The Colony Courier (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 11, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 20, 1999 Page: 3 of 10
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Wednesday, January 20, 1998
This Paper is Recyclable
The Colony Courier 3A
King
(Continued from page 1A)
The City of The Colony, while Mike
Catt presented a resolution from The
Chamber of Commerce.
The room was filled to capacity,
with standing room only and many
people standing in the lobby strain-
ing to hear the speakers. "1 am
amazed at the amount of turnout we
had," said Henville-Shannon. "For
our first annual celebration I was very
surprised."
The TCHS Choir garnered much
praise for their performance. "They
were amazing," said Special Events
Board member, Teresa Sidwell. Watts
agreed saying, "The Choir was in-
credible and their selection was phe-
nomenal. The Colony High School
students never cease to amaze me."
The Colony High School students
were also speakers at the celebration.
Nicole Linder, President of the Na-
tional Honor Society, Susan George,
President of the Student Council,
Dara Harris, President of the African
American Association and DJ Will-
iams, also of the African American
Association all presented their reflec-
tions on King and the impact his work
had on their lives and the country in
general. "The high school students re-
ally impressed me," said Henville-
Shannon. "They showed me that
these kids had done their research and
and really knew about this man." Ac-
cording to Henville-Shannon, that is
part of what the idea of holding a cel-
ebration like this is about - educating
the next generation."We know Dr.
King because we lived in that era. The
youth today didn't and we need to
show them. We need to keep going,
keep the dream alive. We need to
learn from history so we don't make
the same mistakes."
Increase in water rates two weeks off
City residents have a two-week reprieve before their water rates in-
crease.
City Council was expected to boost the rates 4 to 7 percent on Monday
night. But the city's consultant, Bob McLain of DMG Maximus, could not
get figures requested by Council members the previous week to them in
time, the issue was delayed until the February 1 meeting.
McLain couldn't provide the numbers promptly because he was going
to Florida.
Council, however, did not get a reprieve from hearing about water rates.
Resident Jerry Rooney decried the size of the planned increase. He re-
ferred to the lack of rate increases in the past six years and its resulting
drain on operational funds, saying "you're trying to make all the money
back overnight."
Rooney suggested a light increase, with the city reviewing utility rev-
enues year by year to see exactly how much, if any, further increases are
required.
Attorney
(Continued from page 1A)
The estimated monthly cost will
be $4,050. Lambert said Cowles &
Thompson had been billing an aver-
age of $7,000 a month.
The vote to retain Cowles & Th-
ompson, which has been represent-
ing the city since 1991 and whose
principals have had an even longer
relationship with the city, came after
Councilman A1 Garcia's motion to
hire Hayes, Coffey & Berry failed by
a 5-2 vote. Councilman David
Stan wick voted with Garcia to change
attorneys. When that failed, Stanwick
moved and voted for retention of the
incumbent, Garcia cast the lone "nay"
vote.
"I am very pleased to continue
with the relationship," Hill said after
the vote. "I understand certainly
Council's right to make this decision
and their trying to save costs."
Lambert had suggested seeking
Requests for Proposals from law
firms last September in response to
the city's growing legal bills. The city
received five RFPs, though one firm
dropped out of the running. A com-
mittee consisting of Lambert, city
secretary Patti Hicks, police chief Joe
Clark, planning director Harry
Persaud, purchasing agent Bob
Sparkman and economic develop-
ment director Gene Ramsey, analyzed
the four submissions. They were
scored on six criteria: Ability to pro-
vide contract legal services; capac-
ity, capability; technical competency
and personal qualifications; munici-
pal law experience; accessibility;
cost; and familiarity with the law.
Hayes, Coffey & Berry - whose
No. 1 partner is county Republican
Party chairman Richard Hayes - led
the pack with 472 of a possible 500
points. Cowles & Thompson was two
points behind, with the difference
coming in the accessibility category.
The Allen firm of Rapier, Calve &
Wilson scored 449 points, and the
firm of Samuel H. Riggs received 275
points and did not submit a rate pro-
posal.
The closeness of the scoring and
Cowles & Thompson's familiarity
with the city seemed to be the deter-
mining factors in the decision to re-
tain the incumbent. Hayes, Coffey &
Berry also proposed higher rates,
with a $3,000-per-month retainer and
a $125 hourly rate. The estimated
monthly cost was $4,250.
"I suggest we remain with the
present firm," said Councilman Bill
Longo. "They know The Colony, and
they're familiar with our legal af-
fairs."
Said Mayor Mary Blair Watts: "I
see the ranking difference of two
points, and in costs, I see the second
firm (Cowles & Thompson) coming
in lower. The second firm has been
serving the city for quite along length
of time. They have a familiarity with
the issues. I'm not seeing a compel-
ling reason to change."
