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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-01-02 MinutesMINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council was held on Tuesday, January 2, 1996, at 3:30 p.m., in the Council Room of the City Administration Building, 113 W. Mountain, Fayetteville, Arkansas. PRESENT: Mayor late), Hill, Jerry staff, ABSENT: Fred Hanna; Aldermen Stephen Miller (arrived Kit Williams, Cyrus Young, Woody Bassett, Jimmy Len Schaper; and Heather Daniel; City Attorney Rose; City Clerk/Treasurer Traci Paul; members of press, and audience. Alderman Steve Parker CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hanna called the meeting to order with six aldermen present. Mayor Hanna explained that the meeting time was changed due to the bad weather and thanked everyone for coming early. OLD BUSINESS Mayor Hanna introduced consideration of items that have been brought before the Council but were tabled or no decision made to allow further information to be presented. A. PARKING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT: An ordinance amending Chapter 160, Zoning, Section 160.117, Off -Street Parking of the Code of Fayetteville, to provide parking requirements for restaurants offering entertainment within the Zoning districts of Fayetteville. Mayor Hanna stated the ordinance was left on its first reading at the December 19 Council meeting. City Attorney Jerry Rose read the ordinance for the second time. In answer to a question from Alderman Daniel, Planning Director Alett Little stated the current parking lot ordinance does set out the required number of parking spaces by use. It allows for consideration of shared parking which would be any business that has excess parking. That can be a legal document designating certain spaces for certain hours. The only restriction is that parking can only be shared by one user at one time. That has been in place since the parking lot ordinance was adopted. Alderman Bassett asked what the proposed ordinance would change. • t • •�i • January 2, 1996 Ms. Little stated that for restaurants providing entertainment, it would require less parking spaces. The current requirement is one,4parkirig space per three occupants. The proposal is one space ,per,four occupants. For other restaurants, it increases the amount of parking that is required. The current requirement is one space per 200 square feet. This is less than what is actually requested by most restaurant owners and it is less than the current national standard for most restaurants. The Planning Commission was dealing with quite a few requests for parking spades in excess of what is allowed by ordinance. • There has been some concern about the Dickson Street area. This. amendment was not brought forward for the Dickson Street area. With regard to the Dickson Street area.and the square, it is the only area within the City where the Planning Commission has the ability to waive these requirements. Alderman Bassett stated if the Council passes the amendment, the Planning Commission would still have the authority to grant waivers. Ms. Little agreed. In response to a question from Alderman Bassett, Ms. Little stated there is a subcommittee specifically for the Dickson Street area. Most of the areas on Dickson Street which have been warehouses have been converted into restaurants.. Restaurants have a much higher parking requirement than the one space per 1,000 square feet that is required for warehouses. When a building changes uses, the Planning staff looks at what parking is required. The City has waived a number of parking spaces in the Dickson Street area during the past seven years to encourage• development in that corridor. The Planning Commission needs a. way to. grant waivers or view the situations where the. use .ie being changed and still provide the incentive that the City wants to provide to the area. • The subcommittee has met with the Dickson Street Imprrovementu.. District and the Chamber of Commerce. They plan to meet with Downtown Fayetteville Unlimited, the Walton Arts Center, the)t Parking Authority (Downtown Parking Improvement District #1); and. Traffic Superintendent Perry Franklin. They are trying to come up with an appropriate operating procedure for the City in -re% dealing with historic areas and areas where we are tryingtoispur redevelopment. f Alderman Bassett expressed concern about discouraging further expansion, renovation, and redevelopment in the Dickson Street area. Ms. Little stated the Planning Commission still has' the authority to waive parking in C-3 and C-4'°zoning districts. January 2, 1996 Alderman Williams suggested the Council wait for the Planning Commission to forward more information on what the parking situation is in the Dickson Street area before they make any decision on the ordinance. Ms. Little stated it is not a problem to hold off until the Council has the recommendations of the subcommittee. The subcommittee should have their recommendations within the next couple of months. Alderman Schaper expressed his support for the amendment and for the revitalization of the downtown area. There should be more public parking and less private parking in the downtown area. Alderman Young stated when there are many small private parking lots, greenspaces start eating up the number of spaces. When parking is connected, it is more efficient. In answer to a question from Alderman Young, Ms. Little stated currently the Planning Commission has four options. The Planning Commission can require the property owner to provide the required parking, they can judge there is adequate parking within 600 feet of the site, they can assess a fee of $1,200 per waived space, or they can accept agreements for shared parking. They may accept a combination of any of those options as well. Alderman