what I'm here for the drum major just kidding uh good morning my name is jasine flotes I'm a strategic and legislative affairs uh we began meeting with you uh forly back in May uh we introduced our uh our draft legislative agenda with our legislative priorities just a refresher our three um focus areas are infrastructure uh public health and safety and uh Workforce so as uh I introduce our guests from focused advocacy uh they're going to give you a legislative update kind of taking the temperature of what we expect the 89th Texas legislative session to be um so if you remember these three areas uh lenses as they go through their presentation I think that will be helpful um we plan to come back next month uh and present our uh as our meetings uh that we've done with our community Partners um and sort of this uh preliminary uh work we've done um so this this is kind of the segue into uh next month's presentation so with that I'm going to hand it over to uh staffer car and Lindley mayor and Council thank you uh Snapper car with folks Stacy I'm partner in general Council and and have Lindley heard our legislative and Regulatory Council here today and as we were were coming I I I always it's a great honor to be out in El Paso it's always one of my favorite trips to get to come out here and I don't just say that because I'm here uh in addition y'all have some great food that I find all the time when I'm here um by by way of background uh July of 2005 is when we first started uh having the honor of working with the city uh on legislative and Regulatory items so we've had a nice long run and seen a lot of issues innumerable issues to to think about uh so some of those are still present in this uh agenda item uh and presentation that we're going to do some of those things that the legislature are like that movie Groundhog Day they they keep coming back time and time again as representative forer can can attest to but um uh thank you again today I'm going to do uh some of the presentation but I'm also going to hand it over to to Lindley uh in our office uh to to cover some of the items um much like uh much like politics in the legislative realm around the world it's it's a very interesting time around the capital A lot of change uh a lot of contentious debates um that have gone on uh over a course of of the last few sessions of course cities have been at the epicenter of of some of those uh and really what you will see as a theme as we talk about this is is where we find that balance between uh City Authority and local Authority and Community decision-based uh decision making versus preemption or mandates from the legislative realm on policy areas that that yall have to provide uh I want to cover a few of the El Paso specific issues and areas as uh Miss Flor has just mentioned kind of in y'all's large categories talk about preparing in the timeline Lenley will cover some of the items about the timeline key dates that we're going to be look looking at uh quick quick discussion about y'all's delegation the places that they hold uh the impact that some of the discussions that are outside of their control uh might have on on your delegation um just the legislative environment and the speakers race play a lot with that as as we will discuss um General City issues which uh when I say General City issues as y'all can can guess a city the size of El Paso will be impacted by by uh the large debates that go on at at the capital um and then open it up for any questions and comments that that y'all might have as Miss Flores mentioned y'all have laid out three main uh kind of headings if you will subgroups of topics that y'all would like some focus on Workforce Development infrastructure then public health and safety um all of those items and I made a note there of course will be cons considered in kind of the larger silos that the legislature and the legislative leadership whether that be Governor lieutenant governor speaker um that that holds those positions more so now than in past sessions we we have a bit more of a top- Down system where the the leadership agendas do dictate a lot of what the dialogue debate and public policy issues that are going to be highlighted that hasn't always been the case throughout my career but it's very much the way that it works now obviously there's very solid majorities in the Republican uh leadership in both Chambers so those agendas get um I will give you an example lieutenant governor did not miss passing one of his agenda items priority items his 20 uh items that he identified out of the Senate so those items get talked about so part of these issues whether it's Economic Development additional funding for transportation certainly land use related issues which we'll get into in in a greater depth at the end of this presentation uh all kind of fit within different silos that will be debated um of course border security is a major issue for our our governor and for the legislature as a whole uh obviously unique impact uh to to El Paso in comparison to some of your other uh cities around the state uh and the very last one that I'd like to mention that that protecting local author Authority and defending against preemption in a variety of areas the converse again of preemption is really just retaining local decision making tools giving you all flexibility whether that be in your budget debt issuances public safety concerns uh can go on down the list but that's really at the heart of of the debate that we have seen at the capital and it will continue um your peer large cities uh that you interact with face many of the same you each have your own uniqueness from the communities but of course um there there is definitely overlap um in in the issues that and candidly even for the smaller cities uh uh that will be a part of those debates too uh and how they impact them as as we've talked about now is the time to start uh advocating and educating the legislature uh on issues and the public on issues uh that will impact El Paso your strategic and and legislative affairs team is as I would say is ahead of that curve um uh and is being very proactive in that Outreach and that's an important thing it's even more important now to have that interaction with your delegation and council department heads other uh stakeholders that'll be a part of this process um lieutenant governor and the speaker have uh issued robust series of interim hearing charges which those hearings are are happening now I'll will tell you they started up in the latter part of May they've already been scheduled out most of the hearings that have occurred earlier in the Senate um as the speaker was dealing with his runoff election there and so were a number of house members they kind of had a little bit later start but in those early hearings cities even on on various topics had a uh Central seat in the discussion if you will bill um that could be on housing availability and affordability which they had a hearing on um eviction processes and squatter rights which they had a hearing on cities were Central to that utility matters uh in a variety of issues whether it's with electric utility or water and wastewater Services we've had hearings on all those that cities are at at the Forefront of that discussion um as we move forward kind of identifying uh from those inter room hearings we can get a good idea of what some of the proposals will be um some will be I'll just be candid some will be good and and and many will be we will probably consider uh having issue with or or needing changes and that's not unique from the position uh that we as local governments and cities have been in uh for a period of time but really the idea and what we're working on this interim is try to really enhance that notion that cities are the partners to the state state they're the service provider for the citizens and they carry out a lot of the state's Mission and work right here at the local level that y'all do in providing these services and so the more we can have that discussion the more that we can kind of keep the dialogue and policy debate in that while pursuing those things that y'all want to is is where we have the best chance in this environment it it's not where in the old days where cities large cities would come in and say these are the agenda items we'd like to see High highlighted or considered and and we get our way with that um that that's not the the reality of the legislative environment that that we operate in anymore um sharing your your agenda item early as you have with your delegation and identifying which Community Partners uh are active on those topics is very important uh we we tend to have a much better um success on whether it's proactive is isues are getting changed to issues that that we might have opposed proposals if we have uh support outside of just government uh I.E you have your Community Partners lined up to express uh their opinion especially when you've worked and and it's in line we have to do that with the outside stakeholders we do that in our role with y'all you know the various trade associations everywhere from the Restaurant Association to the the landscapers ass Association I mean it anybody that has a coalition down there we have to interact with them on behalf of local governments because ultimately you all as cities have more issues before the legislature than any other entities public or private and there's really not a close second about a third of all legislation that comes through the legislature impacts City operations in some form or fashion uh everything from budget to Public Safety down to to ordinances dealing with with your water conservation matters um and and everything in between so having that agenda having those Partners lined up very important um and then of course executing on a defined plan that you all ad will adopt and with that as we get to the timeline I'm going to ask Lindley to cover a little of the key dates sure hi mayor and Council Lindley heard with Focus advocacy I'll take you through the legislative time timeline here uh as Snapper mentioned we're sort of in the thick of the interim process where interim hearings are being held uh there are several scheduled in both the House and Senate leading through the fall um then we'll get to election day and shortly after election day the following week Bill Bill pre-filing begins and that as Snapper likes to say is when bills with actual numbers that can and do become law will be introduced and that is when we will start tracking them uh January 14th the session convenes and the speaker will be elected and then uh Comm committees will be named the the Senate committees are are more of a known entity going into the legislature house committees there will likely be a shakeup uh depending on who the speaker is even if speaker felin retains his speakership there there will still probably be some changes um we'll get to a slide later that will show how many um how many representatives will not be returning so there will be um new chairmanships for those um and then we get to the bill filing deadline March 14th and then starting uh about in May is when the uh Bill passage deadlines arrive and bills will start dying in mass and then we've got June 2nd sigy die so