The Woodway Public Safety Association's 37th Annual Barbecue will be held on Saturday, September 25th, 11 am to 7 pm at Woodway Elementary School, 325 Estates Drive. Its an all-you-can-eat event catered by Vitek's, cost is $10 for adults, $6.50 for children. The funds raised will go toward a variety of Woodway youth programs and to purchase much-needed equipment for the Woodway Public Safety Department. The City has posted a link to the event here (a pdf file will download).
If you found a barbecue advertisement on your door, here is why. About 6 pm, about 15 or so volunteers came out to go door-to-door giving out flyers advertising the barbecue. We were driven out in three fire trucks. I will almost certainly miss some of those that that were there but here is who I noted: Woodway officers Craig Bouse, Ben Selman, Ray Dobbs, Norm Burgess and Bill Killian; Mayor pro tem Gil Lillard recruited his extended family: his wonderful wife Teresa and their two daughters Jennifer and Shelli, son-in-law Andrew, grandchildren Makayla and Eli, and Makayla's BFFL (best friend for life) Marlee; and the Lillard's neighbor Tim Barrett and his two sons TJ and Stephen. It was a hot day and even hotter inside the fire truck despite the non-functional AC unit. I suspect the City Council would have no objections to getting that AC unit fixed...! This is one way to let the Council know what things you need!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Special meeting September 1st
There will be a (hopefully) brief meeting of the Woodway City Council at 7:45 am on Wednesday, September 1st. This is required to formalize adoption of the 2010-11 annual budget and the 2010 ad valorem tax rate. As I recall, the tax rate is remaining unchanged, though any increases in the assessed valuation of your home will result in higher taxes. Also, some fees are increasing and there is an approximately 10% increase in the water rates. These take effect as of October 1st, the beginning of the new fiscal year. The meeting agenda has been posted at the City's website here.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
How many support the Arboretum monthly?
I occasionally am asked by Woodway residents to find out and report the answers to various questions, like here. Yesterday I was asked how many households there are in Woodway, and how many support the Arboretum through an extra $5 (soon to be $8) each month as part of their water bill. This donation makes one a "Friend of the Arboretum", and a minor benefit is the privilege of renting the facility at a reduced rate. I sent the question to City Secretary Jennifer Canady, who forwarded it to Finance Director William Klump. Here is his response:
"There are approximately 3,450 households in Woodway. This is based on the number of active residential water accounts in Woodway. There are about 100 that support the Arboretum with the small monthly donation on their water bill."
If you have a question about the City, let me know and I'll try to find the answer.
"There are approximately 3,450 households in Woodway. This is based on the number of active residential water accounts in Woodway. There are about 100 that support the Arboretum with the small monthly donation on their water bill."
If you have a question about the City, let me know and I'll try to find the answer.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Results of the August 17th special meeting
This special meeting was called to formally receive the report from Mr. Barney Knight detailing his review of the allegations against City Manager and Police Chief Yost Zakhary. Mayor Bill Weber opened the meeting right at 5:30 pm to a packed room with several standing along the back. Mayor pro tem Gil Lillard did the invocation.
The Council immediately went into Executive Session, but in a rear conference room so that the gathered crowd would not be asked to move (this was appreciated). The Executive Session lasted until about 6:42. Open session was convened at 6:58 pm. The Mayor introduced Barney Knight, the external counsel, and asked him to review his findings. Mr. Knight is a lawyer and very experienced in all sort of municipal matters, having served as a City Manager himself in several capacities. He is absolutely independent, having no ties to Woodway or to Mr. O’Bric, and has carried out reviews of other cities. Mr. Knight read from an abbreviated version of his report made up of a summary of the findings and the conclusion. Copies were handed out at the end of the meeting, and the entire report, with parts redacted on the advice of legal counsel, will be posted on the City website tomorrow.
Note 8/19: The redacted report is posted here.
But a few highlights of his statement were that the report (41 pages) was entirely his own, influenced by no one. He considered every allegation and complaint, and ultimately categorized all of them into one of six categories, but not a single one was “material” (substantial). He found Woodway to be “well organized, with excellent documentation”. Regarding the 1.5 hours he spent with Mike O’Bric, Mr. Knight said that not a single fact or piece of evidence was given despite repeated requests. Along the way, he stated “The City has now exhaustively examined each and all of the many complaints. My concise summary is that most are fabricated out of thin air.” This was followed by applause of almost everyone present.
There were lots more pertinent things, but the basic conclusion is that the accusations were, at best, unsupported by the evidence or gross misrepresentations of underlying facts, and much more often were simply false. I’ll post a link to the City website when the report becomes available there.
There were a few things that Mr. Knight recommended be done differently, but they were relatively minor and he often finds the same things in other cities.
Then Mayor Weber read a statement that began, “As Mr. Knight has presented, he found no basis of illegal or unethical behavior associated with the allegations against the City Manager and Police Chief, Mr. Yost Zakhary.” Copies of that statement were handed out at the end of the meeting, I believe. Incidentally, this investigation cost will total about $25,000, not counting any costs associated with the initial internal review by City counsel.
