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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN AUGUST 5 2003 M I N U T E S - CITY OF BEAUMONT Lulu L. Smith EVELYN M. LORD, MAYOR Nancy A. Beaulieu Andrew P. Cokinos CITY COUNCIL MEETING Becky Ames, Mayor Pro Ter Bobbie J. Patterson August 5,2003 Audwin Samuel Lane Nichols, City Attorney Kyle Hayes, City Manager Susan Henderson, City Clerk The City Council of the City of Beaumont, Texas, met in a regular session on August 5, 2003, at the City Hall Council Chambers, 801 Main Street, Beaumont, Texas, at 1:30 p.m. to consider the following: OPENING * Invocation Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call * Presentations, Recognition and Proclamations * Public Comment: Persons may speak on scheduled agenda items * Consent Agenda Mayor Evelyn Lord called the meeting to order at 1:31 p.m. The invocation was said by Bob Sinclair, Pastor of First United Methodist Church. Councilmember Patterson led the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll call was made by Tina Broussard from the City Clerk's office. Present at the meeting was Mayor Lord, Mayor Pro Tern Ames, Councilmembers Smith, Beaulieu, Cokinos, Samuel and Patterson.Also, present was Kyle Hayes, City Manager;Tyronne Cooper, First Assistant City Attorney; and Tina Broussard, Administrative Assistant. Susan Henderson, City Clerk arrived at 1:50 p.m. Proclamations, Presentations and Recognitions Beaumont Police Officer Tina Prichard presented an invitation to Council inviting them to the 20th Annual Night Out Against Crime to be held at Central Park on August 5, 2003 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Public Comment: Persons may speak on items listed on the Consent Agenda or on General Business Items No. 1 through No. 2. Beverly Hatcher 7 Sandlewood Drive Beaumont, TX Mrs. Hatcher expressed her concern that the property listed on Consent Agenda A was apart of the site designated for the statute of Martin Luther King Park.** **Mayor Lord asked City Manager Kyle Hayes to offer comments. Mr. Hayes explained the property listed under Consent Agenda Item A was a small piece of property adjacent to Munro's Cleaners. CONSENT AGENDA Approval of minutes - Minutes of July 29, 2003 Confirmation of committee appointments - Resolution 03-158 A) Adopt a "no objection"resolution to enable the Texas Department of Transportation to convey its interest in surplus property along Spur 380 (M. L. King Jr. Parkway) - RESOLUTION 03-159 B) Authorize the acceptance of a water line easement providing access for fire prevention services - RESOLUTION 03-160 Councilmember Cokinos moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Beaulieu seconded the motion. AYES: MAYOR LORD, MAYOR PRO TEM AMES, COUNCILMEMBERS SMITH, BEAULIEU, COKINOS, SAMUEL AND PATTERSON NAYS: NONE MOTION PASSED. GENERAL BUSINESS 1. Consider approving the purchase of a supplemental excess property insurance policy - Resolution 03-161. Administration recommended the renewal of an insurance policy from the Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool (TML-IRP) in the amount of$89,949.00 for one (1) year Excess Windstorm coverage. The excess policy will provide additional coverage for catastrophic losses in excess of the primary coverage. The policy will be effective August 9, 2003 is renewable for one year. Councilmember Smith moved to approve RESOLUTION 03-161 APPROVING THE RENEWAL OF AN EXCESS WINDSTORM INSURANCE POLICY FROM TEXAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE INTERGOVERNMENTAL RISK POOL IN THE AMOUNT OF$89,949.00. Councilmember Beaulieu seconded the motion. AYES: MAYOR LORD,MAYOR PRO TEM AMES,COUNCILMEMBERS SMITH,BEAULIEU, COKINOS, SAMUEL AND PATTERSON NAYS: NONE MOTION PASSED. Minutes-August 5, 2003 t Page 2 2. Consider approving the purchase of three sewage pumps for use by the Water Utilities Division. Councilmember Cokinos moved to approve RESOLUTION 03-162 APPROVING A BID FROM AUTOMATIC PUMP AND EQUIPMENT CO.,INC.IN THE AMOUNT OF 441,817.00 FOR THE PURCHASE OF THREE (3) HYDROMATIC S12L SUBMERSIBLE. Councilmember Smith seconded the motion. AYES: MAYOR LORD,MAYOR PRO TEMAMES,COUNCILMEMBERS SMITH,BEAULIEU, COKINOS, SAMUEL AND PATTERSON NAYS: NONE MOTION PASSED. WORK SESSION Receive report from the Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway Commission Councilmember Audwin Samuel stated the workshop was to review the status of the Commission's plan to build a statute of Dr. King along the M. L. King Jr. Parkway. Councilmember Samuel then introduced Beverly Hatcher, Chairman of the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway Commission as the person who would render an update to Council. Mrs. Hatcher thanked City Council for the opportunity and introduced various other members of the Commission. Mrs. Hatcher reviewed the Commission's work up to the final proposal and fund-raising plan to raise monies for a statute of Dr. King. She stated as the fund- raising efforts continued, a letter was sent to the