2014-04-12 Special Meeting of La Porte City Council minutes

Browse Search

in the Northside Plan. Council supported the concepts of proactive neighborhood tenant association that could help improve safety and quality of life for the Northside. In conjunction with this effort, advocacy based code enforcement and an amnesty program for code enforcement were also concepts that the Council supported; staff will be bringing more solid proposals to the Council for additional discussion. Mayor Rigby commented if the program is something the City moves forward with, he thinks it should be applied to the entire City with requirements and guidelines. Council supported the concept of incorporating drought tolerant plantings into new City landscape installations. Council supported the installation of a vegetative buffer at the Children's Park on the Northside. Comprehensive Plan Objective for Strategic Corridors: Proceed with including an entryway monument at Bay Area Boulevard and Fairmont (for northbound traffic on Bay Area) within the 5-year capital plan. C. Building Security — Mayor Rigby (T. Leach) City Manager Corby Alexander discussed City Hall security improvements. In 2012, the Police Department conducted a security assessment of City Hall. Several vulnerable areas were identified including the main receptionist area, the Code Enforcement front desk, and the Utility Billing windows. Staff prepared a preliminary estimate of $143,700 to address these areas of vulnerability, such as securing the area by the reception desk, securing the Inspections counter, and fortifying the Utility billing windows. Council directed staff to include this in the upcoming fiscal year budget. D. Council Chambers A/V Dais Renovations — (T. Leach) Assistant City Manager Traci Leach discussed options for Council's audio visual equipment and improvements to the dais. Staff has received Council feedback regarding the current state of the Council dais. The area is cluttered, and the monitors have a tendency to obstruct the view to and from the Council chairs given the angle of the seating and the raised nature of the dais. In August 2013, staff visited the Baytown Council Chambers and discussed options with them, as they had recently re -done their Chambers. Staff presented a couple of options, and Council requested staff bring back a line item estimate for various components for consideration. Council directed Staff to bring back a line item estimate for various components for consideration. E. New Website — (T. Leach) Assistant City Manager Traci Leach discussed re -design of the City's website and the possibilities of changing the website provider. Staff presented this item based on difficulties in dealing with the current website/web provider. The current site is difficult to manage, has spotty uptime/reliability, and the operating system is using an obsolete Internet Explorer version. Based on preliminary discussions with several website design companies, staff estimates that the cost of a new website would run between $40,000 and $60,000. Page 3 of 8 April 12, 2014, City Council Special Meeting Minutes