Then the Mayor gave the Council members an opportunity to ask Mr. Knight questions or make statements.
Councilman Scott Giddings thanked Mr. Knight.
Dr. Paul Scibielski stated that he saw the need for the investigation, but that he himself had naively assumed the truth of some of the allegations and had used some in his campaign literature. He realized now that there was nothing to the allegations, and apologized to Mr. Zakhary for any pain he had caused. (applause)
Councilwoman Jane Kittner thanked Dr. Scibielski for his statement and Mr. Knight for his hard work, asked that we put all this behind us and take on the next big task: the Arboretum expansion.
Next was my turn. If I remember correctly (none of this was prepared ahead of time), I thanked Mr. Knight for his service and told him that he was exactly the right person for the job because of his complete independence. I then went on to say that I had gotten into this pretty naively, assuming that “where there is smoke, there is fire”, that is, that so many allegations must have some basis. I hadn’t used any of them directly in my campaign materials but I had bought into some of it. But Mr. Knight’s investigation had made it clear that there was virtually nothing to the charges. After being on the City Council awhile, I could see that there was no grand conspiracy there. I now realize that Mr. Zakhary is a talented manager who has the respect of his employees.
Councilman Don Baker then stated that he knew what the result would be before the investigation began, that Barney Knight was the right guy for the job, that Mike O’Bric was full of lies and that he was glad its over.
Gil Lillard thanked Mr. Knight, especially since the job got bigger and bigger as time went on. But the money was well spent, and now we can focus on the Public Safety Department Barbeque. (which is Sept. 25)
Mayor Bill Weber thanked Mr. Knight for “eliminating all of the rabbit holes” (that allegations could hide in).
Then Barney Knight thanked the City, saying that it had been a privilege to work with such quality people. He began to excuse himself when Mayor Weber reminded him that he needed to stay to answer questions from the gathered citizens.
Then was time to hear visitors, but the time would be limited to 15 minutes total. This worked out OK, since only four expressed an interest in speaking.
First was Lieutenant Ben Selman (police and fire), whose service with the City goes back to 1989. He stated that he had followed Mr. Zakhary into many fires and hoped to continue to do so. He was glad there was no basis for the allegations, but deplored the use of so much money on the investigation, which could have purchased 10 sets of bunker gear for the firemen. He went on to say that it would all happen again (new allegations) and for the Council to not be persuaded, and hopes the City’s money spent on this can be recovered. He affirmed his confidence in Yost Zakhary, and would follow him anywhere.
Next was Ray Dobbs, a Lieutenant with the volunteer police and fire, and who grew up in Woodway. He stated that Yost Zakhary is not just his Chief, but more importantly his friend, a good man but one with faults like us all. Lt. Dobbs was here on the night of his 36th wedding anniversary because he loves this city and resents all the trouble Mike O’Bric has caused. He hopes this is all behind us, but if the same thing happens again, the Council needs to deal with it immediately. He finished by saying that the money spent on this investigation was just a drop in the bucket compared to what this city means to him.
Then Glenda Strum spoke, a 30-year resident and also a realtor. She said that she owes Mr. Zakhary a lot for the hundreds of homes she has sold in Woodway, where the streets and especially the police service is so good (“where they take crime seriously”). But she said that Mr. Zakhary does lots of good behind the scenes, like at the Rotary Club (which she once included in a letter to the Council). She said he has a tough guy image but a big heart and she remembers when he was “just a pup”.
Finally, Barbara Tennison asked Barney Knight about his background, and what he thought of Woodway’s management. He said everything he saw “was a 90 or above”. She then spoke to Mr. Zakhary, to say that she realized her part in all of this by not dealing with the accusations much sooner. To the “new guys on the Council”: she heard some good things tonight but now you need to tell Woodway that Mr. Zakhary stays in both positions, in the Police Chief job because of his upcoming presidency of the International Police Chief Association and in the City Manager position “because he is so damn good at it”. She hasn’t known a better City Manager.
The meeting adjourned at 7:40 pm.
The Council immediately went into Executive Session, but in a rear conference room so that the gathered crowd would not be asked to move (this was appreciated). The Executive Session lasted until about 6:42. Open session was convened at 6:58 pm. The Mayor introduced Barney Knight, the external counsel, and asked him to review his findings. Mr. Knight is a lawyer and very experienced in all sort of municipal matters, having served as a City Manager himself in several capacities. He is absolutely independent, having no ties to Woodway or to Mr. O’Bric, and has carried out reviews of other cities. Mr. Knight read from an abbreviated version of his report made up of a summary of the findings and the conclusion. Copies were handed out at the end of the meeting, and the entire report, with parts redacted on the advice of legal counsel, will be posted on the City website tomorrow.
Note 8/19: The redacted report is posted here.
