PASSED AND APPROVED THIS 12 th day of August, 2014.

Transcription

1 PASSED AND APPROVED THIS 12 th day of August, The Cleveland City Council met in regular session on July 8, 2014 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 907 E. Houston, at 6:00 p.m., with Mayor Niki Coats presiding. PRESENT: Mayor Niki Coats, Councilmember Mike Penry, Councilmember Otis Cohn, Councilmember Carolyn McWaters, Councilmember James Franklin, Councilmember Delores Terry; City Attorney David Olson, Interim City Manager Kelly McDonald, Interim City Secretary Sue Daniel STAFF: Becky Roseberry, Angela Smith, Darrel Broussard, Mike Ulbig, Linda Woods, Dawnel Rodgers, Scott Felts, Kim Castleman, Arleen Hutchison, Deanna Prentiss VISITORS: Lance Blackwell, Cliff Dunn, Tracey Brodeur, Danny McNeely, Danny Allen, Leslie Galloway, Troy O Quinn, Beverly Sealy, Steve Anderson, Amelia Anderson, Bobby Hamilton, Lou Dean Elliott, Eddie Lowery, Mark Allen, Jacob McAdams, Alfred Anderson, Jim Plumlee, Glenda Plumlee Mayor Niki Coats called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. with all members present. Pastor Troy O Quinn gave the invocation and Councilmember Carolyn McWaters led the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Coats then asked Interim City Manager Kelly McDonald to introduce the new staff member, Interim City Secretary Sue Daniel. 1. Recognition of Employee of the Month Chief of Police Darrel Broussard recognized dispatcher Kim Castelman as Employee of the Month and presented her with a certificate. He stated that she has been employed for nine years and five months and is an asset to the department with her skills and the way she executes her job. 2. Presentation of Employee Service Awards Interim City Manager McDonald presented a service award to Chief Building Official Dawnel Rodgers for her five years of service with the City of Cleveland. 3. Presentation regarding a proposal for a street name on the north side of Martin Chrysler dealership Leslie Galloway Mr. Leslie Galloway appeared before Council with a proposal to name the street on the north side of Martin Chrysler dealership for B. B. Martin. He stated that Mr. Martin was a school teacher in Midway, Texas in the late 1930s and in the spring the school ran out of money and could not continue to pay him. Mr. Martin s father-in-law, Edgar Brooks, was a partner in Polk County Motor Company in Livingston and hired Mr. Martin as a salesman. In 1941, the Chevrolet franchise in Cleveland became available for purchase from Hub Smith. B. C. Lively, Edgar Brooks and Mr. Martin formed a partnership to purchase the franchise with Mr. Martin as Dealer Operator. The new company was named Martin Chevrolet Company. The dealership was located in the 100 block of South Washington from 1941 to 1952 and then relocated to a new facility at 516 S. Washington in He further stated that Mr. Martin was very active in the Cleveland community, supporting FFA, sponsoring Dairy Day events and helping local Cleveland schools. Mr. Martin was also recognized by Chevrolet Motor Division and by the Texas Auto Dealers Association for his achievements. Martin dealerships include Martin Chrysler, Bounds Autoplex, and Performance Truck. These companies employ over 500 people in southeast Texas and have made major economic impact on the greater Cleveland area. In 2016, Martin Chevrolet will celebrate 75 continuous years of serving the Cleveland community

2 as a family-owned business. Mr. Galloway asked the City Council to name the street B. B. Martin Street. 4. Presentation of marketing and tourism activities Linda Woods Director of Tourism and Marketing Linda Woods gave her first monthly report to the Mayor and Councilmembers. She outlined her plan to promote the Cleveland Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Tourism and Marketing Department. Ms. Wood s plan included: Overcome the negative attitudes about Cleveland by developing programs and activities that are proactive in nature and instill a sense of pride in Cleveland and the future plans for the city. Develop new approaches to innovative problem solving and positive publicity. Be attentive to the needs and desires of the social, military, educational, religious and fraternal organizations for sales and use of banquet rooms, meetings facilities, and special areas of interest. Establish a relationship with local hotels built on mutual respect and understanding of each other s priorities and a mutual desire for each other s success. Set up a special coding system with hotels to help guide the overall marketing efforts. Conduct communications audits and publish a list of mandatories regarding the consistent use of things such as logos, colors, signage, designs, sizes, etc. The first audit has already been conducted. Use Mystery Shoppers (both local people and outsiders) to determine the city s strengths and weaknesses. Dispel the notion that the Cleveland Civic Center should be a profit center and replace it with the accepted norm that such facilities are economic development tools used to entice organizations to attend meetings and events locally and expand the sales taxes for the area. Recommend realistic budgets based on anticipated needs and the available and approved resources and the anticipated hotel occupancy taxes. Promote the technique of putting a smile in your voice to make the public s interaction with the City a happy and pleasant one. Recommend specific activities geared to the promotion and publicity of the Cleveland Airport and its newly extended runways. Schedule and promote the activities held at the new Cleveland Municipal Park. Solicit awareness ideas from the city department heads and other colleagues. Stay abreast of and promote the progress of the Grand Texas Sports and Entertainment District and help establish Cleveland as a willing and enthusiastic partner. Be mindful of and exploit all targets of opportunity that may arise from time to time. 5. Presentation by Keep Cleveland Beautiful of residential and commercial awards of the quarter Beverly Sealy, on behalf of Keep Cleveland Beautiful, appeared before the Mayor and Councilmembers to present the residential and commercial awards for the quarter. The commercial award was given to The Chef s House and its owners Steve and Amelia Anderson. The residential award was given to Paul and Bobby Hamilton and Lou Dean Elliott. 6. Public Comments

