TUESDAY, January 20, 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 Mayor Pro Tem Castro.

 

                        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, Ted Lazarides, Building Official, Manisha Patel, City Treasurer, Police Chief Gary Finkelman and Tom Archer, the City’s Alternate Fire Commissioner.

 

2. CITIZENS COMMENTS:

 

Jay Tribble, 8201 Mallie Court, asked why Council was continually indiscriminately tweaking the City’s ordinances with little thought given to the ramifications. He felt like the City was getting a reputation as the most unreasonable village in which to build and Council Member Anderson continues to erode the property value of all of the citizens of Hilshire Village. Mr. Tribble believes that the ordinance regarding the distance of separation of a garage and house should be tabled and referred to a committee. The committee should study and submit a report to Council after they define a vision of how we want our Village to evolve in the future and what changes need to be made in our ordinances to support that vision. Mr. Tribble stated “I sincerely hope that Council will cease its course and proceed to create a vision of a 21^st Century Village that our children will profit from and that we all can be proud of.”

 

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 reviewed and approved the Lift Station’s O & M Manuals. Two copies have been delivered to the City and one copy to Severn Trent. Mayor Border stated that Efrain needed to make sure that the City had the correct keys to the lift station.

 

HDR/C&M recommends that final payment be made to Metro City Construction, for an amount of $58,703.21 which is $28,881.91 under budget.

 

Paving & Drainage Improvement (Package 3), AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc.: Centerpoint Energy has completed the gas line relocation at Channel Crossing A where the work had been halted in December and AAA commenced work again on January 8, 2009. The 120 feet RCP Culvert was placed on January 13. AAA will continue the construction of the headwalls. Once Channel Crossing A is complete the Contractor will proceed to reconstruct the Ridgeley roadway segment between Westview Drive and Archley North.

 

 

HDR/C&M recommends that payment be made to AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc. for an amount of $12,061.79 (Pay Application No. 11) for completion of approximately 69.01% of the work and within 125.56% of the contracted time.

 

HDR/C&M has received and reviewed the proposal from AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc., for the additional repair work presented to Council on December 16, 2008.

 

Mayor Border said he would like to tell Council about some of the issues in which he has expressed concerns to Efrain. One being, several residents continue to have murky water. The Mayor has had Severn Trent flush the fire hydrants but has not eliminated the problem. Efrain stated that the valves are open but he would take a look at it.

 

Out of Order

 

5. REPORTS TO COUNCIL:

5.1. Police: Chief Gary Finkelman discussed the monthly report for December. A vehicle was burglarized and a woman was arrested after being found passed out in her car. Chief Finkelman stated that Spring Valley purchased three new police cars and they will be put into service shortly.

 

5.2 Fire Commissioner: Tom Archer gave an activity report for December 2008. Hilshire Village had three (3) calls for the month. The Treasurer Report stated the Fire Department was under budget for the month and the year. The Fire Department promoted 3 fire fighters to officers. Chief Calagna’s report was on the communication trailer which is scheduled to be completed at the end of February. The Fire Department is remodeling the restroom at the station.

 

3.1. Engineers: Continued

 

Scope of work for # 8 Hilshire Oaks consists of the installation of 60 LF of 6 inch doweled on concrete curb in the subdivision entrance, removal and replacement of the damaged storm sewer BB inlet top, apron and curb. Scope of work for # 3 Hilshire Oaks consists of removal and replacement of mortar around the sanitary sewer manhole frame, including restoration of affected areas. AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc.’s proposal for this work is $2,845.00. The Engineer’s estimate is $3,250.00.

 

Scope of work for Glourie consists of installation of a new 4-inch water line, a 2-inch blow-off valve, four (4) service reconnections, 2-inch milling of existing asphalt roadway and installation of 2-inch type D asphalt. AAA Asphalt Paving Inc.’s proposal for this work is $25,327.00. The Engineer’s estimate is $39,050.00. Mayor Border was there when they dug the line. He was not sure how the residents were getting water. After looking at the line he noticed a lot of stress cracks and felt it was not going to last very long. There are four (4) houses that will be affected.

