e e e e e e it's PR it's 9:00 a.m. good morning everyone go ahead Miss PR good morning mayor we don't have a quorum yet however we can get started with a ceremonial items will everyone please silence your electronic devices so as not to disturb the meeting and rise for the invocation delivered by El Paso Police chaplain Joseph marada and good morning good morning sir thank you if you'd like to join us in the invocation this morning let us bow our heads together Lord we ask for your guidance and provision today in all business before our mayor and city council we ask that you grant them the wisdom needed to take limited resources and utilize them for the greatest good for the greatest number of people on behalf of our world our nation our state and our local community we pray that peace would overcome conflict we pray love would overcome hate we pray that kindness and acceptance would overcome selfishness and rejection and we also ask for your protection upon all of our military members we ask for your protection upon all our First Responders and all of their families bless and keep them as they seek to keep us safe and secure we ask in your name amen amen said would you lead us in the pledge and this morning mayor we have for the Pledge of Allegiance we have students from idea Rio Vista public school at the invitation of City representative Cassandra Hernandez we have a kaya Montalvo kolina gar Madison represent well while we're waiting we can um we'll sit down and wait for him for a minute and I'll I'll give a few remarks thank you all for for being here and um I said this yesterday I think it's worth repeating which uh yesterday early voting started we um we have early voting through November 1st there's a lot of U candidates a lot for you all to to see and know and um I do want to thank all the candidates and people that are running for office that uh for uh willing to serve and wanting to serve it's very important that uh we have good leaders in our community and I've been um very blessed to be the mayor of the city of El Paso for eight years and I want to thank uh the citizens of El Paso for trusting and voting for me um and it's uh been something that uh I was telling somebody yesterday that uh not only that I work really hard I gave my heart and I gave it 100% and uh so I'm going to ask everyone to please go vote read about your candidates and vote for the person that will make your life a better life this is a great place to live and a great place to be and I think it's important that you exercise your right as a citizen of the city of El Paso to cast you a vote Election Day November 5th early voting started yesterday till Friday November 1 thank you and God bless everyone and now we're ready for the Pledge yes mayor this morning for the Pledge of Allegiance we have students from idea riia Vista public school at the invitation of City representative Cassandra ernandez we have AAA Montalvo Carolina Garcia Madison Felix Maran Garcia Seth elisalde Jayden Canales Gracia Diaz America Diaz and and Elijah i al to the flag of the United States of America and to the rep for it stands one nation God indivisible liy andice for all [Applause] the flag i al IND [Applause] no do the national health education yes you yeah tired tired wait waiting for one to walk away all [Applause] good morning this is a meeting of the AL Paso city council for Tuesday October 22nd 2024 mayor Lisa is president presiding council chambers along with representative ACO representative ernandez representative salido representative Riva representative Canales mayor protm Kennedy representative molat has requested to be excused this morning it is 9:06 a.m. mayor we have a quorum thank you if we can begin yes sir that brings us to the mayor's proclamations for those of you receiving a proclamation this morning your group will have up to six minutes collectively to speak at the podium the first Proclamation is lgbtqia plus History Month representative good morning sir good morning thank you mayor I have the honor of reading this great Proclamation and have some awesome people here to receive it whereas lgbtqia plus History Month observed annually in October serves as a time to honor the historical achievements and contributions of lesbian gay bisexual transgender and queer individuals and to promote a deeper understanding and respect for the history of the lgbtqia+ movement and whereas El Paso's unique cultural and historical context has significantly shaped the lgbtqia plus Community from the early Pioneers who laate the foundation for lgbtqia plus activism to the vibrant queer Arts scene that thrives today El Paso continues to foster a home for queer expression and advocacy and whereas the city of Al Paso recognizes the importance of celebrating and acknowledging the diverse and significant contributions of the lgbtqia plus Community to the social cultural and economic fabric of our city and whereas the city acknowledges The Bravery and resilience of lgbtqia plus individuals who have fought for equality and justice remembers those in the lgbtqia plus who no longer are with us and recognizes the ongoing efforts of activists organizations and allies who continue to fight for the safety mental health and civil rights of the lgbtqia plus Community including organizations such as the Borderland rainbow Center El Paso City Pride the El Paso genders and sexualities Alliance board and Texas Rising now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor and Council of the city of Al Paso that the month of October shall be known as lgbtqia plus History Month signed the honorable mayor Oscar liser good morning good morning Council um I'm excited to be here I feel very privileged to um be on behalf of this Proclamation uh my name is Michael gares I'm the regional program coordinator for Texas rising and I also helped author this Proclamation so I am completely honored and privileged to be standing here before you especially on my 27th birthday to be receiving this Proclamation thank you history is a very important thing to US history hisory shapes who we are history shapes where we're where we've been and where we're going I think especially with the lgbtq community we have given so much in in terms of our history when it comes to the Arts when it comes to government we are a staple we have been here we have existed for for time um and I am privileged to be acknowledging those folks that have come before me and the people that will come after me today so thank you so much Council for this Proclamation and again thank you thank you m good morning good morning um I'm going to put this down because I'm short uh once again thank you so much Council uh thank you Michael and Texas Rising thank you to all of our partners City El Paso Sun City Pride EP GSA board uh and all the members of the community and allies who will watch this at some point or another much to my surprise at times um but thank you for this Proclamation um this is incredibly important especially in this time as the queer community and many marginalized communities are under attack um it is incredibly important to honor the history of what has happened that way we know uh what to kind of expect as things progress uh as Michael was talking about the lgbtq community is a huge part of art because it is a place where we have been able to feel safe it is a place where we have been able to express ourselves and art is really the soul of most communities so thank you so much for taking a look at the queer community and saying hey we see you we recognize you and we are here with you and for you thank you thank you good morning good morning mayor and good morning Council my name is Chris I'm the president for op Paso sensity Pride um first and foremost thank you Josh for um leaving this Proclamation and thank you all for to all of you um acknowledging gay hisory lgbtqi history um you all are part of the history now um through the past two years that um that we've all work together with all the proclamations with um sponsoring our uh movie night for pride month everything that each and every single one of you have done just thank you being part of and showing that El Paso is a Beacon of Hope for because we're in Texas and we're under attack and and El Paso is a safe City for our lgbtq um IIA community so just thank you for acknowledging us and those of you leaving us you you will be missed and hopefully um those that replace you will pick up the torch that you're leaving behind and continue on with the fight for helping us um rise above just to live so thank you thank [Applause] you and for the record representative Fiero is also present ready [Applause] and the next Proclamation is national health education week representa thank you mayor Proclamation City Pass oh I'm sorry are they here today sorry about that what are you all waiting for come on up okay as they come up Proclamation City Paso Texas whereas El Paso faces significant challenges related to low health literacy limited access to health care services and a high burden of chronic conditions such as diabetes heart disease and cancer this proportionately affect our residents and whereas national health education week is an invaluable opportunity to raise awareness about the critical need for health education particularly in our community celebrating the dedication of Health Educators public health professionals and Community organizations working collaboratively to overcome these challenges and whereas during this national health education week we enthusiastically pledge to intensify our efforts to improve health literacy increase Access to Health Care Providers and combat chronic disease in our community and whereas the city of Al Paso Department of Public Health plays a vital role in promoting health education and believes that empowering individuals and communities through health education enables informed choices Fosters disease prevention and enhances overall well-being and whereas we urge all residents healthc Care organizations educational institutions and Community Partners to unite the week and Beyond to Champion health education and work collaboratively to improve the health and well-being of our community now therefore to be proclaimed by the mayor and councel of the city of El Paso that October 21st through October 25th 24 20124 shall be known as national health education week congratulations good morning everyone good morning mayor Lisa Council city manager thank you for supporting your Department of Public Health with this proclamation in honor of national health education week my name is Joy Leos and I'm the program manager for the health education and promotion at the Department of Public Health it is a privilege to stand before you today and celebrate the incredible work of Health Educators and public health professionals Across the Nation looking around at our team and public health colleagues here today I truly am filled with pride the city of El Paso is fortunate to have a devoted compassionate and tireless group of public health professionals working behind the scenes to ensure the health and safety of our community for nearly 30 years national health education week has raised awareness of critical public health issues while highlighting the vital role health education plays in our communities this year the focus includes Ai and health education mental Wellness environmental justice women's health advocacy improving Health lit Y and equity and growing our Public Health Workforce our health educators are equipped to lead in a complex and everchanging World they excel at identifying challenges providing evidence-based Solutions and implementing them effectively their unique skill set makes health information accessible interactive and meaningful to our community while people are at the heart of health education we also recognize the broader societal and relational factors that shape the health of individuals and communities we are often the first to respond in public health emergencies prioritizing the safety of our city even when it comes at personal risk while epidemiology is often considered the backbone of Public Health our health education team could very well be called its heart with expertise spanning research Behavioral Sciences Health policy program development epidemiology infectious disease and more our health educators are indispensable to the practice of Public Health with the prevention first mindset they engage the community with dedication work collaboratively with other City departments and work with intention with Partners to advocate for the underserved and ensure that every voice is heard valued and given space thank you for your time and for helping us honor the invaluable contributions of our Department of Public Health our health professionals and our health Educators during this very important week thank you thank you you know I think it's so important to have your health and you don't realize it until you don't have your health so make sure people um get vaccinated and do what we need to do and soul this program let's goit all right e e e did that really really well and the next Proclamation is National El Paso Marathon runnner Day represent Canales thank you mayor thank you sir let them come up good morning welcome Proclamation city of El Paso Texas whereas the El Paso Runners foundation's mission is to organize a first class Marathon that promotes Health and Fitness in the community brings tourism to the region of El Paso and provide support to local and National nonprofit organizations and whereas the El Paso Runners Foundation was established in 2006 and has served as a venue to promulgate physical activity health and fitness among the El Paso Community and whereas the El Paso Marathon continues to grow and gain National presence while contributing to El Paso's uh nonprofit Community organizations now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor and Council of the city of Al Paso that the month of October shall be known as National El Paso marathon runners month and that October 22nd 2024 shall be known as National El Paso marathon runners day signed by our honor honorable mayor Oscar liser good morning good morning thank you mayor uh council members especially Canalis we we appreciate your support my comments will be brief because we have to run so all right no seriously it's an honor a p privilege and a great blessing to have served the El Paso Marathon foundation and now the the uh El Paso Runners foundation in the capacity as race director my name is Mike Colter and I am the race director and have been so I guess for the last 17 years and uh just some highlights we currently have representatives from 28 different states signed up right now the Germany people from Germany Mexico Canada Puerto Rico uh so we represent we're bringing people to the region introducing introducing them to our great City our wonderful weather that we have in February that is unlike any other throughout the United States and we're really privileged to do that one of the highlights on we are a nonprofit a 501c3 that is committed to Bringing support to other nonprofits and through the years we brought over $400,000 to other nonprofits in the city so that's one of our primary goals in addition to promoting Health and Wellness in the community we invite you to join us in February 20225 it'll be February 23rd we invite you to join us then and if you're so inclined we have a 10K this Sunday October 27th so visit us at Al pasor runners.com for more information and please sign up and join us and again we thank you for the city's continued support we couldn't do it without you so we' we've received City sponsorship for for many years and and again we couldn't do the do the great work that we do without you all so again we we appreciate your support and thank you and come run with us thank you all right want to come up thank you for yes sir they see me running they're going to think there's a cop behind thank you and the next Proclamation is employment opportunities for people with disabilities month nundes good morning ma'am good morning mayor we'll wait for our participants to come on up we're really appreciative of your of your partnership with sedic um and the uh new fellowship program with the city of El Paso and all the participants and the proclamation reads uh city of El Paso Texas whereas Congress in 1945 declared the first week in October each year as National employee the physically handicap week disability rights are not just civil rights but they are human rights and whereas in 1988 Congress expanded the week to a month and changed the name to National disability employment awareness month to EMP emphasize the importance of educating the challenges individuals with disability face when seeking employment and celebrate the many and varied contributions of Americans work with disabilities and whereas the Center for Disease Control and prevention disability and health promotion states that 61 million adults in the United States live with a disability and one and four adults have some type of disability and whereas federal disability non-discrimination laws such as the Americans with Disability Act Ada section 503 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and section 188 of the workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act the definition of of a person with a disability is typically defined as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities and has a record of such an impairment or is regarded as having such an impairment and whereas per the US Department of Labor Bureau and Labor Statistics in 2023 22.5% of people with a disability were employed and the unemployment rate for people with a disability was 7.2% about twice that of those with no disability at 3.5% and whereas children's disability information Coalition established in 18 19 889 promotes Partnerships between between parents professionals various agencies to work together in prioritizing inclusive employment policies improves equality and demonstrates our commitment to valuing all El Paso citizens and recognizes the contributions of people with disabilities to the economy and Workforce and whereas October 2024 marks the 79th anniversary of the national disability employment awareness month now therefore be a proclaimed by the mayor and Council of the city of El Paso that the month of October shall be known as employment opportunities for people with disabilities month signed by honorable mayor Oscar liser congratulations and good morning good morning City Council Members my name is Diana Serano I'm the community outreach specialist and the program coordinator for the um Civic engagement train training and community action program thank you District 3 representative Hernandez for this opportunity to raise awareness about the valuable contributions of people with disabilities to our society by accessing a wider Talent poll of candidates with diverse abilities we can improve employee morale through inclusion and respect and also enhance productivity by supporting employees with disabilities when an employee with a disability makes a mistake we ask that you all seek alternative Solutions instead of just assuming that the person cannot do a task this is just the beginning for everyone to make a positive impact on our community Through social integration and economic empowerment for individuals with disabilities again thank you thank you good morning good morning uh mayor liser and members of city council my name is Alexander resurrection and I am 17 years old and also I serve as a peer support specialist in the Civic engagement training and Community Action Program on behalf of all my peers I'd like to express our gratitude to District 3 representative Cassandra Hernandez and the city of El Paso for presenting this proclamation to us this Proclamation is crucial because it underscores the importances of creating better employment opportunities for people to disabilities it also encourages the city of El Paso and The Wider Community to support our efforts thank you good morning good morning my name is Cornell wridge I actually worked with this group as a Civic engagement consultant to really help them with this and I just wanted to speak briefly about how much wonderful effort this group put into this into the work I've been working with the disability Community for many years in DC all over the country and I wanted to say that the effort this group has put into making this happen along with some of the other efforts I know that uh councilwoman Hernandez has been a part of in their work with the city they've really shown what the disability Community can do when they get an opportunity to be a part of the community and I really want to applaud the city of op Paso for not only this Proclamation but for everything that they have and will continue to do to support this community because by doing so you're not just supporting the disability Community you're supporting your own Community because all of the life experience all of the different gifts that they have the the resence the persistence that they bring in the lives that they live to this community is a asset that you really can't tap into enough and I want to really encourage you all I come here from DFW uh specifically for worth in Arlington and they're not doing things like this they've actually talked with me about what you all are doing here because they want to do more things like that so please continue to do this wonderful work continue to be an example for other metros and other places in this state and thank you so much thank you sir hi good morning um I am Patrica sanan and I am the director for children's disabilities information Coalition I'd like to take this opportunity to thank city council member for this opportunity but especially for Miss Cassandra and on this you know for all your guidance and all of your support and for championing the ability