e e e e good morning Miss PR it's 9:00 a.m. good morning mayor good morning this is a meeting of the El Paso city council for Tuesday December 3rd 2024 mayor liser is present and presiding in council chambers along with mayor protm Kennedy representative Hernandez alternate mayor protm molinard representative Sal representative Canales has requested to be excused this morning it is 9:00 a.m. will everyone please silence your electronic devices so as not to disturb the meeting and rise for the invocation delivered by El Paso Police senior chaplain David Mayfield good morning sir mayor liser councel this will be my last opportunity to perform this service for you for this Council in its current configuration and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for allowing myself and my fellow chaplain the opportunity to serve both the PD and the city of El Paso we very much appreciate your support thank you sir and and thank you for always having kind words and meaningful words thank you and now I would invite everybody to join me as I pray pray Creator God As We Gather here today to serve our community may we be guided by wisdom compassion and understanding grant us the strength to listen to one another with open minds and Open Hearts embracing the diversity of ideas and perspectives may we approach our responsibilities with humility placing the needs of those we represent above our own grant us the courage to lead with integrity and the wisdom to make decisions that uplift and Empower every member of our community help us to listen with empathy to act with compassion and to seek solutions that promote unity and Justice remind us that true leadership is not about Authority but about service May our work today be guided by a shared commitment to the greater good inspiring hope and progress for all in gratitude for this opportunity to serve let us move forward with purpose and resolve amen thank you sir I'll lead the pledge 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 thank you Mr PR I'm going to try not to talk very much yes mayor and for the record representative ASO join the meeting at 9:03 a.m. along with representative Fiero that brings us to the mayor's proclamations for those of you receiving a proclamation this morning your group will have up to 6 minutes collectively to speak at the podium we begin with a proclamation for leading the way workplace well-being week leading the way workplace well-being week represent Sao good morning thank you mayor Proclamation city of El Paso Texas whereas the health and wellness of the city of El Paso's Workforce thank you through strategic plan is vitally important to sustain a healthy environment for our employees producing and productive of overall healthier individuals and whereas we are continuously developing innovative ways to engage our employees and offer them opportunities to get and stay healthy including virtual exercises mental well-being classes disease management and well weekly educational podcasts and whereas the city of op Paso has received Etna's highest recognition for the fifth year in the row by featuring a well-crafted comprehensive Wellness strategy for employees to live a healthier and a more active lifestyle while prioritizing physical and mental health Wellness whereas this recognition demonstrates how the city of El Paso has exceeded the nation's standards for the healthy workplace and leads the way with the Innovation implementation of a program to assist employees in prioritizing their mental physical social and professional well-being now therefore it be proclaimed by the mayor and the city council of the city of Al Paso that week of December 1 2024 shall be known as leading the way workplace well-being week signed by The Honorable mayor Oscar liser thank [Applause] you good morning Mary good morning m' Mary wigan's Chief Human Resources officer at this moment I would like to introduce you to miss Christina Christina chakon from Etna who is our Wellness coordinator hi good morning mayor and city council Etna is excited to recognize employers that are committed in supporting their employees path to well-being through our this is our eighth year in the workplace wellbeing award this year we had over 220 employers apply for the award this application is an extensive questionnaire it's filled with open type questions on areas such as employers wellbeing strategy and design their Communications and organizational engagement their workplace programs policies their incentives and employee engagement as well as the overall wellness program evaluation out of over 220 employers Nationwide 147 of them won a well-being award we had 32 winners in our bronze category we had 37 in our silver we had 48 in our gold category and only 30 win the Platinum leading the way category I am happy to announce that the city of El Paso has won the coveted Platinum category yet again this is the fifth year that they have achieved the highest recognition and the second year that they have literally had the highest scoring application out of all the applicants so it's quite an honor the city of El Paso's very deserving of this honor has I know much support and energy is putting put into the robust shape it up wellness program that is offered congratulations ations thank you Mr K Mr Mayor city council good morning the city manager and to all my great city employees out there it's great to be here U first things first we we can't accomplish um stuff like this without having you know great foundation so i' like for the team to come up here we have the best team behind the scenes um helping you know move forward and and do what we do motivate employees you know I said in the prayer earlier that our our mission is to to help out the community and do what we can so what we do as human resources is we make sure that all city employees have an opportunity to um better themselves whether it be physically mentally spiritually um and we can't do that without them so I just want to give them a round of applause and any other city employees that were part of the team in the past thank you very much um of course you can't do this without the support of our train command so thank you to miss Mary the city manager and of course uh our city council um some of you guys you know the employees are watching you and um your little participation that you might feel small it leads a you know a big deal to our employees whether it be you know participating with our medical plan discount our blood work um coming on our shape it up power and you know throwing yourselves out there um promoting our shape it up baby program we we thank you guys you know we we've made a we've made a lot of good progress in the past and the mission is just to keep moving forward we can't do that without you we can't do that without our chain of command we can't do that without you know the best team back here and we can't do that without our best you know city of employees um shout out to our public information office for putting our name out there and um you know it's a group effort and we have nothing but appreciation and to let you know that we have no point in stopping and we're just going to keep moving forward and being the best that we can be so that way the city of Paso employees can be the best that they can be for our community so thank you all thank you just one last item I mean it really is it does take the the um leadership allowing us to do these things um some of the the application one of the things that they have to even include on there is how you as the leadership mayor and Council promote um our Wellness um we've had to actually go back find clips of um city councils where you've actually talked about our shape It Up program so that we show that you are encouraging and that you are uh part of delivering that message so it is important it's not just that you know that we're doing it behind the scenes they want to know that it's coming from the top down and so we're continuing to do it um as you know we were awarded the Etna um account again going forward into next year and we as part of that award our Wellness uh amount that we receive has increased which is going to allow us to be able to do greater things um with our Wellness Plan we already have plans for different um diabetes management um we're now doing some one-on ones in departments and so we have a a great big plan that we're going to be moving forward but it's never enough we always want to be knowing what can we do different what is out there what's going on nationally how can we be competitive and how can we reach our employees um recently you know we have areas that we're recognizing where employees can't really come to us and so we're we're going out to them so we never want to be complacent we always want to be better and we just appreciate that you support us with that that you back us and that you give us the ability to help take care of our employees so thank you and thank you again to our wonderful team than thank you all and you know it U you talk about um guidance and Leadership and that's what you all bring to the program and and I want to thank you all for that cuz it just doesn't happen as you said it doesn't happen on its own and it's important that we continue to have wellness and things that will continue to keep us healthy and keep those premiums where they are today so I want to thank you all for your guidance and your leadership and uh again congratulations thank thank you we apprciate it thank [Applause] you a photo with Council please yes no Sarah's here this is my last I thought we talked about dresses yeah [Music] Excuse me yes okay all right ready one two three can we do one of everyone pointing to the award looking really excited even in the back yeah there we go ready one two three couple more [Applause] and the next Proclamation is Creative Kids 25th anniversary represent good morning sir good morning m thank you Proclamation Proclamation from the city of El Paso Texas whereas oh are they here first of all yeah she she come on up come to the front please uh whereas Creative Kids has demonstrated profound commitment to enriching the lives of Children and Youth through various art programs including project aim resiliency art program project able project map little pic kids in migrant families and past programs such as Early College High School program and kids with special needs in the El Paso delort delort region for 25 years and whereas project aim has recognized nationally receiving the president's committee on Arts and Humanities youth program award and being named best practice model for arts and healthc Care programming by the National Endowment for the Arts and and whereas the resiliency art program was established in response to the tragic events of August 3rd 2019 in Al Paso Texas and aims to promote healing dialogue and resilience through the Arts and whereas project ail provides vital after school Arts education to disconnected youth in fabin in sisario Texas and most recently expanding into rural southern New Mex IAL fostering self-expression leadership skills and self-esteem and whereas project map in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of El Paso and Texas Ace Program offers supplemental academic and enrich enrichment article activities to students from high poverty and low performing schools and whereas little picassos offer Early Access to art education for children aged 4-8 encouraging creativity self expression through age appropriate activities and whereas past