 

Scope of work for # 1 Pine Creek Lane consists of removal and replacement of 15 LF of concrete curb. The concrete curb was damaged during Hurricane Ike when a tree fell and uplifted the curb. AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc.’s proposal for this work is $425.00. The Engineer’s estimate is $450.00.

 

Scope of work for random patches throughout Hilshire Village for # 1, 7 and 9 Pine Creek Lane, 1233 Pine Chase Drive and 8006 Bromley Road consists of saw cut, dig out and haul off existing base material and asphalt to a depth of 8-inches and the installation of 6-inch black base with 2-inch Type D asphalt. AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc.’s proposal for this work is $7,800.00. The Engineer’s estimate is $8,700.00.

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. 11) for work related to the Ridgeley Drive Paving & Drainage Improvements Project (Package 3) in the amount of $12,061.79, seconded by Council Member Whiting. A vote was taken to authorize payment to AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc. in the amount of $12,061.79 and the motion passed unanimously.

 

4.2 Mayor Pro Tem Castro made a motion to authorize final payment of Metro City Construction's Pay Application No. 5 and to accept the completion of the Ridgeley Drive Utility Improvements Project in the amount of $58,703.21 (Package 2)  seconded by Council Member Cheryl Wolfe. A vote was taken to authorize final payment of $58,703.21 and the motion passed unanimously.

 

4.3 A motion was made by Council Member Denninger authorizing additional repair work throughout the City of Hilshire Village by a Change Order to AAA Asphalt Paving, Inc.'s  Ridgeley Drive Paving & Drainage Improvement Project (Package 3) seconded by Council Member Cheryl Wolfe.

 

a) Council Member John Denninger questioned the curb replacement at Hilshire Oaks and what was the purpose of the replacement. Council Member Whiting did not believe the replacement of the curb would solve any problems. After discussion Council decided to break up the job and approve only the removal and replacement of the damaged storm sewer BB inlet top, apron and curb damaged area and removal and replacement of the mortar around sanitary sewer manhole frame for # 3 Hilshire Oaks, including restoration of affected areas. Efrain stated an estimate for the repairs to be $2,250.00.

 

b) Council Member Denninger asked why resurfacing Glourie Road was not included in the Ridgeley Road Project. After discussion Council remembered that all extra items were removed so that the job would come within the budgeted amount. Council Member Denninger asked if the work needed to be done. Mayor Border said he thought it was a project well worth the money since the road would already be torn up.

 

c) Council Member Cheryl Wolfe asked about the difference in pricing on the 6” dowel curb. Efrain stated that it was volume driven.

 

d) The Mayor stated that he was concerned that the pothole at 1233 Pine Chase might be a sink hole. There is another tire buster in front of Vernon Kahanek’s house. These potholes were made worse by the effect of Hurricane Ike.

 

A vote was taken to make the repairs at a) # 8 Hilshire Oaks: removal and replacement of the damaged storm sewer BB inlet top, apron and curb and at # 3 Hilshire Oaks remove and replace mortar around sanitary sewer manhole frame including restoration of affected areas for a price of $2,250. b) Glourie Circle: installation of a new 4” water line, a 2” blow off valve, four (4) service reconnections, 2” milling of existing asphalt and installation of 2” type D asphalt for $25,327.00. c) # 1 Pine Creek Lane: removal and replacement of 15 LF of concrete curb that a tree uprooted during Hurricane Ike for the amount of $425.00. d) Random Patches throughout Hilshire Village that Hurricane Ike made worse: (# 1, 7 and 9) Pine Creek Lane, 1233 Pine Chase Drive and 8006 Bromley Road: This work will consist of saw cut, dig out and haul off existing base material and asphalt to a depth of 8 inches and the installation of 6 inch black base and 2 inch Type D asphalt for $7,800.00. The vote passed unanimously to make these repairs.

 

Council Member Denninger asked Efrain Him why Harry Walker charged for the 9 ½ hours to come to the Council meeting to ask for additional money. He did not think it was appropriate for him to charge the City for his time. Also, Council Member Denninger asked if Claunch and Miller was keeping the supervision reasonable. It appears that they charged $4,532.00 for supervising $12,000.00 worth of work and he did not feel that was reasonable. Efrain Him said he would check on both of these items and get with the City Secretary with an explanation. Council Member Wolfe said she would like to see the breakdown of all the extra supervision work.

