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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN SEP 01 1981 REGULAR SESSION CITY COUNCIL - CITY OF BEAUMONT. HELD SEPTEMBER 1 , 1981 BE IT REMEMBERED that the City Council of the City of Beaumont , Texas , met in regular session this the lst day of September , 1981 , with the following present : HONORABLE : Maurice Meyers Mayor Evelyn M. Lord Councilman , Ward II Wayne Turner Councilman , Ward IV Councilman Williams arrived during presentation of the Proclamation "Labor Day Tennis Tournament Days in Beaumont . " Councilman Combs arrived for Work Session . -000- The Invocation was given by Reverend Max Dawson , Minister of the Pinecrest Church of Christ . The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilman Turner. -000- Mayor Meyers read two Proclamations : Monday , September 7 , 1981 as "Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon Day in Beaumont" and urged all citizens to join in the support of the work done by the Muscular Dystrophy Association by contributing to the Jerry Lewis Telethon . Pam Measel , Program Coordinator, received the Proclamation and invited all to stay tuned to television to "watch the stars come out" on September 6th . Mayor and Council com- plimented Pam for a tremendous preparatory effort . September 5th , 6th , 7th , 1981 as " Labor Day Tennis Tournament Days in Beaumont. Mayor Meyers recognized some of the people who were instrumental over the years in this effort and asked Mr . Bill Deevy to introduce those present who played important roles in the develop- ment of the tennis tournament in Beaumont -- Jack Hightower, Mrs . Eola "Toto" Clifton , Caldwell McFaddin and Ben Woodhead . Mr . High- tower being the first Beaumonter to win the singles championship in 1923 , 1924 , 1925 ; Mrs . Clifton was first to win the women ' s event held for the first time in 1927 ; Messrs . Woodhead and McFaddin were players in the early tournaments and later served as Directors . -000- The following items on the Consent Agenda were considered : Minutes of the Regular Session held by City Council August 25 , 1981 . R-81 -351 appointing Cleve Bachman and Mrs . John T . Gray to the Histori - cal Landmark Commission for one and two-year terms expiring September 1 , 1982 and September 1 , 1983 , respectfully . - 136- SEPTEMBER 1 , 1981 -000- R-81 -352 authorizing the American National Bank of Beaumont to with- draw and pledge $42 , 165 ,000 . 00 to protect the deposits of the City of Beaumont . R-81 -353 authorizing payment to Kinsel Ford , Inc . , in the amount of $5658. 78, for the purchase and installation of a new diesel engine in a side loader used by the Sanitation Department . R-81 -354 accepting the bid of Carl T . Birdsong , Inc . , in the amount of $2300. 00 , for furnishing two-1000 gallon propane fuel tanks to be used in fire training exercises at the Fire Training Grounds . R-81 -355 accepting the bid of Ferguson Enterprises for furnishing 2000 feet of 10- inch and 3000 feet of 12-inch rubber gasket sewer pipe , in the amount of $19 ,052 . 90 . R-81 -356 authorizing the sale of a remnant of right of way which had been acquired by the City for the widening and reconstruction of Lethia Street (Census Tract 8 Project , being 6278 square feet out of Lots 11 and 12 , Block 1 , First Addition to the North Addition , for the appraised value of $1650 . 00 , to Magnolia Missionary Baptist Church . R-81 -357 authorizing a Quitclaim Deed from the City of Beaumont to Beaumont Alumni Chapter , Kappa Alphi Psi , in the amount of $2290 . 00 , for a parcel of land out of Lots 7 and 8 , Block 14 , Oakwood Addition . Councilman Lord made the motion to approve the Consent Agenda ; motion seconded by Councilman Turner. QUESTION : AYES : All NAYES : None -000- Ordinance No . 81 -67 was considered : ORDINANCE NO . 81 -67 ENTITLED AN ORDINANCE READOPTING THE PARKS AND OPEN SPACE ELEMENT OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ; AMENDING SAME TO REDESIGNATE THE JEFFERSON COUNTY TB HOSPITAL SITE AS A "SPECIAL PARK" , PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY . Councilman Turner moved for adoption of the Ordinance ; seconded by Councilman Lord . QUESTION : AYES : All NAYES : None -000- R-81 -358 authorizing the execution of Change Order No . 1 to the con- tract with Troy Dodson Construction Company for Census Tract 8 , HUD No . B-79=MC-48-0003 , to replace a badly deteriorated sewer line on Lethia Street and to provide cement stablized backfill material for cross drainage structures -- increasing the contract by $47 ,915 ; making a total contract of $996 ,417 . 