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Home My WebLink AboutMIN FEBRUARY 25 1997 M I N ACT T IE S p CITY OF B EAUMONT Lulu L.smith DAVID W. MOORE, MAYOR Andrew P.Cokinos, Mayor Pro Tem Guy N.Goodson CITY COUNCIL MEETING Becky Ames John K. Davis FEBRUARY 25, 1997 Bobbie J. Patterson Lane Nichols, City Attorney Ray A. Riley,City Manager Patrice Fogarty,City Clerk The City Council of the City of Beaumont, Texas, met in a regular session on February 25, 1997, 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 and Recognition *Approve minutes of the February 18, 1997, City Council meeting - Not considered, will be placed on March 4, 1997, agenda Mayor Moore called the meeting to order at 1:34 p.m. Father Jeremiah J. McGraph, Saint Anthony's Cathedral, gave the invocation. Kyle Hayes, Assistant to the City Manager, led the pledge of allegiance. Present at the meeting were: Mayor Moore, Mayor Pro Tem Cokinos, Councilmembers Smith, Goodson, Ames, Davis, and Patterson. Also, present were Ray A. Riley, City Manager; Lane Nichols, City Attorney; Patrice Fogarty, City Clerk; and Barbara Liming, Deputy City Clerk. Two proclamations were issued: "Purchasing Month," March, 1997; and African-American History Month Celebration Day at West Brook High School," February 20, 1997. COMMENTS * Councilmembers comment on various matters Councilmember Davis questioned when the Council will review the audit. Mr. Riley said review of the audit will be placed on the next workshop agenda. Mayor Moore reported his attendance at meetings that included time spent with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He reviewed federal grant monies, shortfalls, and thanked Staff for assisting him with information for a presentation he made. He said the information shared with other mayors was well received and that Beaumont's program was exemplary. Mayor Moore said that education continues to be in the forefront for every city in America and said that downtown revitalization and leveraging CDBG funds should be issues of concern. * Public Comment (Persons are limited to 3 minutes) - No citizens wished to comment. There being no further business, the meeting recessed at 1:50 p.m. to reconvene in workshop session in the third floor conference room to consider other business that will include: OTHER BUSINESS • Review plans for proposed Municipal Court at the White House Building - Attachment No. 1 • Discuss criteria for Reinvestment Zones - Attachment No. 2 The workshop session recessed at 2:40 p.m. to reconvene in executive session. EXECUTIVE SESSION * Executive Session in accordance with Section 551.071 of the Government Code to discuss contemplated or pending litigation: Claim of Marissa Faytaren Municipal Administrative Services v. City of Beaumont C:L'-'Q Mayor David W. Moore VI aft ';W, —% Patrice Fogarty, C& Clerk Minutes;2/25/97;Page 2 INTER-OFFICE MEMORANDUM City of Beaumont,Texas Date: February 21, 1997 To: Ray Riley, City Manager From: Kirby Richard, Central Services Director Subject: White House Building Renovations COMMENTS In May 1996, City Council approved the acquisition of the White House building located at 720 Orleans Street at a cost of$126,000. The building was constructed in the early 1940's and contains approximately 68,000 square feet on three floors and a mezzanine. The vacant building provides an exceptional opportunity to not only redevelop the downtown area but to also allow for the expansion of municipal facilities. To take advantage of this opportunity, it is proposed that the City renovate the building's first floor for use as a new _ Municipal Court. Currently, the Municipal Court is located `4 - within the Police/Municipal Court building at 255 College Street. The area allocated to the _ w court operation encompasses 6,800 square feet of floors ace. This includes areas for the t�r _s P courtroom, judges and prosecutor, staff offices, an employee loun a with restrooms> '° g corridors and equipment room. The Municipal Court's staff has less than 2,000 square feet of office, storage and _ — - - counter space for the sixteen support employees and their related office equipment. When the building was originally constructed in September 1975, the Municipal Court employed a staff of only nine (9) persons. The staff area ATTACHMENT NO. 1 White House Building Renovations February 21, 1997 Page 2 required to manage today's work load far exceeds that available at the present location. During court sessions, the 1,580 square foot courtroom seats one hundred (100) people and often is inadequate. Overflow defendants and their families are required to wait in the lobby or outside in the elements and are often overlooked. It is estimated that approximately 53,000 municipal cases will be presented to the judges during FY 1997. Current court facilities also provide limited accommodations for essential support functions, such as judges and prosecutor office space. These areas are extremely small and crowded. Also, the facility does not provide a public restroom for use by court patrons. We have reviewed this proposal with court personnel and judges and believe the plan presented here will solve a pressing city need. Presented in Exhibit A is a conceptual layout of the Municipal Court in the White House Building. As proposed, approximately 17,300 square feet of floor space will be renovated to accommodate the court operations. Interior areas include the following: ► Two Courtrooms- The main courtroom is approximately 1,800 square feet with a seating capacity of 120 persons. This room will accommodate the daily activities of the court. To provide additional court and meeting area, a second multipurpose room is proposed. The multipurpose room will not be furnished in the traditional courtroom setting. It will be finished as a large meeting room capable of functioning as a second courtroom. If required, this