I spe you want go sorry I'm taking all my um e e e e e e e e e e e e e good morning mayor good morning it's 9:00 a.m. we'll start the meeting even though we don't have a quorum yes sir we'll begin with the invocation and this morning the invocation will be delivered by Al Pasa police chaplain and Sun Valley Baptist pastor Dennis Kaufman good morning thank you for the privilege and opportunity to come before you and I pray that you would join me as we open with a word prayer Heavenly Father we thank you for your love and your grace we thank you that we live in a country where we have the freedom to come together and in forums such as this to discuss the business of this city in our communities and I pray that you'd give each one here wisdom as they look to direct and guide our city and I pray father that your truth would be the foundation for all that we do and we say here this morning we thank you that you love us we thank you for the countless blessings that you've given us as a city as individuals and I pray again that you would give your special guidance to all that is said and done we know that you're in control of all things and we thank you for that as well Pray Again that you would strengthen us and help us all that we would seek you and seek your will in our lives we thank you for loving us thank you for your grace and your forgiveness in Jesus name amen than thank you Mr Riva will you lead us in the pledge sir thank you sir of the United States of America to One Nation godible with liberty and justice for all thank you sir good morning this is a meeting of the El Paso city council for Tuesday July 16th 2024 Mayor Lee is present and presiding council chambers along with mayor protim Kennedy alternate mayor protim molinard representative Fierro representative Rea and representative Canales it is 9:02 a.m. mayor we have a quorum thank you ma'am um good morning everyone and um I'd like to um take a moment to reflect on what happened this weekend and um the attempt on uh former president Trump's life was uh something that will never be condoned in our in our country something that whether you agree or disagree our country was built on people having the opportunity and the ability to uh Express themselves so um what happened on um Saturday night is something that our country is not built on that type of hatred and um I I do want to um send out our condolences to the family of the firefighter that lost his life and the two people that uh were injured and recovering in hospitals today and know that uh we were elected to run to represent our community and not 100% of the people will ever agree on everything we do but one thing we do need to agree that we must respect each other and with that I want to have a moment of silence for the firefighter his family and the people that are in the hospital and and pray that uh they recover and make a full recovery and that we never see this type of hatred again in our country thank you may God bless America and may God bless El Paso Miss PR thank you mayor and for the record Representatives ASO and ernandez join the meeting at 9:03 a.m. that brings us to the mayor's proclamations for those receiving a proclamation this morning your group will have up to 6 minutes collectively to speak at the podium the first Proclamation is Sunset Heights Garden Club 100th anniversary first Proclamation is um represent Canales good morning sir good morning mayor welcome everyone uh Proclamation city of Al Paso Texas whereas the sunset height Garden Club was founded in 1924 by Elise Stevens and other El Paso families and has remained dedicated to the love of Earth and educational programs for the past 100 years and whereas while the members are no longer all from Sunset Heights as they were a century ago the Sunset Heights Garden Club has continued to foster a strong sense of community with membership open to all and many current members coming from El Paso's west side and spanning multiple generations and whereas the Sunset Heights Garden club offers its members and ing programs and activities and all are eager to learn about nature and aspects of gardening through speakers who share their knowledge and encourage their efforts and whereas the Sunset Heights Garden Club members are proud of their fellowship and encourage all to learn about nature and its needed conservation and whereas the club has contributed to the beautification and environmental sustainability of our community Through the promotion of Zer escaping efforts such as the donation of a wolf statue and Cactus at Keystone Heritage Park in me of Dr Enrique Bustamante and Magdalena Bustamante and maintaining the yellow Bells Tacoma stand's flowering shrubs in memory of Rosa negret and whereas current members of the Sunset Heights Garden Club include Anna Elena Allen Victoria Anna Norma Ballinger Mar Margo Barella Marsha brand Bonnie Bristol Enrique Bustamante Berta isacson carmeno Dixie Jackson Vicky kid Lori Olivas Carol pittinger Jennifer Pratt Ellen sad wayel sagot anoy whitler Elizabeth jger Margaret joer and Lynn pulk now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor and Council of the city of El Paso that the month of July 2024 shall be known as Sunset Heights Garden Club 100th anniversary signed by our honorable mayor Oscar liser congratulations good morning all good morning good morning I'm waynein sagata and I would like to thank you all and P particularly Canda Hernandez for recognizing the sunset Garden Club for being in existence for a hundred years we are 20 members from all all sides of El Paso our president is Ellen sad and she sets the programs for the year and uh she has been the president uh for eight years we have learned how to uh plant and take care of a garden from uh Mustard Seed uh we've learned how to plant amarillis and we have toured to Rose Garden that's just part of the programs that that Ellen has set for us uh this year and I would also like to thank Victor Martinez of El Paso Inc and his staff for the article that they put in their paper because without that we would not be here today so thank you very much for having [Applause] us I want to um congratulate you all you still have about four and a half five minutes so if yall would like to introduce yourselves it'd be great Ellen I thank you I I just want to thank all the members of the club who were able to join us this morning they had to get up early and they had to do a lot of different things to get but we do appreciate it thank you so much it's been a great honor we're very very flattered very I mean we're shocked that you called us miss hernandz thank you so much thank you and I got a really strong feeling that the members of The Garden Club are no strangers to getting up early in the morning and I I congratulate you all and you know a tradition is so important in 100 years and I know that Suns said hi CH so many great traditions in the have the Garden Club that be in existence for 100 years is uh a great accomplishment and congratulation to all of you and happy birthday to the Garden Club thank you thank you so much Canales are we ready thank you yeah 100 years is incredible um I I read the proclamation this morning because Sunset Heights is in my district but uh I need to give the credit where it's due and and uh thank you to representative Hernandez for I think reading the El Paso Inc article and realizing the the importance of marking 100 years years of of this fantastic Club so uh she and her staff did the work to get you here today so Mr you're in our district so your area Mr we'd love to have you oh I'd love to go oh it's amazing I mean it's the it's the people are wonderful they truly are an open invitation to all of you thank you very much thank you representative edus I don't I don't have a green thumb but um I would love to learn a little bit more I have pantries and so that's a a good starting point um but what you're doing is beautiful it's amazing it is what makes our city so beautiful and resilient and of course uh more Greenery more shrubs and flowers is really going to help our overall environment uh so welcome to the Centennial club uh you're joining the city we just celebrated 150 years so hopefully in another 50 years you'll get to enjoy this mstone like the city of El Paso and congratulations and thank you for joining us today thank you so much thank you representative vandas and I know that you said the next 50 years so looking around at our Council I'm going to go ahead and volunteer to be here and wish you all a Happy 150th year so I want you all back make sure you get up early that morning too excuse me but I'm one of those multigenerational members of this club uh and I'm not quite there at the 100 Mark but um I hope that my children and the children and grandchildren of the people behind me me continue to Foster this program because the environment is important to us all thank you very much thank you [Applause] all e there you go all right all know and for the record representative salido join the meeting at 9:12 a.m. that brings us to the next Proclamation and the next Proclamation is Ray Mona Day represent F next represent FAL thank you Mr Mayor welcome Mr monetta and thank you for making a great entrance mayor I have the honor and privilege to uh read this Proclamation today whereas the league of United Latin American citizens lulac founded in 1929 the nation's largest and oldest Hispanic Civic uh civil rights organization that advances the economic conditions attain political influence housing Health Civic rights and his Hispanic population United States whereas raymonda a proud o Pason was reelected by his peers as lak's National vice president for the Southwest June 29th in Las Vegas Nevada at the lulac National Convention congratulations whereas in 1981 Mr monetta became a member of lulac and in 1986 he was honored as Man of the Year by Texas lulac recognizing his outstanding contributions and services to the organization whereas from 2006 through 2008 and again from 2019 to 20123 Mr Mona served as lulac National parliamentarian providing invaluable guidance and Leadership during his tenure whereas during his time at lulac Mr manetta worked tirelessly and passed 64 amendments the most ever passed since the L like founding and whereas Raymond said has demonstrated exceptional leadership dedication commitment to the principles and mission of lulac under his leadership the Southwest uh region of lulac was undoubtedly continue and Thrive and mayor now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor and Council the city of El Paso July 16th 2024 shall be known as Ray Monera day congratulations thank you repres mayor Representatives I don't need to introduce myself but I will Raymond I'm just so used to it I do want to thank you all for this wonderful Proclamation I would not have done it without my wife to my right the baby better known as Dr Manera and to my left my son Marcos Manera thank you all so much thank [Applause] you mayor Le uh city council um good morning sir good morning sir um a most appropriate and well-deserved Proclamation from Mr Ray monetta this election took place last month in Las Vegas at the National Convention we were well rewarded Ry is now the national vice president for lulac for the Southwest it's a harbinger of what is to come history will tell us that we have had six National lulac presidents from El Paso he would be the seventh one and most have not all have been National VPS for the Southwest so we are right on track for that um I just would like to take a short segment to say that you are all familiar with the um Company E Memorial Highway and I want to say that publicly that it is due to the efforts of Mr Ray month set up when I first came to El Paso after being the co-author of the book the men of company um I went to R I say how do we get something named after the man of company and he said give me a couple of weeks and he came back and he said this was this was during the first time um mayor liser that you were mayor and he said um go to City Hall take your book tell them about Company E they're going to pass a resolution to name the 375 Feast connector in honor of the men of company Memorial Highway so he did that a year went by and during the time that U de Maro was the was the um uh uh mayor I said where's the money to put the signage he says give me a couple of weeks he came back and he said go next Tuesday to City Hall and thank them for appropriating $30,000 for the signage now one on Montana the other one on Las Americas that says this strip is now known as company Memorial Highway and it's all because of Mr Manera and I thank them publicly and I'm sure the El Paso thanks him public thank you thank you I know you all still have three and a half minutes if someone else wants to speak mayor liser City Representatives Mr Rea how are youa thank you thank thank you for uh the proclamation you have ised for Ray a couple of things that I'd like to mention is since uh he became the national vice president Ray one of one of his first initiatives was to start lak's first veterans Council and that's in action right now secondly there's a what I'd