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2020 07 17 CC Minutes, RetreatMINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL RETREAT OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN July 17 2020 The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas, met in a Retreat on Friday, July 17, 2020, at 1:00 P.M. in the Clubhouse at Evergreen Park, 1530 Evergreen Road, Baytown, Texas 77523 with the following in attendance: Laura Alvarado Council Member Robert Hoskins Council Member Charles Johnson Council Member David Himsel Council Member Chris Presley Council Member Heather Betancourth Council Member Brandon Capetillo Mayor Rick Davis City Manager Karen Horner Interim City Attorney Leticia Brysch City Clerk Mayor Capetillo convened the July 17, 2020, City Council Retreat with a quorum present at 1:14 P.M., all members were present with the exception of Council Member Hoskins who arrived at 1:32 P.M. 1. DISCUSSIONS a. Discuss the composition and mission of the new Citizen Engagement Advisory Committee, including its composition, member qualifications, duties, terms, appointments, and possible outreach initiatives. City Clerk Leticia Brysch begins the meeting by explaining the items on the agenda, and the information in the documents that the staff has compiled for the Council Members including documents they have requested. City Manager Rick Davis conducted an exercise with the Council to help identify the purpose, composition, qualifications and appointments of the new Citizen Engagement Advisory Committee, fonnerly the Mayor's Community Engagement Advisory Committee (CEAC). As it related to the purpose of the new committee the Council had the following comments: • Council Member Laura Alvarado asked if the original committee had come -up with their own bylaws, and if the Council could create the purpose with the new committee. She further noted that she believed the committee members should be able to make recommendations regarding police officer training, diversity and inclusion. City Council Retreat Minutes July 17, 2020 Page 2 of 6 • Council Member David Himsel stated that he believed the purpose of this committee should be to reach deeper into the community and allow for conversation between the police department and the community that it serves, without negatively impacting the department's operations. • Council Member Chris Presley states that he was okay with the original purpose and vision statement if the original committee and noted that anything that goes under investigation should have a follow up statement, or closure as everyone should be up to date on any ongoing police investigations. • Council Member Heather Betancourth made a comparison between the Citizen Engagement Advisory Committee and the Animal Control Advisory Committee, and stated that she would like for the new committee to review policies, training and practices. She further noted that she wanted the committee to promote and encourage good relationships between the police department and the community, and requested that the committee submit quarterly reports to council on their progress. • Council Member Charles Johnson states that the purpose of the committee should be to build relationships, have a budget that they can recommend to council, and staff should focus on outreach to the community; he further noted that it was important to value the work of the CEAC and see that its concerns and recommendations are addressed appropriately. • Mayor Capetillo states that the purpose of the committee should be to build trust and confidence in police activities in Baytown. As it related to the composition of the new committee, the council noted the following: • Council Member David Himsel noted that composition of the committee should be one appointee per district and one by the mayor, similar to the other committees in the city. He further noted that if the council voted to make it this "real" committee, then it should follow the same format as any other and treated the same. Council Member Himsel also stated that he others he did not want this committee to get too large as it would then get too difficult to be productive. • Council Member Robert Hoskins stated that he believed that the new committee should be seven to nine members at the most, and that all members should reside in the city limits of Baytown. • Council Member Chris Presley agreed with Mr. Himsel and noted that it would be better to keep the committee simple with seven to nine members, and that they, as council members, should be held accountable for appointing the correct people. City Council Retreat Minutes July 17, 2020 Page 3 of b • Council Member Laura Alvarado stated that the committee should be at -large members plus appointments by districts and the mayor.; she recommended some representation from the ETJ area, and should be similar to the CDAC racial breakdowns. • Mayor Capetillo stated that he believed that each council member should get two appointees, and the mayor should get three, plus an ETJ who he would select as the chair. He further noted that the City Manager, the Police Chief, and the Baytown Police Association should also be allowed to make an appointment to the committee. • Council Member Heather Betancourth states that she believed the committee should have nine members, one from each district, one from the mayor, the ETJ, and the Police leaving the committee at 15 members; however, she would also be fine with just nine (9) members. The committee should be fair to individuals who have served on the ad -hoc committee and they should have an opportunity to continue to serve. As it relates to qualifications, the Council noted the following: • Mayor Capetillo states that a qualification should be that all members be voting members with the exception of the two ex -official staff members and that the members could live either in the city limits or in the ETJ. • Council Member Heather Betancourt states a qualification should be to be a resident of one of the six districts, for the applicant to be educated or fully understand what the processes and training requirements are for the City of Baytown Police Department, and if the person could assist in identifying gaps in policies to help better the force. • Council Member Chris Presley states the members should be a part of the city, serve standard two-year teens, and that those members appointed by the Police Chief and City Manager should be able to vote. He also stated that he would not find it beneficial for the staff members to be ex-officio and recommended that they be full voting members of the committee. • Council Member David Himsel stated that the appointees should participate in some type of education or training with the Police Department; such as ride-alongs with patrol officers. • Council Member Robert Hoskins stated that the appointees should understand what goes on in the jail house, as well as, know their duty is not to have oversight of the Police Department, but is only there to submit recommendations regarding current policies via the Council. As it related to appointments, the Council agreed that the new incoming committee members would follow the standard process as any other board, commission or committee of the city. City Council Retreat Minutes July 17, 2020 Page 4 of 6 b. Discuss the Boards, Committees, and Commissions of the City of Baytown, including their respective purposes, composition, duties, terms, appointments, member qualifications, and possible