May 13, 2021 – Special Called City Council Meeting Minutes
Jun 24, 2021
CITY OF SEYMOUR CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL CALLED MEETING MINUTES
MAY 13, 2021
A Special Called City Council Meeting was held on Thursday, May 13, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. at 301 N. Washington Street, City Hall, Conference Room, in Seymour, Texas.
Call to Order, Roll Call and Pledge of Allegiance by Mayor Jon Hrncirik at 6:03 p.m.
Council present: Mayor Jon Hrncirik, MPT Monty Glass, Council Member Lan Winn, Council Member Les Hons, Council Member Brian Broome
Les Hons was present at meeting but is not officially o council as he was sworn in on May 4, 2021, which is too soon as per Texas Government Code 22.006 DATE OF WHICH OFFICERS BEGIN TO PERFORM DUTIES. A newly elected municipal officer may exercise the duties of office beginning on the fifth day after the date of the election, excluding Sundays.
Counsel present: City Attorney was not present at this meeting.
City Staff present: Conchita Torrez, City Secretary, Robert Torrez, Water/Swr/R.O. Supervisor, Lauren Bush, ED Director, SFRC Supervisor Todd Hrncirik
Guest(s): Paula K. Vaden, Jeff Brasher, Mark McCord, Nancy Boone, Rick Moorhouse, Sandra Moorhouse, John Hostas, M. Fair, Charlie Rose, JE Myers
Announcement from Mayor Hrncirik: I would like to introduce our new City Administrator Jeffrey Brasher, who will begin his duties on Monday, June 7,
2021. At this time, Mayor Hrncirik gave Mr. Brasher the opportunity to speak.
Mr. Brasher stated he would like to thank the Mayor and City Council for allowing him to serve this community as the City Administrator starting in June. I am excited on coming home and even before this position became open, my wife and I had already decided to come home. I want to make a difference and making this community better and working hard. We need to work together as a community and I believe we are very limited on what we can do as an individual, but I can already see what can be done as a team. When we come together, and everyone moves in the right direction our community will look better not only for ourselves but for our children.
Mayor Hrncirik at this moment asked if anyone had signed up for Public Comments and I responded with 2 citizens wanting to speak.
John Hostas asked that he speak when the Gun Range topic came up.
Mary K. Fair spoke at this time: She wanted to know the reason for the two police officers downstairs looking through her purse and doing a Security Check on her and what was the reason behind that, and were we all treated the same?
Council answered yes they were, and she asked why all of a sudden had City Council decided to do that?
Mayor Hrncirik stated he did not have to answer that
Ms. Fair stated that as a citizen and taxpayer, she I would like to know.
At this time CM Winn asked her if she had a problem with that and she stated yes. He stated it was for safety and she stated this is Seymour.
Council Member Winn stated small town Seymour, things can happen.
Mary K. Fair stated it had never been a problem or done before, and what could she hid in her purse? She stated she did not have anything to hid and wanted to know why all of a sudden it was necessary to do that.
Mayor Hrncirik stated he had made the decision as the mayor, and it would be done at every Council meeting for the next two years.
Mary K. went on to ask if he had made this decision with the Council and Mayor Hrncirik replied yes, because it was a safety issue, and she asked if anyone had threatened him, and the mayor stated it was none of her business.
Mary K. Fair also stated she had received text messages and calls to provide emails and text messages on her phone and wanted to make the Council aware that it is illegal to delete messages off your phone. Read the Texas Local Government Code because what you all are doing is not right, she stated.
Nancy Boone asked to speak at this time but had not filled out a Public Comments form before the meeting started, therefore, she was not allowed to speak at this time.
1. Discuss, consider, and take action to approve and appoint by form of Resolution a Council member or Citizen to the Baylor County Appraisal Board.
City Secretary, Torrez, stated she had spoken to Mitzi Welch, Interim Chief Appraiser and due to other circumstances involving other entities, it would be beneficial if we appointed someone to the board immediately. City Secretary asked Paula Vaden if this were correct and she stated that yes, a citizen, council member or employee could be appointed.