Young asked if the combination would still have to meet the new ordinance. Ms. Little stated under the current ordinance, that would be true. The Planning Commission subcommittee is looking at the Dickson Street area very specifically. Alderman Schaper stated the 2020 Plan recommends that the C-3 and C-4 districts be replaced by one downtown district. In answer to a question from Alderman Schaper, Ms. Little stated that change does not have a time frame. It would be a priority behind the Unified Development Ordinance. Alderman Bassett stated the Planning Commission Subcommittee will make a recommendation to the full Planning Commission. He asked if that would be forwarded to the Council. Ms. Little stated the Planning Commission has the authority to make the waivers and to establish the policy. The Planning Commission chose to appoint a subcommittee to come up with a way to be more uniform in how they address the parking waiver question. The Planning Commission will furnish to the Council whatever information is requested. • January 2, 1996 In answer to a question from Alderman Young, Ms. Little stated any recommendations that deal with changing the ordinance would be forwarded to the Council. In answer to a question from Alderman Daniel, Ms. Little stated the Planning Commission has approved the nine parking waivers submitted in the past three years. They have assessed no fees. Alderman Bassett explained that he wanted to see •continued investment in the Dickson Street area and downtown Fayetteville. In answer to a question from Alderman Hill regarding Pride in Dickson Street Merchants Association, Ms. Little stated that group will be included in_the-meetings._. Mayor Hanna asked for comments from members of the audience. There were'none. -Mayor Hanna stated the ordinance would be left on its second reading. 4 B. --OUTDOOR MUSIC CONDITIONAL USE: An ordinance adding a definition and listing of facilities providing outdoor .music, and adding section 160.100 to the Code of Fayetteville defining facilities providing outdoor music and making facilities providing outdoor music an conditional use in specified zoning districts subject to certain conditions: Mayor Hanna,istated the ordinance was left on its first reading at the December 19 Council meeting. City Attorney Rose explained that because of the comments from the last agenda session, the ordinance is being revised. Rose suggested the Council table the ordinance and then discuss it at the upcoming City Council Ordinance Review Committee meeting. Schaper, seconded by Daniel, made a motion to table the ordinance. Upon roll call, the motion passed by a vote of 6 to 0. Alderman Bassett stated the Ordinance Review Committee meeting is at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. The committee will discuss the Outdoor Conditional Use ordinance, Alderman Williams' helmet proposal, and the Commercial Design Standards. Alderman Schaper asked if the committee would be discussing the Condemnation ordinance. Alderman Daniel explained she was working on an ordinance dealing with street clean up. T aip January 2, 1996 Ms. Little stated the Council requested that the Planning Commission take a look at any structures which are located in the right-of-way and set standards for those. A draft has been forwarded to legal. The Committee may want to spend a small amount of time on it. With a little more direction from the Council, the staff could get that completed. In answer to a question from Alderman Daniel regarding her proposed ordinance, Ms. Little stated that ordinance is very clean. It could probably be placed on the regular Council agenda. It could be distributed at the Ordinance Review Committee meeting. Alderman Bassett suggested the ordinance be placed on an agenda. Ms. Little stated the ordinance proposed by Alderman Daniel gives the City the authority to require that builders clean the public streets when mud or debris is tracked onto them. C. SEWER SYSTEM CONNECTION: A resolution approving the connection of the sewer system for Goose Creek Subdivision to the Fayetteville public sewer. Mayor Hanna stated the resolution was tabled at the December 19 Council meeting. Jim McCord stated Allen Jones could not be present but his partner is in the audience to answer any questions regarding the subdivision. Mr. McCord pointed out to the Council that they have two memorandums which outline the reasons for the request. McCord stated the property adjoins the northern boundary of Farmington and encompasses about 200 acres. Both the Farmington Subdivision Ordinance and the Fayetteville Subdivision Ordinance require the subdivision to connect to public sewer if it accessible. There is public sewer accessible. City Council approval is required for any connection. There was discussion at the agenda session that the Council would like to have a feasibility study before making a decision. In clarifying the request, Mr. McCord stated the request is for the City Council to make a policy decision to permit the sewer connection that the Fayetteville and Farmington Ordinances require. Any such approval would be contingent upon a feasibility study to be performed by the developer's engineer and reviewed by the City Engineer. If that study indicates and recommends that sewer system improvements be made, that approval would be contingent upon the developer making those system upgrades at no cost to the City. Those improvements would be financed by a property owners improvement districts which has already been formed. January 2, 1996' It is unnecessary to have a feasibility study done before a policy decision is made because there will be compliance with whatever the study requires. In answer to a question from Alderman Schaper, Mr. McCord stated he did not plan to request the item be tabled again. Alderman Schaper explained he did not support making a decision on the resolution today because of the change in the time of the, meeting. d Mr. McCord stated Roy Hummill, a representative of a number of property owners in the area, could not be present to voice his support for the project. If the Council wants to table the item for more public input, that would be appropriate.h• Vii' I•.. Schaper, seconded by Hill, made a motion to table the'item. Upon roll call, the motion passed by:a vote of 4 to 2, with Aldermen - Williams and Young voting no. • Mr. McCord requested that the Council, at the next.meeting.