11012005 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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I 6. . Regu ar Meetlng November 1, 2005 Page 6 feels animals should be restrained at certain speeds He inquired whether there is a problem with animals located in the back of trucks biting people Robert Piper, Assistant Director of Environmental Health, stated there is not a problem with bites from animals located in the back of trucks He stated the main calls the Animal Shelter receives is regarding animals left in cars during the hot months Mr Thomaides stated there have been reports of dogs jumping or being thrown from the back of trucks while traveling down the highway Mr Taylor stated he would like to vote for approval of the Ordinance on first reading, and before the second reading, allow interested Council Members to work with the City Attorney on possible amendments Mr Diaz stated he has received calls from concerned citizens regarding this proposed Ordinance He stated he feels the Council should not create an Ordinance to tell people how to take care of their personal property He stated he feels citizens should be responsible enough to take care of their own property Mr Mihalkanin stated he feels people should be responsible for their own property, but not everyone is Mayor Narvaiz stated she feels the Council should submit their amendments to the City Attorney to consider at the next Regular Meeting scheduled for November 15, 2005 Mr Guerrero inquired how enforcement would take place for an animal in the back of a truck Mr Thomaides stated he feels dogs need to be restrained when they ride in the back of a truck He also stated he feels this Ordinance would not be difficult for Police Officers to enforce On roll call for approval of the Ordinance on first reading, the following vote was recorded I AYE Diaz, Mihalkanin, Narvaiz, Thomaides, Bose and Taylor I NAY Guerrero ABSTAIN None Mayor Narvaiz introduced a discussion regarding UPursuant to Chapter 104 of the Utilities Code, begin hearing to determine propriety of rate increase proposed by CenterPoint Energy Entex" Mayor Narvaiz stated Marcus Etzler from Centerpoint Energy has requested to speak Marcus Etzler, CenterPoint Energy, read a letter regarding the events of the proposed increase in natural gas rates (attached) Mr O'Leary stated on June 30, 2005, CenterPoint Energy filed a Statement of Intent to increase its rate within the City On August 1, 2005, the Council adopted a Resolution suspending the proposed increase for a period of 90 days He stated after the review of the notice of the proposed increase published by Centerpoint in the Austin newspaper, the Council adopted an Ordinance on September 6, 2005, that ordered Centerpoint to 1) republish notice of the proposed rate increase in a more conspicuous manner, and 2) update the "test year" upon which it was basing its need for the proposed increase He stated in I response to the Ordinance, Centerpoint filed an appeal with the Railroad Commission of Texas, claiming that the Ordinance constituted a "final