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ALL RIGHT, IT'S SEVEN O'CLOCK.[1. CALL SESSION TO ORDER]
WE'LL CALL THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING FOR THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH, 2023 TO ORDER.WE'LL START WITH ROLL CALL COUNCIL MEMBER THOMPSON.
IF YOU PLEASE RISE, PASTOR ARTHUR SPENCE FROM LITTLE EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH LEAD US IN PRAYER.
HEAVENLY FATHER LORD, WE COME DOWN JUST TO GIVE YOU THANKS GOD.
LORD, WE ASK HIM, FATHER, TO BLESS THE MEETING THAT WE HAVE AND ASSEMBLE HEAVEN, FATHER LORD, BLESS ALL THAT'S HERE TO PARTICIPATE.
LORD, LORD BLESS EVERY COUNCILMAN, LORD.
BEST OF MAYOR HEAVENLY FATHER.
BLESSED EVERY ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECT, THE LORD.
LORD, WE JUST SAY THANK YOU, HEAVENLY FATHER FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR US.
HEAVENLY FATHER, WE HAVE GROWN SO MUCH.
SO WE SAY THANK YOU FOR THE GROWTH, LORD, THANK YOU FOR THE WISDOM.
THANK YOU FOR THE KNOWLEDGE, LORD.
LORD, WE GIVE YOU ALL THE HONOR.
LORD BLESS US AS WE LEAVE, AS WE GO FROM HERE.
HEAVENLY FATHER AS WELL LORD, AND HAVE YOUR ANGELS PROTECTION AROUND US.
GIVE TO GOD THIS OUR DESTINATION SAFELY.
LORD, WE GIVE YOU ALL THE HONOR, WE GIVE YOU ALL THE PRAISE AND THE PRECIOUS NAME OF JESUS.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL, HONOR THE TEXAS FLAG.
I HAVE PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE TEXAS ONE STATE UNDER GOD.
[5. PROCLAMATION]
ME UP FRONT.SORRY, ARE YOU GOING? NO, I'M GOING.
THE FIRST ONE WE HAVE IS, UH, FOR HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH.
DID YOU HAVE ANYBODY ELSE THAT YEAH.
SO THE PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH, WHEREAS NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH IS CELEBRATED NATIONWIDE FROM SEPTEMBER 15TH THROUGH OCTOBER 15TH EACH YEAR.
THIS OBSERVATION STARTED IN 1968 AS HISPANIC HERITAGE WEEK BY PRESIDENT L B JOHNSON AND WAS EXPANDED BY PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN IN 1988 TO COVER THE MONTH AT WHICH IT IS CELEBRATED TODAY.
UNDERSTANDING THAT SEPTEMBER 15TH IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT IS THE ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE FOR LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES, COSTA RICA, EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, AND NICARAGUA.
IN ADDITION, MEXICO CELEBRATES THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY ON SEPTEMBER 16TH AND CHILE CELEBRATES THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY ON SEPTEMBER 18TH.
AND WHEREAS THE CITY OF HUDU LOOKS FORWARD TO HONORING HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH AND CELEBRATES THE RICH HERITAGE ARTS HISTORIES, FOOD, MUSIC, AND TRADITIONS OF ALL 26 OR MORE LATIN AMERICAN NATIONS, WHILE RECOGNIZING THAT THESE NATIONS ARE NOT MONOGAMOUS AND THAT THIS MONTH CELEBRATES HONORS AND PAYS TRIBUTES TO ALL FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO HUDU, TO TEXAS AND TO OUR SOCIETY.
WHEREAS LATINOS ARE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE DESCENDANTS FROM LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES AND MAY SPEAK A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.
HISPANICS ARE INDIVIDUALS THAT SPEAK SPANISH AND ARE DESCENDANTS FROM SPANISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES, INCLUDING SPAIN.
LATINX IS A GENDER NEUTRAL, UM, OR NON-BINARY TERM FOR PEOPLE OF LATIN AMERICAN DESCENT, AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, LATINX IDENTITY ALSO ENCOMPASSES PEOPLE IN BLACK, AFRICAN, ASIAN, INDIGENOUS, AND QUEER COMMUNITIES.
AND WHEREAS RECOGNIZING THAT HISPANICS AMOUNT TO AN ESTIMATED 11.9 MILLION RESIDENTS TOTALING 40.2% OF THE STATE OF TEXAS POPULATION OF WHICH THOSE RESIDENTS SPEAK ENGLISH AND OR SPANISH, UNDERSTANDING THAT HISPANICS ARE EXTREMELY ENTREPRENEURIAL AND PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN OUR ECONOMY AND WORKFORCE AND HAVE ALSO CONTRIBUTED IN MAKING TEXAS PROUD.
AND WHEREAS THE CITY OF HODA RECOGNIZES A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS OF ALL HISPANIC CITY EMPLOYEES AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS, THE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION COMMISSION OF HUDA RECOGNIZES THAT HELP IS NEEDED TO INCREASE CULTURAL AWARENESS,
[00:05:01]
EDUCATION, ENRICHMENT, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR RESIDENTS.IT IS THROUGH THEIR SUPPORT AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT THAT OUR CITY WILL CONTINUE TO BECOME MORE CULTURALLY DIVERSE AND A WELCOMING CITY FOR EVERYONE.
AND WHEREAS THE CITY OF HUDU IS COMMITTED TO RECOGNIZING HISPANIC LATINO AND LATINX CULTURE AND HERITAGE AS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE CITY AND ITS STRONG INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY.
AND NOW THEREFORE WE, THE CITY COUNCIL, THE CITY OF HU DO HEREBY PROCLAIM SEPTEMBER 15TH THROUGH OCTOBER 15TH, 2023 AS NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH.
REALLY QUICKLY, UM, I, MR. DERRA, HIS PARENT ENGAGEMENT AT HARA HIGH SCHOOL, AND MY NAME IS JOAQUIN BOONE.
I AM THE NEWCOMERS INSTRUCTIONAL CASE MANAGER.
I DEAL WITH EVERYONE THAT COMES OUT OF THE COUNTRY INTO OUR CITY.
UH, BUT THIS FAMILY IS FROM VENEZUELA.
THEY CAME ABOUT A YEAR AND EIGHT MONTHS AGO, NO ENGLISH AT ALL.
SHE'S A SENIOR A AND B STUDENT, AND SHE'S NUMBER FOUR AND PART OF OUR LADY HIPPO, AND SHE'S GREAT.
SO THIS IS WHAT WE BRING TO THE TABLE.
DO WE HAVE ANY TEACHERS IN THE AUDIENCE? COME ON.
OH, CONNIE, MISS CONNIE, THIS IS FOR WORLD TEACHERS TODAY.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY ANYTHING WHEN WE'RE DONE, BUT YOU CAN IF YOU WANT.
THIS IS A PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING WORLD TEACHER'S DAY, WHEREAS THE CITY OF HU'S FUTURE STRENGTH DEPENDS ON PROVIDING A HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION TO ALL STUDENTS.
AND WHEREAS TEACHER QUALITY MATTERS MORE TO STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT THAN ANY OTHER SCHOOL RELATED FACTOR.
AND WHEREAS TEACHERS SPEND COUNTLESS HOURS PREPARING LESSON PLANS AND SUPPORTING STUDENTS, AND WHEREAS OUR CITY OF HUDU TEACHERS HAVE DEMONSTRATED GREAT RESILIENCE, ADAPTABILITY, AND CREATIVITY DURING THE C OVID 19 CRISIS, AND WHEREAS OUR COMMUNITY RECOGNIZES AND SUPPORTS ITS TEACHERS IN EDUCATING THE CHILDREN OF THIS COMMUNITY.
AND WHEREAS HASHTAG TEACHERS CAN, AS A STATEWIDE MOVEMENT SUPPORTED BY MORE THAN 150 PARTNERING BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS COMMITTED TO ELEVATING THE TEACHING PROFESSION IN HONORING THEIR CRITICAL ROLE TEACHERS PLAY IN THE SUCCESS OF TEXAS.
AND NOW THEREFORE, IT BE RESOLVED THAT THE CITY OF HUDU CITY COUNCIL JOINS, UH, HASHTAG TEACHERS CAN AND ITS PARTNERING ENTITIES ACROSS TEXAS IN CELEBRATING WORLD TEACHERS DAY AND PROCLAIMS OCTOBER 5TH, 2023 TO BE HUDU TEACHER'S DAY AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL, THE CITY OF HUDU, ENCOURAGES MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY TO PERSONALLY EXPRESS APPRECIATION TO OUR TEACHERS AND DISPLAY A LIGHT BLUE RIBBON OUTSIDE YOUR HOMES OR BUSINESSES.
THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 5TH AS A SYMBOL OF SUPPORT FOR OUR EDUCATORS ADOPTED ITS 28TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2023.
YOU GUYS WANNA SAY ANYTHING? NO.
[6. PUBLIC COMMENT]
HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT.WHEN I CALL YOUR NAME, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK.
THE LIGHT WILL START WITH GREEN.
[00:10:01]
30 SECONDS LEFT, IT'LL GO TO YELLOW, AND THEN WHEN THE TIME'S UP, IT'LL GO TO RED.FIRST UP, WE HAVE CONNIE GOODING BRING IT WAY DOWN.
UH, GOOD EVENING, CITY COUNCIL, CITY MANAGER AND CITY STAFF AND HU PD BACK IN THE BACK.
IS THAT WAY TOO LOUD? SINCE MOVING HERE, I HAVE ALWAYS PROUDLY CALLED HURO MY HOME.
HOWEVER, THAT SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSED WITH THE RECENT TRENDS IN GOVERNANCE.
SADLY, I TRULY BELIEVE LEADING BY EXAMPLE IS WHAT DETERMINES AND EXEMPLIFIES LEADERSHIP.
I'VE ONLY SEEN GLIMPSES OF THAT RECENTLY.
AS A SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER, I OFTEN RELY ON THE HISTORY AND AND WISDOM FROM THE PAST.
PLATO SAID, THE MEASURE OF A MAN IS FOUND IN HOW HE USES POWER.
I WOULD ASK YOU HOW YOU AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS A TEAM USE YOUR POWER IN LIGHT OF REASON.
HAPPENINGS, IT FEELS LIKE MY COMMUNITY HAS LOST ITS DECENCY IN THE SHADOW OF HATE AND DISCRIMINATION.
A HATE THAT SPOKE LOUDLY WITH THE USE OF NEGATIVE WORDS AND ACTIONS.
A HATE THAT WAS REINFORCED BY PERSONAL VENDETTAS LIES AND BY PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO RETAIN SOME RELEVANCE.
THIS IS ILLUSTRATED BY THE USE OF SLANDER, THREATS, NAME CALLING.
THESE HAVE BECOME THE TOOLS OF PEOPLE WHO'VE LOST A DEBATE, A VOTE, OR EVEN AN ELECTION.
A SMALL GROUP OF VERY VOCAL PEOPLE, NOT ONLY VERBALLY, BUT ALSO BEHIND KEYBOARDS.
THAT THAT GROUP OF PEOPLE HAVE SHOWN US WHO WE DO NOT WANT TO BE.
THEY'VE SHOWN US WHO WE DO NOT WANT HUDU TO BE.
SOME WILL SAY, THIS IS NOT MY FIGHT.
IT SHOULD BE EVERYONE'S FIGHT.
WHEN I ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE TO BE MISTREATED OR MISREPRESENTED, THEN I AM COMPLICIT.
I REFUSE TO GO THERE AND I WON'T GO QUIETLY.
I'M WAY MORE THAN JUST AN OLD WOMAN.
I'M AN ADVOCATE FOR THIS CITY AND FOR EVERYONE WHO LIVES HERE.
FOR THE RECORD, I WAS BORN, RAISED, AND EDUCATED IN KANSAS.
I HAVE ZERO QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MEANING OF THE RACIAL TROPE THAT WAS GIFTED TO OUR MAYOR ABOUT A MONTH AGO.
I TAUGHT ADVANCED PLACEMENT STUDENTS.
THOSE STUDENTS TAUGHT ME MUCH ABOUT LIFE, CAREER GOALS AND HOPE.
I THEN TRANSITIONED TO WORK WITH YOUNG PEOPLE IN JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM, YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE DROPOUTS, ADJUDICATED, AND PARENTING.
THEY ALSO TAUGHT ME MUCH ABOUT LIFE AND HOPE, I'M SORRY, LIFE AND GOALS, BUT HOPE SEEMS ELUSIVE TO THEM.
WHEN YOU GO INTO A JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM THAT IS MARKED BY OVER REPRESENTATION AND DISPROPORTIONALITY OF YOUNG PEOPLE OF COLOR, THEN YOU UNDERSTAND WHY HOPE HAS BEEN LOST.
I WOULD SAY TO YOU THAT OUR COMMUNITY MUST BE BETTER THAN, THOSE MUST BE BETTER THAN THOSE WHOSE ATTITUDES SHOWED UP IN THE YOUNG PEOPLE SHOWED UP IN THOSE SYSTEMS. NONE OF US, I REPEAT.
NONE OF US SET HIGH ENOUGH IN ANY SEAT TO BE ABLE TO LOOK DOWN ON ANY GROUP OF PEOPLE.
I'VE SAID THIS TO THE COUNCIL BEFORE.
IT'S NOT A NOVEL IDEA FOR US TO WORK TOGETHER.
WHEN A COMMUNITY CREATES AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE ALL GROUPS, PARTICULARLY MARGINALIZED GROUPS CAN THRIVE, THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY THRIVES.
IF A COMMUNITY IS HARMFUL OR LACKS TRUST AND IS CREATED, THEN THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY WILL FEEL THOSE REPERCUSSIONS THE LAST MONTH.
PROVE THAT IF YOU GIFT AND I REPEAT, IF YOU GIFT THE MEDIA SOMETHING NEGATIVE, WE ALL SUFFER.
CREATE A WELCOMING AND TRUSTED ENVIRONMENT, AND THE POTENTIAL IS UNIMAGINABLE.
IT'S UP TO YOU, OUR CITY LEADERS TO DO BETTER.
IT'S UP TO YOU TO DETERMINE HOW WE WILL STEP FORWARD.
THE PROBLEM IS BIG, BUT WE'RE BIGGER TOGETHER.
WE MUST MOVE FORWARD WITH INTELLIGENCE AND INTEGRITY TO THOSE WHO HAVE SUFFERED FROM RECENT ACTIONS IN THIS CITY.
DIRTY WATER DOESN'T STOP A PLANT FROM GROWING.
DON'T LET NEGATIVE ACTIONS STOP YOUR PROGRESS.
THIS ISN'T JUST A BLACK PROBLEM.
WHILE I HAVEN'T DIRECTLY SUFFERED THE DISCRIMINATION, I DO SUFFER WITH YOU.
I, IF I'M NOT WILLING TO BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION,
[00:15:01]
THEN I AM PART OF THE PROBLEM.IT'S TIME FOR DIVERSITY AND EQUITY TO STOP WHISPERING AND TO START SPEAKING AS LOUDLY THOSE WHO OPPOSE IT.
I HAVE, UM, A PRESIDENT WAS ESTABLISHED.
I WOULD LIKE TO GIFT SOMETHING TO COUNCIL.
IT'S A NEXT YOU HAVE IDA WEAVER.
HOW ARE YOU? MONTANA, MR. JAMES WEAVER.
ALRIGHT, AND WE HAVE JAMES WEAVER.
GOOD EVENING, MR. MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, CITY ATTORNEY AND CITY MANAGER.
MY NAME IS JAMES WEAVER AND I DO LIVE IN HUTTO.
I'D LIKE TO ASK A QUESTION OF YOU, EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT ANSWER THE QUESTION DURING PUBLIC COMMENTS, BUT JUST THINK ABOUT IT ANYWAY.
ISN'T IT TRUE THAT EACH TAXING AUTHORITY IS A STANDALONE ENTITY? IN OTHER WORDS, TAX CUTS, UH, OR INCREASES, SHOULD WE SAY FOR ONE ENTITY OR NOT, UH, DEPENDENT ON ANOTHER TAX REVENUE GENERATED FOR THE I S D PER SE IS NOT TIED TO THE TAX RATE BY SET, BY THE CITY.
WITH THAT IN MIND, I PRESENT THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR ENLIGHTENMENT AND CLARIFICATION FOR OUR CITIZENS.
THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE PASSED THE BILL DESIGNED TO REDUCE PROPERTY TAXES FOR CITIZENS OF TEXAS.
BEFORE THE INK WAS EVEN DRY ON THE BILL, CITIES AND EVEN SCHOOL DISTRICTS WERE INCREASING THEIR BUDGETS AND NEGATING THE WORK THAT HAD JUST BEEN SIGNED.
WE, THE CITY COUNCIL, WE, I'M LOOKING AT EVERYBODY UP HERE, UH, OF HUDU HAVE EVEN PARTICIPATED IN THIS TRAVESTY.
YOU AGREED TO A NO NEW REVENUE, NOT TO EXCEED RATE FOR OUR 20 23 20 24 BUDGET, BUT THEN DID EVERYTHING YOU COULD THINK OF INCLUDING SETTING ASIDE CONTROLS THAT YOU FOLLOW FOR MEETINGS.
YOU DID EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO SET ASIDE THAT NOT TO EXCEED RATE, INCLUDING REPEALING THE VOTE TO ALLOW YOU TO SET A NEW NOT TO EXCEED RATE.
YOU THREATENED THAT THE INCREASE RATE WAS NECESSARY TO FULLY FUND THE NEEDED ROAD REPAIRS, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME WE'VE AUTHORIZED, UH, 40 NEW POSITIONS IN THE BUDGET STREET SWEEPER AND ALL KINDS OF OTHER FLUFF.
BEFORE I GO ANY FURTHER, I WANNA POINT OUT THAT THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER GORDON SAID IN A MEDIA IN AUGUST THAT SINCE THE RATES FOR THE I S D COULD BE GOING DOWN, THERE WAS ALREADY A RUMOR OUT THAT THEY WERE GONNA HAVE A, UH, A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, UH, EXEMPTION.
WE COULD INCREASE OUR RATE AND CITIZENS COULD STILL HAVE AN OVERALL TAX SAVINGS.
THIS WAS REPEATED BY COUNCIL MEMBER THOMPSON IN SEPTEMBER.
COUNCIL MEMBER GORDON HAS DOUBLED DOWN ON THIS ARGUMENT IN A FACEBOOK POST THIS WEEK.
THIS ARGUMENT USURPS THE AUTHORITY OF THE LEGISLATURE AND OFFSETS THE TAX SAVINGS FROM THE I S D FOR SURE.
HUDU IS NOT THE LARGEST OFFENDER.
MANY TEXAS CITIES ARE USING THIS EXCUSE TO BUMP UP THEIR RATES EVEN ABOVE THE VOTER APPROVED RATE.
INSTEAD OF FOLLOWING THE STATE OF TEXAS EXAMPLE, BY EASING OUR TAX BURDEN, YOU WANNA STEAL SOME OF THE TAX SAVINGS PROVIDED BY THE STATE.
YOU CAN'T EXCEED THE RATE YOU SET LAST WEEK, BUT YOU SURE CAN LOWER IT.
HUDA DOES NOT NEED OR WANT YOUR ILL BEGOTTEN TAX INCREASE.
YOU CAN STILL VOTE TO LOWER THE RATE TO N N R AND I IMPLORE YOU TO DO THAT RIGHT NOW.
THAT'S SOMETHING FOR YOUR CITIZENS.
THEY NEED YOUR SUPPORT, NOT A KICK IN THE TEETH.
I STAND HERE TONIGHT REMINDED BY LAST WEEK'S SPEECH AND HOW I FELT FOR THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS.
I WAS MET WITH A LOT OF POSITIVE ENCOURAGEMENT, ALTHOUGH THAT IS GREAT AND I'M THANKFUL TO EVERYONE WHO REACHED OUT TO ME, SOME OF WHO I'VE NEVER MET BEFORE.
I'M EMBARRASSED AND SHOCKED THAT I MUST STAND HERE AND SPEAK ABOUT THIS SUBJECT AGAIN.
LAST WEEK, I STOOD HERE WITH MY CHILDREN AND THEIR FRIENDS.
I WAS TOLD IT WAS BRAVE, POWERFUL, AND MEANINGFUL.
I BELIEVE IT WAS SIMPLY NECESSARY.
IT WAS NECESSARY BECAUSE THIS IS A BIGGER PICTURE THAN ADULTS ARGUING.
THIS IS WHERE OUR CHILDREN PLAY AND THRIVE.
[00:20:01]
IT IS THE ADULT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE IT SAFE FOR ALL.I OWN A BUSINESS IN OUR COMMUNITY IN WHICH 50% OF MY EMPLOYEES ARE MINORITIES.
THE MAYOR'S ACTIONS AFFECT MY EMPLOYEES JUST AS MUCH AS IT AFFECTS MY HUSBAND'S AND MY CHILDREN'S.
THE BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE OF OUR COMMUNITY DESERVE BETTER.
ALSO, THERE IS STILL AN INVITE IN MY INBOX FROM JULY 26TH AT 7:14 AM THAT YOU HAVE READ, MR. MAYOR, FOR YOU TO STOP BY MY BUSINESS.
AS PER YOUR REQUEST, I HAVE ALSO LEFT MY PHONE NUMBER.
HOWEVER, YOU NEVER RESPONDED AND YOU PROBABLY NEVER REALLY WANTED TO STOP BY THE COMMENT.
YOU JUST, YOU LEFT, JUST LOOKED GOOD ON YOUR PUBLIC PAGE FOR EVERYONE TO SEE.
LET ME FIRST CLARIFY, THIS IS NOT ABOUT A BLACK COMMUNITY MAD AT A WHITE MAYOR.
THIS IS ABOUT A COMMUNITY MAD AT A MAYOR FOR MAKING BAD CHOICES AND NOT TAKING OWNERSHIP AND APOLOGIZING FOR HIS ACTIONS.
MR. MAYOR, YOU WERE ASKED AGAIN LAST WEEK IN SECTION 16.1 OF THE MEETING FOR AN APOLOGY AND FOR CREATING A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT YET AGAIN, STILL NO APOLOGY.
WHAT YOU DID IS CLAIM TO BE NAIVE ABOUT THE SUBJECT MATTER.
YOU CHOSE TO DANCE AROUND THE ISSUE WITH A STORY ABOUT WHERE YOU CAME FROM.
MR. MAYOR, YOU AND I GREW UP ROUGHLY THREE AND A HALF, FOUR, FOUR HOURS FROM EACH OTHER AND WE'RE ROUGHLY WITHIN FIVE YEARS OF EACH OTHER'S AGE.
AND THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US IS I CHOOSE TO EDUCATE MYSELF ON CULTURES AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
ONE WOULD HOPE THAT A MAYOR OF A TOWN WOULD HOLD THEMSELVES IN THOSE TO THE SAME MEASURES, BUT IT APPEARS NOT TO BE TRUE.
LET'S GO WITH YOUR THEORY ON BEING NAIVE TO THE BANANAS AND MONKEYS.
THEN WHY IS IT SO HARD JUST TO SAY, I'M SORRY.
ONE THOUGHT I'VE HAD IS MAYBE YOUR ATTORNEY HAS TOLD YOU NOT TO BECAUSE THEN THAT WOULD BE AN ADMISSION OF GUILT AND WOULD NOT LOOK GOOD FOR YOUR UPCOMING APPEAL.
I'M SURE THE OTHER PARTY IS WATCHING ALL THESE RECORDINGS AND IT WILL NOT FAREWELL IN THE APPEAL PROCESS.
SEE WHERE I COME FROM? I WAS ALWAYS TAUGHT TO HAVE GOOD MANNERS AND RESPECT.
HOWEVER, WHEN SOMEONE SHOWS YOU WHO REALLY, WHO THEY REALLY ARE, YOU SHOULD REALLY BELIEVE THEM.
I, MR. MAYOR, REALLY DO BELIEVE WHO YOU SAY YOU ARE.
PEOPLE HAVE ALSO ASKED WHY COUNCIL MEMBERS TO MR. THOMPSON AND MS. WILCOTT DIDN'T JUST MOVE THE PROPS THEMSELVES.
LET'S TAKE A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE ON HOW WE RAISE OUR CHILDREN.
WE TAKE, WE TELL OUR CHILDREN DO NOT TOUCH ITEMS THAT ARE NOT YOURS.
THESE COUNCIL, BUT MEMBERS HAD NO RIGHT TO TOUCH ITEMS SLASH GIFTS.
YOU ALSO MUST UNDERSTAND HOW THE COUNCIL MEMBERS HAD TO HAVE BEEN FEELING AS THEY WERE WATCHING THIS PLAY OUT.
NO ONE CAN TELL YOU HOW TO ACT WHEN YOU'RE FACED WITH FORMS OF RACISM TO MAINTAIN WHILE THEY'RE, WHY.
THEY'RE ALSO TRYING TO MAINTAIN A LEVEL OF PROFESSIONALISM.
WHEN THIS WAS ALL BROUGHT TO THE MAYOR'S ATTENTION REGARDING THE UNDERTONES OF RACISM, THE SIMPLE SOLUTION WAS AN APOLOGY.
INSTEAD WE HAVE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY THAT WANT TO BLAME COUNCIL MEMBERS, THOMPSON AND WILCOTT FOR NOT GETTING UP AND MOVING THEM.
ASK OURSELVES, DOES THIS SOUND LIKE VI VICTIM SHAMING? WE SERIOUSLY ARE BLAMING PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN HARMED.
AS I SIT RIGHT NOW, OUR COMMUNITY IS FACING A $12.4 MILLION LAWSUIT CAUSED BY YOU.
NOW WE ARE FACED WITH BANANAS AND MONKEYS.
YOUR FACE IS SPREAD ALL OVER OUR NEWS OUTLETS.
WE HAVE GREAT THINGS GOING ON IN OUR COMMUNITY AND THIS IS WHAT MAKES HEADLINES.
YES, AWARENESS SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO THIS.
HOWEVER, IT IS A SHAME THAT AWARENESS SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO THIS.
LET US ALSO TELL THE REAL STORY.
IT IS THE CITY BEING SUED BECAUSE OF THE STATEMENTS THAT YOU SAID.
SO AS YOU WANT TO DRAW ATTENTION ABOUT TAXES THE COMMUNITY IS GOING TO BE PAYING.
PLEASE TAKE OWNERSHIP IN THE $12.4 MILLION.
YOU ARE GOING TO COST THE TAXPAYERS.
I HOPE YOU STAND ON THE DAES AND APOLOGIZE TO THE COMMUNITY FOR ALL THE MILLIONS THAT THE COMMUNITY IS GOING TO HAVE TO PAY FOR THE RACIST COMMENTS.
THAT IS THE LEAST THAT YOU CAN DO TO OUR COMMUNITY.
IF YOUR ACTIONS DIVIDE COMMUNITIES DISTRACT FROM THE PROGRESS AND SO DISCORD, YOU ARE NOT THE LEADER YOU THINK YOU ARE ASPIRED TO BE.
SOMETIMES THE BEST THINGS YOU CAN DO IS WALK AWAY AND DO LESS HARM.
THAT WAS A POST BY SOMEONE FROM HUDU WHO DOES A GREAT DEAL IN OUR COMMUNITY.
I HAVE BEEN LUCKY TO WORK WITH HER ON VOLUNTEER BOARDS AND LEARN FROM HER DAILY.
SHE HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD WITH THIS STATEMENT THIS MORNING.
AT ONE POINT I WAS HAVING SOME CHALLENGING, CHALLENGING TIMES WITH MY OLDEST SON AND MY HUSBAND SAID TO ME, YOU HAVE TO LOVE YOUR SON MORE
[00:25:01]
THAN YOU LOVE BEING RIGHT.AND HE WAS SO CORRECT MR. MAYOR, YOU HAVE CHOICES AND THE COMMUNITY IS ASKING FOR YOUR RESIGNATION SO WE CAN HEAL AND MOVE ON TO A BETTER PLACE.
ALRIGHT, NEXT WE HAVE TONY VILLA THOMAS JEFFERSON SAID THAT THE POWER TO TAX IS THE POWER TO DESTROY.
LET'S TAKE IT BACK TO WHAT SOMEBODY ELSE SAID.
RIGHT? WHEN SOMEBODY SHOWS YOU WHO THEY ARE, BELIEVE THEM.
AS FAR AS I CAN TELL, YOU'RE THIEVES.
I BELIEVE ALL OF YOU GET OUT OF MY POCKET, EVERY ONE OF 'EM.
GOOD EVENING MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, CITY ATTORNEY AND CITY MANAGER.
MY NAME IS AARON KING AND I LIVE IN HU.
SO HERE WE ARE AGAIN TO ASK YOU TO HONOR YOUR WORD THAT Y'ALL ORIGINALLY AGREED ON THE NO NEW REVENUE, UH, BUDGET FOR 2023 AND 24.
