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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Round Rock City Council Meeting - August 22, 2024

City Council — Thursday, August 22, 2024

BodyRound Rock, Texas

SessionCity Council

DateThursday, August 22, 2024

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:59:19

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

1:51

Tonight's invitation will be given by Pastor Hepsiba from Grace Lutheran Church.

1:56

Pastor, thank you for being here.

2:01

Thank you for having me.

2:04

I invite you to all pray with me.

2:08

Gracious and trying God.

2:10

We give you thanks for your amazing love and grace.

2:14

We thank you for our city of Round Rock, and we thank you for our elected officials, our mayor Craig Morgan, City Attorney Stephanie Sondre, City Manager, Lori Hadley, all our council members, and all those who are present here today.

2:32

We come before you with humble hearts as we gather for the city council meeting.

2:46

We thank you for the gift of this day and for the opportunity to serve our community.

2:51

We ask for your divine wisdom to illuminate our minds and hearts as we address the important matters before us.

3:00

Help us to approach each issue with a spirit of discernment and understanding.

3:37

Guide us as we work to enhance the well-being of our residents, foster economic growth, and build a thriving vibrant community.

3:46

Help us to address the challenges we face with creativity and collaboration, and to seize opportunities for positive change.

4:48

Amen.

5:00

Councilmember Flores.

5:00

Here.

5:01

Councilmember Fleming.

5:02

Here.

5:02

Councilmember Ortega.

5:04

Here.

5:04

Councilmember Montgomery.

5:05

Here.

5:06

All right.

5:07

If you'll stand with me for the pledges.

5:13

Pledge allegiance.

5:28

Honor the Texas flag.

5:30

Our pleasure is Texas.

5:37

Thank you.

5:40

All right, citizen communication.

5:42

Any citizen wishing to speak during citizen communication regarding item on or off the gym may do so after completing the required registration per all comments must be no more than three minutes in the link per section 2-26B5 of the Round Rock Code of Ordinances 2018 edition.

5:55

Any comments regarding items not on the postage and may not be discussed or responded to by the city council per state law.

6:02

If you'll just have two cards for public comment section, uh chance read.

6:08

Just make sure you state your name and address for the record, please.

6:27

Hello.

6:28

Chance read 3837 Bram Cove, Round Rock 78681.

6:34

Um I'm here to um introduce a brand new chapter of a charity called Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Round Rock chapter.

6:42

As of last week, we're official.

6:43

I'm the chapter president.

6:45

This is my vice president.

6:46

Um get some notes here.

6:48

Hold on.

6:56

Okay.

6:57

Our mission is to spread awareness and help our community solve the problem of child bedlessness.

7:01

Uh there are more children sleeping on the floor or a pile of clothes in our community than you could possibly imagine.

7:08

Um my sleep in Heavenly Peace story actually starts almost exactly 10 years ago when my wife and I lost our perfectly healthy baby boy at three months old, Max Stuart Reed.

7:20

Uh it was a very tough time for our family.

7:22

Uh and a man named Bill Biddock, who runs a not-for-profit called Brody's gift, came and spent hours talking to us and really uh cared, helped us.

7:33

Um ever since then, I've wanted to give that back.

7:37

Um, certainly to our community and anybody, obviously, children, children, child related is my is where my heart is.

7:46

Um I started looking for something that I could do that would be something that would be me, and it took me a while, uh, actually seven and a half years.

7:56

Uh about seven and a half years ago, I was at a work conference.

7:59

Um, I'm a small business owner.

8:02

We build, I I own a company that builds office furniture.

8:05

Um lends itself pretty well to building beds for kids.

8:09

Um at a conference of office furniture and trans law installation companies.

8:13

Luke, the founder of SHP was there.

8:15

Uh I got to meet him, hear the story.

8:17

Um he started this 12 years ago, and they've delivered over 220,000 beds across the country to children, all free of charge, all with volunteer labor.

8:28

Uh I've been working with uh the Austin chapter ever since then.

