HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-01-2021 Joint TC BOT MinTC/BOT Minutes – 03/01/21
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MINUTES OF THE JOINT TOWN OF WESTLAKE TOWN COUNCIL AND WESTLAKE
ACADEMY BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
March 1, 2021
In accordance with Order of the Office of the Governor issued March 16, 2020 and March 19, 2020,
the Town Council of the Town of Westlake and the Board of Trustees of Westlake Academy conducted
a joint meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 1, 2021 by video and telephone conference in order
to advance the public health goal of limiting face-to-face meetings (also called "social distancing") to
slow the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). There was no public access to the physical location
described above. A recording of the telephonic meeting was made and is available to the public.
PRESENT: Mayor Laura Wheat and Council Members Carol Langdon, Rajiv Trivedi, and Greg
Goble.
ABSENT: Council Members Alesa Belvedere and Rick Rennhack.
OTHERS PRESENT: Town Manager Amanda DeGan, Deputy Town Manager Noah
Simon, Assistant Town Manager Jarrod Greenwood, Town Attorney
Stan Lowry, Town Secretary Todd Wood, Director of Information
Technology Jason Power, Director of Finance Ginger Awtry, Director
of Public Works & Facilities Troy Meyer, Director of Planning &
Development Ron Ruthven, Communications Manager Jon Sasser,
Executive Director Dr. Mechelle Bryson, Business Manager Marlene
Rutledge, Finance & Budget Analyst Kelsey Wong, Building Official
Pat Cooke, Administration and Accountability Director Darcy
McFarlane, Assistant PYP Principal Beckie Paquin, Assistant MYP
Principal Maxwell Ituah, DP Principal Dr. James Owen, and College
Counselor Carl Tippen.
Regular Session
1. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Wheat called the Regular Session to order at 5:05 p.m.
2. CITIZEN COMMENTS
Mayor Wheat provided a brief summary of instructions to the public for citizen comments.
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No one addressed the Town Council or Board of Trustees.
3. ITEMS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST
Communications Manager Jon Sasser provided an update on the following items:
Planning & Zoning Meeting: This meeting will be held on Monday, March 8, 2021 at
5:00 p.m. via Teleconferencing.
Spring Break: Westlake Academy will be closed for Spring Break from March 15-19, 2021.
Gallery Night: The Westlake Academy Foundation will hold their Annual Gallery Night
event on Saturday, April 10, 2021 at the Vaquero Club.
Public Works Employees: During the winter weather event in February, the Public Works
department performed an exceptional job throughout the Town and Westlake Academy.
These employees included Director of Public Works and Facilities Troy Meyer, Public Works
Superintendent Kory Kittrell, Rosie Miller, James McGuinness. Fire Chief Richard Whitten
Deputy Fire Chief John Ard, Town Manager Amanda DeGan, Deputy Town Manager Noah
Simon, Assistant Town Manager Jarrod Greenwood, Utility & Facility Coordinator Dianna
Orender, and Building Official Pat Cooke assisted many residents with frozen pipe concerns.
Mr. Sasser stated that he would like to designate Mr. Paul Andreason as the
“communications MVP” of the entire team throughout this rare weather event.
Mayor week thanked the staff, noting the feedback that she has received has been
incredible.
4. CONSENT AGENDA: All items listed below are considered routine by the Town Council
and will be enacted with one motion. There will be no separate discussion of items unless
a Council Member or citizen so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the
general order of business and considered in its normal sequence.
a. Consider of WA Resolution 21-02, approving a Waiver for Missed School
Days and Professional Development Days.
b. Consideration of WA Resolution 21-03, authorizing compensation to be
paid to Employees during the inclement weather period.
c. Consider approval of Resolution 21-05, amending Resolution 09-02
that established a Policy for Naming Town Owned Facilities and Parks, and
to provide guidelines and standards for the submission of individuals or
entities for naming opportunities.
d. Consideration of Resolution 21-06, authorizing changes to the signers
on all Town of Westlake Solana PID depository accounts with US Bank.
MOTION: Mayor Wheat asked for a motion to approve the consent agenda.
Council Member Langdon made a motion to approve. Council Member
Trivedi seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.
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5. CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING AND DISCUSSION OF WESTLAKE ACADEMY’S
2020 ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT.
Executive Director Dr. Mechelle Bryson presented this item. She began by stating that TEA
requires each district and charter school to present the Accountability Report annually during
a public hearing; allowing the community to see how well Westlake Academy is performing.
