Meeting minutes - The City of Stinnett, Texas

Regular Meeting of Stinnett City Council
MINUTES
MAY 10, 2016
6:30 PM
609 MACKENZIE
CALLED TO ORDER
COLIN LOCKE, MAYOR @ 6:31 pm
PRESENT
COLIN LOCKE, Mayor; RUSTY SIMS, Alderman PL-1; APRIL COUCH, Alderman PL-2;
JUSTIN HART, Alderman PL-3; CHAR KERR, Alderman PL-4; JEFF IRVIN, Alderman PL-5
ABSENT
ALAN WELLS, Fire Chief; NANETTE LEWIS, City Advisor
STAFF
DURK DOWNS, City Administrator; LYNETTE SLOAN, City Secretary; MICHELLE AHLERS, EMS Director; KLETE
WAGNER, Police Chief; CARLOS RAMON, ACO/Code Enforcement; LOGAN GARRARD, Maintenance Supervisor
GUESTS
Jim Derington, PDRA; Jack Lane, President PDRA; Scott Higginbotham, Moore Co Attorney; Jerrie Hawthorne;
Laura & Ricky Sargent, Grandmother’s Club; Patrick Sloan; Tonya VanNatta, President Grandmother’s Club; Josh
& Tracy Hatfield; Gena Wells
INVOCATION & PLEDGE JUSTIN HART
Agenda
PUBLIC COMMENT
ITEM 2
DISCUSSION
None.
REVIEW MINUTES – APRIL 2016 MEETING
ITEM 3
DISCUSSION
None.
ACTION
Motion to APPROVE – JEFF IRVIN; Second – JUSTIN HART;
PALO DURO RIVER AUTHORITY
ITEM 4
DISCUSSION
NAYS – 0
SCOTT HIGGINBOTHAM, MOORE COUNTY ATTORNEY
Mr. Higginbotham explained when he read through the Sunset Staff Review of the Palo Duro River Authority he believed
that the City of Stinnett did not have a representative on the board of PDRA. This understanding motivated his contacting
Durk Downs so that the matter could be handled. Upon arriving at city hall this evening he has met Jack Lane who is not
only a representative for the City of Stinnett, but also the President of the PDRA board. He invited the council to the May
11th meeting of the PDRA at Moore County court house, 6:30pm. State Representative, Four Price will be attending the
meeting. Mr. Jack Lane addressed the council and explained that the Stinnett City Council appointed him to the board of
the Palo Duro River Authority in 1991. In 2000 he was elected as president of the board. Jim Derrington, General Manager
of PDRA, stated that Mr. Lane is the most active board member for PDRA. The matter of needing representation on the
board was resolved and the men excused themselves from the meeting.
APPOINT BOARD MEMBER TO PALO DURO RIVER AUTHORITY
ITEM 5
DISCUSSION
VOTE: YEAS – 5
None. No action needed since Jack Lane currently represents the City of Stinnett on the PDRA.
CURB REMOVAL
ITEM 6
TRACY HATFIELD
th
DISCUSSION
Mrs. Hatfield requested authorization to remove a section of curbing on 11 which borders her business property on the
south side. It would allow for safe access and parking at her new restaurant. They intend to open either a Bar-B-Q or Donut
Shop. The Hatfield’s desires to present a clean restaurant choice for the citizens of Stinnett. RUSTY SIMS expressed
concern that the curb removal could create a problem with water shed similar to what the Pump Jack Restaurant is dealing
with currently. APRIL COUCH asked what the plan is for the area where the curbs are located if approved. Mr. Hatfield
explained they will put pea gravel down for now, but have plans to install a concrete entrance if their business is a success.