 

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

 

4.4 A motion was made by Council Member Denninger to amend Chapter 12, Section 02:G-03, further defining “Detached Garage” to provide a three (3) foot distance requirement from the main building, and to provide standards for a covered walkway between structures; and Section 11:07.02, to provide a three (3) foot distance requirement between a residential accessory building and the main building and to provide standards for a covered walkway between structures, seconded by Council Member Anderson.

 

Mayor Pro Tem Castro stated she was concerned about corner homes. She believes further studies need to be made before Council approves this ordinance.

 

Council Member Wolfe said that there were valid points brought to Council; however, she was more concerned about the privacy issue. She stated that the City needs some type of ordinance establishing the guidelines.

 

Mayor Border stated he had a meeting with the Spring Valley City Office and they stated “a garage is a garage is a garage whether it is attached or detached and it has to be ten (10) feet from the property line”. If it is a two (2) story garage it has radical set backs. Spring Valley stated you have to be careful with corner lots. The Mayor would like to see more study on the subject. He stated that the Board of Adjustment is willing to study this issue. There are plenty of engineers and builders that live in the City to query. Council Member Wolfe stated if it so difficult to establish what is or is not attached it must be a nightmare to decide what is or is not a residential living space above a garage. She believes this ordinance would be a simple solution.

 

Council Member Anderson wanted to clarify whether a ten 10 foot set back for an attached garage is incorrect. She stated the ordinance has always been twenty-five 25 feet and the problem started with the separation of a garage and a residence by one (1) inch submitted by Mr. Tribble. Right now we do not have a definition of an attached garage and that is why Ted Lazarides came to Council with this issue. We were told by experts at the Board of Adjustment hearing that a small separation of a garage from a residence can cause flooding and wind issues causing stability problems. Council Member Anderson stated there are people who believe that one (1) inch between the garage and residence is sufficient but she does not believe this. She stated that if the Board of Adjustment has a different suggestion they can have the ordinance changed.

 

Council Member Anderson stated the suggestion that she reviewed all residential plans is incorrect. She only started looking at the plans when Ted stated he could always use a second pair of eyes. This started with Mr. Tribble’s house. Council Member Anderson stated that if we are going to have zoning ordinances they need to be enforced and if Council or the Board of Adjustments does not like the ordinances then we should change them or remove them.

 

Council Member Denninger said that Council was not trying to change a zoning ordinance, only that they were trying to define what the word “detached” means. He feels it should be more than one (1) foot and the three (3) feet separation was very reasonable.

.

Council Member Whiting was concerned about the freedom of corner lots. She believes the ordinance should be reviewed by the Board of Adjustment. Council Member Whiting believes that this issue is: what does the City want the footprint to be? She believes this ordinance is premature and should be looked at in regards to all lot sizes.

 

Mayor Border stated that one of his garages is less than three (3) feet from his house. He was glad that our ordinances grandfathered the garage at the Gray’s residence to be rebuilt as it was on the existing slab. Mayor Border also explained to Council Member Anderson that he had interpreted what the Engineers had said at the Board of Adjustment’s meeting to mean that the integrity of the garage would be destroyed if the garage was cut off from the house. If you build a garage as a detached garage it would have the same integrity as the house.

 

Ted Lazarides said that you can build anything you want inside your property line. However, when you build on the City’s setbacks you must follow the City’s ordinance. He stated it is a privilege to build inside these setbacks. You must follow the rules of the City.

 

Council Member Anderson asked Ted Lazarides about the walkways and what a good width was, and what he felt was a good separation of the garage from the residence. Ted stated that four (4) feet was ADA’s requirement. He felt that three (3) feet was an appropriate amount for a separation.

 

Council Member Wolfe stated that the bottom line is “we are not changing the ordinance we are just clarifying detached versus attached”. Ted Lazarides agreed with her. Mayor Border and Council Member Whiting stated this was a definite change of the ordinance and not a clarification.

