City Council Preview – December 17, 2013
Looking for something to do this week before Christmas? Why not come to a City Council meeting on Tuesday night? We’ll kick things off at 3pm with a Work Session followed by a Regular Session at 6:30pm at the main City Hall at 215 W. McKinney Street. Click here to see the full agenda with backup materials.
COOL CITY WEB TOOLS
This is not on this week’s agenda, but I wanted to take the opportunity to show you a few new web tools to help enhance your citizen experience in the city of Denton. I’m a fan of civic tech – finding technological solutions to civic problems. I’ve gone the last two years to the annual Code for America Conference, brought many of those ideas back to Denton, and have been advocating for an Open Data policy in Denton through my role as Chair of the Council Committee on Citizen Engagement. Check out these great tools, each of them utilizing GIS mapping technology and demonstrating the power and possibilities of Open Data to help you better connect with your city…
- CITY OF DENTON INTERACTIVE MAP – this tool gives you a bunch of layers you can use to visualize anything from “No Sex Offender” zones to sewer lines to flood plain information to City Council districts.
- GAS WELL LOCATOR – simply put in your address and find out how many gas wells are within 1000 feet, .5, 1, or 2 miles from there. Dig down to discover city and RR Commission permitting information and get a handle on the geographical proliferation of gas drilling operations in the City of Denton.
- INTERACTIVE CURBSIDE COLLECTION MAP – when do I put the trash out, honey? There’s now an app for that.
- MOSQUITO SURVEILLANCE AND RESPONSE MAP – Denton is a national leader in our aggressive approach to studying mosquito trends in order to have data-driven policies to protect our citizens. Check out this map which takes you on a chronological journey of our city’s mosquito trapping program.
WHAT’S THE FUTURE OF WATER WORKS PARK?
Water Works Parks has averaged a budget shortfall of $777,414 per year for the last four years. Surveys by the Parks staff indicate a number of reasons why people are not utilizing this resource more frequently. The City Council is being asked to give some direction on the future of the Water Park. Do we invest $4.2 million in it to add a wave pool, interactive play structure, and permanent concession facility in hopes of increasing annual revenue? Or do we continue on without investing in such capital projects, knowing that the city will continue to subsidize its annual operating budget?
While we are on that subject, here’s a commercial for Water Works Park you have probably seen. It is done by Denton’s own Jon Collins and features my friends Jason, Jane, and Ruby Danger Upshaw along with the always talented Claire and Owen Nichelson…
DEVELOPMENT ON RYAN ROAD – mixing homes and gas wells
We’ll be returning to a rezoning application near Ryan Road for the third time. Due to its proximity to a gas well site, three of us voted to deny the application, causing the application to be denied. After agreeing to pursue notification options with the aim of securing consent from any future homeowners within 1200 feet of the existing gas well, the applicant requested that council reconsider its denial (which has to be initiated by one of the council members who initially voted against the project). We did so and the matter is coming back to us again. As I stated before, my vote will be contingent on a robust notification process that guarantees that all future home buyers within 1200 feet of the well will be fully aware of this gas well prior to purchasing the home.
AMENDMENTS TO THE GAS WELL ORDINANCE
On October 29, we amended a section of the Fire Code to clarify the proper ordering of permits leading to the full permitting of a gas well drilling permit. We’ll be officially changing the Denton Development Code related to this. Doing so requires a process whereby the amendments go first to the Planning and Zoning Commission and then to City Council. This will help clarify that the Planning Department, not the Fire Marshall’s office, has the final authority in permitting gas drilling in the city.
As always, please let me know any questions or comments you have on any of these items – kevin.roden@cityofdenton.com or 940-206-5239.
Denton Winter Storm Response
Recent Press Release about the City of Denton Winter Storm Response
DENTON, TX, December 13, 2013 – City of Denton utilities and public safety crews worked around the clock Dec. 5-9 to respond to the severe ice storm that gripped the North Texas region.
“Although City offices and facilities were closed on Friday and delayed opening on Monday, essential personnel continued to work throughout the severe weather conditions to provide critical services to our community,” said City Manager George Campbell.
Streets crews worked more than 1,900 man hours to spread 624 tons of sand on streets, bridges, and overpasses. The Department also provided mutual aid to the Texas Department of Transportation through sanding operations on I-35 near Sanger from Friday evening to Saturday morning.
Denton Police responded to 77 minor accidents, 13 major accidents, 172 traffic hazards, and 390 motorist assists between noon on Thursday and 5 p.m. on Monday.
