foreign foreign thank you foreign good morning mayor yes sir good morning this is a meeting of the El Paso city council for Tuesday July 18 2023 mayor Lisa is present and presiding inside council chambers along with representative Kennedy mayor Pro temanello representative Hernandez alternate mayor Pro temolinar representative Salcido representative Rivera and representative Canales representative Fierro is also present and now will everyone please silence their electronic devices so as not to disturb the meeting him rise for the invocation delivered by Ministry coordinator for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office and chaplain Emeritus for the El Paso Police Department Sam Ferroni good morning Council officials and guests may God bless us all the day Mr Mayor good morning if you'd care to join me I invite you to Bow your heads as I pray Lord we are a grateful people and if we are not grateful please forgive us and remind us of how blessed we are thank you for the privilege and freedom to participate in this meeting today a meeting in which important discussion and decisions will be made regarding the well-being and progress of our beloved El Paso I pray that each of us will focus on the things that are good and right and best for our city in all discussion and decision making May there be wisdom consideration and vision I pray as I pray for our city I pray for our country as well every day it seems that we see further manifestation of evil so many people are hurting due to violence tragedy and Injustice and there is so much Division and anger and Hate so I pray let there be healing in our land Let There Be Love and goodness in our land and in our people let there be a return to the Timeless principles upon which our country was founded Lord please Grace this meeting with an awareness of your presence please watch over those who keep us safe protect our freedom God bless El Paso and God bless America in the name of Jesus my Savior I pray amen thank you and God bless you thank you sir and may God bless you thank you representative Kennedy can you lead us in the pledge sir good morning everyone and I usually kind of talk about things that are going on in the moment of silence and but I think chaplain you did a wonderful job of kind of talking about the thanks in our country and our city the only thing I'd like to add is we do a moment of silence his uh for officer Ferguson from the Alamogordo Police Department he's one of us and I'd like to have a moment of silence for him and put him and his family and his community and your thoughts as uh unfortunately lost his life in the line of duty protecting us thank you thank you I did get a call from the mayor of Alamogordo Sunday night had version me that um officer person had passed away but her call was to thank our Police Department to thank our city manager and the city staff and UMC for the dignity the care and how they treat it not only the officer but his family and one of the thankas for what our city stood for and no and so I just did want to share that with you all that uh the family and the mayor of Alamogordo was very thankful for the way we treat one of our own so thank you Miss Prine thank you mayor that brings us to the mayor's Proclamation the proclamation this morning is for pre-trial probation and parole supervision week thank you Miss Prime and proclamation of the city of El Paso Texas whereas Community Corrections is an essential part of the criminal justice system to include those Professionals in the west Texas Community Supervision and Corrections Department the El Paso County Juvenile Justice Center the Texas Juvenile Justice department probation parole and community services and the El Paso County criminal justice coordination department and whereas Community Corrections professionals uphold the law with dignity toward all including the supervision and Rehabilitation of both the Juvenile and adults they serve while recognizing the right of the public to be safeguarded from criminal activity and whereas Community Corrections professionals work in partnership with the community agencies and groups promoting prevention intervention and advocacy in the belief that Rehabilitation strategies promote the development of individuals to become an asset to their community and Community correction professionals are responsive to the needs of victims by providing Services support safety and protection and whereas Community Corrections professionals advocate for community and restorative justice practices ensuring their clients are provided opportunities to give back to their community of our participating in community service projects as well as community service learning and skill building initiatives and whereas these Community correction agencies are united here today as one criminal justice system in the spirit of this year's theme stronger together recognizing each other's efforts and dedication to the safety of our greater El Paso Community now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor and the Council of the city of El Paso that the week of July 16th through July 22nd 2023 shall be known as pre-trial probation and parole supervision week hi all congratulations foreign good morning good morning mayor honorable City Council Members Catherine Jones criminal justice director with El Paso County I am here representing the criminal justice coordination Department we provide pre-trial services to over 4 800 defendants who are awaiting their day in court I have a few of my officers with me today who stand here and I'd like to recognize their tireless dedication my officers currently supervise on average over 305 individuals with over 450 cases each they work very hard to do what we claim to do which is maximize Liberty and enhance Public Safety I thank you so much for recognizing us today in the important work that not only my department does but the important work that everyone here does thank you thank you very much morning mayor council Annalisa Davila senior deputy director with El Paso County cscd also known as adult probation and I also would like to thank you for recognizing the hard work and dedication that our staff who have chosen careers in assisting justice-involved individuals which is not an easy task not often thanked and so we really really appreciate your support and this recognition thank you thank you good morning mayor council members Rosie Medina I'm the chief juvenile probation officer on behalf of our department we'd like to thank you all for recognizing the hard work and dedication of our probation staff and our department this year thus far we've received over 1500 referrals to our department and as many of you may know we not only provide juvenile supervision but we also run and operate our Detention Facility as well as our residential facility our officers are dedicated and committed public servants they provide a lot of supervision they link our families to Community Resources and we are invested in working closely with our stakeholders which our city are an integral part of the work that we do we have a direct relationship with our Police Department in supervising our high-risk habitual offenders through the showcap program we partner with them very closely so thank you so much for recognizing our staff and our Organization for the work that we do in our community thank you thank you [Applause] and I want to thank you all for the important work you do and the guidance you do at um to make a difference in a life it's really important I know that's what you all do and you do it every day so I want to thank you for that thank you um represent