YOU MAY, YOU MAY HEAR OR MAYBE ALREADY YOU HAVE HEARD, WHICH YOU DID FROM MR. WEAVER, UH, THAT THE TAX HOUSE AND SENATE PASSED A BILL DESIGNED TO REDUCE PROPERTY TAXES FOR TEXANS.
FINALLY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME RELIEF, SOME BREATHING ROOM, AND WE CAN FINALLY COME UP FOR AIR.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO IN INCREASE TAXES ON US.
YOU CAN CUT OUT THE, UM, 40 NEW STAFF POSITIONS YOU'RE CONSIDERING ALONG WITH THE STREET SWEEPER AND OTHER FLUFF AS, UH, MR. WEAVER ALLUDED TO.
THESE ARE WANTS AND, UM, THEY'RE NOT NEEDS.
I HEARD A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER A FEW WEEKS BACK TALK ABOUT HOW SOMETIMES WE ALL NEED TO MAKE SACRIFICES.
YOU, Y'ALL ORIGINALLY AGREED ON A NO NEW REVENUE BUDGET.
THEN YOU GO BACK ON THAT AGREEMENT AND HAVE THE NERVE TO TALK ABOUT SACRIFICE.
HOW ABOUT YOU SACRIFICE AND LOWER THE RATE TO WHAT Y'ALL ORIGINALLY AGREED UPON TO THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE? DO THE FIVE OF YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT YOU KNOW BETTER THAN THE 36,000 PLUS RESIDENTS WHAT WE NEED OR WANT? THAT'S PRETTY ARROGANT.
WE ARE HERE TO TELL YOU DO NOT RAISE OUR TAXES.
YES, I EXCLUDED MAYOR SCHNEIDER AND COUNCIL MEMBER THORNTON, BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONLY ONES IN FAVOR OF THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE.
AS AS IT STANDS RIGHT NOW, YOU CANNOT EXCEED THE RATE YOU SET LAST WEEK, BUT YOU CAN LOWER IT, YOU CAN STILL LOWER IT TO THE NO NEW REVENUE BUDGET.
SO PLEASE DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE CITIZENS OF HUDU.
NEXT WE HAVE ANISHA WILLIAMS. GOOD EVENING ALL CITY MANAGER.
AND I'M GONNA ALSO RECOGNIZE CHIEF YARBOROUGH AS WELL AND CITY COUNCIL.
UM, YESTERDAY AS UM, IT WAS ALREADY STATED, WE WERE IN THE HEADLINES.
AND I DO AS A PERSON, AS A HUMAN, AS A MOM, HAVE TO SHIELD MYSELF AND REMAIN SAFE.
SO, NO, I DID NOT LISTEN TO THE APOLOGY OR THE LACK OF THE APOLOGY THAT WAS NOT GIVEN LAST WEEK, BUT I HEARD THAT THERE WAS SOME MENTION OF WHERE I'M FROM.
WE DON'T REALLY FOCUS ON RACE.
[00:30:01]
NORMALLY WHEN I HEAR THAT, THAT MEANS THAT PERSON IS TYPICALLY NOT EXPOSED TO DIVERSITY OR THEY ARE NOT SENSITIVE TO DIVERSITY.SO I'M GONNA READ AN ARTICLE THAT, UM, I FOUND, AND THIS ARTICLE IS FROM THE K C STAR AND I THINK YOU MIGHT BE FAMILIAR WITH THIS, MR. MAYOR.
UM, THIS IS DATED DECEMBER 22ND, 2020, AND IT SAYS THE KC STAR APOLOGIZES FOR PAST RACIST COVERAGE WANTS OTHERS TO GET THE POISON OUT.
ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS NEWSPAPERS IN THE MIDWESTERN UNITED STATES ISSUED AN APOLOGY FOR WHAT IT CALLED BOTH ACTION AND INACTION IN SHAPING AND MISSHA THE HISTORY OF MISSOURI'S MOST POPULOUS CITY AND ITS SURROUNDING REGION.
IN A POST TITLED THE TRUTH IN BLACK AND WHITE AND APOLOGY FROM THE KANSAS CITY STAR, THE PAPER ACKNOWLEDGED ITS HISTORIC ROLE IN SHAPING ATTITUDES IN AND AROUND THE CITY.
THE PAPER ALSO NOTED DISENFRANCHISED, IGNORED AND SCORED GENERATIONS OF BLACK KANSAS SITAN.
FOR MUCH OF ITS 40 YEARS OF EXISTENCE.
THE STAR REINFORCED JIM CROW LAWS AND REDLINING DECADE AFTER EARLY DECADE.
IT ROBBED AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY OF OPPORTUNITY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE AND RECOGNITION.
THE PRESIDENT EDITOR, AN EDITOR OF THE PAPER, MIKE FANON, WHO IS WHITE, WROTE MONDAY.
IT IS TIME THAT WE OWN OUR HISTORY.
IT IS WELL PAST TIME FOR AN APOLOGY ACKNOWLEDGING AS WE DO SO THAT THE SINS OF OUR PAST STILL REVERBERATE TODAY.
THE PAPER CONFESSED TO DECADES OF COVERAGE THAT PERPETRATED STEREOTYPES OF BLACK KANSAS SITAN AS CRIMINALS LIVING IN A CRIME LATIN WORLD WHILE GIVING SHORT SHRIFT SHIP SHRIFT TO ACHIEVEMENTS, MILESTONES, AND CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY THE COMMUNITY.
IT WAS AS THE PAPER PUT, AS IF BLACK PEOPLE WERE INVISIBLE SPEAKING TUESDAY ON ALL THINGS CONSIDERED MARA ROSE WILLIAMS, THE KANSAS CITY STAR REPORTER, WHOSE IDEA SPARKED THE PAPER SIX PART PACKAGE REEXAMINING HOW IT HISTORICALLY COVERED BLACK COMMUNITIES CALLED THE PROJECT LIKE NONE OTHER THAN I HAVE DONE IN MY 40 YEARS AS A JOURNALIST.
SHE GAVE ONE EXAMPLE OF HOW A LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT REPEATEDLY MADE A SERIES OF BOUNDARY CHANGES TO KEEP THE SCHOOL SEGREGATED, BUT WITH A FRESH PERSPECTIVE.
SHE REALIZED THE PAPER NEVER CONNECTED THE DATA POINTS TO SEE WHAT WAS AFOOT.
WE MAY HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT A BOUNDARY TRA A BOUNDARY CHANGE AS IT OCCURRED AT A SCHOOL BOARD MEETING SAID WILLIAMS, WHO WAS BLACK.
BUT WHAT WE DIDN'T DO WAS MAKE THE CONNECTION AS TO WHY THEY WERE MAKING THOSE BOUNDARY CHANGES.
AFTER REVIEWING A TROLL OF DOCUMENTS, WILLIAMS AND HER COLLEAGUES AT THE STAR DISCOVERED ROUGHLY TWO DOZEN SUCH SCHOOL BOUNDARIES CHANGES IN A TWO YEAR PERIOD.
SOME THAT SHE SAID WERE JUST A SINGLE BLOCK.
WE DIDN'T DE DIG IN DEEP ENOUGH TO MAKE THE CONNECTION THAT IT WAS TO KEEP THE SCHOOL SEGREGATED, TO KEEP WHITE CHILDREN IN ONE PART OF TOWN, BLACK CHILDREN IN ANOTHER PART OF TOWN WILLIAMS SAYS, WHICH WAS ALSO A VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW AT THE TIME.
THERE WERE OTHER MORE GLARING INSTANCES TOO.
ONE EXAMPLE IS THE PAPER'S COVERAGE OR LACK THEREOF OF BLACK CULTURAL ICON AND NATIVE SON SAXOPHONIST.
THE PAPER NOTES THAT THE JAZZ PHENOM NEVER GOT A SIGNIFICANT HEAD HEADLINE IN THE STAR UNTIL HE DIED.
AND EVEN THEN HIS NAME WAS MISSPELLED AND HIS AGE WAS WRONG.
MEANWHILE, THE PAPER POINTS OUT A WHITE BUSINESSMAN KNOWN FOR PROMOTING SEGREGATED COMMUNITIES GOT PLENTY OF INK.
THE PAPER ALSO TAKES A CLOSE EXAMINATION OF HIS COVERAGE DURING THE CIVIL RIGHTS ERA OF THE 1950S AND SIXTIES WHEN IT LARGELY IGNORED THE MOVEMENT THAT HELPED SHAPE THE UNITED STATES FOR THE NEXT HALF CENTURY.
WE DON'T NEED STORIES ABOUT THESE PEOPLE.
THE PAPERS THEN TOP EDITOR ROY ROBERTS REPORTEDLY SAID AT THE TIME, ACCORDING TO THE STAR, THE PUSH TO RECONSIDER THE PAPER'S PAST COVERAGE COMES AMID A PRESENT DAY, NATIONAL RECOGNITION ON RACE AND SOCIAL INEQUITIES CONSIDERED BY MANY TO BE A MODERN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
AND YOU WERE PART OF THAT AND YOU'RE NOT AT THIS TIME.
IT WAS SPARKED BY THE MEMORIAL DAY KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD BY MINNEAPOLIS POLICE.
IT HAS SINCE GROWN TO INCLUDE OTHER NAMES THAT HAVE ALSO BECOME RALLYING CRIES, INCLUDING BREONNA TAYLOR, AH, MAUD ARBERY, RASHAD BROOKS, ELIJAH MCCLAIN, AND JACOB BLAKE AS A DEMONSTRATOR CALL FOR CHANGES IN SOCIAL JUSTICE POLICING AND INCREASED REPRESENTATION OF PEOPLE OF COLOR AND GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS.
KANSAS SITTER MAYOR QUENTIN LUCAS KNOWN TO MANY AS SIMPLY MAYOR Q CALLED THE MOVE BY THE STAR, A POSITIVE STEP, BUT ADDED THAT SIMILAR STEPS NEED TO BE TAKEN BY LOCAL BUSINESSES AND TELEVISION
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NEWS STATIONS.THE PAPER TWO IS CALLING ON LOCAL BUSINESSES TO COME FORWARD AND OWN THEIR HISTORY AS WELL.
IT IS ENCOURAGING THOSE BUSINESSES TO GET THE POISON OUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE COMMUNITY AND THEIR EMPLOYEES.
AND I AM URGING YOU, MR. SCHNEIDER, TO GET THE POISON OUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE EMPLOYEES AND THE CITY COUNCIL.
NEXT WE HAVE MELODY, SOUTH HALL.
GOOD EVENING, CITY COUNCIL, CITY STAFF, AND CHIEF YARBOROUGH.
I'VE BEEN A RESIDENT OF HU TEXAS FOR OVER 20 YEARS AND WHEN WE FIRST MOVED HERE, UH, WE WERE THE FIRST MODERN NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, IN HU AND SO WE DON'T HAVE A NEIGHBORHOOD, ASSOCI A HU EXCUSE ME, A HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION, BUT I COULD ALSO REMEMBER A TIME IN WHICH THE COMMUNITY ENGAGED TOGETHER, UH, BE IT THE MAYOR, THE POLICE CHIEF, DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS, DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION.
AND THIS TIME APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN FRAGMENTED AT THIS TIME, IN MY OPINION.
WE SEEM TO BE MORE FRAGMENTED NOW MORE THAN EVER.
I'M HERE TONIGHT TO ASK THAT YOU ALSO PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOU'RE, YOU'RE SAYING YOU WANT TO BE AS FAR AS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
DURING THE LAST BUDGET DISCUSSION, THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CUT A POSITION, WHICH IS CALLED THE OUTREACH SPECIALIST POSITION.
I'M NOT CERTAIN EXACTLY WHY THAT WAS CUT, BUT I DO KNOW THAT IT CAN SERVE AS A RESOURCE, AS A LIAISON FOR NEIGHBORHOODS AND RESIDENTS AND OTHER ENTITIES AND COMMUNITY GROUPS FOR US TO HAVE SOME ENGAGEMENT WITH THIS CITY COUNCIL, THE CITY STAFF, AND ALSO TO BE ENGAGED AS A COMMUNITY.
IF CUDO SAYS THAT IT WANTS TO BE DIVERSE AND WANTS TO ADVANCE ITS OPPORTUNITIES TO BRING IN NEW GROUPS AND TO ALSO, YOU KNOW, BE ENGAGING THE DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS, THEN WE ALSO NEED TO INVEST OUR MONIES IN THAT PLACE AS WELL.
I ASK AGAIN, THERE WERE OFTENTIMES WE PROMOTE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, BUT THAT OFTEN DOES NOT TRANSLATE TO OUR FUNDS THAT ARE SET ASIDE FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH WITH THE EXPONENTIAL GROWTH OF OUR COMMUNITY AND THE PROJECTIONS THAT ARE SET TO ALSO PROVIDE, UH, MORE OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES.
I ASK THAT YOU WOULD CONSIDER RECONSIDER PUTTING THIS POSITION BACK IN THE BUDGET.
THIS POSITION WILL ALSO HELP DEVELOP STRATEGIES AND ONGOING PUBLIC AWARENESS AND EDUCATION AND EVEN HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO PROVIDE HISTORY OF DIVERSE COMMUNITIES THAT BUILT HUDU.
OFTENTIMES WE FORGET THE HISTORY OF HUDU IS THAT, UM, IT WAS SETTLED BY AFRICAN AMERICANS AND SO SOMETIMES AS WE'RE EXPANDING AND WE'RE GROWING, SOMETIMES WE NEED TO REACH BACK INTO THAT AND GO BACK INTO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WHICH WHERE WE WERE STARTING AND THAT'S HOW HUDDLE GREW.
I CAN TELL YOU, UM, AGAIN, JUST BEING HERE, 20 YEARS WE GREW AS A COMMUNITY.
WHEN WE HAD NATIONAL N NATIONAL, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH OR A NIGHT OUTS, THOSE STARTED WITHIN THE COMMUNITIES.
WE ACTUALLY WERE ABLE TO TALK TO THE POLICE CHIEF.
WE WERE ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH THE MAYOR.
WE WERE ABLE TO JUST BE NEIGHBORLY AND THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE LOST OUR SENSE OF NEIGHBOR NEIGHBORLY ENGAGEMENT.
AND SO AGAIN, I ASK YOU TO INVEST YOUR MONEY IN THOSE, UH, IN THIS POSITION, WHICH IS THE OUTREACH OUTREACH SPECIALIST.
GOOD EVENING COUNSEL AND STAFF AND CHIEF SINCE CHIEF'S GETTING OFF PRAISE TONIGHT.
UM, MY NAME IS ROBIN SUTTON, 25 YEAR RESIDENT OF HURO.
UM, I JUST WANNA START OFF WITH SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL SUICIDE AWARENESS MONTH.
NO MATTER HOW ALONE YOU FEEL YOUR LIFE IS WORTH LIVING, CALL 9 8 8 IF YOU NEED SUPPORT WHEN YOU'RE FEELING ALONE.
AND THAT'S WHAT THIS SWEATSHIRT'S ABOUT AND THE PEN.
OKAY, SO THE GOOD STUFF THERE IS NOBODY IN THIS ROOM, NO ONE CAN KNOW HOW ANOTHER PERSON FEELS OR HOW THEY PERCEIVE THINGS.
YOU ARE NOT THE EXPERT ON SOMEONE ELSE'S EXPERIENCE.
LET'S TALK ABOUT APOLOGIES, MIKE.
YOUR LAST TWO ATTEMPTS AND AN APOLOGY TO OUR BLACK NEIGHBORS WERE APPALLING.
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YOUR APOLOGY TO ME AFTER AN EXECUTIVE SESSION WAS MORE SINCERE THAN WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN TRYING TO DO FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND THAT WAS EVEN WEAK.I DON'T THINK YOU BELIEVE YOU DID ANYTHING WRONG HAVING BEEN ONE WHO DRANK YOUR KOOL-AID.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LOOK AT YOUR MAYOR PAGE.
WE KNOW WHO YOUR TOP FANS ARE.
YOU KNOW YOUR TEAM ON FIGHT FOR BETTER HU WHICH NICOLE IS AN ACTIVE MEMBER.
HER, I BELIEVE SHE CALLS HERSELF AN EXPERT WHEN I WAS A CITIZEN.
YOU AND I WOULD TALK EVERY THURSDAY SO THAT I COULD SHARE WHAT MY COUNSEL COMMENT WOULD BE AND YOU WOULD DROP SEEDS IN WHAT YOU WANTED ME TO SAY.
I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT YOU KNOW, THOSE BANANAS WERE COMING THAT NIGHT.
NO DOUBT YOU WERE BUS TOO BUSY LOOKING LIKE THE REMASTER OF THE CIRCUS.
YOU WATERED DOWN YOUR STATEMENT WITH WET MYSELF AS IN PEEING MY PANTS.
HOWEVER, YOUR COMMENTS IN EXECUTIVE WERE SEXUALLY INAPPROPRIATE.
I WASN'T EVEN IN THE CONVERSATION THAT YOU WERE HAVING WHEN YOU ATTACKED ME, YOUR COMMENT WAS SO OFFENSIVE AND IN VIOLATION OF A RECENTLY PASSED ORDINANCE THAT WE HAD TO RECESS EXECUTIVE SO THAT THE CITY MANAGER COULD TALK TO YOU ABOUT APOLOGIZING.
THEN WE COME OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION AND YOU SAY, YOU APOLOGIZE TO ME FOR YOUR COMMENT IN A WATERED DOWN FORM SAYING I PEED MY PANTS.
YOU SIR, BROKE EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE AND THAT'S WHY I'M FREE TO TALK ABOUT IT.
BUT WHO FOLLOWS THE RULES ANYWAY, RIGHT? NOT YOU.
LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU WERE REFERRING TO WHEN YOU MADE THAT OFFENSIVE COMMENT.
IT WAS A LETTER WE RECEIVED FROM AN ATTORNEY THAT I POSTED AFTER A COUNSEL MEETING.
IT WAS A LETTER ABOUT A WOMAN'S E E O C CLAIM AGAINST YOU AND OTHERS FOR SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT.
YOU KNOW, TRANSPARENCY AND ALL, UNLESS IT MAKES YOU LOOK BAD.
THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE I'VE TALKED TO THAT I I'M CARRYING THE BURDEN FOR THAT ARE SCARED TO COME TO THIS PODIUM BECAUSE YOU SIR, HAVE CREATED AN ATMOSPHERE OF FEAR IN THE CITY BECAUSE YOU HAVE PEOPLE THAT WILL COME AFTER YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND NOT CARE WHAT DAMAGE THEY DO.
AND THAT IS NOT OKAY AND ANYBODY CAN, WELL NOT ANYBODY CAN LOOK AT THE FIGHT PAGE NOW, BUT YOU KNOW, WE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.
HOW ABOUT WE TALK ABOUT YOU THREATENING ME WITH A RESTRAINING ORDER ON YOUR MERE PAGE? BECAUSE IF I KEEP TALKING ABOUT YOUR WIFE'S BUSINESS, ANTHONY'S PIZZA, AND THEN YOU TELLING ME I DON'T HAVE THE SAME PROTECTION I HAD WHEN I WAS ON COUNSEL OR BETTER GET ALL THE WONDERFUL FALSE CLAIMS OF ME BEING THE JILTED WOMAN.
IF YOU PUT AS MUCH ENERGY INTO TEARING DOWN AND ATTACKING COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF AND PUT THAT INTO GETTING THINGS DONE IN HURO, THINGS WOULD HAPPEN.
BUT YOU SET YOUR SIGHTS ON FEAR MONGERING POSTING CITY HALL IS CORRUPT, THAT OUR CITY MANAGER HAS A CONFLICT OF INTEREST BECAUSE HIS WIFE WORKS FOR THE I S D AND THEN YOU SAY WE'RE BROKE, BUT THEN YOU SAY WE'RE NOT.
WE ALL SEVEN OF US KNEW SHE GOT HIRED BY THE I S D BEFORE CITY MANAGER ERP STARTED HIS POSITION.
SO YOU GO OUT THERE AND CLAIM THAT, OH, I JUST FOUND OUT BECAUSE OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT I CALLED BSS.
WE ALL KNEW, WE ALL KNEW HE WAS DOING HIS TRAINING, UH, C P M TRAINING.
WE ALL KNEW WHEN WE HIRED HIM, EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DIDN'T WANNA HIRE HIM.
OKAY, SO WE GO, UM, YOU CREATE YOUR OWN DIALOGUE AND PUT IT IN A KOOL-AID PACKET AND SUPPLY THEM TO THOSE THAT WILL DRINK IT AND DO YOUR DIRTY WORK AND WORSE YET, MAYBE GO TO JAIL.
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POSTING THAT HE WANTS TO TAR AND FEATHER COUNCIL MEMBERS ON THE FIGHT FOR BETTER HUDDLE PAGE IS OKAY WITH YOU.YOU LIKE TO TALK A BIG TALK ABOUT FOLLOWING RULES, YET YOU AND DAN VOTED AGAINST HOLDOVER STATUS AND VIOLATED YOUR OATH OF OFFICE.
YOU VIOLATED THE OATH YOU TOOK TO SIT IN THAT CHAIR.
YOU OH, YOU UNDER OATH, YOU SORE TO UPHOLD THE STATE CONSTITUTION AND PROTECT THE STATE CONSTITUTION.
BUT Y'ALL DID IT TWICE, RIGHT DAN? TWICE, BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T WANT CRYSTAL HERE.
HOW MANY COUNSEL PROTOCOLS HAVE YOU VIOLATED? I DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TODAY TO GO THROUGH YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE AND MARK 'EM ALL DOWN.
IF YOU'RE GONNA ALLOW ME TO SPEAK, I HAVE SOMEBODY WHO'S GONNA YIELD TO ME UNLESS YOU WANT ME TO LIKE KEEP GOING.
OKAY, SO POSTING ON FACEBOOK THAT CITY HALL IS CORRUPT WOULD BE ONE ATTACKING OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS WOULD BE TWO, GENERALLY PUTTING OUT FALSE INFORMATION FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE WOULD BE THREE.
TELLING LIES THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE CHEATING ON THEIR WIVES WOULD BE FOUR.
REALLY? YOU LIKE TALKING TO EXES JUST LIKE YOU TALK TO MINE TO GET ENOUGH DIRT TO HURT THEM.
YOU'RE ALWAYS WAITING FOR HOW AM I GONNA GET THEM OUT? THAT'S YOUR GAME PLAN.
YOU GATHER AS MUCH, NOT YOU PERSONALLY, BUT THE TEAM THAT WORKS FOR YOU.
ARE YOU BEING RESPECTFUL TO OTHER PEOPLE'S TIME? NO.
COUNCIL MEETINGS SHOULD GO AT 3:00 AM AND WE'RE PAYING AN ATTORNEY TO BE HERE FOR IT.
UM, ARE YOU INSPIRING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN HU GOVERNMENT? NOT SO MUCH.
ARE YOU DEMONSTRATING HONESTY AND INTEGRITY IN EVERY ACTION AND STATEMENT? I THINK WE KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER IS TO THAT.
DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN COUNCIL MEETINGS AND OTHER PUBLIC FORUM WHILE DEMONSTRATING RESPECT, KINDNESS, CONSIDERATION, AND COURTESY TO OTHERS, INCLUDING YOUR OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS? I THINK WE ALL KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT.
SO HOW MANY COUNCIL PROTOCOLS CAN A COUNCIL MEMBER VIOLATE TO HAVE A CONSEQUENCE OR A REPRIMAND? IT'S CONSISTENT AND IT'S BEEN A PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR FOR YEARS.
ONE COULD GO THROUGH YOUR MAYOR PAGE AND THE FIGHT FOR BETTER PAGE AND SEE THAT YOU DO NOT, THAT STUFF IS PERMANENT, RIGHT? SO LET'S GET BACK TO THE BANANAS AND YOUR LACK OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AS TO HOW THIS HAS HURT OUR COMMUNITY.
IT IS TIME FOR HU'S WHITE COMMUNITY TO STAND UP WITH OUR BLACK NEIGHBORS.
IT IS NOT OKAY THAT MIKE, AND I'M SORRY I CANNOT ADDRESS, ADDRESS YOU AS MAYOR BECAUSE A MAYOR IS A LEADER AND THAT YOU ARE NOT, CAN'T APOLOGIZE.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR BEHAVIOR AND LACK OF GENERAL CONCERN FOR THE DAMAGE THAT YOU HAVE DONE.
YOU GOT ONE THING RIGHT IN THAT INTERVIEW YOU DID WITH THE TAYLOR PRESS.
YOUR POOR ME RESPONSE TO THE TAYLOR PRESS IN THAT INTERVIEW TO MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE THE VICTIM.
AND IT'S EVERYBODY ELSE'S FAULT.
BUT I'M THE GUY THAT HAS TO TAKE THE HEAT BECAUSE I'M THE MAYOR.
NO, YOU'RE TAKING THE HEAT BECAUSE YOU'RE THE PROBLEM.
WE AS A COMMUNITY, WHITE BLACKS, HISPANICS, ASIANS, NEED TO STAND UP AGAINST WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
WE NEED TO SURROUND OUR BLACK NEIGHBORS WITH LOVE AND SUPPORT.
AND FOR WHATEVER REASON, YOU'RE SO FLIPPANT AND THINK WHAT HAPPENED WAS, OKAY, I WANNA BE A BETTER HUMAN.
I'VE MADE MISTAKES AND I DRANK YOUR KOOL-AID.
I MADE POOR DECISIONS WHEN I WAS ON THE DAIS.
WHEN WE GET ON COUNCIL, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE DON'T KNOW.
YOU KNOW, YOU WALK IN, YOU HIT YOUR FIRST EXECUTIVE AND YOU'RE MIND BLOWN, YOU KNOW? AND THEN YOU GET OUT AND YOU START TALKING TO PEOPLE.
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FOR A CHANGE IN HURO.I'M COMMITTING MYSELF TO BE PART OF THE CHANGE AND PARTNER WITH THE BLACK COMMUNITY TO END A STOP TO THE RACISM.
ALRIGHT, NEXT WE HAVE ZOE HOPWOOD.
ALL RIGHT, NEXT WE HAVE, OH, OKAY.
UM, I WANTED TO COME TODAY TO ADDRESS, UM, SOMETHING UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DO AS AN COMMUNITY ADVOCATE AND ACTIVIST IS ASK PEOPLE FOR CONSCIOUSNESS.
I JUST ASK PEOPLE TO THINK A LITTLE DEEPER TO GET OFF OF AUTOPILOT.
YES, WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES.
WE ALL COME FROM SOMEWHERE WHERE WE HAVE A DIFFERENT WORLDVIEW.
UM, LAST WEEK, UM, CHERYL STEWART, I BELIEVE IS HER NAME, MADE A COMMENT REGARDING, UM, ME SAYING THAT I DON'T FEEL SAFE FOR MY KIDS IN THIS COMMUNITY.
I DON'T FEEL SAFE FOR BRIAN AND DANA AND I DON'T FEEL SAFE FOR THE WOMEN ON THIS COUNCIL.
IT'S NOT A SAFE SPACE BECAUSE OF YOUR ACTIONS.
AND IT'S NOT A SAFE SPACE BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE ALLOWED ACTIONS THAT FOR SOME REASON YOU'RE NOT TAKEN ACCOUNTABILITY FOR.
AND OTHER PEOPLE SOMETIMES DON'T HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT IS BECAUSE OF FEAR.
I TOO HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT SPEAK TO ME PRIVATELY BECAUSE THEY ARE AFRAID TO SPEAK OUT PUBLICLY.
AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY SAD.
BUT MS. STEWART MADE A COMMENT ABOUT HER SON AND SHE HAS A WHITE SON WHO'S IN THE MILITARY AND SHE HAS A BLACK SON AND SHE EQUALLY FEELS FEAR FOR THEM.
SO I WANNA MAKE IT CLEAR AND ASK FOR A CONSCIOUSNESS CHECK.
NOT AGAINST HER, SHE'S A MOTHER.
SO SHE HAS A RIGHT TO SAY HOW SHE FEELS AND WHAT SHE THINKS ABOUT HER CHILDREN.
BUT I'M GONNA INTRODUCE THE IDEA OF BLACK AND OKAY, UM, THESE ARE MY RELATIVES AND I'M GONNA SHOW THE PEOPLE BEHIND ME.
HE'S PASSED AWAY, BUT HE WAS THE FIRST CLASS PRIVATE.
THIS IS HIS BROTHER ALBERT DEMERSON JR.
HE WAS ALSO A PRIVATE FIRST CLASS.
SHE SERVED 23 YEARS AND UM, THIS IS MY GRANDFATHER, ALBERT DEMERSON.
THEY'RE ALL DECEASED AND BURIED IN THE MEMORIAL CEMETERY IN LA MEA TEXAS.