She explained that the state accountability ratings are based on the overall performance of
the school in three domains: Student Achievement, School Progress, and Closing the Gap.
Based on these outcomes, school districts and charter schools are assigned a grade of A-F.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TEA cancelled the STARR exams last year and waived the
issuance of accountability ratings. However, TEA did publish Report Cards for schools. Dr.
Bryson then stated that she would provide details of Westlake Academy’s TAPR (Texas
Academic Financial Report) during her presentation.
Westlake Academy met the 2020 Special Education requirements, although the overall
Accountability Rating was not provided due to the “Declared State of Disaster” during this
time period. Dr. Bryson then spoke about the ACT test scores, noting that students were
only able to take this test in February, and were not allowed to re-test later in the spring.
The scores showed a slight decrease in comparison to the previous academic year, which
could be attributed to COVID-19 and the inability to re-test. Despite ACT scores falling
uniformly across the state, Westlake Academy maintained scores that were well above the
state average. College Counselor Carl Tippen added that many colleges would not be
requiring SAT or ACT testing across the board for this year and felt that this was an
important trend to be aware of.
Dr. Bryson then showed the SAT scores in comparison to previous years. While there was
a very small decrease in these overall scores, Westlake Academy continued to score well
above the state average; despite having to take the test sooner in the year. AP (Advanced
Placement) test scores remained unchanged from the prior year. Additionally, 90.5% of
2020 graduates received the IB diploma, which was unchanged from the prior year.
However, the number of AP Scholars increased from 43 to 58, representing a 30% increase.
With no questions from the Board, President Wheat opened the Public Hearing at 5:34 p.m.
No one addressed the Board of Trustees.
President Wheat closed the Public Hearing at 5:34 p.m.
6. PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION REGARDING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC,
INCLUDING UPDATES AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON MUNICIPAL AND
ACADEMIC OPERATIONS.
Town Manager/Superintendent Mrs. Amanda DeGan addressed this item; noting that a
presentation would be shown containing data that was requested by the Board of Trustees
at the previous meeting. Ms. DeGan stated that prior to giving this presentation, she wanted
to share information that was provided on a call with Denton County earlier that day.
According to Dr. Richardson, the positivity rate for COVID-19 has in Denton County has
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increased to 14%, compared to the 4% positivity rate in July 2020. Compared to recent
months, this appears to be trending in the right direction, and businesses have been allowed
to re-open at the 75% capacity level. Hospitalization rates have also trended downward
and is consistent with the information received from Tarrant County. Mrs. DeGan then
noted that caution is still advised following the recent freeze event and the upcoming spring
break week, and the impact of any variants of the virus is still unknown.
Mayor Laura Wheat then added that Denton County currently has 300,000 individuals on
the waiting list for vaccination, and 135,000 invitations have been sent out. She then stated
the Dr. Richardson believed that anyone wanting the vaccine should be able to receive it by
April, regardless of category. Additionally, Dr. Richardson believed that those who have
been vaccinated would be highly unlikely to transmit the virus, and he expected the CDC to
issue new guidelines in the near future.
Deputy Town Manager Noah Simon shared that the information received on the Tarrant
County call was consistent with Denton County, and the number of positive cases has
trended downward. An increase in positive cases is expected by Tarrant County due to the
recent winter weather event and upcoming spring break week; however, it is not expected
that these increases will be as large as those that have been previously experienced. Mr.
Simon added that we have been commended by Tarrant County for the steps we have taken
with enacting our protocols and procedures, and we have been advised to not change
anything at this time.
Mrs. DeGan then asked Budget and Financial Analyst Kelsey Wong to present data that has
been collected from other entities regarding COVID-19. Ms. Wong began by showing a slide
that illustrated the impact of COVID-19 to the staff and students in isolation from August
2020 through February 2021. This graph showed 295 isolations in January and 44 in
February. While not all cases were school-related events, this mirrored the pattern of
confirmed cases that have been reported by the State of Texas. Westlake Academy’s
quarantine protocols were then presented in comparison to those used by Keller ISD, Carroll
ISD, and Northwest ISD. All data was relatively consistent for positive cases; however,
Westlake Academy has maintained the 14-day quarantine for close contact in comparison
with the comparative school districts, and a 24-day period for close contact within the
household. Comparative school districts have maintained a ten (10) day quarantine period
after close contact, for a total of twenty (20) days. Westlake Academy’s protocols regarding
isolation remain consistent with current CDC guidelines. When compared to lab-confirmed
cases, Westlake Academy has a slightly lower percentage of positive cases to surrounding
school districts. It was noted that the data is reported differently between school districts,
and efforts have been made to normalize the data for comparative purposes.
