STATE OF TEXAS             )( )(
                                                                                 COUNTY OF RUNNELS    )( )(
	                CITY OF BALLINGER        )( )(

	On this the 23rd day of January 2020 the Ballinger City Council met in regular session at 5:30 p.m., in the Council Chamber of City Hall located at 700 Railroad Avenue with the following members present:

	         Sam Mallory                         Mayor
                    Jeff Smith                             Council Member # 1
                    Richard “Rick” Morrish         Mayor Pro-tem
	         Absent                                  Council Member #3
	         Kristi Goetz      	           Council Member # 4

	City Staff:

	         Bonita Shields                       City Secretary
	         Sidney “Buck” Laquey           Interim City Administrator
	         William “Pat” Chesser           City Attorney
	         Stanley Maresch                   Chief of Police
	     	     	
	Others present: Elaine Paske, Joy McDaniel -City Park Board, Christi Langston, Bobby Jones, Ryan Lange, Vicki Hoffman, Suzanne Riley, Mike Riley, Sue Morrish, Darlene Kelly, Chad Hardy, Steven Gray, Jr., Chad McDuffee, Matthew Seymore, Landy Cason-Citizens, Joe Spano- Republic Services, Joy Loessle, Nate Chesser- Conterra, Ryan Gibson, Tara Boiles, Aaron Miller- Condley. William Drake- WTP Operator. 

	CALL TO ORDER:
Mayor Sam Mallory called the meeting to order at 5:34 p.m.

PRAYER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
	Mayor Pro-tem Rick Morrish was asked to lead the group in a word of prayer and the pledge of allegiance.

CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 
	Council Member Kristi Goetz made the motion to approve the minutes of the  January 6 and January 11, 2020 meetings. Second by Council Member Jeff Smith and was unanimously approved.

VISITORS:
Bobby Jones told the Council that he did not have anything to complain about. He just wanted to come and see if it was real because he couldn’t imagine anyone that would voluntarily come to a town that is broke, has no income and all the problems that we have. God bless you brother.

Darlene Kelly met with the Council to report that they were misinformed that the City was not over $600,000 in the hole in the end of September 2017. She told the Council that the City was only $20,000 in the hole and that was because the entry for sales tax was not recorded. She feels that it is time for the Council and City to quit looking back and to move forward.

William Drake introduced himself to the Council  as the water plant operator with the B Water license that the City is currently operating under. He asked who his boss was. Buck Laquey told him that he would be in boss at this time.

	THE CITY COUNCIL MAY CONSIDER, DISCUSS AND AUTHORIZE THE APPOINTMENT OF A PERSON TO FILL A VACANCY IN THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER PLACE 3 POSITION CREATED BY BOB MCDANIEL’S RESIGNATION SUBMITTED ON JANUARY 10, 2020, SUCH APPOINTMENT TO SERVE UNTIL THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION IN NOVEMBER 2020:
	Mike Riley- Told the Council that he has been a citizen of Ballinger for soon to be 37 years in March. His wife is from Menard. They have raised three children. He was a member pf the school board for 18 years and has also served on the Chamber of Commerce, the Breakfast Lions Club and currently serves on the Library board. He believes that he could add to the Council and would be willing to help in any way that he could. He wants Ballinger to move forward and would like the opportunity to help make that happen any way that he could.
	Ryan Lange- Told the Council that he has worked as a financial advisor for the City of Abilene in the past. One of his main concerns is the financial state of Ballinger. He does not believe that he could fix things overnight but believes that he could be an asset to get the City moving in the right direction.
	Chad McDuffee- Told the Council that he was born and raised in Ballinger. He has spent eleven year in the military. He could be a large assistance with the police department because of his time as military police. He came back to Ballinger after serving his time in the Army because he believes this is the best place to raise my family and he would like to do whatever he can to make it that.
	Chad Hardy- Told the Council that he moved to Ballinger in 2014 but has spent many years here in the summers growing up. He believes in honestly, integrity and transparency above all things. His backgrounds include a bachelor science in computer science, bachelor science in physic and a master’s in education technology.
	Steve Gray, Jr.-told the Council that he would also like to throw his hat in the ring. He has managed and now owns a business in Ballinger for the past twenty-two years. He has an invested interest in moving forward
	Council Member Rick Morrish made the motion to appoint Mike Riley to fill the seat of Council Member, Place 3. The motion dies for lack of a second.
Council Member Kristi Goetz made the motion to appoint Ryan Lange to
fill the seat of Council Member, Place 3. Second by Jeff Smith  and the motion carries with Mayor Dawni Seymore, Council  Members Jeff Smith and Kristi Goetz voting “AYE” and Council Member Rick Morrish voting “NAY.