I SAY THAT TO SAY THAT BLACK PEOPLE EXPERIENCE THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, BUT WE'RE ALSO BLACK.
WE HEAR ABOUT SAFETY THAT WE HAVE FOR OUR CHILDREN.
IT IS AS REAL AS WHEN THE MIDDLE PASSAGE HAPPENED WHEN SLAVE SHIPS CAME.
IT'S AS REAL WHEN THEY WERE FARMING OUT BLACK PEOPLE TO MAKE MORE SLAVES WHEN THE SLAVE TRADE WAS OUTLAWED AND THERE WERE RAPE PLANTATIONS WHERE THEY BRED BLACK PEOPLE LIKE CHATTEL.
THERE WAS JIM CROW LAWS THAT SAID WE COULDN'T COME THROUGH THE FRONT.
AND I STILL FEEL LIKE THAT'S SOME OF THIS RIGHT NOW.
I DON'T FEEL LIKE YOU WANT US TO COME THROUGH THE FRONT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY BLACK END IS A THING.
I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE CREATED A D N I COMMISSION THAT REALLY DID UNIFY THE COMMUNITY AND REALLY DID REPRESENT A DIVERSE GROUP OF PEOPLE SO THAT WE COULD ALL BE INCLUDED.
BUT THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN MR. SCHNEIDER.
AND AT THIS POINT IT'S UNCHECKED.
SO I JUST WANTED TO TELL PEOPLE HUMANITY IS NOT A COMPETITION.
DON'T NEGATE YOUR BLACK NEIGHBORS AND YOUR BROWN NEIGHBORS AND YOUR WOMEN NEIGHBORS BECAUSE YOU DON'T SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE.
BUT HUMANITY IS OWED TO US BY OUR BIRTHRIGHT AND WE SHOULD NOT BE DISCRIMINATED
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AGAINST OR HARM BECAUSE THE COLOR OF OUR SKIN, NOR SHOULD WE HAVE MONKEYS IN A BANANA.AND I TOO BELIEVE THAT WAS ORCHESTRATED NOT FOR ONE SECOND, I DON'T, BUT I'M NOT THE PERSON WHO WAS THERE AND I'M NOT GOD, BUT GOD KNOWS.
BUT THAT SYMBOL IS RACE HATRED.
AND PEOPLE HAVE USED THE DEHUMANIZATION OF BLACK PEOPLE TO JUSTIFY KNEELING ON THEIR NECKS FOR EIGHT MINUTES AND 44 SECONDS.
SO WHEN I SAY I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH MY CHILDREN WALKING THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, I THINK ABOUT THOSE EIGHT MINUTES AND 44 SECONDS.
NEXT WE HAVE, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR MISPRONOUNCING YOUR LAST NAME, ROBOT ROB.
AND HOW DO YOU SAY HER LAST NAME? EVA? I HAVE, UH, YIELD MY DONATION.
AND NEXT WE HAVE NICOLE CALDERONE.
SINCE TIME IS REALLY NOT A MATTER TODAY, I'M JUST GONNA GET THROUGH MY, MY NOTES HERE.
UM, HELLO, MY NAME IS NICOLE CALDERONE AND I LIVE IN HUDU.
FOR THOSE THAT DON'T KNOW ME, I'M ORIGINALLY FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE.
THREE OF MY GRANDPARENTS WERE CANADIAN.
AND MY OTHER GRANDPAPA, MY GRANDFATHER WAS AN IRISH IMMIGRANT.
SO MY FAMILY HAS BEEN HERE ABOUT A HUNDRED YEARS.
GROWING UP IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, WE LEARNED, UM, ABOUT THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD AS OUR LITTLE TOWN WAS A STOP ON THE WAY TO CANADA.
UH, WE LEARNED ABOUT, UM, ALSO MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
WHO TAUGHT US TO LOOK AT PEOPLE'S CHARACTERS AND NOT THEIR SKIN COLOR.
AND SO RECENTLY I'VE BEEN DESCRIBED AS A WOMAN WITH BANANAS, BUT I'M NOT JUST ANY WOMAN.
I RAN FOR COUNSEL FIVE TIMES AND I'M THE LAST PERSON TO ACCUSE OF BEING RACIST.
I HEARD, UH, THAT THIS ISN'T A COMPETITION, BUT I HEAR A LOT OF WHITE AIN'T RIGHT.
BUT LET'S START, LET'S TALK ABOUT BEING PART OF THE SOLUTION AND LEADING BY EXAMPLE.
AND MY RECORD ON JUNE 18TH, 2020, BEFORE ANYBODY HAD SAID ANYTHING, I SPOKE AT THIS PODIUM, PODIUM IN SUPPORT OF BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT FOR SYSTEMIC JUSTICE AND TO ASK OUR P O SS MAYOR GAUL TO DO SOMETHING WHILE THE RIOTS WERE HAPPENING ACROSS AMERICA ON JUNE 30TH, THAT'S WHEN THE D N I COMMISSION WAS FORMED.
BUT IT WAS ME AND ANOTHER CITIZEN WITH A LAW ENFORCEMENT BACKGROUND.
MARK J CAN'T PRONOUNCE HIS LAST NAME.
AND HIM AND I SAT DOWN WITH THE CHIEF AT THE TIME, PAUL HALL, ASSISTANT CHIEF ZALES.
AND WE DISCUSSED USE OF FORCE TRAINING, WE TALKED ABOUT TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, AND WE ALSO DISCUSSED THE POTENTIAL OF A CITIZEN'S REVIEW BOARD TO HANDLE ALLEGATIONS OF FUTURE CLAIMS. UH, A YEAR LATER, IN SEPTEMBER OF 2021, I SPOKE AT THE TOWN HALL MEETING IN FAVOR.
YOU WERE THERE, BRIAN, IN FAVOR OF CONTINUING THE D AND I COMMISSION AND REMO AND REMOVING THE PLAQUE FROM CITY HALL BASED ON PERFORMANCE.
BUT ONIA WANTED THE COMMISSION DISSOLVED FOR NOT MEETING THE DEMANDS OF THE BLACK FAMILIES OF HATO LETTER THAT WAS SENT TO THE CITY AND THE I S D, WHICH IN MY OPINION IS THE MOST RACIST THING THAT I'VE SEEN IN MODERN DAY AS I WANTED TO SEGREGATE BLACK CHILDREN.
AFTER ANNOUNCING MY CANDIDACY AGAINST AGAIN THE HU'S WORST MAYOR DEL GAUL, THAT'S WHEN I STARTED RECEIVING EMAILS AND MESSAGES FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, FORMER COUNCIL MEMBERS AND PAST EMPLOYEES WHO SHARED THEIR OTIS STORIES WITH ME.
I CALL THOSE PEOPLE MY SILENT SUPPORTERS, NOT YOU, DANA, FOR THOSE PEOPLE I SPEAK FOR.
AND BECAUSE THEY FEELED FEARED RETALIATION IF THEY SPOKE UP.
THAT'S WHAT YOU ORIGINALLY TOLD ME, THAT YOU COULDN'T SPEAK UP AND THAT YOU ADMIRED ME.
HOW DID OTIS USE HIS POWER? WAS THIS A SAFE SPACE? THAT'S WHEN I FOUND THE 2017 OSBORNE REPORT ONLINE, WHICH WAS AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION INTO OTIS JONES THAT FOUND FORMER EMPLOYEES CLAIMS OF SEXUAL AND OTHER UNLAWFUL HARASSMENT TO BE TRUE.
THERE'S BEEN MORE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR MY BANANAS THAN FOR THIS HARASSMENT IN THE LAST SIX YEARS.
COUNSEL BURIED THAT REPORT OR TRIED TO BURY THAT REPORT.
THEY TIED IT UP IN A LAWSUIT WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE.
THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THAT REPORT WERE NEVER IMPLEMENTED.
AND THE PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR NOT ONLY REPEATED, BUT ALSO
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ESCALATED IN 2019 TO THE POINT OF SEPARATING OTIS JONES' CONTRACT.AND IT WASN'T SIX MONTHS LATER THAT THE CITY FINANCIALLY CRUMBLED AND A BUDGET THAT YOU VOTED FOR PETER AND AT THAT TIME WAS A VIOLATION OF YOUR OATH OF OFFICE.
AGAIN, MORE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR BANANAS THAN VIOLATING THE CHARTER.
ALSO LAYING OFF 48 PEOPLE AND THEN BLAMING COVID.
SO HERE'S THE FUNNEST FESTIVAL.
IN MARCH OF 2021, I WAS RUNNING FOR PLACE FIVE WHEN I RECEIVED A SUBPOENA FOR MODUS JONES AS A POTENTIAL WITNESS IN HIS RACE CASE AGAINST THE CITY BY COURT ORDER.
I HAD TO GIVE OTIS OTIS'S LAWYERS TWO YEARS WORTH OF ANYTHING I HAD WITH HIS NAME ON IT.
FILES, TEXTS, EMAILS, IMSS, EVERYTHING OVER 600 DOCUMENTS WERE DISCOVERED.
AND HE, AND HE FINANCIALLY RAPED ME WITH $18,000 IN LEGAL BILLS, YET NOT A SINGLE PIECE WAS USED IN HIS PROSECUTION AGAINST THE CITY.
WOULDN'T YOU THINK THAT IF I WAS SOME KIND OF BANANA WIELDING RACIST THAT I'M BEING ACCUSED OF, THAT OTIS'S LEGAL TEAM WOULD'VE FOUND SOMETHING FOR HIS CASE? ANYTHING? BUT NO, BECAUSE EVERYTHING I'VE EVER SAID WAS ABOUT HIS BEHAVIOR AND CONDUCT BEING UNBECOMING OF A CITY EMPLOYEE, WHICH CAUSED MONETARY INJURIES TO THE CITY AND WAS GROUND TO FIRE HIM WITH CAUSE INCLUDING THAT HE REPAY $30,000 TO THE CITY FOR THE RESOURCING OF A NEW CITY MANAGER.
SO NO, I DON'T THINK MY GIFT WAS RACIST.
WHETHER YOU BELIEVE MY STORY OR NOT, GOD KNOWS.
AND BRIAN, I DON'T NEED YOUR FORGIVENESS.
JESUS HAS ALREADY FORGIVEN ME.
DO YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN JESUS? THAT YOU CAN HOLD THAT ABOVE ME? SO NO, WHEN I CONSIDER IT, IF I COME UP HERE AND IF SOMEBODY WAS GONNA TAKE MY SPEECH, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS THE BEST SPEECH I HAD EVER WRITTEN, AND IT WAS POSITIVE BECAUSE I REALLY WANTED TO COME IN HERE AND TALK ABOUT HOW DANA THREATENED CITY, UH, CITIZENS AND HOW SHE WAS AND HOW BRIAN WAS SAYING, UH, INTERRUPTING THE MAYOR AND CALLING HIM DAD.
I CAME IN WITH SOMETHING THAT I THOUGHT WAS WHOLESOME, THAT WAS SYMBOLIC.
AND IF SOMEBODY WANTED TO TWIST THAT INTO A FALSE NARRATIVE, THEN IT SHOWS ONLY, IT ONLY SHOWS THE ROOT OF THE REAL RACIAL ANGST.
AND I WASN'T WRONG, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE TO YOU WHITE GUILT.
I DID SOME INTROSPECTING AND, AND SOME LEARNING AND SOME READING, AND I CAME ACROSS SHELBY STEELE AND I'VE DONE A LOT OF LEARNING ABOUT SHELBY STEELE.
AND IN ESSENCE, IT'S FROM WHITE SEGREGATION, FROM THE PENDULUM OVER INTO WHITE SANG SEGREGATION HAS OVER SWUNG CENTER OF EQUALITY AND EQUITY.
AND NOW IT POINTS TO WHITE GUILT.
THERE IS NO APOLOGY THAT AMERICA CAN MAKE FOR THE HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF HISTORY THAT'S HAPPENED HERE.
AND TO ASK FOR IT IS HOLDING BACK THE ENTIRE ADVANCEMENT OF THE ENTIRE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT TO SO TO SAY YOU SPEAK FOR ALL AFRICAN AMERICANS, DANA, AND TO SAY THAT WHITE PEOPLE AREN'T ALLOWED TO USE BLACK AND WHITE FILTERS.
I JUST WANT TO BRING KNOWN THAT THERE'S OTHER PEOPLE OF WHO ARE CHARGING THE MISSION FOR EQUALITY IN A DIFFERENT SORT OF, UM, MANNER.
INSTEAD OF TRYING TO CALL ALL WHITE PEOPLE RACIST.
WHAT ARE WE NOT TALKING ABOUT? WELL, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BANANAS.
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT TAXES.
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE COMMENTS THAT ARE BEING MADE ON THE COUNCIL THAT ARE INAPPROPRIATE.
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT DANA'S GRACIOUS T-SHIRT.
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT RANDALL'S CRIMINAL RECORD OR HIS ALLEGED AFFAIR.
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE EXECUTIVE RECORDINGS THAT MISSING, BUT THE SAME PERSON WHO FILED THE E E O C COMPLAINT AGAINST THE CITY WHO ROBIN IS FRIENDS WITH AND CAME UP HERE AND DEFENDED, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE ITEMS THAT WERE SENT TO THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY, THE ILLEGAL CONTRACTS, THE ILLEGAL SEVERANCE AGREEMENTS.
AND I CAN'T EVEN GO ON AND THINK OF ALL THE OTHER THINGS TOO.
SO WHO DO WE WANT TO BE? DO WE WANT TO BE A CITY BASED ON LIES? DO WE WANT TO HAVE A DAAS FULL OF COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO CONTINUALLY VIOLATE THE PROTOCOLS AND HOW THEY SPEAK TO CITIZENS? OR ARE WE GONNA BE PART OF THE SOLUTION AND JUST WANNA MAKE A SHAMELESS PLUG FOR FIGHT FOR A BETTER HU? AND THERE WE DISCUSS THE REAL ISSUES WITHOUT WALKING ON EGGSHELLS.
YOUR ANYONE IS WELCOME TO JOIN.
JUST A REMINDER TO ANSWER THE, THE QUESTIONS ALSO WANT TO SAY THAT WHAT IS THIS TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH? WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH BY MAKING THE MAR INTO A RACIST? ARE YOU TRYING TO HELP AWARD YOUR FRIEND 12 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS? THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY.
THAT'S MORE MONEY THAN FAMILIES OF VICTIMS KILLED BY POLICE HAVE RECEIVED.
THAT'S AN INDICATOR OF PASSION AND PREJUDICE, AND THAT IS THE BASIS OF THE APPEAL IS THAT IT SHOULD BE THROWN OUT ON THAT ALONE.
[01:05:01]
THE NUMBER ONE COMMENT I SAW ON THE IN THREADS AFTER THE, THE RULING WAS GET YOUR COINS KING.AND I'M CONCERNED BY THAT, THAT IT DOESN'T MATTER ON A BASIS EFFECT, JUST THAT CERTAIN PEOPLE THINK THAT THEY'RE OWED AND THEY'RE DUE.
AND FOR THE RECORD, CRYSTAL DIDN'T LIVE HERE AND SHE SAT ON COUNCIL.
AND ALSO BRIAN IS THE BYRON BYRON FRANKLIN, THE ONE WHO WAS PROMOTED FROM CHIEF TO ASSISTANT MAN OR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, UH, WITHOUT THE QUALIFICATIONS AND WAS LATER FIRED, UH, HAD THIS HIDDEN SEVERANCE AGREEMENT TOO.
AND I BELIEVE HE WENT TO THE HOUSE TO TELL OTIS ABOUT THE ALLEGED RAPE.
HE'S THE ONE THAT SAID MIKE WAS A CROOK.
NOW, IF YOU WANNA REALLY TALK ABOUT THE ISSUES, YOU CAN MESSAGE ME, BUT I JUST WANNA SAY THAT TERRANCE OWENS HAS NOT CONTACTED ME.
BRIAN HAS NOT CONTACTED ME TO DANA.
NOBODY CONNIE, NOBODY IN THIS COMMUNITY HAS CONTACTED ME DIRECTLY, WHICH MEANS THAT YOU HAVE NO INTENTION OF TRYING TO MAKE THIS INTO A TEACHABLE MOMENT.
YOU HAVE NO INTENTION OF TRYING TO BRIDGE THE GAPS BETWEEN RACE.
ALL YOU WANNA DO IS YOU WANNA DIVIDE AND THEN YOU'RE GONNA TAKE OFF TO LOUISIANA.
I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU'RE SHAKING YOUR HEAD AT ME.
IS THIS A SAFE SPACE FOR ME? ARE YOU TRYING TO CALL ME OUT AND ATTACK ME? F**K YOU.
I'LL TELL MY KIDS THAT THE NEXT TIME THEY'RE AT THE KID AFFAIRS.
SO THAT COMPLETES PUBLIC COMMENT.
NEXT WE'LL GO INTO ITEM SEVEN ONE, CONSIDERATION POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING POSSIBLE APPOINTMENTS, REAPPOINTMENTS AND OR REMOVALS TO CITY BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, TASK FORCES, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS, LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATIONS AND TAX INCREMENT, REINVESTMENT ZONE BOARDS, CITY COUNCIL LIAISONS AND AREA GOVERNMENT APPOINTMENTS.
WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY APPLICATION WE'VE SEEN TO WON AN APPLICATION YESTERDAY, BUT NOTHING THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO TAKE ACTION ON, UM, FOR TODAY.
SO THERE, THERE'S NOTHING FOR SEVEN ONE TODAY.
ALL RIGHT, SO NOTHING FOR THIS ITEM.
[8.1. Consideration and possible action on approval of Ordinance No. O-2023-067 regarding Blanket Purchase Orders (First Reading) (Anne LaMere) ]
RIGHT, WE'LL MOVE ON.ITEM EIGHT ONE, CONSIDERATION POSSIBLE ACTION ON APPROVAL OF ORDINANCE NUMBER O DASH 2023 DASH SIX SEVEN REGARDING BLANKET PURCHASE ORDERS.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, CITY MANAGER, CITY ATTORNEY FOR THE RECORD.
ANN LAMERE, INTERIM FINANCE DIRECTOR.
BASED ON THE BUDGET THAT, UH, HAS BEEN CREATED, THERE IS A LIST OF BLANKET PURCHASE ORDERS THAT, UH, IF APPROVED BY COUNCIL, UH, THE CITY MANAGER WOULD BE ABLE TO EXECUTE THOSE, UM, CONTRACTS FOR THOSE ITEMS GREATER THAN $50,000.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS THAT I COULD ANSWER? NO, I JUST WANTED TO, UH, FOR THE PUBLIC'S CONSIDERATION.
SO THIS IS INSTEAD OF HAVING TO COME TO COUNCIL FOR THESE IDENTIFIED KNOWN, UM, COSTS THAT NOT TO EXCEED WHAT'S IN THE BUDGET FOR THESE ITEMS, IT'S JUST CREATING EFFICIENCY OF GOVERNMENT SO THAT WE CAN PAY OUR BILLS ON TIME AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
AND IT'S ITEMS LIKE THE ELECTRIC CONTRACT, WHICH IS GREATER THAN $50,000.
INSTEAD OF BRINGING THAT CONTRACT TO COUNCIL, IT'S ALREADY BEEN APPROVED IN THE BUDGET.
AND SO IT WILL ALLOW THE CITY MANAGER TO GO AHEAD AND SIGN OFF ON THAT PO AND, UH, PROVIDE FOR EFFICIENT PURCHASING FOR THE CITY.
I APPRECIATE YOU PUTTING THINGS IN PLACE TO ALLOW US TO BE AN EFFICIENTLY RUN CITY, SO THANK YOU.
AND WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE AS PRESENTED FOR ORDINANCE NUMBER 0 20 23 DASH SIX SEVEN.
SECOND MOTION BY COUNCILOR CLARK.
SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER THOMPSON APPROVING EIGHT ONE IS PRESENTED.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION? I JUST REAL, REALLY APPRECIATE THE DETAIL THAT WAS IN THERE.
I READ THROUGH THE WHOLE ORDINANCE AND THERE'S A TON OF LIGHT ITEMS IN THERE THAT REALLY GAVE US THE DETAIL OF EXACTLY WHAT'S BEING, UM, APPROVED AND WHY, AND THE PROCESS FOR THAT AND THAT WE'RE STILL, UM, WE'RE NOT APPROVING ANYTHING THAT WASN'T APPROVED BY COUNCIL AND THE BUDGET.
SO REALLY APPRECIATE, UH, ALL THE DETAIL THAT, UH, STAFF PUT INTO THAT.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? UM, SO I
THERE'S ALMOST $19 MILLION IN LINE ITEMS, SOME OF WHICH $200,000 IN TREE REMOVAL SERVICES.
I, I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS.
I, HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS IN VARIOUS CHEMICALS.
$85,000 IN JANITORIAL SERVICES.
I THINK WE SHOULD HAVE A CONTRACT FOR THAT.
$95,000 IN PROFESSIONAL SERVICES WITH COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
$317,000 FOR SPECIAL EVENTS, 60,
[01:10:01]
ALMOST $4,000 IN POSTAGE.I JUST THINK THAT BY DOING THIS, I MEAN WE ONLY TAKE IN LIKE 24 MILLION OR SOMETHING IN TAX REVENUE.
AND THIS ALONE WITHOUT EVEN SALARIES IS 19 MILLION.
AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE TYPE OF STUFF WE DID IN 2019.
WE SAT BACK, WE JUST SAID, GO AHEAD, WE DON'T REALLY EFFICIENCY OF GOVERNMENT.
AND THEN BY FEBRUARY OF 2020, WE RAN OUTTA MONEY AND LAID OFF A THIRD OF THE STAFF.
I MEAN, I THINK OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS THAT IF A CITY MANAGER AND HIS STAFF OR HER STAFF IS DOING THINGS CORRECTLY, THEN I THINK THEY'RE GONNA BRING THINGS UP REGULARLY, NOT AT LAST MINUTE, AND THERE'S A REGULAR ORDER OF BUSINESS.
BUT IF WE APPROVE THIS, THEN WE DON'T REALLY HAVE TO MEET MUCH ANYMORE THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY, WE'VE ALREADY ABDICATED SO MUCH RESPONSIBILITY.
THERE'S NOT MUCH LEFT FOR THE CITY COUNCIL TO DO.
AND SO WE WILL HAVE A LOT FASTER MEETINGS, BUT, UM, I KNOW I'M USUALLY IN A MINORITY ON THIS.
I WAS IN 2019 AND THEN IN 2020 IT KILLED ME.
WHAT HAPPENED? BUT ANYWAY, SO I DO WANNA SAY ONE CLARIFICATION.
WHEN YOU MAKE STATEMENTS LIKE THAT AND THEN DON'T GIVE FEEDBACK, OVER 10 MILLION OF THAT IS JUST FROM UTILITY BILLING AND UTILITIES, WHICH ARE KNOWN COSTS THAT ARE LAID OUT SPECIFICALLY FOR WHAT WE'RE PAYING TO THE BRAZOS RIVER, VALLEY RIVER AUTHORITY, UM, IS THE MAJORITY OF THOSE EXPENSES.
OR AL CLAWSON, WHICH IS OUR SERVICE CONTRACT FOR THE TRASH SERVICE.
SO THIS IS, WHEREAS YOU JUST KIND OF GAVE AN OPINION LIKE IT'S SOME NEFARIOUS THING.
AND I JUST EXPLAINED OVER HALF OF THAT MONEY, WHICH IS ALSO NOT THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET, IT'S IN THE UTILITY BUDGET.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S THIS ABDICATION WHERE YOU MAKE PEOPLE THINK SOMETHING NEFARIOUS IS GOING ON WHEN IT'S REALLY NOT TRUE WHEN YOU ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE DATA AND SPEND ANY MOMENT BEING TRUTHFUL.
AND I REALLY WISH YOU WOULD STOP DOING THAT.
SO LET'S SAY THIS, I'M NOT SURE MAY SAY POINT OF ORDER.
I'D LIKE TO REQUEST THAT WE FOLLOW ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER AND ALLOW EVERYONE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK BEFORE SOMEBODY SPEAKS TWICE.
MAY I RESPOND TO WHAT HE SAID OR DO WE WANNA WAIT UNTIL WE GO THROUGH? I WOULD RATHER WAIT.
THANK YOU, ANNE, FOR BEING SO SPECIFIC.
IT'S OUTLINED, IT'S THERE, THERE'S NO HIDING.
UM, I THINK WE NEED TO LET THE CITY DO THEIR JOB AND NOT MICROMANAGE EVERYTHING THEY DO.
UM, REGARDING THIS ITEM, UM, I APPRECIATE THIS COMING TO COUNCIL.
WE ACTUALLY SAW SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR TO THIS OR DISCUSS SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THIS A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, I THINK WHEN ANN CAME ON BOARD, BECAUSE, UH, SHE BROUGHT THIS TO LIGHT FOR US.
AND I REMEMBER A CONVERSATION ABOUT THESE SMALL PURCHASES, UM, UNDER THE 50,000 COULD BE CONSIDERED LIKE CIRCUMVENTING AUTHORITY OR SOMETHING.
I FORGET WHAT THE TERMINOLOGY WAS, YOU MAY HAVE TO, UM, ENLIGHTEN ME ON THAT.
BUT WHAT THE CITY, UM, HAD PREVIOUSLY, THE OPERATIONS THAT THEY HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN DOING WAS CIRCUMVENTING THIS.
WHAT THIS WAS WITH THE CITY MANAGER BEING ABLE TO AUTHORIZE PURCHASES UNDER THE 50,000, BUT MAKING THEM IN MULTIPLE, UM, PURCHASES.
SO THE FIRST ONE ON THERE IS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.
UM, FOR PHONE SERVICES, BUDGETED DOLLARS WOULD BE $134,000.
SO PREVIOUSLY, A MONTHLY BILL WOULD COME IN WITH AT, SAY, OR SAY THEY PAY IT QUARTERLY AND IT WOULD COME IN AT, UM, $40,000.
THE CITY MANAGER COULD PAY THAT AND HE COULD MAKE MULTIPLE TRANSACTIONS WITHOUT BRINGING THAT TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
UM, AND THEN THAT, ACTUALLY, THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT COULD BE MORE, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF I'M EXPLAINING THIS CORRECTLY, BUT WE DID HAVE THIS CONVERSATION.
AND, AND THIS IS TO HOLD THE CITY MANAGER ACCOUNTABLE.
THIS IS BRINGING IT TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO SHOW US WHAT THE BUDGETED AMOUNT IS.
AND THEN ALSO LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, CLARK SAID, I DID SEE ALSO THAT THE BIG TICKET ITEMS, UM, THAT ARE ON THE, THE SPREADSHEET OR THE LAYOUT ARE, UH, FOR UTILITY BILLING AND UTILITIES.
UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE BIG TICKET ITEMS AND THOSE ARE ALL, UM, LED AND FUNDED THROUGH YOUR UTILITY BILLS.
SO, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH ANNE AGAIN FOR HOPEFULLY I DIDN'T BUTCHER THAT TOO MUCH, BUT I DO REMEMBER THE CONVERSATION.
I APPRECIATE YOUR HARD WORK ON THIS.
OTHER COMMENTS? I'LL JUST SAY THANK YOU ANN.
UM, ECHO, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S BEEN SAID ALREADY? UM, I DON'T THINK I NEED TO RESTATE WHAT EVERYBODY HAS SAID.
UM, BUT I THINK HONESTLY THE CITY,
[01:15:01]
I THINK, UM, IT CONTINUES TO BE MORE, MORE AND MORE INDEBTED TO YOU FOR THE AMOUNT OF DETAIL, FOR THE AMOUNT OF TRANSPARENCY SINCE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IS CONTINUED TO BE HARP ON.UM, JUST REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR WORK AND, AND HONESTLY, UH, YOU KNOW, SHOUT OUT TO, UH, TO CITY MANAGER ERP FOR HIS CONNECTIONS IN, IN BEING ABLE TO FIND YOU AND BRING YOU, UM, TO OUR CITY TO HELP US OUT WITH GETTING THESE, UH, ISSUES LIKE THESE, UH, YOU KNOW, LIGHT SHED ON ISSUES LIKE THESE.
SO I APPRECIATE THE, THE DATA.
ONE THING I THINK THAT WOULD'VE BEEN HELPFUL AND MAYBE IN THE FUTURE IS TO INCLUDE WHAT FUNDS, FUND OR FUNDS EACH OF THE ITEMS COME OUT OF.
BECAUSE THAT WAY THAT MAKES THAT WHOLE TASK OF FIGURING OUT WHAT PART OF THE BUDGETS IT'S IMPACTING EASIER TO SEE.
UM, SO FOR THE FUTURE, THAT WOULD BE A RECOMMENDATION.