But a few highlights of his statement were that the report (41 pages) was entirely his own, influenced by no one. He considered every allegation and complaint, and ultimately categorized all of them into one of six categories, but not a single one was “material” (substantial). He found Woodway to be “well organized, with excellent documentation”. Regarding the 1.5 hours he spent with Mike O’Bric, Mr. Knight said that not a single fact or piece of evidence was given despite repeated requests. Along the way, he stated “The City has now exhaustively examined each and all of the many complaints. My concise summary is that most are fabricated out of thin air.” This was followed by applause of almost everyone present.
There were lots more pertinent things, but the basic conclusion is that the accusations were, at best, unsupported by the evidence or gross misrepresentations of underlying facts, and much more often were simply false. I’ll post a link to the City website when the report becomes available there.
There were a few things that Mr. Knight recommended be done differently, but they were relatively minor and he often finds the same things in other cities.
Then Mayor Weber read a statement that began, “As Mr. Knight has presented, he found no basis of illegal or unethical behavior associated with the allegations against the City Manager and Police Chief, Mr. Yost Zakhary.” Copies of that statement were handed out at the end of the meeting, I believe. Incidentally, this investigation cost will total about $25,000, not counting any costs associated with the initial internal review by City counsel.
Then the Mayor gave the Council members an opportunity to ask Mr. Knight questions or make statements.
Councilman Scott Giddings thanked Mr. Knight.
Dr. Paul Scibielski stated that he saw the need for the investigation, but that he himself had naively assumed the truth of some of the allegations and had used some in his campaign literature. He realized now that there was nothing to the allegations, and apologized to Mr. Zakhary for any pain he had caused. (applause)
Councilwoman Jane Kittner thanked Dr. Scibielski for his statement and Mr. Knight for his hard work, asked that we put all this behind us and take on the next big task: the Arboretum expansion.
Next was my turn. If I remember correctly (none of this was prepared ahead of time), I thanked Mr. Knight for his service and told him that he was exactly the right person for the job because of his complete independence. I then went on to say that I had gotten into this pretty naively, assuming that “where there is smoke, there is fire”, that is, that so many allegations must have some basis. I hadn’t used any of them directly in my campaign materials but I had bought into some of it. But Mr. Knight’s investigation had made it clear that there was virtually nothing to the charges. After being on the City Council awhile, I could see that there was no grand conspiracy there. I now realize that Mr. Zakhary is a talented manager who has the respect of his employees.
Councilman Don Baker then stated that he knew what the result would be before the investigation began, that Barney Knight was the right guy for the job, that Mike O’Bric was full of lies and that he was glad its over.
Gil Lillard thanked Mr. Knight, especially since the job got bigger and bigger as time went on. But the money was well spent, and now we can focus on the Public Safety Department Barbeque. (which is Sept. 25)
Mayor Bill Weber thanked Mr. Knight for “eliminating all of the rabbit holes” (that allegations could hide in).
Then Barney Knight thanked the City, saying that it had been a privilege to work with such quality people. He began to excuse himself when Mayor Weber reminded him that he needed to stay to answer questions from the gathered citizens.
Then was time to hear visitors, but the time would be limited to 15 minutes total. This worked out OK, since only four expressed an interest in speaking.
First was Lieutenant Ben Selman (police and fire), whose service with the City goes back to 1989. He stated that he had followed Mr. Zakhary into many fires and hoped to continue to do so. He was glad there was no basis for the allegations, but deplored the use of so much money on the investigation, which could have purchased 10 sets of bunker gear for the firemen. He went on to say that it would all happen again (new allegations) and for the Council to not be persuaded, and hopes the City’s money spent on this can be recovered. He affirmed his confidence in Yost Zakhary, and would follow him anywhere.
Next was Ray Dobbs, a Lieutenant with the volunteer police and fire, and who grew up in Woodway. He stated that Yost Zakhary is not just his Chief, but more importantly his friend, a good man but one with faults like us all. Lt. Dobbs was here on the night of his 36th wedding anniversary because he loves this city and resents all the trouble Mike O’Bric has caused. He hopes this is all behind us, but if the same thing happens again, the Council needs to deal with it immediately. He finished by saying that the money spent on this investigation was just a drop in the bucket compared to what this city means to him.
Then Glenda Strum spoke, a 30-year resident and also a realtor. She said that she owes Mr. Zakhary a lot for the hundreds of homes she has sold in Woodway, where the streets and especially the police service is so good (“where they take crime seriously”). But she said that Mr. Zakhary does lots of good behind the scenes, like at the Rotary Club (which she once included in a letter to the Council). She said he has a tough guy image but a big heart and she remembers when he was “just a pup”.
Finally, Barbara Tennison asked Barney Knight about his background, and what he thought of Woodway’s management. He said everything he saw “was a 90 or above”. She then spoke to Mr. Zakhary, to say that she realized her part in all of this by not dealing with the accusations much sooner. To the “new guys on the Council”: she heard some good things tonight but now you need to tell Woodway that Mr. Zakhary stays in both positions, in the Police Chief job because of his upcoming presidency of the International Police Chief Association and in the City Manager position “because he is so damn good at it”. She hasn’t known a better City Manager.