like to add we have a deported veterans initiative that uh Rey has also LED and one of the things that we cannot forget is that we have veterans who served honorably in the US Armed Forces and some of them were non-citizens and after they came back they made a mistake and uh because of the current legislation in place they were deported from the US not only to hes to Mexico Central America South America and other parts of the world and one of the things that we're taking on as lulac is to work to return to bring back home our deported veterans [Applause] and just one more thing that I'd like to mention 100 for years ago El Paso city council mayor dedicated a local Park Memorial Park to the veterans in the community they honored the veterans that were killed in action and the nurses that were killed in action during World War I and at that time in 1920 mayor and city council dedicated Memorial Park as Veterans Memorial Park on July 4th 1969 the mayor and city council rededicated Memorial Park as a venous Memorial Park and this has to remind people that Park was set up to honor our veterans it is time for a rededication and I am pleased to say that we were working with Dr Josh ACO to work on getting that done so with that uh that's some those are some of the initiatives that are taking place with Ray manetta as our national vice president for L thank you thank you sir thank you all you want to come up and we'll do a picture oh representative um one one more last thing I'm sorry representative uh molat thank you very much mayor good morning everyone thank you very much for being here with us today Mr Ray monetta and I say that with the greatest respect we've known each other for quite some time I've always seen you as a strong leader in the community for El Paso this region the fact that you've just been elected vice president of lulac that is just awesome like the gentleman said someday you're going to be the president and that makes us even more prouder so to you and your family thank you very much hard deserve thank Youk you thank you sir represent Salo h by mayor pro thank you mayor again hi Ry great to see you congratulations it's a great accomplishment to see you up there and and and I just want to thank you for all the hard work that you do you you're very much Community involved uh since I've been a council member um you did not hesitate to sit down with me and tell me what the issues were and just ideas of how we can progress Al Paso and so want to thank you for for your commitment to Paso El Paso and and just to see all the support that you all have here um we continue to to see what you're going to do next and however we can support you or myself um in any effort that you have or idea that's going to make op Paso the best place to be uh I am here to serve thank you thank you thank you representative May protm followed by representative f um Ray and I have known each other since I had a waste um Ray and BB you have always been there uh I remember back walking Fest Flores grounds uh in the Heat and in the rain to try and make something work and it's welld deserved congratulations and it's always a great moment when an El pasoan does well nationally like this and uh next step one more just move over one chair you're going to be there and congratulations represent FAL thank you mayor Mr Mona congratulations BB it's great to see you congratulations and I'd just like to take this opportunity to really show you our support my support for your tenure when you become a a uh the president of lak National and and mayor if I can just acknowledge commissioner um corado who walked in thank you there he is thank you and again Mr monetta congratulations it's uh you know when we do a proclamation and when we do things we um hit we take it to heart and we we're really very um grateful for what you've done but also the way you represent our city and that's really you not only yourself but also you represent the city in a way that um makes us all proud so thank you and I know I've known you probably not as long as representative Kennedy but um I've known you a long time from uh and uh you've always had the best interest of our community so I thank you for that thank you let's have coffee yes sir thank [Applause] you take picture good how are you doing nice to see you and then we'll just have you all right up against the middle wall if I get in your way just kick me I won't but you guys I asse hear okay if we could get at the end for you all to kind of spread out just a little bit for me yes MH just kind of spread so I can see all the faces ma'am and the gray can you come out just a little bit perfect and then uh yes perfect there you go and can I get you all to just take a step back for me please there we go okay that's looking good all right ready one two three big smiles we're going do a couple more one two three right this way ready one two three do one more just in case actually two more just in case just to be safe all right ready one two three can I get one more just in case thank you thank you is it tomor oh your and Council per The Rules of Order no use of personal cellular devices nor personal communication should take place on the Das while the meeting is in session once you obtain the floor from the mayor you will have up to 10 minutes for debate you may speak twice per item and please speak into the microphone and refrain from side conversations at the de while the meeting is in session for those of you joining virtually please make sure your microphone is on mute to reduce any background noise that brings us to to the consent agenda all matters listed under the consent agenda will be considered by city council to be routined and will be enacted by one motion unless separate discussion is requested by council members prior to the vote members of the audience may ask questions regarding items on the consent agenda when the vote has been taken If an item has not been called out for separate discussion the item has been approved Council May however reconsider any item at any time during the meeting mayor P I don't have any amendments there are no amendments no amendments make a motion to approve a motion and a second to approve there's a motion made by mayor protim Kennedy seconded by representative Retta to approve the consent agenda there's no public comment on any of the consent agenda items on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously we now turn to page 11 the next item will be item number 29 and item 29 is discussion and action to authorize the expenditure of District 5 discretionary funds as an amendment in an additional amount of $158 32 for the office of just five to cover costs associated with attending and participating in the 2024 National Association of Latino elected and appointed officials for 41st conference this item was placed by representative salido there is a motion made by representative Fiero second by representative Riva to approve item number 29 on that motion call for the vote before we vote our representative Sasa would like to make a statement please thank you mayor yes maam good morning everyone just wanted to um kind of give you all an Insight of how great this conference was it's the nalo conference is the National Association of Latino elected appointed officials and they hold an annual conference that offers exceptional education and conversation among individuals a lot of the conversations that I was able to be a part of was a lot of ai ai artificial intelligence in regards to government um so I me to several uh sessions not only that they had health healthc care health issues um mental issues mental health care so it was just a in a conference that had just the great conversations to have with other elected officials in other cities and it's important for us to attend these because it gives us perspective of what the world and the United States are doing and and then be able to Benchmark practices best practices so I like other council members go to a lot of uh conferences and want to just highlight that it's a a benefit for the constituents for us to get out there and get educated and bring all that knowledge back to Paso so thank you thank you ma'am with that we have a motion in a second yes sir the voting session is open Council and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously we now continue with item number 30 and this is discussion and action to direct the City attorney to prepare an ordinance ordering an election on the November 5th 2024 for uniform election date to permit voters to determine whether to revoke the city's authority to issue the 2012 quality of life bonds that have not yet been sold or delivered and to direct the city manager and City attorney to undertake all actions necessary to defease and or redeem all or a portion of the outstanding 2012 quality of life bonds issued to fund the multi-purpose performing arts and entertainment facility project this item was placed by Representatives Canales Kennedy and Fierro thank you mayman I just I want to ify something that because I've heard people talk about it and it's not to delete the item or the it's to take it back to the voters and I know uh represent Canales will speak a little bit more on it but and so but it's not to delete it's to really take it back to the voters and you know it was never going to have the ability to ever be built for $180 million back in 2012 the voters were misled that you could build one for that kind of money and today it would cost probably and I know that we've talked about this it close to $400 million and back then when uh we had our Council meetings after it was first proposed there was uh quite a bit more than 180 and and that's where it it stalled out and then we had a lot of litigation but uh back in 2012 it couldn't be done and definitely can't be done today so to take it back to the voters and allow the voters to make this determination I think it's very important and I do thank represent Canales Fiero and Kennedy for putting the item on the agenda represent Canales thank you mayor um I I want to start off here because I don't think I'll TP my own words uh and so um over the weekend I published an oped uh and Miss pran I'd like to enter a copy of it into the record and I'm going to read that first and then I have a few more comments after that um opinion ask El Paso voters if they still want a downtown venue uh the mpc's proposed downtown location is in my district so I feel the need to explain why we think this is an important question to postel passo voters Bond laws are complex but the city council has the legal option to make this decision ourselves without an election to choose not to issue these bonds and abandon the project due to a material change in circumstances instead I feel it's appropriate to ask el pasin how they want to proceed voters have been waiting 12 long years since the passage of the 2012 quality of life bond election for some resolution on the multi-purpose Center or NPC project and after so much time they deserve to have their voices heard again at The Ballot Box this is a project that the current city council should never even have inherited in the 12 years since the MPC project was first approved the project has through a series of high-profile headwinds and Hang-Ups morphed into something that no longer resembles the initial concept the reality now in 2024 is that there's nowhere near the amount of funding required to deliver an arena a project of that scale would cost something in the range of $400 to $500 million not the $180 million approved in 2012 or the $128 million remaining in unsold bonds even the $128 million in new debt would exert significant pressure on the city's tax rate for years to come while the city of Al Paso is doing better than many peer cities in our recovery from the economic difficulties caused by the covid-19 pandemic that recovery is still in progress our citizens are still feeling the impact in the form of inflation and increased cost of living this raises the vital question of whether the timing is right for such a sizable debt funded project that question is one I think the city must now pose to the public which is why we are proposing this for inclusion on the ballot in November I won't say that the proposal The Proposal of the NPC project was the wrong decision in 2012 the economic context was very different more than a decade ago and a whole lot of socioeconomic upheaval has happened since then I also won't say that building a large entertainment venue in downtown would definitely be a bad idea for El Paso's post recovery future just as the context has changed since 2012 it will continue to change with the march of time and there may be a future perhaps a near future in which the idea of a Downtown Arena can be reconceptualized realistically priced out and proposed to the voters again as a far more more complete package including a specific location that option is far better than continuing to modify the existing project again and again to the point where it's no longer recognizable or even wanted by its original supporters if a Downtown Arena is desired in the future Al