Today's tuesday, april 23rd, 2024. We'll now call
the city council special meeting to order at 5:15 pm
item number two is roll call. We do have a quorum of council.
item number three are public comments. Uh, city secretary, do we have any public comment requests?
yes, sir. Mr. Mayor, we do. Okay. Dei a,
dharma a
and simon a,
please state your name and, and address for the record and please adhere to the
three minute time limit.
hello, everybody. Um, I think, uh, good evening,
I guess. Um, I, uh, sent you all a email today, and I just kind of wanted
to follow up. Um, I know during our conversations, we've been
chatting about this with various, uh, council members, I think since,
uh, you know, this, uh, april timeframe. Uh, and many folks
have said, uh, basically that some of the rezoning that will happen, um,
in regards to the palace event center. Everything on night road
will be fulfilling the needs and wants of our constituents. Um,
I would like you to know we have found that to be untrue. In fact, we have started a
petition and has been organically, rapidly gaining, uh, passion
and spread amongst your condition constituents due to their passion against this project.
we have currently reached 550 signatures in under a week.
the community is clearly against this proposal, and if it was unclear before
on whether or not this project would bring benefit or harm to missouri city residents,
it should be clear now that this project goes against your constituents desires. And moreover,
is outside of the scope of the comprehensive plan, which lists knight road as a
minor arterio in our conversations with other
missouri city residents. The below themes have came up in terms of wants and needs.
and I, my question to you is something I think, uh, councilman sonya has posed
in one of the last special meetings is how do we start working with developers to bring
as high roi opportunities that actually address the needs of our constituents?
some of the things I've heard in my conversations, uh, the facebook discussions
and so on and so forth, is the need for better dining options and restaurants,
the need to preserve green spaces and coexist with wildlife, the need for
more entertainment options like the cinema mark, uh, and of course,
the need to improve traffic con congestion. I think it's time the
missouri city updates its comprehensive plans and forms a citizens committee
to be involved in forming the plan, just like we did last time, the citizens
of missouri city are seeking a forum to collaboratively build
our vision for missouri city versus operating in silos, which ultimately leads
to escalating situations that could have been ultimately avoided.
um, I, again, uh, if y'all haven't checked your email yet, I would encourage you to check
your email. We have put a lot of work into it. A lot of, uh, folks
have, moms have, uh, spent a lot of times just chatting
and working with, um, the other moms, really to spread this message because
we care. And the reason that we are coming so strong, we're coming so united
is because we care and we want to take a part in shaping missouri city. We love
our city, and we want to, you know, open this forum and open this dialogue.
so I really encourage you to please check your mail. Uh, read through some of the comments on
that petition, you know, hear directly from your constituents. I know of you have done
surveys, but this is, you know, fresh off the press exactly, uh, directly from
the mouth, so the people, what they think. So thank you, uh, for your time. Thank
you.
good evening. Uh, good evening. Thank you for allowing me to speak. Uh,
I'm dharma radner. My address is 4 4 2 7 pineland
in drive, missouri city. And, uh, when I was here last
time, I kind of told you about my background and, uh, here again,
I'm here to voice my concerns regarding this, uh, rezoning
and proposed development, uh, literally in my backyard. And,
uh, this project will, uh, truly jeopardize our safety,
security, privacy, and value of our homes. And
I hope the city engineers have completed, uh, they have done the impact
studies on environment, economy,
traffic, congestion, and drainage. And if they have done
the studies, please share with us because we have real concerns on that.
and then, uh, basically reading your, uh, profiles.
