TUESDAY, February 17, 2009

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

7:00 P.M.

 

 

1. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Robin S. Border called the regular meeting of the City of Hilshire Village to order at 7:00 P.M. at 8301 Westview, Houston, Texas 77055.

Invocation was given by Council Member Wolfe.

 

                        1.2. Present were Mayor Robin Border, Mayor Pro Tem Connie Castro, Council Members Cheryl Wolfe, Zandra Anderson, Shannon Whiting and John Denninger. Also present were Efrain Him, P.E. of Claunch & Miller, Inc., Engineer for the City, David Olson of Olson and Olson, Attorney for the City and Ted Lazarides, Building Official.

 

2. CITIZENS COMMENTS:

 

Janice Gerlich, 1111 Glourie, finished moving into Hilshire Village the day of Hurricane Ike. After noticing a lot of rust and film in the water she asked her plumber and he said that it should clear up in a couple of months because of the hurricane and the remodeling. It has been over six (6) months and there is still rust, film and sediments in the water. She would like the City to have the water tested to make sure it is safe to drink and to bathe.

 

Walter Tomlinson, 1106 Glourie, appreciates all the work Council does. He appreciates the fact that the City has been addressing the issue of possible contamination of City water but feels that this issue needs to go on the City’s official record. This problem needs to be a priority of Council. Children bathe in this water and some of the children have mysterious rashes on them. Mr. Tomlinson needs assurance from Council that the water is safe to drink. He feels this should be the highest priority of the City.

 

Bill Bristow, 1233 Pine Chase, had the same problem several years ago with his water and he had to go with heavy duty filters and softeners because the City would not or could not do anything about it. He would like the City to tell residents if this is a health issue and if the lines need to be decontaminated.

 

Mayor Border said he has gotten involved and he has had Severn Trent flush the lines which worked for several days. He thinks it is important that the residents keep reporting the problem to the City. Mayor Border stated that the water is tested on a daily basis. Mayor Border said the City needs to know everyone who is having the problem so that the issue can be tracked down. The City knows they have a problem and is trying to resolve it. The main reason City Council is here is for health and safety and testing will be done tomorrow.

 

Efrain Him said the water lines were put in during the 1950’s and are cast iron. Hilshire Green is fed by the same line and they are not having any problems. All the lines involved with the construction work were tested and passed all the required tests. Efrain explained that water is a pressurized system and moves whenever the demand calls for it. Mayor Border instructed the City Secretary to have the water tested tomorrow in several locations.

 

3. REPORTS TO COUNCIL

 

3.1. Engineers: Efrain Him of CMI gave his report regarding Ridgeley Drive Reconstruction Project Utility Improvements (Package 2). CMI has delivered drawings and an electronic drawing to the City.

 

Lift Station: There was another incident with the lift station jamming both pumps with ladies undergarments. Mayor Pro Tem Castro stated that the City did not have any problems with the old lift station and it was 40 to 50 years old. Efrain stated that the new grinder does not cut up nylon. Council Member’s Denninger and Whiting questioned if we have correct grinders in place. Efrain stated that we have the correct size grinders and the best thing to do is educate the residents.

 

Paving & Drainage Improvement (Package 3): AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc. has completed 90% of the Channel Crossing A work and the rest should be completed next week. The contractor began milling and roadway excavation work on Phase III of the Project (North side of Archley) and they anticipate milling the south side and Glourie Circle next week. They are currently working on the lime-fly ash stabilization work for the northbound lane.

 

The additional work Council approved last month at Hilshire Oaks, 1 Pine Creek Lane and random patches has been completed. The additional work at Glourie Circle is 65% completed.

 

HDR/C&M recommends that payment be made to AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc. for an amount of $189,614.11 (Pay Application No. 12) for completion of approximately 78.09% of the work and within 123.33% of the contracted time.

 

The Mayor asked if $10,130.80 is for utilities at Glourie Circle. Efrain stated that was correct and the Mayor stated that the City Secretary needs to make sure the money is appropriated from the right account. He also wanted to confirm that the City was not paying for the asphalt and milling at this time because it has not been completed. Efrain stated that was correct.

 

Council Member Anderson stated that Crossing B, C, D, and E were still holding water after rain. She stated the water was ponding after a week or so. Efrain Him said he would check into it.

 

4. ACTION ITEMS (CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION):

 

4.1 Mayor Pro Tem Castro made a motion to authorize payment to AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc., (Pay Application No. 12) for work related to the Ridgeley Drive Paving & Drainage Improvements Project (Package 3) in the amount of $189,614.11, seconded by Council Member Denninger. A vote was taken to authorize payment to AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc. in the amount of $189,614.11, and the motion passed unanimously.

