Proposed Norris City Council Minutes Monday, March 13, 2017    BE IT REMEMBERED THAT THE CITY OF NORRIS CITY COUNCIL MET IN REGULAR SESSION ON MONDAY, MARCH 13TH, 2017, AT 7:00 P.M. WITH THE FOLLOWING COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: JACK BLACK, BILL GRIEVE, YORK HAVERKAMP, AND LORETTA PAINTER.  NOT PRESENT: CHRIS MITCHELL The meeting was called to order by Vice Mayor Haverkamp. HEAR THE PUBLIC Ron Hill, 10 Hawthorne Place, stated with the upcoming retirement of the Chief of Police, he would strongly recommend City Council and the new City Manager should consider someone with a Community Police background. Community Policing is walking short routes, getting to know some of the people in the Community and getting feedback from the Community. He said some cities have a Community Advisory Board that provides information to the Council or Police Department on police matters. Mr. Hill felt with the future appointment of a new Chief, it is an appropriate time for Council to start thinking about this. Vice Mayor Haverkamp stated there is major transition right now and with changes there is a lot of excitement and uneasiness. Vice Mayor Haverkamp asked Interim Police Chief Gary Wood if he had any comments. Interim Police Chief Wood stated he would be having a meeting with all police offers next Tuesday and said walking routes and interacting with the public would be discussed at this meeting. Council Member Painter stated she was grateful Mr. Wood had come back to help us out during this time. Roy Langheld, 50 Chestnut Drive, stated as you all know law enforcement was my profession. The city he worked at had a Citizens Police Advisory Board. This board would meet with the police officers and noted what police officers perceived a problem to be was not always the same as the citizens, and this made a better working relationship between the police officers and the board. He stated Gary Wood had attended a Lions Club event and represented the Police Department very well and said this is the kind of things he would like to see more of. Mr. Langheld said they had to stop the meeting because they had so many questions for Officer Wood. Susan Miceli, 98 Butternut, stated it would be nice if the Norris Bulletin would post all the pictures of the Police Department. She said it would be nice to put a face to the name. City of Norris Council Minutes March 13, 2017 2 | P a g e Terri Langheld, 50 Chestnut Drive, stated when the applicants are being interviewed for the Police Chief position, the applicants should be open to Community Policing and this should be a criteria. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. The minutes of the February 13, 2017 Council Meeting and the February 20, 27, 28, and March 1, 2017 Special Called Meetings were presented for approval. Motion was made by Council Member Painter to approve the minutes. Motion was seconded by Council Member Grieve. Motion carried by voice vote. OLD BUSINESS 2. Board and Commission Vacancies - Vice Mayor Haverkamp made a motion to appoint Susan Miceli and Jennifer Moore to the Norris Library Commission. Motion was seconded by Council Member Grieve. Motion carried by voice vote. 3. Eric Harold Park Play Structure – Council Member Black report the play structure could be repaired for approximately $500 and he wanted to turn the project into a Boy Scout project. He noted he had volunteered to repair the structure but he wanted to enlist the help of the Boy Scouts. Council Member Painter asked for an update from the Recreation Committee. Vice Mayor Haverkamp stated the Recreation Committee unanimously supported the repair of the play structure. He stated they want to look at adding a slide and possibly an extra swing. Interim City Manager Deatherage stated he had spoken with Judy Housley, TML, concerning the repair of the structure and was told that would be fine as long as the playground regulations were followed. Interim City Manager Deatherage will provide Council Member Black a copy of the regulations. 4. Fundraiser: Ceiling Fans for Lions Pavilion – Interim City Manager Deatherage reported $1,625 had been donated as of February 28, 2017. The fan location will be determined and Public Works Director Hevel will pre-wire and install two fans. 5. City Manager Update - Interim City Manager Deatherage reported Matthew Marshall had accepted the Norris City Manager position. He stated Matthew will do a fantastic job and has a good background in municipal government. Council has asked Matthew to relocate to the Norris area within 18 months of his hire date. Matthew will be starting April 3, 2017. 6. Council Member Black requested the Council to schedule a retreat prior to the Budget Meeting. Vice Mayor Haverkamp said he was supportive of a retreat, but did not want to schedule a date without the Mayor being present. After Council discussion, a retreat date will be set at the April 10th, 2017 Council Meeting. City of Norris Council Minutes March 13, 2017 3 | P a g e   7. Vice Mayor Haverkamp asked about an update concerning the safety issue with the path to the Animal Shelter. Interim City Manager Deatherage stated Public Works Director Hevel was working on this and he would do a follow-up and report back to Council at the next meeting. 8. CITY MANAGER REPORT Interim City Manager Deatherage reported on the following: 1) 2016 – 2017 Year to Date City Budget – Overall expenditures are on target to budget with 99.5% of 2016 property taxes collected, which is ahead of normal pace of collections. Overall the City’s financial health continues to be strong and the City is in good position for meeting current capital needs. However, long term projections indicate that additional revenues and/or change in city services may be necessary in the next 1-3 years. 2) 2016 – 2017 Year to Date Water Budget – Overall, NWC operations budget is very tight, with no changes to report from previous months. Water sales project to be $10,000 over budget, but it is apparent the sewer sales will miss the budget as we have now been below projected sewer revenue for eight consecutive months. Sewer sales project to be approximately $40,000 short of projected annual revenue. NWC has agreed to delay hiring until the budget detail was clearer. 