By Saudia Kroviak

The August 16th City Council meeting covered a variety of items including the proposed City of Murphy 2010-2011 fiscal year budget and a proposed tax rate increase. During a public hearing Mr. Roger St. Martin addressed the budget with questions regarding percentage of reserve funds, stating, “You are the citizens’ first line of defense.”  Mr. St. Martin also requested projecting revenues within the 5 year plan.  In addition, Mr. Gus Delaloye commented on the proposed budget. He has been a Murphy resident for over 30 years and asks, “Is the city looking at electric efficiency?”  Mr. Delaloye provided personal examples of how he has managed to cut his own electricity bill in half and recommends the city implement an energy efficiency plan for the municipal complex. Voting will take place Monday, September 20 at 6:00 p.m. for the City of Murphy fiscal year 2010-2011budget and the proposed tax rate of $0.5817 per $100 valuation.

Mayor Baldwin opened a public hearing with no comments submitted regarding consideration and/or act upon approval of an ordinance amending Chapter 22, Article II of the City of Murphy Code of Ordinances, regarding regulations pertaining to sexually oriented businesses. The hearing was closed with a motion to reconsider on the September 7th Council Meeting. 

Council reviewed the 2010 Park and 4B projects with no action on this item and will submit their comments and priorities for the Park and 4B Board to consider at a future date.

Councilmember Daniel moved to approve an ordinance extending the hours of sale for alcoholic beverages to 2 a.m. Councilmember Halbert seconded the motion. A vote was taken and passed, 4-3 with Mayor Baldwin, Council member Richmond, and Councilmember Brandon voting in opposition. 

Other items passed during the August 16th meeting include authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract not to exceed $475,000 to J & K Excavation for repairs to the Windy Hill Farms Lift Station. Councilmember Bradley moved to approve as presented. Councilmember Daniel seconded the motion and it passed 6-1 with Councilmember Halbert voting in opposition.   Councilmember Daugherty moved to approve a resolution designating the Murphy Monitor as the official newspaper with the Dallas Morning News as secondary. Councilmember Richmond seconded the motion, passing 7-0.  Councilmember Bradley moved to approve an ordinance ordering a Special Election to be held on November 2, 2010 to amend the City Charter with Sections 5, 6, and 7 of the ordinance to be amended with polling locations, early voting information, and required notifications; and to direct the City Secretary to make and publish all required notices. Councilmember Daugherty seconded the motion. Councilmember Halbert moved to amend the motion to remove Proposition 4, regarding the election cycle for councilmember places, not including subsection Councilmember Daniel seconded the motion.  This passed 5-2 with Mayor Baldwin and Councilmember Richmond voting in opposition. A vote on the main amended motion was taken and passed, 7-0.

City Manager Fisher reported on the McMillen Road paving project informing council that the title searches are complete on determining public/private road. Maxwell Lane is not public road.  Bids will be on the upcoming agenda along with the Ethics and Governance Policy. Finance Director Linda Truitt presented the July Financial report. Community Services Manager Kim Lenoir presented the Construction/Capital Projects update.

City Council held a closed Executive Session to discuss economic development negotiations regarding commercial or financial information that the governmental body has received from a business prospect; as well as to consultation with City Attorney regarding pending litigation or contemplated litigation or settlement offer involving Michael Cantrell v. City of Murphy, et al., Cause No. 6:09-cv-225 and the  pending litigation or contemplated litigation regarding notice of claim from Johnny Boles.

Other closed session discussion included deliberation regarding real property and an evaluation of the Municipal Judge, City Prosecutor, City Secretary and the City Manager. There were no votes or action taken in Executive Session. Once Council reconvened into regular session, Councilmember Daugherty moved to set the City Secretary’s salary for the fiscal year 2011 to $77,000.00, Councilmember Richmond seconded the motion and it passed, 7-0.  Councilmember Daugherty moved to set the City Manager’s salary for the fiscal year 2011 to $133,000.00, Councilmember Richmond seconded the motion and it passed, 7-0.

The next city council meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 7th due to Monday the 6th being a holiday.

A quorum was certified with all Councilmembers present at the August 2, 2010 Murphy City Council meeting. 

Cheryl Collins, representing the Exchange Club, presented a donation of CPR mannequins to the Fire Department. City Staff Kristen Roberts and Keri Kirkwood updated Council about the annual Murphy Maize Days Festival.

Councilmember Halbert moved to approve the City Manager to enter into a professional services contract with the HOK Planning Group for phase one programming, research, public meetings, schematic design, master planning, and budget services of the 2008 Bond Project for Bunny Run/City Park/Trail Project and for Liberty Ridge Park Project. Councilmember Richmond seconded the motion. A vote was taken and passed, 7-0.

Councilmember Daugherty moved to approve the issuance of a special permit to allow a fireworks display during the Murphy Maize Days celebration on September 25, 2010 with an alternate date of September 26, 2010 in the event of inclement weather.  Councilmember Halbert seconded the motion. A vote was taken and passed, 7-0.  

