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102 <br />Regular Meeting April 14, 1997- Page 5 <br />Guerra stated he did not see anybody else's signature on the letter but Mr. Davis' and <br />assumed Mr. Davis had called the other members. On roll call for adoption the following <br />vote was recorded: <br />AYE: Guerra, Hernandez, Mihalkanin, Hart <br />NAY: Cox, Hughson, Moore <br />The Motion passed. Mr. Guerra stated it was regrettable this communication was given <br />to Council at 7:30 p.m. and if there are pressing issues of importance to receive this kind <br />of letter, Mr. Guerra requested to receive it in a much earlier time frame. Mr. Cox stated <br />he would have appreciated it if a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission had <br />been present to explain from their perspective. <br />Mayor Moore introduced for consideration adoption of an Ordinance on emergency, <br />the caption which was read as follows: <br />AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN <br />MARCOS, TEXAS, AMENDING THE CITY BUDGET ORDINANCE FOR <br />THE 1996-1997 FISCAL YEAR TO PROVIDE FOR STAFFING FOR THE <br />IN-HOUSE PERFORMANCE OF LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE SERVICES; <br />AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. <br />Mr. Guerra moved for approval of the Ordinance and Mr. Cox seconded the motion. Mr. <br />Guerra regretted doing this at this time of year. Mr. Guerra stated it was hard for him to <br />believe in this case how government can do this cheaper than the contract. Mr. Guerra <br />stated in doing this the personnel costs would increase. Ms. Huffman stated that was <br />correct. Mr. Guerra stated this would be an ongoing cost for the City and the rate on the <br />contract the City has now is an increase in cost for the citizens. Mr. Gilley stated the <br />contract terminates in mid-year. Mr. Guerra stated he did not have a problem in looking <br />at this at the termination of the contract but had a problem in doing it right now. Mr. Cobb <br />stated when this issue was put together it was placed strictly on numbers. Mr. Cobb stated <br />when they do have problems, Mr. Gilland is contacted and the problems are worked <br />through. Mr. Cobb stated this was not an issue of doing the job or not doing the job. Mr. <br />Cobb stated it was just on numbers. Mr. Cox stated Mr. Claybourn had addressed some <br />qualitative issues in his memo. Mr. Cobb stated some of the issues which were brought <br />up were the shrub pruning and the turf tires. Mr. Cobb stated this issue had not been <br />reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Board and was done on a department level only. <br />Mr. Hernandez stated an observation in looking at some of these contracts is when the <br />City has private enterprise dealings with contracts of a competitive nature the City has <br />gotten a bang for the buck. Mr. Hernandez stated if there are problems which need to be <br />addressed, he stated it could be addressed in the contract, and he was not convinced the <br />City could do it cheaper. Mr. Hernandez stated he did not think all the numbers were <br />present for him to say the numbers add up to being as competitive as the City can be with <br />private enterprise in this particular contract. Mr. Gilley stated the goal was to achieve <br />economy and flexibility. Ms. Hughson asked if the City had any seasonal employees. Mr. <br />Gilley stated the City has a few seasonal employees and not a lot of part-time employees. <br />Mr. Cox stated there was a statement in Mr. Claybourn's memo regarding purchase of <br />equipment. Mr. Cobb stated it takes two to three years to get a full complement of <br />equipment needed. Mr. Cobb stated the department has some equipment now. Mr. Cobb <br />stated when the figures were presented they were figured at the $71,200 in the budget. <br />Mr. Hart stated staff has given evaluation they can do this cheaper and save citizens <br />money. Mr. Hart stated he does not know if this is the time to make the changes. Mr. Hart <br />stated it seems like an overwhelming responsibility for the amount of people the City has <br />now and did not feel it was the right time to try to alter the system and would be open to <br />looking at it again in the future. Mr. Mihalkanin stated he did not feel this Ordinance should <br />be an emergency. Mr. Guerra stated if this Ordinance does not pass tonight where does <br />that place the City and what needs to be done after the vote. Mr. Gilley stated the options <br />were to extend the contract or rebid it. Mr. Cobb stated it would be for a nine month <br />extension. Ms. Hughson asked if this was one of those renewable contracts. Mr. Gilley