ACTION
Motion to APPROVE – JEFF IRVIN; Second – JUSTIN HART;
NAYS – 0
GRANDMOTHER’S CLUB
ITEM 7
DISCUSSION
VOTE: YEAS – 5
There is no new information to discuss. JUSTIN HART stated his opinion that the Senior Citizens’ Building [SCB], where the
Grandmother’s Club [GC] currently meets monthly, be made available to the EMS and Fire Departments for conversion to
classroom, storage, and office space. He is against the Police Department moving into the space. JEFF IRVIN suggested
that the Council move their meetings to the Community Center. This would make the meeting room at city hall available to
the Police Department. COLIN LOCKE asked Mrs. VanNatta about the club items storied at the SCB. She advised they
have tables, chairs, club documents, kitchen supplies and accessories. Mrs. Sargent also noted the club’s ownership of the
fridge, freezer, stove, cabinets, counter tops, and locking storage cabinets. The Mayor stated that there are no good
solutions to the problem. He expressed a desire to find grant monies to build new city facilities. Durk Downs explained he
has looked for these kinds of grants and they are the most difficult type available. JUSTIN HART addressed the club’s
storage concerns, stating it is not the city’s responsibility to store an associations own items. The Fire Chief, Alan Wells,
stores all of the fire volunteers’ items in his own home. Gena Wells offered a solution of storing the club’s furniture in the
basement of the building. Mrs. Sargent stated that the GC allows other organizations to use the city’s building. She noted
the Catholic church, a Bunco game group, and others. COLIN LOCKE expressed his desire to discuss this in executive
session and tabled the matter until later in the evening. See item #16.
~APRIL COUCH was excused at 6:53pm~
Page 1 of 3
STINNETT CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING MAY 2016
RESOLUTION 20160510 – CANVASS RETURNS OF GENERAL ELECTION
ITEM 8
DISCUSSION
COLIN LOCKE opened the sealed envelope delivered to him on May 7th. He removed 2 tally books, one from the votes
placed during early voting and the other from election day. He opened these and read the results aloud. CHAR KERR
documented & tallied the results. The results were verified to match the returns. The results are as follows: Alderman Place
2: Desaray Webb 19 + 22 = 41; Andy Trahan 59 + 35 = 94. Alderman Place 3: Justin Hart 60 + 47 = 107; E. C. Garza 18 +
11 = 29. Alderman Place 5: Jeff Irvin 62 + 47 = 109; Tonia McCroskey 16 + 9 = 25. The Mayor read the resolution adopting
the canvassed returns of the May 7, 2016 General Election. He noted in Type A municipalities the newly elected officers
may exercise their duties on the 6th day after election.
ACTION
Motion to APPROVE – RUSTY SIMS; Second – CHAR KERR;
NAYS – 0
OATH OF OFFICE – ALDERMAN PLACE 2, 3, & 5
ITEM 9
DISCUSSION
VOTE: YEAS – 4
Judge Diana Conaway administered the oath of office to Andy Trahan, Justin Hart, and Jeff Irvin. Mayor Locke presented
each with their Texas Certificate of Election. COLIN LOCKE requested for the appointing of Mayor Pro-tem to be on next
month’s agenda.
~APRIL COUCH returned to the meeting at 7:11pm~
REVIEW APRIL 2016 TRANSACTIONS
ITEM 10
DISCUSSION
Lynette Sloan pointed out that the revenue report did not reflect the income from the month of April utility billing. This is due
to the new billing cycle. The accounting program will not post the revenue to the month until bills are processed on the 15th
of the following month. The expense report does not have any of the credit card expenses for the month of April due to
timing with data processing. Because of these reasons she asked the council to begin thinking about a different day of the
month to meet. She suggested the 3rd Thursday or the 4th Monday of each month.
ACTION
Motion to APPROVE – JEFF IRVIN; Second – APRIL COUCH;
VOTE: YEAS – 5
NAYS – 0
The Mayor took a moment to present a Community Service Award to April Couch in honor of her 4 years as Alderman Place 2.
DEPARTMENT REPORTS
ITEM 11
DISCUSSION
REPRESENTATIVES LISTED ABOVE
CDC – None.
EMS – Presented monthly report. Noting 17 calls using the variance; 5 Borger, 3 refusals, 3 canceled. The Director pointed out that of the calls
with transports ½ were for Borger. On 5/2/16 the state inspected all aspects of our Ambulance Service except for documentation; that will be at
a later date. He was very pleased with how the service has made a significant turnaround in such a short time. We passed with flying colors.
