>>COUN. BENTON: GOOD EVENING, THIS FIRST MEETING OF THE 25th COUNCIL WILL COME TO ORDER. THIS IS A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE COUNCIL. I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER IMMEDIATELY TO MR. MELENDREZ TO EXPLAIN WHY I'M OPENING THE DISCUSSION TONIGHT AND WHERE WE'LL GO FROM HERE. >> THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR, COUNCILORS. THE CITY COUNCIL IS STARTING ITS 25th TERM SESSION WITHOUT A SEATED PRESIDENT. COUNCILOR BORREGO WAS THE PRESIDENT OF THE 24th COUNCIL. WE START THIS MEETING WITHOUT AN OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED PRESIDENT. COUNCILOR BENTON, YOU'RE THE LONGEST SEATED CITY COUNCILLOR. YOU HAVE BEEN SEATED MORE THAN ANY SITTING IN OFFICE. WE BASED A TRADITION THAT YOU CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. IN THE ABSENCE OF AN OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED PRESIDENT, YOU GREATLY ACCEPTED THAT DUTY. FROM THIS POINT, THE CITY COUNCIL MAY NOMINATE A CHAIR, ROBERTS RULES READING DIRECTLY FROM IT WHICH WE DEFAULT TO IF YOUR CITY COUNCIL RULES ARE SINT. IT STATES THAT A CHAIR PERSON NOMINATED BY THE PERSON DESIGNATE TODAY CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. THAT IS THE COMP PRACTICE. IT DOES CONTEMPLATE NOMINATES FROM THE FLOOR. SO WE CAN GET THROUGH THE VOTES FOR OFFICERS. >>COUN. BENTON: THANK YOU. AS THE TEMPORARY PRO TEMP, I NOMINATE COUNCILOR JONES AS THE ONE TO CONDUCT THIS MEETING. DOES THIS REQUIRE A VOTE? >> COUNCILOR BENTON, YES, IT DOES. IT LOOKS LIKE COUNCILOR DAVIS SIGNALS A SECOND. YOU WOULD CONDUCT THIS VOTE ON YOUR NOMINATION. >>COUN. BENTON: ALL RIGHT. ARE THERE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? SEEING NONE. I'LL ASK MS. ORTEGA TO CALL THE VOTE. >>COUN. BASSAN: YES. >>COUN. DAVIS: YES. >>COUN. FIEBELKORN: YES. >>COUN. GROUT: YES. >>COUN. JONES: YES. >>COUN. LEWIS: YES. >>COUN. PEÑA: YES. >>COUN. SANCHEZ: YES. >>COUN. BENTON: YES. >> PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. >>COUN. JONES: OKAY, I GUESS THAT PUTS ME RUNNING THIS MEETING FROM HERE ON. LET'S GO DOWN THE AGENDA. FIRST WOULD BE THE -- AND THANK YOU ALL. WE'LL DISCUSS THIS LATER AND SEE WHETHER THAT SHOULD BE A THANK YOU. THE ROLL CALL. ALL COUNCILORS ARE PRESENT VIA ZOOM. LET'S START WITH THE MOMENT OF SILENCE AND WE'LL HAVE A PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND ENGLISH AND SPANISH. COUNCILOR PEÑA, WOULD YOU LEAD US IN SPANISH? LET'S START WITH THE MOMENT OF SILENCE. I'LL LEAD THE PLEDGE IN ENGLISH. >>ALL: I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. >>COUN. JONES: THANK YOU. COUNCILOR PEÑA, IF YOU WOULD, PLEASE LEAD US IN SPANISH. >>COUN. PEÑA: SURE. IF YOU CAN PULL IT UP ON THE SCREEN? IN SPANISH. >>COUN. JONES: WE'LL GIVE IT OUR BEST SHOT, COUNCILOR. WE'RE OPERATING A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY TONIGHT. >>COUN. PEÑA: I USUALLY HAVE A COPY OF IT IN FRONT OF ME. I DON'T HAVE IT TODAY. >>COUN. JONES: CAN YOU SEE THAT? >>COUN. PEÑA: I CAN, THANK YOU. [ RECITING THE PLEDGE IN SPANISH ]. >>COUN. JONES: THANK YOU, COUNCILOR PEÑA. SO, THIS IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT MEETING FROM WHAT WE NORMALLY DO. AS WAS NOTED IN A PRESS RELEASE FROM OUR OFFICE ON FRIDAY, POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE, AND NOTED ON OUR PUBLISHED COUNCIL AGENDA, THIS MEETING HAS SPECIAL PROCEDURES AND IS BEING HELD VIA ZOOM VIDEO CONFERENCE. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC CITY STAFF AND THE MEDIA HAVE THE ABILITY TO VIEW THIS MEETING LOVE THROUGH FOUR DIFFERENT PLATFORMS. GOVTV COMCAST CHANNEL 16, THE GOVTV WEBSITE, YOUTUBE, AND ZOOM WEBINAR. THESE CAN BE ACCESSED FROM SMART PHONES AND COMPUTERS. ALSO THIS IS CLOSED CAPTIONED AND YOU MAY ENABLE THE SERVICES IN OUR TELEVISION AT THIS TIME. FOR THOSE WATCHING ON THE LIVE STREAM, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. THE VIDEO RECORDING OF THIS AND ALL PAST COUNCIL MEETING WILL ALSO REMAIN AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING AT ANY TIME ON THE CITY COUNCIL WEBSITE. COUNCIL STAFF IS AVAILABLE VIA TELL PHONE IF MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC NEED ASSISTANCE FINDING THE VIDEOS ONLINE. PLEASE CALL505-768-3100 DURING BUSINESS HOURS MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY 8 A.M. TO 5 P.M. ARE WE ACCEPTING LIVE PUBLIC COMMENTS? >> WE DID OFFER THE OPPORTUNITY, BUT WE DO NOT HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP. >>COUN. JONES: ALL RIGHT. IF YOU HEARD OUR CLERK, THE COUNCIL WAS ACCEPTING LIVE COMMENT BUT WE HAD NO CITIZENS SIGN UP. THERE WOULD BE NO COMMENT TODAY. WE WILL NOW MOVE TO ITEM 15. OTHER BUSINESS TO CONSIDER THE ITEMS ON TODAY'S AGENDA. THE FIRST ITEM UNDER 15, OTHER BUSINESS, IS ELECTION OF PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT. ELECTION OF PRESIDENT. THE PREVIDING OFFICER WILL FIRST TAKE NOMINATIONS FOR PRESIDENT. UNDER COUNCILAL RULES THE MAJORITY OF ALL COUNCILORS IS REQUIRED FOR SELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT. WE WILL OPEN THE FLOOR FOR NOMINATIONS FOR PRESIDENT. IF YOU WOULD PLEASE USE RAISE HAND OR JUST RAISE YOUR HAND. THANK YOU, COUNCILOR DAVIS. >>COUN. DAVIS: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. I NOMINATE COUNCILOR BENTON. >>COUN. JONES: THANK YOU. AND COUNCILOR PEÑA. >>COUN. PEÑA: THANK YOU, MADAM. I NOMINATE COUNCILOR BASSAN. >>COUN. JONES: THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? COUNCILOR GROUT. >>COUN. GROUT: I NOMINATE COUNCILOR LEWIS. >>COUN. JONES: THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? SEEING NONE. I WILL CLOSE THE NOMINATIONS FOR PRESIDENT. THE CLERK OF THE COUNCIL WILL CALL THE ROLE. IF EACH COUNCILOR WOULD FOR THE SAKE OF