* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [ Call to Order] [00:00:31] HEAVENLY FATHER, WE THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO GATHER TODAY IN SERVICE TO THE RESIDENTS OF SHIRTS. GRANT US WISDOM AS WE CONSIDER THE DECISIONS BEFORE US. COURAGE TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT, AND HUMILITY TO LISTEN WITH OPEN HEARTS AND MINDS. HELP US TO WORK TOGETHER WITH RESPECT, INTEGRITY, AND A SHARED COMMITMENT TO THE WELLBEING OF OUR COMMUNITY. MAY OUR DISCUSSIONS BE THOUGHTFUL, OUR ACTIONS BE GUIDED BY COMPASSION AND FAIRNESS AND OUR SERVICE STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, GOD, ONE INDIVIDUAL. THANK YOU FOR THE PRAYER. COUNCIL MEMBER DIETZ. TODAY WE [ HR Professional Day-September 26, 2026 ] HAVE FIVE PROCLAMATIONS AND WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND START WITH HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONALS DAY SEPTEMBER 26TH, 2026. READY? OKAY, NATIONAL HR PROFESSIONAL DAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH, 2026. HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONAL DAY IS CELEBRATED EVERY 26TH OF SEPTEMBER AND IS DESIGNED TO PAY TRIBUTE TO THOSE WORKING IN HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENTS EVERYWHERE. WHEREAS GOVERNOR GENERAL SERVED PATRICK ALLEN FIRST REFERRED HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONAL DAY BACK IN OCTOBER OF 2013. HE CREATED THIS DAY TO RECOGNIZE AND CELEBRATE HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONALS WHO PLAY AN INTEGRAL ROLE IN ENSURING THE SUCCESS OF ORGANIZATIONS BY NURTURING AND DEVELOPING HUMAN CAPITAL. WHEREAS IN THE CITY OF SHIRTZ, THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT CONSISTS OF A DIRECTOR OF HR AND PURCHASING A HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER, A SENIOR HR GENERALIST, A HR GENERALIST, AND A HUMAN RESOURCES ASSISTANT WHO IS COMBINED, WHO HAS A COMBINED TOTAL OF OVER 67 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD OF HUMAN RESOURCES. WHEREAS IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT, HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONALS CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF PUBLIC SERVICES BY SUPPORTING A SKILLED, DEDICATED, AND ENGAGED WORKFORCE COMMITTED TO SERVING THE COMMUNITY. WHEREAS CITY OF SHIRTS, HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONALS HELP STRENGTHEN OUR ORGANIZATION THROUGH EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT, RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION, WORKPLACE SAFETY, BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION, POLICY DEVELOPMENT, EMPLOYEES RELATIONS AND COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS. FOR THE 475 PLUS EMPLOYEES WHO WORK FOR THE CITY OR AS NATIONAL HR PROFESSIONAL DAY PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECOGNIZE AND CELEBRATE THE KNOWLEDGE, DEDICATION, AND IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS OF HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONALS AND TO EXPRESS APPRECIATION FOR THE ESSENTIAL ROLE THEY PLAY IN THE SUCCESS OF THEIR ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITIES. NOW THEREFORE, UH, SIGN THE MAYOR OF SHIRTS, MR. RALPH RODRIGUEZ FOR A HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONAL DAY. SEPTEMBER 26TH, 2026. SIGN. MAYOR OF SHIRTS, MR. RALPH RODRIGUEZ. THANK YOU SO MUCH, COUNCILMAN. UM, THANK YOU MAYOR AND AND COUNCIL FOR THE RECOGNITION I'M HERE WITH, WITH TWO OF [00:05:01] MY TWO MA, TWO OF MY TEAMMATES, UM, YOLANDA AND MERCEDES. TWO MORE COULDN'T JOIN US, LEANNE AND SYLVIA, BUT, UM, I FEEL COMFORTABLE SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE DEPARTMENT, THAT TRULY, I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE THE BEST JOB IN THE CITY. WE GET TO WORK WITH EMPLOYEES IN EVERY SINGLE DEPARTMENT, AT EVERY SINGLE LEVEL. WE GET TO INTERACT AND SUPPORT. UM, AND I FEEL SO BLESSED MOST DAYS TO DO THIS JOB. IT'S VERY REWARDING. UM, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE RECOGNITION. ALL RIGHT, TAKE A PICTURE, CONGRAT. OUR NEXT PROCLAMATION [ National Manufacturing Day-October 2, 2026] IS GONNA BE NATIONAL MANUFACTURING TODAY, OCTOBER 2ND, 2026. YES. ALL RIGHT. NATIONAL MANUFACTURING MONTH, OCTOBER, 2026. MANUFACTURING MONTH IS A CELEBRATION OF MODERN MANUFACTURING THAT AIMS TO INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION OF THE, OF MANUFACTURERS AND INCREASE AWARENESS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS INDUSTRY. AND WHEREAS THE CITY OF CHURCH IS PROUD TO SUPPORT A DIVERSE RANGE OF OVER 40 MANUFACTURING BUSINESSES THAT CREATE HIGH QUALITY JOBS, INVEST IN LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE, AND CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE ECONOMIC WELLBEING OF OUR COMMUNITY. THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IS A VITAL PART OF OUR LOCAL, STATE AND NATIONAL ECONOMY, DRIVING INNOVATION, PRODUCTIVITY, AND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY. AND WHEREAS OCTOBER, 2026, MANUFACTURING MONTH PROVIDES A DEDICATED TIME TO RECOGNIZE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF LOCAL MANUFACTURERS, SHOWCASE CAREER PATHWAYS IN MODERN MANUFACTURING, AND HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING INITIATIVES. AND WHEREAS THE SHIRTS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION IS COMMITTED TO FOSTERING A BUSINESS FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT, SUPPORTING INDUSTRIAL GROWTH AND, AND PROMOTING PARTNERSHIPS THAT STRENGTHENS THE TALENT PIPELINE OF OUR REGION'S MANUFACTURING SECTOR. AND WHEREAS WE RECOGNIZE THE CONTINUED RE RESILIENCE, RESILIENCE, EXCUSE ME, INNOVATION AND IMPACT OF MANUFACTURERS IN SHIRTS, PARTICULARLY AS THEY ADAPT TO EVOLVING TECHNOLOGIES AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES. SHIRTS ALONG WITH THE SHIRTS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION HEREBY PROCLAIMS OCTOBER, 2026 AS MANUFACTURING MONTH ENSURES TO SHOW APPRECIATION, RECOGNITION, RECOGNITION TO OUR LOCAL MANUFACTURER COME IN THEIR POSITIVE COUNTRY CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR COMMUNITY AND OPPORTUNITIES THEY CREATE FOR THE CITY OF THE CHURCH. LET US HONOR AND SUPPORT THE PEOPLE AND COMPANIES THAT BUILD OUR PRODUCTS, OUR ECONOMY, AND OUR FUTURE. UH, GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. MY NAME'S ASHLEY RICHIE. I'M THE BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT MANAGER WITH THE SHIRTS EDC. UM, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT MANUFACTURING MONTHS, LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER SHERIDAN MENTIONED. WE HAVE OVER 40 RANGING FROM DIESEL ENGINES AND EQUIPMENT TO ARTIS ARTISAN CHEESE TO EYEGLASSES AND FRAMES. SO ALL, WE HAVE A WIDE VARIETY OF, UH, THINGS BEING MADE RIGHT HERE IN CITY OF SHIRTZ. AND SO, UM, WE APPRECIATE COUNSEL GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECOGNIZE THEM TONIGHT. OUR NEXT PROCLAMATION [ Fire Prevention Week-October 4-10, 2026] IS GONNA BE FIRE PREVENTION WEEK, OCTOBER 4TH THROUGH THE 10TH, 2026. CHIEF BONY, WHO ELSE IS COMING WITH YOU? WHOLE TEAM, EVERYBODY, COME ON UP. [00:10:03] HOW YOU DOING CHIEF? YOU PRETTY GOOD? PRETTY GOOD. LOOKING AT THE CHIEF IN BACK, GOD INVENTED FIREFIGHTERS SO THAT POLICE OFFICERS WOULD HAVE SOMEBODY TO LOOK UP TO. SO WE'RE HERE FOR YOU, SIR. YOU CAN SEE WE'RE HERE FOR YOU. MAGGIE ESCORT ME TO MY COURT. I JUST SAID FOR OUR PREVENTION WEEK 2026 PROCLAMATION, WHEREAS THE CITY OF SHORTES IS COMMITTED TO ENSURING THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF ALL LIVING, ALL THOSE LIVING IN AND VISITING THE CITY OF CHURCHS TEXAS. AND WHEREAS FIRE REMAINS A SERIOUS PUBLIC SAFETY CONCERN BOTH LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY, AND THE PRESENCE OF LITHIUM ION BATTERIES IN MANY HOUSEHOLD DEVICES INTRODUCES FIRE RISK. AND WHEREAS MOST OF THE RECHARGEABLE ELECTRONICS USED IN HOMES DAILY, INCLUDING SMARTPHONES, TABLETS, LAPTOPS, POWER TOOLS, E-BIKES, E SCOOTERS, AND TOYS ARE POWERED BY LITHIUM ION BATTERIES, WHICH IF MISUSED DAMAGE OR IMPROPERLY CHARGED, CAN OVERHEAT START A FIRE OR EXPLODE. AND WHEREAS THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION REPORTS AN INCREASE IN BATTERY RELATED FIRES, UNDERSCORING THE NEED FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION ON A SAFE USE OF LITHIUM ION BATTERIES AND DEVICES. AND WHEREAS THE WAY LITHIUM ION BATTERY DEVICES ARE CHARGED CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN HELPING PREVENT HOME FIRES. AND WHEREAS SAFE CHARGING INCLUDES USING THE CORD AND CHARGER THAT CAME WITH YOUR DEVICE, OR ONE APPROVED BY THE MANUFACTURER CHARGING ON A HARD FLAT SURFACE, WATCHING FOR SIGNS, WARNING SIGNS LIKE DEVICES THAT ARE VERY HOT, HOT OR START TO SWELL UNPLUGGING WHEN FULLY CHARGED AND CHARGING LARGER DEVICES LIKE E-BIKES OUTSIDE AND AWAY FROM EXITS. AND WHEREAS RESIDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO UNDERSTAND ITS SAFE, CHARGING MEANS MAKING SMART CHOICES EVERY TIME THEY PLUG IN. AND WHEREAS THE CITY OF SHIRTS, FIRST RESPONDERS REMAIN DEDICATED TO REDUCING THE OCCURRENCE OF FIRES THROUGH PREVENTION, SAFETY, EDUCATION, AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH. AND WHEREAS THE 2026 FIRE PREVENTION WEEK THEME CHARGE INTO FIRE SAFETY, SAFE CHARGING IS A SUPERPOWER, SERVES TO REMIND ALL RESIDENTS THAT SAFE CHARGING CAN HELP REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRES IN HOMES AND COMMUNITIES. NOW THEREFORE, RALPH RODRIGUEZ, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SHIRTZ DOES HEREBY PROCLAIM OCTOBER 4TH THROUGH OCTOBER 10TH, 2026 AS FIRE PREVENTION WEEK THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF SHIRTZ AND URGES, URGES ALL RESIDENTS TO LEARN AND PRACTICE SAFE CHARGING ABBOTS. THANK YOU. JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR HAVING US HERE TONIGHT. WE'RE EXCITED TO GET OUT IN THE COMMUNITY TO VISIT ALL THE SCHOOLS AND ALSO CONTINUE OUR ANNUAL POSTER CONTEST WITH THIS THEME AND OTHER FIRE SAFETY THEMES AS WE WORK TO EDUCATE THE KIDDOS AND CITIZENS ON FIRE SAFETY. THANK YOU. GET UP THERE. BENJAMIN SQUEEZE ARMY. I'M GOOD UP HERE, RIGHT? YEAH, I'M PERFECT. RIGHT HERE LIKE YOU, LIKE EACH OTHER. OUR NEXT PROCLAMATION IS GONNA [ National Community Planning Month-October 2026 ] BE NATIONAL COMMUNITY PLANNING MONTH, OCTOBER, 2026. OKAY. COMMUNITY PLANNING MONTH, OCTOBER, 2026. WHEREAS CHANGE IS [00:15:01] CONSTANT AND AFFECTS ALL CITIES, TOWNS, SUBURBS, COUNTIES, BOROUGHS, TOWNSHIPS, RURAL AREAS AND OTHER PLACES. AND WHEREAS PLANNERS CAN HELP NAVIGATE THIS CHANGE WITH DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS AND EXPERTISE THAT PROVIDE BETTER CHOICES FOR HOW PE PEOPLE WORK AND LIVE. WHEREAS COMMUNITY PLANNING PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL RESIDENTS TO BE MEANING MEANINGFULLY INVOLVED IN MAKING CHOICES THAT DETERMINE THE FUTURE OF THEIR COMMUNITY. AND WHEREAS THE FULL BENEFITS OF PLANNING REQUIRES PUB PUBLIC ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS WHO UNDERSTAND SUPPORT AND DEMAND EXCELLENCE IN PLANNING AND PLAN IMPLEMENTATION. AND WHEREAS THE MONTH OF OCTOBER IS DESIGNATED AS NATIONAL COM COMMUNITY PLANNING MONTH THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ITS TERRITORIES. AND WHEREAS THE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION ENDORSES NATIONAL COMMUNITY PLANNING MONTH AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT HOW PLANNING IS ESSENTIAL TO EVERY COMMUNITY AND HOW PLANNERS ARE UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO IDENTIFY SOLUTIONS TO COMMUNITY'S MOST DIFFICULT HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, AND LAND USE QUESTIONS. AND WHEREAS THE CELEBRATION OF NATIONAL COMMUNITY PLANNING MONTH GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO PUBLICLY RECOGNIZE THE PARTICIPATION AND DEDICATION OF APPOINTED PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS WHO HAVE, UH, CONTRIBUTED THEIR TIME AND EXPERTISE TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE CITY OF SHIRTZ TEXAS. AND WHEREAS WE RECOGNIZE THE MANY VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY THE PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL PLANNERS OF THE CITY OF SHIRTZ, TEXAS, AND EXTEND OUR HEARTFELT THANKS FOR THEIR CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO PUBLIC SERVICE BY THESE PROFESSIONALS. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT RALPH RODRIGUEZ, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SHIRTZ, DESIGNATED THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 26TH COMMUNITY PLANNING MONTH IN THE CITY OF SHIRTZ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CELEBRATION OF NATIONAL COM COMMUNITY PLANNING MONTH SPEAKING. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS EMILY DELGADO, I'M THE PLANNING MANAGER AND ON BEHALF OF THE PLANNING DIVISION AND THE ENTIRE PLANNING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, WE WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO CITY COUNCIL FOR THE RECOGNITION AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO CELEBRATING PLANNING MONTH WITH THE CITY OF SHIRTS. THANK YOU. OKAY. THE LAST PROCLAMATION [ Code Enforcement and Sanitarian Appreciation Month-October 2026] WE HAVE IS CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND SANITARIANS APPRECIATION MONTH OCTOBER, 2026. WHEREAS CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND SANITARIANS PROVIDED FOR SAFETY AND WELFARE OF THE CITIZENS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, THROUGH THE ENFORCEMENT OF LOCAL CODES AND ORDINANCES ON A VARIETY OF ISSUES INCLUDING BUILDING, ZONING, HOUSING, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, AND LIFE SAFETY. AND WHEREAS CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND SANITARIANS OFTEN HAVE A CHALLENGING AND DEMANDING ROLE AND OFTEN DO NOT RECEIVE RECOGNITION FOR THE JOB THEY DO IN IMPROVING LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS FOR RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES. AND WHEREAS CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND SANITARIANS ARE DEDICATED AND HIGHLY QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS WHO SHARE THE GOALS OF PREVENTING NEIGHBORHOOD DETERIORATION TO ENHANCE AND, AND ENSURE SAFETY OF THE COMMUNITY THROUGH KNOWLEDGE AND APPLICATION OF HOUSING, ZONING, BUILDING NUISANCE CODES AND ORDINANCES, AS WELL AS PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH LAWS, CODES, AND ORDINANCES AND STANDARDS. AND WHEREAS CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND SANITARIANS ARE CALLED UPON TO PROVIDE QUALITY CUSTOMER SERVICE AND EXCELLENCE TO THE RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES OF THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THEY SERVE. AND WHEREAS WE RECOGNIZE THE MANY VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY THE, THE CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND SANITARIANS OF THE CITY OF SHIRTZ, TEXAS AND EXTEND OUR HAR HEARTFELT THANKS FOR THE CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE BY THESE PROFESSIONALS. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT I, RALPH ROD, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SHIRTZ, DESIGNATE THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 22, 20, 20, 26, CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND SANITARIANS DE APPRECIATION MONTH IN THE CITY OF SHIRTZ. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU, MAYOR. I'M LISA LOCKIN, NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES MANAGER. UM, I'D LIKE TO TAKE A SECOND TO INTRODUCE YOU TO OUR TEAM. OUR HEALTH INSPECTORS ARE IN RED. WE HAVE JUSTIN AND REUBEN HEALTH INSPECTORS ARE ALSO KNOWN AS SANITARIANS AND OUR CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, RICHARD, STEVEN, AND MIRANDA. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. [00:20:43] OKAY. MOVING ON TO CITY [ City Events and Announcements Announcements of upcoming City Events (B.James/S.Gonzalez) Announcements and recognitions by the City Manager (S.Williams) Announcements and recognitions by the Mayor (R.Rodriguez)] EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS OF UPCOMING CITY EVENTS WE HAVE MR. BRIAN JAMES. THANK YOU MAYOR. UH, THIS SUNDAY OR SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH PARKS IS PUTTING ON THE OWL PROWL. THAT'S 8:30 PM TO 9:30 PM AT CRESCENT BEND NATURE PARK. UH, 12 8 0 5 WEST SCHAFER ROAD. UH, THEN SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3RD IS THE SHIRTZ HOMETOWN HARVEST, UH, THE FARMER'S MARKET, IF YOU WILL. THAT'S FROM 9:00 AM TO 1:00 PM AT PICK PARK, 7 0 3 OAK STREET. ANOTHER ANNUAL FAVORITE IS THE, UH, DUNKING FOR PUMPKINS. THAT HAPPENS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3RD. THAT'S AT THE SHIRTZ AQUATICS CENTER, UH, 4:00 PM TO 6:00 PM UH, AND THEN WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7TH IS THE COOKIE DECORATING, UH, SPOOKY SWEETS THEME, UH, THAT 6:00 PM TO 8:00 PM UH, AT THE NORTH CENTER, 3 5 0 1 MORNING DRIVE. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10TH, THE NATURE DISCOVERY SERIES, UH, COMES BACK. THAT'S AGAIN AT CRESCENT MID NATURE PARK, 7:30 AM TO 11:00 AM 12 8 0 5 SCHAEFER. AS A REMINDER FOR FOLKS, NATIONAL NIGHT OUT IS, UM, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6TH. SO, UH, COUNCIL STAFF WILL BE OUT AND ABOUT, UH, MEETING NEIGHBORHOODS AND NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS. UH, CITY OFFICES WILL BE CLOSED FOR COLUMBUS DAY. THAT'S MONDAY, OCTOBER 12TH, AND OUR NEXT COUNCIL MEETING WILL BE ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13TH, UH, HERE AT 6:00 PM THANK YOU FOR THAT. NEXT WE'LL HAVE ANNOUNCEMENTS AND RECOGNITION BY THE CITY MANAGERS, STEVE WILLIAMS. THANK YOU MAYOR. UH, SEVERAL TONIGHT ACTUALLY, WE HAD ENGINEERING INSPECTOR SAM LOPEZ. HE IS NOW A CERTIFIED PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE INSPECTOR, A-C-P-I-I. THIS IS THE FIRST, UH, HE IS THE FIRST CITY EMPLOYEE OF THE CITY OF SHIRTS TO EARN THIS CREDENTIAL. AND IT COMES FROM THE AMERICAN PUBLIC WORKS ASSOCIATION, AND IT REALLY INDICATES A HIGH LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE WITH RESPECT TO IN, IN INSPECTING PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A MINIMUM OF FIVE YEARS OF RELEVANT EXPERIENCE, BUT ALSO YOU GET TESTED IN A VARIETY OF COMPETENCIES INCLUDING TESTING, MEASUREMENT, INSPECTION, PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT, PROJECT COMPLIANCE AND DOCUMENTATION. AND THEN ALSO CANDIDATES MUST ABIDE BY THE A PWA STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT. SO CONGRATULATIONS TO SAM. UH, HE DID THIS ON HIS OWN. IT'S NOT REQUIRED FOR HIS POSITION. HE WAS PERSONALLY MOTIVATED TO GO OUT AND GET THAT CREDENTIAL. AND WE SEE THAT AS AN, AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS IN THE ORGANIZATION TO DO IT AS WELL. ALSO, WE HAD SEVERAL PROMOTIONS. YOU KNOW, I LOVE DOING THE PROMOTIONS BECAUSE IT SHOWS THAT FOLKS ARE MOVING UP IN OUR ORGANIZATION, THEY'RE COMMITTED TO THEIR CRAFT AND THEIR PROFESSION, AND, AND WE CONTINUE TO PROMOTE FROM WITHIN. SO WE HAD SAMANTHA CANALES WAS PROMOTED FROM DEPUTY COURT CLERK TO ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT BLUE HILL, WHICH I THINK SHE MAY BE HERE, SAW HER A MINUTE AGO. SHE'S A WENT FROM IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST TO SENIOR IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST. AND VINNY NUNEZ WENT FROM IT SUPPORT SPECIALIST TO SENIOR AS WELL. AND THEN TALIA CONNE, SHE PROMOTED FROM PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER TO PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS SUPERVISOR TIM DYER, PROMOTED FROM FIREFIGHTER TO DRIVER OPERATOR. AND THEN SAWYER MARKS ALSO FROM FIREFIGHTER TO DRIVER OPERATOR. AND LASTLY, PHILIP MOORE FROM FIREFIGHTER DRIVER OPERATOR. WE ALSO HAD A COUPLE OTHER PROMOTIONS IN THE LIEUTENANT'S RANK. DANA KELLUM PROMOTED FROM DRIVER OPERATOR TO LIEUTENANT JOHN VAN HOVEN FROM DRIVER TO LIEUTENANT. AND ALEX ARMSTRONG AND CRAIG STARR BOTH PROMOTED FROM LIEUTENANT TO CAPTAIN. SO CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THOSE GUYS FROM MOVING UP. VERY PROUD OF THEM. AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE, MAYOR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT. THANK YOU FOR THAT. IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE OUR PEOPLE GETTING PROMOTED LIKE THAT, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT, THEIR INTERNAL PROMOTIONS. I HAVE [00:25:01] NO ANNOUNCEMENTS OR RECOGNITION. SO WE'LL MOVE ON [ Hearing of Residents This time is set aside for any person who wishes to address the City Council. Each person should fill out the speaker’s register prior to the meeting. Presentations should be limited to no more than 3 minutes.  All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a body, and not to any individual member thereof.  All handouts and/or USB devices must be submitted to the City Secretary no later than noon on the Monday preceding the meeting.  Handouts will be provided to each Councilmember prior to the start of the meeting by the City Secretary.  All USB devices will be vetted by City IT staff to ensure City property is protected from malware. Discussion by the Council of any item not on the agenda shall be limited to statements of specific factual information given in response to any inquiry, a recitation of existing policy in response to an inquiry, and/or a proposal to place the item on a future agenda.  The presiding officer, during the Hearing of Residents portion of the agenda, will call on those persons who have signed up to speak in the order they have registered.] TO THE HEARING OF RESIDENCE. THIS TIME IS SET ASIDE FOR ANY PERSON WHO WISHES TO ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL. EACH PERSON SHOULD FILL OUT THE SPEAKER'S REGISTER PRIOR TO THE MEETING. PRESENTATION SHOULD BE LIMITED TO NO MORE THAN THREE MINUTES. ALL REMARKS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE COUNCIL AS A BODY AND NOT TO ANY INDIVIDUAL MEMBER THEREOF. ALL HANDOUTS AND OR USB DEVICES MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE CITY SECRETARY NO LATER THAN NOON ON THE MONDAY PROCEEDING. THE MEETING HANDOUTS WILL BE PROVIDED TO EACH COUNCIL MEMBER PRIOR TO THE START OF THE MEETING BY THE CITY SECRETARY. ALL USB DEVICES WILL BE VETTED BY THE CITY IT STAFF TO ENSURE CITY PROPERTY IS PROTECTED FROM MALWARE. FIRST UP, WE HAVE CARLOS DE CRUZ IF YOU WANT TO COME UP. WHEN YOU COME UP, IF YOU'LL PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR. GOOD, GOOD EVENING, CITY COUNCIL. UH, MY NAME'S CARLOS STELLA CRUZ. I LIVE AT 2 1 5 0 2 FOX PARK LODGE, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. UH, LISTEN, I JUST WANTED TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO REINTRODUCE MYSELF, UH, TO THE SHIRTZ COMMUNITY. UM, I WAS RAISED BY A SINGLE MOM. I SERVED 20 YEARS IN THE UNITED STATES, A MILITARY. IT WAS ACTUALLY THE MILITARY THAT GAVE ME MY SHOT AT THE AMERICAN DREAM. AND 20 YEARS, UH, IN THE MILITARY WHERE I'VE DONE MULTIPLE DEPLOYMENTS, UH, TO HOSTILE LOCATIONS AFTER NINE 11. AND I'VE DEPLOYED DOWN TO OUR SOUTHERN BORDER TO WORK SIDE BY SIDE, OUR CUSTOMS AGENTS, UH, I, I, I RETIRED AND RETURNED RIGHT BACK TO THE SAME COMMUNITY THAT TRAINED ME AND MY WIFE AND I. WE BUILT A SMALL BUSINESS RIGHT HERE NEXT DOOR IN SAN ANTONIO. UH, AND THEN NOW I AM RUNNING FOR CONGRESS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. AND SO MY PRIORITIES, UH, WHEN I GET TO DC ARE GOING TO BE MAKING SURE THAT WE DO WHAT WE CAN TO REDUCE THE COST OF LIVING FOR WORK AND FAMILIES. WE ARE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP OUR BORDER SECURE. AND I PLAN ON BRINGING SOME OF THAT MILITARY STYLE, DISCIPLINE, AND REAL ACCOUNTABILITY ALONG WITH SOME TRANSPARENCY AND JUST, QUITE FRANKLY, SOME GOOD OLD FASHIONED TEXAS COMMON SENSE WITH ME TO DC. UH, JUST WANTED TO REMIND EVERYBODY THAT EARLY VOTING STARTS OCTOBER THE 19TH WITH ELECTION DAY BEING NOVEMBER THE THIRD. AND I HUMBLY ASK FOR YOUR VOTE AGAIN. MY NAME IS CARLOS DELLA CRUZ. THANK YOU. GOD BLESS YOU AND GOD BLESS TEXAS. THANK YOU. NEXT UP WE HAVE JORDAN BARNES. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR RODRIGUEZ AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL. MY NAME IS JORDAN BARNES. I LIVE AT 4 6 1 6 SILVERTON DRIVE IN SHORTS. I'M A SENIOR AT SAMUEL CLEMENS HIGH HIGH SCHOOL. I'M HERE TONIGHT TO SPEAK ABOUT THE UPCOMING S-U-U-C-I-S-D VOTER APPROVAL TAX RATE ELECTION. THE VADER ON THE NOVEMBER 3RD BALLOT. I'M VERY WORRIED ABOUT WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF IF IT DOES NOT PASS. TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF MY HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE HAVE BEEN DANCE. AND FFA DANCE HAS TAUGHT ME DISCIPLINE, CONFIDENCE, TEAMWORK, AND HOW I CAN KEEP GOING WHEN THINGS ARE HARD. MY TEAMMATES HAVE GIVEN ME A PLACE WHERE I FEEL SUPPORTED AND WHERE I BELONG. THROUGH FFA AND AGRICULTURE EDUCATION, I HAVE DEVELOPED LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS, LEARNED HOW TO SERVE OTHERS, AND DISCOVERED WHAT I WANNA DO IN MY FUTURE. THESE PROGRAMS DO MORE THAN FILL A CLASS PERIOD. THEY HELP STUDENTS DISCOVER THEIR STRENGTHS, BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, AND FIND A REASON TO COME TO SCHOOL AND BE INVOLVED. BUT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES ARE NOW AT RISK. S-U-C-I-S-C ADOPTED A DEFICIT BUDGET AND HAS ALREADY INDEN IDENTIFIED MORE THAN $6 MILLION IN REDUCTIONS IN COST SAVINGS. EVEN AFTER THOSE DIFFICULT DECISIONS, A DEFICIT REMAINS. IF THE VADER DOES NOT PASS, THE DISTRICT WILL HAVE TO MAKE ADDITIONAL DECISIONS THAT DIRECTLY AFFECT PEOPLE, OUR STUDENTS, AND OUR STAFF. THE POSSIBILITIES ALREADY ON THE TABLE INCLUDE INCREASING CLASS SIZES, REDUCING FINE ARTS AND ATHLETIC STAFF, CUTTING TRAVEL FOR FINE ARTS, CHEER, DANCE AND ATHLETICS, DECREASING INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF HIRING, FREEZE WITH UNFILLED OPENINGS, CLOSING ALLISON STEEL, AND POSSIBLY CLOSING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. THOSE ARE NOT JUST NUMBERS ON A BUDGET SPREADSHEET. THESE MEAN FEWER TEACHERS, FEWER OPPORTUNITIES, AND FEWER STUDENTS ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAMS THAT HAVE, HAVE HELPED ME SUCCEED. I'M ESPECIALLY WORRIED ABOUT THE LARGER CLASS SIZES. I'M A STUDENT WHO NEEDS TO BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH MY TEACHERS. WHEN I FEEL LIKE MY TEACHER KNOWS ME, I'M MORE COMFORTABLE ASKING QUESTIONS AND GETTING HELP. IN A LARGER CLASS, IT BECOMES EASIER FOR A STUDENT WHO IS STRUGGLING TO GO UNNOTICED. FOR THE AVERAGE HOMEOWNER, THE VADER WILL [00:30:01] COST APPROXIMATELY $18 MORE PER MONTH AFTER EXEMPTIONS. I UNDERSTAND THAT EVERY FAMILY HAS A BUDGET AND THAT $18 MATTERS, BUT I BELIEVE I AM WORTH THAT INVEST INVESTMENT. MY CLASSMATES ARE WORTH THAT INVESTMENT, AND SO ARE OUR STUDENTS WHO WILL COME AFTER US. SO TONIGHT I'M ASKING THE PARENTS, STAFF, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO LIVE WITHIN S-U-C-I-S-D BOUNDARIES. TO USE YOUR VOICES, PLEASE REGISTER TO VOTE BY OCTOBER 5TH. PLEASE TELL OTHERS WHAT IS AT STAKE. PLEASE VOTE EARLY BETWEEN OCTOBER 19TH AND OCTOBER 30TH, OR VOTE ON ELECTION DAY NOVEMBER 3RD. MOST IMPORTANTLY, PLEASE SUPPORT THE VADER PARENTS. YOU ARE THE VOICE OF YOUR CHILDREN. ONE DAY. YOUR CHILDREN MAY FIND THEIR CONFIDENCE, THEIR FUTURE, AND THEIR PLACE TO BELONG THROUGH DANCE FINE ARTS, T-T-E-F-F-A OR ATHLETICS JUST LIKE I DID. I MAY STILL BE A TEENAGER, BUT THIS IS MY COMMUNITY TOO. ITS FUTURE MATTERS TO ME, AND I HOPE IT MATTERS ENOUGH TO ALL OF US TO PROTECT THESE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE STUDENTS WHO COME AFTER ME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT WE HAVE KRISTEN EK. HOPE I . HI EVERYBODY, I'M KRISTEN EK. I LIVE AT 28 0 4 LOCKWOOD LANE HERE IN SHIRTS. SO I'VE LIVED IN SHIRTS FOR 17 YEARS NOW AND I'VE BEEN PROUD OF OUR LITTLE CITY. RECENTLY, HOWEVER, I'VE HAD SOME CONCERNS JUST THIS PAST MONTH. I'VE NOTICED NEW CAMERAS UP ALL OVER THE CITY. ACCORDING TO MY TOWN VIEW.COM, A WEBSITE REPORTING CITY DEMOGRAPHICS SHIRTS HAS APPROXIMATELY 52 FLOCK CAMERAS IN USE IN THE CITY. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE ALL THE NEW TRAFFIC CAMERAS I'VE SEEN AT OUR INTERSECTIONS. I LIVE IN THIS CITY BECAUSE THE SCHOOLS ARE GOOD. IT'S MOSTLY WALKABLE AND IT'S QUIET. 52 FLOCK CAMERAS MARKS US AS A HIGH SURVEILLANCE CITY. AI POWERED CAMERAS IN OTHER CITIES HAVE ALREADY LED TO MULTIPLE WRONGFUL STOPS AND ARRESTS OF NOT JUST INNOCENT CITIZENS, BUT ALSO CHILDREN BECAUSE THE CAMERAS MISIDENTIFIED SOME BIT OF INFORMATION. I'M SURE ALL OF YOU HAVE HEARD RECENTLY ABOUT THE TECH LEADERS WHO ARE NOW SOUNDING THE ALARM ON AI. THEY'RE CONCERNED THAT THE TECHNOLOGY HAS GROWN TOO QUICKLY WITHOUT ENOUGH GUARDRAILS IN PLACE THAT THEY COULD HAVE PUT IN. I'M HERE TONIGHT TO VOICE MY CONCERN ABOUT THE PATH OUR CITY IS GOING DOWN RIGHT NOW. THERE ARE TRAFFIC CAMERAS THAT YOU DO HAVE CONTROL OVER, BUT SURVEILLANCE IS A SLIPPERY SLOPE AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE NO LONGER CONTROL THOSE MACHINES? NEXT UP WE HAVE MAGGIE TINTON. GOOD EVENING MAYOR COUNCIL 1730 SHEZ PARKWAY. UH, THESE ARE SOME CHAMBER OF COMMERCE UPDATES. HAD A GREAT LUNCHEON TODAY OVER 217 RS VP AND SHOW TO, UH, SEE THE RESULTS. UH, BESIDES STATE OF EDUCATION OF OUR FUNDRAISER, WE HAD OUR CHAMBER BOWL AND, UH, WE HAD A GOAL AND WE REACHED OUR GOAL WITH THE HELP OF SO MANY WONDERFUL BUSINESS PERSONS IN SHIRTS IN THE SURROUNDING AREAS. WE WERE ABLE TO GIVE $15,000 TO THE DECK OF STUDENTS, UH, TO BE SPLIT BETWEEN STEEL AND CLEMENS. AND THEY WERE ECSTATIC ABOUT THAT. AND SO ARE WE. ALSO COMING UP ON OCTOBER 7TH, WE ARE DOING A MEET THE CANDIDATES FOR THE, UM, UH, THE PERSONS RUNNING FOR CITY COUNCIL PLACES IN THE CITY OF SHIRTS. WE'RE GOING TO CHANGE THE TIME AND MOVE IT TO SIX 30. UM, IT'S SIX 30 TO SEVEN 30. IT'LL BE AT THE SHIRTZ CIVIC CENTER IN THE BLUE BONNET, UH, BALLROOM. AND WE WANNA THANK SHIRTS, BANK AND TRUST FOR BEING THE SPONSOR OF THIS EVENT. YET ONCE AGAIN. ALSO, WE RECEIVED A COPY OF SHIRTZ LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, AND WE ARE INCORPORATING THAT AS PART OF OURS AS THE CHAMBER, ALONG WITH OTHER BUSINESSES AND SELMA AND SLOS, UH, ITEMS. AND WE FEEL WE'LL HAVE THE COMPLETE PAPER TO PRESENT AT OUR OCTOBER LUNCHEON, UH, WHICH WILL BE THE CIVIC LEADERS LUNCHEON, WHICH AGAIN, WE HAVE EXTENDED AN INVITATION TO THE CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR CITY COUNCIL PLACES SHIRTS TO BE PRESENT AND MEET OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY. WE WILL HAVE A COUNTY UPDATE FROM, UH, SHERIFF RAY AND THEN, UH, A MEMBER SURVEY ALONG WITH A SMALL, VERY BRIEF, UH, LEGISLATIVE UPDATE WITH A COPY OF OUR AGENDA FOR EVERYONE TO SEE FOR THE COMING LEGISLATIVE SESSION. UH, LET'S SEE HERE. I WANT TO GIVE A VERY QUICK THANK YOU TO COUNCILMAN SHERIDAN, WHO ALWAYS SHOWS UP AT OUR RIBBON CUTTINGS LATELY, WHETHER THEY'RE IN THE CITY OF SHIRTS, SELMA SLO BEYOND. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT REPRESENTING SHIRTS SO WELL WHEN YOU DO THAT. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST A WEEK FROM THIS SATURDAY IS OUR SKYLIGHT BALLOON FESTIVAL. UH, IT'S OUR 10TH ANNIVERSARY. UH, WE HAVE BALLOON PILOTS THAT ARE COMING IN AND WE'VE CHANGED IT TO WHERE IT'S ONE DAY ALL DAY [00:35:01] SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH FROM 7:00 AM IN THE MORNING, WHICH THAT IS FREE TO COME SEE THE BALLOON LAUNCH. THE ACTUAL EVENT STARTS THAT YOU GO THROUGH THE GATES AT TAMA PARK AT 9:00 AM TO 9:00 PM WE HAVE LIVE CONCERTS ALL DAY ACROBATICS. WE HAVE DEMONSTRATIONS FROM KUNG YOUNG MU SOUL, UM, ABOUT A HUNDRED VENDORS, FOOD TRUCKS. UH, IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT EVENT. AND OUR HEADLINERS, THE SPAZMATICS, YOU CAN GET TICKETS ONLINE. YOU CAN GO TO SKYLIGHT BALLOON FEST.COM. THERE'S A QR CODE AND THERE'S SOME COMMERCIALS RUNNING ON TV RIGHT NOW. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT UP WE HAVE DANA ELDRIDGE, DANA ELDRIDGE, 2 6, 2 8, GALLANT FOX DRIVE, SHIRTZ, TEXAS. UM, WE'RE HERE FOR WHAT, THE THIRD OR FOURTH TIME NOW TO TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET. I JUST WANTED TO THANK MR. WILLIAMS AND, UH, YOUNG MAN SITTING DOWN HERE WITH THE, WELL, HE STILL DOESN'T HAVE THE BEADS IN HIS BEARD, BUT, UH, HE'S A GOOD GUY. UH, THEY'VE DONE SOME REALLY HARD WORK. I'M HOPING THAT TONIGHT WE CAN GET THAT FINALIZED AND RESOLVED. UM, I UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE LOSING SOME FUNDING BECAUSE WHAT GUADALUPE COUNTY DID TO THE APPRAISALS. UM, UNFORTUNATELY, UM, HERE TODAY, I WENT OUT AND WATCHED AS OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT SET UP A BIG TALL CAMERA CLOSE TO OUR, ONE OF OUR PARKS RIGHT ACROSS A CROSSWALK WHERE THE KIDS COME HOME FROM SCHOOL BECAUSE OF A ALLEGED POSSIBLE KIDNAPPING. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, IN THE BUDGET, I SEE THAT WE'RE GONNA CUT OR WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO HIRE FOUR NEW POLICE OFFICERS. WE WANT TO KEEP OUR CITY SAFE. WE NEED TO TAKE SOME KIND OF HARD CUT, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN, WE NEED TO UP THE FEE OR IF WE DON'T WANT OUR CITY TO BE SO SAFE. BUT I DID WANT TO THANK MR. WILLIAMS AND MR. WALTERS FOR THEIR HARD WORK. AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL COME UP WITH A SOLUTION TONIGHT AND SOLVE THIS PROBLEM BEFORE, UH, WE GET IN TROUBLE WITH THE STATE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT UP WE HAVE MRS. ALLISON HAYWARD. ALISON HAYWARD, 26 28 HANSEL HEIGHT SHIRT. GOOD EVENING MAYOR AND COUNCIL AND STAFF. I AM HERE FIRST OF ALL TO TALK ABOUT ONE THREE DIFFERENT ITEMS. THE FIRST ITEM IS NUMBER 11 ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL RISK POOL, INTERGOVERNMENTAL RISK POOL. BUT WE CALL IT T-M-L-I-R-P. YOU'RE GOING TO BE VOTING ON A BALLOT, AND I'M COMING WITH SUGGESTIONS. BEING A FORMER BOARD MEMBER, UH, PLACE ONE YOU NEED, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT YOU VOTE FOR JW BUZZ FULL. AND THAT'S THE WAY HE SAYS HIS NAME WHEN HE SAYS BUZZ. UM, REPLACE ONE FOR PLACE TWO, EMILY CRAWFORD, PLACE THREE AND BE POLAND AND PLACE FOUR AUSTIN BLESSED THAT WILL HELP KEEP CONTINUITY AND CULTURE WITHIN THE, WITHIN THE, AS THE TRUSTEES. AND IT WILL HELP THINGS KEEP GOING BECAUSE THAT IS OUR, THE WAY THE CITY GETS THEIR INSURANCE. AND WE GET OUR, UM, WORKMAN'S COMP LIABILITY AND ALL THE CITIES LIKE SHIRTS JOINED TOGETHER IN THIS, THIS POOL. THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED THE RISK POOL TO PULL THE MONEY, THE RESOURCES TOGETHER SO THAT IT CAN BE BENEFICIAL FOR THE CITIES AND NOT COST SO MUCH WHEN YOU'RE DOING INSURANCE. UH, SECOND THING I'D LIKE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT WAS THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL POLICY SUMMIT. I ATTENDED IT AS A GUEST. I MADE SURE THAT ALL OF YOU WILL HAVE A BOOK. IT WILL LET YOU KNOW THE THINGS THAT TML IS GOING TO BE DOING, WHETHER IT IS GOING TO BE SUPPORT OR OPPOSED, DEPENDING ON WHAT THE SITUATION IS. SO IN YOUR SPARE TIME, YOU MIGHT WANNA LOOK AT THAT. THE OTHER THING IS THE CURRENT PRESIDENT, MADAM ANDREA BARFIELD, APPOINTED ME TO CHAIR THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE LEGISLATIVE AD HOC COMMITTEE I CREATED TWO YEARS AGO. SHE WANTED ME TO CHAIR THAT. I WILL BE CHAIRING THAT. I AM LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO JOIN THAT PARTICULAR BOARD. IT IS TRYING TO GET A VAST PEOPLE AROUND TEXAS WITH DIFFERENT REPRESENTATIVES SO THAT WE CAN FIGHT THE LEGISLATION. IT HAD AN IMPACT TWO YEARS AGO. WE'RE PLANNING TO HAVE IT HAVE AN IMPACT. THIS YEAR ALREADY HAVE THREE PEOPLE WITHIN OUR REGION THAT HAVE DECIDED THAT THEY WOULD JOIN THIS COMMITTEE. AND THAT IS MAYOR GREER FROM KIRBY COUNCIL MEMBER ED SIM FROM LIVE OAK AND CITY ADMINISTRATOR JAY JORDAN FROM DIVINE TEXAS. SO ANYBODY THAT'S INTERESTED IN THAT, PLEASE CONTACT ME AND WE CAN GET YOU STARTED. THE WAY IT WORKS IS I CHAIR IT. I'LL LET EVERYONE ELSE DECIDE THAT THE MEMBERS THAT ARE ON IT TO DECIDE WHEN THEY WANNA MEET AND HOW OFTEN, BECAUSE WHAT WE KNOW IS THEY'RE ALREADY FILING, THEY'RE ALREADY DOING TESTIMONIES IN AUSTIN. I'VE BEEN TO A COUPLE OF THEM AND I'M WORKING WITH OTHER ENTITIES [00:40:01] ON MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THE LEGISLATION AND FOCUSING ON THAT. I AM ALSO PART OF THE ASSOCIATION, RURAL CITIES IN TEXAS. I AM ON THEIR EXECUTIVE, THEIR LEGISLATIVE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT RURAL CITIES HAVE REPRESENTATION. I MET WITH SOME MILITARY VETERANS GROUPS AND THEY REALIZED THAT TEXAS NEEDS TO FUND THE DISABLED VETERANS HOMESTEAD. AND SO I'LL BE GOING UP TO AUSTIN WORKING WITH SOME OF THOSE GROUPS SO WE CAN TRY TO GET THAT DONE AND, UH, WORKING WITH DIFFERENT ENTITIES ON THAT SO THAT WE CAN HOPEFULLY GET TEXAS TO DO THE RIGHT THING. UM, I HAVE BUILT RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALLEN SCH REPRESENTATIVE ALLEN SCHOOLCRAFT, AND REPRESENTATIVE CARRIE ISAAC. AND A LOT OF YOU MAY NOT PARTICULARLY BE FOND OF SENATOR CAMPBELL, BUT I CAN TELL YOU WHEN I WORKED WITH HER AS THE PRESIDENT, THERE WERE LOTS OF TIMES THAT PEOPLE DIDN'T THINK SHE WAS LISTENING, BUT SHE WAS. UH, SO I GUESS I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE LAST THING. THANK YOU. QUESTION. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN ASK ANY QUESTIONS. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. NEXT UP WE HAVE JOHN FRIS. GOOD EVENING COUNSEL. MAYOR. MY NAME IS JOHN FRIS, 44 0 2 HACKER ROAD, SLO, TEXAS 7 8 1 0 8. I'M THE PRESIDENT OF GREEN VALLEY SPECIAL UTILITY DISTRICT, AND I COME BEFORE YOU TONIGHT ON ITEM 23. I BELIEVE. UH, Y'ALL HAVE A WORKSHOP LATER ON. UH, SO I APOLOGIZE I CAN'T STAY THAT LATE , BUT I, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT Y'ALL FOR DOING WHAT Y'ALL DO. UH, FIRST AND FOREMOST, I WANT TO THANK Y'ALL'S CITY STAFF. UH, I HAVE NOTHING BUT GREAT COMMENTS FROM MY STAFF ON THE WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO PARTIES. UM, WE HAVE HEARD NOTHING BUT GOOD THINGS AND WE CONTINUE TO FURTHER OUR PARTNERSHIP IN THE TO THE FUTURE. UM, OUR BOARD DIRECTED OUR GENERAL MANAGER A FEW MONTHS AGO TO, UH, SEND Y'ALL A LETTER OF INTENT FOR THE ACQUISITION OF THE C-V-L-G-C ASSETS. UH, WE KIND OF HAVE THE SHELL PUT TOGETHER BETWEEN OUR CITY STAFF AND, UH, OR SORRY, YOUR CITY STAFF AND MY STAFF. AND, UH, WE WANT TO KIND OF SOLIDIFY A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAILS. UH, WE ASK THAT, UH, YOU, MR. MAYOR AND, UH, TWO OF YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS COULD MEET WITH OUR STRATEGIC WATER ACQUISITION COMMITTEE, WHICH I DO CHAIR, UH, SOMETIME NEXT WEEK SO WE CAN FURTHER DIVE INTO THE DETAILS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL END UP WITH A WIN-WIN SITUATION BETWEEN BOTH PARTIES AND ACTUALLY DELIVER ON AN ASSET THAT'S NOT BEING UTILIZED. UH, IT DOES TAKE TIME MANY YEARS TO GET WATER OUT OF THE GROUND AND TO OUR COMMUNITY. UM, OBVIOUSLY WITH MORE TIME COMES MORE EXPENSES. SO TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. UH, SO MR. WILLIAMS, IF YOU COULD, YOU KNOW, LET US KNOW AND GET WITH MR. GAGE AND, UH, WE'LL BE GLAD TO HOST Y'ALL OR WE CAN COME TO Y'ALL. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THAT'S GONNA GO AHEAD AND END HEARING OF THE RESIDENTS. SO, MOVING ON [ Consent Agenda Items The Consent Agenda is considered self-explanatory and will be enacted by the Council with one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless they are removed from the Consent Agenda upon the request of the Mayor or a Councilmember.] TO CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS. THE CONSENT AGENDA, ITEMS ONE THROUGH NINE IS CONSIDERED SELF-EXPLANATORY AND WILL BE ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL WITH, WITH ONE MOTION. THERE WILL BE NO SEPARATE DISCUSSION OF THESE ITEMS UNLESS THEY'RE REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA UP UPON THE REQUEST OF THE MAYOR OR A COUNCIL MEMBER. AT THIS TIME, DO I HAVE ANY COUNCIL MEMBERS WANTING TO REMOVE ANY ITEMS FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA? HAVING NONE, CAN I GET A MOTION TO APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS ONE THROUGH NINE, MAKE A MOTION, MAYOR. SECOND. OKAY, THERE'S A MOTION MADE, UH, BY COUNCIL MEMBER WESTBROOK, SECONDED BY MAYOR PRO TIM WATSON. CAN I GET EVERYBODY TO CAST THE VOTES? MAY I GET THE VOTES PUBLISHED, PLEASE. HAVING SEVEN YAYS, NO NAYS. MOTION PASSES. MOVING ON TO DISCUSSION [10. Resolution 26-R-100 - Acceptance of FY27 MVCPA Grant Award (Asst. Police Chief Phillip E. Waller)] AND ACTION ITEMS. RESOLUTION 26 DASH R DASH 100, ACCEPTANCE OF FISCAL YEAR 27 N-V-C-P-A GRANT AWARD. WE HAVE ASSISTANT POLICE CHIEF, UH, MR. PHILLIP WALLER, MAYOR COUNCIL. THANK, UH, THANK, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. UM, YOU SHOULD SEE THE POWERPOINT UP [00:45:01] ON THE SCREENS NOW. SO THIS IS ABOUT ACCEPTANCE OF THE MVC PAY M-V-C-P-A AWARD, UH, THE VOTER VEHICLE, UH, THE PERFECT VISION AWARD. UH, THIS WOULD BE OUR THIRD YEAR GETTING THE, THE, THE AWARD, UH, THE FUNDING FOR THE PAST COUPLE YEARS HAVE GONE TO OUR BA BLPR CAMERAS. UM, THIS WAS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA. WE PULLED, WE PULLED IT OFF TO HAVE A DESCRIP QUESTION ABOUT IT. 'CAUSE WE FIGURED WITH THEN BECOMING A HOT TOPIC NOW IT'D BE WORTH A DISC A QUESTION ABOUT IT BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD. SO WHAT 26 R 100 IS, IS TO ACCEPT THE AWARD BACK IN MAY 5TH, 2026. WE DID, UM, PUT IN A RESOLUTION TO TO, TO APPLY FOR THE AWARD THAT DID GET APPROVED. UM, WE DID GET AWARDED IT IN SEPTEMBER, AND THIS IS TO ACCEPT IT. UM, THE FIRST YEAR, WELL, I'LL GET TO IT IN A SECOND, BUT THIS ONE, UH, FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027 IS SUPPOSED TO CONTINUE FF UH, F FUNDING FOR OUR CURRENT BAIL LPR CAM CAMERAS AND START A DRONE AS FIRST RESPONDER PROGRAM. THAT'S WHAT A DFR RIGHT THERE. IT DOES REQUIRE 20% MATCH, WHICH WOULD COME FROM, FROM WHICH WOULD COME FROM OUR BUDGET. UM, THE BULK OF THE FISCAL YEAR 27 AWARD WOULD GO TOWARDS THE DFR PROGRAM, WHICH WE HAVEN'T REALLY STARTED TO GET ANY INTO ANY CONTRACTS YET. SO I DON'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON THAT AS FAR AS VENDORS OR, OR, OR ANYTHING ELSE. A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THE M-V-C-P-A. UH, LIKE I SAID, THIS IS OUR THIRD YEAR. UH, FIRST YEAR WAS, UH, FISCAL YEAR 25, WHICH WENT FROM OCTOBER, UH, 24 TO SEPTEMBER 25. UM, THAT INCLUDED 15 FLOCK CAMERAS FISCAL YEAR, SORRY, 17 FLY CAMERAS. UH, FISCAL YEAR 26, WE ADDED 24. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 41 CAMERAS. UH, FOR FISCAL YEAR 27. WE ARE NOT ADDING ANY MORE CAMERAS. IT IS TO CONTINUE OUR CURRENT F FUNDING FOR THOSE CAMERAS. ALSO, IN FISCAL YEAR 26, WE BOUGHT OUR SKY WATCH TOWER, WHICH I BELIEVE MOST YOU PROBABLY SAW AT THE JUBILEE. UM, THE M-V-C-P-A AWARD IS NOT JUST FOR THE LPRS FLOCKS OR ANY B OTHER FITTER, IT IS FOR ANYTHING THAT CAN HELP SOLVE PREVENT B MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT, UH, ANY CRIMES RELI THING TO, UH, VEHICLES LIKE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS OF VEHICLE BURGLARIES OR ANYTHING ELSE. CURRENTLY, UM, THE GOVERNOR PUT IN A FREEZE ON THE HOLD FOR THE LPRS. THAT IS ANY VA VLPR, NO MATTER WHAT VENDOR FLOCK HAS BECOME THE KLEENEX VERSION OF THE LPRS. BUT IF IT APPLIES TO FLOCK, VI VI, UH, VIGILANT, IT APPLIES TO AXON OR ANYBODY ELSE. UM, THE, THE, UH, TDOT HAS ALSO SAID THAT, UM, THERE'S A FREEZE ON PUTTING CAMERAS ON STATE ROADS. ALL OF OURS ARE ALREADY INSTALLED. THAT DOES NOT AFFECT US. AND SINCE WE'RE NOT APPLYING FOR 40 MORE, IT'S REALLY DOESN'T MATTER. UM, WITH THE FUNDING BEING FROZEN, WE'RE KIND, WE'RE KIND OF IN A STANDSTILL RIGHT NOW. WE CAN'T GET REIMBURSED FOR, FOR ANYTHING. UM, AS FAR AS ANSWERS ON WHEN THAT MAY COME UP, UH, WHEN FUNDING MAY BE UNFROZEN, IF IT DOES GET UNFROZEN, I DON'T HAVE THAT ANSWERS. UM, WE ARE IN TALKS WITH THE M-V-C-P-A BOARD AND THEY ARE TALKING WITH THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE TRYING TO GET THOSE AS WELL. AND AS SOON AS WE KNOW, UH, TO GET REIMBURSED FOR THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEARS, WE WILL HOPEFULLY SOLVE THAT AND MOVE FORWARD. SO BAIL PRS, THERE'S A LOT OF MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY CAN DO. UM, THEY ARE CAMERAS A SOFTWARE THAT GET TAGS FROM CARS AND A VEHICLE JUST DESCRIPTION ONLY. UM, IT ALLOWS FOR, FOR OFFICERS TO PUT IN A HOT LIST. UM, SO IF WE HAVE A CASE LIKE A BANK ROBBERY, WE HAVE A PARTIAL TAG OR ANY KIND OF TAG, WE CAN PUT THAT IN THERE. AND IF IT POPS, UM, HERE, YOUR BRAUNFELS AND A TOTALLY DIFFERENT STATE, IT WOULD COME UP WITH THAT ALERT THAT THAT VEHICLE WAS WARRANT FOR A BANK ROBBERY. UM, IT CAN ALSO SAY, IF WE'RE TRYING TO FIND THAT CAR, WE CAN SEE WHERE THAT CAR MAY HAVE GONE IN THE PAST, MAYBE FIND WHERE, WHERE THEY LIVE, WHERE THEY WORK, ANY OTHER INFORMATION THAT CAN HELP US SOLVE A CRIME. UM, WE ONLY ALLOW TRAINED USERS TO ACCESS THAT DATABASE. UM, IT IS NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, IT IS NOT OPEN TO ANYBODY WHO HAS NOT, WHO HAS NOT HAD ANY TRAINING. UM, AND THE ON THE DATABASE IS WIPED AFTER 30 DAYS. SO AFTER THAT, WE CAN'T GO GO BACK AND LOOK FOR SOMETHING THAT MAY HAVE OCCURRED BACK IN MARCH OR APRIL. WHAT THEY'RE NOT. AND THIS IS SOME STUFF THAT WE, WE'VE SEEN ONLINE. IT DOES NOT TAKE A PICTURE OF THE DRIVER'S FACE. IT'S NOT FACIAL RECOGNITION. WE DON'T KNOW WHO'S DRI DRIVING THE CAR. WE CAN'T PUT IN MALE FE FEMALE AND GET ALL THE, GET ALL THE DRIVERS. IT DOESN'T DO THAT. WE DON'T TRACK CELL PHONE DATA. AS FAR AS [00:50:01] I KNOW, THAT IS NOT AVAILABLE IN AVAIL PR. I KNOW THAT TECHNOLOGY IS OUT THERE, BUT NOT IN THIS. UM, IT DOES NOT SUPPLY PERSONAL DATA. IT DOES NOT RUN YOUR TAG AGAINST ANY DMV DATABASE. UM, IT ONLY WORKS WITH THAT HOT LIST WITHIN THAT OWN A LPR VENDOR PROGRAM. SO WHAT THE OFFICER HAS TO DO IS IF WE GET A POSITIVE HIT ON SOMETHING, WE HAVE TO TAKE THAT TAG AND RUN IT IN OUR DATABASE, WHETHER IT'S A DMV OR NCIC DATABASE, AND THEN WE CONFIRM IT HITS. UM, THEY'RE NOT PROBABLE CAUSE. WE CANNOT JUST STOP A CAR BASED OFF OF A HIT. WE HAVE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY IF THAT IS THE CORRECT TAG. UM, THERE ARE MANY STATES THAT HAVE THE SAME TAGS, WHETHER IT'S FLORIDA, THE, THE, THE LOUISIANA OR ANYBODY ELSE. THEY MAY HAVE A SIMILAR TAG THAT READS A, B, C 1, 2, 3. AND THAT MACHINE IS NOT S OF AT TIMES TO VERIFY THAT THAT IS THE CORRECT STATE. SO OFFICERS HAVE TO GET BEHIND THAT CAR, VERIFY THAT THAT IS THE WANTED CAR, RUN IT IN THE DATABASE TO CONFIRM IF IT IS A A W BOND CAR, STOLEN CAR, OR IF ANYTHING ELSE. UM, AS OF RIGHT NOW, THE COURTS HAVE NOT RULED THAT A V LPR IS OUR FOURTH EMIN VIOLATIONS. THERE WERE TWO RECENT CASES WITH THE SUPREME COURT, UM, CARPENTER REVERSE THE US AND CHAT REVERSE THE US THAT, UM, DEALT WITH CELL PHONE DATA AND G AND, UH, GEOFENCING AND FOURTH AMENDMENT VIOLATIONS. THOSE DO NOT APPLY TO APRS AT THIS TIME. WHETHER THEY MAY IN THE FUTURE, I CAN'T TELL YOU, BUT AS OF THIS TIME, THEY ARE RULE RULED AS CONSTITUTIONAL APRS HAVE BEEN A SUCCESS IN SHIRTS, TEXAS AND AROUND THE US. UM, I'M AWARE THERE ARE BAD REPORTS OUT THERE ABOUT, ABOUT OFFICERS DO DOING THINGS UNFORTUNATELY THAT HAPPENS AND BAD COPS SHOULD NOT BE COPS. AND I'LL PUT AT THAT. UM, THESE ARE SOME OF OUR SUCCESSES THAT WE, WE, WE HAVE HAD AT SHIRTS OVER THE PAST, UH, YEAR, UM, WITH, WITH OUR VLP, WITH OUR VLPR PROGRAM. UM, THERE ARE A LOT MORE AROUND, AROUND THE STATE. UM, AND WE HAVE HAD OTHER HITS, UM, FROM OUR CASES IN OTHER CITIES. I UNFORTUNATELY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO, UH, TO THOSE. UM, THESE SUCCESS STORIES ARE NOT AUTOMATIC. SO IT WOULD RELY ON THAT DEPARTMENT TELLING US THAT THEY MADE A CASE OFF OF OUR HIT OUR, OUR HOT VEHICLE. WHERE DO WE STAND AS THE POLICE? WE BELIEVE IN, IN THE TECHNOLOGY. IT IS A TOOL IN OUR TOOLBOX. UM, APRS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR IN THE US NOW 15, 20 YEARS. THEY'RE NOT NEW. THE TECHNOLOGY HAS HAS ADVANCED, IT HAS BECOME MORE, MORE WIDESPREAD. BUT WE DO BELIEVE IN, IN THE TECHNOLOGY, UM, AS I SAID, WE DO SUPPORT IT. UM, CURRENT BASE LAW DOES SAY IT IS NOT AN AN UNCON, SORRY, IT DOES NOT SAY IT IS A CONSTITU CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATION. UM, WE HAVE OUR OWN POLICIES IN PLACE TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC AND TO PROTECT THE DEPARTMENT AND THE, AND THE CITY FROM MISUSE. UH, WE ARE IN FAVOR OF ADDITIONAL LAWS, WHATEVER ELSE, UM, THE STATE OR THE US WANTS TO DO IT. THOSE JUST TO MAKE THE TECHNOLOGY SAFE AND SECURE AND TO BE IN OPPRESSIVE BY THE PUBLIC. UM, WE DO RECOMMEND A APPROVAL OF THIS RESOLUTION, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, LIKE I SAID, EVEN IF WE DO APPROVE IT, EVERYTHING'S STILL FROZEN. NOW. UM, WITH THAT BEING SAID, I THINK THAT'S IT, BUT OPEN FOR ANYTHING TO ASK QUESTIONS. WE HAVE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER BEN GUERRERO. YEAH, A COUPLE QUESTIONS. CHIEF, UH, JUST TO CONFIRM, YOU STATED THAT THERE'S 42, UH, TOTAL CAMERAS IN OUR CITY. 41. 41. OKAY. 41. AND ARE THESE, WHAT THEY'RE BASICALLY DOING IS SEARCHING FOR THE STOLEN TAGS, IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. SO THE, THE, THE OFFICERS CAN PUT IN A HOT LIST. SO SUPPOSE WE HAVE A STOLEN CAR OF A, B, C, 1, 2, 3. IT WOULD OBVIOUSLY GO INTO THE STATE DATABASE, UM, TO WHERE IF ANYBODY RAN THAT TAG IT, IT WOULD BE ENTER A STOLEN. HOW, HOWEVER, IF AN OFFICER IS SITTING NEXT TO THAT CAR, THEY MAY, THEY MAY NOT KNOW IT UNLESS THEY RUN THAT TAG. THE LPRS, IF WE PUT THAT BEAGLE IN THE, IN THE HOT LIST, IT'LL SPOT THAT CAR AND IT'LL TELL US, HEY, THAT CAR IS GOING NORTH ON 3 0 0 9 AND WE'RE ABLE TO FIND THAT AND RECOVER FIFTH FASTER. UM, IT'S AN EFFICIENT TOOL. GOTCHA. SO IT'S NOT READING EVERY SINGLE TAG THAT IT SEES. IT'S BASICALLY JUST SEARCHING FOR THE HOT LIST THAT, THAT YOU GUYS HAVE. IT DOES READ EVERY TAG, AND THAT'S HOW WE ARE ABLE TO FIND WHERE THAT . BUT I MEAN, YEAH, IT READS 'EM, BUT IT'S NOT, [00:55:01] THAT'S NOT WHAT IT'S LOOKING FOR. RIGHT? IT IT, IT IS ONLY LOOKING FOR THE HOT LIST'S, WHAT I'M SAYING? NO, THAT THAT'S THE OFFICER THAT LOOKS FOR THAT VEHICLE IN THE HOT LIST. THAT THE CAMERA JUST STORES THOSE TAGS. UM, IT DOES GIVE AN ALERT IF IT IS THAT, SO IT WILL READ THAT TAG AGAINST THAT HOT LIST IF IT, IF IT IS ENTERED, BUT IT IS READING ALL THE TAGS ON THE ROAD. OKAY. BUT YOU'RE ONLY PICKING UP OF COURSE, THE HOT LIST. THOSE ARE THE ONES YOU WANT THE H CORRECT THAT ONE. OR IF WE HAVE A SUSPECT VEHICLE FROM A CASE AND IT'S NOT DOUBTLESS, WE'RE ABLE TO TO, UH, TO, UH, RUN THAT TAG AND SEE IF THERE'S A HISTORICAL DATA OF IT IN THE PAST 30 DAYS. OKAY. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER MSO, DOES ACCEPTING THE AWARD, UM, PREVENT ANY DIFFICULTIES OR, OR STRUGGLES IF WE WERE TO REVIEW THE PROGRAM OR LOOK AT, UH, WAYS TO MODIFY THE PROGRAM AT ALL? I'M SORRY? ARE YOU SAYING IF WE DO ACCEPT THE AWARD Y YEAH. TO ACCEPT THE AWARD, DOES THAT RESTRICT US FROM BEING ABLE TO MAKE ANY KIND OF CHANGES TO THE PROGRAM AT ALL IN THE FUTURE? NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF. THE, THE, THE FUNDING DOES NOT DICTATE THE PROGRAM AND HOUSE RUN. IT ONLY HELPS FUND 80% OF THE PROGRAM. WE HAVE CONTROL OF THE PROGRAM OURSELF. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER DIETZ, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE, THE, UM, SLIDESHOW. I THINK THIS IS A HUGE CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC. UM, I SEE DAILY, UH, FACEBOOK POSTS, SOCIAL MEDIA, UM, I'VE BEEN GETTING EMAILS, HEARING FROM RESIDENTS, UM, AND I THINK OUR PUBLIC IS REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS. UM, WOULD THERE BE A WAY TO POSSIBLY TABLE THIS AND MAYBE, UM, PUT THIS OUT TO THE PUBLIC TO KIND OF SEE WHAT THEIR INPUT IS ON THIS? UM, I JUST FEEL LIKE SOME, SOME OF THIS INFORMATION THAT YOU SHARED WOULD BE GOOD TO SHARE WITH THE PUBLIC. UM, BE A LITTLE MORE TRANSPARENT AND JUST LET, UM, SOME OF THEM, SOME OF THE PUBLIC, THE COMMUNITY WE SERVE HAVE SOME OPINION ON THIS BECAUSE I THINK IT, UH, IT HELP, IT, IT NEEDS TO BE SHARED. I AGREE. AND WE POLICE BASED ON WHAT THE SYSTEMS WANT. SO IF WE WANT TO TABLE IT AND GET FURTHER INFORMATION THAT'S UP IN Y'ALL'S COURT. WE DO HAVE TWO TOWN HALLS PLANNED FOR OCTOBER. THEY AREN'T PUBLIC YET. WE'RE WAITING FOR A MONTH OUT. UM, SO IN A COUPLE DAYS WE ARE PUTTING IT OUT TO THE PUBLIC. OCTOBER 17TH, OCTOBER 19TH, WE HAVE TWO PUBLIC TOWN HALLS PLANNED TO TALK ABOUT APRS AND THE DDFR PROGRAM. SO WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO TABLE IT TILL AFTER THOSE TOWN HALLS? WELL, A LOT OF IT DEPENDS IF THIS IS TIME SENSITIVE ON THIS GRANT AWARD ON WHETHER WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO TABLE IT OR NOT, BECAUSE YOU CAN LOSE THAT GRANT. HOWEVER, WE CAN ALWAYS GO BACK AND MODIFY THINGS AFTER WE HAVE THE TOWN HALL MEETINGS THAT WILL BE SCHEDULED. YEAH. ABOUT THE GRANT. I'M NOT 100% SURE WITHOUT TALKING TO MVCP PPA. UM, I CALL THEM TOMORROW AND ASK, HEY, IF WE TABLE IT AND GET THIS INVIS APPROVED, CAN WE RETURN THE FORM IN MONTH AND A HALF, TWO MONTHS OR HAVE A BUG TAKES WITH FUNDING BEING CURRENTLY FROZEN, WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING ANYWAY. UM, SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, I, I CAN'T SUBMIT FOR ANY DRAW DOWNS OR ANYTHING ELSE OR MOVE ON, ON THE FISCAL YEAR 27. ANYWAY, IF WE CAN GO AHEAD AND LET OUR CITY MANAGER STEVE WILLIAMS COMMENT ON THIS ITEM AS WELL. YEAH. JUST TO OFFER ONE CLARIFICATION, THIS IS FOR THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE GRANT AND WE DO HAVE CONTROL OVER THE CONTRACT FOR THE APRS WITH FLOW. CORRECT? THEY'RE TWO SEPARATE THINGS. AND, AND IF I'M REMEMBERING CORRECT CORRECTLY, THERE IS AN OPTOUT IF THERE WAS A DECISION EVER MADE TO GET RID OF THE PROGRAM, THERE'S AN OPTOUT PROVISION IN, IN THE CONTRACT. BUT I ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT THE MAJORITY OF THIS GRANT IS FOR THE DRONE AS A FIRST RESPONDER PROGRAM, WHICH IS, AND I, I KNOW ELLIOT DIDN'T REALLY EXPLAIN IT, BUT IT'S WHERE WE WOULD HAVE FIXED POSITION DRONES THAT COULD RESPOND INSTANTLY TO ACCIDENTS AND BURGLARIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT AND, AND GET THERE AS A CROW FLIES AND, AND ASSESS THE SITUATION. SO IT'S A VERY VALUABLE TOOL. NOT NEARLY AS CONTROVERSIAL AS THE FLOCK, I WOULD SAY. I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT IT. AND SO I, I THINK I, I DON'T WANNA STEP OUT HERE TOO FAR, BUT I, I THINK WE WOULD STILL WANT TO ACCEPT THAT MONEY FOR THAT PROGRAM. BUT NO, THANK YOU MAYOR. I DO APPRECIATE IT. UM, WHETHER WE ACCEPT THE AWARD OR WE TABLE IT, IF WE ACCEPT IT AND WE DECIDE NOT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH FLOCK OR ANY OTHER A LPR VENDOR, I'M SURE WE COULD WORK SOMETHING OUT WITH N-V-C-P-P-A TO, TO MODIFY THAT GRANT TO FOCUS ON THE DDFR. UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T HAVE N-V-C-P-P-P-A HERE NOW, SO I DON'T HAVE 100, I DON'T HAVE 100 100% OF THE, OF THOSE ANSWERS. MAYOR PRO WATSON. [01:00:01] UM, I WANTED TO, SINCE IT IS IN REGARDS TO THE GRANT AWARD, I WANTED TO MOTION THAT WE APPROVE RESOLUTION 26 R 100. OKAY. UH, I ALSO HAVE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SHERIDAN THAT WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT JUST REAL QUICK. UM, AGAIN, I AGREE WITH, UH, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, IT'S, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN GETTING A LOT OF EMAILS ON THIS AS WELL, I GUESS WITH THE GRANT. SO IF LATER ON DOWN THE LINE WE DECIDE TO DISENGAGE THE FLOCK PROGRAM, THE GRANT MONEY CAN BE USED FOR OTHER ITEMS THAT WE HAVE IN YOUR TOOLBOX TO UI DO YOU MEAN AS FAR AS THE FUNDING FOR THE LPS? YES. THAT I DON'T KNOW ABOUT. OKAY. 'CAUSE WHEN WE APPLIED FOR THE GRANT, IT WAS FOR THE BAIL LPRS AND THE DFR. I'M NOT SURE IF IT COULD BE MODIFIED TO PUT IT TOWARDS ANYTHING ELSE OR IF WE WOULD JUST HAVE TO SET TO, UH, SEPARATE THOSE FUNDS OFF. YEAH, I'M I'M ASSUMING WITH THE FREEZE, YOU KNOW, CONVERSATIONS PROBABLY HAS JUST CEASED FROM THE STATE LEVEL AT THIS POINT, I'M ASSUMING. YEAH. YEAH. ABSOLUTELY. SO, OKAY. THAT'S ALL I HAVE, MAYOR. THANK YOU. OKAY. NOW IS, UH, US ACCEPTING THIS GRANT, IS IT FOR THE DFR PROGRAM OR IS IT FOR BOTH? IT'S FOR BOTH. BOTH. IT'S FOR BOTH BECAUSE IT'S THE FISCAL YEAR 27 IS WHAT WE APPLIED FOR, WAS FOR THE LPR FUNDING AND THE DFR PROGRAM. OKAY. AND THEN WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER WESTBROOK, SO A MOTION WAS MADE, SO MAYBE WE SHOULD EITHER FIRST OR SECOND IT BEFORE WE FURTHER DISCUSS IT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. I DON'T, UM, I GUESS IN ORDER TO MOVE IT FORWARD, I'LL SECOND IT. UM, AND THEN WE CAN HAVE A DISCUSSION ON THEM. OKAY. WELL, WE DID HAVE A MOTION MADE BY MAYOR PROTE WATSON. WE GOT A SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER WESTBROOK. CAN I GET EVERYBODY TO CAST THE BOATS? WELL, NOPE. WE, WE WANNA DISCUSS IT. I KNOW WE GOT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER MACALUSO. YEAH. AND THAT, AND THAT WAS WHY I, I ASKED THAT QUESTION JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WEREN'T ANY KIND OF LIMITATIONS PUT ON US. AND IF THERE'S NOT, I DON'T SEE, UH, WHY WE WOULDN'T ACCEPT THE GRANT IF IT'S NOT GONNA AFFECT OUR ABILITY TO DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT WITH THE PROGRAM IN THE FUTURE. SO, UM, JUST AS, UM, MR. WILLIAMS SAID, I DON'T SEE WHY WE WOULD NOT ACCEPT THE MONEY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? YES. YES, MAYOR. SO IF THERE IS AN OPT OUT, AS THE CITY MANAGER SAID, AND WHAT I DON'T WANNA DO IS NOT ACCEPT IT BECAUSE THAT DRONE FIRST RESPONDER IS STATE OF THE ART. UM, IT DOES HAVE THE ABILITY TO KEEP OUR FIRST RESPONDER SAFE, UH, BECAUSE IT GETS THERE, UH, SITUATION SIZE UP. UM, WE WILL KNOW WHAT WE'RE GETTING INTO BEFORE WE ACTUALLY GET TO THE SCENE. SO, UH, NOT ACCEPTING A GRANT, UM, WOULD SORT OF ERODE OUR ABILITY FOR THE DRONE FIRST RESPONDER PROGRAM. AND SO, UM, FOR THAT REASON ALONE, I, I'M SORT OF IN FAVOR OF MOVING FORWARD WITH IT AND I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT TO TALKING ABOUT THE DFRI WAS TRYING TO FRAME THIS MORE ABOUT THE A LPR THING. SO ANYONE HAS ANYTHING TO ASK ABOUT THE DFR? I CAN TALK, TALK ABOUT THAT TOO. YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T HAVE A POWERPOINT. ABSOLUTELY. AND JUST TO OFFER A CLARIFICATION FURTHER ON THAT, OF THE $371,000 OF THE GRANT, 2 47 IS FOR THE DRONE FIRST RESPONDER, AND 1 24 IS FOR THE FLOCK, CORRECT? I BELIEVE IT'S ABOUT A TWO THIRD, THIRD SPLIT. ANY OTHER DISCUSSIONS? UH, COUNCIL MEMBER DIETZ. SO IF WE ACCEPTED IT, WE'RE NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE THAT WE CAN MODIFY IT AND JUST USE THE MONEY FOR THE, UM, THE DRONE AND NOT THE FLOCKS. CORRECT? I DON'T HAVE THOSE ANSWERS RIGHT NOW. I IMAGINE IF THE GOVERNOR GOES FORWARD AND SAYS, DO MORE FUNDING FOR A LPR PROGRAMS AT ALL, THEN IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE AUTOMATICALLY TT TAKEN OUT. BUT LIKE I SAID, I JUST DON'T HAVE FUTURE. BUT THEN THAT WOULD LEAVE US FOR THE, THE DRONES. RIGHT? THAT WOULD LEAVE US THE MONEY FOR THE DRONES COUNCIL MEMBER MACHI HAVE, I WOULD THINK MAYBE THE WORST CASE SCENARIO IS WE MIGHT HAVE TO GIVE THEM SOME OF THE MONEY BACK IF WE DECIDE NOT TO, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE WITH THE CAMERAS. BUT I THINK THAT FUNDING FOR THE, FOR THE DRONE IS, IS, IS IMPORTANT. IT'S NOT A CONTINUED SURVEILLANCE KIND OF ISSUE. SO, UM, TO ME IT'S, UH, IT SEEMS PRETTY CLEAR TO WE WE SHOULD ACCEPT IT. I WOULD AGREE WITH THAT. IF THERE ARE NO OTHER DISCUSSIONS, CAN I GET EVERYBODY TO CAST THE VOTES? CAN I GET THE VOTES PUBLISHED PLEASE? HAVING SEVEN YAYS, NO NAYS. MOTION PASSES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MOVING ON [11. Official Ballot for Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool Board of Trustees Election (City Secretary Sheila Edmondson)] TO ITEM 11, [01:05:01] UH, DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEM ON OFFICIAL BALLOT FOR TEXAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL RISK POOL BOARD OF TRUSTEES ELECTION. AND WITH US, WE HAVE OUR CITY SECRETARY, SHEILA EDMONTON. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, COUNCIL, STAFF AND RESIDENTS. TONIGHT I BRING FORWARD THE OFFICIAL BALLOT FOR THE ELECTION OF PLACES ONE THROUGH FOUR OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE. IN OUR GOVERNMENTAL RISK POOL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF EACH MEMBER OF THE POOL IS ENTITLED TO VOTE FOR MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES. THE OFFICIALS LISTED ON THE BALLOT HAVE BEEN NOMINATED TO SERVE A SIX YEAR TERM ON THE TML INTERGOVERNMENTAL RISK POOL, WORKERS COMPENSATION PROPERTY AND LIABILITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES. THE NAMES OF THE CANDIDATES IN EACH OF THE PLACES FOR THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ARE LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER. BALLOTS MUST BE SENT TO THE OFFICE OF DAVID REAGAN, THE SECRETARY OF THE BOARD OF THE TM OF THIS PARTICULAR T-M-L-I-R-P NO LATER THAN SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2026. BALLOTS RECEIVED AFTER SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2026 CANNOT BE COUNTED. THANK YOU. OKAY. UH, SO AT THIS TIME, UH, I GUESS WE NEED TO VOTE TO SEE WHO WE WANT TO REPRESENT IS CORRECT. AND SO FOR PLACE ONE, UH, I BELIEVE WE HAVE JW BUZZ FULLING, FORMER MAYOR OF HENDERSON, PLACE TWO. WE HAVE EMILY CRAWFORD, CITY MANAGER OF ABILENE, CURRENTLY ON THE BOARD. AND FOR PLACE THREE, THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATION THAT WE SUPPORT ANDY, JOCELYN, CITY MANAGER FOR THE CITY OF BEEVILLE, REGION 11. AND FOR PLACE FOUR, WE HAVE AUSTIN, UH, BLEA, CITY MANAGER OF JERSEY VILLAGE. IS EVERYBODY GOOD WITH THOSE SELECTIONS? ALRIGHT, FOR EVERYBODY'S GOOD WITH THOSE SELECTIONS. CAN I GET EVERYBODY TO CAST A VOTE? OH, CAN I DO NEED A MOTION? UH, MAYOR, I MAKE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE, UH, THE SLATE AS PRESENTED. SECOND. OKAY. I GOT A MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER WESTBROOK. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MACALUSO, CAN I GET EVERYBODY TO CAST THE VOTES PLEASE? CAN I GET THE VOTES PUBLISHED HAVING SEVEN YAYS, NO NAYS. MOTION PASSES. THANK Y'ALL FOR THAT. OKAY, MOVING [12. Ordinance 26-T-031 - Authorizing an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget (James Walters, Finance Director)] ON TO ITEM 12. ORDINANCE 26 DASH T DASH 0 3 1. AUTHORIZING AN AMENDMENT TO THE FISCAL YEAR 20 25, 20 26. BUDGET. WITH US, WE HAVE OUR, UH, FINANCE DIRECTOR, MR. JAMES WALTERS. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. MY NAME IS JAMES WALTERS. I'M THE FINANCE DIRECTOR HERE FOR THE CITY OF SHIRTZ. UH, TONIGHT WE HAVE, UH, THE FIRST ITEM, UM, FOR FINANCE. UH, UP TO YOU. IT IS THE, UM, FOURTH QUARTER, UH, BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS. UM, THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE, UM, INCREASING BUDGETS FOR PAYROLL. SOME OF THOSE DECREASED FOR PAYROLL. OTHER NOTABLE ONES ARE MOVING FUNDS BETWEEN TWO DEPARTMENTS, UH, FOR THE CLEAN THE CREEK EVENT AS THEY CHANGED, UH, HANDS OVER WHO'S MANAGING THAT PROJECT. MIDYEAR, UH, AS WELL AS MOVING FUNDS FROM, UH, DRAINAGE TO GENERAL FUND AS WE REASSIGNED THE MS FOR, UH, FLOOD PLAIN MANAGER THAT WAS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO COME OUT OF DRAINAGE TO COME OUT OF THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT WHERE THE SUPERVISORS ARE. UM, OVERALL NO CHANGE, UH, ON THAT ITEM EITHER. UM, THE GENERAL FUND ADJUSTMENTS, UM, COME FROM THE ADDITIONAL SALES TAXES THAT WE'VE, UH, RECEIVED SO FAR. AND ALL OF THOSE ITEMS WERE INCLUDED AND ESTIMATED IN THE YEAR IN PROJECTIONS AS WELL AS THE FIVE YEAR FORECAST FOR THE BUDGET. UH, SO IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS OVER ANY PARTICULAR ITEM. UM, HAPPY TO HELP AND, AND ANSWER THE BEST I CAN THIS TIME. I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR DISCUSSION. WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER MACALUSO, UH, QUESTION ON THE, UM, FOR THE PERSONNEL. UH, YOU SENT OUT A MESSAGE KIND OF GIVING US AN IDEA OF WHAT VACANCY RATES YOU USE TO KIND OF ANTICIPATE WHEN YOU'RE, UH, CONSIDERING THE TOTAL EXPENSES OF THE PERSONNEL. IS THAT ACCURATE? YES. SO HOW, HOW ACCURATE HAS THAT BEEN IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS? I MEAN, IS IT [01:10:01] SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE CONSTANTLY REVIEWING AND CONSIDERING, OR IS IT SOMETHING THAT WAS IN PLACE 10 YEARS AGO AND STILL BEING USED TODAY? UH, IT'S, UH, IT IS UPDATED. UM, AND WE'VE BEEN IDENTIFYING AND LOOKING AT IT FOR THE PAST COUPLE YEARS, UH, SINCE WE DID THE BAG BIG LAST CLASS AND COMP STUDY, THOSE RATES HAVE DROPPED, UH, QUITE A BIT AND WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THEM COMING BACK UP. UH, SO WE ARE LOOKING AT MOVING 'EM BACK DOWN, BUT AS THE VACANCY RATES START TO RISE AGAIN, WE'RE HESITANT TO MAKE TOO MANY CHANGES. UM, AND, UH, AGAIN, LIKE, UH, WE HAVE PD IS STILL AT SEVEN POINT A QUARTER, WE'RE VERY HAPPY, OR IF AT SEVEN POINT A HALF PERCENT IS ADJUSTMENT FOR PD, THEY HAD GENERAL HAVE A LOT MORE TURNOVER THAN SOME OF THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS. UM, AND WHILE WE HAVE SOME GOOD NEWS THERE, RECENTLY, CHIEF AND THE PREVIOUS MEETING SAID, HEY, THIS IS GREAT. BUT THE FIRST TIME WE'VE BEEN FULLY STAFFED, UM, FOR A WHILE, UM, PROBABLY SINCE, SINCE WE'VE BEEN HERE. UM, THEY'RE NOT ON THE LIST FOR ADJUSTMENT, SO THEY STILL HAD ENOUGH SAVINGS AND TURNOVER THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO, TO ACCOMPLISH THAT. SO YEAH, SOME DEPARTMENTS HAVE THAT AND SOME OF 'EM DON'T. THE OTHER ADJUSTMENT QUESTION IS, WHICH DEPARTMENTS, UH, WE BELIEVE THAT SOME OF THE LARGER ONES ARE EASIER TO ADJUST SOME OF THE SMALLER ONES WITH FEWER PEOPLE. IF THEY DON'T HAVE A TURNOVER, THEN IT'S NOT GONNA BE, UM, ABOUT REACHING THAT FOUR POINT A QUARTER PERCENT. IF THEY HAVE, IF THEY DO HAVE TURNOVER, THEY'RE GONNA GO WAY ABOVE THE FOUR POINT A QUARTER PERCENT. UM, SO THERE'S NOT ENOUGH WIGGLE ROOM FOR THAT EITHER. UM, TO KIND OF ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, YEAH, WE ARE STILL LOOKING AT IT. UM, IT WAS TRUE AFTER THE CLASS AND COMP, WE WERE SEEING HOW THAT AFFECTED EVERYBODY AND VACANCY RATES, UH, DID DROP QUITE A BIT AFTER THAT, THAT ADJUSTMENT. UM, AND WE'RE SEEING TO SEE, UH, COME BACK A LITTLE BIT IN THE OTHER DIRECTION. UM, SO AT, AT THIS TIME, WE'VE LEFT IT AT THE SAME LEVEL OF FOUR AND A, UH, FOUR AND A QUARTER GOING INTO 26, 27, MR. STEVE WILLIAMS, JAMES. SO EVEN WITH THE $400,000 ADJUSTMENT OR SO IN THE GENERAL FUND, WE'RE STILL WITHIN 1% OF OUR BUDGETED AMOUNT, RIGHT? YES, SIR. SO, SO WE'RE, WE MISSED OUR MARK A. LITTLE BIT, BUT WE'RE STILL PRETTY CLOSE. WELL, I JUST, I ONLY ASK BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THESE, YOU KNOW, THESE AMOUNTS OF MONEY END UP COMING UP IN OUR BUDGET DISCUSSIONS. AND SO IF WE'RE EITHER OVERESTIMATING VACANCY RATE OR UNDERESTIMATING IT, IT COULD AFFECT US WHEN WE'RE DOING IT. YES. COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. YEAH. THIS IS JUST A, A FINANCE BUDGET RELATED QUESTION HERE. I MEAN, WHY WOULD WE FOCUS, WHY WOULD WE FACTOR IN ANTICIPATED VACANCIES? IF WE HAVE A STAFF DIRECTORY THAT SAYS THE CITY HAS X NUMBER OF STAFF, WHY WOULD WE NOT JUST BUDGET FOR THAT X NUMBER? AND IF THERE'S NO VACANCIES, THEN THAT'S WHAT OUR BUDGET IS. WE'RE PAYING THAT, THAT ANTICIPATED AMOUNT. AND IF THERE ARE VACANCIES, THEN THAT WOULD JUST MEAN THAT THERE'S EXCESS NOW LEFT IN THAT DEPARTMENT THAT WOULD ROLL UP INTO A BUDGET EXCESS AT THE END OF THE YEAR. VERSUS WE'RE FACTORING IN, OH, WE THINK THERE'S GOING TO BE A VACANCY, AND THEN HERE AT THE 11TH HOUR WE'RE SAYING, OH, WELL THERE WASN'T THAT MANY VACANCIES AND NOW WE'VE GOTTA MOVE IN $400,000. I MEAN, TO ME, THIS IN A BUDGETARY SENSE DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME. I MEAN, I DO MY, MY PERSONAL BUDGET, I HAVE MY FUNDS AND I PLAN WHAT I HAVE TO PAY MY BILLS ON. AND AT THE END OF THE MONTH OR THE END OF THE YEAR, IF I HAVE EXCESS MONEY LEFT OVER, I CAN MAKE NOW MAKE THAT DECISION OF, WELL, NOW I CAN PUT THAT TO SOMETHING ELSE. I'VE GOT MONEY LEFT OVER. I DON'T SAY, WELL, MY BUDGET FOR THE YEAR IS GONNA BE A HUNDRED THOUSAND. LET ME GO AHEAD AND, OR I, I NEED 120,000, UH, BUT LET ME ONLY PUT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS AGAINST IT. OH, BY THE WAY, I, I NEED TO COME UP WITH ANOTHER $20,000. SO, I MEAN, I JUST, I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE'RE BUDGETING THIS WAY AND FACTORING IN ANTICIPATED VACANCIES, WHETHER IT'S HIGH IN ONE YEAR OR LOW. TO ME, IT DOESN'T MATTER. WE HAVE AN APPROVED STAFF OF X NUMBER OF PEOPLE. OUR PERSONNEL BUDGET OUGHT TO BE BASED ON THE ASSUMPTION FOR ME THAT WE'RE AT A HUNDRED PERCENT MANNING FOR THE YEAR. AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR, IF WE WEREN'T A HUNDRED PERCENT MAN, THEN WE OUGHT BE GETTING A BRIEFING SAYING, WELL, WE DIDN'T SPEND ALL OF OUR PERSONNEL MONEY. WE HAVE THIS EXTRA EXCESS MONEY LEFT OVER. THAT'S JUST ME FROM A PER A BUDGET ASSESSMENT ON THAT. I'M NOT A FINANCE GUY, BUT I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE WOULD FORECAST IN VACANCIES, BECAUSE TO ME, THAT'S A VOLATILE SUBJECT. I, I, I'LL BE CANDID WITH YOU, I'VE, I'VE DONE IT BOTH WAYS. IN THE 30 YEARS OF DOING MUNICIPAL BUDGETS AND IN ONE ORGANIZATION WHERE IT, IT TENDS TO BE, THE LARGER YOU GET, THE MORE THAT MONEY MEANS SOMETHING AND YOU END UP TYING UP, SAY, UP TO FIVE OR SIX OR 7% OF YOUR BUDGET THAT YOU KNOW YOU'RE NOT GONNA USE. AND SO AS ORGANIZATIONS [01:15:01] GET LARGER, THEY TEND TO USE A BUDGET OF A BUDGET OF VACANCY RATE. AND, AND YOU DO, UH, LIKE COUNCILMAN MACALUSO SAID, YOU DO HAVE TO BE DILIGENT. YOU DON'T, BECAUSE IT WAS 8%, YOU KNOW, 12 YEARS AGO, YOU DON'T JUST STAY WITH 8% . YOU CHECK IT EACH YEAR, KIND OF SEE WHERE THE TRENDS ARE. WE'RE PROBABLY TO A POINT WHERE WE SHOULD SLIM IT DOWN. IT'S JUST SO YOU DON'T OVER OBLIGATE YOURSELF AND END UP WITH A BUNCH OF MONEY EACH YEAR. NOW, AND ANOTHER ORGANIZATION I WORKED IN, WE WERE A LARGER ORGANIZATION THAN SHIRTS, AND WE BUDGETED FULL THE FULL AMOUNT, LIKE YOU SAID, WE JUST HAD TO KIND OF MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTOOD WHERE WE WERE AT THE END OF THE YEAR. I THINK EITHER WAY, YOU, YOU END UP HAVING TO DO THE SAME TYPE OF EXERCISE. THAT THAT'S A GOOD EXPLANATION. BUT TO ME PERSONALLY, I WOULD FEEL BETTER AT THE END OF THE YEAR HAVING A DISCUSSION THAT WE DID NOT USE ALL OF OUR PERSONNEL FUNDS. AND 'CAUSE WHEN WE HAVE OUR BUDGET DISCUSSIONS, WE LOOK AT WHAT ALL THE DEPARTMENTS NEED AND WE LOOK AT A CUT LINE AND WE SEE WHAT'S BELOW THE CUT LINE. SO I KNOW THERE'S THINGS OUT THERE THAT THE DEPARTMENTS WOULD'VE LIKE TO HAVE GOTTEN, BUT DURING THE BUDGET DISCUSSION, THEY WERE BELOW THE LINE. I WOULD RATHER COME INTO THIS LAST MONTH OR TWO OF THE, OF THE YEAR SAYING, HEY, WE DID NOT USE ALL OF OUR PERSONNEL FUNDS. WE CAN REALLOCATE THAT FROM HERE INTO FUNDING SOME OF THOSE BELOW THE LINE ITEMS VERSUS WE'RE IN MIDDLE OF SEPTEMBER AND WE'RE SAYING, WELL, BY THE WAY, WE, WE UNDERESTIMATED OUR PERSONNEL FUNDS AND NOW WE'VE GOTTA MOVE MONEY FROM SOMEPLACE ELSE BACK INTO THE PERSONNEL ACCOUNT TO PAY FOR EMPLOYEES THAT WE, THAT WE KNEW WERE HERE. SO THAT'S, THAT'S JUST MY 2 CENTS ON THE BUDGET LINE. OKAY. WE GOT COUNCIL MEMBER GUERRERO. UM, AS FAR AS THE, THE BUDGET MOVING FUNDS TO COVER EVERYTHING, WHO, WHAT, WHAT DEPARTMENTS ARE BEING AFFECTED WHEN YOU'RE MOVING THESE FUNDS? UH, MOVING FUNDS BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS? YES. UH, SO IN, IN THIS SITUATION, WE HAVE THE PLAN OR THE INSPECTIONS DIVISION AND THE ENGINEERING. SO $5,000 GOING FROM, UH, PLANNING OR SORRY, IMPLEMENT FROM INSPECTIONS OVER TO ENGINEERING. ONE GOES DOWN 5,000, ONE GOES UP 5,000, NO OVERALL CHANGE TO THE GENERAL FUND, UH, THEIR BOTTOM LINE. UM, ON THE OTHER SIDE, THE DRAINAGE FUND, WE HAD A PERSON IDENTIFIED IN DRAINAGE, UH, FOR PERSONNEL. THEY GOT ASSIGNED TO, UM, ENGINEERING. AND SO IN THE ADJUSTMENT THAT WE'LL MAKE ON THE FINAL BUDGET DOCUMENT, WE WOULD LOWER THE, UM, UH, PERSONNEL EXPENSES ON THE DRAINAGE SIDE, INCREASE THEIR TRANSFER OUT INTER FUND CHARGE. UM, SO OVERALL THE NET BOTTOM LINE ON DRANGE WOULDN'T, WOULDN'T CHANGE. AND THEN ON THE, UH, GENERAL FUND SIDE, WE INCREASE THE, UH, ENGINEERING PERSONNEL LINES AND THEN INCREASE THE INTER FUND CHARGE TRANSFER IN THE REVENUE SIDE. AND SO DRANGE WOULD SEE NO CHANGE TO THE BOTTOM LINE. THE, UH, GENERAL FUND WOULD SEE AN INCREASE ON THE REVENUE AND, UH, EXPENDITURES AT THE SAME AMOUNT. SO THE, UH, THE OVERALL EFFECT IS STILL ZERO, BUT YOU'LL SEE THOSE NUMBERS INCREASE A LITTLE, A LITTLE BIT, UM, EVERYWHERE ELSE ON THE, THE ITEMS, THE, UH, THE BUDGET WOULD JUST INCREASE OVERALL. SO IT'D BE A, A LARGER AMOUNT. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER DISCUSSIONS HAVING THAT? CAN I ENTERTAIN A MOTION? I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE. SECOND. OKAY. I GOT A MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCIL MEMBER MACALUSO. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DIETZ, CAN I GET EVERYBODY TO CASH A VOTES? CAN I GET THE VOTES PUBLISHED PLEASE? HAVING SEVEN YAYS, NO NAYS. MOTION PASSES. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, NOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO [13. Ordinance 26-T-026 - Conduct a Public Hearing and Adopt an operating and capital budget for the FY 2026-27 Annual Budget (Finance Director James Walters)] SOME PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS. WE HAVE ITEM 13, ORDINANCE 26 DASH T 0 26, CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING AND, AND OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 20 26, 20 27 ANNUAL BUDGET. WITH US, WE HAVE OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR, MR. CHANGE WALTERS. ALL RIGHT, GOOD EVENING AGAIN. LET ME GET THIS. OH, THERE WE GO. [01:20:03] I BROKE IT. MEETING ADJOURNED. COME BACK AGAIN NEXT WEEK. , JUST A WAY TO GET FUNDING, RIGHT? BY THE IT DEPARTMENT. IT DEPART. AH, THERE WE GO. OKAY, THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, I'LL RUN IT THROUGH A COUPLE OF SLIDES TO, UH, FRAME UP THE QUESTION DISCUSSION HERE FOR COUNCIL TONIGHT. DON'T WORRY, IT'S NOT THE A HUNDRED SLIDE PRESENTATION THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH BEFORE. UH, JUST A QUICK LOOK AT OUR CALENDAR. UH, THE BUDGET PROCESS STARTED BACK IN FEBRUARY. UH, WE WENT THROUGH MULTIPLE DISCUSSIONS AND EXTRA ADDITIONAL MEETINGS AND WE WERE AT THE, UM, UH, SEPTEMBER 15TH, UH, BUDGET ADOPTION. AND THE, UH, UH, OCTOBER 1ST, THE FISCAL YEAR WOULD BEGIN AND THE NEW BUDGET AND TAX RATE WOULD GO INTO EFFECT. SO A CHANGE FROM THE, UH, THE PREVIOUS TIME, THIS WAS BEFORE COUNCIL, UH, WE SAW, UH, A TOTAL EXPENSES, UH, BUDGET THAT STAFF IS PROPOSING TONIGHT OF $180,086,989. UM, IT'S ABOUT 26% INCREASE OVER THE PRIOR YEAR, AGAIN, WITH THE MAJORITY OF THAT BEING IN THE TRANSFERS FOR THE ONE-TIME ITEMS IN THE GENERAL FUND, UH, TO USE UP SOME OF THE EX EXCESS FUND BALANCE. SO WE'VE ACCUMULATED THROUGH THE ONE-TIME SALES TAX GENERATION, UH, PERSONNEL SERVICES MAKE UP ABOUT 31% OF THAT AMOUNT, UH, WITH THE TRANSFERS TEMPORARILY BEING THE NEXT HIGHEST AT 29 MILLION, 16%. SO CHANGES SINCE THE LAST TIME THE BUDGET WAS BROUGHT FORWARD. THE ORIGINAL, UM, PROPOSAL WAS $179,353,613 UPDATES. WE REMOVED FOUR NEW PATROL OFFICERS THAT WERE ORIGINALLY PROPOSED IN THE, UH, THE BUDGET, UH, FROM STAFF. UH, WE ALSO MOVED 45,000 FROM PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TO DEPARTMENT SPECIFIC SOFTWARE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. THAT'S NOT AN OVERALL BUDGET CHANGE, IT'S JUST AN INTERNAL CHANGE THAT WE DID, EVEN IT STAYED THE SAME. THEN WE INCREASED THE TRANSFERS OUT IN ROADWAY IMPACT FEES AREA ONE AND TWO BY 1.2 MILLION AND 892,000. THOSE ARE IN THE FUND BALANCE. WE HAVE THE, THE CASH AND THIS WILL HELP MATCH THE, UH, THE CAPITAL BUDGET, UH, GOING FORWARD FOR THE, UH, WIEDER STEIN AND THE, UM, UM, UH, THAT RIPS NO STEIN AND, AND THE LIVE OAK AND THE MASSEY ROAD PROJECT. SO THE GENERAL FUND IS WHERE THE OTHER, UH, CONVERSATION THAT WE WERE HAVING, UH, THE BUDGET PROPOSED IS NOW 54,609,471. AFTER REMOVED THE FOUR OFFICERS, UH, SORRY, THAT'S THE REVENUE SIDE. UH, 40% COMES FROM OUR SALE. OUR PROPERTY TAXES, 31% COMES FROM SALES TAXES, UH, TOGETHER, 71% OVER TWO THIRDS OF THE REVENUE FROM THE GENERAL FUND IS, UM, BETWEEN PROPERTY AND SALES TAXES, UH, WITH PERMITS FEES AND LICENSES MAKING UP ONLY 8% MUNICIPAL COURT, 1%. ON THE EXPENSE SIDE, WE $81,868,586. SO THIS IS THE NUMBER THAT'S, UH, LESS THAN THOSE WAS PREVIOUSLY BROUGHT FORWARD TO COUNCIL, HAS REMOVED THE, UM, FOUR P UH, PATROL OFFICERS. UH, THIS DOES STILL INCLUDE THE FOUR DISPATCHERS. UH, PUBLIC SAFETY IS ABOUT THREE 4%. AGAIN, TRANSFERS, UH, ARE HIGHER THAN NORMAL. 29%. THEY'RE NOT NORMALLY THAT BIG. USUALLY 0%, WHICH MEANS PUBLIC SAFETY WILL BE CLOSE TO 47%. ALMOST HALF THE BUDGET IS JUST PUBLIC SAFETY. IF YOU INCLUDE PUBLIC WORKS, WHICH IS THE STREETS, UH, BETWEEN PUBLIC WORKS AND PUBLIC SAFETY, THAT'S 50%. IT'LL BE ABOUT 50% OF THE OVERALL BUDGET. UM, ON THE INS SIDE, THAT SERVICE WILL TOUCH ON THIS ONE BECAUSE IT IS AFFECTED BY THE TAX RATE, UH, THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT HERE IN A MOMENT. UH, THE INS RATE IS, UH, CALCULATED AT 1681. IT DOES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING DEBT ISSUANCES. AGAIN, WE HAVE NOTHING SCHEDULED FOR THIS YEAR. SO IF THERE'S ANY CHANGES TO THIS, STAFF WOULD COME BEFORE COUNCIL, UH, THIS COMING SPRING AND AND BEYOND TO, UM, TO SOLIDIFY THOSE PLANS AND, UH, AND, AND CHANGE THAT, UH, ISSUANCE ON 27 28, WHICH WOULD, UH, TAKE INTO EFFECT ON, UM, PROBABLY COMING BEFORE COUNSEL ON, UH, MARCH, UH, JUNE TIMEFRAME OF 27 WITH FUNDS ARRIVING AFTER THE DEBT ISSUANCE OF, UH, THAT FALL IN 27. AND SO, UH, THAT'S WHERE STAFF WILL BE TAKING, LOOKING FOR INPUT FOR COUNSEL ON HOW WE WANNA APPROACH THE UPCOMING DEBT ISSUANCES. CURRENTLY IT'S PROPOSED AT $8 MILLION AND CHANGING THAT NOW WOULDN'T AFFECT THE 1681 AT THIS TIME. UH, SO THAT'S WHAT OUR DEBT PAYMENTS WOULD BE LIKE UNDER THAT SCHEDULE IF WE ISSUED. THAT IS OUR CURRENT OBLIGATIONS, YOU SEE AS THEY DROP OF, UH, OVERALL AS WE GO ON THROUGHOUT THE, UH, THE 10 YEAR WINDOW. AND THEN WITH THE NEW PAYMENTS BEING ADDED ON TOP OF THAT, THE OVERALL PAYMENTS RELATIVELY FLAT AND KIND OF PICK UP AS GROWTH ALLOWS FOR US TO, UH, ISSUE MORE DEBT WITHOUT RAISING TAXES. [01:25:01] BUT THE TAX RATES THAT ARE BEING, UH, PROPOSED AND DISCUSSED TONIGHT. HERES ARE, UM, ASSESSED PROPERTY VALUES. YOU SEE, THEY WENT THROUGH A RAPID RISE RIGHT AFTER COVID, A LITTLE DIP HERE, AND WE'RE RELATIVELY FLAT OVERALL FOR 26. THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN ACTUAL DOLLAR VALUES. THE 2025 TAXABLE VALUE IS $5.5 BILLION. THOSE SAME PROPERTIES THAT WE TAXED LAST YEAR ARE NOW WORTH $5.4 BILLION. UM, WE DID, UM, HAVE SOME CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT IN NEW CONSTRUCTION. $227 MILLION GOT ADDED TO THE TAX ROLL. SO OUR TOTAL TAXABLE VALUE IN THE CITY OF SHIRTS IS $5.6 BILLION. AGAIN, OVERALL, WE DID HAVE AN INCREASE IN OUR TAXABLE VALUE. UM, BUT THE NEW CONSTRUCTION, UH, WAS BRINGING IT UP, NOT THE EXISTING PROPERTY VALUES. SO BEFORE COUNCIL TONIGHT, WE HAVE THE DIFFERENT TAX RATES UP FOR CONSIDERATION. WE HAVE THE NO NEW REVENUE TAX RATE, 52 96. THAT'S THE RATE AT WHICH, UH, STAFF WOULD RAISE THE SAME AMOUNT OF TAX REVENUE FROM PROPERTIES THAT EXISTED THIS YEAR AND NEXT YEAR. UM, THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST RATE COUNCIL CAN ADOPT WITHOUT GOING TO THE VOTERS. SO YOU CAN GO HIGHER THAN THIS. WELL, YOU CAN'T GO HIGHER THAN THIS 'CAUSE THIS IS THE, UH, THE RATE WE PUT ON OUR PRELIMINARY NOTICE. UM, SO THIS WILL BE THE HIGHEST RATE COUNCIL COULD ADOPT TONIGHT IF THEY SO CHOOSE. OUR CURRENT RATE IS 0.5118. UM, BASED ON THE LAST DISCUSSION, STAFF IS STILL PROPOSING A 5 1 7 5 RATE. AND THAT WOULD FUND THE FOUR DISPATCHERS AND NOT THE FOUR PATROL OFFICERS. UM, OR THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE, THAT $97 IS ABOUT $8 AND 12 CENTS PER MONTH INCREASE ON THE AVERAGE HOME. SO THAT WOULD BE THE MAXIMUM EFFECT THAT COUNCIL COULD HAVE ON OUR CITIZENS. UM, AND THESE ALL ARE RUN ANNUAL AMOUNTS. AND JUST FOR SCOPE OF REFERENCE, THE ONE PENNY ON THIS IS ABOUT $560,000 OF REVENUE OR $32 ANNUALLY ON THE, UH, AVERAGE HOME. SO THIS IS A LOOK AT OUR TAX RATES GOING BACK FROM 2020 GOING THROUGH THE YEARS. UM, ABOUT THE 5 51 21 FOR A COUPLE YEARS, WE'D BE AT 51 75, UH, AT THE CURRENT PROPOSAL FROM STAFF. AND, UH, AGAIN, VERY, UH, SHORT MEETING OR SHORT DISCUSSION AS FAR AS THE PRESENTATION GOES. UM, WE HAVE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND THEN IF STAFF, UH, WISHES TO DISCUSS AND MAKE ANY CHANGES TO THE PROPOSED BUDGET AS IT STANDS, UM, Y'ALL ARE WELCOME TO DO SO. UH, I CAN WALK YOU THROUGH SOME OF THE MOTION LANGUAGE IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES, OR YOU CAN ACCEPT IT AS STAFF PROPOSED WITH THOSE CHANGES. I, I TOUCHED ON EARLIER. THANK YOU. AT THIS TIME I'LL GO AHEAD AND OPEN IT UP TO THE RESIDENTS AND PUBLIC TO SPEAK AT 7 28. MAGGIE TETON, 5 3 2 5 STORM KING. UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THE TRANSPARENCY. I WAS HERE WHEN YOU ALL FIRST BEGAN THE TALKS. I MISS SOME OF THE IN BETWEEN. BUT, UM, AS A RESIDENT, I WILL GROUCH WHEN I GET A LITTLE BIT OF INCREASE IN MY BILLS LIKE WE ALL DO. BUT WHEN I SEE IT THAT PLAINLY ACROSS THAT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A HUNDRED DOLLARS MORE A YEAR. IT'S A YEAR. IS THAT CORRECT MR. WILLIAMS? IT'S A HUNDRED MORE A YEAR IF WE DO ANNUAL. YEAH, BUT THAT'S, CAN WE HAVE THAT ONE SLIDE PUT BACK UP? AND MY WHOLE POINT BEING IS I THINK A HUNDRED DOLLARS IS A VERY GOOD INVESTMENT IF WE CAN KEEP THOSE FOUR PATROL OFFICERS, IF THAT'S WHAT'S BEING CUT, BECAUSE WE ARE TRYING TO CUT A TAX RATE. I THINK MOST OF US INTRINSICALLY KNOW THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TAX INCREASE EVERY YEAR. JUST IT'S COST OF LIVING, IT'S QUALITY OF LIFE. AND I ENJOY THE FACT THAT OUR CITY SO MANY TIMES HAS GOTTEN THE AWARD FOR BEST PLACES TO LIVE. WE'RE ON THAT LIST, UH, SAFEST PLACE TO LIVE. UM, WE'RE ALWAYS IN THE TOP, UNDER THE TOP A HUNDRED OUT OF NATIONWIDE, ALL THE STATES, ALL THE CITIES. AND THIS IS INVESTING IN OUR CITY. DO I WANT TO PAY A LITTLE BIT MORE? NO, I MEAN, I'LL BE HONEST, MY MONEY IS REALLY TIGHT, JUST LIKE ALL OF Y'ALL'S IS AND OUR WALLET AND EVERYTHING, THE INFLATION, THE GAS, THE FOOD. BUT WHEN I DO SEE THIS AND I SEE WHERE THE MONEY IS AND I SEE HOW TIGHTLY WE HAVE TO CUT AND WHERE WE DO, WE'RE, WE'RE CUTTING IN THE WRONG PLACES. BUT I KNOW HOW LEAN THIS BUDGET IS. I KNOW I, I SIT HERE COUNCIL MEETING EVERY MONTH AND I COME IN HERE AND I, I FEEL LIKE I'M WELL VERSED IN THIS, BUT AS A RESIDENT, I FEEL LIKE THIS CITY IS VERY WELL RUN. YOU ALL DO SUCH A GOOD JOB IN YOUR DUE DILIGENCE. BUT A HUNDRED DOLLARS A YEAR, I AM WILLING TO DO, TO SEE MY TAXES BE RAISED A HUNDRED DOLLARS A YEAR. IF THIS MEANS THAT WE CAN KEEP OR GET FOUR PATROL OFFICERS AND DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO KEEP OUR CITY GOING FORWARD, KEEP [01:30:01] IT SAFE, UM, KEEP IT AT A STANDARD OF WHAT WE ALL FEEL IS ACCEPTABLE AND HOW WE WANNA LIVE IN OUR CITY. SO, UM, JUST THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME VOICE MY OPINION, BUT IT JUST, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE INFORMATION AND AS A RESIDENT, I WOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH A HUNDRED DOLLARS MORE A YEAR. THANK YOU. AND I THINK, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE, WHICH IS A 0.5296, IF WE APPROVE THAT WILL ALLOW US TO BRING ON THOSE FOUR OFFICERS. YES. YES MA'AM. WITHOUT ANY INCREASE BECAUSE IT, IT MAKES IT LOOK LIKE THERE'S AN INCREASE, BUT THERE'S REALLY NOT. YOU'LL, YOU'LL BE PAYING THE SAME AMOUNT THAT YOU PAID LAST YEAR, YOU'LL BE PAYING THIS YEAR. IS THAT CORRECT? YES, SIR. JUST TO CLARIFY, THE, THE SLIDE AGAIN THAT JAMES WENT THROUGH, THAT NO NEW REVENUE RATE MEANS THAT THE ESTIMATED TAX BILL FOR THE AVERAGE HOMEOWNER INSUREDS WOULD STAY THE SAME. AND IF YOU DID THE VOTER APPROVAL, WHICH THERE'S NEVER BEEN ANY REAL DISCUSSION ABOUT DOING THE VOTER APPROVAL, THEY WOULD GO UP BY $97 A YEAR. AND IF YOU DID THE CURRENT TAX RATE, IT WOULD GO DOWN BY $58. IF YOU DID THE 51 75 THAT WAS DISCUSSED AT THE LAST MEETING, IT WOULD GO DOWN BY 39 44 A YEAR. AND THE ONLY REASON IT MAKES IT LOOK LIKE THERE'S AN INCREASE IS BECAUSE THERE WAS A DECREASE IN OUR PROPERTY VALUES. AND SO IN ORDER FOR US TO BRING IN THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY WE WOULD NEED TO ADOPT A NO NEW REVENUE RATE. DO I HAVE ANY OTHER RESIDENTS WISHING TO COME UP TO SPEAK? ALLISON HAYWARD AND I HAVE TO AGREE WITH UH, MAGGIE TON. I'M WILLING TO PAY THE NI THE A HUNDRED DOLLARS. NOT THAT I REALLY WANT TO, BUT I THINK BECAUSE THE CITY OF CHURCHS IS SAFE, WE RELATIVELY SAFE. WHY WOULDN'T WE CONTINUE WITH HAVING THE PRO GETTING HIRING THE FOUR PATROL OFFICERS? I DON'T WANT THE CITY OF CHURCHS TO END UP LIKE THE COUNTY. THEY'RE IN A WORLD OF HURT BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT DOING THE THINGS THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING ALL ALONG. AND WE KNOW THAT EVERYTHING OVER TIME IT GOES UP. I WAS JUST HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH A FRIEND THIS MORNING TALKING ABOUT MY FIRST HOUSE WAS $77,000. WHEN IT'S TIME TO SELL, IT'S GONNA GO OVER $200,000. THAT WAS 30, ALMOST 30 YEARS AGO. SO THINGS COST, THEY GO UP AND WE HAVE TO EXPECT THAT I HATE PAYING EXTRA MONEY. UM, 'CAUSE WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT, I CAN GO DO SOMETHING ELSE WITH MY GRANDKIDS. BUT FOR SAFETY, I DON'T THINK WE SKIMP ON SAFETY WHEN IT COMES TO THAT. AND SO AS A RESIDENT, I'M WILLING TO PAY, BUT IF THE NO NEW, NO NEW NEW REVENUE RATE GETS US THERE, I'M FINE WITH THAT. BUT I HAVE NO PROBLEM GOING TO THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE BECAUSE WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE STAY SAFE. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER RESIDENTS? GOING ONCE, TWICE. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CLOSE THE HEARING OF RESIDENTS AT 7 33 THIS TIME. I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR DISCUSSION AMONGST COUNCIL MEMBERS. ANY DISCUSSION ON THE TAX RATE THAT WE WANT TO APPROVE? UH, UH, THE STATE COMES AT US AND SAYS, YEAH, YOU HAVE TO ADOPT THE BUDGET FIRST AND THEN RATIFY ANY TAXES THAT MAY OR MAY NOT NEED TO BE LEVIED FOR THAT. AND THEN YOU CAN ADOPT A A TAX RATE. OKAY. UM, SO NOW'S THE KIND OF DISCUSSION POINT OVER WHAT COUNCIL WANTS IN THE BUDGET AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK AND FUND IT ON THE TAX RATE. SO THEY'RE STILL KIND OF INTRINSICALLY LINKED. UM, SO THIS WILL BE KINDA A TIME WHERE YOU CAN DISCUSS THAT IF, IF EVERYONE'S OKAY WITH THE 51 75, WE CAN GO WITH THAT AS THE BUDGET'S PRESENTED, IF WE WANNA MAKE ANY CHANGES TO THE BUDGET AND KEEP, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS IS THE TIME FOR COUNCIL TO MAKE A DISCUSSION. YEAH. COUNCIL MEMBER REBECCA LUCIO DISAPPOINTED, A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED IN THE PRESENTATION BECAUSE WE HAD LIKE SPECIFIC DISCUSSION IN OUR, UM, RETREATS AND I DON'T FEEL LIKE ANY OF THAT WAS ADDRESSED. I THINK THE MAJORITY OF US WANTED TO AT LEAST LOOK, LOOK AT WHAT IT WAS IF IT WAS KEPT AT THE CURRENT RATE THAT WASN'T GIVEN TO US AT ALL. AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, HAD DISCUSSIONS ON TRYING TO LOWER THE INS RATE IN THE FUTURE. I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING INVOLVED WITH THAT EITHER. UM, SO I I I FEEL LIKE I'M NOT GETTING THE INFORMATION THAT WE HAD ASKED FOR AND I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY ELSE AGREES WITH ME ON THAT. BUT, AND THIS, THIS THOUGHT ABOUT IF WE DON'T FUND THE FOUR POLICE OFFICERS, WE'RE GONNA BE LESS SAFE. I MEAN, THAT WAS A SPECIFIC [01:35:01] DISCUSSION WE HAD WITH THE POLICE CHIEF AND HE COMPLETELY AGREE THAT WAS NOT GONNA BE THE CASE. SO, UM, I THINK, I DON'T WANNA SAY SCARE TACTICS, BUT THIS THOUGHT THAT THOSE FOUR POLICE OFFICERS ARE GONNA MAKE SURE IT'S A LESS SAFE CITY. IT'S NOT ACCURATE. UH, POLICE CHIEF ANSWERED IT HIMSELF. UM, IT AS PART OF THE DISCUSSION, THIS IS AN ADDITIONAL FOR POLICE OFFICERS. IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE CUTTING POLICE OFFICERS AT ALL. AND, UM, AND SO, UH, I JUST, I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE WE GOT THE INFORMATION THAT WE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT. ALRIGHT. UM, TO, UH, TO YOUR POINT, WE, UH, WE DID NOT MENTION, UH, IN THIS PRESENTATION, THIS IS STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION AND COUNCIL CAN, CAN, UH, UPDATE IT OR ASK QUESTIONS AND WE CAN CALCULATE IT AND DO SOME OTHER THINGS HERE, UH, IN THE PRESENTATION LAST WEEK, UH, OR WHEN WE LAST MET AT THE, THE LAST WORKSHOP, IF COUNCIL WANTS TO KEEP THE SAME RATE, IT'S STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION THAT WE WOULD REMOVE THE FOUR DISPATCHERS. UM, THAT WAS, THAT WAS STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION. IF COUNSEL WANTS TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT, WE HAVE THE LIST, UH, FOR THAT ONE, UH, THAT WE CAN, WE CAN MAKE SOME OTHER ADJUSTMENTS IN THAT STEAD. BUT THAT WAS HOW STAFF WANTED TO PRESENT THAT. I DON'T THINK ANYBODY WANTED TO GET RID OF THE DISPATCHERS. I THINK EVERYBODY WAS ON BOARD WITH BRINGING ON THE DISPATCHERS, UH, IMPROVING THEIR PAY, UH, EVERYTHING ALONG WITH THAT. I THINK EVERYBODY, OR AT LEAST A MAJORITY OF US WANTED TO SEE IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY SOMEWHERE ELSE TO SAVE MONEY? AND, UH, THAT WAS NOT SHOWN TO US AT ALL. IT WAS JUST KIND OF COMPLETELY IGNORED. SO, SO JUST TO CLARIFY, IT WASN'T IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT IT IS IN THE PACKET. I WENT BACK AND I ASKED THE STAFF TO PROPOSE 1% CUTS TO THEIR BUDGET AND THEN AN ADDITIONAL HALF PERCENT THAT'S INCLUDED IN THE AGENDA ITEM. IT'S ABOUT 10 PAGES LONG. SO WE CAN YOU BRING IT UP? UM, YES, WE, WE COULD BRING IT UP. UH, AND REGARDING THE INS RATE, BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY ISSUED THE DEBT AFFECTED BY THIS NEW INS RATE, WE DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY THOUGH TO LOWER THAT AT THIS POINT. WE COULD DO IT IN SUBSEQUENTLY FOR, FOR THE FUTURE. YEAH, I DID TRY IT IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS. YEAH, YEAH, I UNDERSTOOD THAT. OKAY. BUT THAT WAS KIND OF, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD NEED TO DISCUSS NOW. NO, I APOLOGIZE. I I TRIED TO MENTION THAT IN THE PRESENTATION, UH, THAT, UM, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE FUTURE DEBT ISSUANCES, UM, I GUESS IF WE'RE HERE, SORRY, I CAN'T FIND IT. OH, THERE I WAS SAYING, YEAH, WE WOULD, IF WE WANTED, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT, YEAH, IF WE WANTED TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF DEBT THAT WE ISSUE AND USE THE FUND BALANCE, UM, WE WOULD, WE WOULD TARGET THAT THIS NEXT BUDGET DISCUSSION WHEN WE, WE WOULD START, UM, TALKING ABOUT DO WE ISSUE THE 8 MILLION OR WHATNOT. THAT WOULD BE IN ABOUT MARCH OR JUNE OF 2027. AND WE WOULD MAKE THAT DECISION THERE. SO JAMES, KEN, ARE YOU ABLE TO BRING UP THE ATTACHMENT THE IS, I'M SORRY, IT'S 23 PAGES OF CUTS THAT I ASKED THE STAFF TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT EACH OF THEIR BUDGETS AND PROPOSE AREAS WHERE THEY COULD CUT 1%, WHICH WOULD GENERATE ABOUT A HALF A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR IN SAVINGS, AND THEN ANOTHER HALF PERCENT JUST FOR GOOD MEASURE, WHICH WOULD GENERATE ANOTHER $244,000 IN SAVINGS. IF YOU GO TO THE VERY END OF THE DOCUMENT, YOU CAN SEE THE SUMMARY AND ALL THE INDIVIDUAL CUTS. IF WE, WE CAN GO THROUGH THEM ONE BY ONE IF YOU WANT, BUT IN TOTAL THOSE ARE DETAILED OUT NOT KNOWING EXACTLY WHAT THE DISCUSSION IS, BECAUSE THERE WAS A DISCUSSION ABOUT RETAINING THE FOUR DISPATCHERS AND NOT KEEPING THE POLICE OFFICERS. AND THEN THERE WAS ALSO DISCUSSION ABOUT POTENTIALLY KEEPING THE FOUR DISPATCHERS AND KEEPING THE 5 1 1 8 TAX RATE. SO THERE ARE A VARIETY OF THINGS THAT SEEM TO BE ON THE TABLE. WHAT WE CAME BACK WITH, WHAT WE BELIEVED WAS A CONSENSUS, WHAT I BELIEVED WAS A CONSENSUS WAS TO PROPOSE THE 41 51 75 TAX RATE, WHICH IS A REDUCTION SLIGHTLY FROM THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE AND RETAINING THE FOUR DISPATCHERS AND THEN LEAVING OUT THE POLICE OFFICERS TO BE EVALUATED LATER. I FELT LIKE THERE WAS A CONSENSUS AT THAT POINT, THAT'S WHY WE BROUGHT IT BACK AS A RECOMMENDATION. BUT THIS IS THE TIME TO MAKE THAT DECISION AND IF THERE'S FURTHER DISCUSSION TO BE HAD, WE CAN HAVE IT. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SHERIDAN REQUESTED THIS INFORMATION INITIALLY, UH, TO SEE WHERE WE COULD CUT AND I BELIEVE YOU REQUESTED ALSO COUNCILMAN MSO. SO THIS IS WHAT WE'VE DONE. WE WE'RE MORE THAN HAPPY TO GO THROUGH EACH ONE OF THESE PAGES WITH YOU. AND, AND IF YOU WANT TO MAYBE START AT THE TOP, IT'S, IT IS A 1% REDUCTION THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO ADD THE FOUR POLICE OFFICERS AND NOT, OR IF WE WANTED TO KEEP THE DISPATCHERS [01:40:02] AND NOT ADD THE POLICE THERE. THERE'S, THERE'S JUST A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS. IT'S A MATTER OF WHAT YOU GUYS WANT. AND THEN WE CAN BUILD THE TAX RATE TO THAT OR WE CAN MAKE CUTS TO THE CURRENT BUDGET. LIKE WHAT WAS RECOMMENDED. I DON'T RECOMMEND THESE CUTS BECAUSE I THINK, I THINK IT CUTS DEEP, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU GET INTO THE LARGER DEPARTMENTS LIKE POLICE AND FIRE. UH, YOU AT THE 1% YOU'RE TAKING 145,000 OUT OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND A HUNDRED THOUSAND OUT OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. AND THEN OTHERS YOU CAN SEE 30,000, 50,000, UH, YOU KNOW, 30 MORE THOUSAND HERE AND THERE, ADDING UP TO THAT AMOUNT THAT THAT MONEY CAN BE CUT. BUT IT IS KIND OF A ONE TIME ONE TRICK PONY, RIGHT? WE CAN DO THAT ONE TIME AND, AND THEN WE DON'T HAVE THAT AS AN AVAILABLE OPTION IN FUTURE YEARS. IT IT, AND IT ALSO CUTS INTO SOME THINGS THAT THERE'S EXPLANATIONS ON EACH OF THESE AS YOU GUYS CAN SEE. AND SOME OF THESE THINGS WILL, IT'LL IMPACT IT IN SLIGHT WAYS. BUT IF YOU GO TO TAKE THE LIBRARY, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU CUT THE LIBRARY BOOKS BY $10,000, IS THE LIBRARY GONNA SHUT DOWN? IS IT GONNA BE BAD? WELL, NO, NOT NECESSARILY. BUT WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO CUT $10,000 FROM THE BOOK BUDGET IN THE LIBRARY? IT, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT, THAT I WOULD RECOMMEND AS YOUR CITY MANAGER TO DO. BUT WE'RE HERE TO LISTEN AND WE'RE HERE. WE WILL CHANGE IT ANY WAY YOU GUYS WANT US TO CHANGE IT AND, AND WE'LL MOVE FORWARD REGARDLESS. COUNCIL MEMBER, ACTUALLY MY QUESTION WAS GONNA BE THAT WHERE, WHERE IS THE, UH, THE CUTS? 'CAUSE I REMEMBER WE HAD DISCUSSED THAT, THAT WE UM, WE WANTED YOU GUYS TO GO AHEAD AND FIGURE OUT WHERE WE CAN CUT. THAT WAS GONNA BE MY QUESTION. UM, BUT UH, SO IF WE DO THESE CUTS, IT'S, WE'RE ABLE TO KEEP THE FOUR DISPATCHERS, FOUR POLICE OFFICERS. IT DEPENDS ON WHICH TAX RATE YOU INCLUDE IN THE, THE FI THE ONE WE WERE AGREEING ON, WHICH IS 51 75. YES, YOU CAN INCLUDE THE FOUR DISPATCHERS AT 51 75 AND NOT MAKE ANY CUTS. BUT IF WE WANT THE FOUR POLICE OFFICERS, THEN WE DO HAVE TO DO THESE CUTS, THEN WE WOULD NEED TO MAKE FURTHER CUTS OR RAISE THE TAX RATE. EITHER MORE REVENUE OR LESS EXPENSE. AND NO NEW REVENUE THEN NO NEW REVENUE WOULD COVER ALL EIGHT POSITIONS, INCLUDING THE FOUR OFFICERS AND FOUR DISPATCHERS. YES. WITHOUT THESE CUTS. WITHOUT THE CUTS, YEAH. THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE, NO CUTS. YEAH, THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE WOULD COVER, UM, THE FOUR DISPATCHERS AND FOUR OFFICERS WITH NO CUTS. THAT WAS THE, UH, BUDGET ORIGINALLY PROPOSED, UH, BY STAFF. IF WE WANTED TO GO WITH THE 5 1 7 5, THAT WOULD REMOVE THE OFFICERS, BUT KEEP THE DISPATCHERS. IF WE WANTED TO GO TO THE 5 1 1 8, THAT WOULD REMOVE ALL EIGHT POSITIONS. AND IF YOU WANTED TO ADD ANY BACK IN AT ANY ONE OF THOSE, WE COULD LOOK AT A COLUMN HERE AND AND TRY TO GET THAT BACK. AND, UM, UM, THAT'S WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS WHAT COUNCIL FEELS COMFORTABLE AS FAR AS THE RATE AND THEN THE POSITIONS. AND THEN WE CAN TRY TO BACK INTO A VERY DIFFERENT CUTS, UM, OR, OR NO CUTS AND DO THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE. SO THAT'S THE QUESTION WE HAVE NOW. I'M JUST GONNA ADD TO, UH, WELL, I AGREE WITH COUNCILMAN MACALUSO. WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU GUYS GONNA DO IN THE FUTURE TO CUT OFF THE, UH, HOW WOULD YOU SAY CUT OFF WHAT WE, WHAT'S NOT NEEDED? THAT WAY WE CAN LOWER THE DEFICIT. SO SOME OF, UH, THE STAFF WAS RECOMMENDED WHEN THEY WENT INTO THESE CUTS. WE WERE TOLD, UH, WE NEEDED TO MAKE CUTS AS IF THESE FUNDS WERE NOT COMING BACK. SO EACH OF THE CUTS HAD TO BE TIED TO A SPECIFIC CHANGE IN OPERATIONS. UM, YOU'LL FIND A VERY, UH, COMMON AREAS, UH, THAT CAME THROUGH FOR, FOR FINANCE. THAT WOULD BE, WE, WE HAVE A LOT OF PERSONNEL. UH, WE TRY NOT TO CUT ANY PERSONNEL. UM, SO IT WOULD BE OUR UNIFORM PIPELINE WOULD BE ONE OF THE LINES WE WOULD, WE WOULD CUT. AND SO WE HAVE, UH, ONE SHIRT EMBROIDERED KIND OF POLO FOR EVERYBODY, UH, ONCE A YEAR. UM, IF WE HAD TO DO THE ONE AND A HALF PERCENT, CUT THE FULL FOR BOTH ITEMS, UH, WE MAY ONLY GET ONE SHIRT A YEAR. KIND OF ROTATE WHO GETS IT. OR IF A NEW NEW HIRE COMES IN, THEY WOULD GET THE SHIRT. NO ELSE, GET A SHIRT. THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT. GENERALLY IT'S THE EASIEST WAY FOR US TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS, LET'S SAY FOR SHIRT, UH, FOR FINANCE, UH, WITHOUT AFFECTING OUR DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS AS MUCH. BUT MANY OF THE CUTS HERE, YOU TALK ABOUT MORALE OR DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THAT COULD BE AFFECTED BY BY SOME OF THESE. AND SOME OF 'EM ARE MUCH MORE SUBSTANTIAL THAN A SHIRT. UM, SO I'M LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE POLICE AND FIRE. WHAT ARE YOU GONNA BE CUTTING THERE IN ORDER? GO TO THAT PAGE. JAMES, CAN I, CAN I CLARIFY ONE THING? WE, WE DON'T HAVE A DEFICIT SITUATION THAT WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE UP. IF WE ADD THE POSITIONS, THESE ARE NEW POSITIONS [01:45:01] TO THE CITY, NEW POSITIONS TO THE BUDGET THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED. SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT EXISTING THAT WE'RE TAKING AWAY STILL THE GENERAL FUND. YEP. UH, SO, UH, FOR POLICE, $31,570 FOR UNIFORMS, UH, REDUCED FUNDING MAY LEAD TO INABILITY TO PLACE DAMAGED OR WORN EQUIPMENT, UNIFORMS AND REDUCE THE PROFESSIONAL IMAGE OF MAINTAINED BY THE DEPARTMENT. WARNER DAMAGE UNIFORMS UNDERMINED DEPARTMENT CREDIBILITY AND OFFICER MORALE, UH, 6,000 FOR EMPLOYEE MORALE. SO REDUCED FUNDING WOULD REDUCE OPPORTUNITIES FOR RECOGNITION AND ANNUAL AWARDS, UH, PROMOTIONS, RETIREMENTS, AND OTHER MOR BOOST ACTIVITIES. EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION PROGRAMS ARE CRITICAL RETENTION AND MOTIVATION TOOLS, PARTICULARLY IN HIGH STRESS PROFESSIONS. UH, LOSS OF MORALE INITIATIVES DIRECTLY COORDINATES WITH INCREASED TURNOVER, REQUIRING COSTLY RECRUITMENT TRAINING FOR REPLACEMENTS. $25,000 FOR TRAINING REDUCED FUNDING. WE REDUCED OPPORTUNITIES FOR RECOGNITION AND ANNUAL, UH, REWARDS. OH, THIS WAS ALSO THE, UM, UH, SO LESS, UH, LESS TRAINING. SO STAFF MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR SOME OF THEIR OWN CERTIFICATION TRAINING. THERE'D BE LESS AMMO FOR FOR PRACTICE, UM, FOR THOSE CERTIFICATIONS. UM, AS THEY KIND OF COME OUT, THIS IS GENERALLY THE SAME KIND OF STUFF THEY HAD THERE. UM, MEETING EXPENSES, 2000 REDUCED ABILITY TO PROVIDE ACCOMMODATIONS, PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS AND TRAININGS BOTH REGIONALLY AND WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS. 7,500 FOR MEDICAL SERVICES. REDUCE THE ANIMAL CAP CAPACITY OF ANIMAL SERVICES TO PROVIDE CONTINUED LEVEL OF MEDICAL, UH, CARE DESIRED BY THE CITY. SERVICES MAY BE REDUCED. SO IT'S THE, UM, VETERINARIAN THAT SOME OF THE ANIMALS SERVICES. THIS IS NOT FULL CUT, BUT, UH, SO IT WOULD BE REDUCED ABILITY TO SEND ANIMALS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR SHELTER AND TO LOOK AT IT VIA A VETERINARIAN. UM, 13,007 OR 39 OPERATING SUPPLIES. REDUCED CAPACITY FROM NORMAL DAILY OPERATIONS MAY AFFECT ALL SECTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT NEGATIVELY, SUCH AS BEING ABLE TO PURCHASE SUPPLIES FOR OR PROPERLY SECURING EVIDENCE. THEY WERE 500 FOR OFFICE SUPPLIES. REDUCE THE ABILITY TO SUPPLY PERSONNEL WITH SUPPLY FOR DAILY ACTIVITIES, SUCH AS NOTE TAKING CALLS, FULFILLING, UH, FOIA REQUESTS OR COMPLETING, UH, NORMAL OPERATING TASKS. 3 2 0 7 5 FOR CHILD SAFETY. REDUCE THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE SAFETY SUPPLIES, CROSSING GUARD AND OTHER PUBLIC OUTREACH SUPPLIES. 5,000 MED CHEM LAB SUPPLIES. REDUCE THE ABILITY OF ANIMAL SERVICES, PROVIDE CONTINUED LEVEL OF CARE BY THE CITY. SOURCES MAY RE RE REDUCE, BE LESS ABILITY TO, UM, UH, HANDLE ANY SICK PETS. UH, 6,000 FOR FURNITURE. REDUCE THE ABILITY FOR APARTMENT OF PERSONNEL TO MAINTAIN, UM, BROKEN FURNITURE. DO NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR DURING THE YEAR. UH, 5,000 COMPUTER PERIPHERALS REDUCE THE ABILITY FOR APARTMENT TO MAINTAIN BROKEN, UM, FURNITURE REAR AND TEAR. SO THIS WAS, UH, THIS WAS THEIR, UH, PERIPHERALS MICE KEYBOARDS, LESS ABILITY FOR REPLACE THOSE. THEY GET BROKEN, THEY USE 'EM A LITTLE BIT LONGER. UH, 5,000 FOR THE ABATEMENT. REMOVE THAT LINE ITEM. REMOVE THE ABILITY TO THE DEPARTMENT TO RESPOND TO ANY ANIMAL SERVICE ISSUES AS MITIGATION EFFORTS. SO THIS WOULD, UM, WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO, UH, GO IN AND, AND, UM, ACTUALLY ABATE OR, UM, MAKE A CHANGES TO THE ANIMAL SERVICE THROUGH A, A SEXUAL SITUATION IN A HOME FOR ANIMAL SERVICES. 4,500 ADVERTISING. REDUCE THE ABILITY OF DEPARTMENT TO, UH, ACTIVELY RECRUIT AND PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL MATERIALS TO ENTICE WELL QUALIFIED APPLICANTS. UM, 10,000. SO ADVERTISING AND RECRUITING EFFORTS. UH, 10,000 CITY INSURANCE COMMERCIAL STAFF NEED A CONTINGENCY IF THE RATES CONTINUE TO RISE HIGHER THAN THE EXPECTED LIABILITY. UM, 5,100 COMMUNITY OUTREACH REDUCES THE MISSION OF COMMUNITY-BASED POLICING, UH, POLICING AND DEVELOPING COMMUNITY CONTRACTS AND RESOURCES. 4,300 PRINTING AND BINDING REDUCE THE CAPABILITY DEPARTMENT TO PROVIDE, UH, REQUIRED FORMS. VICTIM BOOK LOOKS, PROFESSIONAL DOCUMENTS SUCH AS ANNUAL REPORTS, UH, 800 CREMATION SERVICES REDUCE THE ABILITY OF ANIMAL SERVICES TO PROVIDE, UH, PROPERTY DISPOSE OF DECEASED ANIMALS. ALL DEPENDENT ON, ON, UM, THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS. WE COME IN 800 FOR CONTRACTUAL SERVICES. REDUCE THE LIMITS ON ANIMAL SHELTER'S ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE OR COMMUNITY SERVICES IT CANNOT PROVIDE INTERNALLY. UH, SO ANYTHING WE CAN'T DO AND WE CAN CONTRACT OUT, UM, 825 OTHER MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS COMPLETELY REMOVED THE BUDGET LINE OR FORCES FUNDS TO HEAR FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE. UM, SORRY TO, SORRY TO INTERRUPT. I REALLY AM FAIR, BUT I THINK WE CAN ALL READ HERE. UM, I THINK THE QUESTION HERE, MAYOR, I I'M SORRY, GO AHEAD. WE CAN ALL READ, BUT THE QUESTION BEFORE COUNCIL RIGHT NOW IS IF THE COUNCIL WANTS THE FOUR ADDITIONAL POLICE OFFICERS AND IF WE WANT THE FOUR ADDITIONAL POLICE OFFICERS EITHER THROUGH CUTS OR THROUGH THE NO NEW RATE, THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW. 'CAUSE WE ALL AGREED ON THE 5 1 7 5 THAT GETS US THE, THE FOUR DISPATCHERS. SO WE'RE AT THE 4 1 7 5. SO WHAT THE COUNCIL HAS TO DECIDE RIGHT NOW IS IF WE WANT THE FOUR ADDITIONAL OFFICERS AND IF WE'RE WILLING TO GO TO THE NO NEW RATE OR IF WE'RE GONNA DO IT THROUGH CUTS. I MEAN THE, THE CUTS WILL GET US THERE, BUT IT'S NOT RECOMMENDED BY THE CITY MANAGER. SO THAT'S WHERE I'M TRYING TO SORT OF GUIDE THIS DISCUSSION. MAYOR, I WOULD NOT SEEING ALL THESE CUTS IN AREAS THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE CUTTING, UH, IT, IT, THAT'S NOT GOOD. GOOD PRACTICE. NOT FOR US. I, I FEEL THAT WE'LL BE LOSING EMPLOYEES BY DOING THAT. AND THEN YOU'RE ALSO LOOKING AT TRYING TO CUT SERVICES IN THE LIBRARY AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND THAT'S NOT GOOD. UM, SO I MEAN, I PERSONALLY DO NOT FEEL RIGHT NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO TRY AND, AND MAKE LIKE BUDGET [01:50:01] CUTS AND TRYING TO LOWER THE TAX RATE, UH, BECAUSE THE PROPERTY VALUES HAVE ALREADY BEEN LOWERED. AND I FEEL THAT OUR RESIDENTS, IT'LL BE A WIN FOR THEM BY JUST NOT EVEN GETTING A TAX INCREASE AT ALL. AND, AND WE'RE ABLE TO GET THE FOUR DISPATCHERS AND FOUR POLICE OFFICERS JUST BY GOING WITH A NO NEW REVENUE RATE, WHICH IS WHAT I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE WE WOULD BE TAKING A STEP BACKWARDS OTHERWISE, AND IT'S GOING TO JUST CALL FOR A LARGER INCREASE AS WE CONTINUE DOWN THE ROAD. THAT'S WHY LAST TIME I, I RECOMMENDED THAT WE GOTTA FIGURE OUT A WAY TO INCREASE OUR REVENUE. I KNOW THAT WE, IF GRACE HOLDS ALL THESE TOURNAMENTS, WE CAN, WE CAN DEFINITELY BRING IN SOME, SOME MONEY. WE GOTTA FIND A WAY TO INCREASE OUR REVENUE. THESE ARE A LOT OF CUTS AND I AGREE WITH WHAT'S BEING SAID HERE, BUT THEN AGAIN, I ALSO AGREE WITH EVERYBODY ELSE, WE NEED TO KEEP OUR CITY SAFE. OKAY, MAYOR, IF I COULD, I WANNA GO AHEAD AND START THE PROCESS. GO AHEAD. UM, OH, YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE A ONE MORE DISCUSSION. I HAVE MORE. OKAY. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER MACALUSO. YEAH. THE, THE STATE FILL CITIES HAVE BLOATED BUDGETS. THEY'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK AT TRYING TO LESSEN THE REVENUE THAT CITIES HAVE. AND SO OUR ANSWER IS, WELL, LET'S JUST CONTINUE TO GO BACK AND INCREASE THE PROPERTY TAXES, INCREASE THE PROPERTY TAX. WE'RE GONNA DO THAT EVERY SINGLE YEAR. THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU'RE GONNA DO THAT IS THE INCREASE THE PROPERTY TAX UNLESS YOUR SALES TAX INCREASES A LOT. SO I THINK IT'S BAD PRACTICE FOR US TO CONTINUE TO JUMP THE TAX RATE. I MEAN, AT SOME POINT IN TIME, OUR SPENDING HAS TO SLOW. AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN GIVING UP ANY SAFETY. I I DON'T THINK ANYONE UP HERE WANTS TO HAVE SHIRTS BE LESS SAFE. I THINK ALL OF US CARE ABOUT THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN SHIRTS. AND SO THE THOUGHT THAT, OH, BECAUSE WE WANT TO KEEP, WE DON'T WANT TO JACK UP THE TAX RATE MEANS WE WANT TO, YOU KNOW, SHIRTS IS GONNA BE LESS SAFE. I THINK THAT'S HOGWASH. I I I THINK THAT THAT DOESN'T ACTUALLY COMPUTE INTO REALITY. WE HAD THIS, THIS DISCUSSION. WE HAD DISCUSSED IT, AND I THINK EVERYBODY WANTED WAS ON BOARD AT LEAST IT SEEMED LIKE WITH, WITH THE DISPATCHERS. OKAY. WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION WITH THE POLICE CHIEF ON THE ADDITIONAL OFFICERS. UM, CITY STAFF ALSO SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO, IT'S GONNA BE A RECURRING EXPENSE, WHICH WAS THE, UH, FOUR ADDITIONAL POLICE OFFICERS SEEMED LIKE WE HAD CONSENSUS, BUT NOW WE GO IN TODAY LIKE, OH, WE'RE GONNA BE A LESS SAFE CITY IF WE DON'T MOVE OUR, OUR TAX RATE UP. UH, IT'S LIKE NO, THAT YOU'RE TELLING CITIZENS AN UNTRUE STORY. OKAY. WE'RE NOT GONNA BE A LESS SAFE CITY IF WE KEEP THE TAX RATE WHERE THE, THE FEELING IS YOU'RE NOT GONNA SEE A TAX INCREASE. NO, THAT'S NOT TRUE EITHER. IF YOUR PROPERTY VALUE INCREASED, YOU'RE GONNA SEE A TAX INCREASE. OKAY. SOMEONE WHOSE PROPERTY VALUE DID NOT WELL, YOU'RE GONNA PAY THE SAME. SO, UH, YOU KNOW, TOUGHER, YOU, YOU DON'T GET TO EVER ENJOY ANY KIND OF DROP IN YOUR TAXES. I MEAN, HOW DOES, HOW DOES, HOW DOES THAT BENEFIT THE, THE RESIDENTS? I, I DON'T SEE THAT AT ALL. AND YOU KNOW, MAYBE I, I'M, I HAVE A VIEW OF, YOU KNOW, CARING ABOUT THE PEOPLE'S POCKETBOOKS, YOU KNOW, OH, A HUNDRED DOLLARS ISN'T ALLOWED FOR ME OR $150. WELL, IT MIGHT BE FOR SOMEBODY ELSE. AND WHEN YOU ADD IN THEIR WATER INCREASE, YOU ADD IN THEIR SEWER INCREASE, YOU ADD IN THEIR GAS INCREASE THAT THEY'RE PAYING, YOU KNOW, SIX, $700 A YEAR FOR SOMEONE WHO LIVES ON A FIXED BUDGET IS A LOT OF MONEY. OKAY? SO WE CAN'T JUST LOOK AT PEOPLE THAT MIGHT BE MORE COMFORTABLE, OH, THAT'S NOT GONNA BOTHER ME. WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE INDIVIDUALS WHERE, WHO IT IS GONNA BOTHER. AND I FEEL LIKE WE'RE NOT DOING THAT AT ALL BY JUST, YOU KNOW, NEGLECTING ANY KIND OF THOUGHT OR CONCERN ABOUT THEM. SO, OKAY, I'LL GET OFF MY HORSE. WELL, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING AND UH, CITY MANAGER CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT ONCE YOU HIT THE AGE OF 65, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU INCREASE TO, EVERYTHING'S LOCKED IN. WELL, I MEAN, I'M NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SENIOR CITIZENS. I'M TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, DISABLED INDIVIDUALS. I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE ON FIXED INCOMES, UH, SINGLE MOMS. I MEAN, THERE'S, IF, IF YOU'VE LIVED IN THAT LIFE BEFORE, YOU KNOW HOW TIGHT $50 A MONTH IS. SO I THINK YOU HAVE TO GIVE THE THOSE PEOPLE CONSIDERATION AS WELL. COUNCIL MEMBER SHERIDAN, I THINK, UM, WHEN, INITIALLY WHEN I REQUESTED THE, I JUST WANTED US TO LOOK AT, AT EFFICIENCIES TO SEE WHAT WE HAVE. HAVE WE LOOKED AT, YOU KNOW, HAVE WE GONE THROUGH THE DRILL TO LOOK AT AREAS THAT WE [01:55:01] CAN POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, RE REALLOCATE, ET CETERA. SO TODAY, YOU KNOW, WHEN I ASKED FOR THE VACANCY REPORT, ONE OF THE THINGS I, I SEE THAT WE HAVE 34 VACANTS, AND THEN I LOOK AT SOME OF THE DATES THAT THEY'VE BEEN VACANT. YOU KNOW, IT APPEARS THAT SOME DEPARTMENTS HAVE BEEN OPERATING SOUNDS LIKE SUFFICIENTLY, YOU KNOW, TO, WITH THOSE IN, YOU KNOW, WITH THOSE VACANCIES. SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE EVEN LOOKED AT THAT OR CONSIDERED THOSE, THE VACANCIES. WE DO LOOK AT THE VACANCY RATE. UH, I GET THAT REPORT ON A MONTHLY BASIS FROM THE HR DIRECTOR. I DON'T ADVISE CUTTING THOSE POSITIONS THAT HAVE BEEN VACANT BECAUSE THEY TEND TO REFLECT THE AREAS IN WHICH WE STRUGGLE, RIGHT? ENGINEERING HAD VACANCIES FOR A LONG TIME, BUT YET WE HAVE A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT GOING ON, AND WE GET OFTEN CRITICIZED FOR NOT NECESSARILY MOVING FAST ENOUGH BECAUSE WE ARE IN A MARKET THAT'S HIGHLY COMPETITIVE FOR ENGINEERS RIGHT NOW. NOW, THANK GOD WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, TO STAFF THAT DEPARTMENT UP. BUT THAT'S AN AREA WHERE WE STRUGGLED. SO IF YOU CUT THAT POSITION THAT HAD BEEN VACANT FOR A WHILE, AN ENGINEER, THEN THAT'S A DOUBLE WHAMMY. YOU'RE NOT ONLY, YOU'RE NOT ONLY NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO FILL THAT POSITION, YOU'RE GONNA SLOW DOWN DEVELOPMENT EVEN FURTHER WITH ENGINEERING REVIEW AND DESIGN AND ALL THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. OTHER AREAS WHERE WE STRUGGLED ARE PUBLIC WORKS AND THOSE POSITIONS HAVE REMAINED. WE, WE'VE HAD MORE THAN JUST THE LENGTH OF THE VACANCIES THERE. WE'VE HAD HIGH TURNOVER AND A LOT OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE RATE THAT WE PAY. WE'RE NOT QUITE COMPETITIVE IN THE MARKET, BUT IT'S ALSO A REALLY TOUGH JOB TO FILL AND KEEP FILLED. SO IF YOU CUT THAT POSITION, YOU WOULD EXACERBATE A PROBLEM WHERE WE'RE NOT ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH STREET MAINTENANCE, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THOSE THINGS. QUITE FRANKLY, WHEN WE GET REQUESTS FROM RESIDENTS THAT YOU GUYS PASS TO ME, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE ABLE TO ADDRESS THOSE THINGS AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN. BUT IF WE'RE ABLE TO FILL THOSE POSITIONS, WE'LL DO IT PRETTY QUICKLY. NOW, ONE THING I WILL SAY ABOUT THAT REPORT THAT I DO WANNA QUALIFY IS THAT IF THERE'S A DEPARTMENT THAT HAS MULTIPLE POSITIONS IN THAT, UH, IF, IF THERE'S SAY FOUR OF THAT POSITION AND THERE'S BEEN VACANCIES, THEY PUT THE ONE THAT WAS THE LONGEST, UH, TIME PERIOD OF IT BEING OPEN. SO IT MAY NOT BE REFLECTIVE OF THE OTHER THREE THAT WERE VACANT, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. I'D ALSO STATE IF, UH, IF WE START REDUCING THE OVERALL PERSONNEL COUNT, LIKE WHAT THE VACANCY RATES HERE, BECAUSE WE HAVE A STAFF OF, OF HERE. AND IF WE SHORT TERM, IF WE ARE LIKE, OH, JUST, JUST NOT HIRE THESE FOLKS AND THIS IS OUR NEW NORMAL, THIS IS GREAT FOR THE SHORT TERM, BUT UNTIL THIS TURNOVER STARTS HAPPENING AGAIN, AND THEN NOW OUR NEW STANDARD OF SERVICES DOWN HERE, NOW WE'VE, WE'VE ACTUALLY, I THINK YOU WOULD, YOU WOULD LOWER THE LEVEL OF, OF, BUT WE'RE NOT HIRING THEM. I MEAN, I SEE VACANCIES HERE BACK FROM APRIL OF 26. YEAH. AND JESSICA MAYBE CAN EXPLAIN THAT. UM, GOOD EVENING. I JUST WANTED TO SAY TO YOUR POINT, I UNDERSTAND THE OPTICS OF THAT, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STAFF IS REALLY GOOD ABOUT IS GETTING CREATIVE WHEN WE ARE DOWN PEOPLE. SO I KNOW FOR INSTANCE, ENGINEERING AND I KNOW ALSO PLANNING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ALSO HAVE IN THE PAST INCREASED CONTRACTUAL SERVICES, RIGHT? WHEN WE DON'T HAVE THE MANPOWER IN HOUSE, WE OUTSOURCE IT. AND SO WE USE THOSE SALARY SAVINGS TO PAY SOMEBODY ELSE RIGHT? TO, TO HELP US OUT AND TO FILL IN THE HOLES. UM, WE'VE, WE SEE THAT IN MANY DEPARTMENTS. AND THOSE TWO SPECIFICALLY COME TO MIND AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ENGINEERING, UM, WHO'S NOW FULLY STAFFED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY YEARS. SO LIKE I SAID, I FEEL LIKE STAFF HAS DONE A GREAT JOB. AND SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT REPORT, I THINK IT CAN BE MISLEADING IN TERMS OF WE ARE OPERATING EFFICIENTLY, EFFICIENTLY WITH LESS MANPOWER THAN WHAT WE'RE, UM, AUTHORIZED FOR. BUT LIKE I SAID, I THINK IT'S BECAUSE STAFF'S BEEN CREATIVE IN FINDING WAYS THAT WE COULD FILL IN THE HOLES. OKAY. SO THE, AND THE, I THINK THAT'S THE PART THAT I'M MISSING BECAUSE I'M NOT SEEING THAT, YOU KNOW, APPARENTLY WE'VE BEEN CONTRACTING OUT USING THAT SALARY TO SUPPORT NOT HAVING WHAT WE DON'T HAVE INTERNALLY. WELL, IN, IN ADDITION, YOU, UM, IT'S NOT REFLECTED ON THAT REPORT, BUT THERE ARE OTHER AREAS LIKE OVERTIME, SO IN YOUR LARGER DEPARTMENTS LIKE POLICE AND FIRE, WHERE YOU HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF OVERTIME WHEN YOU HAVE A HIGH VACANCY RATE. SO YOU CAN OFFSET THOSE SAVINGS BY REDUCING THOSE POSITIONS BY HAVING TO INCREASE YOUR OVERTIME. YEAH. 'CAUSE THE ONLY THING I'M SEEING IS 34 BODIES THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT LOOKS LIKE THEY HAVEN'T BEEN FILLED IN QUITE SOME TIME. YEAH, I THINK. AND SO TO ME I'M LIKE, WELL, DID WE LOOK AT THAT? DID WE, WE, DID WE GO THROUGH THE DRILL AND SAY, WELL, COULD WE SUPPORT BRINGING THESE OFFICERS IN, REALLOCATING BRING THESE OFFICERS IN TO SUPPORT THE CURRENT RATE THAT WE HAVE NOW WITH, YOU KNOW, WITH THE, THE EFFECT. BUT NOW THAT I KNOW THAT WITH THE, UH, THAT WE'RE FILLING THOSE GAPS [02:00:01] THROUGH CONTRACTS OF SOME SORT TO, TO, YOU KNOW, TO, UH, AND TIPS AND ALSO TIP STAFF AS WELL. OKAY. YEAH. I, I THINK THE OTHER THING I WOULD SAY, RIGHT, IS PART OF IT WAS STAFF, AND I'VE HAD THIS CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DEPARTMENT HEADS OF REPORT TO ME IS COUNCIL HAS VERY HIGH EXPECTATIONS OF THE LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE YOU EXPECT FROM OUR STAFF. AND, AND I'VE HAD THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH MANY OF YOU ABOUT TIMELINESS, ACCURACY, CUSTOMER SERVICE LEVEL, RIGHT? NOT MAKING MISTAKES. AND SO I THINK YOU HAVE SOME THAT VERY MUCH UNDERSTAND TO MAKE A BAD HIRE IN, IN THIS ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE'RE VERY BUSY EXPECTATIONS ARE SO HIGH, IS HUGELY PROBLEMATIC. AND SO FRANKLY FOR SOME DEPARTMENTS, IT'S TO BEEN A CHOICE NOT TO SETTLE, BUT TO TRY TO FIND THAT EMPLOYEE WHO'S A GOOD FOOT. AND THE OTHER THING I'LL SAY IS I DON'T THINK WE ALWAYS SEE THE IMPACT WE HAVE ON OUR PEOPLE WHO RUN SHORT STAFFED, WHO HAVE TO DO THE EXTRA WORK, WHO HAVE TO ATTEND ADDITIONAL MEETINGS, WHO HAVE TO DO ALL OF THAT STUFF THAT WEARS THEM DOWN. BUT AGAIN, MANY OF THEM WOULD SAY WE WOULD RATHER GRIND THROUGH IT THAN MAKE A BAD HIRE. BUT YEAH, WE NEED TO FILL THESE POSITIONS AND YOU'LL SEE THAT WITH SOME OF THE PRESENTATIONS TONIGHT. YEAH. AND, AND I AGREE WITH YOU BECAUSE YOU KNOW, I, I ACTUALLY SPOKE WITH AN OFFICER THE OTHER NIGHT, UH, WHO'S ON THE NIGHT SHIFT AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, NOW THAT WE'RE A HUNDRED PERCENT MANNED MM-HMM . YOU KNOW, AND WE GOT MORE OFFICERS IN THE EVENING SHIFT OR THAT NIGHT SHIFT, HE WAS, HE WAS SO HAPPY ABOUT THAT BECAUSE IT, IT TOOK A LOT OF TOLL ON HIM, YOU KNOW, JUST TRYING TO PROVIDE THAT COVERAGE. AND NOW THAT WE'RE A HUNDRED PERCENT MAN, HE'S GOT THOSE ADDITIONAL OFFICERS THAT REALLY OPENED. SO THAT'S THE REASON WHY I'M, YOU KNOW, REALLY MORE OF TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO BRING THESE FOUR ADDITIONAL OFFICERS BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF GROWTH COMING UP THIS YEAR. SURE. AND, AND I WOULD SAY THAT'S, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF EVENTS THAT HAPPENED BECAUSE OUR, OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR REPORT THAT CAME OUT RECENTLY WASN'T THE BEST REPORT FOR US, YOU KNOW, IN REGARDS TO OUR, OUR POLICE REPORT. YEAH. AND I THINK, SO I, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THE FOUR OFFICERS THAT WE GET SOMEHOW SURE. WE, WE GET THAT. I THINK THAT IS PUBLIC SAFETY, RIGHT. BUT AGAIN, LARRY, IT'S HOW MANY FOLKS DID YOU HAVE WORKING OUT ON THE WATERLINE BREAK WHERE WE HAD TO SHUT THE ROAD DOWN TODAY? YEAH, I MEAN, SO AGAIN, IT'S THAT, IT'S, WE HAD A WATERLINE BREAK SHUT A ROAD DOWN. EVERYBODY'S OUT THERE TRYING TO WORK ON IT. WE'VE GOT ZONING CASES TONIGHT FOR YOU. RUNNING SHORT STAFF GONNA BE EVEN A MORE CHEF STORY. AND AGAIN, THE COMMUNICATION IS, YOU KNOW, I, I'VE BEEN IN THERE AND I, I KNOW WE NEED, WE REALLY NEED THOSE COMMUNICATED AND, UH, FOLKS INTO THAT, UH, DISPATCHER ROOM. OKAY. WE ALSO HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. YEAH, I'M, I'M ON THE BUBBLE IN THIS. I MEAN, I, I CAN UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE DISCUSSIONS THAT WE HAVE ABOUT OUR, OUR TAX RATE AND MAYBE RAISING IT, MR. MR. MAYOR, I THINK YOU WERE A LITTLE BIT INCORRECT. UM, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, WHEN YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOUR PROPERTY VALUE IS FROZEN, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU DON'T PAY MORE ON TAXES. IT MEANS YOUR PROPERTY VALUE IS TAX IS FROZEN, BUT IF THE CITY KEEPS ON RAISING THEIR TAX RATE, WHAT YOU PAY IN TAXES KEEPS ON GOING UP. SO YOU MAY BE 70 YEARS OLD AND YOUR PROPERTY MAY HAVE BEEN FROZEN FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS, BUT IF WE KEEP ON RAISING, YOU'RE SAYING NO. NO, SIR. WHEN YOU REACH 65, YOUR LEVY IS FROZEN, THE DOLLAR AMOUNT YOU PAY. OKAY. WELL, EVEN BETTER. YEAH, IT'S FROZEN FOR GOOD. BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK ONE OF THE, I I HAVE TO AGREE WITH, UM, COUNCILMAN MACALUSO, I THINK WE HAVE SOME HARD DISCUSSIONS COMING UP. UM, I THINK MR. JAMES DID A GREAT JOB IN OUR BUDGET PROCESS, TALKING ABOUT THE, THE INCREDIBLE WISDOM THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS, UH, WITH THE RESTRICTIONS THAT THEY'RE PUTTING ON LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES. UH, AND AGAIN, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT YOU KNOW, IN, IN, IN 2022 AND 2023 WITH THE LOST REVENUE TO THE, TO THE CITY OF TEXAS, OR I MEAN TO THE CITY OF SHIRTZ ON OUR APPRAISED VALUES BECAUSE OF A STATE POLICY, UH, THE STATE WAS KIND ENOUGH TO REIMBURSE US 47 AND 48% OF THAT LOST REVENUE LAST YEAR. THEY REIMBURSED US TO 12%. UH, AND, AND TO ME, THIS IS UNSUSTAINABLE AND I DON'T SEE A CORRECTION FROM, FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS COMING ANYTIME SOON. THE FUND THAT THEY, THE FUND THAT THEY REIMBURSE US OUT OF IN 2022 HAD EIGHT AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS IN IT. AND SINCE THEN, THEY'VE INCREASED THE TO NINE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS. AND IN 20 22 6 COMMUNITIES, THIS IS FROM THE, THE STATE OF TEXAS WEBSITE. IN 20 22, 6, COMMUNITIES APPLIED [02:05:01] FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF OUTTA THAT FUND OF EIGHT AND A HALF MILLION. THIS PAST YEAR, 16 CITIES AND COUNTIES APPLIED FOR RE UM, REIMBURSEMENT OUT OF THAT POOL OF NINE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS. WE ARE IN A INCREDIBLY POOR PROSPECT FOR OUR TAX REVENUE. AND, AND IT'S DUE TO THE STATE OF TEXAS. IT IS NOT DUE TO THE CITY COUNCIL, IT'S NOT DUE TO THE GUADALUPE COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT. IT'S BECAUSE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THE WAY THEY ESTABLISHED THAT PROGRAM STRAIGHT UP. AND WE ARE ON A PATH WHERE WE CAN KEEP ON ADDING SOME SALES TAX AND WE CAN KEEP ON ADDING SOME PROPERTY TAX. BUT IF THEY'RE NOT GETTING ASSESSED OR TAXED AND THEY'RE NOT CONTRIBUTING TO THE POOL, THEN WE'RE, WE'RE IN A SAD SHAPE. IF THE STATE WOULD'VE PULLED UP, WOULD'VE REIMBURSED US THIS PAST YEAR AT 47% LIKE THEY DID IN 2022, WE WOULDN'T BE HAVING ANY OF THESE DISCUSSIONS. MATTER OF FACT, WE'D BE PROBABLY TALKING ABOUT HAVING A TAX RATE FOR THE CITY OF NOT 51, BUT PROBABLY 41. BUT THAT'S NOT THE CASE. UH, SO I'M ON THE BUBBLE. I MEAN, I, I UNDERSTAND WE'RE IN A, IN A STATE OF FLUX RIGHT NOW. I UNDERSTAND THAT WE'VE GOT TO TURN AROUND AND, AND WE HAVE TO LOOK AT PUBLIC SAFETY AND WE HAVE TO PAY THE BILLS. BUT AS I SAID DURING THE BUDGET MEETINGS, I DO BELIEVE THERE ARE AREAS IN THE CITY WHERE WE CAN START SCALING BACK AND SAVING SOME MONEY. I'M NOT SURE I SEE IT ALL ON THIS REPORT RIGHT HERE, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU. UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE PUTTING UP THERE JUST UNIFORMS AND, AND MEMBERSHIP PROFESSIONALS AND PUBLICATIONS. I THINK THERE'S OTHER AREAS IN THE CITY WHERE WE CAN SAVE SOME MONEY. UH, AND WHETHER THAT'S LIKE WE'VE DONE WITH THE HVAC SYSTEMS, YOU KNOW, YOU TURN AROUND AND PUT IN AN A, AN APPROVED ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEM THAT IS MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT THAN THE BILLS GO DOWN. SO, I MEAN, I, I'M ON THE BUBBLE. I DON'T MIND LOOKING AT A, A PENNY INCREASE, BUT I THINK IT'S A DISINGENUOUS TO SIT UP HERE AND THINK THAT, WELL, OUR SOLUTION GOING FORWARD IS, WELL, IT'S ONLY A PENNY. WE'LL ADD A PENNY NEXT YEAR AND WE'LL ADD A PENNY AND A HALF TO NEXT YEAR AND A PENNY AND A HALF TO NEXT YEAR, BECAUSE THAT'S NOT GOING TO FIX THIS UNDERLYING MAJOR PROBLEM. AND THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM. I DON'T, I DON'T FORESEE THE STATE OF OF TEXAS FIXING THIS ANYTIME SOON. SO, LIKE, AGAIN, MY, MY INPUT IS OKAY, IF WE HAVE TO MAKE A SLIGHT INCREASE TO, TO COVER THE MUST PAYS, THEN I'LL, I'LL CONSIDER IT. BUT WE HAVE TO BE SERIOUS AND WE HAVE TO START LOOKING AT OTHER THINGS THAT WE CAN CUT OR STOP DOING THAT ARE NOT THE MUST PAYS BECAUSE THERE ARE, THERE ARE THINGS IN THE CITY OF SHIRTS WHERE WE GO ABOVE AND BEYOND, UH, THAT WE HAVE TO BE HONEST WITH OURSELVES. I, IT, THAT PROBABLY IS NOT THE STANDARD THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN INDEFINITELY. MAYOR, BEFORE SHE MAKES A MOTION, CAN I, MAY I MAKE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS? YES. AND THEN I HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER WESTBROOK THAT WOULD LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING. NO. GO. I CAN FULLY APPRECIATE, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM DAVIS'. NO, I'M SORRY. COUNCILMAN DAVIS IS MAYOR PRO TEM WATSON. HIS WORDS ARE SPOT ON AND HIS ASSESSMENT IS SPOT ON. AND EVEN TO COUNCILMAN MSOS ASSESSMENT, YOU'RE RIGHT, WE ARE IN AN, THE WAY IT LOOKS GOING FOR IT IS AN UNSUSTAINABLE FUTURE. BUT I THINK BRIAN DID A FANTASTIC JOB OF GETTING UP HERE. AND IN OUR ARTICULATING WE ARE MOVING INTO A NEW NORMAL. WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT IS EXPECTED AT THE CURRENT RATE AND WITH THE RESTRICTIONS THAT ARE PUT ON OUR ABILITY TO RAISE REVENUE BY THE STATE. THAT BEING SAID, I BELIEVE THE DISPATCHERS ARE A CRITICAL FUNCTION THAT WE NEED TO ADD AT THIS POINT. I THINK IN TERMS OF ADJUSTING TO THAT NEW NORMAL, THE POLICE OFFICERS DON'T NEED TO BE ADDED RIGHT NOW. WE CAN ADJUST TO THE NEW NORMAL STARTING TODAY BY NOT INCLUDING NEW BODIES AND GOING BACK AND REASSESSING WHERE WE CUT. I THINK WE'RE GONNA BE FORCED INTO A POSITION IN THE FUTURE. LIKE COUNCILMAN DAVIS SAID, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO REASSESS EVERY YEAR WHAT LEVEL OF SERVICE WE'RE WILLING TO PROVIDE. I, I DON'T, AS A PLANNER AND, AND SOMEBODY WHO LOOKS STRATEGICALLY AND LONG TERM, MY PREFERENCE WOULD BE TO MAKE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS. LIKE I'VE TALKED ABOUT STEERING THE SHIP AND RIDING THE SHIP A LITTLE BIT. IT'S LITTLE ADJUSTMENTS HERE AND THERE THAT KEEP YOU ON THE MARK. I [02:10:01] THINK WE CAN DO THAT OVER TIME. BUT I THINK AT THIS POINT, MY RECOMMENDATION IS TO DO THE 51 75. I REALIZE IT'S A, IT'S MORE THAN LAST YEAR'S TAX RATE, BUT TECHNICALLY IT IS A SLIGHT DECREASE FROM THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE. I THINK IT'S A A, A FAIR COMPROMISE AND A FAIR WAY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE BUDGET AS IT'S PROPOSED. AND THEN GOING INTO NEXT SPRING, IF THERE'S NO APPETITE TO INCREASE BEYOND THAT AND WE FEEL LIKE THE COUNCIL BELIEVES THAT THAT'S THE CEILING THAT WE NEED TO SET IT AT, WE'LL APPROACH OUR NEW BUDGET PROCESS WITH THAT IN MIND. AND YOU WON'T SEE A BUDGET THAT GOES ABOVE THE CURRENT 51 75. YOU'LL SEE A BUDGET THAT'S BUILT AROUND THAT FOR THE GENERAL FUND AND WE'LL, WE WILL BRING IT FORWARD WITH THAT. AND THEN A OPTIONS OF WHAT'S MOVING FORWARD. YOU'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO SEE THE LIST OF SUPPLEMENTAL REQUESTS THAT WE PUT FORWARD THIS YEAR, WHICH WE WERE ABLE TO FUND A GOOD CHUNK OF IT WITH ONE TIME REVENUE ON ONE TIME EXPENDITURES. BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE ONGOING STUFF, WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT ONGOING REVENUES AND ONGOING EXPENDITURES. IF YOU LOOK AT THE ONGOING EXPENDITURES, IT'S, IT'S ESSENTIALLY BASELINE THINGS LIKE FUEL AND SOFTWARE INCREASES AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND THERE'S ONE POSITION IN THERE, IT'S A SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER THAT IS ALMOST COMPLETELY PAID FOR BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. SO I, MY RECOMMENDATION IS THAT YOU MOVE FORWARD AS PROPOSED AND WE, WE REFOCUS OUR EFFORTS AND WE TAKE THE POSITION THAT WE ARE GONNA ADJUST TO THE NEW NORMAL. WE'RE GONNA LOWER OUR EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT THE SERVICE LEVELS ARE SO WE CAN STAY WITHIN OUR MEANS LONG TERM. SO JUST FOR CLARITY, IF WE GO WITH A PROPOSED, THAT MEANS NO CUTS AND IT ADDS THE FOUR DISPATCHERS, BUT IT DOES NOT ADD THE FOUR POLICE OFFICERS, CORRECT? YES SIR. YES SIR. AND THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE WILL ADD THE FOUR POLICE OFFICERS? YES SIR. THAT'S THE DECISION BETWEEN THE TWO? YES, SIR. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER WESTBROOK, COULD YOU HAVE A DISCUSSION ON THAT? OH, RIGHT THERE. YES. SORRY. TOO MANY BUTTONS UP HERE. NO, MAYOR, I'VE, I SORT OF AGREE WITH, UM, I THINK WE HAD ALL FOUND SOME CONSENSUS AT 5 1 7 5. I PERSONALLY COULD SORT OF SEE IT GOING TO THE NO NEW REVENUE. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S THERE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER DEPENDING ON, ON THE, UH, THE MOTION THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE MADE. BUT I, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE MAYOR, NO MATTER WHAT WE DO, WE'RE WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO GET THERE THROUGH CUTS. I DON'T THINK THERE'S THAT APPETITE UP HERE ON COUNCIL. THAT'S CORRECT. SO EFFICIENCIES, CUTS, YOU DECIDE, BUT, UH, YOU MAKE ALL OF THOSE CUTS, WE'LL BE DEALING WITH MORALE AND OTHER ISSUES IN THE CITY OF SHIRTS. UM, THE OTHER PORTION WITH THIS IS ALMOST CERTAINLY EVERY ONE OF US WILL BE ASKING FOR SOMETHING OVER THE NEXT YEAR, WHETHER IT'S SIDEWALKS OR STREET MAINTENANCE OR OR EMERGENCY INCIDENTS NEXT SUMMER WITH SOME MORE RAIN, WE'RE GONNA BE ASKING FOR SOMETHING. BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE SAYING CUT, CUT, CUT AND, BUT WE'RE ALL GONNA BE ASKING FOR MORE FOR US TO DO MORE WITH LESS, UM, SOMETIME IN THE NEXT YEAR. AND YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. ABSOLUTELY. MAYOR PRO TIM WATSON, I AGREE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS, 100%. BUT I WANTED TO START THE PROCESS AFTER WE'VE DISCUSSED A LITTLE BIT MORE, OBVIOUSLY, UM, AND THEN GO DOWN. SO I WANTED TO MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THE NO NEW REVENUE AT 0.5296. SO IF YOU MAKE A MOTION TO ADOPT THE BUDGET WITH THE ADDITION OF FOUR POLICE OFFICERS. YES. AND THEN, UM, WE CAN APPROACH THE X-RAY. YES. THE ADDITIONAL FOUR POLICE OFFICERS WE HAVE SECOND HAVING NO, SECOND, SECOND, SECOND. WE HAVE A SECOND. SO WE HAVE A MOTION MADE BY AMERIPRO TIM WATSON. A SECOND MADE BY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. CAN I GET EVERYBODY TO CAST THE VOTES? CAN I GET THE VOTES PUBLISHED PLEASE? HAVING FOUR YAYS, THREE NAYS. MOTION PASSES. GONNA HAVE TWO THIRDS. NO, NOT ON THAT. BECAUSE MAJORITY ON THE BUDGET, RIGHT? YEAH, IT'S A MAJORITY ON THE BUDGET. IT'LL BE MAJORITY ON BOTH BECAUSE IT'S THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE. SO WE WON'T NEED THE SUPER MAJORITY SINCE WE'RE NOT GOING OVER IT. OKAY. MOTION PASSES. COME ON, I GOTTA, [02:15:01] OKAY. DISCUSSION ACTION [14. Resolution 26-R-099 - Ratifying the property tax increase reflected in the Adopted Budget for FY 2026-27 (Finance Director James Walters)] ITEM ON ITEM 14. RESOLUTION 26 DASH R DASH 0 9 9 RATIFYING THE PROPERTY TAX INCREASE REFLECTED IN THE ADOPTED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 20 26, 20 27. UH, WE HAVE OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR, MR. WALTERS. COOL. SO THE STATE SAYS, HEY, IF YOU DO THIS BUDGET THAT UM, UM, NEED MORE TAXES, WE HAVE TO RATIFY ANY OF THE TAXES LISTED IN THE BUDGET. UM, SINCE WE, THE PROPOSAL WOULD BE FUNDED AT THE NO NEW REVENUE TAX RATE. I'M NOT QUITE SURE IF THIS ITEM IS NECESSARY, BUT IT'D BE SAFE JUST TO KIND OF ADOPT IT. ANYWAY, I JUST NEED TO MAKE A CHANGE TO SECTION ONE BASED ON THE DISCUSSION. UM, SO IF YOU'LL GIMME ONE MOMENT, I'LL RECALCULATE THAT. SO WITH THE, THE BUDGET, THE BUDGET WOULD BE FUNDED AT THE 0.5296, WHICH IS THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE. WE'LL CHECK, MAKE SURE WE GOT ALL THE SAME. WE DON'T WANNA COME BACK 5 2, 9 6, WHICH IS THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE, UH, WHICH WILL RAISE MORE PROPERTY, TOTAL PROPERTY TAXES FROM LAST YEAR'S BUDGET BY $1,207,415. AND OF THAT AMOUNT, $1,203,307 IS RAISED FROM NEW PROPERTY ADDED TO THE TAX ROLL. UM, SO THAT WOULD BE THE CHANGE TO THIS, UH, ITEM. IF IT WAS ADOPTED AS, UM, AS PROPOSED WITH THE BUDGET. YOU PROBABLY HAVE TO REPEAT ALL OF THAT, BUT, UH, UH, KNOW THAT THAT WOULD BE THE MOTION GOING FORWARD. I CAN RESTATE IT. UM, I DON'T THINK I CAN EDIT JUST NOW ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM. HAVING DONE, CAN I GET ENTERTAIN A MOTION? SO, SO MOVE, OKAY. YOU'LL, YOU'RE MAKING A MOTION THAT TO ADOPT TAX RATE, UH, PERFECT. THIS WILL MAKE A MOTION TO RATIFY THE, UH, TAXES ADOPTED IN THE BUDGET. I KNOW IT'S A WEIRD KIND OF DEAL. COUNCILS KANSAS CITY STATE PRETTY MUCH GOING, HEY, YOU'RE ADOPTING THIS BUDGET. ARE YOU SURE YOU WANNA DO THAT SORT OF THING? MAKE YOU MAKE SURE YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING ON? SO THE MOTION IS THAT IT, THEY'RE RATIFYING THE BUDGET WILL BE, WILL RAISE MORE ON TOTAL PROPERTY TAXES LAST YEAR THAN $1,207,415. AND OF THAT AMOUNT, $1,203,307 WILL BE RAISED FROM NEW PROPERTY ADDED TO THE TAX ROLL THIS YEAR. SO THAT WOULD BE THE UPDATE TO THE, TO THE RESOLUTION RATIFYING THE PROPERTY TAXES LISTED IN, IN THE BUDGET DOCUMENT. YOU, I I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME OTHER THAN IT WAS WORDED DIFFERENT. YES. UH, THE LI ITEM LISTED WAS ANTICIPATING OR MATCHED THE PROPOSED BUDGET DOCUMENT, WHICH WAS FUNDED AT THE 5 1 7 5 DOCUMENT. SO THIS WOULD BE THE RESOLUTION IF WE ADOPTED THE 5 1 7 5. UH, OKAY. I MOTION THAT WE ACCEPT THE BUDGET BY 5 2 9. SO I THINK YOU CAN CAN READ, READ THE MOTION AS IT IS WITH JAMES'S NEW NUMBERS BECAUSE I'VE ALREADY SAID THAT AND I ALREADY SAID YES. YES. THREE TIMES ALREADY. YES. OKAY. I THINK WE'RE GOOD. BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU WANTED ME TO SPECIFICALLY SAY SOMETHING WORDS. SO MAYOR PROTE WATSON MADE THE MOTION. DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. OKAY. I HAVE A MOTION MADE BY MAYOR PROTE WATSON, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WESTBROOK. CAN I GET EVERYBODY TO CAST THE VOTES? WAIT, I NEED TO DISCUSS IT. OH, OH, YOU JUST READ IT. READ IT. CAN YOU JUST READ IT? SURE. UH, THE CITY COUNCIL HEREBY RATIFIES THE BUDGET WILL RAISE MORE IN TOTAL PROPERTY TAXES THAN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET BY $1,207,415 OR 4.2%. AND OF THAT AMOUNT, $1,203,307 ARE TO BE RAISED FROM PROP NEW PROPERTY ADDED TO THE TAX ROLL THIS YEAR. SO IT'S BASICALLY SAYING WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BRING IN MORE IN, IN PROPERTY TAXES, BUT IT'S ALL FROM NEW DEVELOPMENT. IT'S ALL NEW GROWTH. SO THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S HOW IT MATCHES [02:20:01] UP ON THE, ON THE LIST. SO THE RATE IS THE SAME, THE RATE IS THE NO NEW NNR, NO NEW RATE BECAUSE WE ADDED NEW PROPERTY TO THE TAX ROLL, WE'LL HAVE APPARENTLY HAVE ADDITIONAL FUNDS. SO IT'S SAYING LIKE THIS IS SAYING THAT IF WE, IF WE LOWER THE TAX RATES UNDER THE NO NEW REVENUE, SO WE'RE BRINGING IN $500,000 ADDITIONAL MONEY, BUT THAT'S DUE 1.1 MILLION OF THAT IS FROM NEW PROPERTY. SO WE'RE ESSENTIALLY GIVING BACK $600,000 OF REVENUE. IF WE GO WITH THE NEW NEW REVENUE RATE, THOSE TWO NUMBERS WILL BE ALMOST EXACTLY EQUAL. UM, SO ALL MONEY IS BEING GENERATED FROM NEW PROPERTY. JAMES, IF I CAN JUST ADD IN REAL QUICK. SO THERE'S THREE ITEMS THAT THE STATE REQUIRES YOU ALL TO ADOPT. THE FIRST IS THE BUDGET, WHICH WAS DONE BEFORE. THIS IS RATIFYING THE TAX RATE. AND THE NEXT ITEM AFTER THIS IS WHERE YOU ACTUALLY SET THE TAX RATE NUMBER. OKAY. SO IT'S A CERTAIN PROCESS THAT THE STATE REQUIRES THAT YOU FOLLOW. SO THE BUDGET WAS ADOPTED AT THE 5 2 9 6 RATE. THIS IS RATIFYING THAT THIS IS SHOWING WHAT IT'S GONNA DO AS FAR AS THE INCREASE. AND THEN THE NEXT ITEM WILL BE SETTING THE TAX RATE TO FUND THE ITEMS IN THE BUDGET. YES. AND SO THE, EVEN THOUGH THE TAX RATE, OKAY, I THINK THAT'S A QUESTION FOR THE NEXT ONE. I'M READY FOR THIS ONE. BUT THE NO NEW, NO NEW RATE. WE ADDITIONAL REVENUE. BUT THEORETICALLY MY TAXES SHOULD NOT YES. INCREASE. IT'S JUST DUE TO GROWTH. THE NEW REVENUE COMES FROM THE GROWTH. THAT'S CORRECT. THE ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES ON THE TAX ROLL. YEAH. THE OVERALL TAX BILLS THAT WE SENT OUT IN AGGREGATE WILL REMAIN THE SAME. WILL RECEIVE, WILL RAISE THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE DID LAST YEAR ON PROPERTIES THAT WERE TAXED LAST YEAR AND THEN WE GET A LITTLE BIT MORE MONEY 'CAUSE WE HAVE NEW DEVELOPMENT. OKAY. YOU CAN SEE HOW THAT CAN BE CONFUSING. OH YEAH. THE TAX RATES WOULD INCREASE, BUT MY PROPERTY TAXES AREN'T GOING UP. THE RATE GOES UP. BUT MAYBE WHAT I PAYING YEAH. THEORY THAT WHEN YOUR PROPERTY VALUE WENT DOWN, THE TAX RATE GOES UP, YOUR TAX BILL REMAINS THE SAME. EXACTLY. THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S THE HURDLE WE'RE TRYING TO GET OVER. SO I THINK THE, THE STATE'S, THE REASON WHY THE STATE INCLUDES THIS IS SO YOU CAN ILLUSTRATE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT IS BEING RAISED FROM YOUR PROPERTIES THAT ARE ON BOTH TAX ROLLS, 26 AND 27 OR 25 AND 26. AND THEN ALSO WHAT REVENUE IS BEING RAISED FROM THAT NEW DEVELOPMENT. RIGHT. THINGS THAT CAME ON THE TAX ROLL AFTER JANUARY 1ST, 2026. I MEAN, I'M SORRY, AS OF JANUARY, 2026 AS OF NEW STUFF. SO JUST FOR CLARITY, ONCE WE RATIFY THE BUDGET THAT IT WILL RAISE MORE TOTAL PROPERTY TAXES THAN LESS YEAR AND THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO SETTING THE TAX RATES. IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. YES SIR. ALRIGHT. SO WE DO HAVE A SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER WESTBROOK, CAN I GET EVERYBODY TO CATCH THE VOTES? CAN I GET THE VOTES PUBLISHED HAVING SIX YAYS ONE NAY. MOTION PASSES. ALRIGHT, NOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT [15. Ordinance 26-T-027 - Conduct a Public Hearing and approve an Ordinance approving the appraisal roll; setting the tax rate; levying and assessing general and special ad valorem taxes for the use and support of the municipal government of the City of Schertz, Texas (Finance Director James Walters)] ITEM 15, CORRECT? ITEM 15. ALRIGHT, SO NOW COUNSEL'S ACTUALLY ASKED TO SET THE PROPERTY TAX RATE IN THIS ITEM. SO BEFORE WE DO THAT, THIS, UH, THIS'LL MOVE IT ON TO A PUBLIC HEARING. AND SO ITEM 15, ORDINANCE 26 DASH T DASH 0 27 CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING AND APPROVE AND ORDINANCE APPROVING THE APPRAISAL ROLE SETTING THE TAX RATE, LIVING AND ASSESSING GENERAL AND SPECIAL ADV VALOR TAXES FOR THE USE AND SUPPORT OF THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT IN THE CITY OF CHURCH TEXAS. WE HAVE OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR, MR. JAMES WALTERS. YES, SIR. UM, THE AGENDA ITEM BEFORE YOU AND IN THE PACKET, UH, LISTS THE PROPOSED AT 5 1 7 5. UM, UH, CURRENTLY WITH THE ADOPTION OF THE BUDGET, THE BUDGET WOULD BE FUNDED AT THE NODE NEW REVENUE RATE 0.5296. THEN STAFF IS ASKING COUNSEL SET THE NO NEW REVENUE OR SO SET THE TAX RATE, UH, AT THE 5 2 9 6 LEVEL. SINCE YOU'RE NOT GOING OVER THAT AMOUNT, THAT IS THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE, THERE IS NO SPECIAL MOTION, UH, THAT IS REQUIRED ON THAT. SO YOU CAN SAY, I, I PROPOSE WE ADOPT THE RATE OF 5 2 9 6 AS THE MOTION. UH, WE DO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING SO I CAN STEP BACK AND THAT IS CORRECT. SO AT THIS TIME I'LL GO AHEAD AND OPEN IT UP FOR A PUBLIC HEARING AT 8 25. ANYBODY WISHING TO COME UP TO TALK OR DISCUSS ABOUT THE TAX RATE GOING ONCE OR TWICE? HAVING DONE, WE'LL CLOSE [02:25:01] THE PUBLIC HEARING AT 8 25. IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ITEMS ON SETTING TAX RATE? HAVING DONE MAY I ENTERTAIN A MOTION? I MOTION THAT WE APPROVE RESOLUTION 26 R 0 9 9 AND SETTING THE TAX RATE AT ZERO POINT BETTER SETTING THE TAX RATE AT 0.5296. THIS WOULD BE THE, OH SORRY, ONE 15 ORDINANCE 26 T 0 2 7 OH ORDINANCE 26 T 0 2 7. SHOULD I HAVE A MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER WATSON? DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. OKAY, I HAVE A SECOND MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. CAN I GET HER READY TO CASH A VOTES? CAN I GET THE VOTES PUBLISHED PLEASE? HAVING FOUR YAYS, THREE NAYS. MOTION PASSES. OKAY, MOVING ON TO ORDINANCE [16. Ordinance 26-A-021 - Conduct a public hearing and consider a request for the voluntary annexation of approximately 10.7 acres of land, located approximately 900 feet north-west of the intersection of FM 482 and Schwab Road, more specifically known as Comal County Property Identification Number 56613, Comal County, Texas (Senior Planner Daisy Marquez)] 26 DASH A DASH 0 2 1. CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING, CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR THE VOLUNTARY IZATION OF APPROXIMATELY 10.7 ACRES OF LAND LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 900 FEET NORTHWEST OF THE INTERSECTION OF FM 4 82 AND SCHWAB ROAD, MORE SPECIFICALLY KNOWN AS KAMAL COUNTY PROPERTY IDENTIFICATION NUMBER 5 6 6 1 3 KAMAL COUNTY, TEXAS. WE HAVE WITH US, WE HAVE OUR SENIOR PLANNER DAISY MARQUEZ. GOOD EVENING MAYOR. COUNCIL ORDINANCE 26 A 21 ANNEXATION FOR 10.7 ACRES IN KAMAL COUNTY. DAISY MARQUEZ SENIOR PLANNER. SO THIS PROPERTY IS FAMILIAR. IT WAS PURCHASED BY THE CITY IN 2023 FOR THE DRY KAMAL CREEK NATURE PARK AND ITS 10.7 ACRES. UM, ON AUGUST 18TH, YOU APPROVED THE RESOLUTION TO START THE ANNEXATION PROCESS AGAIN. WE RECEIVED THE VOLUNTARY ANNEXATION, UH, PETITION AND THE ZONE CHANGE. UM, ORDINANCE IS ACCOMPANIED BY THIS ANNEXATION YOU'LL BE HEARING LATER ON. AND AGAIN, UM, STAFF FINDS THAT SURROUNDING ANY AREA BUT NOT INCLUDING THAT AREA WITHIN CITY LIMITS IS IN THE PUBLIC'S INTEREST. SO STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF ORDINANCE 26 A 21. OKAY, AT THIS TIME I'LL GO AHEAD AND OPEN IT UP TO A PUBLIC HEARING AT 8 27. ANYBODY WISHING TO COME UP TO SPEAK ON ORDINANCE 26 DASH A DASH 0 21 ON ONCE GOING TWICE, CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AT 8 28. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ITEMS ON ORDINANCE 26 A DASH 0 2 1? HAVING DONE, CAN I ENTERTAIN A MOTION? I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE APPROVE ORDINANCE 26 A ZERO TWO. ONE SECOND. ALRIGHT, I GET A MOTION. I HAVE A MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER SHERIDAN. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. CAN I GET EVERYONE TO CAST THE VOTES? MAY I GET THE VOTES PUBLISHED PLEASE. HAVING SEVEN YAYS, NO NAYS. MOTION PASSES. ALRIGHT, MOVING ON TO ORDINANCE [17. Ordinance 26-A-022 - Conduct a public hearing and consider a request for the voluntary annexation of approximately 0.19 acres of land known as 12235 Aztec Way, more specifically known as a portion of Bexar County Property Identification Number 308309, Bexar County, Texas (Senior Planner Daisy Marquez)] 26 DASH A DASH 0 22. CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR THE VOLUNTARY ANNEXATION OF APPROXIMATELY 0.19 ACRES OF LAND KNOWN AS 1 2 2 3 5 AZTEC WAY MORE SPECIFICALLY KNOWN AS PORTION OF BEXAR COUNTY PROPERTY IDENTIFICATION NUMBER 3 0 8 3 0 9 BEXAR COUNTY, TEXAS. AND WITH US WE STILL HAVE OUR, UH, SENIOR PLANNER DEJA MARQUEZ. GOOD EVENING ONCE AGAIN. ORDINANCE 26 8 22. AGAIN, ANOTHER ANNEXATION FOR 0.19 ACRES IN BEXAR COUNTY DATES AMERICA SENIOR PLANNER. AGAIN, THIS PROPERTY LOOKS FAMILIAR. IT WAS PURCHASED IN 2026 AND IT'S A PORTION OF BEARER ID 3 0 8 3 0 9. AND AGAIN THE RESOLUTION WAS APPROVED ON AUGUST 18 TO START THIS ANNEXATION PROCESS. AND THE ZONE CHANGE APPLICATION IS ACCOMPANYING THIS AS WELL. AND AGAIN PER THE LGC STAFF FINDS THE SURROUNDING AREA BUT NOT INCLUDING THAT AREA WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS. THROUGH THIS ANNEXATION IS IN THE PUBLIC'S INTEREST. SO STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF ORDINANCE 26 8 22. THANK YOU. OKAY, THIS TIME I'LL OPEN IT UP TO RESIDENTS OF THE PUBLIC TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK AT EIGHT 30. ANYBODY WANT TO COME UP TO SPEAK ON, ON ORDINANCE 26 DASH A DASH 0 2 2 ON ONCE GOING TWICE. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AT EIGHT 30 ON ORDINANCE 26 [02:30:01] DASH A DASH 0 22. ANY DISCUSSION BY COUNSEL? HAVING DONE CAN I ENTERTAIN A MOTION? I MOTION THAT WE APPROVE ORDINANCE 26 A 0 2 2 SECOND A I HAVE A MOTION MADE BY MAYOR PRO TIM WATSON. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SHERIDAN. CAN I GET EVERYBODY TO CAST YOUR VOTES? CAN I GET THE VOTES PUBLISHED PLEASE? HAVING SEVEN YAYS, NO NAYS. MOTION PASSES. ALRIGHT, MOVING ON TO ORDINANCE [18. Ordinance 26-S-023 - Conduct a public hearing and consider a request to rezone approximately 10.7 acres of land to Public Use District (PUB) located approximately 900 feet north-west of the intersection of FM 482 and Schwab Road, more specifically known as Comal County Property Indentification Number 56613, Comal County, Texas (Senior Planner Daisy Marquez). ] 26 DASH S DASH 0 2 3. CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDER A REQUEST TO REZONE APPROXIMATELY 10.7 ACRES OF LAND TO PUBLIC USE DISTRICT, ALSO KNOWN AS PUB. LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 900 FEET NORTHWEST OF THE INTERSECTION OF FM 4 82 AND SCHWAB ROAD, MORE SPECIFICALLY KNOWN AS KAMAL COUNTY PROPERTY IDENTIFICATION NUMBER OF 5 6 6 1 3. KAMAL COUNTY, TEXAS. WE HAVE A SENIOR PLANNER, DAISY MARQUEZ. GOOD EVENING ONCE AGAIN. ORDINANCE 26 S 23 FOR PROPOSAL AND CHANGE TO PUBLIC USE DISTRICT ON 10.7 ACRES. SO HERE'S THAT PROPERTY THAT WAS JUST ANNEXED IN THE CITY OF, UM, WITHIN COMAL COUNTY. AGAIN, IT'S CITY OWNED PROPERTY. WE SENT OUT PUBLIC NOTICES WE DID NOT RECEIVE. UH, WE DID RECEIVE FOUR RESPONSES IN OPPOSITION, BUT THOSE ARE OUTSIDE OF CITY LIMITS. WE NOTICED IN THE PAPER WE POSTED A SIGN AND THIS DID GO TO THE SEPTEMBER 15TH. THIS IS GOING TO TONIGHT. UM, AGAIN, THESE ARE THOSE OPPOSITIONS, BUT THEY'RE OUTSIDE OF CITY LIMITS. AND AGAIN, THIS IS FOR THE DRY KAMAL CREEK NATURE PARK. IT WAS JUST ANNEX. IT'S CITY OWNED PROPERTY. THIS IS A CONCEPTUAL PLAN FROM THE PARKS MASTER PLAN. AND FROM SPEAKING WITH, UM, THE DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION, LAUREN, THIS IS, UM, THE CLOSEST CONCEPTUAL PLAN THAT THEY HAVE. AND AGAIN, SOME OF THE USES ALLOWED WITHIN PUBLIC USE DISTRICT. AND JUST GOING THROUGH THE CRITERIA OF APPROVAL, AGAIN, THIS WAS OUTSIDE OF CITY LIMITS, BUT AS WE ANNEX IT, THIS IS INTENDED FOR, UM, PUBLIC USES. AND AGAIN, ALREADY FORMALLY APPROVED DRY DRY KAMAL CREEK NATURE PARK. THIS PROMOTES THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND GENERAL WELFARE OF THE CITY 'CAUSE WE'RE PROVIDING SERVICES TO RESIDENTS. AND AGAIN, THIS PROPOSED ZONE CHANGE IS CONSISTENT, INAPPROPRIATE BECAUSE IT'S SHOWN IN THE MASTER PARKS PLAN FOR THE DRY KAMAL CREEK PARK. UH, THIS ZONE CHANGE DOES MEET THE UDC REQUIREMENTS. IT WAS REVIEWED BY FIRE POLICE AND EMS FOR REVIEW AND NO OBJECTIONS WERE PROVIDED. THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION DID HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING FOR THIS ITEM ON SEPTEMBER 2ND. AND THE PUBLIC DID STATE CONCERNS WITH FLOODING, MAINTENANCE, TRAFFIC, AND BUILDING IN THE FLOODPLAIN AND THE COMMISSIONER. THE COMMISSIONERS DID HAVE A DISCUSSION ON THE FLOODPLAIN MAINTENANCE AND TIMELINE FOR PLANS FOR JAMAL CREEK HR PARK. WITH THAT STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF 26 S 23 AND THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION HELD A PUBLIC HEARING FOR THIS ITEM ON SEPTEMBER 2ND. AND THEY MADE A RECOMMENDATION OF APPROVAL TO CITY COUNCIL WITH THE SIX ONE VOTE WITH COMMISSIONER LAREDO REYES VOTING MAY. OKAY, AT THIS TIME I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR RESIDENTS AND THE PUBLIC TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK AT 8 33. IF ANYBODY WANTED TO COME UP AND SPEAK ON ORDINANCE 26 DASH S DASH 0 2 3 ON ONCE GOING TWICE, GO AHEAD AND CLOSE HEARING OF RESIDENCE AT 8 33. IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSIONS ON THIS ITEM? HAVEN'T NONE. CAN I GET SOMEBODY TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION? I MAKE A MOTION. MAYOR. SECOND. OKAY, I HAVE A MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER WESTBROOK. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER DIETZ, CAN I GET EVERYBODY TO CAST YOUR VOTES? MAY I GET THE VOTES PUBLISHED HAVING SEVEN YAYS, NO NAYS. MOTION PASSES. MOVING. MOVING ON TO ITEM [19. Ordinance 26-S-024 - Conduct a public hearing and consider a request to zone approximately 0.19 acres of land to Public Use District (PUB) known as 12235 Aztec Way, more specifically known as a portion of Bexar County Property Identification Number 308309, Bexar County, Texas (Senior Planner Daisy Marquez)] 19. ORDINANCE 26 DASH S DASH 0 2 4. CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING, CONSIDER A REQUEST TO ZONE APPROXIMATELY 0.19 ACRES OF LAND TO PUBLIC USE DISTRICT, ALSO KNOWN AS PUB 1 2 2 3 5 A ASSET WAY MORE SPECIFICALLY KNOWN AS A PORTION OF BEXAR COUNTY PROPERTY IDENTIFICATION NUMBER 3 0 8 3 0 9. BEXAR COUNTY, TEXAS. WE HAVE A SENIOR PLANNER, DAISY MARQUEZ. GOOD EVENING. ONCE AGAIN. ORDINANCE 26 S 24 A ZONE CHANGE TO POB ON 0.19 ACRES. THIS IS, UH, PORTION OF THE PROPERTY WITHIN BEXAR COUNTY. AGAIN, THIS IS PART OF A LARGER TRACT. THE LARGER TRACT [02:35:01] IS OUTLINED IN BLUE. AND UM, WHAT'S A DISCUSSION FOR TONIGHT IS YELLOW. WE SENT OUT 14 PUBLIC NOTICES ON AUGUST 21ST. WE DID NOT RECEIVE ANY RESPONSES FOR IT. AGAIN, THIS PROPERTY WAS JUST ANNEXED BY THE CITY. WE'RE REQUESTING IT TO BE PUBLIC USE DISTRICT. AGAIN, HERE ARE SOME OF THE PERMITTED USES WITHIN PUB AND THE DIMENSIONAL REQUIREMENTS. AND THEN THE CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL OF 2154 D. SO THIS, UM, AREA IS DESIGNATED AS LOCAL CORRIDOR, BUT IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE IN DEVELOPMENT WITH SCALE AND INTENSITY COMPATIBLE WITH THE SURROUNDING DEVELOPMENT. AGAIN, THE PROPOSED PUBLIC USE DISTRICT IS COMPATIBLE WITH THE COMP PLAN 'CAUSE IT ALLOWS FOR LAND USES THAT SERVE THE COMMUNITY. IT'S SURROUNDED BY OPEN SPACE AND FLOODPLAIN AND IT'S SHOWN ON THE PARKS MASTER PLAN TO BE PART OF THAT LARGER TRAIL SYSTEM. AND AGAIN, THAT ALSO HELPS PROMOTE THE HEALTH, SAFETY, GENERAL WELFARE OF THE CITY SO WE CAN MAINTAIN THIS NATURAL AREA. AND THEN, UM, JUST POINTING OUT THAT THIS IS CONSISTENT AND APPROPRIATE WITH EXISTING USES 'CAUSE THIS IS ADJACENT TO A SMALL UNDEVELOPED CITY PARK, CILO CREEK FLOODPLAIN, FLOODWAY AND RESIDENTIAL USES. SO ANY OF THE USES PERMITTED IN THE PUBLIC USE DISTRICT ARE COMPATIBLE. THIS ZONE CHANGE MEETS ALL UDC REQUIREMENTS AND IT WAS SENT TO FIRE POLICE AND EMS FOR REVIEW AND NO OBJECTIONS WERE PROVIDED. AND THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION DID HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING FOR THIS ITEM ON SEPTEMBER 2ND. STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF ORDINANCE 26 S 24 AND AGAIN THE P AND Z DID HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING FOR THIS ITEM ON SEPTEMBER 2ND AND MADE A RECOMMENDATION OF APPROVAL TO CITY COUNCIL WITH A UNANIMOUS VOTE. OKAY, AT THIS TIME I, I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR RESIDENTS AND THE PUBLIC TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK AT 8 37. ANYONE WANTING TO COME OUT AND SPEAK ON ORDINANCE 26 DASH S DASH 0 2 4. GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE. WE'LL CLOSE AT RESIDENTS TO BE, TO BE HEARD AT 8 37. IS THERE ANY ANY COUNCIL MEMBER WANT TO DISCUSS ITEM 19 FURTHER? HAVING DONE, CAN I ENTERTAIN A MOTION? A MOTION THAT WE APPROVE ORDINANCE 26 S 0 24 SECOND. OKAY, I HAVE A MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL, UH, MAYOR PRO TIM WATSON. SECOND. SECOND. MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER SHERIDAN, CAN I GET EVERYBODY TO CASH YOUR VOTES PLEASE? MAY I GET THE VOTES PUBLISHED HAVING SEVEN YAYS NO NAYS. MOTION PASSES. MOVING ON TO [20. Ordinance 26-S-030 - Conduct a public hearing and consider a zone change request from General Business District (GB) to General Business District -II (GB-2) on approximately 5 acres of land, generally located approximately 1,555 feet east of the intersection of FM 2252 and IH 35 N Access Road, more specifically known as a portion of Comal County Property Identification Number 73267, City of Schertz, Comal County, Texas (Senior Planner Daisy Marquez)] ITEM 20. ORDINANCE 26 DASH S DASH ZERO THREE. CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING, CONSIDER A ZONE CHANGE REQUEST FROM GENERAL BUSINESS DISTRICT GB TO GENERAL BUSINESS DISTRICT DASH ONE ONE GB TWO AT APPROXIMATELY FIVE ACRES OF LAND. GENERALLY LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 1,555 FEET EAST OF THE INTERSECTION OF FM 2252 AND I 35 NORTH AXIS ROAD. MORE SPECIFICALLY KNOWN AS A PORTION OF KAMAL COUNTY PROPERTY IDENTIFICATION NUMBER 7 3 2 6 7 CITY OF CHURCH, KAMAL COUNTY, TEXAS. WITH THIS WE HAVE OUR SENIOR PLANNER, DEJA MARQUEZ. GOOD EVENING ONCE AGAIN. ORDINANCE 26 S 30 A PROPOSED ZONE CHANGE FROM GENERAL BUSINESS DISTRICT TO GENERAL BUSINESS DISTRICT TWO ON APPROXIMATELY FIVE ACRES. SO HERE'S THE SUBJECT PROPERTY OUTLINED IN YELLOW. IT IS PART OF THE LARGER, UH, TRACT OUTLINED IN BLUE, BUT WE'RE ONLY TALKING ABOUT THE PORTION IN YELLOW TONIGHT. IT'S CURRENTLY ZONED GENERAL BUSINESS DISTRICT AND THEN THE REMAINDER OF IT IS ZONED MANUFACTURING DISTRICT LIGHT. UM, TO THE SOUTH WE HAVE I 35 AND THEN TO THE EAST WE DO HAVE GENERAL BUSINESS DISTRICT WITH AN APPROVED SPECIFIC USE PERMIT, WHICH WE'LL DISCUSS LATER ON. THAT ALLOWS FOR HEAVY EQUIPMENT SALES SERVICE TO RENTALS FOR THE RDO EQUIPMENT COMPANY. AND THEN TO THE WEST WE HAVE UNDEVELOPED PROPERTY THAT'S OWNED GENERAL BUSINESS DISTRICT. WE DID SEND OUT FOUR PUBLIC NOTICES ON AUGUST 21ST. WE DID NOT RECEIVE ANY RESPONSES. WE DID POST A NOTICE IN THE PAPER ON AUGUST 26TH AND A NOTIFICATION SIGN WAS PLACED BY THE APPLICANT. AND THIS IS HEARD AT THE SEPTEMBER 2ND PNC MEETING. SO AGAIN, THIS PROPERTY, UM, IN QUESTION TONIGHT IS FIVE ACRES WHERE THEY'RE PROPOSING TO GO FROM GB TO GB TWO, BUT IT'S PART OF A LARGER TRACK THAT'S UNPLED. THE APPLICANT IS PROPOSING TO, UM, HAVE HEAVY EQUIPMENT, CELL SERVICE OR RENTAL. BUT THE MAIN REASON THEY'RE HERE FOR TONIGHT IS OUTDOOR STORAGE, WHICH REQUIRES THAT GB TWO ZONING. AND AGAIN, JUST SHOWING YOU THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GB AND GB TWO, THOSE PERMITTED USES. THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS THAT GB TWO UM, IS INTENDED FOR LIGHT INDUSTRIAL AND IT STARTS ALLOWING, UM, REQUEST FOR SPECIFIC USE PERMITS THAT ARE MORE INDUSTRIAL. [02:40:02] SO AGAIN, UM, THESE FIVE ACRES OUTLINED IN YELLOW ARE PART OF A LARGE JUROR 13 ACRE TRACT. THE REMAINING PORTION IS ZONE MANUFACTURING LIGHT DISTRICT AND GENERAL BUSINESS DISTRICT. UM, THE APPLICANT IS PROPOSING AN EXPANSION OF THE RDO EQUIPMENT CODE THAT'S HERE TO THE RIGHT AND THEY NEED THE GB TWO BECAUSE THEY NEED THAT OUTDOOR STORAGE FOR THE STORAGE OF THEIR EQUIPMENT AND SOME BACKGROUND, UM, ON THE SITUATION. SO ESSENTIALLY IN 2008, UH, SPECIFIC USE PERMIT WAS APPROVED FOR THE PROPERTY TO THE RIGHT. UM, THAT'S ADJACENT TO THEM FOR HEAVY EQUIPMENT CELL SERVICE AND RENTAL. SO THAT ESTABLISHED THE USE. AND BACK THEN, UM, SPECIFIC USE PERMITS APPROVED THE SITE PLAN. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, KIND OF JUST SHOWING YOU, UM, THE SITE PLAN WAS APPROVED AND EQUIPMENT STORAGE WAS TO REMAIN AT THE REAR OF THE BUILDING. UM, AND AGAIN, AND THAT WAS ONLY FOR THE EIGHT ACRE SITE TO THE RIGHT OF THE SUBJECT ZONE CHANGE THE SUBJECT. FIVE ACRES FOR TONIGHT HAVE BEEN USED AS AN EXTENSION OF THIS EIGHT ACRE SITE WITHOUT DEVELOPMENT PERMITS. AND, UH, THE ZONE CHANGES IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS COMPLIANCE. SO LOOKING AT UDC, SECTION 2154 D FOR THE CRITERIA OF APPROVAL, THIS AREA IS DESIGNATED AS REGIONAL CORRIDOR. SO IT'S THAT RED COLOR, YOU CAN SEE IT ALL AROUND AND ALL ALONG I 35. THIS IS INTENDED FOR COMMERCIAL AND ENTERTAINMENT ALONG MAJOR THOROUGH FIRST. AGAIN, THIS IS TYPICAL BIG BOX RETAIL, REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTERS, SUPERMARKETS OFFICE SPACE, AND LARGER MULTIFAMILY. BUT IT ALSO INCLUDES ACCOMMODATING EXISTING LIMITED INDUSTRIAL LOGISTICAL USES. THE PROPOSED GB TWO IS NOT COMPATIBLE AND DOES NOT ALIGN WITH INTENTS OF THE REGIONAL CORRIDOR FEATURE LAND USE DESIGNATION BECAUSE IT ALLOWS FOR LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ALONG I 35 AND IT PERMITS FOR OUTDOOR STORAGE. AND THE APPLICANT HAS M1 TO THE REAR OF THE PROPERTY THAT CAN SUPPORT THE PROPOSED USE WITH ACCESS ALONG FM 42. SO AGAIN, GB TWO N IS PERMITTED. USES DO NOT PROMOTE THE COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLAN AND DO NOT PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE OF THE CITY. ANY NEW DEVELOPMENT IS REQUIRED TO MEET ALL OF CITY SHIRTS, CODE AND BUILDING REQUIREMENTS. SO EVEN AS THE SITE IS TODAY CANNOT BE USED AS IS. AND THEN AS PART OF THE ZONE CHANGE ENGINEERING DID PROVIDE A MEMO ON THE TRAFFIC IMPACT AND THERE WOULD BE NO ADVERSE IMPACT ON THE CITY'S TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. BUT I DO WANNA POINT OUT THAT EVALUATION WAS BASED ONLY ON THE PROPOSED USE OF OUTER STORAGE FOR HEAVY MACHINERY. NOT ALL GB TWO ALLOWED USES. AND KIND OF JUST GOING BACK TO GB TWO'S INTENT IS FOR NON-RESIDENTIAL AND LIGHT USES. SO IT SHOULD NOT AMIDST DUST, SMOKE ORDER OF GAS OR FUMES PASS THEIR PROPERTY BOUNDARY. AND EVEN THOUGH THIS IS FOR AN EXPANSION OF AN EXISTING BUSINESS, IF THE ZONE CHANGE IS APPROVED, ALL USES WITHIN GB TWO MUST BE ALLOWED AND ALL POTENTIAL SPECIFIC USE PERMIT REQUESTS. SO AGAIN, THE PROPOSED ZONE CHANGE AND THE USES PERMITTED WITHIN GB TWO ARE NOT CONSISTENT, INAPPROPRIATE WITH EXISTING USES IN THE AREA ARE THE GOALS OF THE COMP PLAN. AND HERE YOU CAN SEE, UM, I 35 AND OUTLINE IN YELLOW IS ALL THE GB IN THE SURROUNDING AREA. UM, THIS PURPLE IN THE CORNER IS, UM, OUR SHIRT STATION DEVELOPMENT THAT'S CURRENTLY GROWING. AND AGAIN, THIS IS NOT WHAT WE HAVE ENVISIONED WITH THE COMP PLAN AND IT DOESN'T ALIGN. AND THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE PERMITTED USES WITHIN GB TWO THAT WOULD BE ALLOWED AT THE SITE. AGAIN, WE KNOW THAT THIS IS AN EXTENSION, A PROPOSED EXTENSION OF A PRO, UM, AN EXISTING BUSINESS. BUT WE MUST ALLOW ALL THESE USES WITHIN THAT ZONING DISTRICT AT THIS SITE IF THE ZONE CHANGE IS APPROVED. SO THE ZONE CHANGE DOES MEET THE UDC REQUIREMENTS. IT WAS SENT TO FIRE POLICE AND EMS FOR REVIEW. NO OBJECTIONS WERE PROVIDED. AND AGAIN, ALTHOUGH THIS PROPOSED ZONE CHANGE IS FOR AN EXPANSION OF THE EXISTING BUSINESS STAFF MUST EVALUATE ALL THEIR PERMITTED USES WITHIN THAT ZONING DISTRICT AND THE POTENTIAL SPECIFIC USE PERMITS THAT CAN BE REQUESTED. IF THIS GB TWO IS APPROVED, THERE'S NO WAY TO RESTRICT THE USES PERMITTED AT THIS SITE OR THE SPECIFIC USE PERMITS THAT CAN BE REQUESTED. THE EXPANSION WAS DONE AT THIS SITE WITHOUT THE PROPER DEVELOPMENT PERMITS. AND IN PREVIOUS CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, STAFF HAS RECEIVED THE DIRECTION FROM CITY COUNCIL TO PROTECT THE EXISTING GENERAL BUSINESS DISTRICT ALONG I 35 AND I 10 TO PROMOTE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMPATIBLE WITH THE COMP PLAN WITH THE VISION OF THE CITY. AND THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION DID HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING FOR THIS ITEM ON SEPTEMBER 2ND. AND THEY HELD A DISCUSSION ON THE ITEM REGARDING THE FOLLOWING. THE DIS THE USE IS PERMITTED WITHIN GB TWO NOT BEING COMPATIBLE ON I 35. THE SPECIFIC USE PERMIT PROCESS NOT BEING AN OPTION FOR THIS SITE AND CONCERNS WITH HISTORY OF OTHER SITES WITH OUTDOOR STORAGE. SO STAFF RECOMMENDS DENIAL OF ORDINANCE 26 S 0 3 0 'CAUSE ALTHOUGH THIS IS A REQUEST FOR PROPOSED EXPANSION, GB TWO AND ITS PERMITTED USES [02:45:01] ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE COMP PLAN, FUTURE LAND USE MAP AND DOES NOT SUPPORT THE GENERAL WELFARE OF THE COMMITTEE. AND AGAIN, THE PNZ HELD A PUBLIC HEARING FOR THIS ITEM AT, AT THE SEPTEMBER 2ND PNZ MEETING AND MADE A RECOMMENDATION OF DENIAL TO CITY COUNCIL WITH A SIX ONE VOTE WITH COMMISSIONER LAREDO REYES WITH THE NAVO. AND I DO WANNA NOTE THAT DURING COMMISSIONER ANNOUNCEMENTS, COMMISSIONER LAREDO REYES STATED THEY VOTED NEON ACCIDENT AND THEN THE APPLICANT IS HERE IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS FOR THEM AS WELL. OKAY, AT THIS TIME I'LL GO AHEAD AND OPEN IT UP TO RESIDENTS AND THE PUBLIC TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK AT 8 46. YES, I SEE, I SEE THE, UH, THE BIG PLAN. UM, I'M REPRESENTING RD OFFIT COMPANY, THE PARENT COMPANY OF RDO EQUIPMENT COMPANY. WE'RE JOHN DEERE'S LARGEST, UH, WORLDWIDE DEALER. UM, WE, WE ARE NOT FOCUSED ON ALL THE PERMITTED USES. WE NEED THAT FOR OUR BRAND NEW EQUIPMENT, UM, THAT SITS THERE THAT PROMOTES THE REVENUE, PROMOTES THE SALES TAX OF THE CITY. IF, IF WE CAN'T STORE EQUIPMENT OUT THERE, WE'RE, WE'RE LIMITED TO THAT SEVEN ACRES, I THINK 20 YEARS AGO, UH, WE WOULD'VE BEEN HAPPY SAYING THIS WOULD BE A $30 MILLION REVENUE SITE. I, I BELIEVE WE EXCEEDED THAT. AND WE NEED, WE NEED 12 OR 15 ACRES. THE, THE CRICK HAS GOT US, UM, LANDLOCKED. SO 12 ACRES, WE'VE GOT IT FULL CURRENTLY, UH, UN PERMITTED. SO I, I WILL ASK, I WILL APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. UM, BUT AGAIN, I WANT TO REINFORCE, WE DO NEED THAT FOR OUTDOOR STORAGE. UH, WE'RE NOT A FLEA MARKET. UM, AND WE NEVER WILL BE AND WE DON'T, WE DON'T SELL. SO I WOULD LIKE YOU GUYS TO CONSIDER, UM, OUR EXPANSION BOTH REVENUE AND AND PROPERTY TO, TO ALLOW YOUR CITY TO GROW AS WELL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE WISHING TO COME UP TO SPEAK. GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CLOSE, UH, RESIDENCE AND THE PUBLIC TO SPEAK AT 8 47. ANY DISCUSSIONS ON ITEM ORDINANCE? 26 DASHS DASH 0 3 0. HAVE IT DONE? CAN I, OH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. SO IF THIS WERE TO GET APPROVED, UM, THAT AREA NOW IS A DIRT AREA WHERE THEY'VE BEEN STORING EQUIPMENT WITHOUT PROPER DEVELOPMENT. CORRECT. CAN YOU, SO THAT AREA WHERE THERE, THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT FIVE ACRES IS CURRENTLY USED FOR STORAGE OF EQUIPMENT AND IT'S, IT'S NOT DEVELOPED 'CAUSE IT WAS NEVER A PERMIT PULLED FOR DEVELOPMENT, CORRECT? CORRECT, SIR. AND IF THIS WERE TO GET APPROVED, THEY WOULD HAVE TO PULL THE PERMITS AND AND DEVELOP THAT SO IT'S COMPLIANT, PAVED SURFACE AND ALL THE OTHER IMPROVEMENTS. CORRECT. THEY WOULD BE REQUIRED TO DO SCREENING ALL ALONG I 35 TO ENCLOSE IT. THEY WOULD HAVE TO INCLUDE ALL THE LANDSCAPING AND AS PART OF THAT PROCESS, THEY WOULD HAVE TO PLAN AND SITE PLAN TO MAKE SURE IT MEETS ALL OF OUR REQUIREMENTS. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER MACALUSO? YEAH, UH, STAFF WAS ACCURATE IN TERMS OF WHAT THEIR RECOMMENDATION WAS. I THINK WE'VE BEEN PRETTY CONSISTENT WITH TRYING TO KEEP THAT, UH, IN AS JGB BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE'RE NOT JUST LOOKING AT TODAY, WE'RE LOOKING AT 10, 15, 20 YEARS FROM NOW. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE ONLY HAVE SO MUCH LAND THAT THAT GIVES US OPPORTUNITY FOR GOOD RETAIL SALES TAX. I THINK THIS IS AN UNFORTUNATE ONE BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A GOOD BUSINESS THERE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, HAS BEEN A, A FAIRLY LONG TIME RESIDENT OF THE AREA. BUT I THINK WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU CONSIDER ALL THE OPTIONS THAT GB TWO ALLOWS, I JUST, TO ME, WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THAT. SO I I SUPPORT THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE, UH, STAFF. OKAY. ANY OTHER DISCUSSIONS? CAN I GET ANYONE TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION? I'LL MAKE RECOMMENDATION OF DENIAL OR I'LL MAKE A MOTION. YOU'LL YOU'LL MAKE A MOTION OF DENIAL. OF DENIAL. SECOND. OKAY. SO I HAVE A MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, MACALUSO, UH, FOR DENIAL. HAVE A SECOND MOTION BY MAYOR PRO TIM WATSON. CAN I GET EVERYBODY TO CASH A VOTE? [02:50:05] OKAY. SO THE YES VOTE MEANS YOU'RE DENYING IT, CORRECT? YES. ALRIGHT, CAN I GET THE VOTES PUBLISHED? ALRIGHT, SO WE HAVE SIX, UH, VOTES TO DENY THE PERMIT AND ONE VOTE TO APPROVE THE PERMIT. SO, UH, SO ORDINANCE 26 DASH S 0 3 0 WILL BE DENIED. WILL BE NOT APPROVED. OKAY, MOVING ON TO WORKSHOP [21. Workshop providing an Update on Unpaved Surfaces (Senior Planner Daisy Marquez).] . ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO A WORKSHOP ON ITEM 21, UH, WORKSHOP, PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON UNPAVED SERVICES. WE HAVE OUR SENIOR PLANNER, DAISY MARQUETTE. GOOD EVENING ONCE AGAIN. UM, WE'RE HERE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE AND GET A DISCUSSION ON UNPAVED SERVICES AND IMPERVIOUS COVERAGE. UM, I'M DAISY MARQUEZ SENIOR PLANNER. SO KIND OF PROVIDING A BACKGROUND ON WHY WE'RE HERE AND WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE. IN SEPTEMBER OF 2023, OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES DIVISION PROVIDED A PRESENTATION ON UNAPPROVED PARKING SURFACES. AND AT THE JUNE 3RD, 2025, CITY COUNCIL MEETING STAFF CAME FORWARD AND PRESENTED ON STORM WATER MANAGEMENT PROTECTIONS FOR THE CITY AND THE CITY'S MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORM SEWER SYSTEM PERMIT, ALSO KNOWN AS THE MS FOUR PERMIT AND THE VISION FOR THE CITY AESTHETIC. SO KIND OF GOING THROUGH THOSE SLIDES THAT WE REVIEWED LAST TIME IN JUNE, AGAIN, SHOWING YOU SOME SITES THAT HAVE PUT THAT INVESTMENT AND PUT THAT FINANCIAL COMMITMENT INTO, INTO THE CITY TO MEET OUR COMMUNITY AESTHETIC AND MEET THE U2 C STANDARDS. SO THESE PEOPLE HAVE GONE THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, THEY'VE MADE THE EFFORT AND PUT IN THE TIME, BUT THEN ALSO SOME IMAGES OF ILLEGAL EXPANSIONS THAT PEOPLE HAVE DONE THINGS WITHOUT PERMIT. THEY'RE PARKING ITEMS OUTSIDE ON BASE MATERIAL AND THEY DIDN'T, AND THEY'RE IN VIOLATION OF THIS UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE AND SOME OTHER IMAGES OF SITES. SO AS A RESULT OF THAT JUNE WORKSHOP STAFF GOT TOGETHER AND WE QUITE LITERALLY WENT PROPERTY BY PROPERTY THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE CITY. AND WE EVALUATED ALL COMMERCIAL USES WITH COMMERCIAL ZONING. AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, WE CAME OUT WITH A TOTAL OF 70 CODE, UM, ENFORCEMENT CASES. WE SPLIT THEM UP IN BETWEEN SECTIONS. SO 27 OF THOSE WERE IN THE NORTHERN SHIRTS AREA, SO I 35 AND UP 28 OF THOSE WERE IN THE CENTRAL SHIRTS AREA SOUTH OF I 35 AND NORTH NORTH OF FM 78 AND 15 OF THOSE WERE IN THE SOUTHERN SHIRTS AREA. SO EVERYTHING SOUTH OF FM 78 AS A RESULT OF OUR WORK, 68 OUT OF THOSE 70 PROPERTIES AND BUSINESSES HAVE DISCUSSED THEIR VIOLATIONS IN A PATH FORWARD WITH US. SO THAT'S 97% OF THOSE PROPERTIES. 53 OF THOSE 68 ACTUALLY CAME TO CITY HALL FOR A MEETING. SO WITH ALL THOSE 53 PEOPLE, WE MET WITH THEM IN PERSON, WE SAT DOWN WITH THEM, SOME OF 'EM FROM ENGINEERING, SOME OF 'EM FROM PLANNING, AND SOMEONE FROM NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES TALKED THROUGH EACH VIOLATION WITH THEM. TWO OUT OF THOSE 70 OR 3% DID NOT COME IN MEET WITH US OR DID NOT CON, DID NOT CONTACT NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES TO DISCUSS A PATH FORWARD. AND THEN KIND OF A FINAL RESULT OF ALL THOSE NUMBERS. SO FAR WE HAVE 17 CASES COMPLETELY CLOSED. SO 24%, 29 OR 41% WORKING ON A DEVELOPMENT PROCESS OR RESOLUTION FOR A TOTAL OF 46 PROPERTIES OR 65% TOTAL IN COMPLIANCE OR WORKING IN COMPLIANCE. SO THIS HAS BEEN A REALLY LARGE EFFORT FROM THE WHOLE TEAM. AND JUST GIVING YOU SOME EXAMPLE, VIOLATIONS THAT PEOPLE RECEIVED IS WORK WITHOUT A PERMIT. OUTDOOR STORAGE ON AN UNIMPROVED SURFACE, PARKING ON AN UNIMPROVED SURFACE AND NOT HAVING A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY. SO A BUSINESS NOT HAVING A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY MEANS WE CANNOT VERIFY THAT THAT BUILDING OR THAT BUSINESS MEETS LIFE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS. SOME, UM, WAYS PEOPLE HAVE BEEN COMING INTO COMPLIANCE IS RECEIVING RETROACTIVE BUILDING PERMITS. WE'LL WORK WITH THEM. WE LET THEM KNOW WHAT THEY NEED TO PROVIDE TO US TO GET THAT BUILDING PERMIT, RECEIVING A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY SO WE CAN ENSURE THAT THAT BUSINESS MEETS THE LIFE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS AND NEEDS. ALSO GETTING FLAT WORK PERMITS OR EXPANSIONS OF IMPERVIOUS COVERAGE. SO THIS INCLUDES, YOU KNOW, A QUICK SITE PLAN, A QUICK BUILDING PERMIT. WE'VE HAD PEOPLE APPLY FOR THOSE AND PARKING LOT EXPANSIONS WITH THE SITE PLAN AND BUILDING PERMIT. SOME THINGS WE'VE ALSO HAD PEOPLE DO IS LITERALLY MOVE THE VEHICLES IN STORAGE, UM, FROM THE GRASS INER AND ALLOW THE AREA TO REVEGETATE. A LOT OF PEOPLE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE ABNORMAL RAIN WE HAD DURING THE SUMMER. SO THAT'S HOW WE WERE ABLE TO ALLOW A [02:55:01] LOT OF THESE CASES TO CLOSE. WE HAVE, UM, COME INTO A CHALLENGE WHEN MEETING WITH THESE PEOPLE. UM, UDC SECTION 21 4 16 E DOES HAVE A SECTION THAT SPECIFICALLY STATES THAT NO BUILDING PERMIT SHALL BE ISSUED ON A PROPERTY THAT IS NOT A LOT OF RECORDS. AND THAT MEANS IF A PROPERTY IS NOT PLOTTED, IT HAS NOT GONE THROUGH THE SUBDIVISION PROCESS WITH US, IT CANNOT RECEIVE A BUILDING PERMIT. AND THAT MEANS, UM, IF YOU LOOK HERE AT THIS FLOW CHART BELOW, THIS IS A FLOW CHART A LOT OF PEOPLE RECEIVE DURING THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS WHEN THEY'RE DISCUSSING WHAT THEY NEED TO DO TO DEVELOP A SITE. AND YOU CAN SEE IT STARTS WITH PLA HERE. SO PRELIMINARY PLAT, FINAL PLA, AND IT GOES ALL THE WAY TO SIDE PLAN AND BUILDING PERMIT. IF A LOT IS NOT PLATTED, THEY WOULD HAVE TO START HERE IN THIS YELLOW PORTION INSTEAD OF STARTING OVER HERE WITH SIDE PLAN AND BUILDING PERMIT IF IT'S PLOTTED. AND I DO WANNA NOTE THAT ADDING CONCRETE OR FLAT WORK REQUIRES A BUILDING PERMIT, WHICH CONSIST, WHICH CONSEQUENTLY REQUIRES THE PROPERTY TO BE PLATTED. SOMETHING WITH THIS PLATTING PROCESS IS THAT IT DOES TAKE AT LEAST SIX TO NINE MONTHS, PEOPLE NEED TO GET A SURVEYOR OUT. THEY NEED TO HIRE AN ENGINEER. SO THOSE ARE, THERE ARE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT. AND THEN THERE ARE SOME INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PLANNING. SO IF THEY NEED TO CONNECT TO SEWER, CONNECT TO PUBLIC WATER AND WHATNOT, THAT NEEDS TO BE EVALUATED AND THOSE PLANS NEED TO BE DRAFTED DURING THE PLANNING PROCESS. AND AGAIN, THIS CAN BE SIX TO NINE MONTHS BEFORE THEY EVEN GET TO A BUILDING PERMIT. AND AGAIN, WE DO WANNA REITERATE THAT COMPLIANCE IS OUR MAIN GOAL. WE HAVE BEEN MEETING WITH ALL THESE PEOPLE. WE HAVE DISCUSSED LOTS OF OPTIONS WITH THEM. IF THEY'VE REQUESTED TIME, YOU KNOW, TO LET THE GRASS GROW BACK. WE HAVE GIVEN THEM TIME, WE CHECK UP WITH THEM CONTINUOUSLY. A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE BEING OPEN AND HONEST AND COMMUNICATING WITH US THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS. UM, BUT WE BELIEVE WE CAN WORK ON BRINGING MORE SITES INTO COMPLIANCE AND MEET CITY STANDARDS WITH COUNCIL'S PERMISSION. SO AGAIN, THESE ARE THOSE 70 CASES SPECIFICALLY LISTED. THIS IS HOW WE IDENTIFY THOSE VIOLATIONS BY THEIR CODE ENFORCEMENT CASE NUMBER. AND THE GRADE OUT PORTIONS ARE THE CASES THAT ARE RESOLVED OR WORKING ON COMPLIANCE. SO STAFF IS COMING TODAY TO SEE IF CITY COUNCIL WOULD BE WILLING TO PERMIT THE 70 TRACKS OR 70 CASES IDENTIFIED FROM OUR WORK ON UNIMPROVED SURFACES BY BYPASSING THE PLATTING OR SUBDIVISION REQUIREMENT FOR ASPHALT AND PAVING ERECT TRACT BUILDING PERMITS TO BRING THE TRACK INTO COMPLIANCE. BUT I DO WANNA MAKE IT CLEAR THIS WOULD ONLY BE APPLICABLE TO THESE 70 CASES LISTED HERE, NO NEW ONES. IT'S ONLY THESE PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH THAT HAVE COMMUNICATED WITH US ONLY PERMITTED USES WITHIN APPROPRIATE ZONING DISTRICT. SO IF THAT USE IS NOT PERMITTED WITHIN THAT ZONING DISTRICT, WE WOULD NOT ALLOW IT. AND ANY PAVING WORK OR FENCE PERMITS, IF THEY JUST NEED TO ADD SOME PARKING, THEY NEED TO ADD ASPHALT OR PAYMENT FOR OUTDOOR STORAGE AND IT'S PERMITTED WITHIN THEIR ZONING DISTRICT, THEN WE WOULD ALLOW THEM TO GET BUILDING PERMITS FOR THAT WORK AND DO SITE PLAN BUILDING PERMIT. THIS MONOPOLY APPLICABLE TO INAPPROPRIATE ZONING DISTRICT USES EXPANSIONS OF NON-CONFORMING USES AND BUILDING EXPANSIONS OR NEW USES. SO THIS IS JUST FOR THINGS THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING. WE WANNA BRING THEM INTO COMPLIANCE. WE HAVE BEEN TALKING WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE, AND AN EXAMPLE I CAN GIVE IS WE HAVE A PROPERTY THAT HAS BEEN OPERATING AS A BUSINESS. THEY WERE ANNEXED INTO THE CITY AS A BUSINESS. UM, THEY'VE HAD SOME GROWTH THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. THEY ADDED LESS THAN A 10TH OF AN ACRE OF IMPERVIOUS COVERAGE. SO IT WOULDN'T EVEN REQUIRE A STORM WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN. THEY QUITE LITERALLY NEED TO ADD ABOUT A THOUSAND OR 2000 SQUARE FEET OF ASAL CONCRETE TO MEET OUR CODE REQUIREMENTS TO BRING THEM INTO COMPLIANCE. BUT WHAT'S STOPPING THEM AND WHAT'S KIND OF BRINGING THEM TO A HALT IS THAT THE PROPERTY'S NOT PLATTED. SO THEY HAVE THE PROPER ZONING, THEY HAVE A USE THAT'S PERMITTED ON THE SITE. THEY ONLY NEED TO ADD ABOUT 2000 SQUARE FEET OF ASPHALT REPAYMENT. BUT THEN PLANNING WOULD REQUIRE THEM TO PUT ANYTHING ON HOLD OR PUT COMPLIANCE ON HOLD FOR ABOUT SIX TO NINE MONTHS. PUT THE MONEY TOWARDS AN ENGINEER TO PLANT THIS PROPERTY. THEY WOULD HAVE TO CONNECT A SEWER AND WATER. THEY WOULD HAVE TO HIRE AN ENGINEER TO LOOK AT RIGHT AWAY DEDICATION, LOOK AT ANY EASEMENTS AND WHATNOT THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED OF ANY NEW DEVELOPMENT. WHEN IN REALITY THEY'RE JUST ADDING 2000 SQUARE FEET OF CONCRETE OR ASPHALT FOR THEIR BUSINESS THAT HAS GROWN THAT WE'RE JUST HAPPY THEY'RE IN THE CITY AND THEY COMPLY WITH EVERYTHING ELSE. SO THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE OF ESSENTIALLY WHO THIS WOULD BE APPLICABLE TO. AND STAFF IS LOOKING FOR DIRECTION IF YOU'RE WILLING TO BE OPEN TO THIS, ESSENTIALLY. AND WE CAN COME BACK, UM, WITH A RESOLUTION LISTING ALL THESE PROPERTIES SAYING SPECIFICALLY THAT YOU WOULD ALLOW THEM TO BYPASS THE PLANNING OR SUBDIVISION REQUIREMENT JUST FOR, UM, THE CASES LISTED AND AS LISTED HERE. SO WE WOULD COME BACK WITH THAT. BUT ESSENTIALLY [03:00:01] WE'RE, WE'RE COMING WITH DIRECTION, ASKING IF YOU'RE OKAY WITH THAT. IF YOU'RE NOT OKAY WITH THAT, DO YOU WANT US TO COME BACK WITH A RESOLUTION? UM, PERMITTING THAT MAYOR PRO TIM WATSON, I WISH THIS WAS KIND OF PRESENTED, UM, A COUPLE MONTHS BACK ON ALL THE, THE PROBLEMS WITH ALL THE BUSINESSES BECAUSE FOR ME WE'RE CITING 'EM CONSTANTLY, SENDING 'EM LETTERS AND THEN THEY START BEING COMPLIANT AND THEN WE HAL HALTS ALL BUSINESS AND THE MANAGEMENT AND WORK THE MAINTENANCE ON EVERYTHING. THEN THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS AND DELAY IT MORE. SO I I'M DEFINITELY FOR IT BECAUSE I WISH WE WOULD'VE HAD THIS SOONER AND MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, FORTHCOMING IN THE SIGHTING THAT THEY HAVE TO HAVE THESE OPTIONS. IT HAS TO BE SAID SOMEWHERE BECAUSE AT NO TIME DID I EVEN READ IT OR COME ACROSS IT. SO I WOULD LIKE THAT IN ADDITION TO THAT COUNCIL MEMBER BACIO. YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY THAT JUST THE WHOLE TIME YOU, YOU WERE DISCUSSING, YOU'RE DOING THE PRESENTATION, I WAS THINKING OF, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN WE HELP THEM? HOW CAN WE, YOU KNOW, MAKE IT EASIER FOR THEM? SO I WAS GLAD THAT YOU DID HAVE THAT AS PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION. I THINK ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE WE CAN FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT EASIER, LESS EXPENSIVE, UH, TO HELP THEM. I THINK THAT WE SHOULD LOOK AT THAT AT LEAST ON FROM MY SIDE, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. I, I THINK THIS IS A GREAT PATH FORWARD AND I'M ALL FOR IT. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE COMMUNICATING FOR THE EXAMPLE THAT YOU GAVE, YOU HAVE A PROPERTY THAT IS OUT OF COMPLIANCE AND ANY 2000 SQUARE FEET OF CONCRETE OR ASPHALT, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT THEY UNDERSTAND AND IT'S DOCUMENTED THAT BY THEM FIXING THAT 2000 SQUARE FEET OF CONCRETE OR ASPHALT DOESN'T GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAY, OH, WE'RE GONNA PARK ON AN THE NEXT 2000 FEET AND, AND WE CAN SKIP AND SPEED THROUGH THE WHOLE PROCESS TO ADD THE SECOND 2000 SQUARE FEET. UH, YOU KNOW, AS LONG AS WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT'S COMMUNICATED TO THEM AND DOCUMENTED THAT THEY HAVE IN THE LEGAL WORLD SIGNED AND ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THERE'S NO, THIS IS THEIR, THIS IS THEIR FAST PASS TO CORRECTION, BUT NOT, IT'S NOT AN EVER, UH, EVER GROWING, UH, OPTION FOR THEM. YEAH, I THINK FAIR ENOUGH, COUNCILMAN? I THINK, YOU KNOW, I, I STEPPED OUT SO I DIDN'T HEAR WHAT DAISY SAID, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL STAFF HAS DONE A LOT OF WORK TO BASICALLY TRY TO GET EVERYBODY IN COMPLIANCE. AND THEN THE KEY IS WHEN WE GET THAT IS WE JUST HAVE TO STAY ON IT, RIGHT? WE HAVE TO STAY ON IT TO NOT FIND OURSELVES IN THIS SITUATION AGAIN. AND, AND THEN AGAIN, NEED TO KEEP WORKING ON THINGS TO FIND SOLUTIONS FOR PEOPLE THAT MAKE SENSE WITH OUR CODES AND THINGS LIKE THAT TO HAVE THE QUALITY OF COMMUNITY WE WANT. YET WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE FOLKS, UM, TO BE ABLE TO PAY FOR THE KIND OF COMMUNITY THAT WE WANT. AND, UM, WE, UM, LIKE THE EXAMPLE I PROVIDED, THEY'RE VERY WILLING TO PULL A BUILDING PERMIT TO BRING THE SITE INTO COMPLIANCE. UM, BUT WE CAN DOCUMENT IT AND MAKE IT VERY CLEAR TO THEM THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HAPPY IF THEY NEED ANOTHER 10,000 SQUARE FEET, BUT THEN THEY WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PLATTING PROCESS 'CAUSE THAT IS NEW DEVELOPMENT. AND ANYTHING THAT'S NEW WOULD HAVE TO COME INTO OUR CODE REQUIREMENTS. COUNCIL MEMBER WESTBROOK. YES, MAYOR. SO OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, EVERY NOW AND THEN WE HEAR THE CITY OF CHURCH IS DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH. I THINK THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY CITY COUNCIL'S OPPORTUNITY TO SORT OF HOLD A DECREASE THAT SORT OF CRITICISM AND SORT OF PROVIDE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE SOME MORE CUSTOMER SERVICE TO THOSE 70. SO, UH, I'M IN SUPPORT OF IT AND I KIND OF CONCUR WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S BEEN SAID BY COUNCIL. UH, 'CAUSE I TOO HAVE BEEN APPROACHED BY A LOT OF THE BUSINESSES AND SOME OF THEM ARE MOM AND POPS AND THEY SIMPLY CANNOT AFFORD, UH, TO, TO MAKE THESE CHANGES THAT WE'RE REQUIRING THEM TO MAKE. AND THEN, AND THEN THE LENGTH OF TIME THAT IT TAKES FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO MAKE IT AS WELL. BUT I, I DO THINK BECAUSE THOSE BUS BUSINESSES HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED, UH, I WOULD BE IN SUPPORT OF THAT. UH, BUT I ALSO THINK THAT WE SHOULD, UH, GIVE THEM NOTIFICATION THAT ANY IMPROVEMENTS THAT THEY MAKE, THEY WOULD HAVE TO COMPLY. YOU KNOW, SO THAT WAY THEY HAVE A, THEY HAVE THAT UNDERSTANDING UP FRONT THAT ANYTHING THAT I DO HERE GOING FORWARD, AND THEN I KNOW I'M GONNA BE HELD TO THESE STANDARDS. SO FOR SURE. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER GUERRERO. YEAH. AND DAISY, I JUST WANNA SAY, YEAH, I, I DO SUPPORT THE PROGRAM. ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO BETTER SHIRTS TO BETTER THE RESIDENTS, UM, FOR IT. [03:05:01] YEAH. AT, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THESE, UH, RESIDENTS, UH, THEY'RE PROVIDING JOBS FOR PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN OUR COMMUNITY AND THEY'RE ALSO PROVIDING, UH, SALES TAX. SO, UH, WHICH, UH, BENEFITS OUR CITY GREATLY. SO I'M IN SUPPORT OF IT. IF THERE'S NO MORE DIRECTION, I'LL COME BACK WITH THE RESOLUTION, UM, WITHIN A CERTAIN, WITHIN A CERTAIN TIMEFRAME. WE'LL JUST NEED LEGAL TO REVIEW IT AND THEN YOU'LL SEE THAT COMING SOON. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. MOVING ON TO, UH, UH, ITEM 22 [22. Workshop of the Quarterly Financials - 3rd Quarter 2025-26 (Finance Director James Walters)] ON OUR WORKSHOP, UH, WORKSHOP OF THE QUARTERLY FINANCIALS. THIRD QUARTER 20 25, 20 26. WE HAVE FINANCE DIRECTOR, MR. WALTERS. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNSEL. UH, YOU THOUGHT YOU GOT OFF WITH LESS POWERPOINT SLIDES FROM ME THAN NORMAL, SO I'M HERE TO FIX THAT. THERE IS FULL SCREEN. ALRIGHT, SO WE'RE GONNA LOOK OVER THE, UH, THIRD QUARTER OF OUR FISCAL YEAR, WHICH ENDS ON ENDED ON JUNE, UH, 2026. UH, SO HERE'S THE GENERAL FUND REVENUE FORECAST. AS YOU SEE, WE NORMALLY HAVE A BIG SPIKE OVER IN THE DECEMBER JANUARY TIMEFRAME. UM, KIND OF USUALLY TRAIL, USUALLY TRAILS OFF. IF YOU SEE THE NON BLUE COLORS OVER HERE, THIS IS USUALLY 'CAUSE WE HAVE THE PROPERTY TAXES USUALLY COME IN BIG IN JANUARY AND IN DECEMBER, AND THEN FLEXES BACK OUT. AND YOU'LL SEE THAT THIS YEAR WE HAD, IN ADDITION TO THE, UH, PROPERTY TAXES, WE ALSO HAD NICE, NICE SALES TAXES. I'LL TOUCH ON THAT IN A MOMENT, BUT, UH, PREVIEW, UH, WE'RE STARTING TO, UH, FLATTEN OUT A LITTLE BIT. UH, THE EXPENSES, EXPENSES USUALLY ARE VERY FLAT. UH, WE HAD A LITTLE SPIKE HERE IN JUNE. UM, USUALLY COMES IN AUGUST WAS, UH, BIG EXPENSES. UH, CAPITAL ADAMS USUALLY GET PURCHASED AND YOU'LL SEE THAT, YOU'LL SEE THAT JUMP. THIS IS, UH, JUST LOOKING AT THE VALOREM TAXES FOR THE GENERAL FUND. YOU'LL SEE AGAIN, BIG JUMP IN THE EARLY MONTHS, UH, REALLY FLATTEN OUT, UH, IN THE, UH, LATER MONTHS. YOU TALKED ABOUT, UM, UM, REAL QUICK, UH, PART OF THE DVHS DISCUSSION. IT WAS LIKE WE, WE WERE SEEING SOME PROPERTY TAXES BEING REFUNDED, UM, DUE TO RETROACTIVE, UH, ACTIVATION OF THOSE, THOSE EXEMPTIONS. YOU'LL SEE LIKE SEPTEMBER LAST YEAR, UH, WE HAD, UH, 26,000 OR TWO YEARS AGO WE HAD $26,000 REFUNDED SO NEGATIVE ON OUR PROPERTY TAXES DUE TO THOSE REFUNDS, SALES TAXES WHAT EVERYONE, UH, LOVES TO HEAR ABOUT. YOU'LL SEE, UH, THE BLUE IS THIS YEAR, UM, SPIKES BIG GROWTH. UH, DO THE ONE TIME, YOU'LL SEE THIS LAST YEAR WE HAD ABOUT MAY IS WHEN THEY STARTED COMING IN ABOVE OUR NORMAL, WHICH WAS DOWN HERE. UH, THIS LIGHT BLUE IS KIND OF OUR NORMAL, UH, AREA LAST YEAR. WE'RE STILL ELEVATED THROUGH THIS TIME PERIOD. AND THEN, UM, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE, WE SPIKED IT IN JUNE. WE GOT A NICE ONE IN JUNE. UH, A LITTLE PREVIEW. THE NEXT TWO MONTHS ARE GONNA BE BACK DOWN TO NORMAL IT LOOKS LIKE. SO I BELIEVE THAT OUR ONE-TIME SALES TAX GENERATION, UH, MAY ACTUALLY BE OVER. UH, WE'LL SEE IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS TO BE SURE. BUT THE LAST TWO MONTHS WERE IN LINE WITH, UH, WHERE WE WERE AT TWO YEARS AGO. UH, PERMANENT SIDE, NEW PERMITS. UH, SO AGAIN, PERMITS CAN BE FAIRLY VOLATILE WHENEVER THEY COME IN. DEVELOPERS WANNA DO BIG AND TO MOVE FAST. UH, COMMERCIAL SIDE, USUALLY LARGE EXPENSES, UH, LARGE EXPENSES FOR THEM, UH, REQUIRING BIG REVENUE, UH, ON THE PERMIT SIDE FOR US. BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE PERMIT NUMBERS, WE INCLUDED 25 26 RESIDENTIAL, NEW RESIDENTIAL 3 47 TO DATE, WHEREAS LAST YEAR PERMITS, YEAR DATE 3 27. SO ABOUT 20 PERMITS HIGHER. WE'RE STILL KIND OF IN THAT RANGE, ABOUT THREE 50. AND THE COMMERCIAL SIDE WE'RE A LITTLE BIT, UH, WE HAD 20 NEW COMMERCIAL PERMITS. AND THEN THIS, THIS TIME LAST YEAR, WE HAD 24. SO WE'RE STILL KIND OF TRUCKING ALONG AROUND THAT SAME, SAME AREA. UH, FRANCHISES, THEY'RE, THEY'RE TIED TO, UM, UM, THE UTILITY BILLS. THESE ARE THE, UH, AMOUNTS THAT WE GET THAT'S, UH, TACKED ON UTILITY BILLS THAT UTILITIES GET TO USE OUR RIGHT OF WAY NEXT TO OUR ROAD. SO THE POWER LINES, THE WATER LINES, DEPENDING ON WHO'S, WHO'S RUNNING THEM, UH, G-V-E-C-C-P-S, UH, THEY PAY US A LITTLE, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF THEIR GROSS REVENUE TO USE OUR RIGHT OF WAY. UH, USUALLY AS THEY'RE FAIRLY FLAT, WE'LL HAVE SOME SPIKES, UH, QUARTERLY AS THEY PAY US QUARTERLY. THERE ARE CITY OF SHIRTS INVESTMENTS. UH, WE KEEP, UH, ABOUT, UH, 92% RIGHT NOW IN OUR INVESTMENT POOLS AT THE VERY LIQUID. WE CAN GET ALL THE FUNDS NEXT DAY. AND WE'RE GETTING FAIRLY COMPARABLE. UM, RATES, UH, ON THOSE, WE'RE STARTING TO BRANCH OUT. YOU'LL SEE MORE AND MORE CDS HAVE GROWN QUITE SUBSTANTIALLY. IF YOU LOOKED AT THE PREVIOUS, UH, YEARS, NOW WE'RE ABOUT ALMOST 11 MILLION ON CDS, KINDA LOCK IN A LONGER, UM, MATURITY. SO WE, WE CAN'T GET ACCESS TO THOSE FUNDS AS QUICKLY, BUT WE'RE GETTING A LITTLE, WE'RE LOCKING IN A BETTER, UM, INTEREST RATE, RATE OF RETURN ON THOSE. UM, AND THEN HANCOCK WHITNEY, UH, WE [03:10:01] WERE ACTUALLY BUYING DOWN HANCOCK WHITNEY A LITTLE BIT AND MOVING THAT OVER TO OUR CDS, KIND OF MANAGING THOSE LONGER TERM INVESTMENTS IN HOUSE RATHER THAN USING AN, AN ADVISOR. SO THE INVESTMENT RATES, UM, YOU SEE THE, UM, 25, 26 PORTFOLIO. THIS IS THE COMBINED AVERAGE OF OUR RETURN, UH, IS IN THE GREEN AS WELL AS THE THREE MONTH TBI. SO WE WERE HITTING QUITE A BIT. WE'RE ABOVE THE THREE MONTH TBI. UM, AND JUST IN JUNE, UM, IT FLIPPED A LITTLE BIT. SO WE STARTED, WE EARNED A LITTLE BIT LESS. THIS IS LOOKS QUITE BIG, BUT IT'S, UH, 3.87 WAS A THREE MONTH TBI, AND WE WERE EARNING 3.76. UH, SO SOME OF THE FLIP SIDE ON, UM, GOING A LITTLE BIT MORE OUT ON THE CDS, LOCKING IN A LITTLE BIT LONGER, UH, MATURITY. WE WERE LOCKING IN A GOOD INTEREST RATE. BUT IF THE T-BILLS SPIKE, BECAUSE THIS IS A BIG SPIKE, UM, THOSE ARE THE SHORT TERM FEDERAL FUNDS RATES, BASICALLY THE FED THOUGHT THEY WERE GONNA RAISE RATES, AND SO EVERYONE WANTED TO BUY 'EM REAL QUICK. UH, THE OR, UH, SELL OFF THESE SPIKED, AND YOU'LL NOTICE THAT OUR PORTFOLIO YIELD'S BEEN FAIRLY STABLE. AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP IT STABLE. UM, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE ROLLING, UH, NOT QUITE REACHING OUR TARGET JUST BECAUSE OF WHAT THE FEDERAL FUNDS RATE WAS DOING OR WHAT EVERYONE ANTICIPATED THE FEDERAL FUNDS RATE TO DO BACK IN JUNE ON THE WATER AND SEWER REVENUE. AGAIN, UM, THIS IS FAIRLY FLAT. REGULAR BILLS I USUALLY SEE A LITTLE BIT LOWER IN THE, UM, UH, IN THE, UH, WINTER MONTHS WHEN PEOPLE STOP WATERING THEIR YARDS AS MUCH. BUT INSURANCE, WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF PEOPLE STILL KINDA USE THAT, THAT FEATURE, UM, FOR THE YEAR TO DAY. ACTUAL, UM, ACTUALLY SLIGHTLY DOWN BECAUSE WE HAD THAT A BIG WET PERIOD, UH, EARLY IN THE SUMMER. SO WE'RE AT 23.5 MILLION AS OPPOSED TO LAST YEAR, 24.9 MILLION. BUT WE'RE KEEPING AN EYE ON THAT. UM, SO THE REVENUE'S VERY MUCH TIED TO HOW MUCH WEATHER, HOW MUCH RAIN WE GET. UH, SO WE JUST LOOK AT THE WATER SEWER REVENUE. UH, SPECIFICALLY WE GOT WATER, SEWER, AND GARBAGE. UM, AS WELL AS THE, THE GARBAGE IS IS ANOTHER CONTRIBUTING FACTOR WHEN WE STARTED OUTSOURCING, UM, THE COMMERCIAL BILLING AND COLLECTION TO, UM, OUR NEW WASTE PROVIDER. YOU'LL SEE OUR WATER IS IN, UH, BLACK AND BLUE. SO THIS IS WHERE WE'RE AT LAST YEAR, PRETTY MUCH IN LINE BLACK WAS LAST YEAR. SO YOU SEE OUR, OUR WATER DID DROP, UM, A LITTLE BIT IN JUNE DUE TO JUST HOW RAINY IT WAS DURING THAT TIME PERIOD. UH, EMS SIDE, UM, EMS YEAR TO DATE FOR 25, 26 WAS 14.2. UH, 24 25 IS 11.3. UH, THOSE WERE BILLS OUT. UM, SO WE'RE DOING A LITTLE BIT BETTER ON OUR COLLECTION OR ON OUR, OUR BILLING. UM, UH, WE'RE JUST WORKING ON AS, AS, UM, EMS DIRECTOR WILL BRING IT TO Y'ALL IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS. UH, WAYS WE CAN INCREASING, UH, THE OVERALL COLLECTION ON THOSE BILLS. UH, DRAINAGE REV IS ANOTHER ONE. IT, IT'S, UH, FAIRLY STANDARD AND FLAT. YOU'LL SEE THAT WE DID INCREASE THE DRAINAGE FEE AROUND DECEMBER LAST YEAR. THAT'S WHERE THAT INCREASE IN THE REVENUE. UH, WE'RE STILL COLLECTING A LITTLE BIT UNDER WHERE WE'RE BUDGETED EVERY YEAR, BUT, UH, WE'RE COLLECTING MORE WITH THE, UH, THE RATE INCREASE. SO 25, 26 YEAR. TODAY ACTUAL IS 1.5 MILLION, WHEREAS LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME WE WERE JUST OVER $1 MILLION AND WE ONLY HAVE, UH, THREE MORE MONTHS TO GO IN THE FISCAL YEAR. UH, THE EDC, THEY'RE VERY MUCH TIED TO THE SALES TAX. THAT'S THE, UH, BIGGEST PORTION OF THEIR REVENUE. UM, AGAIN, UH, WE HAD A LARGE SHOWING IN THE ONE-TIME SALES TAXES. SO THEY'RE 25, 26 ACTUAL REVENUE, UH, CURRENT TO DATE IS 20.2 MILLION. UH, LAST YEAR THEY'RE ABOUT 8.8. SO THAT'S THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT THEY WERE RECEIVING FROM THAT ONE TIME SALES TAX AMOUNT THAT WE DO SEE HAS STARTED TO DIE OFF. UM, SEE IT DROPS DOWN HERE. AND THEN, UH, JUST A LITTLE PREVIEW OF THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS WHEN I COME BACK FOR THE FINAL QUARTER, FOURTH QUARTER, UM, THERE, BACK DOWN TO OUR NORMAL RATES. OKAY. I WENT THROUGH A LITTLE QUICK, 'CAUSE I KNOW IT'S BEEN A LONG MEETING, UH, BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS SPECIFICALLY OVER HOW THE, UH, THE REVENUES SHAKE OUT OR, UM, ON THE EXPENSES, JUST LEMME KNOW. AND WE'LL, ANY QUESTIONS ON THIRD QUARTER QUARTERLY FINANCIALS? UM, MAYOR, SO JUST, JUST TO BE CLEAR, ALL OF YOUR ACTIONS CONCERNING THE, UH, THESE FINANCIALS ARE GOVERNED BY A POLICY THAT'S ALREADY IN PLACE AND THERE'S A COMMITTEE, RIGHT? THERE'S A INVESTMENT COMMITTEE, THE INVESTMENT COMMITTEE, UH, FURTHER, UM, YES, WE HAVE AN INVESTMENT COMMITTEE. WE HAVE AN INVESTMENT POLICY THAT OUTLINES AN INVESTMENT STRATEGY WITH A MAXIMUM MATURITY AND A, A WEIGHTED AVERAGE MAXIMUM MATURITY THAT WE FOLLOW. AND THEN WE'LL BE ACTUALLY BE SCHEDULING A INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEETING, UH, HERE IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS. SO THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE ON THE COMMITTEE, UH, MR. GUERRERO, UM, UH, MS. DIETZ AND THE MAYOR WILL BE SENDING THOSE INVITES OUT. TRY TO PLAN THAT MEETING HERE SHORTLY. THANK YOU. HOWEVER, NO OTHER QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YEAH. EXCUSE ME. WELL, WE JUST HAD ONE MORE [03:15:01] QUESTION. COUNCILMAN THE COMMITTEE. HOW MANY TIMES DO THEY MEET? UH, WE'LL BE MEETING TWICE, UH, PER YEAR. UH, SO WE'LL HAVE ONE THAT WE'LL SCHEDULE IN OCTOBER, UH, PROBABLY. AND THEN WE'LL TRY TO GET ONE IN DECEMBER, BUT IF NOT, WE'LL MEET IN JANUARY. OKAY, THANKS. THANK YOU. SO MOVING [23. Workshop on Future Water Demand and Supply (Deputy City Manager Brian James)] ON TO ITEM 23, WORKSHOP ON FUTURE WATER DEMAND AND SUPPLY. WITH US, WE HAVE OUR DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, MR. BRIAN JAMES. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM, SO THIS IS A SORT OF A FOLLOW UP TO SOME DISCUSSIONS. WE'VE HAD SOME EMAILS, SOME COMMUNICATIONS YOU'VE RECEIVED FROM FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE ABOUT OUR FUTURE WATER NEEDS, WHERE WE WANT TO GO. AGAIN, THIS IS PROBABLY NOT THE FINAL CONVERSATION, BUT HOPEFULLY THIS SORT OF STARTS AND GETS US MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION. SO JUST FOR FOLKS OUT THERE, UM, I'LL, I'LL COVER SOME BASIC STUFF. UH, YOU MAY, YOU MAY NOT KNOW. UM, SO WE DEAL WITH WATER, CCN CERTIFICATES OF CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY, AND THEY STIPULATE WHO HAS BOTH THE RIGHT AND THE OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE SERVICE FOR WATER OR SEWER AS THE CASE MAY BE. AND SO, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE GRAPHIC, UM, CITY OF SHIRTZ HAS THE BULK OF THAT CCN IN OUR COMMUNITY. BUT NBU NEW BRAUNFELS PROVIDES A BIT OF IT. SAWS, UH, PROVIDES A BIT DOWN IN THE, THE, UH, SOUTHERN SECTION. AND THEN GREEN VALLEY, SUD, UH, PROVIDES IT AS WELL. SO THOSE ENTITIES ARE THE ONES BOTH RESPONSIBLE AND OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE, UH, WATER TO THOSE AREAS. UM, AND SO REALLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS WITH THE CCN. THIS DISCUSSION REALLY IS GONNA FOCUS ON, UH, WHERE SHIRTS IS OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE SERVICE. WE'LL LET SAWS DEAL WITH THEIR THING. WE WILL LET NBU DEAL WITH THEIR AREA. WE DO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF OVERLAP WITH GREEN VALLEY SUD BECAUSE AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER TONIGHT, YOU'VE RECEIVED A PROPOSAL FROM THEM, UM, WHERE THEY ARE INTERESTED IN ESSENTIALLY PARTNERING OR PURCHASING, UH, SOME WATER RIGHTS THAT, THAT WE HAVE IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT. AND I'LL COVER THAT IN A MINUTE. UM, BUT AGAIN, WHERE DO WE GET MOST OF OUR WATER FROM TO SERVE THE AREAS? AND MOST OF THE WATER THAT WE NEED COMES FROM S-S-L-G-C. THE SHIRTS, AGAIN, LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION COUNCIL MEMBER WESTBROOK, UH, SERVES ON THAT, UH, BOARD, UM, TO HELP, HELP GUIDE IT. IT'S A FIVE MEMBER BOARD. IT'S REALLY COMPRISED OF CITY OF CHURCH, CITY OF SINE AS THE NAME WOULD IMPLY. UM, THAT'S WHERE THE VAST MAJORITY OF IT COMES FROM. WE HAVE A COUPLE OF EDWARDS WELLS AND SOME, SOME OTHER MINOR THINGS, BUT THE VAST BULK OF IT COMES FROM S-S-L-G-C. SO I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE SLO VALLEY LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION. UM, I BELIEVE COUNCILWOMAN WATSON IS THE AD HOC LIAISON TO THAT BOARD. UH, C-V-L-G-C, A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY WAS FOUNDED IN 2011. AND AGAIN, IT STARTED WITH THE CITIES OF CILO, CONVERSE SHIRT, SEIN IN SELMA. BUT EVENTUALLY THEN, UH, CONVERSE SEINE IN SELMA WITHDREW LEAVING IT TO JUST, UH, SHIRTZ AND SAU, UH, WITH THAT CORPORATION. AND SO AGAIN, UH, IT'S A FOUR MEMBER BOARD. YOU GET TO APPOINTMENTS, SAU GETS TO APPOINTMENTS. UM, BUT PART OF WHAT HAPPENED IS AFTER THEY WITHDREW IS ONE OF THE THINGS, WHEN YOU GET WATER RIGHTS AND YOU WANNA START PRODUCING WATER, YOU NEED TO GET IT ON THE, THE REGION PLAN, THE SORT OF PLAN THAT SAYS, HEY, POTENTIALLY WATER'S GONNA BE TAKEN OUT SO THESE WATER DISTRICTS AND THE STATE AND THE COMMUNITIES CAN HELP PLAN. AND THEN WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IS BETWEEN 20 17, 20 19, C-V-L-G-C WENT OUT AND ACQUIRED ABOUT ROUGHLY A LITTLE BIT LESS 11,000 ACRE FEET OF WATER RIGHTS AND STARTED LOOKING AT POTENTIALLY IDENTIFYING WELL SITES. SO THE IDEA WAS AT THE TIME IS THAT SHIRTS AND SLO WOULD NEED MORE WATER IN THE FUTURE, AND WE WOULD COME TOGETHER WITH THESE COMMUNITIES AND CREATE ANOTHER ENTITY THAT WOULD PRODUCE WATER FOR OUR FUTURE NEEDS. AS YOU SEE SOME OF THOSE COMMUNITIES SUBSEQUENTLY DROPPED OUT. NOW AS I HEAR IT, KIND OF WHAT GOT US GOING ON THE, THE ROUTE IN 2011 WITH C-V-L-G-C IS AT THE TIME WE WERE WORKING WITH S-S-L-G-C, BUT SEINE WASN'T GROWING AS MUCH AND THEY DIDN'T REALLY HAVE A NEED TO GROW S-S-L-G-C. NOW, IRONICALLY, THEY KIND OF CAME IN INITIALLY ON C-V-L-G-C, BUT THEN, THEN PULLED OUT. AND SO THUS SHIRTS KIND OF SAID, HEY, WELL, WHY DON'T WE WORK WITH SOME OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE KNOW NEED WATER AND WE'LL CREATE THIS OTHER CORPORATION. WHAT'S KIND OF HAPPENED SUBSEQUENTLY THOUGH, IS SINE HAS STARTED TO EXPERIENCE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF GROWTH AS YOU'VE SEEN IN THE NEWS. AND THEN EVEN SOME OF THE ENTITIES THAT PROVIDE WATER IN THEIR COMMUNITY HAVE STRUGGLED TO OBTAIN THOSE WATER RIGHTS. AND SO SINE IS WORRIED ABOUT THEIR RESIDENTS, THEIR BUSINESS OWNERS. AND SO AGAIN, S-S-L-G-C [03:20:01] HAS WORKED WITH SOME AGREEMENTS ON ENTITIES LIKE SPRINGS HILL, UH, TO PROVIDE SOME WATER THERE, KIND OF GOING FORWARD. BUT, BUT GENERALLY I THINK THE MINDSET WITH SSLG IS A BIT CHANGED OF WE NEED TO GROW THIS ENTITY BECAUSE SHIRTZ AND SEINE LIKELY WILL NEED MORE WATER IN THE FUTURE. AND SO WE'VE, WE'VE MOVED FORWARD WITH AN EYE TO THAT, WHICH BRINGS US BACK TO C-B-L-G-C. AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SORT OF GET INTO RIGHT, IS, AND, AND I'LL, I'LL BACK UP, UM, A LITTLE BIT WHEN WE BACK UP TO S-S-L-G-C IS, SO S-S-L-G-C, UH, IN LOOKING AT THAT NEED TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL WATER AS SHIRTS AND SE GAME BOTH GREW, UH, IN 2025, UH, HAD A STUDY CONDUCTED TO LOOK AT FUTURE WATER NEEDS. AND AGAIN, THE OBJECTIVE WAS TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THEY NEED TO BE. IT EVALUATED CURRENT WATER SUPPLIES ALLOCATED TO SHIRTS AND CONSIDERED FUTURE DEMAND. AND THE SAME THING FOR SEIN. AND ULTIMATELY WHAT IT FOUND IS THAT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GONNA NEED A, A BIT OF WATER. NOW THAT MAY CHANGE IF WE DON'T GROW AS MUCH OR WE GROW MORE. UM, IT ALSO HAS TO HOW MUCH WATER WE START USING WITH EFFICIENCIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT THAT WATER NEED, AND, AND AGAIN, IT'S IMPORTANT, BUT IT STARTS TO COME UP REALLY. AND YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, EITHER SCENARIO YOU LOOK AT, BUT IF WE LOOK AT THE, THE TYPICAL EXPECTED GROWTH DEMAND, IT'S ROUGHLY 2070 IS WHEN WE START NEEDING THE WATER. NOW, WE CAN'T WAIT TILL 2069 AND SAY, OKAY, WELL WHAT DO WE DO? WE'VE GOTTA PLAN EARLY. BUT THE POINT IS WE DON'T NEED ADDITIONAL WATER FOR A WHILE. AND THIS GETS INTO A LITTLE BIT OF THE ISSUE WITH C-V-L-G-C. UM, AND SO GETTING BACK TO C-V-L-G-C, THE LEASES WERE OBTAINED WITH ABOUT 89 90 DIFFERENT LANDOWNERS, ABOUT 158 TRACKS. AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, SIX PRELIMINARY, WELL SITES WERE OBTAINED OUR ANNUAL LEASE PAYMENTS NOW, OR CV GCS ANNUAL LEASE PAYMENTS ARE ABOUT $275,000. AND SO GENERALLY WITH OUR BUDGET, WE KICK IN ABOUT $200,000. CILO KICKS IN ABOUT $200,000. AND THAT COVERS THOSE LEASE PAYMENTS AND OTHER OPERATIONAL COSTS. SO, UH, WE HAVE A DIRECTOR, WE HAVE AN ADMIN ASSISTANT, THEY HAVE AN ATTORNEY THAT THEY HIRE, THEY HAVE VARIOUS EXPENSES AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO WE'RE KICKING IN ABOUT $200,000 A YEAR, AS IS CILO FOR THAT, FOR OUR SHARE OF LEASE PAYMENTS. THE INITIAL TERM OF THOSE LEASES WAS 15 YEARS. UM, AND IT AUTOMATICALLY RENEWS AND GOES YEAR TO YEAR AS LONG AS C-V-L-G-C MAKES LEASE PAYMENTS. SO THESE THINGS GO BEYOND THAT. SO IT'S A, IT'S A SUPPLY OUT THERE, BUT A COUPLE THINGS WITH IT. SO THE AMOUNT PAID FOR THE WATER LEASES APPROXIMATELY DOUBLES WHEN A PERMIT IS ISSUED TO PRODUCE WATER, RIGHT? SO THAT, THAT 2 75 GOES UP TO FIVE 50 UPON ISSUANCE OF THE PERMIT. AND THEN IT, THERE'S A BIT OF A FORMULA TO IT, BUT IT GENERALLY KIND OF QUADRUPLES ONCE FULL PRODUCTION OCCURS. SO WE PAY THE LEASE, THE PROPERTY OWNERS LESS RIGHT NOW, WHEN WE GO TO PERMITTING, WE PAY 'EM MORE. AND WHEN WE GO TO PRODUCTION, WE PAY THEM EVEN MORE. UM, AND THERE'S A PROVISION TO INCREASE AS THE CPI INCREASES. 'CAUSE IN THEORY THIS COULD, THESE COULD GO ON FOREVER. UM, THE LEASES INCLUDE A PROVISION THAT C-V-L-G-C WILL DILIGENTLY PURSUE, NEEDED APPROVAL. SO THE IDEA WAS WE'LL GIVE YOU THESE LEASES. YOU GUYS NEED TO WORK TOWARD GETTING THOSE APPROVALS. AND, AND I THINK IS OBVIOUS, THE MOTIVATION OF THOSE PROPERTY OWNERS FOR THAT IS THEY WANT THE ADDITIONAL REVENUE. THEY DON'T WANT TO KEEP MAKING THE AMOUNT THEY'RE MAKING NOW. THEY WANT TO GET TO THOSE HIGHER AMOUNTS. UM, AND, AND SO AS I SAID, IT'S PROBLEMATIC PER THE LEASES NOT TO PURSUE PERMITTING PRODUCTION, EVEN IF THE CITIES DON'T NEED WATER. AND IT CERTAINLY BECOMES A PROBLEM WHEN WE HIT THE END OF THOSE 15 YEAR LEASES IF WE ARE NOT PRODUCING WATER, BECAUSE THEN IT SORT OF BEGS THIS QUESTION, HAVE YOU BEEN DILIGENTLY PURSUING? WHAT HAVE YOU DOING? WHY HAS IT TAKEN SO LONG? THIS, THAT, AND THE OTHER. AND, AND THAT IS A BIT OF THE CRUX OF THE PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE, WHERE WE WOULD SAY, WELL, WHY DON'T WE JUST HOLD THESE LEASES BECAUSE THERE ARE A VALUE. IT'S A, IT'S A FINITE SUPPLY OF WATER, RIGHT? THEY'RE GETTING HARDER TO, TO OBTAIN, UM, UNTIL WE NEED THEM. IT'S A SUNK COST ON THE FRONT END. OR WE COULD EVEN PARTNER WITH SOMEBODY IN THEORY TO START PRODUCING THE WATER PERHAPS FOR SOMEBODY ELSE WHO NEEDS IT TILL WE NEED IT. UM, AND THAT'S WHERE THE ISSUE COMES INTO. SO THE STUDY THAT C-V-L-G-C DID, UH, A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO ESTIMATED THE COST TO PRODUCE THIS WATER THEMSELVES [03:25:01] TO BE AT $162 MILLION. SO IT'S NOT AN INEXPENSIVE UNDERTAKING. AND YOU'VE GOT ABOUT $15 MILLION OF OPERATING COSTS. NOW THAT INCLUDES THE LEASE PAYMENTS, BUT THAT INCLUDES ELECTRICITY STAFF, THINGS LIKE THAT TO PRODUCE IF THEY WERE TO DO IT ON THEIR OWN. SO THE CHALLENGE WITH THIS IS, WHILE WE HAVE THIS REALLY VALUABLE ASSET, WE HAVE THE CLOCK TICKING ON US TO SAY, YOU NEED TO DO SOMETHING WITH IT. WE DON'T REALLY NEED THE WATER RIGHT NOW, AND IT'S REALLY EXPENSIVE TO GET IT THERE. SO WE CAN'T JUST KEEP DOING WHAT WE'RE DOING. WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT SOMETHING TO DO. AND WE'VE BEEN HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS, RIGHT? BECAUSE I THINK SHIRTS SORT OF KIND OF STARTED LEANING, GIVEN THESE COSTS, IT WOULD SEEM MUCH MORE COST EFFECTIVE, WHATEVER FORM IT WOULD BE IN TO, TO GET ALL OUR WATER FROM S-S-L-G-C WHERE WE ALREADY HAVE THAT INFRASTRUCTURE, RIGHT? WE ALREADY HAVE THE PIPES IN PLACE, WE ALREADY HAVE THE FACILITIES, WE HAVE THE STAFF IN PLACE, THEY'VE BEEN DOING THIS. WE GET SOME ECONOMIES OF SCALE, RIGHT? WHY DO WE WANT TO REPLICATE BOTH SETS OF OVERHEAD AND INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THIS THEORETICALLY? AND THAT COULD TAKE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT FORMS. BUT AGAIN, PART OF THAT GOES BACK TO S-S-L-G-C, THEY'RE DIFFERENT PLANTS. WE'RE, WE'RE STILL PAYING ON THE ONE THAT SEN'S NOT PAYING ON. SO WE, WE KIND OF, AGAIN, HAVE PLENTY OF WATER AT THIS POINT. AND I THINK THOSE DISCUSSIONS, WE WERE KIND OF WAITING FOR SLO TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY WERE DOING. I BELIEVE THEY ARE HAVING SIMILAR MEETINGS HERE THIS MONTH, AND THEY HAVE HAD SIMILAR MEETINGS ABOUT WHAT TO DO AS WELL. AGAIN, MY IMPRESSION IS WHILE THEY HAVE FUTURE WATER NEEDS, THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY INCLINED AND THEY HAVEN'T SET IN THE MEETINGS. WE WANT TO POWER FORWARD AND MOVE FORWARD WITH C-V-L-G-C PRODUCING THE WATER GENERALLY FOR THE SAME REASONS THAT WE HAVE. IT'S REALLY, REALLY EXPENSIVE. DON'T NEED THE WATER YET. WHAT DO WE DO? WELL, THOSE DISCUSSIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, HAVE LED C-V-L-G-C TO RECEIVE A COUPLE OF OFFERS. ONE FROM A PRIVATE COMPANY THAT WANTED TO, UH, ESSENTIALLY CREATE A, A PUBLIC FACILITIES CORPORATION RIGHT? TO, TO ESSENTIALLY PRODUCE, UH, WATER FOR INDUSTRIAL USERS THAT'S NOT TREATED. UM, AND THEN THE OTHER WE RECEIVED WAS GVSU'S REQUEST. UM, AND G-V-S-U-D HAS MADE CLEAR THAT THEY NEED WATER AND NEED IT SOONER, UM, AND ARE TRYING TO PICK UP THOSE RIGHTS. G-V-S-U-D, IF YOU'LL REMEMBER, ALSO, UM, HAS TO PROVIDE WATER IN A PORTION OF OUR COMMUNITY. AND SO AGAIN, MUCH LIKE SINE IS DEALING WITH THE SPRINGS HILL ISSUE, WE, WE CARE ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT ALL OUR RESIDENTS, BUSINESS OWNERS, REGARDLESS OF WHO THE WATER PROVIDER IS, HAVE, HAVE THAT ABILITY TO DO. UM, AND, AND SO THAT'S ESSENTIALLY, UM, WHERE IT, IT KIND OF GETS US IS I THINK IN STAFF LOOKING AT THIS, THE, THE, THE DILEMMA WE FACE IS WE HAVE THIS REALLY VALUABLE ASSET THAT IT'S, IT'S TOUGH TO SAY, WHY WOULD WE GIVE THIS UP YET? THE FLIP SIDE IS TO HOLD THAT ASSET, WE HAVE TO SPEND MORE MONEY ESSENTIALLY, AND NOT AN INSIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY TO REALLY MOVE FORWARD WITH PRODUCTION. UM, AND SO THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OPTIONS THAT, THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO US, BUT THERE ARE ALSO A NUMBER OF FACTORS. SO AS YOU READ IN THE NEWS, WATER IS, IS AN INCREASING DEMAND ACROSS THE STATE. YOU SEE WHAT CORPUS CHRISTI IS DEALING WITH. YOU HEAR ABOUT AI DATA CENTERS AND SOME OF THE CONCERNS THERE OF WATER USE, AND YOU JUST SEE EVERYBODY SORT OF SCRAMBLING TO TRY TO GET WATER WHERE THEY CAN. THE OTHER ISSUE IS THAT WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICTS, WHICH ARE SORT OF THESE ENTITIES CREATED TO KIND OF MANAGE THE WATER IN THEIR REGION, UH, THEY'RE BECOMING INCREASINGLY CONCERNED ABOUT ALLOWING WATER TO LEAVE THEIR DISTRICT, RIGHT? THEIR CONCERN IS, YEAH, I GET THE BIG CITIES THAT ARE GROWING OVER HERE AND NEED WATER, BUT EVENTUALLY WE'RE GONNA START GROWING. AND WHAT DO WE DO IF WE'VE ALLOWED THAT ALL TO LEAVE AND NOW WE DON'T HAVE WATER IN OUR REGION? NOW AGAIN, THE DILEMMA IS YOU'VE GOT PROPERTY OWNERS WITH THE WATER RIGHTS WHO WANT THE REVENUE FROM LEASE OUT. THE STATE'S GETTING MORE FOCUSED ON THE ISSUE AS COMPETITION INCREASES. YOU, YOU SAW THAT I THINK LAST YEAR AT TML THERE WAS A BIG PRESENTATION, UH, FROM SOME MEMBERS OF THE STATE TALKING ABOUT WATER. YOU SEE BILLS COME UP, LIKELY WE'LL SEE THAT COME UP AGAIN. UM, AT, AT SOME POINT WHAT DOES THE STATE DO TO INTERCEDE OR NOT TO TRY TO BETTER MANAGE THIS, THIS ISSUE. UM, AND THEN THE OTHER PART IS JUST PARTNERSHIPS WITH RIGHTS TO ACCESS WATER. WE HAVE PARTNERSHIPS, UH, WITH SAWS AND S-S-L-G-C DOES TO TRY TO BENEFIT [03:30:01] BOTH OF US, THE LINE OUT HERE TO MOVE WATER BACK AND FORTH AS WE NEED IT, THINGS LIKE THAT. SO THERE ARE OPTIONS OUT THERE. THE OTHER, THE OTHER PART OF IT, AGAIN, AS I SAID, IS THE LACK OF CLARITY AS TO WHAT THESE DISTRICTS WILL ALLOW AND NOT ALLOW IS BECOMING MURKIER. UM, IT'S NOT CLEAR, FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT HOW MUCH OF THAT WATER WE WOULD BE ABLE TO GET OUT OF THE DISTRICT FOR THOSE LEASES THAT WE HAVE. THAT'S PART OF THAT PERMITTING PROCESS. THERE'S AN UNKNOWN, BUT THERE'S SOME OF THAT UNKNOWN EVEN WITH THE WATER RIGHTS WE HAVE IN S-S-L-G-C TRYING TO INCREASE PERMITTING CAPACITY. UM, AND, AND SO I THINK CLEARLY EVERYBODY SEEMS TO AGREE WE NEED TO ENSURE CERTS HAS ADEQUATE WATER FOR OUR FUTURE. IT BECOMES REALLY PROBLEMATIC TO FIND OURSELVES IN THIS SITUATION WHERE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH WATER AND IT'S BECOMING IMPACTFUL. BUT THE REALITY OF THAT IS WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD THAT WATER. IF THAT WATER IS SO, SO EXPENSIVE THAT IT'S OUT OF REACH OF THE COMMUNITY, HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH GOOD IS THAT DOING US? HOW LONG DO WE PAY FOR THAT RESOURCE? UM, I THINK ONE OF THE QUESTIONS IS, YOU KNOW, DO WE WANT TO BE PART OF AND PAY FOR MORE THAN ONE WATER SUPPLIER? WHAT'S THE VALUE, THE BENEFIT OF GETTING A BUNCH OF OUR WATER FROM ONE ENTITY C-V-L-G-C AND A BUNCH OF OUR WATER FROM S-S-L-G-C AND HAVING THOSE DUAL OVERHEADS AS OPPOSED TO FROM ONE ENTITY, ONE SET OF PIPES, ONE SET OF PRODUCTION, THINGS LIKE THAT, RIGHT? AND, AND THERE'S, THERE'S VALUE TO HAVE MORE THAN ONE, RIGHT? YOU GET A LITTLE BIT OF A FALLBACK IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM OVER HERE. YOU'VE GOT THIS. SO, SO THERE ARE PROS AND CONS TO THAT. UM, AND, AND IT'S BALANCING ALL OF THOSE FACTORS IN A TIME OF UNCERTAINTY IS REALLY THE ISSUE. UM, AND, AND SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'VE, WE'VE GOTTEN TO, AGAIN, I DON'T THINK WE NECESSARILY WANTED ANY KIND OF DECISION AT THAT POINT BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT TO, TO THINK ABOUT AND TALK ABOUT. BUT I THINK WHAT, WHAT STAFF IS REALLY LOOKING FOR SOME NODS IS HOW MUCH INTEREST IS THERE IN CONTINUING DOWN THIS PATH WITH C-V-L-G-C TO HAVE C-V-L-G-C REMAIN AS AN ENTITY AND PUSH FORWARD WITH PRODUCING WATER? AND AGAIN, IT'S GAUGING INTEREST. IT'S NOT A FINAL DECISION, RIGHT? IT'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT FACTORS. I THINK STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION IS IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO MOVE FORWARD IN THIS FASHION. NOW IF WE MAKE THAT KIND OF INITIAL TENTATIVE DECISION, THEN IT BEGS THIS QUESTION, WHAT DO WE DO WITH THOSE WATER LEASES? BECAUSE WE'VE SUNK A FAIR AMOUNT OF MONEY INTO THEM. THEY'RE, THEY'RE A VALUABLE RESOURCE. UM, WHAT DO WE, WHAT DO WE WANT TO DO WITH THOSE, RIGHT? AND IT, IT'S A COUPLE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT IS DO WE WANT TO, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OPTIONS ARE EITHER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SAU OR IF WE CAN'T AGREE WITH SLO, WE WE TRY TO BIFURCATE THOSE LEASES. DO WE ESSENTIALLY WANT TO TRY TO RECOUP SOME OF OUR INVESTMENT INVESTMENT THAT WE'VE MADE AND AND REALLY FOCUS ON MAKING AN INVESTMENT WITH S-S-L-G-C AND DIRECTING THEM TO PURSUE ACTIVE LEASE ADDITIONAL WATER LEASES. THAT MAKES SENSE. SO THAT WE HAVE IT START NOW, WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, HOWEVER MANY 40 YEARS TO, TO WORK TO GET THERE, UH, AND GO THAT ROUTE SO THAT WE'RE NOT CONTINUING TO PAY FOR THIS THING OVER TIME, RIGHT? WE KIND OF GET WHAT WE CAN OUT OF IT. WE CHANGE COURSE, WE START SPENDING THAT MONEY OVER HERE INSTEAD OF OVER HERE AND, AND WE GET LEASES THAT ARE BETTER SUITED TO WHEN WE WOULD NEED THAT WATER, RIGHT? OR, AND OR DO WE LOOK AT WHOMEVER IT MIGHT BE TRYING TO, WHO WE WOULD PARTNER WITH THOSE LEASES. AND THERE ARE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE COULD DO, RIGHT? WE'VE TALKED ABOUT ONE IS TO JUST SORT OF SELL THOSE LEASES FOR AS MUCH AS WE CAN GET AND GO A DIFFERENT ROUTE. THE OTHER IS TRY TO WORK A DEAL WITH SOMEBODY AND WE, WE GET LESS FOR IT, BUT TO SAY, WELL, WE'LL GIVE YOU THE BULK OF THAT, BUT WE'D LIKE TO RETAIN SOME OF THAT, RIGHT? SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE THINK WE NEED ABOUT 2,500 ACRE FEET. WE HAVE RIGHTS TO ABOUT HALF OF THAT 11,000, TEN FIVE, IF YOU WILL, IS ACTUALLY PROBABLY CLOSER TO WHAT IT IS. WE COULD MAKE A DEAL WITH SOMEBODY AND SAY, LOOK, I DON'T NEED OUR FULL 2,500, BUT LET ME GET A THOUSAND ACRE FEET OF THAT RIGHTS FROM YOU. YOU CAN HAVE THE DIFFERENCE ESSENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, 4,500 OR SO AND, AND OUR DEAL WITH YOU WOULD BE DONE AT A DISCOUNTED PRICE BECAUSE I WANT THE RIGHTS TO, TO THE WATER WITH IT. THAT'S AN OPTION THAT, THAT SORT OF MAKES SENSE, RIGHT? IT ALLOWS US TO SAY, LET'S, LET'S GET SOME VALUE FROM THIS, BUT LET'S GET, UM, LET'S, LET'S MOVE TO THIS OTHER PATH THAT I THINK MAKES A LOT MORE SENSE FROM THE LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE. UM, AND, AND I'LL SAY THIS REALLY, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WITH [03:35:01] GREEN VALLEY, AS I SAID, IS I THINK THE GENERAL FEELING OF STAFF IS THAT WE WOULD RATHER PARTNER WITH SOMEBODY WHO'S GONNA PROVIDE A BENEFIT TO OUR COMMUNITY, EVEN IF MAYBE THE PRICE IS A BIT LESS THAN I'M DOING A DEAL WITH SOME ENTITY THAT GETS WATER TO SAY KERRVILLE THAT WE DERIVE NO VALUE FROM, RIGHT? SO IF WE CAN MAYBE OBTAIN SOME OF THAT WATER, RIGHT, I CAN DO IT WITH AN ENTITY THAT WILL DICTATE IT GOES TO OUR COMMUNITY, OUR CITY. RIGHT? UM, THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE. I WILL SAY THIS, I THINK WHAT YOU SAW IN GREEN VALLEY'S OFFER IS BECAUSE THEY ARE ALSO PROVIDE SEWER, THEY HAVE RIGHTS IN THE PLANT DOWN SOUTH. UH, WE HAVE SOME WAYS TO MAYBE EXPAND A PIE, IF YOU WILL, IF WE'RE NEGOTIATING THIS THING THAT ALLOWS US TO GET THINGS OF VALUE THAT IS BETTER FOR THEM THAN A CASH PAYMENT, RIGHT? AND THAT WE'RE ABLE TO THROW IN THE SEWER BECAUSE WE HAVE A LEASE AGREEMENT WITH THEM WHERE WE'RE PAYING NOT AN INSUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF MONEY TO UTILIZE THEIR CAPACITY IN THE PLANT. AND SO THEY'VE OFFERED THAT UP AS THE DEAL, I THINK, UM, AND MY IMPRESSION IS WHAT THEY SUBMITTED US WAS NOT THE FINAL BE ALL, END ALL. IT WAS, HEY, HERE'S SOMETHING FROM THE CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD THAT WE THINK MAKES SENSE. UM, BUT AS A POINT OF STARTING, WHICH IS I THINK WHAT YOU SAW TONIGHT, BUT I THINK WHAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR IN DIRECTION IS IF COUNSEL THINKS THERE'S VALUE TO SAYING IT DOESN'T SEEM TO MAKE SENSE FUNDING TWO WATER PROVIDERS AND C-V-L-G-C AS IT WAS ENVISIONED AN S-S-L-G-C. AND SO LET'S LOOK FOR A MORE COST EFFECTIVE WAY TO DO IT. BUT THAT GIVES US TIME TO PLAN WITH S-S-L-G-C AND IDEALLY MAYBE GETS US A LITTLE BIT OF THE WATER RIGHTS HERE TO KIND OF CLOSE THAT GAP. WE, WE MAY HAVE A LITTLE MORE COMFORT WITH IT, UM, TO TRY TO DO A DEAL. I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE WANTED TO JUST HEAR A REACTION TO SO THAT WE CAN COME BACK WITH YOU WITH MORE INFORMATION, UM, GOING FORWARD. BUT I THINK THE IDEA IS TO JUST SEE IF THERE'S MERIT TO, YEAH. IT, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO NECESSARILY IGNORE EVERYTHING AND SELL EVERYTHING ELSE KNOWING AND BARREL AHEAD WITH C-V-L-G-S-C AS IT WAS ENVISIONED THAT I'M NOT SURE ANYBODY REALLY SEES GOING THAT DIRECTION. OKAY. WELL, SO WITH THAT, JUST FOR CLARITY MM-HMM . WOULD, UH, S-S-L-G-B-C, UH, THE SEIN, THE SHIRT SEIN, UH, LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION, WOULD THEY BE ABLE BACK LIKE IN 2070, UH, LIKE 20 70, 20 80, WOULD THEY BE ABLE TO LIKE REACH OUT INTO WILSON COUNTY TO DO, LIKE, DO MORE WELLS IF WE NEEDED MORE WATER NOW? SO, SO THE ISSUE WE'VE GOT RIGHT, WITH THESE LEASES, RIGHT? AND AS I WOULD SAY, IF IF THE LEASES WERE NOT STRUCTURED THE WAY THEY WERE STRUCTURED MM-HMM . WHICH IS PUSHING US TO PERMITTING IN PRODUCTION, THEN I MIGHT VERY WELL SAY, HERE'S THE COST TO JUST HOLD THOSE LEASES OVER THAT PERIOD OF TIME. THIS IS WHAT YOU PAY TO KEEP IT, THIS IS WHAT YOU MIGHT PAY FOR NEW LEASES, RIGHT? GIVE YOU, GIVE YOU SOME IDEAS THERE. BUT THE, THE PROBLEM I THINK IS THAT YOU NEED TO GO TO PERMITTING AND PRODUCTION PER THOSE LEASES THAT WE DON'T NEED TO DO YET. AND, AND SO THE PROBLEM IS IF WE CAN'T SIT ON 'EM THAT LONG AND THEN HAVE S-S-O-G-C JUST PICK UP THE LEASES. NO, I, I I THINK HE WAS YEAH, GO AHEAD. I'LL LET HIM. YEAH, SO I, I I DON'T, I'M NOT SAYING LET'S SIT ON THE C-V-L-G-C LEASE RIGHTS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. I'M NOT SAYING THAT AT ALL. WHAT I'M ASKING IS, IS THE SHIRT SEIN, UH, LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION? YEAH. LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION, ARE THEY ABLE TO EXPAND TO DRILL MORE WELLS AS WE NEED MORE WATER? YEAH, I THINK SO. SO I WILL SAY THIS, RIGHT? THE FIRST STEP IS GETTING THE WATER LEASES, TO HAVE THE WATER UNDERGROUND AND GETTING THE LEASES IN A LOCATION WHERE IT'S AS COST EFFECTIVE AS POSSIBLE TO GET IT INTO OUR SYSTEM. THERE'S THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF, UH, CONFIDENCE THAT WHEN WE NEED TO GO TO PRODUCTION, THAT DISTRICT WON'T HAVE CREATED A BUNCH OF REGULATORY AND COST HURDLES FOR US. BUT YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK THE IDEA IS THAT PART OF WHAT, AS WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH S-S-L-G-C STAFF IS TO SAY, HEY, LOOK, WE'RE NOT GONNA GO THIS ROUTE WITH S-S-L-G-C OR WITH C-V-L-G-C. WE'RE GONNA ONLY HAVE ACCESS TO SOME OF THAT OR NONE OF THAT. WE NEED YOU TO START NOW GOING OUT AND GETTING THOSE LEASES FOR US. START NOW, BUT GET 'EM WITH A LONG HOLD WINDOW AND LET ME SPEAK. WELL, I, I, YEAH, I, THIS, THIS SLIDE ACTUALLY COMES FROM [03:40:01] A STUDY THAT WAS DONE BY RIGHT S-S-L-G-C AND, AND JUST TO BREAK IT DOWN A LITTLE BIT, THE, THE BLUE THAT YOU SEE AT THE BOTTOM IS OUR CURRENT GONZALES WELL FIELD PLANT, ET CETERA. THE WATER WE GET FROM THERE, AND THEN THE SOLID GREEN ABOVE THAT IS THE GUADALUPE, THAT'S THE NEWER WELL FIELD AND TREATMENT PLANT THAT WAS PUT INTO PLACE, HYPES, ET CETERA. SO BETWEEN THAT, WE'RE PRETTY FAR OUT THERE, RIGHT? BECAUSE SEE, WE'RE AT 20, CALL IT 2026, WE'RE RUNNING 7,000 ACRE FEET LAST YEAR WAS A HIGHER NUMBER, SMALLER NUMBER THIS YEAR. BUT AS YOU MOVE OUT THAT BLUE, YOU CAN SEE THE BLUE ON TOP OF BOTH OF THOSE. THOSE ARE TWO EDWARDS AQUIFER WELLS THAT WE HAVE THAT WE CAN GET ABOUT A THOUSAND ACRE FEET FROM. SO IF YOU FOLLOW THE TRACK OF THE LINE, REALLY WE DON'T UNDER WHAT WE HAVE NOW, AND WE CAN GET FROM FIRM YIELD, WE'RE LOOKING AT 2042 TO 2043 WHEN WE WILL ACTUALLY NEED MORE WATER, RIGHT? SO WE'RE, WE'RE, UM, 14 YEARS OUT, 15 YEARS OUT, 16 YEARS OUT, SOMEWHERE IN THAT RANGE OF WHERE. SO WE NEED TO BE PLANNING FOR THAT. WHAT THEY'VE PROPOSED HERE IN THEIR LONG RANGE PLAN IS TO MAXIMIZE WHAT YOU HAVE. THAT'S THAT KIND OF DIAGONAL BLUE HASH MARK. WHAT WE HAVE IN THE GONZALEZ WELL FIELD. SO WE ALREADY HAVE A WELL FIELD, WE ALREADY HAVE A TREATMENT PLANT AND WE ALREADY HAVE TRANSMISSION PIPES IN THE GONZALES WELL FIELD. SO EXPAND THAT, GAIN MORE PERMITS, BUILD ONTO THAT. SO THAT GAINS US MORE AND PUSHES US OUT TO 2052. AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE BLUE ON THAT. THAT'S STRAIGHT UP AND DOWN. THAT'S INCREASING THE ACTUAL PERMITS IN THE GONZALEZ WELL FIELD. SO THAT'S WHY IT'S A, YOU GAIN THOSE ECONOMIES OF SCALE IN THAT EFFICIENCY. 'CAUSE WE ALREADY OWN THE WELLS WE ALREADY OWN. WE ALREADY HAVE LEASES AND OR OWN THE PROPERTY AND WE ALREADY HAVE THE PIPES AND WE ALREADY HAVE A TREATMENT PLAN. THAT'S WHY IT'S WAY MORE COST EFFECTIVE TO EXPAND WITHIN THAT REALM. AND THEN BEYOND THAT, YOU SEE THE, THE DIAGONAL HASHED, UH, GREEN MARKS THAT'S MAXIMIZING THE GUADALUPE FIELD. SAME THING. WE ALREADY OWN THE GUADALUPE WELL FIELD. WE ALREADY OWN ALL THE INFRASTRUCTURE. IT'S ALL BEING PAID FOR NOW BY OUR RATE PAYERS. THAT PUSHES US OUT TO 2058 OR SO ON THE EXPECTED AND MAYBE A LITTLE BIT SOONER, 2056 ON THE, THE, UM, THE, UH, THE HIGH GROWTH, UH, EXPECTATION, HIGH DEMAND PROJECTION. THEN YOU WOULD HAVE TO LOOK AT ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES. SO WHAT IS THAT ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY? I THINK IT GOES TO WHAT THE MAYOR WAS SAYING, WHERE WE WOULD REACH A POINT WHERE WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING OR S-S-L-G-C NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING. AND THERE'S A COUPLE OPTIONS OUT THERE THAT ARE REALISTIC. ONE IS TO, IN THE GONZALEZ, WELL FIELD GO INTO THE WILCOX AQUIFER, RIGHT? IT'S A LITTLE LESS RESTRICTED, A LITTLE MORE BRINE. E REQUIRES A LITTLE MORE TREATMENT, BUT STILL COST EFFECTIVE BECAUSE YOU ALREADY HAVE THE LAND, THE LEASES, THE, THE INFRASTRUCTURE, EVERYTHING'S IN PLACE. SO FURTHER EXPANSION PUSHES US UP TO ABOUT 15 AND A HALF THOUSAND ACRE FEET A YEAR AND REALLY KIND OF MOVES THE LINE OUT TO 2068. AND THEN WHAT DO YOU DO AT 2068? WELL, YOU START LOOKING AT, OKAY, ARE WE MAXING OUT THAT WILCOX? SO ANOTHER LOGICAL MOVE WOULD BE TO MOVE INTO WILSON COUNTY AND SSLG COULD ACQUIRE ITS OWN LEASES AT THAT POINT IN TIME AND, AND GET ITS OWN LAND, UH, LEASES AND OR PURCHASE LAND, BUILD ITS OWN INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH IS RELATIVELY CLOSE TO THE GONZALEZ TREATMENT PLANT AS WELL AS THE GUADALUPE TREATMENT PLANT. SO FOR A LOWER INVESTMENT THAN IT WOULD COST S UH, C-V-L-G-C-S-S-L-G-C COULD EXPAND INTO WILSON COUNTY. NOW GRANTED, THIS IS 2070, SO WE'RE 50 YEAR, 45 YEARS AWAY, 44 YEARS AWAY FROM THAT. SO THERE'S A LOT THAT CAN HAPPEN IN THAT AMOUNT OF TIME. SO IN THAT AMOUNT OF TIME, IT MAY NOT EVEN BE FEASIBLE TO GO INTO WILSON COUNTY. LIKE BRIAN WAS SAYING, YOU HAVE THESE GROUNDWATER, UH, DISTRICTS THAT ARE PROTECTIVE ABOUT IMPORTING. YOU MAY HAVE TO PUSH OUT INTO ANOTHER COUNTY IN ANOTHER DIRECTION. FROM STAFF'S PERSPECTIVE, IT'S LOGICAL THAT WE WOULD DO ALL THIS PLANNING AND THIS PROCESS THROUGH S-S-L-G-C BECAUSE THE INFRASTRUCTURE'S IN PLACE, THE, IN TERMS OF THE ORGANIZATION ITSELF, HAS GOT 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AS OPERATING AS AN ORGANIZATION AND AS A WATER PRODUCING ENTITY. SS UH, C-V-L-G-C, WE WOULD BE STARTING GROUND UP FROM, FROM DAY ONE. SO THIS KIND OF LAYS OUT THEIR, THEIR ULTIMATE, THEIR KIND OF STRATEGIC PLAN. AND THIS IS THE SCENARIO THAT KIND OF DRIVES US IN THE DIRECTION AND SAY, WE [03:45:01] PROBABLY SHOULD MOVE AWAY FROM THESE LEASES AND GET WHAT WE CAN FOR 'EM AND THEN, AND THEN FOLLOW THIS LINE OF DEVELOPMENT AND GET THE WATER ALL FROM S-S-L-G-C. SO, SORRY TO JUMP IN THERE WITH THAT LONG NO COMMENT. BUT I THINK THIS, THIS CHART TELLS ME A LOT. YEAH. AND, AND THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING THAT. UM, SO WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER SHERIDAN. ALRIGHT. UM, I AIN'T GONNA SAY I TOLD YOU SO, BUT I'M, I'M GONNA SAY I TOLD YOU SO , WE NEEDED THE WATER. UH, AGAIN, MY, YOU KNOW, JUST MY COMMENT IS THAT I, I'M NOT A FAN OF SELLING THE WATER MM-HMM . PERIOD. SELLING THE WATER LEASES. OKAY. I, I PERSONALLY, I WOULD NOT APPROVE THEM IF IT WERE ME. OKAY. UH, SECONDLY, I I HAVE, WE WORKED, HAVE WE TALKED TO SLO? HAVE WE, UM, DISCUSSED SOME OF OUR PLANS? 