programs such as Early College High School programing kids with special needs have provided essential skills and opportunities for youth to realize their talents and pursue higher education and career go goals and whereas Creative Kids is commended for its standing contributions to our community through its diverse and impactful art programs now therefore it be proclaimed by the mayor and Council of the city of El Paso that December 3rd 2024 shall be known as Creative Kids 25th anniversary signed by The Honorable mayor Oscar liser hi good morning I'm Andrea Gat good morning I'm the co-founder and executive director of Creative Kids along with my husband Stephen Engel the creative director um it's just an honor to be able to do this work in our community hard to believe it's been 25 years um but being nationally recognized and doing the work with pediatric oncology patients migrant youth disadvantage at risk and disconnected youth in our region and Beyond because now we've expanded into southern New Mexico um and our our Ru fabin San Elizario communities uh we just thank you and the community because this has been a community effort it's not just a Creative Kids effort we always say this has been highly successful because our community has really wrapped around with us to do this work together so this is something that we can all celebrate together and so we're just honored for this and we appreciate you and hopefully we can do this in another 25 years thank you very much representa F thank you mayor I just want to thank thank you very much um you your board uh it's such a great program and my daughter experience went there for a couple Summers absolutely loved it she wishes she can go back and hopefully someday we can put in her schedule again but she just raves on it and it was just such a great program to help her um with all aspects of her life but there's no creativity in my family so you all really brought it out here thank you thank you and we should also mention uh we're excited because in 20125 we will be expanding nationally through the M Foundation we'll be in over 22,000 after school programs uh with their curriculum that's being licensed out so that's huge for us it took 25 years but we finally got here so um I don't know if you want to say anything we also have um one of our program Partners the ri Council U sorry RI Council of governments um that will also be giving a as a gift I'm just uh really thankful and excited for the things that are coming for the next 25 years we don't plan to retire that's not in the the game plan so with this new opportunity of launching from Al Paso Texas a homegrown nonprofit nationally I think it's going to bring in not only funding but recognition uh to how great this city is and what it's done for Creative Kids and ourselves so we're very thankful uh to you guys the community for everything you've done May good morning mayor good morning council members Madam city manager my name is IET Lugo I am with the around the Council of government and today I'm actually here on behalf of our executive director Miss Anette Gutierrez who unfortunately was not able to join us but she felt it was important to bring this uh Proclamation so thank you all for supporting that on behalf of Creative Kids they as was shared are recipient of funding that comes through the Council of governments but more importantly the importance of just recognizing their work all of the important um ways that they've helped shape and change our community and our region quite frankly and just representing the good work that they do and so we felt strongly about bringing this to them um to honor all of the work and the foresight and thought that Andrea and um Stephen have put into this program really I would think their life's work in my opinion and so we just wanted to recognize that honor them thank them for all of the work that they've done and the difference that they've made in our community um on behalf of the Council of governments and uh Creative Kids as a token of appreciation we'd like to offer you all a small um it's a bag that our staff here with us have an image that that was produced through Creative Kids um you'll see this image on the pla drain and it's just kind of filled with a little uh Council of government swag if you will but more importantly just to recognize and and provide that um to note that this is the the work that Creative Kids has done and again we're so grateful and thankful for their partnership and more than anything are so proud of the work that Creative Kids has made and done in our community thank you thank you oh one thing on the back there it's the public art that is done for the pad drain Trail we also have accomplished lately in the children's museum work done by the kids and so I invite you to get on the website and see the work that's been done by our local talent all right thanks thank you thank you very much for everything you do and you know we talk about the future of our community and I've said it a thousand times I've said it once since I've been in office is the children are the success in the future in our community and having proper guidance and people that help them moving forward is so important and thank you for like represent F talked about how his daughter loved it it's something that really helps him mold and continue to move forward in their lives so thank you for what you all do thank you representative sorry no no problem thank you mayor I guess we're both in the same Zone there um it's it's like everybody else else has said and when I first met Creative Kids H it was is on a project both in District 3 and district 7 and it's at the Carolina bridge I would encourage everybody who who uh sees their art around town it's really fantastic the kids really go all out um thank you very much for being so active in our community and keeping the kids busy and uh thank you all it was an honor for me to present it to you thank you that's a for [Applause] and the final Proclamation this morning is Los Compadres day good morning representative nundes thank you mayor um happy and honored to read this Proclamation into a record Being um one of the largest um immigrant communities on the on the Borderland it's it's wonderful to get to share a wonderful story about um some local entrepreneurs proclamation of the city of Al Paso whereas Los compz was founded in 2013 in tonala halisco Mexico by Lis Erasmo Lopez and Sylvia Dino with the vision of promoting the Gastronomy of talot donala Dona while providing hospitality and offering great customer service quality food authentic and humbleness and Raz Lopez kasan family took advantage of the investor visa in 23 2023 and partnered with the pis gastro family with El Paso to expand The Vision by establishing the first Los Compadres food truck in 2023 in El Paso their second food truck in 24 and their third coming in 2025 becoming international business whereas the last two years ladas have created job opportunities for residents of op Paso including military families disabled veterans and students from the southwest University who are pursuing pursuing Chef careers and whereas Compadres supports and sponsors local events such as we Mexico Thanksgiving Parade Fiesta Latina movies in the park make a wish foundations Eagle Treasures in Heaven the American Cancer Association Humane Society Hospice of El Paso and stand up to cancer and Rasmus Paso and the children's ministry of the Centro Christiano is minina were sponsored by Los Compadres and the memorial playground in the partnership with the Eagles Treasures in Heaven GCC and cro Cristiano asina in honor of the cancer Warriors that have gained their wings also receive financial support and rasos kades is committed to continuing to give back to the community and offer their assistance in El Paso and the community now therefore be a proclaimed by the mayor and Council that the city of Al Paso uh proclaims December 4th 2024 3 Day shall be known as Los compad day signed by mayor honorable mayor Oscar liser congratulations good morning mayor city council reps um city manager and everyone here present good morning ma'am good morning we are humble to be here um my name is abigael Perez Castro I am one of the business partners of Los Compadres I am humbled and honored to to be here at the city council meeting with my business partners MAA Castaneda Luis sasmo Lopez and um she is one of our um military families that is being benefited by the employees that are now being provided by Los Compadres of course we do have other um employees but she was the only one that was able to be here um we want to thank our mayor our city Representatives the Paso Community uh for this Proclamation and for opening up their arms to our business and allowing us to provide and promote with honor the Gastronomy of tonala halisco while at the same time living the American dream my business partners are a clear example that if you give dedication to your dreams and follow the correct and right path to legal legal immigration everything is possible Los compes is a project that was started in tonala halisco in 2013 and thanks to the opportunity given to us here in op Paso we are now an international business that provides jobs to families in Mexico and in the US including our military families and striving chefs from from um Southwest University we will continue to work hard to always provide the best customer service and promote our astronomy while expanding and continuing to support the economic development of El Paso Texas and supporting our local nonprofit organizations that we currently work with today we are filled with joy honor and pride and F humble for receiving this recognition and thank God our families friends and Community for their continued support God bless you guys thank you thank you you want to come come up please for all [Applause] for the record representative Rea join the meeting at 9:06 a.m. that brings us to the consent agenda all matters listed under the consent agenda will be considered by city council to be routined and will be enacted by one motion unless separate discussion is requested by council members prior to the vote members of the audience may ask questions regarding items on the consent agenda when the vote has been taken If an item has not been called out for separate discussion the item has been approved Council May however reconsider any item at any time during the meeting mayor poten uh item two request to excuse absent city council members and that's to excuse representative Chris Canales page three item 7 move to the regular agenda per representative hernandz page seven item 20 move to the regular agenda per representative Hernandez page eight suspend The Rules of Order per mayor liser to change the time for call to the public from 12:00 p.m. to 10 a.m. there is a motion made by mayor protim Kennedy seconded by alternate mayor protim molinar to approve the consent agenda as revised on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously mayor would you like to take the items that were moved to the regular first absolutely thank you sir item number seven is a resolution to update the debt management policy for the city of Al Pasa Senor nandes good morning um thank you for bringing this forward um typically uh we have a conversation about the debt management policy um I'm was not able to look at the backup you know there's always a a sentiment from the community that there's concerns over the debt um so has there been any changes to the policy or anything um