I, I find it, you want to work with residents. You want
want to, we want the best for people. You want to listen to our,
uh, concerns, maintain safety, and then,
uh, make sure, uh, missouri city remains the best communities in the
nation. So here, again, building a event
center and a motel in my backyard, it doesn't
seem to be in line with your commitment and, uh, you have
power you can make or break us. And I think, you know, take
your, you know, be very responsible and please take care of us.
okay? Thank you. Thank you.
uh, hi, my name is simon ner. Uh, I live in
the state of ridge. Uh, my address is 4 4 2 7
pineland in drive. I would like to present my objection
to the proposed development next to our subdivision.
we presented our ob objection at the planning and so zoning commission,
they all agreed with us and overwhelming
voted against it. I understand that you have
legal right to go against their opinion, but, uh,
but I don't think you have the moral right to go against your voters
for supporting the development. In recent days,
I attended several city council meetings. In every
meeting there have been discussion non-new developments and approvals.
I'm not against the development, but like anything else in life,
everything that development
have to be balanced and should be based on the public needs
and the quality of businesses and not on the quantity.
I have seen reasonable number of empty buildings
in several places in the city. Uh, for
example, there are several empty buildings behind the hampton mill.
if the city continue to build at this rate, I'm
unsure. After some point, the city is going to be saturated with lot
of empty buildings, eventually public,
and the city may not be able to afford to have so many empty
buildings at the end. City economy
even may collapse. Like what happened to the country in 2,008,000
crisis. You all know what happened in 2008.
lot of business went bankrupt. Lot of people have to abandon their
homes because they couldn't afford it.
the world largest bank like jp p morgan, goldman sachs, and many businesses
have to be rescued by the federal government. All this happened because
of the politician. Were not wise enough to see the pending danger.
I'm not saying that any of any form of this crisis is going
to happen to our city, but it kept can happen at some point due
to our development. Remember, if similar
situation occurred to city like ours, no one will be there to rescue us.
probably we will end up suffering from it. Considering
all this fact, I urge you not to destroy beautiful pieces of land,
of full of trees, animals, many types of birds
by building a motel and several other buildings.
thank you. Opportunity to talk to you. Thank you. Lindsey
wright, bob, david, . Cumberland.
did you call someone before I did. Lindsey wright? Yes.
hi, lindsey wright, 46 11 creek point lane. Thanks
everyone for allowing me the opportunity to voice my concerns regarding the proposed rezoning changes
at night road and watts plantation, as well as the other zoned properties around our neighborhood.
previously, our neighborhood has plain and simply asked for transparency from the city. Unfortunately,
we're in a position where that has not proven to be successful, only causing more frustration
regarding the issue as residents and citizens who are currently impacted by the
decision of your vote. I'm here to raise a few questions and bring, bring up a few points so you all can see
the struggle we're dealing with us citizens. Previously, my husband submitted
a freedom of information act request regarding the development of watts plantation and knight road,
and any communication between the developers be joe matthew and syriac shandy and
any city officials. It's disheartening that this re request was turned over to the
attorney general by your legal team for reasons that are, in our opinion, a little ridiculous
saying that the information of these records contain information such as social security numbers,
school records, birth and death records, et cetera. On the foia a.gov
website, it actually states that the basic function of a freedom of information act is to ensure
informed, ensure informed citizens, which is vital to the functioning
of a democratic society. As you may or may not know prior to submitting, we
actually said that we did not care about any relevant personal information and that that be blocked
out completely. My ask to you all is what, what is there to hide?
this is our neighborhood. This is our largest investments where we raise our families.
why can't you share these information in these records with us? Do we not have a
right to know what's being said about our own neighborhood? Transparency remains
elusive and it actually erodes our trust in you all as our elected officials, and
it exasperates frustration among the rest of our residents. In the same breath.
in a previous meeting on april 8th, there was much talk about referencing the 2017
comprehensive plan as the true north for development with minor adjustments that needed
to be made. Since you all put so many efforts in clarifying that this is a guide for
future development of our city, I can guarantee you that our neighbors have probably spent
more hours in this plan than many city officials and staff members themselves. How
do we know this? Because we submitted another foia request in which no records
were found along the lines of training and comprehensive plan within the city. On page
144 of the plan, it clearly states that city officials and elected leaders
must do a five step, five step comprehensive plan training. Mr. Emery.