The meeting adjourned at 7:40 pm.
Monday, August 16, 2010
the August 16th meeting
The meeting began promptly at 5:30 pm, with perhaps 10 visitors and Erin Quinn of the Waco Tribune Herald present. Mayor Weber asked Councilman Don Baker to give the invocation. The Mayor then gave brief update on the review by outside counsel, basically to say that there would be a special meeting the next night (Tuesday, August 17th; see previous post) to receive the report from Mr. Knight and to make a public statement.
Item 2 was a Quarterly Presentation by the Finance Department. Finance Director William Klump presented the current City financials. These were given mostly in terms of where the City was at in the fiscal year (75% would be expected) and compared to last fiscal year's numbers. One interesting fact was that water sales were down, with the year-to-date figure at 52% of what was expected for the entire year even though we are 75% of the way through the fiscal year. Mr. Klump attributed this to (a) some rainy weather, keeping yard watering down, and (b) a poor economy and trying to keep water costs at a minimum. Woodway sold about $3.3 million in water last year. All in all, the City is doing OK.
Item 3 was an update on getting video recording in place to make the City Council meeting proceedings available on the internet. Assistant to the City Manager Natalie Edwards is in charge of researching this. To survey public opinion on whether to have streaming video versus simply viewing the proceedings afterwards, she sent out requests in 3700 water bills and has maintained a request notice on the City Website. This survey has resulted in a total of only 12 responses, 9 of which were in favor of the streaming video and 3 who didn't care. I voiced opposition to hiring anyone to do this (one of the options) or to paying Swagit Streaming Services (see July 12th meeting post) to do this, the second-most expensive option. Councilman Scott Giddings then voice his opinion that any video would be a waste of money, since it was really only requested by Mike O'Bric or by a few former Council members (see the May 24th meeting post) as a result of Mr. O'Bric's allegations, and virtually no cities the size of Woodway seem to record video of their meetings. The Council discussed the simple and cheap solution of making the audio file that has always been recorded available on the City website. There was some concern that the City's bandwidth would have to be increased, and Natalie was tasked with finding what costs might be associated with that approach, to be discussed at the next meeting.
Items 4-6 related to the proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which begins October 1. City Manager/Police Chief Yost Zachary went through several slides of financial information. The proposed budget is balanced, but this required the General Fund to be 3.14% below last year's value. Costs associated with the Utility Fund are anticipated to be 4.2% higher than last year, which will be covered by an increase in water rates. It looks to me that the water rates will go up by about 10% next year. Another problem is increasing health insurance costs, which were initially going to be 46% higher than last year. With extensive negotiations and some drops in coverage, this figure was wrestled to only a 14.5% increase. Mayor Pro Tem Gil Lillard commented on what an accomplishment that was, having experience in that type of negotiation. Mr. Zakhary said that he expects 1-2 more difficult years before things get better.
There was an opportunity for public comment on the proposed budget. Only former Councilwoman Dee Smith came forward to state her appreciation for the City staff coming up with a balanced budget, and while the lack of raises was unfortunate this year, it was good that the City was able to avoid the layoffs that other municipalities have resorted to.
This section concluded with some figures from the Master Fee Schedule, which is basically all of the charges the City makes for various things (like building permits, etc.), a rather extensive list. Some of these were being increased somewhat for the next fiscal year. For example, being a "friend" of the Arboretum will go from $5 per month to $8 per month, but this has the benefit of reduced rental prices when booking the facility.
Item 7 was Hearing from Visitors. The only one to speak was former Councilwoman and current P&Z Board member Dee Smith, to say that she wants not one more penny spent on anything Mike O'Bric wants. She would like to see "more on the streets" instead of video recording equipment, too much having been spent on one person's opinion already.
Item 8 was the Consent Agenda, consisting of (a) the previous meeting's minutes; (b) field lighting for the Woodway Family Center ball fields ($9,800); (c) a walkway repair at the Arboretum ($4,500); (d) renewal of a Special Use permit; and (e) continued membership in the Atmos Cities Steering Committee. All were approved (which was Item 9).
Item 10 was Board and Commission appointments, with nominations from the Nominating Committee. Eleven middle- and high-school students were nominated for the Woodway Youth Commission, one person (Charles Burns) was nominated for the Planning and Zoning Commission, and one (Barbara Grandy) was nominated for the Arboretum Board.
Item 11 was the City Manager's Report. Among other things mentioned was the possibility of stationing an East Texas Medical ambulance in Woodway for quick response. The Household Hazardous Waste event was not funded this year, and City staff will be thinking about a solution to this. There were a couple of non-compliance type issues discussed.
Upcoming events of interest:
(a) Saturday, September 25th: Public Safety Association Annual Barbeque, 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, Woodway Elementary School.
The meeting ended at 6:40 pm.
