foreign like a piece afterwards clients good morning everyone happy fifth now she's doing that on do what are you ready we can um we'll start uh okay well good morning sir we'll go ahead and and start and um good morning everyone I um we the our chaplain is not dumb online he so um what I'd like to do is for everyone to say a prayer to yourselves and your mind and you know and we'll take a moment of silence to be able to do that and then we'll proceed with the pledge allegiance thank you thank you good morning this is the meeting of the El Paso city council for Wednesday July 5th 2023 it is now 9 03 a.m president presiding as mayor Lisa also present and council chambers of Representative Kennedy mayor Pro tem anelo representative Hernandez alternate mayor protemolinar representative Salcido representative Rivera and representative Canales representative Fierro is joining us via video conference and now if everyone please silence their electronic devices so it's not to disturb the meeting and rice well there's no I let me check once again can we turn that TV on please I don't see the the chaplain so for the Pledge of Allegiance if thank you judge will you lead us in the pledge sir thank you sir thank you everyone foreign yeah go ahead chaplain can you hear us sir press uh star six to unmute your microphone I see you in the queue Pastor Dennis Kaufman are you there star six to unmute your microphone press star six do I need your microphone there you go so this is the invocation to be delivered by El Paso Police chaplain in Sun Valley Baptist pastor Dennis Kaufman go ahead sir thank you Heavenly Father we thank you for your blessings and I thank you for this opportunity to address this city council today and father I pray that you have gone wisdom and guidance and direction and Father's Day do the work of our city the father I pray that you would watch over our city and keep us safe father let us be directed by your truth that we might glorify honor you and do your will again I thank you for these who here are serving you and serving us and serving our city and I pray that you should bless them in a special way and give them wisdom and guidance and Direction bless our city and we thank you Father for the many blessings that you have given us and we just praise you and thank you in Jesus name amen thank you chaplain and with that um let me begin I always have a little something before we start and um here's one the job that we've been doing as a city with the when title 42 expired even prior to title 42 aspiring and how we treated people with humanity and treated him right I got invited Friday evening or Thursday evening to Mexico City to on request of the U.S ambassador to Mexico he personally called and asked to go over there because they were going to celebrate America's 247th birthday and it was it was a big honor there was about a thousand people there from really from all over the the state of Mexico and got to meet a lot of them but he basically in his speech talked about the Senators the Congress talked about but only one person he introduced to the crowd and that was me and I was very humbly and honoring because of the job we've done the way we treat people here and um and then he went on this speech and talked about how we did do the job and he really in in his speech to a thousand people from high-ranking officials in Mexico City he talked about what a great job the city did and how a little town like El Paso he kept saying they know how to do it and so it's and you know so this really shows the teamwork between the city the county and everyone else that's done this to make sure that we continue to treat people with respect uh you know as I told you last time also that three days after 42 title 42 expired I got a phone call from the White House to thank us again for what we've been doing so I think as a team we um we've done the right thing and we'll continue the right thing and uh you know we're so prepared and we'll continue to prepare for the unexpected because we don't know what that'll be I know Mexico Waters yesterday closed down their tents because they have no occupants for the most part so yeah we see a um they're coming right now but we'll continue to be prepared but I just wanted to share that honor with you all because um it was very humbling to stand there and then meet you know Attorney General of Mexico and all the congressmen and everyone else that we got to meet and talk about our community so um people are watching what we're doing because we were the epicenter of the migration and the Asylum Seekers so it um it was very very I'm very honored to be there to represent not only the city but it was really the United States so it was great and I just wanted to share that with you all look at that man we have the proclamations next the first Proclamation UI intervention and treatment program day hope so Kennedy whereas the El Paso County DWI intervention and treatment program has been recognized for the fourth consecutive Year by the national Center for DWI courts Academy Court Network for their commitment to reducing drunk driving incidents in the community and whereas The Honorable Robert essenchondo has overseen the program and has played a crucial role in its success by providing leadership guidance dedication to reducing the number of drunk driving incidents in El Paso and whereas the El Paso County DWI intervention and treatment program has been instrumental in providing education and treatment services to individuals who have been convicted of driving while intoxicated offenses helping them to understand the dangers of drunk driving and the impact it can have on their lives the lives of their loved ones in the community as a whole and whereas the program has also worked closely with Community organizations and law enforcement to raise awareness about the dangers of drunk driving and to promote responsible drinking habits among the residents of El Paso and whereas the efforts of El Paso County DWI intervention and treatment program have resulted in a significant reduction in drunk driving incidents in the community making our roads safer for all those who use them and whereas we honor the El Paso County DWI intervention and treatment program for their outstanding service and commitment to reducing drunk driving incidents in the community and thank the honorable Robert S unchondo for his leadership and dedication to this important program now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor and Council of the city El Paso that July 5th 2023 shall be known as DWI intervention and treatment program day and this is signed by The Honorable mayor Oscar liser good morning judge Mr Kennedy thank you so much for that wonderful Proclamation mayor City Council I along with Miss Leticia Medina who is our program director of the program uh wish to acknowledge and thank not only the city but it's people and the folks that have participated in the program in rehabilitating and changing their behavior and making it more productive and safer for our community you know thank you for also advising me and you know kind of refreshing and recollecting what I do you know when we uh started this program over 19 years ago we had a dream and a thought to be able to do something better with these individuals that come into the system and what we have learned is by doing the proper assessments and treatment plans and doing what is necessary with our partners because the courts don't do this alone we do it with the efforts of many many partners who help us including our district attorney our Police Department our Sheriff's Department our probation department our treatment providers our life skills folks many many individuals or Community College our hospitals those who present an opportunity for these people to change their mind if I can go on it would take too long but you know I cannot ignore the fact that these individuals are very important in what we do to change these folks we're very proud of the national recognition but you know what it's even better to get it locally because the city has been very important and very uh a great partner since the beginning uh mayor and we appreciate what you've done our late chief you know what can I tell you he's been so wonderful in providing the assistance with law enforcement and our current chief as well and so I can only say that we will continue to help those individuals that want to be helped we will continue to rehabilitate and make a better individual safer for our communities as you know there's a lot of tragedy going on in our community nationally and we try to make those numbers stop but you know what since 2007. we have not had not had a fatality I mean I take that back we've had a fatality I'm sorry we've had a fatality since 2007 in the state we're trying to change that but we are proud of those individuals that do graduate from this program don't return and we're very proud of that success rate and so I want to thank you so much for your recognition and truly appreciate it and on behalf of the Court Miss Medina our partners you the city and many others here in this community I want to thank you all for the recognition but I can't tell you that I just don't do this alone and with the good amount of folks that we have we do try to make a difference and uh we just hope that these individuals and the education we give will also impact those that will not come into the system but that they be safe when they're driving just an added touch uh and uh councilman Fierro thank you also for your for your recognition uh the National Association of drug court professionals and I will tell you now has changed they just met in Houston so now they are known as all rise the department I'm under now will be driving impaired Solutions uh but that would have been too late to know but that just occurred at our at our meeting here nationally in Houston and we were very proud to participate also uh so you'll know in in closing part of our work is to help other communities around the country so we provide and host trainings for those individuals who want to start with these courts that want to start these programs so that they can help those folks be more safer as well so we're very proud of that as well as Medina have I forgotten any successfully graduated over so those 800 individuals about 93 percent of those individuals will not return into the criminal justice system so we're very proud of that thank you thank you sir thank you for being here but you're not alone and we'll continue to work and support you as you well know even when I was wondering office uh you came to me and I'll continue to support you appreciate that thank you thank you all so much really appreciate that the next Proclamation is international drag day representative thank you the proclamation of the city of El Paso Texas whereas International drag day observed on July 16th aims to raise awareness about the contributions of drag performers and is an annual Global celebration that recognizes and Embraces the Artistry creativity and cultural significance of drag performance and whereas drag performance has a rich history and has been a vital part of the lgbtqia plus communities for decades serving as a platform for self-expression gender exploration and advocacy for equality and acceptance and drag performers have played an integral role in promoting lgbtqia rights and acceptance challenging stereotypes and fostering understanding and dialogue within the broader community and whereas the city of El Paso is committed to promoting and safeguarding the rights safety and well-being of all its residents regardless of their gender identity sexual orientation or artistic expression and whereas we value and promote equality diversity and inclusivity and recognize the importance of acknowledging and celebrating the unique contributions of individuals who identify as drag performers and recognizing and celebrating International drag day in the city of El Paso will provide an opportunity to highlight and honor the contributions of drag performers promote a culture of acceptance and understanding and further establish El Paso as an inclusive and welcoming City now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor and Council of the city of El Paso that July 16 2023 shall be known as International drag day signed by The Honorable mayor Oscar Lisa good morning sir good morning Council my name is Michael Gutierrez and I am a community organizer today I represent Texas Rising El Paso and the queertex and Student Association at UTEP firstly I'd like to take a moment to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the organizations that have dedicated their time and resources to participate and support International drag day these organizations and organizers have not only hosted spectacular events in our community but have also worked tirelessly to Foster the spirit of inclusivity fight against discrimination and create a safe space for individuals to express themselves freely their dedication and commitment to serving our community has not going to notice and their unwavering support has helped Empower countless individuals offering them a sense of belonging and reminding them that they are loved and valued additionally I'd like to thank representative anello and her team for their support and guidance in making this day possible without these organizations organizers and representatives nello the rep the celebration of international drag day would not be possible during this legislative session bills are introduced set directly targeted the LGBT community threatening to undermine the progress we have made in ensuring equality and acceptance for all these attacks demonstrate a blatant disregard for principles of inclusivity diversity and respect that our state should strive to uphold as organizer who traveled to Austin to participate in the legislative process it was disheartening to witness the bills that were being proposed that aim to limit the access to health care for Trans Youth and the outright ban of drag performances our community deserves a fair and Equitable access to Medical Care Freedom From Any discriminatory practices and restrictions and the freedom to perform as stated in the first amendment of our constitution however the one aspect that impacted me the most was witnessing lgbtq youth fight for the right to be who they are as a member of the LGBT community I understood their feelings I understood their emotions and their struggles at the age of 17 I often felt like I didn't belong because of who I was one night I felt the best option for my future was to not have one however the Deep however deep inside my soul I didn't have the heart to take my own life and in a moment of darkness I reached out to a drag performer that I looked up to her name was Miss Coco Peru who is an established artist and that has done drag for decades knowing that she undoubtedly receives a lot of messages I didn't expect for her to respond to me however in the most difficult place in my life she extended her hand she shared her life experiences with me and one sentiment that she told me was nothing is so dark you can't find a reason to celebrate I knew that coming back from Austin after this legislative session we needed to find Hope in darkness this is where the vision of the Proclamation came from International drag day is a day that celebrates art freedom self-expression and the vibrant LGBT community which is an integral part and diverse is integral part of our diversity and inclusion to our city drag is an art form that transcends boundaries tap devates audiences with powerful performances and drag has served as a vehicle for individuals to explore different facets of their identities Express their creativity and Inspire others to embrace their true selves without fear of judgment by officially recognizing this momentous occasion we are not only paying homage to the important contributions of drag performers in and outside of our community but we also send a powerful message to our state that we are seen we are heard and we are celebrated throughout our city together let us rewrite a feature for a great state where everyone can live their truth without fear and live the life that they were truly meant to live thank you so much Council and thank you mayor Lisa for today in this Proclamation I want to go ahead and invite a couple of others to come up and speak as well as this was a community effort so I'll go ahead and Loan the mic to Amber from the BRC thank you sir for being here good morning good morning uh probably one of the most important things of today is seeing this group of people these groups this group of in like individuals and organizations as well working together towards the same goal um I think that given what has happened at State Legislature which we all know at this point it's important to understand that El Paso is one of those places that can become that Beacon right that can show the rest of the state that we understand that while we can't go against State legislation we can put a stop and say hey we don't think that this is okay it's like we're not going to try to change the laws what we're going to try to do is let you know in the ways that we can that this is not appropriate and we don't allow these things to go on this drag resolution or sorry this drag Proclamation allows the community to understand that there are moments of Light Within this Darkness as Michael just said and thank you so much for hearing again how important this community is and this is after pride and a lot of times what happens is pride happens there's a month of rainbows and all sorts of good feelings and allyship and then June July first hits and all of a sudden it's back to black and white it's like so this year we want to make sure that it never goes back to just black and white that the entire year is filled with rainbows so thank you I will introduce Dede who's actually uh the drag Story Hour coordinator at the Borderland rainbow Center thank you good morning everybody good morning my name is my name is Mo dianda I go by the Entertainer DD Camacho I've been doing jack for about 13 years it's a stand before you I have realized something that I realized that El Paso is the leading city in Texas currently that is hosting a drag Story Hour why is that because I believe that there is goodness in everybody to have to give the community the opportunity to stand before you and kind of express ourselves in a well in a world proper manner I've Jack has changed my life I'm not going to go on and say all my experiences but what I realized about one of the main goals in my life currently is that with drag Story Hour I've been able to um save my life and save others while you know teaching literature with the art of drag and how beautiful is that I appreciate everyone from the bottom of my heart that we're even talking about drag in this community in this in this building it is so amazing to me and I just want to say that I will keep on doing what I believe is trying and there's nothing stopping me and I wish thank you for everything I really do thank you I appreciate it thank you thank you for being here really possible and Christopher president for El Paso Sun City Pride um honorable mayor Lisa and city council thank you for having us today and thank you for um representative anello for leading the front for this Proclamation um it's much appreciated on behalf of El Paso Sun City Pride we want to thank you um if we're continuing the efforts of Adam Stewart who established International drag day back in 2009 and having it recognized in the city of El Paso um dragon's not just men in dresses you know drag has become mainstream and with all the legislation that's being put forth within our state and around all around the country we're being pushed back and and and to be considered abnormal um and thank you for this of these efforts to becoming the beacon beacon of light in this state in such a time of Darkness um hopefully we continue all the efforts throughout the year because of course we aren't just gay one month we're we're lgbtqia plus 365. and so thank you for shining a a Beacon of Hope and Light by writing this Proclamation um Proclamation resolution Proclamation um and um again just thank you on behalf of El Paso Sun City Pride thank you thank you for being here good morning good morning I'm Kian I'm president and chair of the um El Paso GSA board and I just wanted to say thank you so much and it's a pleasure on being able to speak to you again um El Paso is I'm going off to college next year and it it warms my heart to see that the place that I've grew up in is is the of implied and that we're different than most States and towns in Texas and I hope that when I leave and come back whenever I'm going to come back that we still have hope and that it's going to get better because I feel like we should be the change um and spread love throughout it's so time consuming when you spread hate every single day and not realize it we don't have time for hate we should just spread love and I just wanted to say thank you for that thank you for being up here thank you thank you again thank you all so much for sharing your stories the next Proclamation is Hamilton Appreciation Week representative Canales thank you mayor whereas in our community Broadway and El Paso breeds life into the downtown Arts District by bringing world-renowned musicals and performances to the Historic Plaza Theater and whereas this year marks the 18th season of Broadway in El Paso anchored by Hamilton performing at the Plaza theater for 16 performances telling an award-winning story now globally recognized as a theatrical landmark and whereas Hamilton has received a record-breaking number of prestigious Awards and nominations having won 11 best musicals at the 70th Tony Awards sorry 11 including best musical at the 70th Tony Awards the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for drama the best musical theater album Grammy Award seven Olivier Awards and an unprecedented special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors and whereas the anticipated arrival of Hamilton's Premiere and El Paso Community will generate great wealth and exposure for the city further identifying El Paso as a thriving theater Market aiming to consistently deliver audiences a diverse selection of acclaimed and sought after performances and whereas the community is invited to come together to celebrate the craft and Excellence of the Blockbuster Musical and to spend an evening in the vibrant cultural center of downtown El Paso to enjoy a remarkable production of Hamilton and now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor and Council of the city of El Paso that July 10th through July 14 2023 shall be known as Hamilton Appreciation Week signed by The Honorable mayor Oscar liser good morning Jose good morning mayor mayor and Council um Brooke has prepared a song from Hamilton that she's gonna she's gonna perform uh I kid I kid uh thank you for today's Proclamation um Jose Garcia with destination El Paso uh destination fossil was excited to have Hamilton here for the next couple weeks uh it'll be July 5th uh through the 16th uh as uh representative Canales said we have 16 performances uh 2023 does Mark our 18th season of Broadway in El Paso and we're really excited uh that Hamilton does anchor this uh this season's um series we're looking forward to upwards of 30 000 tickets uh sold over the next couple weeks and that inevitably will have a tremendous economic impact uh on on El Paso and downtown especially as these as these folks will be enjoying eateries bars and even some that are coming from out of town uh we'll be staying at our hotels here in El Paso um and as we know uh Hamilton uh is one of the most celebrated uh Broadway shows uh in the history of Broadway uh it is said that Hamilton is the Broadway show that ruined all other Broadway shows in the future uh just because of its uh its Innovation and and what it does uh for Broadway so um again we'd just like to thank uh mayor council for this recognition for the proclamation we'd like to thank the community for coming out to support Hamilton thank you so much and we look forward to seeing you at the Plaza theater thank you sir good morning Brooke he says to take pictures no we're gonna go we're gonna go to representative Hernandez on item 14 and then we're going to do item 17 at the same time right after that a good idea thank you Martinez discussion in action to approve a resolution that the city of El Paso honors and recognizes congresswoman Veronica Escobar for her tireless efforts and advocacy to officially have castner range be designated as a National Monument in item 17 is presentation of a Congressional Record celebrating the city of El Paso's 150th birthday by congresswoman Veronica Escobar representative of Texas 16th congressional district thank you representative good morning congresswoman after 50 years of your advocacy not your advocacy but this community's advocacy um you proudly announced Kastner range being designated as a national monument and for that we wanted to to recognize you I have a resolution to read into the record we'll take a vote and then we'll proceed to your next item uh so the resolution reads whereas on March 21st 2023 after 50 years of advocacy from the community U.S congresswoman Veronica Escobar Texas 16 proudly announced that Kastner arranged the crown jewel of West Texas was designated as a National Monument by President Joe Biden through his use of the Antiquities act and whereas Kastner range consists of over 7 000 acres of land that was formally used by Fort Bliss army base as an arterially and Munitions range and whereas the Army seized operations on castner range in 1966 and declared the land access in 1971 at which point community support ignited for conserving the range as open space and res during her first term congresswoman Escobar introduced the Kastner range National Monument act a bill to conserve and protect Kastner and during a natural resources Committee hearing in May of 2021 congresswoman Escobar testified about the importance of supporting her legislation and its significance to El pasoans and whereas in addition to zealously pursuing the the designation through legislative means congresswoman Escobar invited several key Biden Administration officials to El Paso to amplify the awareness of protecting castner range including hosting Secretary of the Interior Deb hablen and a tour of castner range in March of 2022 and whereas in June 2022 congresswoman Escobar coordinated a meeting with several El Paso stakeholders at the Pentagon with under secretary Camarillo and the White House Council on Environmental Quality and in follow-up she welcomed the under Secretary of the army and Native El pasoans Gabe Camarillo back home in August of 2022 to continue discussions about the designation and Raz with continued enthusiasm to see the designation through congresswoman Escobar wrote to President Biden twice over the past year urging him to designate Kastner range through the Antiquities act now therefore be resolved by the city council of the city of El Paso that the city of El Paso honors and recognizes congresswoman Veronica Escobar Texas 16 for her tireless efforts and advocacy to officially have castner range be designated as a national monument and I make a motion to approve second foreign we do have a motion to approve by representative Hernandez seconded by representative Rivera yes ma'am um thank you so much congresswoman Escobar I wanted to ask the the resolution stated you brought several members of cabinet and President Biden's cabinet to come here and meet with local representatives and I want to thank you for including myself representative molinar many of our state reps to meet with honorable Helen um it was a an honor to be a part of that conversation it was an amazing experience for me as a local elected official and so I wanted to personally thank you for that and congratulate you on this amazing effort that you led that that is representative Hernandez said had been something people had working for for 50 years and I can't imagine a better leader to have succeeded in that I'm sorry I'm having trouble speaking today but I just wanted to thank you personally for that thank you representative customer Mark well good morning everyone representative Hernandez thank you so much for this resolution it's very humbling and representative anello thank you for your kind words mayor