Mrs. DeGan then asked for Board direction as to whether the isolation periods for Westlake
Academy should remain the same or be modified based on this data. The Board agreed
that the protocols that are currently in place should remain in effect. Mayor Wheat asked
if there were specific reasons as to why the current protocols should remain in effect.
Deputy Town Manager Noah Simon responded that that this was due to recommendations
from Tarrant County Public Health, CDC guidelines, and the fact that this is a K-12 campus
where exposures may occur differently than in a traditional school district with multiple
campuses. In addition, teachers at Westlake Academy cannot be substituted as easily,
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especially if they are teaching a subject where Westlake Academy does not have “depth on
the bench”. He reiterated that the goal was to keep staff and students as safe as possible,
and the feedback from Tarrant County has been encouraging, and current practices should
be continued. Mr. Simon then stated that if the Board had interest in making a change, his
recommendation would be to wait until after spring break in order to properly evaluate the
anticipated surge in positive cases.
The Board agreed unanimously that the current protocols and isolation periods would
remain in effect and be re-evaluated several weeks after spring break.
7. CONSIDER RESOLUTION 21-07, APPROVING A ROADWAY CONSTRUCTION
AGREEMENT FOR STREET “G” LOCATED BETWEEN SCHWAB WAY AND SH 170.
Director of Planning and Development Ron Ruthven presented this item. He stated that this
was a simple construction agreement for a road that would link Schwab Way to SH 170.
This project would fulfill the obligation outlined in Ordinance 870 that as part of the Phase
2 construction and is supported by the traffic impact analysis that was commissioned by the
Town of Westlake.
MOTION: Mayor Wheat asked for a motion to approve Resolution 21-07.
Council Member Trivedi made a motion to approve. Council Member
Goble seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.
8. EXECUTIVE SESSION:
The Town Council/Board of Trustees recessed at 6:25 p.m., and convened into Executive
Session at 6:41 p.m.
The Council will conduct a closed session pursuant to Texas Government Code,
annotated, Chapter 551, Subchapter D for the following:
a. Sec 551.076 – Deliberation Regarding Security Devices or Security Audit to
deliberate: (1) the deployment, or specific occasions for implementation of
security personnel or devices; or (2) a security audit.
b. Section 551.087 - Deliberation Regarding Economic Development
Negotiations (1) to discuss or deliberate regarding commercial or financial
information that the governmental body has received from a business prospect
that the governmental body seeks to have locate, stay, or expand in or near
the territory of the governmental body and with which the governmental body
is conducting economic development negotiations; or (2) to deliberate the
offer of a financial or other incentive to a business prospect described by
Subdivision (1) for the following:
- Front 44
- Entrada
- Project “YYZ”
- Potential development on 55.12 acres located at Tracts 7C, 7F, 7G, 7H,
7L and 7M Abstract 648, William Huff Survey, Town of Westlake, Texas,
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and more generally located at the northeast corner of U.S. Highway 377
and State Highway 170.
c. Section 551.071(2) Consultation with Attorney – to seek advice of counsel on
matters in which the duty of the Town Attorney under the Texas Disciplinary
Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of Texas clearly conflicts with
Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code - FM 1938 access for proposed
Southlake development.
d. Section 551.074(a)(1): Deliberation Regarding Personnel Matters – to deliberate
the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, of a public officer
or employee:
- Town Manager evaluation
e. Section 551.071 - Discussion with the Town Attorney regarding pending,
threatened, or contemplated litigation regarding BRS.
9. RECONVENE MEETING
The Town Council/Board of Trustees reconvened into Regular Session at 8:40 p.m.
10. TAKE ANY ACTION, IF NEEDED, FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEMS.
None.
11. COUNCIL RECAP/STAFF DIRECTION
None.
12. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: Any Council member may request at a workshop and / or
Council meeting, under “Future Agenda Item Requests”, an agenda item for a future Council
meeting. The Council Member making the request will contact the Town Manager with the
requested item and the Town Manager will list it on the agenda. At the meeting, the
requesting Council Member will explain the item, the need for Council discussion of the item,
the item’s relationship to the Council’s strategic priorities, and the amount of estimated staff
time necessary to prepare for Council discussion. If the requesting Council Member receives
a second, the Town Manager will place the item on the Council agenda calendar allowing
for adequate time for staff preparation on the agenda item.
None.
13. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the Town Council or Board of Trustees, Mayor
Wheat asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting.
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