area may be equipped with a permanent courtroom configuration at a later date. ► Court Clerk Office Area- The proposed concept provides more than 3,000 square feet of office space, work and file storage areas for the court employees. Extra consideration has been extended to the cashier and public areas to provide additional privacy and comfort to those conducting business with Municipal Court staff. ► Prosecutor/Judges Offices - Offices for two attorneys and two judges are provided. Approximately 1,200 square feet are allocated for this use. ► Police Holding Area -Police officers are provided office space while waiting to attend trials or hearings. There is an adjacent holding room for defendants under the supervision of an officer. White House Building Renovations February 21, 1997 Page 3 ► . taffLounee- The proposed staff lounge would be equipped with a kitchen and seating area for employee use only. ► Restrooms - Public restrooms are provided near the Orleans Street (main) entrance in the court lobby. Also proposed are staff restroom facilities located near the employee lounge. ► Lobby, storage and equipment areas will make up the remainder of the first floor. According to architectural estimates,the proposed facility's construction cost is $750,000. This cost includes minimal improvements to the facade on the first level and relocation of the Forsythe Street entrance. If the proposed concept is approved, renovations could begin by August 1997. Some improvements to the building have already begun. The first phase of the building's asbestos removal has been completed at a cost of$75,846. Solicitation for phase two bids (estimated at $30,000)will be published March 3. Also, in-house staff from the Building Services Division has begun replacement of the build's roof system. No action is proposed at this time on the buildings-second and third levels. This space is available for future office space and storage of city records. Attachment EXHIBIT A ORLEANS �1 ._-__;I I 1 I 1 I 1 0 rl\ F ........... .... ............ "Ill-Jill 11-1 11-1 � ww, g /X Q ——— —————— O I O O - I 1 O{ O i0 O I a la 0 i z I oI If 3 1moo �� --- --- -- ' ---- - 00 ------- I ------ }� s O y O I , 13 a�a� ❑ � i I i 0 i t 900 r° C J �bl t�'tT I cart[ C I I I ------------------------------------ _ , 1 I I Q I 1 I I I I I I i I I I 1 ----------------- I 1 I i m -------- m -------------— --- m m I t I I 1 I I I i I I I 1 I I I 5a PROPOSED MUNICIPAL COURT ISSUED FOR Wt OYH .. y I wHITE HOUSE BVIIOINC BEAUMONT. TEXAS 2 C., a € MILTON BELL ASSOCIATES, INC. 3 '081 ARCHITECTS AND PLwNN ERS < IlE,)rrr� Reinvestmc .t Zones Why have one? To offer local incentives for economic development within the city limits or ETJ. What are the criteria for a Reinvestment Zone? The area must... • substantially arrest or impair the sound growth of the city, retard the provision of housing, or constitute an economic or social liability • be predominantly open and substantially impair or arrest the sound growth • be in a federally assisted new community located in a home-rule city or in an area immediately adjacent to a federally assisted community located in a home-rule city • be located entirely in an area that meets the requirements for federal assistance under Section 119 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 • encompass signs, billboards, or other outdoor advertising structures designated by the city for relocation, reconstruction, or removal for the purpose of enhancing the physical environment of the municipality, which the legislature declares to be a public purpose; or • be reasonably likely as a result of designation to contribute to the retention or expansion of primary employment or to attract major investment in the zone that would be a benefit to the property and that would contribute to the economic development of the city. How is our present abatement policy applicable? The policy reflects the incentives that the City would offer...property tax abatement. • The length and amount of abatement is dependent on the size of the project or the number of jobs created. • This does not limit the discretion of the City to decide whether to enter into a specific tax abatement agreement. • Abatement guidelines and criteria may be amended or repealed only by a vote of three-fourths of the members of the governing body. The abatement for city taxes would have to be the same as any other taxing jurisdiction that would offer tax abatement as part of the reinvestment zone. ATTACHMENT NO_ 2 Reinvestme t Zones How are Reinvestment Zones created? • Provide public notice • Hold public hearing • Pass City ordinance • Register with the Texas Department of Commerce • Designation expires five years after date of designation and maybe renewed for periods not to exceed five years. What is the purpose of the Public Hearing? The City must make several findings... • that the improvements sought are feasible and would be of benefit to the zone after the expiration of the agreement. • that the zone meets one of the applicable criteria for reinvestment zones. These findings should be approved by the governing body at an open meeting and noted in the minutes. Does the size of a zone make a difference? By limiting the zone to the involved property, the taxing unit is not obligated to use the same terms or percentage of tax abatement for other properties that are located outside of the zone. If the zone includes several properties, each property owner has the right to ask for the same terms in any tax abatement agreement that is executed. While abatement is not guaranteed, if granted it must be on the same terms (number of years and percentage of abatement) as the other agreements within that zone. A larger reinvestment zone is often adopted by a taxing unit that wants to target a particular area of the city for development. Who last used? 9/27/91 Helena Labs