um a little less than a year from that great day here is um your very capable legislative delegation um everybody will be returning as you all know uh except for representative Ortega um this also shows their committee assignments um some of as we discussed some of those will probably be changing um they have done a really great job of operating in Republican controlled Senate and House and delivering for El Paso so um very great delegation this slide shows the legislative environment that we'll be going into in the Senate there are currently 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats there are no longer any Democrats holding chairmanships uh there was one John Whitmire was a chairman and he became mayor of Houston so uh and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has said there will be no Democrat chairman in in the Senate uh in the house there are 86 Republicans and 64 Democrats currently um 32 house incumbents won't be returning next session it's 24 Republicans and eight Democrats and that includes nine committee chairs and a house appropriation subcommittee chair so there will be a lot of shakeups in some important committees um there are some contested race in November where there's a Republican and a Democrat running so there may be some changes in the partisan makeup but it won't be significant it will still be uh Republicans will still hold the house and then there will be two new senators and again we expect there will be 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats in the Senate so I will turn it back over to Snapper now thank you those changes just by way of background having 35 odd members replaced in the house is a very large number having 10 chairman is a very large number um I would guess there's probably given that one of uh speaker feeling's chairman is challenging him for that his role as speaker will probably not be speaker if he were to prevent or chair if he were to Prevail again as well so a lot of turnover in that area and one thing that's of interest there is and again representative can attest his time in the legislature a chairman has a great deal of uh sway over how an issue will be handled how it's dealt with uh or if it's dealt with at all uh and they have that Latitude so when we get new chairman in key committees like we will have a new chairman in the house land and Resource Management committee for example well that committee deals with all of your ordinance making power land use powers annexations and the way that that chairman wherever the new chairman is is from uh how they perceive those issues and how they their history with them will play a major role and how we start off with those topics so I guess saying it this way we're going into a very uncertain time and we'll have a lot of question marks heading into session that we we won't know the answers to right off we won't know the ansers for sure who the speaker will be um speaker felin is is running and uh and you know I think if the vote were held today probably would be the speaker still but there's a lot of time between now and the start of session to see what what occurs um the the issue we we had that was also there and we talk about chairmanship and that partisan makeup before we dive into the to this is that there was a letter that was put out by 46 current and uh repels too some that aren't in office that signed a letter saying they would not support a speaker that that would allow for minority party chair uh chairmanship which would be the first time in the history of of our state that that that has occurred it it will have a dramatic effect on the overall legislative and policymaking process if that is to take place I can't tell you what what the full effect of it will be but it will be would be significant departure from how Texas uh legislative debates and processes uh have have gone forward um so a lot there uh and a lot to to um be determined uh as we move forward the issues that are at hand and again I mentioned we had a record number of bills filed last session I expect that we'll probably beat that record this time based on the number of Bill requests that are already pending with our our State Legislative Council uh who drafts the official bills were in the thousands already um in November as Lindley said those will start being being filed second week in November and many the issues that I'm about to discuss with you here are things that we've dealt with before and we'll be back um overall I would say again circling that word preemption that's going to be the Crux of the debate on a lot of these topics how much Authority is retained at the local level how much discretion do you all have uh here at the council dis to make decisions and to direct staff to handle certain topics those are wide ranging topics whether that be with your property tax whe with your development processes whether that be with how you issue debt um and everything else in between um it it will be there and that is some of that discussion um as yall know last session a major uh preemption bill that was referred to as the Death Star Bill House Bill 2127 uh was passed that bill um attempted uh or at least purported to preempt cities across the board if there was an Express statutory Authority I.E turning home rule cities into General law cities city of El Paso is part of that challenge the Constitutional challenge of that bill um there will be legislation filed by the authors of that bill that will attempt to address some of those challenges and try to maybe make this bill better and the author uh of the bill who happens to be the calendar chairman as well uh chairman Dustin Bur out of the leic area has it said he also wanted to look at greater penalties to get compliance with that bill even though it's constitutionality is in in question now but in those penalties in the past had ranged from limiting City's authority to impose ta property taxes if they were deemed out of compliance with that bill and some other punitive uh measures that were intended to to not be a carrot but definite stick to to get compliance with the pre pron legislation that preemption issue has been present in almost every single debate that we can find every item that's on this page that you see has some level of that discussion um land use is a perennial area that cities and the legislature debate over um the development community and special interest both large and small go to to Austin to seek changes that often override uh certain Community authorities um that that's in this environment too you're we have already had one hearing and the house and the Senate have issues on housing availability and affordability and not affordable housing in the sense of of subsidized or incentivized Housing Programs but truly in the private sector of how they allow more housing stock what has generally in what last session had been the the bulk of the proposals to help with that were things that preempted City Authority on zoning uh lot sizes uh mandating by right accessory dwelling units or or back houses uh all came very close to passing um within a one week period a number of those proposals died by very slim margins they're all back for consideration during the interim um and that issue of that and the list that you see here um will all be considered and I suspect that we will be fighting to maintain uh some of those those issues uh to to again have it back here you see under City Administration this is another one I wanted to make sure and it's somewhat preemption we list it as Community censorship or limitations on advocacy uh go back to I mentioned that cities have more bills that impact departmental operations and and Citizen Services than any other entities um and they also often are the um cities are the uh focus of a a number of private sector special interest groups that go to Austin and seek certain things in a V again a variety of areas um there's going to be a very serious discussion again on the ability of cities to join tml and for the Tex Municipal League or or light groups and whether that group can can Advocate on behalf of local governments also whether cities can hire Consultants such as myself or my groups uh that we work with or to even have in-house positions that would be deemed to be advocating on some topic The Narrative that has sold this issue which is probably why it hasn't passed because it's candidly not accurate is that the city of El Paso engages in this process joins tml hires folks like us to be Consultants because y'all want to go seek greater taxing Authority uh over the opposition of your citizenry um and I mentioned this is my 19th year of working with y'all and y'all have't once ask me to go do that not a single Council nor mayor or city manager to do that so um we've been involved in whole lots of matters uh and some I would argue have been to the great benefit of your constituencies and the CI of El Paso um but that is not and so um that discussion will happen it'll happen again uh at the Capal the issue of school uh choice and the the debate in the public education Arena elevated that topic again um because there was obviously a number of school district superintendents and school boards that engaged in the legislative process over the last two years in particular and that's really elevated that that item um one area of concern that I have that that will be Revisited is uh City debt Authority and putting restrictions on your ability to issue debt uh and for what you can issue debt for um whether that be through uh cosos uh or just again limiting what you can use certain debt instruments for to different types of projects that are very narrow um and and it was this has been an ongoing issue um and it's one that that we have some interim study charges on it's an area that that is very big we get to taxes and fees from that there's two very large property tax uh items that that the legislator and one the Senate has is intended to uh look at the ability to eliminate all property taxes what it would take to do so uh of course they've taken a step towards paying uh for the homestead exemptions at the school level and trying to eliminate M taxes at the school level of course cities counties other taxing authorities don't get funding from the state in that manner so it's a little different program but overall I think there was going to be a look back at the effective tax rate calculation or the no new tax rate calculations and formulas that that will be considered uh that would probably be detrimental to cities whether that's uh not allowing uh for an exemption for new construction for example to currently it's not treated as as a windfall of property taxes because you have a new property to serve uh but looking at those items issues related to Street Maintenance and Street Maintenance fees and and taxes uh that that can be used are on uh board again there are members that will file legislation that would limit City's ability to engage in those certain areas and so very healthy discussion on again on your local Authority with regards to the property tax formulas um and and that one will probably consume a great deal of time and energy there's going to be a lot of issues some uh there were bills filed that would have