 

A vote was taken to define “Detached Garage” to provide a three (3) foot distance requirement from the main building, and to provide standards for a covered walkway between structures to be four (4) feet, the vote passed 3-2. Council Members Anderson, Denninger and Wolfe voted for the ordinance and Mayor Pro Tem Castro and Council Member Whiting voted against the ordinance.

 

4.5 A motion was made to authorize a one year extension of the Monarch School’s Specific Use Permit ending on July 31, 2009, seconded by Council Member Anderson. A vote was taken to authorize a one year extension of the Monarch School’s Specific Use Permit to end on July 31, 2009 and passed unanimously.

 

Council recessed at 8:35 P.M.

 

Council reconvened at 8:43 P.M.

 

6. DISCUSSION

 

6.1 Council Member Anderson discussed the granting of the variances regarding the rear setback lines at 1225 Pine Chase and 8001 Anadell and the hearing of the Board of Adjustments that was held on 1/7/09. Council Member Anderson stated there was a suggestion by Mr. Tribble that the Board of Adjustment hearing was based on the fact that she brought this to the attention of City Council. It was also suggested that she waited too long before bringing it to their attention. She stated she brought this to the attention of Council in October of 2008 shortly after the framing of Mr. Patel’s house. Ted had asked her to look at the plans for another reason on December 25, which is when she noticed Mr. Kent, the architect, had failed to put the twenty-five (25) feet setback on the plans. Mayor Border did not see them on the plans either. Council Member Anderson stated after the house was framed anyone could look at the property and see that it was not within the requirements of twenty-five (25) feet ordinance. Council Member Anderson did not ask that this problem go in front of the Board of Adjustment; all she did was bring it to the attention of Council. She stated the ordinance states that this problem could have been brought in front of City Council instead of the Board of Adjustment which would have saved a lot of expenses. She said the City should enforce the ordinance not shoot the messenger. She does not go behind anyone’s back looking at house plans. It is everyone’s right to look at any house plans for they are public records. Ted has even asked for Council to be a second pair of eyes.

 

Mayor Border stated he remembers sitting at the Council meeting when Council Member Anderson stated the house was out of code. He then went out of town and when he returned he looked at the plans and had the house red tagged to give the City time to review the situation. He stated the worst thing about being the Mayor was enforcing the law. He said when Council Member Anderson told Council about the problem it was his duty to tell Ted to red tag the job. Mayor Border stated there are several codes in the ordinances where it states “the appeal goes to City Council”. He stated this was a zoning code and must be brought to the attention of the Board of Adjustment. There must be notices and public hearings. It was better that these two issues be decided and not left for someone to challenge later. Mayor Border said he has thought about posting notices when plans are submitted for a resident building a home on a lot.

 

Council Member Castro asked the City Attorney to clarify this issue. David Olson stated that the local government code allows Council to refer all zoning issues to the Board of Adjustments and that is how our ordinances read. Council Member Anderson is referring to the Building Codes only which can be addressed by City Council. Set back issues are addressed by the Board of Adjustment. Encroachments of City property are addressed by Council.

 

Council Member Anderson asked why we referred this to the Board of Adjustments in the first place. The Mayor stated he brought it to Ted’s attention because he has a duty to enforce the laws. The procedures had to be followed regardless of what we knew the outcome would be. Mayor Border stated that he had reviewed the plans and he did not catch the error either because he thinks of a garage as 10 feet from property line. Ted had the check list and he and the City Office should not have given it to anyone else. There have been mistakes made and resignations tendered subject to the Mayor’s approval. Mayor Border has no intention of accepting Ted’s resignation because the next person will make the same mistake or a different one.

 

Council Member Anderson asked if there was a different way this could have been handled. David Olson stated that there were no other ways to handle this situation other than have them tear down the garage. David Olson stated that it was in the best interest of the home owner to address the issue and get a variance.

 

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

 

REPORTS TO COUNCIL:

Mayor Border discussed the sewer blockage at the Korean Church. The way he addressed the situation was that if it was the City’s problem, the City would pay for the repairs and if it was on the churches’ side they will pay the bill. Typically, how things are handled is that the City’s contractor connects all lines to the City’s systems. The line never was made to the City’s connections. The Mayor stated he may come back to Council for help to decide who is paying for the services.

