CITY OF THROCKMORTON
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
JUNE 8, 2010
1. Meeting was called to order by Mayor Will Carroll with three council members present. Tamra Gray, Charlie Balthrop and Ray Fowler. Council members absent were Corey Keeter and Ben Daws. Also present were Pubic Works Director, Casey Chambers and Assistant City Secretary, Judy Jackson.
2. Minutes from May 11 meeting were approved with council member Ray Fowler making the motion and council member Charlie Balthrop making the second. All in favor.
3. Citizen's Participation - None
4. Public Works Director Report - Casey Chambers reported that water usage was increasing. Flow meter at the sewer plant will have to be replaced and will cost around $1,500.00. Casey reported that another Airport Runway Grant is in the works for the City Airport with the City, TXDOT and ROMAC. This will be a 50/50 match grant with TXDOT and ROMAC.
Casey
reported that city employee Chris Smith has put in his notice of
resignation and is no longer employed with the city. We have
received only one application thus far from Donnie Clark. There was
discussion that legally, the City will have to run an ad in the
Throckmorton Tribune for at least two weeks before anyone is hired.
Mayor Carroll discussed the possibilities of holding this position
open for a few months to help the city "catch up" with some
expenses. He also mentioned that preliminary values were given to
the city from Throckmorton Central Chief Appraiser, Frances Peacock
at only $16,165,439.00. A drop in values of over $3,000,000.00. If
this is the actual values, the city will may be
faced with a rollback rate and possibly a rollback election in order
to meet the cities needs. It was discussed to wait on hiring until
someone talks to Frances to see if this is the actual value amount,
or if there has been a change. It was also discussed that when the
two weeks are up of running ad, there will be a possible special
meeting take place in order for council to approve the hire. Casey
continued with good reports in the opening of the city pool. The
generator was replaced and that has been the only setback. The cost
was about $500.00. More street base for working on streets has been
ordered and then work will continue.
5. Approve Bills and review budget- Bills were reviewed and a motion made by council member Charlie Balthrop and a second by council member Ray Fowler. All in favor. Several areas of the budget were discussed with revenues in the RV Park increasing.
6. Adjourn - With no further discussion, a motion was made by council member Ray Fowler to adjourn. All in favor.
CITY OF THROCKMORTON
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
MAY 11, 2010
1. Meeting was called to order by Mayor Will Carroll with four council members present. Tamra Gray, Corey Keeter, Ray Fowler, and Ben Daws. Council member Charlie Balthrop was absent. Also present were Public Works Director, Casey Chambers and City Secretary, Angie Scarlett. Council Member Ben Daws gave the invocation.
2. Minutes from April meeting were approved with council member Tamra Gray making the motion and council member Ray Fowler making the second.
3. Citizen's Participation - None
4. Discuss traffic and speed control in front of school with Sheriff John Riley - Mr. Riley was not present for the meeting but his concern was that people are going too fast in front of school and wanted to talk to city about the possibility of placing a speed bump in front of school. Mayor Carroll discussed with council the possibility of placing stop signs in conjunction with a speed bump in front of school. There have been many complaints of kids and adults speeding down this street and it has become a dangerous situation. Council member Ray Fowler noted that he was opposed to the speeds bumps, but would be in favor of possibly placing rumble strips along with the stop signs. Mayor Carroll added that anything would be better than doing nothing at all. At least we could say that we tried. More discussion on the pros and cons of speed bumps. It was discussed if the City would be liable of accidents concerning the speed bump. No, not if there are stop signs on either side of it. After more discussion, it was decided to look into placing rumble strips along with stop signs and the possibility of only setting them up during the months of school. Mayor Carroll talked with Superintendent Tarpley and he is all for anything that will help this situation. Notification will be in paper prior to any definite decision of the council.
5. Statement of Elected Officers and Oath of Office were administered to newly re-elected council members by the Mayor. Council member Corey Keeter took his oath as city council place number 3, Council member Tamra Gray took her oath as city council place number 4, and Ben Daws took his oath as city council place number 5. These council members will fill out thier term for the next two years for the City of Throckmorton.
Council member Ray Fowler made the motion to nominate Ben Daws as Mayor Pro-tem. Council member Tamra Gray made the second with all in favor.