worth citing so the main changes that we have to the policy this year good morning Margarita Mar for the record City controller um the main changes to the policy were presented to foak on November 14 and there are technically um changes that we made to align this policy with the capital assets policy as it pertains to the capital ass threshold um and hold on let me let me go through a presentation do you want me to go to a presentation sure that's fine thank you okay so section 5.1 was updated to for the useful life of the capital asses acquired with General obligation debt to be 10 years years and in 10 years instead of 15 years and again this is to align this policy with the capital assets policy for best practices and then section 5.3 uh Capital assets Finance with the go should have a um a value of at least $10,000 instead of $5,000 and um the federal government the uniform guidance was updated at the beginning of October and they updated the threshold from $5,000 to $10,000 so since the city has a lot of grants we decided to move forward with this update so we can align that as well and instead of having different threshold to match with the grants um also because what you bought with $5,000 before is not the same that you will acquire today um so this is uh just for Align alignment to that also we added to section 5.9 another financing alternative is um State infrastructure bank loans the Sip loans just to have it available for the city in case that in the future we need to use this alternative and then also section 7.6 we added an alternative to refundings to bond refundings to include the tender offers also in case that the city gets to use this alternative and then section nine includes a clarification related to the assets that are purchased with the bonds that does not exceed the life of the bonds um the reason that we included this is because whenever we have a bond issuance to build one of our projects we have to furnish the the facility to be able to open it to the public so we want to include that exception in there to make sure that we don't um that that we take care of the bond right because when we usually issue the bonds we issue it for uh brick and motor right to buy facilities infrastructure big items and so since we have to uh furnish these facilities is a Minimus amount but we want to make sure that we include this in the policy to protect the city from any from any miscomi on this and also the latest things that we did was the community progress Bond authorization that happened right after we updated the policy the last time so we make sure that across the policy we're including that this time that those are the main changes everything else is cosmetic um the the only question I have is the previous slide please it's the first I'm just trying to understand what was the purpose of changing from 15 to 10 years um the 15 to 10 years so in the public safety authorization you're going to be buying big equipment for police and for fire department and the big equipment use for life is not going to be 30 years or 20 years so best practices says that they last about 10 years so in order to comply with that that we have updated the policy to include what what specifically for 10 years uh like ambulances fire trucks those are big items for police and fire um but they're not going to last 20 30 years according to capitalization threshold Bas practices across municipalities so that's why we included that we lower it down for 15 years to 10 years to accommodate the type of assets that we're now buying for the public safety Bond authorization okay understood thank you for your time yes thank you and that's so important that we do not Finance something over the lifetime of the existence because then you have to buy new ones and still continue to pay for the old ones so it's very common sense to do something like that absolutely yes sir thank you with that do we have a motion you're welcome there's a motion made by representative deeta seconded by mayor protim Kennedy to approve item number seven on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously we now move to page 7 to item number 20 that was moved to the regular item 20 is the award of solicitation 2024 -0 620 are Actuarial services and Consulting for fire police department and civilian plan to Foster and Foster Consulting actuaries Incorporated DBA Foster and Foster Inc n this yeah I I did have a question for the Department not on the solicitation itself um I'm just trying to understand why or what is the purpose of this or or what's the intention here good morning Mary Wiggins Chief Human Resources officer the intention is um every five years we are required um to go and perform an Actuarial audit on our pension plans to make sure they're in compliance with all State guidelines and everything so this is our um this is us going out for the Actuarial company that's going to come in and audit our pension plans we did it 5 years ago um we went out for bid um the same company Foster and Foster actually won that award they're so they're comfortable they know our pension plans but um excuse me but that's what it's for okay um want to make sure that I just wanted to make sure that there was no other effort it's just this is a regular compliance um that you do every five years y every five years we're required by state law to have to come to um actually audit our pension plans to make sure that you know that we're in compliance so it's just in accordance with our Actuarial audits okay thank you appreciate you move to approve thank you thank you Miss wiin we did this five years ago yes sir thank you with that m p there is a motion May by representative ernandez seconded by representative Riva to approve item 20 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously the next item is number 21 and this is an update and discussion on the status of the final motion of ex1 sunset Amphitheater from the April 23rd 2024 city council meeting agenda this item was placed by alterate mayor proen mol represent molar thank you mayor good morning everyone uh Karina good morning um place this item on the agenda for several reasons but number one um there's a lot of public people or public asking questions about when is it going to start when are they going to break ground as you know it's already been approximately 7 months and so they were supposed to break ground and I believe during the month of August here we are almost three and a half months later and don't have any groundbreaking at all so uh the people of Northeast do want an answer but it also benefits the entire of the city of El Paso so I'll leave that up to you Ma'am Co certainly uh Karina brasgalla economic and International Development morning record so this is related to the agreement with um and it's its venue doing businesses notes live and uh so the one thing is I believe the company had talked about wanting to break ground in August we never had a groundbreaking uh deadline so we have not yet closed on the land transfer there was an issue with the title work um the Munitions map the unexploded ordinance which I think most Al pass ones known especially those in the Northeast is sort of an item that comes up on a lot of those because of the way that their financial structure works that that parceling out that condominium structure to sell that out to investors they need a very clean bill of title on the property so we are expecting to close on that transaction this month um so it's a little bit of a delay we do not expect um that that that this would impact any of the contractual timelines we may miss the beginning of the 2026 season but we're still on track um I will also say the parking agreement is under review both with the city attorney's office and with um our Capital Improvements department since we'll be required to do that and then we've been coordinating very heavily with teot to figure out the um access in and out of the property in the way that that's going to work out um it's not related to the agreement specifically but I will also say that we have been working with several interested parties on development for the remainder of Cohen um those are still kind of early stages and so as with everything when we at a point where we have a firm um list of obligations of recommendation from staff we bring that forward in executive session typically and then move through that agreement um just as with any other deal but everything is moving um so a slight delay but I do not expect it to impact the opening in 2026 so um this month you're saying something should happen the month of December so as with all these it's they're working through pre-development work so it's a lot of emails it's a lot of plans being submitted um I don't know that folks I don't want to promise that folks are going to see like machines out there on the site but we are closing transaction which which will allow venue to then go out and start marketing those boxes start collecting the investor information and I think you'll start to see a little bit more movement okay thank you ma'am of course represent good morning sir good morning mayor thank you I I just had a question so none of the boxes have been sold yet they're waiting on this I don't want to say not for sure I wouldn't know I I don't know the companies business it's likely that they have internally sold but um I don't believe it's open for investment because they don't own the property yet okay right all right thank you now you did and maybe you mentioned it and I missed it but you did when I asked you about this not long ago you talked about that the boxes being that it's going to be ownership when people buy it it's a lot it's real different so there will be like Condominiums instead of boxes where at the end of the term you own nothing you actually own the box and then you have the ability to sell it yes correct and because that investment model works on the condominium scheme where you are actually selling land then through the investors they need a very clean title on this property um so I I I assure everyone again there is not actually unexposed ordinance nobody's going to get blown up going to an event um we've never had an issue we had a stadium there we demolished it but it is just kind of a something the unique to help Paso I think thank you ma'am yes sir there's no action on this item so we'll move on to item 22 and this is an update and discussion on the status of the motion of item one the 380 agreement with meta from the December 4th 2023 special city council meeting this item was also placed by alternate mayor Pro mol repres mol thank you mayor once again um meta this is almost approximately one year it was December 3rd and December 4th and everything that we were responsible to do did and and so once again the people of Northeast op Paso and I'm sure other places throughout the city of op Paso are hungry they want to know information what's happening what's not happening I also want to remember that there were supposed to be rebuilt parts of U Stan Roberts Road and the controlled intersection out there which was a plus so do you can you update that on that for us please absolutely so uh as discussed when we did the seaox approval so it was project seox but the meta uh sale and all those actions last December so those actions were the first of many additional steps needed to take the data center and get it to be operational um we did a 25-year incentive period but it was within a 37-year um agreement term so we had we gave them some flexibility