50 , was approved on a motion by Councilman Turner ; seconded by Councilman Lord . QUESTION : AYES : All NAYES : None - 137- SEPTEMBER 1 , 1981 -000- R-81 -359 accepting the west five feet of Lot 17 , Block 2 , Wescalder Fig Acres for right of way purposes for the widening of Wooten Road from E & J Investments & Builders , Inc . , was approved on a motion made by Councilman Lord and seconded by Councilman Turner . QUESTION : AYES : All NAYES : None -000- R-81 -360 accepting three 16-foot easements in Lot 17 , Block 2 , in Wescalder Fig Acres for general utility purposes from E & J Invest- ments & Builders , Inc . , was approved on a motion made by Councilman Lord ; seconded by Councilman Turner. QUESTION : AYES : All NAYES : None -000- R-81 -361 authorizing the execution of a depository agreement with Texas Commerce Bank-Beaumont for a two-year period beginning October 1 , 1981 , was approved on a motion made by Councilman Turner; seconded by Councilman Lord . QUESTION : AYES : All NAYES : None -000- R-81 -362 authorizing payment to Mobil Pipe Line Company for actual cost for the adjustment of a 10-inch Mobil pipeline which crosses Sarah Street , at an approximate cost of $36 ,878 , was approved on a motion made by Councilman Turner; seconded by Councilman Lord . QUESTION AYES : All NAYES : None -000- R-81 -363 authorizing the execution of contracts with Beaumont Ready Mix, Inc . , for $55 . 25/cubic yard add or deduct cement at $3 . 90/sack ; and Type III High Early Cement from Cowboy Concrete Corporation for $59 . 30/cubic yard , was approved on a motion made by Councilman Turner ; seconded by Councilman Lord . QUESTION : AYES : All NAYES : None PUBLIC HEARING HELD ON PROPOSED BUDGET FOR FY 1982 Mayor Meyers , prior to declaring the Public Hearing open , stated he would like to make a few comments . First , he expressed appreciation to the City Manager and staff for the excellent manner in which the proposed Budget was prepared . Secondly , he would like to compliment Council for the energetic manner in which they approached the Budget , maintaining a very competitivelevel of operations within the entire City at the same time addressing it from a standpoint of reduction ; that it was remarkable in this day and time when all around us we see the impact of Budgets going up ; that it takes that combination-- - 138- SEPTEMBER 1 , 1981 an effective management team which we had and a Council that showed its determination to cut costs and fight to stay at levels at a time when it is just a lot harder than it ever was and yet do so without diminishing services the people in the community deserve and expect. Mayor Meyers offered two compliments . One to the City Manager and staff, to Bob Nachlinger , Finance Officer , as well as all involved in the preparation of the Budget and to all members of Council who made their desires clear and displayed the fortitude to stay "hitched" to their desires . The Public Hearing was declared open and Mayor Meyers asked for com- ments from any citizen who might wish to address Council relative to the proposed Budget. J . C . Leggett , 1849 Washington Blvd . , asked about the electrical question , but was reminded he would have an opportunity at the close of the Public Hearing to address Council concerning this subject . In response to a request from Warren J . Smith , 2848 Amarillo Street, City Manager Ray Riley gave the following recap of the proposed Budget : "The total Budget is actually a compilation of a number of funds , but the total figure for the FY 82 is $59 ,840 ,000 for all funds . GENERAL FUND: This provides for the general operation of the City and accounts for the biggest part of the expenditures ; Budget is $33 ,057 ,000. WATER UTILITIES FUND : Provides for the operations and debt service , including both water treat- ment and waste water treatment/management ; $7 , 764 ,000 . SANITATION FUND : This is for all collections and disposals of residential and commercial trash and garbage ; also the disposal and sanitary landfill ; $3 ,776 ,000 . COMMUNITY FACILITIES FUND : Provides for the operation of all community facilities such as the Civic Center , Auditorium, Harvest Club and Colosseum; $643 , 500 . FLEET MANAGEMENT FUND: This is the fund by which we acquire and replace all vehicles and all major items of equipment for all the City ' s -- some 15 or 16 departments ; $850 ,000 in 1982 . REVENUE SHARING FUND: This is our Federal grant in the amount of $1 ,650 ,000 which is to be received in 1982 which will be devoted to street rehabilitation and maintenance programs . MUNICIPAL TRANSIT FUND : This relates to the operations of the Municipal Transit System which currently we anticipate $1 ,400 ,000 rides in the next fiscal year ; operating expense will total $1 , 211 ,000 . GENERAL OBLIGATION DEBT SERVICE FUND : Provides for paying the principal and interest of all the city ' s out- standing general obligation debt , other than water utilities fund; $7, 370 ,000 , includes the anticipated increase in the debt service as the result of the issuance of the thoroughfare improvement bonds this past month . -139- SEPTEMBER 1 , 1981 THE TRUST FUND : This is the receipt of the Hotel -Motel Occupancy Tax funds which the City receives through the occupancy of our hotels and motels and this is anticipated to be $320 ,000 during the coming fiscal year. The total for all expenditures is $56 ,643 ,000 . Included in this is $3 , 196 ,000 interfund transfers which are transfers between funds but are not additional expenditures . This Budget reflects approximately 10% increase in the total Budget over Fiscal Year 81 . " Mayor Meyers asked for the percentage allocation for salaries and payroll . City Manager stated that out of the total budget -- out of the 59 . 