1995 06 15 CC Minutes, SpecialMINUTES OF THE SPECIAL SESSION
OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN
June 15, 1995
The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas, met in special session on
June 15, 1995, at 4:00 p.m. in the Don M. Hullum Conference Room of the Baytown
City Hall with the following in attendance:
Eva Benavides
Council Member
David Byford
Council Member
Stephen DonCarlos
Council Member
Manuel Escontrias
Council Member
E. Frank Hinds, Jr.
Council Member
Rolland J. Pruett
Council Member
Pete C. Alfaro Mayor
Bobby Rountree City Manager
Ignacio Ramirez City Attorney
Eileen P. Hall City Clerk
The meeting was opened with a quorum present after which the following
business was transacted:
The City Manager announced that the planned flooding of the Brownwood
Nature Center would occur on Friday, June 16.
Consider Authorization to Solicit Requests for Proposals for Restaurant and
Financial Services for Bayland Park Marina
The City Manager stated that for the last year he and Mike Shields, Executive
Director of Baytown/West Chambers County Economic Development Foundation,
had worked with a group of four citizens on proposed ideas for development at the
marina --Gary Dobbs, Sherri Stuewer, Mark Tiller, and Connie Magourik. There
have been various financing schemes and various models considered. For years
the City and the Foundation have been working toward development of a first class
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Minutes of the Special Session - June 15, 1995
hotel /marina concept: a facility to house everything under one roof- -a hotel with
convention facilities, a harbor master store and restaurant. These full - service hotels
are virtually impossible to finance. A number of groups have had ideas, but each
needed a large amount of equity from the city, but even with $200,000,000 equity
from the city, the plans never materialized.
Mr. Shields and the staff talked with Senterra Development today. Senterra
built Greenway Plaza, The Summit, and other facilities in the Houston area.
Richard Nelson, of the Senterra Group, indicated that a large hotel chain is very
interested in building at the marina without any city participation.
A local institution is interested in working with the City of Baytown to finance
a restaurant/harbor master facility at Bayland Park. There is one major
restauranteur who wishes to work with the city on a restaurant at the marina, but the
staff feels that there will be more interest once a request for proposals is ready for
presentation. Therefore, the City Manager requested authorization from Council to
allow the administration to develop and solicit request for proposals and come back
to Council with a recommendation within thirty to forty -five days.
After talking with Senterra, the staff would like to develop a site plan within
the next thirty to forty -five days to locate Phase I, restaurant/harbor master facility;
Phase II, convention center; and Phase III, hotel, on the marina property. The
foundation will pay the $10,000 cost for the site plan. Senterra feels that they can
get a national chain to come in with a 150 -room national hotel. The
restaurant/harbor master facility is planned to be a split level facility. If, at the end
of thirty to forty -five days, the deal with Senterra has not materialized, the
restaurant/harbor master facility will still be viable. After the development of the
restaurant/harbor master facility, there is every reason to believe that more interest
will develop to construct a hotel. Senterra could, quite possibly, manage the entire
site which the staff has always felt would be the best plan; however, nothing with
Senterra will interfere with plans for a restaurant/harbor master facility.
Mike Shields pointed out that the original goal for the marina was to have the
hotel /convention facilities built with private dollars. There were entities willing to
build a hotel, but when the restaurant was added, plus meeting space, the cost
escalated. Therefore, the staff began to discuss a restaurant/harbor master facility
at a cost of about $1.5 Million. At this point, neither federal funding nor bond funds
seemed to be an option for this small project. Therefore, conventional funding
became the alternative. With the conventional funding concept came the need for
a concessionaire agreement which follows the revenue stream. With the
conventional financing in place, the city would charge the restauranteur an amount
of money to pay for the annual debt service, plus an amount to go into a reserve
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fund to pay for maintenance and upkeep. The harbor master would pay the city a
portion of profits once the operation becomes profitable. The city will develop some
profit sharing arrangement regarding the boat slips. Rental of the slips for eleven
months is expected to produce approximately $255,000. That would be the basis
of the concessionaire agreement. The city never planned to manager the marina,
and this plan fits in with that original intent.
Both Gary Dobbs and Sherri Stuewer expressed support for the concept of
having everything designed under one roof even if it must be accomplished in
phases.
Council Member Hinds moved to authorize the administration to solicit
requests for proposals for restaurant and financial services for Bayland Park Marina.
Council Member Escontrias seconded the motion. The vote follows:
Ayes: Council Members Benavides, Byford, Escontrias,
Hinds, DonCarlos, and Pruett
Mayor Alfaro
Nays: None
Recess into Executive Session to Discuss Pending Litigation
Mayor Alfaro recessed the open meeting into executive session to discuss
pending litigation. When the open meeting reconvened, Mayor Alfaro announced
no action was taken as a result of the executive session.
Consider Proposed Ordinance No. 9050615 -1, Authorizing Settlement of City
of Baytown v Bayshore Motors Inc., Cause No. 89- 28675, in the 113th Judicial
District Court
The administration recommended settlement of the City of Baytown v
Bayshore Motors Inc. lawsuit for the amount of $64,313.24. Council Member Byford
moved for adoption of the ordinance. Council Member Escontrias seconded the
motion. The vote follows:
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Minutes of the Special Session - June 15, 1995
Ayes: Council Members Benavides, Byford,
Escontrias, Hinds, and Pruett
Mayor Alfaro
Nays: None
Abstained: Council Member DonCarlos
ORDINANCE NO. 7331
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
BAYTOWN, TEXAS, AUTHORIZING SETTLEMENT OF CITY OF
BAYTOWN v. BAYSHORE MOTORS, INC., IN THE AMOUNT OF
SIXTY -FOUR THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED THIRTEEN AND
241100 DOLLARS ($64,313.24); AND PROVIDING FOR THE
EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF.
Adjourn
There being no further business to be transacted, the meeting was
adjourned.
mi n utes106- 15 -95. spc
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Eileen P. Hall, City Clerk