council it really has been such a privilege to work alongside all of you and other members of the community who have long fought for this designation of course um I want to acknowledge the Beloved and late Judy Ackerman who I I know all of you met her all of you saw her and her Relentless efforts to gather signatures so that those petitions for the president um were always available in abundance also Dr Richard teschner who so generously gave to the El Paso Community Foundation really a remarkable sum of money in order to help continue to build the momentum for the effort and the countless Advocates over the years really over the decades who worked for this designation it would not have been possible also without President Biden obviously and I will tell you he was um instrumental it was his decision the members of his cabinet were fantastic spending really a lot of time with me my team our community welcoming the community into the Pentagon to discuss this coming directly to El Paso to discuss this um and I I'm so grateful to under secretary Gabe Camarillo on El Paso in the under Secretary of the United States Army which is incredible in and of itself to have an El Paso in inside the Pentagon he is essentially in you know in many ways the Chief Operating Officer of the United States Army and so his support his work his effort also instrumental secretary Holland all of the members of President Biden's team it took more than a village it it took our community and the White House to get this over the finish line and I am very humbled for the recognition but I certainly was not alone at any point in the process and I'm very grateful for the for the collaboration thank you all very much thank you and I want to thank you for making sure that El Paso has not been forgotten has not with your leadership and um you know we've um you know bringing the secretary down here more than once was very important and for him to see it but um you know when I talked this morning about Co I mean covert about Asylum Seekers and everything we've done we could probably do something on that because you were so instrumental in making sure we got the funding that people were treated humanely and you know I think um secretary mayorka said he'd visit us 11 times since he's been in office and so I thank you for that because I know that he when I've talked to him he he really values your opinion and that's one of the main reasons she comes down here to make sure that El Paso is well taken care of and all the money we received from FEMA which gave us the ability to do the job for the federal government and not in the back of the local taxpayers so I mean we could probably talk another hour about those things that have happened so I do want to thank you for you know El Paso having a voice in Washington because we do so thank you for that thank you mayor at the none of this would be possible without incredible Partnerships and Leadership here at the local level thank you all very much yes ma'am thank you Brianna and we do have a motion to approve hold on one second I'm sorry representative molinar thank you mayor congresswoman Veronica water it's always a pleasure for you to be here and be in our Sun City thank you very much I personally take words cannot express what I feel to see those mountains to see casting range now a National Monument I live just blocks away from that I see that every day every day multiple times thank you for your leadership you're an undying support when you mentioned Dr Richard teschner Judy Ackerman the Frontera land Alliance and all these other people all those people who signed those letters that petition they need to be thanked as well and we'll never be able to do it the right way but thank you again for your leadership the under secretary the Secretary of the Interior coming out here taking the time out of their busy schedules inviting us to inviting me and us to go to those meetings and have one-on-one conversations with them that was like unprecedented I was really really impressed with everything that they said and how we were able to interact together but it was a great day never really saw it coming I know I prayed for it many times about this hey we need to make this happen we need to make this happen we need to make this happen and we did so thank you very much for your leadership in congress and help helping us here at home thank you ma'am thank you thank you so much and I do remember seeing you after back in 2014 when we were continuing to try to get a name the National Monument but you were out there I see some of the old pictures and I see you standing back there with a sign so you know thank you all for all the hard work but thank you for pushing it over the finish line thank you with that Diana we do have a motion to approve and Pauline on that motion call for the vote representative Fierro I and the mo the item has been approved unanimously representative Kennedy not present for the vote can we can we get a motion in The Recess you're not gonna create them okay I'm sorry one more I saw it up there on the screen there go ahead man go ahead oh thank you sorry um well the it is now my turn to be able to recognize our community in the city of El Paso you know as I was sitting in the audience listening to Brooke Underwood and others talk about representative canales's resolution about the Plaza theater and thinking about everything that makes our community unique and beautiful and great and all of the conversations that we've had even in our generation about improving El Paso I was recalling when I worked for one of our prior Mayors for mayor Rey Caballero during a very controversial era and discussion about whether or not to preserve the Plaza theater and if you can believe it there were Advocates wanting to tear it down and turn it into a parking lot because it would cost too much money to preserve and yet here we are 20 years later enjoying the fruit of that labor and those battles and it it just was an incredible trip down memory lane and it's so appropriate that this Congressional Record that I'm about to read to you is about our incredible history as a community and so what I'd like to present to all of you is a Congressional record this is an historical document that will go into the Library of Congress for future generations to see and read about and I'd like to to read it in our community's honor Mr Speaker I Rise to celebrate the rich history culture and community that the city of El Paso has built over the last 150 years the city of El Paso was officially Incorporated in May 1873 by the Texas legislature since the Inception of the city we have been inextricably linked with ciudad Juarez Chihuahua and communities in Southern New Mexico we are home to the Isleta Del Sur tigua tribe the University of Texas at El Paso the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and Fort Bliss our nation's second largest military installation we are a dynamic region a vibrant Metroplex where cultures and traditions blend El Paso is known as the Sun City where people can enjoy a Chihuahuas or locomotives game go on a hike or a bike ride on a Scenic Trail in Franklin Mountain State Park walk through our Historic downtown or enjoy the poppies in the spring at the Kastner range National Monument the beauty of our Chihuahuan Desert is unmatched and at night the star on the Franklin Mountain always shines bright the city of El Paso is one of a kind our people are known to be warm friendly and hard-working our city comes together for unifying events as we did for the chamisad Treaty of 1963 when the United States and Mexico came into a peaceful settlement of a century-long dispute we are a community of kindness and Goodwill one that always welcomes The Stranger but we also come together to love and help each other during times of great challenge as we did after the domestic terrorist shooting on August 3rd 2019 that took 23 Souls El pasoans are resilient and we have never lost touch with our Humanity I am proud to call the city of El Paso my home and it is my privilege to honor the 150th anniversary of our beautiful city the future is bright for our community I'd like to present this to the city of El Paso and I guess we'll do that outside but thank you for the opportunity to commemorate the 150th year of our city and happy birthday to El Paso thank you thank you now motion to recess all those in favor and the C the regular city council meeting is going into recess at 9 0 9 45 A.M and Council and all the folks who participated in the proclamations we're going to go ahead and do the DWI intervention and treatment program Day first of all and this is going to be out in the lobby area followed by International drag day and then Hamilton Appreciation Week where I and Brooke will do a rendition of in the room where it happens and then of course we're going to be doing um the Congressional recognitions as well items 14 and 17. thanks yes and we do have five members of council so there is a motion to reconvene the city council meeting at 1001 do you mind me to wait Mr Mayor or take the vote or go ahead and let's just begin all matters listed under the consent agenda will be considered by city council to be routine and will be enacted by one motion and less 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 be considered at any time any item at any time during the meeting we do not have any revisions is there a motion to approve the consent agenda yes ma'am I guess I don't have to do my thing there you go motion made by alternate mayor Pro tem Molina seconded by representative Salcido nope on that motion call for the vote representative Hernandez thank you ma'am I don't see representative Fierro are you there the voting station has been closing the item has been approved the consent agenda has been approved up with representative Fiero not present for the vote the next the first item on the regular agenda is discussion in action to a point at Mundo Calderon as Chief internal auditor in accordance with the El Paso City Charter section 3.20 B5 who shall carry out the duties established in accordance with City Charter 3.20 B and directing the interim city manager and City attorney to prepare the necessary documents to implement this appointment we do have a motion made by representative Kennedy seconded by alternate mayor protemolinar on that motion call for the vote hey mayor I had a question yes ma'am um to the City attorney and interim city manager is there any details or backup information as it relates to this item like what what are the employment terms or can you just share a little bit information tell them I understand thank you representative my understanding of the of the request is to direct us to come back we've been doing some benchmarking in regards to what other internal Auditors have across the state and then we'll be working um to accomplish something similar here and then bring it back to the council okay so this action just directs to you this is not the official appointment correct and so it's okay it's asking us to prepare the necessary documents to implement this appointment and then what is the timeline to come back it doesn't have a timeline and it it just if Council wishes to give us a timeline to come back with um we've been contacting a few other cities to get a copy of their records so that just takes if they do it through the open record process it takes a few weeks okay so so we should be able to bring this back then regarding that within the month okay 30 days okay so there's no information other than directing you to um to bring back terms although this is the the purview of City Council correct yes ma'am that's and then I understand and then because it's the new Charter item so how does this defer or change or is it any different from the appointment of a City attorney and city manager we are not processing it any different so we are we are using the same method and processes that we would use for the appointment of the city manager and the City attorney since it's an appointment of the council itself okay so um are we seeking outside Council to to help with employment matters or is this are we directing you to do this or are you hiring outside counsel correct so the direction is for this for the interim city manager and myself to take care of that process so we will be using our internal folks to do that okay um well you know considering this is a an item to city council you know this is my opinion it's the progative of council we should take all the similar steps that we do for City attorney and city manager it should be no different this process in my opinion has been flawed from the Inception and I'm not going to support this item today thank you I think this is just the exercising the will of the voters the voters voted on the change and based on the outcome by the voters this is the next step we have to take as required correct yes sir that's correct thank you so there is no change in position just re-titling that based on what the name of the action that the voters took and uh so with that representative Kennedy I was just going to quickly say I'm confident that um having already started in the expertise in-house there's not it's not necessary to go to an outside Council I think if there was that necessity that Ms Neiman absolutely would have come forward to us and said she felt she needed to I don't think there's a reason for it and I look forward to seeing what comes back thank you with that Mr Mayor we did receive a statement in opposition we just received it to be right into the record would you allow me to yes ma'am it's uh we do it's public comments so we'll make sure we stay within the time limit and this is from Miss Anna one and it is I am writing to express my strong opposition to the appointment of edmundo Calderon as the auditor for our city recent reports recent reports on serious character flaws concerning Mr Calderon have come to my attention and they raised concerns that are fundamentally incompatible with the values and principles that are esteemed to Mayor and city council stand for in light of the gravity of the situation I would like to bring my your attention to selected quotes from the personal evaluation of Mr Calderon conducted by respected retired city manager William studer these quotes provide by provided by Mr studer shed light on the serious reservations that have been raised one it is evident that El Mundo thrives under conflict on create or creating such too he needs to learn to keep things should I continue it's yeah these are this our Personnel matterson if it's attack on anyone I think we should ask the City attorney because I have heard multiple members from the public speak about Mr Gonzalez Mrs Neiman and so again process we got to stick to process so so Mrs attacking anybody from the city point of clarification our rules for public comment can individuals sign up unanimously or anonymously sorry anonymously or present public comment without being an actual person because I know we can't do that in our ethics so I mean this is a person that has attacked multiple members of city council under a fake pseudonym who is now attacking a sitting member of our staff um and I think and again I'm sorry clarification I'm gonna do a point of order I'm asking you a question representative will you please allow her to speak right so my point of clarification is that why what is our process for public comment and if that needs to be amended this Council needs to do so so the Rules of Order does state that we need to a full name in the address and so forth we just came in at 9 56 and it was from Anna one it was via email and it was signed as Anna and there's no address no phone number there's no last name and we didn't even have the time to go back and ask sure so it doesn't so it does not meet the requirements for public comment okay so I would ask mayor that we do not continue this public comment anymore said that we need to make sure we continue to follow the process right and I think again if I can uh mayor if we can ask Mrs Neiman because we hear public comment for you know just about you about every member of this Council and so we shouldn't change process for for one person so per the rules of order as as Ms Nunez stated today when people are asked to sign up to speak for the public they're required to fill out all the information from what I'm hearing from her today is that that wasn't done on this item correct so we would need to go back and ask for that person to sign up properly yeah it just has a first name thank you and also for purposes of asking for Rules of Order the parliamentarian is is assigned to answer questions of Rules of Order thank you thank you okay and mayor I just wanted to say one more thing so in the future when when staff are being attacked when our Animal Services director or they're talking about their background um my expectation moving forward is that this precedent that you're setting today and inhibiting someone to share their public comment is portrayed for every commenter public speaker moving forward that's all I'm asking for is a fair standard clarification where you interrupt everyone else well this is the first time I've ever interrupted because because we are actively asking the public not to speak and so this is a public forum no we don't know who and so I take that processors and procedures I don't know who the person is either I don't even know if that's their their last name and so if the person say it's their last name yes or no um and so how do you how do you determine that so are we going to go and verify and validate everyone's last name moving forward quickly do email them back and ask for a full name and if the email doesn't look right we do but this just came in at 9 56 okay yeah just just to to be clear Animal Services director fact Mr Gonzalez is attacked no one ever stops uh when we're talking about when we're talking about process I know we have and we'll continue to do that man okay that's not true but thank you thank you representative thank you Mary I just want to get back to the issue at hand uh to make it clear Mr Neiman you said this is not an employment you're just staff is going to look into this issue well that's not what the item says and that's why I'd say the same thing the item says okay and so discussion and action to a point edmundo Colorado's Chief internal auditor in the accordance with the El Paso City Charter section who shall carry so this is showing them and then they come exactly where they so this is like you said earlier this is the will of the people so my question to you is are these are the same rules that applied to the city manager and City attorney are they going to apply to him so that this is a public so the public can understand what we're doing here yes sir so what what I anticipate what I have prepared to do is prepare a draft document we would do benchmarking like we do with the city attorney and the city manager positions in terms of benefits and salary Etc and then allow Council an opportunity to review those documents before they're finalized so it was the exact same process that we follow okay so we're just voting to direct you to do that yes sir the item does state action to a point so we are appointing them at this point correct sir then I will be coming and then you bring back everything else correct well that's the mayor that's different from what I would just I know that's what I wonder that was a different question though we need to have a clear a clear um example of what are we voting for today to appoint the city auditor I mean window colored under the city auditor and then everything else will be brought forward based on what we vote on so with that we have a motion in a second we do have a motion made by representative Kennedy seconded by representative Molina and again just to repeat it is to appoint Ed Mundo Calderon as the chief internal auditor in accordance with El Paso City Charter section 3.20 B5 and for this interim city manager and City attorney to prepare the necessary documents to implement the appointment yes ma'am and the voting session is open for you given the new information the new light of information could we appoint an employee Mrs Neiman without understanding the employment terms I mean because that's what my fundamental concern is here like you're so like for the public I'm going to say your city council just appointed their Chief internal auditor and and accordance of the city Charter however I I have no employment terms to consider here and so what if the employment terms were Fair um or they're not fair and so I think this body should have the understanding before you appoint an auditor and I think it's really critical and so I'm just concerned again about process that it's not it's not been it's not been clearly demonstrated to the public I have not had an opportunity to look at employment terms um I have not had an opportunity to speak to an employment attorney to ensure that whatever is in those terms is is fair I mean this I'm very concerned with the way this is being presented today again members of council were not invited to participate in a search members of council were not asked to uh to have these questions and dialogue with their outside counsel and so I mean like honestly what why why is this changed from every other process and and mayor maybe this is the question to you you're the one who placed the item on the agenda do you think it is prudent to the taxpayer to appoint somebody without understanding employment terms because I'm really struggling with the process it's the same way the city manager's contract was brought to us it was not brought up here at the diocese it was brought to us to extend to make it a better contract and that was brought up when you brought it up to us in 2014 he was appointed I mean 2014 October prior to that the two contracts that I vetoed so this is no different than that he did bring it up you did want action on it and Council had the opportunity to do action so this is we did that Council cannot approve the agreement and that's why it's being brought up for Council to say yes or no but this this is actually and I met with the city manager and I met with uh Miss Neiman and this is something that we felt it was a necessity based on the um the charter amendment that was changed by the voters I mean they give advice if they give advice mayor it is we're counting on your leadership to to adhere to that's why I'm giving you the when we brought it so by that logic you mentioned um the the process with with Mr uh Gonzalez he was appointed in 2014. there was a public Outreach process there was a search that was conducted there was the opportunity for members of council to interview there was an opportunity for Council to go behind closed doors and executive session to discuss employment matters and employment terms and again you know I like I feel like if it were any other position everybody would be up here very concerned this is a serious appointment that we are making and you've you've provided no due process for members of council to inquire about employment terms so so based on your your statements mayor um you want to appoint a chief internal auditor not understanding employment terms not giving information to the public not engaging your counsel as to what they would like to see in the process and so really I'm offended I'm offended that it's been it's been presented this way without giving your counsel who is the city Charter responsibility if the authority is granted to your city council to make these decisions and so all I ask for because the same thing happened with the appointment of the interim a city manager the same thing is happening with your Chief internal auditor I cannot move forward without highlighting the fact that process was never created your Council was never engaged we have not seen your employment terms and we've not have the opportunity to speak to our attorney regarding employment terms and so again you know it may be well-intentioned but these type of appointments need your consideration from your entire Council and not just you know off the cuff of appointments on the on the agenda without even engaging your Council and so that's why I'm saying I'm offended because you're not engaging the council and your city Charter says it is the appointment of your city council yeah you shouldn't be offended because she's been working for us what 19 years so I think you've had more than one option regardless of the person excuse me ma'am I am speaking Yeah regardless and I didn't interrupt you so he has been the internal auditor in 19 years Colonel Western she's been with us 19. so yeah if I hope you've had an opportunity to meet him mayor yeah everybody it's not like we're bringing someone new into the system it's not like all we did was classify the difference with the voters we weren't asking the voters to terminate anybody we uh like I said he's been the internal auditor and worked for the city 19 years so I hope you have met with them I hope you've had the opportunity to meet him and understand who he is and what he does uh with all his certifications and what's been going on so if uh if you haven't then I'd be very surprised that anybody in here would have a um have not met or talked to a mom so this is just to change the quality their classification not to go out to hire a new one it was to change the classification and that's what we're doing from working for for the city manager and answering the city manager to going back to answering to city council which is us and going answering to the faux so again it's not going out and searching for a new auditor it's not you know if you don't like the auditor and you'd like to vote against him you this is the opportunity you'll have obviously but this is not going out to search for a new auditor this is just to reclassify based on the charter that was approved by the voters call the question the voting session is open and representative Pharaoh is on representative Rivera representative Fierro I and the polliness closed with representative Hernandez vodine City TV can we have the vote posted please so what was the vote seven to one yes sir thank you again this was not to hire anyone knew this is reclassify and then come back for Council for approval on his contract thank you next item please next item is item number 16 and this is discussion in action to direct the interim city manager and City attorney to recommend amendments to the city ethics ordinance complaint review process in city code 2.92.170 to provide that that are responded timeline to address and file a response to a complaint begins after the City attorney refers a complaint to the ethics review commission emergency preparing Council yeah currently our ethics ordinance the way it's written as soon as a complaint is filed the respondent has 14 days to provide a written response to that complaint and what this is asking is that that timeline doesn't start until the complaint is actually referred to the commission by the City attorney okay we have a motion in a second yeah it's just doing it it's basically you answer and then it's not accepted so we want it to be accepted then you have the opportunity to answer but if it's not accepted you don't have to go through all that motion of answering it I mean the City attorney has to make a jurisdictional assessment to make sure to be honest with you commission I met with the city attorney in uh Colonel Weston to discuss this and they saw where it really was set up backwards because there is no complaint it's a complaint filed but not accepted at this point so once it's accepted then you have 14 days to answer we kind of got it backwards representative Hernandez Mrs Neiman have you had an opportunity to share this with the ethics review commission for any proposed changes no this has not gone to the ethics review commission okay again process I won't be supporting this today representative thank you mayor Miss Neiman is this today's effective date moving forward so this does not go retroactively to any other pending cases that's correct all right and then this item will come forward in four weeks because it's an amendment to an ordinance so we'll do the introduction and then the public hearing all right thank you I will make one other comment um that this does follow the city council the process for the for the ethics ordinance and that it's the council's direction irrespective of you know when we take it to the the ethics commission you're the ones that direct