During this time, Denton Municipal Electric (DME) customers used 50 percent more electricity than the previous week. Electric service was disrupted for only 160 customers during the event, which is less than 0.33 percent of DME customers. The average outage lasted one hour, and the longest outage was less than five hours. Severe weather events highlight the success of and continued need for DMEs tree trimming program, preventing the scale of outages that were experienced in other service areas.
The Denton Fire Department provided welfare checks to motorists stopped in traffic on I-35W and I-35E through Denton and along I-35 up to Sanger. The Department operated two brush trucks with two-person crews to move stuck vehicles, as well as provided blankets and water to stranded motorists.
Despite the prolonged period of subfreezing temperatures, the City provided water and wastewater service with minimal disruptions.
Staff is currently assessing City facilities for potential damage caused from the accumulation of ice on roofs.
“This was a very unusual storm that really challenged our resources, but I am proud of our city employees who were able to keep vital services such as public safety, water, wastewater, and electric services operational for our residents,” stated Denton Mayor Mark Burroughs. “I was particularly glad to hear that we were able to give the Texas Department of Transportation assistance with the motorists that found themselves stranded on I-35.”
Contact: Alison Ream, (940) 349-8310, Alison.Ream@cityofdenton.com
City Council Preview – December 3, 2013
Tuesday’s City Council meeting will begin with a Work Session at 4pm, followed by the Regular Session at 6:30pm, all at our main City Hall at 215 E. McKinney Street. The full agenda and backup materials can be found here on the city website. Here are some items of interest…
THE FUTURE OF EUREKA PLAYGROUND
If you have kids or are one yourself, you have no doubt spent considerable time playing on the magical, castle-like structure of Eureka Playground at Southlakes Park. This park was designed, created, and funded by a group of volunteers 20 years ago. At the time of its creation, it was known that this sort of park would have an approximate lifespan of 20 years. Because maintenance issues continue to grow and the Denton Parks Foundation has indicated an interest in fundraising for a new playground, it is time to begin thinking about its future. We will be discussing options moving forward. If this interests you, please chime in!
Or perhaps you’ve noticed an increase in very enthusiastic teenage boys using this wooden structure to display their sweet Parkour skills. Perhaps we should learn something from these guys when we are deliberating the future of Eureka – SAVE PARKOUR N D PARK!!
HOTEL CONVENTION CENTER UPDATE
This will be our last update prior to a scheduled vote on the proposed agreement between the city, UNT, and O’Reilly Hospitality Management whereby the city will agree to fund a Convention Center connected to new (not city funded) Embassy Suites Hotel on the campus of UNT where the old Radisson Hotel used to stand. I gave a more significant update on its progress in my last council update along with a link to the Power Point Presentation given to council outlining many aspects of the proposed agreement. We are scheduled to vote on this agreement at the December 10 council meeting – a week from now.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN CONVENTION CENTER?
Some may be wondering whether or not it is a conflict of interest for me to be participating in Convention Center discussions and ultimately voting on the matter, given my employment status with the University of North Texas. Isn’t this a conflict of interest? As we started these conversations well over a year ago, I consulted our legal team’s advice on this very question. To be sure, as we are approaching a vote, I sought advice once more on my status. There exists a Texas Attorney General opinion from 1988 responding to a similar issue in San Marcos where a matter between the city and Texas State University called for city action and the majority of council members were employees of the university. You can read that opinion here. In it, the Attorney General argued that a public university (and other similar governmental entities) does not qualify as a “business entity” identified in the laws defining legal conflicts of interest. On my own initiative I’ve sought ought legal advice on this issue twice, I’ve received advice that there was no conflict, and I intend to fulfill my council duty by continuing to participate in this discussion and voting when the time comes. As much fun it is to speculate about backroom deals, secret handshakes, and kickbacks, I’m pretty sure my modest salary in my very mid-level administrative job at UNT will remain very modest and very mid-level even after this vote.
AMENDMENTS TO THE GAS WELL ORDINANCE
On October 29, we amended a section of the Fire Code to clarify the proper ordering of permits leading to the full permitting of a gas well drilling permit. We’ll be officially changing the Denton Development Code related to this. Doing so requires a process whereby the amendments go first to the Planning and Zoning Commission and then to City Council. This will help clarify that the Planning Department, not the Fire Marshall’s office, has the final authority in permitting gas drilling in the city.
A CANDLELIGHT VIGIL PROTEST AT CITY HALL
I’ve discovered that meetings that begin with civil protests are better than meetings that do not. As many of you know, the fracking issue continues to be a difficult issue in our community. Some local activists will apparently be on hand to express their opinion, according to this Facebook Event.
As always, let me know your questions or comments on any of these issues.