* 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. [1. Welcome. ] [00:00:02] I WAS AT THE REGULAR MEETING OF CITY OF SANTO CITY COMMISSION MEETING. WE TALKED OCTOBER 17TH, UH, 2023. THE TIME IS, UH, FIVE 30. I'D LIKE TO WELCOME EVERYBODY. WE DO HAVE A QUORUM. UM, ITEM NUMBER TWO, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO US, FLAG. AND, UH, AND THE SIXTH FLAG. AND PLEASE REMAIN STAND FOR THE INVOCATION PLEDGE DILIGENCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, LIBERTY OF JUSTICE FOR ALL PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE TEXAS ONE STATE UNDER GOD. ONE, THE INDIVIDUAL. LET US PRAY. LORD, WE ASK FOR YOUR GUIDANCE THIS EVENING. ASSIST US IN CAREFULLY CONSIDERING THE INFORMATION THAT WILL BE PROVIDED. LET US REMEMBER THAT OUR ACTIONS HAVE THE POWER TO BENEFIT OTHERS WITH THAT IN MIND. ASSIST US IN MAKING THE BEST DECISIONS POSSIBLE SO THAT WE CAN POSITIVELY AFFECT AND STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITY. IN YOUR NAME, WE REJOICE. AMEN. THANK YOU, MR. ILLA. OKAY. UM, COMMISSIONERS, [6. Presentation by the Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector on property tax collections and information related to the November 7, 2023 Constitution Amendment Election affecting homestead exemptions.] UH, I'M GONNA MOVE ITEM NUMBER SIX FOR THE, UH, MR. TONY RE FOR, UH, UM, ABOVE THE, UH, ANNOUNCEMENT SO HE CAN COME AT MR. TONY. SIR. WELCOME. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR. COMMISSIONERS. GOOD EVENING. I AM, UH, HERE TODAY. UH, MAYOR AND COMMISSIONER DREW A LITTLE REPORT ON THE, ON THE COLLECTIONS, BUT, UH, MOST OF ALL TO REPORT THE, UH, THE NEW, UH, CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT, UH, ON THE BALLOT FOR NOVEMBER THE SEVENTH. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR US AS, UH, CITIZENS OF, UH, OF, UH, NOT ONLY OF CAMERON COUNTY, BUT OVER ALSO THE, UH, THE CITY OF SAN MANTO, UH, ON THE COLLECTIONS, UH, WE'RE DOING VERY WELL. UH, BY THE WAY, THIS IS MR. RICK MARILLO, MY CHIEF DEPUTY. HE'S GONNA PASS OUT SOME, SOME, UH, SOME LITERATURE FOR YOUR INFORMATION. UH, AS OF THE END OF, UH, OF CLOSING, WHICH WAS THE, UH, FISCAL YEAR BUDGET FOR THE CITY SANTO, WHICH WAS SEPTEMBER THE, THE END OF SEPTEMBER, UH, YOUR COLLECTION RATE, UH, WE COLLECTED $5.9 MILLION, OR 95.47 OF THE ENTIRE TAX. AND COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, LAST YEAR WAS 9 5 1 5 6. SO WE'RE WITHIN THE BALLPARK OF YOUR COLLECTIONS, UH, UP TO DATE. UH, YOUR, YOUR NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS COMPARED TO THE NEW ROLE TO LAST YEAR. UH, THIS YEAR YOU HAVE 12,140 ACCOUNTS. LAST YEAR, UH, YOU ALL HAD 11,974. IT GREW JUST AT A, A, A TAD. UH, ON THE TOTAL REVENUE FOR THIS YEAR IS 900 4940 1 MILLION COMPARED TO 801 MILLION THAT WAS COLLECTED LAST YEAR, OR THAT'S ON THE, ON THE, ON THE LEDGERS. UH, WE'RE DOING GOOD FOR THE CITY OF SANTO SANTO IS, UH, UH, IT'S, IT'S UP TO PAR WITH THE REST OF THE, WITH THE REST OF THE, UH, WITH THE REST OF THE DISTRICTS. UH, WHAT, WHAT WE DID, WE, UH, WE MAILED OUT YOUR TAX BILL THE, UH, LAST WEEK, WHICH CONSISTED OF YOUR PERSONAL PROPERTY AND REAL ESTATE ACCOUNTS. AND, UH, WHAT WE DID, THE LEGISLATURE THIS YEAR, AS YOU ALL KNOW, INCREASED YOUR HOMESTEAD OR HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS FROM 40,000 TO 100,000. THIS IS ON THE SCHOOL PROPERTY TAX. AND, UH, WHAT THE LEGISLATURE DID, THEY GAVE US THE AUTHORITY TO INCLUDE THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND, UH, IN, IN OUR OCTOBER TAX BILL, OR WAIT TILL AFTER THE ELECTION. THE ELECTION IS, UH, NOVEMBER THE SEVENTH. AND, UH, SEVERAL, UH, COUNTY TAX ELECTORATES AROUND THE STATE DECIDED TO WAIT TILL AFTER, AFTER THE ELECTION TO, UH, TO SEND OUT THE TAX BILLS TO INCLUDE THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND. WHAT WE DID, WE TOOK OPTION A [00:05:01] 'CAUSE I'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN IN THIS PLACE FOR SEVERAL YEARS, AND I KNOW THIS AMENDMENT IS GOING TO PASS. SO THEY GAVE US THE OP AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO INCLUDE IT IN THE, IN THE OCTOBER TAX BILL THAT THEY WERE MAILED OUT LAST WEEK. AND IT INCLUDES THE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION FOR THE SCHOOL TAXES. BUT ALSO, THE OTHER REASON THAT WE INCLUDED IN THE OCTOBER TAX BILL IS TO, TO HAVE THE, OUR TAXPAYERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE 3% DISCOUNT THAT MOST OF THE DISTRICTS OFFER WITHIN CAMERON COUNTY. SO, THE WHOLE IDEA IS TO, TO HAVE THE TAXPAYERS TAKE ADVANTAGE, NOT ONLY OF THE, OF THE, OF THE, UH, 3% DISCOUNT, BUT ALSO TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION THAT, UH, WILL BE THAT, UH, ON THE BALLOT, THAT'S ON THE BALLOT FROM NOVEMBER THE SEVENTH. SO, UH, UH, IT'S A, IT'S A, I THINK IT'S A WIN-WIN FOR EVERYBODY, UH, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF, UH, THE DISCOUNT, BUT ALSO THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION, THAT, THAT, UH, THAT'S GONNA BE UNDER BALLOT. AND ONE THING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING COUNTYWIDE IS, IS PROMOTING THE, UH, THE, UH, THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION. UH, YOU'LL SEE IN YOUR, IN YOUR, IN YOUR, IN YOUR INFORMATION THAT I HANDED OUT, THIS IS THE INFORMATION THAT'S GONNA BE ON THE BALLOT. THIS IS THE ACTUAL WORDING THAT'S GONNA BE ON THE BALLOT, SPANISH AND ENGLISH, NOVEMBER THE SEVENTH. AND WHAT WE'RE DOING IS PROMOTING, PUSHING, AND, AND LETTING THE, OUR TAXPAYERS KNOW THAT, HOW, HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO GO OUT AND VOTE FOR IN NOVEMBER THE SEVENTH FOR THIS PROPOSITION, IT'S PROPOSITION FOUR. THERE'S 14 PROPOSITIONS, CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS THERE ON THE BALLOT. BUT MY CONCERN IS THIS ONE, PROPOSITION NUMBER FOUR, FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT IF IT DOESN'T PASS, THEN MY OFFICE IS GONNA BE MAILING OUT AN ADDITIONAL TAX BILL TO COLLECT THE DIFFERENCE THAT WASN'T PAID UP FRONT. NOW, I DON'T WANNA DO THAT, MAYOR. I DON'T, BECAUSE IT'S GONNA BE CHAOS IN MY OFFICE. AND GUESS WHAT? I'M GONNA BE THAT BAD GUY. I DON'T WANNA BE THE BAD GUY. OKAY. SO, UH, THE, THE, THE IDEA IS TO INFORM THE TAXPAYERS, THE VOTERS, HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO GO OUT AND VOTE NOVEMBER 7TH FOR ALL OF THE AMENDMENTS, INCLUDING PROPOSITION FOUR, WHICH IS, WHICH IS, UH, WHICH STATES THE, UH, THE INCREASE FROM 40,000 TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND IN, IN EXEMPTIONS FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TAXES. AND WE ALL KNOW THAT SCHOOL DISTRICT TAXES ARE THE HIGHEST IN THE COUNTY. SO THAT'S, UH, THAT'S, UH, THAT'S THE, UH, WHOLE IDEA BEHIND THIS IS, UH, UH, THIS PROPOSITION IS TO SAVE TAXPAYERS MONEY. ANY QUESTIONS? UH, MAYOR AND I, UH, I DID MAIL OUT, RICK, UH, GIVE IT TO, I SENT OUT A PRESS RELEASE TO THE LOCAL NEWS MEDIA, AND, UH, THIS IS, UH, YOU'RE GONNA GET TO SEE IT FIRSTHAND. THIS IS THE, UH, PRESS RELEASE THAT WAS SENT OUT TO THE ENTIRE, UH, NEWS MEDIA THAT, THAT, UH, THAT'S, UH, WITHIN CAMERON COUNTY, SO THEY CAN HELP US PROMOTE THE, THE, THE, THIS PARTICULAR CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. SO, UH, WITH THAT SAID, UH, I OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS. WE'RE DOING THIS, UH, AT EVERY CIVIC ORGANIZATION BOARD OF REALTORS. WE HAVE A MEETING WITH THEM. UH, TOMORROW, LAST WEEK I MET WITH THE, UH, ROTARY CLUB IN HARLINGEN. THE, UH, TOMORROW, UH, TOMORROW WE'RE MEETING OUR NEXT, UH, THURSDAY WE'RE MEETING WITH THE BORDER REALTORS IN HARLINGEN. SO WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE PROMOTING, UH, THIS, THIS PARTICULAR, UH, PROPOSITION FOR, BECAUSE IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO ME. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT TAXPAYERS, UH, UH, UH, KNOW WHAT, WHAT, WHAT THIS ENTAILS AND, AND, AND, AND THE, UH, SAVINGS THAT, UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA GET. MR. TERESA, GARY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR, UH, COMING AND SHARING THIS INFORMATION WITH US. UH, IT IS AN ONEROUS TASK THAT THE STATE HAS PUT ON YOU BY PUTTING THIS SO SHORT. YES. DEPENDING ON WHICH WAY IT GOES. SO, YES, I, I, I CONGRATULATE YOU ON THE WAY YOU'RE HANDLING IT AND YOUR OPTIMISM THAT IT, THAT IT IS INDEED PASSED. SO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE INFORMATION. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. ALSO, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR COMING UP AND, AND, AND, UH, GIVING US THE INFORMATION, AND, UH, WE'LL DO OUR BEST TO, UH, YOU KNOW, PROMOTE IT TO THE, THE, OUR CONSTITUENTS. YES. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN SAVE SOME MONEY AND, YOU KNOW, SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN ADD IT ON LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, TO, UH, YOU KNOW, TO PROMOTE IT TO THE PEOPLE THAT THEY EX. EXACTLY. AND THAT'S A, THAT'S A WHOLE IDEA. MAYOR IS, UH, GIVING YOU THE, UH, THE INFORMATION, UH, THAT I'VE GIVEN YOU. SO YOU CAN EITHER [00:10:01] DOWNLOAD IT ON YOUR, ON YOUR, ON YOUR CITY, FACEBOOK, OR WHATEVER TYPE OF MEDIA THAT YOU HAVE TO LET YOUR, LET YOUR CONSTITUENTS, YOUR, YOUR, YOUR CITIZENS, YOUR VOTERS KNOW HOW IMPORTANT IT IS THAT, THAT THIS, THAT THIS INFORMATION GETS OUT. AND, AND, AND WHY WE NEED TO GO OUT AND VOTE FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROPOSITION. NUMBER FOUR. OKAY. COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ANYBODY ELSE? THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU FOR COMING. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. OKAY, THEN WE'LL GO TO [4. Announcements: Items of Community Interest. ] ITEM NUMBER FOUR, COMMUNITY INTEREST. COMMERS, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING RIGHT NOW? NO, I GOT ABOUT THREE, THREE ITEMS. OKAY. UM, WE HAVE THE, UH, DALE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, IS, UH, HOSTING A COPY WITH A COP ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18TH, 2023 FROM 5:30 PM TO 7:30 PM AT THE SEVEN STAR BUCK. ITEM NUMBER TWO IS, UH, REGISTRATION FOR THE 81ST, UH, ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARADE. THAT WILL BE OPENING SOON. THIS YEAR'S THEME IS, UH, HOLLYWOOD, CHRISTMAS, UH, STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION. I BELIEVE THAT'S DECEMBER 9TH, NUMBER NINTH? NO. OKAY. UM, OKAY. ITEM NUMBER FOUR, I MEAN, ITEM NUMBER THREE, EXCUSE ME. UM, ADULT SOCCER LEAGUE REGISTRATION WILL CONTINUE OCTOBER, UH, 31ST, 2023. ALL THE VALLEY TEAMS ARE WELCOME FOR MORE INFORMATION CALLED PARKS AND RECS AT THE AREA. 9 5, 6, UH, 3 6 1 300 . AND DO WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE, COMMISSIONER, THAT Y'ALL WANT TO BRING UP? MAYOR, I'D LIKE TO ADD ONE. YEP. WE HAVE THE MARKET DAYS ON HISTORIC ROBERTSON STREET ON THE 21ST, WHICH IS GONNA BE, THIS SATURDAY USUALLY OCCURS IN THE MORNING TILL ABOUT TWO TO THREE O'CLOCK. I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT DATE, BUT EVERYBODY KNOWS, UH, MARKET DAYS, HISTORICAL, ROBERTSON STREET, SATURDAY, THIS SATURDAY MORNING. GO SHOW SUPPORT LOCAL AND SUPPORT YOUR SMALL BUSINESSES. THANK YOU. I KNOW THAT, UH, WE ALSO HAD THE, UM, THE JUNTA FOR THE JUNTA FOOD TRUCK. THAT WAS ALSO A VERY, UM, I WAS THERE. IT WAS GOOD. AND, UH, THE, UH, NATIONAL NIGHT OUT BY SEVEN PD AND, AND ALSO I THINK IT W CONSTABLE GONZALEZ THAT WAS THERE, UM, OR ANYTHING. I KNOW THE CHAMBER HAD, UM, THE HOLLOWAY, RIGHT, THE HALLOWEEN. AND, UH, I KNOW THAT THE, UH, WHAT ELSE? WHAT ELSE? I THINK THAT'S IT FOR NOW, BUT I KNOW THERE'S GONNA BE MORE INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, OUT THERE. SO, ANYTHING ELSE? COMMISSIONERS? NO, MAYOR. NOTHING. [5. Public Comments - (Speaker/Remarks limited to three minutes).] OKAY. UH, RUTH, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY FOR REPUBLIC COMMENT? WE HAVE, UH, MS. CATHY HERE. MS. WEAVER. HI. GOOD EVENING. UM, FOR THE RECORD, I'M KATHY WEAVER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HERE IN SANTO. AND, UM, WE WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE ARE HAVING OUR NEXT UPCOMING EVENT. UM, IT IS CASINO CASINO NIGHT. IT'S HELD NOVEMBER 2ND AT OAK HILL EVENT CENTER. UM, OUR FUNDRAISERS ARE FOR US TO PROVIDE BACK TO THE CITY, TO ALL OF OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES. UM, WE HAVE BEEN DOING EXCELLENT THIS PAST YEAR WITH THE SAMO CHAMBER. UM, WE HAVE GROWN TREMENDOUSLY. UM, AS OF TODAY, I THINK WE'VE GROWN ABOUT 50 NEW MEMBERS WOW. OVER THE WHOLE, UM, YEAR. SO THAT IS A PLUS. SO, UH, THESE FUNDS ARE USED FOR ALL OF THAT. FOR INSTANCE, THAT CO OF CHAMBER KEEPING, THE SAMO CHAMBER GOING, ALL OF THOSE THINGS. UM, SO WE, AND WANNA INVITE YOU, WE HAVE, UM, TICKETS FOR SALE. THERE ARE $40 A PERSON, UM, THAT INCLUDES A MEAL AND YOUR CASINO CHIPS, AS WELL AS WE ARE LOOKING FOR SPONSORS. AND WE WOULD LOVE THE CITY OF SANTO, PARTNER WITH US, BECOME OUR TEAM MEMBER. UM, AND THEY RANGE ALL THE WAY FROM $250 ALL THE WAY UP TO 1500. UM, AND THAT IS WHAT THE SAO CHAMBERS ASKING. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MS. WE THANK YOU SO MUCH. ACTUALLY, MS. WEAVER, I'D LIKE TO SAY, I'D LIKE TO APPLAUD YOU AND YOUR STAFF, AND YOU HAVE BEEN, UH, WELL, IT'S ONE YOUR, YOUR BOARD MEMBERS AS WELL. YES. THEY'RE THE ONES THAT VOLUNTEER THEIR TIME AND EFFORTS TO DO THE THINGS THAT Y'ALL DO, THE EVENTS THAT WE HAVE. THEY'VE BEEN A HUGE SUCCESS. SO I'D JUST LIKE TO APPLAUD YOU GUYS IN THE WORK THAT Y'ALL DO. THANK YOU. YES. WE'VE HAD VERY GOOD SUCCESS. AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US LAST MONTH FOR VO. YEAH. YES. THAT [00:15:01] WAS GREAT. . THAT WAS, UH, THAT WAS AN AWESOME, AWESOME EVENT. AWESOME. YES. SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO ALL OF THESE EVENTS, AND WE WOULD LOVE JUST FOR THE CITY TO PARTNER WITH US. WE HAVE, UM, OH, THAT, THIS WAS THE LAST ONE FOR THIS YEAR. AND THEN WE'LL START AGAIN NEXT YEAR. OKAY. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR COMING, RUTH. ANYBODY ELSE? UM, YES, MAYOR, THIS IS WHERE THERE IS A GROUP, UH, FOR I, ITEM NUMBER EIGHT. OKAY. ITEM NUMBER EIGHT. HOW MANY DO YOU HAVE? I DO HAVE ONE, UH, TWO, THREE. AND I DO NEED TO ASK, UH, ONE GENTLEMAN, MR. DRAKE, HE SAID IT WAS REGARDING WATER, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S ALSO RELATING TO ITEM NUMBER EIGHT. OKAY. UH, SO HOW DO WE GO WITH THE, UM, WHO WAS THE FIRST ONE? MR. JOSE MORALES. MS. MORALES? YES. UH, MORE THAN ONE. THERE'S MORE. UH, IS THIS THE, FOR ITEM NUMBER EIGHT? UH, THE REST OF NUMBER EIGHT NOT COME ALONG. I MEAN, I DIDN'T KNOW OTHER PEOPLE TRYING UP FOR YOU, BUT I'M GLAD THEY'RE HERE. YEAH. JUST EXPLAIN . OKAY. I KNOW THAT, UH, ON THERE'S, UH, HOW MANY, OH, FOR ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, HOW MANY OF YOU WERE HERE FOR, UH, FOR THE PUBLIC COMMENT? 1, 2, 3. THREE. OKAY. UM, OKAY. UH, ACCORDING TO OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR, UH, CITY ORDINANCE, WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE THAT WE HAVE MORE THAN ONE. THEN Y'ALL, YOU KNOW, GET THE ONE PERSON TO BE ABLE TO TALK TO, UH, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THAT ITEM THAT YOU HAVE. UM, WE CAN, UH, WE CAN, IF YOU ALL WANT TO CHOOSE ONE PERSON, I WASN'T AWARE OF THIS, SIR. OTHERWISE, WE, I WOULD A PARTNER WHO WAS COMING UP HERE, SO WE CAN MAKE THAT CHOICE. I THINK UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCE, I THINK EVERYBODY SHOULD BE ABLE TO VOICE THEIR OPINION AS A CITIZEN OF THE CITY OF SAN BENITO AND THEIR OWN CONCERNS, BECAUSE WE MAY HAVE DIFFERENT CONCERNS. 'CAUSE NOBODY'S COLLABORATED. SO, ON, ON ITEM EIGHT, THERE'S STILL AN AVAILABILITY FOR PUBLIC HEARING. SO, SO YOU GUYS KNOW, YOU'RE NOT RESTRICTED TO THREE MINUTES. THERE'S STILL A PUBLIC HEARING COMING UP. SO YOU EITHER YOU GET YOUR THREE MINUTES OR YOU GET YOUR PUBLIC HEARING. BUT WE'RE JUST FOLLOWING THE ORDINANCE. ORDINANCE STATES, IF THERE'S MORE THAN ONE SPEAKING ABOUT ONE COMMENT, WE LIMIT THAT SO THAT WE CAN HAVE PRO PRODUCTIVITY IN THE MEETING. AND WE DON'T HAVE A 10 HOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. UM, YOU, THERE IS A PUBLIC HEARING THOUGH, COMING UP, SO DON'T, DON'T FEEL RUSHED. UM, BUT YEAH, WE JUST HAVE TO HAVE, IS THAT PUBLIC HEARING HERE TODAY? YES. NUMBER EIGHT IS, YES. SO WE CAN TALK RIGHT BEFORE EIGHT, OR YOU CAN TALK AT THE PUBLIC HEARING. DURING THE PUBLIC HEARING. DURING THE PUBLIC HEARING. BUT FOR NOW, THE MAYOR, I MEAN, BASICALLY THE MAYOR CAN MAKE A CALL IF YOU WANT TO DO ONE THREE MINUTE AND THEN REDUCE IT TO MINUTE NO. TO THE ONE, ONE OR THE OTHER. YEAH. LET'S GO ONE OR THE OTHER. THAT WASN'T, Y'ALL WANNA WAIT FOR PUBLIC HEARING. I'LL TOO. YES, SIR. UH, ITEM EIGHT, CORRECT? YES. AND WE'RE LIMITING TO THREE MINUTES. ONE PERSON PER YEAH. FOR THE WHOLE GROUP. SINCE THERE'S THIS, OR WE'RE TAKING THE PUBLIC HEARING, IS THERE A LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT CAN SPEAK AT THE PUBLIC HEARING? NO. OKAY. UH, ALSO, JUST FOR YOUR INFORMATION, THERE IS NO LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT CAN SPEAK AT THE PUBLIC HEARING. YEAH. BUT YOU STILL, YOU STILL HAVE A LIMIT. I MEAN, YOU'RE STILL GONNA HAVE A LIMIT ON, ON THE, BUT, BUT WHEN WE SPEAK IN THE PUBLIC HEARING, IT'S ALSO LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES. YES. OH, YES. I MEAN, WE'RE, I MEAN, WE'RE, BUT EACH PERSON YEAH. FOR EACH PERSON, EACH PERSON STANDING BY SPEAK DOWN PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEM H I'M NOT ALLOWED TO SPEAK AGAIN ON A PUBLIC HEARING. NO, THAT'S, IS THAT WHAT I'M UNDERSTANDING? UM, WE WOULD PREFER THAT YOU SPEAK ONE OR THE OTHER. YES. YEAH. IT'S EITHER ONE OR THE OTHER. OKAY. I'LL IT DOESN'T MATTER. MATTER. WE'LL BE ABLE TO SPEAK THROUGH PUBLIC HEARING, THOUGH, ALL THE RECORD. OKAY. PERFECT. YES, YES. YEAH, IT'S REAL. UH, SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION, . YEAH, NO WORRIES. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S ON THE SAME PAGE HERE. WE ARE HAPPY THAT THE PUBLIC IS RESPONDING. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YES. MM-HMM. . OKAY. MIKE TRAVIS. CAN EVERYBODY HEAR ME? YES. YES. THUMBS UP. MIC. OKAY. OKAY. MIKE TRAVIS, 1695. RUSSELL LANE. I'M HERE ABOUT ITEM, UH, NUMBER EIGHT ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS, UH, I DON'T WANNA BORE YOU WITH THE DETAILS. IT'S OVER THERE ON RUSSELL, UH, RUSSELL LANE AND WILLIAMS ROAD. THEY WANNA CHANGE FROM, UH, AGRICULTURE OPEN AREA TO DUPLEX. AND WE, AND I AM, I SPEAK FOR PRETTY MUCH THE LINE 17 COMMUNITY. LINE 17 COMMUNITY. FOR THOSE THAT DON'T KNOW IS, UH, THE ORIGINAL DESIGNATION ON THE 1906 MAP, WAY BACK WHEN IN THE SAN NEEDLE WATER THING. IT GOES FROM WHAT'S NOW ED CAREY ALL THE WAY OVER TO FM FIVE 10. HOWEVER, IT DOESN'T GO STRAIGHT THROUGH BECAUSE THERE'S A AKA AND [00:20:01] THERE'S SOME SUB SUB DEVELOPMENTS AND STUFF IN THE MEANTIME. BUT IT'S ALL LINE 17 ROAD. AND OUR PART THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW IS RUSSELL LANE. SO AT THE INTERSECTION OF RUSSELL LANE AND WILLIAMS ROAD, UH, IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, KIND OF STUFF. AND SO WE WERE OPPOSED TO IT. AND I SAID A MOMENT AGO, I REPEAT MYSELF. I REITERATE, UH, I, I SPEAK PRETTY MUCH FOR EVERYBODY, INCLUDING THE OVER 60 LETTERS, SIGNED LETTERS THAT GOT TURNED IN. YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED PACKETS. I HOPE YOU DID. YES. KIND OF STUFF. AND, UH, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, FIVE OF THOSE LETTERS ARE FROM PROPERTY OWNERS THAT ARE WITHIN THE MAGIC 200 FOOT RADIUS LINE, WHICH STATE OF TEXAS SAYS THEY HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE STUFF BECAUSE YOU ONLY NEED 20% THING. AND THEN ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. I DON'T WANNA GET THERE BECAUSE IT'S USING UP MY TIME HERE. UH, BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT HERE IS, UM, PREVENTING HODGE PODGE DEVELOPMENTS CASE IN POINTS. SOUTH WILLIAMS ROAD, ACROSS EXPRESSWAY OVER THERE. YOU GOT AN INDUSTRIAL THING OVER THERE ACROSS THE STREETS. IT'S A SUBDIVISION. IT'S SAY, OH, WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE CHRONOLOGY IS OF WHICH CAME FIRST, THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG, BUT WHAT I DO KNOW IS THERE'S A CEMENT PLANT THING OVER THERE THAT SPEWS FIVE DAYS A WEEK AT LEAST PARTICULATES INTO THE AIR THAT DRIFT NORTHERLY BECAUSE OF THE SOUTHERLY WIND AND COVER EVERYTHING WITHIN, UH, THERE. TO ME, THAT'S NOT QUALITY OF LIFE. I, I, I WOULD THINK I'D COMMIT SUICIDE BEFORE I'D LIVE IN A LITTLE HOUSE OVER THERE. RIGHT THERE. NOT TO BE OVERLY DRAMATIC HERE. UM, WE GET IT. COMMISSIONER GOODMAN BENITO HAS TO GROW. YES. BUT WE WOULD LIKE IT TO BE, UH, ORDERLY. AND, UH, I JUST ONLY TODAY GOT ACCESS TO THE, UH, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, WHICH I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN IT WAS RIGHT ON THE WEBSITE. BUT SILLY ME. I DO. BUT THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR STEERING ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION THERE. AND I NOTICED THAT THERE'S LOTS OF, UH, OH, MY TIME'S UP. YES. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE? RUTH? NO, SIR. NO. OKAY. [7. Consideration and possible action to approve the minutes for the February 28, 2023 Special City Commission Meeting and the March 7, 2023 Regular City Commission Meeting.] THEN ITEM NUMBER SEVEN. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES. OKAY. I GOT A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER UH, GOODMAN. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MORALES. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. ANY NAYS? MOTION PASSES. OKAY. [8. Public Hearing: To solicit input regarding a request to Rezone a property located at the intersection of Williams Road and Russell Lane, bearing a Legal Description of: 42.66 acres of land comprised of all of Lot 47, Resaca Front Subdivision, being 5.39 acres, recorded in Volume 2, Page 21, Map Records of Cameron County, Texas and 37.27 acres out of Block 131 San Benito Land and Water Company Subdivision, Recorded in Volume 1, Page 6 and Volume 1, Page 25, Map Records of Cameron County, Texas, being out of the tracts of land described in Volume 24265, Page 70, Official Records of Cameron County, Texas, from AO “Agriculture and Open Space” to SF-2 “Duplex, Residential”. Applicant: Elite & Zarate Investments, LLC.] ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, PUBLIC HEARING. AND WE HAVE, UH, MR. AL NOW, MAYOR, COMMISSIONERS. UM, A PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE SANITA NEWS ON SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2023. PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE WAS MAILED TO PROPERTY OWNERS WITHIN A 200 FOOT RADIUS OF THE SUBJECT. PROPERTY STAFF RECEIVED 62 LETTERS AGAINST THE PROPOSED REZONE, ALTHOUGH ONLY THREE, UM, LIE WITHIN THE 200 FOOT RADIUS. ONLY THREE. OKAY. UM, COMMERS, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? PUBLIC HEARING? NO. SO, YES. THEN I'LL OPEN UP TO A PUBLIC HEARING. THE TIME IS, UH, 5 54. AND, UH, OPEN IT UP TO PUBLIC HEARING COMMISSIONERS, THE ENGINEER AND THE DEVELOPER ARE HERE. OKAY. UM, DO YOU WANNA GET THE, UM, WE'LL GET THE, UH, DEVELOPERS IF YOU WANT. WE CAN DOE FIRST AND THEN THEY CAN ADDRESS ANY OF THE ISSUES THAT THEY'RE CONCERNED ABOUT. IT'S PROBABLY BETTER TO HEAR THE, THE CITIZENS. CITIZENS FIRST. OKAY. THEN, UM, MIKE IS OPEN PUBLIC HEARING. GENTLEMEN, ANYBODY, UH, FOR THE RECORD, MY NAME'S JOSE MORALE. MORALE. I LIVE AT 7 8 9 COMFORT LANE OUTSIDE OF THE 200 FOOT RADIUS. I'M GONNA ASK COMMISSION TO LOOK AT CITY ORDINANCES WHEN IT COMES TO SUBDIVISIONS. 'CAUSE THE SUBDIVISION DOES IMPACT AN ENTIRE AREA. I'D LIKE FOR A MILE RADIUS TO BE CONSIDERED OR SOMETHING EQUIVALENT TO THAT IN THAT AREA. BECAUSE NEW DEVELOPMENT AFFECTS A WHOLE AREA, NOT JUST THE BLOCK IT'S ON OR THE NEIGHBORS. IT'S NEIGHBORING ANYBODY AROUND THAT AREA. SO I, I'D LIKE FOR THAT TO BE IN CONSIDERATION TO START WITH. AND, AND WE ALL MAKE INVESTMENTS IN SANTO. I BOUGHT MY HOUSE FOR PARTICULAR REASONS WHEN I MOVED FROM CALIFORNIA. OKAY? I, I LOOKED AT THE SCHOOLS. I LOOKED AT HOW CLOSE I WAS TO HOSPITALS. THE CORRIDOR IS RUSSELL LAYING STRAIGHT TO THE HOSPITAL. THIS IS WHY I BOUGHT THERE. 'CAUSE I'M GETTING UP IN AGE. I KNOW AT SOME POINT. AND I PLAN TO MAKE SANTO MY PERMANENT HOME. SO THAT INVESTMENT WAS MADE BY LOOKING AT THE SCHOOLS. THEY HAD DOWNS, [00:25:01] A GREAT SCHOOL. NOW WE HAVE IDEA OF ONE OF THE TOP SCHOOLS IN THE NATION. WE HAVE RISING STAR ALSO ALL IN THAT AREA. SO I ASKED FOR ANY COMMISSIONERS OR INVESTORS TO START CONSIDERING THAT WE DO NOT NEED ANY DUPLEXES IN THAT AREA. WE NEED HIGH DOLLAR HOMES. WE HAVE RIGHT THERE CATTY CORNER TO IDEA 250 TO $450 HOMES. WHY AIN'T SAN DOING THAT? WE NEED SMART GROWTH IN SANTO. WE DON'T NEED BACKWARDS. WE NEED TO FORWARD, WE'RE LOOKING FOR HOUSING. WE GOT A HOUSING AUTHORITY THAT CAN LOOK OVER THE CITIZEN THAT NEED HOUSING OR SPECIAL HOUSING DEVELOPERS THAT CAN LOOK OTHER AREAS. NOT TAKE PRIME LAND TO MAKE DUPLEXES. I HOPE THAT Y'ALL UNDERSTAND. SMART COMMUNITIES ARE MASTER PLAN COMMUNITIES. WE HAVE JOGGING SHOWS AND HAVE COMMUNITY POOLS HAVE A CLUBHOUSES. THAT'S THE KIND OF DEVELOPMENT WE NEED IN THAT CORRIDOR AND IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA. BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE HAVE TURNED IN LETTERS BECAUSE THEY LIVE OUTSIDE. YOU ONLY GOT THREE IN THERE 'CAUSE YOU ONLY HAVE THREE NEIGHBORS WITHIN THE TWO HOUR RADIUS. BUT YOU HAVE ALL THE OTHER CONCERNS THAT I HOPE THAT Y'ALL TAKE IN CONSIDERATION. I'M SPEAKING FAST 'CAUSE I'M ON A CLOCK. OKAY? BUT YOU NEED ME TO SLOW DOWN. LET ME KNOW. OKAY? SO IN ORDER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR INVESTORS RIGHT NOW, YOU JUST HEARD OUR PROPERTIES WENT UP A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS. WE LIKE THAT. OKAY? THAT'S WHY WE LIVE THERE. 'CAUSE IT'S AN INVESTMENT, A FUTURE INVESTMENT. NOT JUST FOURTH, BUT OUR CHILDREN, WE PLAN FOR OUR CHILDREN TO COME BACK TO SANTO. IT'S WHY WE ELECTED YOU OFFICIALS TO MAKE THE CHANGE HERE. MAKE A COMMUNITY WORTH COMING BACK TO CREATING THE JOB, CREATING THE OPPORTUNITIES, APPLYING THE HOUSING. 'CAUSE MOST OF OUR KIDS ARE NOT GOING TO UNIVERSITIES. THEY'RE GOING TO COLLEGES. THEY'RE NOT COMING BACK LIKE WE USED TO. THEY'RE NOT WORKING THE FIELDS LIKE WE USED TO, OR LIKE OUR ANCESTORS DID. THEY'RE GETTING EDUCATED. WE NEED TO GIVE 'EM A HOME TO COME TO. AND IT'S Y'S RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. AND I'M HOLDING Y'ALL ACCOUNTABLE FOR THAT DEVELOPMENT TO LOOK INTO THAT. AND I HOPE THAT OUR DEVELOPERS THAT ARE HERE, HERE LISTENING UNDERSTAND SANTOS READY FOR THE NEXT STEP TO BRINGING THEM HALF A MILLION DOLLAR HOMES. THEM QUARTER MILLION DOLLAR HOMES. WE DON'T NEED TO SETTLE FOR ANYTHING ELSE. WE HAVE PRIME LAND ALL THE WAY. MR. DRAKE OWNS PRIME LAND THERE. YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY. DAVE MADE AN INVESTMENT. HE STICKS TO AG AND I LOVE HIM FOR THAT BECAUSE AG IS DISAPPEARING HERE. WE GOT, AND WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT DISAPPEAR GUYS. LET'S MAKE IT A WISE INVESTMENT FOR THE CITIZENS OF SAN BERNARD AND FOR THE FUTURE TAX DOLLARS. IF THEY LIVE HERE, THEY'RE GONNA BANK HERE. THEY'RE GONNA WORK, THEY'RE GONNA WORK SOMEWHERE. I DON'T CARE WHERE THEY WORK. Y'ALL BEEN TO HOUSTON, KINGWOOD, FRIENDSWOOD, CLEAR LAKE, UH, SUGAR LAND. THEY ALL WORK IN HOUSTON, BROTHER. BUT THEY LIVE OUT. LET'S BECOME THAT LITTLE LIVABLE CITY WITH THE RIGHT HOMES. WITH THE RIGHT SCHOOLS. THAT'S WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR US ALL TO WORK TOGETHER. 'CAUSE WE'RE ALL TRYING TO ACHIEVE ONE THING. WE'RE NOT. I'M AEDC. WE'RE NOT GONNA BRING IN THE NATIONWIDE BRANDS WITH OUR LOW INCOME LEVEL. WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, GUYS. WE NEED HIGHER INCOMES. WE NEED HIGHER HOMES. THIS IS THE WAY S WILL GROW. YOU CAN'T FIX STREETS 'CAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE THE TAX REVENUE. BUT WITH BIGGER HOMES, YOU WOULD HAVE THEN THEY'LL INVEST HERE. THEY'LL EAT HERE, THEY'LL SHOP HERE. WE GOT TO CREATE THAT ATMOSPHERE. WHY? I'M TALKING ABOUT SMART DEVELOPMENT GUYS. WE HAVE TO GET SMART IN YOUR POSITION OF WHAT WE'RE DOING. THERE'S A MASTER PLAN COMING IN FROM BRONZEVILLE. GUESS WHAT THEM HOMES ARE GONNA COST. GUESS WHAT? THEM LOTS. ARE THIS THE KIND OF DEVELOPERS WE NEED TO ATTRACT HERE IN SAN BENITO? NOT DUPLEX DEVELOPERS. I'M SORRY. NO DISRESPECT TO YOU GUYS 'CAUSE YOU GUYS GOT A VISION. I JUST DON'T SHARE YOUR VISION, OKAY? I'M VERY VOCAL ABOUT IT. OKAY? NOW I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO GROW. THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY, BUT IT STARTS HERE IN THIS MEETING WITH DECISIONS LIKE THIS BEING TURNED DOWN FOR THE CITIZENS TO HAVE INVESTMENTS AROUND THAT AREA. SO I HOPE THAT YOU GUYS HEAR, HEAR ME LOUD AND CLEAR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. ANYBODY ELSE? HI, I'M MELANIE DEMAS. I LIVE AT 1920 RUSSELL LANE. I'VE LIVED THERE FOR OVER 50 YEARS. WHEN I MOVED THERE, IT WAS A CALICHE ROAD TO MY DRIVEWAY AND THEN A DIRT ROAD. AND HELEN MOORE WAS A TREE LINED LANE. SO I UNDERSTAND PROGRESS, I UNDERSTAND WHERE IT'S GOING, IT'S JUST THIS PROGRESS. I DID A LITTLE RESEARCH AND THE HOME OWNERSHIP IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY HAS GONE DOWN 5%. THIS IS ACCORDING TO THE TEXAS DEMOGRAPH DEMOGRAPHIC CENTER ALSO, UM, IF WE'RE GONNA PUT IN DUPLEXES AND I, I WAS AT THE ZONING MEETING AND I WISH I HAD SPOKEN THEN THAT IT WAS STATED THAT THEY WEREN'T GONNA BE REALLY BOUGHT BY A PERSON WHO WAS GOING TO BUY IT AND THEN RENT THE OTHER HALF AND PAY IT OFF. IT WAS MOSTLY GONNA BE BOUGHT BY INVESTORS. AND THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IS HOME OWNERSHIP IS GOING DOWN AT ALL INCOME LEVELS IN TEXAS. AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE OF THE AFFORDABILITY OF HOUSES, BECAUSE IT'S NOT BECOMING AVAILABLE. PROPERTIES ARE BEING TAKEN UP BY INVESTORS, BOTH INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS BEFORE THE INDIVIDUAL EVER GETS A CHANCE BECAUSE THEY'RE GIVEN CASH WHERE YOU WOULD BUY A HOUSE AND YOU NEGOTIATE. YOU NEVER HAVE A CHANCE BECAUSE IT'S PAID FOR WHATEVER THEY WANT AND CASH. SO THAT WAS PART OF MY, PART OF MY ISSUE. AND IF I DON'T REMEMBER THE EXACT NUMBER OF DUPLEXES GOING IN ON THE 42 ACRES, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE ANYWHERE FROM 350 TO 400 PEOPLE BECAUSE THE AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD IS 2.8 PEOPLE. [00:30:01] THAT'S THE LOW 2.8. SO YOU START FIGURING HOW MANY PEOPLE THAT IS ON THAT CORNER. THEY ALSO STATED THAT THEY HAD A SUBDIVISION IN LA FERRIA OFF OF SOLIS ROAD, WENT AND CHECKED IT OUT. IT'S AT LEAST A MILE UP THE ROAD, NOT ON A CROSSROADS LIKE WE HAVE BETWEEN WILLIAMS ROAD AND RUSSELL LANE. IT'S ALREADY, THEY'VE ALREADY EXPANDED THE ROAD. THEY'RE NOT GONNA DO IT AGAIN. SO WE'RE ALL JUST ADDING TO THAT TRAFFIC PROBLEM WHERE THE OTHER ONE, AND THAT IS, AND THAT'S, I BELIEVE IT'S REYNOLDS. I DON'T WANNA EVEN COMMENT ON THAT. SO REALLY WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY NOW TO THE BOARD IS I'VE, I WANNA TRY TO KEEP, WE ALL WANNA TRY TO KEEP RUSSELL LANE, THE QUIET UNITED NEIGHBORHOOD. WE HAVE ALL BEEN, IT'S GENERATIONAL. WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED THERE GENERATIONS. AND BY THE WAY, THERE ARE EIGHT ROADS THAT PARALLEL RUSSELL LANE FROM 2 81 TO CASTILLO ROAD. SO IF ANYBODY THINKS THEY NEED TO WIDEN RUSSELL LANE, THERE ARE AT LEAST EIGHT OTHER OPTIONS TO DO THAT, INCLUDING ODOM. YOU'VE GOT, UH, SAN JOSE ODOM. IF IT WENT ALL THE WAY ACROSS, IT WOULD TIE IN WITH TREASURE HILLS. OF COURSE, SAN I'M JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE OF ALL THIS PROGRESSION, ALL THESE HOUSES GOING IN, WE DON'T WANNA SEE OUR AREA BECOME A HIGHWAY TO ACCOMMODATE ALL THESE PEOPLE. WE'D LIKE TO KEEP IT WHAT IT IS. AND I THINK YOU HAVE THE LETTERS THAT ATTEST TO THAT. AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION. OH, BY THE WAY, I'M RETIRED SCHOOL TEACHER SAMU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MA'AM. EVERYBODY ELSE, . MY NAME'S LAWRENCE, A DRAKE. I AM A COMMISSIONED PEACE OFFICER. I'VE BEEN A COMMISSIONED PEACE OFFICER FOR 57 YEARS. I WAS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN FOR 18 MONTHS IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY. I STARTED FARMING THE LAND WHEN I WAS FOUR YEARS OLD. I STARTED, DROVE ONE OF THE FIRST, UH, AVERY TRACTORS. ONE ROW TRACTOR DROVE ONE OF THE FIRST MECHANICAL COTTON PICKERS IN THE, IN THIS AREA. IN THIS AREA. Y'ALL GOT WATER. YOU KNOW, MEXICO'S NOT DELIVERING WATER RIGHT NOW TO THE RIO GRANDE. I'VE NEVER SEEN FALCON LAKE AT 8%. THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S