required partisan elections at the local election level for for all local government offices um the will be back in some considering um ability to put ballot language restrictions or to require certain things on the ballot particularly for for Bond or debt issuances um will be considered and another Hot Topic um public safety issues always number one as yall the biggest budget item it's also one of great interest and concern to the legislature um mayor I will say that I know the item of juvenile curfews uh will be back I would place that under under this item um there are some members that were surprised I think by the effects of that uh some that didn't even know that it was mandated and criticize certain cities for taking action to repeal those that will be back I think it'll be talked about in the course of the interim too you it's funny you say that cuz I talked to a lot of the Mayors and in other cities around and they they weren't aware that that item had passed or when it was and it was I guess late one night and or was packaged together with a package so I mean you're 100% correct cuz I I did make quite a few calls on that yes sir mayor and in fact there were only two cities in the state there were some law law enforcement groups but two cities in the state that opposed that at the time El Paso and San Antonio uh and we happened to be there in that hearing when it when it was taking place very late in session yes some uniqueness to it so that was one that will will be brought back and I think considered for reconsidered if you will um there's some good things too I know we we spend a lot of time defending and and opposing uh unfortunately a number of bills on behalf of cities um and and I would say in that opposition your delegation's with you 98% of the time uh truly you know your delegation generally is going to vote with you on those items that y'all are opposed with that's that's not 100% but but that's a very strong record in comparison to other there's it's the broader discussion of these topics that that gets folded into it um but we're going to see some opportunities for some good things too some things that make good government sense y'all being able to modernize and do postings online um increase competitive bidding thresholds or more discretion again to the local things that that that are coming about I would also note that you know this is going to be a good budget session as this slide put out we had a massive budget surplus last time we're looking at the comp trollers indicated 15 to 20 billion again for this bium plus we have a bunch of unexpended federal funds that makes for great opportunities uh for to to tap into some of those um whether that be in parks and transportation and uh technology deployment like Broadband issues but also in public safety great number of of things being considered in that one unique thing uh because your your strategic and legislative affairs office as Omar is prior uh presentation highlighted it's great job of identifying opportunities for funding at the state level it is a little more challenging in that the state can't really appropriate money directly to cities we have to go through a program uh that's administered by a state agency or have a state partner in some way a University or some other program that's administered say by the governor's office like uh diag like the military grants program is with this level of state budget a number of these areas I think will be uh get additional infusions of of cash um the dag program is a prime example I think they will look for a permanent funding source for that cities this city play has played a major role in the history of that uh being funded and benefiting cities across the state for for military uh value grants um and we will see that again uh as far as large scale uh initiatives by leadership of school choice and and the voucher debate will be front and center uh there there's no question that will be the number one in probably one through five in terms of of the focus the governor lieutenant governor in particular are stating that this will be the session that they you know don't hold back if you will and certainly the election cycle indicated that that would be the case um we're having ongoing issues with the Electric System uh as y'all probably seen in the news uh Center Point Electric in Houston area is is struggling uh with regards to their preparedness and storm response the area one area in in the city of Paso and it's very specific has been very active in y'all's role as uh having original jurisdiction over your electric utility and over the rates of that utility um that historically since the Public Utility Commission of Texas was created back in the 70s uh cities have been able to do that and as a public service uh to represent in those areas this city has probably done that as well as as is any that I've worked with uh they're able to do that because you get reimbursed for those cost that you engage in that it it's it's deemed a a public good uh for y'all to be in there and that's why you get reimbursed there will be proposals to to consider to limit that or to eliminate it altogether um there have in the past they will again and and um so we'll be prepared to to tell that story and to tell y'all's story as a as a good way way of Defending against that um additional investment and uh Appropriations for the Governor's operation loone star will happen this is a prime example of trying to find ways to we know that money is going to be expended and ways that might help y'all offset expenses that you've occurred or to seek some funding for for additional programs uh that that might benefit from an infusion of State cash uh there will be that opportunity um um again a number of affordable housing and availability of housing around the state uh that is one that that I think tml and other cities are are concerned about because it is going to ultimately um you know get into y'all's Authority uh of of what you have here um it it is definitely a challenge for for cities right now uh with regards to kind of the the relationship ship that the legislature overall and particularly legislative leadership has had with local governments around the state um but I I see I see that improving um I I really do it's and I see a lot of opportunities uh especially on the budget front um uh that that we could see some improvements um you know going back a little bit to again to y'all's delegation has done one they're more unified than in some past delegations uh and that has allowed for them I think to be more effective uh in defending and and helping pursue proactive items uh they really are well thought of despite being in the minority party of of the the legislature all of your members I think are thought of as very constructive able members and and that has shown with the committee assignments and the positions that they've had again a lot of this can change if we come in and have a new um a new chairman or new chair or speaker that says we're only having one party chair for example y'all would lose a chairman y'all would lose some of that space that you have here uh and so that's something that we'll we'll Monitor and evaluate as as we go forward um you know for our role we view ourselves as extensions of your city staff and proud to view ourselves that way um so we we will be working hand in glove with with City Administration City legal department and of course your newly formed strategic and legislative affairs team to try to pursue those things that have the most bang for the buck if you will uh for this community for the items that y'all are dealing with here on on Council and again we appreciate the opportunity uh and uh happy to answer any questions and discuss any it in Greater detail thank you and I appreciate the presentation I know that um this always becomes a moving and a working document yes sir and as uh you know the session starts in January that uh kind of could change a lot depending who gets elected in State offices so that that'll u mean what uh we look at when we start supporting and not supporting kind of totally changes based based on that so I know you've been how long you've been working with us 19 years and thank you you do a really good job and I appreciate that sir thank you so um I look forward to the working with you and working with the rest of your team because I think it's important to have a voice in Austin for our community thank you represent F thank you mayor first and foremost thank you and welcome thank you um I hope that uh you were wearing the comfortable shoes because Ian's gonna make you work I mean he he's very focused um we've had more meetings and briefings with him up to this date that than I think ever any other institution I've I've been involved in so he's going to really make you work you made a comment about um the delegation and I think our delegation has been really successful and um done above and beyond um with their Little Numbers having said that though yeah this week I think or late last week representative Kane jumped off the bandwagon again for um the speaker and it it's really seems to be snowballing that way that the potential of us being in a situation where there is no other party chairs um representative Moody and representative um um Gonzalez have done a great job of of of being in leadership and and working both sides of the aisle H you know that's going to make your role even more difficult um a lot of late nights and and I'm do you see any possible scenario where we can keep this the speaker feeling stays where he's at yeah so you know I I would go back maybe uh you know to those you you've gotten to vote in in several speakers uh elections so you know that it's it's I say the the most high-profile class president election that there can be it's 150 people that get to vote we can all have opinions but there's 150 votes and that first person that gets to 76 seen a lot of these happen uh you know Joe Strauss was elected with a magic number of 12 Republican votes his first election and oddly enough if you look back to those partisan numbers if they don't change which I think they might buy a handful maybe actually if I had to predict maybe a couple of of D seat pickups there so but at the end of the day if it were held now all the Democrats plus uh about 12 members would produce a republican speaker um uh that could select a republican speaker out of that and so um I think speaker felin still has a a a good number and I think some question will be um how the Democrat M uh caucus and and how unified that is in voting for someone my suspicion is that at the end of the day um that there will probably be a pretty strong indication to continue to support speaker felen and so then the question is has he maintained 12 to 15 Republican members now that doesn't mean that that makes for an easy Road as as you know um uh the those Republican members are already catching uh a great deal of of blowback politically uh and pressure from outside groups not to support his candidacy um and so we will see that play out they previously were laws on the books that limited outside participation in that those have been deemed unconstitutional so now massive amounts of money and political