us to make changes to the ethics ordinance correct and I put this item again on the agenda based on conversation with Miss Neiman and Colonel Weston in an agreement that it's kind of backwards so with that we have them representative mayor I just asked that uh sorry I just asked that the uh when it comes back or or that it be layman's terms that the public can understand yeah when they do yeah and that's what we're doing yes sir thank you go ahead man oh represent Kennedy just as a point of clarification the ethics Review Committee doesn't make up their own rules right right no no sir so so what will happen just like we did when we did the really broad changes to the ethics ordinance that took about 18 months that direction comes from the city council then we go back and work the language with the ethics commission and then we bring it back to the city council so there are involved there will be so they're involved they'll be involved in this as well you're just giving us the direction to go back to the ethics commission the ethics commission then we'll work as a body to put the appropriate language into the making that amendment in the ordinance then we'll bring it back to the city council for your approval so this is the process representative Nunez was asking yesterday so the answer is yes they will thank you with that we have a motion in a second and please forgive me who moved represents so we do have a motion made by representative anello second representative Kennedy and that's to approve item 16. on that motion call for the vote representative Fierro I and we do have a motion to approve with representative Hernandez voting nay thank you promotion passes seven to one next item is item 18 and this is a report on the streetcar service to include an economic impact modified operating hours an assessment of cost savings for event only Services as requested by City Council on April 11 2023. hey good morning sir and Council pleasure to be here Ken uh can i t bring up the presentation good morning we're here to provide you a report in response to the April 11 2023 uh Council requested actions um just to remind you of some of those items that were requested uh first item was direct staff to conduct an economic impact analysis to assist the past present future Economic Development impact of the streetcar thank you including potential future expansion and impact of our existing Transit oriented development incentive program agreement item number two was to direct staff to conduct an assessment of the impact of that different models of the streetcar operating hours have on Transit access in downtown and Uptown areas and item number three is to this city staff to conduct an assessment of the projected cost savings to the streetcar that would result in the elimination of regular operating hours in favor of event uh operating only so good morning my name is David Torres I'm with economic development and we have representatives from Sun Metro also speak on this item so what we did is uh we took a look at an array of studies done by different communities um including the Metropolitan Council of the twin cities in Minnesota um Kansas City streetcar Portland city of Seattle Memphis to find out what the best practices would be to identify and evaluate sort of those ways that those communities reviewed the impacts of the streetcar on the community itself or along the corridor uh one of we found out three three key items um first item is the challenge of trying to isolate the impact of a municipality asset such as a streetcar and the cause and effect impact would it would have on development so in other words it's very it was very difficult for many communities to isolate the impact of Just A Streetcar and how that compared to additional development within the within that Corridor or within that area item number two that we kind of looked at was sort of what ways can we evaluate or how what ways can we make a streetcar successful so one of the things that many communities do is to sort of create an ecosystem that involves public policy sort of like an uptown downtown uh plan um along with economic incentives to expand retail base and Housing Development and also to uh to basically enhance the overall uh combination of these items and enhance the streetcar along with that corridor and then the last item that we looked at was what are the metrics that we use to evaluate the economic impact so we identified three key areas land value premiums retail sales activity and sales tax revenue being generated within that corridor um so before you get started on what we looked at and and what the data shows for us is that we going back to wherein the streetcar started in back in Feb in November of 2018 . we've had we had a year worth of full operation and then we had disruptions right disruption caused by covid-19 pandemic and also by multiple migrant crisis that we faced in the downtown area um so the data it tends to be a little bit skewed because there is a lot of um shutdown and closures that occurred over the past few years that have prevented a full operational streetcar the way it was kind of designed and meant to to operate so the first thing we're going to look at is land value premiums and these land value premiums we're looking at an analysis of what the street core Corridor evaluate property evaluations versus city-wide growth has occurred so the map here shows you the streetcar route which is in red and then little little green dots is your access points to the uh to each of the streetcar Corridor access points where people can jump on the on the streetcar and and start riding it so we created using a transport mass transit Transportation rule of thumb a sort of half a mile radius around the streetcar Corridor access points which creates sort of our buffer and this is what we're going to call the street core the streetcar Corridor uh so this is our buffer zone so the areas in sort of light purple represent the partials that we looked at using uh Central Appraisal District data from 20 2018 all the way to 2022. so we're able to evaluate or find out is that back in 2018 values or property valuations around this Corridor uh were significantly lagging uh city-wide growth so we saw an increase of 2.56 percent versus a 4.04 percent in 18 right before the streetcar ads actually operational since then from 2018 to 2022 we saw an increase of 25 evaluations over that time period versus a 24 city-wide so in essence um the growth has basically stabilized and it's roughly growing around the same rate as Citywide where we saw a big difference was in single-family residential uh homes where the valuation is actually soliding a jump increase of 36.8 percent versus 31 city-wide so that's one area that we we kind of looked at for metrics second area where we looked at was retail sales activity in this area this is what for me was an eye-opener uh because of these it represents the severe impacts of covid and all the uh and the multiple closures that we had uh for because of the pandemic um we built the same buffer zone Corridor um for retail sales activity and those little green dots are retail outlets that we have data from the office of State Comptroller and with the help of Avenue Insight analytics company it allows us to extrapolate the uh the sales tax retail sales data so that we can able to see what is how's the activity going um our results indicate that this area in 2022 generated roughly about 4.1 million dollars in Revenue in sales tax revenue of which 1.4 goes to Sun Metro and 2.7 goes to the general fund but the major item that we want to focus on on this area is that we did see a severe impact to this um to this area because of covet while we've seen retail sales activities city-wide recover and grow substantially this area has not seen that kind of growth yet in 2020 we saw a 7.2 percent decline in retail sales activity and as of 2022 data we have not recovered fully to that 2019 Peak that we saw uh in Prior years so there's an opportunity this poses an opportunity for us to really focus on this area to rebuild it and help so those small businesses recover from the uh from the impacts of of the closures and covet and multiple crisis so I'm going to turn it over to Karina brezgala to talk a little bit about the incentive programs well also with economic and International Development so the back half of that first motion was also about the potential effects on any uh Transit oriented development incentive agreements so for the same area that same buffer area the same time period there are currently 16 active agreements in the streetcar Corridor representing 121 million in Investments three historic building Renovations many of which Council has seen because this does of course include our downtown core 60 jobs created and 170 jobs retained some of those jobs are through the tez program the Enterprise Zone and as you all are aware any agreements that are in place as long as the applicants continue to perform we would continue to rebate in the terms of those agreements so streetcar service does not affect any active agreements um with that said you know David was talking a little bit about how we use public policy to create an economic ecosystem that's really reflective and supportive of things like the streetcar of our other businesses so we wanted to also flag some opportunities for growth so the downtown and Uptown plan which is a little bit later on today's agenda key recommendations from the economic development side include things like a public facility Corporation this allows us to fill gaps on some of those housing projects it does also require an affordable housing component so helping us reach that 10 000 unit goal but also making sure that we've got the affordability in place to make sure that our housing stock is sustainable things like a low interest revolving Loan program so really looking at that small business recovery building on the momentum we've got going with the arpa funds and agreements and then a Transit investment District this could be used for this streetcar but I know there's also discussions about potential streetcar Phase 2 or expansion so a Transit investment district is a way to capture sales tax revenue within a Zone and put it back into the funding for the operations it would work very similar to the Uptown benefit parking District but there's a couple different mechanisms for that and then in terms of the transit oriented development the Tod program itself we are in the very early stages of a program refresh there are several Tod areas across the city El Dorado on the east side Five Points along Dyer and then of course the downtown Uptown Corridor those all have very different needs so we want to make sure the program is very context sensitive so just in terms of land use and design you know what kinds of commercial and housing activity are we trying to draw into those specific areas and then make sure it's in alignment with the 2022 adopted infill and Redevelopment policy so really looking you know what are the vision and needs of each of those Tod areas and then making sure that we're filling those gaps appropriately and then just in terms of future economic impact if we look at current trends and we kind of project that out things continue the way they're going we would be looking at an additional 156.7 million in property tax revenue over the next 25 years again streetcar utilization very much tied to retail sales and Housing Development and then we know that those two are tied together right retail follows rooftops you all heard this over and over again so if we continue focusing on that retail base helping with the small business recovery but also expand our retail expand housing really could be a good driver to getting additional Riders on the streetcar and then the base expansion we'd be looking at another 43.5 million again additional over 25 years for general fund and Sun Metro and sales tax revenue so helping fund that corridor and I'm going to go ahead and turn it over to Anthony De Kaiser who's going to talk about the operations side good morning Colonel good morning mayor City Council so the first thing I'm going to talk about is what impacts do different operating hours would you introduce yourself sir I'm Anthony De Kaiser the director for Sun Metro mass transit thank you okay so the first thing I'm going to talk about today is um what impacts the different operating hours or models have on Transit access to Uptown and downtown to do that we have to take a look at the Historical overview of what we've done before and how that affects Transit operations so if you look we before covid we ran 98 hours of service um and what that gave us was about 273 000 Riders per year and then in March of 2020 to July 2021 we shut down because of covet and so obviously that that brought our ridership numbers all the way down to zero when we started back up again in January of 2022 we had about 45 000 Riders but we only offered this in the PM so in the in the afternoon and then slowly as we've seen the ridership increase we gain we put some more hours operating hours into service and that if we could stay at that level for those months of September through December that would give us about 105 000 Riders a year and so really what this did is we provided 65 less operating hours and we received 61 percent less ridership so for the ridership and the amount of hours that we provided we're doing better than actually than we were doing pre-covet right so historically now you can see the potential impact of service hours reduction increased and removal of of service so when we look at current operations we have to look back and see that there were two demographics that we that we service pre-covered right one is a social or entertainment and that happens more in the PM and the other one is traveling commuters which happens more in the the am in the early hours of the afternoon and this second demographic that I'm talking about we haven't connected with since uh since we've opened backed up after covet right and so we looked at some different cities that were like El Paso at least the streetcar portion it's Oklahoma Kansas Tucson and Dallas and so we took the average of that second demographic and what that did for them operating an AM and the PM and that was about 42 percent of their ridership and so just looking at our data it's an indicator that I think if we brought the ridership back we would be somewhere in near that same boat so when we look at current operations it doesn't service the early morning commutership students service workers shoppers and currently we run with four street cars and so this causes bunching up so the streetcars end up getting close together so um it's a little problematic there and it offers five days of service to allow for maintenance but what it does is it it doesn't give us the consistency for the Riders right and so under this model we have not yet optimized what we're doing with the four cars with the utilization of the amount of drivers it takes and not servicing both demographics so what this slide here does is helps us to understand what event driven operations are and how they compare to current operations so in doing this we kind of have to Define what a special event is so especially event is like the Chihuahua games locomotives Winterfest festivals anything that's happened at the University Southwest University ballpark or UTEP and so how do we Define them hours we have to open up a little bit before and have a streetcar running and a little bit after so you can see in the first chart on your left there that there's 83.63 percent of the top rating time that we're open right now covers the special events and then you can see in the chart to the right it just covers um the various days of service that were open and the special events and how they correlate to that so another thing that we did to to gather some more information is we sent our Outreach team um down to the DTC to do surveys and we surveyed about 1600 people and I get to yeah about 1600 people and we were asked some questions like would you use would you use a streetcar and what times would you like to see it running and so 82 percent said they were use a service if it was provided in the morning 93 said they'd use it if it was between 6 30 and 11 and 94.1 percent said they would like to use it in some combination during the weekdays and the weekends So based upon the survey people want the adjusted hours the second demographic would use A Streetcar as indicated by the survey and it supports the idea of more service right time would bring more ridership so so this is the proposed modification because it addresses the five main points of operations or excuse me of optimization hours of operation the days of service the required operators the demographics and the cost savings specifically it would increase um hours from 34 to 81 hours per week and we go from five days a week to seven days a week given that consistency it also would reduce our ftes our full-time employees that are assigned to the streetcar by five um and it provides for flexibility for additional hours in case there's any other special events right and so uh you can see the hours here in the the slide but it's open Monday through Thursday seven to a.m to 7 P.M Friday 7 A.M to 11 p.m Saturday noon to 11 and Sunday noon to six so when we start to talk about the cost of operations this plan here will save 360 000 annually from the Sun Metro operating fund right and we do this by reducing the number of street cars running which um reduces the number of FTS that we have to have so reducing number of operators and it modifies uh operations to include Peak and non-peak hours to help us with the amount of hours amount of drivers that we need in the amount of um cars that I have to need to be operated and so um you can see it's laid out there with no Public Service how much that'll cost and you say with no public service that'll cost that amount because we still have contracts like with the Tri-State Electric for the OCS overhead wires contracts for the the rail and the track and for the signal switches and the sub power station so there's going to be a cost unless you just let all that go and deteriorate but we have an obligation to maintain that so this side looks similar to the first slide that I started briefing on the main difference is it shows the projected ridership with the optimization and so if we go back to increased hours from 34 to 81 um that would give us about 250 000 Riders per year based upon what we're doing pre-covet then we started with 24 and went back up to 34 and looking at the other um like cities right and so this projection will give us 74 percent of the operating hours back and we would receive back 92 percent of the ridership based upon this projection so in summary our recommendation is to go back from 34 hours to 81 hours and go from five to seven days save 360 000 a year and in addition this this potential this potentially has a positive impact on land values uh retail sales activity and increase future growth from the streetcar corridor and that concludes the recommendation from the staff to the city council Mr Mayor we do have some statements for public comment and two persons that are here in person to speak yeah we'll do that first thank you sir you have three minutes good morning mayor city council city manager City staff Joe gutenrath with the El Paso downtown Management District you know being an efficient and effective organization is not just a goal but I believe it's an obligation for city government for organizations such as the downtown Management District so I want to applaud your desire to evaluate this service and other city services I also want to applaud this comprehensive look at the performance of the streetcar system this system was never designed solely as a Transit option but as a catalyst for economic development investment and activity along the tracks it has already made an impact and efforts to increase ridership have the potential to pay off with additional ridership or with additional investment the downtown Management District looks forward to this expanded service and continued efforts to grow ridership and investment along the tracks thank you thank you thank you the next person that we have here to speak is Mr Jose barriga good morning mayor nice to see you again as a photographer I love the idea perfect I love it at seven o'clock in the morning looking with the sunrise beautiful um but it's going to be empty or you're going to have a student's gonna have prefer gonna use the real the S3 car rather than using the video so you're gonna lose money there um but is that you're gonna do that in the morning then you like you're gonna do that on the winter then it's gonna be you're gonna have to adjust that with the light you have to remember that you don't have a you don't have uh lights on the stations you have somebody that got destroy slaughtered right there by Cincinnati no about nobody forget about that as you see if you see how the the stations are they are alone there but at night they are really dark uh several months ago when the mayor was passing through when they they got the migrants crisis the major I don't know he do saw me I was taking photos Okay let me say like this by then it was no no enforcement passing through that yet okay but a few hours before a few minutes before it was a crisis okay it was an emergency crisis there was an ambulance it was a fire department truck and it was a it was a some Metro vehicle and they were rushing the fire truck because they were trying to have their the empty and rail cars to go through because they were trying to keep going and they were going and then we're going fast and empty at I wrote one of them so I mean definitely I love the idea Bo as an ex-military retire as a somebody who served that's a four ways and abuse because you got something that nobody is using yes you're gonna have somebody who actually is gonna see it as something that it looks nice yes but for somebody the see there's a it's kind of slow it takes takes some time to for that thing to go and besides it it's a little bit unsafe I actually couldn't it takes too long to come down because it had the driver had to actually get out and then it had to go through the stuff and it takes time and then if you actually go to the steps it takes forever so you know and besides when you guys you know if you're white you know you gotta you got you you got some you got a rail in the middle so you know and the steps are really small and I don't know if they are the illuminated so you know it's like this is up to you I mean well I appreciate for your time I'm not agree disagree thank you sir the red star statements that will be read into the record if you allow me the first one is from Luis Lozano dear City Representatives Hernandez and Canales I am writing to show you support for item 18 in the streetcar study recommending increasing the operating hours of this amenity with covet now in the rear mirror and with downtown events coming back such as the sale in Limon Festival plus a classic film festival and other events the study shows that having this mode of transportation can only enhance and encourage more downtown activity revitalizing our downtown is crucial for increasing the tax base and the streetcar amenity will only help in this endeavor I humbly ask that you support and vote for the recommendations from this study and also this to be read into the record Luis Lozano the next one is from Mr Sam legate honorable mayor and members of city council I'm writing to express my wholehearted support for the city street City staff Street card optimization plan as outlined in the agenda item documentation as a downtown property owner on the trolley route I have invested over a million dollars modernizing our Law Firm we recently purchased another property along the trolley route and will begin remodeling the vacation the facade this fall I I have wholeheartedly embraced the city's call to share with the city and investing in downtown for the benefit of the entire Community I believe that this plan represents a significant and responsible step forward in enhancing our City's taxpayer investment in the streetcar in fostering Economic Development within the downtown area and along the trolley route the propulsory car optimization plan presents a comprehensive and well-researched strategy to improve the efficiency and accessibility of the streetcar system by optimizing routes increasing consistent ridership hours and implementing real-time data this plan promises to provide residents tourists and business owners with a more reliable and convenient streetcar system as a downtown property owner I'm confident that these improvements will not only bolster local business but also attract new Investments like mine to our downtown I have traveled extensively in the U.S and abroad and have witnessed firsthand the transformative impact of well-planned public transportation projects in other cities therefore I wholeheartedly encourage the city council to endorse and support the city staff streetcar optimization plan thank you for your time and consideration I trust that you will make the best decision for the benefit of the community of our community please do not hesitate to reach out if you require any further information or support regarding this matter the next one is from Elena like born as a member of the Rio Grande neighborhood association I ask that city council support the recommendations made by the City Planning Commission downtown plus Uptown master plan subcommittee in their latest report I have lived within the physical boundaries of the plant for nearly nearly a decade and I believe a name change to downtown plus surrounding neighborhoods Masterpiece excuse me sir excuse me clerk's office you're reading now an item for that that is a letter letter regarding another item on the agenda we're still on item 18 which is the streetcar update and that's going to be for item 20. yes thank you thank you ma'am thank you sir the next one is for from Oscar thank you so much Oscar Martinez and this is it reads I request okay to be read into the record first change the name of the master plan to downtown you're you're on the wrong item yet again those are all for item number 20. right and we're still on item 18. thank you clarify it's item 23. correct right that's item 20. 23. 