 

5.3 Building Official: Ted Lazarides stated there were nine (9) permits issued last month. Ted stated some of the other cities require anyone building a house to send out letters to residents on the same street regarding the fact that they are building at a certain location and plans can be found at City Hall. The burden is on the builder instead of the City.

 

 

5.4 Treasurer Report: Manisha Patel stated the City’s financial statements have been reviewed and she saw no problems. She went to a financial seminar and will transfer funds from Amegy Bank to the Texas Mutual League when they come up for renewal.

 

5.5 Mayor and Council:

 

Mayor Border: The Mayor attended several meetings. One meeting was with Harris County in which they have funds to give out regarding the affects of Hurricane Ike. Mayor Border and City Secretary Blevins filled out several reports attempting to request some of these funds. FEMA came out and met with us in regards to reimbursement for our expenses due to Hurricane Ike. This was a very awkward meeting. Mayor Border stated at the end of the day they were trying to help us to get reimbursement for the money we spent. He stated there was also a meeting regarding mitigation money for flooding and we have a reasonable chance of getting some funds.

 

Council Member Whiting: Bridle Spur – The Lee’s are still having problems with their Mortgage Company. The City may need to write a letter stating that we are not trying to get their property; instead we are trying to establish a right-of-way.

 

Ridgeley Project Citizens Committee: Council Member Whiting said she has had many inquiries as to when the City was going to start the beautification project. The Mayor is to supply a contact name with Harris County who has a large significant nursery from which the City can draw.

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 we need to let them know now. Mayor Border stated he hopes we can get some of the trees from Harris County and the residents can plant them.

 

6.6 HVCEFFC (Conduit Bonds) has $2,179.56 in the bank at this time. The invoice

for insurance was forwarded to David Cheadle to be paid.

6.8 The City Secretary’s Report: City Secretary Blevins reminded everyone to

turn in their financial disclosures which are due on January 31, 2009. Secretary Blevins asked Council how they wanted the elections to be handled. They could be handled through the City or the Candidates could be on the same ballot as Spring Branch ISD. Council stated that they did not want to be on the ballot with Spring Branch ISD. Secretary Blevins is working on the FEMA reports and took Alonzo, FEMA representative, on a tour of the City’s potholes. Secretary Blevins is working on a report for Harris County regarding all damages to various residences.

ACTION ITEMS (CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION):

 

7. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion was made by Council Member Whiting to approve the Consent Agenda as presented less invoice numbers 77449-H and 70780-H and the petty cash invoice, seconded by Council Member Denninger. A vote was taken to approve the Consent Agenda less the HDR/Claunch & Miller invoice numbers 77449-H and 70780-H and the petty cash invoice, the motion passed unanimously.

 

Council Member Denninger requested that the HDR/Claunch and Miller invoices be held until Efrain Him has time to review them. Mayor Pro Tem Castro stated she had already spoken to the City Secretary about this issue and that the amount left in petty cash should be $108.34 and that it does match the petty cash drawer. The amount to be paid is correct. Council Member Denninger made a motion to pay $141.66 to petty cash, seconded by Council Member Anderson. A vote was taken and passed unanimously to pay $141.66 to petty cash.

 

8. MAYOR AND COUNCIL COMMENTS: NONE

 

9. ADDITIONAL CITIZENS COMMENTS:

 

Mayor Edward Davis, 1103Glourie Drive, addressed Mayor Pro Tem Castro about using some of the extra money on the Park.

 

Alan Wolfe, 1314 Pine Chase, stated during the storm, CenterPoint was up and down their driveway and damaged it. He wanted to know if the Mayor could help with a contact at CenterPoint. He also stated that there were still stop signs and street signs missing.

 

Mayor Border stated that the Boy Scouts are going to go in and paint all poles, clean all signs and they will mark all signs that need to be replaced.

 

10. ADDITIONAL COUNCIL COMMENTS: NONE

 

11. ANNOUNCEMENTS: NONE

 

14. ADJOURNMENT: It was moved by Council Member Anderson and seconded by Council Member Wolfe to adjourn.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                        ____________________

                                                                                                                                                                        Robin S. Border, Mayor

ATTEST:

 

__________________________

Susan Blevins, City Secretary