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July 9, 2024 ·5:00 PM Final ·Council Work Session

Council Chambers 200 West Walker Street

Agenda PDF Minutes PDF Official record ↗

Agenda — 18 items

  1. 1 The City Council of the City of League City, Texas, met in a work session in Council Chambers at 200 West Walker Street on the above date at 5:00 p.m.
  2. 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS
  3. 2 Mayor: Nick Long City Council Members: Andy Mann Tommy Cones Tom Crews Courtney Chadwell Justin Hicks Chad Tressler Sean Saunders City Manager: John Baumgartner Assistant City Manager: Rick Davis Assistant City Manger-CFO: Angie Steelman Interim City Attorney: Michelle Villarreal City Secretary: Diana M. Stapp Chief of Police: Cliff Woitena Executive Director of Capital Projects Ron Bavarian Executive Director of Development Services: Christopher Sims Director of Finance: Kimberly Corell Director of Human Resources/Civil Service: James Brumm Director of Parks & Cultural Services: Chien Wei Director of Public Works: Jody Hooks
  4. 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS
  5. 3. PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION REGARDING THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES STRATEGIC PLAN
  6. 4 Mayor Long called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m. and called the roll. All members of Council were present except Tom Crews.
  7. 4. ADJOURNMENT
  8. 6 _______________________ NICK LONG MAYOR
  9. 7 CERTIFICATE OF NOTICE
  10. 7 Rick Davis, Assistant City Manager, introduced Development Services Strategic Planing Committee Chair Russ Bynam, who gave a presentation: Committee Members – The Committee is made up of 10 members, representing the Development Community as well as our Development Services professionals. Russ Bynam, Chair – Hillwood Communities, Kris Carpenter, Vice Chair – Director of Planning, Tommy Cones, City Council Member, Kevin Holland, Cervelle Homes, Christopher Sims, Executive Director of Development Services, Ralph Blanco, Chief Building Official, Jeff Allen, Assistant Fire Chief/Fire Marshal, Steve Sheldon, DEC Engineering, Candace Brown, City Auditor, Frank Dominquez, Planning and Zoning Commissioner. Plan Process – Customer-Based Approach, Strategic Planning Advisory Committee – 01) Set the Stage, 02) Listen, 03) Identify Priorities, 04) Compose the Plan, 05) Return and Report Timeline – 01) Set the Stage (Jan-Feb) Mission, ID Stakeholders, Define/schedule Data Gathering Events, 02) Listen (Feb-Apr) Execute Data Gathering Events, 03) Identify Priorities (Apr) Strategic Directives, Strategic Initiatives, Critical Outcomes, Prime Directive, 04) Compose the Plan (Apr-May), 05) Present the Plan (June) Participation – League City citizens, League City business owners and operators, Policy makers (City Council and Planning/Zoning Commission, City staff, Commercial real estate professionals, Developers, Builders, Engineers, and Contractors, Trades professionals, Patrons of Development Services. Participation Statistics – City Matters article, mailed to all city residents; 3 separate workshops – approximately 60 participants with hundreds of comments received; Focus Group Meetings – nearly 40 participants – Planning and Zoning Commission, BACREN, Greater Houston Builders Association, Business Leaders, Franchise Utilities, City staff; Dedicated and Follow-up Surveys – more than 120 responses received; League City Listens – ongoing engagement. Plan Anatomy – Primary Directive – explains WHY we do what we do. Why our city exists.; Strategic Directives – answers what we are going to do. Describes the WHAT that aligns with our WHY. Our collective ambitions.; Strategic Initiatives – explains how we are going to address our what.
  11. 8 This is to certify that the above Notice of Meeting was posted on the bulletin board of City Hall of the City of League City, Texas, on or before the 5th day of July, 2024 prior to 12:30 p.m. as well as the City's public internet webpage, www.leaguecitytx.gov and was posted in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Government Code.