Council understood and the public was allowed to speak on this topic.
Paula Vaden stated that due to the death of members in the other entities, members have not been appointed to their boards. Therefore, they would be left without a quorum and not be able to hold their monthly meeting.
Mary K. Fair, being on the board previously, agreed and stated that the Appraisal District discussed and voted at a meeting, after Beth Hrncirik had retired and Mitzi took over, and she asked at that time if the board wanted to do citizens at large or a taxing representative from each entity. The money for the Tax Appraisal comes from each entity and the information this person receives needs to come back to the City Council. She stated she would bring Steve the budget when they came up with their budget.
No one else had any questions or comments.
Motion made by Council Member Winn, seconded by MPT Glass, to approve Resolution No. 1505, and appoint Les Hons, to the Baylor County Appraisal Board. Motion carried with 4 Yeas and 0 Nays.
2. Discuss, consider, and review Salt Fork Recreational Complex Golf Membership Fees.
Lauren Bush presented this agenda item to the Council. Council had been considering raising the membership rates for some time.
Lauren presented information showing how much the increases would benefit per year. Several Council members along with Mayor Hrncirik spoke regarding the fees for a length of time.
Council member Broome felt if we overpriced it, we would lose members. He also stated the golf course was a quality of life for citizens.
At this time citizens were allowed to speak.
Paula Vaden stated that one of the Council members had stated that the Golf Course was a quality of life for Seymour, she spoke and said taking care of your family, feeding your kids during the summer, and taking them to the free park is for a lot of folks, quality of life, not the golf course. She did thank the council for lowering the price of the pool. She also stated that the more the city adds to the SFRC, the more these members want ! She went on to say that the members want and grip a lot and she feels that if they want more, they should pay for it.
Mary K. Fair spoke and asked if the Council was going to get their discount as members ?
Mayor Hrncirik stated he had forgotten about the discount since he does not play golf or is a member out there.
Lauren stated that the reason employees were encouraged to get a membership was so they could also police the facility out there and see what was going on. She did not feel that this question had anything to do with what was being discussed. It is an employment perk, Lauren stated.
Mary K. Fair stated that she had missed her question and was not trying to take anything away, her question was, are the employees still going to get a discount? And asked again, why the council was getting a discount?
Council member Winn stated that because they were employees of the city and got a check once a month the same as other employees. As council members, per IRS, they are considered employees of the city.
Mary k. Fair also asked how many members were on fixed income ?
Lauren stated she did not know the number since the golf course list did not have a senior citizen category, therefore, there is no way of knowing.
MPT Glass responded by saying that Todd had stated that the Elite Members are 65 and older and probably on fixed income.
No more questions/comments were made or asked by Ms. Fair.
Mark McCord asked how many council members were golf members, and were they allowed to vote?
And the answer was yes. According to the attorney, as long as the council members are not benefiting from their membership, they could vote. They all pay their dues like everyone else.
Mark stated that a member who is allowed to vote to lower or raise the rates, seemed like a conflict of interest.
Council Member Winn responded by stating that they were told it was ok by the attorney.
Nick Wiles spoke and stated that it was discussed to possibly get rid of the Elite group and there were a lot of elderly men that went out there to golf.
Lauren explained that it was not the Elite members that they were talking about, it was the 20 Something. His concern was when it was discussed to make everyone’s membership the same? Personally, I should not pay the same as Todd, and I am not against raising the price. You have to keep a separation, so the Elite members feel they are getting their money’s worth.
I totally agree on raising the price, but do not try to chop it all of all at once. Because when you lose members, your revenue will be a wash.
Charlie Rose stated that he did not golf, but as a municipal golf course, it was for the benefit of the citizens but, if we started raising our rates like a country club, half of this town would not be able to afford and utilize the facilities. He suggested that the Golf Association put on an annual tournament and have all the proceeds go to the upgrading of the Golf Course.