last, uh, in the april 15th meeting, you actually said that you and most of the people
have probably read the plan, but as a neighborhood, we have dedicated considerable time
to understand the plan and we are requesting that all city staff and elected officials undergo
thorough comprehensive plan training to better understand the objectives and ensure responsible
development. I'm confident that after your team does this development should not even be
allowed per several goals mentioned in goal two and 5.1, which I will
not go into now. This now begs the question, how can we as citizens trust
our city council to make these decisions if they haven't had the proper training to understand what
we should and shouldn't do with future development? Lastly, I would like to address
you council member emery, on your 2024 reelection camp. Ma'am, that is time.
okay, thank you.
thank you guys again. Uh, my name is bob david, as you may remember, , uh,
45 11 creek point. Um, appreciate
you guys, uh, allowing us to speak. I know this is, uh, taking up some time, but,
uh, this is our passion, obviously, right? Um, we are asking, obviously
for you guys to vote no on may 6th towards this plan development. That's to be
on knight road. Um, and moreover, obviously we want a
green space there, if at all possible. Um, which is already,
uh, designated as a wetlands. Um, I'm
really here to ask for concession on the approved watts plantation
road. So watts plantation road is soon to be developed according to what
you guys have said, and I'm asking for some concession for our community.
we are gonna be directly affected by the changes that's gonna happen there.
and with the construction that's already started on the corner of, uh, the
highway six and uh, knight road, I believe that the traffic is
gonna be excessive. Um, I was speaking briefly with uh, e joyce yesterday
and she doesn't believe that the traffic is gonna be so great there
for us on watts plantation because of the construction that's happening there on uh,
on, on, on six and night. But I beg
to differ. I believe it's gonna be excessive. Uh, with the road expansion. Of course, everybody's
got from sienna's gonna wanna go into that route. Everyone from that
new development is gonna want to use watts plantation. So what I'm asking for is
in your construction, I'm asking that the city will
construct a, a wall for us, um, a proper
wall. Right now it's a wood fence from the hoa or whatever, but we are asking for
a proper wall to secure us there. And a fence,
uh, a gate. A gate. Now I know that you guys have, um,
stipulations about the road and the lights when there's a gate, which
makes it private, but for this scenario, I would ask
that you guys would consider granting us that concession and still
taking care of our roadways and lights. Um, comprehensive plan.
I would like to be a part of that. Um, the committee, I think that was mentioned.
if you guys are gonna formulate that, I would love to be a part of that. As a matter of fact,
I've put in my, uh, resume and application for the p and
z committee. I would love to serve, uh, on the p and z committee.
I'm a realtor, I'm a businessman, I'm a property manager.
um, and we are vested in missouri city and I want to
see the betterment of our city and I would love to be on that,
uh, one of those teams. Okay. Um, floyd
emery, I know you're over that district, so if you would push bob
david through for your p and z committee, that'll be awesome. And
who knows, maybe one day when you decide to move on from council, bob david can
represent your seat. Thank you guys so much.
thank you.
, cumberland, 45, 11 creek point lane. Uh, mayor, council
members, miss lawyer and staff
city team members I'll call it. Um, I have couple things.
I hate reading stuff. I would like to have the eye contact, but I wanted to
make sure I'm giving you the right information that we research
that. Um, I believe a april, april eight
mayor mentioned that this is not a decision, motional decision. This
is the facts. And since then we've been really diligently working and finding
the facts and the right numbers to clarify everybody. So
nobody have a question. Marks, I've been sending some emails. Thank
you very much for responding. Several of you guys responded to me right away. Mayor,
you are respond. Time is amazing. Thank you for that.
uh, and it's gonna continue because we have so many facts to bring it to your attention.
and that's point, like you said, it's not emotional decision.
