HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda CC 10.09.2012 WorkshopNotice of Meeting of the
Governing Body of the
City of Georgetown, Texas
OCTOBER 9, 2012
The Georgetown City Council will meet on OCTOBER 9, 2012 at 4:00 P.M. at the Council Chambers at 101
E. 8th Street, Georgetown, Texas
If you need accommodations for a disability, please notify the city in advance.
Policy Development/Review Workshop -
A Council Visioning Update -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager
B Presentation on IOOF Cemetery operations and possible direction on pursuing self-sustaining options --
John Hesser, Parks and Recreation Board Chair and Kimberly Garrett, Parks and Recreation Director
C Presentation, Update, and Discussion regarding Rivery Conference Center -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City
Manager
Executive Session
In compliance with the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Government Code, Vernon's Texas Codes,
Annotated, the items listed below will be discussed in closed session and are subject to action in the regular
session.
D Sec. 551.071: Consultation with Attorney
- Advice from attorney about pending or contemplated litigation and other matters on which the attorney
has a duty to advise the City Council, including agenda items
- LCRA Update
Adjournment
Certificate of Posting
I, Jessica Brettle, City Secretary for the City of Georgetown, Texas, do hereby certify that this Notice of
Meeting was posted at City Hall, 113 E. 8th Street, a place readily accessible to the general public at all
times, on the _____ day of _________________, 2012, at __________, and remained so posted for at least
72 continuous hours preceding the scheduled time of said meeting.
__________________________________
Jessica Brettle, City Secretary
City of Georgetown, Texas
October 9, 2012
SUBJECT:
Council Visioning Update -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager
ITEM SUMMARY:
On September 20th and September 21st, the City Council participated in a City Council Visioning and
Strategic Planning Session with an outside facilitator.
The purpose and goals of these sessions were to:
Ø Define the City of Excellence term.
Ø Define what the City of Excellence would look like in 5-10 years.
Ø Build on the Business Plan presented by the Staff.
Ø Establish Strategic Goals, objectives, and priorities for the defined time frame.
The City Council defined the City of Excellence as “A CITY OF EXCELLENCE IS ONE THAT
MAXIMIZES ITS CITIZENS’ QUALITY OF LIFE.”
The City Council strategically discussed the top five (5) issues over the next five (5) years and arrived at the
following list of priorities:
Ø Public Safety
§ EMS and ESD resolution (adequate coverage).
§ Premier training
§ Competitive pay (retention and compensation)
§ Equipment
Ø
Transportation
§ Street maintenance
§ Airport
§ Public transportation
§ Complete loop
Ø Economic Development
§ Use to maintain a reasonable tax rate
§ Policies to encourage quality residential development
§ Sales tax/revenue generator
§ Intergovernmental relations
§ Downtown destination/continue downtown efforts
§ Effective use of incubators
§ Retention and recruitment
Ø Utilities
§ Use as an economic development tool
§ Expansion opportunities
§ Competitive rates
Ø Signature Destination
§ Downtown focus
§ Recreational focus including parks/trials/Lake Georgetown
§ Amphitheater and conference center
From the Council’s work and identification of strategic priorities, the City Manager has established five (5)
Cover Memo
Item # A
staff teams which he will lead to work on developing specific Business Plans on each of the major categories.
These Business Plans will be brought back to the City Council for further review, discussion, and refinement
before they are officially adopted.
ATTACHMENT
1. Minutes of the City Council Visioning Sessions.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
SUBMITTED BY:
Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
City Council Visioning Session Minutes
Cover Memo
Item # A
Visioning Session Meeting Minutes
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 –
(Bill Sattler absent)
Mayor called the meeting to order at 1:37PM
-Mayor gave a brief summary of what will be discussed at the meeting.
-Joe Gonzalez introduced himself and said the goal is to get as much as possible out of this process.
-Joe spoke about the “man in the arena”- spectators watching
Joe split the Council and the Mayor into two groups. Goal: Define “The City of Excellence.”
Team One: “To maximize citizen satisfaction the City of Excellence provides: Quality Services,
Quality of Life, Cost of Living”
Team Two: “A community where anyone would be happy to live”
- Identify the similarities between both definitions
- Create a common definition
- “A City of Excellence is one that maximizes its citizens’ quality of life”
o Staff presented and made comments regarding this statement
o City Manager- Discussion is good to determine where we are going as a community. He said
the chief policy makers need to set their goals, which is why this meeting is taking place.