No action was taken regarding ballot language for a Charter Amendment Election to be held in November 2010.  It will be discussed at the August 9 Special Council Meeting.

Councilmember Daugherty moved to continue the designation of Mayor Bret Baldwin as the voting representative to the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Councilmember Bradley seconded the motion. A vote was taken and passed, 7-0.

Councilmember Bradley moved to approve the resolution approving the 2010 appraisal roll with a taxable value of $1,468,140,104 as certified by Bo Daffin, Chief Appraiser of the Collin Central Appraisal District, and a protested taxable property value of $3,786,377 under review by the Appraisal Review Board. Councilmember Daniel seconded the motion. A vote was taken and passed, 7-0.

Councilmember Daugherty moved to approve a resolution establishing two dates, August 16, 2010 and September 7, 2010, at 6 p.m. to conduct a Public Hearing on the City of Murphy proposed tax rate of $0.5817 per $100 valuation and establishing two dates, August 16, 2010 and September 7, 2010 for a Public Hearing on the proposed 2010-2011 municipal budget. Councilmember Richmond seconded the motion. A vote was taken and passed, 7-0.

There was no action taken to add landscaping material to Phase I of North Hill Park. Questions were raised regarding additional landscaping around the northeast pavilion, irrigation, and the type of trees provided. Staff will bring this item back in September.

City Manager Fisher reported on the following: Board & Commission Orientation, August 14; N2N (Neighbor to Neighbor), August 14; August 16 and September 7, Budget/Tax Public Hearings. Councilmember Brandon inquired on the status of the Opticom Pre-emptive Traffic Devices. Mr. Fisher stated that these are now being handled through TXDOT.

Council convened into Executive Session at 6:56 p.m. with City Attorney regarding pending litigation or contemplated litigation or settlement offer involving Michael Cantrell v. City of Murphy, et al,; pending litigation or contemplated litigation regarding notice of claim from Johnny Boles; deliberation regarding real property; to deliberate the purchase, exchange, lease, or value of real property and Personnel Matters – Evaluation of the City Manager.
 
Council reconvened into Regular Session at 8:05 p.m. There was no action or votes taken in Executive Session and no action as a result of the Executive Session.

City Manager Fisher reviewed the highlights from each department of the proposed FY2011 budget.
There was some discussion regarding the School Resource Officer and Councilmember Halbert requested to give consideration to splitting this cost with the City of Richardson.

Mr. Fisher stated that staff would be providing Council with a breakdown of Municipal Court Fees.
Councilmember Brandon inquired if the entire budget would be provided to Council on Monday. Mr. Fisher stated that the budget would be provided on Monday and the detail is available upon request.

Councilmember Brandon inquired if the City had requested Telecommunication Exemption. Mr. Fisher stated that staff would check on this item.

Taken from the “Draft” minutes on the City Website: www.murphytx.org

The City of Murphy will hold two public hearings on a proposal to increase total tax revenues from properties on the tax roll in the preceding tax year by 6.40 percent (percentage by which proposed tax rate exceeds lower of rollback tax rate or effective tax rate calculated under Chapter 26, Tax Code). Your individual taxes may increase at a greater or lesser rate, or even decrease, depending on the change in the taxable value of your property in relation to the change in taxable value of all other property and the tax rate that is adopted.

The first public hearing will be held on Monday, August 16, 2010 at 6:00 PM at City of Murphy – Council Chambers, 206 N. Murphy Road, Murphy, Texas 75094.

The second public hearing will be held on Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 6:00 PM at City of Murphy – Council Chambers, 206 N. Murphy Road, Murphy, Texas 75094.

The members of the governing body voted on the proposal to consider the tax increase as follows:

FOR: Bret Baldwin, John Daugherty, Colleen Halbert, Dennis Richmond, Scott Bradley, Mike Daniel, Dave Brandon

AGAINST: 0

PRESENT and not Voting: 0

ABSENT: 0

The average taxable value of a residence homestead in City of Murphy last year was $254,144. Based on last year’s tax rate of $0.538405 per $100 of taxable value, the amount of taxes imposed last year on the average home was $1, 368.32.

The average taxable value of a residence homestead in City of Murphy this year is $251,303. If the governing body adopts the effective tax rate for this year of $0.546713 per $100 of taxable value, the amount of taxes imposed this year on the average home would be $1, 373. 91.

If the governing body adopts the proposed tax rate of $0.5817 per $100 of taxable value, the amount of taxes imposed this year on the average home would be $1,461.83.

Members of the public are encouraged to attend the hearings and express their views.

Publisher's Note:   This notice was not initally sent to the Messenger by the City of Murphy as most notices/press releases are. Thank you to the reader who alerted us to these Public Hearings. The Messenger does not charge the City of Murphy for printing any Public Service Announcement, Press Release, Notice or other type of information benefitting our readers.

By Susan Kos

During the July 19th City Council session there were several points of interest on the agenda.