uh, I wanna, I wanna actually highlight one of the main arguments,
which is the economic impact, right? About this project on
the nitro. And, um, that's actually been presented to
you guys in saying that, uh, tax base substantially 35%
increase in sales tax and 70% increase in hotel occupancy
tax according to city's current financial, 35%
increase would mean $5 million. And I believe my fellow
neighbor, uh, tommy brought it up to you a couple weeks ago and I wanna dive
into more. So he kind of give you a example about it, and I'm gonna follow up
with the email so you can see all the stuff that we pulled for you.
uh, a great number, if this is a true five a million dollar
and um, for the comp comprehensive plan for development
district with shopping and retail options for the entire city, this is great number. If it's
true, this city project is 2017
one, those areas were completely built out altogether. They could
have two, they could have sales tax impact
1.5 million to 1.9 million with the economic impact
of $168 million
to two hundred and seventy eight two, two hundred and seventy $3 million
annually. If that was the truth, the, the city economy
development director mr. Rodriguez, is supplying numbers to get
this approved and saying this one development will be nearly four times,
again, four times the rest of the city's development
corridors combine to put into perspective
and more hit 5 million sales revenue. The city will need to see
500 million in dining and retail sales from this revenue.
that is quite an economic impact as a business, a quarter million
dollar business leader. I wanna tell you guys,
this is not a realistic number. You guys have to look into it. Thank you very much. Yeah.
lisa cake, lil cake, palm cake.
please state your name and address for the record. Absolutely. My name is lisa kaju.
I live at 47 10 creek point lane. I also would love to make eye contact,
but I get three minutes. So good evening again, mayor and council members,
several of you have been kind enough to respond to my emails my
neighbors and I have sent out. While we appreciate this, we see many of you
referencing your due diligence on this issue. Does that due diligence
look like deciding among yourselves and developers what looks most lucrative
behind closed doors? Or does it fall under the definition of due diligence
in regard to your constituents? Those of us who live next door to you, who voted
for you, and in some cases fundraised for you, three minutes is not enough
time to tackle any issue with the thoughtfulness that it requires. So unless you
initiate the necessary conversations that must be had between yourselves in
the states of silver ridge, how will email responses saying you are taking things
into consideration actually happen? It must be said that we are
not against you in any way when it comes to the well thought out design potential that
sna has a great fort bend town center, can absolutely be
a jewel to sienna, but done poorly. This will not be a crowning achievement
guys. It will be the public works that drove out all the people that created
this community. So I must ask you, are you protecting us?
are you considering the correct transitional zoning for this type of
project? Commercial zoning that borders 75% of
a residential neighborhood says you're not new homeowners moving into
a newly built home would be in a better position to make the decision if they want to buy
a home with a hotel or motel looking into their yards. Our homes with
20 plus years of investment in them, we didn't choose that. Are you
considering the load these new homes in 2000 apartment units we'll have on our schools?
I'm not against new homes, apartments or development, but I am against the degradation
of schools that we moved here for to send our daughter to. What's the plan for the schools?
where are the new ones going? How will the handle, how will you handle the school student
influx? So we moved here after flooding on the west side of houston. We moved here
because we are not houston. We moved here because the development and zoning
we looked into prior to purchasing looked pretty conservative and we liked that.
how does one invest a boatload of money into their home and neighborhood if they can't count on
the local zoning laws to protect these investments? I have so little
time I have you telling me that this decision is upcoming.
so can you hear my concern? 'cause I do not want to live somewhere where I have
to worry about some creepy weirdo looking at my little daughter while she's swimming in my pool
in the backyard. Okay. I cannot, um, deal with the idea
that I would have to worry about somebody canvassing my every move coming and going from my
home. I cannot put a baby to bed when there is an amphitheater blaring music not
for their nap time and not for seven 30 bedtime. The city progress hinges
on our ability to collaborate, prioritize, and implement solutions that benefit all
residents. I trust you'll make the right decision for all of us. Please. Thank you. Thank
you.
will that mess it up? Please don't. What's your name? My name's lily.
please don't cut. Not please do not cut down
our trees. The trees are home to many
creatures and it's,
and they're important to the animals. Thank you. Aw,
thank you.