fellows internship which gave our peer support specialist the opportunity to get work experience with the city of El Paso and at the end of their internship receive a stien for it so once again thank you thank you y'all want to come on [Applause] up okay see e right the see thank you e and we're ready and the final Proclamation is Leon mitts travel the past day yes it's your turn you know I'm all I'm going to say is when you you try and do a proclamation for Leon Mets they use really small print because there's so much that goes into it so if If I Stumble on some of these words you'll have to excuse me whereas travel the pass was established in 1991 by renowned historian Leon C Mets 1930 through 2020 and Global sociocultural Marketing researcher Sylvia gvalia landos a highly endorsed creative partnership whose scholarly agenda promotes Our borderland's Heritage educates about our Region's characteristics and employs stem academics across its multilingual Publications and programs all of which contribute to our shared Tri-State Regional e economic well-being and whereas travel the passes 33 years of service have been marked by exemplary dedication to the best interest of our community and classrooms our Borderlands distinctiveness achieves recognition via its numerous marketing and branding campaigns lectures and presentations our 400-year-old history gained recognition on the History Channel the Arts and entertainment channel the Discovery Channel and PBS public broadcasting system through Leon C Met's commentaries and he received the Ruth Lester Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas historical commission as well as the settlement award for his extensive work on our Borderland history Penning over 19 books on Western history whereas directed by Sylvia javali Alto since 1991 travel the pass academic anthologies and stem research are supported by the Western writers of America ivy league figures World Faith leaders pet Sur prizewinning writers and Global Medical platforms her sociocultural marketing methodologies initiatives and Publications receive endorsements from prominent bational associations such as convention and visitors bureaus Chamber of Commerce organizations lodging networks and government scholar scholarly Partnerships travel the paast collaborations work together to promote and conserve our Region's history in addition to embracing Innovative stem applications aimed at conveying our our knowledge of the past and future to generations of all ages and languages and whereas travel the past Legacy of pushing boundaries and producing exceptional academic instruments for our communities and classrooms is enabled by the use of a creative mindset strong analytical skills expertise and enthusiasm allowing the development of innovative programs such as our first Regional Tri-State bational edut TV channel in the early 2000s and our cities in borderland's first bilingual newspapers and education publication in 2008 and whereas today travel the past produces a multilingual program and publication mad Zine academic Anthology celebrating our borderland's Rich history featuring exclusive narratives by Leon C Mets and captivating stem research examining an expansive Spirit of space eor exploration and experimentation madine put Blends technolog technological innovation I'll get through it I swear cultural authentic authenticity economic mindfulness and a strong emphasis on personal well-being these Trends represent a vibrant industry with a significant impact in generating additional revenue for El Paso Texas New Mexico and Chihuahua Mexico now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor and the council of the city of El Paso that October 22nd 2024 shall be known as Leon Mets travel the past day and it's signed by our honorable mayor Oscar liser thank you thank you thank you good morning good morning very well thank you Brian that's a lot of reading uh thank you so much first and foremost I want to thank you all um you do so much for our city for our communities if your job was easy any one of us would do it it takes dedication commitment compassion empathy knowing what your community needs and addressing those needs so thank you so much for that thank you for Brian for doing this for Leon Mets he was a very wellknown historian um highly respected author and he was my guidance if you will for 29 years if you're wondering how old I am I'm about 301 so we're still we're still strong wrong but um if I may I brought a video that will sort of uh compile Leon ms's accomplishments it should have that ready they're bringing it out readyy okay [Music] I'm isaas and Welcome to our magical southwest desert celebrating our distinctive blend of traditions profound historical roots and a passionate culture as one you're watching travel the pass the pass of the North El Paso is one of these marvelous towns that has 400 years of some of the most colorful diverse history you'll find anywhere on the planet that's all over town for instance downtown you think of as primarily uh uh gunfighter and wild west and Mexican Revolution but you also have a Chinese core down there for a very fascinating history ktsm 9 news reporter Stephania safer details what the future holds for arguably the best known local expert of our past well I can see it he scripted Al Paso he put El Paso on the map he started chronicling our archives back in 1967 at UT the first to gather every possible snippet of the borderland's 400y Year history our stories couldn't be told if it weren't for him and Penning them to life an author lecturer and historian whose by line reads Leon Mets this man has done so much not only for El Paso but for the entire Southwest originally from West Virginia Mets joined the US Air Force eventually Landing him at bigs field in El Paso the city he now calls home we have been publishing his Works throughout our academic projects and Publications since 91 mostly within the pages of the Southwest Chronicle the local publication which he used for years to educate any and everybody on the things he was passionate about for Bliss Billy the Kid the border that publication now run by one of his protes a very fascinating history in the Lower Valley of course you have your missions in Sunset Heights you have your your attractive homes in a different location uh so there's there's so much to see in El Paso so much happened stories documented in a re-release of the Southwest Chronicle his articles and works restructured to appeal to the next generation of historians all in Met's honor when you think about Paso particularly with history you've got to begin with downtown because that's where it all started do we have areas here or sites here that are unique One of a Kind something very different for people to see what kinds of things would be of interest to someone visiting El Paso for the first time Fort Bliss was out on the Mesa was five miles from town probably wasn't 50 soldiers there with the Mexican Revolution however 1910 1920 you get uh you get Fort Bliss suddenly becomes the largest Cavalry Post in it's never been Cavalry it's always been infantry Suddenly It's the largest Cavalry Post in the United States that one what uh is next what projects are you working at at this point I'm starting to research the Mexican Revolution if you can if you can understand what happened here at El Paso and Warz you can understand the Mexican Revolution and that's what I hope to do is pull it together and make it make sense we'll see well there's certainly a a wide range of material available on that and Mets published over 17 books but there was one that was never released the Southwest Chronicle is going to be featuring a chapter of that unpublished book and it's [Music] thank you so much for taking time to review that thank you h [Applause] mayor would you like to go to the consent agenda all matters listed under the consent agenda will be considered by city council to be routined and will beaed Ed 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 proam revisions for the agenda page seven item 24 delete per representative Hernandez page 11 item 43 three move to the Forefront of the regular agenda per mayor proem Kennedy page 11 item 44 move to the Forefront of the regular agenda per mayor proam Kennedy page 12 item 48 delete per representative oo page 22 item 68 delete per planning and inspections second representative lundis um I'd like to move item number four to the regular agenda thank you what's number m'am four four okay thank you four so we have a motion do we have a second okay yes there's a motion made by mayor protim Kennedy seconded by representative Riva to approve the consent agenda as revised on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously we'll take item four first ma'am yes sir item number four is a resolution that the city council hereby delegates is its authority to cancel an active solicitation for goods and services to the purchasing director of the city of Al Paso's purchasing and strategic sourcing Department good morning ma'am good morning mayor and Council Nicole Cody managing director of purchasing and iic sourcing we have a short presentation if it will bring it up thank you so as uh Miss PR read into the record the requested action from city council is to be able to approve this resolution to delegate the authority to um cancel an active solicitation for goods and services to the purchasing director so background there's many reasons a procurement uh might need to be cancelled it doesn't happen often but it does occur um we probably maybe once or twice a year uh the reason that this resolution is brought for before you all is because uh it takes for our bids or proposals 120 days to expire after bid opening so we might know on the fifth day we might know on the 30th day that we need to cancel um the solicitation but for goods and services we're required to wait the full 120 days for the bids to expire before we begin the process to rebid so our proposed changes is to be able to delegate the authority to the purchasing director we'll provide notification of course to all the suppliers and so part of the changes that we've made this year from the purchasing department um came from concerns from you all as well as concerns from our suppliers which is to improve our communication so really we have an an important role in ensuring that we're communicating with our suppliers and so part of that is included in the resolution itself that the notification will be provided along with the reason of the cancellation and then we will be posting it city council agenda for notation on a quarterly basis and that's concludes the presentation fural thank you mayor muted U thank you Miss Cody thank you very much U my question is so we are we are just being more effective being able to react to situations quicker we're not omitting any responsibilities from C the council so no it what it's a delegation to the purchasing director and then we're ensuring that we're notifying not only the suppliers but you all of any types of cancellation okay and so what that does allow us to do is be able to as you mentioned react sooner so we're not having to wait 3 to four months before we start a rebid process uh we're able to start it sooner and so uh representative deetta had mentioned this during the strategic planning session he wanted us to start looking at those items that would help to shorten the length of procurement time and this is one of those items okay and this will be able to save the the vendor money from having to wait and and us of opportunities to to react quicker yes and it'll be noted and the reason for it being omitted will be in the backup um in the notation absolutely so we'll bring those forward to council so you're aware because you too will also receive questions if there's any questions or concerns so we want to make sure that council is aware when these do occur mayor I'd like to make a motion to approve second we have a thank you sir we do have representative caneles followed by representative thank you mayor um Miss Cody I had I had uh but we we spoke about this I'm broadly okay with this change I think it makes sense to be able to react quicker as you said um I did want to be uh for the council to be notified uh at the next available uh regular city council meeting is that something that you think the department would be able to do uh instead of quarterly the time absolutely given the the timeline that we have for submitting agenda items absolutely yeah I guess yeah again at the next available uh posting yes we can um is that something that you have a floor Amendment prepared for um would you like me to propose language here I don't have a floor Amendment prepar prepared for that if you will representative Canales um then I I move to amend the uh operative clause in the in the resolution uh to read the the city uh that the city hereby delegates its authority to cancel an active solicitation for goods and services to the purchasing director of the city of Al Paso's purchasing and strategic sourcing Department that cancellation or rejection notices will contain the following minimum information one city Department name business address and contract name and two uh city of El Paso solicitation number and three reasons for cancellation uh that the purchasing director will provide notice to the city council of solicitations uh cancer canel under this delegation of Authority for notation via posting to the next available City c a regular city council meeting agenda uh Miss bran I can send you the language shortly yes please second there a second right we have um motion second but we do have represento and then we'll take the amendment then the the item thank you mayor I so you were you were saying that right now you have to wait the 120 days for it to cancel and at this point you wouldn't have to wait for the 120 days anymore or you still do no so if the council approves this resolution as amended uh we would be able to cancel a solicitation before that it expires okay and so you with this amendment trying to notify Us by the next city council meeting that kind of gives you the opportunity to give us just a list or how will you give us reasons or what will that look like absolutely so we'll provide the information the solicitation same information that's provided to the suppliers would also be provided to council for notation on the city council agenda okay and is this a best practice for procurement actually it is so we've seen this in other areas and Texas and it the way it was um it's actually drafted and worded we worked with legal to ensure it it mirrors what we have in the local government code okay thank you thank you sir representative thank you mayor yes sir M Cody thank you for bringing this to to the council and uh it just shows that uh you're looking forward to making this procurement process efficient and savings right it won't be as costly as it is now and uh keep the budget of the project within within range so I thank you for that and your your monthly reports to the Future Council will be similar to your pecard reports correct so this will only be if there is a cancellation um I don't anticipated to be monthly yeah but um absolutely we will do uh something similar again thank you so much for bringing this to council thank you sir and I think this is something that's really really important but just out of curiosity in the last FIS year if this item was in effect how many times would you have uh been able to use it I believe we calculated twice twice yes sir yeah so this is just to make us a little bit more efficient and it's not something you'll do quite often yes sir thank you for that M yes mayor there was a motion made by representative Canales seconded by representative Fiero and this is to amend the resolution and this is to as of number four has read earlier and this is to add number four on the resolution as read into the record by representative Canales who made the motion second it by representative a uh not to not to add a number four but just uh amending the language below the the numbered list of three okay to amend to include additional language under number three yes yes ma'am and I the I sent the language too okay with that ahead M FR yes sir and that the portion that's going to be added reads that the purchasing director will provide notice to the city council of solicitations canceled under this delegation of Authority for notation via posting to the next available regular city council meeting agenda yes on that Amendment call for the vote and the voting session and the amendment passes now there's a motion made by repr representative Fiero seconded by representative RTO Rea to approve the resolution as amended on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously we now turn to page 11 items 43 and 44 were moved to the Forefront mayor would you like to take those together yes ma'am please thank you sir item 43 is discussion and action to direct the city manager and City attorney to research Benchmark and make recommendations regarding the portions of the state statute that governs the firemen and policemen's pension fund Texas revised civil statute article 62 43b that involve the city and provide information on all recommendations to the firemen and policeman fund item 44 is discussion and action regarding the September 12 2024 in October 11th 2024 Al Paso firemen and policemen fund second tier Plan cost of living adjustment correspondence submitted to the city manager both items were placed by mayor protm Kennedy mayor protm yeah um we all know that the charter was changed uh in dealing with pens the ability to fund the pension particularly with tier 2 uh last year this however is a a two-part process I mean our Charter can change but we also have to make sure that the state statutes are changed because as a home rule City we're still Bound by those um item the first item for 43 was because our staff uh needed some direction on checking on benchmarks research and making recommendations um rather than have the pension and working with themselves to go down to Austin and us working with ourselves it seemed like communication together and to go as a single unit made a whole lot of sense and getting it where everybody's working together and presents a united front rather than well we want this and they want that seem to make a whole lot of good sense in unifying our efforts for 43 um nobody ever comes into office saying we should be less safe you know everybody wants to be a safer city um we want to have attractive packages for those people that we are considering not only recruiting but holding on to I think finding a way out of the um tier 2 issue is important not just for those that are in the pension but for everybody in the city of El Paso I kind of put this item on because rather than have a bunch of positioning and posturing on well you say this we say that to have the conversation together just seemed to make really good sense uh I was going to ask mayor and I know we're taking them together um we taking them together H we were doing them at the same time but I want to make it if you're all okay mayor I'd like to make a motion that number 43 be accepted because number 44 I know will take a presentation from our staff I would say um I just I think that working together when we go down to Austin just makes such good sense for everybody that we can give the staff direction that that's what we want to do and then I'm sure there'll be some disagreements by the way but at least then the disagreements are in the same room and not down in Austin in front of the legislators no that's the right thing to do absolutely and um we um we'll take um now I know we have uh people signed up for item 43 and 44 I'd like to take public comment if you now the people that signed up which was Mr grman Burns uh Shelton and Thompson for 43 would you all like to talk now on 43 or would you like to talk when we take 44 Mr Gman 43 43 okay we'll do that that all right so we have a motion and a second on item 43 but remember when we talk about it stay on 43 cuz we we're going to take we're going to have a presentation by staff on item 44 and then we have additional people to talk on that so miss P will take a public comment on it item 43 only yes ma'am yes sir we'll begin with Mr Tyler Gman good morning sir you have three minutes morning sir good morning mayor uh thank you thank you Council for allowing us to speak on this item and I agree with representative Kennedy um I've known you know represent Canales for over eight years 10 years 30 years over eight years seven years 15 years eight years we just met a year two years you're the the Young on this uh Council but um we've worked with you all on numerous occasions I don't think we've ever been combative uh we've always come to the table and and been transparent with you on what we wanted and what we uh desired uh which hasn't been a lot over that time period that you all have been sitting up there uh on Council and so there are several things that uh uh Kennedy brought up that uh uh we think are important uh obviously there is current law within our statue that is outdated since it has not been updated since 2007 for these particular items uh we did go together in 13 with the city uh to uh add items that uh then you know uh we collaborate with the city uh to make those changes happen uh there are some areas that we think uh we could change that actually save the city some money and put more money in the members Pockets uh obviously that would help uh with our causes on the next issue um one of the important parts is allowing our citizens uh their vote to matter um I think it's important that their voice voices are heard they voted to allow the city to raise contributions if they needed to and so I think that is I mean why would you not put that in the Statue if the voters have already voted to put that in there it just