23 yeah is that it there's a correlation just for clarity for Council there's a correlation between these two items but they're not the same item exactly thank you that's it because all the other ones oh okay thank you okay okay have we do have item 23 Mr former Peter former representative Peter schwarzbein his statement reads dear mayor and members of city council I'm writing to express my strong support of the city staff streetcar optimization plan as a resident I have had the opportunity to thoroughly review the plan and I firmly believe that its implementation will bring significant benefits to our community and the community of El Paso the proposed improvements outlined in the plan as detailed in the backup of the agenda item promised to continue to enhance Transportation efficiency reduce costs and contribute to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly Urban landscape and promote Heritage tourism many residents and Street cut supporters are fully aligned with the vision of a vibrant accessible and interconnected City we recognize the potential of the streetcar system as a crucial component of achieving achieving this goal fostering economic growth and enriching the quality of life for all residents we wholeheartedly encourage the city council to support the city staff streetcar optimization plan and work diligently towards its Swift implementation we believe that by supporting this thoughtful initiative by actual mass transit experts on our city staff we are investing in the future of our city and its residents creating a more environmentally efficient interconnected and sustainable Community for generations to come thank you and there is no action on this item um representative Salcido thank you mayor thank you mayor I just have a quick question in regards to the study that was conducted so just for the the benefit of the public you know what was the sample size who did you ask when this when did this study take place so there was uh 1650 um individuals asked it was is conducted down at the DTC and we were um asking the questions of people who were riding the Mesa Brill that kind of um parallels the the streetcar track and we did it um last month we did it over a two-week period two weeks excuse me we did over a month period a month and then I also have a I also have another question but I think it's for Mr cortinas and and I know that there's been some budget proposals um that they include this item part of it in regards to the funding or the savings so the budget proposals that are coming up in that that budget proposal we stayed at three million is which we were what we're doing before but as I had stated in the brief that that saving 360 000 gives us the flexibility so if ridership increases or decreases we can we can adjust to that operationally okay thank you for answering the questions thank you thank you thank you and I do have representative Canales cigar knockoff for some reason and then mayor booked him representative thank you mayor um yeah I think we've we've heard the criticism that the streetcar uh runs empty I don't think that it it does run empty um again we're on track this year to serve about 84 000 Riders and that puts it above average for uh among Sun Metro routes um so it's not empty but I do think that we've uh through the the decisions uh in how the streetcar has been operated we have held it back from a significant amount of ridership only running at 34 hours not running it during uh some of the peak transit times um so I I want to commence staff on the full presentation and also the proposed changes here because again this will allow folks to use the streetcar for their commute both to and and from work uh we will it would run during hours that make it more usable um and I think that we will see as is projected here a rebound to close to if if not more than the pre-pandemic ridership numbers approach 275 000 people per year and you know that would put it near the top of Sun Metro uh routes in terms of ridership um again I know we have the the three million uh currently budgeted we've come in just shy of that in terms of operating costs uh over the past few years and this will leave us some space hopefully below the 3 million to to adjust upward you know I I would just as happily see us uh not reduce the number of cars so continue to run uh the the full four cars at peak hours to make sure that we uh are meeting the demand and we we're not causing uh excessive wait times for Riders um I think that this is a sufficient compromise for now and and the expansion of the hours I think will will help to prove out that we will have the the Riders uh and the demand for the service and hopefully we can we can adjust upwards that you're utilizing your your full allocation in the budget uh into into the future um so thank you all for for an excellent presentation you know I was the one who made those those motions uh I know we asked you for a lot and and you put together I think an excellent analysis of the streetcar both economically and in terms of its ridership performance um and you've shown again that the bulk of the costs are fixed costs um you know upwards of two million dollars that we uh can't we can't change right those are those are costs that we're paying regardless and so uh within the the the the remaining approximately one one million dollars uh we need to optimize for ridership and making sure that that we're meeting the service demand here um you know I think that was the intent of the original item that the mayor placed so thank you mayor for for placing that item and you know I think this really has helped us get to the bottom of how we can make changes to our streetcar program to make sure that the money we're spending and especially that that excess uh one million dollars above the fixed cost is is being used uh uh prudently smartly and in a way that we uh can get more people circulating to downtown more eyeballs on the businesses uh hopefully greater investment along the the fixed route uh tracks and again serving the the folks that we need to in terms of getting to and from work getting around downtown enjoying uh the evenings downtown after work as well uh running through all those hours I think will be a boon for for downtown and everywhere along the streetcar route so thank you for the hard work that you all put in and uh hopefully we can uh like I said prove out the the ridership demand and and uh maybe even increase the number of cars thank you thank you sir thank you thank you and I think it's important when the item came back a while back was to maximize the usage to maximize the ridership and I think y'all have done a good job of doing that and we need to continue to give you the flexibility to make those changes as needed and required and again I um the presentation is a really good presentation but the study really you know kind of where do how can we stay consistent how do we do the consistency of the usage so people know when and when not to write it because not writing so I think that um we need to give you the freedom to operate it based on the data and information you have and continue to have and maximize the usage to you know really save the taxpayers money but also give the taxpayers what they need to be able to use it um so one thing that do you ever plan on charging for the streetcar I know that the streetcar we don't charge for it we're not that's not in your presentation anywhere are you looking at any time because I know that as people stop taking the circulator which they do pay tell me money from Sun Metro that will now be you know not being earned which is okay at this point but when are we planning to change that into a charging entity so at this time we don't have any plans to to change and go in that go in that direction but certainly we can look into that and come back to city council with updated information as we continue on through this optimization plan and and update you within the information that that we have uh about changing directions and going that way are you still going to continue the circulators and the downtown buses or are we down are we down charging in the action of those buses so the routes that kind of parallel street car right now are the Mesa Rio and Route 14 and we're going to continue with both of those but we also keep an eye on the data to make sure that we're optimizing not just the streetcar but also the fixed route okay I thank you for that and again I think we need to give you the freedom to look and maximize it as we continue to move forward mayor we're also going to have to I mean this plan is a plan and it's going to have to be proved out um you know I think that's the point that you're making up at on the council so if we're not seeing the numbers um then I think we have an obligation to come back to you and make an adjustment to the plan but I think that the plan is in place we'll see what the excuse me what the outcome is with with limited numbers of cars um um obviously people typically get on A Streetcar to be able to have some you know be able to get on and get off without a long wait so we'll come back and Report out if there's a considerable change to ridership levels thank you bring that to you I appreciate that that's well needed um mayor Pro Tem thank you um I want to congratulate you I think I said uh last council meeting or the last time that we spoke about this I was extremely frustrated by just how the streetcar had been run right there was issues with payment when it first started issues with hours there was no creative solution coming out of the pandemic and we were seeing uh streetcars not picking people up after events and I think that you put a lot of time into this plan to figure out how this was going to be successful right and I think that this might not be perfect right we might need to see some adjustments made and I think what I'm excited for is the data that we're going to have coming out of this plan I think this is the first time we've really addressed this issue in a Smart Way um I would disagree with the mayor a little bit I think especially since we see that it's going to cost the same that I think that we had the ability to be creative about this I just don't think that we were right I think that the department had the ability to come up with the scheduling and make these changes and I just want to again thank you for for stepping up and actually doing it but I do want to ask some questions about the budget because I think your slide is a little bit different than what you said and I just lost the slide so I'm trying to find that very quickly okay so on slide 19 it says the FY 2024 service optimization plan is about 2.6 million but I heard you say that you want to keep it at three for that flexibility and I just want to double check that that's what you're doing I'm saying we already budgeted it for three okay and so since we have that it maintains us the opportunity to have flexibility and again I'd like to to move from a known point and so if ridership goes up we can address that and increase or if ridership goes down we can address that and decrease okay and I'm fine with that I just wanted to clarify on that side what was happening I'm going to get a lot of questions from the public about this though we're operating on the same budget but I would say more than two times the amount of hours can you explain for the Public's edification why that happened yeah so the the reason why um I can increase the hours is because I decrease the amount of drivers that it it takes and so if if an average driver takes about sixty nine thousand dollars a year with Benefits that's their average pay and if I just reduce from 11 to 6 you can just do the math real quick and say there's 360 000 right there let me interrupt you a little bit just because he didn't I want to make sure he finishes his statement that even though we're minimum we're changing the amount of drivers those drivers will not be losing their job correct those drivers will not be losing their first one before you can come A Streetcar driver you have to get a CDL with the p endorsement so first you're a fixed route driver and so everybody that that we're not utilizing on the streetcar will be utilized back that fixed route thank you sorry about that representative I also want to ask if there's the ability to adjust these hours right now in your plan for special events so again right now we cover 83 percent and we adjust accordingly when they're special events that were requested to extend the hours but Our intention was to start this at the beginning of the fiscal year okay great thank you so much yes ma'am thank you ma'am we have representative Hernandez followed by representative Fiero um to ask I know you you asked for time to to put this together so I really appreciate the hard work that you and the team have put forth I agree with representative Canal is that this is okay for now but we absolutely need to scale up and um and so my hope is that after you we have a continuous and solid plan and a routine that way we can demonstrate to the ridership that we are committed to this time so is this going to be for the entire fiscal year and when does it commence so again we plan on starting it at the beginning of the fiscal year September one yes September one and then um our plan is to continue on with it but assess the data each month that we do we take the data we assess it each month and then as appropriate in the future we can we can look at changing that but again I like to keep the flexibility to be able to adjust to what the public demand is okay um and I think so long as you have like the Baseline uh days and times available and then you add on to I think that would be beneficial because you know in the CFT there was a lot of exciting ideas and so we'd love to see some of those ideas come forward um so so it'll start September 1. now and I'm sorry I have to step away because I took a telemedicine doctor's appointment in the back so pardon me if you you're being redundant in your in your responses so the 360 000 annually does it go back to the general fund or excuse me to your Enterprise fund for something that goes to the Sun Metro operating fund which the way it works is some Metro operating fund includes streetcar and fixed route okay that's a portion that we carve out for that okay um so just wanted to understand where the savings were going to go again um kudos to the team I know you all worked hard I was very impressed with the economic development um responses I mean this demonstrates to me that our strategy has worked our policies for Innovation and economic development um is is there we have a vision and so long as that we stick to it then we can see definitely more retail sales an increase of of the Renaissance in downtown so thanks for all that you do and I know this is one of the few first times that you've come to council and so you certainly didn't disappoint so thank you Mr to Kaiser thank you thank you representative representative thank you Mr Mayor a couple of questions um first of all I hear the number that the budget is that the streetcar budget is going to stay at three million dollars yet the proposal is a change to say 360 thousand dollars is that correct it is correct then why aren't we making that budget money out of your budget and moving it to somewhere like the the Lyft fund for for people with special needs um why is it that you're going to keep this let's call it slush fund um in your budget when it's not needed there uh if if you're telling us you're saving the 360 000 let's move it somewhere we can really use it um the focus this this budget cycle is is especially mine and I know there's some people up there on the diets who's going to focus on not raising taxes and I think this is a good step on on showing the constituents that we could uh function and we can um Supply services without raising their budget Colonel had a wonderful idea on on bringing follow-up to the council the only thing I would ask Colonel is that we put a timeline and then the director from um the streetcars I asked since you're doing this data monthly can you attach it to the council agenda on a monthly basis or or send it to our emails on a monthly basis we certainly can uh can send you the data let me address what you were saying about the budget because I I concur I mean I think I think we still get in the flexibility we need to stay disciplined with the budget and what what we're showing we're going to do with with the optimization of the streetcar that money goes back into the savings goes back into uh other Transit um and so we we need to to keep it to your point where we've budgeted for the optimization plan until we prove that out and we'll do that and uh Miss Mike can recognize any of the savings to that to put that into the other public transit related things that that we need we need to do yeah and I think that's going to be really important this year as we were going over the budget and it showed that Sun Metro got some arpa money that uh and also had some uh additional tax money that made it profitable last year you take that away now it's not going to be running in profit so we need to look at a lot of things to on that budget because last year we talked about how it uh it was making all this money but it actually it was money that was injected at a one time into Sun Metro so I think we need to look at that so this is going to be really important yeah and I think the other point is as I said I mean this this becomes a policy direction to us and so if if something changes on the streetcar route in terms of proving it out then I think that's an action we need to bring back to the city council to to show you the data and you can make that determination based on recommendations that we would make but other than that you're you're if you're approving or you're seeing this plan we need to we need to prove out this plan first before we do any adjustments upward with the budget yes sir I agree all right mayor if I can just add Colonel thank you for all your work your breath of fresh air thank you I appreciate that representative Kennedy thank you representative Fiero hi I just I'll try to keep it short um when you were looking at land premiums in the survey area you said it was a half within a half a mile is that that's that's not it by diameter it's actually from the track a half a mile out correct yeah it says a half a mile from each of the access points right so some of this could be would be looking at this potentially seven or eight blocks from the tracks right yes okay it was about 4 100 uh individual partials property partials did you guys track to see if there was any difference from the downtown Circle route to the route up towards the Sun Bowl towards no we did not uh but we do have the data and at later time we can extrapolate a little bit more detail um I'll blow through some of my questions I was just going to say that anytime I see an investment District it brings a bad Bell for me because that means we're taking money out of the general fund and dedicating it to something that we could decide to dedicate it to later if we chose so just as a point of order my question my question really was on the the results snapshot you were talking to people that were either in this was it the Brio or the 14 which were the downtown routes themselves yes so they've already they've already voted that they would ride mass transit because they were riding mass transit and that's why they were surveyed that's right that's what the indicating so basically we were saying hey if you could ride for free on the streetcar would you do it 94 said yes that's correct I think the other six percent needs to be asked again because I can't figure out why somebody would choose to pay rather than ride for free I mean I'm seriously I'm like okay you say you're going to ride mass transit would you ride for free yeah most of them would um when I take a look at the at the cost of operations you say there's a hard floor of 2 million right that's correct um not if we shuttered it though correct yeah that is true but I did talk to um I did talk to the FTA Vice chair for the multi-modal transportation and planning and I talked to the director of advanced Transportation Planning at TxDOT both indicated that there would be a cost recovery if we did what you just said have you said that so can I get that huh could I get that yes I got it in an email I'll make sure that you get it cool um so so um both of them indicated that there would be some cost to that they couldn't tell me what the cost would be but they said the next step would be taking it to the TxDOT engineer department and then eventually up to city council to or the excuse me Tech stock Council to get the final information for that okay I don't have the numbers for that right now is there any other area in town where we have free public transportation not with Sun Metro but there's is there any other area where we have the duplication of services like the trolley and other routes right behind it there's not can I get just for my own information can I get a list of any routes that we've either um limited or eliminated over the past 36 months yeah we'll get us to you great thank you that's all I have thank you representative Canales thank you mayor one final thing I think to close this out I just wanted to uh ask to make it clear for the public this is not posted for Action today correct correct so this is just an operational update uh you know the city council is a is a policy making body this is an operational decision that Sun Metro is making in terms of how to run your your programming for the streetcar um you know again we very much appreciate uh seeing the plan but this is a plan that that the city council isn't going to vote on today you're able to execute this as part of your operational decision making that's correct that is correct okay um and then just uh you just answered that there's no uh there's no uh other areas where we would essentially duplicate a service but we do have other circulator type routes that run near Brios or other lines that is true so this would function similar to a circulator for downtown and up and and u-tip area in the definition of what you said yes sure okay um that's all again thank you one more time for for the hard work that you and your team did this is the type of analysis we've never really seen on the streetcar uh ridership and and the economic impact as well um you know I know that the the timing of of covid was really unfortunate for the streetcar because it was new uh it was popular and we had a very small window to capture uh data uh before you know obviously the the whole world shut down and so Transit ridership uh Tanked and so I think this this will really as I said before provide us an opportunity to collect a lot more data uh as as my colleague the mayor Pro tem said I'm also very excited about the data that this will generate to hopefully prove out the the fact that this has been a smart investment for the community so thank you thanks thank you sir and there we have represent molinard thank you very much mayor Colonel thank you very much for your presentation to everybody who worked on this presentation thank you very much great job I know we met individually throughout the city council members and there was a lot of dialogue going back and forth but do and you already mentioned that it's going to be taking effect September 1st the fiscal year correct yes sir okay and uh do you have any ideas let's just say when you make analyze what you're doing and how you're doing it whether it be the ridership the cost the full-time employees coming back I'm not saying necessarily coming back to us but analyzing that data in eight months I wouldn't want to wait a whole year but to make sure that what we're doing or what you're telling us today is working in fact yeah so the data is analyzed every month okay the ridership is but again I think we just need to give this new optimization plan time to come to fruition so over time and space we'll have the data and then we'll know which way to adjust okay and you mentioned you had flexibility within the budget so uh this coming this month we do have the plaza classic film festival that's of course to me it's very great Money Maker not only for the city but to me it's a as a movie goer you know you want to see a nice film an old film a new film something maybe you remember from your childhood or your early years and hey now it's in the big screen I think I mentioned to you and the other people that hey it was great to go downtown spend some time downtown watch the movie get something to eat get something to drink go back to another movie you know depending on what the schedule is but would you be able to adjust the ridership between that two or three week period so the bus schedule Brad we're we adjust for special events yes and this this very well may could be one of them but I'll look into it and then I'll come back to you if we're not already covering that time yes thank you representative the the programming staff is already coordinating as they have in the past and they will continue to do this is an annual event that's incredibly important to us in the downtown as you said it brings a lot of attention so yeah that coordination is already happening with programming okay great thank you so much I just want to make sure that to me it's a great uh event downtown that we capitalize on that and it's not necessarily for the economic part of it but just the fact that people enjoy a good movie they like to remember the past have a good laugh bring in your kids your grandkids see other people that you probably have never seen before and just say let's have a nice time downtown and let's talk about it so but that's all I have thank you thank you thank you thank you again for the presentation the hard work by the whole team and when I put the item on the agenda I wanted to make sure we started maximizing our resources and I think this brings that forward so thank you Colonel thank you mayor no action on item 18 and moving on to the public hearings and second reading of reading of ordinances item 19 is an ordinance amending Title IX of the El Paso city code to adopt the 2021 edition of the international fire code and to provide for local amendments to the 2021 international fire code and we do have a motion to approve by representative Rivera seconded by representative Salcido on that motion call for the vote representative hi and there's no public comment for that item in the motion the item the ordinance has been approved unanimously unanimously item 20. before we go the next item Ms Newman would like to us to reconsider item 16. is that correct Miss Neiman yes sir and she just needs to add some language to it uh to be directed to add some language some isn't okay we need to take a motion first to um reconsider that item motion to reconsider item 16. we do have a motion by representative Canales seconded by representative Rivera all those in favor all those and this is item 16 I'll read it into the record again it's discussion action to direct the interim city manager and City attorney to recommend amendments to the city's ethics ordinance complaint review process in city code 2.92.170 to provide that of respondents timeline to address and file a response to a complaint begins after the City attorney refers a complaint to the ethics review Commission in your language Miss Newman thank you mayor um we would ask the current ethics ordinance to add for the internal auditor currently the internal auditor does not fall within the jurisdiction of the ethics commission or HR since it's a new position being appointed by Council you would ask that the language be amended to allow us to amend the ordinance to include the internal auditor ethics complaints to be filed with the mayor and the mayor Pro Temp your motion second it's a motion in a second and that amendment is to include that the ethics complaints be filed with the mayor and the mayor protein and we do have a motion by representative anello seconded by Representatives Salcido to approve and on that motion call for the vote representative Salcido and representative Rivera it's just what the ordinance is we're following what uh the charter was we're just checking it following the law So currently Mr dribeta the the ethics ordinance doesn't provide for where ethics complaints go when they're filed against the city the internal auditor due to the change in the charter it's our recommendation that it be the same as it's currently for the City attorney and the city manager so the ethics complaints would be forwarded to the mayor and the mayor Pro-Tech your vote please yes and to confirm you said I sir o yes I thank you and on that motion the item has been approved unanimously that's again item 16. thank you Miss Neiman so now going back to item 20 it is an ordinance amending title 18. adopting the 2021 International building code and adopting appropriate local amendments and we do have two members of the public signed up to speak on that item mayor would you like to have them come forward now and that is run Lord followed by Adam Valdez Mr Lord are you present yes sir you have three minutes good morning sir good morning uh mayor council members my name is Ron Lord I'm a U.S regional manager for the International Association of Plumbing mechanical officials ayatmo and I'll get to the basic point the building code this item includes the mechanical code and a plumbing code the international plumbing code iatmo produces the uniform plumbing code and uniform Mechanical Code we had requested a meeting with staff we had a preliminary meeting but we wanted to go into more detail and we were never offered that meeting and we believe we have something to offer the citizens of El Paso what's the basic premise for a plumbing code you design how to get water in a building that's the basic premise and everyone uses what's called a hunter's curve that was a time survey done in the 40s in every plumbing code there's only two plumbing codes now but every code uses that as the basis of how they design Water Systems these pipe sizing I have almost a decade ago started working on a new survey of how to do pipe sizing because we have very efficient Plumbing fixtures now so we have a what's called a water demand calculator included in our code and unfortunately it would make it would help with water savings it would help with construction costs because the system would be slightly smaller so we believe we have a way of helping with affordability on construction Mechanical