Kennedy I was just going to quickly say that that I have worked with some of the people standing there before from the I'd like to say it's from the professional side not as a client there may be some clients in the room but I've dealt with you in a different Manner and you guys have always been great you're overworked and still plow through and I want to thank you for everything that you do thank you thank you all again huh well uh this is the only way that is the only Proclamation this morning we'll go ahead and take a photo now yeah so we'll just go take a photo right there there's a motion in a second to recess the city council meeting all in favor anyone opposed the meeting is in recess at 9 12 a.m in order to take photos with this morning's honorees Council if you could meet us all in the lobby area there's a motion in a second to reconvene the city council meeting all in favor anyone opposed the meeting is back in session at 9 18 A.M that brings us to the consent agenda all matters listed under the consent agenda will be considered by city council to be routine 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 I make a motion to approve the consent agenda with the following revisions page two mayor's proclamation's Elite per representative Canales page 3 item six delete per representative Fierro and then page 7 item 15 postponed two weeks per Airport do we have a second second there's a motion made by mayor Pro temanello seconded by alternate mayor Pro temolina to approve the consent agenda as revised on that motion call for the vote mayor I click to speak I just wanted to I'm sorry man go ahead um on for item number five uh I just wanted to to give a sincere thanks to the Linda and Juan Uribe family for Their donation and and it's on the consent agenda so there wasn't an opportunity to speak on it but I just wanted to to thank and honor El pasoans who give not only financial contributions but their time um and to help Elevate our public facilities so many thanks to the Europa family thank you ma'am the voting session is open Council and the voting session and the motion passes unanimously represent on this our second year your statement thank you that brings us to item number 12 and this is discussion in action on the award of solicitation 2023-0406r El Paso Community engagement and entertainment districts rebate to responsible Hospitality Hospitality Institute in a second and we do have public comments yes we have Miss Nicole Ruiz Nicole Ruiz [Music] I think we have Brook Underwood too good morning you have three minutes morning hold on let's get your mic shot on how do I turn it down no you are okay okay good morning um mayor and City Representatives Nicole race I'm the director of government Affairs for the El Paso chamber um as many of you know I was at the county last year when this item was last discussed but as many of you may recall the chamber was active and present last year when um in 2022 our board of directors did take a stance and advocated against enforcing harsher noise ordinance amendments we also receive similar input from our membership through a survey that was also sent out as we typically do the Chamber of plaud City council's direction to hire a consultant in order to conduct community outreach which is very important to us and help find a balance when considering further noise regulations that may have a devastating impact to many businesses in our community who are already struggling we look forward to working with city council and the responsible Hospitality Institute if this item is approved to help ensure that the voice of our business Community is heard through the process so thank you so much for allowing us to provide our input thank you ma'am and also miss partner I'd like to see the presentation on this yes sir you have any presentation yes please I.T will you please bring up the presentation for item 12. well it's still nice and cool in here good morning mayor good morning good morning Council Steve Alvarado code enforcement director so I'm going to give an overview on the deliverables that the consultant will provide if approved first and foremost we're going to hold Community meetings to get input from both our residents and community business partners we want to integrate that into the overall presentation that they'll provide at the end so we're going to establishing an internal cross-functional team that will be working uh within the city and with the residents as we hold Community meetings as well the consultant will provide a detailed report to city council regarding the Strategic and tactical recommendations that we should all consider so be a marketing and public awareness campaign that can be broadcasted via multiple outlets and included social media as well we're looking at implementation oops sorry next slide I'm sorry um we're looking at implementation of an ambassador program this Ambassador will assist with the management of the district's nightlife this will be an ongoing program that will include both business and Community Partnership as well provide Rec they will provide recommendations for noise remediation standards and process to maintain compliance and which will include monitoring and Reporting that's where code enforcement will come in upon completion of the meetings and the data that's going to be collected the consultant will bring forward to city council um recommendations on City policies and ordinances based on National best practices these are some of the deliverables that the consultant is required to provide next slide please so an overall timeline we're looking at a nine-month performance period at the end of the nine months the Consultants will provide the recommendations as previously noted there will be follow-ups at six months and one year post-project completion that will come back to council and let you know how things are progressing and how we move forward at that point next slide I'm open to any questions that you may have thank you for for letting us kind of give us the the parameters for what's going on I think the most important thing you said in the whole thing is community involvement and I think that's going to be really important as we move forward to be able to get what's going to make sense for the community so I thank you for that representative Nunez followed by representative pardon me man oh okay I'm sorry represent Piezo thank you mayor a couple questions um first and foremost the consultant is nationally known and has done done work throughout the country the their last um area where they where they did work and I forgot the town right now the city they they went not only into a noise ordinance but they also went into a development of downtown um short-term rentals is it's going to be a specific uh goals that they're going to look at and specific not going to defer from there is that correct it's going to be specific to the noise remediation okay that the the couple other questions is um as I was looking at the the backup it talks about uh them the police who's going to be in charge of the noise ordinance that'll be code enforcement conducting the inspections currently we're doing the same as well okay and and along with that is um I think the mayor touched on it also how important the community involvement is Miss Cody did a great job in the entire team when it came to short-term rentals and and what came out of it was when when the cream finally rolled to the top it wasn't an issue like like we thought it was and so I hope that that we have that same involvement from the community and stakeholders that we had with the short-term rentals and I'm assuming