Okay, Miss Brian, let's call this meeting to order. >> Yes, sir. Good morning. This is a special meeting of the El Paso City Council for Monday, October 6, 2025. Mayor Johnson is present and presiding in council chambers along with mayor prom chavez, representative aso, representative, representative nino, and representative lemon. Representative Maldonado Roch is running a few minutes late. It is 9:01 a.m. Mayor, we have a quorum. >> Okay, let's take uh this special the item that we have. >> Congratulations. >> I'd like to ask you a minute, please. Thank you 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. >> Sorry about that. Item number one is discussion and action on a resolution approving the 9% low-income housing tax credits litech evaluation procedures as set forth in attachment A of the resolution. >> Good morning. >> Good morning. >> Good morning. >> Representative Lemon. >> Did you want to do a good morning first or I can just continue? >> Mayor after uh mayor on Friday I had a a chance to meet with Nicole. We reviewed everything. The only thing that's changed from the original staff proposal is that we've added the five points extra credit bonus credit bonus points for local businesses. With that in mind, sir, I'd like to make a motion to approve the ordinance as presented. >> Second. >> Okay, there's a motion and a second. >> Call for the vote. >> Yes, >> Miss Prime. Oh, Representative Canalis. Oh, good morning. >> Good morning. >> Good morning. >> Representative Fedor joined the meeting at 9:02 and Representative Canales at 9:03. But >> before we take the vote, I just want to uh first say I apologize to staff that we're we're having this meeting again. And to council, I just want to remind everyone that we do get briefings on every agenda item, but I think part of the reason why we're here is the agendas on the agendas and the amendments on the amendments that we keep going through. and it caused us to be here today. So, I apologize that you guys are even here in council chambers today. So, we will try to get through this one today, but I will also ask council if you need additional briefings from staff to go ahead and get those. But, um, nevertheless, we are here today, so we will try to get through this. Represent canalis. Thank you, mayor. Um, I I still, as I did last week, take issue with the best application section labeled optional on page 11. Um, you know, last last week I made a an a motion to strike that and replace it. Um, I understand if council doesn't like the replacement for offering city- owned property. Um, I still think it's important that we don't offer a way for uh not just ourselves but future councils to offer support to a proposal that is bad, that doesn't meet the minimum thresholds. like we're we're setting new thresholds to say these are the minimum scores that we need in order to award points to a to a a proposal and then offering a an exit route and saying but if none of them are good enough then we'll just we can award to the best one. Um I I don't think that we should award to a project if it's not good enough. And so, uh, I move to amend the language to strike that best application optional section, uh, on page 11 in its entirety. >> Okay. Is there a second? >> All right. Well, Miss Bryan hearing none. >> I'll second. >> You a second. Just >> call. All right. Call for the vote. >> Call for the vote on this one, Miss Prime. This amendment >> on the amendment. Yes, sir. And so, the amendment was made by Representative Canales. seconded by representative ADO and >> call for the vote >> and this is to amend the policy and this is on page 12 and this is to discuss it. >> Yeah. Yes, we have some discussion repres I guess my my only question around the amendment is if somebody could answer if we are offering property and or we're designating property toward housing or affordable housing, we're still going to follow a process, right? It's not saying that we are just giving away land or anything like that. Yes, I think we can we if the amendment moves forward and we want to to designate we would we would develop a a a city nomination process and then come back to council with that. So um the whatever proposed site would come to the city council prior >> there will be a whole another series of policies that you all would look at regarding housing that are not related to this. And so as I I talked about before we're going to be launching that work. We are actually I met with the team and we're going to be doing a cross functional team of councils to be helping us think through some of the things we'll be doing related to the comp plan. It it will be very detailed in terms of what our strategy is, what we might um look at in terms of land and then if the low income tax credit makes sense for that project, then it would move to that area. So we we have a lot of work to do to even have parameters for how we might use the land, what that might look like, what the policies might be in terms of how we talk about cost share. All those things have to be worked out. >> Okay. But but I guess the the bigger question is that we would be selling these properties like we would sell any other normal property. >> It depends on how we look at that. You know, I've seen in other cities where um the land becomes our contribution towards the project. um you know you get a certain percentage of lowincome um um units for that. So it's more complex than just the selling of property. So you all would have to work through that. I think every project would be looked at in detail with multiple opportunities for you to review and look at the cost benefit of how we do that. It wouldn't just be no sending it over to the low income tax credit. >> But then we would also have more actions that we would take on based on any recommendations that you would have right. Exactly. So this wouldn't be like a final vote on something. Okay. It would be more individual if we were there or just policies in general. >> Exactly. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. Represent Kales. >> Thank you, mayor. And just uh because my colleague's question was about uh city land for these projects. I want to be clear that that's not the amendment that I proposed. I mean, it is the amendment I proposed last week. It didn't pass. Uh today, it's just to strike the section titled the best application optional on page 11. >> On page 11. Um, so it's it's only the uh the op the option in the policy for the council to award points to uh one or more proposals that do not meet the points threshold that don't score highly enough uh in order to receive support based on our our thresholds in in the other sections. Um okay and again you know I think we've seen for several years uh many of the applications we receive score significantly below uh what what we would consider in this new in this new framework uh as you know even even close to being a good proposal. Um, I mean I I believe we were seeing scores in the 30s, in the 40s, in the '50s. Um, again on a slightly different rubric, but very very low scores. Um, and and I think we need to be doing everything we can to encourage uh anyone who's looking to propose low-income housing developments in in our city uh to submit things that will work for the people who who uh these are intended for that are near uh services are near uh grocery stores, transit, schools, everything that the people who live there will need. And I think this policy is the way to do that. But if we leave a loophole, a way out, uh then it I think is self-defeating. And so I I hope we can consider uh removing just this striking just this section to uh make sure that we're bolstering the actual thresholds that we set in the other sections. >> Okay. Representative Lemon. >> Thank you, Mayor. A, as I mentioned in the beginning, I did have an opportunity to sit with Nicole. We went through the whole um the whole document and I am still very strong in support of what staff has presented to us. Thank you. Will not support the amendment. >> Thank you represent. All right. So there is a uh an amendment on the floor and there was a motion and a second by represent call for the vote on the amendment. >> Yes sir. in this amendment is to strike out the section that said that's titled selection of the best application optional on that amendment. Call for the vote. >> Mayor Proim Chavez >> nay. >> Thank you. >> Miss F and Representative Malonado Rocha arrived at 908. >> Nay. >> Thank you. Alternate mayor proto. >> No. >> Thank you. >> In the voting session and the amendment fails. 62. Representatives Chavez Maldonado Treco Nino Fier Lemon voting nay. Representatives Alto Canales voting I. The amendment fails. >> Okay. Let's take the um the main motion made by Representative Lemon. That motion was made by representative Lemon, seconded by alternate mayor pro Tim Pierro, and this is to approve the resolution. On that motion, call for the vote. >> Mayor Prom Chavez, >> I >> thank you. Representative Timalona, >> I >> thank you. Alternate mayor promp. >> Thank you. in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously. >> Nicole, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Y mayor like to make a motion to um adjourn our meeting. We're done with the business. Thank you. >> Second. >> Motion and a second. >> There's a motion and a second to adjurnn the special meeting. All in favor? >> I. >> Anyone opposed? >> And the special meeting for Monday, October 6, 2025 is adjourned at 9:12 a.m. Thank you, Council.