Item 2 was a Quarterly Presentation by the Finance Department. Finance Director William Klump presented the current City financials. These were given mostly in terms of where the City was at in the fiscal year (75% would be expected) and compared to last fiscal year's numbers. One interesting fact was that water sales were down, with the year-to-date figure at 52% of what was expected for the entire year even though we are 75% of the way through the fiscal year. Mr. Klump attributed this to (a) some rainy weather, keeping yard watering down, and (b) a poor economy and trying to keep water costs at a minimum. Woodway sold about $3.3 million in water last year. All in all, the City is doing OK.
Item 3 was an update on getting video recording in place to make the City Council meeting proceedings available on the internet. Assistant to the City Manager Natalie Edwards is in charge of researching this. To survey public opinion on whether to have streaming video versus simply viewing the proceedings afterwards, she sent out requests in 3700 water bills and has maintained a request notice on the City Website. This survey has resulted in a total of only 12 responses, 9 of which were in favor of the streaming video and 3 who didn't care. I voiced opposition to hiring anyone to do this (one of the options) or to paying Swagit Streaming Services (see July 12th meeting post) to do this, the second-most expensive option. Councilman Scott Giddings then voice his opinion that any video would be a waste of money, since it was really only requested by Mike O'Bric or by a few former Council members (see the May 24th meeting post) as a result of Mr. O'Bric's allegations, and virtually no cities the size of Woodway seem to record video of their meetings. The Council discussed the simple and cheap solution of making the audio file that has always been recorded available on the City website. There was some concern that the City's bandwidth would have to be increased, and Natalie was tasked with finding what costs might be associated with that approach, to be discussed at the next meeting.
Items 4-6 related to the proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which begins October 1. City Manager/Police Chief Yost Zachary went through several slides of financial information. The proposed budget is balanced, but this required the General Fund to be 3.14% below last year's value. Costs associated with the Utility Fund are anticipated to be 4.2% higher than last year, which will be covered by an increase in water rates. It looks to me that the water rates will go up by about 10% next year. Another problem is increasing health insurance costs, which were initially going to be 46% higher than last year. With extensive negotiations and some drops in coverage, this figure was wrestled to only a 14.5% increase. Mayor Pro Tem Gil Lillard commented on what an accomplishment that was, having experience in that type of negotiation. Mr. Zakhary said that he expects 1-2 more difficult years before things get better.
There was an opportunity for public comment on the proposed budget. Only former Councilwoman Dee Smith came forward to state her appreciation for the City staff coming up with a balanced budget, and while the lack of raises was unfortunate this year, it was good that the City was able to avoid the layoffs that other municipalities have resorted to.
This section concluded with some figures from the Master Fee Schedule, which is basically all of the charges the City makes for various things (like building permits, etc.), a rather extensive list. Some of these were being increased somewhat for the next fiscal year. For example, being a "friend" of the Arboretum will go from $5 per month to $8 per month, but this has the benefit of reduced rental prices when booking the facility.
Item 7 was Hearing from Visitors. The only one to speak was former Councilwoman and current P&Z Board member Dee Smith, to say that she wants not one more penny spent on anything Mike O'Bric wants. She would like to see "more on the streets" instead of video recording equipment, too much having been spent on one person's opinion already.
Item 8 was the Consent Agenda, consisting of (a) the previous meeting's minutes; (b) field lighting for the Woodway Family Center ball fields ($9,800); (c) a walkway repair at the Arboretum ($4,500); (d) renewal of a Special Use permit; and (e) continued membership in the Atmos Cities Steering Committee. All were approved (which was Item 9).
Item 10 was Board and Commission appointments, with nominations from the Nominating Committee. Eleven middle- and high-school students were nominated for the Woodway Youth Commission, one person (Charles Burns) was nominated for the Planning and Zoning Commission, and one (Barbara Grandy) was nominated for the Arboretum Board.
Item 11 was the City Manager's Report. Among other things mentioned was the possibility of stationing an East Texas Medical ambulance in Woodway for quick response. The Household Hazardous Waste event was not funded this year, and City staff will be thinking about a solution to this. There were a couple of non-compliance type issues discussed.
Upcoming events of interest:
(a) Saturday, September 25th: Public Safety Association Annual Barbeque, 11:00 am to 7:00 pm, Woodway Elementary School.
The meeting ended at 6:40 pm.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Agenda for special meeting August 17th
A special meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, August 17th, at 5:30 pm to deal strictly with the results of the review by outside counsel of allegations against the City Manager/Police Chief made by a citizen. After an Executive Session, Mayor Weber will make a statement. A time for visitors to speak is also on the agenda, which has been posted on the City website here.
The agenda for the August 16th meeting
The upcoming (Monday, August 16th) City Council meeting agenda has been posted here. The more interesting items are:
An update by Mayor Bill Weber on the review by outside counsel of allegations against the City Manager/Police Chief made by a citizen. But a special meeting has been scheduled for the following evening (Tuesday, August 17th) to deal specifically with this, as I am sure Mayor Weber will explain. The agenda for that meeting will be be posted at City Hall and on the City website at least 72 hours in advance.
(b) An update on getting audio/video recording of City Council meetings in place.