kind of floating in there because we knew that there were a number of steps many of which are outside of City council's control um so one I will assure everyone that we continue to work closely with all of our internal counterparts so both Capital Improvements the utility Affairs planning and inspections and then also with our Utility Partners so at Al Paso electric and El Paso water to move this project forward because there are a number of utility agreements in place with meta um so the sale of the property did close last December the deadline for that was April 2024 but we closed at the end of December U Mr cortinas ran around getting signatures and we're very grateful that he managed to get that one closed out for us um so we do have that sale price in we have that $8.5 million in the first milestone in the agreement was the completion of Stan Roberts within 5 years so that would be a deadline of 2028 um they are well in advance of that we have 60% plans under review with uh City departments and teot comments were due back from teot I believe yesterday or today so those should be going out this week back to the company um they have also submitted their grading permit and the preliminary subdivision plot was approved by City plan Commission in September so there's all of that and then I will also mention um you all have been receiving updates in executive session but there is the filing with the Public Utility Commission at the state for the renewable energy tariff um so that is in progress you all have been receiving updates on that that is of course something that is absolutely essential um as they move forward just knowing that they have all of the Pu regulations anything that they need there um handled so you know there's a number of filings again at the state and then with the utilities um to get this up and running but Stan Roberts is underway and we would expect sort of early mid next year to start seeing um some ground work out there is there anything else holding us back back on that um everything's running through the approvals that it needs to um we knew that this was going to be a longer process again that first deadline is is 5 years out because we knew there were a number of items that needed to be sequenced with us with the utilities that just take time to move through okay I also do see uh several gentlemen from Pas electric I don't know if anyone would like to say anything about that oh I don't know if they're the right much Pas electric more than they had to get approval the Pu yeah it's it's pu so it's the state it's the state correct I just wanted to know so oh I'm sorry m'am I didn't see you uh anyone had any comments on that Mr Bettis or anything but anybody like to share anything with us I don't think I don't think you've got the right folks from pass electri it's there okay all right thank you very much then I appreciate your time thank you and I think it's important to note that this is an 800 million doll project that's moving forward so yeah congratulations with to you and your team in the city on that yeah it's very exciting everybody's moving forward um El Paso Electric is absolutely committing on their obligations Al Paso water as well working very very closely with us and with meta to make sure that we get this up and running great thank you thank you m pran yes sir and item number 23 is a presentation and update from the El Paso electrics account management process in Texas to include deposit and disconnection policy and customer assistance programs available good morning sir good morning mayor and Council invol we strategic and legislative affairs um on November 12th Council directed city manager and City attorney uh to review disconnection policies with El Paso Electric and to uh look into additional safeguards um staff intends to come back to Council on December 17th to share the results of that review uh in the meantime we've asked El Paso Electric to come and talk about their disconect ction policies and their low-income programs so with that I'd like to uh introduce Daniel Perez with El Paso Electric and hand over uh the mic to him thank you good morning Daniel good morning uh mayor council Miss nean Miss Mack good morning um thank you Ian um yeah so I I did want to start off first with uh just take a moment and recognize and and and think mayor representative Hernandez representative Sal and representative Riva for for your service to to your city from from pasu and to to another just really appreciate everything you've done and um always willing to to take a phone call or take a meeting or or or you know uh engage with us so we really appreciate um everything you've done and and and and all the good work that you've done on behalf of of us so pans thank you and I want to thank you for always willing to take a phone call and you guys have been you know I've always taken care of any issues whether it's big or small whatever you're always 100% of the time have taking a phone call and taking care of the the customers and and our citizens I do want to thank you for that and and it goes without saying our phone my phone's always on um you know whether you have a a policy question or you want to invite me for a cold one please please you know the my phone's always on and our phones are always on so uh uh especially represent um so with that uh yes uh we you know we take a lot of pride in in in not you know in in being second to none atal Paso Electric right and so uh I have uh the the the privilege of of introducing our vice president of of customer service uh Cheryl meley who uh you know there was commentary about what's been done across the state what other utilities do um and who better uh to to to speak to that on what we're doing and again how we're Second To None than than than Carl who was both coo at at urot uh which is you know the Market within the state so the the deregulated Market sector she was essentially coo at Austin Energy which is a municipality so again we take a lot of pride in we are a top-notch um uh outfit and um and I'll I'll turn it over to her for her to walk you through all the programs we we already have have been in place for for quite a while and and how we engage all of our all of of our customers thank you Daniel and thank you for the opportunity to speak on topic today we do appreciate it so on the mayor city council city manager and staff it's a pleasure to be here again my name is Cheryl meley and I'm the vice president of customer employee services at Al Paso Electric see I've not presented to you before but I'm going to guess that I can move these along I can all right so I I think first and foremost just you know setting the stage we are a utility who serves 460,000 customers from Van Horn Texas to Hatch New Mexico 314,000 of those customers are residential so you know we take great pride in continuing to deliver to our customers the best service that we can and we're continually looking for ways to enhance and improve that with things like our our Smart Meters that are rolling out right now we know that we've got a lot of opportunity to engage our customers even more than we have in the past um I think one of the questions that was asked and I'd like to provide some insight on is you know H how are we handling customer deposits well first we we use the guidance of the Public Utility Commission as well for that new customers that don't establish a good credit history are asked to make a deposit that deposit can be up to two months of the uh historical use at that premise although people use energy we also know that buildings use energy and so when you're moving into a new proper property if you've not been a good paying customer we will ask for a deposit up to that 2 months of the premises prior use and we also look at that being held for 12 months once you've established good payment history we return that to the customers with interest as a credit on their bill um the other reason that we would ask a customer for a deposit is that they've been disconnected and so we want them to um make a a contribution or a deposit towards that to help us manage the risk to all customers because if people don't pay their bills the rest of us pick up the tab for that so it's important that we can properly manage the customer accounts I think the other thing to consider is that of those 314,000 customers about 9,000 currently have a deposit that includes our Texas and New Mexico customers so it's a small percentage of customers that are asked to make that deposit so I think the next topic uh that we want to talk about a little bit is the disconnection process so obviously when customers fail to make a payment um beyond the actual time that we provide to them then they are subject to a potential disconnect that is never our goal with our customers the first thing we want to do is that if a customer is having difficulty paying their bill we want them to contact us and make sure that if they qualify for some assistance if they qualify for some extended time if they need a little bit more time time that we can enter a payment arrangement with them to reduce that immediate um bill but to hopefully help them be in a place where they don't get disconnected we know that it's important for all of us right it is one number one thing that brings comfort and Safety and Security to our homes is having that electricity Supply on so we never have the intent to want to disconnect our customers but we do need to make sure that everybody's paying for the services that they receive so a little bit about when we disconnect we don't disconnect on Fridays we don't disconnect on the weekend we don't disconnect on the holidays we don't disconnect before day before a holiday we actually have some discretion there as well uh sometimes depending on how a holiday falls we will extend that period to make sure that customers do have power um and we can delay those those disconnection processes cold and heat also important for the safety of our customers we make sure that we look at what the National Weather Service uh forecast are and we're required to do that by the Public Utility Commission of Texas looking for was it below freezing yesterday is the current forecast that will remain below freezing customers will not be disconnected in those circumstances and the same with heat when the National Weather Service issues a weather advisory for heat we will discontinue our disconnections to make sure that our customers are staying safe oh this one look looks like it's going to grow let me get it all on there I wanted to give you some perspective as well on the timeline for our customers so this represents just the days in order obviously we've not included into this timeline weekends and holidays and things that might but just wanted to give you a snapshot the customers will always have at least 33 days to make the payment on their bill from the time that they're build until the time when they would be entering a disconnection process so when we look at the billing date we give our customers 18 calendar days to make a payment we then give them Three Days Grace if that falls on the weekend or if that you know depending on how that falls it could actually be longer and then we get into what the Public Utility Commission uh requires us to do and that is to give our customers a 10-day notice that their account is passed due and that they are now into our Severance or collections process so they get those letters they are issued to them uh they also will receive PR prior to any