you when you talked about Community involvement we're gonna have the opportunity to have um meetings each each representative each district each district each stakeholder group certainly we can provide that to each and every District as well all right thank you Mr Mayor thank you sir Mr Pride this emotion was made by representative Rivera seconded by representative Hernandez to approve item 12. on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and the motion passes unanimously mayor can we please go back to item 11. yes I think I'm sorry I I skipped that inadvertently item 11 is a presentation and discussion on the capital Improvement third quarter update good morning ma'am good morning mayor and Council Ivette Hernandez Capital Improvement Department I'll be providing the third quarter update for the capital Improvement and also IET the last slide would be a video if you could please play that as well thank you um so I'll go over for the third quarter uh active project summary and then also our year-to-date results and then really want to highlight some of the accomplishments for this third quarter so our portfolio aligns with Goal four goal seven looking at quality of life and also our infrastructure all while maintaining and going back to our strategic plan that was approved by Council both 25 by 25 and 30 by 30. so really want I know that you guys have seen this slide but just want to make sure that I'm communicating to council that we are continuously readjusting re-calibrating as we move forward with the budgets that we have and what that means in terms of our project delivery as we know full well that we're seeing an increase in both materials and labor with their pricing and also the delays that we have encountered with materials such as I've made mention before HVAC equipment and structural steel rebar those items have caused delays to some of our projects but we're making sure to communicate that with our Consultants also with our contractors so we could mitigate some of these impacts that we are seeing still from the changes that the industry has been going through and so that really means making sure that we're communicating it both internally externally externally communicating to the project managers when they start seeing these delays in materials that it's communicated to me so that we understand that there's delays in the projects and what was the source of that working with vendors being creative making sure that we're utilizing all the resources that are available to us also that means working with our external user groups so as I made mention uh before some of the changes that we're looking for the public safety Bond of how do we really maximize the design intent without losing the Integrity due to the changes and increases in cost and so how we're working with the Consultants is really making sure we're reducing complexity of design we're taking advantage of alternative delivery methods and we're making sure to communicate this throughout the process with our contractors looking at 30 60 and 90 milestones 90 complete milestones so the third quarter results are for March and may the year-end results that you will see will be back at the end of September and that will provide the results for all of fiscal year 23. so looking at our active project summary we currently have 194 projects that are active whether they're in planning stage design bidding and or construction and totaling all those projects within these four phases is approximately 689.5 million that is invested into our community looking at our results specifically for the third quarter really want to focus on how much we are encumbering so the encumbrance sorry um also managing uh one email that I need to give an approval to I apologize um so while we're looking at our encumbrances why this is important is ensuring that we are getting new purchase orders getting Consultants online getting contracts with our con contractors the construction contracts really ensures that we have those projects active and we're delivering to the community so fiscal year to date as of May um we're at 85.5 million um so looking at our expenditures and this really what it should be translated is these are projects delivered to our community um from fiscal year 18 to 23 it's a total of 677 million that has been invested and year to date we're at 78.3 million so the impacts of this 78 million you've seen this slide before but just want to break down the calculations of you know 1 million in construction projects that generally equates to 500 000 in labor costs so what you're seeing for this quarter is 39.1 spent on labor costs and how it has looked over the last couple of fiscal years of jobs supported if we go back from 2011 through this quarter of May it's over 45 000 jobs and for uh this year we're sitting at 4 500. so looking at our one-time project impacts we have more than over 6 700 jobs that are supported by our construction so not only are we improving the quality of life maintaining our infrastructure but we're also investing within our community on the impacts of jobs so if we look at what our active construction list is we have over 243 awarded contracts to our general contractors and also with our subcontractors so in the background there is a list and all of these currently have an active project which means they are submitting payrolls they're delivering the projects to our community so I want to highlight on our accomplishments for the third quarter we have completed over a thousand capital projects and those have been just dispersed throughout our community so to date if um up until May we have 50 completed projects for the fiscal year and that's looking at our various portfolios looking at round five the nip we're currently in progress the all abilities Park equipment those are in progress and to be delivered later this year working on our fire stations rec centers Library Renovations and then to highlight some of our larger projects the construction is currently ongoing at the Eastside Regional Command Center the Mac fire station 36 and the Children's Museum are all nearing completion this is an entire list of projects completed to date for the fiscal year of 23. you see the highlighted in yellow those are specifically just for this quarter from May to March of 20 projects highlighting on our streets program we have completed 58 reconstruction streets and I believe in the briefing that I sent to you of the seven that are remaining we're closing out uh 2 or 95 percent three are over 45 percent so we should be uh completing this program shortly on a resurfacing program from 2013 to present streets of Maintenance has resurfaced 521 streets and the green squiggly lines that you could see that are a little bit hard to decipher but you will notice that they are located throughout the entire city as they work in each of the eight districts and if it could please play the video and I will take any questions that you might have [Music] I think it's great I wish they would have had this when I was younger I December sometimes I come over here and I really like it it keeps it keeps cool thank you [Music] foreign [Music] probably the same one I played on it shined up really nicely and I just think it's good for quality of life so I'm not a certified translator but the PDN roundabout he said was a beautiful project and it's helping to direct the traffic mayor of um there are any questions for me no ma'am thank you very much and thank you for the work y'all have been doing you can see the quality and the Improvement to our neighborhood and I Know It Takes a team and but also takes a