Code our code has geothermal which is Cutting Edge language and if we had been provided an opportunity to make a presentation I know the Outreach to homebuilders home builders usually build to one and two family homes not an Amazon warehouse or a refurbish a building into condos but plumbing contractors do and we work with plumbing contractors matter of fact we have contractors listed on our plumbing code as partners Mechanical Contractors of Association of America and PHCC Plumbing Heating Cooling contractor so we work closely with them Plus in Workforce Development will be producing plumbing and Mechanical Code in Spanish within a couple of months and so and I don't believe that is an offer from the current uh Plumbing Mechanical Code so we would ask respectfully if there's a way for us to participate in this I know this is going and moving forward but if there's a way for us to be a resource to this to the citizens we'd appreciate it thank you very much for your time thank you Mr Valdez okay thank you what up sir representative vanilla would you like to go ahead thank you go ahead good afternoon mayor Representatives Tony De La Cruz planning inspections and I guess to clarify some other comments so right now we have been working and all the representatives and the mayor were briefed on these items we have been working on coordinating meetings with the stakeholders whether it's uh plumbing contractors electrical mechanical development focus group The Builders Association for the last year and a half we were aware that ayapo had reached out to us we did reach back out to them and really our response was at this point in the state of the game where we're at this would require one well two things it would require change from the international plumbing and mechanical goats to the uniform goats we haven't been on those coats since probably about the 90s when they started phasing out they made a Resurgence but at this point what we said was simply the municipality and the stakeholders that we've been coordinating with have been heavily using the international codes for 20 years and at this stage in the game we're simply not interested in modifying into a different code because we're not as familiar with it and neither is a public that uses these codes and that was our response um thank you for that Tony so I I've asked you previously to reach out to this group I'm disappointed to hear they're saying they weren't a part of this conversation when I see that you have some stakeholder meetings and I think kind of the conversation you're having I understand that we're not switching codes but I was actually connected to them with a lot of the builders and a lot of the unions group that are saying that some of these changes would make it easier on them would make it easier for working for individuals in New Mexico which is one of our our sister cities or sister States um and so you know I just I'm really hesitant to understand because what I hear the gentleman coming up here saying is that there are certain codes that would benefit the community right and and I don't understand if I mean I do understand that we don't want to go from International to National but if there are certain codes that are making it easier for Builders and unions in our community to work why we're not addressing those and and I feel like the co and I feel like a little bit like the conversation that we had had previously is now conflicting with what we heard from public comment and so I'm not super confident in those conversations that we did have previously and so um I mean I would ask to maybe postpone this but but if not I'm I'm not going to support it because I I do think that I need to understand some of those conversations a little bit better and just in response the meeting said we had were open to the public you know in some of the meetings we had well over a hundred people attending so we had like I mentioned all different traits contractors and everything else the again the issue is we're going we're gonna start mixing and matching codes largely when you see a municipality adopt a code they're either going completely uniform which New Mexico does have that Las Cruces and I believe they're shifting over in the next few months to the new code cycle but largely the consistency of maintaining all the codes they're interrelated and it really makes it simpler for one staff and the public to really keep track of all the different changes because of the interrelation and do you have any feedback from these meetings from from the stakeholder meetings really the feedback that we've gotten in is saying why haven't we adopted yet yep I don't know I I'm gonna I'm not gonna be comfortable supporting this because I do feel like I need to be reaching out to individuals who would reach out to me previously about this I mean I thought that this had had been mitigated and now I'm hearing that that might not be the case so thank you mayor thank you ma'am representative oh thank you thank you so much Amir I have a concern regards to where the in the economic mindset that we're in right now we're trying to bring in more Amazons more Marshals more huge million dollars million square foot uh warehouses and there's a a bunch being built south of of I-10 uh going uh East wouldn't these changes in the code or or additions to the code wouldn't it make it easier for those those big contractors to to develop and safely and quicker in our community to bring more and more Economic Development again I'm not familiar enough with a uniform code to make a thorough comparison between the two that was the direction that we had uh originally started and we have been going for the past 20 years is consistency with the international family of codes my final question is is there Tony is there any way to um again I'll due respect to all the work you do is there any way to slow down this process and and like the mayor Pro tem said maybe postpone it to look at these codes um more specifically more you know really in depth and see there is a way to make the process safer um and assist us when it comes to Economic Development the option's always there for this Council of course I mean one item to keep in mind we have been working on this for the last year and a half reaching out to multiple stakeholders at this point our recommendation was simply to adopt now and really have the implementation of the codes in September so but it is an option for this Council if we choose to go that route if if the council would like to to take a little bit more time to address the concerns that have been raised up at the with the diets today we you know we certainly can do that I I think it has been very well vetted over the last 18 months but if there's clearly additional information that you that you'd like us to look into a little bit further so that we can do that um you know I I would agree with staff that I think everybody's comfortable in terms of how we vetted this in terms of the international codes but you know that the answer to your question is is we could pause that if you'd like more dialogue before we before we bring it to you okay I'm okay I'll just stay one final thing one of the last thing that one one that I want to make the council aware of is right now due to our lack of adoption currently it is impacting our ISO ratings one of the things that they really rely on is are we on the most current code Cycles and the iso basically impacts or has a potential of impacting insurance rates for businesses and Residences throughout the city but but I would be I would I appreciate that and I concur that the iso is important and we need to do it we need to adopt and make that determination but I think if we if we uh postpone it for for 30 days to meet your concerns we can do that representative Kennedy never mind pardon me we do have a second to postpone yeah so I'll wait oh okay so we have a motion and a second no post representative anello is that what you're wishing for 30 days or you yes ma'am and that would take us to the council meeting of August 2nd there you go go postponed to August 2nd motion made by representative anello and seconded by representative Fierro on that motion call for the vote on my calendar it shows for August 1st in case it changed I'm not aware I'm sorry the next city council meeting in August is August 1st that is correct August the 1st let me make a quick edit my apologies oh did I try to win two 30 days from you're right representative Rivera go ahead yes would be to postpone to the August 1st council meeting representative Fierro representative you were muted I'm sorry I and we do have nay representative Hernandez motion passes motion pass thank you thank you moving on to item 21 and that is an ordinance big educating a portion of city right of way over father Rome Avenue right of way Sixth Avenue right of way and Ochoa Street right away the subject property is 700 South Ochoa Street and we do not have anybody signed up to speak on this item move to approve second it's a motion in a second we do have a motion made by representative Canales seconded by by alternate mayor Pro tem oh a representative Rivera and on that motion call for the vote representative manelo thank you member representative Fierro huh and the item has been approved unanimously item 22 is an ordinance changing the zoning of 4819 Titanic Avenue from R4 residential to A2 apartment and imposing conditions imposing a condition and we do not have any public comment can we have a motion second motion made by representative Salcido seconded by alternate mayor protein Molina to approve item 22. on that motion call for the vote representative Rivera representative Fierro you were muted sir it says I'm not thank you we can hear Yuna okay good thanks I and the item has been approved unanimously and go ahead man you're okay item 23 is discussion in action on a resolution adopting the city of El Paso downtown in uptown master plan and mayor we do have several people signed up to speak we have two people in person and the rest of them are statements to be read into the record do we have a presentation by staff yeah we'll do the presentation then we'll take public comments thank you sir all right T can we pull up the presentation for item 23 please good morning Joaquin good morning mayor and Council lucky Rodriguez with the Capital Improvements Department I'm joined today by my esteemed colleague Alex Hoffman who is returning from paternity leave and by our Consulting team who are online today is the third presentation in a series of presentations that we've done to Council on the city's downtown and Uptown master plan you'll recall presentation one was back in March where we focused on our public engagement efforts uh presentation two which was back in April we visualized some of the goals and visions and some of the recommendations to get there through the development of these five Catalyst sites and today's presentation is really going to focus on some key implementation actions it's not an exhaustive presentation of all the recommendations that are in the downtown Uptown plan but just some key ones that we feel really stand out so I'll pass it over to Alex now to start on those present on those recommended implementation actions morning assistant okay good morning Marion Council uh great to be back glad to see each of you so again Alex Huffman for the record so today we're here to talk about implementation and so this plan we worked with the community to develop a vision of what we wanted to see this area become so a lot of the strategies that we have in place or reflection of those conversations with the community so we want to first start by talking about some of the key regulatory changes that are going to be necessary to bring this plan of fruition again this is a Visionary document it doesn't change these things today but we're going to be working again with the the same stakeholders and with this Council to bring forward some of these changes that are necessary in order to make it happen so the first one is looking at increasing allowable densities so we're looking at this from two perspectives one is that we're looking to preserve some of the neighborhoods in their existing state and legalize what's already there so that's where we're looking at allowing for example quadruplexes and these existing neighborhoods and in other areas where we worked at the community to identify trans informational areas we're looking to propose increasing maximum densities to allow for mid-rise development again to help achieve some of the goals that we have the way that we're looking to offset that is by the second key point which is we'll be bringing forward Urban Design guidelines so one of the concerns that we heard from the neighborhood is making sure that any new development fix it fits in with what's there and that it's compatible and so we want to be bringing forward those Urban Design guidelines to make sure that that takes place the third item which is really important is looking at the minimum parking standards so a lot of the development that we want to see that the community wants to see we really need to take a close look at those minimum parking standards and right now we're proposing that we'd be eliminating them within our study area and the reason for that is that there's an affordability issue and by eliminating these parking requirements we can help to bring these projects from the ground up then also to see the type of development this plan imagines so it's mixed use and we've talked a lot about in our infill CFT some of the challenges that our parking requirements how they stand in the way of bringing that development forward so it's the the third key regulatory change we're also looking at some key investment and financing structures so we identified in previous presentation some of the feasibility gaps that exist currently with bringing forward market rate projects and affordable projects that's where we really need to be taking a closer look at our chapter 380 agreements looking specifically at affordable housing as well as new construction looking at adoption of an uptown tours again we know that there's not only going to be issues with housing but also how do we bring forward some of the recommendations related to infrastructure and deters is a really key component also looking at the public facility Corporation to attract the mixed income housing developments and affordable housing and then finally looking at looking at creating a Housing Trust or Bond again because those funds the funding needs to be there in order to bring some developers to the table and and to see these housing units that the plan proposes come to the study area so the second goal is looking at addressing the infrastructure gaps so this plan was really exhaustive and that was a key element of it we wanted to know what infrastructure was necessary both in terms of street street trees Street lighting those types of elements as well Pub as well as public space and bike Lanes the reason that infrastructure is really important to planning Planet studies is because it signals to the private developers that this is an area that the city's invested in and so we in turn want to invest in the infrastructure that's why it's really necessary so this first slide is looking at some of the the changes that we're proposing or some of the Investments That We're proposing within the public realm again those are parks as well as bike lanes and then we also have the same thing related to illumination Street trees and sidewalks we have a lot of need within this area and so again it's going to be really important that it'll be a combination of public and private investment in that infrastructure in order to see that this area change and be an attractive place to encourage investment so I'm gonna head it back to Joaquin to close out the presentation okay thank you so one of the goals of the plan was to also focus on increasing economic activity and talent retention within the study area so to that end we one of the recommendations is to really focus on training and education needs of low and modern moderate income residents to improve their access to new Industries these are industries that we know are are coming through the demographic changes within the area and looking at land use within the study area as well we know that some of the outdated industrial uses are no longer drivers for for economic growth we also want to ensure that the plan provides recommendations for Transit within the area not just the streetcar you all heard a lot about the streetcar earlier today specifically but extending a lot of these policies to increase ridership on all of our Transit options and Investments with it within the area So the plan envisions making Brio an all-day service to expand That ridership Base increasing frequency and combining some services in key downtown corridors to focusing on overlapping routes and achieving higher frequencies um again looking at Transit we want to establish a virtuous cycle between public transit and development so establishing an inter interdepartmental working group to jointly review development applications will be key to that success so looking forward at upcoming developments and seeing how those would tie in uh to Transit use and and what their impact on Transit might be in order to make proactive changes to Transit if necessary in terms of celebrating El Paso's unique living culture we want to plan to focus on developing an equity framework you all also heard us discuss this with the upcoming comprehensive Plan update one of the items on that scope of work is to be looking at a city-wide Equity framework within the downtown Uptown study area there is a high diversity of incomes High diversity of other demographics so we really want to look at all of these future Investments and ensure that we're looking at them through an equity lens a couple key recommendations here that you'll see which were also recommendations that came from the CPC subcommittee were to look at neighborhood partition participation plans to really look at combining our great Community assets within the study area and giving them an opportunity to interface directly with developers who are making changes to their built environment so towards the the end of the process um with help from the community we acknowledged that there was perhaps some gaps in in our Outreach efforts through the city plan commission we really focused uh the past few months on coming up with strategies to ensure that we're minimizing displacement to the extent possible the plan does that in a number of ways really structurally it's set up to provide different recommendations for different context areas but in addition to that we've added specific recommendations for anti-displacement measures so part of those focus is on retaining the existing affordable housing units within the area creating a program to identify and monitor and preserve at-risk affordable housing the plan recommends that we consider a right to purchase ordinance which would give current residents the ability to purchase a home that they're currently living in if the owner of that home decides to put the home up for sale also we want to look at encouraging developers to execute Community benefits agreements again just keeping in mind that these are all recommendations that we have to vet out from a legal standpoint from a feasibility standpoint but the plan provides that recommendation and gives us a staff the green light to start seriously exploring those implementation steps finally we wanted to pass along the recommendation from the city plan commission at their meeting about eight weeks ago sorry probably 10 weeks ago now they did recommend to form a downtown Uptown master plan subcommittee within the city plan commission the subcommittee conducted some extended Outreach as staff we provided support for that Outreach a couple targeted meetings attending meetings with the Sunset Heights neighborhood association and the Rio Grande neighborhood association to make sure that all voices were heard through this planning process the city plan commission does recommend approval of this master plan with a few recommendations the first being to change the name of the plan from downtown Uptown to the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods master plan as staff we aren't recommending approval of that change the city's made significant investments in the Uptown name it's been something that the city has pushed for for quite some time you'll see Uptown referenced in a lot of other planning documents including including the city's housing strategy so at this time we don't recommend that that recommendation is adopted as part of the plan but the other recommendations from the city plan commission as far as implementing neighborhood participation plans we have added a implementation patient action in the master plan specific to exploring that and explore adopting that by ordinance the other recommendations really are recommendations is that we will make sure to implement throughout the next phase of the planning process which is actually the implementation phase of starting to adopt some of these things by ordinance starting to adopt some of these administrative or policy changes as well so with that for the immediate next steps for staff upon adoption of this plan should city council choose to adopt it we'll be looking specifically at these three next steps in the short term and that's exploring the Uptown tours so going through the process of developing that that boundary and developing the parcels that would be included in that boundary looking at code assessments with targeted amendments for building zoning and smart code this not only supports the downtown Uptown plan but also the infill and Redevelopment policy that city council adopted unanimously last year and then finally to ensure that all of those changes in terms of investments from the tours and future code code changes are being sensitive to the context of those areas we'll look at adopting Urban Design and development standards so that's all we have today in terms of the presentation happy to answer any questions you all have for us represent you want to hear public comment first public comment please job good Joe good followed by Rich Wright good morning again mayor city council city manager staff again Joe goudenrath with the downtown Management District I'm here on behalf of our board of directors made up of 21 Property Owners business owners and residential tenants I can't tell you how important plans are for a city and for our downtown to me it's a public Declaration of where we want to go as a community and how we can get there it's the voice of our community providing direction to our current and future elected officials and sending a message to people looking to relocate and invest in our community this plan sets a bold vision for our downtown and Uptown areas and it's one that is definitely needed at certain sectors and parts of our downtown face significant long-term challenges I want to thank City staff especially Joaquin Rodriguez and Alex Hoffman as well as the Consultants who participated on this project their leadership and Outreach throughout the process has helped get us to where we are today I want to encourage your support for this plan but not only with your vote today today simply marks the beginning of this plan and its Implement and its implementation will be critical to addressing our challenges and capturing the opportunities that are in front of us I hope to be back here many times in the future as we implement this plan and pursue the goals that it establishes for the future of our community thank you thank you sir hi all mayor city council staff that's all right my name is Rich Wright I was looking at the Uptown downtown plan what I could see on the internet and I asked myself what's it for so I did a little research there and right there on page three of what in the agenda is called setting the stage the present station says the challenge the demand for housing knowledge workers will require managing growth and preserving our creating affordable housing to ensure that downtown plus Uptown maintain their economic diversity the demand for housing knowledge workers will require managing growth the problem is the city's not growing you know the city acts the city of El Paso the bureaucracy acts like they're managing growth but the city is actually not growing knowledge workers we've been pursuing them since for the last 20 years first we call them the creative class and then we called them young professionals and now we're calling them knowledge workers and whatever we've been doing hasn't been working uh there are some good points in this plan like uh neighborhood participation anti-displacement measures education and job training those are all good things but we can do that without subsidizing housing for developers downtown and up up Stanton Street we don't need to do that we should just do these things instead of giving tax incentives to developers to provide housing the T 380 agreements and the tears is don't reduce taxes that the rest of us are paying they're just providing services to those people who receive them either for free or at a reduced rate and uh I know that city council the city staff has worked long hours on this plan but effort doesn't make a bad plan a good plan and this is a bad plan uh I've got a question for you those knowledge workers are they going to live down here on Stanton Street are they going to live up there in Monticello I mean it's not realistic what staff is proposing I would uh suggest that you not pursue tax incentives for this plan thank you thank you sir statements to be read into the record if that's okay with you sir yes ma'am how many do you have we have about 12 of them okay go ahead ma'am first is Jerry kirchiat reads I am Jerry kirchkea and El Paso resident of district one since 1996 and active now as an environmental and Community activists I respectfully asked for the council consider and act upon the recommendations of the Rio Grande neighborhood association pertaining to the currently named downtown Uptown master plan I have presented my concerns before the plan the plan commission and personally and in writing to the subcommittee Forum to consider Community responses to the plan the association will present their concerns to you and I want you to know that I support the recommendations I especially ask that the council rebuff any intention to displace current residents of the area in favor of more affluent residents also to assure that future development encourages home ownership of affordable housing energy Independence and that local residence are given the opportunity to participate in development decisions and small business Creation in the affected area thank you Jerry perchdale the next statement is by Sito Negron honorable mayor and council members I write on behalf of the Sunset Heights neighborhood Improvement Association regarding the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods plan we thank City staff for their work and the city plan commission for their consideration and support the plan has passed unanimously by the CPC we also have an added recommendation the critical part of this plan is to is the implementation Matrix which in addition to incentives projects and regular which incentives projects and Regulatory changes includes Concepts to counter displacement again we thank City staff for their work and ask that you prioritize implementation of these non-displacement strategies first to ensure that this plan supports current residents if as envisioned new residents flock to our wonderful downtown adjacent neighborhoods when they do they should be joining not replacing our our already vibrant and diverse communities Sunset Heights is one of the most income diverse neighborhoods in the city if not the most this is a tremendous value for El Paso presenting opportunities for mobility and enrichment this is true of many other neighborhoods however speculation has been rampant and rents have rapidly increased the city has a responsibility to leverage public resources equitably this plan this plan's incentives and Investments for infield development can be worth the public goals we subsidize sprawl in stretch budgets in wastes that are largely invisible to the broader and rarely public and rarely questioned hundreds of millions of Municipal dollars go to New Roads Water and Sewer the