MINUTES OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DUMAS, TEXAS REGULAR MEETING TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2024 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Brinkmann at 11:30 A.M. MEMBERS PRESENT: Bob Brinkmann Mayor Mike Barr Commissioner Tommy Brooks Commissioner Pat L. Sims Mayor Pro Tem Justin Willis Commissioner STAFF PRESENT: Slater Elza City Attorney Ben Maples Interim City Manager Bethanie Alwan City Secretary Javier Pena Building Official Shannon Wallace Finance Director Isidro Renteria Public Works Director Rick Pippins Chief of Police Connie Martinez Administrative Assistant Angela Robles Code Enforcement Tom Carter Parks Department Supervisor Tommy Gonzales Police Lieutenant OTHERS PRESENT: Clint Glazner, Jeff] Baucum, Kenleigh Wells, Kris Hazen, Mathew Edwards, Brandon Cox, Hiram DeRegules, Monty Hysinger, Stephanie Purcell, Ray Purcell, Bart Arbuthnot, Blenda Arbuthnot, Natalia Purcell, Carl Watson, Sandra Arjona, Alex Gurerro, Jami Pafford NEWS MIEDIA PRESENT: John Key A motion was made by Commissioner Barr, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Sims, and passed unanimously to approve the consent agenda as presented with the following items: the October 15, 2024 Regular City Commission Meeting Minutes, the November 1, 2024 Special Commission Meeting Minutes, the Dumas/Moore County Chamber ofCommerce Candy Cane Lane event, and the Bills to be Paid. Mayor Brinkmann opened the Formal Session Hiram DeRegules, owner of local food truck, La Casa de mi Mama, presents a zoning variance request for his food truck. His truck is currently parked behind the Toppled Turtle, but he states he has gotten an opportunity to potentially move into the current La Herradura building when the current owners retire. He lets the Commission know that he is requesting this zoning variance for a few short months in order to get the building ready for them to move into and out oft the food truck. Commissioner Wills asked for clarification on a time frame for the restaurant to be opened, to which Mr. DeRegules let him know that his goal is to be completely moved into the building by April of 2025, if not sooner. There was discussion about granting a variance for a certain time frame, pending a letter from the current property owner stating the food truck will be allowed on the property during the approved time frame. City attorney, Slater Elza, concurs with this discussion stating that they would need something in writing from the current owner before granting the variance. Mayor Brinkmann lets Mr. DeRegules know there really isn't anything that can be approved until the letter is received from the current property owner authorizing him to place his food truck on his property, resulting in this matter having no action taken. City Manager, Ben Maples, lets the Commission know that in September, the state department of agriculture released that they are opening up the community block grant program once again, with applications being due on December 9, 2024. Mr. Maples goes on to state that he has no experience in writing grants, SO it would be beneficial to the city to hire PRPC to write the grant and submit the application for the city. Alex Gurerro, Local Government Services Director with PRPC, lets the Commission know that this company has been involved in processes like this for around 40 years and they are happy to help the city. He states that the first step in getting things together is to enter into an interlocal agreement. Mr. Gurerro goes over the process from beginning to end in the application process, and he lets the Commission know that they will need to do a Resolution at the next Commission meeting on November 19th in order for them to be granted the permission to apply on the city's behalf. He lets the Commission know that during the first phase, the amount the city would be looking at being awarded will be approximately $750,000. He goes on to say that the city would need to try to score the highest to match the ceiling price of $750,000 at approximately 15%, which comes out to $112,500 over two fiscal years. Mayor Brinkmann questions the cost ofthis service, to which Mr. Gurerro lets the Commission know there is no cost for this service to the city. However, ifthe city were to be funded, there would be administrative fees during the two-year period, but those fees will be folded into the grant outline. A motion was made by Commissioner Barr, seconded by Commissioner Brooks, and passed unanimously to approve Resolution No. 24-15 - Entering into an Interlocal Agreement with Panhandle Regional Planning Commission for Application Preparation and Grant Administration (if funded) for the TXCDBG Community Development Fund 2025/2026 Cycle, as presented. City Manager, Ben Maples, reminds the Commission that the city put out a request for proposal for IT services after Elite ceased services with the city a little over a month ago. He goes on to let the Commission know that the city received bids from two companies: IT Up Time, and CTSI. Jeff Baucum and Kris Hazen with CTSI gives the Commission a summary oft their proposal including references from other cities they currently service. CTSI has an office in Amarillo, leading the Commission to question if there is a staff member that is specifically going to be in charge ofthe city's account ifs something were to go wrong with the IT products. Mr. Baucum lets the Commission know that they do not have a staff member who currently resides in Dumas, however, ifsomething were to go