AS FAR AS THIS ITEM GOES THOUGH, I THINK WE NEED TO POSTPONE THIS.
SO I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO POSTPONE THIS UNTIL AFTER ITEMS 11, ONE THROUGH 11 FOUR, BECAUSE WE SHOULDN'T BE, UM, SETTING THIS ORDINANCE UNTIL WE FINALIZE THE BUDGET.
YOU CAN'T, WE ALREADY HAVE A MOTION TO VOTE ON THE TABLE.
WE ALREADY HAVE TO APPROVE ON THE TABLE.
WELL, IT'S A COMMENT THAT WE SHOULD POSTPONE IT.
I'M JUST SAYING, BUT THAT'S NOT THE MOTION ON THE TABLE TO VOTE.
MAYOR PROTE, I THINK YOU'RE THE LAST ONE THAT HAS NOT SPOKEN.
I, I GAVE MY COMMENTS EARLIER.
ALRIGHT, SO THE ONE THING I'D SAY IS I'M NOT PROPOSING THERE'S THINGS NEFARIOUS.
WHAT I'M PROPOSING IS, IS WE, WE ARE PINNING A LOT OF THINGS ON ONE PERSON OR THE CITY MANAGER.
AND IF YOU TAKE LIKE, YOU'RE RIGHT, THERE ARE SOME BIG TICKET ITEMS, BUT LET'S TAKE THE SOLID WASTE 2.5 MILLION.
WE'RE NOT GONNA SEE THIS CONTRACT.
WE'RE NOT GONNA SEE THINGS ON THIS BECAUSE WE WE'RE APPROVING IT.
BUT WE JUST FOUND OUT, AND WE LITERALLY JUST HAD AN AGENDA ITEM LAST WEEK WHERE WE FOUND OUT WE'VE BEEN UNDERCHARGING OUR SOLID WASTE FOR YEARS.
AND MY POINT IS, IS THAT THIS HAPPENS BECAUSE WE, WE WE'RE TAKING THE EASY ROUTE, WE'RE TAKING THE EFFICIENCY OF GOVERNMENT AND YOU KNOW, WHO PAYS AT THE END OF THIS? THE PEOPLE DO BECAUSE THEN WE COME BACK AND WE GO, YOU KNOW WHAT, WE GOTTA RAISE YOUR TRASH SERVICE UP.
AND ONE OF THESE DAYS, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED IN 2019, WE GOT SO EFFICIENT THAT WE RAN OUT.
SO I'M NOT SAYING THERE'S NEFARIOUS THAT THE CITY MANAGER'S STEALING THAT ANN CAN'T ADD TWO PLUS TWO.
WHAT I'M SAYING IS OUR JOB, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, IS TO DIG IN IT.
WE, WE CONTROL THE CITY MANAGER AND THE BUDGET.
AND SO WHEN WE SAY HERE'S 20 MILLION AND YEP, I'M GOOD, GO AHEAD AND WE'RE DONE.
AND THAT'S OFF THE REST OF THE YEAR, THEN WHEN SOMETHING COMES UP, WE'RE ONLY GONNA HAVE OURSELVES TO BLAME JUST LIKE TWO WEEKS AGO WHEN, YOU KNOW, ANNE FOUND IT AND THAT'S RIGHT.
GREAT JOB FOR ANNE FINDING THAT WE HAVE BEEN SCREWING UP OUR WASTEWATER OR OUR, UH, TRASH SERVICE AND GREAT JOB THAT WE HAVE BEEN COLLECTING A ROAD MAINTENANCE FEE FOR WHO KNOWS HOW MANY YEARS.
BUT WE WEREN'T PUTTING IT TOWARDS ROADS, WE WERE PUTTING IT TOWARDS TRASH SERVICE.
AND SO, BUT IF WE'RE NOT DOING OUR JOBS, YOU'RE ALWAYS DEPENDING ON WHO'S THE NEXT AND HE OR SHE HAS TO FIND THE MISTAKES OR HE OR SHE.
WHAT IF THEY MAKE A MISTAKE AND WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING AND NO ONE'S WATCHING IT, THEN WE JUST GO YEARS MAKING A MISTAKE.
SO WHETHER WE POSTPONE IT, I DO AGREE THAT THERE'S SOMEWHAT OF AN ISSUE HERE.
'CAUSE I FEEL LIKE WE ARE APPROVING THE CITY MANAGER TO SPEND MONEY THAT WE HAVEN'T APPROVED THE MONEY TO BE SPENT.
SO I DO THINK FROM AN ORDER STANDPOINT, YOU GUYS WANNA GO AHEAD AND VOTE ON IT, THAT'S FINE.
BUT I DO AGREE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER THORNTON, IT'S A LITTLE UNUSUAL I THINK TO APPROVE, GIVE SOMEONE AUTHORIZATION TO SPEND MONEY THAT WE HAVEN'T ACTUALLY AUTHORIZED THE MONEY TO BE SPENT YET.
BUT ANYWAY, SO THE MOTION BY COUNCILOR CLERK SECOND BY COUNCILOR THOMPSON IS TO APPROVE THE ORDINANCES PRESENTED.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THAT? YEAH, I JUST CLARIFICATION QUESTION.
SO IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE ARE APPROVING THE PROCESS OF BEING ABLE TO APPROVE THESE, UM, BLANKET PURCHASE ORDERS AND THAT THE, THE AMOUNTS THAT ARE LISTED IN THERE ARE WHAT ARE BASED ON WHAT THE CURRENT BUDGET IS.
SO IF WE CHANGE THE BUDGET, WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO COME BACK AND REAPPROVE THIS.
THAT WOULD JUST CHANGE THE LINE ITEM.
'CAUSE WE'RE REALLY JUST APPROVING THE PROCESS OF BEING ABLE TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO APPROVE THE BLANKET PURCHASE ORDER FOR X.
SO LET'S SAY FOR INSTANCE, IF WE'VE GOT A LINE ITEM THAT'S, UH, TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS FOR, UM, FOR, FOR SOLID WASTE AND FOR SOME REASON THAT CHANGES TO $2.2 MILLION, THAT WOULDN'T CHANGE THIS ORDINANCE AT ALL.
IT WOULDN'T CHANGE THE ORDINANCE AND, UM, WE COULDN'T ISSUE A PURCHASE ORDER FOR A, A LINE ITEM OR AN AMOUNT THAT WE DON'T HAVE BUDGET FOR.
SO IF COUNCIL DOES CHANGE THE BUDGET FOR THE TRASH PICKUP
[01:20:01]
TO FROM TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS TO A MILLION DOLLARS, WE WOULD ONLY ISSUE THAT PURCHASE ORDER FOR THE MILLION DOLLARS.AND THAT WAS GONNA BE MY SECOND POINT, WAS THIS ENTIRE THING IS BASED ON THE FACT THAT IT IS BASED ON THE BUDGET THAT WE APPROVE.
SO THE CITY COUNCIL IS NOT DELEGATE, IS NOT ABDICATING OR DELEGATING ANY AUTHORITY.
WE ARE APPROVING THE BUDGET AND WE ARE AUTHORIZING YOU TO BE ABLE TO THE CITY MANAGER TO BE ABLE TO GO AND MAKE THESE REGULAR ROUTINE PURCHASES.
THE, THE, THE MONTHLY PURCHASES THAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU LOOK AT THE ORDINANCE AND IF I ENCOURAGE THE CITIZENS TO GO AND READ THIS, I'M NOT GONNA READ THE WHOLE ORDINANCE, BUT IT TALKS ABOUT THE PROCEDURES AND THE, AND THE REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE IN PLACE FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS.
THAT YOU CAN'T GO ABOVE, YOU CAN'T GO ABOVE THE BUDGET, YOU CAN'T GO BEYOND THE FISCAL YEAR.
YOU CAN'T, UM, YOU KNOW, DO ANY OF THESE NEFARIOUS THINGS, UM, WITH IT THAT IT'S, YOU ARE GOING BASED OFF OF THE DIRECTION THAT THE COUNCIL HAS GIVEN MM-HMM.
YOU CAN'T, YOU CAN'T MOVE IT BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS.
THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SAYS IN HERE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I I DON'T SEE IT AS, AS AN ABDICATION OF AUTHORITY.
I SEE IT AS AUTHOR USING OUR AUTHORITY AND AUTHORIZING YOU TO, TO DO WHAT WE'VE ALREADY APPROVED.
SO THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
I HAD ONE MORE POINT IF I MAY.
UH, THE OTHER THING IS IN A FURTHER STEP OF IT NOT ABDICATING AUTHORITY, YOU GAVE THE EXAMPLE OF AL CLAWSON, BUT WE ALSO APPROVED THAT CONTRACT FOR THE AMOUNT AS COUNCIL.
SO EVERYTHING DOVETAILS BETWEEN THE BUDGET AND CONTRACTS APPROVED WITH THE DIFFERENT SUPPLIERS AND IT ALL IS TIED TOGETHER.
THAT'S WHY I SAID IT'S ALL ABOUT PUTTING PROCESSES IN PLACE TO CREATE EFFICIENCY OF GOVERNMENT.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO MICROMANAGE ONCE YOU GET PROCESSES IN PLACE.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WASN'T IN PLACE IN BEFORE.
I'M NOT DISPUTING IN 2019 THINGS WENT OFF THE RAILS, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE PROCESSES IN PLACE THAT REQUIRED YOU COULDN'T EXCEED THE BUDGET AMOUNT, YOU COULDN'T TRANSFER MONEY BETWEEN FUNDS.
ALL THOSE PROCESSES ARE IN PLACE NOW.
AND BECAUSE THEY'RE IN PLACE NOW, WE CAN HAVE THE CONFIDENCE TO APPROVE SOMETHING LIKE THIS TODAY.
I ALWAYS BRING OUT THE CONVERSATION.
IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ALRIGHT, HEARING NONE, PLEASE CALL THE VOTE.
[8.2. Consideration and possible action to reconsider Ordinance No. O-2023-062 for the proposed Specific Use Permit request for the property known as 4037 FM 1660 (North), to allow an elevated water pump station (UDC 10.304.8) (Second Reading) (Ashley Bailey) ]
HAVE ITEM EIGHT TWO CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO RECONSIDER ORDINANCE NUMBER O DASH 2023 DASH 0 6 2 FOR THE PROPOSED SPECIFIC USE PERMIT REQUEST FOR THE PROPERTY KNOWN AS 4 0 3 7 FM 1660 NORTH TO ALLOW AN ELEVATED WATER PUMP STATION U D C 10.348 COULD BEFORE YOU START, SINCE WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN THE OTHER CONTRACT DEALT, I WANNA PROPOSE THAT WE POSTPONE THIS TO A LATER MEETING.ALRIGHT, IT SAYS STAFF REQUESTED.
DO YOU HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND THAT.
SECOND BY MAYOR PRO TEM GORDON.
I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM THE STAFF MEMBER.
UM, I FORGOT WHO ASKED FOR THIS TO BE RECONSIDERED.
WAS IT A COUNCIL MEMBER OR HOW DID IT COME BACK? SECOND? IT WAS JUST A SECOND READING.
WE DID THE FIRST READING LAST TIME LAST WEEK.
ASHLEY BAILEY, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIRECTOR.
UH, THE LAST MEETING, THIS WAS APPROVED, I BELIEVE UNANIMOUSLY OR POTENTIALLY A SIX TO ONE VOTE AT THE FIRST READING LAST THURSDAY.
AND THEN AFTER COUNCIL COMMENTS IT WAS PULLED FOR RECONSIDERATION, BUT I'M NOT SURE AS TO WHY UNLESS IT WAS SOMETHING I KNOW WHY.
WHAT I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IS, I DON'T REMEMBER WHO IT'S A SECOND READING, BUT SOMEONE WANTED TO RECONSIDER IT.
'CAUSE THEY PROBABLY NEED TO SPEAK ON WHY THEY WANTED IT RECONSIDERED.
I DO BELIEVE IT WAS COUNCIL MEMBER CLARK.
AND IT WAS, WE WERE GONNA HAVE ANSWERS BACK FROM CITY, FROM CITY ATTORNEY AND ALL THIS STUFF.
WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN ANY OF THAT BECAUSE WE WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, WE DISCUSSED AN EXECUTIVE THE REASONS WHY AND THAT STILL HASN'T BEEN RESOLVED YET.
SO THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING FOR IT TO BE POSTPONED.
AND UM, MAYOR, YOU TOOK AN ACTION ITEM TO VISIT WITH, UH, BILL BROWN REGARDING THE RATES FOR THE SEWER CURRENTLY, UH, UH, MANVILLE AND AND HU RESIDENTS PAY $60 PER MONTH FOR SEWER AND JONAH PAYS 2387 PER MONTH FOR SEWER.
HAVE YOU ALL GOTTEN IN CONTACT WITH THE, WELL WAIT A MINUTE, WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT RIGHT.
AND SO IT WAS ASKED TO TO THAT THE SS U P BE PULLED FOR RECONSIDERATION WITH THIS OTHER
[01:25:01]
ITEM SO THAT THEY COULD BE NEGOTIATED TOGETHER WITH JONAH? YEAH, I GUESS MAYBE IT'S A, UM, I HATE TO USE THE WORD PROCESS ISSUE, BUT IF THERE'S A SECOND READING INSTEAD OF RECON, UH, WHAT IT'S CONFUSING TO ME, WE SAY SECOND READING, BUT RE BUT THE, THE ITEM IS TO RECONSIDER.AND TO ME, USUALLY YOU JUST WOULDN'T CONSIDER THE SECOND READING.
IT WOULD JUST NOT COME BACK UP OR YOU WOULD RECONSIDER THE FIRST READING.
BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN US EVER RECONSIDER A FIRST READING.
'CAUSE YOU CAN ALWAYS VOTE NO ON A SECOND READING.
IS THAT MAKING SENSE? IT MAKES SENSE.
UH, FOR THE RECORD, JAMES RP, CITY MANAGER, MY QUESTION WOULD BE WAS THE SECOND READING DISPENSED WITH IT WAS NOT, I DON'T, I DON'T BELIEVE IT WAS.
IT CAN'T BECAUSE IT'S A ZONING ITEM.
SO I THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE TO POSTPONE, BUT I THINK IF WE DO IT AGAIN, IT WOULD JUST BE SECOND READING.
WE, WE DON'T HAVE TO RECONSIDER.
BECAUSE I STARTED THINKING HOW DO YOU RECONSIDER A FIRST READING? I MEAN, I GUESS YOU, YOU CAN DO ANYTHING IF YOU VOTE ON IT.
IF DON'T HAVE, IF IT'S, IF IT'S A RECONSIDERATION AND THIS IS REALLY YOUR BEN, WHY DON'T YOU GO, WHY
BEN WHITEHEAD, UH, ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY.
UM, AS IT'S LISTED ON THE AGENDA.
THIS IS SIMPLY A SECOND READING.
'CAUSE UNDER YOUR CHARTER PROVISIONS, UM, CERTAIN TYPES OF ORDINANCES ARE REQUIRED TO GO THROUGH SECOND READINGS AND CAN'T HAVE THE SECOND READING DISPENSED WITH, UH, OUR OPINION IS THAT ZONING TYPE ORDINANCES BECAUSE THEY DO TECHNICALLY IMPOSE A PENALTY, UM, THROUGH THE, THE ZONING CODE, UM, FOR ANY VIOLATIONS, UH, DO REQUIRE SECOND READING.
SO I SEE NO REASON WHY YOU CAN'T HAVE A MOTION TO POSTPONE THE SECOND READING AND THEN JUST POSTPONE THAT TO A DATE CERTAIN.
SO WE'VE GOT IT POSTPONED BY COUNCILMAN CLARK AND SECOND BY MAYOR PROTIME GORDON.
AND YOU'RE ONE TO WHAT? JUST UNTIL AT SUCH TIME YES.
STAFF FEELS IT READY TO COME BACK? YES.
YOU OKAY WITH THAT? DO WE NEED TO MAKE IT DATE CERTAIN? I THINK YOU CAN MAKE IT CONTINGENT UPON STAFF PROVIDING THE ANSWERS THAT WERE REQUESTED PREVIOUSLY.
SO CONTINGENT ON STAFF PROVIDING ANSWERS AS REQUESTED, YOU OKAY WITH THAT? YES.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION? HEARING NONE, PLEASE CALL THE VOTE.
[9.1. Consideration and possible action on Resolution No. R-2023-249 for the issuance of $11 million in tax-supported General Obligation Bonds for park improvements (Anne LaMere and Jim Sabonis) ]
NINE ONE CONSIDERATION POSSIBLE ACTION ON RESOLUTION NUMBER R DASH 2023 DASH 24 9 FOR THE ISSUANCE OF 11 MILLION IN TAX SUPPORTED GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS FOR PARK IMPROVEMENTS.IT'S MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE JIM SABONI WITH HILLTOP SECURITIES WHO WILL PRESENT, UH, A PLAN OF FINANCE FOR $11 MILLION.
UH, MAYOR, POINT OF ORDER BEFORE WE PROCEED.
UM, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR OUR CITY ATTORNEY.
SO I, IT JUST OCCURRED TO ME, AND, AND THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME WE'VE DONE THIS, BUT SOMEBODY'S NEEDED A, A MEMBER OF COUNCILS NEEDED TO STEP OUT TEMPORARILY AND COME BACK AND THEY'VE MISSED A VOTE.
UH, WE HAVE A PROVISION IN OUR CHARTER THAT SAYS THAT EVERYONE HAS TO VOTE ON SOMETHING UNLESS THEY FILE AN ITEM THAT SAYS THAT THEY ARE GONNA RECUSE THEIRSELF FOR A SPECIFIC REASON.
UM, DO WE NEED TO, TO RECONSIDER THAT ITEM SO THAT COUNCIL MEMBER WILCO CAN VOTE ON THAT? I, I DON'T WANT IT TO BE BROUGHT UP AS A, AS A POTENTIAL ISSUE WITH BREAKING OUR CHARTER.
IF SHE STEPPED OUT, WE PROCEEDED WITH A VOTE WITHOUT HER.
I'M SORRY, I HAD TO GO TO THE RESTROOM.
LEMME JUST REVIEW THAT CHARTER PROVISION TO MAKE SURE I AM LOOKING AT THE LANGUAGE CORRECTLY.
OH, I THINK, IN MY OPINION HERE, THE CHARTER DOES SAY THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO ARE PRESENT SHALL VOTE UPON EVERY RESOLUTION OR ORDINANCE.
SO IF A COUNCIL MEMBER HAS TEMPORARILY
[01:30:01]
LEFT THE MEETING AND THEN RETURNED, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THEY NECESSARILY WOULD HAVE TO BE VOTING ON THE ITEM WHILE THEY WERE OUT.UM, CERTAINLY IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECONSIDER AN ITEM AND HOLD A VOTE, YOU CAN.
UH, BUT I DO NOT THINK THAT THE CHARTER WOULD REQUIRE IT IN THIS CIRCUMSTANCE.
BECAUSE, BECAUSE THE LAST THING I WANTED, THERE WAS A YEARS AGO, BACK IN 2019, WE'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT 2019.
THERE WAS A COUNCIL MEMBER WHO DID NOT VOTE ON AN ITEM.
AND, UH, THERE WAS MUCH ADO MADE ABOUT THAT.
UM, SHE DIDN'T FEEL LIKE SHE WAS PREPARED TO VOTE ON THE ITEM.
UM, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF RUCKUS MADE OVER THAT.
WHAT I DON'T WANT TO HAVE HAPPEN IS FOR A COUNCIL MEMBER TO BE ACCUSED OF WELL THEY DIDN'T WANNA VOTE ON THAT, SO THEY STEPPED OUT.
I HAD TO GO TO THE BATHROOM RIGHT NOW.
MAKING FALSE ACCUSATIONS OR, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER ABOUT US ON, ON THE DIOCESE, I GUESS.
SO I JUST MAKES, I WANT TO PROTECT THAT MAKES SENSE.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT WE'RE ALL BEING PROTECTED AND THAT WE'RE NOT PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PUBLIC TO THEN START TO SPECULATE OVER WHY DID A CERTAIN COUNCIL MEMBER LEAVE AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME AND MISSED THAT PARTICULAR VOTE.
NO, BUT THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING.
I'M NOT ACCUSING HER OF ANYTHING, BUT I'M SAYING OTHERS COULD.
AND I WANT TO PROTECT MY FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBER.
LET THE RECORD SHOW I WAS IN THE RESTROOM.
NO, I GUESS MY, THE POINT I'M MAKING IS I REALLY THINK WE NEED TO MAKE IT A POLICY AND A PROCEDURE THAT IF SOMEONE NEEDS TO STEP OUT, WE RECOGNIZE THAT AND WE PAUSE THE MEETING.
YEAH, I WAS ONLY GONE A SECOND.
I'M GONNA THE BATHROOM
UH, AS I SAID, MY OPINION IS THAT IT WOULD NOT BE REQUIRED IF COUNCIL IS TEMPORARILY ABSENT, I WOULD ASK HER.
NINE ONE CONSIDERATION POSSIBLE ACTION ON RESOLUTION NUMBER R DASH 2023 DASH 2 49 FOR THE ISSUANCE OF 11 MILLION IN TAX SUPPORTED GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS FOR PARK IMPROVEMENTS.
JIM MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, JIM SABONI WITH HILLTOP SECURITIES, THE CITY'S FINANCIAL ADVISOR.
I'VE WORKED WITH, UM, ANN AND JAMES AND THE SENIOR STAFF TO PUT TOGETHER A PLAN, A VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD PLAN TO FUND $11 MILLION OF LOADED GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS TO FUND PARK IMPROVEMENTS.
UH, THE, OUR GOAL IS TO MOVE FORWARD QUICKLY.
INTEREST RATES CONTINUE TO RISE.
UH, THE PLAN WOULD, IF APPROVED TONIGHT, WE'D EXPECT TO BE HERE AT YOUR NOVEMBER MEETING, UH, WITH A SALE.
UM, SO IN SUMMARY, OUR PROJECT COST IS 11 MILLION.
UM, WE INSPECT TO HAVE A COMPETITIVE SALE ON NOVEMBER 2ND, A CLOSING TO TAKE PLACE AFTER THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S REVIEW AND APPROVAL ON NOVEMBER 29TH.
UM, WE ARE PROJECTING FOR THE SAKE OF THIS ANALYSIS AND INTEREST RATE OF 4.96%, IT'S ACTUALLY CURRENT AA MINUS RATES, THE CITY'S RATING PLUS 50 BASIS POINTS.
UM, THE FED DID NOT MOVE INTEREST RATES DURING THE LAST MEETING, THOUGH, UH, THE CONSENSUS OF WALL STREET ECONOMISTS FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, SAYS THAT THEY HIGHLY LIKELY TO MOVE IT IN, UH, THE NOVEMBER, EXCUSE ME, DECEMBER MEETING, UM, COMING UP, WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF DECEMBER.
SO WE'RE GONNA TRY TO CATCH, UH, THE MARKET AS IT'S KIND OF MOVES UPWARD TOWARDS THAT.
UH, WE'LL BE ISSUING ABOUT 11.3 MILLION, UH, VOTED AUTHORIZATION, WHICH WILL FUND THE COST OF ISSUANCE AND UNDERWRITERS DISCOUNT.
TOTAL PRINCIPLE AND INTEREST WILL BE JUST, UH, OVER 19.4 MILLION, AVERAGING ABOUT $777,000 PER YEAR.
UH, THE PLAN IS TO USE A PORTION OF OUR, UH, EXCESS IN TAX.
UM, FUND YOUR BUDGET INDICATES THAT YOU END, YOU EXPECT TO END THE YEAR WITH 1.8 MILLION IN THAT FUND, WHICH IS ABOUT 30% OF YOUR CURRENT ANNUAL PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST ON AB LOAN DEBT.
UH, GENERAL CONCEPT, THERE'S BEEN MORE AND MORE SCRUTINY, UM, BY, UH, TEXAS COLLECTORS TO USE THAT FUND.
AND SO THE PLAN IS TO USE SOME OF THAT TO BRING IT DOWN, UH, TO A LEVEL, UM, MIGHT BE MORE APPROPRIATE IN THAT FUND.
NOW WE'VE RUN SOME DIFFERENT SCENARIOS AND TO GIVE A FEEL THAT IF WE USED OUR CURRENT VALUE AND WE HAVE NO GROWTH GOING FORWARD, UH, THE IMPACT WOULD BE 2.6 UH CENTS ON YOUR TAX RATE.
AND I WANNA REMEMBER THAT LAST YEAR YOUR TAX RATE OR YOUR CURRENT YEAR IS 14.80 CENTS.
YOU'VE GONE DOWN A PENNY AND HALF TO 13.30 CENTS.
SO IF WE DIDN'T GROW, NO HOMES WERE BUILT, NO BUSINESSES BUILT, UM, NO REEVALUATION, WE'D GO UP TWO POINT, UH, A LITTLE OVER 2.60 CENTS OVER THE NEXT YEARS.
BUT WHAT WE'VE DONE IS VERY CONSERVATIVE NUMBERS.
UM, AND I'LL GO THROUGH THEM IN A MINUTE.
UM, UM, WE'VE REDUCED OUR GROWTH RATE, UM, BY ABOUT HALF FROM THE CURRENT YEAR.
WE'VE JUST USED SOME CONSERVATIVE NUMBERS FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
AND BASED ON DRAWING DOWN OUR FUND
[01:35:01]
A LITTLE BIT AND THOSE CONSERVATIVE NUMBERS, UH, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ABSORB THIS WITHIN OUR EXISTING INESS TAX RATE.THIS, UM, SMALL FONT, UH, INDICATES OUR AMORTIZATION.
WE'RE LOOKING AT 25 YEARS AS I INDICATED.
UH, WE'RE USING A 50 BASIS POINTS BUFFER AND IF YOU LOOK AT, UM, THE, THE EIGHTH COLUMN FROM THE LEFT, YOU'RE GONNA SEE WE'RE GONNA DRAW DOWN FUND BALANCE, UH, OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
UM, AND WE'RE GONNA USE INTEREST EARNINGS ON OUR CONSTRUCTION FUND EXPECTING A 12 MONTH INTEREST, UH, BEARING PERIOD.
UM, AND AS A RESULT, UM, WITH THOSE COMBINED EFFECTS, UM, AND USING, UH, ASSUMPTION ON INTEREST RATE, WE GREW, UM, APPROXIMATELY $694 MILLION IN VALUE FROM 23 TO 24.
WE'RE GONNA REDUCE THAT GROWTH RATE AND, AND, UH, WE'RE USING 9% OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT ON A TOTAL BASIS, WOULD REPRESENT ABOUT 1.3 BILLION IN VALUE.
SO REALLY, UM, OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS, WE'RE GONNA GROW ABOUT TWICE WHAT WE'VE GROWN THIS YEAR.
SO IT'S ABOUT A THIRD LESS OF, UH, BUFFER IN PLACE THERE.
UM, IT'S SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN USING THE MULTI-YEAR BUDGETING PROCESS THAT WE'VE HAD FOR THE CITY FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.
THE NEXT SLIDE IS ACTUALLY THE SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS THAT WE DID THAT SAYS THAT WE DON'T GROW IN VALUE.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE SECOND COLUMN FROM THE LEFT, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE HAVE 0% GROWTH AFTER THIS.
UM, AND THAT WOULD SHIELD THE 2.60 CENTS.
SO, UM, TALKING TO STAFF BASED ON WHAT THEY'RE AWARE OF BEING PLOTTED AND PERMITTED, UH, WE THINK THAT THE GROWTH RATE IS COMFORTABLE.
UH, OUR GOAL IS TO MOVE FORWARD QUICKLY.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS YOU'VE HEARD, WE SEEN 'EM SAY THE SAME, UH, STORY.
UM, INFLATION IS, UM, STILL A BIG PART OF OUR ECONOMY.
AND, UH, SO WE EXPECT INTEREST RATES TO CONTINUE RISE OR PERIOD.
SO WE'RE GONNA TRY TO MOVE RAPIDLY TO ORGANIZE A COMPETITIVE SALE AND HAVE IT READY FOR YOUR NOVEMBER 2ND MEETING.
WE'D EXPECT CONFIRMATION OF YOUR EXISTING RATINGS INSTEAD WOULD HAVE NO, UH, NO IMPACT ON IT.
IN FACT, THE LAST COUPLE TIMES WE'VE GONE TO THE AGENCIES, THEY'RE AWARE OF OUR VOTED BONDS AND THEIR ANTICIPATION TO ISSUE THEM.
UM, IN SUMMARY, THAT'S A MODERATE FALL ISSUANCE THAT SHOULD BE, UM, EASILY TO ABSORB WITHIN OUR RATE.
UM, AND, UH, I EXPECT, UH, A COMPETITIVE PROCESS FOR THE SALE OF THE BONDS.