  12. 8 Describes HOW we intend to realize our collective ambitions. Directions to our destination.; Expected Outcomes – represents the when and how it worked. Describes WHEN we’ve arrived at our destination. What our future looks like when we’re successful. Primary Directive – “League City’s development services elevate the quality of life of our citizens by helping to ensure the safest and highest quality building and development possible; and they inspire the trust of customers by being the most professional, responsive, solution-driven, and efficient public development team in the State of Texas!” Strategic Directive: Culture of Caring – This directive speaks to the need to show our customers in all that we do that we value and appreciate their investment in our community. Such is demonstrated by encouraging and nurturing an internal culture committed to providing world-class customer service, showing empathy, demonstrating a sensitivity and commitment to timeliness and costs, and proactively seeking solutions. Key Strategic Initiatives: Ensure that staff members continue to bring helpful, solutions-oriented approaches to meetings and other interactions with customers. Acknowledge and recognize staff on a regular basis for providing superior customer service. Establish informal opportunities for stakeholders and customers to visit and collaborate with staff. Make physical modifications to the Development Services Facility with the intent of providing a more welcoming and functional environment. Develop and implement a quality control and assurance methodology for customer service. Make generally available a “concept” meeting to allow prospective applicants or simply the curious an opportunity to probe possibilities with staff. Demonstrably and visible celebrate projects and investments in our community. Recognize and celebrate annually Community Builder of the Year. Administer a survey to every customer at the end of a process or upon the receipt of a permit. Conduct a staff debrief at the conclusion of significant projects for the purpose of flagging or identifying process and other potential service improvements. Strategic Directive: Communication & Inclusion - This directive speaks to the importance of not only being responsive to our customers' needs, but also being frequent in sharing information with them. We are committed to inclusion where such pertains to crafting rules, practices, and policies that impact customers. It means instilling in our customers a sense of ownership in the quality of services provided. Key Strategic Initiatives: Regularly update website, inclusive of providing self-help narratives and videos. Work with Communications to produce educational and informational materials for patrons and prospective customers. Continue stakeholder brainstorming exercises on an annual basis for the purpose of understanding needs, expressing appreciation, and celebrating development success. Produce and provide patrons with quarterly e-newsletter providing updates, celebrating development, and educating patrons regarding policies and processes. Send quarterly strategic plan progress reports to patrons and stakeholders. Utilize SPAC or a professional group as a sounding board for proposed policies. Ensure that new and modified policies and procedures are proactively communicated to all patrons and that reasonable implementation (lead) time is provided. Hold biannual key community partner coordination meetings to identify opportunities for synergy and collaboration. Consolidate and better coordinate comments to applicants. Strategic Directive: Process, Policies, & Practices - This directive speaks to our commitment to continually scrutinize, streamline, and in all other ways improve how we conduct business. In a deeper sense, our pursuit of elevated services represents a more significant commitment to a perpetual process. We are never satisfied with the status quo, and we are ever pushing upon the frontiers of our abilities. Key Strategic Initiatives: Provide proactive and timely problem resolutions. Employ “approved as noted” method to move applications forward. Perform regular process mapping exercises as the basis for developing process improvements. Better utilize technology to improve workflow, i.e. – EnerGov, Bluebeam, Portal, Website, etc. Establish and or update SOPs to reduce inconsistencies in development services. Take measures to ensure that comments are clear, coordinated, and well-crafted; enabling the applicant to clearly understand project requirements and anticipate fiscal impacts. Revisit zoning categories and SUP requirements with policy makers to ensure that these represent the direction of the elected body. Regularly review ordinances to flag opportunities for policy improvement. Streamline staff participation in predevelopment and development review committee meetings. Make every effort to minimize comments by avoiding multiple “bites at the apple.” Strategic Directive: Empower to Excellence – This directive speaks to the critical role our staff play in providing the level of service expected by our customers. Our ability to meet their needs is inextricably connected to successfully empowering our staff to provide world-class customer service. Fulfilling this commitment will require continually evaluating and calibrating how we make decisions, how we deploy technology, how and by whom decisions