	THE CITY SECRETARY WILL ADMINISTER THE OATH OF OFFICE TO THE NEWELY APPOINTED COUNCIL MEMBER:
Bonita Shields administered the oath of office to Ryan Lange as Council Member Place 3. She congratulated Mr. Lange and he took his seat.

	THE CITY COUNCIL MAY CONSIDER, DISCUSS, AND/OR TAKE ACTION ON HIRING AN AUDITOR TO PERFORM A FINANICAL AUDIT OF THE CITY FOR FY 2018-2019:
	The representatives met with the Council to present themselves to the City Council. They told the Council that their company is in Abilene and they have a sixty-five people staff. They have another office in Stamford. They only do audits and do audits for governmental entities. After discussion, Council Member Kristi Goetz made the motion to approve and engagement letter with Condley and Company to perform the City’s audit for the fiscal year 2018-2019. Second by Comm. Rick Morrish and was unanimously approved.

	THE CITY COUNCIL MAY CONSIDER, DISCUSS AND AUTHORIZE THE APPOINTMENT OF A MAYOR PRO-TEM:
	Council Member Kristi Goetz made the motion to appoint Rick Morrish as the Mayor Pro-tem. Second by Council Member Jeff Smith and was unanimously approved.
 
	THE CITY COUNCIL MAY CONSIDER, DISCUSS AND AUTHORIZE APPROVAL OF A PRESENTATION FROM CONTERRA NETWORKS TO PLACE FIBER OPTIC LINES FROM BRONTE HIGHWAY 158 TO STRONG AVENUE TO TOLIVER BROTHERS:
	Two representatives met with the Council to request permission to allow them to bring fiber optic lines through Ballinger for large internet connection. This will help the school systems and hospital for faster internet. They  told the Council that they would like to start the project on February 4th and possibly be complete within 4 weeks. They will meet with the utility companies Atmos and water department to make sure they have located the proper service lines. City Attorney questioned how the City would be compensated for allow them to bring the line through Ballinger and if there was any type of contract that the City would have to sign. After discussion, the Council requested that Conterra Networks provide a contract for review at the next Council meeting.

THE CITY COUNCIL MAY CONSIDER, DISCUSS AND AUTHORIZE THE PURCHASE OF AGENDEASE SOFTWARE PROGRAM:
Buck Laquey reported to the Council that this software is used by many of 
the other City’s that he has been the manager at, and they like it very well. The software would make getting the agenda together much easier because people that want items put on the agenda would put them in this program with all background material that is needed for the line item. The Mayor would approve the items for the agenda and the items are group together to make up the agenda and all things are approved at one time. The program also allows you to group several items under a consent agenda and can be approved with one vote. The Council questioned the cost of the software and Mr. Laquey stated the cost to be $159.00 per month if you sign an annual contract and $200.00 per month if you wanted a monthly contract. After discussion, Kristi Goetz made the motion to approve the purchase of the Agendease software at the cost of $200.00 monthly. Second by Comm. Rick Morrish and was unanimously approved.