leader so I thank you all for what you're doing thank you sir thank you Mr Prime yes sir that brings us to page six item number 13 and this is a public hearing on a norn is changing the zoning at 1720 west Paisano drive and 1820 West Paisano drive from m2h heavy manufacturing historic and M2 heavy manufacturing 2G muh General mix use historic and GMU General mix Hughes approving a master's owning plan and imposing a condition is there a motion Canalis is Staff here to give the presentation I'd love to see the presentation just because I think it's a it's a fantastic thank you project that I'd like to show to the public good morning good morning all right good morning mayor council Raul Garcia playing in inspections so item 13 is a proposed rezoning of property located along Paisano West Paisano the old Hacienda restaurant property from M2 manufacturing to GMU General mixed use this is the aerial of the property uh plan here is to rehab a combination of rehabbing existing buildings existing historic buildings as well as the addition of some new new buildings as well current zoning is M2 historic this is in our G7 industrial which does provide for rehabbing of these type of formally Industrial Area type properties this is the the master zoning plan which is going to run along with with the property it does uh run with the property if this rezoning is approved as you can see there are existing buildings that will remain along with some green open space type areas I believe a Convention Center uh uses is is proposed um as well as long as well as the open space amenity type uh proposals for this property and again this does show the actual sighting and location of those structures in terms of uses as you can see uh they are proposing multi-family office spaces as well as the Borderland Center The Event Center along with other proposed a list of other proposed uses propose the elevations height of structures again these are the the uses that could potentially at some time go go on that property GMU is very flexible it does allow the applicant to kind of create in their own District create their own uses obviously uses that would be compatible with the surrounding area a shot of the subject property again the another shot of the property that is the old uh Hacienda restaurant and the existing structure I believe was a multi-family structure which will be rehabbed and then another shot this this is this resulting also involves property uh located on that other side of that Park along this area there's an existing uh multi-family structure there that is currently vacant and will be will be rehabbed and this is also part of this rezoning and again just says surrounding shots of of the surrounding area as you can see this is off of Paisano um the old uh historic Fort Bliss structures that used to be up as part of our for Bliss are in the area as well this area is surrounding is zoned M2 manufacturing however these uses have been in place for a very long time and this GMU will allow the existing and you use this to to be implemented on the property uh public loan is what was sent uh to a property owners within 300 feet we did receive one letter in in opposition and the city plan commission did recommend approval um unanimously on April 20th with one condition that the uh that a sidewalk be provided Along by Sano Drive I get in line with providing the walkability in this mixed use area and that sidewalk will comply with all subdivision code requirements and that concludes my presentations thank you this representative Canales thank you mayor Anderson thank you Raul um I I would welcome uh anybody maybe it's not mine to offer but I would welcome any of my colleagues to go uh get a tour of the facility uh you know this is a a beautiful old Adobe building with thick walls lots of history and I think this is exactly the type of of uh infill uh project that that's reimagining a historic building that all of us have been so enthusiastic about um I want to thank uh Ibarra and Mr du Pasquale who's here in the in the audience today um they're they're carrying out a very uh very thorough very meticulous and very sensitive reimagining of this property and uh you know I think it takes a lot of vision with a with a collection of of old buildings like this to turn it into something that that is really amazing and and that they're planning to do to serve the community and so again uh Mr du Pasquale gave me a somewhat long and very enthusiastic recap of all the history that that has happened on this property there's multiple historical markers there and so uh it's it's been sad that it's to see it abandoned for for so long and I'm really glad that they're bringing it back so thank you to to Amara and Sammy and everyone who has helped you with your team there for bringing this project to us and uh again if you have the opportunity I I will happily go on the tour again and go back with anyone else who would love to see this property because it's it's something that's very impressive thank you all you have a motion well yeah and I moved to approve second uh represents I was just curious what was the letter in an opposition it was from one of the property owners in the area that his assumption their assumption was a migrant shelter um the list of proposed uses does not include a migrant shelter so that would not be a use permitted on this property and that was the basis of that okay um and I agree with you representative Canales this is really just a wonderful Redevelopment and opportunity um I ran into one of your Associates who had a handout and I was able to see some of the ideas and proposals I've never done a tour inside but my family and I we we often actually cruise by we park and then we just Envision what a beautiful opportunity this can be right on the Rio Grande beautiful views to Sada Juarez and in El Paso I'm just really excited like you represented Canales about the potential here not only to have additional residents additional housing which is much it's a really a big necessity for the city of El Paso but now visitors get to see the Beauty along the border and what it means to be in El Paso and so I wanted to give my sincere thanks to the development team who has this Vision to to see it through and we'd be really curious to see if any partnership with the international Boundary Water Commission if there's anything that that they're considering considering I would be eager to to help in any way with the development because I know there's so much bureaucracy red tape and in El Paso we want to welcome your business and we want to see you thrive so we're just really excited to see the the opportunity here and so my my best of luck to to the group and my hope is that I think it said maybe in 2025 is the open date hopefully everything aligns the stars and the moon's align and then we would be there to cheer you on during a groundbreaking or Ribbon cutting congratulations happy to support thank you Mr is there any public comment not on this item sir pardon me not on this item no no sir would you uh I like to come up representative um Rivera and then if you I'd like to come up to say any comments that's what I was going to ask if you could come up well I knew you're going to do that so I wanted to be too quick thank you yes sir because I've got a simulation thank you thank you Mr Garcia for that presentation and Webkinz was correct that's a great project there Mr Pasquale welcome and I also want to thank you for that great project that you're going to take on my question to you is do you plan to also include those four Fort Bliss old buildings we would love to down the road currently