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City of Shenandoah News

Posted on: January 25, 2023

Shenandoah City Council January 25, 2023 Update

Supporting Documents for Agenda Items can be found HERE.

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Attendance: Present: Mayor John Escoto, Mayor Pro Tem Charlie Bradt (Position 4), Mike McLeod (Position 5), Jim Pollard (Position 3), Ted Fletcher (Position 2) and Ron Raymaker (Position 1)

ITEM 6: Municipal Development District (MDD) Monthly Report - No action required.

ITEM 7: City Engineer Update - John Bleyl updated Council on the mobility projects. a. Clearing and grubbing is ongoing on the David Memorial extension project/. The plan is completed and presented to the stakeholders for approval. Unless weather causes delay, bidding should be let in March, awarded in April and actual construction start in May. Completion is expected second quarter of 2024. b, The Tamina/Research/ I45 intersection project will add one new eastbound and westbound lane. on each side a There will be dedicated left turn and straight lanes in each direction. There will be an increased acceleration lane on the southbound service road. The project will be under Commissioner Charlie Riley's direction and he has suggested beginning the left turn lane at Savanah. He is currently in discussions with TxDOT. Construction is expected to begin in late third quarter of 2023 and will take a year to complete. Bleyl explained that the project will cost about $14.1 million dollars and the Shenandoah contribution is $2 million, less than 15% of the project which is expected to help with the traffic congestion at the intersection. No Council action required; report only.

ITEM 8: Arbor Day- This proclamation is one of many requirements necessary for the City to maintain its status as a Tree City. In order to coincide better with the local planting season, staff coordinates with the Shenandoah Civic Club to schedule the annual Shenandoah Arbor Day celebration, tree giveaway, and plant share on March 4. Council voted 5-0 to approve the Arbor Day Proclamation.

ITEM 9: Sick Pool Committee Appointments - Committee members are appointed by Council for positions one through eight. Staff recommended the appointment of the following: Position 1: Joel Gordon, Position 3: Abby Adams, Position 5: Debbie Pilcher and Position 7: Lamar Broadus. Council voted 5-0 to approve the appointments to the Sick Pool Committee.

ITEM 10: Monument Signs on Frontage Roads - Landology presented three preliminary design options for council opinion and guidance for the final design. After discussing the three prototype designs, Council asked Landology to come back with modifications. Council action not required at this time.

ITEM 11: Entergy Rate Increase - Entergy Texas, Inc. (ETI) filed a statement of intent and application for authority to change rates on July 1, 2022. In the application, ETI proposes an increase in its base rates designed to collect a total non-fuel retail amount for ETI of approximately $1.2 billion per year, which is an increase of approximately $131.4 million, or 11.2%, compared to adjusted
test year retail base rate and rider revenues, exclusive of fuel revenues. This proposal represents an increase in overall revenues, including fuel, of 6.95%. Staff recommends that Council adopt the Ordinance to deny ETI’s change in rates requested in the statement of intent. Council voted 5-0 to deny the requested increase.

ITEM 12: General Election Ordinance - The Ordinance calling the election is a necessary part of the election process and provides details such as which terms are expiring, times and dates of the filing period, early voting schedule, and other details about how the election is to be conducted. Council adopts an Ordinance calling the general election each year. The Ordinance is provided to the election administrator, along with an Order of Election signed by each member of Council. Council voted 5-0 to call the municipal election for positions 2, 3 and 4.

ITEM 13: Montgomery County Election Agreements- Each year, the City contracts with the Montgomery County Elections Office to provide election services and personnel to conduct the general election. The Joint Election is part of these services and allows multiple entities to share equipment, personnel and costs of elections taking place on the same date. The county elections administrator is preparing the estimated cost breakdown and will send it at a later time. a) Election Services Agreement outlines the duties and services to be provided by the Montgomery County Elections Administrator as well as those to be provided by the City. b) Joint Election Agreement provides for the sharing of election equipment, election officials, precinct polling locations, and electronic voting equipment where appropriate. The agreement also designates the election officer and provides for associated costs and cancellation of the election (if applicable), among other provisions. Shenandoah will NOT be an early voting site but will be an election day voting place for Precinct 31. Council voted 5-0 to approve the Election Service Agreement and the Joint Election Agreement.