DRY, BUT DRY. JUST THERE. THAT'S, IT'S, IT'S DRYING UP WHENEVER MEXICO STOPS. THIS IS AN INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT AND WE, YOUR PEOPLE ARE BRINGING IN SUBDIVISION. SUBDIVISION. SO WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT WATER? NOBODY THINKS ABOUT WATER UNTIL THEY TURN ON THE FAUCET AND IT DOESN'T WORK. ONE OF THESE DAYS. YOU'RE GONNA REGRET NOT, UH, LIMITING DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT WATER. WE'VE GOT THREE RIVERS IN, IN TEXAS. THE DEVIL'S RIVER IS THE ONLY ONE THAT WE CAN COUNT ON. RE GRANDE STARTS IN IN COLORADO. I DON'T EVEN THINK IT GOES PAST EL PASO. MEXICO'S GOT SIX TRIBUTARIES. THEY'VE ONLY GOT TWO TRIBUTARIES RIGHT NOW RUNNING INTO RE GRANDE. AND WHENEVER YOU RUN OUTTA WATER, PEOPLE ARE GONNA START DYING OR THEY'RE MOVING. SO YOU BETTER START THINKING ABOUT THE, UH, LIMITING SUBDIVISIONS BECAUSE YOU'RE, YOU'RE, UH, YOUR, UM, YOUR FAUCET IS GONNA RUN OUT. AND IF YOU DON'T THINK ABOUT IT, THERE'LL BE PEOPLE THAT'S EITHER LEAVING OR DYING. AND OTHER THAN ME BEING A FARMER FOR, I FORMED THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE AND COLLEGE, 14, 14 YEARS OF FARMING. AND I BELIEVE I KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WATER AND I KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE LAND. SO WHENEVER YOU START PUTTING PEOPLE ON THE LAND AND YOU DON'T TAKE CARE OF IT, AND YOU DON'T TAKE CARE OF WATER, YOU'RE GONNA SUFFER. MR. MAYOR, THANK YOU FOR TAKING CARE OF THAT INS INCIDENT OVER THERE, WHERE THE PA FOOD PANTRY IS. I, I'VE BEEN SEEING IT FOR YEARS ABOUT THAT, THAT VINE GROWING UP ON IT. MM-HMM. , I CONSIDER THAT A HAZARD BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT ELECTRICAL, ELECTRICAL, UH, UH, ENERGY IS TRANSPORTED INTO THE FOOD PANTRY. BUT ANYWAY, THANK YOU FOR TAKING CARE OF IT. IT'S BEEN THERE FOR YEARS. NO, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING IT TO MY ATTENTION. WELL, THANK Y'ALL FOR LISTENING. BUT YOU BETTER CONSIDER WATER. IT'S NOT, IT'S A, IT'S A DIMINISHING FORCE. AND WITH MEXICO, IT'S AN INTERNATIONAL THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, DRAKE. ANYBODY ELSE? NO, ONCE, TWICE. OKAY. UM, TIME IS, UH, 6 0 5 CLOSING PUBLIC HEARING. [9. First Reading of Ordinance Number 2620-10-2023 to Rezone a property located at the intersection of Williams Road and Russell Lane, bearing a Legal Description of: 42.66 acres of land comprised of all of Lot 47, Resaca Front Subdivision, being 5.39 acres, recorded in Volume 2, Page 21, Map Records of Cameron County, Texas and 37.27 acres out of Block 131 San Benito Land and Water Company Subdivision, Recorded in Volume 1, Page 6 and Volume 1, Page 25, Map Records of Cameron County, Texas, being out of the tracts of land described in Volume 24265, Page 70, Official Records of Cameron County, Texas, from AO “Agriculture and Open Space” to SF-2 “Duplex, Residential”. Applicant: Elite & Zarate Investments, LLC.] OKAY. ITEM NUMBER NINE. AND AGAIN, UH, MS. JOAN, NOW THE APPLICANT [00:35:01] IS REQUESTING A REZONE FROM AO AGRICULTURAL TO SSF TWO DUPLEX RESIDENTIAL. THE FUTURE LAND USE INDICATES THE SUBJECT PROPERTY IS, UH, CONTIGUOUS TO AO. A SUBDIVISION OF 122 DUPLEX LOTS IS BEING PROPOSED AND REQUIRES SSF TWO DUPLEX RESIDENTIAL ZONE TO COMPLY WITH CITY ORDINANCES. THIS IS THE FIRST READING. UM, THERE'S NO ACTION. CORRECT? THERE'S NO ACTION ON THIS ONE. YOU SAY THAT DEVELOPERS ARE HERE? YES. OKAY. UM, I, I, I APPRECIATE ALL THE COMMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE. VERY MUCH SO. UM, AND, AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, FOR BEING HERE AND MAKING COMMENTS, UH, COMMENTS LIKE, UH, MR. MORALES, I, YOU KNOW, AND, UH, THE VALUE OF THE HOMES. I UNDERSTAND ABSOLUTELY. CLEARLY MY CONCERN IS, IS OF COURSE, IF WE WANT TO KEEP OUR, OUR YOUTH AND OUR FAMILIES AND OTHERS COMING INTO THE AREA, THEY CAN'T. I I MEAN, THE, THE, THE VALUE THE FIRST TIME I BOUGHT WAS $16,000. YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN, WHEN I WAS YOUNGER. SO I, I MEAN, IT WAS, THAT SPENT A FEW YEARS AGO, OF COURSE, A FEW DECADES AGO. AND SO THE AFFORDABILITY OF HOMES BECOMES AN ISSUE FOR KEEPING PEOPLE HERE. AND IF WE WANNA KEEP OUR FAMILY HERE, THAT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE AFFORDABLE HOMES, I AGREE WITH WANTING TO, TO KEEP OUR PROPERTY VALUES UP. BUT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE'VE GOTTA BE ABLE TO AFFORD THOSE. UM, THE, THE HOME OWNERSHIP QUESTION IS, IS, IS LIKEWISE THE SAME ISSUE. I AGREE THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, THE AMERICAN DREAM IS HOME OWNERSHIP AND WE WANNA BE ABLE TO OWN OUR OWN HOMES. BUT AGAIN, IT'S AN AFFORDABILITY ISSUE. SO HOW DO WE BALANCE THE, THE AFFORDABILITY ISSUE WITH THE, THE, THE, THE, THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY AND, AND THE DESIRES OF THE COMMUNITY TO KEEP THAT? THESE ARE ALL ISSUES THAT HAVE TO BE, THAT HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH. AND, AND I, I CERTAINLY AGREE WITH THAT. AND MR. DRAKE, YOUR ISSUE IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT WITH THE WATER. I MEAN, I WAS, I WAS SHOCKED WHEN I DROVE BY FALCON DAMN SEVERAL MONTHS AGO AND SAW HOW LOW IT WAS AND, AND THE WATER ISSUES ARE THERE. BUT ONE THING THAT'S ALSO, I KNOW ABOUT, I'M, I'M WONDERING IF THE SAME ISSUE, THE OTHER COMMUNITIES AROUND THE VALLEY WHO ARE BUILDING LIKE CRAZY ARE ALSO PAYING ATTENTION TO THE ISSUE. I DON'T, I DON'T BELIEVE THEY ARE. AND, AND SO WHAT I ALSO FIND OUT IS, WHAT I ALSO BELIEVE IS THAT WE AS A PEOPLE, AS AN, AS AN AMERICAN COMMUNITY, USUALLY FIND WAYS TO SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS. WHETHER HERE, I MEAN, THERE'S ALSO CONVERSATIONS GOING ON ABOUT DESALINIZATION, BRACKISH WATER AND ALL KINDS OF OTHER ISSUES IN TERMS OF ALTERNATIVE, ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF WATER AND WHAT'S GOING ON. AND I, AND I BELIEVE THAT, THAT WE AS A PEOPLE CAN BE VERY MUCH, WELL, WE GET PUSHED UP AGAINST THE WALL AND THESE NEEDS THAT WE FIND THE WAYS TO MAKE THINGS WORK. AND I, AND I HOPE THAT THAT'S THE CASE HERE TOO. BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, NONE OF US WANNA BE IN A POSITION WHERE, WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE DEALING WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, DEATHS OR HAVING PEOPLE LEAVE OR MOVE. BUT, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE, WE, WE CAN REMEMBER THOSE, THOSE OF US OLDER THAN THAT CAN REMEMBER A LOT OF THE TIMES AND THE STORIES OF, OF THOSE KIND OF DIFFICULT TIMES. SO I, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM THE DEVELOPERS RIGHT NOW IN TERMS OF WHAT, WHAT IT IS THEIR INTENT IS FOR THE, FOR THE COMMUNITY FOR THIS, UH, DEVELOPMENT. UH, IS IT A SECTION EIGHT HOUSING AS, AS HAD BEEN MENTIONED? IS IT INTENDED TO BE, UH, SOLD OR IS IT INTENDED TO BE KIND OF HELD TO INVESTORS? YOU KNOW, DO WE, DO WE KNOW THAT YET? DO YOU HAVE THAT? CAN YOU, CAN YOU TELL US THAT YET? YES, SIR. MY NAME'S DANNY RA RA ENGINEERING, AND I HAVE THE OWNER WITH ME AS WELL. AND WHAT THIS, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, I MEAN, OF COURSE WE WOULD LOVE TO DO WHAT EVERYBODY'S SAYING, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THE INTEREST RATE IS SO HIGH RIGHT NOW THAT THAT'S WHAT'S DRIVING THIS REZONING. UH, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, IT'S SO EXPENSIVE A HOME THAT USED TO BE $180,000 A COUPLE YEARS AGO. OH, OKAY. I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA SLOW YOU DOWN FOR JUST A SECOND ON THAT ONE BECAUSE I, I REMEMBER WHEN, UH, JIMMY CARTER WAS PRESIDENT, WHEN INTEREST RATES WERE 18% AND, AND HOMES WERE STILL BOUGHT AND PAID FOR AT THAT PARTICULAR POINT TOO, RIGHT. BUT MATERIAL WAS A LOT CHEAPER. SO LIKE, WELL, MATERIAL WAS CHEAPER. SO YEAH. AT THAT POINT AS WELL. BUT STILL, AND MILK WASN'T, MILK WAS IN $5 GALLON. NO, THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THE FACT THAT, THAT, THAT, UH, INFLATION HAS, HAS MADE THINGS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. I AGREE WITH THAT, BUT LET'S LET HER GIVE HER A PRESENTATION. YEAH, I'M SORRY. THANK YOU. THEN WE CAN COMMENT. SO WHAT, WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS WE JUST WANNA BE ABLE TO BRING SOME HOMES, BRING SOME MORE ROOFTOPS, BRING SOME PEOPLE THAT CAN HELP YOUR COMMUNITY. AND WHY THIS ONE? BECAUSE IT'S A GREAT COMMUNITY. IT'S, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE CLOSE TO HARLINGEN. UH, IT'S A, IT'S A NICE PLACE WHERE PEOPLE THAT CANNOT AFFORD TO BUY A HOME CAN COME AND LIVE HERE, AND IT'LL BE AFFORDABLE, BUT IT WILL BE GATED. IT WILL BE, IT WILL LOOK, UH, LIKE HOMES. THEY'RE GONNA BE RESIDENTIAL DUPLEXES, WHICH THEY'LL, THEY'LL LOOK LIKE HOMES, BUT, UH, THEY WON'T BE, THEY WON'T BE WORTH, LIKE, SOMEONE WILL, WON'T, WILL BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT BECAUSE IT'S RENTAL VERSUS HAVING TO PAY 300,000, $400,000 FOR A HOME, WHICH, BECAUSE OF THE INTEREST RATES, YOU KNOW, A PAYMENT THAT WOULD'VE BEEN $1,200 TWO YEARS AGO WILL NOW BE CLOSER TO [00:40:01] $3,000, WHICH MAKES IT A LOT HARDER, ESPECIALLY WITH INFLATION RIGHT NOW. SO ALL OF THE HOMES WILL, ALL OF 'EM WILL BE PRIVATELY OWNED AND, AND YES. AND RENTED ALL, THEY'RE ALL RENTAL PROPERTIES. YES, SIR. AND WE, WE, WE, ON THE PLAN AND ZONING MEETING, WE SAID WE WOULD DO ANYTHING THAT IS REQUIRED, TRAFFIC IMPACT ANALYSIS, ANYTHING THAT'S REQUIRED BY THE CITY WE WOULD COMPLY WITH. WHAT ABOUT CCNRS? GO AHEAD. AND WHEN WE WOULD LIKE TO DO REALLY TOUGH RESTRICTIONS ON THE PROPERTY, UM, ALL OF OUR STUFF IS, UM, YOU KNOW, HIGH QUALITY PROPERTIES. WE'RE NOT GONNA COME IN AND BRING SECTION EIGHT, LIKE WE SAID, IT'S ALL GONNA BE GATED. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS, UM, CHARGE US PARK FEES, BUT WE LIKE, YOU KNOW, OFFER PARKS DIFFERENT THINGS IN OUR SUB SUBDIVISIONS. UM, BUT NONE OF THIS IS GONNA BE LOW QUALITY, UH, DUPLEXES. THEY'RE ALL GONNA BE HIGHER QUALITY IN LIKE, MOST OF OUR PROPERTIES HAVE LIKE FOAM INSULATION, TILE, TILE BATHROOMS, CORE COUNTER, LIKE IT'S ALL REALLY NICE QUALITY, UH, DUPLEXES THAT LOOK LIKE HOMES THAT FEEL LIKE HOMES. AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO BRING TO THE CITY OF SAN BENITO. SO WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT CCNRS AND, OR H HO I MEAN, IF, IF SINCE IT'S UNDER, THERE'D BE A A, A SET OF RULES AND, AND EVERYTHING, ALL THE, ALL THIS WOULD BE IN THE RENTAL AGREEMENTS WITH ANYBODY THAT THEY WOULD HAVE A CERTAIN STANDARD THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO LIVE TO. CORRECT. IT'LL BE VERY STRICT. MEANING MATERIAL ROOFING, UH, WHAT THEY CAN PUT ON THE SIDE OF THE HOMES, COLORS, UM, WHAT WE'RE GONNA PUT INSIDE. IT'S ALL GONNA BE VERY WELL, IF THEY'RE RENTING, THEY DON'T, THEY DON'T GET THE CHOICE OF COLORS RIGHT. ON THE OUTSIDE OR, OR YOU'RE TALKING INSIDE. NO. SO WHEN YOU DO IT MORE OF A VOLUME, UM, WE'RE GONNA KEEP THE COMMUNITY, UM, YOU KNOW, AESTHETICALLY CONTROLLED. CORRECT. YEP. I, I'VE, I'VE SEEN, UH, A LOT OF PEOPLE IN A YOUNGER GENERATION MOVING THIS ROUTE BECAUSE THE WHOLE FIN THE ACCESS TO INTERNET, THEY'RE LEARNING HOW TO, TO, TO WORK THEIR FINANCES IN THEIR FAVOR. WHERE THEY'RE BUYING A DUPLEX OR A MULTI-FAMILY UNIT, AND THEY'RE LIVING IN ONE AND RENTING OUT THE OTHER. AND THEY CAN STILL GET A CONVENTIONAL LOAN FOR THAT PURPOSE AS LONG AS THEY LIVE WITH IT IN INSIDE OF IT, WITHIN A A YEAR TIMEFRAME. I SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE MY AGE DOING THIS. I DIDN'T HAPPEN TO DO IT, BUT I'M SURPRISED TO SEE 20, 30 YEAR OLDS THINKING ABOUT THIS BECAUSE THE HOMES ARE TOO, TOO, TOO EXPENSIVE. AND DUPLEXES, I THINK PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SOMEONE TO A LOT OF MILLENNIALS. AND THESE, UM, WHAT IS THE, WHAT ARE THESE NEW GENERATION, THEY CALL THE GEN ZS? THEY'RE DOING THIS LIKE SIT, SIT THERE FOR SIX MONTHS TILL A YEAR. IF THEY LIKE THE COMMUNITY, THEY STAY AND THEY BUY A HOME. IF THEY DON'T, THEY GET UP AND GO AND THEY'LL KEEP TRAVELING AND THEY, THEY DON'T WANT TO BE TIED DOWN. AND I KNOW INTEREST RATES SEEM CRAZY AT 6%, AND THEY'RE REALLY NOT. WHEN YOU HEAR THE HORROR STORIES THAT MR. GOODMAN HAD TO PAY, COMMISSIONER GOODMAN, I'M SORRY YOU PAID THAT INTEREST RATE. UM, BUT IT PROVIDES A STEPPING STONE FOR MOST PEOPLE. AND IF YOU HAVE, IF YOU SET CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS AS FAR AS, UH, GATING AND FENCING AND QUALITY OF HOMES THAT ARE GONNA BE PUT IN THERE. AND I KEEP HEARING FROM CITIZENS THAT THEY WANT BETTER RESTAURANTS. THE RESTAURANTS WON'T COME IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE, OF THE, THE PEOPLE THAT IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE RESIDENTS, THE BIGGER HEB WON'T COME. IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE RESIDENTS, THOSE THINGS JUST WON'T COME. UM, UH, THAT'S JUST MY TAKE ON IT. WE STILL HAVE A LOT TO LOOK AT. WELL, BUT THANK YOU FOR LOOKING AT SAN MANTO. I KNOW FOR AN INVESTMENT PURPOSE, BUT HOUSING IS A HUGE CONCERN RIGHT NOW. THERE'S A THOUSAND PERSON WAIT LISTS AT THE HOUSING AUTHORITY THAT CAN'T MEET THE DEMAND. SO, AND THE SAME GOES FOR HARLINGEN, OUR NEIGHBORING COMMUNITY. HOW, HOW MUCH ARE YOU LOOKING AT A UNIT TO, UH, ONE, UH, DUPLEX TO COST MONTHLY? UM, RENT WOULD BE ABOUT 12 OR 1300 A MONTH. OKAY. SEE, THAT'S EVEN MORE THAN WHAT I PAY ON MY HOUSE, WHICH I KNOW I GOT YEARS AGO. AND MY DAUGHTER ACTUALLY LIVES IN A DUPLEX, SHE ACTUALLY WON'T EVEN SAY DUPLEX. SHE SAYS TOWN HOME, BUT IT'S A DUPLEX AND SHE'S PAYING $1,400. YEAH. WHICH HER REGRET IS, MOM, I COULD HAVE GOT A HOUSE. RIGHT? SO I KNOW THERE'S SOME DIVISION ON THE MILLENNIUMS AND THE YOUNG GROUP, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO START CHANGING. WE NEED TO START LOOKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX IF WE WANT THE BIGGER STORES TO COME. WE WANT THE OUTLETS TO COME. WE NEED TO CHANGE OUR INCOME, UH, OF WHAT WE HAVE ON HERE IN, IN, IN SAN BENITO. AND IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE NEED TO START LOOKING OUTSIDE OF THAT BOX AND GOING FOR THE BIGGER HOMES FOR THE, I MEAN, WE'RE RIGHT THERE AS PRIME PROPERTY, RIGHT ACROSS CATEGORY. THEIR BUILDING, LIKE YOU SAID, A SUBDIVISION OVER THERE WHERE THEY HAVE THEIR OWN LITTLE PLAYGROUND AND, AND POOL AND WHATNOT. THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO START LOOKING AT, UM, IN ORDER TO SEE THE BIGGER HE BS IN ORDER TO SEE THE, UM, BIGGER CHAINS COMING BECAUSE THEY SAY THAT WE DON'T FIT THE INCOME WHERE WE HAVEN'T HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO FIT THAT INCOME. AND NOW I THINK WE HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY 'CAUSE INVESTORS AND DEVELOPERS ARE WANTING TO COME IN HERE, AND IT'S UP TO US TO MAKE THAT, YOU KNOW, POSSIBLE FOR YOU [00:45:01] GUYS, YOU KNOW, FOR OUR CITIZENS. UM, WE TALK ABOUT REVENUE THAT WE DON'T HAVE BECAUSE OF THIS. SO I MEAN, WE NEED TO JUST START LOOKING OUTSIDE AND DO SMART BUSINESS. UM, AGAIN, IT'S JUST THE FIRST PHASE OF IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, I, I JUST THINK WE NEED TO START LOOKING AT, UM, DIFFERENT ASPECTS, UH, WHEN WE BUILD OUR HOMES HERE. I HOPE, UH, I MEAN, UH, WE ALL CAN CONSIDER A LITTLE BIT BIGGER HOMES INSTEAD OF DUPLEXES, YOU KNOW? SO I MEAN, THAT JUST, IT'S JUST AN IDEA. OKAY. I AM NOT TELLING YOU THAT. UH, JUST ASKING YOU TO, YOU KNOW, JUST, UH, CAN YOU WEIGH BOTH SIDES JUST SO THAT, UH, IT CAN, YOU KNOW, UM, AT LEAST GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, PEACE, UH, FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT THERE. AND, UH, SO I WAS GIVING HER EXAMPLE ON THE WAY HERE. TWO YEARS AGO, I COULD SELL THIS EXACT SAME HOME. I'M STILL BUILDING IT TODAY. OKAY. THE EXACT SAME HOME FOR 190,000. TODAY I'M SELLING IT FOR 300 MM-HMM. . THAT IS THE MASSIVE DIFFERENCE THAT WE'RE HAVING. PLUS, WITH INTEREST RATES FOR MOST PEOPLE ON INTEREST RATES, THEY'RE ACTUALLY HIGHER THAN SIX. THEY'RE MORE GETTING INTO THE SEVENS AND EIGHTS NOW BECAUSE THE FED JUST RAISED IT. WE'RE HOPING THAT COMES BACK DOWN. BUT IT'S, WE DID A MASSIVE MARKET STUDY THAT WE PAID 20, $30,000 FOR THIS MARKET STUDY. AND IN THIS AREA, THEY NEED ABOUT A THREE, TWO TO 13 TO 1500 SQUARE FOOT HOMES THAT ARE TWO 50 OR BELOW, JUST 'CAUSE PEOPLE CAN'T AFFORD 'EM. SO IT'S HARD TO BRING IN 130 LOTS AND SAY, HEY, WE'RE GONNA PUT IN BIGGER HOMES AND, AND NO ONE'S GONNA BUY THEM. SO THE RISK WOULD BE ON THE DEVELOPER AND NOT THE PEOPLE WE'RE, OR THE CITY IT WOULD BE ON US. OKAY. SO WE WANT TO BRING SOMETHING TO THE CITY THAT'S GONNA BE HIGH QUALITY AND THAT WE KNOW THAT'S, UM, IT'S GONNA BE GOOD FOR THE, FOR THE CITY OF SAN BENITO. DO YOU HAVE A PRELIMINARY PLAT OR ANY, UM, DESIGN PLANS YET? NO. SO WE DID PUT A SINGLE FAMILY STRUCTURED TOGETHER, AND THEN ONCE I STARTED LOOKING AT THE MARKET STUDY AND, AND SEEING WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO THE MARKETS, UM, THAT'S WHEN WE DECIDED, HEY, LET'S GO TO, UH, MORE OF A DUPLEX OR, UH, FOURPLEX STYLE BECAUSE IT COULD GIVE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR, UM, A YOUNGER BUYER TO GET AN FHA LOAN BECAUSE THEY JUST CAME OUT WITH A PROGRAM WHERE THEY COULD PUT 5% DOWN AND BE ABLE TO BUY SOMETHING. RIGHT. BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S VERY TOUGH RESTRICTIONS, WHICH WE DO IN ALL OF OUR SUBDIVISIONS. WE DO HAVE TOUGH RESTRICTIONS. UM, BUT NO, WE'LL PUT A, UH, PRELIMINARY TOGETHER WOULD BE ABOUT PROBABLY 120, 130 LOTS. UM, ON THAT SUBDIVISION, YOU INDICATED BEFORE THAT YOU WOULD OWN THESE AND RENT THEM, OR ARE YOU GOING TO SELL 'EM? I'M, I'M TRYING TO. WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA OWN AT LEAST HALF OF IT OR MORE. SO, UM, THAT'S WHY WE'RE GONNA HAVE TOUGH RESTRICTIONS. WE WILL PROBABLY SELL A FEW OF THE LOTS, UM, BUT THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TOUGH RESTRICTIONS. AND THEN THE REST, WHEN WE, WHEN WE PAY OFF OUR DEBT TO THE BANK, WE WILL OWN THE REST OF THOSE. AND THEN I WILL GO VERTICAL AND THEN WE WILL OWN IT. WE WILL MANAGE IT, UM, THE THE PROPERTY. YEAH. JUST FOR EVERYONE ELSE TO HERE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS, TO, TO CHANGE THE ZONING RIGHT NOW AT THIS POINT, AND PUTTING TOGETHER ALL OF THE OTHER RESTRICTIONS AND DEVELOPMENTS AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE AND SO ON, IS A WHOLE NOTHER SET OF MEETINGS THAT BEGINS TO TAKE PLACE AS WELL. SO, AND, AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY, UM, THIS IS A TREND BASICALLY. I MEAN, 'CAUSE I KNOW WHEN MY PARENTS AND MY GRANDPARENTS BOUGHT THEIR HOUSE, OF COURSE THE INTEREST RATE WAS DIFFERENT. I MEAN, SO IT'S ALWAYS GONNA BE SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAT COMES ALONG AND WE JUST GOTTA GO WITH THE FLOW AND NOT JUST SIT BACK AND SETTLE. RIGHT? YEAH. OKAY. WELL KNOW BACK THEN, UH, 81 WHEN I BOUGHT MY FIRST HOUSE WAS, UH, I THINK IT WAS AT 12 4%. I WAS BARELY MARKING IT. I I JUST READ, UH, WHEN IT WAS 1983, FOR EXAMPLE, RIGHT? IT WAS A LITTLE BOOK AND IT SAID, UH, WHEN I, WHEN IT WAS THIS AGE, THIS TIME HOMES WERE $16,000, RIGHT? YOU COULD BUY A HOME FOR $16,000, MAYBE AT 18%. RIGHT? BUT I MEAN, IF YOU LOOK AT THAT NOW, IT'S SUCH A BIG DIFFERENCE. FROM 16,000 TO 300,000 FOR ALMOST THE SAME SQUARE FOOTAGE OF HOME. LIKE, IT'S INCREDIBLE. BUT SHE'S RIGHT. WE KIND OF HAVE TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD WITH, WITH HOW THE TIMES ARE CHANGING. MM-HMM. . AND WE HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, I MEAN EVEN COVID WHEN COVID HIT, YOU KNOW, WHEN, UH, INTEREST RATES WENT DOWN, I MEAN, IT WAS MASSIVE. I MEAN, IT WAS EXPLOSIVE, RIGHT? WE EVEN HAD, UH, NURSES COMING FROM CHICAGO AND NEW YORK EVERYWHERE, RIGHT? YEAH. SO THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE ANYWHERE TO, TO LIVE, RIGHT? SO YOU GUYS ARE SO CLOSE TO HARLAN AND WHERE YOU'RE STILL HAVING A LOT OF NURSES THAT CAN'T GET HOMES OR, OR CAN'T STAY AT A PERMANENT HOME BECAUSE THEY MIGHT BE MOVED TO CHICAGO NEXT YEAR, YOU KNOW, BUT THEY'LL BE ABLE TO AFFORD A NICE LOOKING HOME, YOU KNOW, UH, AS WELL WITH, WITH THEIR FAMILY. ARE THESE GONNA HAVE A TOWN HOME? I GUESS YOU DON'T HAVE A LOOK YET, BUT WE CAN ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THAT. I THINK I PREFER A TOWN HOME. LOOK, YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW THAT IT'S A, [00:50:01] A DUPLEX. A LOT OF LARGER CITIES ARE MOVING TO SMALLER LOT SIZES AND, AND MAKING THESE SETBACKS SO SMALL JUST BECAUSE POPULATION DENSITY IS SO IMPORTANT TO THE LARGER CITIES. AND WE'RE STILL A SMALL CITY AND MUCH, I THINK A STILL VERY RURAL TOWN, BUT YOU CAN'T TAX CROPS AS MUCH AS YOU CAN TAX A BUILDING. AND THAT TAX REVENUE IS WHAT WE NEED TO BUILD UP OUR INFRASTRUCTURE THAT EVERYBODY, UH, KEEPS ON WANTING. UM, SO IT'S A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD, BUT WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT BOTH ENDS OF THE ARGUMENT. YES. AND THIS WILL DEFINITELY CREATE A LOT MORE TAXPAYER DOLLARS THAN HAVING 10 LOTS WITH BIGGER HOMES. NO. A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION. NO. MAYBE. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU. NO, THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE? QUESTION? THANK YOU SO MUCH. NO, THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. OKAY. [10. Consideration and possible action to approve a request for a variance to complete the interior sidewalks after; the home construction is complete for a proposed subdivision bearing a Legal Description of: Being a 40.00 Acre Tract of Land Comprised of Lots Three (3), Six (6), Eleven (11) and Fourteen (14), In Block 129 of the San Benito Land and Water Company Subdivision, in the Concepcion De Carricitos Grant, Cameron County, Texas, According to the Map or Plat Thereof Recorded in Volume 1, Page 6 of the Map Records of Cameron, County, Texas. Applicant: Randall P. Crane.] UH, ITEM NUMBER 10. UM, AND THAT'S GONNA BE AGAIN, MR. , UH, THE APPLICANT, UH, SUBMITTED A REQUEST FOR A VARIANCE TO COMPLY WITH THE INTERIOR SIDEWALKS. THIS IS THE ONE FOR, I BELIEVE RANDALL FOR, I BELIEVE THIS ONE IS THE OTHER SIDE OF OSCAR. IT'S THE ONE BY, YEAH. OSCAR WILLIAMS. UH, OTHER FIRE OSCAR WILLIAMS POLICE DEPARTMENT. YES. YEAH. MR. MR. CRANE. YES. YES. THEY ARE ASKING FOR THE VARIANCE TO NOT BUILD THE SIDEWALKS ON THE INTERIOR. UM, AND WE'RE GOING BACK TO THE SAME AS EVERYBODY ELSE. UM, PLANNING AND ZONING APPROVED, AS LONG AS THEY BUILD OUT THE RAMPS AND LANDINGS FOR THE HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE. UM, AT WHAT POINT AFTER OCCUP? NO. NO. SO, SO THE DEVELOPER WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE TO BUILD OUT, UH, DURING THE SUBDIVISION SUBDIVISION PHASE, THE RAMPS AND LANDINGS, AND THEN, UM, EACH BUILDER WOULD COME IN AND ADD THEIR PORTION OF THE SIDEWALK BEFORE OCCUPANCY IS GIVEN. CORRECT. BEFORE OCCUPANCY IS GIVEN, BUT WE JUST LIKE TO HAVE THE RAMPS AND LANDINGS IN PLACE BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON CONTRACTORS ALWAYS MESS THOSE UP. MM-HMM. . SO WE DON'T WANNA HAVE TO DEAL WITH STOP SIGNS IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR SIDEWALK. WELL, IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE TO ME TO BUILD SIDEWALKS AFTER CONSTRUCTION. MM-HMM. . CORRECT. SO THE TRUCKS ARE NOT DRIVING OVER TOP OF THE SIDEWALKS AND CRACKING THEM AND YOU HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN. EXACTLY. AND SO, I, I HAVE NO TROUBLE WITH IT. I, I, I HAVE MOTION TO APPROVE. I'LL SECOND. OKAY. SO I GOT A MOTION BY, UH, COMMISSIONER GOODMAN, SECOND BY MAYOR. MAYOR GALVAN. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. ANY NAYS? MOTION PASSES. ITEM [11. Consideration and possible action to approve a Re-plat of 777 East Business 77, having a legal description of: Being a Re-Plat in Evans Subdivision, consisting of 0.24 acres of land, being all of Lot Six (6) and the East One-Half (1/2) of Lot 5, Block Twelve (12), of the Evans Subdivision, according to Map or Plat thereof recorded in Volume 13, Page 4, Map Records, Cameron County, Texas. Applicant: David Parra] NUMBER 11, AGAIN, BY MR. ALONA. THE PROPERTY IS ZONED C TWO COMMERCIAL GENERAL RESIDENTIAL BUSINESS, AND THE DEVELOPER IS COMBINING ALL OF LOT SIX AND THE EAST HALF OF LOT FIVE. UM, THEY ARE RE PLATTING BECAUSE THEY WANT TO DO A MECHANIC SHOP, I BELIEVE. AND UNFORTUNATELY, UM, THEY DECIDED TO CUT LOT FIVE INTO TWO SMALL PIECES. AND ONE OWNER KEPT ONE AND THE OTHER OWNER KEPT THE OTHER. SO HE'S JUST COMBINING THE TWO SO HE CAN FIT EVERYTHING ONTO HIS LOT. SO THE, UM, I MEAN, THERE'S A TIRE SHOP THERE RIGHT NOW CURRENTLY? YES. AND THAT WOULD REMAIN, OR DO WE KNOW HE'S BEEN UP IN THE AIR ABOUT EITHER EXPANDING OR, UM, REMOVING PORTIONS OF IT? I THINK IT'S GONNA BE MOSTLY A REMODEL AND EXPANSION. UH, BUT HE'S, HE'S KIND OF BEEN, UH, THROWING AROUND DIFFERENT IDEAS SO FAR. THE ONLY THING WE AGREE ON IS THAT THE LOT DOES NEED TO BECOME ONE BECAUSE OF THAT LITTLE 25, UH, FOOT STRIP. UH, THAT OKAY. I CONGRATULATING HIM FOR BRINGING IT UP, COMING IN AND DOING IT. MOTION TO APPROVE THE REPL. SECOND. DO WE HAVE THAT GENTLEMAN HERE, MR. PARRA? ? NO, HE'S HERE. HE'S HERE. WHERE IS HE? NO, HE'S NOT. MR. PARRA, ARE YOU HERE? NOPE. NO, NO, HE'S NOT. OKAY. SO I GOT A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER GOODMAN SECOND. I GOT A SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MORALES. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. ANY NAYS? MOTION PASSES. [12. Consideration and possible action to ratify a temporary contract with a thirdparty inspector, George Martinez for building inspection services.] ITEM NUMBER 12, MS. JOANNA. UH, THIS WOULD BE A RATIFICATION OF A TEMPORARY CONTRACT FOR OUR THIRD PARTY INSPECTOR. UH, WE HAD TO HIRE A THIRD PARTY INSPECTOR, UH, TO GO AHEAD AND START DOING BUILDING INSPECTIONS BECAUSE [00:55:02] IT HAS BEEN VERY BUSY. UM, JUST FOR AN EXAMPLE, UM, LIGHT COMPANIES GO OUT AND THEY CANVAS LARGE AREAS AND THEY GET EVERYBODY TO SWITCH LIGHT COMPANIES. THE THING THAT THEY DON'T TELL THE RESIDENT IS THE RESIDENT HAS TO COME IN, GET A PERMIT BECAUSE THE LIGHT COMPANY WILL NOT RELEASE POWER UNLESS WE'VE INSPECTED. SO THEN WE HAVE THIS MASS AMOUNT OF INSPECTIONS COMING THROUGH BECAUSE OF THESE LIGHT COMPANIES. OH, AND THE OTHER PROBLEM IS IT'S NOT A PROBLEM. IT'S ACTUALLY A GOOD THING. JUST THE LAST TWO WEEKS, WE'VE HAD 10 BRAND NEW HOMES JUST FROM ONE SUBDIVISION. SO IT'S MOVING AND GROWING AND, UH, WE'RE STARTING TO FEEL IT. HOW MUCH MORE HELP DO YOU NEED, JOANNA? SO I DO NEED ANOTHER BUILDING INSPECTOR. AND YOU ALL DID APPROVE IT. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS I CAN'T FIND ONE. UH, IT IS ONE OF THOSE TRADES THAT THEY ARE FEW OUT THERE, THEY'RE STARTING TO RETIRE. AND THERE HAS BEEN DISCUSSION BETWEEN ME AND OTHER CITIES ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. BECAUSE THE GUYS THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT HAVE THE CERTIFICATIONS, THEY'RE RETIRING. WHERE DOES A PERSON GET THE EDUCATION TO BECOME AN INSPECTOR? THIS IS OFF TOPIC, I APOLOGIZE. WITHIN THE CITY, THE ONLY PROBLEM IS, IS THAT YOU HAVE TO OBTAIN A PLUMBING LICENSE. AND THE PLUMBING LICENSE TAKES ABOUT TWO AND A HALF YEARS TO JUST QUALIFY TO TEST. FOR EXAMPLE, UH, MY FRIEND WORKS FOR, UM, SOUTH PADRE ISLAND. THEY HAVE A INSPECTOR CURRENTLY ON STAFF WHO'S TAKEN THE IN, WHO DID HIS 500 HOURS. HE'S TAKEN THE TEST THREE TIMES, CANNOT PASS. SO WHAT DO YOU, WHAT DO YOU DO FROM THERE? THEY, WELL, I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT WE CAN TAKE, UH, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT'S EDC, THIS BECOMES, YOU KNOW, IMPORTANT TO COMMUNITY. HOW DO WE CREATE AND TEACH AND TRAIN PEOPLE TO GET TO THIS POSITION? SO I WOULD NEED A FULL-TIME INSPECTOR ON STAFF WHO IS NOT READY TO RETIRE SO THAT I CAN HAVE THEM FOR TWO, THREE YEARS TO TEACH THE NEXT PERSON. BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENS IS I'M INVESTING TWO YEARS INTO SOMEBODY AND I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE GONNA PASS OR FAIL AND THEY CAN'T WORK UNDERNEATH. THEY HAVE TO WORK UNDERNEATH ANOTHER INSPECTOR, AND THAT INSPECTOR HAS TO SIGN OFF SAYING THAT THEY'RE OKAY AND THAT THAT PERSON HAS DONE THEIR HOURS. CORRECT. AND THE, THE CHALLENGE FOR ME IS MY INSPECTOR'S READY TO RETIRE IN ABOUT SIX, SEVEN MONTHS. SO. WELL, THANK, YEAH, THANK YOU. IT SEEMS LIKE AN ISSUE THAT WE NEED TO TAKE UP WITH OTHER COMMUNITIES IN TERMS OF TRYING TO BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING HERE. BUT YES, RIGHT NOW MY MOTION WOULD BE TO APPROVE, RATIFY, APPROVE THE RATIFICATION. I SECOND. OKAY. I GOT A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER GOODMAN. SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MORALES. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. ANY NAYS? MOTION PASSES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. JOHNNA. IS HE HERE? JOHNNA, THE MR. GEORGE MARTINEZ? UH, NO SIR. NO. OKAY. WE'RE NOT PAYING HIM YET. WE BY, OKAY. [13. Discussion and possible action on removing and/or appointing a board member to Place 6 of the San Benito Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors.] I, NUMBER 13. UH, MR. RAMIRO ALMAN. GOOD EVENING. MR. MAYOR CITY COMMISSION. UH, RAM ALMAN, SAN DIEGO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. SO UNFORTUNATELY IN THE LAST MONTH WE'VE HAD TWO RESIGNATIONS OF, OF BOARD MEMBERS PLACE, UH, SIX AND PLACE SEVEN. SO THOSE TWO ARE AN AT LARGE I'M, I'M SORRY. I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND DO, UH, 13 AND 14 BECAUSE IT'S JUST SIX AND SEVEN. THAT'S DIFFERENT. UH, SO, UM, SO YEAH, SO SIX AND SEVEN HAVE, HAVE RESIGNED FROM THE BOARD, AND WE'RE HERE TO ASK FOR THE COMMISSION TO APPOINT, UH, TWO NEW ONES BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S, AS YOU KNOW, IT'S DIFFICULT TO GET QUORUM AS IT IS. AND, UM, SO IF WE COULD HAVE THESE TWO MORE, IT WOULD BE E EXACTLY. UM, IT'LL BE EASIER TO GET QUORUM, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF BUSINESS TO TAKE CARE OF AT THE EDC, AND SO IT WOULD HELP US MOVE ALONG QUICKER. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, MR. AMAN? WHEN DID THE RESIGNATIONS COME IN? UH, THIS MONTH. THIS MONTH. SO IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, WHO, WHO'S RESIGNING? SO, UH, PLACE SIX AND PLACE SEVEN. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE THAT CHART. CLAUDIA LOPEZ. IT'S, UH, CLAUDIA LOPEZ ON PAGE ON, UH, SIX. AND PAUL HAS SEND THIS PLACE. SEVEN. OKAY. NOW, FIRST DO WE GOTTA ACCEPT THE RESIGNATION, RUTH, FIRST. OKAY. I MAKE A MOTION TO ACCEPT, UH, CLAUDIA LOPEZ AND MR. PAUL RESENDEZ RESIGNATION. OKAY. I GOT A MOTION TO, UH, DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. SECOND BY MAYOR GALVAN. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. NAYES. MOTION PASSES TO ACCEPT THEIR RESIGNATION. OKAY, NOW LET'S GO INTO, UH, PLACE SIX. DO WE HAVE ANY NOMINATION, UH, FOR PLACE? SIX. ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO NOMINATE? IT'S AT LARGE. SO, [01:00:02] MAYOR, I'D LIKE TO, UM, I, GO AHEAD. I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, GO AHEAD, MS. MORRO, UH, ON PLACE SIX, UH, NOMINATE OR MAKE A MOTION FOR MS. TONY CRANE. OKAY. UM, IS SHE WITHIN OUR CITY LIMITS? I KNOW SHE'S OUT SOMEWHAT, BUT SHE DOES HAVE AN ADDRESS. THE STATE SAN BENITO. UM, IT'S VERY VAGUE ON THE ORDINANCE. THIS IS CITY OF CITY SAN BENITO. I KNOW THERE ARE ON, ON OTHER BOARDS THAT DO HAVE BOARD MEMBERS THAT LIVE OUTSIDE ONE ONE MILE. ONE MILE EACH DAY OUT. MM-HMM, . AND ACTUALLY HERS IS ONE MILE, SHE SAID THREE MILES. SO OUT OF THE TWO. SO, UM, IF WE'VE DONE IT IN THE PAST AND WE HAVEN'T RECTIFIED IT, THEN UM, SHAME ON US. I CAN EXPLAIN THAT. UM, SO THIS IS A STATUTORY BOARD. IT'S, IT'S REGULATED BY THE STATE. IT'S NOT BY CITY ORDINANCE. UM, THE OTHER ONES ARE NOT, ARE, ARE JUST ADVISORY BOARDS. UM, SO THEY'LL FOLLOW DIFFERENT RULES. HOUSING, HOUSING AUTHORITY IS THE MAYORS. I HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THAT, NOR DO I HAVE A DESIRE TO . UM, THAT ONE WAS STRATIFIED TOO, SO, BUT THAT WE'RE NOT, THAT'S THE MAYOR'S JOB. YEAH. . SO, BUT AS FAR AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, WE HAVE TO FIRST CHECK, I GUESS, UH, I, IF IT MEET, IF IT MEETS IT'S, IT'S RUN BY THE STATE, WE CAN AMEND THAT. YEAH. YEAH. THE STATE, NO, IT'S A STATUTORY BY THE STATE. SO I, I WOULD NOW THIS PERSON THOUGH, I COULD SECOND THE MOTION AND IF THE, IF THE ADDRESS COMES THROUGH AS APPROPRIATE. IF NOT, THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS AGAIN. SO I'LL SECOND IT IF THE ADDRESS COMES THROUGH WITHIN LEGAL LIMITATIONS OF THE STATE, BECAUSE SHE ALSO HAS A BUSINESS HERE AS WELL THAT SHE RUNS THAT SHE CAN LIVE WITH THE BUSINESS. I'M COOL WITH THAT. YEAH, I JUST NEED AN APPROPRIATE ADDRESS. WE CAN DO THE RESEARCH. WE NEED AN