disconnection a automated voice call and that will go to the uh number on record of our customers that they have provided to us so they will get an outbound call giving them again that reminder that they are over bill on their account overdo on their billing account um after that time period passes then we would get to a place where within the next two days they would be eligible for that disconnection so I think some things to think about when we we what we try to think about is are we making it easy for our customers to make payments 247 you can use a voice automated system uh to call and make a payment you can pay online you can pay at payment centers around the city uh Western Union and bill to pay centers where you can do walkup service at grocery stores Dollar Generals all kinds of places where customers can make payments are available to them and again the most important thing when a customer enters into this process if they are not able to pay by that due date or by that potential disconnection date is to call us and contact us and try to work out a payment arrangement so that they are not disconnected I think the other questions that came up were around other utilities have kinds of programs what do you have we have a low-income Rider and that offers a discount to qualified customers to wave the the energy Char the customer charge every month and this just for our Texas customers we don't have a similar program in New Mexico uh but they get to wave the $925 uh C customer charge in the event that they qualify that we're receive a snap list from uh the state and that is how we get our customers enrolled in this program so qualifying customers we currently have about 8,000 customers enrolled in that program budget billing you know levelized billing those types of things we offer that service to our customers as well and we have currently got 38,000 customers enrolled in that that is a popular program because we know that a customer's bill can triple in the summertime if they have refrigerated air and so they want to legalize payment something they know what that budget billing is going to be uh so a lot of customers have taken advantage of that program there are some obligations when you're enrolled in that program one it doesn't mean that's you will not pay for what you use right we estimate the 12month average and spread that across those 12 months if people lose consciousness of how much energy they're consuming they will potentially have that number adjusted um so it's not a you know only kind of program and also when customers enroll in that program they need to make that payment every month if we look at where we are today in our re if you're a customer in the B budget billing program you are going to have a a debit or you're going to owe us money because we've just come out of the summer months and so we know that those customers are part showing up as part of our total aers in fact right now we've got about6 million dollar that is uh considered a rear but it's within those budget billing customers so as long as they make those payments they will get their accounts back to a positive Place probably by about April and then they will build up some savings as they enter those hotter months of June July and August again and have those higher bills payment arrangements 4,500 of our customers currently are enrolled in a payment arrangement that means they've called us or they've gone online and they've you know enrolled into a payment arrangement plan to spread the perhaps those High summer bills over a little bit longer period of time so that they can afford to make those payments typically it's three to six months um and you know and we often we'll have the conversation with our customers can we get two more weeks I'm going to get paid next week can I get a little bit more time and we work with those customers we certainly provide lots of training to our customer service reps to make sure that they are empathetic and they're hearing the customers and really you know addressing the concerns with those customers where they can now again customers need to stay on those payment arrangements and follow through on those commitments with us or they'll put end up back into the collections process again questions were raised as well about do we provide something for our medically vulnerable so critical customers that perhaps have medical equipment they work with their Physicians to get enrolled in our our program for the medically vulnerable that gives them additional days you saw about 33 days on that slide showing the process from the day I'm build until the day I'm disconnected these customers get additional time to make those uh payments as prescribed by the Pu they should get 63 days past their due date to be able to make their payments or to get a payment arrangement in place um so that is a a process that we're refining internally because we currently don't actually disconnect those customers but they are acre significant debt that will be hard for them to pay off if we don't get them onto a payment arrangement or a pay plan and finally I think that you know we all know that there are people um even though our average bill is $3.50 a day for the average customer over the course of the year uh there are people who need assistance and so there are Li Heap dollars that are available to qualifying customers about 32,000 of our customers currently receive assistance many of them in Texas get that assistance through Project Bravo um Amistad uh the United Way other organizations but Li Heap is primarily uh implemented here with Project Bravo and so those are our partners and trying to get those customers you know the the support that they need to be able to keep current on those bills once a customer has applied for that we put that note onto their account they are not eligible for a disconnection and so once we get those payments we bring those counts current and those customers are relieved of that you know stress in their lives of the potential for disconnect the other thing that we have that I think is more of a community- based support for our customers who can least afford but perhaps for some reason they haven't apply for L he maybe they don't qualify for that program is our brightheart's campaign and those are dollars specifically raised from those of us in the community who perhaps can afford a little bit more that we can give directly to the brigh hearts fund it's managed by the Community Foundation and our customer service reps administer those dollars to our customers they're listening they're hearing the stories they have pretty good experience in judgment and they know when somebody truly does need a little bit of help and so they can award uh those dollars to our customers up to $200 and El Paso Electric will match that so A qualifi A customer that our customer service reps have determined need support from Bri Hearts uh that will be matched by El Paso Electric to help reduce the debt that that customer has with us um so QR code works if anybody would like to look at what are those organizations that help provide that assistance to our customers on the orange side or if anybody would like to make a donation to brightheart to help support those customers especially during this holiday season who may be having difficulty in paying their bills it it is there for all of us to participate in I think we our balance today is less than $5,000 and we know there's a lot of need out there for those customers who either don't qualify for other programs or for whatever reason are not comfortable submitting the paperwork required for those other programs um so that's my last slide I do want to assure you that we do not want to disconnect any of our customers but we do have to treat all of our customers equally because if somebody doesn't pay that cost is shared back to all customers in that customer class and I'm happy to take any questions if anybody has any I got a couple for you and then representative fural so if I've never been late and I call you for an extension or payment program have you ever turned anyone down I don't believe that we would turn anybody down especially if you've never been late there are circumstances where customers have repeatedly broken their payment arrangements and we may you know want them to come up with a significant portion at that point because they've not that but anybody who calls us and it's never been late we will always grant them a payment arrangement what would it take for you to turn someone down when asking for an extension um I think the in again if you've broken several payment arrangements um and we don't see that you have the int to pay us that would probably be a difficult conversation okay perfect thank you for that answer yeah and most customers who are disconnected they are reconnected the same day no I noticed that someone was telling me that they they got their lights turned off mhm and they went online and were talking to the computer paid online and by the time they had send their lights went back on yeah and that's how our our process is designed to work in that's way sometimes people just forget quite honestly um I hear that a lot from customers oh I forgot the the power bill and so you know it's as quick as you just described for them to restore themselves thank you for that representative Fiero followed by representative nandes thank you mayor Miss NE thank you very much for the presentation um we had our office had received a few uh um emails and calls in regards to the last presentation or last concerns that Council shared with in regards to El Paso Electric and you answered both questions um the in regards to the Med the people with um medical equipment thank you for addressing that issue and the other one was in regards to calling and asking for uh a payment plan or extended um time for their their uh their bill to be due so thank you very much now I have two comments one I had intended to make a complim compliment El pass Electric in regards to the look how nervous Daniel gets um back there nervous the the smart meters unfortunately I just heard it's $3.50 average the consumer uses per day the average customer when we look at all our customers um is an average of $3.50 per I have always been average but except on my electric bill those thank you thank you mayor thank you represent followed by represent thank you for always being a good partner in coming forward um just uh I did get some questions from some Realtors um let's say you sell your house or you're a renter what happens to your deposit so deposits are always returned to the customer so once you disconnect with interest and that's by rule we have to provide the the customers now if you have a balanced du that will be applied towards your balance to if there's a situation where your um electricity is out and you need to you're out of town you come home on the weekend is there an emergency number so that it could be connected yeah so if if a customer goes online and and pays as the mayor pointed out it's a very automated process but we do always have one of our um customer service supervisors on call and when people use our outage line they will be able to contact our 24x7 distribution operations team and we will make they will make sure that if a customer has brought their account current that they can get their lights turned back on so yes although we don't staff our customer service centers 24 by7 we have those open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. for calls for text