8:33

Um Austin's a big area, spread out.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Water And Wastewater Management████████████████████████████████32%

Personnel Matters██████████████14%

Procedural█████████9%

Budget Equity Analysis█████████9%

Parks and Recreation███████7%

Public Works██████6%

Youth Programs████4%

Public Engagement████4%

Property Tax████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Round Rock City Council Meeting - August 22, 2024

The Round Rock City Council met on August 22, 2024, at 6:00 PM in the City Council Chambers. The meeting included proclamations, public comments, appointment of a new city manager, approval of the FY 2024-2025 budget and tax rate, water and wastewater rate adjustments, and numerous resolutions related to infrastructure projects. All votes were unanimous (7-0) unless noted.

Consent Calendar

Approved minutes from the August 8, 2024 City Council meeting.
Authorized an agreement with Safeware, Inc. for public safety equipment.

Public Comments & Testimony

Chance Reed and Greg Brill (Sleep in Heavenly Peace) introduced a new local chapter of the charity, which builds beds for children in need. They reported that 1,500-2,000 children in Round Rock ISD sleep on floors and invited community participation in a build event on September 14, 2024.

Proclamations

Proclaimed August 2024 as "Children's Vision and Learning Month" in Round Rock. Dr. Nancy spoke about the importance of comprehensive eye exams, noting that school screenings miss up to 75% of vision problems.
Proclaimed August 1, 2024 as "Education Connection Day" in recognition of the organization's 15 years of literacy support in Round Rock ISD schools, where 250 volunteers served over 650 students last year.

Appointments

Appointment of City Manager: Brooks Bennett was unanimously appointed as the next City Manager of Round Rock, effective December 8, 2024, succeeding retiring City Manager Lori Hadley. Council members and the public praised Bennett's long service and deep roots in the community.
Boards and Commissions: Approved a slate of appointments to the Transportation and Economic Development Corp., Planning and Zoning Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, Zoning Board of Adjustment/Building Standards, Ethics Review Commission, and Capital Improvements Advisory Commission.
Civil Service Commission: Reappointed Audrey Simmons to an unexpired term.
Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority: Appointed Councilmember Hilda Montgomery as the citizen director to the BCRUA Board of Directors.

Discussion Items

Financial Policies (H1): Approved updated financial policies for FY 2024-25, including changes to reserve designations and an increase in the authorized purchase cap from $200,000 to $350,000.
Old Settlers Park Improvements (H2): Ratified the Type B Corporation's approval of $15 million in additional funding for multi-purpose apex fields and a track and field facility as part of the $225 million Old Settlers Park improvement project. Construction is expected to begin in late summer 2024 and take 3-4 years.
BCRUA Financing (H3): Authorized BCRUA to execute a $90.5 million financing agreement with the Texas Water Development Board (SWERT fund) for the Phase 2 raw water delivery project, including a deep water intake at Lake Travis.
Transit Grant (H4): Authorized submission of an application for FY 2024 Federal Transit Authority Section 5307 funds for public transit services.
Right-of-Way Acquisition (H5): Authorized purchase of 0.1872 acres from Weed Instrument Co. for the N. Mays Gap Road project.
Interlocal Agreements with Georgetown (H6, H7): Approved two interlocal agreements allowing Georgetown's electric and wastewater facilities to encroach on Round Rock-owned drainage and waterline easements.
Downtown Waterline Replacement (H8): Approved an engineering services contract with Waeltz & Prete, Inc. for replacement of small-diameter (1.5-2 inch) galvanized steel water mains in seven downtown locations.
Reuse Water Storage Tank (H9): Authorized a supplemental contract with BGE, Inc. for a 2 million gallon reuse ground storage tank project, with a $119,746 engineering contract.
AMI Meter System (H10): Approved a one-year extension of the agreement with HydroPro Solutions for automated meter infrastructure maintenance, adding $500,000 to the existing $1.8 million contract.
BCRUA Budget (H11): Approved the BCRUA FY 2024-2025 budget of $11.4 million, with Round Rock's share at $2.6 million for an estimated 6.5 million gallons per day.
Eminent Domain for BCRUA Phase 2 (H12-H14): Authorized the use of eminent domain for three parcels needed for electrical easements to power the BCRUA deep water intake pump station. The city is still negotiating but needs possession by January 2025.
Lease Agreement with Waste Specialties (H15): Approved a 12-month lease allowing Waste Specialties to use a city-owned property for dumpster painting in exchange for hauling away debris from the site.
Water, Wastewater, & Stormwater Rate Adjustments (I1): On first reading, approved a three-year rate adjustment for water (5% base charge increase/year, new fifth tier for high usage), wastewater (6% base increase/year, 2% volumetric increase), and a one-time $2/month increase in the stormwater fee (from $4.75 to $6.75). Also amended deposit waivers for certain customers. The total bill for a typical residential customer using 10,000 gallons water and 6,000 gallons wastewater would increase from $101.76 to $105.03 in FY25 (3.9%).
FY 2024-2025 Budget (I2): On first reading, adopted a $682.2 million budget, including a general fund of $169.2 million, 26 new staff positions, and $358 million in community investment. The budget funds 10 new police officers, 6 new firefighters, Old Settlers Park improvements, and other capital projects.
Property Tax Rate (I3): On first reading, adopted a tax rate of $0.36 per $100 valuation, an 8.6% increase over the no-new-revenue rate. For a median homeowner ($360,000 taxable value), this means an increase of $8.94/month ($107/year). The rate is the lowest among comparable Central Texas cities.