THIS EASIER, IF YOU WILL VOTE BY SAYING YES AND RAISING YOUR HAND THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. IF YOU WOULD CALL THE ROLL PLEASE. >> I WILL CALL EACH COUNCILOR ALPHABETICALLY WITH COUNCILOR JONES LAST. EACH COUNCILOR WILL SELECT COUNCILOR BENTON, COUNCILOR BASSAN, OR COUNCILOR LEWIS. WE'LL START WITH COUNCILOR BASSAN. >>COUN. BASSAN: COUNCILOR BASSAN. >>COUN. BENTON: COUNCILOR BENTON. >>COUN. DAVIS: COUNCILOR BENTON. >>COUN. FIEBELKORN: COUNCILOR BENTON. >>COUN. GROUT: COUNCILOR LEWIS. >>COUN. LEWIS: COUNCILOR LEWIS. >>COUN. PEÑA: COUNCILOR BASSAN. >>COUN. SANCHEZ: COUNCILOR LEWIS. >>COUN. JONES: COUNCILOR BENTON. >> WE HAVE FOUR VOTE FOR COUNCILOR BENTON, TWO FOR COUNCILOR BASSAN, AND TWO THREE FOR COUNCILOR LEWIS. >>COUN. JONES: COUNCILORS, DID YOU HEAR THAT? WE WILL GO FOR A SECOND ROUND. IN THE SAME ORDER. CLERK. >>COUN. BASSAN: PASS. >>COUN. BENTON: COUNCILOR BENTON. >>COUN. DAVIS: COUNCILOR BENTON. >>COUN. FIEBELKORN: COUNCILOR BENTON. >>COUN. GROUT: COUNCILOR LEWIS. >>COUN. LEWIS: COUNCILOR LEWIS. >>COUN. PEÑA: PASS. >>COUN. SANCHEZ: COUNCILOR LEWIS. >>COUN. JONES: COUNCILOR BENTON. >> GOING PACK TO THOSE WHO PASSED. >>COUN. BASSAN: COUNCILOR BENTON. >>COUN. PEÑA: COUNCILOR BENTON. >> WE HAVE A VOTE FOR SIX FOR COUNCILOR BENTON AND THREE FOR COUNCILOR LEWIS. >>COUN. JONES: COUNCILORS, IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A NEW COUNCIL PRESIDENT. THAT IS COUNCILOR BENTON. THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING. THIS IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE NORMALLY DO. GIVE YOURSELF A GOOD ROUND OF APPLAUSE. THIS WAS A NEW AND DIFFERENT ENDEAVOR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. CONGRATULATIONS, COUNCILOR BENTON. NOW, WE HAVE THE ELECTION OF VICE-PRESIDENT. I WILL TAKE NOMINATIONS FOR VICE-PRESIDENT. ONCE AGAIN IS SECOND IS NOT REQUIRED. UNDER COUNCIL RULE AS MAJORITY IS REQUIRED FOR SELECTION OF VICE-PRESIDENT. ANY NOMINATION FOR VICE-PRESIDENT? I'M SORRY, COUNCILOR BASSAN. I'M TRYING TO LOOK AT IT THE WAY WE DO IT NORMALLY. >>COUN. BASSAN: I NOMINATE COUNCILOR LEWIS FOR VICE-PRESIDENT. >>COUN. JONES: THANK YOU. COUNCILOR FIEBELKORN, DID I SEE YOUR HAND? ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? >>COUN. BENTON: I'M SORRY, I WASN'T RAISING MY HAND. I'D LIKE TO NOMINATE COUNCILOR FIEBELKORN. >>COUN. JONES: ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? THANK YOU, COUNCILORS. WE HAVE TWO NOMINATIONS FOR VICE-PRESIDENT. COUNCILOR LEWIS AND COUNCILOR FIEBELKORN. IF YOU WOULD CALL THE ROLL? >>COUN. BASSAN: COUNCILOR LEWIS. >>COUN. BENTON: COUNCILOR FIEBELKORN. >>COUN. DAVIS: COUNCILOR FIEBELKORN. >>COUN. FIEBELKORN: COUNCILOR FIEBELKORN. >>COUN. GROUT: COUNCILOR LEWIS. >>COUN. LEWIS: PASS. >>COUN. PEÑA: COUNCILOR LEWIS. >>COUN. SANCHEZ: PASS. >>COUN. JONES: COUNCILOR LEWIS. >> GOING BACK TO THOSE WHO PASSED. >>COUN. LEWIS: WHAT IS THE COUNT? >> IT'S CURRENTLY 4-3, COUNCILOR LEWIS. >>COUN. LEWIS: COUNCILOR LEWIS. >>COUN. SANCHEZ: COUNCILOR LEWIS. >> 6-3, COUNCILOR LEWIS. >>COUN. JONES: THANK YOU, COUNCILORS. THAT WAS A VOTE 6-3 FOR COUNCILOR LEWIS AS VICE-PRESIDENT. THANK YOU. WE NOW HAVE THE ELECTION OF CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. I'M HOPING THE NEW COUNCILORS HAD BEEN BRIEFED ON HOW IMPORTANT IN WHAT THIS COMMITTEE MEMBER IS. I WILL TAKE NOMINATIONS FOR CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. AGAIN, A SECOND IS NOT REQUIRED FOR EACH NOMINATIONS. THE CHAIR WILL BE SELECTED BY MAJORITY OF THE CITY COUNCIL. I WILL OPEN THE FLOOR FOR NOMINATIONS. COUNCILOR PEÑA. >>COUN. PEÑA: I NOMINATE COUNCILOR BASSAN. >>COUN. JONES: THANK YOU. ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? SEEING NONE. I BELIEVE WE WILL -- DO WE NEED TO VOTE? ALL RIGHT. MADAM CLERK. >>COUN. BASSAN: YES. >>COUN. BENTON: YES. >>COUN. DAVIS: YES. >>COUN. FIEBELKORN: YES. >>COUN. GROUT: YES. >>COUN. LEWIS: YES. >>COUN. PEÑA: YES. >>COUN. SANCHEZ: YES. >>COUN. JONES: YES. >> 9-0. >>COUN. JONES: THANK YOU. AND CONGRATULATIONS, COUNCILOR BASSAN. YOU'RE IN FOR A BIG, BIG JOB. YOU'LL DO WELL. THE NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT -- DO I DO THIS? OKAY. I'M SORRY, SAY IT AGAIN. OKAY. MR. PRESIDENT, DO YOU HAVE YOUR COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS READY YOU WOULD LIKE FOR US TO VOTE ON OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO DEFER UNTIL THE JANUARY 19th MEETING? >>COUN. BENTON: I DID NOT. I MOVE DEFERRAL UNTIL THE 19th ON THE COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS. BEFORE WE VOTE, COUNCILORS, LOOK OVER THE LIST. IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT, THE BASIC LIST, YOU CAN GET IT FROM CRYSTAL. I'M SURE SHE'LL SEND IT TO EACH OF YOU. I WANT TO RESPECT YOUR WISHES TO THE GREATEST EXTENT WE CAN ACCOMMODATE EVERYONE. WE'LL HOPEFULLY -- AND FEEL FREE TO CALL TO DISCUSS YOUR WISHES AS WELL WITH ME. WE CAN GET STARTED THAT WAY, IF YOU DO KNOW WHICH COMMITTEES YOU WOULD LIKE TO SERVE ON. >>COUN. JONES: THANK YOU. ALONG THOSE LINES, I'M BEING COACHED THAT WE NEED TO MOVE FOR A RULE SUSPENSION IN ORDER TO VOTE ON THIS TONIGHT. TO DEFER. DO I HEAR A SECOND? DO WE HAVE A SECOND? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE RULES SUSPENSION TO VOTE ON THIS TONIGHT? MADAM CLERK. >>COUN. BASSAN: YES. >>COUN. BENTON: YES. >>COUN. DAVIS: YES. >>COUN. FIEBELKORN: YES. >>COUN. GROUT: YES. >>COUN. LEWIS: YES. >>COUN. PEÑA: YES. >>COUN. SANCHEZ: YES. >>COUN. JONES: YES. >> 9-0 ON DEFERRAL UNTIL THE JANUARY 19th MEETING. >>COUN. JONES: GREAT. THAT IS IT. I BELIEVE THERE IS NO FURTHER BUSINESS. THEREFORE, THANK YOU, COUNCILORS. VERY WELL DONE. I KNOW WE'VE ALL PUT A LOT OF THOUGHT IN THIS. THIS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU.