduled and have an hour meeting to work on this issue. Council Member Sain stated that he wants to continue to pursue speaking with the industries to put in engineering controls and have the ordinance as the last approach. Council Member Hoskins stated that the reason we are pursuing this is because the citizens came forward with the issue and we are siding with the citizens and want to make sure that we are getting it done correctly. During closing of the discussion, Council Member Hoskins stated that in regards to having a focal point on Council that residents need to work through their respective representatives. Mr. Jerry Jones requested that the Friends of Cedar Bayou participate in the development of the new noise ordinance. Council requested that the group submit the name of one representative to participate in the development of said ordinance with staff. 2. ADJOURN With there being no further business to discuss, Mayor DonCarlos adjourned the July 26, 2012, City Council Regular Work Session at 6:19 P.M.