Bryce Sawyer stated if he was playing golf on the weekend, he did not want to feel like he had to keep an eye out on the place. He also stated that maybe we should consider offering different packages for those that only come out 3 or 4 months out of the year. Something to consider.
Nick Wiles was allowed to speak again, and stated that
At this time, Mayor Hrncirik entertained a motion.
Motion made by Council Member Broome, second by MPT Glass, for the following SFRC Fees:
To raise the green fees during the weekdays to $20.00
Raise the green fees on the weekends to $25.00
Golf Memberships increase by $15.00 all across the board.
Leave the 20 Something at $50.00
Offer an all-inclusive package at $75.00 per month, which includes, golf, fishing, gun range, pool, and tennis courts (all the amenities)
Cart fees to remain the same
Motion was 2 Yeas by MPT Monty Glass and Council Member Brian Broom and 2 Nays by Council Member Lan Winn and Les Hons. Mayor Hrncirik broke the tie with a Yea and stated we needed to go up on the prices.
At that time, Mary K. Fair asked Council Member Lan Winn why he voted no.
Lan replied he thought it needed to go up a bit. He stated if you like to golf, its just a hobby. He stated he had two brothers that were members out there and a nephew, and they loved what they did, but that was just not for him.
Mary K. Fair asked Council Member Les Hons why he had voted no.
He stated that he did not have to explain why he voted the way he did.
3. Discuss, consider, and take action in regard to opening the Gun Range by or before June 1, 2021.
The discussion of the gun range begins with Mayor Hrncirik stating that the city would like to open the gun range by June 1, 2021. He stated the Seymour Shooting Range had a tentatively set gun shoot for June 5th and 6th, taking place by John Horn.
Charlie Rose stated it was called a Bench Rest Gun Tournament.
City Secretary stated that the gun range rules were previously approved at another council meeting according to Lauren. Torrez also stated that to save some time, she had made copies for the guests so they could look it over as well and when the time came, would know what they wanted to ask.
Lauren stated the gun range rules were not up for discussion, they were just there for informational purposes. Mayor Hrncirik agreed.
Mayor Hrncirik went on to say that at previous council meetings it had been discussed to go out to the shooting range and build a 20 by 30 feet wall, and section of the bench. He stated that members would have to shoot behind the wall and shoot under it when shooting at the berm. This would prevent any bullets from going estray. It would be made of railroad timber.
At this time, a picture similar to what would be built was passed around for viewing.
Council Member Broome asked if the construction/structure of the wall had been started yet? Not yet was the answer. He felt if all the measures were put in place it should be able to open up.
MPT Glass asked if he could ask Golf and Gun Range Supervisor a question and City Secretary stated not at the moment, but he could during public comments.
At this time since council had no more discussion, Mayor Hrncirik moved forward with Public Comments.
MPT Glass asked Todd that he wanted to know what information he had received from Mr. Horn during their discussion. Todd Hrncirik stated that Mr. Horn came by along with one of the guys that is a part of the shooting group and stated that they could have 2 or 3 numbers from the areas and be the only ones to shoot under. They could not do their gun shoot with those there. He also did not mind that if the city decided to build a permanent wall he would allow them to have some plat form area for the shooters. They also have the wind turbines and SOPS that fly, and they watch all that when they are shooting their real guns. If the wall is too tall it will be impossible for them and will not be able to see their stuff from a distance.
Mr. Horn also asked Todd why not build a wall that is collapsible, stand up and when not in use, fold. That was a thought as well.
Todd stated the electric department was there with a trailer type style where you pull in a section as an idea.
Mr. Horn replied that if the city chose to pull it all the way across it would wipe them out of the usage of the gun range.
At this time, Public Comments were received and allowed.
Lauren Bush asked when they were stating that the gun range would be opened, was that just for Horn and the shooters, then they would close it back up until safety measures were in place, then re-opened to the public
Clarification would need to be made regarding this agenda item. Mayor Hrncirik agreed.
