HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCmin2017-03-14ANNA CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES
WORK SESSION
March 14, 2017
The City Council of the City of Anna met in Work Session on the above date at Anna City
Hall, located at 111 North Powell Parkway (Hwy 5), to consider the following items.
1. Call to Order, Roll Call and Establishment of Quorum
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Bryan called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
Mayor Crist arrived at 6:54 p.m.
Council Member Beazley was absent.
2.Briefing/Discussion regarding the proposed 2017 Collin County Bond
Program. (City Manager)
City Manager Sander's briefed the Council:
"On March 1st, Mayor Crist, Joseph Johnson and I attended a meeting with
officials from Collin County regarding a future road bond program. Collin County
is planning to call for a bond election in November of this year to fund primarily
planning, design and right-of-way acquisition for several new limited access
freeways that the County believes are necessary to accommodate growth in
Collin County. They have not determined if funding for any additional roads will
be included in the bond, and have indicated that the limited access freeways are
the priority. At this point it is not clear that funding for Ferguson Parkway or any
other local priority would be included in the bond program.
Staff strongly believes that major thoroughfare projects connecting to limited
access roads should be considered a critical component of this potential bond
issue. While we agree that long-term planning for limited access roadways is
important, major City thoroughfare projects that connect to the limited access roads
have immense regional benefit and could relieve traffic congestion today."
3.Briefing/Discussion regarding House Bill 1427 and Senate Bill 2. (City
Manager)
City Manager Sander's briefed the Council:
HB 1427
The City of The Colony has been involved in a case at the Public Utility Commission
involving an appeal by Brazos Electric Cooperative (“Brazos”) and CoServ of the
City’s land use and zoning ordinances. The cooperatives appealed the Colony’s
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ordinance after the City refused to grant the cooperatives a special use permit to
build a substation on a certain piece of land. The City’s zoning ordinance prohibits
certain land use activities in the property’s zone, including substation use.
A hearing on the merits was held in September and the judge issued a Proposal for
Decision (“PFD”) in December. The PFD concluded the Colony’s ordinance and
denial of the special use permit violates Public Utility Regulatory Act (“PURA”)
Section 41.005, which prohibits a municipality from regulating a cooperative’s rates,
services, or operations except with regards to operations only to the extent
necessary to protect health, safety, or welfare. A final order has not yet been
issued, but at an open meeting in February, the PUC decided the Colony’s
ordinance violates the PURA because it regulates the services of Brazos and
CoServ. The Commissioners also found the ordinance violates PURA’s pervasive
regulatory scheme over transmission service. Once the final order is issued,
parties will have 25 days to file a motion for rehearing.
Meanwhile, the City of The Colony has been exploring legislative options. HB 1427
(full text) by Rep. Fallon would amend the law to clarify that a city is not prohibited
from enforcing its zoning and other land use regulations including a specific use
permit except in very limited circumstances. The Colony is very interested in
getting as much support as they can. Obviously, this is an issue that may impact
other cities including the City of Anna. Attached is a resolution for those cities that
would like to formally show their support.
SB 2
Senate Bill 2, introduced by Senator Bettencourt, is of primary importance to cities,
and is one of the most watched bills by the Texas Municipal League (TML)this
legislative session. In summary, the bill would:
1. lower the property tax rollback rate from eight percent to four percent, with an
exception for a taxing unit located in an area declared a disaster area by the
governor or president of the United States during the current tax year;
2. require a taxing unit to hold a ratification election on the November uniform
election date of the applicable year in order to adopt a tax rate that exceeds
the four-percent rollback rate (as opposed to current law, which only requires
an election if a petition is received from the citizens); and
3. make numerous calendar changes to the property tax appraisal, collection,
and ratesetting process in order to have property tax ratification elections on
the November uniform election date.
TML has expressed strong opposition to this bill and outlined their arguments in
a press release last year and several articles in their weekly legislative update. "
4.Briefing/Discussion regarding proposed improvements to FM 455. (Joseph
Johnson)
City Public Works Director Johnson briefed the Council:
"Staff presented a schematic of planned improvements to FM 455 west of US
75. This project was recently funded by the North Central Texas Council of
Governments. The project cost is approximately $2.1 million." See Exhibit 4A.
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5.Discussion regarding review of annual appointments to boards and
commissions. (Mayor Crist)
Annual appointments to the City's boards and commissions will occur in June this
year. Mayor Crist appointed a three member Council committee to attend board
and commission meetings; Justin Burr, Kenneth Pelham and Lee Miller.
6. CLOSED SESSION (EXCEPTIONS)
Under Tex. Gov't Code Chapter 551, the City Council may enter into closed
session to discuss any items listed or referenced on this agenda under the
following exceptions:
a. Consult with legal counsel regarding pending or contemplated litigation and/or
on matters in which the duty of the attorney to the governmental body under
the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of
Texas clearly conflicts with Chapter 551 of the Government Code (Tex. Gov’t
Code §551.071).
a
b. Discuss or deliberate the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property
(Tex. Gov’t Code §551.072); acquisition of right-of-way, easements, and land
for parks and municipal facilities.
a
Motion: Council Member Bryan moved to enter closed session. Council Member
Miller seconded. Motion carried 6-0.
Mayor Crist recessed the meeting at 7:15 p.m.
Mayor Crist reconvened the meeting at 7:34 p.m.
The Council further reserves the right to enter into executive session at any time
throughout any duly noticed meeting under any applicable exception to the
Open Meetings Act.
7. Consider/Discuss/Action on any items listed on any agenda—work session, regular
meeting, or closed session—that is duly posted by the City of Anna for any City
Council meeting occurring on the same date as the meeting noticed in this agenda.
Motion: Council Member Miller moved to take no action. Council Member Bryan
seconded. Motion carried 6-0.
8. Adjourn.
Motion: Council Member Bryan moved to adjourn. Council Member Miller
seconded. Motion carried 6-0.
Mayor Crist adjourned the meeting at 7:35 p.m.
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Exhibit 4 WS
MARCH 14, 2017
CC Minutes 3/14/2017 Page 4 of 10