APPROPRIATE ADDRESS. WE CAN DO THE RESEARCH. WE CAN DO THE RESEARCH AND BRING IT BACK TO US. SO, I MEAN, IF, IF IT, UH, IF SHE FALLS WITH THE, THE LIMITS, THEN, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND PROVE IT. DO YOU, DO YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE HER ADDRESS? THE 2 0 1 SOUTH SAM HOUSTON OF THAT ONE, BUT THE HOME ADDRESS? NO, NO. I KNOW. NOW WHAT, BECAUSE IT DOES STATE SAN BENITO. DOES IT STATE LIKE OUR OTHER ONES, LIKE SOMEWHERE LOS SANDIO HONDO? YEAH, SOMEWHERE LIKE WITHIN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. MM-HMM. . YEAH. YEAH. THIS ONE. THIS ONE DOES STATE SAN BETO. YEAH. SO WE CAN GO AHEAD AND GET WITH OUR COUNSEL AND VERIFY THE ADDRESS AND VERIFY THAT WE'RE WITHIN THE, THE STATE, UH, LAWS. OKAY. AND, AND COME BACK. OKAY. SO, UH, WAS THAT A MOTION COMMISSIONER? YES, SIR. OKAY. SO I GET A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER, UH, MORALES FOR, UH, MS. TONY CRANE. UH, SECOND. A SECOND. OKAY. SECOND. BY MARI GALVAN WITH A PENDING THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S A, THAT WOULD, THAT IT'S FALL WITHIN THE, THE STATUTES. THIS IS A TYPE A, RIGHT? TYPE B. TYPE B, YEAH. SO TYPE A HAS NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS. TYPE B DOES, YES. OKAY. OKAY. SO FIRST AND SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. ANY NAYS? MOTION PASSES. OKAY. HOW ABOUT THE PLAY? [14. Discussion and possible action on removing and/or appointing a board member to Place 7 of the San Benito Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors.] SEVEN. ANYBODY FOR PLAY? SEVEN. I CAN I MAKE A SUGGESTION? HAVE THAT IT, SIR, I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT WE, UH, MARKET IT ON OUR CITY OF SANTO PAGE AND THE EDC PAGE. THERE'S A LOT OF RESIDENTS THAT HAVE REACHED OUT TO ME RECENTLY. I THINK TWO, I TAKE THAT AS A LOT MORE THAN ONE IS A LOT IN THIS SMALL TOWN, BUT ANYBODY WILLING TO COME ON BOARD, SUBMIT SOME APPLICATIONS, HAVE THE BOARD, REVIEW THEM M OKAY. AND THEN BRING IT BACK SO THAT WAY WE HAVE SOME INCLUSION HERE. I'VE SEEN IT DONE IN OTHER COMMUNITIES WHERE YOU HAVE TO APPLY TO BE ON THE, ON, ON THE BOARDS, ED, C. AND SO THAT WAY YOU HAVE A LIST OF FOLKS THAT WANNA DO IT AND ARE PREQUALIFIED TO DO IT. AND THAT WAY WE DON'T HAVE THIS, THIS ISSUE MOVING FORWARD. RIGHT. THEY'RE ALREADY PRE-QUALIFIED. RIGHT. SO, I MEAN, IF WE CAN, IF YOU WANT US TO RESEARCH AND GO THAT ROUTE, WE CAN DEFINITELY LOOK AT THAT. YEAH. SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN. AND, OKAY. THEN WE WON'T, UH, ON I TABLE IT TABLE. WE'LL, WE'LL TABLE IT. TABLE THE APPOINTMENT. I HAVE A MOTION TO TABLE NUMBER SEVEN. I MOTION TO TABLE THE APPOINTMENT TO PLACE. SEVEN SECOND. E, D, C. OKAY. MOTION BY MAYOR GALVAN. SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MORALES. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. NAYS. MOTION PASSES. TABLE THIS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, JUDGE. [15. Consideration and possible action to approve Resolution Number 2023-1017- 001, authorizing the Mayor to execute a Texas Department of Transportation Agreement for the temporary closure of State Right-of-Way on Sam Houston Boulevard for the City of San Benito 81st Annual Christmas Parade on December 9, 2023.] ITEM NUMBER 15. AYE. PLEASE, CHIEF MARIO PER CHIEF, NO CARS, PLEASE. OKAY. . . GOOD EVENING MAYOR. MAYOR PROAM COMMISSIONERS. THE CITY WILL BE HOSTING THE 81ST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARADE ON DECEMBER 9TH, 2023 ON SAM [01:05:01] HOUSTON BOULEVARD. SINCE SAM HOUSTON IS A STATE OF RIGHT OF WAY, WE'LL NEED PERMISSION FROM TEX.TO CLOSE THE ROAD IN ORDER FOR THEM TO AGREE THE ROAD TO THE ROAD CLOSURE. THEY FIRST NEED A SIGN RESOLUTION AND A SIGNED AGREEMENT FOR THE TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF THE STATE RIGHT OF WAY. ONCE THESE DOCUMENTS ARE APPROVED AND SIGNED, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WILL FORWARD FORWARD THE DOCUMENTS TO TAKE UP THESE DOCUMENTS ALONG WITH THE TRAFFIC SAFETY PLAN FOR YOUR, FOR THEIR REVIEW. STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL AND I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY. MOTION TO APPROVE. SECOND. WAIT, YOU QUICK? YEAH, LET'S GET DONE. OKAY. I GOT A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER GOODMAN, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MORALES. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. ANY NAYS? MOTION PASSES. OKAY. [16. Consideration and possible action to approve Resolution Number 2023-1017- 002 authorizing the Chief of Police or his designee to approve the application and acceptance of any Rifle Resistant Body Armor Grant Number 4785701 that the Office of the Governor, issues for the period beginning October 1, 2023 and ending September 30, 2024.] ITEM 16 AGAIN, CHIEF, THIS ITEM YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU IS A REQUEST TO APPROVE A RESOLUTION. ACCEPT THE RIFLE RESISTANT BODY ARMOR GRANT. THIS GRANT WILL ALLOW US TO EQUIP EVERY OFFICER IN THE DEPARTMENT WITH NEW RIFLE RESISTANT BODY ARMOR. ARMOR. THE DEPARTMENT WAS AWARDED $54,280 AND 60 CENTS. STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL. I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS. ANY QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS? NO. I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THOUGH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHIEF FOR LOOKING OUT, UM, FOR THE CITY AS WELL, BECAUSE YOU'RE GETTING GRANTS THAT I WISH A LOT OF OTHER DIRECTORS WERE LOOKING AT AND SEEKING BECAUSE IT'S FREE MONEY. YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, ARE WE GONNA GET OURS? ? DID WE GET OURS? YEAH. NOBODY WANTS ONE. OKAY. STUPID. THAT'S ALL. . OKAY. WE GET THE MOTION BY COMMISSIONER GMAN. SECOND, SECOND. SECOND BY MAYOR LAN. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY NAYS? MOTION PASSES. I [17. Consideration and possible action to approve Resolution Number 2023-1017- 003 authorizing the Chief of Police or his designee to approve the application and acceptance for any Local Border Security Program (LBSP) Grant Number 3150908 that the Office of the Governor, Homeland Security Grants Division, issues for the period of performance beginning September 1, 2023 and ending August 31, 2024.] ITEM NUMBER 17, CHIEF, THIS ITEM YEAH. BEFORE HE IS REQUEST TO APPROVE A RESOLUTION EXCEPT THIS YEAR'S LOCAL B BOARD OF SECURITY GRANT. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO SUSTAIN INTER-AGENCY LAW ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS AND ENHANCE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT PATROLS TO FACILITATE DIRECT ACTIONS TO DETER AND ENTER THEIR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. THIS GRANT PROVIDES 15,000 IN OVERTIME FUNDS THAT ALLOWS THE DEPARTMENT TO CONDUCT ADDITIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT PATROLS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL AND I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY. MR. ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH. WHAT KIND OF OBLIGATIONS DOES IT BRING WITH THE GRANT? UM, WE HAVE TO, UH, PRETTY MUCH FOCUS ON, UH, HIGH CRIME AREAS OR AREAS THAT, UH, CERTAIN CRIMES THAT, THAT FIT THE CRITERIA. AND SO THE OFFICERS WILL SIGN UP AND THEY'LL PATROL AREAS, CONDUCT TRAFFIC STOPS, CONDUCT SOME SURVEILLANCE OR OPERATIONS, UH, THERE TO TRY TO DETER ANY CRIME THAT'S, THAT'S GOING ON. OKAY. SO IT'S SPECIFIC TO MM-HMM. BY CRIME AREAS? YES, IT'S UHHUH. OKAY. GREAT. OKAY. DO I HAVE A MOTION? MOTION? YOU GOT A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MORALES. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND BY MAYOR GALVAN. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. ANY NA MOTION PASSES. [18. Consideration and possible action to approve a road closure request of the 100 block of West Batts Street, by the Bandidos M.C. for their 15th Annual Chili Cookoff to be held at the Gas Station Bar on October 28, 2023 from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.] ADAM 18, CHIEF, THIS ROAD CLOSURE REQUEST IS BEING SUBMITTED BY THE BANDIDOS MC FOR THE 15TH ANNUAL RED AND GOLD CHILI COOKOFF. THE EVENT WILL, WILL BE HELD AT THE GAS STATION BARN. THEY'RE REQUESTING FOR THE CLOSURE OF, UH, THE 100 BLOCK OF WEST BAT FROM 11:00 AM 6:00 PM THE PROCEEDS FOR THIS EVENT WILL GO TOWARDS THE TOYS FOR TOTS PROGRAM. THIS EVENT IS SIMILAR TO THE REQUEST SUBMITTED LAST YEAR. STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL AND I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY. ANY QUESTION? COMMISSIONERS? DO I HAVE MOTION? MOTION TO APPROVE. MOTION COMMISSION. SECOND, UH, GOODMAN. SECOND BY MER POT. UH, ALVAN. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY NAYS? MOTION PASSES. OKAY. ITEM [19. Consideration and possible action to approve the annual payment to Rio Grande Valley Communications Group for the Police and Fire Department's emergency radio subscription in the total amount of $20,160.00.] 19, CHIEF, IN YOUR EXHIBITS, YOU'LL SEE AN INVOICE FROM THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY COMMUNICATIONS GROUP IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF 20,000 DO $20,160. THIS PAYMENT IS FOR OUR EMERGENCY RADIO SUBSCRIPTION FOR BOTH POLICE AND FIRE. IT COVERS ALL PORTABLE RADIOS, UNIT RADIOS, AND THE DISPATCH CONSOLE. THIS IS A YEARLY BUDGETED ITEM. STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL AND I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY. IS THE EQUIPMENT UPGRADED AS FAR AS, UH, I MEAN, THERE, THERE IS ALWAYS NEW RADIOS, BUT WHAT THIS DOES IS IT ALLOWS US TO CONNECT TO THE TOWER SO WE CAN, UH, USE THESE RADIOS. SO, UH, WITH, UH, IS THE RADIOS, UH, BUT DO THEY SUPPLY THE RADIOS WITH THIS? OH, NO. THE RADIOS WE, WE PURCHASED, UH, SOME YEARS BACK, SO. OKAY. SO THIS IS JUST THE, THIS IS JUST THE SUBSCRIPTION SO WE CAN USE THE TOWERS. OKAY. DO YOU GO, HAVE YOU GONE TO APPLY FOR THE, UH, LOWER GRANDE VALLEY FOR, UH, FOR ANY GRANTS OVER THERE? THE, THE GRANTS THAT ARE OPENING UP, I THINK ARE, SOME OF 'EM ARE OPENING 'EM IN DECEMBER. I DON'T KNOW WHICH ONES. UH, BUT, UH, WE HAVEN'T APPLIED WITH THEM YET. UH, SOME OF THE GRANTS, AS FAR AS LIKE THE RIFLE RESISTANT BODY ARMOR GRANT, WE WENT THROUGH THE STATE, BUT YOU CAN ALSO GO THROUGH THEM. UH, THEY HAVE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES WE JUST HAVEN'T APPLIED WITH THEM FOR, FOR THAT. BUT, UH, THIS IS, THIS IS, UH, JUST A PAYMENT THAT WE HAVE TO PAY FOR A RADIO. IT'S $14 PER RADIO PER MONTH. SO, AND I UNDERSTAND BECAUSE I MEAN, UH, THE, THERE WASN'T, THE ONLY REASON I'M ASKING YOU IS BECAUSE, UH, I JUST WANTED TO, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST GET THE, FOR YOU GUYS TO GET, THE MORE, YOU KNOW, UPTODATE, UH, YOU KNOW, RADIOS. MM-HMM. , YOU KNOW, MORE COMPATIBLE. AND, UH, THE LAST, UH, PERSON THAT I ASKED, HE TOLD ME THAT, UH, HE DIDN'T WANNA DO IT BECAUSE, UH, CONTRACT, UH, UH, THE APPLICATION WAS TOO LONG. THAT WAS HIS, UH, HIS ANSWER TO ME. I WANTED TO RING IN HIS NECK. YEAH. NO. WE'LL, WE'LL LOOK AT IT. IF SOMETHING COMES UP, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND SEE IF WE QUALIFY FOR, IT'S FUNNY THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S [01:10:01] OUT THERE. YEP, SIR. YOU KNOW, ON THE LL GB, IT'S FREE MONEY, SIR. SO, GO AHEAD. A MOTION FOR THIS ONE. MOTION ITEM MEMBERS. 