wrong, they could do a lot oft their work remotely, or they would drive up here to assist if need be. Clint Glazner then gives a summary ofhis proposal from ITUP Time to the Commission. He lets the Commission know that during the last twelve months, there 699 calls for service that were not able to be rectified by virtual services. After some discussion amongst the Commission, a motion was made by Commissioner Barr, seconded by Commissioner Willis, and passed unanimously to approve and award the City of Dumas' IT Services Contract to IT Up Time. Building Official, Javier Pena, lets the Commission know that in October, the Planning and Zoning Board met to discuss a rezoning request made by Sierra Towing out of Amarillo. He states they were interested in purchasing some land south of Dumas, and they needed the land to be rezoned from AG to M for a towing storage facility. He goes on to let the Commission know that after the Board heard the case, they unanimously voted against the request. There were several citizens from the community who came to speak against the zoning request. These citizens were Bart Arbuthnot, Blenda Arbuthnot, Ray Purcell, and Stephanie Purcell. A motion was made by Commissioner Willis, seconded by Commissioner Brooks, and passed unanimously to approve the Planning and Zoning Board' S decision to not approve Case No. 334 - Rezoning from AG to M, as presented. A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Sims, seconded by seconded by Commissioner Barr, and passed unanimously to approve the second and final reading of Ordinance No. 1233 Abandoning Easement, as presented. City Manager, Ben Maples, reminds the Commission that this ordinance is to raise the rate of commercial water after the minimum consumption has been utilized. He states the current rate after the minimum consumption is $3.51/1,000 gallons, and will be raised to $7.00/1,000 gallons, to be made effective December 1, 2024. A motion was made by Commissioner Barr, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Sims, and passed unanimously to approve Ordinance No. 1234 - Increasing Commercial Water/Sewer Rates, as presented. Mayor Brinkmann opened up a Public Hearing on the Intention of the City of Dumas to Designate the Somerton Reinvestment Zone, Establish Boundaries thereof, and Provide for an Effective Date, Pursuant to Chapter 312 oft the Texas Tax Code. There were no public comments. Mayor Brinkmann closed the Public Hearing. Brandon Cox, Executive Director oft the Dumas Economic Development Corporation, lets the Commission know that the company who purchased the old Bible Baptist Church property have asked for a tax abatement. He states the new owners will be turning this location into a shopping center. He continues to explain that in order to get a tax abatement, you have to have a reinvestment zone first. City Attorney, Slater Elza, explains that this is a good thing for the community because at the current moment, the property is listed as a church SO it's not currently on the tax roll, but with this reinvestment zone and tax abatement, it will allow new businesses to come in, start paying sales tax, and eventually be paying property taxes as well. A motion was made by Commissioner Barr, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Sims, and passed unanimously to approve Ordinance No. 1236 Creating the Somerton Reinvestment Zone for the first reading, as presented. City Manager, Ben Maples, reminds the Commission that soon after he came on as City Manager, he was made aware of several Air B'n'B-type facilities within the city. He goes on to say there were some the city knew about and some the city did not know about, but none of them are paying hotel/motel taxes as they should be for being such a business. He states the purpose of this ordinance is to require these owners to pay hotel/motel taxes on their business, since they are considered to be "short-term rental" properties, as well as to regulate the location of these properties, and to hold them to certain standards in order to be able to house these guests in their homes. Mr. Maples further explains that this will be enforced by the city through a permitting process, with a permit fee of $200/year. A short-term rental, by definition, is a legally permitted dwelling that is rented out for a short period of time, usually 30 days or less. A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Sims, seconded by Commissioner Willis, and passed unanimously to approve Ordinance No. 1237 - Short Term Rentals, for the first reading, as presented. Police Chief, Rick Pippins, presents a request before the Commission to enter into the Texas Smart Buy Membership Program, which is a buying corporation that is run by the Comptroller of Public Accounts. He goes on to explain that this company has negotiated much lower prices than the city would be able to take advantage of on their own with a number of different vendors for all different types of goods and services. He lets the Commission know that the membership fee is only $100.00 a year and will result in saving the city a considerable amount of money. Mayor Brinkmann questions where Chief Pippins is seeing the cost of$100.00 a year, to which Chief Pippins explains that he wasn't able to find the wording in the layout of the resolution, however, he did make a phone call to the company where they assured him that this is the annual cost. A motion was made by Mayor Brinkmann, seconded by Commissioner Willis, and passed unanimously to approve Resolution No. 24-14-1 Purchasing Agreement, as long as the annual fee is only $100.00, as presented. Police Chief, Rick Pippins, presents an interlocal agreement with Potter County, pertaining to the Flock Safety License Plate Reading Cameras. Chief Pippins explains to the Commission that there has been al lot ofside work done SO fari in the process, and that the 47th District Attorney's Office will be the grantee on this project, and all of the other divisions in the area who are taking advantage of this project, including Dumas Police Department and the Moore County Sheriff's Office, will be known as the sub-grantees. The reason for this agreement, he explains, is that because Potter County is taking the lead as the grantee, they want to make sure that each other division is aware of their responsibilities when it comes to this project, and they would like it in writing. He goes on to explain that this agreement is for the six cameras that were purchased by the City of Dumas, and if anything were to change in pricing or any other change, the city would have the right to dictate how much they are willing to participate. There was question on when the cameras would be put up and ready to operate, to which Chief Pippins lets the Commission know the plan is to have them ready to go by the spring of2025. With the purchase ofthe cameras being approved in an earlier meeting, this item is solely for an agreement that Potter County will be in charge of everything as the grantee. A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Sims, seconded by Commissioner Brooks, and passed unanimously to approve the Interlocal Agreement with Potter County for the Flock Safety License Plate Reading Cameras, as presented. Public Works Director, Isidro Renteria, lets the Commission know that they have received two quotes from two companies for metal enclosures for the SCADA system. Commissioner Willis voices concern over the fact that this item wasn't put out for a proper RFP. Mayor Brinkmann concurs by stating the city needs to be transparent and fair in all bid processes. City Attorney, Slater Elza, lets the Commission know that either way they would like to do the process is fine. The City Manager and Public Works Director reaching out to companies asking for bids is acceptable, however, if the Commission wants the project to be set out for RFP, then they are within their rights to do that as well. The Commission collectively agrees to take no action on this matter, and have it placed on a future agenda once the bid process is completed. Public Works Director, Isidro Renteria, lets the Commission know the city is in need of two backup generators for the large wells at Hartley Field. He explains that they will be necessary in the event of an emergency or disaster in order to keep the largest wells running. City Manager, Ben Maples, lets the Commission know there is a grant opportunity related to FEMA, through the State of Texas, with the applications due in February of 2025. He goes on to say that ift the city is awarded the grant, it covers approximately 75% of the cost oft the generators. Mayor Brinkmann reiterates the need for the generators in order to keep the city going during emergency weather issues among other issues. There was clarification on the price being solely based on the product alone, no installation is included in the invoices provided. Mr. Renteria lets the Commission know that the generators presented in the quotes are propane generators. There was conversation about what is included in each presented bid and what parts are necessary and which are not. Mayor Brinkmann requests another bid with a transfer switch included or what it would cost to add to one that is purchased without it. There was more discussion on the lead times between the two companies. The Commission directed Mr. Renteria to check on the "buy board" to ensure the city is getting the best possible price, resulting in this matter having no action at the current time. Dumas ISD Superintendent, Monty Hysinger, comes before the Commission to request a special water class/rate for the school properties. He lets the Commission know that the upcoming increase in commercial water rates will drastically affect the funds the school has available, stating that this increase could potentially cost the school four full-time teacher salaries at a minimum. Mayor Brinkmann commends the school district for going above and beyond during the water crisis in the summer by cutting back tremendously on their watering. City Manager, Ben Maples, gives the Commission a summary of the school's usage over the last year, as well as how much more their bills would be. He suggests several different options in increasing the school's rates, like potentially setting a different rate for the water running in the school and a secondary rate for the irrigation meters, or they could vote to put the school under their own rate code. There was question on who this special rate code would be opened to, daycares, public schools, etc., or ifthe Commission could define the rate code for public schools only. Mayor Brinkmann recommends leaving the schools at the current water rate and research further into what a special rate for the schools could be. City Attorney, Slater Elza, recommends bringing this matter back to the next Commission meeting, before the new commercial rates go into effect and see if there is a conclusion that can benefit everyone. Because ofthis, there was no action taken on this item. Meeting adjourned. Bob Brinkmann, Mayor ATTEST: Bubn Hlenk R. Benton Maples, City Managér