•when., this is considered and discussed, be thinking about what the: ' ; ^. scope of the study should be if it is determined the feasibility. study should be done first before a decision is made. . It should be limited to the impact of this subdivision. Also, to determine what findings the study must have for the Council to grant, approval. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Hanna' introduced consideration of items which may be approved bymotion, or contracts and leases which can be approved by resolution, and which may be grouped together and approved simultaneously under a "Consent Agenda": A. Minutes of the December 19 regular City Council meeting. Alderman Williams stated the motion on the Marketing Firm. for Drake Field should read "accept instead of "except." Alderman Williams also questioned the format:used to record a vote with one abstention and one alderman riot present. -Alderman Williams asked why the vote was recorded as 6 to 1 if there werei five yes votes and one abstention. City Attorney Rose stated the abstention goes with the majority. The vote,in the minutes should reflect that there were five yes votes and=one abstention. Alderman Williams requested that the minutes be. amended to reflect the two changes. January 2, 1996 Williams, seconded by Schaper, made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Upon roll call, the motion passed by a vote of 6 to 0. PAY PLAN REVISIONS Mayor Hanna introduced consideration of a resolution adopting new step rates for civil service fire and police and revised pay ranges for hourly, salaried, and executive employees as recommended by staff and Hay Management Consultants and approving a budget adjustment. Administrative Services Director Ben Mayes stated the current pay plan was adopted January 1, 1990, after a study that was conducted in 1989. We conducted surveys in the public sector, the private sector and with other civil service police and fire. The results have been presented to the Council. The survey is updated every two years. This is the third biannual update. Alderman Daniel commended the staff for using such a good system. In answer to a question from Alderman Daniel, Mayes stated the national cost of living increase was approximately 3.5% in 1994 and in 1995. Alderman Schaper expressed concern about the state of Kansas being included in the survey. He stated there is one numerical error in the police range comparison on page 3.27 of the agenda. The inclusion of data from Kansas is biasing this survey up a couple of percentage points in the case of fire and four percentage points in the case of the police recommendations. When Kansas is not included in the survey numbers, they are significantly less. Alderman Young stated the area to be included in the survey was established early on. Personnel Director Don Bailey stated the geographic area was discussed at length. An alteration of the premiss has not been suggested in the past. Each time we have set forth to measure a rate of change from one to the other, a pattern has been set. Bailey explained he was reluctant to alter the pattern because the data suggests that the numbers are a little bit higher because we are using it. This is the geographic area that was chosen. There are other geographic areas. There is no perfect system. Alderman Williams asked if the cities that are closer to our area are weighted more. Bailey stated yes. We are only looking at cities in the eastern part of Kansas. The western part of Kansas is too far away. it ! • January 2, 1996 In*answer to a question from Alderman Schaper, Bailey stated .Lawrence is a university city. That was one of the criteria that we looked at. Alderman Schaper stated the numbers are significantly different if you leave the Kansas data out. He expressed his concern about the increases being so high and stated he was not comfortable with it. We are trying to pay so that we are competitive with people in our market in the rest of this area. Alderman Young pointed out that there are plenty of help wanted signs in this market. Alderman Schaper stated when the City advertises for police and fire openings, there are lots of qualified applicants. There is no shortage and no retention problem. Alderman Williams stated the City began doing this years ago. Alderman Williams explained the importance of being consistent. The system•is a.fair system. The employees count on this system.. Alderman Daniel agreed with Alderman Williams. Fayetteville does not recognize unions and needs to give every break it can to our employees. Alderman,Schaper .stated the City has a responsibility*to the taxpayer to be prudent in giving raises. We have good sales;tax revenues now, but people in private industry are not'getting raises of this size. We do need to bring up the clerical workers and some of the other City employees where we are obviously below'' 1 ' • r where we should be. While not arguing against increases fol- police orpolice and fire, he believes the data for police are inappropriately skewed. - , , 4 Alderman Williams stated that the City hired a professional group to determine the averages and the surveys to be looked. at. It was hired for expert opinion and to depoliticize this issue. Alderman