Key Outcomes

All votes on the consent agenda, resolutions, and ordinances were passed unanimously (7-0).
Brooks Bennett appointed as City Manager, effective December 8, 2024.
First reading of the FY 2024-2025 budget and tax rate approved; second reading scheduled for a future meeting.
Water, wastewater, and stormwater rate increases approved on first reading.
Authorized eminent domain proceedings for three parcels related to BCRUA Phase 2 power line easements, contingent on failed negotiations.
Council recessed into executive session at 8:00 PM to discuss real property at the southwest corner of Kenney Fort and Old Settlers Park.

Meeting Transcript

Tonight's invitation will be given by Pastor Hepsiba from Grace Lutheran Church. Pastor, thank you for being here. Thank you for having me. I invite you to all pray with me. Gracious and trying God. We give you thanks for your amazing love and grace. We thank you for our city of Round Rock, and we thank you for our elected officials, our mayor Craig Morgan, City Attorney Stephanie Sondre, City Manager, Lori Hadley, all our council members, and all those who are present here today. We come before you with humble hearts as we gather for the city council meeting. We thank you for the gift of this day and for the opportunity to serve our community. We ask for your divine wisdom to illuminate our minds and hearts as we address the important matters before us. Help us to approach each issue with a spirit of discernment and understanding. Guide us as we work to enhance the well-being of our residents, foster economic growth, and build a thriving vibrant community. Help us to address the challenges we face with creativity and collaboration, and to seize opportunities for positive change. Amen. Councilmember Flores. Here. Councilmember Fleming. Here. Councilmember Ortega. Here. Councilmember Montgomery. Here. All right. If you'll stand with me for the pledges. Pledge allegiance. Honor the Texas flag. Our pleasure is Texas. Thank you. All right, citizen communication. Any citizen wishing to speak during citizen communication regarding item on or off the gym may do so after completing the required registration per all comments must be no more than three minutes in the link per section 2-26B5 of the Round Rock Code of Ordinances 2018 edition. Any comments regarding items not on the postage and may not be discussed or responded to by the city council per state law. If you'll just have two cards for public comment section, uh chance read. Just make sure you state your name and address for the record, please. Hello. Chance read 3837 Bram Cove, Round Rock 78681. Um I'm here to um introduce a brand new chapter of a charity called Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Round Rock chapter. As of last week, we're official. I'm the chapter president. This is my vice president. Um get some notes here. Hold on. Okay. Our mission is to spread awareness and help our community solve the problem of child bedlessness. Uh there are more children sleeping on the floor or a pile of clothes in our community than you could possibly imagine. Um my sleep in Heavenly Peace story actually starts almost exactly 10 years ago when my wife and I lost our perfectly healthy baby boy at three months old, Max Stuart Reed. Uh it was a very tough time for our family. Uh and a man named Bill Biddock, who runs a not-for-profit called Brody's gift, came and spent hours talking to us and really uh cared, helped us. Um ever since then, I've wanted to give that back. Um, certainly to our community and anybody, obviously, children, children, child related is my is where my heart is. Um I started looking for something that I could do that would be something that would be me, and it took me a while, uh, actually seven and a half years.

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