THE CITY COUNCIL MAY CONSIDER, DISCUSS AND AUTHORIZE ACTION TO DECLARE AS SURPLUS AND SELL VARIOUS PIECES OF CITY EQUIPMENT:
Mr. Laquey told the Council that the City has several pieces of equipment
that they would like to sale. They have a dozer worth approximately $135,000 but it is in disrepair because the maintenance was not kept up and it need about $20,000 to $25,000 worth of work done on it. The road grader has a 14’ blade and is too big for the work that the City does. We also have a Bomag roller that is too heavy to use in the alley or street because it causes damage to the service lines. The goal is to make money from the equipment that the City is currently not using and to both defray some of the accounts payables that are in arrears and to purchase equipment that they can use. The City Attorney told the Council that they did not officially go out for bids and that it would be sold as the Council so sees fit. Yellowhouse  has agreed to take the excavator back for almost what we paid for it. After discussion, Council Member Jeff Smith made the motion  to authorize the staff to sale the surplus equipment and purchase replacement equipment that is needed. Second by Comm. Kristi Goetz and was unanimously approved.

THE CITY COUNCIL MAY CONSIDER, DISCUSS AND AUTHORIZE ACTION TO APPROVE A CONTRACT WITH A STAFFING AGENCY:
Council Member Kristi Goetz made the motion table any action on this
item at this time until the contracts are sent back for review. Second by Ryan Lange and was unanimously approved.

THE CITY COUNCIL MAY CONSIDER, DISCUSS AND AUTHORIZE ACTION TO APPROVE AN ANNUAL INVESTMENT POLICY FOR THE CITY OF BALLINGER:
	Mr. Laquey presented the Council with a revised investment policy. He told
the Council that the investment policy should be reviewed and approved annually.
After discussion, Council Member Kristi Goetz made the motion to approve the investment policy as presented. Second by Council Member Ryan Lange and was unanimously approved.

THE CITY COUNCIL MAY CONSIDER, DISCUSS, AND/OR TAKE ACTION TO RENEW THE INTERLOCAL COOPERATION CONTRACT FOR FAILURE TO APPEAR PROGRAM FOR MUNICIPAL COURT:
This is a program that will not allow people to renew their license until all
tickets and fine have been paid. The municipal court reports these people to the driver’s license office and a hold is put on their license renewals. After discussion, Council Member Rick Morrish made the motion to approve the contract for the failure to appear program. Second by Council Member Jeff Smith and was unanimously approved.

THE CITY COUNCIL MAY CONSIDER, DISCUSS AND AUTHORIZE ACTION TO ALLOW FIRST RESPONDERS TO DRIVE CITY VEHICLES TO ATTEND LOCAL CHURCHES:
Comm. Ryan Lange made the motion to approve allowing first responders
the permission to drive City vehicles to attend local churches. Second by Comm. Rick Morrish and was unanimously approved.

THE CITY COUNCIL MAY CONSIDER, DISCUSS AND AUTHORIZE REPLACEMENT OF TWO CITY PARK BOARD MEMBERS:
Council Member Kristi Goetz made the motion to appoint Mary Dallas and
Suzanne Torres as member of the City Park Board. Second by Council Member Jeff Smith and was unanimously approved.

CONSIDER APPROVAL OF BUILDING PERMITS:
	No building permits.

HEAR THE CITY MANAGER’S BI-WEEKLY REPORT:
Mr. Laquey m presented the Council with a Proforma (future projected) cash flow for January 2020 as follows
Current estimated Cash in Bank                                                   $331,678
Republic (Trash)                                        $123,797
Mayor has talked to Republic and they are allowing us to pay        $12,380
For the next ten months
Repair to water vertical standpipe                                                  $220,872
Equipment payment due                                                                  $29,093 
John Deere Track Hoe                                $16,053
Insurance credit                                         - $  5,124 anticipated     $10,929
Council to decide to sell or not?
Bond Payment due in June 2020                 $478,508
Already sent to debt service fund               -$250,000
Amount remaining to come up with              $228,508
Remainder of accounts payable                  $205,358                       $58,404
Some Current, Some Past Due                                           
                                                                                                       $ 331,678

HEAR COUNCIL REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:
	The contracts for the K-9 officer and the police cadet contract will need to be put on the next agenda.

	ADJOURN:
	Council Member Kristi Goetz made the motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:15 p.m. Second by Council Member  Jeff Smith and was unanimously approved.

			_________________
		     Dawni Seymore
                                                                                      Mayor

ATTEST:

______________
Bonita F. Shields
City Secretary