Young agreed with Alderman Williams regarding the need for consistency. The plan must be looked at over a long period of time as there may be a time in the future when there will be no raises based on this same criteria. So far, it has worked well. In response to a question from Alderman Hill, Don Bailey stated these towns were determined appropriate for a number of characteristics: population, educational institutions, nonunion, and a number of other factors. The Hay group recommended the list and the City agreed to it. Alderman Daniel stated she does not begrudge the police their generous raise as they put their lives at risk. k January 2, 1996 Alderman Schaper agreed with this. However, he suggested that next time, the geographic distribution be reviewed to be sure this really does make sense. Conditions do change. Mayor Hanna stated that if you start picking and choosing the cities to be compared with, you can make the statistics come out any way you want. What we want is a representative group. His main concern regarding salaries at the City is to keep them in line with the services provided. Alderman Williams, seconded by Young, moved to adopt this resolution and the appropriate budget adjustment. Alderman Hill requested review by staff of the survey which is based only on salary and does not consider benefits. Benefits are an important part of the total package a person looks at when employed. Don Bailey stated it is difficult to integrate this. It can be done on a dollar and cents basis, but we are looking at benefits as a package separate from pay because of the nature of the issues involved. The benefits surveys of Northwest Arkansas show we are extremely competitive. The General Employees' Pension Plan is the one thing that needs some work. We will probably bring this to the Council some time this year. Dollarwise, we have excellent value in the benefits we have. We are careful as to how we purchase these benefits. We think of it as a whole. Though it may be presented separately, it is looked at as a package. Ben Mayes stated that in the case of Civil Service employees, police and fire, at least the retirement plan is set by State statute. Alderman Schaper questioned an item on page 3.32 of the agenda, the exempt salary and the proposed change which increases the slope rather than decreases the slope. It looks like that compared to private industry we are significantly underpaying our entry-level people. He asked for the rationale behind this. Don Bailey stated the City does not have a problem with the entry level as there is an over supply in the market. We do have a problem in hiring, for instance, a senior staff engineer. There is no way the City can attract the kind of person we want at the bottom of the rate which is up at the 500 point level job. This is where the problem is. To keep the arithmetic simple and to keep equity on the same par internally, we opted for a simple 7% rather than offering the line in the formula which could alter the steps internally. That is a far more complicated process. The line is within a normal market range, even though it does not track exactly. Should it get further out of sync, we would go back and adjust some of the steps. 10. January 2, 1996 In answer to a question from Alderman Schaper,. Bailey stated that though the City does not have problems hiring or retaining firemen or policemen, it is an interesting point. Once these people are in' the service, there is very little opportunity for job change. If you do not take care of them, you penalize them. t, For example, officers who come here from Dallas, Ft. Worth, etc., may be making $30,000 a year, but we cannot consider that and must start them at the bottom of the pay range. We would like to have them but cannot pay for their experience or certifications. It is a limitation of the Civil' Service regulations. In response to a question from Alderman Daniel, Ben Mayes stated that one other area to address is the non -Civil Service Employee Pension Plan. Because these percentages were higher than anticipated, there was not enough money in the budget to do that at this time. This may be brought back later in the year if we have the revenue. Mayor Hanna called for a vote. Upon roll call, the resolution passed on a vote of 5 to 1, with Schaper voting no st RESOLUTION 1-96 AS RECORDED IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE. r- , r^ REZONING RZ95-40 ee City Attorney Jerry Rose read the ordinance for the firstktime.r 41. 4 4. � -. Freda Poore, the petitioner, •addressed the Council. She stated she feels Highway 62 needs to be commercial because there is so much commercial there already. There are about 18 businesses from Wal -mart to the Farmington city limits. There are approximately 8 residential houses, half of which are businesses. and the other half would like to be zoned commercial in order to sell. She had a petition with 23 signatures supporting the commercial designation. This area is two-tenths of a mile surrounded by commercial property. It is too late to keep that strip of property residential. She came to get C-2; the Planning Commission voted on and turned down C-1 and offered R-0, which she will take if nothing else is offered. However, she strongly. feels commercial zoning is best.. for this area. Alderman Miller arrived. Alderman Schaper stated Ms. Poore may have been referring to a statement by him that the City has enough commercial land. One principle the City is trying to' keep is not to continue the pattern of strip zoning: Other cities have four and five lane roads through residential neighborhoods and with adequate setbacks, it is just fine. He noted that as recently as 1994, the property to the west was zoned R-2. By planting trees or providing fencing along the road and having access from the rear, ,you have'a viable