activities outside of the capital occur you know push calls mail everything that just like a political campaign so it will be difficult again I I think um ultimately if that were held today I think speaker Fen would still be the the speaker I I don't know that and again you got to get 76 I don't know if there there's a real big uh anybody outside of speaker feeling that that would Garner the the majority of of the Republican caucus to to kind of supplant him so that Democrat um support doesn't matter in the race and again it's it's kind of playing with that 150 number and looking at what that is but you know so far speaker felin has not committed to to what many again 46 members of the Republican caucus said we are no longer going to support Democratic chairs and I hope you're right uh because I I believe he's a man of his word and I think he would stick by it um my concern is the Republican cauas are then coming out with their goal of 56 names to to run behind but but thank you so much for that briefing it was very interesting we look forward to um um Ian's um come U sending information from your office to our office uh and again welcome Del El pasel thank you and I agree I's going to make us work and we're going to enjoy it we we like working getting some victories and uh we will have no shortage of um evaluating things between now and January uh when that election for for speaker will take place we'll probably have a lot of plot twist between now and then too thank you sir represent thank you mayor and thank you for um providing all of this information it's it's a ton of information so I I just wanted to go a little more in depth and if you could elaborate on some of these issues and absolutely kind of the likeliness of this happening and just um just a general overview if you could yeah kind of tell me as I tell you which could I ask that the presentation be put back up so I can get to that page might be specifically on on pres um page eight really page eight yeah thank you so one one thing that a lot of my constituents have been Relentless and in advocating for and asking questions about and I and I join them in that sense is um the appraisals that have been happening and so I saw saw the appraisal cap and kind of want to have a better understanding of what's going on there cuz I I've been telling them this is a state law that that's been going through and we need more advocacy at the state level to get the appraisals under control really right so a couple of things happened as as you know um one appraisal caps have been being debated as a as a form property tax relief for a long period we of course had the 10% Homestead cap currently that was that was passed back in the late 90s um and it hasn't changed there's been proposals across the board lieutenant governor used to be a big proponent of appraisal caps he is now an opponent to appraisal caps um uh and that's somewhat because of of how they're viewed as the effect the the business Community also generally has opposed uh uh appraisal caps because they generally apply to to residences only uh and so they that as a split tax role that would allow for kind of that property tax to be split so in addition appraisal caps why one reason uh uh representative that that they also become difficult for those initiatives to pass because they require Constitutional Amendment um they have to uh the uh amend the uniform and equal taxation provision of our state cons they have to have twoth thirds majorities in both Chambers that's very difficult to achieve in this environment um and and so they haven't happened I will say for the first time in our state's history with the uh the property tax relief that was passed during the special session the speaker uh proposed and got into that final reform the first uh commercial property appraisal cap for properties over under uh uh two million I believe and that number don't I might have that that number wrong but uh there's a a limit lied and it sunsets in in a couple of years kind of a pilot program on limitations on Commercial appraisal caps um I think where you're going to see and and then the other big appraisal reform is of course we elected we have now have in larger communities elected uh appraisal review board members uh there was a of course elections for that which that has been a proposal for a long time and it went about like what every body thought it would I think around the state that'll probably get Revisited at some point as well um they they at least in our area they became partisan even though they weren't partisan uh and and different issues arose in those elections but that was intended to be part of that appraisal review I I think you will see them look at that but that they're going to revert back to what are the things that they can do Lieutenant Governor's uh idea has been less now about appra raisal caps and more about Homestead uh exemption increase I think we could see proposals to Grant more Authority for local uh to structure Homestead exemptions in in uh different ways whether a flat Mount or a percentage base as well uh that will be there but again this is a the biggest one of the biggest topics I mean it ties to school Finance so it's kind of in there with it but there's three separate interim charges and and three separate committees looking property tax reform that includes appraisal reform so we're going to have a host of proposals to evaluate to see how you know they AFF but so it will 100% be there and there will be bills filed to lower appraisals to 3% uh increased growth question about whether or not those will pass I think is difficult given that that it requires super majorities um and there's opposition but but I think we will come out of especially in a year where we have a big budget surplus where they've done something substantial again on on on property tax relief the lieutenant governor announced that he would like to increase that current 100,000 state funded homestead exemption for schools to 150,000 uh so your first hund you know and and get on a path to eliminate all SK School M taxes which would of course provide significant relief but but it will be probably you know next to the school choice area uh property tax probably number two on the list okay now thank you for that and um the other one that I was kind of looking at was the Street Maintenance sales tax reforms Street Maintenance on utility bills and kind of an overview of that would be great yeah so there's two areas there there there of course ability to dedicate a portion of your sales tax for Street Maintenance purposes and there's some election requirements that have to happen if you have availabil under your your one cent at the local level uh to deal with um there have been proposals to to where you only have to have one election maybe not have to come back for a number of years a number of that's just receive some attention there are a number of communities that collect uh a fee on different variety of utility bills that has garnered any let me say this anything that is a revenue generating or that produces Revenue Vue whether through a tax or a fee for cities is under a spotlight uh how it's expended how it's imposed what you can you know expend it on um and the level of it um all of those things have been under and so I think we will have very serious proposals some of it on the Street Maintenance piece that that might outright prohibit uh cities from imposing those um and uh but it I I couldn't give you a percentage of How likely it is but I will say it'll be a real debate the these are members that are in the majority party and and can have their bills heard and and can pass things put it that way so they're real uh bills that will get real consideration and the financing reform for pgo what does that look like so um pay as you go Finance reform uh that that kind of was a catch-all that we put there because again just in general the way that cities particularly are funding Capital infrastructure debt financing all of those things kind of get looped in and so there's been some that have penalized pay as you go proposals and some that that highly encourage it of course as a means to avoid debt issuances um on it and to be real honest they haven't had they've times been contradictory of one another and nothing's passed in regards to it but over all that that is going you know generally in years past communities that have followed some level of pay as you go reduced debt issuances have been kind of favored by some of of the folks in the legislature that have oversight over these areas um but that that's the topic no real specifics that have come out of that one yet it's just kind of more in that overall discussion about debt and and Finance particularly of large scale capital projects okay well thank you so much for the information it's very thorough appreciate it than you thank you sir there's no additional questions thank you mayor thank you Council for the time up we have uh call to the public yes sir that brings us to call to the public the El Paso city council is local government body charged with serving all of the citizens 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 in attendance are expected to display Civility and 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 forum 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 how however Council May propose that a topic brought forth be posted on a future agenda this afternoon we have two members of the public that signed up to speak the first person is Miss Elizabeth Crawford her topic is International Day of Justice good afternoon Miss Crawford star 6 please to unmute your microphone and you have three minutes good afternoon mam good afternoon good afternoon thank you um July 17th is has been noted as International day of Justice Isaiah 9: 6 and 7 the prophet Isaiah wrote Under the inspiration of God's holy spirit For unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name Shall be Called wonderful counselor the Mighty God the Everlasting father the Prince of Peace of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and with Justice one turn for even forever the Zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this we are living by God's design between the first and second Advent of the Lord Jesus and we live in a world raging with Injustice as our media and our world have grown increasingly Pro Palestinian and have increasingly engaged in anti-israel rhetoric I'd like to speak briefly about a small number of people living in Gaza who are often overlooked there's a small group of Christians who live in Gaza these people are twice the victims of Hamas they're regularly terrorized and discriminated against the faith in Jesus Christ and now they are suffering with the attempt of the IDF to track down and eliminate Hamas they're doubly the victims of Hamas all over our nation we see the the protest of the slogan free Palestine free Palestine to what to be governed by its elected officials by Hamas the terrorist group this is freedom no the UN and the mainstream media are seriously deceived and deceitful the Hamas Charter you can read it online the Hamas Charter the Hamas Covenant explicitly lays out its goal the destruction of Israel instead