THAT CONCLUDES MY FORMAL POINTS.
I PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION I CAN OR ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
YOUR AGENDA SET? UM, I'M SORRY FOR THE RECORD, ANN LAMERE, INTERIM FINANCE DIRECTOR.
UM, YOUR AGENDA SAYS THAT THERE'S A RESOLUTION, BUT IN CONSULTATION WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY, WE AND OUR BOND COUNCIL, BART FOWLER, WE DETERMINED THAT A RESOLUTION AT THIS POINT WAS NOT REALLY APPROPRIATE.
AND THAT ALLS THAT WE NEED AT THIS POINT IS A MOTION FROM COUNCIL, UM, OR DIRECTING STAFF THAT YOU WANT TO PROCEED WITH THIS PLAN OF FINANCE AND BOND ISSUANCE.
AND THEN STAFF WILL MOVE FORWARD AND THEN WE'LL BRING BACK TO YOU A MOTION WITH, UH, NUMBERS, UH, THAT YOU CAN APPROVE FOR THE SALE OF THE BONDS.
I WAS LOOKING FOR THE LA RESOLUTION.
I THINK THIS IS, UH, SO I ORIGINALLY BROUGHT UP THE, THE FRITZ PARK, UH, RENOVATION.
JUST, UH, WHENEVER I FIRST GOT ON COUNCIL, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT IN TALKING WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, BACK IN 2018 THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY WANTED, THEY VOTED FOR.
I THINK A LOT OF VALUE COMES IN HAVING A FLAGSHIP PARK IN OUR, IN OUR CITY.
AND, UM, I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WILL BRING A LOT OF VALUE, UM, TO OUR CITY AS WELL.
UM, AND SO, UM, 2018, THAT WAS A LONG TIME.
AND LIKE YOU SAID, MR. SABONI INTEREST IS RISING AND SO, UM, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE, UH, THE PLAN OF FINANCING AND BOND ISSUANCE FOR 9.2.
YOU MEAN, SIR? WHAT'S THAT? 9.1, SORRY, 9.1.
BUSH ABOUT COUNCILOR THOMPSON.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.
BY COUNCIL MEMBER CLARK, IF I COULD ASK, WHICH PLAN ARE WE TELLING HIM TO GO DO? THERE'S TWO OF THEM IN HERE AS I SEE.
WHICH ONE ARE YOU? NO, THERE'S ONLY ONE PLAN.
THE OTHER, THERE'S ONLY, THERE'S JUST A, IT'S JUST A, UM, IT'S A, A SENSITIVITY CHECK WHERE YOU SAY IF YOU HAD ABSOLUTELY NO GROWTH IN THE CITY, WHAT COULD IT BE? YOU DON'T PLAN FOR THAT.
THEY'RE GONNA ASSUME THAT WE'RE GONNA BE AT THE ZERO RATE.
SO I, I LOOK AT THIS, TO ME THIS IS TWO DIFFERENT PLANS BECAUSE ONE AS A LEVEL PAYMENT AND ONE ONE APPEARS TO BE,
[01:40:02]
THIS IS ONE OF THE ISSUES WE HAD BEFORE.IT'S REALLY LOW IN THE BEGINNING.
AND THEN IN 2030, IN 2036, WE HAVE A HALF A MILLION DOLLAR INCREASE IN DEBT SERVICE.
AND I KNOW JIM REMEMBERS THIS, WE SPENT LIKE THREE YEARS, WE HAD A WHOLE BUNCH OF BIG BALLOONS COMING AND WE SPENT THE PAST THREE YEARS LEVELING EVERYTHING OFF.
WELL, AND, AND, AND MAYOR AND I, I APOLOGIZE.
UH, I FORWARDED, UM, A PLAN BEFORE IT WAS CORRECTED, UM, WHEN WE ACTUALLY SAW THESE NUMBERS, UH, JAMES AND, AND UH MM-HMM.
AND WE INTEND TO DO THE LEVEL DEBT SERVICE PLAN AND, AND THE, THAT'S THE PLAN THAT IS GONNA BE PUT IN PLACE AND ISSUED ON THE BONDS.
SCENARIO TWO, SCENARIO TWO, DEBT STRUCTURE OF LEVEL PRINCIPLED AND INTEREST.
AND IT'S THE FIRST TIME THE CITY'S DONE LEVEL PRINCIPLED AND INTEREST.
OKAY? FOR NOW EVERYBODY'S LEARNING HOW, UM, SPECIFIC I LIKE TO BE, BUT WE'RE NOT DIRECTING YOU GUYS TO DO THAT LEVEL PAY.
WE'RE JUST DIRECTING YOU TO BRING BACK A PLAN.
SO IF IT COMES BACK, WHICH THINGS COULD COME BACK DIFFERENTLY IF IT COMES BACK DIFFERENTLY.
IF WE DON'T, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG JAMES OR THE ATTORNEY.
IF WE'RE NOT GIVING YOU A LITTLE BIT OF DIRECTION ON WHAT WE WANT, THEN YOU GUYS CAN BRING BACK ANYTHING YOU WANT AND THEN WE EITHER HAVE TO TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT.
AM I RIGHT IN SAYING THAT? WELL, YOU JUST NEED TO GIVE US GUIDANCE, UH, NUMBER ONE THAT YOU WANT US TO PROCEED WITH THE BOND ISSUANCE.
YOU CAN TELL US THE LEVEL DEBT SERVICE, BUT JAMES HAS ALREADY, JAMES AND I HAVE ALREADY DECIDED THAT THAT'S WHAT WE NEED AS A CITY.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE WERE HEADED ON THAT.
AND THESE NUMBERS WILL CHANGE.
THIS IS A PRELIMINARY ESTIMATE.
TO GIVE YOU A LOOK AT WHAT WE THINK YOU'RE AUTHORIZING TO GIVE YOU A SAMPLE, UH, INTEREST RATE AS TO WHAT WE BELIEVE THE MARKET, UH, WILL COME BACK AT.
UM, BUT THE NUMBERS DEFINITELY WILL CHANGE SLIGHTLY.
UM, BUT THIS IS A HIGH LEVEL VIEW SO THAT YOU CAN MAKE A DECISION WHETHER YOU WANNA IN, UH, ISSUE THE BONDS OR NOT.
IN TERMS OF THE TAX RATE, BASED ON OUR CURRENT GROWTH, I DO BELIEVE THAT THERE WILL, THAT THE UM, DEBT SERVICE RATE WILL NOT INCREASE NEXT YEAR UNDER EITHER SCENARIO.
UH, AND AND I APOLOGIZE AGAIN, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE STARTING TO PAUSE AND EVERY TIME THERE'S A PAUSE THAT TELLS ME WELL UNDER, UNDER, UNDER THE LEVEL DEBT SERVICE, UM, PRINCIPLE AMORTIZATION, WE EXPECT NO IMPACT ON THE I S TAX RATE.
I WOULD SAY UNDER EITHER SCENARIO, I DO EXPECT THAT NEXT YEAR THERE WOULD BE UM, NO INCREASE ON YOUR DEBT SERVICE RATE UNDER EITHER SCENARIO.
BUT I DO BELIEVE WHAT'S RIGHT FOR THE CITY IS A LEVEL DEBT SERVICE.
AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS APPROXIMATELY 800 MILLION PER YEAR PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST ON, ON THIS BOND UNDER A LEVEL DEBT SERVICE.
I'M SORRY, DID I SAY MILLION? 800,000.
THANK YOU SO MUCH MAYOR FOR TIM
ALRIGHT, SO JIM, THIS, THE RATE STAYS THE SAME, BUT AS I ALWAYS SAY, I DON'T LIKE ME PERSONALLY, I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE RATE BECAUSE I KNOW THAT OVER THE NEXT, UH, 25 YEARS I THINK HOME PRICES ARE GOING UP.
AND SO IF WE ALWAYS SAY THE RATE WILL STAY THE SAME, THEN WHEN PEOPLE'S BILLS GO UP, DO WE KNOW APPROXIMATELY WHAT THE IMPACT OF THIS IS GONNA BE ON PEOPLE'S BILLS JUST NEXT YEAR? IS THIS A $70 INCREASE IN THEIR TAXES IS AN 80? 'CAUSE WHEN WE SAY THAT RATE STAYS THE SAME, MAY I ALWAYS SAY THAT'S CODE FOR YOUR TAXES ARE GOING UP.
JUST HOW MUCH ARE WE GOING UP? SO IT WOULD BE ABOUT IF THERE WAS NO CHANGE, NO GROWTH AND UH, IT WAS A 2 CENT TAX INCREASE.
ON THE AVERAGE HOME VALUE THAT WOULD BE $70 PER YEAR FOR A PARK WE DON'T NEED.
ALRIGHT, SO ON THAT, UM, PEOPLE ARE GONNA SPEND $11 MILLION ON A PARK THAT WE HAVE 97 MILLION, AROUND 11 MILLION.
YOU CAN'T FIND ANYWHERE ELSE TO PUT THAT.
OH, UM, YOU GUYS GIMME A SECOND.
I THOUGHT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE, UH, AVERAGE HOME VALUE AND YOUR, I BELIEVE YOUR QUESTION WAS IF WE HAD NO GROWTH, OH, I GOT IT.
AN ADDITIONAL 2 CENTS ON THE DEBT SERVICE RATE, WHAT WOULD THAT MEAN TO THE AVERAGE HOMEOWNER? AND IT WOULD MEAN $70 PER YEAR.
SO I GOT ONE REQUEST OUTTA COUNCIL.
MAYBE IF YOU GUYS DON'T WANNA FRONT THE AMENDMENT, I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO IT.
BUT I'D LIKE US TO DIRECT STAFF TO BRING BACK
[01:45:01]
THAT WHEN YOU PRESENT THIS, UM, WELL NEVERMIND THAT'S FOR BOND LANGUAGE.I'M OFF, I WAS THINKING ON BOND LANGUAGE.
I WANTED US TO START DOING WHAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE TO DO WHERE INSTEAD OF WE JUST SAY IT'S 10 CENTS YOUR TAX RATE.
WE HAVE TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT IT'S GONNA COST BECAUSE IT'S EASY TO TELL PEOPLE IT'S 10 CENTS OR IT'S 2 CENTS, BUT 2 CENTS IS 70 BUCKS.
AND THEN, BUT THAT'S FOR BON ROUS.
BUT I DON'T WANNA BE UM, I DON'T WANNA MISREPRESENT THAT WE HAVE GROWTH WITHIN THE CITY AND I DO BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH GROWTH THAT THE I N S RATE IS, WILL DECREASE NEXT YEAR.
JUST LIKE IT DID THIS YEAR IN 22, THE, THE I N SS TAX RATE WAS 14 CENTS PER A HUNDRED DOLLARS VALUATION.
LAST YEAR THE CITY ISSUED UM, APPROXIMATELY $38 MILLION IN BONDS FOR RHODES.
AND UM, EVEN WITH ISSUING $38 MILLION BECAUSE THERE WAS A $1 BILLION INCREASE IN ASSESS VALUE FOR THE CITY, THE I N S RATE DROPPED TO 13 CENTS.
SO IT DROPPED 1 CENT EVEN THOUGH WE ISSUED $38 MILLION IN BONDS.
SO WHAT'D THE TAX BILL DO? 'CAUSE AGAIN, YOU SAY THE RATE DROPPED A PENNY MM-HMM.
BECAUSE IT'S A, THAT'S WHY I DON'T LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE RATE BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS A FUNCTION OF MATH AND THE IMPORTANT MATH, IT, IT'S JUST A THING WITH ME.
GOVERNMENT ALWAYS TALKS ABOUT THE RATE AND THE RATE DROPPED.
THE RATE DROPPED, BUT THE BILL KEEPS GOING UP.
AND SO THEY KNOW, YOU SEE THE NUMBERS, WE KNOW VALUES GO UP MAY MARY.
IS THAT OKAY OR DO YOU I WAS JUST SAYING YOU'RE CORRECT ON AN M AND O RATE, YOU'RE INCORRECT MAKING THAT ASSUMPTION ON I N S RIGHT.
AM INCORRECT OR CORRECT, JIM, BECAUSE I CAN'T ANSWER THAT.
BUT, BUT LEMME CLARIFY SOMETHING.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, IF OUR DEBT SERVICE FOR THE CITY IS $10 MILLION, THEN WE'RE GONNA TAKE, YOU'VE GOT EQUALS 10 MILLION AND YOU KNOW THE VALUE OF THE PROPERTY AND YOU'RE GONNA DO A MATH AND FIGURE OUT WHAT THE RATE HAS TO BE TO GET TO 10 MILLION.
IS THAT CORRECT? I AGREE WITH YOU.
UH, FROM A FINANCIAL MATHEMATICAL CALCULATION, YEAH.
IF THE VALUE GOES TO 50%, THE RATE GOES UP 200%.
AND IF THE, AND IF THE HOUSE DOUBLE IN VALUE, HOLD ON.
BUT YOU'RE, YOU'RE MISSING OUT ON FUNDAMENTAL POINT OF THE CALCULATION.
THE OTHER THING IS THAT'S ONLY IF YOU ASSUME NO GROWTH, BUT IF YOU HAVE GROWTH, YOU HAVE MORE PEOPLE THAT COME IN.
SO EVEN IF YOU HAD HOME VALUE DROP IN THE RATE CHANGE, IT MIGHT STILL DROP AS A RATE OF PERCENTAGE.
IT WOULDN'T BE A ONE-TO-ONE BECAUSE YOU HAVE MORE PEOPLE SUPPORTING THAT DEBT SERVICE, WHICH IS WHY WE HAD A 13% A 1 CENT DROP THIS YEAR.
SO YOU TRY OVERSIMPLIFYING IT, BUT YOU'RE, YOU'RE MISSING UP FUNDAMENTAL HALF.
IT'S LIKE HALF THE EQUATION YOU'RE JUST MARKING OUT SAYING, WELL DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT.
I DIDN'T BRING MY SIGN TONIGHT.
THAT SAYS IT'S COMPLICATED BECAUSE WHEN YOU START TO TALK ABOUT THE TAX RATE, THERE ARE SO MANY VARIABLES THAT FEED INTO THE TAX RATE THAT IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO TAKE ONE OF THOSE VARIABLES AND SAY THAT'S THE ONLY VARIABLE THAT'S GONNA CHANGE.
RIGHT? WHAT, WHAT, HERE'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET AT, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO MISLEAD PEOPLE WHEN WE SAY THE RATE'S GOING DOWN A PENNY THAT MAKES EVERYBODY THINK WHAT MY TAXES ARE GOING DOWN.
BUT JUST BECAUSE THE RATE GOES DOWN A PENNY DOESN'T MEAN YOUR TAXES GO DOWN.
IN REALITY, DEPENDING ALL THE COMPLICATED THINGS, YOUR TAXES MAY GO DOWN, THEY MAY GO UP.
AND THAT'S ALL I'M IMPRESSING UPON IS THAT WE GO AROUND TELLING EVERYBODY EVERY TIME THE COMMUNITY IMPACT REPORTS A STORY WITH THE BUDGET, THEY ALWAYS SAY, WE LOWERED YOUR TAXES BY 3 CENTS, BUT YOU'RE GONNA PAY MORE BECAUSE YOUR HOME VALUES WENT UP.
THAT'S WHAT ALL EVERYBODY WHO DOES, AND I'M TRYING TO PUT OUT THERE THAT WE KNOW THE VALUE OF HOMES IN MARCH AND THEN THEY GET SETTLED IN JUNE OR JULY OR WHATEVER AND WE SET THE RATES IN AUGUST.
SO WHEN WE SET THE RATES AND WE TELL PEOPLE THEY GO DOWN, I'VE ALWAYS ASKED JIM, IT'D BE NICE ON HERE TO HAVE WHEN THE RATES ARE DROPPING, WHAT WHAT'S THE TAX DOLLARS DOING? BECAUSE WE NEVER TELL PEOPLE WHAT THE ACTUAL HIT.
'CAUSE NOBODY IN OUT THERE CARES WHAT THE TAX RATE IS.
THEY CARE WHAT THE TAX BILL IS AND WE KEEP TELLING EVERYBODY THE RATES ARE GOING DOWN A PENNY.
THEY'RE GOING UP A PENNY, BUT WE NEVER TELL ANYBODY THIS IS GONNA COST YOU WHAT YOU SAID $70 MORE A YEAR.
AND TO ME THAT IS WHAT PEOPLE CARE ABOUT.
[01:50:01]
AND THEN THEY CAN MAKE A DETERMINED DECISION THAT THIS PARK, YES, IT'S WORTH $70 A YEAR TO ME.INSTEAD A PENNY, A PENNY I THINK IS, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE WORD FOR IT IS.
IT, IT'S A MISLEADING THING TO SAY WE'RE, WE'RE COUNTING PENNIES AND PEOPLE ARE FILLING DOLLARS.
BUT MAYOR, I I HEAR YOU AND I WILL BRING THAT INFORMATION THE NEXT TIME I PRESENT SOMETHING I, I CONGRATULATE, UM, ANNE HOW QUICK SHE IS ON DOING HER MATHEMATICS.
BUT I USE MY CALCULATOR HERE AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE 800,000 AND YOU LOOK AT OUR CURRENT VALUE, IT WOULD MEAN A $400,000 HOME WOULD PAY $65 AND 35 CENTS.
THAT'S OF, OF YOUR CURRENT TAX RATE AND YOUR TAX GENERATED FROM A 400,000 HOME 65.
AND, AND SO, UM, WE BUILT THREE YEARS OF GROWTH AND IF THAT GROWTH DIDN'T TAKE PLACE, UM, TWO WAYS TO LOOK AT IT.
EITHER YOUR TAX RATE GOES UP AND IT'D GO UP THE EQUIVALENT OF $10 AND 40 CENTS.
THAT'S WHAT GROWTH WE ABSORB IN THAT SCENARIO THAT TAKES PLACE.
'CAUSE TO ME, I DON'T, I'M NOT TRYING TO ARGUE THE $70.
I'M TRYING TO ARGUE THE PRINCIPAL.
'CAUSE NEXT YEAR WE'RE GONNA BE ASKED IS $164 OR $164 MILLION IN ROAD BONDS AND WE'RE GONNA COME OUT WITH, IT'S ONLY FOR THE PRICE OF A HAMBURGER A WEEK.
AND THEN PEOPLE ARE GONNA DO IT AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY GO, MY GOD, HOW DID MY TAX GO? A THOUSAND DOLLARS.
AND THEN GOVERNMENT SAYS, WELL THE VOTERS APPROVED IT.
I MEAN I'M USING THE SAME LINGO I'M SAYING WE JUST GOTTA GET ON THE FRONT AND GO, IT'S 70 BUCKS.
WE GO OUT AND TELL PEOPLE WE PASSED THE PARK, WE'RE DOING IT.
IT'S 70 BUCKS A YEAR AND IT IS WHAT IT IS.
BUT IT'S NOT 70 BUCKS FOR 30 YEARS.
THAT'S THE PROBLEM BECAUSE YOU, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY I SAID YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU TRY TO LOOK AT ONE YEAR, YOU TRY TO THROW THINGS AT ONE YEAR AT A TIME RATES INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT THE WHOLE PROJECT OVER THE COST OF THE OWNERSHIP OF THE THING.
AND, AND YOU DON'T LOOK AT ANY EXTERNAL VARIABLES EXCEPT FOR ONE MYOPIC POINT.
AND WHEN YOU DO THAT, THAT'S JUST AS CONFUSING TO THE CITIZENRY AS THE OTHER EXAMPLES YOU GIVE.
HOW SO? 'CAUSE IT POINT OF ORDER.
I WOULD LIKE TO RESUME WHAT WE DECIDED EARLIER AND ALLOW EVERYONE TO SPEAK BEFORE SOMEBODY SPEAKS TWICE.
WE, A COUPLE PEOPLE ARE MONOPOLIZING THIS DISCUSSION AND CONVERSATION.
WE GOT SEVEN MEMBERS OF COUNCIL HERE.
SO WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY IS WHAT, WHAT PEOPLE ARE HEARING FROM THE MAYOR IS IF YOU, IF WE VOTE FOR THIS, YOUR TAXES ARE GONNA GO UP $75 A YEAR.
THAT'S RIDICULOUS AND THAT'S NOT TRUE.
WHAT I HEAR THEN, AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE TAKEAWAY THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE LISTENING TO THIS, THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE HEARING IS, IS OUTTA THE MAYOR'S MOUTH THAT IF WE VOTE FOR THIS, YOUR TAXES ARE GONNA GO UP $75 A YEAR.
NOW THAT IS WORST CASE SCENARIO IF WE HAVE ZERO GROWTH AND ALL OF THESE IFS, IFS, IFS HAPPEN, WHICH ARE NOT REALISTIC.
SO I GUESS I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE BEING HONEST WITH THE PUBLIC THAT WE ARE BEING ACCURATE WITH THE PUBLIC.
IF WE'RE GONNA SAY THIS IS WORST CASE SCENARIO AND EXPLAIN THE SCENARIO AND THEN SAY WHAT THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT IS TIED TO IT, THEN I, I DON'T HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THAT.
BUT IF WE WANNA SAY WHAT'S ACTUALLY REALISTIC AND WHAT WE EXPECT TO HAPPEN THAT WE, WE SHOULD ALSO SAY THAT TOO.
SO THAT'S ALL I WANTED TO SAY.
I THINK WE NEED TO REMEMBER TO CREATE, UM, AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH WE ARE PROUD OF HARO AND WE WERE BEING HONEST WITH OUR PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING AND NOT CREATING AN ISSUE WHERE THERE ISN'T ONE.
UM, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO MONEY BECAUSE EVERYONE IS COUNTING PENNIES AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT AND WE WANNA BE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE.
SO WE ALSO NEED TO BE RESPONSIBLE IN WHAT WE'RE TELLING THE PUBLIC AND WHAT THESE COSTS ACTUALLY ARE GONNA BE INSTEAD OF DOING FEARMONGERING AND SCARE TACTICS.
ALRIGHT, ANY DISCUSSION BEFORE I ASK JIM A QUESTION? I THINK WE UH, NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT ASHLEY CONTINUES TO, UH, BRING US, UH, PUDS AND ALL OF THESE, UH, DIFFERENT, UH, THINGS THAT WE'RE APPROVING SO THAT WE CAN, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE GROWTH IN THIS CITY.
SO WE DO NOT RUN INTO A $75, UM, BILL FOR THE CITIZENS.
SO, UM, LET'S NOT MAKE IT THAT WORST CASE SCENARIO.
ALRIGHT, LET ME ASK YOU GUYS A QUESTION 'CAUSE I'M GETTING CONFUSED.
I'M LISTENING TO THE MAYOR PRO TEM AND I'M NOT TRYING TO MISLEAD PEOPLE, BUT OKAY, IF YOU GO TO SCENARIO ONE ON FLIP CHART, IT'S LIKE A COUPLE THINGS JUST WITH THE CONSERVATIVE GROWTH WITH THE 9% YEAH, IT'S 11 MILLION.
I'M MORE LOOKING AT LIKE I NEED, I EITHER I NEED TO BE TRAINED OR WE NEED TO BE TRAINED ON THIS.
OKAY? SO IF YOU LOOK AT THIS 2023, WE'VE GOT A 14.806 I N S RATE THAT DROPS AT 13.63 AND 2024.
THE WAY I UNDERSTAND TAXES IN 2025, IF OUR HOME VALUES
[01:55:01]
GO UP AND THE TAX RATE STAYS THE SAME AS YOU HAVE IT ON THIS SHEET, MY BILL GOES UP.IS THAT RIGHT? OR HOW WOULD MY HOUSE GO UP IN VALUE AND THE TAX RATE STAY THE SAME AND ME PAY LESS TAX? THERE'S, THERE'S ONE MORE VARIABLE TOO THAT ASSUMES NO NEW VALUES HAVE BEEN CREATED.
SO THE QUESTION IS ARE HOME STARTS AND, AND BUSINESSES TAKING PLACE.
SO, BUT YOU HAVE 9% GROWTH IN HERE.
YOU HAVE A 9% GROWTH MM-HMM
AND WITH THE 9% GROWTH, THE TAX RATE STAYS THE SAME.
AND SO THE WAY I UNDERSTAND THE MATH, IF THE TAX RATE STAYS THE SAME AND MY VALUE GOES UP, I PAY MORE MONEY, YOUR VALUE GOES UP, YOU PAY MORE MONEY.
SO THE REASON I SAY IT'S GOING TO COST US MONEY IS I'M LOOKING AT YOUR GUYS' SHEET YOU GAVE US AND YOU'RE SHOWING 9% GROWTH AND YOU'RE SHOWING THE TAX RATE STAYING THE SAME AND 2027 IT DROPS.
AND THEN IF I GO TO SCENARIO TWO, NOW SCENARIO TWO, I DON'T SEE ANYTHING DROPPING.
IN FACT, I SEE THE TAX RATE GOING UP AND SO THEN I'M LIKE, OKAY, SO THEN IF MY VALUE OF MY HOME GOES UP IN 2025 AND THE TAX RATE GOES UP ONE POINT SOMETHING PENNIES, 1.0 1, 2 0 3, MY TAXES GO UP IN 2026.
NOW THAT'S ASSUMING NO GROWTH.
THERE'S GONNA BE SOME SORT OF GROWTH AND THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET DOWN TO THE DOLLARS BECAUSE I DON'T WANNA SCARE ANYBODY.
BUT WHAT I WANNA DO IS GIVE ACTUAL NUMBERS.
WE'RE WE TALKED PENNIES, BUT WE KNOW WHAT THE PENNY'S EQUAL IN DOLLARS.
AND SO THERE NEEDS TO BE A LINE OVER HERE THAT TELLS YOU WHAT THE DOLLARS ARE.
THEN PEOPLE AREN'T SAYING, OH MAYOR, YOU'RE LYING TO PEOPLE, THEN WE CAN HAVE NUMBERS.
'CAUSE RIGHT NOW I SEE PENNIES GOING UP AND I SEE PENNIES STAYING THE SAME.
AND I KNOW THIS EVERY YEAR I PAY MORE IN TAXES SO SOMETHING'S NOT COMPUTING, RIGHT? BECAUSE ALL THIS GROWTH IS SO GOOD THAT WE, WE SHOULDN'T BE EVEN PAYING TAXES.
NOW IN SCENARIO TWO, THE REASON WHY YOU'RE SEEING THAT THE TAX RATE GOES UP, THERE'S TWO THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON.
ONE IS THAT IN THE THIRD COLUMN FROM THE LEFT, THERE'S AN ASSUMPTION THAT THERE IS NO GROWTH.
COLUMN TWO, I SEE THAT, THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING.
LET ME GET TO THE RIGHT SLIDE THERE.
SO THERE'S NO GROWTH, RIGHT? WE, WE STAY EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE, NO GROWTH.
AND THEN BECAUSE SOME OF THE OLDER BOND ISSUES WE'RE UM, UM, ISSUED SO THAT, UH, THERE WAS NOT A A LEVEL SET FOR PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST EVERY YEAR WHERE THE PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST CHANGED AND WHERE IT WAS HEAVIER IN THE BEGINNING MONTHS AND LIGHTER IN THE ENDING MONTHS, UH, UH, ENDING YEARS OF THAT BOND ISSUANCE, THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE SEEING THAT, UH, THE THIRD COLUMN FROM THE RIGHT, YOU'RE SEEING THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF DEBT GROWS AND THEN IT TAPERS OFF AGAIN.
SO WHEN THE DEBT GROWS AND THERE'S NO CHANGE IN THE APPRAISED VALUE, OF COURSE THE RATE'S GONNA GO UP.
BUT SCENARIO TWO IS WORST CASE SCENARIO, NO GROWTH IN THE CITY.
I DON'T THINK ANY OF THE US BELIEVE THAT THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
AS YOU GO THROUGH THE CITY, YOU SEE CONSTRUCTION EVERYWHERE.
SO WE'RE BACK TO SCENARIO ONE.
HOWEVER, SCENARIO ONE WAS NOT BASED ON A LEVEL SET, IT WAS BASED ON A LOWER AMOUNT OF, UH, PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST IN THE BEGINNING YEARS OF THE BOND.
AND I'M SORRY, LET ME UH, CHANGE THE SLIDE HERE.
SCENARIO ONE, THIS IS BASED ON SMALLER PRINCIPLE AND INTEREST PAYMENTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BOND ISSUANCE AND LARGER PRINCIPLE AND INTEREST PAYMENTS AT THE END, IT ALSO ONLY ASSUMES GROWTH.
UM, LET'S SEE FOR THROUGH 27 THROUGH, UH, 2027.
AND IT, IT ASSUMES, YOU KNOW, MINIMAL GROWTH.
I DO BELIEVE THAT BUSINESSES WILL COME INTO THE CITY AND POTENTIALLY DOUBLE THE ASSESSED VALUE.
