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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987/07/14-Agenda-Pre-Council PRE-COUNCIL MEETING JULY 14, 1987 PRE-COUNCIL CHAMBER ABSENT: Councilman Steve Murrin, Jr. SPECIAL GUEST: Lord Mayor Zimmerman, Trier, West Germany ITEM 1. SETTING HEARING ON PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS AND SERVICES IN FORT WORTH IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NO. 1 - FY 187-188 (M&C G-7143) - RUTH ANN MCKINNEY, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER AND KEN DEVERO, PRESIDENT, DOWNTOWN FORT WORTH, INC. Assistant City Manager Ruth Ann McKinney introduced Mr. Ken Devero, President, Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. , who presented Council with an update of downtown improvements in Fort Worth Improvement District #1. The district encompasses 140 blocks in the downtown area. In only nine months of operation, virtually all of the district's initial goals have been accomplished, according to Mr. Devero. The following .accomplishments were addressed: -systematic street and sidewalk cleaning through the utilization of personnel and equipment -maintenance and landscaping of trees and flower beds -marketing and promotions of the downtown area -downtown parking Next, Todd Holzaepfel, Director of Programs, Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. , presented Council with a more detailed explanation of maintenance and landscaping, and of transportation and parking. He explained that four sub- contractors oversee all of the required work. Two of the sub-contractors are Archie's Greenlands, which handles planting, and BFI, which provides sweeping and flushing of streets three days per week. Walking clean-up personnel have pushcarts equipped with maps, and these personnel serve as goodwill ambassadors for the City. In addition, six pieces of cleaning equipment are used to clean Cowtown during the night. Security is provided in the downtown by the mounted patrol, which has met with great success and popularity, and by police cruisers. A continuing goal of the district is to make security more visible in the downtown area. In the area of parking and transportation, Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. hopes to encourage use of The T by keeping buses and shelters cleaner. High pressure hoses are used five nights a week to clean the shelters. Next, Jane Hickey, of Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. spoke to Council about promotions and marketing. To date, efforts include the Christmas Parade and Main Street Festival. Ms. Hickey reported that over 160,000 people attended the 2nd Annual Main Street Festival. The newest programs include "Park Here on Thursday" which features music in the downtown area on Thursdays, and food vendor pushcarts which should be appearing soon. A public hearing on the district's next annual budget and the five-year plan was scheduled for August 4th at 10:00 a.m. Councilman Williams asked Mr. Devero if he foresaw an increase in the revenue collected through the assessment tax paid by downtown property owners. Mr. Devero indicated that the revenues should remain constant because the rate has not changed. Mr. Williams also asked if there would be a decrease in the cost to taxpayers, and Mr. Devero indicated that the costs should remain fairly constant as well because there were no significant start-up costs and that many of the costs have been spread out over a three-year period. Councilman Gary Gilley expressed some concern over complaints from property owners along the perimeter of the district and asked that their concerns be addressed. Both Councilman Williams and Mayor Bolen complimented Mr. Devero for the excellent job Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. has done. 2. SELECTION OF ARCHITECT FOR DESIGN OF HTE FIRE STATION NO. 2 RENOVATION (M&C C-10404) - BOB TERRELL, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER Assistant City Manager Bob Terrell presented Council with information on the proposed renovation of the Cherry St. Fire Station N2. On March 22, 1986, voters approved $620,000 for the renovations. The fire station was built in 1930 and has been designated as a historical landmark; therefore, all renovations must adhere to strict guidelines. The Fire Department wants to develop the entire complex as its primary location for the Administration, Prevention, and Services Divisions. This would require more funds than originally approved, and it is likely that a transfer of funds from other projects will be requested and that additional funds will need to be identified in the next CIP bond election. Mr. Terrell indicated that the Master Plan calls for the relocation of some divisions currently in the building (such as traffic signals) and for the reconfiguation of space within the building. He stated that $400,000 could be transferred to the renovation project from police and fire training. This amount, combined with the $620,000 already approved and $500,000 available from previous bonds would total approximately $1.5 million. The architectural plans would cost $166,000, $15,000 of which pays for the master plan. Councilman Williams asked if there would be a problem delaying the project until more detailed information can be given to Council. Councilman Lancaster stated that he thought it would be best to move Fire Administration out to the training center to relieve congestion. City Manager Douglas Harman raised the issue of providing fire protection and Bob Terrell stated that this goal could best be accomplished through renovation rather than building a new facility. Mayor Bolen expressed concern over how the renovations would be paid for. Councilman Zapata asked if the Deputy Chiefs have been asked if they want to move. Council Garrison asked what the function of the renovated building would be, and Bob Terrell indicated that it would remain basically the same as it is now. 3. Douglas Harman reminded Council of the County Commission meeting and Councilman Zapata suggested that a list of items to talk about be prepared. Mr. Harman also asked that the Charter Review meeting be delayed. 4. CITIZEN SUPPORT GROUPS - CHARLES BOSWELL, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES Charles Boswell spoke briefly about work done on cataloging citizen support groups. He said that with the input of departments, various citizen support groups had been cataloged according to their interaction and alignment with City departments. He indicated that the next step was up to Council in deciding how to proceed with the information. Mayor Bolen indicated that the work done by these citizen groups is irreplaceable and that a way of recognizing them should be sought. Councilman Williams suggested adding them to the recognition program for boards and commissions. 5. FOLLOW-UP ON CITIZEN BOARD AND COMMISSION ACTIVITIES - HARRIET HARREL, TRAINING DIRECTOR Harriet Harrel spoke to Council about a luncheon and reception with Board and Commission Chairmen which was held to determine what they felt the City should provide to Boards and Commissions. She reported that the Board and Commission Chairmen enjoyed the luncheon and reception and that a number of issues arose. Some of the major areas for which the Chairmen desired more help from the City include: 1. Orientation for new members. 2. Clarity on roles of Boards and Commissions. 3. Clarity on structure of Boards and Commissions. 4. Legal considerations. The Chairmen also had some general suggestions for Council which include: -timely appointments -quarterly orientation -Assistant City Managers act as mediators -more contact reports -more events 6. Ruth Ann McKinney, Assistant City Manager, briefly mentioned the renegotiation of waste-water customer contracts and the need for establishing Council concensus. 7. Judson Bailiff, Finance Director, spoke briefly on an alternative purchase plan for 74 police cars and a disc storage device. The plan calls for the issuance of $978,000 in Public Property Contractural Obligations. This funding alternative is expected to provide the City with interest rate savings of 1 1/2% over lease/purchase proposals for the patrol cars, and 2 1/2K over lease purchase proposals for the disc storage device. 8. 9-1-1 UPDATE - ROD BREMBY, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER Rod Bremby, Assistant to the City Manager, provided Council with a brief update on the problems associated with the 9-1-1 system. He stated that the Black Box Company can provide a protocol converter which would allow the 9-1-1 system to interface directly with the City's Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) System. It will take approximately 2 weeks for the company to complete its own testing and that schedule would not allow Fort Worth sufficient time for its own testing before the scheduled cut-over. Mr. Bremby asked Council to consider a formal resolution requesting the 9-1-1 district delay the cut-over until sufficient testing can be accomplished. Councilman Zapata asked if information could be transferred without the converter. Mr. Bremby indicated that the 9-1-1 system will be operational without the converter, but that the information cannot be automatically transferred to the CAD System.