of free Palestine why not free Gaza from Hamas truth matters Justice matters my friends and I pray almost every day for the people of Israel and for the people of Gaza for the gospel of peace could go out even in an area ravaged by War until that great say when the Prince of Peace return establish true peace in this earth For unto us a child is born unto us as son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name Shall be Called wonderful counselor Mighty God the Everlasting father the Prince of Peace thank you thank you the next speaker is Ron KO Mr kom's topic is Animal Services good afternoon sir you have 3 minutes good afternoon ma' good afternoon hi everybody th surprise right hey I just want to throw a couple items out we're not going to get into detail or discussion uh felony DWI domestic violence falsifying an official police report I got all this free time now I get to look things up so I want to discuss a little issue that showed up at the shelter we had a couple of pups get picked up and taken to the shelter that Loretta was trying to get her hands on she contacted Ed me to make sure I could go pick them up which of course i' never say no um the dogs went in on Saturday and we got no no no no no no Sunday no no no no no Monday morning I I get authorization to go pick the dogs up one of the dogs comes out of the shelter with a leg that's absolutely destroyed absolutely destroyed wasn't a question I took the dog directly to Coronado and the leg was amputated because it was not fixable my problem is two things there was a rescue trying to get this dog from the time it was put on the truck headed to Animal Services she was told no the reason why she was told no is Kyle is not there to handle the rescues now my second problem to this is that dog sat in the back of animal services without proper vet care which is a violation of federal state and local laws wish the chief was here um the situation happened again just before I left so we we've got an issue in the old days if kylo wasn't there we saw ese Val Nancy or Mariam we had four people that were able to take over when the rescue coordinator wasn't available now you got to ask so why don't we now all four quit cited toxic work environment we have a problem we need to fix it we cannot expect to have a full house of employees if we can't keep the ones that have been there the long time we got to get things changed policies and procedures in place to protect the the employees at the shelter we need to get rid of the toxic work environment because we're getting ready to open up another shelter we we're going to need more employees now how do we do that if we can't keep the ones we have it's just food for thought folks thank you enjoy the rest of your day thank you sir mayor that concludes call to the public thank m' can we take the next item yes sir the next few items are the first reading of ordinances these are items 33 to 36 this is the introduction there's a motion made by representative Riva seconded by alternate mayor Pro molar to approve the first reading of ordinances items 33 to 36 on that motion call for the vote bless you and the voting session and the motion passes unanimously representative salido not present item number 37 is discussion and action on the award of task order number 8 K-1 for solicitation horizontal construction improvements 20240 397 to Keystone GC LLC for an total estimated Award of $11,992 to develop an accessible pathway from deactivated bus stops to active bus stops there is a motion made by alternate mayor Pro mol second by representative Federal to approve item 37 on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously representative Salo not present item 38 is discussion and action on the award of solicitation 20240 380 Hondo Pass citizen collection station to meridor Enterprises Inc the contract will be used for the construction of a drop off location for household waste hazardous material bulky items and recyclables an estimated Award of 3,929 1850 move to approve second there is a motion made by alternate mayor mol seconded by representative Riva to award the solicitation on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously representative Salo not present item 39 is discussion and action on the request that the managing director of purchasing and strategic sourcing be author to issue a purchase order to real value biofields LLC referencing contract 20220 724 Automotive fuel diesel motion to approve second there's a motion made by representative R seconded by alternate mayor Pro Molin to approve item 39 on that motion call for the vote and the vot session and that motion passes unanimously representative salido not present item number 40 is discussion and action on the award of solicitation 2024-25 janitorial services to Ace government services for an estimated amount of 1,256 n58 the contract will provide daily janitorial services across multiple clinics and offices locations for the Department of Public Health approve second there is a motion made by representative Fiero seconded by alternate mayor Pro molinard to award the solicitation on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and the motion passes unanimously representative salido not present item number 41 is a public hearing of an ordinance authorizing the conveyance of real property owned by the city of Al Paso to VT Development LLC for the purchase price of 18,720 th000 such real property legally described as a portion of block one block one El Paso West is filed in book 57 page 5 of the plat records of the El Paso County Texas second I think we do have a public comment yes mayor we do have a public comment we have Stuart shiloff followed by Richard deup and Dr Rick boner thank you ma'am good afternoon sir you have three minutes and I think there was a statement submitted in writing by Adam Frank also that is correct mayor Adam Frank from River Oaks property submitted a statement thank you ma'am good afternoon sir good afternoon Mr Mayor and city council thank you for the opportunity to speak today representing River Oaks properties we urge you to postpone the proposed sale of 43 Acres at I 10 and P Del Norte to VT for several critical reasons first this intersection is already identified as a high congestion area by Tech and the El Paso Mo a distribution center here would significantly increase commercial traffic not only delivery vehicles constantly going in but more importantly 18-wheel traffic trailer traff Factor trailer traffic that negatively impacts the surrounding retail businesses and could likely reduce tax revenues this proposal should have been brought to you with a recent traffic study that takes into consideration the traffic on P Del Norte especially for the residents north of there in the simron area second a distribution facility is not the highest and best use for this prime location there are several more suitable Parcels of land nearby that could accommodate the warehouse without worsening congestion at this crucial intersection this project would best be put with other industrial developments that have excellent access to the freeway and are areas where warehouses are located the highest and best use for this property as far as Revenue to the city is as a retail development that produces sales tax revenue as well as higher property tax revenue than an industrial Warehouse we have an analysis prepared by a company called Catalyst a firm many economic development departments and other cities use that shows the fiscal impact to the city over 10 years for our project would be upwards of 33 million as opposed to a little under 5 million for the warehouse project plus we pan to put an additional 300,000 Square ft of multif Family Apartments which would add walkability to the project a stated goal of the city in the past third an RFP process which we're in favor of with strict guidelines that better align the council's goals for Quality infi development would bring the highest value to taxpayers and in the most transparent manner of hand handling vital City assets fourth contrary to concerns about being blacklisted by other out oftwn developers backing out of this deal would demonstrate El Paso's sophistication in Economic Development we can tell you as developers of retail shopping centers here in El Paso that there are many retail companies some that many El pasoans value coming into the market that would go into a development we would build here without this there's not another large Shopping Center development planned anywhere in the city where these new retailers could go that would have an attractive anchor tenant finally we appreciate the council's efforts to accommodate development and growth but urge you to reconsider this sale better land options exist that would allow both the distribution fulfillment center and a more suitable retail development at this location maximizing the benefit for the community and generating the best possible returns for the city thank you for your time and consideration thank you can I let me ask you a question which we have the ability to do that you you gave some economic impact numbers so you know that the user you know how much they're going to produce every year do I know what the the warehouse that you're referring to you you know exactly what equipment they'll have in there because they'll pay tax on their equipment and are you aware of their production month in and month out and for the year so the company that we hired to produce the economic analysis Catalyst has done this analysis for other distribution centers of this type around the country and they know the size of it and they so I I don't believe that they know what they're going to do so do they know the impact of the companies that are going to built around it the the be able to support this this area that would be probably other Industrial Development yeah that's what I'm saying but it I I think it's unfair to say that you got you know yours obviously you know yours because that's your your business and I'm sure it's pretty ACC accurate but to see the accuracy of a a another company not knowing their production and and their input and they're um I know that uh they're going to go big into electrifying and they're going to go big into the grid and all that and and what the impact that'll be to the community and everything it um and again the subsidiary businesses that are going to come around it because of this it's not fair to say that that's a accurate number based on what we've been briefed in executive session but I thank you though cuz I know you do a really good job and you know your business really well and I thank you for that thank you for your time thank you the next speaker is Richard De I don't see Mr de in the queue we'll move on to Dr Rick boner good afternoon sir you have three minutes good afternoon mayor and Council I'm here today to OS this item as the last person did and my reasons are two I think that the current sales price that you've advertised is too low and I think that it's unfair to the community to continue to have tur 10 in place on this property that's a as no longer any benefit to the community uh as a way of the history you'll recall that this tur was put in place in 2018 as part of the deal for Great Wolf Lodge and it was promised when that deal fell through that this turs would go away also if you'll recall mayor um I spoke to you I think it was about a year ago regarding this very item when we were considering removing tur 10A and it was also discussed that 10 would go away as well and representative Schwarz B at the time acknowledged that too so I see no economic or no benefit no public benefit to keeping tur 10 in place I think it's unfair and then um I have a few questions maybe you can help me with it like the original price of uh estimate uh of this land the appraisal was in this $18 million range but it's been off the public tax roles since the city acquired it in 2018 so how much property taxes have we lost in those six years additionally what's happened is there was a note that was taken out in order to purchase this property from the public service board your paying them interest on the on the on the original loan so I'd like to know how much money has been spent to service that debt as well as how much money we've lost as far as taxes over the last six years add that to your original $18 million in your appraisal and then I think you'd come up with a much fairer price so if you'll adjust that price and if you'll remove the turs then I think you'll go a long way to making a fair deal for the public because what you have now is a perfect example of the abuse of the tur process as an excuse for economic development because it has not produced what you are after thank you thank you sir for your time mayor that concludes public comment on this item thank you ma'am I know we have uh representative Salo and I know she had asked a question to Mr Allen see if the company was online cuz she does she would like to address the the company yes sir Chris mclusky from VTR development is online thank you perfect thank you mayor hey good afternoon I'm sorry good afternoon so my my questions uh I know that we left off of Karina is she presentent or no I'm also on virtually representative but Bill Bill and ju and some other folks are there in person so I'll let them take first perfect I have everybody online great thank you so much Kina I know that we we had talked and i' asked you a couple of questions and you mentioned you were going to have all that information for me today yes prepared for those questions representative I think uh um well one I actually did not receive the uh uh impact study for the traffic I think you were going to email that to me I did not receive it um so so like I mentioned yesterday sorry Karina pascala economic and International Development for the record so like I mentioned yesterday there would be as part of the standard development process and I think planning and inspections can speak to this we'd require an updated traffic impact analysis there was a study done in 2018 that identified a need for the signal in that location um VT as they did in the previous transaction has agreed to take on those costs uh that would otherwise be borne by the city and in fact were you know we had allocated funding late last year to pay for that so now that cost is being put onto VT um they've agreed to pay for that noting the infrastructure needs in this area and that is separate and aside from anything that would be required from an updated traffic impact analysis during the regular development process as they work through you know subdivision zoning um permitting whatever may be needed for the final development no perfect no no thank you for sharing that um but by in particular I did ask you that I wanted to see the old one just for myself to have perspective and as I needed that actually to take a vote today I did was very very clear and I know my colleagues were in executive when I said that um but that's nor here nor there I don't have the study in front of me um my second question is um you had mentioned uh for the Public's benefit where we're going to go down the timeline in regards to how it all started with VT and the contract until where we're at today would you like me to go through the development timeline I have that ready yes please okay let me just pull that up really quickly so I'm not going to go all the way back to the beginning um although as Dr boner pointed out in his comments this was originally a land transfer um from the El Paso water inventory so that is there we do make annual payments um on this property and then uh there was the land transfer right that this came in um as part of the proposed Great Wolf Lodge development so I'll pick this up in 2018 if that's all right with everybody since I think the question is more about sort of following the um Great Wolf Lodge agreement being terminated in October of 2018 we're talking about sort of General marketing right there was um the land transfer was for purpose-built development so the site was marketed out for industry development following the termination of the Great Wolf Lodge agreement in October of 2018 it was on the market for about 2 years in mid 2020 VT was identified as a prospect I don't have a lot of the details because I wasn't with economic development at the time so I don't want to speak to specific conversations but generally I'll say we probably worked with Brokers with our real estate department um generally we're looking at industry development that was the direction from Council at the time discussions were had with VT through 2020 through early 2021 and a contract of sale was signed with them in March 2021 there were a number of um amendments made to do some certain extensions there was an amendment in March 2022 reducing that sale area and then in August the contract was terminated at that time Council was briefed both on the termination um the change in the development plan and there was no change in the directive following the contract being terminated so we continue to Market out this property looking at a direct sale to support key industry growth areas um September 2022 through about March of this year so again not quite two years the site was a available um I wouldn't say we were you know marketing it it wasn't going to be on any of your U major kind of platforms but it was available folks knew that it was vacant folks knew that the VT sale had been uh you know terminated that that contract was ended um we had various interests um nothing really substantial we did have one Loi I will pass through that correction we did have an Loi that was later uh revoked withdrawn uh V continued to stay in contact with City and show interest in the site and we did provide updates to council throughout that time including in March of 2023 in the fall of 20123 when we ordered that appraisal so that today's price the fair market value reflected in the contract of sale is based on the appraisal from September 23 and Council has briefed on that update and then there is again an update in 202 in December of last year on all of the outstanding priority property dispositions which included both the Northwest site the potential VT sale um other items like the Zer Goa property the Northwest prop the Northeast property that ended up being sold to meta um in March 2024 City staff brought forward the proposed sale terms and development timeline to City Council in executive session and received direction to proceed with the sale um and then we did briefings in accordance with the posting to review the full contract terms once it was posted publicly so we've been working under the same direction which is that this is is within aurs under chapter 272 we're permitted to do a direct sale if it's an exception to the bid requirements when it is for economic development purposes that support the goals and objectives of the increment reinvestment Zone project and financing plan Direction has been consistent from Council for going on nearly four years now that this is property we would like to see that supports our key growth areas V is a national company that has experience working with lots of Fortune 500 Fortune 150 companies um they have a substantial portfolio and we believe that they will work with a company that will their end user will support our objectives in this area and really align with our industry growth and attraction strategies thank you Kina um you mentioned in August they terminated the contract for what reason uh VT requested termination and that was just under the the terms of the contract um they were permitted to request a termination as we were still in um you know a period of time that they were allowed to do that under the contract and there had been discussions at that point just changes in the development plan and the timing um and the city had asked them to look at that and so we had had discussions on and off um and they terminate moved to terminate but they were continued to be interested in the site um and in the development proposal and in working with the city were there any damages that we received for them terminating no the previous contractor sale did not have damages Clauses so they moveed they requested termination we approved and we returned the deposit at that time perfect thank you and then um you mentioned from the time that how long did it sit vacant after they terminate it I mean basic I'll be clear I mean this has been vacant the entire time it's been in our inventory right so even back past 2018 but you're asking from the termination of the contract yeah yeah where we didn't receive anything like from the time of the termination of the contract until I guess today um did we re did we do any Outreach to put the land for sale did we advertise it nationally the United States we what was our our effort to let the world know we were selling this right again we did not receive direction to do any active marketing so the site was available it's just like with any of our other real estate properties it's out there it's open we do we have had brokerage contracts on and off and um the real estate division can kind of speak to current status there but things are listed we don't typically undertake a widespread marketing effort um unless directed by Council so we have a number of City properties that are available the same as with items that are in El Paso water inventory right there's about 5,000 Acres um un L specifically directed or there's a particular Target um or I know that the question has come up a bit on this property for example if we are doing an RFP right there would be a solicitation and an advertisement associated with that um in this case the property was available I mean definitely locally people knew but in terms of kind of widespread effort no there's no National listing there was no blast sent out it would have been just our standard it's listed as available if you went to go inquire on the property it would be there yeah yeah you rised really good points you're right you didn't get direction you didn't get direction to do know RFP you didn't get direction to advertise right this property actually just kind of hearing you that putting on my real estate had I've been a realtor for 18 years it's a disservice to the city of El Paso because we're supposed to be not not I'm not talking in regards to you Karina I'm talking about the process and maybe there is something I need to bring