I DON'T WANNA COUNT ON THAT NOW.
SO I ASKED JIM TO BUILD IN VERY CONSERVATIVE GROWTH FIGURES.
SO LOOKING AT THIS, YOU DO SEE THAT YOUR TAX RATE DOES DROP OFF AS, UH, THE TOTAL PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYMENTS FOR THE CITY, UH, DROP OFF.
AND, AND MAYOR, WE DIDN'T SHOW THIS, BUT THE ONLY DIFFERENCE, UM, THAT WOULD TAKE PLACE WHEN WE PUT THE LEVEL DEBT SERVICE STRUCTURE IN THE SCENARIO ONE AND WE REPLACE THAT STRUCTURE IS WE END UP WOULD USING, UM, AND I GIVE CREDIT TO JIM AND ANNE FOR POINTING OUT SOMETHING THAT WASN'T OBVIOUS TO US.
WHEN WE GO TO A LEVEL, WHAT IT MEANS IS WE
[02:00:01]
USE ABOUT A LITTLE OVER $280,000 OF OUR ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO AMORTIZE THOSE FIRST YEARS.BUT WE HAVE THE EXTRA FUNDS AND WE HAVE TO USE IT ANYWAYS, UM, TO BRING THAT DOWN TO, UM, A MORE REASONABLE BALANCE.
SO THAT GETS, AS THE ONLY IMPACT IS USING MORE OF OUR FUNDS AND WE STILL HAVE AT THE END OF THAT TIME, WE STILL HAVE OVER 10% WITHOUT ADDING, WHICH WE WILL BE ADDING EACH YEAR TO IT.
SO THERE WAS A GOOD CHANGE ON THEIR, THEIR PROCESS AND, AND ALSO LET ME SAY, THESE ARE STAGNANT SCENARIOS.
THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT, THAT THERE'S A NUMBER OF TOOLS WE HAVE AND FLEXIBILITY, UM, BECAUSE OF YOUR CASH BALANCES YOU HAVE THAT WE CAN ABSORB, UM, LESSER GROWTH, UH, OR IRREGULAR GROWTH.
NOW WE CAN'T, IF THERE'S A DECLINE IN VALUE, THERE'S NO GROWTH OVER TIME WE CAN, WE CAN'T DO THAT.
BUT EVEN IN THAT SCENARIO, THERE, THERE ARE TOOLS THAT WE CAN DO TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACT.
SO I I I DON'T THINK IT'S EITHER ONE OR THE OTHER.
IF, IF FOR INSTANCE WE DIDN'T HIT 9% GROWTH NEXT YEAR, UH, THE CITY COULD USE SOME MORE OF ITS EXCESS FUND BALANCE THAT YEAR ON THE INES SIDE TO MAINTAIN THE RATE IF THEY CHOSE TO.
UM, UH, WE, WE HAVE SOME OTHER TOOLS THAT WE CAN USE TO, TO MAINTAIN THE RATE.
WE'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS BEFORE.
IF WE COME TO, UM, SUBPRIME TAUGHT US A LOT OF WAYS TO WORK WITH PEOPLE TO MAINTAIN A REASONABLE TAX RATE AND, AND RESTRUCTURE WHAT WE HAVE.
I THINK WE GOTTA GO ASK EVERYBODY IF THEY WANNA GO.
DOES ANYBODY ELSE WANNA COMMENT? OKAY, GO AHEAD.
SO THE ONE OTHER THING I WANTED TO SAY, WHEN YOU'RE SHOWING YOUR TAX GROWTH AND, AND WITH YOUR POINT OF SAYING, OH, MY HOME GOES UP WHEN IT SAYS AN ESTIMATED GROWTH FACTOR OF 9%, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY EVEN MEANING NEW PEOPLE MOVE IN, IT'S SAYING THAT THE APPRISED VALUE, THE TOTAL ASSESSED VALUE OF ALL THE PROPERTY IN HUDA GOES UP 9% SINCE OVER 70% OF OUR HOMEOWNERS ARE LIKE ON HOMESTEAD CAP THAT ARE GETTING A 10%.
IF YOU REALLY THINK ABOUT IT, THEY'RE REALLY BEING CONSERVATIVE AT 9% BECAUSE THAT WOULD, THAT'S ALREADY ASSUMING THE 10% INCREASE ON HOME VALUES TO DROP THE RATE.
SO I JUST, YOU KNOW, UM, AND, AND THEN YOU HAVE THE HOMES THAT, THAT ARE NOW ARE GONNA ADD TO THE CAP THAT ARE AT A HIGHER VALUE THAT, YOU KNOW, CHANGE OR WHATEVER, BUT RIGHT.
UM, SO THEY'RE BEING VERY CONSERVATIVE AT 9%.
SO I, AND WE ALREADY KNOW WE'VE GOT MANY, MANY BUSINESSES COMING IN AND LIKE I SAID, I, I HAVE NO CONCERN WITH THIS THAT I'M GLAD I WOULD LIKE SEEING THE CONSERVATIVE APPROACH.
I THINK THAT'S THE WAY WE SHOULD LOOK AT IT.
BUT I EVEN LOOKED AT AS A, YOU KNOW, I'D BE SHOCKED IF WE'RE NOT AT THAT NUMBER.
WHEN WE LOOK BACK IN A YEAR BETWEEN LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR, THE GROWTH THAT CAME FROM NEW PROPERTIES IN THE CITY WAS $534 MILLION FROM NEW PROPERTIES ASSESSED VALUES.
RIGHT? AND YOU'RE JUST SHOWING A $400,000 GROWTH HERE ON, UH, ON THIS ESTIMATE.
AND, AND I SAY ASSESS VALUES, THAT'S THE TAXABLE VALUE.
AND THEN THERE WAS, UH, EXEMPTIONS THAT GOT IT DOWN TO THE 534,000 MARK.
SO IT'S, IT'S NEW PROPERTIES THAT ARE CAUSING OUR GROWTH IN THE CITY.
SO ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION RECORD OR DEBATE SOMETHING I SAID ALRIGHT, SO HEARING NOTHING, PLEASE CALL THE VOTE COUNCIL MEMBER WILCOTT AYE.
[9.2. Consideration and possible action on Resolution No. R-2023-241 for the reconciliation of Fund 60 Bond Fund to include reclassification of expenses to the General Fund, 2022 General Obligation Bond Fund, and Park Improvement Fund (Anne LaMere and Christina Bishop) ]
TWO CONSIDERATION, POSSIBLE ACTION ON RESOLUTION NUMBER R DASH 2023 DASH 2 41 FOR THE RECONCILIATION OF FUND 60 BOND FUND TO INCLUDE RECLASSIFICATION OF EXPENSES TO THE GENERAL FUND 2022 GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND FUND AND PARK IMPROVEMENT FUND.UM, YOU NEED THIS? JUST GO FORWARD.
CAN YOU FIX THE SLIDE? I GOTTA GO FORWARD.
FOR THE RECORD, ANN LAMERE, INTERIM FINANCE DIRECTOR.
THE VERY FIRST COUNCIL MEETING THAT I CAME TO WAS IN JANUARY.
AND MR. MAYOR, YOU TOLD ME SOMETHING ABOUT SOME BOND FUNDS THAT WERE FROM PRIOR YEARS THAT NOBODY COULD RECONCILE AND THEY, THERE WERE STILL ON THE BOOKS AND THEY NEEDED TO REFUND SOME FUND OR SOMETHING.
[02:05:01]
IDEA WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, BUT I TOOK ON THE CHALLENGE AND THIS IS THE RECONCILIATION.UM, A LOT OF, A LOT OF, UH, UH, RECOGNITION GOES TO CHRISTINA BISHOP, OUR CONTROLLER, WHO'S BEEN WORKING ON THIS RECONCILIATION.
IT'S THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF LINE ITEMS DATING BACK PRIOR TO OUR CURRENT ACCOUNTING SYSTEM IN 2013.
WHAT THE CITY PREVIOUSLY DID WHEN A BOND WAS ISSUED WAS THEY WOULD PUT THE ISSUANCE INTO THIS FUND 60, AND THEN AS EXPENDITURES OCCURRED, THEY WOULD PUT THE EXPENDITURES IN THAT SAME FUND SO THAT THEY WERE MIXING MULTIPLE BOND ISSUES WITH EXPENDITURES.
THERE WAS NO TRACKING TO TELL IF A BOND WENT IN FOR $11 MILLION AND $12 MILLION WAS SPENT AGAINST IT.
SO THAT THIS RECONCILIATION OCCURRED.
I THINK THERE WAS A SPECIAL BOND AUDIT THAT THE CITY PAID FOR IN, IN PRIOR YEARS.
AND THE CONCLUSION OF THAT BOND AUDIT, I THINK WAS THAT THEY COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS IN THIS FUND.
SO CHRISTINA WAS ABLE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS IN THIS FUND AND WE'RE ABLE TO TELL YOU THAT, UM, WHAT WE FOUND IS THERE'S A NEGATIVE, UH, $2 MILLION BALANCE OF THAT NEGATIVE $2 MILLION BALANCE.
UM, ABOUT 1.8 MILLION CAN BE REIMBURSED, NOT 1.8.
ONE FIVE CAN BE REIMBURSED FROM, UM, THE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS FOR ROADS.
IT'S FOR THE DESIGN OF THE ROADS THAT WERE PAID OUT OF THIS FUND, AND THEN THOSE BOND PROCEEDS WERE PUT INTO A BRAND NEW FUND TO TRACK JUST THOSE PROJECTS.
SOME OF THOSE EXPENDITURES OCCURRED EARLY.
UH, JUST LIKE WE'VE ALREADY TURNED ON THE, UH, DESIGN ENGINEERS FOR FRITZ PARK AND THEY'RE DESIGNING THE FRITZ PARK RENOVATION.
HOWEVER, COUNCIL APPROVED A REIMBURSEMENT RESOLUTION SO THAT IF COUNCIL WOULD LIKE TO REIMBURSE THOSE COSTS FROM THE BOND ISSUANCE, ONCE THE BOND ISSUANCE OCCURS, THAT CAN HAPPEN.
WHAT HAPPENED HERE WAS THAT A LOT OF THESE DESIGN COSTS ACTUALLY OCCURRED BEFORE THAT BOND WAS ISSUED.
SO 1.5 MILLION GOES AGAINST THE PROJECTS IN THE, UH, 22 GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND.
THERE'S $519,000 OF EXPENSES THAT ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO BE REIMBURSED FROM ANY BOND.
THE GENERAL FUND WILL NEED TO PAY FOR THOSE EXPENSES.
AND WE DID FIND ONE EXPENSE THAT WE BELIEVE CAN GO AGAINST THE PARK IMPROVEMENT FUND.
AND IT WAS FOR A $10,000 AIR CONDITIONER.
UH, THAT WAS FOR A, UH, PARK BUILDING A PARK STRUCTURE.
AND I WOULD ASK TODAY THAT YOU APPROVE THE RECONCILIATION AND THE MOVEMENT OF THE FUNDS, UM, AS A F Y 23 JOURNAL ENTRY INTO OUR ACCOUNTING RECORDS.
IS THERE A REASON? THE ONLY ONES I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT WAS HOW COME NONE OF THE RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITIONS WOULDN'T 'CAUSE ASSUMING THEY WERE BOUGHT FOR A REASON? OR IS IT JUST THERE WAS NOT A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT RELATED TO THEM TO A BOND? SO YOU COULDN'T, UH, PER OUR BOND COUNCIL, THOSE WERE CONSIDERED HARD COST AND BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T, UM, SPENT WITHIN A 60 DAY PERIOD OF THE BOND ISSUANCE, THEY ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO BE REIMBURSED OUT OF THE BOND PROCEEDS.
THANK YOU FOR THAT EXPLANATION.
AND WE DID RUN THIS THROUGH OUR BOND COUNCIL, BART FOWLER AND THROUGH OUR CITY ATTORNEY DOTTIE PALUMBO, AND BOTH OF THEM HAVE LOOKED AT WHAT WE DID AND, UM, HAVE SAID THAT THEY BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A GOOD RECONCILIATION.
THEN I'D MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE R 2023 DASH 2 41 AS PRESENTED.
SECOND MOTION BY COUNCIL MAYOR CLARK.
SECONDED BY COUNCIL MAYOR KOHLER.
SO THIS WILL BE $519,000 OUT OF OUR, UH, EXCESS, I FORGOT WHAT WE CALL IT.
UNRESERVED GENERAL FUND BALANCE.
UH, EVERYBODY THINKS I'M CRAZY.
UM, I APPRECIATE THE EVEN DISCUSSING THAT WE'RE NOT COMMINGLING FUNDS ANYMORE BECAUSE I SPENT A YEAR ALONG WITH ANOTHER PERSON AND WE WERE JUST ADAMANT THAT THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE NOT DOING RIGHT.
AND I, I HATE THAT WE HAVE TO BASICALLY SPEND 500,000 TO SHORE IT UP AND, AND MOVE EVERYTHING IN THE RIGHT SPOT.
BUT I MEAN, ACCURATE'S ACCURATE.
SO I THINK THANKS FOR YOU CHRISTINA, GOING THROUGH ALL THAT.
AND I THINK I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT ON A GO FORWARD BASIS, THAT SINCE 2022, ALL OF THE BOND ISSUANCES HAVE BEEN PUT IN SEPARATE FUNDS PER BOND ISSUE.
AND SO THE PROJECTS ARE RECORDED AGAINST THOSE.
[02:10:01]
EXACTLY HOW MUCH OF THE BOND IS REMAINING AS IT SHOULD BE.UM, PLEASE GIVE CHRISTINA OUR APPRECIATION FOR ALL OF THE PAINSTAKING HOURS OF EVERY LINE ITEM.
SHE WANTED TO BE HERE TONIGHT, BUT IT JUST DIDN'T WORK OUT.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? I JUST WANNA SAY ALSO THANK YOU AS WELL.
YOU DON'T NEED TO COME BACK UP.
UM, BUT, UM, I, UH, I'M OFTEN RIDICULED BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN TRUST, BUT VERIFY, AND THIS IS WHAT MY DEFINITION OF TRUST BUT VERIFY IS WE PREVIOUS COUNCILS BACK TO 2013, HAD TRUSTED THAT CITY STAFF KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING AND THAT THEY WERE DOING IT RIGHT AND THAT, THAT THERE WAS NO VERIFY.
AND THEN WE VERIFIED, FOUND OUT IT WASN'T BEING DONE CORRECT AND WE FIXED IT.
SO WHEN I SAY I BELIEVE IN TRUST, BUT VERIFY, THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHAT I BELIEVE IN, THAT WE, WE CAN TRUST, WE CAN TRUST THAT THAT STAFF IS DOING THINGS.
WE GO THROUGH AUDITS, WE FIND ISSUES IN AUDITS, AND THEN WE GO AND CORRECT THOSE AND WE ISSUE DIRECTION TO GO AND CORRECT THAT KIND OF STUFF.
AND SO I WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
UM, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I BELIEVE IN.
WE NEED TO BE VERIFYING THAT THINGS ARE BEING DONE CORRECTLY.
AND SO I APPRECIATE THAT AND I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU.
PLEASE CALL THE VOTE COUNCIL MEMBER COLAR AYE.
[10.1. Consideration and possible action relating to the Ed Schmidt Improvements report recommendations (CIP T10) (Matt Rector) ]
HAVE ITEM 10, ONE CONSIDERATION POSSIBLE ACTION RELATING TO THE EDGE SCHMIDT IMPROVEMENTS REPORT.GOOD EVENING, MAYOR COUNSEL FOR THE RECORD.
SO BACK IN MARCH WE HAD AWARDED A CONTRACT WITH, UH, GARVER TO FINISH.
I I'LL SAY FINISH THE STUDY ON EDGE SCHMITT BECAUSE IN 2021 OR 2022, I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE, COUNSEL HAD AUTHORIZED THEM AS PART OF THE STAFF AUGMENTATION CONTRACT TO GO AND DO A SAFETY STUDY ON EDGE MITT.
AND THEN THIS WAS THE SECOND PART OF THAT TO GO AND LOOK AT THE, UM, PERFORMANCE ALONG EDGE SCHMIDT.
AND, UM, IN YOUR PACKET YOU'LL SEE THAT WE HAVE THE ENTIRE REPORT THERE, BUT, UH, I ALSO PULLED SNIPPETS OUT OF IT TO GET TO THE BOTTOM LINE OF THE RECOMMENDATION.
DO YOU HAVE THE PRESENTATION ON? IS IT READY? OH, LOOK AT THAT.
UM, AND SO IN, IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEY PROVIDED, UH, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH WITH STAFF, I'LL JUST TELL YOU THAT WE, WE WENT BACK AND FORTH WITH THEM MULTIPLE TIMES TRYING TO HASH ALL THIS STUFF OUT.
UM, SO THE FIRST THING THAT, THAT YOU'LL SEE IN THE REPORT IS THAT, UM, AND I DON'T THINK IT'S A SURPRISE TO ANYBODY SITTING HERE, THEY ARE RECOMMENDING THAT WE IMPROVED THE INTERSECTION OF EDGE SCHMIDT AND LIMMER LOOP.
UM, BASICALLY ADDING MORE LANES IMP IMPROVE, WIDENING THAT SIGNAL, UH, ADDING SOME RIGHT TURN LANES, ADDING SOME LEFT TURN LANES, ADDING SOME THROUGH LANES.
UM, I, I THINK THAT WAS KIND OF A FOREGONE CONCLUSION THAT THAT WAS GONNA BE PART OF THE ANSWER HERE.
UM, 'CAUSE WE ALL KNOW THAT THAT INTERSECTION IS PROBABLY UNDERSIZED FOR THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC THAT IT SEES TODAY.
UM, THE OTHER, THE ANOTHER ITEM THAT THEY PUT IN THERE, AND THIS WAS REALLY A BIG PART OF THE BACK AND FORTH, IS, UM, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE EMORY FARMS THAT DEAD ENDS INTO EDGE SCHMIDT.
WELL, THAT WAS NOT THE INTENTION YEARS AGO WHEN THEY PUT TOGETHER THE WHOLE MOBILITY PLAN FOR THE CITY.
UH, EMORY FARMS SLASH SCHNEIDER BOULEVARD SLASH LIVE OAK BOULEVARD WAS ALWAYS INTENDED TO BE A CROSS CITY CONNECTOR.
AND SO, UH, WHEN WE LOOKED AT THIS, WE HAD THEM INCLUDE THE LIVE OAK PIECE THAT IS, UM,
SO WHENEVER YOU CONNECT LIVE OAK TO ED SCHMIDT, AND THEN YOU HAVE THAT CROSS THAT CONNECTION TO EMORY FARMS, THAT CAN CONTINUE ON.
AND EVENTUALLY THE PLAN WOULD BE BASED ON THE CITY'S MOBILITY PLAN TO CONNECT THAT ALL THE WAY TO ONE 30.
YOU HAVE THIS, THIS BIG COLLECTOR THAT GOES COMPLETELY ACROSS THE CITY.
THEIR RECOMMENDATION IS BASED ON THE TRAFFIC GENERATION THERE.
AND THE WAY WE DID THAT WAS WE SAID, ALL RIGHT, RIGHT NOW EVERYBODY'S USING THE HOME DEPOT AREA AND ALL THOSE RESTAURANTS TO CUT THROUGH.
SO THEY CAN STAY OFF OF 79 MM-HMM.
AND SO, UM, WHEN THEY RAN THE NUMBERS, WE GET A TRAFFIC SIGNAL AT THAT LOCATION AS, AS PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION.
AND THEN ANOTHER ONE THAT SHOULDN'T BE A SURPRISE TO ANYONE WHO'S EVER TRIED TO GET
[02:15:01]
IN AND OUT OF LOWE'S.UM, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THE, THE TWO WAY STOP CONTROLLED RIGHT THERE AT THE LOWE'S DRIVEWAY.
UH, THEIR RECOMMENDATION, LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS IS THAT, THAT THAT NEEDS TO BE A TRAFFIC SIGNAL AS WELL.
SO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS A LOT OF TRAFFIC SIGNALS COMING IN ON EDGE SCHMIDT, BASED ON THEIR ENGINEER'S RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, THEY DID NOT LOOK AT TRAFFIC SIGNAL IMPROVEMENTS ON 79 AND EDGE SCHMIDT BECAUSE THAT'S A TECH STOCK CONTROLLED THING.
AND IT WOULD BE A LOT OF, UM, LOOKING, IT WOULD BE A LOT OF LOOKING AT ALL THE OTHER SIGNALS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT PLUS HOW WE DEAL WITH CHRIS KELLY AND ALL THOSE THINGS.
SO, UH, BUT THEN WE GET INTO THE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS.
AND SO, UH, THIS GOES BACK TO THE REPORT THAT THEY HAD PROVIDED BACK IN EARLY 2022, WHICH IS THE FIRST THING IS RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF THAT, UM, IN FRONT OF LOWE'S, JUST TO THE SOUTH THERE BY THE BANK.
UH, THEY ARE RECOMMENDING A RAISED MEDIAN AS OPPOSED TO JUST THE, THE LITTLE STANDUP REFLECTORS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, AND THEN, OH, THAT WAS IT.
AND THEN THE OTHER ITEM THAT I DON'T HAVE A PICTURE FOR YOU IS, UH, THEY'RE RECOMMENDING THAT WE START FILLING IN THE GAPS FOR THE SIDEWALKS, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE WHEN THEY WERE OUT THERE DOING THEIR STUDIES, THEY NOTICED, ESPECIALLY IN THE AFTERNOON, A LOT OF THE HIGH SCHOOL KIDS MM-HMM.
AND SO THE KIDS ARE TRYING TO GET UP THERE ON THEIR LUNCH HOUR TO EAT AND THEN GET BACK TO THE SCHOOL AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, NOT SAFE FOR THEM TO EITHER BE WALKING IN THE ROAD OR WALKING IN A BAR DITCH.
AND SO THEY'RE RECOMMENDING THAT WE START UNDERTAKING, UH, THE EFFORT TO CLOSE IN SOME OF THOSE SIDEWALK GAPS THAT ARE THERE.
THE STAFF, I CAN TELL YOU AS, AS WE'RE WORKING THROUGH ANY DEVELOPMENTS THAT COME ON THERE, WE'RE CREATING THESE GAPS BECAUSE WE'RE MAKING THE NEW DEVELOPMENTS BUILD THE SIDEWALKS, BUT WE CAN'T MAKE THEM FILL IN THE GAPS THAT WERE FROM PRIOR YEARS.
SO THE, THE POINT OF THIS ITEM IN FRONT OF YOU IS JUST TO KIND OF PRESENT THIS REPORT, UM, AND THEN OPEN IT UP FOR YOUR CONVERSATION AND DIRECTION.
THE GOAL WOULD BE THAT WE GET SOME CLARIFICATION ON WHAT YOUR PRIORITIES WOULD BE, AND THEN NEXT COUNCIL MEETING WE WOULD BRING BACK AS PART OF OUR EFFORT TO GET THE C I P UP AND ROLLING THE UH, I P O TO GET ALL THESE IMPROVEMENTS.
WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, GET ALL THOSE MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT.
AND YOU GUYS CAN, MATT, THANK YOU FOR THINKING ABOUT THOSE SIDEWALKS.
PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T FORGET THOSE.
I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES I'M DRIVING DOWN THERE AND THOSE BABIES ARE GETTING HIT OR FALLING IN THE DITCH AND THEY HAVE THEIR HEADPHONES ON AND THEY CAN'T HEAR THE CARS.
UM, I, I APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S, UM, THOUGHTS IN, IN GETTING THIS, UH, THIS, UH, STUDY COMPLETED AND, AND REALLY BEING THOROUGH.
I THINK THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT CHANGED PEOPLE'S LIVES IN OUR CITY.
THIS IS WHAT, YOU KNOW, UM, THIS IS WHAT MAKES PEOPLE GRATEFUL TO LIVE HERE IN HUDU, IS TO SEE US CARING ABOUT HOW LONG IT TAKES THEM TO, TO PICK UP THEIR KIDS AND AS AND, AND, AND, AND SHORTEN THEIR COMMUTE.
AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THESE PROJECTS ARE, ARE, ARE NEEDED, BUT THEY'RE ALSO SOMETHING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WOULD, WILL REMEDY A LOT OF, UH, UH, CITIZEN FRUSTRATION, UM, IN THEIR, IN THEIR DAY TO DAY.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR, FOR, FOR THIS STUDY.
AND, UM, UM, I'LL, I'LL LEAVE IT TO THE REST OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS TO, TO, UM, GIVE THEIR COMMENTS AND FINALLY SEEING LIVE OAK.
MAN, THAT'S BEEN, I GUESS FOR ME, DEFINITELY PRIORITIZING EDGE SCHMIDT AND LIMBER LOOP, THAT INTER INTERSECTION, OBVIOUSLY IT'S, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S GONNA REQUIRE WIDENING THE ROAD AND ON I GUESS BOTH SIDES.
SO EDGE SCHMIDT AND ALSO LIMBER LOOP.
SO I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE A HUGE TO DO.
AND I GUESS THAT'S JUST, I GUESS TAKE THAT BIG BITE FIRST.
UM, I GUESS IS MY PREFERENCE, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS JUST HOW GARVER KIND OF SET IT UP OF JUST KIND OF LIKE WORKING THEIR WAY DOWN OR HIGH PRIORITY TO LIKE LEASE.
UM, OF COURSE I, I DO AGREE WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER WILCOTT ON THE SIDEWALKS FOR, YOU KNOW, ANY PEDESTRIAN.
SO IT IS DEFINITELY, ESPECIALLY FOR THE KIDS, BUT JUST IN, IN GENERAL, JUST THE SIDEWALKS.
BUT IT'S, IT'S HARD WITH THE DITCHES THERE.
IT'S GONNA HAVE TO BE A DESIGN REWORK.
OBVIOUSLY I'M NOT AN ENGINEER, BUT
BUT, UM, A AS LIVE OAK COMES TO FRUITION, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING IN, IN
[02:20:01]
FUTURE YEARS TO ADDRESS, UM, AS A C I P ITEM.BUT DEFINITELY FORGIVING, UM, LIKE THE INTERSECTION AT EDGE SCHMIDT AND LIMBER LOOP FOR JUST ALL THE RESIDENCES THERE IN THAT, THAT AREA.
WHETHER THEY'RE TRYING TO GET PAST IT, YOU KNOW, GET TO GEORGETOWN, WHATEVER, UM, OR JUST LIVING IN THAT AREA, UH, I THINK IT'S A PRIORITY.
SO I KNOW THAT AS WE HAD, UM, AS THE TWO SIDES BETWEEN THE, THE LOWE'S SIDE PROPERTY AND THE, THE HOME DEPOT SIDE PROPERTY THAT, YOU KNOW, MY STAFF IS THAT I KNOW THAT THERE'S, THERE'S BEEN AN AGREEMENT ABOUT THEM CONTRIBUTING TOWARDS PUTTING A LIGHT THERE ACROSS BETWEEN THEIR TWO THINGS.
UM, 'CAUSE THE SAFETY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT.
YES, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO THE C I P FOR THE, THE OTHER TWO LIGHTS UNTIL THE LIVE OAK STREET'S EVEN THERE.
THAT ONE DOESN'T NEED A LIGHT YET.
UM, AND WE CAN PROBABLY GET DEVELOPER PARTICIPATION WHEN WE GET SOME OF THAT OTHER STUFF BUILT IN AND WHEN THOSE TRAFFIC IMPACT FEES COME IN FOR THE DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE GOING ALONG EDGE SCHMIDT.
SO WE DEFINITELY WANNA MAKE SURE WE CAPTURE THAT AND THEN PUT THEM TOWARDS THIS PROJECT.
SO WE NEED TO GET THIS MOVED FORWARD TO DO THAT.
UM, AND LIKE I SAID, WE NEED TO REACH OUT TO THE EXISTING BUSINESSES 'CAUSE I BELIEVE THERE'S AN AGREEMENT THAT THEY WOULD HELP CONTRIBUTE FOR THE LIGHT THERE'RE ACROSS, ACROSS BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES OF THE BUSINESS.
AND THEN THAT WOULD ALLOW US IMMEDIATELY TO DO THE RAISE PROPOSED MEDIAN AND THAT WOULD BE IMMEDIATE SAFETY CHANGE THAT WE COULD MAKE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER TWO COME IN AS THOSE APARTMENTS AND EVERYTHING COMES IN, THEN WE HAVE THOSE IMPACT FEES TO THEN PAY FOR THAT WIDENING OF ED SCHMIDT THAT'S NOW GONNA BE NEEDED.
UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF HOW I WOULD DIRECT STAFF TO GO AFTER IT SO THAT WE HAVE THE FUTURE PLAN FOR LIMMER AND LIVE OAK WHEN THOSE, THE DEVELOPMENT COMES IN.
