see well good morning El Paso and good morning city council we are ready to go to work miss pran good morning mayor good morning good morning this is a meeting of the El Paso city council for Wednesday January 22nd 2025 Mayor Johnson is present and presiding along with mayor poam Chavez representative oo representative Roa representative representative Nino alternate mayor proen fero and representative lion it is 9:00 a.m. will everyone please silence our electronic devices so as not to disturb the meeting and rise for the invocation delivered by El Paso Police chaplain Robert Hil Jr good morning to The Honorable Mayor Johnson uh mayor protim Chavez and all Council CC members and I see my special friend Mr leemon like to say hello to all of you and also to the department heads and members of the El Paso Community let us bow our heads part the invocation Heavenly Father we come before you today in the city council meeting seeking your guidance wisdom Clarity in this meeting First Corinthians 14th chapter and 40th verse says do all things decently and in an orderly manner we ask that your Holy Spirit be present Among Us guiding our decisions for the common good and ensuring that we serve the best interest of our great City El Paso open our minds and hearts to new ideas and help us work with Integrity help us set aside any professional differences and work together in unity ensuring that our efforts reflect your will for a better community in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit we pray amen thank you and this morning to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance we have students from Alisia chakon international school at the invitation of City representative Lil Leon we have Pablo errera viel Rebecca errera viel Abigail errera VI Anda erera VI unes stand just for for thank you and for the record representative Canales join the meeting at 9:03 a.m. before they leave Mayor Johnson I just wanted to let you know that probably about 2014 2015 when were you all born what year 2013 in 2013 these quadruplets were born their father is um was working in our transportation department and then has now moved on to the fire fires Department mom mom is an outstanding teacher not only a teacher but a teacher of the year and so I have known these four little babies we actually had a baby shower for them uh mom was going through 36 diapers a day on a regular day and so the pr we call them the pr Pablo Rebecca abigael and Hima have become real good friends of ours and it just gives me great pleasure to that they were able to come and join us there students at the Alisia AR chakon School the girls are learning English Spanish and French and Pablo English Spanish and Chinese thank you very much for joining us guys [Applause] adios thank you representative leemon and we're gonna go to the mayor's proc proclamations yes sir that brings us to the mayor's proclamations for those of you receiving Proclamation this morning your group will have up to 6 minutes collectively to speak at the podium the first Proclamation is women's fund of Al Paso okay representative leemon would you mind gentleman has it today okay we're switching thank you mayor I have the honor of uh reading this if there's anybody in the audience that would like to come up um hi celest um so I'll I'll read the proclamation then and you could have some remarks thank you so whereas the findings to the 2004 study El Paso portraits women's lives potential and opportunities revealed significant issues of income disparity and educational gaps among women in El Paso and whereas the women's fund of El Paso was founded in response to study and address the immediate needs connect women with Community Resources and offer educational and Leadership opportunities and whereas the women's fund of Al Paso celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024 and since its founding has awarded 300 scholarships for more than $400,000 to women in the borderplex region and whereas the organization signature event power of the purse Returns on February 27 2025 after a 5-year Hiatus and invites the public to attend at St Rogers Depot for a night of shopping to support the scholarship fund and honor El Paso philanthropist DD Rogers and now therefore it proclaimed by the mayor and Council of the city of Al Paso that January 27 2025 is recognized as women's fund of Al Paso day to recognize and honor the organization's work and continued dedication to empowering women in the borderplex region through education leadership and community support and the city of El Paso encourages all residents to support and celebrate the mission of the women's fund of El Paso and to participate in its events and initiatives that contribute to the advancement of women's opportunities and well-being in our community so today to's women's fund of Al Paso day signed the honorable mayor Renard Johnson congratulations thank you thank you good morning mayor and Council representative ASO thank you so much for recognizing the women's fund thank you all um for this morning of recognition um we are really proud of the work that we do um for 20 years now um thinking of women who struggle to attain their educational goals um many of the women that we serve stay in El Paso they raise their families in El Paso um they're teaching their children and looking to the future of brightening the economic future for El Paso so sorry I was I ran in here so we are we are very grateful for the recognition and very excited that pop is back after a pandemic Hiatus we were really excited to plan this event and bring it back to the community um it's a fun event for for the community but for a very very good cause so we we thank you all this morning introduce yourself good morning my name is Dr cheryn Sanchez and I actually am a new board member I'm so grateful for this opportunity to serve our community um to have the opportunity to work with these wonderful women and again I thank you so much for this opportunity to um come in this morning and receive this Proclamation and thank you guys and Celeste I I think you're collecting purses aren't you we have actually maxed out so we thank the entire Community for coming together um women across the community have hosted brunches and happy hours and we have collected over 300 purses this year already so we are just um planning and we are deep in planning as the event is February 27th at St Rogers Depot so tickets will go live very soon in the next couple of days so we hope that everybody will will buy a ticket and come have some fun that evening great and thank you guys and thank you for what you do for the community thank you mayor e than and the next Proclamation is Big Brothers Big Sisters representative roacha thank you I know we have a delegation from Big Brothers Big Sisters here today thank you all for joining us whereas Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteer mentors serve as dedicated trusted friends and role models to positively impact a child's life forever by improving self-esteem social relationships confidence in school school and supporting through any emotional or behavioral problems and reducing incidences of delinquency whereas Big Brothers Big Sisters is also proud to offer unique and valuable Mental Health First Aid training to our participants as well as the community along with other trainings and recreational group activities for mentors children and parents whereas Big Brothers Big Sisters has expanded our youth youth serving mission to include young adults a aged 17 to 24 through our big futures program helping guide them toward higher education employment or enlistment with the support of Community Partners like Workforce Solutions borderplex Western Tech UTP and El Paso Community College whereas Big Brothers Big Sisters has taken on the concerning issue of O opioid abuse by providing training and programs for opioid prevention and awareness whereas innovative enhancements like school-based mentoring with Partners at El Paso and canoo independent school districts make our traditional onetoone mentoring efforts even more accessible for Youth and families that need them thereby creating a life-changing ripple effect for more children classrooms schools and communities it also positively impacts the child's surrounding family members and the generations that follow whereas Big Brothers Big Sisters collaborates with Juvenile Probation Department and Creative Kids to provide artistic outlets and positive social interactions to El Paso's most vulnerable youth now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor and Council of the city of El Paso that the month of January 2025 shall be known as National mentoring month signed by mayor Renard Johnson thank you all so much for that presentation it's an honor to have that read by you representative roacha and thank you Mayor Johnson for having us this morning I know you have a special connection to our program having been active uh with our events years in the past um and it's so wonderful to see you up here as mayor congratulations um but we as you saw that was a lengthy uh Proclamation because we do have our hands in a lot of activities um our Hallmark Remains the onetoone mentoring of Youth adults onetoone with one child but we have broadened our reach to expand to other populations that desperately need the support and so it really is such an honor to partner with Community um Advocates like jpd and um Creative Kids and Western Tech and UTP and Al Pasco Community College to provide these resources to improve the lives of Youth and Young adults in the community and we're just really honored for the city's um support and so proud to be here to present it today and thank you so much for your ongoing support of our program thank you so much go ahead yeah I was going to say congratulations and it's good to see uh so many of my my friends uh they in the organization and as you know I've been a huge supporter of Big Brothers uh big sisters for many many many years uh taking part in the dance for kids sakes and fundraisers that you guys have had so congratulations on this day and I know you have quite a few people there that we'd love to get them to introduce themselves absolutely so my name is Rebecca Romero I'm the development director for Big Brothers Big Sisters and I will pass it on to my colleagues here to introduce themselves as well I'm Gio GES and I'm a program specialist at Big Brothers Big Sisters hello I am Dora Le day and I am also program specialist good morning my name is Elana Silva and I'm a board member good morning my name is Daniel chavar I'm also a board member good morning my name is Richard moika I'm a board member and the treasur of the executive board good morning my name is chry arola I am the mental health program manager we we show up big because we're Big Brothers Big Sisters so thank you for having us this morning thank you guys and [Applause] congratulations for yes I can all right ready one two couple more two abolutely you're already up in the air ready one two three perect thank you and the next Proclamation is women's Council of realtor St representative uh Leon Leon Leon please this is a proclamation from the city of albaso whereas the women's Council of Realtors El Paso Del Norte has been a driving force in advancing professionalism leadership and empowerment within the real estate IND industry and whereas since its Inception the women's Council of Realtors El Paso Del Norte has fostered a community of collaboration support and Innovation encouraging its members to excel both professionally and personally and whereas the women's Council of Realtors El Paso Del Norte has empowered countless individuals through mentorship education and networking opportunities advancing professionals servicing El Paso's community and whereas its members are women from the real real estate mortgage insurance and other related Industries uphold the highest standards of ethics and professionalism exemplifying the integrity and dedication essential to serving communities with excellence and whereas the installation of the 2025 women's Council of Realtors El Paso Del Norte board and committee chairs marks a significant milstone in fostering the growth and influence of this Dynamic organization and whereas these members have committed themselves to upholding the highest standards of Ethics excellence and service contributing to the betterment of their communities and housing opportunities and whereas the installation of these members signifies a continued expansion of a legacy of leadership integrity and empowerment within the real estate industry whereas the women's Council of Realtors El Paso Del Norte is a testament to the power of collective action championing policies and practices that strengthen the real estate industry and Affiliates create opportunities for growth and prosperity now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor and Council of the city of El Paso that January 24th 2025 is a day to celebrate and commend the newly installed members of the women's Council of Realtors El Paso Del Norte for their dedication vision and commitment world's Council of realtor day signed by The Honorable mayor Renard Johnson good morning mayor council thank you City representative leemon for that you know awesome beautiful Proclamation thank you mayor for sponsoring the proclamation I believe this is the first time that the women's Council of Realtors elas has been ever ever recognized at city council so this is history in the making Miss Leon thank you so much as well I am Dora Waka I am the chair for community outreach and I have here today some very very powerful women in our community that is that are going to introduce themselves but I want to start by introducing our chair Eileen sto thank you thank you d thank you Council thank you mayor for having us today my name is Eileen sto and I am serving as a 202 25 president for the women's Council of Realtors I am with clearw realy been in real estate for 20 since 2019 and on behalf of the women's Council of Realtors I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Mayor Renard Johnson and the city of El Paso for this incredible honor and Proclamation we are a member strong with members from diverse Industries serving the commercial and housing needs and or organ our organization is dedicated to empowering leaders in the real estate industry but our mission goes far beyond that