3 Danny Allen, owner of a mechanic shop at 712 Hanks Street, appeared before the Mayor and Councilmembers to address the thefts that have been occurring at his business. He stated that he asked a police officer how many officers were on patrol and was told two officers per shift. Mr. Allen asked the Council to consider putting more officers on patrol as he works hard to keep what he has. Mayor Coats remarked that Mr. Allen was also concerned about the safety of his client s vehicles. Ms. Tracey Brodeur and Mr. Danny McNeeley of Entergy appeared before the Mayor and Councilmembers to update the City on Entergy and its efforts in the community. Ms. Brodeur stated that Entergy has completed its Hurricane preparedness procedures for this hurricane season. She stated that Entergy is very involved in the community with their Beat the Heat program which provides fans to needy customers, working with the Chamber of Commerce to acquire school supplies monies, and being involved with Keep Cleveland Beautiful. Entergy is also doing tree trimming to help cut down on problems in case violent storms damage poles and/or lines which can create power outages. Ms. Brodeur also stated they are consulting with Mr. Rice on the downtown beautification efforts. Entergy is working with the City s Economic Development Corporation and Mr. Rice to do some downtown upgrades in the next fiscal year on Travis between Houston and Hanson. Ms. Brodeur further added that Entergy will be doing upgrades in 2014 and Approve Inter-local Agreement with Liberty County regarding streets, ditches and recreational areas requiring maintenance Mayor Coats presented the annual Inter-local Agreement with Liberty County regarding streets, ditches and recreational areas requiring maintenance. Commissioner Eddie Lowery appeared before Council to take questions or comments regarding the agreement. Mayor Coats asked Commissioner Lowery that since the city tax payers pay county taxes what does the City get for their taxes. Commissioner Lowery stated that with the Inter-local Agreement, for example, the City gets help with ditches, equipment and manpower; and the County helped with the new baseball park. Councilmember Penry told Commissioner Lowery that he had not answered Mayor Coat s questions regarding what the City gets from the County. The Commissioner answered that the County can provide equipment and manpower for the City when needed; and as an example, if the City had a lot of trees down, the County could send a dump truck to haul off the trees. The County also sent 50 loads of sub-grade material for the new ball parks with no charge to the City. He further stated the County wants to be a partner to the City of Cleveland. He stated that this precinct receives the least amount of funds even though the precinct is number three in road mileage. He stated that every Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. the County is meeting about the proposed budget for next year. Mayor Coats stated that the citizens of Cleveland paid 1.9 million in taxes last year. Commissioner Lowery stated that he received 1.2 million last year. There was a discussion regarding about who could authorize projects with the county. City Attorney David Olson stated that any project must be approved by the Council. He added that the Council can grant authority to the City Manager to work with the County to target joint projects. Councilmember Penry moved to approve the Inter-Local Agreement with Liberty County for streets, ditches and recreational areas requiring maintenance, with a second to the motion by Councilmember Cohn. All Council voted AYE. Motion Carried. 6. Public Comments