for emails but there is always a way to reach us 24 by7 for um an outage and then the process would from there find out whether it's truly an outage or if it's a customer who's paid their bill and wants their power restored got it um question uh regarding the funds how are the funds um at the end of the presentation the big hearts what is the source of funding for those those are purely donations so those are donations from other customers towards making sure that their uh you know their friends and neighbors that can't afford to pay are taken care of through those programs and so we we encourage that the Community Foundation does manage that for us the franchise agreement between the city of El Paso um and El Paso Electric um I don't have a copy of it but does it require for you uh for op Paso Electric to have funding available um that are not donations yeah I I do not know the answer to that as I we will match I do recall that this was um a big he a lot of time on that franchise agreement um actually he came after I believe um uh when we negotiated the franchise agreement um at the cell the of the acquisition of op Paso Electric were you part of that so I think you're referencing the the there was a there was a fund tied to low-income customers as part of the the the right and so we are currently working with City staff to um pick a project that both the city and EP are in agreement with and uh well on our way of of of of finally deploying those funds no I mean that it was not for and I recall now and correct me if I'm wrong Daniel but I believe that was dedicated towards Energy Efficiency for low-income customers within the the city is that correct and I know when I previously had Energy Efficiency team as part of mine we were working with the city to try to find the best ways to utilize those funds for residents of the city I believe we've worked with Project Bravo we're back to working with the city staff to find a way to get those funds administered and no I know it's a priority um it's been five years and I'm pretty surprised that we are now just um trying to figure out how to deploy those funds and so I know the pandemic was in the way um but when we have customers who are suffering I think Now's the Time to deploy those funds yeah the funds are available to the city the city is working out how they want to deploy those funds okay so the city it's the city's responsibility is that what you're saying that I I don't know if we still hold it your statement your statement imped to theity your statement implied that it was the city's responsibility it's available to the city to administer or is it El Paso electrics um administer of those funds I'm not I'm not aware I'm not aware it's available to the city it's mutual it has to be a mutual agreement so to your point about the timing absolutely I mean we we are we are working as dilig as we can right there's been some turnover in staff and and so um we like Cheryl mentioned we're working with Project Bravo as a third party um but yes it's it's a mutual so similar to like the Tet fund where is there like a mutual fund is is is is paid out to the city every year automatically whereas this is more of a it has until there's an agreement um nothing happens does that make sense sure let's study that a little bit further yes um abely and uh I'm looking forward to seeing any additional safeguards I I've always been um hopeful that there are opportunities like the ones you've demonstrated today for the record I've been at City Hall for several over a decade and that's the first time I've ever seen your breakdown um I would be curious to know um how many are behind payments um that number is not stipulated there and then how many of those behind payment payments um are on that bracket of of payment plans versus just not paying and then what is the total collections due to El Paso Electric um and then my concern with AMS um I have had very personal and family and constituent uh calls related to the disconnection process and then trying to get the reconnection process if you pay on bill matrix did you know it's not automatic it you know so those are like things that people they you'll call be like I've already paid on bill matrix it's not showing up I'm sorry I can't turn on your electric yet so there are situations that need to be refined um and I know that you speak generally about situations and I understand the Gratitude of you know of the work that you're doing the Gratitude now you have 400,000 customers that's your entire customer base and for we here the stories individually in households and they're much different than the way that we've presented and I recognize that you do good work generally but for those who have problems I'm telling you there's some kind of customer service miscommunication or something but what's being communicated here is not what's being communicated through the customers and so we'd love to share that feedback with you anytime we get those complaints yeah we're happy to take any individual customer issues and look at those and occasionally our systems do have some problems processing everything so as designed and we continue to work with our vendors to find out those exception ones where a payment is made and it's not promptly um turned into a turn on so we're aware that that is happening on occasion and you know we are available to take those calls and work that out um we do hope that all of our customer service agents are you know always delivering a consistent message but we do have some turnover especially in our contracted customer service organization and we work hard to make sure that we reach train and train when something doesn't go right so anything that you're hearing we more than willing to take that so that we can refine our processes thank you for your presentation today being here thank you ma'am represent thank you mayor um thank you for presentation uh oh go I just wanted to address something really quick even city of El Paso um representative hernandz mentioned the lwi income program we're planning on bringing that program to Council in January we think it's almost ready to go uh so I just wanted you to know that we're hard at work on that project go ahead repr thank you uh so um it was kind of nice to see those tables kind of laid out with with some data I appreciate that on the lowincome option where there's 8,000 people enrolled you set you get a list of SNAP benefits from the state yes and that's how customers can be Auto enrolled into that program okay so it it's automatic it's not an opt-in type of thing yeah okay perfect but if customers have you know uh need to talk to us about that program we can look at what that is but it is auto enrolled as we get those lists okay and then on bright heart um can you explain how you match the 200 like what what does that mean like a donation that somebody gives you or you match 200 from a fund so um that fund as long as we have funds in there as our customer service reps are working with customers um they can make a decision they're empowered to say this customer deserves something they don't qualify but perhaps they've had a job loss or something in their family they've always been a good paying customer I want to grant them this $200 El passive electric will match whatever our customer service reps decide to provide to that customer in addition to the donations that have been collected from the community okay okay so it's up to 200 it could be at the discretion of whoever they're talking so if somebody owes $90 and they just need another month to pay um and they just can't come up with it our customer service rep could decide that they would make that contribution from Bright Hearts if there is sufficient funding available for them perfect and then I I think one of the other things that keeps coming to mind is how the utility could start using more technology to kind of enhance customer service right and I'm sure you have these conversations and I saw that you have an automated call but I think the problem with an automated call that I'm kind of realizing well one is that you have an older generation that would appreciate that right but then the younger generation is more text prone right and I don't see that you're texting at this point and then the other thing that has come up in recent years with how technology has U evolved is that we get phone calls and it says potential spam right and what if what if El pasor Electric's automatic call go out potential spam I never answer those calls and then the other thing is is that the telemarketers have gotten smarter and now instead of calling with outside area codes they're using 915 numbers right but then they're identified as potential spell so can we those happening we do try to shut those down um and and those are on our road map certainly Josh we recognize that and when we do our customer satisfaction surveys how do you want to do business with us most people don't want to get calls and most people don't want to call us they that's why we added texting and email to ways that we can service our customers as well but on our road map is also to provide customers a text that says we see that you've missed your payment you know go even before you enter the collections process in that three-day grace period it's gone by your bill date maybe you've forgotten you've missed your payment so we're working on those types of Technologies to always keep it at C top of mind for our customers that they need to make those payments um and then other other you know things that would make Mak sense from a texting perspective and we're also looking at some other ways that we can do perhaps some personal reach outs again on our road map to look at other ways that we can intervene before customers enter that collections process to try to make sure they don't let that go too long and build up something they really can't afford to get back on their feet with no and I appreciate that and I think the the big thing that also comes to mind is the smart meters is a push of a button right and really kind of telling that story on yes we may disconnect you hopefully we don't disconnect you but we can get you back on I'm I'm not sure that people are really fully understanding that and I think that people are seeing the smart meters as an easy way to disconnect rather than what easy way to reconnect especially if in the scenario that uh Council representative H has talked right I wasn't home I got home my lights are out I can now selfs serve to restore that any time of the day with that automated payment yeah and and I think the the last thing that I had is I noticed on your slide it said per the Pu on pretty much every slide so is I I I'm really fixated on this deposit because I think it really works against somebody that is in hardship it gives them more hardship but is this something that you have to do because of the Pu the the Pu allows us to do that okay um and and much like other right when I moved here EP water made me pay $75 and bother looking at my credit history they said $75 is our deposit policy so I think most utilities try you know different ways we try to be compliant with the Pu um but that's not to say as I said 9,000 of our customers have a deposit it is possible and probable and likely that we don't always enforce that so we think it's best practice too right so and I understand your concern right it could take a lot to get somebody going and that will show up on their first bill and so the PC allows it but doesn't require it is what