we do not have will you introduce yourself I'm sorry will you introduce your show please sure yes thank you my name is Sammy depasquale I'm the executive director of Ibarra a non-profit here locally and uh good morning to mayor and honorable City Council Members thank you so much for having us and considering this rezoning we do not have ownership of the Fort Bliss properties but I mean would love to Envision that into the future is already great your vision is already great for uh developing that uh I want to say dilapidated area that's been sitting there for for a couple years and and uh you're gonna bring back a lot of memories when you restore that Hacienda facility and everybody everything else that goes along with it so I wanted to compliment you on that and if you want to say anything else feel free I think I'll just say we're extremely excited as a team and been working in in reference to some of the earlier comments with International boundary and Water Commission border patrol and CBP On the Border there as well as Texas Department of Transportation on the other side and uh meeting with our lo you know with Veronica with congresswoman Escobar and as many sort of city and county and local officials and stakeholders is possible as well as community members to try to Envision what this could be um a place sort of fitting into the mission of Ibarra where we Inspire connections across divide through opportunities for Mutual understanding education and meaningful action and trying to draw people into the the historical and diversity sort of voices in the Borderlands through time and and currently so we're extremely excited to have this as a cafe Event Center highlighting these historical uh monuments that are currently there or some of the voices through history that haven't even been highlighted that are present there that we keep learning more about um we're also very interested in thinking about bi-national Connections and what that could mean sitting right on The Edge there as we know we're with our sister city and father is so close um and constantly thinking through how we can be connecting more yeah again I commend you and thank you for this great project that you're bringing to El Paso thank you mayor thank you thank you again and I know there's a lot of people involved and it takes a lot of people when you're talking about International boundaries and and also um thank you for having the vision and we look forward to seeing you open up thank you y'all have a great day yeah Miss Prine yes the motion was made by representative Canales seconded by representative Rivera to approve item 13. on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and the motion passes unanimously item 14 is a public hearing on an ordinance changing the zoning from R3 residential to C4 commercial this is north of Rojas drive and east of George Dieter Drive hello this program we have a motion in a second yes the motion was made by representative Fierro seconded by alternative Molina to approve item 14. on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and the motion passes unanimously that brings us to item 16 and this is discussion in action on a resolution that the city reviewed and approves the issuance of unlimited tax bonds series 2023 by Paseo De lesta Municipal Utility District number seven with the acknowledgment that the issuance of such bonds does not constitute debt issuance by the city of El Paso move to approve some motion in a second there's a motion made by representative Hernandez seconded by representative Canales to approve item 16. don't go away yet I got a question for you you know the answer though go ahead man on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and the motion passes unanimously I just wanted to ask you what are the the sales tax numbers came in the other day what how did they come in so Council may remember during the budget briefings we would talk about our May sales tax collection which we were going to receive we got that last Wednesday and so we did see that one month in April of a decrease of about 2.3 percent our May sales tax came in at over eight percent increase compared to May of last year so again really encourage you news that could be a one-time one-time negative there in April but you know we'll continue to monitor obviously sales tax is a very volatile Revenue source for us but again very very encouraging that we did see that positive thank you everyone make sure Council heard that and mayor the last time that that it happened as you know it was three years ago we had the one-time uh decrease and then we had three three straight years essentially of year-over-year increases so it's just kind of hard to tell with the with this economy if that's going to continue or not and that's why I wanted to share with Council thank you Mr Prime can we recess yes is there a motion Teresa's until known for call to the public there's a motion in a second to recess a city council meeting all in favor anyone opposed the meeting is in recess at 9 52 a.m and will reconvene at noon for a call to the public thank you really are we at uh it's noon Miss Prine good afternoon mayor we need one more person on the day representative Nellis right there coming up yes she has to be on the dance yes there she is you ready to have a motion there's a motion and a second to reconvene the regular city council meeting all in favor anyone opposed the meeting is back in session at 12 o'clock noon the this brings us to the call to the public portion of the agenda the El Paso city council is a local government body charged with serving all of the citizens of the city and the meetings must be focused on the meeting at charge the city and 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 displace Civility and decorum 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 form 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 afternoon we have 13 members of the public that sign up to speak during call to the public the first person is Estelle Johnson followed by Elizabeth Crawford Allegra Roja santillon Estelle Johnson her topic is Title VII animals and dangerous dogs good afternoon Miss Johnson you have three minutes good afternoon my dog Lily and I are in the process of moving to El Paso and into the house I grew up in when bought it was on the last block in the city I used to jump the rock wall in the backyard to go play out in the desert today I am a fearful of being anywhere near that rock wall I am afraid to be in my own backyard the fear is caused by a lack of enforcement of Title VII in the city codes the chapter entitled animals there is a large pit bull that races that Paces back and forth on the top of the wall that divides my property from my neighbor's property while up there he is aggressive unrestrained and unsupervised I've had people helping me to do landscaping stop in the middle of a job out of fear I've had neighbors and friends who won't even come in my own backyard I have provided you notarized statements of three people who have first-hand experiences and I can get more the dog is defined as a dangerous dog in Title VII his behavior and his owner's Behavior violate at least two chapters and four sections including 8.30 8.030 8.040 8.050 and 12.010 I have provided you copy detailing those sections and section 4.04080 which defines the penalties for breaking those laws and it shows a loophole that allows unlaw-abiding citizens a way out of taking responsibility for their animals what does it take for change I have contacted the police and animal services five times with each complaint I have provided a video demonstrating