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Shenandoah City Council Meeting September 23 Update

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The Shenandoah City Council held a meeting on September 23, 2020 at the City of Shenandoah Municipal Complex, 29955 IH-45 North,
Shenandoah, Texas
and shared the following updates.

View Supporting Documents for Agenda Items here.

Watch the meeting below and on YouTube:

The meeting included the following present members of the Council:  Mayor Ritch Wheeler, Mayor Pro Tem Charlie Bradt, Mike McLeod, Dean Gristy, Ted Fletcher and Ron Raymaker   

ITEM  7: Gulf Coast Blood Center – The City of Shenandoah answered a plea as a blood donor site for the Gulf Coast Blood Center as they worked to meet the blood needs of the community during a pandemic.  In June Shenandoah held a very successful blood draw inside of Council Chambers, unlike previously held drives in the blood coach. This larger location allowed more donor appointments and resulted in the donation of 74 units during the two 6-hour drives and impacted 250 lives. Shannon Reid, the Donor Recruitment Account Manager, personally thanked the Council for making our facility available.  Presentation; no Council action needed. 

ITEM 9: MADD Award Presentation – Postponed.

ITEM 9: Monthly MDD Report-  Discussion only.

ITEM 10: Public Hearing on the Impact Fee Committee Recommendations – According to legal requirements, Council must hold a public hearing to consider recommendations from the Impact Fee Committee regarding the proposed Capital Improvements Plan and Land Use Projections. Council adopted a Resolution at the last meeting setting this public hearing.  Started at 7:28 pm; with no public comments, hearing closed at 7:29 pm.  No Council action needed. 

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ITEMS 11:  Capital Improvements Plan and Land Use Projections.-  Following a presentation by the City Attorney and the public hearing from the previous agenda item, Council discussed adopting the proposed Capital Improvements Plan and Land Use Projections as recommended by the Impact Fee Committee. These plans accomplish the following: 

  • Capital Improvements Plan – identifies anticipated capital projects that would be necessary to accommodate future development.
  • Land Use Projections – an attempt to establish an overall framework for the preferred and practical development of the City over the next ten years.

 Council voted 5-0 to adopt the CIP and the land use projections.

ITEM 12: Impact Fee-  Chapter 395 of the Texas Local Government Code allows for the adoption of an impact fee on new development in the City after holding a public hearing regarding the proposed fee. Council voted 5-0 to set the public hearing date for October 28, 2020.   

ITEM 13:  Mill Creek Residential  Changes – Mill Creek Residential located at 8900 Six Pines Drive as part of the LifeTime Fitness development, proposes an exterior material change from stone to brick. Due to the special use permit and development agreements for the project, the material change is being presented to City Council. Changes to the building elevations are included in the presentation   Representatives from the developer were in attendance to answer any questions. Material changes were presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday, September 15, and the Commission supported the substitution of brick instead of stone. Discussion only.

ITEM  14: Extension of Merge Lane Southbound at Research Forest – At a previous meeting, Councilmember Fletcher expressed interest in extending the merge lane onto the southbound service road, which would enhance the flow of traffic from the planned extension of the right turn lane on Research Forest. Bleyl Engineering provided a cost estimate of  $505,000.00 for consideration (see supporting document link). If Council wishes to pursue the project, the City will seek partial funding from Precinct 3 and it would be combined with the major intersection improvement project under TxDOT jurisdiction.  Discussion only.

ITEMS 15-17:  Special Use Permit for Mixed Beverage Permit (On Premises) –    Final Report and public hearing regarding the proposed zoning amendment for a special use permit for a Mixed Beverage (On-Premise) Permit for Aloft Hotel located at 19391 David Memorial Drive.A Mixed Beverage (On-Premise) (MB) Permit authorizes the holder to sell mixed beverages from unsealed containers and wine, beer, ale and malt liquor in containers of any legal size for on-premise consumption. The Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed this item during their September Regular Meeting and unanimously recommend approval. After no comments at the public hearing and Council discussion, Council approved the SUP by a 5-0 vote. 