are made, how we staff our departments, and how and to what degree we provide critical training and celebrate staff successes. Key Strategic Initiatives: Internally teach and reinforce process improvement methodologies, e.g., – Elevate Academy, and empower staff to engage in those methodologies. Investigate the feasibility of empowering the administrative approval of plats. Maintain staff levels congruent with workload. Recruit and maintain a trained workforce. Search for and identify ways to empower more staff to make time-critical decisions. Crosstrain and address staffing deployment to ensure redundancies in service capabilities. Continue to invest in the technology that allows staff to be of maximum service. Hold quarterly combined development services staff meetings to both celebrate and elevate customer service internally and externally. Strategic Directive: Encourage Investment – This directive speaks to the need to communicate in all that we say and do our enthusiasm for investment, growth, and development. Policies, plans, conversations, and attitudes should continually convey our enthusiasm for partnerships and projects that lift the quality of our community and bring great housing and beneficial products and services to our League City citizens. Key Strategic Initiatives: Collaborate with Communications Department to bring awareness to stakeholders, patrons, and citizens regarding initiatives of the Strategic Plan. Ensure Economic Development is integrated and involved in Predevelopment Meetings. Clarify expectations and directives of the City Council regarding solicitating, encouraging, and participating in the promotion of economic investment. Provide rational methodology for expedited or after-hours review/inspections. Ensue that data necessary for potential investor decision-making is available on Website. Explore the application of incentives associated with local buying and contracting. Develop a plan to facilitate broadband on the west side of the city. Return and Report – Implementation – The plan facilitators will work with department directors and managers to develop an Implementation Plan. Each initiative will be assigned a “steward” and their responsibility to shepherd assigned initiatives to implementation. Return and Report – Evaluating and Reporting – The Committee will be involved in evaluating and reporting on the plan. Written and visual presentation will be prepared, that will be shared with the City Council annually. The expected lifespan of this plan is three to five years. Public Facing Dashboard. Council provided suggested changes, which will be incorporated into the finalized Strategic Plan: On page 11, under Culture of Caring, please change the key strategic initiative stating "Recognize and celebrate annually Community Builder of the Year" to "Recognize and celebrate annually individuals who contribute to building the quality of the community." On page 13, under Processes, Policies & Practices, please change the expected outcome stating "There is an increase in the number and percentage of properly completed applications" to "There is an increase in the percentage of properly completed applications." On page 15, under Encourage Investment, please change the key strategic initiative stating "Explore the application of incentives associated with local buying and contracting" to "Encourage investment in local buying and contracting." Also on page 15, please change the key strategic initiative stating "Develop a plan to facilitate broadband on the west side of the City" to "Develop a plan to facilitate broadband in the City."
  13. 9 The City Council of the City of League City, Texas reserves the right to meet in closed session on any of the items listed above should the need arise and if applicable pursuant to authorization by Title 5, Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code: 551.071 Consultations with Attorney, 551.072 Deliberations about Real Property, 551.073 Deliberations about Gifts and Donations, 551.074 Personnel Matters, 551.076 Deliberations about Security Devices, and 551.087 Deliberations Regarding Economic Development Negotiations.
  14. 9 PAGE BREAK
  15. 10 ________________________ DIANA M. STAPP CITY SECRETARY (SEAL) MINUTES APPROVED: July 23, 2024
  16. 11 _________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this facility is wheelchair accessible and accessible parking spaces are available. Requests for special accommodations or interpretive services must be made at least 48 hours prior to this meeting. Please contact the City Secretary's Office at 281-554-1030 or by FAX 281-554-1020. _________________________________________________________________________
  17. 11 At 5:50 p.m. Mayor Long said, there being no further business this meeting is adjourned.
  18. 12 Any invocation that may be offered during the ceremonial portion of the City Council meeting shall be the voluntary offering of a private citizen, to and for the benefit of the Council. The views or beliefs expressed by the invocation speaker have not been previously reviewed or approved by the Council and do not necessarily represent the religious beliefs or views of the Council in part or as a whole. No member of the community is required to attend or participate in the invocation and such decision will have no impact on their right to actively participate in the business of the Council.