makes total sense I think the most important thing um is given uh the ability for the members behind you to have a good retirement and changing that statute to allow them to have um a retirement that they can live on for the rest of life is extremely important uh to to them and to us and it should be to the city we know that recruiting is hard we know more importantly retention um it's it's great and I commend you for for wanting to hire you know 100 new police officers but does it really matter if 50 walk out the door the same year for retirement another you know 20 quit to go to other jobs uh that with better benefits and another 20 quit to just because they they can't handle it which is going to happen it it's been negative for the last four years uh and so we need to have that carrot at the end of the stick uh to allow these members to uh see a future that brings them economic relief when they're retired nobody wants to retire and have zero income uh additional income coming in uh when they turn 80 uh it hasn't worked in the past uh it won't work now there's several funds around the state that are changing it just for that fact so we would love to go hand inhand with the city and propose language to the uh than you Mr legislation that would benefit us both thank you sir thank you next speaker is Timothy Burns Timothy Burns followed by Sean Shelton and Paul Thompson can I talk on instead pardon me he wants to speak on 44 only okay well let you speak on 44 then Sean Shelton good morning you have three minutes uh I'll be brief on on this item I got more to cover on item good morning sir morning thank you all for for sitting with us today um I appreciate it we've met with you guys on numerous occasions um all we're asking for on item 43 is the opportunity to work collaboratively on this um that's that's all we're asking we want to go hand in hand with the state to the state we understand that you guys need to change some stuff um we would like to change some stuff and that's all we're asking for on thank you thank you sir and the final speaker is Paul Thompson good morning good morning good morning sir good morning all you look good in the suit again thank you good morning mayor and councel thank you for the opportunity to speak I have the honor of serving on the fire and police pension board since 2013 and I'm currently and I currently serve as the vice chair I wanted to take this opportunity to go over some facts to go over some facts in March of 1998 when I graduated uated from the academy the pension fund was about 350 million in size and today we have over two billion dollars in size and are one of the top performing funds in the State in 1995 the then pension board came to the city and advised the city that there was a shortfall of 30 million the city decided to Kick the Can down the road and by 2007 that shortfall had grown to almost 4 00 million in 2007 tier 2 was created which reduced benefits to Future members one of which was no cola today the majority of the members in both departments are tier two a lot of them are here are here in the background and both departments are losing employees who go to other organizations and Pay Less in contributions and get more benefits the city's contribution has been at 18% % since 1968 when the employees were at 6% when I joined the Department in 1998 we were contributing 11% we then went to 133% 15% and now fire and police members pay the same 18% as the city which has been at 18% as I said since 1968 for years the previous and I'll make a point the previous City attorney told us we were a home rule City and we must follow the city Charter which used to have a cap of 18% for the city that same City attorney said it didn't matter what the state statute said because we're a home rule City governed by the city Charter we have that correspondence last year the the citizens of Al Paso imposed their will and overwhelmingly supported proposition I which changed the charter and removed the city's cap of 18% on the fire and police pension fund mayor and councel by approving well I don't want to jump ahead but we ask you to support um both item 43 item 43 is is extremely important we need to work together like we have in the past and uh I would also ask you to support a modest 1 and a half% Coler for tier two thank you for this opportunity thank you and I just want to make sure that you do all understand that all we want to do is do it the right way it's not that we don't want to do it but how do we do it the right way so we don't have future councils and people coming back and said we didn't do it right so by looking at item 43 we're moving our foot forward and saying we're going to do it but we're going to do it the right way and we got to look and see how we can do it and I know we've had a lot of briefings I've I've talked to Tyler and everyone else that's come in so we understand what needs to be done but you know as you're talking about former City attorney told you this so and so told you this we want to go and we don't want to have that conversation again we want to do it one time and one time do it correctly so thank you all for for being here as uh when you see the presentation uh you'll see that uh there's some things we need to do and that's how we're going to be able to move forward so thank you for your time representative nundes followed by representative f h okay good morning everyone thank you for being here first and for foremost thank you for your endless sacrifice to protect our city I am a big proponent of ensuring that our tier 2 um members of of our uh Public Safety team are compensated fairly and that you're prepared um for your retirements I'm very concerned um with the state of the nation and how we are treating our law enforcement and our Public Safety officers and I really do believe that City councils ac across this country have to get creative with Benefits making sure we're not demonizing our law enforcement making sure that we are celebrating you you are part of what makes our community great and part of that is correcting what has been broken and I have con conveyed and communicated several times to our City attorney City management as well as Council that our pension liabilities need to be addressed our growing cost of the Departments we need to get creative of how we're going to um get a control of not only the growing cost but the costs that are are directly attributed with losing officers and firefighters because of the lack of benefits and the lack of pay your success and your benefit packages will mean our city is safer so I'm committed to making sure that we can find a way forward I also think we just need to be like honest and have like open conversations about this um the this items on the agenda the public is questioning what's what's going on here what's the what's the dilemma here the The Dilemma is that the pension um fund requires our two two-tier which our new recruits our new members who have come on and we've done extensive recruiting over the past five years seven years since I've been in office they do not get a cost of living adjustment so while all other retirees across our Workforce are getting some form of adjustment these new um police environment are not and that's that's unfair and I understand why I understand why they made those decisions in the past we already know the economy isn't getting better inflation is increas interest is increasing our economic drivers in our budget is increasing as well but if you look at our bond Raiders they have made clear you know we need to look at how to address the pension liabilities in part of that is funding a portion of that if that means it comes from the voters or it comes from the general fund then we have to have that conversation because I do believe once we add more funding to the to the pension and I don't know what it is I know we should drive that through oxer orial that it will directly address our overall fiscal responsibility and that's our bond rate and so I also want Council to consider how this change could also impact our financial standing in a positive way and so that those are things that you know I wanted to share with you because our bond Raiders are looking at this as well so we have to address this holistically looking at the entire budget working in tandem with our city management I'm encourage that open dialogue um and I'm committed to having that open door with you as well thank you again for your commitment thank you for keeping our streets safe responding to any concerns I'm more comfortable I feel comfortable knowing that you're out taking care of our community now it's our duty to find a way to take care of you and again thank you for being here thank you representative nundes and I think you you know our last negotiations with the Police contract was a very aggressive contract and we'll have the largest graduating class that the chief told us that by June we'll have 91 new police officers on the street that's because of the new contract that we felt it was really important to get aggressive and we'll continue to be aggressive cuz just like representative dund says we we thank you for what you do and we'll continue to make sure that um you and your families continue to be taken care of so thank you for that and with that we'll go to item 44 no let's take a vote I'm sorry vote on item 43 yes sir there is a motion made by mayor ptim Kennedy seconded by representative fedo and this is to approve item 43 as posted on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously we now move to item 44 and this is discussion and action regarding the September 12th 2024 and October 11th 2024 Al Pas passo firemen and policemen fund second tier Plan cost of living adjustment correspondence submitted to the city manager thank you representative fural um do you should we do public comment first or or would you like me to uh there's um let's um let's do the presentation or do you want to do public comment first it's up to youall I I have a well I have a concern with the presentation and I guess we'll go straight into that mayor um just like the mayor protm stated I think it's very very important and it's one of the number one issues for our community is uh fire and police is Public Safety and the only profession that I believe that is more underpaid and and sometimes underappreciated are teachers and we there's nobody that we all go to first and foremost than than our firefighters then and then our police um I'm a proud uh father of a firefighter and and I want to thank every person that's here today to to address us and to ask and to explain why we need to and there's no explanation we know why we need to to move this item forward unfortunately mayor I have concerns um in regards to the home rule at State situa and State U statute situation I have questions in regards to the actuary letters and so I I would make a motion to postpone this um to get the questions answered and I'm only one but I don't know the rest of my colleagues have some of the same issues and representative Hernandez put it uh very distinctly that we need to address these issues at the Forefront and so that they're not always growing and um my motion is to postpone this issue until we get some clarity from our legal councel we have no second so we'll proceed with the item okay um Miss Neeman if I could if I could first mayor um before we have a discussion with Miss Neeman um if we're going to get a presentation from legal I think we need to right wave attorney client what she was going to do so so mayor representative alternate Pro mayor mayor protemp is correct um we we have prepared a presentation um for the council and we have briefed you all an executive on this item twice uh if the council is inclined to have this conversation in Open Session I would recommend that you wave the attorney Clint priv so we can go through what we had previously discussed with you behind closed doors I move to a wave the attorney client privilege for this presentation second here and I think it's important that the members that are here and everyone that here can see what we've um what we've seen in in executive session I think it's really important to to share that with you all in the public with that we have a motion in a second to wave our attorney client uh privilege M PR yes sir on that motion I'll I'll do roll call Mayor protim Kennedy hi representative ASO hi Hernandez yes Salo hio hi Rea hi Canales hi and that motion passes unanimous I go ahead good morning mayor good morning members of council Kristen Hamilton Ken from the city attorney's office uh we are going to go through the presentation that we shared with you yesterday in executive session uh due to your waiver of the attorney client privilege it is pulling it up right now thank you it uh so again we're going to discuss the El Paso P firefighters and policemen's pension fund request that has been received uh by the city uh through the city manager Office so in summary the El Paso fire firemen and policemen pension fund board has requested an annual automatic 1.5% uh cost of living adjustment for tier 2 retirees the first issue is that it has not yet complied with the statutory Provisions there is state law that covers this and so we were not yet through all the sequential process that has to be followed um at this point uh it is required that the participants vote on this this new request uh and the second question is whether the cola is supported by the existing funding status which is the current statutory requirement under the current statute uh the Actuarial let the actual study must show that um the current letter that is before uh the the pension fund board does show that there is a negative impact on the pension fund and does recommend implementing the Cola with the city's contribution increases which are currently barred by state law which is what you all discussed in the previous item so there is a Financial impact uh obviously to the annual cost of living adjustment the first year of this cost of the First full year the First full calendar year of the cost of living adjustment will be about a 6, 83,000 uh cost impact that that will grow as time goes on so the statutory process that I mentioned earlier that is required to be followed under state law requires that first a qualified actuary is selected the qualifications are in the statute must be selected by a four- fifths vote of the board The Next Step which is where we are right now is that the change must include an Actuarial report showing that it is supported by the existing funding status of the funds that means assets minus the obligations there was an October 11th Actuarial letter that the city receiv received uh information um and then after that the voters the participants must vote and there must be a majority vote by blind ballot after 10 days notice at each of the the substations and then that change must be submitted to city council city council can then approve or deny the amendment to the benefits in the fund that are supported by the existing funding status if Council either denies it or does not act within 60 days then the board can uh demand that it go to the voters for an election the initial submission was received by the city on October 12th of 2024 and that previous submission um didn't follow the statutory process required there was an Actuarial letter provided due to a study that was from February of 202 before that showed how much the city's contribution would need to increase uh in order to support the requested Cola however under the statute that question is not the accurate question to ask the right question to ask the actuary under the statute is that whether it is supported by the existing funding status the pension board did did then go to the voters based on that study for the city's contribution uh the it did pass by majority vote um the board submitted it to city council for city council action however it was it was not following the statutory requirements the city manager did notify the executive director of the fund uh that the report was not able to be supported by council at this point and that it needed to show that the the change was supported by the existing funding status so we received a notification from the funding from the board that they did get a new letter from an from their actuary rud and wisdom on October 11th um that new letter does not seem to be completely supported by the existing funding status of the fund because that letter discusses increases to the years to amortize the unfunded liability of the pension fund and it also recommends and relies on the city changing the law to contribute the full cost the projected in Impact to the pension fund is that it would increase the the first year would increase from 20 years to 24 years the number of years to uh pay off the current unfunded liability uh and then for Fire 21 to 26 years to pay off the current unfunded liability um the Actuarial letter does State technically the section 10A which is this relevant statute would be satisfied without an increase in current city contribution because the payoff periods do not exceed 30 years 30 years is a very they it puts the state puts the fund on a cautionary status and they have to fix it um that's why that year is that number of years are is important but the actuary does State therefore the benefit change of adding the cola is supported by the existing uh status of the fund however they go on to state that this is based on an assumption that the law will change to allow the city to increase its contribution rates to the two funds as we determined necessary in the February 14th 2024 study that's adding the 2 .5% to the police fund and 3.25 to the fire uh the actuary strongly recommends the city pay for the cola for these five reasons the actuary's October 11 2024 letter continued to State the closer the payoff period is to 30 years the smaller the funds cushion for adverse experience and the more sensitive it is to adverse experience um both funds in 2022 had a experienced a large loss and are being Rec re recognized sorry over the next five years over the current five years that we're in since 2022 and without favorable investment payoffs it could become somewhat higher the the unfunded liability years to pay off the next actuary study will likely include changes in demographic assumptions that would increase liability of the funds next slide it also goes on to state that the proposed Cola change can be made and still comply with the law without the city's current adoption of its intended contribution rate increases so it does assume that the city is going to pay fully for the the cola especially in light of the city's representation that it will work with the fund to seek a legislative change um the fund Boards of Trustees has a fiduciary duty to consider the recommendations of its Consulting Actuarial form firm for the long-term success and sustainability of the funds next slide so in order for the city to be able to increase its contribution or to contribute public funds to the pension for the fire and police the state law requires that it is first voter approved d uh if it is not voter approved the only pathway for the city to increase contributions are if a qualified actuary finds that the current uh unfunded liability payoff period exceeds 40 years then Council May authorize an increase if Council authorizes an increase there is also a comparable increase of a percentage of that by the members that are contributing at that time uh the combined increase must not exceed the rate determined by the actuary that is necessary to pay off the unfunded liability in 40 years next slide under state law and under the Texas Constitution home Ru municipalities have authority to act in ways that are not inconsistent with the Constitution or with state law and while the city of El Paso is a home Roll City and it does have power to act not inconsistent with the state constitution or with the general laws of the state these broad powers of the city may be limited by Statute when the legislator's intention does so in with unmistakable Clarity and this is how state law describes the the home rule Authority the state the state did provide a clear statute uh in relation to How the City May contribute to the El Paso firefighter imp fund and so we are currently Bound by that law next slide so in summary the state law does not currently allow the city to increase its contribution as requested or as recommended by the actuary uh the Pension funds future status would be impacted as shown by their actuary if they do move forward with this Cola um and then the city cannot currently act on the letter because we still haven't met the statutory steps of the voters uh the pension participants vote thank you thank okay so based on all that how do we move forward to be able to do something the uh previous item that you discussed that Council discussed mayor for us to work with the pension fund um and for us to do benchmarking and research um a path forward for seeking a legislative update to the state law is is a way in which the city may be able to assist in the future if there is a need for the city to contribute more funds to the pension fund uh the the uh the pension board would need to speak to their their planned path forward on on what they would would propose to do within the current statute if they wished to provide an Actuarial letter showing the support of the existing funding status uh for a benefit change they could they could continue to do that so first thing that needs to happen is they need to take a vote once the vote happens the next move is we go to the state and change the rule to be able to have Council make a decision to do this if they vote on the current Actuarial letter stating that it is supported by the existing funding status of the fund they could move forward on that and bring it forward to council for Council to decide on that based