flood control Parks libraries police and fire stations the list goes on population stability and established neighborhoods let alone growth is easier on taxes and budgets than the horizontal growth patterns we have typically seen therefore while it is the public in the public interest to invest in our core neighborhoods which have been paying taxes for many generations and have been leveraged for the debt to develop new neighborhoods it is not Equitable to displace people in the process please prioritize people and ensure that we have non-displacement strategies in place before implementing regulatory changes in development incentives next statement is Marcia labora oh yeah no next one is ver Veronica Castillo are you there ma'am Carrillo star six to unmute your microphone Miss Veronica Carrillo we'll go ahead and read it into the record honorable mayor and city council and council members neighborhoods drawn in the boundary of the downtown Uptown master plan would likely would like to respectfully make a request pertaining to item 23. we ask that the name of the plan B updated to better reflect the character of the plan area and be changed to downtown surrounding neighborhood's master plan we believe that supporting this change is crucial for several reasons and we would like to share our thoughts with you firstly the name Uptown carries connotations of affluence and luxury which do not accurately reflect the true essence of our neighborhoods we are a diverse Community with a rich history and a strong sense of identity that should be appropriately represented by choosing a name that better aligns with our character we can ensure that our neighborhoods are accurately portrayed and that all residents feel a sense of belonging it's important to consider that the name of the plan sets the tone and vision for the future development of our neighborhoods by embracing a name that truly represents who we are we can influence the type of growth and changes that will take place we should strive for a name that reflects our community rather than one that caters to outside interests the name chosen for the master plan will play a significant role in shaping the perception of our neighborhoods and attracting potential developers during January 2022 kickoff meeting stantec emphasized the aim to attract High earners I.E knowledge economy workers from out of town by catering to their preferences and creating housing located within a five-minute walk of attractions that align with their level of disposable income while development is important it should not come at a cost of losing our community's Identity or displacing current residents a thoughtful name change can help ensure that the development aligns with the needs and desires of our existing Community creating a more inclusive and sustainable future in conclusion after considering the concerns and aspirations of our community we propose that we support the name downtown and surrounding neighborhoods master plan for our Collective vision of the future this name promotes a better sense of belonging for neighborhoods in the master plan emphasizing the significance of our downtown area while acknowledging the neighborhoods that make up our community let's rally behind this name and shape a plan that better represents us and paves the way for a future that reflects our values and aspirations respectfully Sunset Heights neighborhood Improvement Association and my bad next statement is from Miss Kathleen Stout greetings to the council I ask that you support the city plans commission's subcommittee and neighborhood residents who have pursued constructive engagement around planning the downtown uptown area I use my public administration lens based on teaching political science and public administration for 40 years at UTEP good quality governance requires that City staff engage with local residents and draw on their expertise as such I support the following recommendations and ask that you do likewise one change the plant's name from the downtown Uptown master plan to the downtown and surrounding neighborhood's master plan two Implement neighborhood participation plan meetings residents need to know developers plans and their likely impact on neighborhoods three sustain communication with the neighborhoods throughout the life of the plan and four create workshops to empower residents with knowledge and tools to interact with developers and City staff next one is Marcus Conde I'm emailing my public comment for item 23 to be read during tomorrow's city council meeting please I agree to all recommendations on points one through four of the executive summary thank you for your time with God may God bless you next item is this next comment is from Elizabeth Berkeley El Paso city council this letter is confirmation that El Jardin birth and Family Resource Center supports our neighborhood organization Rio Grande neighborhood association in its request to city council to support the four recommendations of the city plan commission subcommittee report El Jardin is located in the Rio Grande neighborhood and we are all impacted by the downtown Uptown master plan we we on the executive committee all live in the Rio Grande neighborhood our organization has been in the neighborhood since 2013 we provide a welcoming space for young families to connect with one another as well as with health professionals and a space to learn about life's natural transitions such as pregnancy and parenting we support one changing the name of the master plan to downtown plus surrounding neighborhoods Point master plan two implementation of neighborhood participation plan meetings to increase transparency of developers plans and how they will impact neighborhoods three maintenance of regular communication maintenance of regular communication with the community throughout the 15-year implementation of the plant for creation of workshops to empower neighborhoods with the knowledge and tools to effectively collaborate with developers and City staff by leveraging the community and human development department it is of utmost importance to us that the city does not facilitate squeezing out small community-oriented organizations from our neighborhood in favor of large Developers feet next statement is from Carmen Rodriguez this was submitted by Carmen Rodriguez for Abdullah anjondo Abdullah comment said I live on Durango Street in historicito my neighbors and I want to know more about the plans and changes that are being considered by the city if the city is making changes to parking regulations I would ask that the residents who live here now be considered it is very difficult for us to find street parking near our homes my neighbor is disabled and cannot walk long distances many of our residents are elderly people who come for events at the Civic Center the baseball stadium and the Chavez theater take up parking spaces there is also a brewery on my street all of these events are too much for the small area please add rules so that the residents will have priority to use spaces in front of their home like they do in their neighborhoods near the university also people who don't have vehicles need a cooling center they can walk to there are no cooling centers within walking distance finally the abandoned buildings have been vacant for too long and should be restored thank you for your attention consideration of these requests next statement is from Cynthia Renteria good morning mayor and Council my name is Dr Cynthia roteria and I'm writing in support of the Rio Grande neighborhood association and the recommendations made in the city plan commission subcommittee report that was formulated using feedback from the neighborhoods impacted by the downtown Uptown plan we agree that the name of the plan should reflect the community identity and not erase and name the unique character of the residential areas please consider revising the name of the plan to downtown plus surrounding neighborhoods master plan in addition I ask that that mayor and Council consider the following one Implement neighborhood participation plan meetings to maintain communication with the community throughout the 15-year implementation of the Plan Three create workshops to empower neighborhoods with the knowledge and tools to effect effectively collaborate with developers and City staff by leveraging the community and human development department taking these steps ensures the area residents have a seat at the table and say in and say in a development process that truly considers the impacts of the plants of plants on El pasoans please consider taking an action that shifts away from top down generated development plans to one that truly engages residents of El Paso's neighborhoods and generally listens and addresses their concerns next statement is from Carmen Rodriguez dear mayor Lisa mayor Pro tem anello rap Canales and all reps my name is Carmen Rodriguez I reside within the boundaries of the downtown Uptown plan and I am a member of the steering committee of Community First Coalition our request is to pursue neighborhood development from the perspective and needs of the residents who live there although we believe this plan originated with the view that it would be an economic development driver there are also real opportunities to use to use it to address long-standing housing issues if there is one chronic and deleterious condition that the city has tolerated for too long it is the lack of affordable housing for the large segments of our family who have low incomes live with the minimal resources and reside in substandard housing shortly after the Community First Coalition formed we identified a number of priority issues among the 37 or so priority issues approximately 10 were related to housing and the need for neighborhood improvements in Barrios and other property prone areas we agreed that previous City administrations have failed to give this problem proper attention and that much of the reason was simply simple disinterest thousands of working families with children and Elders have lived in the in all eight City districts lacking adequate housing for too long such conditions breed hopelessness in our youth which may stifle their Futures understanding that this is the most in in almost an intractable condition there is more than can be done there's more that can be done this plan presents the opportunity to do more thus we ask that it'd be modified to begin to improve neighborhoods from the perspective and needs of the residents who live there we therefore endorse the recommendations brought toward the by the Rio Grande neighborhood association and accepted by the city plan commission including one change the name of the master plan to downtown and Surround and surrounding neighborhoods master plan to implement neighborhood participation plan meetings three maintain communication with the community throughout the 15-year implementation four create workshops and Empower neighborhoods with the knowledge and tools to effectively collaborate with developers and City staff finally such an approach could be a model to address other areas in need of improvement in each of the other City districts next statement is from Danny Villanueva good morning mayor city council and city clerk staff my name is Daniel Villanueva I am a resident and member of the Rio Grande neighborhood association I'm asking for your support of the recommendations of the CPC subcommittee report to one change the name of the plant to the downtown plus surrounding neighborhood's master plan to implement neighborhood participation plan meetings as a requirement by city ordinance to increase Community engagement three to maintain communication with the community as the plan is implemented by centralizing updates and announcements and finally for create neighborhood workshops to empower neighborhoods to collaborate with developers and City staff the next statement is by Dora Villanueva she's representing the Valverde neighborhood associations dear El Paso city council Vecinos neighborhood association requested four recommendations in the CPC subcommittee report recommended recommendation one neighborhoods drawn into the boundary of the downtown Uptown master plan would like to respectfully make a request pertaining to item 23 on the agenda for July 5th city council meeting we asked that the name of the plan be updated to better reflect the character of the plan area and change to downtown and surrounding neighborhoods master plan we believe that supporting this change is crucial for several reasons and we would like to share our thoughts with you firstly the name Uptown carries connotations this is a similar statement to that red earlier mayor would you like to meet to continue yes sir there's a similar statement to that read earlier into the record I'm sorry I can't hear you this is a statement that was uh very similar to what was read earlier would you like me to continue with it does it have all the information required correct yes or no yes then go ahead sir as long as if there is some personal attacks on somebody you can skip it but read the whole statement the name Uptown carries connotations of affluence and luxury which do not accurately reflect the true essence of our neighborhood we are a diverse Community with a rich history and a strong sense of identity and should be appropriately represented by choosing a name that better aligns with our character we can ensure that our neighborhoods are accurately portrayed and that all residents feel a sense of belonging it's important to consider that the name of the plan says the tone of the vision of the future development of our neighborhoods by embracing a name that truly represents who we are we can influence the type of growth and change changes that will take place we should strive to name for a name that reflects our community rather than one that caters to the outside interests the name chosen for the master plan will play a significant role in shaping the perception of our neighborhoods and attracting potential developers during the January 2022 kickoff meeting stantec emphasized the aim to attract High earners I.E knowledge economy workers from out of town by catering further preferences and creating housing located within a five mile walk of attractions that align that align with the level of disposable income while development is important it it should not come at the cost of losing our community's identity and displacing current residents a thoughtful name change can help ensure that the development aligns with the needs and desires of our existing Community creating a more inclusive and sustainable future after considering the concerns and aspirations of our community we propose that we support the name downtown and surrounding neighborhood's master plan for our Collective vision of the future this name promotes a better sense of belonging for the neighborhoods in the master plan emphasizing the significance of our downtown area while acknowledging that neighborhoods that make up our community let's rally behind this name and shape a plan that better represents and paves the way for the future that reflects our values and aspirations recommendation to implement neighborhood participation plan meetings to increase transparency for developer plans and how they will impact neighborhoods recommendation three maintain communication with the community throughout the 15-year implementation of plan recommendation for create workshops to empower neighborhoods with the knowledge and tools effectively collaborate with the developer City staff and human development human development department thank you next comment is from Fabiola Campos Lopez El Paso neighborhood Co-op Coalition EPN and C strongly supports the downtown plus Uptown master plan for downtown in the surrounding neighborhoods Segundo Barrio chihuahuita Magoffin Rio Grande Rim Kern Mission Hills and Sunset Heights epnc as a participative member of the downtown plus Uptown core stakeholder group witnessed and participated in numerous Community meetings and individual in specific neighborhood interviews on this master plan throughout the faces and on several locations all Community recommendations were taken seriously like the neighborhood concerns on displacement in the generation of low-income family housing opportunities in the residential areas all were considered for the result of this plan we believe the realized transform and enhanced reinforced models described thoroughly in the downtown plus Uptown master plan clearly addressed is the different opportunities and challenges in this diverse 3.5 mile radius planning area also the specific strategies covered in the master plan such as an economic development specifically the real estate opportunities will shape the future land use mobility and public realm in an orderly way the downtown plus Uptown master plan extremely aligns with the El Paso neighborhood Coalition Mission which is to unify all of the El Paso's diverse neighborhoods in matters of common interest and actively encourage endorse and promote age groups issues of livability and remarkable quality of life in our communities the next statement is by Elena likeborn as a member of the Rio Grande neighborhood association as the city council support the recommendations made by the city plan commission downtown Uptown master plan subcommittee in their latest report I have lived within the physical boundaries of the plan for nearly a decade and I believe a name change to downtown and surrounding neighborhoods master plan is far more appropriate percent area I wish to see a higher level of Engagement with local communities affected by the plan and hope for the city to develop and maintain consistent open and honest communication throughout the plan's implementation including full consideration and active response to requests and concerns raised by the community members I support introducing a neighborhood participation plan process and creating workshops for our neighbors and to gain knowledge and Civic empowerment please pay attention to the needs and wants of the people who already live in these communities I want to be able to live in a safe healthy walkable affordable community that is still distinctly El Paso and not have to worry about pollution getting hit by cars or being priced out of my own home thank you Elena and last statement is by Oscar Martinez one changed the name of the master plan to downtown plus surrounding neighborhoods master plan take a look at the attached letter from our GNA has that has been drafted and feel free to pull language from this number two Implement neighborhood participation plan meetings number three maintain communication with the community throughout the 15-year implementation of the plan and number four create workshops to empower neighborhoods with the knowledge and tools to effectively collaborate with developers and City staff by leveraging the community and human development department and that is the last statement sorry hit the wrong button thank you representative Canales thank you planning for the the future is so important and a lot of the problems that we face today in El Paso in the areas of infrastructure housing Transportation utilities urban sprawl uh stem from previous lack of formal planning for our City's continued build out and growth and adaptation to new situations and paradigms uh area master plans like this one they make sure that we grow in a way that's uh sustainable and uncontrolled uh that works for the existing residents uh in our core neighborhoods that improves housing options and preserves affordability uh and that makes a better future for our downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods and the people who live and work here now and in the future so I want to thank the the project team both from the city staff and from the the consultant teams uh who've worked on this plan for many many months um I I will read out some specific names I want to include Joaquin and Alex who presented to us today Daniela Casada Marcela Antolini Apollonia Cynthia Albright David Dixon Nels Nelson Joe Mann Matt Prosser and Matt Goble I think I got everybody there um and I also want to thank all of the individuals and entities and associations involved throughout the length of the the planning process who attended stakeholder groups and public meetings and neighborhood association meetings and City plan commission hearings and provided all of the invaluable input uh and feedback and sometimes criticism that that shaped the the plan into what it is now um and finally I think it's really important to recognize the city plan commission's downtown and Uptown master plan subcommittee uh who took a pretty substantial draft of the plan uh and I think made it even better through feedback from the community specifically from the neighborhoods who would be most impacted by uh what's recommended in the plan um I'm specifically very proud of and grateful for my appointee to the to the city plan commission Brandon Carrillo he's hiding in the back over there um who was really the driving force behind the work done by the subcommittee and who thoroughly and diligently uh interfaced with the stakeholder neighborhoods and and interested parties and put together a very professional subcommittee Report with four really meaningful recommendations um three of those recommendations as Joaquin and Alex presented numbers two through four have been incorporated into the draft plan that we're considering today but the first recommendation of the subcommittee report is to quote change the name of the plan to the downtown and surrounding neighborhood's master plan to reflect the goal of improving the quality of life for current residents as we heard in the presentation this change has not been recommended by staff and is left to us as the city council due to the nature of the change because it represents a name change for a plan that's gone through such a long public process and because of the city's ongoing use of of the Uptown name in other planning documents I hear those concerns from from City staff but I also think it's important that we as the council make a change to reflect the will of the neighborhoods within the within the plan area because ultimately it's a plan for for them to make sure that the the plan's name reflects the the diversity of historic and and significant individual neighborhoods with really unique identities and distinctive needs within the plan area um I see a middle ground option here that I think will work for most if not all of the the interested parties uh I know they can't speak for everyone but I I did run out to the gallery a few minutes ago and run it by both Mr Carrillo and uh our presenters Joaquin and Alex here from City staff and kind of got the thumbs up from everybody um so with that I moved to amend the name of the plan to the downtown Uptown and surrounding neighborhood's master plan uh and to make all adjustments as necessary throughout the text of the plan to reflect the change in the verbiage is that good thank you sir thank you mayor thank you mayor Pro Tem thanks mayor um a couple things uh representative Canal I want to address representative Connelly's motion and Joaquin and I have spoken about this a lot I I completely agree that there needs to be a change to this name I just don't think that we've got the right one like downtown Uptown and surrounding areas to me it like actually takes out the Integrity of those surrounding areas and so I don't know if there's a way instead of that motion to maybe kick back that to the community in the subcommittee to come up with a better I mean I don't know if I'm kind of beating a dead horse at this point but I just I don't think it's a great name um I don't think any of that I don't think the Up Down plan was a great name to begin with and so I don't know if representative Canales you can comment on that after I'm going to obviously follow your lead or Joaquin if you want to comment well I'll just comment for our purposes today I think the name of the plan is really just at the discretion of council our main goal is to get the recommendations and implementation actions from the plan adopted there's always opportunity for us to come back if Council so wishes with sort of a renewed branding effort for the the Uptown nomenclature if that's something that Council wants to direct us to do my you know concern is just that we move forward with adoption of the plan so we can start to move forward with those implementation actions but again it completely a council's discretion as far as what we named the plan today okay well let's talk about the plan then let's move on to that a couple things a couple of things so I first want to talk about the turs kind of the first time I heard about a toast today don't love the idea of a tour there's got a lot of concern about attorneys I'm going to keep saying the word tours um and I just want to ask the question that if passing this today directs you all to look into the terse yes it would it would direct us to start the process of looking into the tours but no final decisions would be made on whether or not that tours is implemented before coming back to council I think all these implementation measures would be would be on the table for us to take a look at but all of them would require I mean these these these certainly require council's decisions on anything that we would Implement within that plan area so we would have to bring those back individually feel some sort of way about that right now um but thank you city manager my other questions is you know when we first saw this presentation a long time ago one of my concerns was the historic aesthetic of the neighborhoods and so I want to kind of talk about some of some of the incentives for building did we look at all about um keeping the Aesthetics of the neighborhood with this I'm sorry I can answer that question so one of the implementation strategies from today was looking at the Urban Design guidelines so Urban Design guidelines are another way of saying looking at the Aesthetics of buildings um and so I think part of what we're proposing are two things so on the one side there's going to be an aesthetic component the second is going to be looking at the building and development perspective that's where we're looking at making sure that existing buildings stay in place and that they're used their highest and best use not that they're demolished and you know we see something new go up in its place that's the two ways that we're proposing to address the concern about maintaining existing Aesthetics and existing building stock within the plant area the microphone is off I've been trying to go through the plan that's on the backup and I just don't see any reference to that and I don't know if I'm I might just be missing it but I want to just be very clear about what is actually on paper and what is so the the recommendation I don't have the exact number off the top of my head but it's the recommendation to adopt Urban Design guidelines so what we would do is when we come forward with the actual zoning code amendments or building code amendments whatever whichever they may be those will be attached to context sensitive neighborhood specific Urban Design guidelines okay and then I want to um I want to comment on what one of our public speakers said Mr Wright I think he brought up a really good point and it kind of got my head going a little bit about how we're incentivizing this kind of development for housing and this might be more of a Mrs Neiman question so I'm sorry if I'm catching a little bit off guard you might not have the answer um I know in the state of Texas we are not allowed to require developers to put aside units for low-income housing but with the kind of plan like this in which we're incentivizing are we allowed to look at something like that where developments are required to put in low-income units or I think another option that other states have done is put dollars aside for that in a fund so we we do have a process through the low income housing application process that is handled through Community Development which is how we traditionally do through tax credits so that's a process and I think you all looked at that as well right as part of your project so it's it's folded into the the recommendations coming forward yeah that's a conversation I would like to have a little bit more I mean I I think there are a lot of adjustments that could be made to this plan I've said before