outreach initiatives. City Clerk Leticia Brysch introduces the item, and states the staff had done some background work to facilitate some data regarding the City's current boards and members, in order for the Council to review and consider whether to limit the number of tenns a person could serve on any one committee and/or to limit the number of boards any one person could service on at one time. Council Member Heather Betancourth states that she had asked Mrs. Brysch to compile the data of people serving in multiple committees simultaneously and noted that she would like to be more conscious of the committees and their makeup, and she questioned whether they are diverse enough, and if they truly represent the community. Council Member Betancourth also stated that she would like to adopt policies internally for all committees, specifically one that would limit how many committees one person can serve on simultaneously, as well as, the addition of term limits. Council Member Robert Hoskins stated that he would never agree to term limits for board members because some of the people on these committees actually know what they are doing and excel at it as well. He further noted that a good question to ask was how many times do the people on such committees show up. Council Member Chris Presley stated that he is ready for fresh ideas, as he ran for council using the slogan "New Voice and New Vision". Council Member Presley further noted that he does not believe one person should serve on six committees at any given time, not even three committees. He noted that if people want to serve on that many committees, they should run for office at the council level. Council Member Presley stated that he preferred it if people served on no more than one committee at a time. Council Member Presley went on to state that he felt that it would be redundant to have tenn limits on boards when the council does not have term limits. He further stated that he was in favor of the committee members only being allowed to serve on one committee, due to the fact that he found people who had never served on a committee and are delighted to do so. Council Member Laura Alvarado stated that she is not in favor of tenn limits, and agreed with Council Member Presley; however, she noted that they have to recognize some of the talents, and knowledge that certain people must have to service on certain boards. She further noted that she had asked Mrs. Brysch about putting out a survey to the current board members to see how they feel about their work on city boards. She stated that she believed that this would provide a checkpoint to verify whether or not the city's board members were getting what they expected out of their committees. Council Member Alvarado further noted that some sort of outreach needed to take place, as well as, some training, and community forums, in order for the public to be informed about the many committees and opportunities to serve the city. Council Member David Himsel stated that he believed that term limits already exist and members of Council should be the ones policing those terms. He also stated that he believed one board appointment is enough and it would help facilitate chances for other citizens to serve. City Council Retreat Minutes July 17, 2020 Page 5 of 6 Council Member Charles Johnson states that he is in favor of term limits, and believed a survey to the board members would be a very good idea. Council Member Johnson also noted that he would limit of the number of committees that any one person can serve on at any given time be two. Mrs. Brysch gave the council an overview of the City's absence policy and attendance record for board member and noted that moving forward that information will be included in the agenda item for their review and consideration. C. Discuss the City of Baytown Charter Review Committee. Interim City Attorney Karen Horner introduced the item and stated that the Charter Review Committee is an ad -hoc committee. She noted that per the Charter, the Council can appoint said committee 18 months prior to the next mayoral election. She also stated that if the Council wanted to call this committee they need to do so in the next few council meetings to allow the staff sufficient time to get the new members appointed and call their first meeting as soon as possible. Mrs. Horner gave the Council a general overview of the previous Charter Review Committees, and some members of council requested a copy of the Charter Review Committee 2018 final report. Council Member David Himmel stated that he believed that the Fire Department is sending too many men on a fire truck run and that operational staffing items should not be included in the charter. He further noted that the Council should have the ability to lower the number of firefighters on a truck in order to help save the city money. Council Member Himsel stated that he would like this section of the charter reviewed and for staff to review how other cities are handling their fire departments and how they work. Council Member David Himsel states that the Baytown Charter Review Committee should come together no matter the number of items that are up for review and that he will keep someone in mind for his appointment. Mrs. Horner stated that staff will place an item on the next City Council agenda for the Council to begin appointing their person to this committee. d. Discuss the City of Baytown's bond issuance oversight. City Manager Rick Davis introduced the item and gave the Council an overview or what and when bond issuance oversight was required. He further noted typically, these are general obligation bonds that require an election and increase the City's property taxes. Mr. Davis also noted that the city handles more certificate of obligation or what is known as CO bonds and do not require an election to pass them, they do not impact property taxes, but they do impact the way that the city's finances are distributed. Mr. Davis noted that after meeting with the City's Strategic Planning Advisory Committee, he was going to bring a Notice of Intent to Issue COs at City Council Retreat Minutes July 17,2020 Page 6 of 6 the Council Meeting next Thursday. He noted that the Council would have an opportunity to then discuss the projects in more depth and to have oversight on such projects. e. Discuss the City of Baytown's (i) Strategic Plan, (ii) Comprehensive Plan, and (iii) associated citizen advisory committees. City Manager Rick Davis introduces the item, and discussed the possibility of snaking the strategic and comprehensive plan one. He stated that the idea of new members being introduced to these informal committees was discussed internally amongst the staff and they wanted to bring it to the council in order to get their insight. He further stated that they are looking at bringing people into this process that may not have been involved as much with the city in the past, but are looking to making a positive impact in the community, who will listen, and think outside the box. Mr. Davis stated that he felt that this joint committee could help see the City's future not in five years, but in twenty, or thirty years from now. The Council stated that they had no issues with the proposed plan for a joint committee of the strategic and comprehensive plans. 2. ADJOURN With there being no further business to discuss, Mayor Capetillo adjourned the July 17, 2020, City f ouncil Retreat at 3:46 P.M. L"eticia Brysch, City Clerk City of Baytown