6. Discuss/Approve Municipal Maintenance Agreement, ORDINANCE 03-2010, and an ORDINANCE
APPROVING THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THE
THE CITY OF THROCKMORTON FOR THE PORTIONS OF STATE HIGHWAYS IN THE CITY
AND PROVIDING FOR THE EXECUTION OF SAID AGREEMENT; AND DECLARING AN
EMERGENCY. ALSO, APPROVING RESOLUTION 02-2010, a RESOLUTION APPROVING
THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THE CITY OF THROCMORTON
FOR MAINTENANCE, CONTROL, SUPERVISION AND REGULATION OF CERTAIN STATE
HIGHWAYS AND/OR PORTIONS FOR THE EXECUTION OF SAID AGREEMENT; AND
DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Council member Ben Daws made the motion to approve the Municipal Agreement, ORDINANCE 03-2010, and RESOLUTION 02-2010. Council member Ray Fowler made the second with all in agreement.
7. Pubic Works Director Report - Casey Chambers reported that several people have voiced concern that the bleachers at the baseball park are in need of repair or replacing. The playground equipment at the park was also discussed. Casey added that he would look into a possible grant that would be of help to get this started. Casey attended the final meeting with TXDOT over the sidewalk grants and money. There is approximately $42, 559.00 of the expenditures that will be coming back to the Beautification Committee. Waste Water plant has exceeded flows due to the heavy rains. The city will have possible warnings or violations from the TCEQ. The state is mandating us to maintain an Emergency Action Plan for our dam in case of a disaster. This will require an engineer to draw up the plan and will be costly to the city. Possibly, we will not have to have an extensive plan drawn up since we have a smaller dam, but they have labeled us as "high hazard".
Casey mentioned that the Volunteer Fire Department received a $190,000.00 grant for a new pumper fire truck in which the city will match the 5 percent.
8. Approve Bills/Review Budget - Bills were approved by council member Ray Fowler and a second by Corey Keeter. Income statement was reviewed and discussed.
9. Adjourn - Council member Ray Fowler made the motion to adjourn. 7:45
CITY OF THROCKMORTON
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
APRIL 13, 2010
1. Meeting was called to order by Mayor Will Carroll with all five council members present. Corey Keeter, Tamra Gray, Charlie Balthrop, Ray Fowler, and Ben Daws. Also present were Public Works Director, Casey Chambers and City Secretary, Angie Scarlett. Council Member Ben Daws gave the invocation.
2. Minutes from March meeting were approved by council member Ben Daws and council member Corey Keeter gave a second. All in favor.
3. Citizen's Participation - Mayor Carroll gave an update on the Ft. Griffin water line. (Shackelford) To begin with, a water line was going to be coming into the city for the sole purpose in assisting Shackelford with emergency water in case they needed it. Throckmorton has our own emergency water line that goes to Lake Graham for our use in the case of an emergency water situation. Mayor Carroll talked with Mark Gardenhire and with engineer of project and they want the City to pay for digging the line when they reach the city limits of Throckmorton. It would be different if we had the $6,000.00 that it would take to do this, but we do not. Casey added that he had talked to the contractor and he stated that the line would only go to Gaither Street. Mayor Carroll concluded that there needs to be more communication coming from them if they want us to cooperate and does not think the city should be responsible for this cost.
4. Approve/Ordinance 01-2010, an Ordinance declaring unopposed candidates in the May 8, 2010 General City Election, canceling the City Election and providing an effective date. Council member Ray Fowler made the motion to approve Ordinance 01-2010 and council member Charlie Balthrop made a second. All in favor. City Secretary added that the city would be conducting the Throckmorton ISD early voting and election with early voting beginning on April 26.
5. Approve Ordinance 02-2010, an Ordinance amending the budget in the General Fund to modify the estimates of expenditures and appropriations budgeted in various funds. Council member Ben Daws made the motion to approve Ordinance 02-2010 with council member Ray Fowler making the second. All in favor.
6. Discuss/Approve purchasing a new lawn mower for city - Public Works Director, Casey Chambers discussed with the council that we are in need of stronger industrial powered mower. Casey gave information on a new Z-920 Commercial John Deere mower for $8,150.00. This money has already been budgeted and can be paid for in two years at 7.3% interest. It was the consensus of the council for Casey to purchase the mower.
7. Public Works Director Report - Casey Chambers reported that the pump has been replaced at the water plant. Some work on sewer plant pump has been completed. This is the original sewer pump bought in 1958 so it has been a very good pump. Work has been completed on replacing brooms that will be used to clean out holes in order to start work on streets. The new dump truck will be paid in two years with payments in September and March. Old dump truck was sold for $750.00. Pool preparations are underway and Kellie Koonsman has been hired for managing the pool again this year. Applications will be taken for lifeguards and summer hands through the end of the week. One roll-off from the convenient station was refused by Allied for dumping because it contained radioactive materials. We will have to take all the contents out to find out where this material is. Money used from Energy Efficiency Grant was discussed.
8. Approve Bills/Review Budget - Council member Ben Daws approved the bills with a second by Ray Fowler. All in favor. Mayor Carroll went over budget.
9. Adjourn - Council member Ray Fowler made the motion to adjourn with all in favor. Time 7:35 p.m.
CITY OF THROCKMORTON
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
MARCH 9, 2010
1. Meeting was called to order by Mayor Will Carroll with four council members present and one absent. Present were, Tamra Gray, Ben Daws, Ray Fowler, and Charlie Balthrop. Corey Keeter was absent. Also present were Public Works Director, Casey Chambers, and City Secretary, Angie Scarlett. Council member Ben Daws gave the invocation.
2. Minutes from February meeting were approved by council member Ben Daws and a second was given my council member Ray Fowler. All in favor.
3. No one present for Citizen's Participation.
4. Discuss Fort Griffin Special Utility District Pipeline Project and the connect to Throckmorton Water System.
Mayor Carroll discussed the pipeline project, which has been an ongoing process for quite a while. This water line will come from the intersection of 209 and 283 South to Throckmorton. Also, along FM Market Rd 923 West to R.A. Brown Ranch, then east to county residents south of the airport. Mayor Carroll and Public Works Director, Casey Chambers, attended a meeting on this subject and their plan is to bring the line into Throckmorton to Hackberry St. The line will be capped at this point and will be used as an emergency water source with a two way meter used for Throckmorton and visa versa, if they ever were in need of help from us. It was also discussed to have an agreement drawn up between the City of Throckmorton and Ft. Griffin Special Utility Pipeline Project as far as the line between Buzz Tharp's on the hill to the city where it is tied in, then they could revert ownership of that line back to us. The Mayor will give updated reports as he is informed.
5. Public Works Director Report - Lake level is at 53 percent. Control System for Chlorine Dioxide is completed and working well at the water plant. The new pump has arrived and will be installed soon. Since all the rain, some problems at the sewer plant have occurred. We have exceeded what our inflow permits for the month. We will have to turn this into the State, but it will be okay unless it happens three months in a row. Patching is being done on roads. Allied came and inventory was made on dumpsters.
6. Approve Bills/Review Budget - Mayor Carroll went over bills with council. Council member Ben Daws made a motion to pay bills followed by a second from council member Charlie Balthrop. All in favor. Budget was reviewed and Mayor Carroll went over each fund and tax money collected.
7. Investment Officer's Report - Mayor Carroll reported that the City's $12,000.00 CD at First National Bank is still in place and our balance in TXPOOL is over $9,000.00. We will work on transferring money back into the TXPOOL account.
8. At 7:17 p.m. a motion was made by council member Ray Fowler to adjourn. All in favor.
CITY OF THROCKMORTON
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
FEBRUARY 9, 2010
1. Meeting was called to order by Mayor Will Carroll with all council members present with exception of council member Charlie Balthrop. Also present was Trent McKnight, Casey Chambers and Angie Scarlett.
Council Member Ben Daws gave the invocation.
2. Minutes from January meeting were approved by Council member Tamra Gray giving the motion and a second made by council member Ray Fowler. All in favor.
3. Citizen's Participation - Trent McKnight, President of the Throckmorton Beautification Committee, gave a presentation for plans of courthouse restoration. Mr. McKnight stated that for the last ten years efforts have been made to restore the courthouse as it is today. With those efforts being unsuccessful because the Texas Historical Commission encourages full restoration. The last time the courthouse had any additions made was in 1939. The Commissioners' court will soon decide on whether or not to apply for the full restoration grant by requesting input from Throckmorton citizens. McKnight discussed all costs of demolition and renovation of the project. Included in project of the courthouse is annexing the Clerk's vault, which cannot be increased in its current location. This project will increase much needed vault space by 360 %. With total estimated costs of up to $3,850,000.00, here are the projects cost estimates:
Building Renovation (Grant Award) - $2,945,605.43
Building Renovation (County Cost) - $249,408.91
Permanent and Temporary Annex (County Cost) - $188,492.84
Private Funding for Project - $437,901.75
TOTAL COUNTY COST $437,901.75
"There is not an option of doing nothing at all because the courthouse is not at this time ADA accessible which imposes a huge liability to the county", said McKnight. At this time the second floor of the courthouse, which is the courtroom and judges office, does not comply with American's Disability's Act, (ADA) which is a great liability to the county. The cost of only modifying to proper ADA specifications would cost $430,000.00. There were statements made that the courthouse was "Grandfathered in", but this is a false fact of rule when used for a civil right. No final votes or decisions have been made by the county on this project as of yet and could be decided on petitions or surveys at some time. A restored county courthouse will preserve an important architectural feature of Throckmorton's past, while making this landmark functional and safe for use today.
Council member Ray Fowler has been approached by several citizens concerning the two donkeys that are tied to a tree in front of Dia Scrogum's house on Reynolds Street. Mr. Fowler wanted to know why the County would not do anything to help with the enforcing of this situation. Mayor Carroll noted that the recent amendments to the animal control ordinance, prohibits us from having the authority to enforce this situation unless it is a health hazard, nuisance, or the animal is not being fed. We are not an enforcing agent and can only do what we can do within the means of the ordinance. Fowler noted that John Riley and Ricky Hodges said at our council meeting that they would help the city enforce certain situations if it was a health hazard or situations' pertaining to law but when we called them to help with this situation, their response was that they could not do anything because there was no city ordinance. The Mayor further discussed that we cannot expect anything from the county except some cooperation, for instance if we have to file on a person for public nuisance or health department issues. Mayor Carroll added that for assistance, and in addition to the $3,000.00 recently paid to the county for an additional deputy, the city pays for electricity, internet and provides an office for our local DPS officer. The city also pays $1,250.00 per month for a dispatch position.
These gestures have all been out of the councils good will and best interest to our city and county and we have gone far above what has ever been asked of us.
4. Regular meeting recessed for Public Hearing to allow for final public comments regarding the completion of the Texas Community Development Block Grant Project (contract #728400)
No comments were made.
Public Hearing ends at 7:40 P.M. and regular meeting resumes.
5. Approve Resolution 2010-01, a Resolution and Order establishing procedure for the General Election to be held Saturday, May 8, 2010 in Throckmorton, Texas. The following council member's term expire this year: Place 3, council member Corey Keeter, Place 4, council member Tamra Gray, and Place 5, council member Ben Daws. A motion was made by council member Ray Fowler and a second made by council member Ben Daws to approve. All in favor.
6. Public Works Director Report was given by Casey Chambers - Energy grant still in progress, new pump should be running by springtime. Chambers reported that he was very aware of what the bad weather is doing to our streets and as soon as the weather clears up, his first priority will be to start repairing them. It is impossible to start any patching at this time with all the moisture we are getting.
7. Approve bills/Review budget - A motion made by council member Ben Daws to approve all bills with a second by council member Corey Keeter, all in favor. Mayor Carroll went over budget and discussed renewal of electricity contract which is expiring. First Choice has offered a substantial lower rate so we are negotiating on whether to stay with them or look for cheaper rates. Mayor Carroll discussed the amount of tax money that we have received since 1 February. Over $27,000.00 was deposited and this will zero us out in the delinquent category. Collections thus far are at 95 percent.
8. Adjourn - Council member Ray Fowler made motion to adjourn. Time 7:55 PM