I think it's really smart that we're looking at housing at the urban core when we have the opportunity to I think the public has had some issues but those are being addressed by representative Canales and by you all um and happy to support this today but I do want to be very clear that I do want to see more from that the conversation that we just had um want a little learn a little bit more about those design standards you're talking about but I have a lot of concern about the terrorists and will be really hounding you about that as we move forward so thank you very much thank you ma'am representative Hernandez thank you mayor Joaquin I first wanted to congratulate you on your new appointment as uh the as the grant funded program director congratulations really well deserved um I I wanted to lend my support to the to the amendment that representative Canal has made I just have a question about if that that the item moves forward if there's a way that we can reference like formerly known as that way you know as the public is looking at her researchers are looking at it they know to reference that this specific area had that name and then it changed and I think that'll be helpful because when I look at planned documents planning documents sometimes it's only what it's being referenced is only you know evident at that historical time and when you're trying to decipher 10 20 years later like it's really hard to to determine that so that would just be a recommendation in the event that it changes um as it relates to the downtown tree master plan and some of those other things um it's really really concerned about some of the the statistics specifically in downtown it does have a very low tree Equity scorecard and so if there are opportunities to collaborate with the love your blog program and 915 tree Keepers we certainly would love the opportunity to work with representative Canales and in downtown to try to improve the overall climate in downtown and then the the other thing I just want to mention is kind of just looking at this holistically over the over my tenure I have seen some like really great reports and then um and these strategies and but then the public is is not necessarily understanding what the intent is they don't feel like they're being involved as much and then a lot of these decisions are being made and then there's these requests to change them after the fact um which is why I'm really big a believer in some of these planning practices and having a robust team to do that long-term visioning planning and strategies with the public and so in the past we have had um these what were they called these cohorts they're not cohorts they're uh where you where the public comes out and then we look at some plans sure at story go we used to have these really great charrettes throughout the city and you know I really do believe that should be no different and I know you all have engaged the public but there were some concerns about being engaged consistently and early on we do have public facilities in downtown dedicated for this the blue flame building on the 17th floor is is an opportunity but we also have other downtown properties like the the one in front of San Jacinto and so I I would urge this Administration to look at making sure that we are providing the space providing the team and then providing that coordination between the public and staff not after the fact where we're hearing these complaints and so I really do believe that that should be a direction the team should take but that is up to the city manager I just wanted to lend my support for that but overall really great plan I think these amendments are are reasonable and I just wanted to thank you and I appreciate your support thank you ma'am thank you mayor uh one last time to close us out uh I just wanted to rep uh comment on on what representative and L had to say about focusing on on affordable housing um operating within this plan and then I think in addition to this plan I'm looking at other ways I would love to collaborate with you on on other ways that we can we can look to do this in Community Land trusts are a great option in Texas there's a specific kind of I know you don't you you the tourists gave you pause but there's a specific type of of tax increment fund a tiff call day Homestead preservation reinvestment Zone which takes a a portion of of of the tax increment and reinvested into Homestead Properties within a particular typically low-income area those are currently allowed only in in Austin and Houston uh there's some bracketed legislation that allowed them I want to work with the the state delegation from El Paso for for you know unfortunately it'll be the next session two years from now to see if we can expand uh the the bills that see if we can expand the bills that allowed those in in Austin and Houston to El Paso um I think we there are tools available to us like that can help us accomplish some of the goals that are in this plan in addition to some of the I think very strong implementation recommendations that that are in the plan itself so I think it's overdue that that we have a sit down and talk about some of these strategies because you know we have a few years to to work on implementing some of these things before the next session and then hopefully after the next state legislative session we can have even more tools available to us um that like I said hopefully get us to a point where we are strongly implementing a lot of the the goals in in the plan so thank you again for the hard work and uh I hope uh everyone can support today thank you can we have a motion we do have a motion first for the amendment and then we can vote on adopting it as amended is there a second Amendment it's a representative okay and the motion is to amend the name of the plan to the downtown Uptown and surrounding neighborhood's master plan and to make all adjustments as necessary throughout the text of the plan to reflect the change in verbiage and that was moved by representative Canales seconded by represento on that motion call for the vote representative I and the amendment has been approved with representative Molina I moved to approve the plan as amended motion made by representative Canales seconded by representative Rivera to approve the resolution as amended one second please representative mayor Pro Tem thanks I just want to clarify another some other asks from the community I know that they were brought up about working groups the subcommittees I want to make sure where we are doing this because the language just says the Uptown downtown master plan I didn't know if there's anything to be added in there okay so the one of the recommendations specific to the neighborhood participation plans was added to the plan as one of the implementation actions the other two recommendations from the city plan commission and from the the members of the public really are steps that we'll take during the implementation I don't know that you all need to take specific action to direct us to do those things we will make sure as staff that's part of just the best practice of implementing a planning document like this that that we are doing those things and we can commit to reporting back to council maybe on an annual basis of you know the updates on our implementation for the plan thank you I think saying it in the record um is a good thing for the public to hear so thank you very much thanks man thank you Dan and we do have a motion to approve as amended made by representative Canales second day by Rivera representative Rivera on that motion call for the vote is to approve the amended item the resolution as amended rapiero aye thank you sir and the item has been approved with representative Molina Bodine sir would you like we take call to the public please go to the public next and then we'll research for one hour afterwards the El Paso city council is the local government body charged with serving all of the citizens of the city and meetings focused must be focused on the meeting at church the City Council meetings are public meetings under the Texas open meetings ACT public comment is an accommodation and not a requirement of the city council all persons in attendance are expected to display 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 groups character or Integrity which are not pertinent to City business nor May any member of the public use this forum for political statements or campaigning please note that during the 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 be posted on a future agenda the first person is Mr Aurelio Valdez Jr his topic is police gender discrimination sexual harassment Mr Valdez Jr was in Chambers earlier I have not seen him I don't see anyone no no the next person is Elizabeth Crawford Miss Crawford star six to one meet your telephone Elizabeth Crawford are you on the line start six to unmute your telephone and her topic is urban planning you have three minutes can you hear me we can hear you okay thank you so much good afternoon um I wanted to just address um some of the things um that has come up in the recent City Council meetings um I've been trying to stay up to date with international news um as well as much as possible um and has been looking a lot at the plans of the world economic Forum which has close by the United Nations as most of you are probably aware the world economic forum is founded and led by Klaus Schwab um and there are many Global projects on their agenda projects with words of sustainability environmentalism stakeholder capitalism Etc and many of their goals have the word zero in them um the 15-minute city is part of that several weeks ago one of my friends texted me a website to look at just some of the world economic Forum plans and I was in shock because when I saw that I was like wait a minute these exactly match a large portion of what's been coming up at City Council meetings in El Paso um just allow the language a lot of the planning is identical um to the world economic Forum agenda why why does this matter um globalism there's a plan for globalism within our nation within the cities what is globalism it's it's the unifying um across National boundaries from my understanding of God's holy scriptures our world is headed toward a world world totalitarianism in the future it's headed by by evil both in the Hebrew scripture which are called the Tanakh we would refer to them as the Old Testament but the Tanakh and the New Testament in the Book of Daniel The Book of Revelation many prophecies about cities God has a lot to say about about cities and what is to come in the future um the Bible is God's word um it is full of prophecies and the test of whether something is true is due prophecies come true um we see it in the Old Testament scriptures the Prophecies of the coming the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ Isaiah chapter 53 talking about Jesus a man despised and rejected of men a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief we hid us or our faces from him that chapter Isaiah 53 describes his crucifixion speaks of his resurrection his birthplace in in Micah was prophesied his perfect holy life and Ministry in the cities of Israel all prophesied came through one to the next to the next the fact that the first coming of Christ was prophesied accurately gives us confidence that when things of the future are spoken of that also will come to pass Daniel chapter 9 in the Old Testament speaks about the Messiah being cut off before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D when a book prophesies with this level thank you ma'am your three minutes are up next person is Crawford and his topic is health of the city council yeah three minutes sir three minutes [Laughter] good morning good afternoon sir afternoon the first thing that I want to say is God bless you okay God bless you because you have a hard job he's a real hard job now I want to congratulate my uh Mercier rap because we had a meeting with Jose Latorre uh electrical engineering he knows a lot I'm electrical engineer but he has a lot of knowledge how to save light electricity and his son very well known men and uh also I I'm real tired right now uh also you can call him and make an appointment with him and he can take you to the plant electrical plane over there on Montana and Zaragoza I've been there A lot of times and the engineers electrical credential news they know where they do it okay and also I want to congratulate all of you guys because my city is looking a lot better along with cleaner and I normally you're a kind person and uh I wish you all the best and um before I forgot I always forget this if you know a person who went with a dentist and took out one more large uh one two piece molaros or two where and then the person especially the ladies got cancer that's because the dentist hurt a nerve now taken to a better dentist and explain the situation and he fixed the cancer will go away in one month or before okay and I see you guys we all relax you probably make contact with Mother Earth your Father's son how many of you may contact nobody you do that you're gonna feel a lot better no stress at all no stress okay now I'm gonna give you another tip if you can extend in one foot in one foot for 20 seconds you are okay or your heart if you don't you will start doing something I thank you very much God bless you and see you in two weeks we'll see you in two weeks yes sir God bless you all of you you too sir I love you a lot he said yo next person is Mr Stevens rumor his topic is straight Stripes needed on Nevada Street and Florence and also in Arizona by Saint Patrick's Church good afternoon you have three minutes Hi how are you Mr strowman I'm asking for striping on North Florence Street from Montana up to Murchison the original Stripes I'm asking for striping on North Campbell from the county building up to Murchison there is no stripes these are city employees their lives important too I'm asking it for Nevada there is no striping on Nevada since at least January of 2015. evada looks like uh well like a rural road the last time I was here I came back there was a two-car accident at Nevada at Kansas people are coming down Kansas Street as a this runs in kind of patterns more and more now we are asking for striping I do not have a stripe on Kansas at Nevada at all mayor I have very very little Shadows of it at all I do not want my provider to be struck she's a long time resident of this community for 58 years I have a friend of mine sir that has served seven wars seven different times not seven wars I do not want him smooshed like a tomato he's from Port Isabel um we have about four different people at Nevada apartments that have served the military their lives are important they're not all intimate friends my provider is I'm asking for striping around a St Patrick's Cathedral these are children they are their parents are deeply important to me we had an advertisement back home from Martin's paint used to say it ain't just pink the reason is if a car strikes and there's no paint sir the driver can say I didn't know I didn't see it I couldn't it was dark the paint you can't see that um so I'm asking we don't have the cross we don't have the stop Line at North mess at Arizona sir at St Pat's we don't have it it's very very light shadows I'm asking for it at North Stanton at Arizona if he can help us I'm glad I spoke to you on the 15th I know you all are good it's nice to see you sir that about this but I'm just asking for a little bit of help thanks so much thank you for your comments thank you the last speaker is Mr Jose Gaston barriga he's coming up and his topic is awareness good afternoon good afternoon members there are a couple of things number one is uh I will appreciate you keep your your time scheduled you may have you may have a uh certain things that you have to do I have things as well I just appreciate that have give me that respect as well the second thing is uh the awareness is uh there are a couple of things that you change okay it's uh you're gonna change the name or something at least Implement something new into something into the plan because changing the name is just like what's going on right now in today's hour in today's world you can't speak on items no I'm not talking about I just generalized I generalize I'm in anything just change the street just you change the name of the street at least do something just post something just it's a it's a it's a fever that was happening I will tell you uh the problem that I have encountered number one is uh as a veteran and at the at the airport uh there is no there is the number one you have a sign that say no entrance ball is uh at the same time when I park because I had to drop off somebody somebody and then I tried to exit but there's nobody down there oh for some reason it stays that is an automatic system there is no information on the internet there is no information on the website so and the ordinances from 2006 from mayor cook so that's the reason it's an awareness so yes stop changing names make things happen that's what it means that's an awareness stop wasting my time my meeting me standing right here waiting for me to say something that's what I'm asking make things happen the other thing is several months ago I tried to use a Brio I was going to use coins I couldn't make I couldn't just for one dollar I had to use my credit card I couldn't put it I couldn't put a dollar because it was the machine was inoperable there's nowhere to say it's nowhere in the website I say that I couldn't use the machine I mean come on it's uh today's we have so much technology gives that proper information to us I mean I'm a user I barely use new systems I mean I'm not complaining I'm just barely using it you barely see me now I mean it is the reason that you see me today you know so you have a great day so let's see when you see me again Take Care thank you thank you for your time sir do we have a motion to retire into Executives no we're going to do one thing I know we're going to do no we're gonna break for lunch as we've said from now on except that we do have item 20 24. then we have item 26 that I think you're out of here yeah just 26 and then we're going to take an hour for lunch if we could take 26 yeah but 25 is not here you also have item 20. I know that but they're not here on Shane I'm just going to take the one item there here so they don't have to wait for us to go to lunch and then we'll come back okay item 26 discussion in action that the city manager be authorized to sign an agreement for Professional Services with DEC El Paso LLC a domestic limited liability company LLC for a project known as Vista Del Sol reconstruction resurfacing for an amount not to exceed 473 436.82 motion to improved some motion in a second and we do have a motion made by representative Rivera seconded by representative Hernandez to approve on that motion call for the vote representative Fierro I and the item has been approved with representative anello not pressing for the vote right for your motion recess for one hour uh any opposed Council will Reese's for one hour it is 12 57 pm stop writing uh we have a quorum nut can we do we have a motion to return in the reconvene thank you all in favor aye all those opposed and we are back at the July 5th regular city council meeting at 202 pm the next item on the agenda is item 24. and that is discussion in action on a presentation of the public safety Bond program good afternoon Miss Hernandez Capital Improvement Department if tell him he can't hide behind you [Laughter] I know good afternoon this is a presentation on an update for the public safety program um I'll go over an introduction so what was approved back in November an overview give you a project status you can see the projects that have been completed under this Bond program and some of the challenges that we have encountered over the few years and with that comes the recommendation for the next steps so the public safety Bond program this was passed back in November of 2019. this was the issuance of four hundred and thirteen thousand one twenty two six fifty and this was looking specifically at our public safety program both PD and fire if you remember there was also looking at placing new facilities within our city because we're growing so making sure that we can still meet our response time within different areas also a feasibility study was performed prior to developing this program and this really looked at Major Maintenance and Facilities so we have some facilities that really do need attention to their Heating and Cooling and Roofing specifically also wanting to improve working conditions for our city employees and then really making sure that we can where possible really join our Academy and other facilities so that we have that improved Savings in combining both fire and PD together more specifically on bullet item number four is the joint Academy so the funding overview program if you'll remember about 222 million dollars was passed specifically for PD this looks at the new East Side Regional Command Center as I made mention the joint venture of the training academy our Police Headquarters Central Regional command which that we will get into further detail in executive session because that is a one of the projects that we're looking to cite that location also set aside approximately 48 44.8 million to renovate our regional command centers and also the fleet replacement so the program is going to be rolled out over nine years and you see how we have worked with Robert cortinas and his staff to make sure that we issue the debt as we start to begin those programs for the fire department it was 191.2 million dollars and this looks at some new fire stations uh 36 38 also that joint training facility fire headquarters and vehicle replacement as well we also have the rollout over um the next few years ending in 2028 with fire station 40 being the last to be constructed so project uh program status update of the work that we have uh completed so as I made mention we've done the programming for the police department headquarters that is something that we'll talk to you about with regards to the sighting of the headquarters also addition to the sighting of Central Regional command Northeast region Regional Command Center we've already started as many of you might know mayor we had a couple of calls the temperatures were pretty hot last summer so we've already started the work to replace that HVAC to make sure that we change out that aging infrastructure that we have in that Regional Command Center and then lastly we've already identified the property for the training academy and we're working through an alternative procurement method which is design build so we really want to make sure that with this facility that we do design builds we can release it in certain packages that allows us to secure pricing with the contractor ahead of time so that as the time increases we don't see an increase in that budget and we know what our guaranteed maximum price is for those projects and then currently under construction is the East Side Regional Command Center here you see renderings that we had provided to City Council of what the proposed facility would look like and then here is the update with the construction that we've started out there so the joint Public Safety Academy this is a total of 79 million this is going to be located in District 4. it will have the police academy fire academy so that's where we're joining the two facilities and then also the location of the Fire Department headquarters this is the design build we are currently reviewing the rankings can't say much about the process under the Kona silence but we have already conducted the interviews for this next firm and this is the location where the facility will be cited and just a close-up this is roughly 212 000 square feet so this will have the vehicle maintenance fire Logistics and Warehouse the training academy for both fire PD indoor shooting range a shared gym weight and locker room and then we also have supplemental uh facilities that are that will be located here and this is really focusing on the training so this is the Hogan's alley and then the structure the fire training structure for their training at this facility so looking at a schedule we started this back in August of 2021 once we approved the design build contract we're ready to start design we really want to break ground next year and so looking at the portfolio for the fire projects the status so design has already been completed in 15 16 18 25 we're working very closely with our fire department to make sure that we're rotating when you're under construction when we start renovation so that there is no delay in their response time as made mentioned the the headquarters the training academy we're working on the rankings fire station 38 we're currently negotiating with the contractor so we anticipate as soon as contracts are signed and execute to start construction in the fall of this year here's a rendering that is proposed for fire station 38. the project status on Renovations were near completion in 1921s and 36 which is out on the west side and we should be completed with 10 26 later this this year in the fall so here are some of the pictures of the progress throughout the city this one is slated for the fall of this year fire station 19 is soon to wrap up Fire Station 21 is also scheduled for uh this summer fire station 26 is later this fall and here's a rendia that we proposed to council this is what we presented when we were going through the design process this one's out on the west side and here is pictures of the completed project and we're soon to wrap this one up in the next two months and then here are pictures of fire station five the gym floor replacement also we worked on the exhaust at 37s and fives and then the taller bottom right corner is the new addition for the vehicles that the fire station is getting if you'll notice this Bay is taller and it allows for them to house one of their newer vehicles at fire station 20. and so some of the impacts that we're seeing as we're developing this Bond program we've really seen a rise in material and labor delay as I made mention in the Northeast HVAC we as soon as we realized we had the problems there was valves that were not functioning correctly I mean they are beyond their life expectancy we went in there did some fixes we ordered them we're barely going to get them this August so that's an entire year that we're waiting for HVAC just to let you know some of the delays that we're experiencing also a lot of the contractors are experiencing some of the delays as they do masonry work or different of their subcontracting so we're seeing that reflected in the bid prices that we're receiving and one thing I do want to know is that in 2019 we did know that this was going to be a rollout we weren't going to complete everything in 2021. granted we didn't have a crystal ball we didn't know what was going to happen in 2020 we did build in a 30 contingency plus inflation costs over the rollout of this Bond and we're seeing that these costs are not sufficient for the bid prices that we are receiving now and so some of the things that we've seen this crop experience this inflation in the cost is specifically with steel with Iron and Steel so if you're looking at structural components if you're looking at rebar any concrete that you pour needs rebar copper wire any of the I.T items that we need specifically for PD and fire it's required these are some of the materials that have an increase in costs and so these are just proposed penciled in these are not Inked in so when we do design we ask our Consultants to say okay based upon the programming what you've heard what we need to complete within this design what do you think the cost is going to be so they've provided us cost estimates and you'll see this does not look well and that's one of the reasons why we want to make sure that we're citing these correctly where we can share facilities to save in the cost where we can make sure that we are programming to meet our needs but then also look okay do we have enough room to expand for the future and so those uh three we've already seen that there is a gap that we need to fill Eastside Regional Command Center currently we are flat on that budget but one of the things we did is we do have to be strategic on how we roll out these new uh projects so with fire station 38 it's a joint site with the East