pasin deserve to make a decision about such a large project with full knowledge on what would be developed the potential benefits and challenges and of course the real cost to the taxpayers I don't want to presume that uh proposition on the ballot will pass and that the MPC project and its current iteration will be ended there is of course the possibility that the public will choose not to revoke the city's bonding Authority for the project implicitly saying that the project should move forward there's a current proposal to build an 8,000 capacity indooroutdoor hybrid venue next to the Union Depot rail station that admittedly wasn't very popular uh after years of pivoting and studying Alternatives I believe that this proposal is still the most viable option if the project does move forward but I know many others don't agree if the city council doesn't pass this agenda item or if the voters ultimately don't pass the proposition on the ballot I'm sure there will still be plenty of discussion about which direction to go in next we we will cross that bridge if we come to it or more apply if the voters lead us to it uh so again that's the the editorial that I ran in the paper this week um I've heard before that and and since then several uh questions from the public and from media uh that I think it's important to clear up uh again uh lots and lots of people have asked uh can you instead just take this money and use it for something else and the simple answer to that is no uh when uh money is approved in a bond election those bonds are dedicated to a very specific purpose and in that case that is uh a multi-purpose performing arts and entertainment facility located in downtown El Paso um they they can't be used for any other purpose um people have also asked about uh simply returning that money to the taxpayers can that money just be given back uh for example through a reduction in uh property taxes and the answer to that is uh that for the $128 million of unsold bonds the city doesn't have that money yet so uh the bond election simply authorizes the city to sell the bonds right to take on that debt and those bonds are unsold so that that hasn't happened yet the city doesn't have that money to return um but it it this kind of debt uh funding does have an A a pressure on on the future of our Deb service portion of of the tax rate and so um a decision to not issue the that additional $128 million um would alleviate that that future pressure on the on the tax rate um and I've heard a lot of people uh ask the question why now and I tried to answer that as best as I could you know in the in the limited words I had in the editorial um but I I think the simple answer is that I saw the the immense amount of work that City staff put into developing The Proposal next to the Union Depot um you know all the way from a really thorough examination of any possible site where that facility could be proposed and you know really maximizing what they could get out of it with the remaining funds um it was a huge effort and I really do think that it's the best effort that the city could put for forward with this amount of funding um and again I I heard from people from kind of a variety of of approaches and and uh of and opinions but unfortunately I think pretty much universally people didn't welcome that that proposal um the the real answer to why now is that this seems to me to be the logical next step if people don't like what I think is the city's best proposal uh then we need to ask if if they want the project at all and we are approaching uh the deadline that that we have as as the city council under state law to place an item uh on the ballot in November and so that's that's the answer to uh why has this happened now why have I decided to put this on the agenda with uh with two of my colleagues right now uh the reality is that we have to act now if we want uh this to be on the ballot and November and I think that that's the appropriate thing to do um given that the the the current proposal that was running its course has you know seen no action over the last few months and in my opinion as a result has has kind of run its course or hit a wall so to speak um again I I want to make it clear I'm not telling the voters which way to vote I think it's important that we're just asking and getting an honest response from from the voters about what they want uh I've made the point a few times that there are voters who would be eligible to vote in this election who are 6 years old in 2012 uh when this was initially passed and their opinion on this is just as valuable uh as El Paso voters uh and so I think it's time that we ask the the public if they want to proceed uh and if they if they choose to revoke the bonding Authority then the city can take the steps necessary to uh end the the project as it's currently proposed and again I don't think that that means that this is necessarily Gone Forever there's definitely space in the future to look at a new proposal for the voters um and if they say that they want to continue forward instead and not revoke The Authority we'll hear that loud and clear as well and continue to develop a potentially a better alternative or look for Partnerships or continue to do everything that the city was already doing to advance this project um and and it'll maybe be a a new a new Boost for a project that it looks you know increasingly uh like like it like it has stalled thank you sir thank you thank you mayor do you have a motion sir and I'm move to approve second thank you represent thank you mayor and representa Canales thank you first and foremost for putting this on the agenda and secondly for being so eloquent on your description of what the item actually is let let me um clarify a couple things here mayor I constantly oppos spending more money on this project than the voters approved 12 years ago I personally voted for this Bond I voted for uh $80 million project I personally along with with many other El pasoans were misled never did I vote for a project that was going to cost us $400 or $500 million that's where we're at today we're going to hear n Nayer say well had we put it in Durango we could afford it no we couldn't we could put it anywhere we could blow up this city hall and put it here we still could meet that budget that was approved uh 12 years ago so the the location wouldn't matter I want to emphasize again I along other op pass ones were misled 12 years ago on the amount of money it was going to cost to build this this 12 years is a long time for the citizens of El Paso to sit here and wait and wait and wait and wait that's why I was very honored to co-sponsor this this amendment this item because it's it should be up to the constituents it should be up to the taxpayers and the voters of El Paso to make the decision on what they want to do next do we want a hybrid behind the um the train depot or do we want to clear this the board and start a you so again representative Canales thank you for putting this on the agenda thank you mayor thank you sir uh repr M thank you mayor good morning everyone um we're at a Crossroads here in our community and have been for quite some time it's been well over 12 years now approximately 12 years before um November of 201 2012 when this went to the voters if you think historically it wasn't really November of 2012 there was I'm sure a select group of people that met discussed this came up with a plan well before the voting date of November 2012 what were their clear intentions just like other Representatives stated publicly and I'll State again we the voters were deceived I did vote for this this quality of life in 2012 however deception has been confirmed in a court of law in Travis County state of Texas we were lied to there is no way that it was going to happen if you can see we have the Children's Museum hasn't really officially opened up how much did that Museum cost over budget the Mexican American Cultural Center over budget still haven't opened it up officially so not only has it taken 12 years they certainly didn't do it on on time but it also went over budget so do you really believe that $150 million is going to create a multi-purpose Center here in the city of El Paso I don't think so just like representative Canal said it's going to be $400 to $500 million for us to do it's going to be all kinds of stuff that is going to happen that that is going to make your property taxes go up period that's going to be the end result we have other taxing entities who are now creating their own bonds coming up for a vote in November of this year so I do I support this to take it back to the voters that we begin a clean slate and start a new thank you thank you sir represento thank you mayor I I've been thinking a lot about this and and I don't disagree with a lot of what's been said um the fact that we're still talking about this 12 years later is insane to me and I I do think that we were set up for failure even um with $180 million in 2012 um and even thinking that this was going to be something that we're still going to be talking about 12 years later um it was never enough money and I and I think that that's where it's it's also really difficult um since since that's happened we've seen that for years this project was in the courts um and that really prevented a lot from moving forward on this project and I think that the councils that have seen this prior to ours have really um seen it more as a let's just do and Durango without really thinking about um the repercussions of doing it in Dango and I think there was a lot of community community organizing that happened to save Dango and I I truly believe that that was the right thing to do I think that really trying to put that project in Dango was horrible trying to use them in a domain to get people out of there and you know we still see it um fenced off and it we still don't have a project for for that side or anything like that and and I think that on the flip side what worries me about this is if the voters do choose to move forward because I honestly think that this could be a 50/50 right and and I know that any election when you have two options are 50/50 but I I think people are so divided on this on where to take it that a new Council next year can bring Durango back to the table this Council um last year voted to make sure that this project was going to be removed from Dango that then directed City staff to make sure that we could find city property where this project could be and then now we're here and so I I think that my worry right now is that Dango could come back into the fold earlier this year um it was a pretty unpopular plan to do it in um Union Depot and I think that when I've talked to my constituents there wasn't one person that was excited for that plan and I think that we shouldn't ask people for more money for this project more taxpayer money specifically but I think that when we reach this this um this point I I wish we would have explored more options other than directing City staff to find a building and then designing something with the money that we had left over CU I truly believe that we need to look at partnering with other um entities whether that's going to be a county a state government um you know the university the the regions or anything like that or or any private Investments I I just wish we would be able to explore that and then it's such a it's such a hard um project as well because we can't decide on a location right so I think that if this does pass and people say we do want to have this project move forward we're going to start the conversation that we've been having all year all over again next year and we're just going to be back to the same status quo we're not going to have a place to do it and we're going to to see what the new council is going to act on which again brings back the Durango option to the table which I don't think is the the best place to do it at and shouldn't be done there and so it it's it's a it's a really difficult topic I acknowledge that and I think that when we're also looking at this um a lot of my constituents have said why don't you just do it at the convention center and I and I've told him I do agree that we need a larger Convention Center 10 years ago or even 12 years ago when this um was passed we didn't have enough hotel rooms and now that situation has been flipped and so um we cannot use the the bond money on just a Convention Center like that because the bond language is very clear and says that we need to have a multi-purpose Center so it has to have multi-purpose um events the majority of that has to be at the convention center so that that just worries me in in that sense that we can't just move that and I don't know if that's an option that is on the table but I I guess for for Kristen I had a question on what what the language look like for the ballot on this thank you representative Dro um the ballot language will be very similar to the language that is in the statute which is on the posting language um we will work that language out with our bond Council as well I'm asking actually right now whether or