on the existing funding status of the fund the change to the statutory language is a separate item a separate conversation that would be done separate from the the current request um it could be it could allow the change to the statute might allow the city to contribute earlier than a 40-year payout for the unfunded liability okay okay so first step was 43 we've done that next step is they need to go take a vote on their which I wouldn't think anybody wouldn't vote for it and then bring it back to the city and then we can try to move forward with it yes sir okay thank you for that thank you representative Kennedy um so we're kind of statutorily hamstrung is what you're telling me yes sir currently there the statute does not allow the city to contribute more funds in this manner but if we got a clean Actuarial letter that simply said it's it doesn't change the status under the current funding Arrangement it could be implemented immediately with no no guarantee or warranty of an additional contribution from the city is that right that is correct after the statutory steps are followed which includes the vote of the the participating members yes sir I love when ordinances and statutes like crash heads against each other um if if there if a proposal if a proposal is brought forward we have 60 days to approve or deny right yes if we do not approve it if we either deny it or take no action it goes to the voters that the attention board can ask for it to go to the voters and then we would be required to put it on the next uh practicable I believe is the statutory language the next practicable election but they can't do that until they take the action from their members yes sir okay so if that came forward and we were statutorily restricted from voting yes could they still take it to the voters if they didn't follow the statutory language then we wouldn't be able they wouldn't be able to force the vote but if they followed the statutory process which requires the Actuarial finding that it's supported by the fund the voters the participants approve the change to the benefits they bring it forward to councel if they follow the process they bring it forward to council and Council denies it or Council doesn't act on it then they can force the vote I mean it's a weird position that we're in where we change the charter to say we can change the contribution and the state statute says no I mean it's it it was always going to be a two-part process is what I'm understanding correct it would have always been a two-part process the charters the charter restricted us even if the state law allowed it now the charter doesn't restrict us so now if the state law allows for it if it rises to the level where the state law allows for it or if the voters approve a change then now that change can happen I will say it was it's nobody that's in this room that said the charter was going to fix everything I just want to make that that's observation okay repr thank you mayor so it thanks for the presentation Kristen there's there seems to be a lot of steps in the process because of statutes that we have to follow and it makes it a little hard for us to be collaborative in that sense where I I want to make this happen right but then we also have to kind of look at the state law and then look at all the legal stuff on there so I think that it was important to kind of show this presentation to the public to make sure everybody understands but then I feel that at some point during the presentation it was a little too much legal jargon so I I wanted to see if you could kind of explain a little bit more on what home Ru means in regards specifically to this item in more layman's terms because it seems like that's a a big point of contention I'll do my best um under the Texas Constitution in 1912 the the V voters of the State of Texas allowed for cities to create a home Rule Charter where they can basically govern themselves cities can govern themselves and can make make local law as it best fits the needs of the locality that power the homerule power is very open-ended unless the state law says you can't do it or unless the state constitution says you can't do it so essentially a home rule City looks to state law to see not what you can do but what you can't do so we look for those things that it restricts us the the current state law requ that governs the city of El Paso as it relates to our firemen and policemen's pension fund is very specific um I believe that Mr Gman mentioned earlier that there was a state law change in 2013 to allow for the city to increase its contribution if the fund reached that 40-year Max that is very specific it's unequivocal unequivocal you can read it and you know what it means um it says if the fund is going to take 40 years to pay off its current Li Li abilities its current obligations to the the retirees if it's going to take 40 years for it to pay that off then the city can step in and help out um that's outdated that's an outdated standard perhaps and that's what we'll look at and we'll study under your item 43 um but we are restricting we do have to follow that law and and one of the slides where you were kind of outlining the letter and the response to the letter I think it was like five points one one thing it it kind of seemed to me that a lot of this was also dependent on changing the statute as it applies to Al Paso specifically from the state would that be correct yes the expectation of the actuary was that the city would change the statute in a very specific way to allow the city to essentially pay the $6 million that would it would cost okay and so the soonest that we could get to that is the next legislative session that starts in January that's true the next legislative session is and and I think for for me one of my hopes out of the item 43 that we just passed is um at least an outcome of this that I'm hoping to see in the next few weeks is that we kind of unite forces and make it our legislative agenda right and so obviously the research is going to be done by staff and that's great um but but that that's kind of my hope so we could kind of unite and tackle it together and we're not working in silos and I think this could also be another part where there's that cross collaboration that that we can get um this done so I I think that for me I'm also thinking how long do you think item 43 will will take from the city attorney's perspective is it about another month or two or well we do need to act rapidly we are quickly approaching the legislative session um we are working with M Mack and her team Mr Vogal weed has um you know willingly stepped forward to be able to be prepared to assist us on this work um you know we would hope to be able to provide some recommendations I would hope in a month okay yeah so I I think that that sounds good to me we're acting fast and I think that uh I see that as you know I Echo what the mayor said what rep Kennedy said what rep Hernandez said where we we want to make this happen but there's just all this red type that we need to get through but we could get through it together and we'll move forward once we kind of get through all that so thank you so much for clarifying everything for me thank you ma'am thank you for everyone and uh we're going to listen to public comment but I think this is a way and you can see that this Council wants to do it but we're going to take the first step forward to work together together to be able to do it and um and the things we talked about today are the things that we have to move forward to be able to do this and I know Tyler we've met a couple times and kind of went over the things that we need to do so um we can get it done so with that I'm going to go to public comment yes mayor we have five members of the public that signed up to speak we'll begin with Tyler grman followed by Samson Riva Shan Shelton Paul Thompson and J son good morning again you have three minutes good morning again sir good morning thank you again um we're more than willing to uh work with the city on obviously the legislative uh piece uh I would ask that well I make the comment of I appreciate their their presentation but we'll have to agree to disagree and I'd rather just move forward like the mayor said and uh make this happen um because obviously it's something that uh I think everybody wants and uh in El Paso needs and so I would ask uh Council then to help us uh through this process so that each step that we take I'd rather us go through the entire process again so that each process that we take that the City attorney can look at it and sign off on so that we know that at the end of the process there's not going to be a moving of the goalpost so that we're not you know uh uh in limbo again or we're not going through this whole process again I don't think that would be a conflict in any way of us working collaboratively on this effort and making sure that it's done properly obviously with the legislative part we already have a draft of the items that we know that need to be um updated and things that we think would uh could change to make it better for the city and and give them the ability to act on the things that the citizens voted on in the uh in the charter and obviously to allow for contribution increases when it comes to benefits um and so we can we can definitely uh work with the um city manager on that and and whoever she designates as our contact person so um we're definitely uh uh want to make this happen thank you and I think it's important that when you talk about you know take step forward and work together hand in hand and step by step is to working together that way we don't miss a step we can sit there and agree and move forward and be able to do it and we'll be able to do it faster if we're sitting at the same table yes sir thank you sir thank you the next speaker is Samson Riva good morning you have three minutes good morning sir morning mayor council my name is Samson Rivera I'm proud to represent the El Paso Association of firefighters as vice president I'm here asking you to support Public Safety I'm asking you to support the men and women of the El Paso and fire department El Paso police and fire departments a few of them are are here with me today they represent the very best this this city has to offer these are men and women who have all taken an oath to protect this city and its citizens with their bodies and lives if necessary these are the men and women asking for your support today every election we hear how you know the council supports Public Safety now is your opportunity to put words to action I'm not asking you to stand in front of us or behind us we're just asking you to stand with us show your support of Public Safety by giving the men and women of the fire and police department's a dignified and healthy retirement we're not asking for the moon and the stars here we're just asking for your support thank you thank you next speaker is Sean Shelton good morning I want to start off by thank everybody for allowing us to speak today um I know this has been a long process it's been a process that we've met with you uh each and every step we've asked some questions um hopefully answered all the questions that you could have could have had um we did get some guidance on the process um so we can agree to disagree in that respect um in meeting with you um we did discuss that this is important to our membership um as you can see by everybody standing here today um I didn't Bluff on that this is something that members of the police department and the fire department are passionate about and it's something that we need to get fixed um in 2007 the fund and the city decided to address a funding issue by creating creating a second tier to our retirement plan with the second tier came a drastic reduction in benefits including the loss of the cola reduction of the multiplier reduction of death benefits and increases in both the service time and the time to reach retirement our membership realized the importance of our retirement and we took some steps to get some of those benefits back and we voluntarily increased our contribution in 2017 at the time we increased our contribution we overfunded those benefits in the hopes that in the future a cola could be obtained at a much less cost after several years of record levels of inflation the issue of aola has never loomed larger as it stands at the moment our retirees currently have no protection against inflation and would struggle to maintain their Lifestyles the members the members of the El Paso Fire Department and the police department contribute to this fund at one of the highest levels in the nation the city remains one of the lowest contributors to a public safety Fund in the nation throughout this process it has seemed that the city is more interested in spending time and effort in finding a way to not fund this benefit then they are working collaboratively to change some State statutes and to make this work recruiting and retention remains a huge problem for this city especially on the police side we continue to pay millions of dollars to put recruits throughs only to watch them walk out the door several years later a lot of these officers are leaving in search of better retired benefits or similar retired benefits but paying much less in contributions I not asking for a retirement to make our members rich I am asking for a retirement capable of standing up to inflation and sustaining our members our members are members of the AP Paso Fire Department and the police department who have doed their devoted their entire careers to Public Safety and they deserve nothing less the time for change is now and I urge you all to support these items thank you thank you sir thank you the next speaker is Paul Thompson followed by Jay Nicholson and Timothy Bur burs good morning good morning thank you I just want to be clear um we stand here before you today we're not asking for a contribution increase um the state statute does not require a letter from an actuary um the letter that the City attorney I'm sorry the city manager asked of us um that was submitted on October 11th was from a qualified actuary that meets all of the requirements in the state statute that report was done earlier this year and that was not new data that was made up on October 11th it was it was given to the city with data that was already done earlier this year we're not asking for a contribution increase the current funding of our fire and police pension will pay for this benefit um it seems like over the years we've been playing a game of whack-a-mole we' changed the the state statute in 2007 we changed it in 2013 the city said that's still not good enough we changed the city Charter we'll change whatever we need to change this is the right thing to do and we asked you to support a 1 and a 12% Cola 5 years after retirement not immediately for police and fire we know what happens after November 5th with this Council you guys most likely will not be taking action after November 5th for obvious reasons and we this is not we're not asking for a contribution increase this pension can fund this benefit of 1 and a half% cola for police and fire and I urge you to take action today and approve the benefit we follow the process we have attorneys as well and we follow the process thank you Mr Thompson by the way we we don't get out of office on November 5th we'll be here till January 7th and we will work every day to do our job so we still have quite a bit of time almost three months in office and we if you want to work with us and sit at the table with us we'll figure it out and get it done together thank you next speaker is Jay Nicholson there's my buddy good morning sir you have three minutes how are you sir good morning mayor and counsel everyone gathered here for these proceedings my name is Jay Nicholson and I'm a 16-year El Paso firefighter and the president of the El Paso Association of firefighters I am also a tier 2 member of the El Paso firemen and policemen's pension fund in my time in the fire service both in and outside of El Paso I've always heard a common refrain we didn't join the fire service to get rich like so many that came before and after me I've always known this to be true we were looking for a good job with decent benefits where we could hopefully do some good I've also heard many times you knew what you were getting into from more senior firefighters when it comes to tier 2 maybe I should have but that's very far from the truth not that I would change anything if I did but the disparity was unknown we now have an opportunity to address the shortcoming of our benefits and our city a shortcoming that began with the city's reluctance to do their part I don't lay blame or point the finger at anyone holding office today but but at your predecessors from years past however if you don't move to improve the benefits of the tier 2 members this issue is just as much your fault as it is theirs we are all witnessing what inade inadequate pay and benefits has done to our Police Department while this impact has been much slower with the fire department there are cracks in the dam I stand here today to ask you to do something before it's too late thank you thank you the next speaker is Timothy Burns good morning good morning council members and Mr Mayor thank you for the time for allowing us to speak with you my name is Timothy Burns I serve as a trustee for the El Paso fire and police pension fund and I am a captain in the El Paso Fire Department uh I want to emphasize why a cola for these employees is not only reasonable but is essential to the future of the public safety of El Paso I'd like to start with uh giving you some information about some some of the things that are occurring across other cities in the state of Texas where the cities have neglected the financial stability of their public servants in uh Dallas seven years ago they took away uh colas for their city employees uh correction I'm sorry their Public Safety servants um since then they've had problems with Recruitment and Retention and they now find themselves to be approximately a thousand uh employees short on the streets um in that same time frame they're also seeing an increase in crime uh Houston has made similar decisions and they're suffering from similar repercussions and find themselves hundreds of employees short on the streets um since then both the city of Dallas and uh the mayor of Houston have announced that they will take uh take up arms with the Pension funds to introduce legislation to uh reinstate the benefits for these employees they understand the need to attract and retain the uh Public Safety Defenders here in El Paso we're starting to see some of the same Recruitment and Retention problems uh some good news is though is we we have one of the healthiest funds in the state of Texas uh which is why we're here uh we want to take proactive steps so that we don't end up like Houston or Dallas um again we're here asking for a 1.5 Cola and that's for these men and women behind you who protect and serve you your families and the citizens of El Paso uh with that I'd like to take a moment to thank them and express my gratitude for them putting on that uniform every day and placing themselves In Harm's Way to protect this city whether it be responding to covid whether it be responding to the Walmart tragedy dealing with large fires or gang violence these men and women put on that uniform every day and do what needs to be done um as uh some of my other members here had stated we uh the city is the lowest contributor to their employees pension fund in the state of Texas while the members are the highest paying members that they have to pay for their pension this is a an IM an imbalance that needs to be addressed so in closing I'm here asking for your support I don't want to end up like Houston or Dallas by approving this Cola you will be investing in the fa the future safety and well-being of El Paso while ensuring that the men and women that have dedicated their lives to protecting this city will continue to do so with the security of knowing thank you sir that they will have a the stable future and retirement thank you thank you and Mr Burns we we agree with you that um we don't want to end up like like Houston we don't want to end up like Dallas and uh I do thank you also all for putting on the uniform day in and day out and protecting our community because we understand the importance of Public Safety and that's our number one priority and make sure we take care of the people that do their jobs so we thank you for doing that um I do have a question um from M Hamilton and um Mr Thompson made a statement that all they want is for us to take action on the one and a half and that's just the members pension if I'm not mistaken all they have to do is take the letter from the actuary go back to their membership vote on that and then they can bring once it's passed by their membership they can bring it back and we can vote and pass it without doing any other anything else is that correct yes sir that is correct um uh if if you can pull up the the slide I'll show you the process again again really briefly the statutory process is that and it has to be followed sequentially so the qualified actuary selected by four fths vote of the board um and then the actuary does a study and that study has to show that the change in benefit is supported by the existing funding status of the fund they sent an October 11th letter we just went over the concerns that we identified on that letter um but if they go through the remaining steps um then they could bring It Forward again for Council to make a decision on the existing funding status to support that change and then they could implement the change if Council approves it okay so that's all they have to do is go the members vote on it and bring it back yes sir thank you all right so that we can get that done pretty