Commission in July 2002 from the City Attorney's office informing them they could no longer use the City's name, logo or tax identification number in their fund-raising attempts. Mrs. Hatcher stated the Commission members felt the letter stalled the fund-raising efforts of the Commission. Mrs. Hatcher also raised the concern of the lack of maintenance on the selected site, as the marble wall has had vehicular damage occur in two places but has not been fixed. Reverend R. D. Carrington, past Chairman of the Commission,added that the Commission did not understand why the group was stopped from utilizing the City's name, logo or tax identification number as the group was commissioned by City Council and had received donations that went directly to a City account. He confirmed for Councilmember Beaulieu and Mayor Lord that the group had voted to seek nonprofit status only because the City halted the Commission using its name, logo and tax identification number. However, he stated the Commission felt to apply for nonprofit status was an unnecessary step and asked that specific reasons be outlined as to why the group was barred from using the City's identifying items since the group was commissioned by City Council. Reverend Carrington wanted to also clarify that the fund-raising portion of the Commission's plan had actually begun in the past few years and not since 1985 as some may perceive. Minutes-August 5,2003 Page 3 p Greg Busceme, a member of the Commission, reported on the process of the search and final decision the group made for an artist to sculpt the statute. He confirmed the chosen artist, Ed Dwight, had lowered the original amount negotiated from $500,000.00 to $150,000.00. He explained the price was originally to include a stature of Dr. King surrounded by four small children. Mr. Busceme also stated the Commission had chosen two additional artists as the second and third pick, in the event an agreement could not be reached with Mr. Dwight. Those choices were David Cargill, a Beaumont sculptor and Doug Clark of Port Arthur. The session ended with Council offering its continued support to the Commission and its efforts to pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Council also asked the City Attorney's office research and provide to Council and Commission members the reason(s) why the Commission was halted from using the City's name, logo and tax identification number. Councilmember Patterson and Councilmember Samuel also asked staff to research whether the planned tribute to Dr. King would be eligible for Community Block Grant funding. Each of them emphasized that such funding could be contributed to the Commission's goal since the chosen site was in a blighted area of the City and the purpose of the memorial was to add beautification along the M. L. K. Parkway. AUDIO AND VIDEO TAPES ARE AVAILABLE IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS: COUNCILMEMBER PATTERSON - NONE COUNCILMEMBER SAMUEL - NONE COUNCILMEMBER COKINOS - NONE COUNCILMEMBER BEAULIEU - NONE COUNCILMEMBER SMITH - NONE MAYOR PRO TEM AMES - NONE CITY MANAGER KYLES HAYES - NONE MAYOR LORD - NONE Minutes-August 5,2003 Page 4 Public Comments (Persons are limited to three minutes) Kenneth Connor 7920 Broun Beaumont, TX Mr. Connor reported that markings and elevations to revamp the sewage and drainage system would have to be redone by the Public Works Department because they had been removed since being placed. Mr. Connor stated these procedures had been completed back in June 2003. Reverend M. L. Johnson 2250 W. Virginia Beaumont, TX Reverend Johnson addressed Council about a petition given to the City Clerk in June 2003 about placing traffic lights at the corner of Hale and Magnolia Street and at the corner of Gill and Magnolia Street. Reverend Johnson turned in an additional 280 signatures from within the North End of Beaumont. He reiterated the petitions were signed following the death of a fourteen-year old teenager in the month of June. He added that since that time another individual was killed crossing Magnolia Street by a speeding car. Reverend Johnson stated that a traffic monitor had been set up on Magnolia during the first week of July for a period of three days. He asked Council to seriously consider placing traffic lights at these intersections. LeRoy Lewis, III 7866 Gladys Beaumont, TX Mr. Lewis asked Council to review the need for additional utility lights along Gladys, Washington Boulevard and Virginia Street. He also inquired of Council if the Concord Road extension would ever be completed. Mr. Lewis expressed his agreement that traffic lights need to be placed at the corners of Gill and Magnolia and Hale and Magnolia. He also expressed his concern about a lack of a traffic light or overpass for the children who cross over College Street from the Parkshadow Apartments. Audio and video tapes are available upon request in the City Clerk's Office. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:05 p.m. Mayor Evelyn tord Susan Henderson, City Clerk