not um it would say the word downtown I know that that was an issue that the voters weren't clear that it needed to be downtown the ordinance required that um so I think that the goal is that the ballot language would be as clear as possible for the voters to know what they're voting for or against the ballot Language by law requires that it be clear that the and that the voters could say yes or no but will yes mean no and no mean yes and so will mean no so yes will mean yes revoke The council's Authority so the the operative word would be revoke so if you vote Yes you would say yes um I want to revoke the council's authority to issue the remaining bonds for the multi-purpose entertainment center Dante and um I know we have about to point $2 million in the city clerk's budget for the election that is upcoming so would that be sufficient money for this the election um is already a city-wide municipal election because it's a mayoral election year therefore the election agreement with the with the county would would be able to include whatever other city-wide elections I I and we can ask Miss pry to verify but I don't think that would affect the price for the election because it would still be the same number of of election sites Etc okay and then Laura Prime for the record so the county is already going to conduct a Citywide election as Miss Hamilton said the only increase would be to the publication cost because we would need to publish the ordinance calling for this election as well publish that in the paper yes type of thing so that's what $3,000 publication it depends on the length and it's publication and and uh translation of the ordinance okay and then any other money that would be required specific to this no sir no okay so we don't have a um a campaign to tell voters what this is we're not going to spend money on or we can't do that right uh we can do an educational Outreach we cannot persuade V voters but we can educate the public on just like what we were just discussing Yes means yes revoke we can explain and educate so that they understand what it is but we cannot be persuasive and we have a plan for that yet or no um that would be a a question for our communications director and I'm not sure is that something I think that that would be something we'd plan after Council directs what an in-house or we don't know yet for the communication Outreach typically I believe that we do those in house um but miss miss Cru Costa would be able to provide more cont text sorry for making you run in up I was upstairs in another meeting I'm listening to this one sorry uh Laura crua communications director for the city so the question and I apologize I literally ran over here so the question was in terms of a campaign it really depends on how expensive yall would like for it to go um a mailer campaign across the city would cost about um 250,000 so if the council members wanted to do something along those lines we could do along that line we could do smaller campaigns but if you want to hit it a little bit harder then I would recommend at minimum 250 maybe better 300 and and um Let me let me ask a long question to help you catch your brother I'm just kidding but but more than anything I I think that um we would we need um where where would this money come from I guess currently don't have that budgeted so we would have to have that discussion on where that money would come from okay and we could work to develop um primarily a social media campaign an educational campaign as Miss Kristen said the primary focus is education it cannot be um influential in any shape whatsoever it has to be strictly educational and terms of what voting Yes means and what voting no means thank you sir representative Rea thank you mayor yes sir um everything's pretty much has been said here uh regarding this issue with the multi-purpose Center uh I think the uh City count uh City attorney Hamilton for explaining the fact that uh the ballot will read exactly what people will be voting for correct uh and not have any terminology in there that could send it into a tail spin and say that's not what was on the ballot secondly as we all know when this issue passed yeah I was a many that I was one of the many that wanted it as a sixth largest city in Texas we don't have Arena we don't have a multi-purpose Center we don't have uh somewhere where a true convention or entertainment venue can happen now we've got the one uh coming up at the in the Northeast which is a plus but nothing says that we can't have competition so um the fact is that the majority of the funding that was added to this and nobody has said this was tied up in litigation litigation by a uh an individual doesn't live mean live in El Paso and when that does but in any case this issue needs to go before the vote voters again to determine what they want done with their with their bonds so uh nobody's really stepped up to the plate that can can step up to the plate to say you know know let's have a partnership here uh if I had a billion dollars you know I would but in any case I'm doing it for the voters I'm I'm I want to hear from my voters again because I uh I like I guess many others have heard from our constituents who also supported to say yes and others to say no so it's a good issue to be put on the ballot and I think it'll be uh we'll get our answer at that point so thank you all very much for for listening and for putting on the ballot here for the agenda I'm sorry thank you sir representative vandas thank you mayor um so this issue has been ongoing for a very long time and I appreciate the the conversation here um you all know how I feel about this issue but I think it's important to codify in public record where we were why we're here now and where we should to go moving forward um and there was conversations earlier about oh well you know the public was not informed the public uh or you know these issues came forward before I went to a vote and as a city employee at the time I can assure you there was lots of public vetting there was online surveys um there were meet and greets there were door knockings it was a very concerted effort and it really demonstrated the power of unity in op pasoans to the point that even private entities came together and they created a political action committee and what they did is raised over $300,000 to promote this vision of let's not be left behind when the nation moves forward let's invest in our community because the community that invests in itself will attract businesses to invest in our community and this goes beyond just one matter of a multi-purpose Center this is a vote for the vision of the future of our city and to have opportunities uh we have a contract with the voters who have overwhelmingly approved this by over 71% it is very rare that you even see that kind of Engagement from our public and even in 2012 when you did see some economic indicators and some uh hurting of our economy and specifically El pasan when their wages weren't what they were uh today the wages back then were significantly lower and OPAC spoke on this matter it is not the voter's fault that bad actors put us in a position where we could not plan it is not the voter's fault it is our leadership here today who has the ability to put forward a plan and to do their due diligence and I've mentioned this several times we have not done our due diligence we have not even heard from the courts because the city of El Paso prematurely removed themselves from the court reports we have expended over $20 million in real estate acquisition we have paid for three to four Consultants to determine economic impacts and just less than about a year ago we finally made the decision or city council did I opposed it to withdraw from the lawsuit and so when all of these things are happening and then you have a council who abandons the project then you are left with uncertainty but this Council has not done his due diligence which is why I'm asking don't don't ask the voters to reverse that because number one it's offensive it's disrespectful to the voters we already have a contract with the voters and it is our duty to fulfill that contract we have to be bold we have to put forth a plan otherwise it's disingenuous to ask the voters what do you want to do with the money if you have not demonstrated to them what we can do with the money we have not issued an RFP we have not asked for requests for proposals for competitive processes we have not asked for naming rights we have not put together uh a proposal to ask if there's any entities investors who want to come forward we're not even sure 100% sure uh that this northeast um Amphitheater comes to fruition I'll believe it when it's built and I'm I hope that's the case but we have heard from the Chambers of Commerce that there is capacity to have additional spaces an indoor arena is different than an outdoor Amphitheater and so let's not conflate um the issues that are happening and let's keep this uh this one issue singular to the city of El Paso so we pulled out of the site at Union Plaza city council abandoned that site although we found a resolution between the previous Council who were opposed to the Durango site and uh some members of council who were okay with keeping it at that site they found a way to save 12 historic buildings and to create a campus city council disagreed moved out of there that's a million dollars of expenditures right there there was over $2 million of expenditures in legal fees those are all public monies the notion that we're saving you money is false because we've already invested and spent some of that money and if we do go back to the voters we have to be honest about what is this going to cost you well we spent upwards $20 million that's what it's going to cost you coupled with the educational campaign so my expectation is that if this passes based on what I'm hearing today will that you were going to be honest with the voters to let them know that you've spent the money and you did nothing in return for them and that's the cost and expense to the voters that they are paying for right now as part of The Debt Service rate of the interest of the uh tax rate I've heard that they've been misled the public has not been misled the public is being misled by a faction that is disguising saving you money but the reality is if you don't invest in your community it hurts our city because we're not investing in ourselves we're not creating opportunity we're not supporting businesses and so that means the unintended consequence of this is a Perpetual state of poverty we can't just say oppito we can't afford it with that mentality we're never going to be able to get out of poverty we have to invest in ourselves and it's my expectation that leadership does the same why now why are you asking the voters now it's been less than a year since we pulled out of a the court system less than a year you have not done your due diligence you're not demonstrating to the voters what you can or could do you you don't even know the real facts and figures of the cost you're just throwing numbers out show me your empirical evidence that proves that you don't have it that's all lip service the Texas Supreme Court had not made a decision so we cannot say that it's not legal because we don't have a final say on that um and then there's mentioned about other entities issue in out bonds and debt and so what I ask the voters to understand is that the numbers that you're hearing from the different entities including the city of El Paso those are highly inflated conservative numbers under the current market standards under the current rates of inflation under the current interest rates those numbers are incredibly conservative and they don't hit your taxes don't get hit overnight you were voting for a vision for your investment for the next 20 to 40 years and the decision you're making today are going to have long lasting and detrimental consequences if you don't truly understand or if we don't reflect uh the media if you can reflect that accurately to the media and to the public that the numbers that you're seeing today are not true there a snapshot in time and they are a very uh small indicator of what your true taxes will look like but what you're also not hearing is even though it's going to cost us money but what generation of funds we're going to see we're going to see re revenues increase overnight we're going to see sales tax revenues we're going to see alcohol revenues alcohol tax revenues we're going to see more revenues than you see today but but for that investment you're not going to see it so the notion that is going to cost you taxes is true but you're also going to get more revenues for your investment let's be honest with the public stop with your fear-mongering tactics it's not helpful you heard from members of council today they don't want to see it done so if you didn't like the way the outcome of the vote happened the SEC first time you don't ask the voters to reverse that because you don't like the project the voters have already spoken on this and so it's important that we keep that trust and commitment