Quality of life is also trust in the government.
o Fire Chief- For public safety, quality of life means a timely and appropriate response. He
said another aspect is prevention.
o Assistant City Manager- Great for staff to hear what Council is thinking. With the state of
the economy in recent years, the city has been in a “batten down the hatches” mode. She
spoke about the importance of the downtown area, Main Street and CVB. She mentioned
the implementation of some of the 2008 bonds, building an arts center and implementing
programs.
o General Manager for Utilities- He said this statement will help to guide the City into the
future. He spoke about Chisholm Trail SUD, fair treatment and energy rates, utilizing
resources. He noted some people look at cost and some people look at services.
o Chief Financial Officer- We all want it, but how do you pay for it? She spoke about the
uniqueness that is Georgetown. She noted she will be able to tie everything in the budget to
this statement.
- Hellmann- It seems staff has had these goals in mind since the beginning.
- Gonzalez- a quality staff looks for a high quality of life.
- Eason- We need to validate what staff has been working on. She said the decisions that Council
makes keeps us distinctive from other cities.
Attachment number 1 \nPage 1 of 6
Item # A
- Answer this: “What will this definition look like in 5 to 10 years?”
o Staff quickly reintroduced the 5 year business plan to the Council.
o The Council broke into two groups in order to answer this question.
o Team One-
Regional leader in water and energy management with a focus on conservation
Implement Parks and Recreation plan
Public Safety and a focus on the completion of the public safety facility
Remaining competitive in terms of public safety
100% implementation of compensation plan related to public safety
Maintain a responsive and innovative staff
National, regional and local transportation
Streets and maintaining the quality of streets
The challenge is competing visions. Complete past visions before moving forward
Entertainment District
Promotion of downtown historic district
Municipal Facility Master Plan
Sidewalks, specifically in relation to providing safety and safe routes
Full integration of Southwestern University into the fabric of Georgetown
Social Business Pilot Program. Social businesses such as “Tom’s Shoes.” Use business
as not only an economic venture but also as a social tool.
Amphitheater
One more signature destination in Georgetown
Conference Center
Nationally recognized bike race
Cultural capital of Texas
o Team Two-
Excellent relationship with local governmental entities
Sustainable development
Arts and Entertainment District
Destination location for arts, dining, lodging, etc.
Conference Center
Amphitheater
Parks and Recreation- Continue the plan for a connected parks and trails system
Environmentally sustainable community regarding water and air quality.
Transportation-multi-modal. Roads, bridges, urban transport and the airport
Expanding the uses of the airport
Regional passenger rail.
Creative funding tools and a sustainable economy that can fund as much as possible
Mindfulness of the impact of annexation.
Citizen surveys and task forces
Attachment number 1 \nPage 2 of 6
Item # A
- They took the two lists and consolidated it into one large list inclusive of all priorities and issues:
Amphitheater
Conference Center
Transportation
Parks and Rec
Water and Energy with emphasis on conservation
Destination- “signature”
Creative staff
Southwestern – Excellent relationship with all government organizations
Airport- multimodal
Cultural Center of Texas
Arts and Entertainment Destination – dining, tourist visitor and lodging, conference
center
Public Safety
Economic Development
- Joe Gonzalez reviewed the discussion that took place today.
- He said the items on the final list will be the issues the Council will flesh out tomorrow. He said they
will also prioritize these items as well.
- He asked staff how they can connect this list with the work they do.
o Assistant City Manager- She said she is excited about what she is hearing and noted this is
the first time she has heard about an arts and entertainment district. She said that idea
gives staff better direction on how to move forward with the downtown area.
o Chief Financial Officer- She said the comments about economic development and how to
utilize that to develop and make money is great.
o General Manager for Utilities- He said the elaboration and the emphasis on the business
plan is helpful to him. He noted this is the type of process that will tell staff whether or not
they are going in the right direction.
o Finance Director- She said this provides what has been missing from the vision and
framework of the five year business plan.
o Police Chief- He said from a finite public safety he was disappointed it missed one of the
lists.
o Brandenburg said he thinks this has been an excellent session. He noted there are some
items on the list that have also been approved by the voters. He added, therefore, some of
those items have been validated by the public.