ITEM 14: ARPA Fund Bank Account - A requirement of the recently approved agreement with Montgomery County regarding American Rescue Plan Act funds and the utility project in the Tamina Community is that the City must open a separate bank account to receive the funds. This account will only have revenues and expenses related to the Tamina project. This is to ensure accurate tracking of federal funds and easier reporting. This account will be held with the City’s main depository bank, Allegiance Bank. The authorized signers for this account will be comprised of Council and the City Administrator as is practice with the City’s other bank accounts, except for Municipal Development District accounts. . Council voted 5-0 to approve the Tamina/ARPA Fund Bank Account.

ITEM 15: APRA Fund Account Number -For better accounting and transparency, an independent fund must be created for these funds. This fund will be similar to the one created last September for our ARPA funds. Council voted 5-0 to approve the new fund number.

ITEM 16: Update on Water System Incident - Public Works Director Joseph Peart reported on the brown water incident during the recent Christmas holidays. On December 31 reports of brown water began to come in. He contacted the operations on-call person and found that he had turned on well #3 which had recently been serviced. He immediately turned off well #3. Staff began flushing the lines and completed that by 8 pm the same day. During the flushing, staff continued to monitor the water quality and at no time did the water show any evidence of pathogens, Peart also was in contact with TCEQ as to any required actions that needed to be taken. TCEQ said no action such as boil water notices was needed because there was never evidence of any pathogens. Rumors on social media of the need for boiling water were precipitated by a local management decision at an apartment complex and were not necessary nor initiated by the City. City Administrator Kathie Reyer told Council that everyone stepped up quickly in the situation even though it was a holiday weekend and kept the public informed on the progress throughout the event. No Action needed

ITEM 17: Minutes from November 16 and December 15 Meetings - Council voted 5-0 to approve the minutes as written.

ITEM 18: Ratification of December Accounts Payable - Council voted 5-0 to ratify the accounts payable.

ITEM 22: Possible Property Sale - This item is to consider the potential sale of city-owned property as described on the agenda. Council had the option of adjourning to executive session to discuss any terms if needed. Council did go into executive session and returned to table any action on this item.

Civic Club Update:

Club Secretary Charley Ballmer told Council that Civic Club was pleased with the attendance at the Lighting of the Angels and that approximately 1,200 people attended the event. Civic Club also served refreshments at the recent Polar Bear Plunge hosted by the Pool. People enjoyed the chilly day and the hot chocolate. He reminded attendees that the City would be holding the annual Arbor Day event on March 4 from 9 am to noon. Civic Club members help with children's crafts and plant exchange during that event. Several members of The Woodlands Garden Club also come to answer gardening questions during the event.

City Attorney Updates :

None at this time

City Administrator Updates

The first meeting of the Halloween Event Committee was held this week. Reyer reported a very good exchange of ideas for the event, The committee will meet on a monthly basis as they continue to flesh out plans. Civic Club will also be involved in the planning and hosting of the event, relieving some of the logistics for the police department.

Executive Session: Started 8:13 pm; ended 9:12 pm

According to the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551 of Government Code as follows:

Government Code Sec. §551.087 Deliberation Regarding Economic Development Negotiation
- Potential Sale of City-Owned Property
- Potential Purchase of Real Property
Government Code Sec. §551.072 Deliberation Regarding Real Property
- Sale of 1.0 acre of city-owned property identified as tract R47283 on the Montgomery County Appraisal District map
Government Code Sec. §55071 Pending Litigation
- Litigation in which the City is a party

Consideration and, if determined appropriate, take action resulting from the item(s) listed under Executive Session.

No action was taken in the Executive Session.

The meeting adjourned at 9:23 pm.