we are deeply committed to addressing housing issues in our communities advocating for solutions that create opportunities for everyone to have a place to call home we take great pride in making a positive difference whether through supporting home ownership housing initiatives fostering education or giving back to our neighborhoods together we aim to build stronger more Vibrant Community ities for the future thank you for recognizing the work we do and for this meaningful acknowledgement of our efforts we are proud to serve El Paso and we look forward to continuing our impact in this great city thank you and now I would like to have everyone in our leadership team in attendance please introduce themselves good morning thank you I'm Karen palano I am the past president for 2023 and I currently serve on the State Board as the state treasurer for Texas good morning thank you uh my name is Edna betes and I am the 2025 president-elect and I am very grateful thank you good morning I'm Carla Brown I am the 225 membership director I'm also with cadence Lending Group and a retired army vet good morning my name is Sandra canaba I am a mortgage lender with em funding and I'm very honored to be here thank you good morning I'm Ashley Medina I an escar officer with Sierra title and I am the 2025 event chair I am also a new proud owner of the Home Care Agency um it is healing hearts at home thank you good morning my name is Laura Diaz and I'm with red door realy and I am also the events director for 2025 and I am here accordly inviting you all of you to atttend our an in women's installation this Friday um January the 24th um the installation will be at the Elmont and we are looking forward to seeing everyone um to attend we'll go ahead and send you an invitation to your offices thank you and finally I'm Dora Waka I'm a licensed agent commercial and housing Alberta V alate I'm just taking the opportunity here for a free ad and I'm the 2025 community outreach chair thank you so much we will be extending invitation we hope to see you there I know Miss Leon you're very very very connected to housing issues I think every one of you is we have a Housing Initiative strategic plan that we're going to be calling your office to introduce and we hope to gain your support thank you and Dora let's make sure that this isn't the last time that uh your group is before city council I know we're making history and and as many of you may know or may not know I'm also a realtor um so it it's it is indeed an honor for me to have signed that Proclamation supporting my fellow realtor so congratulations so I have a minute left so I'm just going to tell you that I'm gonna hog it now we're having a Women's Conference in housing and real estate this coming spring and we're going to be very excited to meeting with all of you and letting you know our plans and uh and again having your support so thank you so much you got it thank you guys thank you mayor um and women's Council this is Ivan Ino I'm representative for District 5 I did want to thank you and congratulate you for being here as well I know previously we have collaborated with the office of District 5 you all helped do a fundraiser for the op Paso animal services and I'm looking to collaborating with you and congratulate you again for for for this new leadership role that you all are taking on thank you you so much yeah no no no of course hey stranger hey how you doing how's you J that right up here and then coun can I get you guys SC in a little bit for me please thank you so much all right right this way ready two more thank you thank you [Applause] and the final Proclamation this morning is Al Paso Christmas lights representative Fiero thank you Mr Mayor as um the lawyer Mr Loya and his family walk on up to the podium I'll start reading Mr Mayor it's a honor to read this Proclamation and uh we all have special memories of holidays whether it be Winterfest Mission Trail padas or the Lumin as on Sing Drive and I have to be honest with you uh this is the first year that our family had the opportunity to visit the Christmas light uh shows um that Mr L and his family have and it is part of our new um holiday tradition thank you Mr Loya I'll start reading whereas the holiday season is a time of Joy community and celebration marked by Traditions that bring people together to share in spirit of giving and gratitude whereas Fred Loya and the Loya family generously uh dedicated their time creativity and resources to organize the El Paso Christmas life display a Showcase of holiday cheer that became a beloved tradition in our community whereas the El Paso Christmas lights display hosted by Mr Lya and his family bring together thousands of residents and visitors each year to experience a Showcase of Lights music holiday magic creating unforget forgettable memories for family Ames and individuals alike whereas the El Paso Christmas lights display uplifts the community during the holiday season highlights the importance of coming together in celebration and is also a reflection of the warmth and unity that draws families together friends and neighbors together to create Cherished Memories strengthen the bonds that make our community vibrant whereas the loyal family Devotion to organizing and presenting this event exemplifies their deep commitment M to our El Paso Community inspiring Joy fostering unity and bonding the spirit of giving during the holidays now therefore U be it proclaimed by our mayor Renard Johnson in Council of the city of El Paso that the month of uh January 2025 be known as the El Paso Christmas light month congratulations Mr lawyer good morning uh Mr Mayor city council uh we're deeply honored uh to be recognized in this fashion by such an illustrious body uh we we thank you for bringing us and inviting us here today and to reiterate the fact that the light show does belong to El Paso that's why it name is El Paso Christmas lights it belongs to you it belongs to the children of El Paso and it is our deep pleasure to always put on the best that we can do of shows to give at least all of you something for Christmas to lighten your day lighten your hearts and lighten the season of Christmas we are especially pleased when we see the children smile and we know then when we see those big smiles and the cheer that goes on and and the love that is Manifest among those families by the children and their smiles that we did a good job and we thank you for allowing us to do that because it's it's a work of love for everybody concerned uh without you you know the permits that you have to issue us it couldn't be done without all of my collaborators here who I'll ask them to introduce themselves as well it couldn't be done uh it is a work I mean I mean we have a lot of kids that you know high schoolers and above May 20 year old a lot of young people give up the whole season of Christmas to bring uh joy and pleasure to to all of El Paso in that light show and again we thank you for making it possible we are honored to be here and we thank you for [Applause] that I'll ask some of my colleagues to introduce themselves of course we'll start with my son who has a very important function in the light show behind the scenes because he