'CAUSE I I KNOW THEY'RE ACTIVELY WORKING A PLAN ON THEIR SIDE. SO YEAH, WE, I, I DON'T KNOW IF WE EVEN ENGAGE WITH THEM OR WE WORKING IN COHESIVE WITH THEM. I, AND I THINK THAT MIGHT BE THE FIRST STEP TO DO IS, YOU KNOW, IS GET WITH THEM AND SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE I THINK THEY'RE, THEY HAVE SOME SOLUTIONS THAT I THINK ARE NOT BAD IN A SENSE TO WHERE, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT GONNA TAKE AWAY A LOT OF OUR BUDGET, A LOT OF OUR MONEY. UM, I KNOW THERE'S A PLAN WHERE THE, THE, A PRIVATE INVESTOR IS GONNA COME IN AND PRETTY MUCH INVEST THEIR FUNDS INTO IT TO WHERE WE DON'T HAVE TO PUT ANYTHING INTO IT. SO THAT'S, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S KIND OF THE, I HEARD OF IT. SO WE, WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL MEETINGS WITH CILO AND OFFICIALS FROM CILO, BUT, BUT BEAR IN MIND THAT THE TIP OF THE SPEAR IS C-B-L-G-C, SO, RIGHT. THIS IS, THIS IS C-V-L-G-C AND THEN IT STARTS, WHICH CIVIL IS A PART OF THAT, AND THEY, THEY OWN HALF OF IT AND WE OWN HALF OF IT. SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, BOTH OF THE COUNCILS HAVE TO AGREE, RIGHT. TO WHATEVER DEAL IS MADE. EXACTLY. AND, AND THE OTHER PIECE TOO, AND I, I'LL KEEP, I'LL, I'LL SHUT UP, IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE NEED TO CONSIDER, YOU KNOW, DO WE WANNA PUT ALL OUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET? YOU KNOW, I KNOW WITH S-S-L-G-C, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THE REASON WHY, MAYBE THIS MODEL, I DON'T KNOW HOW OLD THIS MODEL IS, IF IT'S A RECENT MODEL, BUT AGAIN, TWO YEARS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S GONNA BE MORE WATER DEMANDS OVER THERE AT S-S-L-G-C WITH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DATA CENTER THAT'S GONNA COME OVER THERE WITH, WITH GUADALUPE SLOS PUTTING UP A DATA CENTER APPARENTLY. OR THE ONE THAT'S IN QUESTION OR THE ONE THAT'S BEING YEAH, IT'S FAIRLY TALKED ABOUT. SO I'M SURE, BUT I KNOW THERE'S TALKS WITH IT. RIGHT. WELL, JUST TO BE CLEAR, THIS IS THE WATER WE HAVE RIGHTS TO, THEY CAN'T SELL IT TO SOMEBODY. WELL, I KNOW, BUT WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE THAT'S PROBABLY GONNA AFFECT, YOU KNOW, WITH THE WATER THAT'S OVER THERE IN GUADALUPE COUNTY THAT MAY AFFECT SLGC. 'CAUSE I'M ASSUMING SOME OF THAT WATER IS PROBABLY GONNA BE THAT SUPPORTS SINE, 'CAUSE THAT DATA CENTER IS IN GUADALUPE COUNTY, IT'S GONNA BE NEAR SINE. RIGHT. SO IN THE BORDER OF THAT, SO THE, THE WATER THAT THAT SLO GETS, THEY GET IT FROM A VARIETY. I'M, I'M TALKING ABOUT SLGC. WELL, S-S-L-G-C GETS, GETS ITS WATER FROM GUADALUPE COUNTY. THERE'S A WELL FIELD THERE. RIGHT. AND THEN THE MAIN ONE, THE BIGGER ONE IS IN GONZALEZ COUNTY. SO WHAT I'M TRYING TO JUST POINT OUT IS THAT THERE'S GONNA BE A HIGHER DEMAND HERE, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THE NEXT 10 YEARS FOR THAT. SO I'M JUST SAYING, YOU KNOW, AND I'LL SHUT UP IS THAT, YOU KNOW, DO WE WOULD PUT ALL OUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET MM-HMM . AND I'LL LEAVE THAT, THAT, YEAH, NO, WE COULD, AND, AND AGAIN, LET ME SAY THIS, WE CERTAINLY COULD, AS WAS THE ORIGINAL PLAN, WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH THE, THE PERMITTING AND PRODUCTION OF, OF THIS WATER. THAT'S, THAT'S CERTAINLY AN OPTION. AND I KNOW ONE OF THE OPTION WAS, YOU KNOW, IS BASICALLY PULLING THE WATER OUT OF THE GROUND, NOT PUTTING A A, YOU KNOW, A, UH, A A, YOU KNOW, A TREATMENT FACILITY. IT WAS BASICALLY PULLING THE WATER OUTTA THE GROUND. I KNOW THAT'S WHAT ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE. YOU KNOW, ONCE THEY GET THE WATER OUTTA THE GROUND AND SEND IT TO A TREATMENT CENTER, THEN, YOU KNOW, I KNOW IT DOES ATION. WHICH, WHICH ONE WITH SS CC, LBGC. CV L-C-C-V-L-G-C. EXCUSE ME. YEAH, WE COULD, RIGHT. SO WE COULD, I MEAN THAT'S, THAT THE ORIGINAL PLAN WAS FOR C-V-L-G-C, YOU KNOW, ONE OF 'EM WAS TO BUILD ITS OWN TREATMENT CENTER AND PIPES AND THE ESTIMATE AT THE TIME WAS $162 MILLION TO THAT. SO YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S AGAIN, PART OF THIS WAS IF THE DIRECTION OF COUNSEL IS WE WANNA MOVE FORWARD WITH C-V-L-G-C AS PROPOSED, WE CAN DO THAT. THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT COST TO DOING THAT THAT WE HAVE TO PAY FOR. RIGHT. AND, AND I THINK IF WE SHARE THAT COST, YOU KNOW, THE BURDEN WOULDN'T BEYOND US FOR SO MUCH. SO, YOU KNOW, IF WE FIND PARTNERS THAT WE CAN SHARE THAT COST WITH, THEN IT MIGHT BE IN OUR BEST, YOU KNOW, ADVANTAGE FOR US. IN TERMS OF CILO YOU MEAN? WITH ANYONE? WHOEVER IT MAY BE. SO, SO, RIGHT. BUT JUST TO BE CLEAR, THE PROPOSAL THAT CAME IN WASN'T TO USE THEIR MONEY. IT WAS TO CREATE A-P-F-C-A PUBLIC FACI TO HAVE C-V-L-G-C [03:50:01] CREATE A PUBLIC FACILITIES CORPORATION AND THEY WOULD ISSUE THE DEBT THAT PFC WOULD TO, TO CREATE IT. YEAH. AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH WE WANT TO GET INTO THE PROPOSALS THAT ARE ON THE TABLE YEAH. OR THE COMPLEXITIES OF IT, BECAUSE THERE ARE, THEY'RE VERY DIFFERENT AND THEY'RE BOTH EQUALLY COMPLEX. I THINK, UM, ONE THAT IS, IS FROM A PRIVATE ENTITY THAT WOULD PRODUCE RAW WATER AND SELL IT TO INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS. AND THEN ANOTHER IS, IS THE, UM, GV SUB PROPOSED. YEAH. BUT WE WOULD REMAIN SOME CONTROL AND WHERE WE CAN, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE NEED MORE WATER, WE CAN GET MORE WATER, WE HAVE A BASELINE. IF WE NEED TO PUT MORE WATER, WE CAN DO THAT WITH. SO, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO HAVE THAT FLEX FLEXIBILITY. I MEAN, WE CAN STRUCTURE A DEAL, RIGHT? IF WE WANNA STRUCTURE A DEAL THAT SAYS, LOOK, WE ALWAYS WANNA RETAIN THE RIGHTS TO THE, THE ACRE FEET OF WATER. WE, WE CAN DO THAT. UNDERSTAND THOUGH THAT THAT IS SIGNIFICANTLY GOING TO IMPACT THE STRUCTURE OF THE DEAL. UH, BECAUSE ONE OF THE CONCERNS THAT EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT IN THE WATER IS HOW YOU CUT SOMEONE OFF. RIGHT? SO, SO EVEN IF YOU, YOU MAKE A DEAL WITH SAY, UM, KYLE OR BUTA AND SAY YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE THIS WATER FOR 30 YEARS, BUT THEN IT STOPS, THERE'S SOME QUESTION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT YOU CAN ACTUALLY TURN THE FAUCET OFF. AND THEY'RE GOING, NOW I I'VE GOT A COMMUNITY WITHOUT WATER. SO AGAIN, IT IT, EVERYTHING'S POSSIBLE. THAT CERTAINLY IS AN OPTION. YEAH. AND IF THERE, IF THERE'S GONNA BE A, I'M ASSUMING THERE'S GONNA BE A WORKSHOP BETWEEN THE PARTIES AND, YOU KNOW, AND I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE OPTIONS. I WOULD, I WANNA SEE MULTIPLE OPTIONS OF WHAT DIRECTION THAT WE CAN TAKE NOT JUST ONE OPTION. SURE. YOU KNOW WHAT CITY, YOU KNOW, I WANNA SEE MULTIPLE OPTIONS. THAT'S JUST MY THOUGHT. THANK YEAH. AND THANK YOU. AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT WAS THE IDEA OF THIS. OKAY. SO IF THE, IF THE FEEDBACK I GOT FROM YOU IS DON'T WANNA LET GO OF THESE WATER LEASES, WANNA RETAIN THEM, BUT ARE INTERESTED IN EXPLORING DIFFERENT WAYS TO RETAIN THEM IN TERMS OF PARTNERSHIPS OR STRUCTURES, THAT'S FEEDBACK THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR. AND THAT'S, THAT'S BEEN HEARD. YEAH. AND, UM, I'M NOT GONNA SAY THE PROBLEM, IT'S MORE LIKE THE CHALLENGES, UH, WITH THE CURRENT RIGHTS LEASE, LEASE RIGHTS YOU HAVE, WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING WITH IT LIKE NOW MM-HMM . WITH, UH, SEE, SO THAT'S THE PROBLEM. WE CANNOT SIT ON IT AND WAIT TILL LATER TILL WE NEED IT. UH, WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH DOING SOMETHING NOW. SO THAT'S THE CHALLENGE. AND WE SAT ON IT TOO LONG, YOU KNOW? YES. AND, AND NOW WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING. NOW, NOW WE'VE COME TO A POINT WHERE WE GOTTA DO SOMETHING NOW. SO THE ONLY, THE ONLY THING I WOULD SAY, RIGHT, THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF OUR DILEMMA. WHY IF YOU SAY, WELL, WHY DIDN'T WE DO ANYTHING? WHY DID WE WAIT THIS LONG? 'CAUSE WE DON'T NEED THE WATER. RIGHT? SO, SO AGAIN, ONE OF THE ITEMS YOU WOULD'VE TALKED ABOUT IN THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS IS HOW MUCH YOU INCREASE THE RATE PAYERS TO PAY FOR THIS WATER THAT WE DON'T NEED. THAT THERE WOULD BE A CONCERN ENTERING INTO ANY SUBSTANTIAL LEASE WITH SOMEONE TO DRIVE REVENUE FOR BECAUSE CAN WE, CAN WE CUT IT OFF? SO, YEAH. BUT, BUT FAIR POINT. AND THE LONGER THAT WE WAIT, THE HIGHER THE COST IS GOING TO BE. SO IF WE'RE GONNA DO SOMETHING, WE NEED TO DO IT NOW. YEAH. WE CAN, WE CAN AGAIN, WE CAN MOVE FORWARD NOW WE CAN PAY ON THAT FOR A LONGER PERIOD. YEAH. AND I GUESS IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND TOO THAT THIS IS, IF YOU'RE, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MAKING A DEAL OR SELLING, RIGHT? IF WE'RE EFFECTIVELY TALKING ABOUT SELLING IT, THIS IS A, A FAIR MARKET TRANSACTION, RIGHT? IT'S AN ARM'S LENGTH. SO WE'LL TAKE ANY PROPOSERS, WE'LL TAKE ANY OPTIONS THAT ARE OUT THERE AND WE'RE WILLING TO LISTEN TO ANYTHING. SO FAR WE'VE ONLY HAD TWO PEOPLE RESPOND TO THAT. YEAH. TWO ENTITIES, NOT PEOPLE, BUT, BUT THERE'S BEEN DISCUSSION I WILL SAY AT C-B-L-G-C AND, AND THIS WILL LIKELY COME UP AT THEIR NEXT MEETING OF, DO WE NOT WANNA PUT THE WORD OUT MORE BROADLY THAT WE ARE ENTERTAINING OFFERS OF SORTS TO SEE HOW MANY MORE WE GET, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT'S ONLY FOLKS WHO ARE, I GET THE IMPRESSION EITHER RIGHT IN THE AREA AND KIND OF HEAR WHAT'S GOING ON OR MAYBE HAVE BEEN REACHED OUT TO BY FOLKS SPECIFICALLY THAT, THAT WOULD KNOW. I HAVE A QUESTION, UM, TO BACKTRACK ON THE COMMENT OF THE COMPLEXITY AND NOT BEING BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION IS THAT'S JUST, WE WERE NOT ABLE TO UNDERSTAND IT. AND THEN WE'RE NEVER GOING TO BE GIVEN THAT INFORMATION, OR WE'RE JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND YOUR CLIENTS. NO, WE'RE HAPPY TO EXPLAIN IT NOW. I JUST DIDN'T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER YOU WANTED TO STAY. 'CAUSE IT'LL TAKE A WHILE TO EXPLAIN BOTH OF THE DEALS. YEAH. I WE'RE MORE THAN, YOU'RE MORE THAN CAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING IT. I'VE, TRUST ME. I THINK, I THINK, I THINK THE INITIAL HERE WAS TO GET KIND OF AN INITIAL READ. BECAUSE IF, IF THE IDEA IS COUNCIL'S NOT INTERESTED IN POTENTIALLY SELLING OFF ANY OR ALL OF THIS WATER, THAT'S KIND OF THE FIRST THING THAT WE NEED TO, TO KNOW, RIGHT? AND, AND SO EITHER PARTNER MAY SAY, YEAH, I'M WILLING TO DO A DEAL WITH YOU [03:55:01] FOR, FOR 20 YEARS OR 25 YEARS. THEY MAY NOT, THEY MAY SAY, NO, I NEED TO GO FIND A LONGER TERM SOLUTION. BUT I THINK THAT WAS REALLY WHAT WE WANTED TO GET OUT OF THIS, UM, TO THEN UNDERSTAND WHAT THE QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS WERE, RIGHT? BECAUSE I, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD HAVE COME BACK AND SAID, WHY ARE WE NOT JUST PROCEEDING WITH C-V-L-G-C? LET'S JUST MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT. AND, AND I THINK THAT WAS KIND OF BREAKING IT DOWN INTO CHUNKS, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. I HAVE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS THAT'S BEEN WAITING TO SPEAK, SO I'M SO SORRY. NO, I'M FINE. UM, NO, I UNDERSTAND THE LOGIC OF NOT GOING WITH TWO ENTITIES, NOT HAVING TWO SETS OF OVERHEAD. UM, THE LEASES THAT ARE JOINTLY OWNED OR THAT ARE OWNED BY C-V-L-G-C, US AND SLO ARE LOCATED WHERE? IN WILSON COUNTY. WILSON COUNTY. AND DOES S-S-L-G-C CURRENTLY PUMP ANY WATER FROM WILSON COUNTY? I DON'T THINK THEY PUMP ANY WATER OUT OF WILSON COUNTY. UH, IT CURRENTLY, WE HAVE A WELL FIELD IN GONZALEZ COUNTY AND ONE IN GUADALUPE. YEAH. BUT THE PROXIMITY OF WHERE THOSE LEASES ARE, IT'S NOT TOO FAR FROM SSL GCS FACILITIES. AND SO IT'S REASONABLE TO DRAG IT UP THERE. SO, SO WE COULD, IN THEORY, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT INCREASING OUR, OR SECURING OUR WATER RIGHTS, WE COULD TAKE OUR PORTION FROM WILSON COUNTY AND TRANSFER, SELL IT, WHATEVER, TO S-S-L-G-C AND ULTIMATELY DEVELOP THOSE WELLS AND SEND IT TO ONE OF THE S-S-L-G-C TREATMENT FACILITIES AND, AND INTO THAT EXISTING PIPELINE THAT WE'VE GOT. YEAH. THAT'S, THAT'S ONE OF THE OPTIONS, RIGHT? YEAH. ONE OF THE OPTIONS IS TO, TO WORK A DEAL, TRY TO BIFURCATE IN WHATEVER FORMAT, GET THESE OVER TO SSLG. YEAH. AGAIN, I, I'M, I AGREE, I WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE SECURE OUR WATER RIGHTS, BUT IF WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT CURRENT TABLE OF WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE AND IT TAKES US OUT TO 2070 OR SO, AND ON TOP OF THAT, YOU'VE GOT THE POTENTIAL FOR WHAT'S EXISTING IN IT. IN C-V-L-G-C, WE'VE GOT APPROXIMATELY 5,000 ACRE FEET. UH, AND WE SAY THAT WE'D BE COMFORTABLE WITH A THOUSAND OR 2000, UM, YOU KNOW, TO ME WE COULD POTENTIALLY SELL OUR PORTION OF RIGHTS FOR 3000 ACRE FEET AND THAT WOULD HELP FUND THE COST THAT WE WOULD NEED TO TAKE OUR 2000 ACRE FEET THAT WE RETAIN AND GET IT PUMPED INTO THE S-S-L-G-C ENVIRONMENT. YEAH. I MEAN, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OPTIONS. ONE WOULD BE TO TRY TO, AGAIN, BIFURCATE FROM SLOS, RIGHT? RIGHT. AND THEN BIFURCATE OUT FURTHER, OR SEND THE WHOLE THING OVER TO S-S-L-G-C, WITH US RETAINING PART, AND THEN SEEING IF S-S-L-G-C CAN SELL THE . AND THEY DO THAT NOW. I MEAN, S-S-L-G-C IS SELLING EXCESS WATER TO SAN ANTONIO AND A FEW OTHER LOCATIONS. SO YEAH. THAT, THAT'S AN OPTION FOR IT AS WELL. RIGHT. AND, AND PART OF IT IS, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, DO WE WANT TO PUT SOMETHING OUT MORE BROADLY OR C-V-L-G-C TO SEE WHAT OFFERS THEY GET? RIGHT. ONE OF THE ANALYSIS IS, DOES SSL GC THINK IT MAKES IS MORE COST EFFECTIVE TO DO THAT VERSUS NOW LET US PICK UP ON LEASES THAT WE'RE NOT PAYING AS MUCH ON, ON THE FRONT END AND WE'RE NOT PAYING THE OVERHEAD OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO, TO GET IT TO US. OKAY. RIGHT. BECAUSE THAT'S THE BIG THING. RIGHT? WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR WATER RATES, BULK OF THAT IS WHAT WE PAY TO S-S-L-G-C TO PRODUCE THE WATER THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE GET, YOU KNOW, I MEAN THERE ARE IN A NUMBER OF OPTIONS, RIGHT? YOU COULD THEORETICALLY DIRECT TO GO BACK AND TRY TO RENEGOTIATE THE LEASES, BUT ON, BUT ON THE SAME TOKEN, IF IT'S AN AGREEMENT IS REACHED FOR OUR PORTION WITH GREEN VALLEY, SUD, GREEN VALLEY, SUD IS PROVIDING SOME WATER TO THE SOUTHERN PART OF SHEZ. YEAH. I THINK GREEN VALLEY AND, AND, AND I THINK GREEN VALLEY HAD COMMITTED THAT THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO PROVIDE TO USE THAT WATER IN, OR SHE'S RESIDENCE SHIRT'S, RESIDENCE, AND THEN WHATEVER'S NOT NEEDED THEY COULD USE ELSEWHERE. RIGHT. BUT THAT WOULD BE ONE OPTION. SAME, SAME AS S-S-L-G-C, SAME AS S-S-L-G-C. RIGHT? I MEAN THAT'S, BUT WE WOULDN'T HAVE THE OVERHEAD ASSOCIATED WITH GREEN VALLEY THAT THAT'S RIGHT. VERSUS HAVING A SEPARATE OVERHEAD TO ADMINISTER C-V-L-G-C LIKE WE DO WITH SS L GC. THAT'S RIGHT. AND EVERYTHING SUBJECT TO NEGOTIATION. RIGHT. WE COULD, WE WOULD, ONE OPPORTUNITY MIGHT BE TO NEGOTIATE AN AT COST PURCHASE OF SAY, A THOUSAND ACRES OR YEAH. YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT'S COMING, IF IT'S PIPED AND THEY HAVE A DELIVERY POINT IN THE PIPE, WHAT WE CALL THE PIE PIECE IN SOUTHERN SHIRTS, IT'S NOT DIFFICULT TO TAKE IT FROM THERE SOMEWHERE ELSE INTO OUR SYSTEM. RIGHT. SO IF WE HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR SYSTEM, IT'S A CHEAP WAY TO GET WATER. YEAH. IS WHAT I'M SAYING. AND AGAIN, IT'S JUST THAT, I MEAN, I MEAN, TO ME, TO ME, IF WE DON'T NEED THE FULL 5,000 ACRE FEET, GIVE [04:00:01] OR TAKE, PLUS OR MINUS, WHATEVER IT IS, I MEAN, TO ME, THE MORE LOGICAL SENSE IS NOT HAVE THE SECONDARY OVERHEAD. RIGHT. AND, AND, AND PARTNER WITH THOSE RIGHTS WITH SOMEONE WE'RE ALREADY CONNECTED WITH THAT'S PROVIDING A SERVICE, WHETHER THAT'S GREEN VALLEY OR S-S-L-G-C. YEAH. I MEAN, AND THAT'S RIGHT. AND, AND THAT ALL GOES TO HOW WE STRUCTURE THE DEAL. RIGHT. AND, AND, AND SO AGAIN, IT'S ONE THING TO SAY, WE'LL TRANSFER THOSE RIGHTS, HERE'S WHAT WE PAY YOU FOR IT, AND THEN WE AGREE, THEY AGREE TO SELL US A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MONEY AT COST. RIGHT. YOU KNOW, AND AGAIN, THE HOPE IS THAT THEIR COST IS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN, THAN SOMEBODY ELSE'S. UH, BUT THAT'S A WAY TO RETAIN SOME OF THOSE WATER RIGHTS TO NOT GIVE THEM UP. AND YET WE'RE NOT HAVING TO MAKE THAT BIG INVESTMENT TO TODAY. AND, AND, WHICH IS I THINK THE CONCERN THAT, YOU KNOW, TO BE CLEAR THAT STAFF HAS, IS IT, IT WE'RE, WE'RE JUST MAKING HUGE INVESTMENTS THAT HAVE TO WELL, I, I THINK UP ON OUR RATES, A CASE FOR GREEN VALLEY WOULD BE, I MEAN, IF WE JUST SECURED A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF WATER, CALL IT A THOUSAND ACRE FEET YEAH. PERIOD. REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEIR SOURCE IS. RIGHT. BECAUSE THEY HAVE MULTIPLE SOURCES. I MEAN, THAT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBLE THAN SOME OF THE OTHER OPTIONS. RIGHT. AND I BELIEVE THERE'S A THIRD OPTION COMING DOWN THE ROAD, BUT I'M NOT GONNA DISCUSS THAT BECAUSE THAT'S AT THE VERY TOP OF THE SURFACE RIGHT NOW. SO I DON'T WANT TO GET ANY RUMORS STARTED. UH, BUT TWO OF THE OPTIONS THOUGH DOES NOT PUT US AT RISK. I FEEL LIKE ONE OF THE OPTIONS THAT'S CURRENTLY ON THE TABLE DOES SOMEWHAT STILL PUT US AT RISK BECAUSE IT, WE NEED TO CREATE A PFS, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THEY NEED TO GO FOR BONDS, WHICH, AND SO WE WILL BE REPRESENTING THEM TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. AND SO IF ALL THAT FALLS THROUGH, AND I FEEL LIKE THAT'S A RISK THAT WE TAKE, YOU KNOW, ON OUR CREDIT RATING. SO YEAH, I MEAN I THINK, I THINK PART OF IT IS YEAH, HOW MUCH, RIGHT? AND THIS IS KIND OF HOW YOU APPROACH ANY DEAL, HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH RISK, HOW MUCH REWARD VERSUS HOW MUCH DO YOU VALUE CERTAINTY? E EVEN IF IT MEANS, YEAH, IT'S MAYBE A SMALLER DEAL TO BEGIN WITH OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING TO BE SAID THERE. SO MR. JAMES, I THINK IF YOU, IF YOU DO GIVE US DIFFERENT OPTIONS, THAT WAY WE CAN MAKE A BETTER DECISION ON WHICH WAY WE'RE GONNA GO. FAIR ENOUGH. SO IF, IF WHAT I'M HEARING THEN IS WE'RE NOT MARRIED TO C-V-L-G-C, NOBODY SAYS, YEAH, WE DEFINITELY WANT TO GO THAT ROUTE, BUT WHAT I'M HEARING GENERALLY IS WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IF WE CAN, WE DON'T WANT TO GIVE UP ALL OF THESE WATER RIGHTS, IT SEEMS TO MAKE SENSE TO, IN SOME FORM OR FASHION, MAKE UP SOME OF THIS GAP FROM, AS PART OF THIS DEAL THAT, THAT SEEMS TO BE WHAT I'M HEARING. AND THAT'S ALL, THAT'S ALL OF THEM OR THAT'S WHATEVER DEAL ALL OF THEM YEAH, I, YEAH, YEAH, NO, THOSE ON THE WATERHOUSE. SO JUST, JUST TO CLARIFY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS THINKING, BUT THE, EXCUSE ME, THE WATER LEASES. SO MAINTAIN THE WATER LEASES. OKAY. I, I GUESS THAT WOULD MEAN THAT WE PROCEEDED WITH THE ORIGINAL C-V-L-G-C PLAN. NO, NO, THAT'S JUST ME. I, I DUNNO WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS THINKING. SO, AND MAYBE JUST TO BE CLEAR, AND I, I APOLOGIZE, IS IT, IS IT THE LEASES THAT ARE IMPORTANT OR IS IT MAKING SURE THAT I GET WATER RIGHTS OR A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF WATER FOR THE LEASES? DOES DOES THAT MAKE SENSE OR I'M ASKING POORLY FOR ME, I THINK IF WE CAN MAINTAIN 100% OF WATER RIGHT. LEASES THAT WE, OKAY, I WANT TO OKAY. OKAY. AND NOT SO MUCH. YEAH, I'M NOT, I'M NOT LOCKED INTO, I HAVE A LEASE AND I HAVE TO MAINTAIN THAT LEASE. RIGHT. I'M, I'M FOCUSED ON, WE HAVE A, RIGHT NOW A SOURCE, A POTENTIAL SOURCE FOR AN AMOUNT OF WATER. IF I CAN GET THAT SAME AMOUNT OF WATER FROM A DIFFERENT AGREEMENT, FROM A DIFFERENT LEASE FROM SOMETHING ELSE, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF I'M GETTING IT FROM THIS LEASE. I GOTCHA. OR THIS LEASE. UNDERSTOOD. I'M WORRIED ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF WATER. THAT'S WHERE, THAT'S WHERE I'M AT TO, OKAY. SO I MEAN, IF THERE'S SOME KIND OF AN AGREEMENT THAT WE CAN HAVE WHERE, WHERE WE'RE GETTING, LIKE I SAID, UNDER THESE LEASES NOW AT C-V-L-G-C, WE HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR ROUND PLUS OR MINUS 5,000 ACRE FEET 5,000. YEAH. IF WE CAN, IF WE CAN GET SOME AGREEMENT THAT'S GETTING US THAT WATER OR RELATIVELY CLOSE TO IT WITHOUT HAVING THE OVERHEAD OF TRYING TO GET [04:05:01] A SECOND OVERHEAD TO GET THAT SAME AMOUNT OF WATER, I MEAN, TO ME IT'S A WIN TO ELIMINATE THE OVERHEAD OR ELIMINATE THAT EXTRA COST AS LONG AS I'M GETTING RELATIVELY THE SAME AMOUNT OF WATER AND I'M NOT LOSING IT. OKAY. YEAH, FOR ME, IT, IT'S EXACTLY THAT. IT'S JUST FOR US TO BE ABLE TO LIKE AT LEAST HAVE RIGHTS TO SOME OF THAT WATER SO THAT WAY WE CAN COVER, YOU KNOW, OUR NEEDS, YOU KNOW, AS WE CONTINUE TO GO DOWN THE ROAD. BECAUSE REGARDLESS, I UNDERSTAND WE HAVE THOSE LEASE RIGHTS, BUT I MEAN, REALLY THE PIE'S CUT IN HALF WITH US IN SIMILAR RIGHT NOW. AND SO, UH, SO WE'LL NEVER HAVE IT ALL. SO FOR ME, AS LONG AS WE'RE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE WITH SOMEONE TO GIVE US SOME, SOME WATER WHEN WE NEED IT MM-HMM . AND, AND I'M, I'M GOOD WITH THAT. OKAY. IT'S, FOR ME IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S LIKE THIS. I WOULD PREFER TO HAVE SOMETHING AND NOT NEEDED AND TO NEED SOMETHING NOT HAVE IT AND, AND, AND UNDERSTOOD. RIGHT. AND THE ONLY CAVEAT I WOULD SAY TO THAT IS, BUT TO HAVE IT AND NOT NEED IT MAY MEAN YOU ARE HAVING TO PAY FOR IT. AND, AND THAT WOULD BE THE ISSUE, RIGHT? SO THE ISSUE WOULD BE IS WE ARE, WE WOULD HAVE TO GO UP ON OUR RATES TO HAVE THIS THING WE DON'T NEED, RIGHT? IT'S THERE, THERE'S ALWAYS A LITTLE BIT OF BALANCING OF THE RISK WITH THAT AND HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH SURETY RIGHT. DO YOU WANT TO DO, YOU WANT TO KIND OF PAY FOR, I THINK IS THE BALANCE. AND I, BUT I THINK THE POINT'S UNDERSTOOD. AND JUST TO ADD ON, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT'S FAR OUR FUTURE NEEDS, RIGHT? I RECALL EARLIER THIS YEAR THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THAT, HEY, WE GOT MORE THAN PLENTY OF WATER. THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THE COMMENT WAS MADE TO ME EARLIER THIS YEAR. WE HAVE PLENTY OF WATER, YOU KNOW, WE WERE THINKING ABOUT SELLING THE WATER RIGHTS. NOW TODAY WE'RE GONNA RUN OUTTA WATER OR WE'RE, WE'RE PROJECTED TO, UM, IN 2060 OR WHATEVER, 20 70, 20 70 THAT WE'RE GONNA NEED WATER. SO TO ME, KEEP THE WATER MAYBE. YEAH. BUT YOU KNOW, WITH ALL THESE DIFFERENT INFRASTRUCTURES COMING IN AND THE GROWTH ARE COMING IN, YEAH, WE, WE CAN DO THAT, RIGHT? I MEAN, AGAIN, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO THAT. THE ISSUE WITH THESE LEASES, JUST CAVEAT AND WE'LL COME BACK, RIGHT, IS THERE IS A NOT INSIGNIFICANT COST TO HAVE THESE LEASES, BUT IF, BUT, BUT RIGHT. IT'S A VALUE. IT'S IF, IF I WOULD RATHER NOT WORRY ABOUT IT AND I WOULD RATHER JUST PAY THIS. NOW THAT'S A, THAT'S A VALID PERSPECTIVE. IT'S JUST KNOWING THAT THAT'S, THAT'S, THERE'S A COST TO IT. I, I WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT THOUGH, IN, IN 50 YEARS WHEN WE'RE CONFRONTED WITH THIS ISSUE OF NEEDING TO POTENTIALLY GO INTO WILSON COUNTY, A LOT CAN CHANGE IN 50 YEARS IN TEXAS IN TERMS OF WATER, IT MAY NOT EVEN BE A VIABLE OPTION TO GO INTO WILSON COUNTY. 50 YEARS FROM NOW, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GET THAT WATER AND YOU MAY HAVE INVESTED A LOT IN RETAINING SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN'T USE. SO I, I THINK IN TERMS OF PLANNING AND LONG-TERM PLANNING, YOU HAVE SOMETHING IN MIND THAT YOU WANT TO DO, BUT, BUT YOU, OVER A 50 YEAR PERIOD, YOU NEED TO MAINTAIN SOME FLEXIBILITY. SO YOU'RE NOT LOCKED IN OR YOU DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH SUM COST REALLY IS THE REALITY OF IT. RIGHT? BUT I THINK THE FEEDBACK'S HELPFUL, RIGHT? IT, IT LETS US KNOW KIND OF THE RANGE OF THINGS THAT ARE OPEN THAT ARE NOT OPEN, HOW YOU VALUE IT. UM, AND LET US KIND OF LOOK AT WHAT THOSE ARE TO THEN COME BACK, UM, IN, IN A FEW WEEKS. SO IF THE PARTNERSHIP IS MAYBE HYPOTHETICALLY IF IT WOULD BE JUST SS LGC OR WOULD IT STILL MAYBE BE GREEN VALLEY THAT IT COULD, IT COULD BE ANY OF THOSE, RIGHT? WHAT I'M HEARING FROM COUNCIL IS WHAT I'M HEARING FROM COUNCIL IS BECAUSE OF HOW IN DEMAND WATER RIGHTS ARE, THERE'S A REAL RELUCTANCE TO GIVE UP ALL OF THIS OR POSSIBLY ANY OF THIS AT ALL. AND SO WE ARE OPEN TO EXPLORING PARTNERSHIPS TO TRY TO, OR OPTIONS THAT TRY TO REDUCE OUR COST AS OPPOSED TO WHAT OUR FALLBACK IS, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY JUST GO TO PRODUCTION, GO TO PERMITING AND PRODUCTION WITH C-V-L-G-C, WHICH, WHICH WE KIND OF HAVE A BENCHMARK FOR WHAT THAT COST, BUT, BUT UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE WILL BE A COST, RIGHT? THERE IS LIKELY. HOWEVER, THE MORE WE WANNA RETAIN, THE MORE WE WANT TO HAVE CONTROL OVER, WE WILL PAY MORE FOR THAT THEN, UH, THE LESS WE CONTROL AND THE LESS CERTAINTY IN HOW WE STRUCTURE IT. BUT, BUT WE CAN COME BACK WITH OPTIONS FOR YOU. THIS AGAIN, [04:10:01] PART OF OUR JOB IS TO HELP YOU MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION PART OF IT FOR STAFF. IT'S AN ITERATIVE PROCESS TO SORT OF FEEL YOU OUT TO SEE WHAT YOU VALUE THINGS AT, UM, AND, AND MOVE FORWARD FROM THAT REGARD. BECAUSE AGAIN, WHAT WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT AT ALL IS WHAT DOES THIS DO TO YOUR, TO OUR RATES, RIGHT? BECAUSE AT SOME POINT I THINK FOR EVERYBODY ON THE DAIS, THE RATES GO UP THAT MUCH. YOU'RE ALL LIKE, WELL I'LL PULL BACK OFF THAT POSITION, RIGHT? JUST BECOMES NOT COST EFFECTIVE. UM, SO YEAH, LET US, LET US COME BACK, UH, IN A COUPLE MEETINGS AND, AND WE'LL KEEP GOING WITH THE DISCUSSION. ALRIGHT, THERE ARE NO FURTHER DISCUSSIONS ON THIS ITEM. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND [ Closed Session] GO INTO CLOSED SESSION ON ITEM 24. THE CITY COUNCIL WILL MEET IN CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 DASH 0 8 7 DELIBERATION REGARDING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS TO DELIBERATE THE OFFER OF A FINANCIAL OR OTHER INCENTIVE TO A BUSINESS PROSPECT. UH, ITEM ONE, I MEAN NUMBER ONE BEING LOST, PEACE SHIRTS, OPERATIONS NUMBER TWO BEING PROJECT HOLLY. WE'LL BE GOING INTO CLOSED SESSION AT 10 11. OKAY, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND COME OUTTA CLOSED SESSION RECONVENE AT 10:25 PM [ Reconvene into Regular Session] MOVING ON TO [25. Following deliberation in closed session, the City Council may take action on the following items discussed in closed session:         a.  Discussion and possible action on a Resolution authorizing a financial or other incentive to Las P Schertz Operations         b.  Discussion and possible action on a Resolution authorizing a financial or other incentive to Project Holly] ITEM 25, FOLLOWING DELIBERATION AND CLOSED SESSION. THE CITY COUNCIL MAY TAKE ACTION ON THE FOLLOWING ITEMS, JUST DISCUSS ENC CLOSED SESSION. SO LET ME GO BACK TO HERE. SO WE HAVE 25 A RESOLUTION, 26 DASH R DASH 1 0 3 DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING A FINANCIAL R, OTHER INCENTIVE TO LOST P SHIRTS. OPERATIONS, UH, RESOLUTION 26 R DASH 1 0 3 A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SHIRTS, TEXAS AUTHORIZING EXPENDITURE AS REFLECTED IN THE SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF CHURCH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. AND THE LAST PIECE SHIRTS, OPERATIONS, LLC ADMITTING THE TOTAL INCENTIVE FUNDING AMOUNT AND DEPARTMENT TERMS AND OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION. THEY'RE WITH DO. IS THERE ANYONE, ANY COUNCIL MEMBER, HAVE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? HAVE NO OTHER DISCUSSION. CAN I ENTERTAIN A MOTION? I WANNA MAKE A MOTION THAT WE COVER THE, UH, LOST P SHIRTS, OPERATIONS, UH, DELTA, WHATEVER THAT MAY A HUNDRED DONATED. SAY THE WHOLE DOLLAR AMOUNT. I BELIEVE IT'S A PROVEN RESOLUTION. 26 DASH R DASH 1 0 3. UH, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO COVER IF YOU WANNA MAKE THAT MOTION. YES, I WANNA MAKE THAT MOTION TO COVER THAT COST. OKAY. SECOND. ALRIGHT, HAVE A MOTION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER SHERIDAN. SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. CAN I GET EVERYBODY TO CASH YOUR VOTES? CAN I GET THE VOTES PUBLISHED PLEASE? HAVING SEVEN YAYS, NO NAYS. MOTION PASSES. MOVING ON TO ITEM 25 B, RESOLUTION 26 R 1 0 5 AND THAT'S GONNA BE AUTHORIZED, UH, A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHURCH TEXAS AUTHORIZING AN EXPENDITURE AS REFLECTED IN AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF CHURCH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND HOLLINGSWORTH LOGISTICS GROUP, LLC AND ANOTHER AND OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION THERE WITH, THERE ARE NO OTHER DISCUSSIONS ON THAT ITEM. CAN I GET SOMEONE TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION? NO. MOTION, NO APPROVE. SECOND. OKAY. I HAVE A MOTION MADE BY COUNCILMAN GUERRERO, UH, TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 26 DASH R DASH 1 0 5. AND I HAVE A SECOND BY MAYOR PRO TIM WATSON. CAN I GET EVERYBODY TO CASH YOUR VOTES? [04:15:01] CAN I GET THE VOTES PUBLISHED PLEASE? OKAY. HAVING 77 YAYS, NO NAYS. MOTION PASSES. ITEMS 26 AND 27 HAS INCLUDED YOUR PACKET. NO DISCUSSION TO OCCUR. UM, WE WILL MOVE [ Requests and Announcements Requests by Mayor and Councilmembers for updates or information from Staff  Requests by Mayor and Councilmembers that items or presentations be placed on a future City Council agenda City and Community Events attended and to be attended (Council)] ON TO REQUEST AND ANNOUNCEMENTS REQUEST BY MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR UPDATES OR INFORMATION FROM STAFF. DO WE HAVE ANY? HAVING NONE. WE'LL MOVE ON TO REQUEST BY MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, THE ITEMS OR PRESENTATIONS BE PLACED ON ANY FUTURE CITY COUNCIL AGENDAS. IS THERE ANY ITEMS ON THAT? I, NONE. WE WILL MOVE TO COUNCIL AGENDA. UH, CITY AND COMMUNITY EVENTS ATTENDED OR TO BE ATTENDED BY COUNCIL? NOTHING AT THIS TIME. NOTHING TONIGHT, SIR. NOTHING ATTENDED. THE, UH, K JON MUSU EVENT OR RIBBON CUTTING. ATTENDED THE HISTORICAL PRESERVATION COMMITTEE MEETING, ATTENDED THE RG E RIBBON CUTTING AND THE NINE 11 CEREMONY AT CLEMENS HIGH SCHOOL. TIMOTHY, UH, CHURCH'S HISTORICAL PRESERVATION COMMITTEE. UH, MEETING NORTHEAST PARTNERSHIP, UH, THE CLEMONS NINE 11 COMMEMORATION AND THE CHAMBER LUNCHEON TODAY. UH, THE NEP LUNCH LAST WEEK AND THE CHAMBER LUNCHEON TODAY ATTENDED THE NEP LUNCHEON, THE UH, CHAMBER LUNCHEON AND ATTENDED THE NINE 11 COMMEMORATION, UH, MORNING EVENT. AND AGAIN, UH, I WANT, I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR GREAT JOB TODAY. IT WAS A LONG NIGHT, UH, TO THE CITY, CITY STAFF. CONTINUE TO DO AN OUTSTANDING JOB. AGAIN, THANK Y'ALL FOR ALL WHAT YOU DO AND APPRECIATE YOU TO OUR FIRST RESPONDERS. THANK Y'ALL. AND AGAIN, MUCH APPRECIATION TO OUR CITY STAFF AND THE CITY COUNCIL FOR TONIGHT'S UH, MEETING. AND OTHER THAN THAT, HAVE NOTHING TO REPORT. THIS WON'T END OUR CITY COUNCIL MEETING AT 10 30. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.