way of developing this area. You do not have: 11 January 2, 1996 to have access along highway frontage. For too long, people have decided where the streets should be instead of the City. Freda Poore responded regarding the R-2 zoning to the west. After investigating the cost of developing this area into multiple housing, the owner of the property is now in favor of the commercial rezoning. There being no further comments, Mayor Hanna closed this discussion and this item was left on its first reading. The second reading will be at the next meeting. CONDITIONAL USE FOR CERTAIN INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES City Attorney Jerry Rose read this ordinance for the first time. Alderman Williams thanked the staff for their work on this. This is a good ordinance, which goes beyond what he asked for. Alderman Miller expressed some concerns. He knows of four or five businesses that emit powerful odors which would not be covered under this ordinance. Also, he has suggested in the past that something regarding the production of substances toxic to humans and animals be added. Alderman Schaper stated that the question is whether or not this would have prevented the problem we are having now. Alderman Williams stated that it gives the City a tool without which the business would have the right to have a rendering plant in any heavy industrial zone. This ordinance means they do not have the right; it is a conditional use that must be approved every year. City Attorney Rose explained that the term conditional use is just what the name implies, a use with certain conditions. Generally, the conditional use is not automatically reviewed at certain set times. It can be any time, if the conditions are not being met. A couple of these conditional uses are now being prepared with automatic reviews at one year, which may not be a good idea. It is not illegal and has been done in other areas of the country, but it is unique and different to do it this way. Alderman Young expressed his concerns about this. One consideration is the fee for reviewing the conditional use. And Going back to Schaper's question, if the plant that sparked this ordinance came to the Planning Commission today, would anybody think this would apply. In response to a question from Alderman Miller, Rose stated that declaring something a public nuisance is a completely different situation. 4 12 4 • January 2, 1996 Alderman Williams stated it is much better to handle this onthe front end. Ft. Smith has been fighting a rendering plant for years. He would rather prevent the problem in the first place. Mayor -Hanna stated his belief that conditional use is a good planning tool but the way this ordinance is written may discourage some industries. Too much may be covered under this ordinance. Alderman Young suggested that there are many aspects of this ordinance that could be discussed at the Ordinance Review Committee. Alderman Daniel stated that this ordinance might encourage some businesses to locate in our Industrial Park. Mayor Hanna stated this ordinance would applyto them as well and maybe the Industrial Park should be exempt. Alderman Schaper stated that an odor will go far Industrial Park. The complaints could come from miles away. beyond the people living Alderman Williams stated that under conditional use problems they could be addressed right away. it was decided -to leave this on its first reading. OTHER BUSINESS Alderman vote for Alderman a way of Alderman Upcoming Highway Program Vote if there are ?y A Williams presented a resolution regarding the upcoming highway funds. Daniel asked if this could be put on the cable scroll as getting it to the public before the election. ts, - Williams cautioned against being perceived as political: Aldermen Young and Bassett concurred. Alderman Williams suggested including the "whereas" and the second paragraph and none of the numbered paragraphs which may be perceived as.slanted. Alderman Schaper suggested striking "following" and "and projections" from the second paragraph if those items are deleted. 114 r January 2, 1996 13 Alderman Williams, seconded by Schaper, moved to pass the resolution as stated. Upon roll call, the resolution passed on a vote of 6 to 1, with Hill voting no. RESOLUTION 2-96 AS RECORDED IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE. Incinerator City Attorney Jerry Rose reminded the Council that there are three pieces of incinerator litigation left. Regarding the Barnhart litigation, the court has approved the settlement and refunds will soon be made. He explained the process. Regarding the Boatman's case, he has attempted to serve process on behalf of the Authority, which members of the Council received. As to the response, there are two schools of thought. One is that there is no Authority now and no response needs to be made; whatever happens, happens. The second theory is that attorneys generally don't like defaults. If you don't want the default which might occur, you may want to reconstitute. Neither choice has much effect upon the City, if we rely on the Supreme Court's opinion which states the City and the Authority are two separate entities. The City has filed a motion to dismiss the complaint. The third lawsuit is the lawsuit the City has against individuals and corporations who advised us. Last week the City filed an amended complaint. Snow Removal Mayor Hanna commended the street department for their work removing the heavy snowfall. Kevin Crosson asked for the public's patience regarding late trash collection. Hobbs Mountain Landfill Alderman Len Schaper stated that though the City passed one resolution on this opposing premature construction, we have no resolution regarding the issue as a whole. He suggested referring this to the Environmental Concerns Committee. The meeting adjourned at 5:20