pays for it so okay Mr phoh thank you very much I have a little story when I was told that Renard Johnson was running for mayor you know I look kind of confused you kind of look like like you know Renard Johnson's running for May you know I look confused and go yeah he says he he knows you oh I said you mean ski oh yeah ski will make a great mayor and he will make a great mayor because he will move things in El Paso Texas Mayor Renard Johnson thank you very much thank you my friend thank you all right [Applause] I'm scottt Bron I'm with SRV Pro we work under his direction to put the show together for him every year Scott is a lighting engineer who puts up the lights fundamental for uh good morning hey rard uh my name is scis and I am the Chief Information officer for Fred lawyer insurance and um fortunately or unfortunately this project falls under my umbrella so we're very much involved in it thank you good morning my name is Adora Martinez I'm the project coordinator for all pasel Christmas lights good morning my name is latia Rivera and I work under Mr Fred Loya Jr and Fred Lya Senor represent F thank you Mr Mayor just just one last thing I it would not be uh celebration of the of the Christmas lights of um my mentor uh Mr Hernandez wouldn't be here to to celebrate along with you and and the Loya family and your team so I just want to um recognize Mr hernandz for being here in in the audience um and again I was very proud to be one of the 40,000 plus people that stood in line and had some great hot chocolate and got to they wouldn't let me sit on Santa Claus's lap I don't know why but but thank you again for all you do for our community yeah and and I just want to say a few things it's it's um very humbling to see my dear friends there I have known uh the loyer family for for many many years um I go back to when we you know me and Fred grew up a little bit in the Northeast side of El Paso uh store number one with Mr Mr Loya on the corner of dire and rushing so I've known him for for many many years they know obviously my nickname there that that they shared so uh but uh I consider uh Mr Loya and his family family and uh I cannot thank you enough uh Mr L Fred and and the entire family for what you do for El Paso because I had the opportunity of coming out to see the light show this year the three different versions and uh the amount of smiles that were on the kids' faces and the amount of smiles that were on the adults faces uh you have truly created a memory uh for this community that we'll live on for for many many many years and um I want to thank you guys for because it it's not an easy task and and when you go out out there anyone can see you know from the the lighting show and the production that is is done there I I've got to say it's probably well I will say this it's the best light show in all of the US and most people may not know but you did win the the the Christmas light show and you put El Paso on the map with your light show so we cannot thank you enough for what you do and and it's good to see my family and my friends there getting this Proclamation so thank you mayor just a a moment to also recognize um the Loya family Mr and Mrs Loya Fred and Maria uh incredible supporters of this community but I'm going to take a special privilege if it's okay with you Fred Jr uh one of my former students at Hanks High School just a few years ago that not too long thank you very much and congratulations to you all thank you you all right we'll have you guys take a little step over for Mee Johns right there that's perfect can I you to come just a little represent as well you'll be good right next to her I promise little there we go represen on just a little bit more perfect there we go that's beautiful all right ready one two three have 77 phones down here just a moment all right ready one two three she wasn't joking she's got 77 phones in here just keep holding those Smiles I'm not thank you so much thank you e Miss Prim thank you mayor council per The Rules of Order no use of personal cellular devices nor personal communication should take place on the dayas while the meeting is in session once you obtain the floor from the mayor you will have up to 10 minutes for debate and may speak twice per item please speak into the microphone and refrain from side conver conversations at the day as well the meeting is in session for those of you joining us virtually please mute your microphones to reduce any background noise that brings us to the consent agenda all matters listed under the consent agenda will be considered by city council to be routined and will be enacted by one motion unless separate discussion is requested by council members prior to the vote members of the audience may ask questions regarding items on the consent agenda when the vote has been taken If an item has not been called out for separate discussion item has been approved Council May however reconsider any item at any time during the meeting mayor protm thank you I make a motion to approve the consent agenda with the following revision page 11 item 31 revise per purchasing and strategic sourcing there is a typo it should reach city of El Paso and Jordan Foster so we have a motion to approve the consent agenda is there a second second uh representative Leon yes mayor I'd like to request that we pull item 2122 and 23 for discussion 21 22 and 23 please to the regular agenda please okay thank you and mayor we do have public comment on item nine okay we have Miss Lisa Turner and item nine is a resolution to authorize the expenditure of districts 1 2 3 4 five and six discretionary funds in an amount not to exceed $6,000 each to fund their participation in the El Paso Chambers El Paso days in Austin event good morning Mr good morning mayor and Council another chilly day at least we don't have a blizzard like New Orleans uh I Rise to speak on this item because you're spending $36,000 of taxpayers money so more than a quorum of our city council can go to Austin and party uh I see this is a waste of money because about all we ever get out of Austin are the mody breadcrumbs that they didn't sweep up there are things that you can do if you want to do something such as mayor you need to get the Border mayor's ass Association back aive again make El Paso and Warz the home for the Border Mayors uh because see nobody ever comes here and spends their tax the tax dollars of their citizens in our city so it's high time we take steps to make sure that people start doing this to me it's a waste of time you waste your time you waste our tax dollars because we never get squat out of Austin we get the crumbs that had been molded that they forgot to sweep up that's what El Paso gets we're a Hispanic Community they don't like us let's be honest all the white folks along I35 and east of don't like us here I mean I saw that when the gas company sent their rape person in charge she was dressed like she was going to be cleaning the toilet she was disrespectful to our mayor she was disrespectful to members of our city council and that's how they think of us and I'm sick and tired of it I did my best not to use a word that rhymes with witch when I got up to speak to defend my mayor and defend my councel uh