the aggression affiliated with that specific complaint I've called my Council representative twice she wasn't available and has yet to return my calls are you waiting for us to be mauled bitten attacked or even killed before somebody makes a move there needs to be change according to the CDC 4.7 million dog bites occur in the U.S every year and over 800 000 require medical attention last year when compared to other cities across the country the country the city of El Paso was ranked 20th most dangerous when it comes to Postal Service employees being attacked by dogs I gave you a copy of that report please note that under the victim statement thank you Miss Johnson you've reached the three-minute limit thank you ma'am and thank you please don't let Lily and I become a victim thank you ma'am I will call you the next speaker is Elizabeth Crawford Miss Crawford's topic is Walmart shooting Ms Crawford go ahead ma'am you have three minutes Miss Crawford we can't hear you I see your microphone is active but we were not able to hear you star six please go ahead man is it is it okay now yes we can hear you now thank you thank you man um good afternoon I I want to speak briefly about the Walmart shooting I've been trying to follow the trial um and what's been going on um I I just want to say first and foremost I I'm I'm so sorry um I had only heard about it in passing before and didn't really know a lot of the details and and I don't I could never fully understand what you all are going through um and especially those who specifically have had loved ones involved in that I'm from New York and and I remember that the pain of 911 um and and just in New York New Jersey just the suffering that that came from that and and um my heart goes out to this community for for what happened um in reading the news I I just keep rereading the Christ from the family members for justice um we know from God's word that the role of government first Peter 2 says that the role of government is for the punishment of evil doers for the protection of the people um and and we know that no matter what happens in this situation no matter how the the rulings come through that ultimately this um the the shooter is going to face um going to face a God who is just um and and every one of us in one of two ways our our sins will will be accounted for um before we point fingers at him as if we're also different from him um we need to look at Calvary um the cross of Calvary there is a body that was torn to shreds Isaiah 52 and 53 describes him as many as were astonished that the his Visage was so marred more than any man in his form more than the sons of men so shall he sprinkle many nations the king shall shut their mouth at him that was the worst act in all of human history what took place on Golgotha it was a bloody it was a gory Crime Scene It was hours of prolonged Agony and and who did it who's responsible the Jews yes the Gentiles yes mycena sins of people from every Tribe Called people and Nations and so Christ suffered for hours he took hell and the wrath of God upon himself um so whenever we're tempted to Harbor hatred in our hearts and and desire for Revenge toward anyone else we need to remember that either one of two things will happen to every person either that person will suffer Eternal Health eternal torment um judgment under the hands of a holy God forever or that person will turn in Repentance and space um to the Cross of Christ and God does not Overlook anything but any sin when a person turns to Christ is that sin is Forgiven because Christ thank you Miss Crawford you've reached the three-minute limit thank you thank you thank you man the next speaker is Allegra Roja santillon her topic is a bigger budget for maintenance at the West Side Natatorium go ahead ma'am you have three minutes good afternoon my name is Elena Rojas and I am the President of the Border athlete representative committee today I would like to speak briefly about my experiences at the West Side Natatorium whether I was there from 5am or 7pm practice or any sort of summit I found myself constantly surrounded by a family in a place that I learned to call home the natatorium is in the sanctuary for myself and many for instance when a test didn't turn out great at school or maybe there was a disagreement with a friend I always knew that all those negatives would disappear once my fingers hit the water knowing that I had an outlet for all of my feelings and emotions immensely impacted my quality of life for the butter this pool has been a witness to many of my achievements such as the last practice before my high school team won a Regional Title or the first personal bus of the season and maybe it was something small like a new best practice time the point was that it didn't matter how big the feet was what matter was that it happened at the pool with the people who most supported me I'm here to advocate for a proper and routinely maintenance of the pool so future generations of swimmers can continue to reap the benefits of high level installation lastly I would like to personally invite the council to our final City meet this weekend July 21st through 23rd at the Westside Natatorium so that you all may be able to see firsthand how we the swimmers benefit from the pool thank you thank you man the next speaker is Natalia Ramirez Natalia Ramirez her topic is an increased budget for maintenance of aquatic centers good afternoon ma'am you have three minutes good afternoon ma'am good afternoon my name is Natalia Ramirez and I'm here this afternoon to speak about the importance of Maintenance art on our aquatic facilities so me as a sport for all ages and can offer many benefits I've been swimming since I was seven years old swimming for me has been a motivator stress reliever and a way to exercise and socialize swimming provided a normal normalcy for me during covet I was able to keep practicing with my Swim Club at the natatorium this helps with my mental health during this crazy Time by exercise and socializing with my friends swimming has motivated me to focus on my schoolworking grades I received the all-district academic award for maintaining an average over 90 or above during the school year I was voted freshman Rookie of the Year for my house girl swim team I was able to experience a championship season winning both districts and Regional titles swimming plays a major role in my life through many aspects our website Natatorium has recently had electrical issues affecting the scoreboard and the air conditioning without the air conditioning it is it has not only affected the spectators but also the swimmers with temperatures over 100 degrees this summer not having the AC on is an issue this is a major problem because there is a possibility of someone overheating while we are competing in the water we can succumb to the high temperatures and experience heat exhaustion I'm asking for consideration in increasing the budget for Aquatic Center maintenance to avoid issues like we have experienced for the last three weeks with a major competition this coming weekend not knowing if the air conditioning will be working and the temperatures to be close to 110 degrees it isn't safe for athletes competing and The Spectators watching thank you thank you very much for your time the next speaker is Ziana Martinez topic is also improve the city funded pools good afternoon you have three minutes good afternoon ma'am good afternoon mayor and city council my name is Jana Martinez and I'm here to speak on behalf of the Border athlete representatives and Border swimmers I have been swimming for eight years for Border swimming and