AND THEN WE HAVE THOSE IMPACT FEES TO PAY FOR IT, WHICH SHOULD BE RAPIDLY AS THEY COME IN FOR PLATTING.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE READY TO GO ON THAT PROJECT 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT ANTICIPATING THAT MONEY TODAY.
IT'S NOT EARMARKED FOR ANYTHING.
AND WE KNOW IT'LL BE TO IMPROVE THAT STREET.
UM, AND THEN WE IMMEDIATELY START WORKING WITH THE DEVELOPERS FOR THE, THAT, UH, CROSS ACROSS LOWE'S AND THEN PUT THE MEDIAN.
AND ONCE WE HAVE THOSE THINGS, THEN WE CAN LOOK AT THE, ADD THE SIDEWALKS.
'CAUSE THEN WE'VE GOT THE, UM, THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC CORRECT.
AND THEN WE KNOW WHERE THE SPACING IS TO, TO DO THE SIDEWALKS ALL THAT WAY.
AND WE HAVE $250,000 IN SIDEWALKS THAT'S NOT EARMARKED FOR A PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD RIGHT NOW.
SO WE COULD ALSO START LOOKING TO SEE HOW MUCH WE COULD AT LEAST CLOSE THE GAP WHERE WE CAN ALONG THIS SECTION AT LEAST TO GET UP TO WHERE THE RESTAURANTS ARE RIGHT NOW THAT EXIST TODAY.
I DON'T, I DON'T FEEL ACTUALLY LIKE THE LIGHT AT LOWE'S IS NEEDED IF WE DO THE LIVE OAK INTERSECTION LIGHT AT LIVE OAK, THEN DO THE RAISE MEDIAN I GUESS TO, 'CAUSE IT'S KIND OF LIKE A SHORT DISTANCE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE DISTANCE IS RIGHT BETWEEN THAT LIKE DRIVEWAY THOROUGHFARE AND IF PEOPLE ARE GONNA MOVE FROM CUTTING THROUGH THAT, THE, THE SHOPPING CENTER.
IF THEY'RE GONNA MOVE ONTO LIVE OAK, HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE EXPECTING, I GUESS THE TREND TO OCCUR THEN.
I DON'T SEE, AND LIGHTS ARE EXPENSIVE.
AND SO PUTTING THE MEDIAN THERE, I GUESS CUTTING OUT THAT STEP AND PUTTING THE MEDIAN THERE, THEN THAT WOULD KIND OF PREVENT I GUESS THE LEFT TURN AS WELL.
NOT QUITE SURE ACCIDENT WISE HOW MANY ACCIDENTS OCCUR ON THAT? I FEEL LIKE PEOPLE PRETTY SAFE 'CAUSE IT'S KIND OF SCARY, BUT I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE THERE ARE A LOT OF ACCIDENTS ON THAT, UH, THING.
BUT I THINK THE MEDIAN WOULD PREVENT THAT.
UM, AND THEN IF THE TRAFFIC MOVES UP TO LIVE OAK, THEN THE LIGHT'S THERE, SO, AND THEY'LL, THEY'LL GET MOVING BACK AND FORTH BEFORE WE SAY ANYMORE.
THE MAYOR PRO TIMM HAS ASKED EVERYBODY GET A TURN TO SPEAK BEFORE WE GO A SECOND ROUND.
UM, I, UH, YOU KNOW, I KIND OF AGREE WITH A LOT OF WHAT'S BEEN SAID.
I THINK THAT THE, OF THE THREE LIGHTS THAT ARE BEING SUGGESTED, THE LIMMER AND UH, ED SCHMIDT PROBABLY MAKES THE MOST SENSE TO ME TO FOCUS ON.
I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE US FIGURE OUT THE SIDEWALKS SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
AND TO SEE IF WE CAN'T PLAN THOSE IN WHILE UNDERSTANDING WHETHER THE ROAD NEEDS TO BE WIDENED.
BECAUSE THE LAST THING I WANT IS TO PUT IN SIDEWALKS, THEN RIP 'EM OUT AND DO IT AGAIN.
AND SO, UM, I THINK THE EAST SIDE OF EDGE SCHMIDT'S GONNA BE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE 'CAUSE YOU'VE GOT THOSE DITCHES THERE AND THAT'S GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT OF A CHALLENGE TO GET SOME SIDEWALKS IN.
BUT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT, 'CAUSE THAT'S THE SIDE OF THE ROAD THAT I SEE MOST OF THE KIDS WALKING ON.
'CAUSE THAT'S WHERE ALL THE MOST OF THE RESTAURANTS ARE.
UM, AND THAT SEEMS TO BE THE MOST DANGEROUS AREA.
THERE ARE SOME, YOU KNOW, PERIODIC, UM, SIDEWALKS ON THE OTHER SIDE.
BUT THAT'S WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE.
START WITH THE, THE ROAD TRAFFIC ON THE NORTH AND THEN THE, THE FOOT TRAFFIC ON THE SOUTH AND MAYBE WORK TOWARDS THE MIDDLE.
COUNCILMAN THORNTON? YEAH, I MEAN, I, I THINK THAT INTERSECTION BY LOWE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONABLE DECISIONS THAT GET MADE THERE ON A DAILY BASIS OF PEOPLE TRYING TO SHOOT ACROSS OR MAKE LEFT TURNS MM-HMM.
SO THAT, THAT DOES SEEM TO BE ADDRESSED.
[02:25:01]
THE WIDER ISSUE IN THE CITY IS UP AT LIMMER.UM, RIGHT NOW, I THINK THAT IS ALREADY A MESS.
AND WITH A MIDDLE SCHOOL OPENING A LONG LIMMER LOOP IN ABOUT A YEAR, IT'S GONNA GET WORSE.
AND THERE'S GONNA BE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO GO FROM THAT MIDDLE SCHOOL TO THE NINTH GRADE CENTER MM-HMM.
AND, AND TO GET THAT PATH ACTUALLY WORKING WILL BE HELPFUL.
UM, YOU CAN'T FIX EDGE SCHMIDT BY FIXING A SINGLE INTERSECTION.
SO AT LEAST WE'D FIX THE CROSS TRAFFIC THERE.
AND SOME OF THE LIMIT TRAFFIC WOULD, WOULD BE HELPED.
UM, AND THEN LIVE OAK, I THINK IT'S GOTTA COME WITH THE DEVELOPMENT THERE.
AND IT'S NOT JUST THERE, IT'S LIVE OAK CAT EXCHANGE TOO.
IT'S PROBABLY, ONCE THAT BECOMES A THOROUGHFARE, IT'S GONNA HAVE TO BE ADDRESSED AT BOTH ENDS OF THAT, OF THAT STREET.
SO, UM, THESE ARE ALL IMPORTANT.
IT'D BE GREAT IF WE CAN GET 'EM ALL GOING AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
BUT IF I HAVE TO PICK ONE TODAY, I THINK WE'VE GOTTA START UP AT LIMMER AND UH, AND THEN, AND THEN LOOK AT, UH, THE, THE LOWE'S INTERSECTION AND, AND TIE THE LIVE OAK TO, TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND YEAH, I MEAN THE SIDEWALKS, AS SOON AS WE CAN FIGURE OUT A PLAN AND HOW TO FUND THEM, THEY'RE ALL, THEY'RE ALL WORTH DOING.
THEY'RE ALL IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE NEEDED.
SO THANKS FOR, UH, THANKS FOR GETTING 'EM ALL ON OUR LIST.
WE'VE GOT A LONG LIST ALREADY, BUT THESE NEED TO BE ON THERE.
SO MATT, THERE'S ONLY PROPOSED TWO SIGNALS BEING ADDED, RIGHT? LIMMER AND, UM, WHATEVER HOME DEPOT, LOWE'S DRIVE, AND THEN LIMMER AND EMERY FIELDS OR ED SCHMIDT AND, AND EMORY FIELDS AND LIER AND ED SCHMIDT.
I MEAN, I ASSUME YOU NEED NEW ARMS AND STUFF, BUT THERE'S ALREADY A SIGNAL.
I MEAN, YOU'RE NOT, WE'RE JUST ADDING TWO SIGNALS, RIGHT? SO THE, THE ONE AT ED SCHMIDT AND LIMMER, THERE'S ALREADY A SIGNAL THERE.
WE WOULD BE WIDENING THE LA THE LANE.
WE WOULD BE ADDING LANES, WHICH MEANS WE'RE ADDING MORE SIGNAL HEADS BECAUSE WE HAVE MORE MM-HMM.
UH, SO THERE'D BE RIGHT OF WAY PURCHASE.
THERE WOULD BE NEW MASSED ARMS, THERE'D BE NEW SIGNAL HEADS, THOSE KIND OF THINGS.
UM, I DON'T WANNA MINIMIZE IT.
'CAUSE WE ALL KNOW PURCHASING RIGHT AWAY IS NOT GONNA BE CHEAP.
AND IT'S NOT GONNA BE A FAST AND EASY PROJECT, BUT THERE IS ALREADY A SIGNAL THERE.
AND SO THEN THE NEW SIGNALS WOULD BE EVENTUALLY ONE AT EDGE SCHMIDT AND LIVE OAK SLASH EMORY FARMS, AND THEN THE ONE AT, UM, HOME DEPOT SLASH LOWE'S.
THE, THE CUT THROUGH THERE TO GO BETWEEN ALL THE RESTAURANTS FROM HOME DEPOT INTO LOWE'S, OR VICE VERSA.
SO PROBABLY ONCE A MONTH, JAMES, MAYBE EVEN MORE.
I'M ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT WE CAN'T DO IT ALL.
LIKE IN MY MIND WE JUST CAN'T DO IT ALL.
AND WE'VE GOT WHATEVER, 200, 300 MILLION IN PROJECTS.
I LOOK AT THIS AND TO ME, UM, I KIND OF AGREE WITH SOMETHING THAT COUNCILMAN KOHLER HAD MENTIONED IS THAT IN MY MIND, THE ED SCHMIDT, THAT'S THE IMPORTANT PART.
AND I'M GONNA GET, I'M GONNA GET A PHONE CALL TOMORROW BY SOMEBODY, BUT I WOULD PUT A MEDIAN UP, UM, ACROSS IT.
AND I DON'T KNOW HOW PEOPLE ARE GONNA GET TO THE, TO THE, UM, EAST SIDE OF ED SCHMIDT, BUT TO PUT A SIGNAL AT THAT HOME DEPOT AND LOWE'S INTERSECTION, IT SEEMS VERY PROBLEMATIC TO ME FOR A COUPLE REASONS.
THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC THAT GOES NORTHBOUND OR WESTBOUND AND THEN NORTH IS PRETTY GREAT.
AND SO THERE'S, IF IT'S NOT TIMED LIKE REALLY, REALLY WELL, THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PROBLEM.
BUT THERE'S SOMETHING TO TXDOT, I TELL PEOPLE ALL THE TIME THAT I, I CAUGHT IN THAT MEETING WHEN THEY CAME HERE, IS THAT EVERYTHING'S TIMED A CERTAIN WAY AND THEN THE TRAIN COMES THROUGH AND SCREWS IT ALL UP MM-HMM.
AND THEN FIVE MINUTES LATER A TRAIN COMES THROUGH.
AND SO WHAT I'M AFRAID IS IF WE, I THINK IT WAS LIKE 900 FEET, IF I MEASURED RIGHT 900 FEET TO THE HOME DEPOT, LOWE'S, IF WE PUT A SIGNAL THERE, WHAT I'M ENVISIONING HAPPEN IS EVERY TIME A TRAIN COMES THROUGH AND THEN THE NORTHBOUND UNLOADS ON ED SCHMIDT OR 6 85, AT THAT POINT, WE'RE JUST GONNA HAVE A BACKUP.
AND THEN ONCE IT BACKS UP ONTO 79, WE'VE GOT ANOTHER PROBLEM.
AND TO ME, THE CHEAP WAY, AND UNFORTUNATELY I THINK MY OPINION IS WE HAVE TO, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIGURE OUT SOME COST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO MOVE TRAFFIC THROUGH HERE, IS WE PUT A MEDIAN, WE BLOCK THAT INTERSECTION AND THEN THAT WAY WE, 'CAUSE LOOKING AT YOUR REPORT, THE VAST MAJORITY OF CRASHES ARE OCCURRING AT THAT INTERSECTION.
AND SO I DON'T KNOW WHY ANYBODY GOES FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER AFTER LIKE EIGHT O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING, BUT TO DO THAT, AND I'M A COMMON PERSON 'CAUSE LOWE'S DOESN'T HAVE IT, THEN HOME DEPOT DOES.
OR I GO TO LOWE'S AND I WANT A, YOU KNOW, A BELT BUSTER OR SOMETHING.
BUT I LOOK AT ALL THIS AND I GO, DO WE HAVE ANOTHER MILLION AND A HALF DOLLARS TO, TO DO A SIGNAL AND DO ALL THE WORK THAT COMES INTO THAT WHEN WE CAN DO A MEETING AND FIX IT? BECAUSE EVERY TIME WE SPEND A MILLION HERE, THAT'S A MILLION.
[02:30:01]
NOT SPENDING SOMEWHERE ELSE.BUT, SO IN MY MIND, WE GOTTA FIX THE LI AND EDGE SCHMIDT.
WE GET THE SIDEWALKS AND THE CONNECTIVITY.
I THINK YOU CAN PUT 'EM TODAY 'CAUSE YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE'S GONNA HOLD.
AND SO WE START PUTTING THOSE IN.
AND THEN, UM, THE SIGNALS, I DON'T KNOW WHEN WE GET TO 'EM, BUT, UM, BECAUSE I'D HATE TO SEE EVERYTHING BACKED UP TOWARDS GRIDLOCK.
ED SCHMIDT WOULD BE THE NEXT GRIDLOCK.
'CAUSE ALL THE LAST THING I'D SAY IS SIGNALS TO ME DON'T HELP TRAFFIC FLOW FASTER THAT ALMOST STOP IT.
AND SO IT STOPS IT EVERYWHERE.
AND SO YOU DON'T MOVE ANYWHERE FASTER IN TOWN WITH SIGNALS.
AND SO THE MORE WE THROW UP, I THINK WE GOTTA BE VERY STRATEGIC IN WHERE WE'RE PUTTING THE SIGNALS SO THAT WE'RE DOING SAFETY AND WE'RE KEEPING TRAFFIC MOVING.
'CAUSE OTHERWISE PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE HOWLING.
'CAUSE THE ONLY WAY TO GET TO NORTH OF HUDA IS THIS ROAD UNTIL WE GET 1 32 FIGURED OUT, WHICH IS PROBABLY ANOTHER FOUR OR FIVE YEARS.
BUT IT'S NOT, THERE'S NO EASY SOLUTION I GUESS.
MATT, HAS ANY OF OUR, UH, EMERGENCY SERVICES BEEN, UH, INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS AT ALL? UH, HAVE THEY OFFERED UP AN OPINION ON, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT BE, YOU KNOW, WHAT PROJECT THEY WOULD RECOMMEND STARTING WITH FIRST? BECAUSE I MEAN, WE CAN WANT, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING TO BE DONE OR WE COULD PICK WHICH ONE WE BELIEVE IS THE MOST, YOU KNOW, PROBLEMATIC.
BUT OUR EMERGENCY SERVICES, I MEAN, IF ANYBODY HAS AN EMER, THEY'RE NOT CALLING, I WOULD HOPE THEY WOULDN'T CALL ME.
UM, I WOULD HOPE THEY WOULD CALL, YOU KNOW, THE APPROPRIATE EMERGENCY SERVICE.
SO AGAIN, HAVE THEY, YOU KNOW, OFFERED UP AN OPINION ON ANY OF THESE PROJECTS? THEY HAVE NOT, THEY WERE NOT INCLUDED IN THE, IN THE GARVER REPORT.
BUT I CAN REACH OUT TO, UH, CHIEF CURWOOD AND CHIEF YARBOROUGH AND GET THEIR FEEDBACK AND SEE WHAT THEIR SUGGESTIONS ARE.
YEAH, I WOULD DEFINITELY, UH, FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE IN, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVING THEIR OPINION AND, AND WEIGHING THAT AGAINST THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
JUST AGAIN, BECAUSE I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE ALL HAVE OUR, OUR DESIRES, BUT UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT THE ONES THAT ARE SERVICING THE CITIZENS.
AND SO, UM, I THINK IT'D BE A LITTLE BIT PREMATURE TO, TO MAKE A DECISION AND, AND NOT HAVE OUR EMERGENCY SERVICES, UH, WEIGH IN ON THAT DECISION BEFOREHAND.
ANY OTHER DISCUSSION, MATT? ARE THERE OTHER INTERSECTION OPTIONS THAT WE COULD LOOK AT? DOES IT ARE THE ONLY OPTIONS? RED LIGHTS ARE BLOCK IT OFF? NO, I MEAN THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER, YOU COULD LOOK AT HOODED LEFTS, YOU COULD LOOK AT ROUNDABOUTS, YOU COULD LOOK AT A LOT OF, UM, DIFFERENT POSSIBLE DESIGN ALTERNATIVES.
UM, I THINK BUT THIS IS BASED ON THE STUDY, RIGHT? YEAH, THIS, WELL, THIS, THIS WAS BASED ON, THIS WAS NOT BASED ON AN IN DEPTH, LIKE ALL THE DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVES THAT YOU COULD LOOK AT IN EVERY INTERSECTION.
IT WAS LIKE A, I DON'T REMEMBER, I THINK IT WAS A $40,000 STUDY, WHICH IS VERY, YOU KNOW, VERY HIGH LEVEL MM-HMM.
THIS IS THE, THIS IS, YOU NEED TO PUT SOME SORT OF ADDITIONAL MEASURE IN THESE INTERSECTIONS.
AND TYPICALLY THAT'S A TRAFFIC SIGNAL JUST BECAUSE IT'S EASY TO DO THAT MATH AND, AND RUN THE WARRANTS.
SO CAN I MAKE A MOTION TO, UH, TO POSTPONE THIS ITEM UNTIL YOU GET THAT FEEDBACK FROM THE EMERGENCY SERVICES? BUT THEN AT THE SAME TIME ALSO IN THAT MOTION TO, TO UNDERSTAND IF THERE ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT ASKING FOR MILLION DIFFERENT OPTIONS, BUT ARE THERE DIFFERENT OPTIONS BASED ON EMERGENCY SERVICES FEEDBACK AND THE FEEDBACK THAT YOU'VE OBTAINED HERE TONIGHT? CAN, CAN THAT MOTION ALSO INCLUDE ANY, UM, OTHER OPTIONS FOR THESE, UH, DIFFERENT, UH, DIFFERENT UH, UH, PROJECTS THAT, THAT YOU PRESENTED TONIGHT? SO THAT WOULD BE MY MOTION IS TO OBTAIN FEEDBACK FROM EMERGENCY SERVICES AND THEN, UH, FOR THE PROJECTS THAT YOU PRESENTED TO OFFER UP ANY SORT OF, UH, RECOMMENDED ALTERNATIVES TO WHAT'S BEING PRESENTED.
UM, AND I'D LIKE IT TO ALSO READ THAT WE DON'T WANT A TON OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS, JUST WHAT YOU WOULD RECOMMEND.
SO IF I COULD TRY TO PARAPHRASE YOUR MOTION.
YOU WOULD, YOU WOULD MAKE A MOTION TO DIRECT STAFF TO GET FEEDBACK FROM EMERGENCY SERVICES AND TO BRING BACK PREFERRED ALTERNATIVES FROM STAFF.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I SECOND THAT.
HAVE ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION? ALL RIGHT.
HEARING NONE, PLEASE CALL THE VOTE.
[02:35:01]
PASSES.[11. CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS ]
CONSENT AGENDA.WE HAD HAVE ITEMS 11 ONE THROUGH 1127 UP FOR CONSIDERATION.
MAYOR, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO PER TO APPROVE ALL CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS AS PRESENTED.
SECOND MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER CLARK SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER THOMPSON.
ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION? JUST HAD ONE QUESTION FOR, UM, LEGAL.
I KNOW THAT I REMEMBER LAST WEEK WHEN WE PASSED, UM, THE ORDINANCES FOR THE TAXES WE HAD TO USE SPECIFIC LANGUAGE AND ALL THAT.
IF WE PASSED THIS AS A CONSENT AGENDA ITEM, IS IT JUST ASSUMED THAT WE ARE PASSING IT USING THE LANGUAGE USED IN THE FIRST READING? YES.
AND, AND PARTICULARLY HERE BECAUSE THE, THE SECOND READING REQUIREMENT IS FROM YOUR CHARTER REQUIREMENTS.
SO THE, THE SPECIFIC LANGUAGE IS FOR THE STATE LAW ADOPTION OF IT THERE.
SO BEFORE WE VOTE ON THE BUDGET ON CONSENT, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK, THAT'S UNUSUAL FOR ME.
I'D LIKE TO ASK STAFF A QUESTION ABOUT THE BUDGET.
UM, CITY ATTORNEY, WHAT THE FINANCE DIRECTOR IS SAYING THAT THE, THAT THE TAX RATE REQUIRES A RECORD VOTE.
SO IS THE, BECAUSE WE, BECAUSE THEY CALL RECORD VOTES ON EVERY OPTION ANYWAY.
WOULD A RECORD VOTE FOR CONSENT SATISFY THAT REQUIREMENT? I, I WOULD SAY HERE, BECAUSE WE DO THE RECORD VOTE ON ALL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS, WHAT THE, THE PURPOSE OF THE STATUTE IS, IS TO HAVE A RECORD OF HOW EACH INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL MEMBER VOTED ON THE ITEM.
WE'RE JUST INCLUDING OTHER ITEMS IN THE SAME RECORD VOTE, BUT IT'S STILL A RECORD VOTE FOR THE PURPOSES OF SATISFYING THE STATUTE.
IF I COULD ASK A QUESTION, I DIDN'T PULL IT UP ON THE BUDGET, ISN'T THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE CONSENT? SO HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO ASK A QUESTION ON A SPECIFIC ITEM IF WE'RE ALREADY DIDN'T PULL THE ITEM? SO YOUR ATTORNEY, WHEN THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND, ARE WE ABLE TO DISCUSS WHAT WE'RE MAKING A MOTION AND SECONDING ON OR WOULD IT HAVE TO BE PULLED SINCE THIS IS A CONSENT AGENDA WITH NUMEROUS ITEMS? I THINK YOU COULD CONS, YOU COULD DISCUSS THE ITEMS THAT ARE WITHIN THE CURRENT MOTION, WHICH IS ALL OF THE ITEMS. IF IT'S EXPECTED TO HAVE EXTENDED DISCUSSION FOR PRACTICAL PURPOSES, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE HELPFUL TO PULL IT OFF OF CONSENT.
UM, PEOPLE COULD EITHER ENTERTAIN WITHDRAWING MOTIONS OR, UM, THAT WOULD BE MY, MY CURRENT OPTION.
BUT JUST SO I'M CLEAR, SO WHEN A MOTION'S MADE AND A SECOND IS THEN DONE, WE ARE ALLOWED TO DISCUSS THE ITEM WE'RE VOTING ON? YES.
YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO DISCUSS IT.
SO CITY, SO I HAVE A QUESTION ON IF I MAY I HAVE A QUESTION ON THE BUDGET.
SO CITY ATTORNEY, YOU JUST SAID THAT AND I'M JUST ASKING FOR CLARIFICATION.
IF WE ARE ASKING FOR A, AN ITEM TO BE DISCUSSED WITH STAFF, ISN'T THAT FURTHER DISCUSS DISCUSSION? IT IS FURTHER DISCUSSION, BUT I THINK IT IS FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THE, THE ITEMS THAT ARE WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE MOTION, WHICH HERE IS TO APPROVE ALL ITEMS ON CONSENT.
I MEAN IT'S ONE QUESTION AND I DON'T WANNA BE DISRUPTIVE AND SO I AM MORE THAN HAPPY TO PULL IT 'CAUSE I DON'T PLAN ON VOTING FOR THE BUDGET.
BUT I DO HAVE A QUESTION THAT MAY CHANGE ME TO VOTE FOR IT.
IT'S GOING THROUGH THE BUDGET AGAIN.
IN THE E D C BUDGET, WE HAD PREVIOUSLY PASSED, UH, SOME SORT OF RE RESOLUTION OR INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT THAT THE 24 MILLION WE SOLD IN BONDS, THE E D C WAS GOING TO REFUND THE CITY THAT I N S DEBT SERVICE MONEY.
BUT I WASN'T ABLE TO FIND THAT IN THE BUDGET ANYWHERE WHERE THAT TRANSFER'S HAPPENING.
SO IT'S MY THOUGHT SINCE I THINK WE'VE PASSED THE AGREEMENT, THERE SHOULD BE SOME SORT OF TRANSFER FROM THE E D C FUND TO SOME OTHER FUND OF WHATEVER THE DEBT SERVICE ON 24 MILLION IS, WHICH BASED ON A 4.5% INTEREST IS LIKE 1.4 MILLION OR SOMETHING.
BUT AM I WRONG THAT THAT'S NOT IN THERE? IT'S NOT BECAUSE WHEN WE WERE ON THE E D C, WE VOTED FOR THE BUDGET AND THE E D C DID NOT APPROVE THEIR BUDGET TO PAY FOR THAT.
AND THAT AGREEMENT WASN'T, I THINK, OFFICIALLY ADOPTED TO SAY THAT THEY WERE GONNA DO THAT.
AND THEN THEY PRESENTED A BUDGET THAT THAT BOARD APPROVED THAT DID NOT HAVE THAT PAYMENT THAT WAY.
UM, AND SO IT'S NOT IN THE CURRENT BUDGET.
SO, UM, WHEN YOU SAY 24 MILLION, UM, THE
[02:40:01]
E D C DID GO TO A BANK ALLIANCE BANK AND GET A LOAN FOR 16 MILLION AND THEN THE CITY CONTRIBUTED 6 MILLION? NO, HE, HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE EAST WEST SPINE ROAD, SPECIFICALLY EAST.THAT'S $12 MILLION BOND ISSUE.
HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE EAST WEST SPINE ROAD AND THAT HE WAS SAYING THAT WE HAD DONE AN AGREEMENT WHERE WE, THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION THAT THEY WOULD PAY THE DEBT SERVICE OUT OF E D C FUNDS, BUT THAT ALL WAS THOUGHT ABOUT PRIOR TO WE TAKE OUT THE $16 MILLION LOAN.
SO THAT KIND OF WENT OUT THE WINDOW ONCE THAT NEW THING HAPPENED, WHICH YOU'RE, MAYBE YOU FORGOT ABOUT THAT PART OF IT, WHICH KIND OF CHANGED THE CALCULUS.
THAT'S WHY IT WAS NOT IN THE BUDGET THAT THE E D C APPROVED.
THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT DISCUSSION AMONG THE E D C WHERE, UM, UM, AND I HAD ASKED FOR CLARIFICATION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE E D C WAS GOING TO REPAY THE CITY FOR THAT LOAN.
AND I ASKED THAT THAT BE A TOPIC AT THE JOINT MEETING THAT WAS HELD WITH THE E D C AND THE CITY AND THE C D C SOMEHOW THAT WAS TAKEN OFF THE AGENDA.
THERE WAS SUBSEQUENT DISCUSSION AT THE E D C AND THE E D C DID THERE, THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANY FORMAL AGREEMENT WHERE THE E D C HAS SAID WE WILL PAY THE CITY FOR THE DEBT SERVICE ON THAT.
AND THE E D C HAS DISCUSSED IT AT THEIR BOARD MEETING IN OPEN SESSION AND THEY HAVE SAID THEY ARE NOT INTENDING TO TAKE ON THE DEBT SERVICE.
THEY DID PAY THE SETTLEMENT COST ON THE BOND ISSUANCE AND THAT WAS A 23 TRANSACTION THAT'S ALREADY BEEN PAID AND SETTLED.
AND, AND THAT ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE BECAUSE THE ROAD IS PART OF OUR MASTER MOBILITY PLAN.
THE MAYOR PRO TEM HAS ASKED, BEFORE WE COME BACK ON A QUESTION THAT THE ENTIRE COUNCIL HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK, IS THERE ANY OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL THAT WISH TO COMMENT? OKAY, HEARING THEN YOU MAY.
AND THAT MAKES SENSE BECAUSE THE EASTWEST SPINE ROAD IS PART OF THE MASTER MOBILITY PLAN FOR THE CITY AND THAT'S WHY THE E D C BOARD FELT THAT WAY AS WELL.
UM, FROM WHAT I REMEMBER, THE RECOLLECTIONS OF THAT DISCUSSION AT THE TIME THAT I WAS A MEMBER OF THAT BOARD.