you're saying mhm okay but so then does that mean that the PC would also allow a smaller deposit the discretion of our team really is what comes into play there to look at what the appropriate amount is for a customer okay okay thank you thank you and thank you all for being here and for I can see you're still continuing the work on making sure it works better for our community and again the transparency so thank you all and thank you have a great day thank you and and I know he he stepped away but real quick for uh representive Ward's question on on the previous item can't speak to that item specifically or that project specifically but um we are working very closely with City legal staff on um two uh at least two filings that impact prospective customers that we're trying to recruit to their region right from an economic development perspective and again we're working very closely with with City legal and and and their external legal on to try to to help you know move the process along at the commission so just wanted to than you that's why I mentioned I don't know stepan back there and she can tell them and that's why I mentioned them to make sure that it's they're working not with you all but through the Pu correct thank you Miss FR yes mayor that brings us to call to the public the El Paso city council is a local government body charged with serving the citizens of and the meetings must be focused on the meeting at charge the City Council meetings are public meetings under the Texas open meetings ACT public comment is an accommodation and not a requirement of city council all persons and attendance are expected to display civility in deorum that is respectful to other persons without the use of insulting profane threatening or abusive language public comment will not be used for personal attacks against a person or group's character or Integrity which are not pertinent to City business nor May any member of the public use this for for political statements or campaigning please note that during call to the public the city council may not deliberate or decide any subject that is not on the agenda however Council May propose that a topic brought forth be posted on a future agenda this morning we have two members of the public signed up to speak the first person is Miss Elizabeth Crawford her topic is the impact of the Incarnation in 2024 we're having technical difficulties but we do have her on speaker phone go ahead Miss Crawford you have three minutes thank you good morning I'd like to speak briefly about the Advent of Emmanuel the theme Born to Die um today is designated as giving Tuesday in this season when we focus on the Advent I'd like to start with a quote I was recently sent um an awesome quote by a leader of Grace Community Church in California the quote is this God treated Jesus on the cross as if he had lived your life so that he could treat you as if you had lived his let me reread that God treated Jesus on the cross as if he had lived your life life so that he could treat you as if you had lived his 2 Corinthians 521 God has made him who knew no sin to be sin to be a sin offering for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him that is God's promise to all who repent and believe years back I had the privilege of serving in BM Brazil on the weekends I would help with the Street shter Ministry BM is Portuguese for Bethlehem it was fascinating to me one December when my roommate a seasoned worker at the orphanage said to me you realize right these kids think that Jesus was born here well the kids are not accurate as we well know the Bethlehem reference in the Bible is in the land of Judah in Israel often today it's references a Palestinian West Bank but the beauty of the Incarnation is the assurance that no matter where we live in this world Jesus is here why because he is omnipresent Jesus is Emmanuel God With Us The Washington Post recorded an interview with Bron stard the abortionist who has practiced in Santa Tesa for many years in the course of that conversation referencing pro-life doctors he's reported to have said they will treat you like you killed Jesus or something it's good that he sees it that way because babies in the womb are Jesus handy workor created in His image the presence of Jesus everywhere is either a comfort or a danger I used to have the privilege of praying in a group with a man who will begin his prayer with the words God you are the most awesome holy dangerous being in the universe the message of the Advent season truly is Emanuel he holy and he is love he is righteous and he is merciful he is a judge and he is the savior we're in centuries before the Advent of Jesus we read these words Micah 52 but th Bethlehem EPA though thou be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from a v from Everlasting Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and thank you Miss Crawford thank you ma'am you've reached the three minute limit the final speaker is Ron Kom Mr kom's topic is constitutional rights to the rescue 1983 Animal Services good morning sir you have three minutes good morning ma'am good morning sir good morning so we all know the citizens of El Paso are kind of tired of property taxes but I want to point out that the bond for the shelter for County passed mely people realize that we have a problem we had to build another shelter in the county if we all got together and did our job we wouldn't need so many shelters would we kind of hindsight at this point there's just so many Strays you don't have a choice um we keep hearing things about rules regulations policies procedures and I I got to say I I I was part of the ASAC committee for a while and they give you a book it says that they follow Robert's Rules and in the mayor's office I had somebody from legal tell me well we kind of pick and choose what rules we take because I was kind of hitting on some rules that they didn't like me to do it ASAC um you know we we we're running the hos shelter program no matter what anybody says it's been in in place for like four years and if you step back and look that wouldn't be in place if we followed policies and procedures so I I've got a question if we we're we're going to follow policies and procedures that means including animal services and ASAC need to follow policies and procedures I mean enough is enough guys we're we're just we're not doing our job it's costing the city money it's going to cost the city more money because we have so many Strays and yet we're still turning Strays away we are making more Strays because we're turning Strays away which means our problems only going to get worse you guys are leaving you have a month are you going to walk away from El Paso with this disaster on the books or are you going to step up and take the necessary changes that need to be done in advance of the new County uh new Council so that when they can come in they can finish fixing the issues from the last four years I'd really like to not have to come down here every two weeks I really would I got better things to do with my life at this point I'd like to be in New Hampshire sitting on a beach I mean I got my winter t-shirt on you guys don't get it you put the community in danger you did we need to get the fire department out of our shelter period we need to stop the friends and family hiring period Falls in your court guys what are we going to do are we going to leave everything to the new new County new city council or we going to start fixing things a little late but be a nice thought thank you sir Council that concludes call to the public and for the December 17th meeting Council will also be asked to to move the call to the public from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. so Council will be asked to suspend the rules for the December 17th meeting as well mayor would you like to go to mass transit please is there a motion to recess there's a motion and a second to recess the regular city council meeting all in favor I anyone opposed the meeting is in recess at 10:28 a.m. good morning this is a meeting of the El Paso mass transit Department board on T for Tuesday December 3 2024 it is 10:28 a.m. presid and presiding is board chair ler also president and council chambers our board members um Kennedy acedo ernandez molinar salido Fierro and Rivera board member Canales has requested to be excused and there is no public comments sir all matters listed on the consent agenda will be approved uh with with one vote will be and will be considered by the mass transit Department board to be routine and will be enacted by one motion unless separate discussion is requested by board members prior to the vote members of the audience may ask questions regarding items on the consent agenda when the vote has been taken If an item has not been called out for separate discussion the item has been approved the mass transit Department board May however reconsider any item at any time during the meeting is there a motion to approve the consent agenda second there and this will be item one the approval of the minutes and the revision to item two to excuse board member Canales motion made by board member Rivera seconded by board member salido voting session is open Mr chair yes ma'am I the item has been approved unanimously with board member Fiero not present for the vote item three the one and only item on the regular agenda is discussion and action on the award of solicitation 2024 0129 air influ ID filter elements to vehicle maintenance program for an initial term of 3 years for an estimated amount of 1 milli1 1581 15,30 move to the motion is second there is a motion made by board member molinar seconded by board member Hernandez and this is to approve the item voting session is open Mr chair hi thank you sir the item has been approved unanimously with board member Fiero not presing for the vote is there a motion to adjourn sove all those in favor I anyone opposed and the mass transit Department board meeting for December the 3rd has been adjourned at 10:31 a.m. thank you is there a motion to reconvene the regular meeting second there's a motion in a second to reconvene the regular city council meeting all in favor anyone opposed and the meeting is back in session at 10:31 a.m. we're on the introduction of ordinances these are items 24 to 26 approve second there's a motion made by representative Riva seconded by representative salido to approve the first reading of ordinances these are items 24 to 26 on that motion call call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously representative Fierro not present that brings us to item number 27 and this is discussion and action on the award of solicitation 20240 640 on call hotel lodging rebid to Rockwell American Services Limited this contract will allow the office of emergency management to provide temporary lodging to migrants while they await travel arrangements to their final destination move to approve ahead there's a motion was there a second I have a question go ahead ma'am thank you mayor um we real quick on this item um is this being used with the federal dollars let me Department yes yes it would be Mario Dio Deputy city manager it would be used with federal dollars perfect how much uh do we have right now currently still on the account do you I know it's a question I'm it's right around the 20 million when you look at the emergency food and shelter grant that's be expiring at the end of this year and then going forward I believe we're around 14 million with the SSP oh okay when you say is