quickly Mr Gman the letter that we supplied on October 11th uh I mean it was already stated in the presentation that that letter that the city did not city attorney's office did not feel that that letter was sufficient so are they now saying that that letter is sufficient that we can vot on it as long as the actuary says that you guys can take action on it you vote on it you come back to us we can take action on it that's all you got to do he did say that but the City attorney said that that wasn't satisfactory so are they going to come back we going to take a vote are they going to come back and say well now the not sufficient I'm trying to get that done before yall leave that's what I wanted to do so we have we have a clear like you said let's move one step forward and stay there miss Neeman thank you mayor pursuant to state law the the members have to take a vote on the request for the 1.5% the request that was brought forward to the council was that the council the city council approve the contribution it was not a contribution of their members so they need to go back and have that vote if it's approved by their voters then it would come to the council and then you take a vote up and then we can approve it once they approve it we can go ahead and take action and approve it correct appr vote it's already hold on no please hold on what what I'm asking is I understand what they're saying the second letter that we provided was just on the benefit 1.5 right that's what there was commentary from our actuary about the cola and about us working with with this Council just approved was going to legislation to fix in order to put our status back to where it is now um so my question is not on the original letter it's on the letter that we proved on October 11th that just said that the fund could sustain a 1.5% Cola for its members with its current uh funding status that's correct sir that that needs to go to the voters the members that needs to go to your voters they pass it we can we can approve it right after that the second letter yes sir okay is that okay yes sir okay good so just have a vote and we can put it back on the agenda the next meeting will be November 12th and we can take action then yes sir okay uh there's timing on that one I guess for the 10 days there's certain parameters so it may move us past the the 12th is that still okay I didn't understand the question there's there the law requires we have to wait 10 days uh before we have to you put it out there for 10 days before they can actually take the vote and we have to give it seven days I give you plenty of time though because we don't meet again till November 12th 12th right so we'll be fine okay because that gives you time to do that there's additional meetings and I know you're concerned but it would be placed on the agenda once you all have the process followed okay so all the other processes are correct is that correct we've we've we've given you our legal opinion you've seen our legal opinion yes thank you but uh anyway so just do that for us bring it back with the that the members have approved it and we can take action November 12th yes sir based on the legal advice we just received yes sir thank you thank you Representative nundes no I I do feel like there's not a lot of clarity here and if you're confused I'm sure many of us up here are confused as well what we have heard at the end here is completely different from what we heard in the beginning okay so first let me try to bring some clarity if they want to fund on their own without asking for the city's general fund is that the second letter that you're referring to Mrs nean so the second letter without the contribution from city council because I think I I don't feel comfortable ending the conversation because of this last minute dialogue so I think we need to add more clarity Mrs Hilton um the steps that they just mentioned about if they wanted to do the one 1.5 they vote on that and it comes back to City Council on November 12th does the Actuarial letter meet all of the requirements of the state statute so that they can move forward with that vote they their Actuarial letter is very cautionary okay it discusses in depth the actuary's concern about doing the cola without the city's contribution to support it in full which the city cannot do and so the city council would have to make a decision on whether whether you believe based on all the facts that are in that letter that it satisfies the statutory requirement so the city would have that authority to determine whether let's say they vote it's approved it comes to council then based on how we perceive it then we would vote whether or not they can move forward with their one and a half and and and I think this is a I think this is an important Point regarding the letter so the letter is implying hey y'all can fund it but but it's going to need some form of contribution from the city that's the way I've interpreted the letter right and so which is not meeting the definitions of the state statute and so and I think that's the fundamental conflict here is that the letter is insinuating that yeah you can go ahead and approve that on your own but it cannot be fully funded without the city's contribution and I think that's where the mixup is at so if if Council were to say oh well I can't pre I can't like it's our our budgets are by budget resolution I cannot pre-commit funding for next fiscal year because that is the prerogative of the next Council and if we were to approve um the outcome of the pension board then there's this fundamental conflict and concern about well how is it going to get funded because the ACT report is actually saying yeah you can technically do it but it has to be some kind of contribution from the city and so just in plain and simple language that's what the concern is here and the conflict is is that fair okay a fair report would you like to add additional Clarity um if you would like I can show you the slide again sure so can you go to I'm sorry slide seven so eight I just by the way when when I brought it up I just want to answer the question Mr Thompson brought up and that's that's all I wanted to answer when when I asked you that question because he asked us well and and and I don't want them to go in there thinking oh yeah we're going to they're going to fund it 're we have the one and a half because the minute that the extar report says you have to find a way longterm to pay for this then it's going to require a whole another other set of statutory requirements and and that's that's where there's a conflict go go ahead and show that SL next slide please so what the actuary says is like like repres resentative Hernandez just said they say technically it would be satisfied with an without an increase in current city contribution but then it goes on to provide significant concern by the actuary about various liability or increase in instability for the fund so it's saying you can do it but because of all these other things um this this the fund paying for this one one and a half% cola is going to increase the funds liability to four more years um and it's also going to render the fund somewhat more unstable and so it's they're they're kind of putting a lot of warnings tied to their say their statement that it's technically met the statutory requirement so um that is the concern from the legal perspective as to whether this letter truly does meet this meet the requirement they're saying technically it does but with all of these various concerns um it it's just important for Council to know what it would do to the pension fund If This Were to go forward currently with the city's inability to contribute and the only way for the city to contribute would be how for the city to contribute under the current statutory language you could put something to the voters which we're too late obviously to add anything to the ballot that was already out there is already out there right now uh so we could do it you know in a few years when council's having elections again or if the fund gets in such a bad situation that it wouldn't um be able to pay off its current unfunded liabilities for 40 years which is a very very very unstable position for the fund to be in which is why we're uh you know discussing a statutory change to bring that 40 years uh more in compliance with the current regulations right and and I agree with some of the statements about like hey this whole state statute requirement is a way to circumvent the real conversation here which is how are you going to fund it and the voters are going to have a a play in this and so we have to line it up in a way that allows us to take get back to the voters um elections are very expensive so there has to be some kind of coordination in the future in tandem with State Legislative policy changes and so I I really want us to just have clear and concise communication overall I think it's the prerogative of city council to determine whether or not they want to bring this and present this to the voters if they are comfortable moving forward with this and they want city council to uh accept technically that it's going to hurt the the fund then that's going to be every single members of council's prerogative that they want to support that um granted given the the circumstances of the of the status quo but secondly if it go if you go through move forward with your process we all need to go Eyes Wide Open understanding that there are real concerns about what the report is saying and we need to work together about how we're going to fund that and that's going to come with some you know rolling up the sleeves and getting getting down to the business but I just wanted to be clear that if they go through their process yes you'll meet the the 10day requirement and our deadline would be the 30th so hopefully you can put something on the agenda by uh October 30th excuse me it'll be the 6 Mrs PR November 12th no so the meeting is November 12th but when does everything have to come back to council for your deadline the deadline from for staff for the November 12th agenda is October 30 oh so you're keeping it at the 30th not on the 6th oh correct is okay so there's a there's a a there not November 3rd right you said October 3rd October 30th 30th it's two weeks First St the deadline is two weeks before the meeting okay well then the mayor also has authority to add items to the agenda so maybe you can work with the mayor to May can add it up until that Wednesday before so if the if they want to move forward with it you can but we're still going to have this conflict about how we're going to fund it okay thank you mayor may I may I add additional I think it's really important based on what representative Hernandez that we can't add yeah if you can speak up please fine of a point on what we're requesting that the process follow um I understand Mr Grossman's position however and the the board the pension board they provided us their documents uh took a vote to have this go to the voters their membership and there was three items that were placed before the board and it was the automatic 1.5% Cola for the second tier members um and then the second item was increase the city's contribution rate for all active fire members by 3.25 and then increased City's contribution rate for all active police members by 2.5 so again it's it's what the question that is being put to the members that's that's in question until they follow the process the membership can themselves increase their own contributions but unless we have the appropriate Actuarial letter that meets the statutory requirements the city won't be able to follow the process and take the vote so if they want to just say we want to increase our own Cola without asking the city they can have that vote as well and then bring it forward but they can't ask them the members to ask the city to contribute without following the actual requirements thank you Miss Nan thank you sir we have um representative via followed by representative fural thank you mayor uh Mr Christian uh you keep mentioning cautionary precaution everything else I think the question that rep uh Mr Tyler Gman asked was legit he wanted to ask if if he's still here yeah he sure can you come up and you if I'm not mistaken you asked to see if that letter met all the the the the the the second act met everything that was required by the city is that what you wanted to find out yes because the letter in bold letter says and it's on the the presentation that the fund can sustain a 1.5% Cola and of course the actuary is going to put all the you know all the gloom and doom of what could happen if you know the sky falls or cats and dogs play with each other they're going to put all that stuff to to say that but you know if things go horrible yeah we could the fund could uh suffer because there's a lesser bu buffer between uh the 30-year Mark and so why wouldn't they put that they they're always going to put it but that doesn't change the fact that we satisfied state law and and that's that's what I'm trying to get at because uh M Christi M Miss Hamilton keeps uh mentioning precautionary cautionary uh we got to be careful um with the with 43 passing are you going to make sure that that are you going to make sure that that actually letter that they're presenting to you is what is required by the city to move on uh item 43 would be a very separate discussion than this it would be something future oriented the current Actuarial letter before before the board that the board has before them to decide whether to put it to their voter has before them to decide whether to put it to their voters is a separate issue whether that satisfies the statute is one question but whether Council wishes to approve it is a separate question if Council says well it technically satisfies the statute but we don't want to approve it because we don't want the the pension fund to be so negatively impacted council could make that decision um the voters might make that decision because they don't want to render their pension fund that unstable perhaps um and then the board could say well then you got to put it out to the vote and then the community would vote on whether or not they wish to um you know have the cola be funded by the by the current status funding that's coming into the pension so so Council can decide based on what the actuary says whether you think it's a wise you know got does that answer your question on that that that's what you were looking to find out sir yes sir that's what we we're trying to look if we're going to go through the process of doing a new vote on the second letter that we provided then we do not want to go through a vote and then after the vote come to council meeting and and then have people come up here and say well you know it technically by law it satisfies but we you know you shouldn't do it because it it doesn't satisfy the law because it you know there's technicalities and EI either it does or it doesn't it's it's a simple question Tech that's what the mayor and the rest of my colleagues have been saying that we want to do it right it's not that we don't want to do it it's so we want to do it right for everyone involved and so I'm glad you got your answer uh thank you so much on that and that's why I wanted to make sure we said it so we can move forward sir yeah that would be nice thank you Mr Thompson I got a question for you as well I know you came up here and you started throwing numbers and the whole bit but you did understand what we're trying to get at though right what the mayor was and what they've been discussing as far as the 1.5 yes um and uh to the city attorney's point there were three separate items that the membership voted on one of those items was to for the city to approve a 1 and a half% cola period period there was and then there was two other items um the the the fire and police pension fund we're in the the the life business we're in the business for life you know once I'm gone it's still going to be in that business and uh every year there's ups and downs in the market we've done very well and not panicking um and and uh selling in a downturn we're in it for life we're going to have years of ups and downs um the current funding status of the fund will pay for this benefit with no City contribution increase um and uh like my colleague Mr Gman said every Actuarial letter is going to have a warning at the end of it just like you guys everybody gets if you're a uh individual investor on your statements guarantee you're also going to conduct that they have to also conduct that uh Second vote on that second uh we already had a vote and we followed the process but if we have to do another vote we will do it and and I want to get clarity on that from City attorney or or Miss Christian if you can if the fire has to do the same thing as PD thank you thank you sir thank you representative what she's going to give me Clarity Ser can oh yeah Firehouse have to take the the second vote on their actuary letter or no the uh the actuary letter that they already voted on was based on the city contributing this is a different request where it's where it's meeting the statutory requirement that it's funded by so funded by the existing funding status so um the previous vote was was under the the Actuarial letter that didn't comply with the requirements of the statute so it would need to be done again yes sir it would have to be done again yes sir yes you get that Mr Thompson or oh Mr Nicholson did you hear that thank you thank you M Hamilton thank you you know and I think we move forward to do that and then we we need to do what we to change the law and work together so we can do the city participation moving forward but we're going to do one thing at a time to make sure we get it done and again I've said it 10 times so I'll say it one more time so we can do it right and move forward to take care of the men and women the police and fire department representative Canales followed by mayor proam thank you mayor um I met with uh Mr Gman Mr Shelton last week uh and I made this assurance to them privately I want to do it publicly as well um you know obviously seven of the seats here up here are up for election this year um I'm grateful every day that mine is not this year uh and I don't have to worry too much uh but uh representative Fiero and I will be here uh next year uh potentially some others as well but uh we definitely will be we have four City Council meetings remaining this year um you know I I I'm hopeful that as as we've discussed we're able to resolve this within those remaining meetings and and it can be settled but if this does bleed over into next year um I I commit to you like I did the other day that I I'm happy to you know carry the flag for this forward um yes there will be new people but uh you know staff will'll have continuity with staff uh who will continue to work on this they'll still have the direction that the council gave um and and I commit that if if it's needed that uh you know like today a council member has to put items on the agenda to to keep advancing this that I can do that so um you know I'll Echo what everyone else has said I don't can't speak for everybody but you've heard it from pretty much everybody up here that I think we're all committed to making this happen um you know it makes sense to uh support the work that you do and you know you're a to you know representing two large important labor organizations in the city as well so um we'll we'll continue to work on this to make sure that uh it's successful whether we can do it quickly hopefully or you know worst case it takes a little a little bit longer time so thank you all for being here today too I know it's a long time that you've had to wait thank you and um represent canel is you're right there's going to be a lot of new faces up here but I'd love to stand back there with you guys back in January whenever you're here because uh I will continue to support you while I'm an office or out of office so I'll stand back there with you all and um by the way you represent Canalis and I'm sure you're aware of it but uh your petition to recall you that was never turned in in six sped ride you will be here I thought I'd make that an official announcement on that thanks for pointing it out [Laughter] mayor U mayor protim I understand representative Canal's gratitude in not being in this year's election cycle uh Kristen hi come on up join The Price is Right um question the the caveat that was a concern is not that there could be a requirement for our funding but that there would be is that correct that if there was a caveat saying there could be there could be a lot of things there could be a meteor shower there could be many things but am I understanding that you were looking for an Actuarial letter that might say could but wouldn't say would because then it would be binding definitely put the council in a much better position okay so the other thing is if we so they do they get that they get a vote then we're just simply voting yes on the one and a half right yes with no funded by theed funded by anything and we go down to the state now and we work on the state to do whatever we have to do and move forward with that once that is in place that that would be a separate thing separ if we say yes to the request for the one and a half% cola that would be yes to it funded by the current existing funding status of the fund okay period That's all the council can do coulds instead of WS change everything question from Miss PR if we postpone this until the 12th of November it kind of Leapfrogs the requirement to have an item put on the agenda because it was an action from here that automatically postponed it correct if we postpone it till the 12th it's going to come up the 12th that's correct sir if you postpone this item today until the 12th it's coming back on the 12th right and I if per chance we were not