ITEM 18: Amending Chapter 6 of the Code of Ordinances –  The Licenses and Permits Ordinance has been amended to reflect current Texas alcohol laws and regulations, including when permit fees are paid to the City based on license fees paid to the state, and updating the name of the Texas Liquor Control Act to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code.  Council approved the amended ordinance by a 5-0 vote.

ITEM 19: Municipal Development District Bylaw Amendment-  In the September 9 Council meeting, Councilmember McLeod and Councilmember Raymaker requested an amendment to the MDD Bylaws providing a deadline for budget adoption. This deadline would allow Council to go into budget workshops with a better idea of what projects would be planned with funding from MDD.  Council approved the bylaw amendment by a vote of 5-0.

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ITEM 20: Approval of Civic Club Secretary Election Results- Per the Civic Club bylaws, the election of Secretary of the Civic Club is held at the September meeting and then brought to Council for approval before September 30.Wendy Bradt was elected unanimously by the voting members in attendance; this will be her third term as secretary. Council approved the election of Ms. Bradt as Civic Club secretary by a 4-0-1 vote; Councilmember Bradt recused himself.

ITEM 21: Agreement with Willis Independent School District (WISD)-  Staff was contacted by Jeremy Whitt, head swim and dive coach for Willis ISD, requesting the option to lease the city’s pool for use by their swim team. A contract and swim schedule were presented to City Council for consideration. The schedule does not conflict with the city’s schedule or the Shenandoah Sharks.  Lifeguard availability has been verified with the Pool Operator.  The lease allows heating the pool with all associated costs paid for by the school district. The swim team will generally practice from 6 to 7:30 am on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. No competitions will be held at the pool. Council approved the agreement by a 5-0 vote.

ITEM 22: Tennis Court Backboards-  Staff has researched backboards for the tennis courts at the City Park. 10’ x 16’ is the minimum recommended size for a single user and two sections could fit on the fence. Each panel is approximately $1,100.  Council directed staff to look at a transparent option as well. Discussion only.

ITEM 23:Drainage Improvements on David Memorial –  Earlier in the year, Council authorized the purchase of property east of the east side pond to allow the City to mitigate standing water and drain the area. Bleyl Engineering has submitted a proposal for project engineering and management services to plan, design, bid and oversee construction for the proposed channel improvements.  This project will reduce the scope and cost of the East Side Pond 1B project and improve the drainage for the David Memorial Extension.The project would be paid from funds already budgeted from MDD for the East Side Pond 1B project. Council voted 5-0 to go forward on the project.

ITEM 24: Montgomery County Fire Marshall Fees –   With the current vacancy in the Fire Inspector position, the City has continued to use the Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s office to complete fire inspections and reviews. We did not fund in the 2019-2020 adopted budgeted for these professional services. Per purchasing policy, Council must approve the payment since it is over $15,000.00 and not listed in the adopted budget. This is a pass-through cost and will be a wash with the revenue we have collected. Council approved the payment by a 5-0 vote.

ITEM 25: Approve Minutes of the July 31  Special Meeting and August 12 Regular Meeting-  Council approved both minutes by a 5-0 vote.

ITEM 26: Ratification of Accounts Payable for August 2020-  Council ratified the August Accounts Payable by a 5-0 vote.

ITEM 27: Non-Action Items –   The following budgeted items were authorized by the City Administrator per Council approval. 

  • Budgeted Purchase Orders over $15,000
    • City road striping $23,227.30
  • City Administrator Authorizations
    • Project Manager Recruiting   $11,395.23
    • SSR Meter and Antennae Upgrade  $10,750.00
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City Administrator Updates

Halloween Safe Streets will be a Halloween parade this year. Route and information will be forthcoming.

Executive Session

No Executive Session scheduled.

 The meeting was adjourned at 8:49 pm.

Upcoming Events/Meetings

October 13Civic Club, 6 pm

October 14City Council, 7 pm

October 20: Planning and Zoning (P&Z), 6 pm

October 28: Municipal Development District (MDD), 6 pm

October 28: City Council. 7 pm

October 31: Halloween Parade (modified for residents only), 5- 8 pm

November 4: City of Shenandoah Turkey Blood Drive, 9 am – 3 pm

Source: City of Shenandoah

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