Council stated they are hoping the structure will be built by June 1st.
Mary K. Fair asked if Council had an estimate of how much the wall was going to cost ?
Mayor Hrncirik if that project had been priced yet?
Todd answered that it all depended on how much would be built. He stated that the electrical department had the poles, but as far as price wise no.
Mary K. Fair asked where this money was going to come from in the budget?
Todd answered that it would come out of the SFRC General Misc.
Mary K. Fair asked the SFRC over budget on that line item, because they did not budget much money for the gun range, and that there should be 8K that was budgeted for and somewhere it did not happen. How can you spend when we have a shortfall on excess electricity and ancillary fees and spend money on an item we have not budgeted for, when we have an 89K bill each month?
Mayor stated that he would turn this around and say that by have not it closed we were losing money.
Mary K. Fair asked how much were we losing?
Mayor stated he did not know, just like he did not know how much the wall would cost.
Mayor stated we had about 100 and something members, Mary K. Fair stated no, because when citizens were reimbursed when the gun range closed down, we lost money.
Charlie Rose stated at one point we had about 42 permanent members and a maximum of about 120.
Mary K. Fair stated she had gotten a list of the people that were refunded when the gun range closed. She stated that was her concern, she understood the need for safety she was not against it, but how can you put more money into the gun range when you do not know how much it is going to cost and we have that big bill we have to pay.
Council Member Lan Winn stated slush fund Mary K.
Mary K. stated yes, but what happens when the slush fund goes
Council Member Winn stated we just do something else, that is how it works.
Mary K. Fair stated she knew how it worked
Charlie Rose spoke and stated that as far as getting the gun range opened you do not have to worry about getting any more work out there, have you all come to a reasonable rental fee for the club for using the range in the first place.
Second, when we were doing the rules, you will did not properly and legally pass the rules because you will cut off the public comments and did not allow everyone to speak on it, which makes that motion null and void.
I would like to offer a couple of corrections and have you all pass them again properly.
Lauren stated that as far as presenting them tonight, no
Mayor Hrncirik stated to bring me a copy of the corrections and they would possibly address them.
Lauren stated that when they had comments, Council should decide how they want to address those comments, but the item on the agenda did not allow them to make those comments.
Mayor Hrncirik agreed
Charlie Rose stated that they were discussing to re-open the gun range and this was part of it.
Mayor Hrncirik asked Charlie if he wanted to give his comments and he stated yes.
Regarding rule #8 – loose or baggy clothes, is what protects you from hot grass, Charlie stated. If you want to have protection, no open necks, or shoes, but loose and baggy clothes is what keeps you from getting burned.
Regarding rule #11 and #27 are in conflict with each other- if you cant be in control of your firearm, and you have to leave it in the firing lane
Regarding #21- that is really poorly written it ought to be out there because it is a duplication of #12. And #12 is self-contradicting. It should read one sentence, all weapons loaded or unloaded must be pointed in the safest possible direction. That safe direction changes with the circumstances. If you are walking down the benches and if its pointed up in the air it shoots straight up the bullet will fall back down about 160 feet per second, which is the same speed as a hailstorm, it is not going to hurt or kill someone. But a bullet hitting the concrete will.
But as far as having all this covered by June 6th , you do not need to have all this in place because they will have a Chief RSO and about 5 more RSO’S.
No one is allowed to touch the gun without specific permission and will be heavily controlled.
City Secretary asked Mr. Rose if he would bring me a copy of his concerns and changes on Friday, he stated he would.
City Secretary stated she needed it, otherwise it would not go on the agenda.