prepared at that point that council could then postpone it another two weeks or another week actually because there's only one more week to the meetings will be held back to back in nove the beginning of November and we have a meeting 12th 19th 3rd and 17th December then I'm going to make a motion that this item be postponed to the 12th and come back on the 12th I'm second second which would give enough time to have a letter voted on because it got the 10day notice because it would be a different one than what was initially presented and then it would come back to us for a vote on the 12th correct just a clean vote to say yes or no we're going to that yes they can which obviously no change in position changes that so I would make that motion we have a motion a second to postpone M PR yes sir the motion was made by mayor Pro Kennedy seconded by representative Retta and this is to postpone item 44 until the November 12th meeting on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously I think that's what representative F started with huh mayor would you like to go to the your recognition thank you ma'am Dr Alin can you come up please sir we now go back to page number three and this is a recognition by the mayor to Dr Lewis Alper and I wanted to recognize Dr alpren for everything he's done I I've had the honor of knowing Dr alren since the 80s and um he um he did a lot of um surgeries and and things and I'd call him up and I said Dr alurn I got somebody that needs to see you they they have some and they don't have insurance he said we don't need and send them in and he take care of them and he never charts anybody that couldn't pay whether it was my friend Ruby that uh was our custodian at um Kemp Ford back in the 80s to my friend Joel that uh seemed to drop things in his eye while he was working on cars to Perfect Strangers Dr Alin would give them free service if they couldn't afford it and uh he also would take his time and his staff and go to war as and perform free service to the community that couldn't afford it so I felt it was appropriate today to recognize a man that has given a lot to our community and never asked for anything back and all the years I've known him he never wanted anybody to do anything for him he never want anything back so I am going I'd like it's my honor really to to give you the mayor's distinguish award moving forward and it reads in appreciation of your unwavering efforts commitment to our community and your leadership to care for those who needed in El Paso and in our Borderland thank you on behalf of the city of El Paso its citizens and every patient that was cared for by you and received medical service at no cost through the many many years and U I know you um when you got here you did it from day one and you've retired now and you earned it and I want to congratulate you and thank you again I I don't think I've ever met an individual with a bigger heart thank you and congratulations [Applause] I I would just say it's been a pleasure an honor uh it's been uh discovering El Paso and contributing whatever I could with my skill set to get people to see better or to restore sight or to uh alleviate their pain and I would say I loved every minute of it the insurance part not so much and all the other hassles that come with bureaucracies but I love what I did I think I did it pretty well and uh thank you for recognizing uh me with this honor thank you thank you and you're the best in your [Applause] field let's go down there I apologize I don't have Anna she's G but we'll we'll we'll make it work who's Anna Sarah sah I have a than [Applause] that brings us to page 10 to item number 40 and this is discussion and action that the city council declares the expenditure of District Seven discretionary funds in an amount not to exceed $34,000 for Traffic Safety improvements on castner Drive serves a municipal purpose of enhancing and sustaining the community's transportation Network this item was submitted by representative Riva with that I uh traffic mitigation is very important in this community and uh with that alone I uh make a motion to approve a motion in a second to approve there is a motion made by representativ seconded by representative Fiero to approve item 40 on that motion call for the vote could you ask Mr Federal for verbally pleas representative representative Federal is making his way to the de so he can vote representative Federal thank you and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously Representatives Kennedy and ernandez not present item 41 is discussion and action to authorize the expenditure of District Seven discretionary funds and an amount not to exceed $110,000 to purchase two speed feedback signs to be installed within district 7 serves a municipal purpose of slowing traffic to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists and reduces the need for constant police enforcement by providing immediate speed feedback for drivers and this item was also submitted by representative Rea motion to approve please please second there is a motion made by representative Riva seconded by representative salido to approve item 41 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously represent ative ernandez not present item 45 item 45 42 oh 42 I thought we did 42 item 42 is discussion and action to authorize the expenditure of District 3 discretionary funds in an amount not to exceed $11,600 to be used towards an inre can we ship that one until she gets back please yes sir we'll go to 45 and then we'll come back when she gets back up here yes sir item 45 it's discussion and action that the city council authorizes the expenditure of District 8 discretionary funds and an amount not to exceed $3,000 towards the FY 2025 District 8 movies in the Park series and declares that this expenditure serves a municipal purpose of providing recreational and cultural activities to the residents of visitors to the city of Al Paso which benefits the community and instills Community Pride this is representative Canal item move to approve second there is a motion made by representative Gales seconded by representative Fierro to approve item 45 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously no we'll go back to 42 please yes sir item 42 is discussion and action to authorize the expenditure of District 3 discretion funds of $1,600 to be used towards an inclusive and sensory friendly Trunk or Treat Halloween event in District 3 movies in the park events enhancing street lights in District 3 providing updates to all residents residing in District 3 and hosting a special event for District 3 neighborhood associations serves a municipal Purpose By setting the standard for a safe and secure City enhancing El Paso's quality of life promoting transparent and consistent communication among all members of the community and nurture and promoting a healthy and sustainable Community this is representative Hernandez's item represent nandz move to approve there's a motion made by representative ernandez seconded by representative Riva to approve item 42 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously mayor protim Kennedy not present that brings us to item 46 and this is discussion and action to approve a resolution that the city council declares the expenditure of district 7 discretionary funds in an amount not to exceed $287 something7 to assist with the installation of new floor tiles at the Pabo real Senior Center serves a municipal purpose of enhancing the quality of life of citizens of Al Paso through promoting community recreation and by fostering Community Pride and encourage encourage Civic engagement and this is representative Riva Z move to approve second there's a motion made by representative Rea seconded by representative salido to approve item 46 on that motion call for the vote voting session is open in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously mayor protm Kennedy not present item 49 47 49 47 on 49 item 49 is discussion and action that the city council accept the donation of $2,000 from Al Paso disposal to pay for permitted activities for Halloween this is representative Hernandez's item okay move to approve there is a motion made by representative ernandez seconded by representative Salo to approve item 497 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously n I'm ready for 47 ready 47 present item 47 is discussion in action to approve a resolution that the city council declares the expenditure of district 7 discretionary funds in an amount not to exceed $34,000 for an ADA accessible ramp at Pavo real Senior Center serves a municipal purpose of enhancing quality of life of the citizens of Al Paso through promoting community recreation and by fostering Community Pride and encouraging Civic engagement and that the expenditure of District Seven discretionary funds in an amount not to exceed $3,000 for three t T Visions to be utilized at Pavo Senior Center also serve as a municipal purpose of enhancing quality of life of the citizens of Al Paso through promoting community recreation and encouraging Civic engagement this is representative retta's item move to approve there is a motion made by representative Riva seconded by representative salido to approve item 47 on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously mayor protim Kennedy not present item 50 is discussion and action that the city council accept the donation of $1,000 from Al Paso Electric Company to pay for per permitted activities for Halloween this is in District three representative ernandez is item move to approve there is a motion made by representative ernandez seconded by representative Salo to approve item 50 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously mayor protim Kennedy not present item 51 is discussion and action to direct the city manager and City attorney to review the agenda summary form used for Council and agenda review items and provide recommendations to the council in 30 days on potential revisions to the form to include the addition of a section for community and stakeholder Outreach this item was submitted by representatives salido and ASO represo thank you mayor uh we I've submitted this item to review the agenda summary form used for city council agendas reviews items to provide recommendations to city council for 30 days on potential revision to this form and what I really want to add is just the section um and wanted to get the input of the my colleagues about um adding a section to add where stakeholders and Community U members have been engaged in the item that is being passed um and just for more transparency for for the public and more transparency for the council as they're making these votes so that is the the the proposal I have um in front of us I don't um you need to give us a little bit more detail on that CU I'm you want public comment prior to posting an item on the agenda no no the um there's an actual revision work sheeet where you have the summary and the summary can add an area where you have engaged with the community the stakeholders that are are are um can be need to be made aware of the item that's being passed that's what I'm saying so you want public comment prior to going on the agenda because they're asking for the public comment to involve and give their comment and then put that on the backup for the agenda no this is more of a just an item and a section for it to be its own little section where you you've add anybody that you've engaged in regarding to the the item you you just write it in like I talked to a community member communi that's what it is public comment but no The public's comment you want to be able to add to the agenda yes that's what it is but I mean nothing I'm just trying to clarify what it so yeah I I I think what what what we were looking at is the the summary form for an agenda item to where it says like subject background discussion prior counsil action Etc add another section to it that says Community or public engagement right and kind of fill out like we went and talked to this group we went and talked to these residents we went to a senior center Etc so we know um a little bit more on how the public was engaged for a certain item that's what what I said yeah yes sir but it's because I I was getting confused with public comment where I was like oh no we're not public comments of the public I'm sorry yeah yeah yeah exactly with that do you have a motion sir yeah I move to approve this item representative uh mayor proam so let me let me see if I understand you want us to report to you on who we talk to about every item we put on the agenda so the the spirit and this is why I wanted to give 30 days to come and get input in regards to just addressing who has been spoken to in regards to an item so if it's an item that's going to affect a an association that you've mentioned you you spoke to them and when and you can write it in there because so often there's times where I get a lot of meetings where I I told that they're not been engaged in the conversation and so I just don't want to I want to take that out of the element to know that they were engaged in the conversation if they're directly affected by it so it was C of a yes or no question you want us to report on who we talk to on every agenda item we put on I I I think that it's the I think the answer is yes I I think that the 30 days um can give us an idea of when staff can decide that it's pertinent to at at this so staff decides if it's pertinent or not so putting it on there doesn't make a difference if they decide the community engagement isn't pertinent well I I think if you have let's say a contract for office supplies that we're going to buy I don't think we need we need to engage the the community on that right okay it's just more I got it it's just more like what do you recommend staff after 30 days this this these types of items are when we need the community engaged okay I I don't have any further questions rep representative Canalis represent I didn't see you on here I was on twice representative canel this is directing a 30-day process for staff to develop recommendations and come back to the council uh would would staff engage the council during those 30 days for for further input I mean it says including to include an the addition of a section for community and stakeholder Outreach it's not limited to that would we be able to provide feedback during those 30 days of how this might look I I saw this more simply I was already done um we already have Community engagement communication and Outreach we generally have that information in the first slide of the presentation is generally when we are doing uh capital projects uh any type of zoning changes ordinances Grant Outreach so instead of having it just in the presentation we would have um that along with the date and location on the on the uh department head summary and that's an easy change I mean if there's something else that you'd like to include there we already have several questions uh some of the other sections as mentioned we wouldn't do it for purchasing those have a very clear timeline and engagement structure that's already in the bid tab um so we didn't see this as being you know a major undertaking for the team and we could have the revision sort of form done and actually have that ready to go in a couple it's not additional work for us from our perspective okay you had something more complex in mind well I yeah I mean I I've actually long thought that this form is uh underutilized I mean Mo I think the most frequent thing I see particularly on postings from Council but sometimes on postings from from staff as well is like na in almost every section right the the language from the agenda copied verbatim into the subject and then little to no background discussion na in Prior Cel action and and amount and source of funding um I you know I think that there's room for there to be more useful information on on this if it's a form that we have to persist with and so I'd like to give other additional feedback during those 30 days of what it what that could look like I know that doesn't make it easier for staff I'm sorry but I I you know if if we're doing a review of the form and that's what this Council direction is written as then I'd like to actually participate in the review of the of the form thank you thank you representative uh FAL thank you Mr Mayor yes sir Miss Mack um don't we I mean we already have input like you mentioned um will we get presentations on where staff went and presented to this group or that group or this meeting or this organization yes and we also have have backup memos that we're including as a part of the um preparation for their for the um agenda now that we're doing at the look ahead so I think it's really just a matter of consolidating those you know to make sure you can all see those in one place I think a lot of times staff are submitting their forms a little earlier than the other backup I think it's all there um it's just a matter of what we want to see on the form but historically I have not seen in other cities where you go more than one page people are not going to read right I mean it sounds to me like we're making it more complicated I I also don't understand um so if I if there's something I'm authoring or I'm putting on the agenda do I have to take it to get public input or comment or is that is that a step that that the authors are this this item want want us to do so no it's more of it was more of a collaborative that's why we want to have a conversation but what you it's up to your discretion if you want to add who have you've talked to so that you are involving whoever is going to be affected by your proposed ordinance so that's to your discretion of as a city council member who you want to add but it's just showing the public that you took efforts to engage the public that you felt would be affected by it so it's the form right now that we don't have to add or subtract nothing now it's it's it's by choice anyway so why do we have to change the form I I was going to answer um I I think Miss Mack made it very clear just now where she said that they did it for Capital Improvement projects for grants for stuff like that it's not necessarily for your Council items but what Miss Mack outlined just a few minutes ago I think that's when it's pertinent to include this and then she also said that purchasing has a very strict process and that process is already there right so we already complying by the recommendation of this this item isn't that so miss Ma yes okay thank you mayor that's all I have may potim this for second time on it yeah I just had a question for legal because I need to include them in every conversation um does it take Council action to change a form no um traditionally this form was created several years ago to provide the public with additional information when you couldn't figure out what the backup was for so it's really within Miss um discretion to decide how much information we want to provide to the public for additional information on backup okay thank you so I don't I didn't hear a second was there a second on the motion motion to approve no I already said that you second second there you go now we have Motion in a second yes mayor the motion was made by representative AO seconded by representative ELO to approve the item as posted on that motion call for the vote in the voting session that motion passes 4 to2 representative ACO Salo rera Canales voting I Representatives Kennedy Fier voting n representative Hernandez not present that brings us to item 52 and this is discussion and action to direct the city manager and City attorney to cancel the existing contract with Baker Tilly LLP this item was placed by representatives aavo and salido one of you guys I was just waiting to be recognized sorry I was reading something so we we put this item we we've been talking about this for a few months now and um just kind of seeing the experience in my opinion with the city manager search and I think there was a lot of communication issues with with Baker Tilly um I I also think that there was transparency issues just in terms of the process that they set forth so I started asking questions um of Miss Wiggins and got some information early in August and realized that we had a contract three contracts with Baker Tilly that added up to $687,000 and as of August 2nd we had spent $170,000 on these contracts so basically in layman's terms we've had Baker Tilly on retainer for different Services um related to hiring that they provide and so taking all this into account one contract um was for executive recruiting and it expired on June 3rd that contract was for $375,000 and we issued as of August 2nd $118,000 or so and then we also had a executive recruitment service for the city manager which was about $42,000 as then and as of August 2nd we had spent $118,000 on this so the only active contract at this point is the one that was included in the backup for this item which is contract number 2024-25 and we've issued 32,500 npos as of August 2nd so just thinking about what has happened in the last few years we barely got a health director um hired over the summer after two years of looking we cannot get a purchasing director um in place and it's been at least a year and a half now and these searches have been led by Baker Tilly so for me this is taxpayer money and if we are not getting the services or the quality that we're expecting from a contract I think we need to move forward so that's why we also put this um item for the council to consider the the cancellation and I just wanted to say that um on page 19 of the contract there there's um the termination for convenience and termination for default and so just in case my colleagues were were looking for for that um that's kind of Illustrated there but just overall I I just don't think that this is adequate use of taxpayer money and I think