(c) A significant amount of budget-related items are included:
item 4: Follow-up presentation on proposed annual budget
item 5: Public hearing on proposed annual budget
item 6: Discussion of proposed Woodway Master Fee Schedule
A time to hear from visitors has been included at about the halfway point.
An update by Mayor Bill Weber on the review by outside counsel of allegations against the City Manager/Police Chief made by a citizen. But a special meeting has been scheduled for the following evening (Tuesday, August 17th) to deal specifically with this, as I am sure Mayor Weber will explain. The agenda for that meeting will be be posted at City Hall and on the City website at least 72 hours in advance.
(b) An update on getting audio/video recording of City Council meetings in place.
(c) A significant amount of budget-related items are included:
item 4: Follow-up presentation on proposed annual budget
item 5: Public hearing on proposed annual budget
item 6: Discussion of proposed Woodway Master Fee Schedule
A time to hear from visitors has been included at about the halfway point.
Monday, August 9, 2010
A problematic well and (hopefully) its redemption
The Highway 84 well initially cost $1,464,000 and it was operational for about a year before it started giving problems. The main problem is "scale" (calcium salt) buildup. Since then, the City has spent an additional $237,000, for a total of $1,701,000. The well only functioned for a little over a year, and has been sitting dormant for a few years now. But the professional opinion is that for a modest investment (~ $130,000 plus pump repair costs) there is a good likelihood of having a functional well that could produce perhaps 600 gallons per minute (which it produced that first year). At that rate, the well could pay for itself in about 3 years or so. Well water is considered to be both the best and cheapest water for the City to use, since all other water we use is surface water from either from Waco or Belton, and has to be purchased from those municipalities. Interestingly, the water comes out of the well hot, and cools down in the storage tank.
You might also be interested to know that by statute the Woodway water system must be self-supporting; see municipal code Chapter 18, Article IV ("Water"), Sec. 18-74 ("water rate schedule"). That is, it cannot be subsidized by the general budget, though loans can be made and repaid. If you have never looked at the Woodway municipal code, it can be found here.
I'll try to do a comprehensive presentation of the Woodway water system before too long.
You might also be interested to know that by statute the Woodway water system must be self-supporting; see municipal code Chapter 18, Article IV ("Water"), Sec. 18-74 ("water rate schedule"). That is, it cannot be subsidized by the general budget, though loans can be made and repaid. If you have never looked at the Woodway municipal code, it can be found here.
I'll try to do a comprehensive presentation of the Woodway water system before too long.
Monday, August 2, 2010
the August 2nd Council meeting
Mayor Bill Weber opened the meeting at 5:30 pm, and asked Dr. Paul Scibielski to do the invocation. Then Yard of the Month awards were given to the Sharp, Collier, Geldmeier and Ellis families (with photos of their front yards shown) but none were in attendance. The business award went to Dr. Corbet Locke, who was present.
Then there was a presentation by the Blue Knights, a motorcycle group composed exclusively of current and retired police officers (including Woodway's Ray Dobbs). A plaque was presented on behalf of a four-year old with neuroblastoma, for contributing to the "Fight for Cooper".
Then there was a very brief presentation by Janet Schaffer, Director of the Arboretum and Family Center, on the state of those two facilities.
Then Jason Hughes of First Southwest (a group that advises the city in financial matters) gave a presentation of what is involved in borrowing for the Arboretum expansion. He began by noting Woodway's total debt of $14.7 M, and our ratings with Standard & Poor's and with Moody's (both third highest of all possible ratings). He proceeded to describe the two basic ways of borrowing, either with the citizen’s explicit approval via a bond election (the General Obligation route) or without the public's approval (the Certificate of Obligation route), as I described in my last post. He gave the possible timelines of the two routes (the GO route takes longer by at least two months). The bottom line is that to borrow the ~ $2-2.5 M needed for the expansion would require a payback of ~ $200 K per year for 15 years. No action was taken, this was just informational for later consideration.
Then Assistant to the City Manager Natalie Edwards spoke on recent progress in getting the Council meetings recorded for distribution on the City's website and possible real-time streaming of the proceedings (which costs significantly more to do). The city has been sending out a survey in the water bills (not in mine this month) and has a place on the website (here) where citizens can email back how important they feel that streaming video would be. So far only two people have responded, one in favor of the real-time viewing, and one who thought it was unimportant. Natalie also surveyed 27 similar-sized communities, and found only one (Tyler) that recorded video of their meetings (~ Youtube quality) and one that recorded audio only.
The Mayor then did an update on the ongoing review by the independent outside counsel. The investigative phase is now complete despite being very comprehensive, and Mr. Knight is preparing a report. The Mayor stated that this would probably be received at a meeting on Tuesday, August 17th, in Executive Session, then the findings would in some manner be communicated in open meeting immediately afterward.