4 Mayor Coats added some public comments at this time. He stated the July 4 th Fireworks Celebration was a success. He thanked the Unity Community for the putting on the event. He added Interim City Manager McDonald would be meeting soon to put an article in the newspaper about league play on the new ball fields. Mayor Coats remarked that it would be good to have baseball and softball in Cleveland again. Public Works is going out for bids this month for the annual paving project. This year s project will provide for the repair of 4,500 square feet of paving. Consent Agenda: Mayor Coats reviewed items 7, 9 and 10 on the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Penry stated that in the minutes of the June 10 th meeting on item # 5 the word find was misspelled. Mayor Coats stated that on item # 2 the number of girl teams at the round robin tournament was 7 instead of 17. He further stated that the renewal of the debris removal contract with DRC Emergency Services LLC and the renewal of the storm restoration contract with TDG General Contractors, Inc. for 2014 would be with no increase of cost. Councilmember Penry moved to approve the consent agenda, items 7, 9 and 10, with a second from Councilmember Terry. All Council voted AYE. Motion Carried. 7. Approve minutes from the June 10, 16 and July 1, 2014 City Council meeting. 9. Approve renewal of debris removal contract with DRC Emergency Services LLC for Approve renewal of storm restoration contract with TDG General Contractors, Inc. for Consider proposal for street name on north side of Martin Chrysler dealership Mayor Coats stated that the Council had heard Mr. Galloway s presentation earlier in the meeting and he thought the proposal for naming the street was an excellent idea and Mr. Martin was a good man and important to Cleveland. Councilmember Terry moved to approve the naming of the street B. B. Martin Street, with a second from Councilmember Franklin. All Council voted AYE. Motion Carried. 12. Consider a proposal renaming Quinn Street to Linia Alfred Street The City Council received a proposal from Karen Perry to rename Guinn Street to Linia Alfred Street in honor of the late Ms. Alfred. A petition of the residents of Guinn Street was presented to the Mayor and Councilmembers. The petition stated Because of Linia Alfred s high standards, Godly morals, as well as the years she contributed to our community of Cleveland in the 108 years while on earth; we feel strongly that we should honor her and never forget her by naming our street LINIA ALFRED. All the residents signed the petition with the exception an out- of- town owner of a vacant house. Councilman Franklin moved to approve the renaming of Guinn Street to Linia Alfred Street, with a second by Councilman Terry. All Council voted AYE. Motion Carried. Councilmember Cohn remarked that he was sad to see the street name change. He asked the City Council to consider when renaming streets to use streets with names that have no link to persons or have no meaning to the city. 13. Consider a proposal changing the time for holding municipal court Municipal Court Clerk Arleen Hutchison appeared before the City Council with a proposal to consider changing the time of the Thursday night court session from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 until 5:00 p.m. She stated that the current night court is very poorly attended and sometimes no one shows up for court. Court Clerk Hutchison was asked if Judge Steely was in agreement with this proposal and she stated he was. A discussion ensued regarding the effects of not having a night court session for working people who might not be able to come to court during

5 the day. Councilmember Penry proposed having one night court a month. Councilmember Cohn wanted to know which Thursday night court in a month had the greatest attendance. Court Clerk Hutchison said she could get the attendance figures for Council s review. Councilmember Cohn moved to table this agenda item, with a second from Councilmember Terry. All Council voted AYE. Motion Carried. 14. Consider a resolution approving the expansion and remodeling of the facilities of the Montgomery Central Appraisal District Mark Allen, representing the Montgomery Central Appraisal District, appeared before the Mayor and Councilmembers to ask the City Council to consider passing a resolution approving the expansion and remodeling of the facilities of the appraisal district. Mr. Allen explained that due to the enormous growth of Montgomery County, the appraisal district has also greatly grown and a need to expand their facilities to meet the current needs and provide for future growth. The City of Cleveland is a member of the Montgomery Central Appraisal District because a small area of land on 105 was annexed into the City two years ago and therefore the City has one vote on the issue of the expansion of the appraisal district facilities. Councilmember Penry moved to approve the resolution allowing for the expansion of the Montgomery Central Appraisal District s facilities, with a second from Councilmember McWaters. All Council voted AYE except Councilmember Cohn with NAY. Motion Carried. 15. Consider approval of Pay Estimate No. 4 and Final in the amount of $ 38, to 5-T Utilities, Inc. for the 2012 CDBG Waterline Project, Contract The Mayor and Councilmembers were presented with the final payment request for 5-T Utilities for the CDBG Waterline Project, Contract for the waterline improvement to FM 787 and Campbell to MLK Drive. The project grant was in the amount of $ 350,000 with the City of Cleveland having a $ 52,500 match. 5-T Utilities has completed the project to the City s satisfaction. The final payment of $ 38, is the 10% retention held from previous payments. Councilmember Terry moved to approve the request of the final payment to 5-T Utilities in the amount of $ 38,397.70, with a second by Councilmember Cohn. All Council voted AYE. Motion Carried. Mayor Coats recommended that the councilmembers attend the Liberty County Commissioner s Court meetings and hearings until the budget is passed. With no further business before the Council, Mayor Coats moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:36 p.m. PASSED AND APPROVED THIS 12 th day of August, ATTEST: Sue Daniel, Interim City Secretary Niki Coats Mayor