 

The Mayor excused City Engineer Efrain Him from further attendance at the current Council meeting.

 

 

4.2 Council Member Anderson made a motion to approve the ordinance providing for the holding of a general election on May 9, 2009, for the purpose of electing three (3) Council Members (positions 3,4 and 5) for a term of two (2) years and providing details relating to the holding of such elections, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Castro.

 

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF HILSHIRE VILLAGE, TEXAS, PROVIDING

FOR THE HOLDING OF A GENERAL ELECTION ON MAY 9, 2009, FOR THE

PURPOSE OF ELECTING three (3) COUNCILMEMBERS (positions 3, 4, and 5)

FOR A TERM OF TWO (2) YEARS AND PROVIDING DETAILS RELATING TO THE HOLDING OF SUCH ELECTIONS.

 

Mayor Border asked who represented positions 3, 4, and 5. City Secretary Blevins stated Zandra Anderson, John Denninger and Shannon Whiting’s positions were up for reelection. A vote was taken to approve the ordinance providing for the holding of a general election on May 9, 2009, for the purpose of electing three (3) Council Members (positions 3,4 and 5) for a term of two (2) years and the necessary related details to hold said election, and the motion passed unanimously.

 

4.3 Council Member Whiting motioned to set a date for a Workshop/Council Meeting to be held on Water and Sewer issues, seconded by Council Member Denninger. Mayor Border stated that he did a study on three (3) Villages’ water rates and that the City of Hilshire Village is the only one that does not have graduated water rates and this does not promote water conservation. The City’s Engineers stated that we may be confronted with $150,000 worth of charges for water repairs that Metro money can not be spent on. The Mayor stated that we need to overhaul the water system. The Mayor stated next week would be a good time to hold this meeting/workshop. A vote was taken to set a date for a Workshop/Council Meeting for Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at 6:00 P.M., to discuss water and sewer issues, and the motion passed unanimously.

 

4.4 A motion was made by Council Member Anderson to consider and possibly take action on assessing trash collection for nontaxable entities ($25.00) per month effective January 1, 2009, seconded by Council Member Whiting. City Secretary Blevins said that it had come to her attention that the tax exempt entities were not paying for trash pick up because they did not pay any taxes. Council Member Anderson had concerns about the amount of trash to be picked up so that other churches do not expect us to empty dumpsters for this fee. The Mayor stated we should collect for City services and not trash collection. David Olson stated that this needs to be handled under fees. After discussion, the motion was amended by Council Member Anderson to table the motion on assessing trash collection for nontaxable entities until the special Workshop/Council Meeting, seconded by Council Member Whiting, and the motioned passed unanimously.

4.5 A motion was made by Council Member Anderson to approve the repairs or replacement of defective fire hydrants reported by Village Fire Department, seconded by Council Member Denninger. The Mayor stated that the Fire Department does a survey every 6 months in which they note which fire hydrants need to be repaired or need to be tagged. A tag designates a specific address. Each fire hydrant should be tagged. The Mayor stated that we are missing blue markers showing where the fire hydrants are. Mayor Border stated that we need to replace the blue markers and we need to discuss replacing the fire hydrant at Glourie Drive because it only takes a manual tool to turn it on. The fire hydrant has a tag on it stating that it is out of service. Severn Trent has quoted $5,000.00 to replace the whole fire plug. Mayor Border stated that the fire plug needs to be a break away plug. Council requested another bid. The Mayor asked if Council would approve the repairs if the quote comes in lower from AAA. Councilmember Anderson amended the motion to read that replacement of the fire hydrant at Glourie be made for a cost less than $5,000.00, seconded by Council Member Denninger. A vote was taken to replace the fire hydrant at Glourie for a cost less than $5,000.00, the motioned passed unanimously.

4.6 A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Castro to approve payment of the Severn Trent invoice for sewer repair at the Korean Church in the amount of $2,535.28, seconded by Council Member Wolfe. The Korean Church is aware of the fact that we were going to do the work but they would be billed if the problem was on their side of the line. The Mayor stated the work has been done and we authorized Severn Trent to do the work. He believes that we should pay Severn Trent and bill the Korean Church. A vote was taken to pay Severn Trent in the amount of $2,535.28 for repairs to the sewer line at the Korean Church, the motioned passed unanimously.

 

4.7 A motion was made by Council Member Anderson appropriating up to $40,000 for Ridgeley Drive Aesthetic Improvements, seconded by Council Member Wolfe. Mayor Border stated this amount of money was put in the agenda for Councils decision. He suggests that any money approved should be put in a restricted account and should have a time limit. Council Member Whiting stated that Council needs to earmark some monies for the Ridgeley Project Citizens Committee. Council Member Whiting said she spoke to Richard Weber with Harris County Flood Control District and they will send out a forester.