I'm sick and tired of this stuff I want every one of you to have a backbone I want everyone one of you to stand up for my city and stand up for everybody who lives here that's what I want out of my city I don't want wasting my money in Austin when we don't get anything if you want a party party here and he'll Paso thank you thank you Miss Turner Miss bran yes mayor there was a motion made by mayor protim Chavez seconded by representative Gales to approve the consent agenda as revised okay any more discussion call for the vote on that motion call for the vote representative Nino thank you in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously mayor would you like to take the three items that were moved from consent to regular this time okay that would be item number 21 and item 21 is a property tax refund in excess of $2500 represent lion thank you mayor I requested this item this is a learning process so I hope that you'll bear with me um these these items the overpayment was made on the dates that are listed here on the backup for example number one was that overpayment made November 5th of 2024 or okay that's the date that the amount was overpaid yes ma'am okay all right I got that one now let me go to the next one and so the next one which I found an item are you speaking about item 22 Mr 22 item 22 is a property tax refunds in excess of the three-year limit and that's my question if if it's supposed to be a three-year limit why do we have these two and so the overpayment was made in September of 2021 for the first one and October of 2021 did they not realize that they had made an overpayment or how did that happen good morning morning tax Deputy Administrator so what we do is we send them an application letting them know that there's a refund for whatever reason they may not submit it quite on time and so when they exceed that time limit by uh property tax code we're required to come and presented to you and that's what happened here and and so who found out did the taxpayer realize they had made an overpayment typically it's us uh at the tax office and then we send them a letter with application saying you've overpaid please submit your application well that's good one is low $68 but the other one's like $76 what a a generous gift yeah refund thank you very much yes ma'am and then I'm sorry 20 item 23 item 23 is a notation of Special Projects discretionary fund expenditures and PE card transactions for the period of November 21st through December 20th of 2024 for mayor city council representative city attorney's office and City manager's office and staff point of order are we taking all three at the same time or are we doing individual votes on there has been no motion on any of the items okay so we're just going through all of them and not voting on them or it's up to council whether they want to take them together or take them IND make the motion when I'm finished one more well yeah but I'm just asking because usually we go one by one and then we could vote on it so I I think we need the Clarity to make sure that um we are doing all three or we're doing one by one okay does it matter if we do them all three this time at least since I've already done two out of three that's up to the chair uh representa we'll do the last one and then we'll vote on those three thank you very much so Nicole I have a question for you I noticed on um district 7 there was a Sam's Club renewal that was done November 25th of 2024 is that a membership for district 7 or for the representative so the way that um Nicole Cody managing director so as we work with Sam's and and it's an important point that you bring up is that currently the Sam's membership is with the individual but they can transfer it to a different individual within the district and we're actually working working on um coordinating with Sams since their process and policies have changed and I'm working with Miss Margarita on this item as well to be able to look at it as an organization so that way when we do have these transfers the individual doesn't have to go and and in person and ask because right now the process is you physically have to go in person ensure that it is of course tax exempt and then the membership transfers to the new individual okay there was a second line item though that it's a credit versus a charge and so I'm wondering did did our the discretionary money get reimbursed is right the next item yes ma'am so when you see a credit listed it's because it's a reimbursement to the account it's a credit from the business or company to the discretionary funds so right now that membership is no more so it was a credit for a different purchase so there's a purchase that matches that exact amount that had happened in the previous period okay and you'll share with us how to go about the membership yes ma'am all right yes ma'am I will thank you very much thank you mayor I make a motion to approve items 21 22 and 23 okay we have a motion to approve items 21 22 and 23 is there a second second any further discussion Miss Brian call for the vote Yes sir there was a motion made by representative Leon seconded by repr representative Canales and this is to approve items 21 22 and 23 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously we now turn to page 10 the next item is number 29 on the regular agenda item 29 is discussion and action to direct the city manager and City attorney to conduct a review of All City boards and commissions this item was placed by Representatives Chavez Roa and threo representative Chavez May Pro Temp thank you mayor so as part of our onboarding process we were given um some documents regarding board and commission appointments it has come to our attention that there has not been a revision of these boards and commissions for at least uh 10 years and has also come to our attention that some of these boards and commissions um have not met Quorum in a in a while and so all we're asking is for the City attorney and the city manager to review these boards see if there's any possibility to perhaps combine them so that you know whatever whomever we are going to be assigning we're making sure that that they are meeting Quorum and that they are serving our community in an efficient way thank you mayor representative roacha thank you mayor I appreciate it uh we just need to ensure that our boards and commissions are functioning effectively and meeting their internal goals as well as using the city resources wisely um we want to make sure that we serve the interests of the community as as best possible through these boards and commissions and so that is the reason for um for this request that we have made thank you mayor thank you representative lemon than you thank you very much for bringing this item up prior to being elected I served on two boards one over two years we met twice and it was precisely because of that lack of a quorum yet The Other Board we met on a monthly basis and it it's really disheartening when you can't meet because you can't meet the Quorum so I I really appreciate this and certainly look forward to seeing what we can find out and how we can better this um it how important it is to appoint people that really want to serve it's it can be an inconvenience in getting to a meeting but it's important and so therefore um it's important to have people that really want to serve thank you very much for doing this representative Boer thank you thank you uh it is is to make sure that we maintain the effectiveness of the of the boards and make sure they're we're inclusive to the community and making sure that we're staying with the needs currently for the needs of the community and our residents thank you representative uh looking at my little chart here birthday guy thank you mayor I I also thank my colleagues for bringing this up I I think that one one thing that I just wanted to kind of suggest on the topic broadly is that there's some boards that have just been dormant and we don't have them outlined as dormant and so periodically we get the the media asking us like hey you have three vacancies what's going on here and it's really hard to just kind of say well that board is dormant but I understand that when you go to the the website it just says vacancies right and so you're just going to pick up on all the vacancies so I think we really need to clarify that or if the board is only going to meet when needed and there might be a board that hasn't met in one or two years I think we also have to really outline that to to make it a little bit more understanding and I think overall what I also want to see is when we are not meeting Quorum I think we need to have some sort of system that tell tells us hey this meeting is not meeting Quorum because your appointee is not coming to the meeting and so we have so many of these boards that we can't catch every single person that isn't meeting until somebody from the board calls and says hey we haven't been able to meet because of this and then that's when I start kind of asking questions also I just lost somebody on the animal shelter advisory committee and I wasn't notified about it I just kind of found out like here are all your vacancies randomly and I think that's a really important committee to have and so I had no no idea that my appointee had resigned so I I think there's there's a lot of work to do here and I'm I'm really thankful for for this item and I'm hoping that we could get to a better place on just communication and stuff like that so we're able to move forward and then obviously the the youth advisory committee is going to be really key to our strategic plan so so um that board has just kind of been sitting there with no appointees and I think we really need to move this forward as a council to start thinking of somebody in high school um preferably a freshman that could probably serve throughout those four years for us to add to that committee and really activate it and get things done through that committee so thank you for for bringing this up thank you representative o any more discussion Mr pran do we need a an action on this one yes it is an action either okay may I would entertain a motion to approve motion to approve second we have a motion and second uh no further discussion mayor we do have public comment Miss Turner good morning Miss Turner again good morning mayor and Council uh my name is Lisa Turner I'm presently a member of the pasel Texas Women's Rights Commission uh I've been asked by Mayors and city council members to sit on boards and commissions uh five of them PSB selection committee city manager selection committee City Charter rewrite uh Women's Rights Commission public utility regulation board uh they've come asked me to serve and one of the things that uh we need from you all is to be sure that the people that you appoint want to do the work and are not there just to put have something on their resume we would also from my perspective uh like to have the ability to set up the number if we want to have an in-person meeting and basically your hyber meeting that we can have even only three people in in person and then rest via that uh the number of being able to change our quorums to adjust uh the other things are we need a process like you all have you all have excused absences we need something like that for our boards so if you missed three or four times then that should be an automatic disqualification if you haven't been an excused absence uh it's frustrating as a board member because we supposed to have a meeting last night we were supposed to have five people meet here and the rest on the computer only two of us showed for the meeting we have a lot of things that we want to get done for the women who work for the city but we can't get it done if people don't show up so and I know life gets in the way of everybody but finding appropriate times where people's schedules can mix or taking the hybrid model and readjusting it so we can get a quorum so you know I don't know you'll have to work I guess with Miss nean to figure out just exact ex L what we can and cannot do but you know every time my city calls I go to work and it's frustrating when people don't show up so you know anything y'all can do to help us get that way oh by the way I believe your housing commission has substitutes so when the main board memb is not there they can have the substitute come in and substitute for them so they can have a quorum so I don't know if that's something that can be applied across all boards and if that's something that you all would want to do so those are the things that you know just come to mind and someone who sits on the board thank you and thank you Mr Turner and thank you for your commitment to uh the city of El Paso and all that you're doing for us so miss Prim we have a motion in a second is there any further discussion call for the vote Yes sir the motion was made by mayor protim Chavez seconded by representative oo and this is to approve the direction on item 29 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously that brings us to item number 30 on the agenda and this is the introduction of an ordinance and this is for item 30 it's an introduction move to approve second we have a motion and a second any discussion on this item call for the vote Yes the motion was made by representative n ACO Thank You seconded by representative leemon to approve the introduction of the ordinance on item 30 on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously item 31 is discussion and action on the request that the city manager is authorized to execute the design build documents considered to be the agreement between the city of Al Paso and Jordan Foster Construction LLC for the project known as 2024-25 2R Advanced manufacturing District in an initial amount of $2,851 127 16 move to approve there's a motion and a second any discussion on this item CNN call for the vote we do have public comment from Miss Turner on this item okay again good morning mayor council first question is in reference to the $50,000 if something comes up is this $50,000 a one-time thing for the life of the contract or can it pop up multiple times during the life of the contract good morning CL Garcia with purchasing and strategic sourcing department they intend of this additional money it is just in case uh additional work comes up to to that amount so it's it's a one-time okay thank you and the next thing is I hate to bring this subject up but campaign contributions um and I think this would have to go to miss Newman to find out if any of you who took campaign contributions from Mr Foster would be eligible to vote on this and the only reason I asked is because I saw so much money going into city council and mayor races it bothers me honestly it bothers me to see that much money coming in uh $75,000 donations $100,000 donations money um I'm not the only citizen who's wondering about my Council and my mayor and who you actually work for I'm I'm not trying to be offensive I'm just letting you know what a lot of people in this city are thinking so is there a problem with campaign contributions and voting mayor um per The Rules of Order when the member of council comes to speak they address the council were not necessarily required to answer the question but I will answer the question the council passed the ordinance that does not prohibit the council from voting despite your receiving campaign contributions some of you have chosen to disclose prior to voting when a member of the public comes to speak or receive a benefit from the council or contract permit Etc you can do that but you're not prohibited from voting as a result of a campaign contribution okay thank you Miss aan okay so I'll keep it to myself thank you mayor thank you thank you Miss Turner are we have a motion in second we got uh some more discussion to represent asto thank you mayor I just um had a question from Miss nean on what you were saying um don't we have a rule in place that we disclose so can you just put that on the record please you disclose the receipt of a campaign contribution prior to uh voting the only time you're allowed required to recuse yourself if if the person receiving the from the council is a relative of yours and you have a conflict of interest but receipt of campaign contributions do not necessarily create a conflict of interest and and we disclose it and then fill out a form right right when you have a conflict of interest you notify the city clerk you fill out an affidavit and then you get up and leave the room thank you represent leemon I did not receive any funding from Foster Jordan or anybody like that thank you any more discussion on this item we have a motion and a second call for the vote Yes sir the motion was made by representative Canales seconded by representative Fierro to approve item 31 it was did you thank on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously that brings us to item 32 and item 32 is discussion and action that the managing director of purchasing and strategic sourcing Department be authorized to issue purchase orders to epac Systems Inc the sole authorized distributor of bergman's waste and recycling equipment in North America to include all parts for the mobile roller Crusher for Environmental Services Department for a one-time purchase for an estimated amount of $172,300 this contract will add this equipment for the customer collection station operations there's a motion and a second any discussion on this item represent Canalis did I see you thank you mayor um I just wanted to clarify for the public if somebody asked me um I this is separate and apart from the uh glass recycling uh machine Crusher correct Nicholas director of Environmental Services yes this is a separate item this was already planned for fy2 what it pretty much does is in the containers it you know when people dump material at the citizen collection stations it's it's not compacted this allows us to go from 2 to three tons per container to 5 to six which uh minimizes the trips for our truck drivers to take those to the landfill and be more efficient at the citizen collection stations but for the glass Crusher we do we are planning to have that uh put in our FY 26 budget yep thank you thank you mayor that's all all right represent VTO thank you mayor um I just want to say thank you very very much we had the opportunity to tour the the the plant in in our district and it was an absolutely amazing facility I think we saw one of the machines in in in action and it's just amazing everything that you and your team do out in those collection stations so thank you thank you very much represent Leon since you brought it up the glass uh crushing machine is still active and working uh no ma'am so this past November we had a catastrophic failure with the the engine you know over the years our staff have been able to maintain it and and keep it together but unfortunately due to the age of the machine and the the failure that the engine had we weren't able to repair it anymore so uh it's currently uh the programs that going on right now but like I said we're putting budget for the FY 26 to get it started up in September next year again very good I'm I'm sadden to see that but yeah it's been quite a quite a few years uh we brought that in the concept Ellen SMI was extremely helpful in setting that up it came through a program through the Cog and it was the best thing around so I look forward to seeing it um return sooner rather than later yes ma'am thank you thank you thank you representative all right we have a motion and a second any further discussion on this item Miss priman yes the motion was made by representative Federal secretary by representative noo to approve item 32 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously that brings us to item 33 and item 33 is a public hearing of aordance amending title 12 chapter 12.88 section 12.88 point2 schedule restrictions on parking in residential districts subsection Zone o no parking anytime toway Zone and this is to add several uh streets from East San Antonio Gateway Boulevard South Finley Avenue Steven Street and South L Street move to approve so there's a motion and a second any discussion on this item call for the vote Yes the motion was made by representative oel seconded by representative Federal this is to adopt the ordinance on item 33 on that motion there's no public comment on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously the final item is number 34 and this is discussion and action to approve budget transfer to increase FY 2025 confiscated funds and Appropriations for a total of $460,500 in state and federal confiscated funds is there a motion to approve this item motion approve is there any discussion uh represent Canalis thank you mayor uh I think it's the third year I'm telling you the same thing Chief I don't want you in any way to think that this is uh funding that I don't uh that I don't want your officers to have uh but I disagree with the concept of of spending con confiscated funds uh just conceptually it has nothing to do with the particular expenditures that you're looking to make um and and there you know I would support making those expenditures in a different way um but but I do have a a a moral conflict with the the way that the municipalities spend confiscated funds and so I plan uh not to uh not to support this item but I wanted to make sure that I I made that clear to you has nothing to do with the particular expenditures that your Department's looking to make thank you any further discussion on this item Miss Prime call for the vote Yes sir the motion was made by representative F seconded