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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN APR 18 1989 REGULAR SESSION CITY COUNCIL - CITY OF BEAUMONT HELD APRIL 18, 1989 - 1:15 P.M. BE IT REMEMBERED that the City Council of the City of Beaumont, Texas, met in regular session this the 18th day of April, 1989, with the following present: HONORABLE: Maurice Meyers Mayor Bob Lee, Jr. Councilman-At-Large Andrew P. Cokinos Councilman-At-Large Lulu L. Smith Councilman, Ward I Mike Brumley Councilman, Ward II David W. Moore Councilman, Ward IV *Absent: Audwin Samuel Mayor Pro Tem and Councilman, Ward III Ray A. Riley City Manager Lane Nichols City Attorney Rosemarie Chiappetta City Clerk *Councilman Samuel is out of the City today representing City Council on a trip to Washington as Mayor Pro Tem. -000- The Invocation was given by the Reverend Harold Halcomb, pastor of North End Baptist Church. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Meyers. -000- Mrs. Maree Calcote, 5615 Duff, Chairman of the Clean Community Commission, addressed Council to speak of the success of Spring Sweep 189, which was held April 1, 1989: "We had a very, very good day on April the lst and I wanted to tell you about some of the numbers that we had and recognize some of the groups that worked with us to participate so hard. We had a total of 32 groups. We had a lot of individuals; I ' ll mention some of those later. We had 25 sites in the City that we cleaned. We took 480 cubic yards on that day out of the community. We had over 300 participants and that gave us a total of 900 volunteer man-hours and I think that is a tremendous effort for that day. We had a number of people who participated; we had a number of businesses that helped us. We had money, goods and services. The staff from the Police Department, the Fire Department and the Sanitation Department of the City was excellent. We've had very, very strong support from City staff in those areas. " -91- April 18, 1989 Mrs. Calcote continued by recognizing several individuals and groups who participated in Spring Sweep 189: The Sheriff ' s Department, Jefferson County Restitution Center, KWIC Radio, Southwestern Bell, Pipefitters Local, Entex (Cathy Roach) , BFI, Southern Iron and Metal, Larry Nance, Philip Johnson, Waste Management (Jackie Cannon) , Lamar University fraternities and sororities represented by coordinator Greg Mason, John Estes (not present) , Cathedral in the Pines, Kelly High School (Mitch Peacock and Mark Miles) , Gulf States Utilities, Sam Bethay and Janet Thomas (Chairman of the Committee) , Betty Dunkerley, Sue Brubaker, Marcus Dougharty, Delia Harrington and Jim McEwen. Mrs. Janet Thomas, Chairman for Spring Sweep 189, addressed Council saying, " . . .I think the most important thing that is done by things like Spring Sweep and Operation Clean Street is yes, we get it done once and it' s looking nice, but that' s not the whole point. The whole point is you've educated 300 people or more this way to the fact that they are scrutinizing all these areas every time they drive around and they are looking at these places and saying that' s not the way I want my city to look and they are passing this word on to other people and if we can get 300 more people in addition to the ones we had this year and this continues to grow, maybe we can put the Clean Community Commission out of business. " Mrs. Thomas introduced more of the participants: Robert Brookshire, Kyle Todd, Ed Trump, Joe Prahoda, each working with crews of 10 or 12 others on various streets. Mayor Meyers responded by saying, "I think you hit it right on the head when you spoke to everybody having a little piece, and that' s really the whole basis for all of the effort, recognizing that no one person or group can get the whole; but, if everybody does take a little piece - we've got about 120,000 little pieces around here that we can have working all the time. And, it is an effort that brings about great satisfaction to those who participate and the numbers continue to increase on a regular basis. And, for Council and for all the citizens, because of the work you've done and other volunteers that have worked with you, we thank you very much. -000- One proclamation was issued: "South Park High School Building Day in Beaumont" - April 19, 1989. -000- Public comment was called on Consent Agenda and Main Agenda Items. No one wished to address Council to speak on these items. -000- -92- April 18, 1989 The following Consent Agenda items were considered: Approval of the Minutes of the regular City Council session held April 11, 1989; Resolution 89-84 authorizing the release of $100,000 in securities held as collateral for City bank deposits by Texas Commerce Bank; Resolution 89-85 authorizing the purchase of six ( 6) submersible pumps for sanitary sewer lift stations on Buford near Carroll, at Stonetown & Best and on Keith Road, from Saladin Pump and Equipment Company of Beaumont at an amount of $10,968. 00; and Resolution 89-86 authorizing purchase of a W-B Company Model M-B 220 Line Stripper pavement marking machine, with standard 12-month parts and labor warranty, from Saf-T-Mark Supply Company, Inc. , at $25,177.00. The Consent Agenda was approved on a motion made by Councilman Moore and seconded by Councilman Smith. Question: Ayes: All Nayes: None -000- A resolution authorizing the City Attorney to intervene in the Gulf States Utilities Company rate case before the Public Utility Commission, authorizing employment of Butler and Castevens as legal counsel and Diversified Utility Consultants as consultants for the basic rate case and Technical Analysis Corporation as consultants for cost reconciliation study of Riverbend Plant and appointing the City Manager and City Attorney to a steering committee of cities in the GSU service area organized to manage the case was considered. After a lengthy discussion concerning the effectiveness of hiring of legal counsel and consultants, costs and expenses related with their employment, and those expenses being ultimately borne by Gulf States Utilities ratepayers or customers, it was the consensus of Council not to employ the above-named firms. Councilman Lee made a motion authorizing the City Attorney to intervene in the GSU rate increase case pending before the Public Utilities Commission; motion was seconded by Councilman Brumley. Question: Ayes: All Nayes: None A motion to notify the Public Utilities Commission that, while the City of Beaumont has intervened in the Gulf States Utilities Company rate increase request, it has declined to employ other attorneys and consultants in order to reduce or hold any costs relative to the review of the rate increase request at the lowest possible amount to the rate payers in the City of Beaumont and, further, to encourage the PUC to do what is necessary to give the proper review of the pending rate request and employ any consultants which might be necessary to assist them was made by Councilman Brumley; motion was seconded by Councilman Smith. Question: Ayes: All Nayes: None -93- April 18, 1989 Resolution 89-87 authorizing acceptance of a $28,675.00 grant for the employment of an AIDS Educator/Counselor for the Beaumont Health Department for an AIDS educational and counseling outreach program was approved on a motion made by Councilman Lee and seconded by Councilman Brumley. Question: Ayes: All Nayes: None -000- Resolution 89-88 accepting the work performed under a contract with Watkins Construction Company for construction of playground improvements on Chaison and Combest Parks (total construction costs at $83 ,761. 00) and authorizing final payment in the amount of $13,033 . 00 to the contractor was approved on a motion made by Councilman Cokinos and seconded by Councilman Smith. Question: Ayes: All Nayes: None -000- Resolution 89-89 authorizing application by the Police Department for a $25,992 grant from the Criminal Justice Division of the Office of the Governor under the Juvenile Crime and Drug Abuse Prevention Projects through the South East Texas Regional Planning Commission for expansion of its Drug Abuse Resistance Educational (DARE) program to be conducted by the Police Department for middle school pupils in the sixth and seventh grades in the Beaumont Independent School District was approved on a motion made by Councilman Moore and seconded by Councilman Cokinos. Question: Ayes: All Nayes: None -000- Councilman Brumley thanked those involved with the Tall Ship Elissa' s stay in Beaumont and also told of the Sunday in the Park activities hosted by the Symphony Women' s League last Sunday. Councilman Lee requested that park restrooms be monitored and cleaned more frequently, especially when special activities encourage large groups of people to participate or visit the parks. Councilman Cokinos expressed his appreciation for the quick action taken by City staff in the repair and clean-up of the restroom facilities on Sprott Park. In addition, Councilman Cokinos spoke of the action-packed weekend and complimented Saturday' s parade. Mayor Meyers and Councilman Lee added favorable remarks about Saturday' s parade, with special compliments to Chief C. A. "Pete" Shelton and James Broussard. Mayor Meyers congratulated Councilman David Moore for his selection to a national committee with the National League of Cities, Washington, D. C. -94- April 18, 1989 Councilman Moore told those present that he had attended two days of intense meetings in Washington, D. C. on federal revenues, which included discussion of President Bush' s compromise budget for $30. 0 billion deficit reduction, and that nineteen ( 19) issues were sent back to the NLC Board for presentation on Capitol Hill, and had been a really good working experience. Councilman Smith invited all to attend Sunday in the Park activities scheduled for April 23rd, to be hosted by Young Audiences. -000- Mr. Frank Kiefer, 3190 Willowood, addressed City Council to apologize for his strong opposition to the new automated garbage collection system, saying that the new system was working well in his neighborhood. Mr. Kiefer requested that improvement be made in the call-in trash collection system, complaining that trash was only removed from the call-in address and not removed from neighboring properties. In addition, Mr. Kiefer requested that swings suitable for older children and adults be installed on Combest Park. He expressed his concern for the new playground equipment made from plastic sewer pipe, saying water collected in the vertical areas which could become breeding grounds for stinging insects, and feared that broken bottles could be dangerous to children in the horizontal areas of the pipe. Mrs. Helen Marie Allen, 4555 Winston, addressed Council to thank the City for correcting drainage problems in her area. Mr. Henry Dannenbaum, 1567 Wall, addressed Council to express his appreciation for the fun-filled weekend activities. -000- There being no further business, the meeting was recessed before continuing with the City Council Workshop Session. -000- I, Rosemarie Chiappetta, City Clerk of the City of Beaumont, certify that the above is a true copy of the Minutes of the regular City Council session held April 18, 1989. Rosemarie Chiappetta City Clerk -95- April 18, 1989