2005 06 07 WS MinutesMINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION
OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN
June 7, 2005
The City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas, met in work session on June 7, 2005, at 11:30 a.m.
in the Ballroom of the Goose Creek Country Club, Country Club Drive, Baytown, Texas, with the
following in attendance:
Ronnie Anderson
Council Member
Sammy Mahan
Council Member
Don Murray
Council Member
Brandon Capetillo
Council Member
Calvin Mundinger Mayor
Gary M. Jackson City Manager
Bob Leiper Deputy City Manager
Kelvin Knauf Assistant City Manager
Absent were: Council Members Mercedes Renteria and Scott Sheley.
The meeting was opened with a quorum present after which the following business was conducted:
Mayor Mundinger's State of the City Address to the Baytown Chamber of Commerce.
The Mayor discussed accomplishments made last year and the direction of the City of Baytown this
year and the upcoming years.
Some of the accomplishments mentioned by the Mayor were the new rules of procedure whereby
Council Members would have the authority to place items on the Council agenda for consideration.
Council performed a more in -depth review process of the 2004 -2005 budget and there will be more
deliberation among Council, city staff, and with citizens. The senior citizen property tax cap,
adopted on November 11, 2004, instituted Proposition 13. The City of Baytown's web page has
been enhanced through the work of Asim Khan, his staff, and the contracted staff. You can reserve
a room at the Community Center, pay your water bill online, apply for a building permit, schedule
an inspection, and report needed repairs, such as potholes and water leaks. The decision to go to a
full -time judge was recommended by a committee consisting of Council Members Mahan and
Sheley and the Mayor and approved by Council. Forty -eight people applied for the full -time
position. After a long process of screening those applicants, Julie Escalante, former prosecutor, was
appointed for the position of full -time judge. The 2001 Bond Committee recommended $29 million
for water and sewer repairs. The program has been expanded to $67 million. We are building a
new Northeast Wastewater Treatment Plant and are appropriating money to begin the design to
double the capacity of the West District Wastewater Treatment Plant. Another program will begin
in 2007 to 2011 that will add to the $67 million figure and this will come before Council very soon.
Baytown Area Water Authority (BAWA) plant capacity has been increased to 26 million gallons
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Minutes of the Work Session —June 7, 2005
per day ensuring adequate supplies for growth. BAWA is recognized as a "Superior Water System"
by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. We are at the 90`s percentile of clean water
across the entire State. The agreement to purchase raw water from the City of Houston has been
extended until 2040. Phase 1 of the Street Bond Program is complete and has rehabilitated
approximately 2.6 miles of streets. Phase 2 is nearing completion on 1.95 miles. Phase 3 is under
design for an additional 4.3 miles. The Street Maintenance Sales Tax was authorized by voters on
May 15, 2004. The work order for 21 mill/overlay segments have been issued and work will begin
soon. To assist in the beautification and image enhancement for Baytown, TxDOT funded
$330,000 for our Decker Drive Landscaping project. There were 143 substandard buildings
demolished. We have the Adopt a Street Program, 950 junk cars were tagged, and over 3,000 lots
were mowed and cleaned. We also have a grant funded Community Service Litter program that
collected 78,755 pounds of trash and litter in the first six months. The Youth Advisory Commission
was established by Gary Jackson and Scott Sheley, with the help of Gina Riven, in March 2005.
The new Emergency Operating Center and police academy are nearing completion. The response
from the softball community towards the Wayne Gray Sports Complex expansion and renovation
has been remarkable. The Downtown Master Plan was completed by H3 Studios and they are now
working to develop design guidelines. The Municipal Development District recently established a
small business Revolving Loan Program through the Economic Development Foundation.
Enhancing area governmental relationships with Chambers County, the State of Texas, Hams
County Precinct 2, Lee College, Port of Houston, and Goose Creek Consolidated Independent
School District remains a top priority.
The Mayor also mentioned the upcoming plans for the City of Baytown. City Staff met with Tracey
Wheeler- Martinez, Tommy Hathaway and Sharon Jenkins to discuss small business needs. A'' /4%
Sales Tax election for public safety initiatives is being considered. Hopefully by May of 2006 the
citizens of Baytown will be voting to approve an amended and improved City Charter.
Adjourn.
The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.
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Doreen A. Anderson
Administrative Assistant to the
City Clerk ��m