by representative leemon to approve item 34 on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes 7 to1 with representative Canales voting a the remainder of council voting I the motion carries Chief before you leave Chief I just want to say thank you to you and your your team for we we're going through some trying times here in our community and I want to thank you for your leadership your men and women in uniform you're doing a really good job I just want to say thank you thank you no we have some great uh cops and civilian staff that are committed to the Safety and Security of our city yeah thank you so much thank you I move to recess till 12 there's a motion in a second to recess a city council meeting until noon for a call to the public all in favor I anyone opposed and the regular city council meeeting is now in recess at 10:13 a.m. and will reconvene at noon per call to the public thank you e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e for M Prime We Ready is there a motion to reconvene motion second there's a motion in a second to reconvene the regular city council meeting all in favor I anyone opposed and the meeting is back in session at 12 noon we now go to call to the public the AL Paso city council is a local government body charged with serving the citizens and the meetings must be focused on the meeting at charge City Council meetings are public meetings under the Texas open meetings ACT public comment is an accommodation and not a requirement requirement of city council all persons in attendance are expected to displace civility in decorum that is respectful to other persons without the use of insulting profane threatening or abusive language public comment will not be used for personal attacks against a person person or group's character or Integrity which are not pertinent to City business nor May any member of the public use this form for political statements or campaigning please note that during call to the public the city council may not deliberate or decide any subject that is not on the agenda however Council May propose that a topic brought forth be posted on a future agenda this afternoon we have two members of the public signed up to speak the first person is Elizabeth Crawford her topic is January 27th Holocaust remembrance dat good afternoon Miss Crawford you have three minutes good afternoon thank you good afternoon as we know January 27th is international Holocaust Remembrance Day what a precious site it was to watch the some of the October 7th hostages being freed on a personal note January 27th is also the anniversary of the Lord taking my mom to Heaven January 27th 2011 actually this is very fitting as my Mom though not born or biologically Jewish dearly loved Israel and the Jewish people in light of the current world events my friends and I grieve and pray almost every day for Israel for Gaza for those devastated by the events of October 7th and the ongoing War it's been tough to watch all the suffering among the various people groups in the Middle East I would like to read a beautiful passage from God's holy words when an elderly Jewish believer Simeon had the awesome privilege of welcoming Jesus the Christ child into this world Luke two for mine eyes have seen my salvation which you have prepared before the face of all people a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of your People Israel God has an amazing amazing future ahead for Israel after an unspeakable National repentance God will one day use them to be a light and blessing to the whole earth whole earth on a magnitude never before seen or imagined in Luke 2 The Gospel speaks of quote knowledge of salvation unto his people to God's people by the remission the Forgiveness of their sins through the tender mercy of our God whereby the sunrise the day spring from on high has visited us to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of Peace as it says on the farest mountains the Bible is the truth read it God does not finish with Israel and God does not finish with his plan to one day bless all the nations of the earth through Israel on January 27th we look back to the sadness of the Holocaust on this day but as my mom used to say can you imagine her face would light up with a glow as she would think of the future of what is one day going to be in Israel Isaiah chapter 35 and the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto zion an everlasting Joy upon their heads they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and mourning shall flee away thank you so much hope you have a good day thank you so much much thank you thank you Miss Crawford the next speaker is Miss Lisa Turner Miss Turner's topic is 380 agreement with company whose owner hates our city good afternoon Miss Turner good afternoon Miss Turner good afternoon mayor and Council August 3rd 2019 we know what happened then an individual filled with hate with the talk of invasion and people south of border came to our city killed 23 people in Walmart friends family members co-workers neighbors and now this 380 agreement with meta that we've entered into last year the CEO Mark Zuckerberg has decided that such talk is now allowable especially in the areas of immigration uh in individuals who are LGBT those slurs that uh are usually reserved for people who are Mexican American black lgbtq are now okay on their platform we entered into an agreement with this Corporation okay this Corporation has also stated Mr zugerberg also stated he is cutting all ties with businesses to provide provide meta with services that are diverse in other words women owned minority owned LGBT black anybody that's not white male now we've been given a challenge here we can just accept the dollars accept the business and go on and be treated like dirt or we can take up the challenge and say no since you have already declared that you do want to do business with quote a diverse business which basically the PSB is the city is because it's our assets then the contract is now void whether that I don't know that legal will have to go on to that but we have been given a choice to take up the mantle of leadership to fight this we can do that we can do it with Integrity or we could just go with the money uh integrity means more often than not you stand alone because everybody else is taking the easy way out so and standing alone and standing up for something that you believe in is difficult it's hard so as a member of this community I don't think having a business like that is welcomed in our community anybody that's willing to allow people to attack US based upon whether we came from South of the Border whether we're LGBT regardless of our skin color it's unacceptable my God all we have is a little dirty ditch here with water in it every now and then thank you Miss Turner and that's the only difference between us and war is that's our family across the street across that River so please send him down the road thank you Miss Turner Council that concludes call to the public there's a motion and a second to adjourn the regular city council meeting all in favor I anyone opposed and the regular city council meeting for Wednesday January 22nd 2025 is adjourned at 12:07 p.m. thank you Council