to council because we need to make sure we're selling our property letting the world know that we're selling the property that way we can get the highest and the best use for the property but more importantly get the best um you know tenant and and get offers and get courted to bring Economic Development to pass so H how can we ask or wish that people come if we're not really letting them know what have in our inventory I think to be clear though and and Karina I think you can add to this um even though there was nothing that was done very specifically nationally for that site one of the things that we always do as part of the economic development attraction strategy is to take many opportunities to talk about competitive advantages in key growth areas um of Industry that we have here so I I don't want the city council to think that because something was wasn't done very specifically on the site we do quite a bit with our Economic Development Department to showcase the city to Showcase where we have advantages and when we start getting interest from companies then you start refining where might some of those locations be and and Karina you can probably talk a little bit about that as well no that's a good point uh Colonel Weston um I was thinking about it from a real estate perspective which is we have standard places that we put our properties out that are just listed um but on the economic development side anytime we are uh approached and and Bill Allen handles a lot of this but rfis from the governor's office interest from companies often we are asked about land that's available this along with other city-owned priority sites are always listed and provided to companies when there are inquiries about things that would be appropriate so in terms of aligning with the industry growth and attraction we have marketed out in that way so this is always included in our responses on rfis um on other requests that come through borderplex through airport through various commun Partners so anything that we're doing in the industry attraction space uh we do include our property our available properties um our preference is just because we have control over the site to locate companies there if we can thank you uh your 10 minutes are up ma'am so I'm going to call does anyone else have any questions okay representative oo followed by representative Kennedy and then I'll come back to you ma'am thank you yeah I I mean I I just wanted to to um I guess I I know this is not really traditional but I I think there's just been a lot of um media in the last few days on on this property right and I just wanted to see if there was an an opportunity to ask River Oaks why you came in at the 11th hour and not sooner if that's okay mayor is I I I just wanted to ask the gentleman from River Oaks why why okay I I because I know um I just he'd like to ask you a question sir yes sir yeah you know this this has been vacant for several years now and um when we met about this uh a few weeks ago I thought it was an exciting idea but then as I came back and did my research like I always do I realized that um this offer came in at the 11th hour and I'm wondering why now and not why a few years ago when and this was completely vacant and just kind of there it's as the as the city is growing on the west side we're getting interest from retailers who want expansion opportunities and that's when we came to the city it was really I'm sorry it it was really just um as the as the cities growing on the West Side that's when we as retail developers get interest from um retailers who want to expand or who want to enter into the market and so that all has happened really in the last couple of months so and really that's the that's the best reason okay so there it would be fair to say by your assessment from what you're saying now that even last year there wasn't really um any opportunity to do something like that on the west side it didn't come up until two months ago where it really was something that just um recently over early this year that it's come up okay and that's why we pursued this okay all right thank you so much I appreciate it that's it sir representative Kennedy followed by representative Salo um Karina or somebody from the Department can you walk me through the last couple of dates from when you got directions on sale terms March 20 March of 2024 we gave you Direction um from executive and what was the next appearance on this one it would have been when we posted for introduction um typically we do more briefings than that but this was very simple because we had a previous contract of sales so we knew exactly what the terms were going to be in going in we knew what concerns we had from the previous contract that needed to be fixed Council provided direction to proceed and proceed with all kind of negotiated terms um so key terms remained the the same and then adding in those Protections in terms of clawback and liquidated damages um that were not addressed in the previous contract so the next briefing would have been on July 1st posted for introduction on July 2nd and then yesterday we were in again doing a briefing with questions um this is a real dichotomy for me and I have to tell you why because if we had an option on either of the options I absolutely love the River Oaks concept okay I'm just going to say that I mean I took a look at this and that is an exciting vibrant mixed use concept the only thing I hesitate on is before that officially came to us we had already agreed with another vendor on the property I think that if we were to back out of that at this time it would send Tremors forward just that while it may be that we were forward-looking I would think that anybody if they thought if a better if I I get better dealed at the last minute the city's going to pull out of it that we would have an issue with economic development going forward at that time imagine if it was a local company that let's say it was somebody doing a development like the one I like so much and at the last minute a national company came in and said we'll give you more money for it if you do it this way if we were to then say oh okay don't worry about it I don't know that we'd ever get a deal so my concern on this one is split because there's a project I prefer but a deal was cut on the other project first and I'm just really grinds to be able to back up on a deal that had been previously cut and that's my split on this thing thank thank you and even though I have a lot of respect for the people from River Oaks and they've done a lot of things and they've done incredible things I've never asked for incentives I am not torn between the project that we committed on and what uh what's the right thing to do for the community and that's to go through what will we told Economic Development to do and uh I I value our word a lot more and I also value the impact that it would be to turn around and do something that would be unethical in my opinion to back out a deal after we gave our word and we've gone all the way through this even though that uh Adam Frank Jerry Rubin and Mr shyf and the company have done an incredible job and of invested a lot of money in our community and I have in incredible respect this is not about that this has nothing to do with that they had an opportunity to do an Loi just like they did I know I've done business with them they've done well with the property that I sold him and I I wish I had it back but I didn't call him and ask him to give it back to me I didn't ask him to sell it back to me I knew that I had sold it just like they sold this property originally and I think it's uh a little disingenuine to come and tell us that uh what we're doing is not correct we we um we actually have a lot of respect for what we do and we'll continue to do that I have a lot of respect for what you all do and every one of you all because what what company you've all built and the company that's become River Oaks is Incredible without ever coming to the city and I've said that even when I when I spoke to um when I had the state of the city that no incentives didn't come in and say Hey I want to build this I'm going to build a new office I'm going to do that didn't come and ask us for anything you all did it because of your investment in our community and so this has nothing to do with that it has to do with doing the right thing at the right time and um I know there's plenty of land out there there's plenty of things to do and there's no need to to really get tied up and uh crossed over a piece of property that you all owned originally and you sold it because you didn't see a value in it now there's a value and now we're doing the right wrong thing I'm not sure that um that uh that would be an accurate uh assumption because again it's uh this the city does have a a u stake in this and it's uh working with uh companies in the future and I know you said it's not no big deal it is a big deal it's a huge deal for us not to have a word and I can guarantee you that if I did business with you and you treated me the way you're asking me to treat the company you'd never do business with me again and if you did that to me I promise you I would never do business with you because and you wouldn't do that cuz you don't do business that so I um I have a lot of respect for you all but the train left the station a long time ago and they come in a year later and say oh by the way we can do more with it is not proper in my book Thank You representative U Sao thank you mayor yes ma'am and and again I know I was cut off at the at the time where um Colonel Weston would had a comment and I wanted to just basically address the comment Colonel Weston said and it it's I don't want to Discounter any efforts that the city staff has done nor you but you're you did say something very pivotal um it is our job to direct and give you Direction and you're right we haven't done that and so that is something that I will definitely look at when it comes in regards to real estate you're right uh Miss Karina briscola mentioned that too she was not directed to do p RFP and certain things but I think um as we look at this as a whole you all look at things and and analyze and then propose as well right so on my end I will do my job definitely moving on forward on on on specific items like this to make sure that you know the direction is given if needed but go ahead I'm sorry no I think that just to be clear and I know that uh what Mr pascala was talking about very specifically was Direction on that specific site you as the council have given us the direction we need through policy related to our Economic Development and what these competitive growth areas are that you want to focus on in the community whether it's Advanced manufacturing or other uh or other areas where again we have a real great opportunity to be able to grow with in this community and so from an attraction standpoint it's I don't need to get policy direction from you all to understand what your direction is and I so I just to be clear the work that's being done by Economic Development to look at bringing in companies that then can refine their search area within the community on where they would like to be placed when they have an interest