- Joe Gonzalez asked the Council to make their final comments about the day.
o Hammerlun and Hellmann are excited. Gonzalez- no comment. Jonrowe said she keeps
thinking of social services. Eason said she is pleased with the definition of the City of
Excellence. Meigs said this is valuable but noted it is not cast in stone. He said he is excited
about the first day. Mayor said he spent most of his life on the staff side and understands
how essential it is for the Council/Board to clarify their visions. He spoke about grouping the
amphitheater and conference center as one economic development tool. He has he is
pleased with the dialogue that has taken place today.
- RECESSED at 5:05PM
Attachment number 1 \nPage 3 of 6
Item # A
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012
Jonrowe absent
- Mayor call the meeting to order at 8:25AM
- Mayor said Gonzalez is concerned about the process. Gonzalez said, after spending the day
yesterday thinking about it, he said he does not agree with the process or procedures for this
meeting. He said he thinks it is best he does not participate. He noted, after the Council’s
comments, he will excuse himself. Gonzalez said, when he thinks of a visioning session, the group
should start with nothing and build from there. He noted this meeting is actually rubber stamping
something that was already agreed upon. He said the Council is not visioning, but just following
what has already been laid out for them. He noted he does not want to turn this into anything more
negative than it has to be. He said he does not want this to become a debate because this is just his
personal opinion. Gonzalez said he thinks it is best that he does not participate.
- Gonzalez left the meeting.
- Joe summarized what will be discussed at today’s meeting. He asked Council “what stayed with you
yesterday?”
- Hammerlun said he loves the City of Excellence definition. He noted he thought of Fite’s comments
and said public safety is one of his priorities. He said he was also thinking a lot about the concept of
an “entertainment district”
- Hellmann said he started to think about how he would prioritize these issues and noted he did not
get very far with that process.
- Mayor said the economic development part needs a lot of love and care.
- Meigs said he keeps going back to the value of a five year planning cycle. He sees this meeting as a
planning tool to get these issues on the table and move forward.
- Eason said she was pleased with the process and the fact that Council concentrated on expanding
on the master plans. She said this is essential for the entire planning process. She said she was
already putting things in categories on the list. She added the City also needs to talk more about
what it will need to maintain these goals.
- Sattler said he came from the private sector and, every time you build a company, you build a plan
that is a work in progress at all times. He said economics are a significant part of that plan. He spoke
about how he moved to Georgetown because he felt it was already a “City of Excellence.” He
warned, if we keep adding to the tax base, there are things that will occur. He said the people here
will get tired and quit voting for bonds. He said the City can easily get to 53 cents. He said you have
to get either more economic development or drive down the taxes. Sattler said he will sit and watch.
- Joe Gonzalez broke the group up into two teams.
Attachment number 1 \nPage 4 of 6
Item # A
- The task: Break yesterday’s priority list into tiers and collapse items together if possible.
- Group One:
o Public safety, transportation, economic development, utilities, parks
- Group Two:
o Economic development, public safety, transportation, utilities, signature destination
- The group identified the similarities among the top five priorities. Eason said her group’s “signature
destination” incorporates parks. Meigs said he is okay with melding parks with signature
destination.
- TOP FIVE: Economic development, public safety, transportation, utilities, signature destination
- TOP FIVE PRIORITIES AND GOALS:
o Public Safety
EMS & ESD resolution (adequate coverage)
premiere training,
competitive pay (retention & recruitment)
equipment
o Transportation
Street maintenance
Airport
public transportation
complete loop
o Economic Development
Use to maintain a reasonable tax rate
policies to encourage quality residential development
sales tax/revenue generator
intergovernmental relations
downtown destination/continue downtown efforts
effective use of incubators
retention and recruitment
o Utilities
Use as an economic development tool
expansion opportunities
competitive rates
o Signature Destination
Downtown focus
recreational focus including parks/trails/Lake Georgetown
amphitheater and conference center
- Joe Gonzalez asked if staff has anything for Council to consider
- General Manager for Utilities- Everything under utilities is good and added this was good for him to
move forward. He spoke of the importance of future revisions to codes to be able to meet the goals
in each of the categories.