Culvert A is a designated water shed within their district and they have a nursery from which we can get trees and they will assign a forester to us. All we have to do is fill out a formal application showing a site plan. They will bring the trees to the site but not plant them. Council Member Whiting also asked about the other culverts and was told she could ask for trees. She will fill out two separate applications because of the deadlines and restrictions. For Culverts B through E she was referred to an organization called Trees for Houston. They are a non profit organization that normally plants trees in the urban forest. They will plant, mulch and water one time. Council Member Whiting presented their prices. She stated that now is planting season for trees so there is some type of urgency to get this done. First she will fill out the application to Harris County and Trees for Houston. She will then get with the Ridgeley Citizens Committee.

 

Don De Grasse, 1019 Ridgeley, stated there is a green area that the subdivision has mowed and kept up that belongs to the City. The citizens would like something to be done with the rock wall because it is an eye sore. It is the first thing the public sees driving into the City of Hilshire Village. They would appreciate the City taking care of this with the Ridgeley Drive Beautification Project. The Mayor suggested that Mr. De Grasse join the Ridgeley Committee.

Council Member Denninger asked if the Mayor was comfortable with the $40,000.00 for the Ridgeley Drive Aesthetic Improvement Project. The Mayor said it would be a “not to exceed” number and Council will approve all work and expenses. Council Member Anderson asked if we will get some of this money from Harris County Flood Control District grant and the Mayor said “yes”.

 

A vote was taken to appropriate up to $40,000 for Ridgeley Drive Aesthetic Improvements, the motioned passed unanimously.

 

The Mayor excused City Attorney, David Olson, from further attendance at the current Council meeting.

 

DISCUSSION:

 

6.1 Issuance of a Specific Use Permit to Houston Mennonite Church for use of temporary buildings for an office. Ed Wiens, 8310 Creekstone Circle, has been attending the Mennonite Church and is currently a member of the Stewardship Committee. Pastor Marty Troyer is requesting a specific use permit for the purpose of keeping one of the buildings that the School of the Woods was using. The School of the Woods will be removing all the buildings and the Church would like to contract with them to keep their office building. It would be kept in the same location with all utilities intact. The Church needs additional space. They plan to improve the exterior of the building with new siding, put in a new roof and remove the existing awning. The office building has already passed all of Hilshire building codes. Mayor Border stated he told Mr. Wiens he should come and talk to Council before the Organization files for a new specific use permit because of the cost. The Mayor stated that the City does not want temporary buildings. Council Member Denninger said it was portable buildings in which the residents were concerned. Mayor Pro Tem Castro asked how far the building would be from the property line and was told over 100 feet by Mr. Wiens. Council Member Anderson asked Ted Lazarides if the building would have to pass new codes for fire and electric. Ted stated “yes but it depends on how much the cost and what type of work they will be doing”. Council Member Whiting stated that it is cost effective for the Church. City Secretary Blevins stated that the City has received complaints about a lot of debris at the fence line.

 

REPORTS TO COUNCIL:

5.3 Building Official: Ted Lazarides stated there were eleven (11) permits issued last month. Ted stated that Joe Garret was quite ill and was close to dying and the City had to use alternate inspectors. Ted stated that Joe was back to work on a limited basis at this time. Mayor Border asked if the building trade was slowing down. Ted said “yes” but the City has quite a bit of work still in progress. Ted believes there will be two new houses and he expects plans to be submitted this month.

DISCUSSION:

6.2 Changes to Fee Schedule for utility deposits on rental property

City Secretary Blevins stated the utility deposits are $150.00 regardless if the resident is a home owner or a renter and either one can use a credit reference instead of a deposit. She stated sometimes renters leave without giving a forwarding address.

After discussion Council decided that the reference letter should be dropped regardless of the deposit amount and fee structure will be put on the Agenda for the Workshop/Council Meeting.

 

5.4 Treasurer Report: Manisha Patel was absent. The Mayor stated the City Secretary and Treasurer are meeting Friday to come up with a workable solution to the financials. The financials in the packet are incorrect due to the conversion from the Peachtree Accounting Package to the Excel Worksheet that had already been set. The City Secretary stated that the T-Bills will be moved into the TML Pool because the City is not making any interest at Amegy Bank. Mayor said that Manisha went to Austin for the seminar on this fund.

 

 

5.1 Police: – Mayor Border stated there were two (2) arrests, one for a suspicious male at the School of Woods and one (1) at Terrace Methodist. They were both arrested for public intoxication.

 

5.2 Fire Commissioner: – None

 

5.5 Mayor and Council:

 

Mayor Border: The Mayor stated he met with Metro Transit Authority regarding a ribbon cutting event for the Ridgeley Project. This will be sponsored by Metro and the Mayor stated he wanted HCFCD, Congressman Culberson and State Senator Whitmire, State Senator Patrick and various others to attend. The Mayor stated he offered the use of City Hall for them to host coffee and donuts.