Then the City Manager Yost Zakhary discussed items related to the proposed 2010-11 budget and the Woodway city property tax rate. He said that existing property values had decreased by $10.4 M but there was $19 M in new tax base (i.e., new homes and businesses), for a net increase in the tax base of $8.6 M, which (keeping the tax rate unchanged) corresponds to a net tax revenue increase of $39 K. However, this is offset by a significant decrease in the state sales tax revenue, resulting in an overall budget that is 3% less than last year's. This means passing on some of the higher health insurance costs to employees, and no raises in this fiscal year, but also no layoffs as many cities are experiencing. The Mayor suggested that the tax rate be carefully evaluated next year, the intent (I believe) to increase the rate as necessary to bring in some desired level of revenue. I am wary of tax rate increases, especially in a bad economy.
The August 19th meeting has been canceled in favor of a meeting at 7:45 am September 1st. This public meeting is a requirement in the budgeting process.
Then came Visitor's time, which lasted a total of only five minutes. First Linda Draper came to ask what had been done to create an ordinance for wind turbine approval in Woodway, and was told that that would be discussed a little later in the meeting.
The Jim Ross came to say that the poll about recording the Council meetings has not been very effective, and that it needs to be better publicized. The Mayor stated that the upcoming Woodway Today issue will have something about that.
Then Meg Garland came to say that the streaming video would be worth it only if it was somehow interactive, and she recommended the cheaper recording approach (the "Walmart route" as she put it). Councilman Don Baker that said that "This is not a Walmart city."
Then came the "consent agenda", basically a list of things for approval. These consisted of (a) Approval of the minutes of the last meeting; (b) Approval of paying Troop 497 to continue to put up 102 American flags on six holidays, total cost of $3060. That comes to 612 flag set-ups and take-downs, or $5 per flag per day. (c) Approval of bulk fuel purchases under contract with Hopkins Oil for $0.079 per gallon over cost. Although the anticipated yearly cost is $194 K, this should save the city money. The city uses on average 1,000 gallons of gasoline and 300 gallons of diesel fuel per week . (d) Approval of emergency repairs to a pump on one of the firetrucks ($2.3K). These were all approved in one vote unanimously.
Then was approval of the final platting for the Badger Ranch Addition, Phase 4.
Then was a presentation by Bob Wallace of the Wallace Group regarding renovation of the Highway 84 well. The problems with this well were discussed in an earlier meeting blog. Basically, they are trying to bring it back to life by a thorough cleaning. Bob Wallace is a consulting Engineer to arrange bids, etc., designed to bring this well into production at the lowest cost. Bids ("proposals") were recently solicited for this purpose, and resulted in two wildly different quotes, one for $103 K and one for $445 K, over a fourfold difference. Mr. Wallace thought that one party (who did earlier questionable work on this well and did not bid) scared some of the other bidders. But the firm with the low bid is a good one and the cost was within expectations. The Council approved the project, with the later parts contingent on successful completion of phase 1 (cleanout and chemical testing).
Some facts: The well casing is 10" in diameter and made of 1/2" thick steel, surrounded by 2" of concrete. When the well was finished, the water level was 200 feet lower than expected (as was a nearby well owned by another municipality). But the well produced 600 gallons per minute, which even with a $1.2 M+ investment should pay for itself (if/when operational) within ~ 7 years. Water is a valuable commodity!
Some puns: When asked where the money for well renovation comes from, Finance Director William Klump referred to a fund for such purposes, then went on to say that this project "will run that fund DRY. But it will be WELL worth it." Bob Wallace had mentioned earlier that "a well is a deep subject."
Then there was discussion of an industrial truck loading/unloading issue with traffic. This was followed by the City Manager's report. Included here was a proposed procedure for establishing a wind turbine ordinance perhaps six weeks hence. There was also some discussion of what could be done about bike paths in Woodway. The results of an employee benefit survey were given (Woodway is about average in that regard). One of the Councilmen (Don Baker) has dual electric meters for test purposes. The Smartmeter read 3032 KWH while the traditional meter read 3034 KWH, essentially indistinguishable. The meeting concluded just after 7 pm.
The next Council meeting is Monday, August 16th.
Then there was a presentation by the Blue Knights, a motorcycle group composed exclusively of current and retired police officers (including Woodway's Ray Dobbs). A plaque was presented on behalf of a four-year old with neuroblastoma, for contributing to the "Fight for Cooper".
Then there was a very brief presentation by Janet Schaffer, Director of the Arboretum and Family Center, on the state of those two facilities.
Then Jason Hughes of First Southwest (a group that advises the city in financial matters) gave a presentation of what is involved in borrowing for the Arboretum expansion. He began by noting Woodway's total debt of $14.7 M, and our ratings with Standard & Poor's and with Moody's (both third highest of all possible ratings). He proceeded to describe the two basic ways of borrowing, either with the citizen’s explicit approval via a bond election (the General Obligation route) or without the public's approval (the Certificate of Obligation route), as I described in my last post. He gave the possible timelines of the two routes (the GO route takes longer by at least two months). The bottom line is that to borrow the ~ $2-2.5 M needed for the expansion would require a payback of ~ $200 K per year for 15 years. No action was taken, this was just informational for later consideration.