to the voters otherwise we lose all trust from the voters and that is not what you want in a government a government has to work for the public and has to have the trust and the only thing that I find misleading here is that we're misleading the public to to make them think that we're saving you money but the reality is is that this is going to cost us a significant amount millions of dollars we already expended waste of time and money the loss of credibility as a government businesses are watching us today they're trying to determine do we have a strong and sound government a leadership or are we flip-flopping because we didn't like the outcome of the first vote that is the message that we're sending and and I'm very concerned about that which is why I ask you not to to approve this item because of that case but I want to go back to the conversation of the ballot language Mrs clerk uh Mrs pran how much time do I have one minute the language ballot language um we have a duty to inform the voters I heard um someone say oh we can like not do it no we have to do it how are you going to determine the cost on what this action will be will you include all the costs we've already spent all the money we already spent on this project as part of your educational campaign I'm not sure I'm understanding your question are you asking me how much the educational campaign is going to cost that's really a function of no what the council is directing in terms of how they want that Outreach to look and then we would have to look at how we would budget that or are you or are you asking about how much money has been has to happen and we have done this for every Bond initiative and is my expectation we keep that similar way done overall right now right right now we have uh just from the original $180 million that was put forward as part of the bond back in 2012 we have $128 million that's unissued we had $34 million in cash for this so um we've spent roughly all in about 18 plus million so about 162 total left yeah we're required I can POS my question later yeah yeah I can come back okay one thing I do want to make sure we made a statement and I want Miss and I want to make sure we clarify that statement because it's not a a true statement that we spent over $20 million in real estate we've only spent total of $18 million so I would think that missan now the real estate acquisition was roughly 12 to 13 million I would defer to to Mr Weston roughly 13 yeah $13 million not over $20 million and do we have the ability to sell that real estate or recuperate that money we do sir we do so okay so that's not at this point we didn't at lose $20 million in real estate and part of the the language that the council is considering includes whether you would direct us to redeem the additional amount that's already been spent at that site sir which is the diffusant of the bonds and all right so but we still have the ability again to sell the real estate and hopefully real estate as has gone through the city has gone up that this would be no exception mayor can I address uh another question that was asked by representative bernandez the education effort historically when we put an education effort for an item on the ballot we go through a legal analysis regarding whether or not any of the proposed education effort goes beyond simply educating the public on what the result of their vote is so we would need to vet whether or not including or not including what's already been spent would tend to sway the public to vote Yes or no remember we're prohibited from spending money that would be campaigning yes ma'am so so it would have to be we would have to evaluate what other campaigns have done as well as what the Attorney General would have to say about whether including the cost of what's already been spent would tend to sway one way or the other thank you ma'am so we don't have a specific answer we would need to look at that thank you we got repr followed by representative F and then representative nandz thank you mayor I I guess I I want to talk a little bit more in just more layman terms around the the amount that's been used so out of the $180 million we have issued $52 million in bonds correct and then out of the $52 million we have $34 million in cash that's correct and then we have spent $18 million from $18 million 13 million about 13 million has been used to acquire property in the Durango area right yes and then the other five or so million has been used in litigation litigation and some Consulting costs as well Consulting costs for what studies that have been done on different locations that the council approved identify different locations in the downtown area okay thank you for clarifying that and uh will will we have this item on Council if it passes today will it come to council again for approval of final language yes and that would happen in the next two weeks because we have until August what to put it on the on the bth is the deadline so we have two more meetings to make that decision to put it on the ballot and does that mean that we would have a first reading and then it would be in an August meeting or we could just do it this ordinance doesn't require to so you can just put it on and approve it so it could be done in the meeting the next council meeting which is the last meeting in July or the following meeting which I believe is August 13th okay okay thank you for clarifying that um and I I think just overall um one other thing that I wanted to say is that I I just feel that when we are saying that no one has stepped up to help or anything like that I also don't think we've officially made that ask of of anybody so I feel that um when we're where we're kind of thinking like well no one's reached out in 12 years no one has done this but we haven't officially asked private sector public um entities to come out and say um hey would you like to partner with us right the County's just about to have a bond and they've been planning on it throughout the the last few months I feel like that was something that maybe could have been a time that we could have talked to say would you like to partner uh maybe not with adding it to your bond but just in general having those conversations and so I I also think that when we're thinking about something like this we've spent some money on Consulting to kind of have um site plans like we just discussed I I wonder if we could have come up with some sort of master plan to say this is what we're envisioning but then I also understand um and this is what makes this issue so complex that we can't agree to a location right and so um I I think overall we really need to think about what this location looks like and I think that if this does pass and goes to the voters and the voters decide to continue the project and say yes we want you to build it that's going to be the number one thing that will challenge the the Council next year and so I I just want to make it clear in in that sense and I feel that we're going to have a a whole um this discussion over and over again um in the next year's Council to see what we're going to do if it does pass but I think that that one thing is um I I just kind of want to wrap up and not use 10 minutes again but really just say that um you know My worry is for Dango and the the unintended consequences of putting this on here and it still passes we have a new Council and they say use the money that has already been used to to say that d is the best site and we're going to move forward and do it in Durango and the years of organizing is going to be undone with that and so that that is my biggest worry thank you sir represent furo thank you mayor Colonel Wesson um can you just off top of your head give us an example of how many times staff has come back with different sites and different proposals to this to this Council and previous councils well I mean it's been several I don't have the the specific number at the top of my head I think this has been studied on a a couple of different comprehensive studies going going back to when the bond was was issued originally um and then certainly as it's pivoted based on costs years of time that's exacerbated the the uh the ability to be able to fund a project like this we've had to go back and and um come back with an alternate plan which is the latest plan that it's been briefed to the city council for the site downtown sure you know one of the things that comes to mind right away is everyone on this Council was briefed over and over and over again on I'm going to say 15 or 20 locations in the footprint that staff did a very good job of dissecting and looking for all the positives areas of opportunity that would fit into this it I I want to say there was maybe 15 sites do you do you remember the very very last one I don't I don't have the number but I don't think you're that far off right so for for us to say that we haven't seen any alternative locations I think is is is misrepresenting um staff's work in which I I want to congratulate staff for being so detailed and that was just one there was we have we've been privy two or three like that but staff has really done their homework um even if we were to to find a location today uh I guess this would be for Miss SCA could we build a 12 or 15,000 seed arena with um the money it's left no sir I'm actually just looking at the presentation that was done in January of 2023 in which the consultant that we hired um actually identified what their estimated cost would be for different size facilities and this was done by Gensler and so it what was can you just read that number do you if you have it available so depending upon the the type of facility so they gave different estimated cost whether it would be an arena and they gave different scenarios whether it be 8,000 10,000 12,000 or 15,000 seats and then they gave different estimated cost based on a flexible hybrid venue and so in Arena 15,000 seats they estimated total cost including existing building Renovations at almost 513 million okay and and we're going to sell the property in Dango and I'm sure we'll retrie at market value retrieve our 13 million back or 14 million back so we can throw that in there 180 and 500 don't don't come out the same and so that would mean that this Council would have to put debt on on on the um the voters and constituents uh undo debt that they didn't vote for to get the project done thank you mayor thank you representative nandz followed by representative Canales I hit the wrong one may I'm sorry um go ahead ma'am City attorney NE um you said you would have to conduct an analysis um and and the the thing I'll mention about that is uh it is factual that the city has spent money and it is actual it's factual that we are spending back we are paying back that those dollars and I think that we need to be transparent about that um I don't think there's anything uh persuasive about that other than that it is a factual statement um and the upwards to 20 million thanks mayor for the correction uh El Paso and uh like to round upwards in the up to 20 Millions for Real Estate acquisition for um relocation cost for attorney fees for real estate attorney fees for litigation in Travers County and at the Texas Supreme Court as well as uh the acquisition of the properties as mentioned about 13 million so in total and and all the con all the Consultants we've hired um there has been an expense to that and that expense is directly tied to the bonds that we issued and to uh to support the remaining bonds of the issuance of the remaining bonds um and so all of that is factual and and and I don't think that's a secret um but well what I will say is that um those costs uh you know are are important because we need to um advise the public that when you make expenditures you know it's it's our leaders it's the expectation of our leaders to ensure that we are spending the money wisely um and then not trying to reverse a contract with with the voters um who's going to want to buy is anyone in this room want to buy um $13 million worth of buildings some of them have holes in them some most of them have deterioration uh due to neglect and uh I would be quite surprised if we were able to sell those unless we went into some kind of extreme 380 agreement to give them away so that they can build barbecue joints or whatever Al Vision they have for that area um so I you know I I want to be realistic about what we're sharing with the public that these buildings are not in good condition and so it does not seem like we can sell them for market rate other than going into a public private partnership but you know what we're going to have to do to do that we're going to have to do our due diligence and we're going to have to go out and issue an RFP or RFQ or request for proposals to do that we can we can figure that out for the next steps of the Union Plaza site but we haven't done the due diligence for this site did you know that the city council self-imposed a restriction to only look at city-owned properties in downtown that's why we're in this conundrum where we can't find the best location because we're we're limited