UM, SO I FEEL LIKE WE ALMOST NEED TO TAKE A RECESS IF I, I I FEEL LIKE WE VOTED ON THIS BEFORE AS A COUNCIL AND WHETHER IT WAS DIRECTION OR WHATEVER, BUT I MEAN, WHAT I'M HEARING IS THE E D C DIDN'T PUT IT IN THEIR BUDGET, BUT THE EDCS BUDGET'S APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
AND SO IF THE E D C MISSED IT, BUT THE WHOLE POINT WHEN WE DID ALL THIS WAS THAT THE E D C WAS GOING TO COVER THE DEBT SERVICE BECAUSE IT WAS FOR A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT.
AND NOW IF WE DON'T FIX THIS, THEN IN MY MIND WHAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE IS WE KEEP TELLING EVERYBODY WE BRING THE BUSINESS IN, WE'RE GONNA DIVERSIFY THE TAX BASE AND LOWER YOUR TAXES.
AND ALL WE'VE DONE IS IS WE'VE BROUGHT IN BUSINESS BUT WE'VE RAISED PEOPLE'S TAXES.
'CAUSE IT'S 12 MORE MILLION DOLLARS, WHICH MAY BE $75 A YEAR, IT COULD BE 25, DEPENDS ON WHATEVER THE FORMULA SAY.
BUT IT'S ONE OF THOSE DEALS WHERE, I MEAN WE HAD SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE CITY WOULD ISSUE THE BONDS TO GET A LOWER RATING, BUT THE E D C WAS GONNA PAY FOR THAT.
AND THEY MAY, THEY MAY WANNA CHANGE ON THAT, BUT I MEAN, I THINK WE NEED TO REMEMBER AS A COUNCIL, THE E D C ENTERED INTO AN AGREEMENT TO BUILD THAT ROAD, NOT THE CITIZENS OF HUDA AND NOT THE CITY COUNCIL.
AND WE APPROVED THAT AGREEMENT BASED ON THE E D C BUILDING THE ROAD, THEN WE SAID WE COULD FINANCE IT CHEAPER.
BUT YOU GUYS HAVE TO PAY THE DEBT SERVICE.
AND NOW HERE IT'S BUDGET TIME.
AND NOW WHAT I'M HEARING IS THERE'S BEEN SOME CONVERSATION THAT WE DON'T WANNA PAY THE DEBT SERVICE ANYMORE.
SO I HAPPEN TO BE THE FINANCE REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE CITY.
I ALSO HAPPEN TO BE THE FINANCE REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE E D C.
RIGHT? SO I AGREE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER CLARK THAT THERE WAS DISCUSSION PRIOR TO THE, UH, LAND PURCHASE THAT THE E D C SHOULD PAY THE DEBT SERVICE.
HOWEVER, THERE WAS NEVER ANY KIND OF A FORMAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TWO ENTITIES WHERE THERE WAS AN AGREEMENT FROM THE E D C THAT THEY WOULD PAY IT.
THE E D C THEN WENT TO BANKS, VARIOUS BANKS AND SAID WE'D LIKE A $22 MILLION LOAN TO GO BUY SOME LAND.
AND THE BANKS LOOKED AT THE FINANCIALS FOR THE E D C AND SAID, WE WILL ONLY GIVE YOU A LOAN FOR $16 MILLION.
AND SO THE THE CITY, UM, GAVE 6 MILLION TO THE E D C, UH, TO, TO PURCHASE THAT LAND.
AND I SAY GAVE IT TO THE E D C, IT'S REALLY, IT'S A LOAN TO THE E D C, RIGHT? SO THAT IF YOU ASK THE E D C, CAN YOU BEAR ANY MORE PRINCIPAL OR INTEREST COST AT THIS POINT IN TIME, THEY CANNOT, THEIR SALES TAX IS THEIR ONLY
[02:45:01]
REVENUE AND THEY RECEIVE A, UH, QUARTER OF THE SALES TAX THAT COMES TO THE CITY.SO THEY HAVE SALES TAXES, REVENUE, AND THEY HAVE ANOTHER BOND ISSUE THAT WAS ISSUED SEVERAL YEARS AGO THAT THEY'RE PAYING PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST ON.
THEY'RE PAYING INTEREST ON THE $16 MILLION LOAN.
AND AS SOON AS THEY GET LAND SALES IN WHICH LAND SALES HAVE NOT TRANSPIRED YET, IT'S POTENTIALLY POSSIBLE THAT THEY COULD MAKE PAYMENTS BACK TO THE CITY.
BUT AT THIS POINT THEY DON'T HAVE A REVENUE STREAM FOR LAND SALES AND THEY, THEY DON'T HAVE A REVENUE STREAM WHERE THEY COULD PAY THE PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST ON THE $12 MILLION EAST WEST SPINE ROAD.
AND WE KIND OF KNEW THAT ONCE WE ASKED THEM TO GO BAIL OUT THE CITY FROM A BAD DECISION OF THE OTHER PROPERTY.
SO IT DIDN'T GO INTO FORECLOSURE.
SO, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING ALL OF THAT AND GETTING THE NUANCE OF IT, I I GET IT.
SO I DON'T, WE'RE RAISING TAXES ON WELL, BUT WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE TABLE TO VOTE, DON'T WE SIR? WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE.
IN ORDER TO HAVE A MOTION TO VOTE.
SOMEONE HAD TO MAKE A MOTION LIKE CALLED THE MOTION.
SO, BUT I, I'M DONE ARGUING WITH YOU GUYS ABOUT THINGS BECAUSE IT ALWAYS COMES OUT TO, TAXES ARE GOING DOWN AND THEN WHEN THEY KEEP GOING UP, WE'VE GOT ALL THESE EXPENSES AND THINGS ARE CHANGING.
AND THIS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WE HAD ALL THE MEETINGS THROUGH THE SUMMER HOW THIS IS GONNA GO AND NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN THE COST IS ON THE PUBLIC.
SO I WON'T BE VOTING TO FUND ANY ROADS OR ANY KIND OF IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE E D C GOING FORWARD BECAUSE IF THEY'RE GONNA CHANGE THE MIND ON HOW IT'S GETTING PAID FOR, THEY CAN PAY THE EXTRA 50 BASIS POINTS TO A HUNDRED BASIS POINTS, WHATEVER IT IS ON THE BONDS AS OPPOSED TO SAYING, YOU GUYS FINANCE IT CHEAPER AND WE'LL PAY YOU BACK AND THEN WE CHANGE OUR MIND.
UM, SO, SO I HAD A, JUST A CLARIFICATION QUESTION ON THAT.
HERE'S WHAT I HEARD THAT THERE WAS AN INITIAL DISCUSSION FOR THE E D C TO PAY FOR THAT, UM, THAT COST OF THE BOND ISSUANCE MM-HMM.
WHAT USED TO BE OPTION A AS HAVING A DEVELOPER PURCHASE THAT SO THAT THE E D C DIDN'T HAVE TO GO INTO DEBT.
SO ONCE WE CHANGED THAT TO PLAN A FROM PLAN B AND THEY WENT INTO DEBT, THAT CHANGED THE WHOLE DISCUSSION OF WHETHER THEY COULD AFFORD TO PAY FOR THAT DEBT SERVICE.
SO WE DID IT TO THEM, IN MY OPINION, WE DID IT TO THEM ABSOLUTELY.
WHEN, WHEN WE SAID WE WANT YOU TO DO THIS, AND THEN, OH, A COUPLE MONTHS LATER, OH, NOW WE REALLY NEED YOU TO DO THIS.
AND THEY SAID, OKAY, WE'LL WE'LL DO THE SECOND THING.
WE'LL WE'LL GO INTO DEBT 16 MILLION AND BORROW 6 MILLION FROM YOU THAT WE HAVE TO PAY BACK.
UM, I DON'T SEE IT AS THEIR FAULT
AND THE GOOD NEWS IS WE ALSO HAVE A TURS TIME WILL GET IT PAID BACK IN ANOTHER WAY SO IT WON'T BE ON DIRECTLY ON THE, THE TAXPAYERS AND CAN TAKE ON THAT I N S.
BUT RIGHT NOW YOU DON'T HAVE, YOU HAVE A BARE DIRT 'CAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE A ROAD.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S COMING AND THIS IS ONE OF THOSE BEING FORWARD THINKING AND, AND, AND DO THE RIGHT THINGS FOR THE LONG-TERM VISION AND THE HEALTH OF THE TOWN, UM, IN HUDU THAT WE LOVE.
AND THAT'S WHY WE'VE BEEN ELECTED UP HERE TO DO THAT BECAUSE WE KNOW ALL THE NUANCES OF ALL THESE VERY COMPLEX ISSUES AND THERE'S A LOT OF THEM.
UM, AND, AND IT'S BEEN MANY HOURS AND MANY DAYS, WEEKS LOOKING AT ALL THESE ISSUES AND IT'S ALL COMING TOGETHER HERE IN THIS ONE BUDGET.
BUT IT, IT'S NOT JUST A ONE NIGHT THING OR EVEN A TWO OR A MONTH.
IT'S BEEN SIX MONTHS, NINE MONTHS THAT WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH ALL THESE ISSUES.
THAT'S A CULMINATION OF THIS TODAY.
ALL YOUR STATEMENTS ARE CORRECT.
SO THE EAST WEST PI SPINE ROAD IS ON THE MEGA SITE, IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT.
AND THEN THE $21 MILLION, THE, A SEPARATE TRANSACTION IS COTTONWOOD PROPERTY, CORRECT? YEAH.
IT'S ALSO KNOWN AS THE PERFECT GAME PROPERTIES.
I DO REMEMBER THE CONVERSATION WITH THE E D C PAYING THE DEBT SERVICE.
OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE SAYING THAT THERE'S NO OFFICIAL DOCUMENTATION OF THEM AGREEING TO THAT.
AND THEN ALSO THE CITY COUNCIL AGREEING TO THAT.
SO JUST KIND OF, I GUESS ON THE FENCE AND UN UNCLEAR ABOUT, IT'S NOT A CO-MINGLING, IT'S JUST THEY ONLY HAVE X AMOUNT OF MONEY AND WE HAD THEM GO BUY THAT LAND AND THEY'RE PAYING THAT DEBT SERVICE.
SO NOW, AND THEN WE NEVER ISSUED THE AGREEMENT.
[02:50:01]
IS, MAYBE THIS IS A, UM, MATT QUESTION.WHAT IS THE PROGRESS, WHERE ARE WE AT RIGHT NOW WITH THE EAST WEST VIOLENT ROAD? I KNOW THAT WE'VE GOT THE BONDS, WE'VE GOT THE 12.
THAT'S NOT, THAT'S YEAH, THAT'S NOT GERMANE.
BUT I WILL SAY THIS, IS THERE A WAY TO HAVE A RECESS TO GET SOMETHING BECAUSE, UH, UH, I'M, I'M GETTING CONFUSED HERE.
WE'RE SAYING THAT WE CHANGED HOW WE WERE GONNA FUND ALL THIS BECAUSE THEY BOUGHT LAND.
WE BOUGHT THE LAND IN FEBRUARY ON JUNE 12TH.
THERE WAS AN ITEM THAT SAID, AND AND I, THE MINUTES AREN'T HERE, BUT IT SAID, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION TO APPROVE RESOLUTION R DASH 2023 DASH 1 35 AUTHORIZE AUTHORIZING AN AMENDED, UH, SO I ASSUME IT WAS ALREADY IN THE FUNDING AGREEMENT, BUT DISCUSS AN AMENDED FUNDING AGREEMENT IN AN AMOUNT OF 12 MILLION BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF HU AND A CORPORATION TO CONSTRUCT THE MEGA SITE EAST WEST SPINE ROAD PROJECT TO PROMOTE NEW EXPANDED BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT WITHIN A CITY AUTHORIZING THE CHAIRPERSON TO EXECUTE AGREEMENT, PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ORIGINAL AGREEMENT WAS, BUT IN JUNE 12TH, WHICH IS LIKE FOUR MONTHS AFTER THE LOAN HAPPENED, WE WERE DISCUSSING AMENDING IT IN THE MINUTES.
I I'M NOT PULLING THE MINUTES UP.
SO LET ME WEIGH IN HERE JUST TO TRY TO HELP WITH SOME OF THIS.
UM, SO NAME, YOUR NAME, YOUR NAME, I'M SORRY.
UM, THE, THE JANUARY ACTION WAS A CITY GRANT TO THE E D C FOR $12 MILLION.
THE PAYMENT MECHANISM THAT WAS DISCUSSED THAT WAS NEVER CODIFIED IN ANY AGREEMENT.
SO THERE WAS NEVER, AS FAR AS I KNOW, AN AGREEMENT WHERE THE E D C WOULD SAY ON PAPER THAT IT'S GONNA PAY THE CITY BACK.
I BELIEVE THERE WAS DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT, HOW IT MIGHT LOOK, WHETHER IT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD PAY THE DEBT SERVICE FOR US SO WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO SO ON AND SO FORTH.
THE AMENDMENT THAT THE MAYOR JUST BROUGHT UP THAT HAPPENED IN IN JUNE WAS TO CHANGE IT FROM 12 MILLION TO 18 MILLION.
SO IT WAS TO INCREASE THE COSTS TO ACCOUNT FOR THE WATER WASTEWATER AND OR DRAINAGE THAT WAS EXPECTED.
IT'S STILL A GRANT FROM THE CITY TO THE E D C THAT DOESN'T MENTION ABOUT REPAYMENT.
WHAT I'VE DONE INTERNALLY ON MY SIDE AND WITH CHENEY, UM, UH, INTERIM, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR RIGHT NOW, UM, IS WE HAVE BUILT THOSE FIXED COSTS FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE INTO THE BASIS OF THE LAND.
SO SHOULD THE LAND SELL, WE HAVE PRICED IT AT LEAST IN SUCH A WAY THAT WE CAN RECOVER OUR COSTS AT WHICH POINT THERE SHOULD BE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE E D C TO IN A LUMP SUM AFTER THE LAND CELLS TO REPAY BACK FOR THE SPINE ROAD.
SHOULD THAT BE THE DIRECTION THAT BOTH THE COUNCIL AND THE E D C WANT TO GO? UM, THAT IS EFFECTIVELY HOW WE'VE HANDLED IT RIGHT NOW.
BUT WHAT, WHAT WE'VE DONE IS JUST FOLLOWED THE ACTIONS THAT THE COUNCIL HAS TAKEN FROM JANUARY THROUGH TILL NOW ON SETTING UP THIS, THIS PAYMENT.
SO THERE IS NO REPAYMENT COMING BACK TODAY, BUT THERE IS CERTAINLY AN UNDERSTANDING THAT THE CITY DID TAKE OUT DEBT BECAUSE OUR INTEREST RATES WERE LOWER THAN WHAT THE E D C COULD GET FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE E D C.
THEN THINGS CHANGE WITH THE, WE GOTTA COME UP WITH ALL THIS MONEY TO BUY THIS LAND.
AND, AND THAT'S KIND OF, I THINK IS WHAT HAS THROWN ANY TYPE OF MONKEY WRENCH IN THEM MAKING A DEBT SERVICE PAYMENT FOR A, YOU KNOW, FOR THE CITY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
BUT REST ASSURED THAT CHENEY'S CALCULATIONS AND MY CALCULATIONS HAVE INCLUDED THOSE COSTS IN THE BASIS OF THE LAND INSIDE THE MEGA SITE.
SO SUCH THAT WHEN THE LAND INSIDE THE MEGA SITE SELLS, WE SHOULD END UP WITH ENOUGH MONEY TO COVER OUR SUNK COSTS.
BUT WE CAN'T BUDGET FOR THAT AT THIS TIME, WHICH IS WHY WE HAVE THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE TODAY.
AND IF I COULD MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, UM, OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES PROVIDE FOR BUDGET AMENDMENTS SO THAT IF YOU WERE TO PASS THE BUDGET AS IS TODAY, AND THEN WE WOULD TAKE ACTION, YOU COULD DIRECT STAFF TO GO BACK TO THE E D C WITH A REQUEST OR WITH A CASHFLOW ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE IF THEY COULD MAKE A PAYMENT ON THESE BONDS.
AND THEN IF THERE WAS AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE E D C AND COUNCIL, THE BUDGETS OF BOTH ENTITIES COULD BE AMENDED FOR WHATEVER THAT AGREEMENT STATES.
YEAH, BUT WE CAN'T DO THAT TODAY, HELP THE PUBLIC BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE'RE CHARGING THE PUBLIC AN I N SS RATE ON THE MONEY AND SO WE MOVE ALL THAT MONEY AROUND.
IT'S LIKE THE Y M C A WHEN, WHEN THE Y M C A USED TO PAY US RENT THE PUBLIC WAS PAYING THE DEBT SERVICE, THEN THE Y WOULD PAY THE CITY MONEY.
[02:55:01]
THE CITY NEVER WENT TO TO THE DEBT SERVICE LIKE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO.SO WE KEPT TAXING PEOPLE AND THEN THE Y WAS PAYING RENT PAYMENTS AND THEN WE WERE SPENDING IT ON OTHER STUFF.
AND SAME THING WOULD HAPPEN HERE.
WE'RE CHARGING PEOPLE FOR DEBT SERVICE FOR THE ROAD.
IF THE E D C THEN REIMBURSES THE CITY, THE CITY JUST HAS MORE MONEY, BUT THE TAXPAYER IS STILL PAYING THE DEBT SERVICE.
SO I MEAN IT, THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH DOING THE THINGS AT THE LAST MINUTE.
UM, AND AT THREE 30 IN THE MORNING, I SKIPPED IT AND I WASN'T, I'M NOT ON E D C ANYMORE, SO I CAN'T RAISE MY HAND AND SAY, HEY GUYS, I THINK YOU MISSED A DEAL.
BUT IF YOU GUYS SAY IT WAS NEVER DONE, UH, WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO GO THROUGH AND LOOK AT EVERY SINGLE ONE.
I'M IN MARCH, BUT UM, I'M NOT SUPPORTING A BUDGET.
UM, THE WAY IT THE WAY IT IS BECAUSE THIS IS, I MAKE A MOTION TO CALL THE VOTE PLEASE.
YOU WANNA GIVE HIM A CHANCE TO TALK OR, OH, SORRY.
YOU OKAY WITH SENDING IT? I'LL RESEND IT.
SO I MEAN, I THINK THE ISSUE HERE IS ONE OF COMMUNICATION BECAUSE THE DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL THAT WE HAD ESTABLISHED WAS THAT WE THOUGHT WE WERE GETTING REIMBURSED AND THEN THE PLAN CHANGED AND THERE WAS NEVER A COMMUNICATION BACK SAYING, HEY, JUST SO YOU KNOW, THAT PLAN IS NO LONGER MM-HMM.
YOU SO YOU NEVER LOOKED AT THE E D C BUDGET BEFORE YOU WENT TO APPROVE IT? I DID.
I DIDN'T CATCH THAT ITEM, BUT I VOTED AGAINST.
IT WAS DIRECTION CHANGE AND IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN COMMUNICATED, SO.
ANY DISCUSSION ON THE CONSENT AGENDAS, INCLUDING THE BUDGET? HEARING NONE, PLEASE CALL THE VOTE.
[12. EXECUTIVE SESSION ]
TO EXECUTIVE SESSION.I'D LIKE TO PULL ITEM 12 ONE OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION.
I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS THAT IN EXECUTIVE.
YEAH, I WOULD LIKE TO OBJECT AS WELL, SIR.
WILL THEN I MAKE A MOTION TO PULL IT OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION SINCE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT PREVIOUSLY IN OPEN SESSION.
IS THERE A SECOND FOR THAT? SECOND.
UM, WE DIDN'T GET ANY LEGAL MEMOS.
DO YOU HAVE LEGAL ADVICE TO GIVE TO US? 'CAUSE MY UNDERSTANDING IS, IS IT JUST A DECISION FOR US? DO WE REIMBURSE OR NOT? I BELIEVE THERE WAS A LEGAL MEMO PREVIOUSLY SHARED WITH COUNSEL.
UM, BUT WE BROUGHT THIS OUT LAST WEEK.
WE BROUGHT THIS OUT OF EXISTING.
IS THERE NOT A MOTION TO APPROVE? HAVE MOTION.
WE HAVE MOTION TO SEE IF YOU'RE GONNA MOVE IT.
NOT WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT 12 TWO? SO YOU JUST DO 12 ONE, WE'RE NOT, YOU CALL A VOTE TO SEE IF YOU CAN MOVE IT OUT OR NOT.
NO, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT 12 TWO.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT 12 ONE? NO, I'M TELLING COUNCIL YOU JUST ASKED IF, IF IF HE HAS ANY LEGAL ADVICE TO GIVE US THAT 12 TWO SAYS RECEIVE LEGAL ADVICE.
SO CAN WE JUST GO WITH 12 ONE ON 12 ONE? IT STARTS OFF WITH RECEIVE LEGAL ADVICE PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 51 0.071 AND YOU MADE A MOTION.
I'M MAKING A MOTION TO PULL IT OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION BECAUSE I KNOW OF NO LEGAL ADVICE WE'RE GOING TO BE GETTING, SO IF WE GO BACK THERE AND WE LOOK AT EACH OTHER ON THIS, WE CAN DO THAT.
BUT IF BEN DOESN'T HAVE LEGAL ADVICE TO GIVE US, WHY ARE WE GOING BACK IN EXECUTIVE SESSION IS ALL I'M BRINGING UP.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHY I MADE THE MOTION.
SO I THOUGHT TO HELP CLARIFY IT IN OUR DISCUSSION PERIOD.
BECAUSE WHEN YOU MAKE A MOTION IN A SECOND, YOU'RE ALLOWED TO DISCUSS A MOTION.
I HAVE LEGAL QUESTION TO ASK LEGAL.
BUT I WAS ASKING, OKAY, I WAS ASKING THE CITY ATTORNEY.
DID HE HAVE ANY, OR DID DOTTIE, DID HE OR SHE HAVE ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED LEGALLY THIS IS NEW INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE.
OKAY, I HAVE A LEGAL QUESTION.
IT'S NOT THAT I'LL RESEND MY MOTION.
AND I THOUGHT COUNCILMAN COLE HAD ALREADY SPECIFIED THAT SHE WANTED TO ASK A QUESTION IN EXECUTIVE FOR LEGAL, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHY HER, HER REQUEST WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH.
I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T HEAR HER SAY THAT.
ALRIGHT, WELL THEN WE'LL GO BACK, WE'LL GO BACK TO EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEM 12 ONE.
RECEIVE LEGAL ADVICE PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 0.071 CONSULTATION WITH ATTORNEY RELATING TO A REQUEST BY LIDDELL WALKER OF FEES ASSOCIATED WITH A STORM WATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM PURSUANT TO ORDINANCE NUMBER O DASH 2023 DASH 0 4 5, CREATING A STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AND ORDINANCE NUMBER O DASH 2023 DASH 0 4 6
[03:00:01]
AMENDING THE CITY RATE SCHEDULE TO INCLUDE FEES ASSOCIATED WITH THE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR 265 ACRES OF PROPERTY LOCATED AT CR 1 32 AND FM 1660, ALSO KNOWN AS LIDDELL WALKER PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT.AND ITEM 12 TWO RECEIVE LEGAL ADVICE PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 51 0.071 RELATED TO PENDING LEGAL REQUESTS, POTENTIAL CLAIMS PENDING LITIGATION, POTENTIAL LITIGATION AND CITY COUNCIL LEGAL REQUEST.
THE TIME IS 10:00 PM ALL IT'S 10 35.
[13. ACTION RELATIVE TO EXECUTIVE SESSION ]
BACK FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION, NO ACTION WAS TAKEN.NEXT ITEM IS 13 ONE CONSIDERATION POSSIBLE ACTION ON EXECUTIVE SESSION AGENDA ITEMS. MAYOR, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO DIRECT STAFF AS TO PROCEED AS PRESENTED IN 12 IN 12 ONE TO DISCUSS AN EXECUTIVE.
I WILL SECOND MOTION BY COUNCILOR CLARK, SECOND BY COUNCILOR THOMPSON.
JUST SO I'M CLEAR, WHAT, WHAT IS THE DIRECTION? BECAUSE AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THERE'S ONLY ONE DIRECTION, OTHERWISE THERE IS NO DIRECTION.
YOU'RE EITHER WAIVING FEES OR YOU'RE NOT WAIVING FEES TO ADOPT THE FEES THAT WE'VE ALREADY ADOPTED.
WELL, NO, WE'VE ALREADY ADOPTED 'EM.
I THINK IT WAS TO, AND THEY'RE NOT ASKING FOR AN APPEAL TO EXPLAIN IT.
I GUESS THERE'D BE NO ACTION THEN.
COUNCILMAN THOMPSON WAS THERE.
I THOUGHT IT WAS TO EXPLAIN, UH, CLEARLY, BUT IF THERE'S NO ACTION ON THE, ON THE ITEM, THEN UM, I I'LL RESCIND MY SECOND.
I I WILL SAY ON THIS THAT, UH, I I WAS PRETTY VOCAL BEFORE, UH, ANYTIME, ANYTIME A CITY INSTITUTES A FEE FOR A SPECIFIC DEVELOPER AS WE'RE COMING TO, I THINK WE'RE SENDING A BAD MESSAGE.
IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I GOT INVOLVED IN CITY GOVERNMENT WAS FOR INSTANCES LIKE THIS THAT USED TO HAPPEN REGULARLY.
I HOPE THIS IS A ONE-OFF AND WE DON'T FIND OURSELVES INSTITUTING FEES ON PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T PREVIOUSLY EXIST.
I KNOW SOME OF US DEBATE ON HOW WE READ IT ALL AND, UH, AND I HOPE THAT STAFF COMES UP WITH A PLAN WHERE WE'RE NOT RELYING ON ANOTHER CITY'S CODE BECAUSE YOU GET TO SITUATIONS LIKE THIS.
I'D LIKE TO JUST CLARIFY THAT WE ARE NOT SETTING A FEE FOR A SPECIFIC DEVELOPER.
WE ARE SETTING A FEE FOR A SPECIFIC SITUATION.
AND EVERY DEVELOPER THAT, THAT MEETS THIS SITUATION AND THAT HAS THIS SITUATION WHERE THEY WANT TO USE, UM, IT'S NOT OFFSITE DRAINAGE, BUT IT'S DRAINING INTO THE CREEKS.
IT'S GONNA APPLY EQUALLY AND FAIRLY TO EVERYBODY, AND IT MATCHES WHAT WAS IN THE ROUND ROCK ORDINANCE.
ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON 13 ONE? SO THERE'S NO ACTION TO TAKE.
WE'VE ALREADY IMPLEMENTED WHAT WE NEED TO.
[14. CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS]
ON TO 14 FOUR.GENERAL COMMENTS FROM CITY COUNCIL.
I JUST WANNA REMIND EVERYBODY THAT, UH, NATIONAL NIGHT OUT IS, UH, ON OCTOBER 3RD, AND HOPEFULLY YOU EVER COME OUT IN YOUR DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES AND NEIGHBORHOODS AND LET'S, UH, UNIFY AND, AND HAVE A GOOD TIME.
UM, AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET A BREAK IN THE WEATHER.
UH, ANOTHER ITEM FROM COUNCIL.
I WAS JUST GONNA REMIND, UH, THE CITIZENS THAT WE DID RESCHEDULE THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING FROM OCTOBER 5TH, OCTOBER 12TH.
SO THE, THE PUBLIC IS AWARE THAT, UH, THERE WILL NOT BE A MEETING NEXT WEEK, BUT WE'LL BE HOLDING A MEETING ON THE 12TH.
AND AGAIN, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE CITIZENRY FOR, FOR, UH, BEING VOCAL AND, AND COMING UP AND SPEAKING, UM, ABOUT, UH, ABOUT THE ISSUES THAT MEAN THE MOST TO THEM.
AND ALSO SPEAKING WITH, UH, SPEAKING WITH ME SPECIFICALLY, UM, UM, VIA TELEPHONE, EMAIL, UM, AND OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE CITIZENRY AND THE, THE, UM, INVOLVEMENT THAT THEY, UH, ARE TAKING WITH OUR CITY.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR SPEAKING, UM, TONIGHT AND THROUGHOUT THIS BUDGET AND TAX SEASON.
AND, UM, UH, JUST THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
ALL RIGHT, ANY OTHER ITEMS? NOW MOVE ON TO 14 TWO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. HEARING NONE MOVE ON TO 14 THREE.
FUTURE ADDITIONAL OR RESCHEDULED MEETINGS AS ALLOWED BY JUDO CITY CODE SECTION 1.0 2.033.
ADDITIONAL OR RESCHEDULED MEETINGS, ANYTHING THERE?
[03:05:03]
ALRIGHT, HEARING NONE WILL ADJOURN AT 10:39 PM ON SEPTEMBER 28TH.