Watts added that if the issue was
Hill's performance personally, the
city could always request that another
attorney from Cowles & Thompson
be assigned to the case, as happened
in 1997 when Hill was assigned to
the client after Council voiced dis-
pleasure with his predecessor.
Lambert recommended the Hayes
firm because, he said, it would give
the city "a better grip on attorney ser-
vices, better control costs and do a
better job of providing attorney ser-
vices for the city." The firm provides
city attorney services to many Denton
County cities; Tiffany Haertling, who
would have been the firm's lead at-
torney to the city, also is the lead law-
yer for Argyle, Hickory Creek, Oak
Point, Pilot Point and Corinth.
Hill, as they say in politics, ran
on his record. "I think I have provided
prompt services," he said. "Prosecu-
tion in municipal court is going very
well. I believe we provide law ser-
vice of the highest degree." He said
that if he is doing something that con-
cerns Council or staff about his per-
formance, he would gladly discuss
the matter.
After the vote, Lambert said he
would like to keep attorney usage
below the 20 hours provided for in
the retainer. He would also like to see
.
if the city can require developers can
be required to pay part of the legal
fees associated with negotiating and
drafting developer's agreements, if it
is legal to do so.
In other action Monday, Council:
■ Gave city employees below the
department-head level a 5 percent,
across-the-board, pay raise - which
the city termed a "market adjust-
ment." Longo said the raise was
needed because city employees are
underpaid, and other cities in the area
are able to offer more money to their
workers.
■ Approved, 4-3, an amendment
to The Colony Governmental Tele-
vision Policy that allows cable Chan-
nel 6 to telecast educational class-
room programming and changes the
procedure for city departments and
outside entities to submit .tapes for
airing. Watts, Longo, Bernetta
Henville-Shannon and Dave Kovatch
voted to approve the amendment.
Stanwick said he opposed it because
it is further deviation from the city's
designation of Channel 6 as a gov-
ernmental station. Collin County
Community College has expressed
interest in telecasting courses on the
city's channel.
■ Hired the engineering firm of
Hunter Associates to design and ob-
tain approvals for a 1 million-gallon
water tower in The Legends subdivi-
sion east of Paige Road. Though
home construction on the old IBM
property would not warrant a water
tower for at least five years, the city
wants to build it now for use as a stor-
age facility. The city has money to
build the tower from bonds sold last
year that were originally earmarked
to build a water tower in Austin
Ranch. Plans for that tower were
scuttled when the city contracted with
the city of Piano to purchase water
for the far eastern section of that de-
velopment.
■ Increased the amount of water
purchased from Dallas from 2.5 mil-
lion to 3 million gallons per day, ef-
fective June 1.
■ Awarded a $64,000 contract to
Triple D Inc. for repair of the Iola Lift
Station. Lambert said residents
should not see a disruption in sewer
services during the three months or
more in which the station is under re-
pair.
■ Accepted the resignation of Dee
Hughes from the Planning and Zon-
ing Commission.
■ Approved a conveyance plat for
part of the property owned by dentist
Bill Manning on Main Street and
Cougar Alley. A branch of the Denton
County Area Teachers Credit Union
is expected to be built near the cur-
rent dental office.
Brookshires
AN APPEALING WAY TO
4
4
for your non-profit organization,
charity or special community project with
Brookshire's 1 % Donation Program in The
Colony.
HOW?
Save receipt tapes from The Colony
Brookshire's store.
Brookshire's will donate 1% of your
purchases to the fund-raising efforts
of your non-profit group, charity or
special community project.
Who is Eligible?
r** * ~t * j * t •- -i- A •
►rit, non-political organizations,
churches, booster clubs, schools,
service clubs, charities, parent-teacher
organizations and others.
non-pi
"4i .
Here are some examples of what your
organization could earn:
X
200 PEOPLE
$50 IN REGISTER TAPES
26 WEEKS
$2,600 DONATION
50 PEOPLE
$50 IN REGISTER TAPES
X 26 WEEKS
$650 DONATION
0,0.
For more information about this program,
please visit the Brookshire's store in The Colony.
QUANTITY RIGHTS RESERVED • NONE SOLD TO DEALERS • ALL PHOTOGRAPHY. CLERICAL. PRINTING AND TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS ARE SUBJECT TO CORRECTION
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Chiniewicz, Susan. The Colony Courier (The Colony, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 11, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 20, 1999, newspaper, January 20, 1999; The Colony, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth393135/m1/3/?q=music: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Colony Public Library.