with this self restriction that can be dismantled at any point and we can look at other private properties the side that they look they found the Union Depot site has upwards of $3 million of potential remedi and those are the stat those are the amounts that we heard give or take around I don't know the exact amount upwards to from 300,000 to $3 million of remediation at that site they were okay doing that there but what's the difference in purchasing property in downtown to get the best viable economic impact and that's why we selected Union Plaza and City if the city council doesn't want to go go to that site remove the self-imposed restriction and do your due diligence and look at all sites in downtown and so when when folks are saying like oh well we've looked at 15 locations well most of them weren't viable some of them had no economic impact return and a lot of that was because we were restricted with this uh requirement that city council um placed it it's it's disingenuous to say that we've done our due diligence because we have not and to be clear to the public outside of the Union Depot site members of council heard opposition and you know what they're doing they're penalizing us now they're saying well then fine we're going to send it back to the voters we're not going to work harder to find a better site and we're not going to remove the restrictions that we imposed because we want to mislead you as a public to let you think that we've done our due diligence and we have not so let's be honest of what we're saying because they did not like one sight does not mean that it is our duty to say let's reverse it then why were you okay with for in the first place with selecting one site and then you say and you say oh I'm sorry I well now we just can't afford it and it's been long overdue and now the voter should decide because we we did we did our best and so now let's just send it to the voters like take these arguments that you're hearing today and then bring those back to the discussion of the site of Union Depot where was where was this outrage about affordability where was this outrage about uh disingenuous or misleading statements we're not dumb El Paso voters are not dumb we care about the future of El Paso we care about revitalization of downtown we have a contract with the voters let's not um mislead the public let's be factual with the educational campaign let's be honest with the timeline and how we got here and the flip-flop ing from different councils and the sites and the self self-restriction that we've imposed and the amount of money we have and the the lack of funding that we have not even sought outside of debt we're not saying that we're going to uh make up the money with debt that we just we just agreed to an $81 million investment from the private sector in the city pitched in 31 million and they were okay with doing that so that's already 31 millions are setting aside over there and then the 18 million we put here so we've essentially have spent the 30 and the 18 upwards to $50 million and you still have nothing you still have nothing in return we're spending the money we're investing but we need something tangible for the public to see the revenues to see the growth and not to mention the commitment we have made to the downtown businesses you specifically have downtown businesses who've invested in in downtown under the false promise that we were going to build the multi-purpose Center you have hotels who have done multi-million dollar improvements and historic remediation and Renovations back to its original state for this vision of a Renaissance of downtown and for the revitalization not only are we breaking a contract with the voters but now we are jeopardizing future investment in downtown and we've disregarded the all the investment that's happened in downtown this vote has lot of weight and this vote um beyond measure will will hurt the city's credibility so again for those who are wavering on this decision it's okay to commit back to the voters it's okay to commit back to them because they've already decided on this matter and so I ask for you to to vote against this and to D and if you do vote in favor of it to direct the city manager and the City attorney to be genuine factual authentic about what's taking place how we get how we can um like at least notify the voters that we spent a lot of money and we're still paying for it we're still paying for it and and if we say it's going to cost nothing that's that's completely false it is it is going to cost us money in fact we're already paying for it um and so again Council vote against this thanks thank you ma'am and um I'll speak uh right after you represent can I listen and then I'll speak and then I'll call the question Comm I think we have one uh one person to speak so after that but I'll speak right after represent Canalis and then I'll call the question right after that go ahead thank you mayor um a couple of things that I've heard that I wanted to address um I I appreciate representative adan's comments um there are a few things um few quotes that I wrote there she said because characterized uh myself and my co-sponsors our position as being because they don't like one site then it's our duty to get rid of this um I want to make it again absolutely clear we are not uh asking to get rid of this project um the we we do have the option to do that the council could have placed an item on the agenda and unilaterally made the decision to back out of this project that is not what we propos osed um we are looking to ask the voters what they want not to get rid of this project uh ourselves but to ask the public uh how they want to proceed um and then I also heard the quote we're breaking a contract with the voters um I don't think that this action would be breaking a contract with the voters um if if the voters themselves decide that they don't want to proceed um I don't understand how the vote voters could be breaking a contract with themselves uh this is this is again not something that we're looking to impose on the voters something that we're looking to uh make a decision on unilaterally uh we are going to the people to ask what they want uh there's no way that whatever decision that they make uh is going against their themselves you know they will tell us what they want um and then I I do also actually and I mean this genuinely like really greatly appreciate Dr oo's concern for for Durango uh obviously that's a neighborhood that's in my district and I think I've shown over the years uh my genuine concern for the future of of Dango and what's going to happen there um I just want to make it clear uh regardless of whether or not this goes to the voters and regardless I guess not regardless of the decision they make but if if they made a decision to persist with this project um or if we didn't go to them at all there is still the possibility that a future council could make uh any decision to to uh move a project back to to Dango I don't think that will happen I think it's become very clear that that's not the the direction that this uh project has been moving in the past several years now um but regardless of what we do today we're not able to bind future councils and their decision- making Authority that that could happen regardless um and so I I don't see how that plays into any decision today to ask the voters uh whether or not they want to revoke the the city's bonding Authority on this project um I just wanted to clear those things up um again I I think uh it makes sense to ask the people what they want and I I can't uh really understand opposition to asking voters if they want to persist with something uh and and their answer might be yes and their answer might be no thank you mayor thank you sir and with that I'll I'll make a few comments that um back in 2013 when I ran for office I opposed this item I opposed it because it was not clear and cut back then and when I ran I said I oppos it because it was hidden amongst other things it didn't stand on its own if you wanted to vote for other things then you had to vote for them all together so I said if you really believe this project is a project that needs to move forward let the voters vote on it alone and we didn't so I post it and I did vote against it back in 2013 not knowing that once I took office and I took almost 75% of the vote which is the first time I ran for public office so I was very clear Where I Stood on this item back then and when I took office and Mr Gonzalez started talking about it and we had our first presentation we realized that we couldn't even come close back in 2014 that we could build this for what we asked the voters to vote on so were we disingenuine with the voters at that time absolutely back in 2012 who led the charge and and um bringing this forward wrote a bunch of editorials and called us and insulted this Council why because she wasn't able to she wasn't able to produce she wasn't able to bring that project forward because you couldn't do it for what they said so then what better way deflect and insult everyone up here and that's unacceptable this council's done a great job and this council's really worked forward worked really hard to try to find an alternative try to find a way of doing it even though we all knew and we know today you couldn't build it then and you definitely cannot build it today and um so I couldn't agree more that the voters are not dumb voters are very smart and that's why we're going back to the voters and say you know what we're not canceling this but we want your opinion of what you want to do with it and I think that's really important so um again and 13 I didn't support it because it was hidden and not being straightforward and today I support the item which I I don't believe I'll have an opportunity to vote on but I support the item that the council has brought forward to make sure that we become very transparent with the voters and um I'm sure there'll be another editorial by this person that come out and insult us and call us names to try to justify what they brought forward was not even possible to do back then with that we have called to the public and then represent CA would like to speak yes sir we have Miss Jerry halber Harman she signed up to speak on this item additionally we received statements from Joe guten reth from the downtown Management District and from kman Rodriguez good morning ma'am you have three minutes thank you good morning Council good morning El Paso and I love our good morning ma' good morning mayor I've been in El Paso since 1959 I was born and braised here born and raised in El Paso $500 million is a lot of money let's think about it in terms of Sweat Equity how many hours does it take for a person who's working on minimum wage and trying to raise a family of three or four or a single parent who makes less than $23,000 is trying to raise her children or his children put it in terms of Sweat Equity there's a person on this Council and I was told to be respectful which I am respectful I'm a Hallberg we are respectful $5 $10 for an elder on a fixed income is the difference between getting their medicine getting their medication or maybe getting calcium pills or milk or vegetables or even some red meat this is a reality we know the name of the game here there are people in El Paso that are extremely impoverished how many school districts and how many tens and thousands of children do we have that live in poverty we have to be realistic I love El Pas Paso it's my home we stick together and we do good things for people personally I don't have the education you all do I don't I'm not an architect I'm not a developer I'm just a citizen so I actually came up to say one thing which is please save the Union Depot this is a landmark we have no business tearing that down number two if you're going to educate the public first I do believe it does need to go before all of the voters we're talking the time of people's lives and I am going to go back to the term Sweat Equity okay so number one save Union Depot number two the value of the dollar now it's not inflation people it's the value of the dollar let's be realistic we've had the pandemic we've had businesses closed we have inflation which means the value of the the dollar has gone down we have an increase in crime which is going on I don't think a week goes by that there is in a high-speed chase buildings are damaged people are damaged we need to be honest and we need to be forthright regarding sustainability of long-term health insurance for any employees who may even be employed in this Fantastical idea and thank you Miss halber than you three minutes or I appreciate your time I just do want to clarify one thing never was it on the table to get rid of Union Depot thank you for clarifying me thank you that yes sir represent and then I will call the question Miss Prime right after that thank you mayor um I want to thank representative Canalis mayor PM Kennedy and fto for putting this very important item on the agenda it does give us that opportunity to have that healthy respectful and fruitful conversation that we need to have