we need to end this contract so I move to approve this item representative Fiero thank you mayor proam um M can you kind of walk us through how difficult it is to find uh Professionals in this postco time yes sir um again Mary Wiggins Chief Human Resources officer it it's definitely uh more trying especially postco um in any of our positions we you know we are having a harder time and and filling and especially at high level Executives um for the contract that we have now just so I just want to make sure we clarify so whenever we went out for the RFP the RFP actually brought back two vendors so the vendors are going to be Baker Tilly and then octagon recruiting was also awarded so there was two vendors that were awarded the initial 540 ,000 there was an additional uh 2-year extension of 360 for a total of $900,000 if we went for the entire five-year term you know of the contract um but it is very difficult I I also just want to clarify really quick though um as of right now just so everybody knows kind of where we stand with Baker Tilly so we are currently in the middle of an aviation director recruitment um that position that recruitment is almost at completion we have on November 8th we will have the interviews for um Aviation director so we're almost finished with that one uh we also just so you know water has piggy bagged on this as well so water has utilized this contract for their utility Chief Financial Officer um they are also struggling um participant is now joining they're also able um they're they're going through that as well uh they have gone through the entire process no offer has been made at that time but but they're using that contract I also just want to point out that we also just opened a recruitment with Baker Tilly last Thursday um for the purchasing director again and the reason we did that is because I mean we had internal discussions do we do it in-house or do we do it through Baker Tilly we chose to do it through Baker Tilly because we'd already paid Baker Tilly um whenever as you know whenever we get these contracts we have those like you know guarantees double or triple guarantees that if we don't initially get our selection whenever we go out the first time then they go out again the second time so since we did not get a purchasing director um the first time we did make an offer um well not an offer we we did have someone that we were bringing in but um they they didn't come in the second time so because we didn't have someone during that first offer now we're going to go back out so what they're doing is we've already paid them the only amount of money that was outstanding I believe is the 20 2606 is the outstanding balance and that's the amount that we will pay once an offer is made so you know if no offer is made we don't pay that amount if an offer is made we would pay that outstanding balance so we went ahead and opened it with them so that way they're doing the advertising they're doing the recruitment we did go um an added extra level on the purchasing director recruitment this time we have asked them that instead of them reviewing the applications and sending us the semi-finalist we've asked that we be included they send us all the applications and we do the um the narrowing down of the semifinalist so the main thing that they're doing for us right now is they're they're doing our advertising and really you know putting it out there to the to their mass that they have of direct mail Etc so that's kind of where we are that's kind of how we have done that one so that one opened last Thursday thank you m Prime um 9 Minutes of that answer only one was for me please that's true I took this time you know I need a comment that um again emphasize that what you just said was right on point we can't stop the process we we have a lot of Wheels moving forward um this is a difficult time to find any type of employee and then you know at the professional portion to it uh and you know Baker Ching was communicated with our office during the um the city manager search uh very openly they visited our office they responded to our questions you were there for for the the meetings I thought that the 90 plus applications really uh showed that they were working the 14 finalists with the videos um showed that that we had the opportunity to listen to each and every one of them and and I don't think they could have picked four better candidates for the position so I I'm I'm proud of what they did and and I would hate for us to take a step back and and um start at uh Ground Zero with with the purchasing and some of the positions you said uh thank you Mr Mayor representative Canales thank you mayor um it was mentioned I think it was by representative aavo at the beginning that uh Baker till is on retainer uh does this contract provide a a retainer do we pay a retainer up front to Baker or is it purely on an on call basis so we only are dispersing funds as we use the services purely on call Okay so we've know we've paid no Advanced retainer to Baker Tilly um I'm looking at it's page 20 of that solicitation where Section 8 the termination um and it gives three options the agenda item didn't indicate which of those options the city would be pursuing that's termination for convenience termination for default or termination for failure to comply with the local government code um I I don't think that Baker Tilly is in default in their on their contracts so I think the only or or in you know failing to comply with state law I think the only option available to us would be termination for convenience um if that's the case it reads uh the contractor will be paid its costs including the contract closeout costs and profit on work performed up to the time of termination do we have an understanding of how much uh we would owe to Baker Tilly and contract closeout costs and then already incurred costs on the the solicitation I mean on the uh task orders that they have active not 100% I mean so I'm unclear I know that we would have to fin we' pay out the aviation director we what we have not paid out at this point of course we would have to clear that out what I'm unclear of is whether on the items that there no offer has been made whether they would consider that as part of the close out or whether since no offers were made then we would not pay those out otherwise we would just pay for the services rendered to the city okay yeah and I mean they it says the contractor will promptly submit its termination claim so they would make a claim and then we would have to settle that claim okay um and then um there's also uh that next the next section is additional remedies um have we gone through again you kind of answered this already I think in your uh in your nine minutes of riera's time but have we we've taken full advantage of the remedies that we have in the cases where uh we've gone through a uh a job posting and not uh emerged with a with a final candidate for example they are they are proceeding through the purchasing director uh posting again correct we're going out again at no additional cost at at no additional cost okay yeah and so that was our whole reasoning for doing it um the other item um I'm tagging on canalysis time here gra so um it's just to mention also that those guarantees that I mentioned I mean if once we terminate the contract any guarantees we have um would be fored as well okay um again I I think uh it sounds like there was and well and you know there was a lot of public disagreement about Baker til's performance on a contract that was not this contract for the city manager solicitation right that was a separately awarded correct contract correct for that one particular function um I I'm just not you know I I haven't seen evidence that Baker Tilly has failed to perform on this contract um I don't know that I can support uh terminating a contract for convenience without any without any cause that I see on this particular contract so um I just wanted to explain my position on this I um you know despite any questions of performance on any of the other work that they've done for us they are doing a lot of work for us on this contract and I think it's been valuable to us so thank you yes sir thank you thank you sh rips ative Salo followed by representative ASO Mary um who else do we have on retainer for do we have anybody else um the other one is octagon Services we've not utilized them but octagon is it was octagon and Baker Tilly were both awarded at the same time oh so we can kind of decide depending on the position who what company we give what correct okay and then on these last ones that you mentioned they've all been to Baker Tilly correct yeah and of course of course I mean I only speak on the experience that I I saw nothing to do with the staff you all did an amazing job um also the candidates that came out of it amazing candidates um it was more of the the process within my office and the communication was just very very poor and so um I just wanted to provide make sure that whoever we are giving our services to and and our our dollars is that they're going to perform for us and so that's that's kind of like my background behind all this and um but of course there's a monetary amount that we need to really look at of of what what that would cost in order to end uh with Baker Tilly um and then you mentioned we do have somebody else in for if we need any future um hiring we do have octagon also you know on retainer okay okay thank you available for on Call make sure I use that right word thank you represento I'm sorry we'll take you thank you mayor I'm sorry for throwing retainer out on call sounds better um but you know I I just again want to make it very clear this is not about the candidates this was all process um regarding the city manager experience and I feel honestly like you let the whole thing I I think that I communicated with you constantly because I could not communicate with them because they were not answering and you were moving as fast as you could and I just feel that we paid them for you to do the job on top of the hundred other things that you do on a daily basis so um I understand that's the different contract but I I wanted to ask you how many times have we done the purchasing director search with them this is time number this is just number two with them okay okay and then um I I also think uh there's a question of Ethics here as well with Baker Tilly um some of the stuff that I have seen um in another community in the panhandle of Texas there there was a request for council members to provide their personal emails to avoid open records that didn't happen here at least to my knowledge it didn't happen with me and when I feel that we're using taxpayer money for that I think that hiend my senses and I think if we have somebody else I we could start trying to to do something with with them to do the the same services and not really not really seeing the results that we're expecting here right just because this is the second time that we're doing it but it's a year and a half since we've had a purchasing director episd had the same thing that happened with them right um and they were looking for purchasing director and it didn't take a year and a half to find a purchasing director and that's sir I just want to make sure that we're ensuring that as we talk about the performance metric that it has to be through our own experience and things that we can document on a local level as uh representative canala said if we're talking about for convenience I would like to really keep the conversation to the impact that it's going to have on our operations you know with these active recruitments you know if you would like I can tell you what happened with the particular recruitments whether it was a salary issue whether it was our transition we understood those things directly from the folks who had applied um and I think those were the challenges for us more so than the baker Tilly process um so we just want to put that on a record thank you I appreciate that and I think the the big thing for me I remember when we started to search you said we could do it all and you did end up doing it all um we just need to search for them to recruit right and I think that that's where I feel that we're not seeing that happen with the purchasing director because we're still here a year and a half later and so specific to that in our experience the way that I see it is that we need that position filled it's such a vital position to the entire organization and I think that we could get better processes in place once we have that filled and I'm not seeing that right now so I just wanted to say all that and I appreciate you answering everything thank you thank you and mayor if I just may uh on the on the city manager recruitment yes our our staff did work in tandem with Baker Tilly and Baker Tilly did perform and they did uh you know all the items on the on the list uh you know we we're not talking about any kind of there's been no allegations that there's been a breach of the contract thank you ma'am thank you m Mr uh you said they're in the process of they're in the process of doing what did you say during the N so right now active we have the aviation director that's coming to a close um and then we have the water department has their CFO position and then we just opened the purchasing director again last Thursday so if you terminate this now uh is there does the city stand a chance of getting you know some kind of legal action taken against them could be well I can't answer legal I mean I I personally would ask that if we're if we cancel it that I would ask that at that it be at the completion of all of these that we finish all of the ones that we have now um and then address it would be my ask um as far as legal if we go for convenience we will of course lose our any you know guarantees that we have um thank you because that's my same thought if if the Reps would rather postp point it for now till they complete their task uh and the said he doesn't become liable on anything right uh until they complete it and then maybe terminate it if that's what it is I don't know how you feel about that what your question yeah yeah what's your question sir I'm sorry that that if we were to just wait till they finish what the task that they're doing at hand so you need to bring it back next year because this is going to be for quite a while so it's not like I don't think you can postpone it and then bring it back under a different Council I think that uh right either vote it up or down and next year yeah representative of and represent Canales and F will still be here they they have the right to do that but then you know at that time and and that's I'm just covering make sure that the city doesn't become liable that's what I'm saying so you can vote it up or down and they can bring it back up at any time they want they can delete which would be next year when all these contracts would would expire oh can delete it for now it's up to you all did we get a second on that m point yes we'll go ahead and take action on it thank you yes sir so the motion was made by representative ASO seconded by representative salido and this is to approve item 42 52 to cancel the contract on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion fails 42 Representatives Kennedy Fierro Riva Canales voting nay Representatives asabo Salo voting I the motion fails mayor would you like to go to call to the public at this time yeah I'm going to call to the public after that we'll break for lunch thank you sir we now move to call to the public the AL Paso city council is a local government body charged with serving the citizens of the city and the meetings must be focused on the meeting at charge the City Council meetings are public meetings under the Texas open meetings ACT public comment is an accommodation and not a requirement in city council all persons in attendance are expected to displace Civility and decorum that is respectful to other persons without the use of insulting profane threatening or abusive language public comment will not be used for personal attacks against a person or group's character or Integrity which are not pertinent to City business nor May any member of the public use this form for political statements or campaigning please note that during call to the public the city council may not deliberate or decide any subject that is not on the agenda however Council May propose that a topic brought fourth be posted on a future agenda this afternoon we have three members of the public that signed up to speak the first person is Elizabeth Crawford Miss Crawford's topic is abortion and October 31st we lost were you going to lose AUM sir we lost the cor no he's coming back good afternoon Miss Crawford you have three minutes good afternoon thank you on October 31st much as our nation uh celebrates Halloween um as a child I used to enjoy it I'm ashamed to say as as one of my favorite holidays of the Year wasn't until years later um some Brazilian Christian friends of mine called me out on it and really got me to think about it the problem with Halloween is that it makes jokes out of things that are absolute reality death hell Satan they're not jokes they're absolute reality deception gaslighting taking what's true and flipping the script the lordes Jesus spoke in John chapter 8 about Satan the devil saying he was a murderer from the beginning and Abode not in the truth because there's no truth in him when he speaks a lie he speaks of his own for he is the liar and the father of it for those who would seek to dignify abortion as if as Women's Health Care and to celebrate it as women's rights I would urge you to take a field trip to one of the abortion centers in our nation where can stand right right next to the door in New Jersey I many times I had opportunity in Anglewood to stand right right next to the door and it's surreal the door opens a young lady walks out the the smell the chemical smell that's used to overwhelm the smell of the the bodies that have been taken out of the womb comes drifting out a woman comes limping out often her Jean soiled often crying often vom vomiting we stand out there for three purposes first of all to try to persuade the women not to go in and to help those who change your minds secondly to speak to those who have taken the first pill to inform them that there is pill hope abortion pill reversal.com gives the pro procedure for reever reversing the process and thirdly to speak to those who've already had the abortion and their accompanying Partners about forgiveness that's found only in the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord Jesus in John chapter 10 Again speaking about Satan said the thief come only to steal kill and to destroy but Jesus said I am come that I might have that I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly Jesus is the way the truth and the life thank you hope you have a good afternoon thank you thank you the next speaker is Ron KL Mr kl's topic is constitutional rights rescue 1983 fre Animal Services good afternoon sir you have 3 minutes good afternoon sir no it's not yeah it is did you people get the uh email I sent this morning did you look at it we've probably been up here sir I don't know if you realized we've been up here all morning okay well sh his head just point of information basically a three dogs jump in a backyard mauled a dog killed at Chas lady back in her house took their dog and ran away what if that had been a child you guys you got a couple of months to get this problem resolved we discussed getting this problem resolved we discussed four things that we needed to do immediately one was to get rid of the embedded H uh best friends program out of our shelter we got that done didn't we two we decided that we needed to buy the school I'd been talking about so we could convert it into a shelter which isn't going to happen as long as these two are involved it's going to be an adoption center three we discussed the original your original no kill plan in that meeting somebody in the meeting said considering that's the only plan that's actually worked in the city of El Paso we need to put it back in place why isn't it back in place the fourth one will leave now which one of you are going to apologize to the city of El Paso or there dogs dying for them getting attacked you had dogs that were turned away at the door and they didn't even scan them and they were dead a few hours later we had people like Ruby Montana that got attacked or dog killed what happened nothing I I just we had Betty new people walked up to an ACO officer sitting at a 7-Eleven with her two dogs across the street and he couldn't pick them up because they weren't injured they weren't sick and they weren't aggressive two hours later one was dead one was injured they were chipped they could have gone home which is probably why we're less than a third returned to owner since hos than what we were before so who's going to apologize to everybody for this we had three critical attacks people aren't even wanting to report okay people aren't even wanting to report attacks because and I quote they they don't do anything we had another attack Saturday dog's pug got shredded by three dogs when she called Animal Services I said they'd send somebody out in the next few days to investigate that's your answer is that their real answer come on guys you're putting the community at risk who's going to apologize for the last four years of putting the city in in danger I'd really like to know thank you the next speaker is Jerry Hansen Mr Hansen's topic is animal cruelty good afternoon sir you have three minutes good afternoon thank you all right I'm Mr Jerry Hansen I live next door to a resident that is a rental from his brother and I'd like to say that in no in February of last of this this year I noticed the dog across the wall with his belly was all brightly red with holes in it 