to us that work is ongoing and we don't need any direction for that I think she was very specifically referring to the question about that site so I just wanted to clear that up no that's perfect and like you said at the word opportunity um there's many more to come but like you mentioned we need just really F kind of focus and you all have already direction right but I think where I really want to kind of hone in and I will make sure that we have really clear I guess Direction when it comes to real estate right and how we're getting out there to let everybody know we're selling just so that we could get the most corded the best deal we have a lot more data and pinpoints to really see what the best deal is for op Paso at the end of the day that's the op Paso's properties and we're trying to also incentivize and bring Economic Development and bring companies to come and partner up with us so we want to be able to let the world know who El Paso is and that's what I do everywhere I go I let them know who we are and and why are they not investing in El Paso and I'll continue to do that so but I'm I'm thank you for for definitely clearing that up um now going back to why I had asked for the the study of of uh the traffic even if it was old I actually took a ride to that area and I and I stayed there for hours to just kind of look at the traffic right when you're looking at an area that's going to have a warehouse or what not and I would like to see what the budding and what the activity is there and and of course I mean we've Whoever has gone to West Town I mean there's a lot of traffic it is very congested and if um and so you have to look at ways of the highest and best use for this property but more importantly um what impact is this going to have if that warehouse comes right and I have to be able to measure it in comparison to a retail whether it's River Oaks or anybody else actually at this point I would had have asked to RFP and had more um buyers at the table so that I can compare what's going to be the least traffic because we are all tired of traffic right traffic mitigation I would have looked at uh the impact sales tax what's the economic growth for for El Paso um and and I would have looked at just what the impact of each and then what's going to be the best right now I don't I'm missing a lot of data points I don't have them I know that this item has been brief many times I had I had to be excused my my mom was a few the of the uh executive sessions that I was not able to participate but at the end of the day we get information all the way to the day we vote and staff if we're missing something should provide us with what we need to vote because we're voting on in behalf of the city of op Paso and I need those data I need those things to the very end of the day even if you all brief me 20 million times things are fluid things change and we need information by the time I'm sitting here and right now I don't have it well I think to be fair to staff um that's a very different concept of what was being looked at in 2018 with a smaller footprint to what's being done now Council I think M brala had talked about what that path is going forward we can certainly have her brief that again but I would I wouldn't would hate for you to think that what might have been discussed back in 2018 would be the same project that we're having now now and so what's got to come still is not only a site development plan but then all of the not only the impact study but then the mitigation that's going to be put in place to be able to uh to better affect traffic flow throughout that area so I don't think staff's left anything out in terms of of what they could bring you right now in terms of the main deal points and all those things are still to come for that point um but more in particularly I did I did take offense and I did think it was disrespectful because on on another item which the other life's note um item I had asked also for information the day before and I did not receive so it's almost like a pattern and so I just wanted to share my my my you know my concerns with you publicly because at the end of the day I need that information to make my decisions and so that I'm just that's more for for further but I'm just sharing that with you today because I don't have what I need to feel comfortable making the decision here today thank you thank you and with that we have a motion in a second yes mayor the motion was made by representative Riva second it by alternate mayor protim mad and this is to adopt the ordinance there's a motion in a second to adopt the ordinance on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes 721 representative Salo voting nay the remainder of council voting I the motion carries the next item is number 42 and this is discussion and action that the city manager be authorized to sign an agreement regarding Mutual cooperation between the city of Al Paso and the paso del Norte Community Foundation to provide fundraising support to the AL Paso Zoo and provide a non for-profit vehicle for gifts from private and other donors for the benefit of the zoo hi mayor and Council joean asano director of the op Paso Zoo this is strategic goal four subg goal 4.2 uh so she just read what it was about so if I take a bring up the presentation they could catch up we're not going to wait for them but so um a Pasa Norte Community Foundation just a few facts on them were established in 2013 they manage over 200 funds uh this is an effective vehicle for donors with with support for the regional nonprofit organizations and charitable causes while establishing their legacy of giving for the future charges uh they charge a maximum of point right now it's maximum of 1% for All the Monies that is they manage it's 8.85% for now excuse me maximum of 1% but it's 085 right now oh sorry thanks Dean the onetime fee is taken when they when the um Pacific pad dorte Community Foundation receives the donation some examples of the Partnerships in philanthropy they're partnership with the El Pasa Museum of Art Foundation and they raised over 5 million in supporting the installation of the star ceiling partnership with the city of El Paso and hosting a series of community meetings to receive input from residents on potential 14 acre Green community Gathering spaces there's some numbers of the Community Foundation I won't read those to you over to the right but as you could see they're EST lished and doing really well so the city council did approve there's precedent for this so there is has been precedent set for this the city council previously approved a very similar agreement between the foundation and the City boss program business OneStop shopping for the same purposes the city currently has three other similar agreements with the Community Foundation and both private and publicly owned zoos utilize relationships with Community foundations to expand their donor base donor base forgive me allow flexibility greater exposure and contact both the donors and also they work both sides of it so really there the advantage of this is they bring in donors and can find us extra donors to either complete projects or help us with larger projects some of the fundraising models some state and federal agencies will only grant funding to Independent nonprofits the grant has to come into the Community Foundation so the Community Foundation can assist with larger Capital campaigns in the planning Market marketing and orchest ation the Community Foundation can facilitate matching or challenge grants as well and funding the Community Foundation can also help find donors and clients as they do again have both ends of the spectrum as I just mentioned advantages of using the of the zoo using the Community Foundation and donors can receive an immediate tax benefit for donating to a nonprofit Community Foundation some donors again will not write a check to the city uh and they do want to support the zoo but they just won't write a check to the city uh the Community Foundation will keep all funds in designated accounts they report on a quarterly on the balances andless we have access to an online portal so we can look at it any time on the balances and see where the accounts are the foundation can also help plan and orchestrate larger Capital campaigns like I said so they're also a trusted partner in charitable giving and a growing community of philanthropy so they do work with individuals families corporations foundations and nonprofit organizations all to improve the quality of life in the bational tri-state region um I think I'm actually on this one here sorry about that so the a Paso Zoo and the Pasad Den Norte Community Foundation respectfully ask for the support of the resolution between these two organizations and available for any questions thank you representative Hernandez I don't have a question for you just a statement um while I don't agree with the city council's heavy-handed approach to end the partnership with the um Zoological Society uh I think it's important that we have um our we are prepared for the next steps and um ensuring that we have that fundraising arm and so I'm supportive of of of that effort and also um Bas nor Health Foundation they are um a wonderful organization and I'm I'm happy to support them but thank you for bringing this forward and and being prepared so that we can continue those fundraising efforts thank you thank you sir any other questions do we have a motion move to approve there there is a motion made by representative Canales seconded by Representatives Rivera and Fierro to approve item 42 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and the motion passes 6 to2 Representatives Kennedy AO voting n Representatives Hernandez molinar salido Fierro Rivera Canales voting I the motion passes item number 43 is discussion and action on a resolution supporting an application by the paso del Norte Community Foundation and the University of Texas at El Paso to the US Environmental Protection Agency fiscal year 2024 Community change grant program requesting funds in an amount of $1,300,000 for the strategy one energy efficient healthy resilient housing and buildings in strategy strategy 2 outdoor air quality and Community Health improvement with no match required from the city motion approv second motion and a second there's a motion made by representative Federal seconded by alternate mayor Pro molinard to approve item 43 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously the final item is 44 and this is discussion and action on a resolution supporting an application by the housing authority of the city of Al Paso to the US Environmental Protection Agency fiscal year 2024 Community change grant program requesting funds in an amount of $20 million for the development and renovation of low-income housing through a third phase of construction at Patriot Place With No match required from the city we have a motion and two seconds that's pretty good don't there's a motion made by alterate mayor Pro mol seconded by Representatives p and Riva on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously thank you sir 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 July 16th 2024 is adjourned at 12:56 p.m. thank you Council