John Hostas stated that he liked everything he was hearing, and that John Horn had been shooting out there for many years and he did not see any issues out there with them shooting. They could get out there and do what they have done without problems. He stated it was not them he worried about, he stated because they are out there supervising the shoot, it was the general public he worried about. That was the issue before. He stated that if we opened it up to the public he would have to tell his kids not to play in the front yard and stay in the back yard. But I like the idea of this wall, I think that will stop a lot of these issues of what is going on out there. If it is done right and angles are right, there is no way a bullet can leave and go astray. Orientation would be done with every single gun range member.
If you have a long rifle you have to shoot under the wall section, Mayor Hrncirik stated.
He thanked the Council for all the work they had done out there and Steve for shutting it down back in September when the incident occurred, and he would go with it for right now.
Mr. Myers asked how long the response time for EMS was to get out there, and the answer was 10 minutes.
Mr. Rose stated there should be first aid kits out there and anyone should have access to them.
Mayor Hrncirik addressed the concerns of Mr. Myers and stated that any accident can even happen in your back yard.
Mr. Myers stated that if he shoots his leg out in the county, is not the city’s responsibility. But it is if it happens at the gun range.
Mayor Hrncirik stated that most people do not know we have owned it for 25 years and has just become an issue the last 12 months.
Mr. McCord stated that regarding what Mayor Hrncirik stated we have owned it, but it was leased out to Mr. Horn. Mr. McCord mentioned a copy of the termination agreement with two signatures and apparently Jon’s name is one of the signatures, and Mr. Futch. The city paid 25K, no meeting, no city council meeting, no minutes, was not discussed, was not exposed to the public. I am trying to figure out how you can have a discretionary meeting without city council approval.
Council Member Brian Broome spoke up and stated that actually it was at a city council meeting and came up to vote and voted on in an open meeting.
Mr. McCord stated that he had done an open record request and that Conchita had stated there were no minutes regarding proof of purchase of the gun range.
Council Member Broome and MPT Glass stated there should be.
City Secretary stated that there may be, but not minutes reflecting the purchase of the gun range.
Mr. McCord stated that if we would have waited just one year, it would have been ours and would not have had to have paid 25K. But he was told that they would have taken all their improvements off and since it was a lease, it should have been filed at the courthouse. I looked and it was not filed. He also spoke regarding the termination agreement that stated that the Seymour Shooting Committee terminated their rights to the gun range but, would be allowed to come back and hold a yearly tournament with full access to the property. That is like buying a car and then allowing the seller to come back and use it. It did not limit them to a time or how long these tournaments could continue.
Paula Vaden asked if there were cameras out there and Council stated not on the shooting line, but there were cameras.
Nancy Boone asked where the money was coming from. The citizens were already going to be hit with an infrastructure fee, and council stated no, that had not been decided yet, and it was not part of an agenda item.
Motion made by Council Member Les Hons, second by MPT Glass to open the gun range to Mr. John Horn and allow them to have their gun shooting on June 5th and 6th. The gun range will be monitored by cameras and the gun range will open to the general public only if the safety measures have been put in place. If not, it will remain closed until the project is completed.
Motion carried with 4 Yeas and 0 Nays.
A 5-minute recess was taken at this time per Mayor Hrncirik.
Recess closes and Regular meeting resumes
4. Discuss, consider, and take action regarding City of Seymour Logo.
Lauren Bush gave copies of the different logos and would like something that would be identifiable to the city and not look like the schools logo.
After a lengthy discussion, and everyone getting in on the discussion a motion was entertained by Council Member Les Hons, who picked the City Logo on the top left, seconded by Council Member Lan Winn.
Motion carried with 2 Yeas and 2 Nays, with Mayor Hrncirik breaking the tie with a Nay and allowing the city employees to vote.
With that being said, Council Member Broome made a motion to allow the city employees to vote on the logo, second by MPT Glass. Motion carried with 2 Yeas and 2 Nays to allow the city employees to vote. Mayor Hrncirik broke the tie once again with a Yea.
5. Discuss, consider, and take action to renew cleaning bid with Ashley Ross regarding Portwood Art & Civic Center at 800 E. Morris Street, for a one-year contract.