The council unanimously voted to act upon awarding a bid in the amount of $747,174.00 to Martin Apparatus, Inc. for the purchase of one (1) new Pierce 75’ Heavy Duty Aerial Ladder through Buy Board Cooperative Purchasing agreements, with payment being made in full net 15 days from the order date.  Fire Chief Mark Lee spoke of the prepay discount option the City will receive as well as other incentives.

The Council also unanimously voted to approve the purchase two (2) Solar Trash Compactors to be used as a pilot program in one or more of the City parks. The Compactors will be paid for out of the recycle rebate funds program the City receives as a result of citizen recycling participation. 

The Council then unanimously voted to direct the City Manager and the City Attorney to prepare ballot language for a Charter Amendment Election to be held in November 2010.

City Manager James Fisher also discussed with the Council his interest in updating the current Development Standards of the City Code of Ordinances. The discussion specifically revolved around Chapter 28. The City Manager presented comparison photos of retail buildings such as Starbucks and Walgreens from nearby cities and expressed concern in regards to the architecture of the same establishments located in Murphy.

Additional points of interest the City Manager shared involved guidelines for fencing and potentially having bronze colored traffic signals instead of what the city has currently.

Finally the Council approved the application of the City of Murphy requesting to amend Planned Development No. 09-02-784 for Retail uses on property located on East FM 544 west of North Maxwell Creek Road. This is the retail site that houses La Flor Mexican Restaurant as well as a dental practice. Tom Day who spoke on behalf of the leasing agent for the site stated the lack of parking around the building was an increasing problem for the tenants. The tenants are complaining of insufficient parking available for customers and employees. A vote was taken and passed, 6-1 with Councilmember Brandon in opposition to allow an area to the rear of the building currently assigned as a loading dock to be temporarily reassigned as Employee Only parking spaces. The Council hopes that once Lot 5 near that location is developed then additional parking will be available to be shared among all the tenants. 

The next City Council meeting will be held on August 2nd at 6pm.

By Mark Cerny

During the July 6, 2010 regular City Council meeting the council acted upon the recommendations from the Council Interview Panel regarding appointing or reappointing board members to various city corporations and boards; discussed a preliminary landscape design for the streetscape of FM 544; authorized the City Manager to enter into a contract with WHR Architects for Phase II design for the Old Murphy School Community Center Project; and held discussions pursuant to proposed City Charter amendments including the ethics ordinance and the draft governance policy.

By a vote of 5-1 (councilmember Bradley in opposition – councilmember Daniel absent) the council approved the following appointments, with terms to begin immediately:
• 4A Economic Development Corporation – Mike Smith, David Cooper, and Charles Buescher to a term ending 2012;
• 4B Community Development Corporation– Eric Hemphill, Brian Jones, and Brian Epstein to a term ending 2012;
• Board of Adjustments – Andrew Chase, Ty Holcomb, Scott Holden, and Christine Johnson to a term ending 2012 and Milkit Sroya as an alternate to fill an unexpired term ending 2011;
• Building and Fire Code Appeals Board – Donald Decker to a term ending  2012;
• Park and Recreation Board – Jasmine Bayliss, Cary Walker, Julia Baldwin, and Paula Harper to a term ending 2012 and Brian Jones and Eric Lopez to fill unexpired terms ending 2011;
• Planning and Zoning Commission – Ty Holcomb, Gene Patterson, John McKay, and Stephanie Merrifield to a term ending 2012 and Gus Delaloye and Jane Jan as alternates to fill unexpired terms ending 2011; and
• Animal Shelter Advisory Committee – Tammy Drake (Animal Control Officer – no term), Lorraine Chalkley, Dave Brandon, and Bobby Russel to a term ending 2012, and Beverly Mueller and Stephanie Pennington to a term ending 2012.
 
Kim Lenoir, Community Services Manager, presented the council with MESA Design Group’s landscape concept designs for the streetscape of FM 544. MESA was seeking council feedback for its initial plan outlining residential and civic core landscaping designed to give the impression of “driving through a landscape.” Following discussion the council advised that the MESA plan should focus on FM 544 median development that can be developed as quickly as possible without impacting road edgeways.
 
Lenoir next presented WHR Architects’ Phase II concept design for the Old Murphy School Community Center project. The council noted that the Park and Recreation Board and the 4A Economic Development Corporation had previously favorably reviewed the design concept. The council unanimously authorized moving forward with the concept as outlined, conditioned upon the city attorney’s review of the contractual relationship with WHR.
 
City Manager James Fisher reported on the Charter amendments, including the draft ethics ordinance and the draft governance policy. Following discussion over aspects of the amendments, which included the city’s complaint and hearing process, the applicability of Robert’s Rules of Order to council procedure, and the procedures for citizen input before and during council sessions, the council determined that the Charter Review Committee would be invited to attend the following Monday’s council work session to further discuss the amendments.

Murphy resident Don Kiertscher (pictured) addressed the council on his concerns regarding aspects of the governance policy on meetings and citizen input.

The next City Council meeting will be held on July 19th, 6 p.m., at City Hall.