8 million dollars , operating expenses, which includes personnel , supplies services and capital outlay will account for 48 million dollars of the total . Of that, approximately 34 . 5 million dollars will be related to personnel . It is proposed to have an overall reduction in the total number of employee positions by some 27 due to the discontinuation of activities in the Tax Office as a result of the Jefferson County Appraisal Dis- trict becoming effective the first of the year. With the reduction of some 27 employee positions the current employee number will be 1461 . There will be approximately 32 . 5 million dollars related to the payroll and benefits ; supplies and services account for another 14 . 1 million ; capital outlay , which is the acquisition and replacement of various pieces of equipment, is $1 ,661 ,000 , which represents 5 . 2 million dollar increase over the previous year , or about 12% . The non-operating expenses make up a larger increase over the past year ; anticipating an increase from some 9 . 7 million in 1981 to 11 . 5 million in 82 . Out of that we have capital improvements totally 3 . 3 million dollars . The majority of that is in water utility with the replacement of plant . In addition to this is some $835 ,000 related to improvements out of the General Fund . Debt service next year will increase from 5 . 2 million to little less than 8 million -- a rather substantial increase of 2 . 7 million . This is related totally to the additional debt service required for the issuance of $2 ,000 ,000 in thoroughfare and improve- ment bonds recently which will be paid for out of the General Obligation .Debt. Transfers and reserves account for 3 . 4 million of that total and reimbursements which are interfund accounting or bookkeeping trans- actions provide for 3 . 2 million . The total amount of non-operating expenses not related to departmental operation , but debt service and capital improvements is 11 . 4 million-- an 18% increase over the previous year. J . C . Leggett asked about drainage . City Manager stated the Budget had been reviewed with the determination there would be some storm drainage improvements made in 1982 , but no specific area had been identified ; that the proposed Budget does take into account the allocation of some $300 ,000 for storm drainage improve- ments and $300 ,000 is identified in the capital improvement section for that purpose; also allows as much as 2¢ on the tax rate to be allocated in future years for storm drainage improvements . -140- SEPTEMBER 1 , 1981 Mayor Meyers pointed out that with Council ' s desire to reduce and cut back , the 2% is really the beginning of some dollars being directed toward drainage improvements . Herman J . Davis , 790 Amarillo , stated he was impressed with improve- ments around Beaumont and asked if the cleaning project tied in with the Budget. Mayor Meyers explained that the Clean Community System and its Coordinator ' s earnings were incorporated in the Budget . Mr. Davis proposed beautification of various locations within the City similar to the intersection at College and 11th Street ; asked if students could be used in such a project . Mayor Meyers recommended that Mr. Davis leave his telephone number so the Clean Community Coordinator could get in touch with him. There being no further comments relative to the proposed Budget , Mayor Meyers declared the Public Hearing closed . -000- Councilman Williams asked about the status of the Fire Code as it relates to requirements for small buildings ; expressed his desire to have something done to relieve small businesses from such a sophisticated fire alarm system requirement ; suggested that some type of decision be made as quickly as possible so that other small businesses will not be adversely affected by portions of the re- quirements of the Fire Code . City Manager pointed out that it is currently being reviewed and that some recommendations should be ready within the next two weeks . -000- Councilman Lord stated that recently the Public School System had established what they call the Mentor Neophyte Program and intro- . duced Happy Weitzel who will be her Neophyte during the school year. -000- CITIZENS : J . T . Johnson , 1408 Johns asked for a report on the trash pickup problems he has been having on his street. It was brought out that an investigation had been made and further investigation would be made . -000- There being no. further business , Mayor Meyers recessed the meeting to reconvene for Work Session . -000- I , Myrtle Corgey , City Clerk of the City of Beaumont , Texas , do certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the minutes of the Regular City Council session held September 1 , 1981 . Myrtle Corgey City Clerk - 141 - SEPTEMBER 1 , 1981