I will continue my swimming career at division one level at LaSalle University and representing my city I've also recognized that El Paso Times Summer of the year and awarded the Border athlete scholarship as a board of athlete representative I like to discuss the issue we have at the West Side Auditorium the electricity does not work as they're using the emergency lights the AC does not work as well and not allowing the scoreboard to work not only is this affecting Spectators but athletes as well it is important having facility allowing swimmers to perform to their best of their abilities swimming uh swimming swimmers and parents should not be overheating nor assuming in the dark all Club teams in City pay for the lanes and the City of charges parents to spectate the meats please take into consideration and help me and my fellow swimmers and family have a good working facility thank you very much the next speaker is Paul akish topic is also bigger Budget on maintenance at the pool good afternoon you have three minutes good afternoon for eight years swimming has always been a big part of my life allowing me to grow as an individual showed me infinite ways to grow and do different things the natatorium has hosted a number of meets and events and it's a facility we all love during covet and quarantine the pool is the only place we could see each other with having a relatively conversation normal conversation without being online or separated by a screen it's hard having events here when there's no air low light and a non-working scoreboard with no AC the pool instantly becomes super humid and uncomfortable for people and swimmers to be on deck it's hard to watch the pool be under these conditions considering we pay a lot of money to be there and we're there seven out of the seven days of the week we would like to have you all support fixing these issues and allowing our border athletes to have a good working facility thank you thank you very much ma'am the next speaker is Efrain Salcedo I don't see him I didn't see him thank you next speaker is arnulfo Hernandez Mr Hernandez's topic is streetcar and don't raise our property taxes good afternoon sir you have three minutes good afternoon sir mayor City Council don't increase our property taxes fund um City budget increases the state just passed two Senate bills co-authored by our very own Cesar Blanco Senator Cesar Blanco the most important one I think is to increase the homestead exemption to a hundred thousand dollars please don't use that as an excuse to increase our property taxes to either fund the arena let the let the proponents fund that or quality of life projects or other matters when people have to borrow money to pay their local property taxes things must change because something is wrong when people have to forego necessary medication or necessary food more property taxes is not the answer do the right thing and don't increase our property taxes my next issue is streetcars i title that as let's not throw out the baby out with a bath water mayor I am too concerned about the low ridership I am also concerned about the loss of money but I think cutting back is not the answer there are other things that we can do that would increase the ridership such as smurs or so-called loops which brings me back to something that used to be here many years ago when I was a very little boy and a young man before I left for about 40 years to get my education we used to have the streetcars that go into Mexico the loop I think if we were to revive that idea and bring it back you're going to have an increase in ridership you're going to have an increase in economic benefits for both cities Juarez and El Paso but dear to my heart the most important thing you provide a mode of transportation for those people that either don't have a mode of transportation themselves or if they do they are elderly and firm and can't use that so they depend on the streetcars to be able to get around and I think it would benefit at least the city to explore the possibility of the binational by City loop again the rails are already down to Sacred Heart bridge is right down the street and that I think would bore well for our city thank you the next speaker is Ron Cuomo topic is Animal Services Mr Cuomo good afternoon you have three minutes hi sorry I missed you guys last couple of weeks I was tied up um first thing I'd like to say is somebody could let Miss Johnson know the new information from the U.S Postal Service is now ranked us at 16th in the worst cities in the country for dog bites this information can be Googled by Googling U.S postal service dog bites by city so you can look up this information we are having some newer issues that are coming out lately getting phone calls about people not wanting to help dogs because they don't want to be held responsible by the shelter for helping Strays on the streets we're seeing people saying that I'm not taking in another dog because I'm still stuck with a dog I had a year ago we have issues where people will dump Strays on Independent rescues front yards overnight nothing is being done about it but if you try to do it at the shelter they're going to charge you with abandonment find that interesting considering abandonment um I hate when it goes blank we uh we really need some honest answers to some real questions we need to move forward and get some things straightened out we need to get the community back on our side if we're ever going to dig our way out of this and by upsetting them and threatening them and leaving them to bear with Strays that are not their responsibility in the first place is not the answer Community Sheltering does not work it will never work in the city of El Paso in most of the cities in Texas which are reporting back it's time we get back on board it's time we get our community back on board and start treating them like the tax paying citizens that they are and stop making them become the shelter they are not the shelter the shelter is refusing to do their job I I have one thing to say to that if you don't want to do the job get out of the seat we need change we need to get the rescues back we need to get the community back so they'll adopt because our rescue numbers are horrible they're running about 100 to 110 a month which is insane when you figure we're transporting some out so what do we actually doing for rescue locally 65 70 75 Maybe hard to tell we can't get information on what's being transported out um don't know what else to tell you guys I just I hope for a better day and I think we need to get together and actually fix the issues instead of ignoring them everybody have a great day sorry I missed you for the last two weeks thank you sir and we'll continue to work together thank you Linux speaker is Jonathan Chayo his topic is Memorial Park master plan and Community descent good afternoon you'll have three minutes hi good afternoon good afternoon sir thank you to speak um I'm here to bring attention to a master plan for Memorial Park um to the rest of the council and to the mayor um thank you representative vanilla and Colonel Weston for your support in listening to us at our community meetings so Memorial Park is the heart of the oldest historic district in El Paso uh Manhattan Heights um and recently a uh over the past year an outside developer has developed a master plan to change the park and to develop the park um the park was originally intended in 1920 to serve as a landmark and a memorial to the veterans of World War One it was redesignated in 1969 to all of the El Paso service men and women who served in Morris since that time the plaques have