3) Grant Updates a) T-21 Grant Opportunity – grant was awarded for $347,000 to extend the City sidewalk system to Highway 61. This will require the City to provide match funds of approximately $145,226. A Public Workshop concerning the modified site survey was held on Dec. 12, 2016. Engineer is waiting on notification from the City to start the Environmental Phase of the project. The status of the easement needed for the project is being researched. The Environmental Phase of the project will take approximately 6-8 months. The latest we can start construction is 11/01/2018. b) Safe Routes to Schools Grant – SRTS is a federally funded program and 100% federally funded; no match is permitted. We have begun the planning process for implementation. We have received our signed contract from the State and TDOT is working on the environmental assessment. Construction should start in May or June 2017. 4) Watershed Cleanup – The annual Norris Watershed Cleanup will be on Saturday, April 1st, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. until noon. The meeting point will be at the intersection of Upper Clear Creek Rd. and Clear Creek Trail. 5) Annual City Spring Cleanup - The dates for the Annual City Spring Cleanup will be the week of April 3-7, 2017. The City will pick up items, curbside, that are not too heavy for two men City of Norris Council Minutes March 13, 2017 4 | P a g e   to handle. Items that cannot be picked up are tires, paint or solvents, unused cleaning supplies, freezers or refrigerators, building materials, or anything with asbestos. 6) See attached City Manager Report. NEW BUSINESS 9. Budget Amendments - none 10. Vice Mayor Haverkamp reported Arbor Day was held on Friday, March 3rd, 2017 at the Norris Elementary School. He stated the City of Norris was the first community in the state to be named a Tree City USA and has been recertified for 39 consecutive years. Seedlings were given away to the students by the Norris Tree Commission. 11. Accounts Payable, Minutes, and Reports Mayor Mitchell asked Council for questions or comments concerning accounts payable, minutes, and reports. There were no questions or comments from Council. 12. Motion was made by Council Member Grieve to adjourn. Motion was seconded by Council Member Black. Motion carried by voice vote at 7:42 p.m. _____________________________________ _____________________________________ Joe Deatherage, Interim City Manager Janet Parks, City Recorder City of Norris Council Minutes March 13, 2017 5 | P a g e TO: Norris City Council FROM: Joe Deatherage RE: City Manager’s Report DATE: March 13, 2017 1. 2016-17 Year to Date (Estimated through February) CITY Budget. Overall, YTD Expenditures are on target to budget. 99.5% of property tax has been collected. Other key revenue categories such as State Sales Tax, Local Option Sales Tax, Wholesale Beer & Liquor Tax are on target to budget. Overall, the City’s financial health continues to be strong, and the City is in good position for meeting current capital needs such as equipment and road paving. However, long term projections indicate that additional revenues and/or change in city services may be necessary in the next 1-3 years. The 2016-2017 Year End Undesignated CASH reserves is estimated to be $344,399. 2. 2016-17 Year to Date (Estimated through February) Water Commission Budget. Overall, NWC operations budget remain tight with no changes to report from previous months. Revenue through Feb. 2017 is 57% (excluding CDBG Grant). Water sales for FYE 2017 project to approximately $10,000 over budget, but it is apparent that sewer sales will miss the budget as we have now been below projected sewer revenues for 8 consecutive months. Sewer sales project to be approximately $40,000 short of projected annual revenue. We do have two expense items that will offset the current projected revenue shortfall. The first is unplanned savings of $33k that has resulted in a transition from the retirement of an existing employee to a new hire. We also budgeted for a new position beginning October 1 that NWC agreed to delay hiring until the budget detail was clearer. Should we delay this position until July 1, NWC would save an additional $40k in wages, health insurance, and retirement. We will continue to monitor closely. 3. Grant Updates. a. New Sidewalk Grant. No change from last month. Grant was awarded for $347,000 to extend the City sidewalk system to Highway 61. This will require the City to provide match funds of approximately $145,226 (A report of the expenses is attached). A Public Workshop concerning the modified site survey was held City of Norris Council Minutes March 13, 2017 6 | P a g e   on Dec. 12, 2016. Engineer is waiting on notification from the City to start the Environmental Phase of the project. The status of the easement needed for the project is being researched. The Environmental Phase will take approximately 6- 8 months to complete. The latest we can start construction is 11/01/2018. b. Safe Routes to Schools Grant. No change from last month. Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a federally funded program focusing on the benefits of children walking and biking to school. Its primary purpose is to encourage elementary and middle school children to safely walk and bicycle to school through infrastructure improvements, educational initiatives, and promotional activities. Projects and activities are 100% federally funded, no match is permitted. Our award of this grant was received and we have begun the planning process for implementation. We have received our signed contract from the State and TDOT is working on the environmental assessment; construction should begin in May or June 2017. 4. Watershed Cleanup. The annual Norris Watershed Cleanup will be on Saturday, April 1st, 2017 from 9:00 until noon. The meeting point will be at the intersection of Upper Clear Creek Rd. and Clear Creek Trail. 5. Annual Spring Cleanup. The dates for the Annual City Spring Cleanup will be the week of April 3-7, 2017. The City will pick up items, curbside, that are not too heavy for two men to handle. Items that cannot be picked up are tires, paint or solvents, unused cleaning supplies, freezers or refrigerators, building materials, or anything with asbestos.