<>Teaching in the ambulance bay area is very difficult as the trucks must be moved to the sidewalk and it is nearly impossible in this loud
environment to train skills like using a stethoscope. To move to the senior citizens’ portion of the building would help not only with training but
would provide space for a HIPAA compliant storage room. We are currently not in compliance<>JEFF IRVIN asked about the trucks noting the
heater core on unit 65 needed repair. On the 17th Glassix is scheduled to repair electrical issues with unit 65. Tonya VanNatta spoke up from
the audience and asked the Director who gets the money from the EMS training classes. The Director explained the cost of the class was
covered by a grant from TEEX. Ms. VanNatta then asked if the director planned on staying in Stinnett. Ms. Ahlers answered affirmatively.
COLIN LOCKE addressed the Director asking if Bobby Cullon was servicing the ambulance. Yes, she has learned that he will change the oil
cheaper than taking them to Borger. Because she is able to have the work completed locally, she does not have to go out of service. CHAR
KERR thanked Michelle Ahlers for all her hard work with the Ambulance Service.
FIRE – Gena Wells had no fire report. She noted all the trucks are up and running. The pump on U5 needs re-worked. Front tires on the 2 ½
ton truck were replaced. They are looking into a $36,000 grant for bunker gear. On the 25th the fire department will host a TEEX Traffic Incident
Responders class. Ms. Wells also provided an update on the progress of the Stinnett Celebration. Stage, sound, & bands are booked. Monkey
Motion, Wall Climb, & the G-4 Spinner are the attractions for this year. The High School kids will man the attractions as a fund raiser for their
Costa Rico trip. 20 vendors have already signed up for the event; all will be required to pre-pay this year. The hamburger & ice cream social is
planned for Wednesday the 14th. On Saturday, the 17th, the parade will start at 11am. Color t-shirts are pre-ordered this year with grey
available the day of the event.
PD – Presented monthly report. Noting 86 contacts; 81 calls for service; 1 accidents; 5 agency assist; 1 arrest; and 8 EMS assist. JUSTIN
HART inquired about the high mileage on U141. The Chief explained that Officer Rountree was away at a cell phone forensics school and the
reserve officers used U141 while covering his shifts. He continued to report that the CopSync computers are out of warranty and having quite a
few problems. A new battery cost $219.00. Will need to consider possibly replacing them in the near future.
ACO/CODE ENFORCEMENT –Presented monthly report, noting 5 dog calls; 0 in shelter; 2 dog bites; 1 written warning<>8 new CE cases; 8
courtesy letters; 4 certified letters; 6 in non-compliance; 2 abandoned houses. RUSTY SIMS asked about the status of old cases. They are still
being worked; the difficulty is in tracking down owners. JEFF IRVIN asked about 1306 Wilhelm. This was turned into the Judge today. APRIL
COUCH commented that it cannot be good for the dogs, possibly an animal cruelty case. RUSTY SIMS requested a printed report of the code
enforcement cases be included in the monthly council packets. A lengthy discussion began regarding new trailer houses being moved into town
and whether or not current ordinances exist to prevent it. The city does not have a building inspector. The building permits are used for
notifying HCAD of property improvements. The Chief of Police asked if there are zoned areas for living in camper trailers. Individuals who are
hooked to water & sewer and living the camper. None are known. **Jerrie Hawthorne, who had served as Election Judge, asked to speak. She
thanked Carlos Ramon for bringing meals to the election workers on election day.
MAINT – Presented monthly report. Well #1 was pulled; the windings in the motor are fried; 7 joints of pipe were replaced; and lowered 40
more feet. New replacement will cost approximately $45,000; repair of existing will cost approximately $23,000. The bowls may also need
replacing because the volume has dropped from 540 gallon/min to 220 g/m. COLIN LOCKE asked how deep is the well. It is as deep as it can
go. It is currently the only well running. Well #3 is having problems with the flush valve. Howard Electric is setting a program for the valve to be
on & flushing for 3 minutes before the water is turned into the system<>The county will begin hauling caliche for road prep on May 11th.
Borrowed a water truck. 3 men will work on road prep. The Mayor asked when the summer help will start. May 31st <>6 vehicles were damaged
in the April 28th hail storm. $30,000 in damages. The insurance will pay $24,000. Getting estimate for repairs. JEFF IRVIN suggested having
the windows and other damage repaired, but not the dents<>Regarding mosquito spraying; contact Borger early to get sprayed. Al Crisman is
studying for the test to operate the mosquito sprayer that Borger is planning to give to Stinnett.
Page 2 of 3
STINNETT CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING MAY 2016