been removed the 60 trees planted for those who have died have gone into disrepair and are falling over and dying the park just started the sprinklers nine days ago over 20 days into this heat wave some of the green has come back but most of it is just watering dirt and weeds at this point 40-year residents from around the park have said this is the worst condition the park has been in the developer plans State it's a regional park and it is it's a regional park because of its Green Space and its nature people come for their family pictures for picnics I see four to five Quinceaneras a day at some points um I see weddings I see proposals I see picnics and community events in this park people come because it is a natural space and because it is a green space green space in the Urban Development literature is also associated with decreasing the the heat in the area decreasing the heat Zone and increasing resident quality of life the master plan that is proposed by the developers is decreasing the Green Space taking out a lot of the natural areas and also adding amenities that threaten our National Historic designation there's a splash pad there are slides on the Hills there's an Amphitheater a restaurant that they want to put in the park right now we can't even maintain the current grass trees and garbage that is that is aligning it as an appease meant the developers put in an appendix C that has minimal improvements but I just want you to be aware that when you guys vote on this in the in the coming months you will be voting on the main master plan with the opportunity for the developers to implement whatever they need they said that at one of our community meetings the appendix would just be a option um but basically we as a community have overwhelming dissent towards this plan the historic Association our neighborhood association and the neighboring neighborhood association have all uh discussed it and do not approve of this plan please help preserve the the park preserve it protect it enhance it and make it what it is intended to be make it really Shine for the veterans and really make it shine as the park itself thank you for your time thank you sir thank you for your time the next speaker is Craig Peters topic is comments regarding Memorial Park master plan good afternoon you have three minutes good afternoon again good morning good afternoon honorable mayor and City Council Members my name is Craig Peters resident of Manhattan Heights and president of Manhattan Heights neighborhood association I'm here today to make a few comments regarding Memorial Park master plan I would like to thank representative vanillo and colonel city manager Weston we haven't met yet for the opportunity for residents to express their concerns regarding the master plan I'm not sure the rest of the council has heard however but you may have heard that there is overwhelming support for this plan and I would like to State here publicly that that is not the case that is not factual you can look at the numbers they're online we're looking we're talking about 2600 people so there is not overwhelming support for this plan especially in central El Paso I was part of the Syrian committee for the match plan I did think we were an integral part in the creation however when the plan was presented to the steering committee as a whole we realized that was not the case I think it was a mistake to hire companies from outside of El Paso to represent and create plans when they do not understand El Paso itself and tried to implement Implement ideas that just do not fit within the fabric of our city culture and neighborhoods we know that Manhattan Heights historic neighborhood it is a historic neighborhood and that includes Memorial Park it is one of only a handful of parks in the nation specifically created and developed in as a memorial for world one veterans before development it was called Castle Park as time went on documents it was referred to as Castle Park or Memorial Park and eventually one great him again it was Memorial Park people work to develop the park Rabbi zolinki most others were renamed or added so all those other Memorial Parks here in the nation they were just changed their names um it was one recognizes one of the best parks in the nation 1938 is Green Space for people enjoy one of the reasons for creation Memorial Park uh improving Association was to preserve that part we need to capitalize on it uh we need to continue to protect and Preserve in any changes or additions to that indicated in the plan will affect the historic Integrity of Memorial Park um and risk it's a historic status we need to fix what is there such as irrigation where trees the original historic structures Trails Etc in May of 2022 an assessment of historic resource and condition of the park was recommended and was conducted to discuss the historic status condition features integrity and recommendations for for preserving what is there I do not know how we went from such recommendations to a master plan that would drastically change the fabric of our park and neighborhood I do not think the current master plan including any appendixes should be considered it should be scrapped I also question why our own historic preservation office was not part in developing a master plan for Memorial Park we need to not only protect and preserve our historic districts we also need to protect Central El Paso thank you thank you for being here the final speaker this afternoon is Miss Wally Schick Michelle's topic is right or wrong save America good afternoon Michigan you have three minutes good afternoon Miss check mated speech I have been told I have to go Peru to regulation until you make a difference but here is a letter from 1984 mail Roger and in 1984 I came with the idea of a World War II museum because of food place I was working with him and he was so wonderful but he died in the meantime like so many other of the Mayors there's not one mayor on this picture that I have not talked about it and now I'm in the position I'm the outer a publisher and I have my copyright I do not sell a loan them out and this never has been done as a World War second pride and Mr Mayor this is for you and from the sincerity of my heart this is the world peace in everybody is concerned every one of you represents part of El Paso but in unity we are the United States of America and I don't want to keep a three-minute speech my speech was open in February but I do need for every one of you to see my patriotic room a labor of love for 70 years in El Paso and I need to for you to come together the hell with the rules and regulation it does not put butter and shame on the table and we can change it now with our miniature gone we are our own manager we can make a password better and not for three minutes oh I don't want to keep up to three minutes [Laughter] all right okay this is so important thank you you know I love you from all my heart [Music] thank you running out of time I'm gonna be 95. thank you music mayor that concludes call to the public this afternoon thank you Mr Sheck thank you all for being here and I'd like to thank Mr Mayors Miss Martinez and Miss Kish for being here at the we hear you and we understand and I thank you all for being here today and um we um we appreciate your great success you've had and we wish you a lot more success in the swimming community and the Great accomplishments you all have had thank you and congratulations on everything there's a motion and a second to adjourn the regular city council meeting all in favor anyone opposed and the city council meeting for Tuesday July 18 2023 is adjourned at 12 33