Then Assistant to the City Manager Natalie Edwards spoke on recent progress in getting the Council meetings recorded for distribution on the City's website and possible real-time streaming of the proceedings (which costs significantly more to do). The city has been sending out a survey in the water bills (not in mine this month) and has a place on the website (here) where citizens can email back how important they feel that streaming video would be. So far only two people have responded, one in favor of the real-time viewing, and one who thought it was unimportant. Natalie also surveyed 27 similar-sized communities, and found only one (Tyler) that recorded video of their meetings (~ Youtube quality) and one that recorded audio only.
The Mayor then did an update on the ongoing review by the independent outside counsel. The investigative phase is now complete despite being very comprehensive, and Mr. Knight is preparing a report. The Mayor stated that this would probably be received at a meeting on Tuesday, August 17th, in Executive Session, then the findings would in some manner be communicated in open meeting immediately afterward.
Then the City Manager Yost Zakhary discussed items related to the proposed 2010-11 budget and the Woodway city property tax rate. He said that existing property values had decreased by $10.4 M but there was $19 M in new tax base (i.e., new homes and businesses), for a net increase in the tax base of $8.6 M, which (keeping the tax rate unchanged) corresponds to a net tax revenue increase of $39 K. However, this is offset by a significant decrease in the state sales tax revenue, resulting in an overall budget that is 3% less than last year's. This means passing on some of the higher health insurance costs to employees, and no raises in this fiscal year, but also no layoffs as many cities are experiencing. The Mayor suggested that the tax rate be carefully evaluated next year, the intent (I believe) to increase the rate as necessary to bring in some desired level of revenue. I am wary of tax rate increases, especially in a bad economy.
The August 19th meeting has been canceled in favor of a meeting at 7:45 am September 1st. This public meeting is a requirement in the budgeting process.
Then came Visitor's time, which lasted a total of only five minutes. First Linda Draper came to ask what had been done to create an ordinance for wind turbine approval in Woodway, and was told that that would be discussed a little later in the meeting.
The Jim Ross came to say that the poll about recording the Council meetings has not been very effective, and that it needs to be better publicized. The Mayor stated that the upcoming Woodway Today issue will have something about that.
Then Meg Garland came to say that the streaming video would be worth it only if it was somehow interactive, and she recommended the cheaper recording approach (the "Walmart route" as she put it). Councilman Don Baker that said that "This is not a Walmart city."
Then came the "consent agenda", basically a list of things for approval. These consisted of (a) Approval of the minutes of the last meeting; (b) Approval of paying Troop 497 to continue to put up 102 American flags on six holidays, total cost of $3060. That comes to 612 flag set-ups and take-downs, or $5 per flag per day. (c) Approval of bulk fuel purchases under contract with Hopkins Oil for $0.079 per gallon over cost. Although the anticipated yearly cost is $194 K, this should save the city money. The city uses on average 1,000 gallons of gasoline and 300 gallons of diesel fuel per week . (d) Approval of emergency repairs to a pump on one of the firetrucks ($2.3K). These were all approved in one vote unanimously.
Then was approval of the final platting for the Badger Ranch Addition, Phase 4.
Then was a presentation by Bob Wallace of the Wallace Group regarding renovation of the Highway 84 well. The problems with this well were discussed in an earlier meeting blog. Basically, they are trying to bring it back to life by a thorough cleaning. Bob Wallace is a consulting Engineer to arrange bids, etc., designed to bring this well into production at the lowest cost. Bids ("proposals") were recently solicited for this purpose, and resulted in two wildly different quotes, one for $103 K and one for $445 K, over a fourfold difference. Mr. Wallace thought that one party (who did earlier questionable work on this well and did not bid) scared some of the other bidders. But the firm with the low bid is a good one and the cost was within expectations. The Council approved the project, with the later parts contingent on successful completion of phase 1 (cleanout and chemical testing).
Some facts: The well casing is 10" in diameter and made of 1/2" thick steel, surrounded by 2" of concrete. When the well was finished, the water level was 200 feet lower than expected (as was a nearby well owned by another municipality). But the well produced 600 gallons per minute, which even with a $1.2 M+ investment should pay for itself (if/when operational) within ~ 7 years. Water is a valuable commodity!
Some puns: When asked where the money for well renovation comes from, Finance Director William Klump referred to a fund for such purposes, then went on to say that this project "will run that fund DRY. But it will be WELL worth it." Bob Wallace had mentioned earlier that "a well is a deep subject."
Then there was discussion of an industrial truck loading/unloading issue with traffic. This was followed by the City Manager's report. Included here was a proposed procedure for establishing a wind turbine ordinance perhaps six weeks hence. There was also some discussion of what could be done about bike paths in Woodway. The results of an employee benefit survey were given (Woodway is about average in that regard). One of the Councilmen (Don Baker) has dual electric meters for test purposes. The Smartmeter read 3032 KWH while the traditional meter read 3034 KWH, essentially indistinguishable. The meeting concluded just after 7 pm.
The next Council meeting is Monday, August 16th.
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