We are renewing Ashley Ross’s contract and I have spoken to her, and she is wanting to continue to do the job.
Council Member Winn asked if she was doing a good job, I stated yes.
Charlie Rose stated if it could be done in one motion and no, due to it being separate properties.
Motion made by MPT Glass, seconded by Council Member Hons, to renew agreement with Ashley Ross for Portwood Art & Civic Center, 800 E. Morris Street. Motion carried with 4 Yeas, 0 Nays.
6. Discuss, consider, and take action to renew cleaning bid with Ashley Ross regarding City Hall Offices at 301 N. Washington Street, for a one-year contract.
No discussion was had by Council and Public Comments were opened to the guest.
Mary K. Fair stated she noticed that the date needed to be corrected on the agreement and City Secretary Torrez stated she had noticed that and corrected the form to have the right date on it.
Motion made by MPT Monty Glass, seconded by Council Member Broome to accept renewal with Ashley Ross for the City Hall Offices located at 301 N. Washington Street. Motion carried with 4 Yeas and 0 Nays.
7. Discuss, consider, and define the term “Temporary Utility Services”.
Lauren Bush would like for City Council to clarify Temporary Utility Services when these kind of services are being established .
She stated that in section 6.7 and in section 11.806 it talks about temporary service for electricity. But it does not define what temporary service is, because we have some citizens with temporary service with electricity for 2 years, which is not temporary, and you get temporary for $25.00. It also says that it should be serviced through service entrance, temporarily installed, and it should be while you are working.
Council Member Hons asked if that was just a $25 fee or were they paying for electricity as well. Yes, electricity used is paid for.
Lauren stated she was concerned about the time frame because it was not stated on the terms.
After a lengthy discussion, the Public was allowed to comment.
Charlie Rose stated that temporary service is just that, temporary. When he was building homes all we charged was $100 and had a maximum of 120 days and if we were not finished with the house at the end of those days, we could apply for another 120 days, but, we paid another $100 and that was 25 years ago. $25 will not cover the labor cost , plus someone setting a temporary pole, meter and hooking it all up. Were always looking for money, that cost ought to be raised to at least $100.00, due to cost inflation and at least the city if not losing money on every pole they set up. Plus add to the ordinance that you cannot plug the house to the pole and eliminates the problem.
Mary K. Fair stated that she agrees the price should go up, but there needs to be a time limit, and whatever you all think is reasonable and come up with a form to state why a citizen needs temporary service. And the form specifying how long they need this service. Instead of verbal, you have it in writing.
No action taken other than to define temporary service.
Temporary Service will be changed to a length of 6 months and $100 deposit with a form to be created. Also, an extension may be granted at the City Administrators discretion.
Regular meeting closes and Executive Service starts
Executive Session closes and Second Executive starts
9. An Executive Session (closed to the public) and pursuant to Chapter 551 of the Texas Local Government Code, Section 551.074- Personnel; regarding Council Place #2 vacancy. 9:15 p.m. – 9:22 p.m.
Executive Sessions closes and Regular meeting resumes
10. Discuss, consider, and take action regarding deliberation from first Executive Session.
Motion made by MPT Monty Glass, seconded by Lan Winn, to remove Todd Hrncirik, from set salary to hourly wage. He was also given a $3.00 increase, beginning immediately. Motion carried with 4 Yeas and 0 Nays
11. Discuss, consider, and take action regarding deliberation from second Executive Session.
Motion made by Council Member Les Hons, seconded by MPT Monty Glass, to appoint Jay Hudson to Council Place #2 , second by MPT Monty Glass. Motion carried 4 Yeas and 0 Nays.
12. Adjournment of meeting
Motion made by MPT Monty Glass, seconded by Council Member Brian Broome, to close meeting at 9:29 p.m.
PASSED AND APPROVED ON JUNE 17, 2021.
/s/ Mayor Jon Hrncirik
Attest:
/s/ City Secretary, Conchita Torrez, TRMC