 

There was a City of Houston water meeting discussing the increase in water cost. He believes we will have another 20% increase on top of the 2 or 3% CPI adjustment.

The Mayor stated there was a letter in the packet to authorize Belt Harris to put our financials on their website.

 

Ridgeley Project Citizens Committee: None

 

Council Member Whiting: Bridle Spur – The Lee’s requested a letter to be written to their Mortgage Company regarding the fact their survey shows their home encroaches the property line by 2 inches. After checking into the situation Council Member Whiting found that all surveys on all the properties show the same problem. After realizing that the Lee’s have not submitted the release to the Mortgage Company she told them that the City would not spend the money to write a letter if their Mortgage Company does not require a letter.

Mayor Border stated when looking at the all the numbers it looks like everything came in under bid so far. We have paid our last bill in our Utilities. We spent $756,733.80 on construction and $10,881.88 for engineering, leaving a balance of $14,384.32. The City has five (5) years to spend this money. The Glourie Circle water bill can come out of this. Under Paving and Culverts we had funding of $2,446,300.00. We have spent $1,504,940.13 on construction and $347,367.08 on engineering. We have approximately $694,057.87 remaining in invoices. All engineering costs were put in this project. In total we ended with $41,319.24 of extra funds. We need to decide where we want to spend this money or we will have to give it back. AAA has about six (6) weeks left of work and if we have anything left we want them to take care of it and we need to let them know now. Mayor Border stated he hopes we can get some trees from Harris County and the residents can plant them.

 

6.6 HVCEFFC (Conduit Bonds) The Mayor asked City Secretary Blevins if the

Insurance bill had been paid. The answer was not that she knew, but that the committee

had finally acknowledged that the bill had not been paid and they would take care of it.

The Mayor said he would like to see the committee get back to work because there is

money out there.

 

6.8 The City Secretary’s Report: City Secretary Blevins reminded everyone that City Elections were coming up and packets were ready. She also stated she was looking for an alternate judge. City Council recommended she send an email asking residents. Secretary Blevins reminded everyone to turn in their financial disclosures which were due on January 31, 2009. She stated she will be attending an Election Seminar this week. Secretary Blevins stated she was still working with FEMA and she received a phone call from Harris County that they wanted to meet with the City because they had money to give away. She stated that she was still hoping for some mitigation money.

 

Council Member Anderson asked about Stephanie Post on the complaint list. Secretary Blevins stated that the Mayor met with them regarding their flood issues. The Mayor stated that some of the mitigation money that the City has requested would go to help eliminate this flood issue if the City was allotted any funds. The Mayor stated that if the Post’s rebuild their house most likely they will elevate the house which will alleviate their flooding and cause the flooding to move elsewhere. When they make the decision the City will need to pay attention to what is going on and be ready to make decisions. Council Member Denninger said he thought the City already fixed the ditches. The Mayor said “not in that area”.

ACTION ITEMS (CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION):

 

7. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion was made by Council Member Anderson to approve the Consent Agenda as presented less $651.84 from Claunch & Miller’s invoice numbers 77449-H # 22 and 7.2, Minutes of January 20, 2009, seconded by Council Member Wolfe. A vote was taken to approve the Consent Agenda less $651.84 from the HDR/Claunch & Miller invoice numbers 77449-H and the Minutes of January 20, 2009, and the motion passed unanimously.

 

7.2 A motion was made by Council Member Anderson to approve the Minutes of January 20, 2009, with corrections to 4.4: Council Member Wolfe commented on the privacy issue and removing the quotes from what is or is not attached and is or is not from the last paragraph. Correction on page 5: paragraph 5 regarding Board of Adjustment, paragraph 8, regarding change in ordinance. 6.1 add the sentence Mayor Border did not see them on the plans either. The motion was seconded by Council Member Wolfe. Discussion was that Council Member Anderson thought the minutes had too much information in them. City Secretary Blevins stated that she writes the minutes to show the reason Council voted the way they did and so that they answer the questions why Council did what they did ten (10) years later. A vote was taken to approve the minutes with the stated changes, the motioned passed unanimously.

 

8. MAYOR AND COUNCIL COMMENTS: NONE

 

9. ADDITIONAL CITIZENS COMMENTS:

 

11. ANNOUNCEMENTS: NONE

 

12. ADJOURNMENT: It was moved by Council Member Whiting and seconded by Council Member Wolfe to adjourn.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                        ____________________

                                                                                                                                                                        Robin S. Border, Mayor

ATTEST:

 

__________________________

Susan Blevins, City Secretary