- Chief Financial Officer- She said the only thing she can think of that was not addressed is recycling
opportunities or environmental issues.
Attachment number 1 \nPage 5 of 6
Item # A
- Assistant City Manager- She spoke about the issue of historic preservation of downtown and how it
was not specifically brought up but noted she can fit it under downtown development.
- Finance Director- Wonderful information
- Fire Chief- Thank you and noted that is everything he needs to be an effective Fire Chief.
- Police Chief- That’s everything he needs
- City Manager- He noted this is everything that is needed for everyone around the room to do their
job. He said he put together his own list of issues and added the external issues on his list match up
with everything on this new list.
- Meigs asked the City Manager if this is in conflict with his goals. Brandenburg said there are no
conflicts. He said the devil is in the details because there is a finite budget.
- Eason wants to make sure that, if something is not on this priority list, that it does not mean they
are not interested in those issues. She said another issue is social services and mentioned how it is
not on this list. She wants to make sure the city and staff will continue to work on those issues.
- Hellmann noted these are just the top five priorities and there will be other priorities not on this list.
- Hammerlun agreed with Hellmann and said these are the top five and added there will be other
things the Council will work on. He said he is excited about the solid waste contract and recycling
but noted, for him, that was not a priority for 2017.
- Eason said she wants to make sure Council is giving Paul what he needs.
- City Manager went back to the definition of “City of Excellence” and said a lot of the other issues not
on the priority list can fold into that broad definition.
- “When you hear the definition and priorities, what words come to mind? Write it down”
- Hammerlun read the final list for the Council.
- What do you think about the work you’ve done?
o Hammerlun- Great. Feels good about knowing the definition of “City of Excellence”
o Eason- Feels good
o Helmann- Happy with the list
o Meigs- Also pleased
o Mayor asked and Joe Gonzalez said staff’s job is to now go back and think about how exactly
to go about meeting the goals and priorities Council set forth. Mayor said the work is
superb.
o Sattler- He said this is a good start. He asked how this is different than what the City has
always been. He noted he thinks the City is already doing everything on that list. He said he
has always considered Georgetown a City of Excellence.
- CLOSING COMMENTS
o Paul thanked Council for taking the time to participate in this process. He said this gives the
City direction for how to move forward. He said the City has had a lot of stuff on paper but
now the City staff can develop business plans for each of the items. He gave an example and
spoke about leveraging the utilities for economic development and how now the goal is to
figure out how to do that.
MEETING ADJOURNED AT 10:30AM
Attachment number 1 \nPage 6 of 6
Item # A
City of Georgetown, Texas
October 9, 2012
SUBJECT:
Presentation on IOOF Cemetery operations and possible direction on pursuing self-sustaining options -- John
Hesser, Parks and Recreation Board Chair and Kimberly Garrett, Parks and Recreation Director
ITEM SUMMARY:
Presentation and discussion on IOOF Cemetery and possible options regarding future operations.
Presentation on the IOOF Cemetery will include Background, History, Current Situation, Observations, and
Reccomendations. This information was discussed at the September 13. 2012, Parks and Recreation Board
Meeting and has the board's support to present to City Council.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
SUBMITTED BY:
Kimberly Garrett, Parks and Recreation Director
Cover Memo
Item # B
City of Georgetown, Texas
October 9, 2012
SUBJECT:
Presentation, Update, and Discussion regarding Rivery Conference Center -- Paul E. Brandenburg, City
Manager
ITEM SUMMARY:
The City Manager will provide a report regarding the Rivery Conference Center Project.
As part of this report, the Developer/Owner will conduct a presentation and provide the City Council an
update from their perspective as to the status of the project and the next steps.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
SUBMITTED BY:
Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager
Cover Memo
Item # C
City of Georgetown, Texas
October 9, 2012
SUBJECT:
Sec. 551.071: Consultation with Attorney
- Advice from attorney about pending or contemplated litigation and other matters on which the attorney has
a duty to advise the City Council, including agenda items
- LCRA Update
ITEM SUMMARY:
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
SUBMITTED BY:
Jessica Brettle, City Secretary
Cover Memo
Item # D