Side Regional so there was some shared costs there the emergency generator parking fueling station so that did help alleviate some of the burden when we brought the East Side Regional online or as we bring it online excuse me PD headquarters we've worked on the programming and you'll see in a later presentation of where we're at with the allocation of um square footage for programming and some of the ideas that we have to reduce this down all while working with our chief to make sure that we are meeting the intent of this Bond program so for the capital projects fire station 38 as I said this is still estimated we're currently in negotiations so once we finalize that we'll understand what the funding Gap is and special units a special unit station we're currently working with the contractor as well so this is an estimated funding Gap as I made mention the good news is 19s 21s are going to be completed here shortly and so I do want to come back to council and say we have an estimated funding Gap but as we complete out those projects want to make sure to report back to council how well we did with the projects that have been already awarded and so the reason to really highlight some of the issues that we've seen in regards to the bids that we've received some of the material increases labor shortages is that we are asking Council in order to meet that funding Gap we want to utilize some of those monies that you saw within the first two slides for the renovations to be moved into the newer facilities that we've identified that funding Gap so we still want to maintain the Integrity of the bond making sure that we're looking at HVAC making sure that we're looking at our roofing system so we extend the life but if there is any savings that it can be into the new facilities so that we're making sure that we have the response times in the different areas of the city that we need those new new buildings so we'll continue to coordinate with PD fire really addressing what their needs are hearing from the user groups directly making sure to be strategic that we're not building out all is once but we're looking to where there's few future growth also working hand in hand with our Consultants we want to make sure that we reduce any complexity in their designs sometimes they get a little bit fancy and you see that risk in the contractor's cost and they increase it because they're not certain of how exactly it should be constructed making sure that like we did with the academy to use the alternative delivery methods thankfully the procurement purchasing department allows us that and we're able to secure bid prices sooner than later in releasing those separate packages and then just working with the contractors and making sure they really understand the design intent so any changes that are done within this Bond and identified monies they need a million dollars and above they need Council approval so Council will see any movement of the renovation funds into the new projects and have to be approved by the council so we're asking for Council approval this morning afternoon thank you mayor Pro tem thank you very much for the presentation and the update I know you got a lot of things seems a lot of things working so we thank you for that Tim thanks Yvette I'm sorry what is the ask today should there be savings and renovation so really focusing primarily Heating and Cooling and Roofing and focus on those items first any cost savings that we realize would be moved into the new facilities where you see that there is a larger funding Gap I'm sorry you want us to move cost Savings in from Renovations of Renovations that weren't originally scheduled instead of doing the other Renovations that were Regional commands were told they were going to get no sorry let me clarify I'm sorry so so with the renovations you can do anything from painting to replacing countertops to adding a new window right so not focusing on the aesthetic but really making sure that those dollars are concentrated in the HVAC and the roofing so meeting your critical infrastructure first and then the cost savings would be moved to your new construction yeah I mean that's so it's exactly what I said um I guess my thing is I'd like to see that before we made that decision because I do think that there were a lot of these Regional commands that were uh expecting a lot of renovation I mean paint is paint but it they were bathrooms right there were Windows those things I mean they were put aside for those Renovations and so unless there's a specific item of savings to go to new construction like I'd like to see it as those savings came on board versus what can be done with that Regional command does that make sense right and so we will bring those before Council it's giving us that that toolkit to say okay this is something that we can do because right now I'm short on cost but if I have that savings that I can look at it I can bring that to council for your approval with the scope of work to get that and keep them instructions the projects movie I'm sorry for new construction correct but I guess what I'm saying is I I don't under I mean it's a tricky thing I I don't understand you're saying you'll bring them back individually but you want us to give you direction today to do that to allow us to do that yeah I don't know how I feel about that today because again I do I mean what are the needs we haven't seen an entire assessment of say northeast regional command and all of the renovations they need I know that HVAC was an issue last year but I I don't know about what other Renovations were scoped out in 2019 I don't know what is needed in that facility to make that decision does that make sense that makes sense and so I would like to kind of see those to be able to understand okay um okay I have a few other questions about the presentation fire station 16 the location of that has not changed that is still at Fred Wilson okay just because I see that construction is going to start in Fall of 23 and I just want to make sure that was still correct correct we all moving quick since we got that lease my big question so I'm going to bring up the training facility again see we're going to do outdoor shooting at the new training facility anybody have any comments on that it's been an issue since 2019 I still say that constituents in that area voted to move all of the shooting and Blasting from the outdoor facility to the new facility I've been told for years it's not going to happen I don't know if there's any comments anybody wants to make if that has changed always can probably tell you about a lot of the complaints he gets about it um yeah don't bring it up again I'm gonna keep bringing it up uh Peter PCS for the for the record so the new Academy will have a indoor shooting range as far as that goes but that's for a handgun shotgun type weapons as far as the bomb squad training and the disposal of suspicious devices the only location that we have to do that is the current 2300 scenic drive and I guess my question is why like why are we not building that out at the new location uh it comes out to Dollars and cents and just moving it out there we're still going to probably have the same problem as far as if we have to use uh to counter charge suspicious devices you're still going to have the same noise how does many residential neighbors and so you're going to have a lower impact to the community even would it be possible to see what the cost of that would be um because I know we're in the future not in this presentation going to be talking about a little bit of savings in co-locating on that property and so I would like to see what that would cost as well so a portion um the the academy was the design build so we have bridging documents so a portion of that scope of work was included in that and we're looking to expand on that scope so we're currently in discussions with the consultant that makes me happy could you share that with me that'd be great can you share that with me or is it not is it still in the once once we've selected the consultant so that should be within the next two weeks we'll be able to do that and we're also having a meeting I believe next week to discuss that increase thanks as soon as I asked that I realized it probably wasn't possible but I appreciate it cheaper CS I know that that that has been the case I'm just gonna like I said I'm going to continue to push that we look at that until well when I always push to do that so just letting you know the problem is the uh what we're dealing with when we're doing dealing with bomb squad type issues yeah so okay well thank you and then I guess um my last question is about headquarters um without getting into information that is pertinent um to your upcoming presentation I know that this was originally scheduled for the beginning of the bond obviously covet delayed it to 23. although we have completed some projects correct you said that they're Eastside Command Center was it soon to be completed correct okay well yeah they've still never understood why if the headquarters was the the focus to move forward why other things did and this didn't but um you have there that it is scheduled to start in 23 is that correct but if I'm am I reading this slide correctly slide six or are you just kind of saying that's where we are now so the headquarters would be the same design build so it would be starting the design so you wouldn't see us breaking ground and that is dependent upon some of the decisions that Council will be asked to made and make inciting of the headquarters okay well I'll wait to have that conversation when all of council has presented with it do we know when that will happen uh we're taking it to Executive today oh great so excited you're yelling at me in for a treat okay thanks yes ma'am thank you mayor Pro Tim representative thank you very much mayor um so the federal voters approved this bond in uh November of 2019 in the amount roughly 413 million and so what are your projected um concerns that we will not meet that or where we're under budget do you have a figure on that so right now um I didn't add up that last side but I think we're around 56 million okay uh can we go to slide 10 please okay so um let me make sure I'm at here's some could I T please bring up the presentation and go to slide 10. [Music] okay so the Police Department headquarters um where do we anticipate that you're going to be located that's for executive sir because it's distance we will discuss that in executive because it's discussing real estate okay then moving on to slide 13. so on slide 13 we talk about the delivery strategy that is design build and I understand that you know the same company the same Architects and everyone builds that if I'm correct on that correct okay and so here in El Paso how many construction companies have that um means to do a design build project in large scale I don't know the exact number but I would say it's anywhere from 7 to 12 from 7 to 12 here in El Paso yes you'll see if they don't have experience with the city they also have experience with El Paso water and the school districts so since some of the school districts have recently awarded larger bids they have utilized design build to do that as well and some do have also experience outside of El Paso and they are local firms to qualify or to answer your question okay well I'm gonna cut my questions there if we're going to go in executive session so yes sir thank you thank you sir representative nundis followed by represent Canales it's with to be to be honest um I remember when we were talking about this to the public one of the major concerns were renovations to existing facilities and so I think we need to create some kind of parameters or at least show you know the initial approval and then what will change Facility by facility and one of the reasons why I was trying to initiate a public Bond a public safety Bond committee so that we can have a committee that would look at every change because none of us could have predicted this worldwide pandemic and so while I recognize the the challenges that you're facing with I think this very much needs some public vetting and number one we want to make sure that when we present a bond that we're being incredibly transparent with any of those changes and I know that you want that which is why you're bringing that here to us I just think it's absolutely necessary that given the constraints and given the rising cost that we demonstrate to the public and give Faith through potentially a public hearing or something of that nature specifically with the men and women and all persons who work in our police and fire department that they have an opportunity to share their input currently it's internally and I know that you all do a good job but we still have the constituency that we have to respond to and so when we make changes to our bond program rollout you know I know that that's the purview to us but given the amount of dollars that are that are being spent in these voter approved bonds I think it's absolutely necessary that we need to go to the public the other thing I wanted to mention to you uh there's a couple of discrepancies in your slides specifically the amounts Police Headquarters excuse me the police the police safety training station there's just there's there's errors throughout the the slides so I just wanted to bring that to you because I'm seeing two so far the other thing I wanted to mention is uh the two percent Arts the two percent um Arts uh funding that's allocated to this um I know that some of them were earmarked in the public Arts um rollout of the plan um or presented to council earlier this year my concern is that no public vetting again outside of the MCAT process to incorporate both the police and fire associations that was a commitment that was made here on the days at a at a past meeting and so as part of this planning I absolutely think that that we need to get their get the information because some of the plans that I've heard and read it concerns me because I don't know that those who actively coordinate memorials those who especially for fallen service members excuse me Fallen police officers you know the the location of where the future Memorial will go you know I think I think absolutely needs to be part of this rollout for the police headquarters and not to mention the other station Renovations the renovate patients I think it makes sense what you're recommending you know you want to put it to the the bones you want to put it to ensure that it's a safe environment I support that but I also have the public to say here's why we had to make these changes this was a very expensive Bond and and we need to do as much as we can to share with the public I've already shared this with with some of the Architects and internal staff I just wanted to make sure that I reiterated that but the renovations I think we need to just do a little bit more vetting and communicate with the public specifically members of the association as well and then get their feedback you know even if it's just a presentation at one of their board meetings so that we can hear their concerns but that's again my opinions and I understand the constraints I understand the struggles um it's it's difficult and we're in we're in a position now that we got to make decisions to pay interest rates and labor costs versus getting the output on some of these expectations patients from the public and so I think this is a good first step to to have a conversation I just don't feel comfortable at this time to make any recommendations to to transfer any of the funds without some form of public vetting and so but I appreciate the work that you've done I think it just needs a little bit more review think of it and for the comment on mcad we'll coordinate with them so that we're expanding their Outreach foreign thank you mayor um yeah I'll try to be brief mostly just by just saying uh ditto on what my colleagues have said I think I have similar concerns in just wanting to see the level of detail of what we will be sacrificing in the renovations uh before we give any direction here I think it would be a perfect uh subject for a work session where we can dive in a little bit deeper and look Facility by facility at what you know what changes we would need to make um so I guess that's all again I think it was eloquently put by my colleague so I don't need to rehash um but I I would like to see that before we take action okay we can do a side by side so that you can see how the focus would be on HVAC Roofing in lieu of some of the other items excellent that'd be very helpful we'll uh we'll do just hearing the direction from the council if this is uh if you choose to to go this way in terms of giving us that direction I think that the bringing this to the public in terms of public engagement prior to a work session if you want that additional vetting we can do that first and then schedule time so that you can get that feedback as well as a plan yeah thank you thank you mayor representative um followed by Representative no I'm sorry representative thank you man quick question when you bring those back are you going to show the the drawings that were given to us before the bond was to pass or when it passed I'm sorry there was drawings there were there were pardon me yeah remember the the yeah well you bring those back to so we can see what kind of Renovations he station was supposed to get we AK thank you mayor representative Monday night followed by representative mayor Pro tem anilo thank you uh this question is for chief pacias chief sorry to interrupt the meeting there's Chief good afternoon how are you good and you I'm doing well thank you very much appreciate you being here and helping us out so I'm going to ask you a generic question and So currently right now at 911 North Raynor Police Headquarters that's been there since probably late or middle maybe middle eight uh 80s I'm not really sure when it started 1988 1988 okay thank you so anyways currently right now and of course I know things change and I'm trying to do a walk through right now both on the basement the first floor and the second floor so I'm going to miss a few things but just off the top of my head there's of course the police Administration we have planning and research we have human resources Court liaison cap special traffic investigation OCD records and the property office and I'm sure there's more that I just haven't been inside there and I cannot remember everything that's there how many people would that Encompass there at Police Headquarters 911 North Raider if you have a ballpark estimate I can get you an exact number if you give me some time I'll give you that number we don't have the property office there the property the property offices right across the street but what we have grown into is we no longer have dispatch in the building it's moved to the 911 facility but we have uh headquarters traffic and motors are there we increased the room or we had to squeeze in the crisis intervention team is now there so we have that in there back in 1988 when we opened up we did not have pdhr or backgrounds so that has been put in there also so the short of the answer is I'll get you the exact number but yeah we're busting at the seams if you could get that information for us as far as uniform and non-uniform and of course like I said I know it changes just like you just mentioned right now you to get the uniforms at the property off as well they're not there anymore Central Supplies is still downstairs but the the property office were evidence and all that is held is just great questions but somebody still occupies that ruined the property office issuing supplies yes sir and our Fleet is down there at the same location too thank you Chief and if you could share that with all of us here at um on brother city council we would appreciate it thank you I'll get you the exact number thank you mayor Pro Tem thanks mayor I don't know who this question is for but um well I'll start with the pre-question event I want to be very clear about what we're talking about that HVAC was not included in the scope of work for a lot of these command centers is that what you were saying no that's not what I was saying and so HVAC this is not their first time that we've heard that Ace track and Roofing is a serious issue across the city I'm looking at you Mr westings I guess you're the one who's going to answer this um can you tell me what we're doing to address that across the city or do we have a fund for it has Council made any decisions when it comes to a fund to deal with HVAC and Roofing I don't think we have anything specific other than other than facilities funding and frankly to maintain facilities there will need to be more incremental funding year over year than there is now yeah I mean I guess I'm sitting back a little bit and saying it's not the first time we've heard I've heard you at a city facility since I've been in office we have not addressed it it sounds like it seems very irresponsible of this Council to continue having conversations about where we're finding money for HVAC if we're not going to address it it's not just at these command centers it's in this building it's in all of our buildings and so um I guess my ass today would be if possible if we could be reminded of all of the HVAC and Roofing needs across the city and what those numbers look like because as a council we need I mean we just it we've passed the buck too long and it's now impacting this Bond it's you know we we always kind of I don't want to use the word joke but but say you know someday it's going to become an issue even in this building and we're going to have we're finally gonna have to address it which I think is is really unfair to the rest of our employees right it has to impact us before we recognize that it's an issue across the city and so I would like to start having that conversation about how we're addressing these HVAC and Roofing needs for our employees because it's just it's you're not the first two staff member three four staff members to get up and say this is an issue and we've yet to do anything about it and and we need to take responsibility for that yeah no for sure we're getting ready to get into the budget discussion so having having that conversation looking at a longer term plan I think is is important I will say this in terms of uh the discussion about HVAC as an example I think I think what the vet was doing was just saying that at the council were to move forward on looking at being able to realize some savings from Renovations that you'd prioritize those particular Renovations and these were some of the more you know high priority types of things that you'd want to look at making sure that you're funding I reckon I mean what you're doing is being creative with the funding to deal with an issue that we've passed the buck on for so many years right and I'm I get that I understand that but I also think we should take responsibility for that and look at it as a bigger picture and see if there's another way to address it I mean I appreciate you doing that right if you weren't doing that we'd all be in a much worse position but it shouldn't be your responsibility to fix things with Band-Aids until the council takes action you know so I don't want to I want to thank you for that comment Mr Weston and I very much want to say that I'm not making this as a reflection of you I think it's a reflection of us as a council and representative and L if I could just add that they're currently doing a facilities assessment I believe they're about 50 percent complete so I'm pretty sure we'll bring that department will bring the presentation once that has been finalized thank you and we have no further questions and we don't have a motion to approve would you like to make a motion to bring it back at a work session or we'll just leave it up to Colonel Western you want to bring that back Colonel Western and workshop yes sir let me let me work this with with staff and come up with a plan I don't think I'm ready to give you an exact okay great thank you right now but we got we have the direction thank you so there's no motion for any action on this item thank you thank you for your presentation again fraction on item 24 moving on to 25 that is discussion in action that the city manager be authorized to sign an agreement for Professional Services by in between the city of El Paso and Moreno Cardenas Incorporated a Texas Corporation for a project known as Pebble Hills reconstruction resurfacing for an amount not to exceed 585 thousand dollars to move to approve we have a motion made by representative Hernandez seconded by representative Rivera to approve the item on that motion call for the vote representative yeah representative Fierro you're muted sir try that again and mute and mute tap your tap your feet once or twice if it's if it's an eye shake your head for us thank you how about that in the voting session the motion passes unanimously yeah well you couldn't hear any one of you guys because you have your mic off into executive session this that's all the items I'm like regular agenda so I got the motion from representative seconded by representative Canales all in favor any opposed yes the city council of the city of El Paso May retire into executive session pursuant to section 3.5 a of the El Paso City Charter and the Texas government code chapter 551 sub chapter D to discuss any of the following executive session item number one claim of Willie Fuller matter number 22-1026-11999 under Section 551.071 executive session item number 20 number two claim of Aida Rodriguez matter 23-1036 3689 section under sections 551.071 executive item number three Villegas Daniel versus city of El Paso and police officers and all cost number three colon 15-cv-00386 matter number 15-1026-6957 under Section 551.071 item number four zetex Construction Incorporated versus city of El Paso 243rd district court cost number 2023 dcv 1942 under Section 551.071 item number five zetex Construction Incorporated versus city of El Paso 448th district court cost number 2023 DCB 1939 section under sections 551.071 and item number six purchase exchange lease or value of real property located in central El Paso Texas to HQ number 23-895 under Section 551.072 and retiring to Executive session at 243 3pm thank you because oh okay yeah thank you guys thank you I think over there let me know if you need it oh yeah always here what is it King induces everything at the same time did you be arrested what is it Square uh yeah okay foreign um foreign you know thank you amazing foreign yeah motion to return [Laughter] go ahead representative maripoto do you have him yes item number one the motion made in second and Kerry that the city attorney's office be authorized to deny the claim of Willie Fuller in matter number 22-1026-1199 you need to take all steps necessary including the execution of any required documents in order to effectuate this Authority second and we do have a motion made by represent by mayor Pro teman Hello seconded by representative Molina alternative Molina to deny on that motion call for the vote no do we I don't see rep Fierro and on that in the voting session the motion passes unanimously five to zero Representatives Hernandez Alex Pierro and Canales not present next item item two claim of Aida Rodriguez motion made seconded and carried that the city attorney's office be authorized to deny the claim of ADA Rodriguez in matter number 23-1036-3689 and to take all steps necessary including the execution of any required documents in order to effectuate this Authority the and we do have a motion made by mayor Pro temanello seconded by alternate mayor protemolinar to deny on that motion call for the vote representative Canales do you want to vote on it there you go thank you and the voting session motion passes unanimously six to zero representative Hernandez and representative not present for the vote item three is Villegas Daniel versus city of El Paso no action item four is zetex Construction Incorporated no action item five is ctex Construction Incorporated in the 4040 448th District Court no action and last item is the purchase item six purchase exchange and Lease of value of or value of real property located in central El Paso no action motion to adjourn all those in favor and the regular city council meeting for July the 5th has been adjourned exactly at 5 pm thank you thank you do we have a motion to adjourn I want to say no I know hahaha right