?The Kennedale City Council met in regular session on January 21, 2020. City Council meetings and work sessions are open to the public.? Work sessions are held before the regular meeting and generally start at 6:30 p.m. Regular council meetings begin at 7 p.m. All meetings are held in the? Council Chambers at Kennedale City Hall. {{more: continue …}}?At the January session, the Council approved updates to the city?s drought and emergency plans;? called for a general election for local offices on May 2, 2020; adopted a water conservation plan along with the county hazard mitigation plan; adopted an increase of city fees with no change in garage sale fee; approved the hiring an outside firm to handle building inspection services for the city; and, approved the refinancing of an EDC 2010 obligation bond with better terms that should result in cost-savings.?The following is taken from the minutes of the meeting and as approved by the Council in the regular meeting on February 18, 2020. January21, 2020 Minutes
?VISITOR AND CITIZEN FORUM …?
- Thelma Kobeck, (Kennedale), spoke regarding the importance of the 2020 Census.
- Bernadine Carter Herron, Partnership Specialist for the Dallas Regional Census Center, spoke regarding the importance of the 2020 Census.
- Joe Palmer, (Fort Worth), visitor, spoke about the importance of accuracy and KABO?s desire to see the businesses in Kennedale succeed.
- Bob Willoughby, (Fort Worth), asked several questions regarding Code Compliance
COUNCIL AND STAFF COMMENTS …?
- Chris Pugh, Place 2, announced that he attended the FUMC Community Dinner.
- Mayor Pro Tem Sandra Lee, Place 3, announced that she attended the Women’s March and a Martin Luther King, Jr. Banquet and celebrated her 37th wedding anniversary.
- Chad Wandel, Place 5, announced that he met with companies interested in Kennedale and served as Grand Marshal of the Disney New Year?s Day Parade while on vacation.
- Linda Rhodes, Place 4, announced that she attended the Chamber of Commerce meeting for the State of the City Address; wished the YAC well at YAC Summit in February; and stated her desire to see YAC attend an upcoming meeting to give Council a briefing.
- City Manager George Campbell thanked those speaking regarding the 2020 Census and noted that staff would be working to promote it. He then reminded the Council that the Employee Awards Banquet would be Friday, February 7.
- Director of Finance and Information Technology Lakeita Sutton presented highlights and was available to answer questions from the Council. She noted that all major funds were on track; and that, because property taxes were due in January, the General Fund revenue was ahead (at about 45%). There was brief discussion regarding franchise fees, rebuilding of the fund balance, and savings via the delay of filling vacant personnel positions. Schedule of Investment Activity for quarter ending December 31, 2019 Sutton noted that there was nothing specific to highlight, but that she was available to answer questions.
CONSENT AGENDA …?
- Approved of the minutes from the December 17, 2019 regular meeting
- Approved of Resolution 564 calling the General Election for May 2, 2020
- Approval of Ordinance 688, adopting the 2019 updates to the City of Kennedale Drought Contingency and Emergency Water Management Plan
- Approval of Ordinance 689, adopting the 2019 City of Kennedale Water ConservationPlan
- Approval of Resolution 565, adopting the Tarrant County Hazard Mitigation Action Plan (HazMAP), ver. January 2020
- Receive the 2019 Racial Profiling Report from the Police Department
Action taken – Approved the Consent Agenda, with corrections to page 2 of the December 17 minutes (under item IV.C. Visitor and Citizen Forum, correcting Nancy Neal to read ?Linda Neal? and under IV.D.1. Updates from the City Council, striking ?KPFFA? from before the words ?Angel Tree? on Linda Rhodes? announcements); and with the edit to Section 7.4 of the Water Conservation Plan to correctly reflect utilization of the 2015 International Plumbing Code (IPC) rather than the 2006 IPC (as discussed during Work Session), Moved By Rhodes, Seconded By Wandel. Motion passed unanimously?INDIVIDUAL ACTION ITEMS …?
- Consider authorizing the City Manager to enter into a contract with SAFEbuilt for provision of building inspection services Director of Planning and Economic Development Melissa Dailey stated that, since the recent resignation of the Building Inspector, staff had contracted with SAFEbuilt for inspections and plan reviews; and was recommending a 12-month contract with an option to renew. There was some discussion of the cost of contracting versus salary and benefits; the method for calculating the related requested fee adjustments on the next agenda item; and for which items SAFEbuilt would be utilized. Lee Swain of SAFEbuilt, gave a brief overview of the company and was available to answer questions from the Council.
Action taken:?Approve authorizing the City Manager to enter into a contract with SAFEbuilt for provision of building inspection services, Moved By Wandel, Seconded By Pugh. Motion passed unanimously?
- Consider adoption of Ordinance 690, amending the Kennedale Municipal Code, by amending Exhibit A ?Schedule of Fees? of Section 2-3, ?Fees for licenses, inspections, permits, etc.? to adjust minimum permitting and inspection fees Director of Planning and Economic Development Melissa Dailey stated that these recommended fees were based on the actual costs from SAFEbuilt as well as other comparable cities? fees, specifically noting that the minimum fee would be increased from $55.00 to $90.00 (with the exception of garage sale permits) and that commercial building permits changed by about 10% on the highest tier. There was some discussion regarding the inability to base permits on the value of the project and how often the fee schedule should be reviewed in whole. There was a recommendation by Councilmember Rhodes to consider what utility deposits are required for multifamily developments.
Action taken: Approve adoption of Ordinance 690, amending the Kennedale Municipal Code, by amending Exhibit A ?Schedule of Fees? of Section 2-3, ?Fees for licenses, inspections, permits, etc.? to adjust minimum permitting and inspection fees, Moved By Wandel, Seconded By Pugh. (Councilmember Wandel noted that in the past year, there were only two commercial permits that would fall into this fee schedule and that both were for more than $10,000.00.)? Motion passed with a vote of 3-1, with Mayor Pro Tem Lee voting against approval.?
- Consider approval of Ordinance 691, authorizing the issuance, sale and delivery of approximately $1,255,000 in aggregate principal amount of City of Kennedale, Texas General Obligation Refunding Bond, Series 2020; securing the payment thereof by authorizing the levy of an annual ad valorem tax; and approving and authorizing the execution of all instruments and procedures related thereto including a deposit agreement, a paying agent/registrar agreement and a purchase contract and investment letter Director of Finance and Information Technology Lakeita Sutton stated that, during the last meeting, the Council had authorized moving forward with this refunding, which would offer savings in the EDC Fund greater than had been projected. She added that Andrew Friedman of SAMCO Capital had since taken this to market and that adoption of Ordinance 691 would authorize the issuance of the refunding bond, in the form of a 2020 General Obligation (GO) bond which would essentially refinance the Certificates of Obligation (CO) issued by the EDC in 2010. Friedman stated that the best bid was from JP Morgan in Dallas, noting that this refunding would offer $164,000 in savings for the EDC Fund.
Action taken: Approve Ordinance 691, authorizing the issuance, sale and delivery of approximately $1,255,000 in aggregate principal amount of City of Kennedale, Texas General Obligation Refunding Bond, Series 2020; securing the payment thereof by authorizing the levy of an annual ad valorem tax; and approving and authorizing the execution of all instruments and procedures related thereto including a deposit agreement, a paying agent/registrar agreement and a purchase contract and investment letter, Moved By Pugh, Seconded By Mayor Pro Tem Lee. Motion passed unanimously, with a vote of 4-0-0.??Meeting was adjourned at 7:53 p.m. by Mayor Brian Johnson??