in hopes that we get to a positive you know Solution that's going to be the best for Al Paso so I do have a few questions um per legal and it I know that you mentioned you all are working on the uh uh the proposed language um when will that be done so the language will be will will be completed once Council gives us um whatever Council decides to do here today then we'll move forward and usually how long will that take you after that if that's done so if the council wishes to put it on the agenda for the last week in July we'll have it by that time period or if you want to put it on the first meeting in August that's when we'll place it but it'll it'll take a few um days or weeks to working with Bond Council okay and and I know that you mentioned what is the last day that you could put this language on the agenda so the last uh or last I guess would it be last meeting the next meeting of council is August 13th remember this item does not read need um two readings it's just a one reading so it would be the August 13th meeting that's the last time that you could vote on the item because the state election law says you have to put everything on the ballot no later than August 19th okay and can Dr brought a good point I just kind of have more questions in regards to ELO we're looking at selling those buildings correct that is correct we are we are looking um I think he said something concerning so like future councils they basically could somebody buy them up some privately do something there basically right is that safe to say as long as there remains in in uh City control the council has the ability to to do what they wish by vote got it yes so we could definitely sell the bill building so that that's uh that's one thing that I guess thinking about it I guess but that's in the the future right so I can't really predict the future on that um well just wanted you know on this MPC I I wanted to personally say you know I did vote for this you know I voted for um you know I didn't want to see entertainment here in El Paso I didn't want to see Sports um but I will agree with everybody I have heard the sentiment in regards to the wording right how it was presented we'll have to say that that was not the best way to do it and I think that when we're looking and crafting this language I want to make sure that doesn't basically repeat itself I and that's the biggest thing for me right now and so we don't want to repeat another error and so you know in my opinion sending this back to the voters right now it's it's irresponsible I I don't think one of the biggest elements we're missing here is The community's Voice we need I have not heard it we need to know what are their thoughts what are their Solutions I received an email here from Carmen and I'll read it for the record because it was impactful she was just trying to offer Solutions of how to get to where we need to get and I think that in voting for this or supporting this I think we just need to make sure that the language is already crafted and is being able to present it to the community and then get feedback from the community before we decide to put it up in the ballot and then spend millions of dollars trying to educate we need to find ways that we're going to really get the voice involved the community involved and that's what I keep hearing we are missing the community we missed it before have we not learned anything from this so I mean I want to present a friendly amendment I think we should have language drawn up of what it's going to read and have community meeting in every District meet with everybody show them the language more importantly and also get their feedback and at that point in time then we all agree on what would go on the ballot they are included we're missing the community's voice I don't feel comfortable I've heard I've read that email I've heard it from my constituents we cannot miss this again we cannot miss the community's voice we keep doing this El Paso needs to be a part of the Comm the conversation and so right now I I believe we need to postpone this we need to direct you your staff to move very fast right we could have eight meetings in every District explain the language of what is being proposed so that nobody ever says what I said right now I want this but I didn't understand the the financial literacy of what it was going to cost it was not correct I didn't fully understand what the whole proposed language was I don't want to hear anybody saying that anymore I want the language to be crisp clean explained and when it goes before the voters they vote they vote and they know what they're voting for so I do want to make a friendly Amendment my Amendment would be I would motion to postpone direct the city manager and the staff to have Community meetings in all districts to inform them on all the language that will be propose on the ballot and also to have time to get their input I don't know everybody these ideas to better inform and receive the community's Outreach and to make sure that they are included that's my motion [Music] second Motion in a second Mo a second to delete the item is this to delete or postpone this is to postpone and direct the city manager to go out to the community and show them the language to postpone how long we just the ne I actually would divert to City staff I don't know what much time you all need to have a meeting in craft language mayor if I if I can ask for some clarification so the language on today's council meeting is to direct us if it passes to draft the language if you postpone it there's there's no language what are we going to craft a yes or no or what is the so Carla as our city manager how would you uh a City attorney a city I mean sorry City City attorney I'm already changing your position I didn't um what would be the right wording of what my my intent is and I think you understand what my intent is here I think her what she's asking is you you have to give us Direction on which way you're going before we can go out and have a conversation with the community and so what's on the table today is whether you're actually going to move forward with the item or not and us bringing language ballot language forward we don't know what the council's position is until you vote today you are correct thank you so much city manager care Colonel Weston so then I will direct to create or craft the language of what it would read in the ballot and to have Community me uh meetings with all the districts and then also get input in regards to it going on the ballot or any other proposed solution that would be my vote take a vote on that so you want to amend the language correct no she wants to I thought she wanted to postpone no so no postpone well we had to be postponed yes she wants to postpone so we need to take a action to postpone the item okay so let's take a vote on that no I point of information for for how long no no mayor my motion is going to be I want to postpone for as long as staff is needed but in my motion it is to craft no we got that but we got to take a can't direct them to do something something on an item that's been postponed and not passed right you can either postpone it or pass it and ask and give them a direction we have a motion to postpone but it already it already says direct everybody's talking you can't postpone can't postpone and give dire but you can so let's take action whether we can postpone it or not right m p okay so no M no well postpone and then come back let me let me go ahead and clarify and then I'll I give guidance on my on my motion or my intent and and Carla as the City attorney if my intent is to craft the language that will be read as what this item says and then go out to the community and get their input so so so that that vote can take place but we would need direction to tell us craft the language and then have the community meetings okay so then I think it would be then your you're you're walking me through that so I'm going to motion to have Community meetings in regards to the language that is being talked about on this but but but the requirement is that the council say we want to move forward with crafting the language to place the item on the ballot and then direct us to have Community meetings correct and so this will be a motion to the motion so if I we vote on this and then you would vote on the main motion which would be accepting to put it in the ballot Okay so we have a motion already on the table so if you make a second motion the second motion will only come through if the first motion fails right I withdraw my motion my motion will be this it is to go out to the community once the yeah go out to the community and inform them of the language right so there's one motion on the table already if that motion fails then we'll take your motion correct you're making another main motion is that what you're she's making another motion I'm making another motion for for are you making an amendment to the main motion I if I could step and Sor I I think what I'm trying to understand is that you're trying to postpone the item direct the City attorney to come up with the language she's not trying to postpone the item so let's just stay over here no no but I I I think this hold on represent I didn't call on you to speak sir you and you've already spoken twice I know that but anyway so do you want to postpone the item or do you want to make a second motion I make sure that I we get everything correct I'm going to motion to postpone this item so that we can then craft the correct and that's what you second correct well I was trying to clarify but you didn't let me no I know well that's what I let her speak so she wants to postpone the item you have a second is that the second you would like to keep now I'll call on your sir yeah I mean I I think what she's trying to do is to postpone the item direct the city man the City attorney to come up with language and go into the community so they see the Lang language before this becomes official I think that's what she's trying to say that is correct and as a second that's so let's take point of clarification yes sir uh the the language that's proposed on on the agenda is asking for the City attorney to craft the language right and bring it back not to place the item on the ballot but it would have to come back to the council for that decision I don't see what how the what the difference is between uh postponing the item and asking right for language or approving the item which asks for the language and basically I just want to be able to include the community so let's take the motion to postpone yes or no okay go ahead for how long mayor till next meeting next meeting for two weeks next meeting all right there's a motion to postpone the item to next meeting and bring back the language she has something to say let's just take that motion so just remember traditionally we act based on what council's direction is unless we know that you want us to craft the language to say certain things what do we craft and then you haven't approved it so we go out and tell the public Council hasn't approved this language but we want you to know no she wants you to bring it back before you take it out to the public okay so let me let me clarify something correct I have yes sir you cannot postpone an item and at the same time time direct the City attorney to take an action is that correct Miss that's correct may you popon it or not postp wait wait you can either postpone it or not postpone it or you can pass a motion and direct them to work on the language but you can't there's already a motion on the table so if you make a separate motion that'll be if it doesn't pass right now we're voting on postponing the whole thing and having the same conversation in two weeks that's correct the motion to simply just postpone the item and bring it back exactly the same for in two weeks exactly so that I can sit down with City attorney and we that's irrelevant but it is you're postponing the item right correct you still have a second on that all right Miss PR just to postpone the item this motion there's a motion by representative salido seconded by representative ACO and this is to postpone the item for two weeks on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and the motion to postpone fails Representatives Kennedy molinar Fierro Rivera Canales voting nay Representatives ASO Hernandez Salo voting I the motion to postpone failed all right let's Che the motion we have on the table please with no more discussion then I have the second motion no you don't I I have two times to I I I have two times to speak where am I in my Laura you're already pass the 10 minutes I've only spoke once so do I uh can they grant me the floor mayor they're at 14 minutes okay so my next but there's a motion on the table if that motion fails you can make a separate motion exactly so fail so there's a motion on the table let's take that action now please no I I can make a motion I have the floor to make a motion mayor no no I'm running the meeting I'm not sure you're you're aware that if that motion fails I will point we will take a second I make a motion