it going to be expiring so if we don't basically use the funds then they just go away or that's that's exactly it so these funds are only used for that we've asked for extensions we're still waiting on this one to see if they're going to allow any more extensions we've had several we brought back to council over the last few months but we're at the end of that period perfect thank you how much money you still have there sir 14 14 or 10 14 I believe it's 14 okay I thought was I thought we'd do some of that already I think it's not out of the SSP all right thank you motion approved second there was a motion made by alternate mayor protim molinard seconded by representative salido to approve item 27 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously representative Fedor not present that brings us to item 28 and this is discussion and action on the award of solicitation 20240 648r stop loss Insurance to Ed a life insurance company this contract will provide services necessary to assist the city in developing a comprehensive review and plan for stop-loss insurance which is self-funded and open to all full-time active employees of the city of alp Paso move to approve second good morning ma'am good morning good morning sir there is a motion made by alternate mayor proar seconded by representative s seel to approve item 28 on that motion call for the vote voting session is open and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously representative F not present item 29 is discussion and action on the award of solicitation 20240 319 on call towing of Motor Vehicles City owned to ad Record Service Inc DBA ad Towing and Recovery this contract will allow for the continual recovery of city-owned vehicles in a consistent safe and efficient manner move to approved second there's a motion made by alterate mayor Pro mol seconded by representative salido to award the solicitation on item 29 on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously represent pres ative F not present item number 30 is discussion and action that the managing director of purchasing and strategic sourcing be authorized to issue purchase orders for solicitation 2025-the animal products Laboratory Testing supplies this contract will allow the animal services department to conduct in-house Medical Laboratory Testing Mo to approve second there is a motion made by representative rera second by representative Salo to approve item 30 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes you item number 31 is a public hearing of an ordinance changing the zoning of a parcel of land from r4h residential historic to rmu residential mix youth historic and approving a master zoning plan with reduction to minimum District area required and 100% parking reduction at 914 West Yandel motion approve second there is a motion made by representative salido seconded by representative ernandez and this is to adopt the ordinance for item number 31 there is no public comment on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes 6 to1 with representative molinard voting nay the remainder of council voting I the motion does carry item number 32 is a public hearing of an Ordnance granting a special permit to allow for infi development with reductions to minimum lot area and minimum average lot width at 5004 cat scill move to approve a question go ahead sir yes sir could you could you go a little more into uh detail what what this is about the hi good morning mayor and Council Luis Amora Chief planner with planning and inspections so item 32 is a special permit uh under infield development this four proposed duplex uh the property located at 5,4 Catskill Avenue okay that's okay thank you so much on that appreciate that thank you motion second motion to approve second there was a motion made by representative ASO there's already one seconded by representative FAL to adopt the item on the ordinance on item 32 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and the motion passes 6 to1 with representative molard voting nay the remainder of council voting I the motion does carry that brings us to item 33 and this is a public hearing of an ordinance changing the zoning from R3 residential to AO apartment office and imposing conditions at 1401 North Saragosa second there is a motion made by representative salido seconded by representative Federal to adopt the ordinance on item 33 there's no public comment on that motion call for the vote voting session is open and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously item 34 is a public hearing of an ordinance changing the zoning of a portion at 7,000 Alabama Street from R2 residential and R3 res residential to C3 commercial and imposing conditions go ahead repr thank you mayor um so I'm really excited about this one and I know that um it was unanimous in the plan commission right uh correct correct and and so some of my constituents have been reaching out and there's Just Thoughts around um how we can look at traffic and kind of do that as they develop this because I know when they were looking at this at first they wanted to do hardware store and then I talked to them about doing a grocery store there was excitement about that we're looking at that through um or grocery store study to see how that can fit in and so I'm just thinking about this in in the long term how we can mitigate traffic things that are there and then um I just really appreciate the owners of the property um cleaning up and being good neighbors I know that I had sent something to them about cleaning up this property because my constituant were kind of complaining of the trash that was happening there but overall the the map that has been shared has been a little confusing on what will be preserved what won't be preserved so I just kind of wanted to put that out there in in terms of um this property cuz there's a lot of desert that is really great and people like enjoying on that and when I had the conversation with the developers they had had said that they can't develop all of it but then maybe the trails that they can add to it could really enhance that area so really just very supportive of this I just kind of wanted to put the concerns that I've received from my constituents so we can look at it um moving forward with the developer and um I I think if we really get a grocery store in this area it'll be a really big Home Run for the area because of where this is situated but with that said I moved to approve this second there is a motion made by representative AO second by representative ernandez to adopt the ordinance on item 34 on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously item 35 is discussion and action on a resolution authorizing the city manager to sign a chapter 380 economic development program agreement between the city of Al peso and the AL peso Hispanic chamber of commerce a 501c nonprofit organization to provide an incentive not to exceed $130,000 over a 2-year period to the applicant for the implementation of the procurement Excellence boot camp program approve second okay all right we did have a speaker sign up but she she will was only going to answer any questions if council heading okay thank you there is a motion made by representative DEA seconded by representative FAL to approve item 35 on that motion call for the vote and the vote session and the item passes unanimously item 36 is discussion and action on a resolution that the city reviewed and approves the issuance of the contract tax revenue bond series 2025 by P Thea Municipal Utility District number one with the acknowledgement that the issuance of such bonds does not constitute debt issuance by the city of Al Paso motion approve there is a motion made by representative salido seconded by representative Rea to approve item 36 good morning on that motion call for the vote voting session is open and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously item 37 is discussion and action that the city manager or design be authorized to effectuate the listed budget transfer attached to the resolution as exhibit a for the Parks and Recreation Department in support of the closure of project of veterans Recreation Center expansion and allocate investment interest proceeds to set up budget to complete Quality quality of life project Grand View Recreation Center second there's a motion made by representative Rea representor thank you mayor um so I understand proceeds are being moved from District 4 for project and District 4 to another project in District 2 but and I'm not sure if you're the right person to answer when will the project in District 4 nor specifically the Veterans Park uh project be completed started Nicole Cody U managing director representative molinar I with um Capital Improvement department they are the ones that would have that information but we'll make sure we get to you and councel they're not here uh representative mol I apologize that I can't be there um in person um the schope award for the veterans uh recre oh sorry I nandes uh for the record um the veterans Recreation Center has been uh completed we we are currently working on an ADA uh requirement at the showers um we're making those Ada accessible there was some curbing that had to be replaced um but I will send your District the final uh completion date and also coordinate with uh Mr Pablo cero and his team if they need um to do anything prior to turning it over to them thank you ma'am yes sir thank you mayor um Evette now that I have you there um just wanted to ask is this related to the piping issues that have been happening at Grand View yes sir the budget transfer was uh required to pay for the piping issues and then included in that um while we were doing our investigation we noticed that the greas Trap did need upgrades so in addition to fixing uh the plumbing issues for the kitchen were replacing uh the brand new grease trap as well so um there was additional work that was done there okay that's great to hear and do you have a timeline and when on when all of this will be finished the grease trap um has already been uh completed and I was told that uh the seniors were able to have Thanksgiving within their kitchen which we were really pushing for that date okay I really appreciate it cuz they they really wanted that and they felt very displaced so thank you for doing all that I really really really appreciative yes sir thank you represent thank you Mr nundes with that M yes there is a motion made by representative Riva seconded by representative salido to approve item 37 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes 6 to1 with representative molar voting n the remainder of council voting I the motion passes the final item on the agenda is item 38 and this is discussion and action that the city manager be authorized to sign a 2-year on call agreement for Professional Services to perform Environmental Services on a task byas basis between the city of Al peso and three Consultants the first is wsp USA environment and infrastructure Inc the second is arcadis US Inc and the third is Soder Miller and Associates Inc motion approve there is a motion made by representative Fiero seconded by alternate mayor poten molinar to approve item 38 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously Council that brings us to the end of the agenda there's a motion and a second to adjourn the regular city council meeting all in favor anyone opposed I and the regular city council meeting for Tuesday December 3rd 2024 is adjourned at 10:50 a.m. thank you Council