10 days later the dog came over in part next to where my wall is I walk around the front of my house and I look and I see the dog's belly inflamed in all the circles I immediately went to animal control and filed a complaint against the individual the owner Adam Madrid Animal Control came out issued three citations one no vaccination two no registration three he took the animal to the Northeast vet to get looked at found out that it was going to cost him too much money so they charging with standard of care failed to comply with vet assessment in the statement given to the Animal control officer he specifically stated that he knew that dog was sick with cancer for two months you had failed to sit there and do the right thing and put that animal down now in 2017 they produced a litter of pupp iies one of the puppies they kept named Snowflake was acting largic and it died on the 29th what did he do he went to animal control and filed an animal control report against me saying that I poisoned his animals Animal Control came out and investigated and I found the love letter the note and I went to animal control and said what's going on I gave him the case number and they said don't worry about it we closed that case I said why because we couldn't find any evidence and I said wow that's amazing because I had nothing to do with that animal expiring and so now that father the one I'm talking about the dog named Chance also attacked another puppy in a litter and killed it CU I got that information from the neighbor that lives behind them so I have been dealing with this for seven years of this white dog running around barking and yelling on video file complaints with the city attorney's office get love letters back from them saying hey kind of hard to prove come down here with seven charges that he failed to show up with so they issued seven of warrants or arrest three months later we go back to court the judge looks at the videos some of them as long as 15 minutes and says I don't see anything wrong you can't own a bird a dog or a cat that squawks barks or meows across a residential area I've had that dog recorded on a DB meter at 105 Deb it 4 feet away from a wall when am I going to get justice of this man being put in jail for animal cruelty it's got to stop that's all I got to say thank you sir mayor that concludes call to the public is this 53 and 54 okay thank you item 5 53 is discussion and action that the city of Al Paso supports the application by UTP and a coalition of community- based organizations including project regeneration lo la laa St Francis neighborhood association B Lincoln Park Association Corbin Sano neighborhood association Glenwood Water Association Val Vinos neighborhood association the Colonia of Montana Vista Texas Tech University am man people's project Eco Al Paso Texas A&M Agri life extension Al Paso lasia food center and Houston in action Al Paso to the US Environmental Protection Agency fiscal year 2024 community community change grant program for track one in the amount of $20 million this application does not require any matching funds from the city represent canes uh thank you can we just can we do 50 and 54 together just yes sir item 54 is discussion and action that the city of Al Paso supports the application by Texas Tech University and a coalition of communitybased organizations including project regeneration laa St Francis neor neighborhood association bario Lincoln Park Association Corbin Sano neighborhood association Glenwood Water Association Val Vos neighborhood association the Colonia of Montana Vista UT by man's people project Al Paso Texas A&M Agri life extension Al Paso lasia food center and Houston in action Al Paso to the US Environmental Protection Agency EPA fiscal year 2024 Community change grant program for track 2 in the amount of up to $3 million the application does not require any matching funds from the city these are both representative canalysis items thank you mayor um we have uh Professor Alex Mayer from utap he's the director of the center for environmental Resource Management um and then also uhal here on behalf of Houston in action El Paso uh representing the Coalition of cbos applying for this uh Community change Grant actually these the two tracks of community TR change Grant funds um I don't know if you want me to share more information about what you're proposing or if you're if you'd like to do that mayor is it okay if they just share a brief explanation of what it what the project is that they're proposing it'll be very brief and then they got they can do public comment three minutes each if they'd like that works if that's uh if that's okay with you otherwise I can read out what your project proposal is if you want to just be available to answer questions if if you like to read the well let me do that I'll save you the time and and uh you can answer questions if there are questions from the council um this is written in the backup as well I'll just read it the proposed project uh aligns with the city's climate action goals and will prop provide direct benefits to those most impacted by climate change and air pollution in our community the projects uh will be implemented through a robust Community engagement and training plan and will include uh green infrastructure and nature-based solutions that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions reduce ambient temperatures and more by one planting 2,000 trees on Residential Properties two creating four cooling Gardens a combination of open and green space Community Gardens and composting and improving one existing Cooling Garden uh three creating an Eco Hub uh four improving and restoring irrigation canals alongside homes uh the next section is energy efficient healthy resilient housing and buildings that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions reduce ambient temperatures and reduce utility bills and improve health by one weatherizing at least 200 homes with new windows cool roofs and shade structures two weather rising and solar rising up to 20 affordable apartments and three installing ambient solar lights for at least 150 homes uh and then the third section is pollution reduction interventions that will reduce air pollution indoors by Distributing 750 home air purifiers um and I'll just clarify again that the um it's the the application is in the two different tracks of the community change grant program so the application to for track one uh is for $20 million and that portion is being led by UTEP or this UTEP is the statutory partner for uh for that application uh together with all of the the community- based organizations that were read into the record and then uh on the second track uh it's being led by Texas Tech uh that's just in the amount of $3 million and uh that's more to provide like uh Technical and programmatic support to the to the cbos as they carry out the the plan here I hope that puts it does does that capture it well okay yes absolutely we're here to answer any questions or discuss more of the the choice of the organizations and the projects I'll clarify again no matching funds from the city and unlike the application that or the The Proposal that we considered last week the city is not being asked to be the statutory partner either so I move to approve second Motion in a second yes sir the motion was made by representative caral seconded by represent representative Fon and this is to approve both items 53 and 54 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously Representatives Kennedy ernandez salido not present we're going to go ahead and keep going do we keep going M we'll go through we should be done in about an hour so we'll keep going thank you Council you want to keep going thank you all for being here okay that brings us to the first first reading of ordinances these are items 55- 62 yes sir the first reading of ordinances these are items 55 to 62 is there a motion to approve there's a motion made by representative Riva seconded by representative Fiero to approve the first reading of ordinances these are items 55 through 62 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously Representatives Kennedy and Salo not present that brings us to item number 63 item 63 is discussion and action on the award of solicitation 2024558888 rep report five node intersection remediation stage one to Jordan Foster construction this project consists of rehabilitating a portion of the Airfield at the Federal Aviation Administration Runway and Safety Action team identified as a hotspot located near the commercial service apron at the intersection of several taxiways creating a five note intersection motion approve second there's a motion May by representative Fiero second by representative Riva to approve item 63 three on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and the motion passes unanimously Representatives Kennedy and salido not present item 64 is discussion and action on the award of solicitation number 2024-the security Inc for a term of 3 years for an estimated amount of $1,459 1800 this contract will allow the zoo to maintain its facilities save for the public and employees motion approv there is a motion made by representative FAL seconded by representative Riva to approve item 64 on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and the motion passes unanimous ly Representatives Kennedy and salido not present item 65 is discussion and action on the award of solicitation 2024-25 Fire Station 22 renovations to metlock commercial contractors LLC for an estimated amount of $2,624 se1 the project consists of renovating fire station number 22 to include partial building demolition interior Demolition and a new addition to comply with new F fire station standards approve second motion made by representative R second by representative Canales to approve item 65 on that motion call for the vote please no slide conversations and the voting session and the motion passes unanimously Representatives Kennedy salido not present item number 66 is just discussion and action on the request that the managing director of purchasing and strategic sourcing be authorized to issue purchase orders for solicitation 2025 -15 police motorcycles to himz Motorsports LLC for a one-time purchase of an estimated amount of $67,900 this contract will allow the police department to purchase Patrol motorcycles for highway traffic enforcement second there is a motion made by representative FAL seconded by representative Gales to approve item 66 on that motion call for the vote representative Salo did you want to vote on item 66 the award of purchase orders to humanis Motorsports and the voting session and the motion passes unanimously representative Kennedy not present item 67 is discussion and action on the award of solicitation 2024-25 $3 34,000 this project will consist of ond demand application of thermal plastic striping and markings on City owned right of way there is a motion made by representative Riva seconded by representative F to approve item 67 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and the motion passes unanimously representative Kennedy not present item number 69 is a public hearing of an ordinance to River Elms LLC a non-exclusive franchise for waste containers on sidewalks and other city property there is a motion made by representative feral yes we have representative o yeah thank you mayor I had a question on this one um I kind of wanted to understand if the the river Elms LLC has been compliant with trash pickup and stuff like that hello sir uh we in addition to this item I know that we had a discussion regarding the responsiveness to uh many of the vendors who had uh been near schools we did change uh the language to make sure that we had the same type of alignment uh to the pickup and a responsiveness and performance time across the board as response to that and we had no other issue with with this one when we put that language in for everyone okay and we but for this particular vendor I know we had an item a similar item a few months ago um with concerns about the trash can's overfilling yes and so being picked up yeah what the team did was make sure that we have performance metrics and language that aligns across the board to ensure that the time for pickup and the uh responsiveness is very defined within and we work with our city attorney's office to ensure that that's in all of the language for all of these type of agreements and so the and then how are we going to enforce it like is there an accountability piece to it to make sure that it's great that the metrics are in the contract now but I'm thinking about enforcement um and that's kind of what I was wondering with this one if they had a pretty good record yes and one of the things a team they're not here right now we have a 14 folks who are um in our code enforcement team they would be responsible for making sure as they're going through the city that we're actually making sure that we're paying attention to these reporting back to their supervisors and holding all these folks accountable across the city we heard continuously that we're seeing these overflowing contain us throughout and this was something you all brought forward I think at least four weeks ago when we had not this item but I think a few others that moveed forward okay um thank you with that we have Motion in a second yes sir the motion was made by representative F by representative Canalis to adopt the ordinance on item 69 on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and the motion passes 521 Representatives ASO salido Fiero Rivera Canales voting I representative ernandez voting n and representative Kennedy not present item number 70 is discussion and action on a resolution authorizing the submission of an application to the Federal Aviation Administration FAA airport zero emissions vehicle and infrastructure pilot Z grant program requesting an estimated amount of $1,500,000 with an estimated match of $150,000 from Airport Enterprise funds motion approve there is a motion made by representative Fiero second by representative Canales to approve item number 70 on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously mayor protm Kennedy not present item 71 is discussion and action on a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a subrecipient agreement between the city of Al Paso and borderplex Community Capital Inc providing $200,000 to BCC to administer arpa act funds to establish the Border Plex community the capital interest buy down program which is designed to provide small businesses affected by covid-19 pandemic with Comprehensive support and access to Affordable Capital At A reduced interest rate of 2% we do have public comment on this item go ahead public comment we have Mr Eric Pearson I don't see him and Hector viegas I don't see Mr Viagas in the queue either sir that concludes public comment correct do we have a motion representative um Canalis yeah we've had great success with com with similar interest uh buy down programs so uh happily move to approve second and I think it's important to see where they put that interest rates will be reduced by 2% and that's to be able to have more the principle be used by the participant instead of having to pay so much interest so really helps them a lot to be able to put the money back in the business with that we have Motion in a second yes sir the motion was made by representative Canal seconded by representative Riva to approve item 71 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously mayor Pro Tim Kennedy not present item 72 is discussion and action on a resolution authorizing city manager to sign a chap 380 economic development program agreement between the city of Al Paso and borderplex cap Community Capital Inc BCC a Texas nonprofit organization the purpose of this agreement is to establish the frona future fund a revolving Loan Fund for small businesses within the tax increment reinvestment zone five and will provide an initial $500,000 to establish the fund an annual cont contribution of $250,000 with a goal of reaching a total investment of 1.5 million by 2028 we do have the same people signed up for this one thank you Mary yeah I think this will be an excellent program for uh small businesses downtown uh I know the loan maximum is $100,000 and so seeding at at 500,000 gives us the opportunity to uh you know start with with an initial slate of businesses that I think obviously it's a revolving loan so we'll see uh that impact multiplied into the future um thank you for the hard work that you've done in getting it to this point and that everyone in the in the department has as well so move to approve second we have public comment yes sir I don't see Mr Pearson or Mr Vias no they're not here they weren't here earlier either that's correct sir so we'll take the question yes sir motion was made by representative Canal seconded by representative Riva to approve item 72 on that motion call for the vote and the voting session the motion passes unanimously mayor protim Kennedy not present item 73 is discussion and action on a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a subrecipient agreement with between the city of Al Paso and Junior Achievement of the desert Southwest Inc a Texas nonprofit organization providing $100,000 to Junior Achievement to administer arpa act funds to Institute the Workforce Development Pathways for opportunity youth program which is designed to empower youth adults age 16 to 25 with essential skills coaching and direct connections to potential employment opportunities we do have public comment yes mayor we do we have Bianca Delila cantes followed by Lupe mes and I see them both good afternoon you have three minutes thank you good afternoon Council regarding item 73 Workforce Pathways as a Workforce Development specialist working closely with youth um it's really important to consider soft skills as one of the most important components as they transition into the workforce what we're noticing a lot as um this generation transitions is that employers are seeing that soft skills are one of the major lacking points and one of the major reasons that they are leaving the workforce or being let go from the workforce so um the Junior Achievement El Paso training program ensures that this is embedded within the training and we really hope that you'll consider moving forward thank you thank you ma'am Miss Lup mes good afternoon good afternoon good afternoon good to see you all again um again mayor and City Council Members thank you for allowing me to uh today to speak on the Workforce Development Pathways for opportunity youth program purposes as the president of Junior Achievement in El Paso I'm particularly excited about this initiative Junior Achievement has been expanding its programs to focus on Workforce and career prep preparedness with special attention to opportunity youth this proposal program aligns perfectly with our mission and proven meth methodologies in El Paso we currently have over 16,000 opportunity youth young people between the ages of 16 and 25 who are disconnected from both education and employment this isn't just a statistic these are our children our neighbors and our future Workforce each one represents untapped potential for our community the proposed program offers a practical structural structured Pathway to Success Through a unique coaching model unlike traditional mentorship programs we'll tap into our existing volunteer database to pair each youth with a dedicated coach who will guide them through a comprehensive 3 to six Monon development Journey participants will earn credentials in six crucial areas that employers consistently identify as essential in today's Workforce such as creativity and Innovation critical and analytical thinking cultural agility effective collaboration engaging communication and self-direction through our badging process these credentials will be complemented by additional vital skills including the professional soft skills strong work ethics team collaboration abilities and financial literacy the coaching re relationship is designed to evolve organically into long-term mentorship creating sustained support systems for our youth our coaches aren't just advisers they're invested Partners in these young people's success the end goal is to is twofold to help participants secure jobs with livable wages and to inspire those who discover their passions to return to education to education this program excuse me this program isn't just about immediate employment it's about opening doors to Lasting careers I strongly believe this initiative represents a smart investment in El Paso's future by supporting our opportunity youth today we're building a stronger more skilled Workforce for tomorrow thank you for your consideration of this important program thank you thank you we have a motion motion a second there is a motion made by representative ernandez seconded by representative Salo to approve item 73 on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously mayor protim Kennedy not not present the final item is discussion and action on a resolution providing a 1 million $1 million be allocated to the US economic development Administration Eda fiscal year 2024 Bill to scale program for the AL Paso technology infrastructure Cooperative project from the impact fund and authorizing the city of Al Paso to support the medical center of the America's application through the city of Al Paso's business One-Stop shop there's a motion made by representative salido seconded by representative ernandez to approve item 74 on that motion call for the vote in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously mayor protm Kennedy not present there's a motion and a second to adjourn the regular city council meeting all in favor anyone opposed and the regular city council meeting for Tuesday October 22nd 2024 is adjourned at 12:45 p.m. thank you Council