The City Council of the City of Columbus, Texas met in regular session on Monday, January 14, 2002 at 6:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers of City Hall located at 605 Spring Street, Columbus, Texas, with the following present:

Mayor - Paula Frnka
Mayor Pro-Tem - Ester Chandler
Councilman - Leroy Sebesta
Councilman - Donald T. Churchill
Councilman - Ronnie Rogers
Councilman - DeWayne Kotrla

City Manager - David Stall
City Secretary - Jill Ready

1. Call to Order:

Mayor Frnka called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M., January 14, 2002.

The invocation was given by Carol Manning and the pledge was led by Mayor Frnka.

Mayor Frnka presented Mr. Harry Henkhaus with a plaque and thanked him for his sixteen years of service to the City as Director on the Colorado County Central Appraisal District Board.

4. Consent Agenda:

a. Approval of invoices.
b. Approval of minutes from Regular December 10, 2001 Council Meeting.
c. Approval of financial statements.

Councilman Rogers moved to approve the consent agenda as presented. Councilwoman Chandler seconded the motion. The vote was as follows:

AYES: Councilmen Sebesta, Churchill, Rogers, Kotrla and Councilwoman Chandler

The motion passed.

City Manager Stall reported the following:

Recognized 20 and 25 year service anniversaries for volunteer firefighters and city employees and the employee of the year. The City has gone to a biweekly pay cycle for all employees.

Reviewed the annual activity report for the fire department.

A street survey has begun to determine which streets need to be resurfaced.

Signs have been erected to designate the one-way street at the junior high school and it seems to be working well.

Painting of the ground water storage tank on the hill has been completed. It is being tested and then will be filled. This should improve pressure in the west part of town. In order to extend the life of this tank and allow for the performance of regular maintenance, a second tank needs to be constructed at the same site. The old tank would then be used for a back-up. The cost of the new tank would be approximately $61,000.

The City continues to move forward with trash and weed clean up. Two cases will be going to court.

The market for recycle material has dropped in recent months. At this time there are no buyers for non-clear glass. During 2001 the City collected 25,760 gallons of used motor oil for recycling. The heavy trash bags sold by the City will be available again in February.

The house at 1213 Back Street, which was partially burned out and unsecured, has been cleaned up and secured and the owners are hoping to sell the property quickly.

The grant for the school resource officer will be ending in a couple of months. According to the grant, the resource officer must be retained for at least one year after the grant expires. The School District and City are looking at a 75-25 split for the costs of the officer.

City crews removed the slabs at MidTown Park. Site preparation continues and the bid will be let tonight for the construction of facilities at the Park.

Appeals were heard last Tuesday by the Board of Adjustments concerning the First Baptist Church meeting City zoning regulation requirements. The Board found that the City had calculated the proper number of parking spaces, and that issuing a building permit did not violate the City’s zoning regulations. The building permit will be issued after an architect’s seal is placed on the drawings in the plan package.

Dr. David Stroud appeared before council and voiced his concern and that of his neighbors about the lack of oversight and control that Council has concerning the Board of Adjustments. He expressed concern about conflicts of interest among Board members. He also expressed his disagreement with the setting of time limits and City Management talking with Board members. Dr. Stroud asked council to consider modifying ordinances and meeting procedures to create more citizen-responsive boards.

Mr. Dennis Holder had no comment.

Mr. Tom Etheridge also appeared before council to comment on the zoning process. He reported that the neighbors had evidence of fire hydrants being blocked on Sunday mornings, which created a fire safety hazard. He also said that cars parked along the street make the two intersections onto Milam Street dangerous. He stated that the City’s website promotes fire safety and traffic safety and these items should be removed from the site if the City allows the parking around the First Baptist Church to continue. He also stated that the Greenes were not the only appellates in the hearing and all appellates should have had equal time to speak. He asked council for a special meeting to hear their case.

Mr. Henry Uffen and Mr. T. Richard Greene had no comment.

Pierce and Chris Arthur were present to discuss the audit report for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2001. They reviewed the City’s working capital and answered questions from Council. Pierce Arthur stated that the city was in good financial condition and he was not aware of any areas of concern for Council.

Mr. Donald Warschak, engineer on the MidTown Park project, presented the following bids:

Contractor Bid Amount

BLS Construction $246,500.00
El Campo, Texas

A. Grohmann & Son Co. $284,916.00
Weimar, Texas

It was Mr. Warschak’s recommendation that council accept the low bid from BLS Construction. Councilman Kotrla moved to accept the bid of $246,500.00 from BLS Construction of El Campo, Texas to construct buildings and improvements at the MidTown Park. Councilwoman Chandler seconded the motion. The vote was as follows:

AYES: Councilmen Sebesta, Churchill, Rogers, Kotrla and Councilwoman Chandler

The motion passed. Mayor Frnka recognized the MidTown Park Committee members present and thanked them for their hard work and dedication.

Councilman Rogers moved to authorize the mayor to enter into a contract between the City of Columbus and the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau to administer local hotel occupancy taxes to develop and promote tourism. Councilman Churchill seconded the motion. The vote was as follows:

AYES: Councilmen Sebesta, Churchill, Rogers, Kotrla and Councilwoman Chandler

The motion passed.

Councilman Kotrla noted that at the corner of Preston and Travis there is trash on the city right-of-way and requested that city employees start reporting these problems when they notice them while traveling about.

Councilman Rogers recommended that, with the energy deregulation, City Management and Council consider being the provider of electricity for the city.

Councilman Sebesta stated that the City Manager was wrong in his letter of November 27, 2001 concerning split faced block. He stated that Dry-Blocker would resist water absorption, but there is no waterproofing available.

Mayor Frnka reported that there was a nice story in the Chamber Newsletter about Columbus and some kind businessmen who helped out a traveler.

Mayor Frnka encouraged citizens to fill out an application if they are interested in volunteering to serve on a committee for the City.

There being no further business, Mayor Frnka declared the meeting adjourned at 7:35 P.M.

______________________________

Mayor

ATTEST:

___________________________

City Secretary