hi, my name's tom gio. I live at 47 10 creek point lane. That's my daughter,
that's my wife. Uh, I'm here obviously to oppose
the rezoning on knight road. You know, I chose missouri
city, uh, because it wasn't like where we came
from. So we lived on the west side of houston. Uh, you know, we chose it
because there's trees in the backyard, not a brick wall. Uh, we chose
it because the only sound to hear is the, the birds, the bees,
and the ice cream truck. Um, you know, we chose it, uh,
because I thought it was a sound place to make an investment as well. You
know, we have put a lot of money into not only our home, but
into our schools above and beyond the taxes that we pay.
um, and, you know, it, it was, I thought it was a sound choice.
to be honest though, it doesn't seem like it's a good investment opportunity.
um, it seems like, you know, probably should leave before things
get worse. If this is the, if this is the tract for missouri city,
I, I'm not sure I'm on board. You know, I have to say I'm
the fact that we're here talking about putting a hotel
a hundred feet in an outdoor planning or outdoor party center,
a hundred feet from people's back door. Does anyone know how far a hundred feet is?
we're talking six car lengths. Could you imagine if that was looking
into your pool? If you had to listen to that at the, up to the cutoff
time at 10:00 pm every night? I mean, come on. This is absurd.
what are we talking about here?
you know, honestly it is emotional for me because I do
have that little one there, you know, which is why we chose to move out here.
we believe in the schools, we believe in the community, and this is, uh,
frankly not what we're gonna call home. So appreciate.
thank you. Thank you mr. Mayor. That conclude the public. Alright,
thank you. We're going on to, uh, item number four, discussion
and possible action four a. This item is
an ordinance that will be taken uh, at a special meeting. Therefore, a motion
is required to take up both item four a and four b at
a special meeting. So
I see a motion by council member riley, seconded by
council member brown marshall. There are no, no one else in the queue. Let's go
ahead and vote.
motion carries unanimously. Okay. Item four b. Okay. Four
a is an ordinance of the city of missouri city adopting a new pay
plan for full-time. Non-exempt personnel and exempt personnel excluding
civil service personnel and police personnel and appointed
employees providing an effective date, providing for repeal and providing for
severability. Alright, thank you. Um, uh,
presentation by atlanta porters assistant city manager.
good evening mayor and city council. I do not have a formal presentation.
this is the second reading. Um, I will provide a summary for this item. This
is the pay plan for non-civil service employees. The overall
change in the pay plan is 2.7 to 2.8%. Uh,
the estimated annual cost is $792,947
with a prorated cost for fiscal year 2024 of approximately $335,000.
okay, thank you. Um, there's been a motion by council member
bony, seconded by mayor proam klauser, seeing noman else on the queue. Let's go ahead
and vote.
oh, member, you have the presentation on there. The motion carries unanimously. Uh,
thank you. Item four b, an ordinance of the city of missouri city, texas
amending the civil service implement implementation ordinance of the city of
missouri city, providing certain amendments related to base pay and seniority
pay, providing for repeal, providing for severability, providing an effective
date, and containing other provisions related there too.
okay, thank you. Okay, and if you don't mind, I'll just provide a summary again
for, uh, this item. This is for civil service police and fire. The overall
change in the pay plan for police officers is 4.4%.
the overall change in the pay plan for fire is 2.4%. The
average pay increase for police officers is 5.5% with the average
pay increase for fire at 4.57%. The estimated
annual cost is approximately $996,000 with
a prorated cost for fiscal year 2024 of $421,000.
alright, thank you. We have a motion by council member bony, seconded
by council member marles. Seeing no one else on the queue. Let's
go ahead and vote. The,
the motion carries unanimously. Thank you. All right, thank you. Uh, item number five, our
closed executive session. Uh, we don't have any closed executive sessions
at the moment. Um, and with no further business
and hearing no objections, this meeting is adjourned at 5:42 pm
thank you all.