if I have a second time to speak you may speak twice if you make another motion we have to take the main motion right by representative Canal so we'll take the main motion if it fails I will take your motion so then I can make the motion speaking right now yes ma'am all right so we're going to take a motion if it fails I'll take your motion next no I have to I have the right to make the motion if the other one all right I'm going to take the motion now you've spoken twice I'm not giving you the ability to speak a third time you you're at 14 minutes have I commenced my 20 minutes to the presiding chair he's running the meeting ma okay you have spoken twice have I have I arrived to my 20 minutes ma'am I know but you've spoken twice you can't speak three times ma'am have I arrived to my 20 minutes okay no that's not the rule ma'am the rule is you get to speak twice 10 minutes each time once you speak twice you can't speak a third time correct the the mayor I'm going to take the motion now that's always been the rule ma'am thank you mayor so let's take the motion now please yes sir so the motion was made by representative Canales seconded by mayor protim Kennedy and this is to direct the City attorney to prepare an ordinance ordering an election on the November 5th 2024 uniform election date to permit voters to determine whether to revoke the city's authority to issue the 2012 quality of life bonds that have not yet been sold or delivered and to direct the city manager and City attorney to undertake all actions necessary to defe and or redeem all or a portion of the outstanding 2012 quality of life bonds issued to fund the multi-purpose performing arts and entertainment facility project on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion does pass 5 to3 Representatives Kennedy molinard Pierro rera Canales v i Representatives ASO Hernandez salido voting n the motion does carry thank you ma'am the next item is number 31 and this is presentation by strategic and legislative affairs in the National renewable energy laboratory on an awarded US Department of energy community's local energy Action Program technical assistance grant and upcoming energy resilience projects good morning mayor city council good morning Martinez with strategic and legislative affairs today we have a presentation from the national renewable energies Laboratories uh o enr uh discussing an awarded technical assistance grant uh the presentation will be very brief uh but it will highlight some of the direction that we're hoping we can go for energy resilience projects so we have Mr Mendoza here thank you much good morning distinguished members of the council my name is is man Mendoza I'm a native of Paso in in alumni from boy high school it's an honor to be here I'm a senior researcher at the national renewable energy laboratory I'm here to focus on the Strategic plan regarding the Partnerships to focus on the resiliency and the climate initiative that it would take all of us to take action to provide us the information and resources and talent that will require to give us that necessary to reach the national goal of carent reduction and uh electrification so I'm accompanied here by my colleagues linel OA and sopia we're part of the national renewable energy laboratory team that it's it's leading the clean energy uh initiative to help the the community give them a platform to move forward and provide them with the the platform to provide projects uh programs and have a platform for the community to address some of their concerns to be between uh the initiatives that gave us and highlight the promotion of renewable energy from El Paso the nor Stanton ports of entry and the bridges of the Americas a little bit about the project like I said we're the department one of the 17 National Laboratories of the Department of energy that is mainly focused on the as the name States renewable energy and Energy Efficiency uh the program is part of the community leap which is the local energy Action Program pilot program that enables the community to come together and voice their concerns and be provide an equitable solution for the energy transition uh this two-year program will facilitate the platform to bring the community together key stakeholders and facilitate and that Community engagement to empower through those communities and Spar potential economic growth improve local environmental conditions as we know that with the reductions of greenhouse emissions can thank you can help uh reduce Health uh concerns as well as to open ways to continue our Partnerships with u the department of energy and the clean energy the Workforce Development Lo the clicker EAS to do this okay okay as you can see here El Paso is one of the 24 members of this second cohort that covers the Continental continuous United States and communities in Alaska and Puerto Rico as highlighted earlier the this platform provides the opportunity for the communities to voice their concerns and be more effective at the addressing some of their uh their needs so the national renewable energy will provide technical assistance to create the viability of some of those projects that will be enhanced and provide a road map for the communities to uh develop those and make those uh projects a reality so the technical assistant padways focuses on some of the pillars to provide clean energy and Energy Efficiency clean energy Planning and Development clean Transportation Planning and investment Community resilience microgds and energy storage and flexibility Energy Efficiency of buildings and planning and Investments and then enhancing new manufacturer and Industry as we know that Paso is one of the capitals of manufacturing provides us an opportunity to spark that Workforce Development and empowering the upward mobility of our community tries to highlight other of the endroll capabilities we focus as I on the various energy resources as solar how we can better improve the efficiency of solar wind water and geothermal that can be combined with current energy resources and enhance the diversity of the the energy generation as well as said it's a multi-prong organization that focuses on identifying ways that we can be more efficient optimizing the the energy by developing new biofuels uh hydrogen storage and and transportation and then uh also building efficiency by improving um standards to decarbonize the manufacturing process Advanced Materials to do carbon sequestration and then working local as an example for this project with local and state and tribal governments to accelerate the implementation and assessment of um renewable energy and sales efficiency and overall like I said now that technology and D digitalization has continued to grow it provide us an opportunity to do system subsystems and provide the cyber security that um Can mitigate any potential uh threat and Hazards attack vectors that uh potential unwanted uh resources can can can can can exploit as well at the same time as we continue to provide this grid modernization and integrate new Energy Solutions so these are some of the portfolios that that enro can ha has and one of the main advantages of of the National Laboratories is that provide a a bridge between the viability of bench and fundamental research to the scalability and commercialization of products our goal as a National Laboratory is not to sit on our research but to commercialize it and get it to the constituents and our uh stakeholder as soon as possible because there's no benefit for us to just shelf our advancement but to get it to the hands of the individuals um and and bring those benefits uh as to them as soon as possible so we're trying to collaborate with startups with industry with Academia to exelorate and make Cutting Edge technology that can improve the lives of everybody one of the uh tools to highlight here is this renewable energy optimization that can provide a a framework so that utilities and countries and governments can utilize this to develop a framework to see what will be the best mixture of energy that can help you reduce the energy cost the resiliency and what type of mixtures of generation will be adequate for your um current needs to do your um greenhouse gas emission reduction as as well as to try to optimize and provide you the viability and cost required to implement Implement such programs and then provide you the the road map that can be applicable and and make it a reality and finally just to highlight I said our main goal is to uh be here and showcase our opportunity to enhance and strengthen our Partnerships as you can see enr as being a National Laboratory where agnostic can we partner with local institutions government ments as well as International uh organizations so we bring a variety of of our knowledge that can provide us the knowled the opportunities such as the projects for making La reach their 100% renewable um goals that can that has been utilized as a framework for now Puerto Rico and now is being translated as an implementation plan for other countries around the globe like Lithuania vietn um and then and such like I mentioned our main goal is not to um stay with that technology but how we can be able to customize it and tailor it to everybody's needs and it be applicable for the the the the resources necessary for those communities and just to highlight some of the ongoing opportunities We are continuing to Foster and straight in here with El Paso you know the the potential that that the universities have here such as the University of Texas El Paso we have an intentional program that is hire that is tailoring to recruit um from the minority servant institution so we bring a minimum of six students to uh Denver Colorado and to come in and as interns each summer for the last three years to to work hand inand with the researchers and develop Cutting Edge technology that is making an impact on their communities as well as to developing that Network necessary that can enhance the the opportunities for uh this community as well we're trying we're fostering on this faces program The Faculty uh advisory curriculum development so that we can develop the workforce of the future that is necessary from technicians um researchers business professionals that are required to reach our main goal which is the the decarbonization and and straining of our communities and finally like Omar mentioned how we can continue to enhance our community sleep program to take that technical advancement and knowledge that we have in the National Laboratory and translate it and provide it to the local community so that can be self-sufficient to move forward some to some of their goals another um great highlight that want to emphasize is this uh our collaboration with infinite elements where in the negotiation States with the Department of energy to provide them over half a million dollars in the next two years to validate and vindicate their approach to try to extract um critical minerals and resources that will be necessary for the development of this Cutting Edge technology batteries silicon for microprocessors and things necessary that is it's a begin of the in industrial uh Factory that's here in Al Paso so it's a a Showcase of the opportunities with your investment has been able to uh provide this new startup with the necessary resources to try to scale it and provide the viability to make an impact on the market and provide jobs to the community anything you want to add what so to add a couple more details infin and elements is a is being sponsored by the city of Al Paso uh at The Innovation Factory in the advanced manufacturing District they are a success story we didn't just cultivate their technology by housing them at the Innovation Factory but now through the work of enrail they've been able to secure half a million dollars to take their investment into the new Neville it is just a very successful pilot and we wanted to bring um enr to discuss this achievement with with city council letting you know of the strategy that is available before us enr is here to stay for the next year they are technical assistance funded by the department of energy through a grant award at no cost to local taxpayers and we hope to continue working with them to guide our grant strategy like representative erandis your uh request on additional information on the EV charging Network strategy or working with our uh co-workers at the climate office making sure that whatever bringing in enre to the these discussions because you'll find that the F that uh the next set of Grant projects that we bring forward will have enr participation in them thank you thank you um representative Hernandez very proud of you uh boy bear thanks for being here um and congratulations on all your achievements um very excited about this partnership and opportunity I'm learning a lot today and I'm just curious you you've kind of seen the the L of the landscape in El Paso especially our efforts um to focus more on Ren renewable energy of course coupled with op Paso Electric's commitment um to be carbon carbon neutral where do you see op Paso's biggest advantage and opportunity