19. GET A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MORALES. SECOND, SECOND. SECOND BY MAYOR PER GAVAN. ALL IN FAVOR A. AYE. ANY NAYS? MOTION PASSES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. CHIEF ITEM 20. [20. Consideration and possible action to approve bids pertaining to Bid number 2023-0919-002 in regard to a year supply of chemicals for the 2023-2024 FY.] AND MR. GARCIA MAYOR, MAYOR PRO, TEMP GARCIA, PUBLIC COURT DIRECTOR FOR THE RECORD. ITEM UP FOR DISCUSSION IS THE APPROVAL OF THE BIDS RECEIVED FOR ALL CHEMICALS FOR BOTH, UH, WATER TREATMENT PLANTS, NUMBER ONE AND NUMBER TWO. UH, WE'VE, UH, PROVIDED THE BID TABULATION, UH, HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN ARE ALL THE LOWEST BIDDERS, UM, AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY. HOW DID THEY, UH, HOW ARE THE BIDS LOOKING COMPARED TO LAST YEAR? MR. VALLE? I HAD THOSE NUMBERS, GOT MY TABLET, BUT I DID 'EM BY HAND RIGHT NOW. UH, THE MAJORITY OF THEM, UH, ACROSS THE BOARD ALL WENT DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY, UH, FROM LAST YEAR. WOW. SO THAT'S A GOOD, UH, UH, YES. INDICATION FOR US ON OUR END. UM, WE HAD PRETTY MUCH THE SAME VENDORS THAT PROVIDE US THE, THE, THE SAME CHEMICALS THAT WE NEED. UM, WE'VE BEEN RUNNING OUR PLANTS, UH, OUR SUPERVISOR'S BEEN, UH, TRENDING OUT OUR PLANTS, HOW WE WANNA BE RUNNING IT. UH, AS MR. DRAKE MENTIONED, WE ARE LOOKING INTO, UH, OUR WATER CONSERVATION METHODS. WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE TAKING A LOOK AT THAT. GOOD. UM, MAYOR, I KNOW WE'VE, WE'VE ATTENDED, UH, UH, M SIX REGION MEETINGS. THE WATER WITH THE WATER MASTER QUARTERMASTERS, OUR ENGINEER AND, AND MYSELF, WE TOOK SOME TIME, UH, WHILE WE'RE AT TML TO LOOK INTO, UH, BRACKISH WATER DESALINIZATION. UM, OUR ENGINEER HAS, UH, EXPERIENCE IN THOSE, IN THOSE FIELDS. UH, I DO AS WELL, MY PRIOR MILITARY EXPERIENCE WE DID WITH, UH, DEALT WITH RO UNITS, HOW WE, UM, WE JUST GOTTA LOOK AT, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR FUNDING SOURCES, HOW WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO, UH, IF WE ARE GONNA BE PULLING UP BRACKISH WATER, IT IS GONNA COST A LITTLE BIT MORE MONEY. SO WE ARE ALREADY LOOKING INTO THOSE METHODS. UM, UH, SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE SOMETHING COMPILED FOR YOU GUYS, UH, FOR REVIEW AND GREAT. AND SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY HAVE MOVING FORWARD. UM, AS FAR AS FOR CHEMICAL PURPOSES, UH, LIKE I SAID, WE HAVE BEEN TRENDING OUT. OUR, OUR TURNER PLANT HAS BEEN PRODUCING MAJORITY OF OUR WATER RIGHT NOW. UM, WE USE OUR, OUR STINGER PLANT AS A, UH, UH, ON EMERGENCY BASIS, BUT IT'S STILL OPERATIONAL. WE BRING IT UP. UM, WE'RE GONNA START, UH, RUNNING IT, AT LEAST KEEPING IT PROFICIENT AND, AND, AND GOING THAT ROUTE. UM, BUT AS FAR AS OUR CHEMICAL PRICES, LIKE I SAID, UH, ACROSS THE BOARD, THEY DID, UH, MAJORITY OF 'EM DID GO DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY. DOES THIS INCLUDE, UH, SHIPPING YES. AND HANDLING? YES. OKAY. THEN, UM, I THANK YOU FOR THE EXPLANATION. I MOTION TO APPROVE THE LOWEST BIDDERS FOR EACH CATEGORY. OKAY. I GOT A MOTION BY MEMBER . SECOND. SECOND. SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MORALES. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY NAY? MOTION PASSES THE NEXT ITEM UP FOR, YES. HOLD ON, SIR. HOLD ON. HOLD, HOLD ON, HOLD ON. I KNOW YOU WANNA TALK. DON'T TAKE THE [21. Consideration and possible action to approve payment to Ambiotec Civil Engineering Group, Inc. pertaining to the preliminary engineering design, final design plans and specifications, and surveying services for the proposed One-million-gallon surface ground storage tank at water treatment plant No.2 in the amount of $87,432.80.] I DON'T MISS, I DON'T. 21. OKAY, MR. GO FOR IT. UH, THE ITEM UP FOR CONSIDERATION IS PAYMENT TO AMIO TECH CIVIL ENGINEERING GROUP, UH, AND THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF $87,432 AND 80 CENTS. THIS IS FOR THE A HUNDRED PERCENT COMPLETION OF THE, THE 1 MILLION GALLON? YES. THE 1 MILLION GALLON STORAGE TANK. UH, THIS PERTAINS TO, UH, PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING DESIGNS, FINAL ENGINEERING DESIGN PLANS, AND THE SURVEYING. UH, THE ONLY THING THAT'S PENDING IS, UH, FOR BIDDING SERVICES. UH, WE HAVE RECEIVED, LIKE I SAID, THE A HUNDRED PERCENT COMPLETION DRAWINGS. UM, SO WE ARE CURRENTLY REVIEWING THEM. WE'RE GONNA BE MEETING WITH THE, THE ENGINEERS, UH, UH, SOMETIME THIS WEEK. UH, JUST TO FINALIZE ALL THAT, WHEN WE'RE GONNA BE, UH, PUTTING OUT THAT FOR BID. UM, I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS. SO THIS ESSENTIALLY QUALIFIES IT AS SHOVEL READY. THIS YES. WOULD PUT US AT THAT POSITION. YES, SIR. YES. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, I HAVE ONE. MAYOR. UH, PREVIOUSLY ON THIS TOPIC I HAD ADDRESSED THAT THERE MIGHT BE SOME PLANS FROM THE PREVIOUS ENGINEERING FIRM THAT WORKED ON THE SITE YES. TO PREPARE IT FOR THIS EXPANSION PROCESS. DO WE HAVE THOSE PLANS STILL? OR WAS THERE ANYTHING? 'CAUSE I, I DON'T, I DON'T WANT TO BE, WE, YOU KNOW, BACK, YOU KNOW, DOING DOUBLE WORK IF THE PLANS WERE ALREADY THERE IN PREPARATION OF THIS. WE LOOKED INTO IT THAT WAY FOR THAT, UH, OKAY. FOR THAT SHEER PURPOSE OF, HEY, WE DON'T WANNA BE, YOU KNOW, PAYING DOUBLE FOR SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ALREADY HAD. I DON'T WANT THEM CHARGING US FOR GOING BACK AND JUST GRABBING THE PLANTS. YEAH. . SO, UH, WHAT WAS MY CONCERN THEY HAD, UH, ON THE PLANS WHEN THEY DESIGNED, UH, WATER PLANT NUMBER TWO, UH, ON TURNER, THEY, UH, THERE WERE JUST A PROPOSED, UH, PROPOSED SITES. YEAH, THAT WAS IT. OKAY. THERE WAS NO REAL, UH, SURVEYING DONE OF THE, OF THE AREA, THE, THE LOCATION. OKAY. UH, MOTION TO APPROVE. OKAY. WE GOT A MOTION BY MAYOR . SECOND, SECOND. SECOND BY, UH, [01:15:01] COMMISSIONER GOODMAN. ALL IN FAVOR A AYE. ANY NAYS? MOTION PASSES. [22. Consideration and possible action to approve payment to Ambiotec Civil Engineering Group, Inc. pertaining to the preliminary engineering design, final design plans and specifications, and surveying services for the proposed water Scada system to be implemented to five ground storage tanks, one elevated storage tank and at water treatment plant No. 2 in the amount of $95,494.00.] OKAY. ITEM NUMBER 22. MR. GARCIA, MAYOR COMMISSIONERS, THE ITEM FOR DISCUSSION IS PAYMENT TO AMIO TECH CIVIL ENGINEERING FOR, UH, $95,494. AND THIS PERTAINS TO THE SCADA SYSTEM. THIS WILL ALLOW US, UH, AND OUR OPERATORS, UH, AT THE WATER PLANTS TO BE ABLE TO MONITOR, UH, OUR SYSTEM, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY. UH, SO BEING ABLE TO, UH, GET PRESSURES FROM OUR, OUR, OUR ELEVATED STORAGE TANKS, UH, AS WELL AS OUR GROUND STORAGE TANKS, AND BE ABLE TO HAVE IT, UH, AT A CENTRAL LOCATION, WHICH IN THIS CASE WOULD BE OUR WATER TREATMENT PLANT. NUMBER TWO ON, UM, AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS. SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO DRIVE ALL THE WAY OVER THERE TO FIND OUT. YES. OH, OKAY. BUT IS THIS THE DESIGN OR IS THIS THE ACTUAL SYSTEM? THIS WOULD INCOR, UH, THIS IS THE, THE DESIGN. OKAY. WHAT, WHEN DOES THE ACTUAL SYSTEM START? ONCE WE, UH, THAT'S WHAT, THAT WE'RE PENDING THE BIDDING SERVICES. ONCE WE BID IT OUT, WE'LL RECEIVE THOSE, UH, THOSE COSTS FOR WHAT IT WOULD COST TO IMPLEMENT THE, DO WE HAVE FUNDS FOR THOSE? FOR THE ACTUAL SCADA SYSTEM? WHAT'S THE, THOSE, UH, THESE ARE, UH, THESE PROJECTS WERE THROUGH THE APPROPRIATIONS. SO, UH, UNTIL WE GET THE ACTUAL COST ESTIMATES ON FROM ACTUAL BIDDERS, THEN WE'LL KNOW ACTUALLY WHAT THE COSTS ARE GONNA BE. AS OF RIGHT NOW, THEY GAVE US MORE OR LESS A, A, A COST ESTIMATE. AND I CAN SHARE THAT WITH YOU GUYS, UH, IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE THOSE NUMBERS. THAT'S IT? YEAH. YES, SIR. MOTION TO APPROVE. OKAY. I A MO I GOT A MOTION BY MEMBER TIM GALVAN. SECOND BY COMMISSIONER GOODMAN. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. NAYS. MOTION PASSES. OKAY. ITEM [23. Consideration and possible action to approve Payment Number 3 to Ferguson Service Systems, Inc., as recommended by Hanson Professional Services, Inc., pertaining to the Stenger Surge Tank Lift Station Improvements in the amount of $231,655.88.] NUMBER 23. MR. GARCIA, MAYOR. COMMISSIONERS, DO YOU JUST WAIT TO PUT THE MOST EXPENSIVE ONES AT THE LAST? IS THAT WHAT YOU DO? ? I, THEY'RE, THEY'RE GONNA COME, SO THEY'RE GONNA GO, UH, THEY'RE COMING. . CONSIDERATION, POSSIBLE. ACTION. THIS ONE IS, UH, PAYMENT TO FERGUSON SERVICE, UH, SYSTEMS INC. UH, AS RECOMMENDED BY HANSSEN FOR THE TOTAL AMOUNT. $231,655 AND 88 CENTS. THIS PERTAINS TO OUR STINGER, UH, THE CITY, UH, SHOP, UH, LIFT STATION. UM, THERE IS A, A DETAILED, UH, LINE ITEM OF WHAT THEY'RE, UH, REQUESTING. UH, MAJORITY OF IT IS MOBILIZATION, UH, BONDS AND INSURANCES. AND, UH, WE DID RECEIVE OUR, UH, THE 120 INCH, UH, DIAMETER DURMAX STORAGE TANK AS WELL. IT IS ON SITE. UH, THEY DID INSTALL OUR WET WELL, AS WELL AS, UH, AS WELL AS DOING THE EXCAVATION SITE. UH, THERE AT THE SHOP. UH, THEY STARTED RECEIVING A COUPLE MORE MATERIALS. UH, I DON'T BELIEVE THEY ADDED 'EM ON HERE. THEY'RE GONNA BE ADDING THEM ON THE NEXT PAY REQUEST. BUT AS FOR NOW, THIS IS, UH, THE PAYMENT REQUESTS THAT THEY ARE, WAS THIS THE SAME REQUEST LAST TIME FOR THE EXTENSION? YES. SAME COMPANY? YEP. YES. AND THEY'RE JUST WANT PAYMENT NOW? THAT IS CORRECT. UH, I DID PROVIDE, UH, THEY DID, UH, I REACHED OUT TO THEM AND LET 'EM KNOW, HEY, WE WANT A CHRON CHRONOLOGICAL BREAKDOWN OF, HEY, WHEN YOUR SUBMITTALS WERE, UM, IF YOU'D LIKE, UH, I DID SEND IT OVER TO, TO MS. MCGINNIS FOR, FOR YOUR GUYS' REVIEW, IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE THAT AS WELL. UM, WE DIDN'T, BUT THAT'S NOT ON THIS AGENDA RIGHT NOW. NO, NOT YET. 'CAUSE THEY'RE STILL GONNA, THEY, THEY DID PROPOSE THEY ARE GONNA SEND A, A, A REVISED PROPOSAL AND SEE IF THEY CAN KIND OF SCALE IT BACK. UM, BUT AS YOU'LL SEE FROM REVIEWING WHAT THEIR SUBMITTALS WERE WHEN THEY DID THEIR SUBMITTALS, UH, THEY KIND OF COINCIDE WITH WHY THEY'RE REQUESTING THIS, THAT EXCHANGE FOR THAT TIME. I JUST HAD ONE QUESTION ON THE, ON THIS INVOICE, I SEE ONE SECTION, THE MOBILIZATION IS ALWAYS GONNA UPSET ME, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYBODY CHARGES THAT. BUT SECONDLY, UM, YEAH, WE PAY THEM JUST TO GET STARTED, WHICH IS RIDICULOUS. AND THAT HAPPENS EVERYWHERE IN EVERY INDUSTRY. UM, I THINK WE JUST NEED TO MAKE AN ALLIANCE TO STOP THAT NONSENSE. , RIGHT. THIS, THEY DO THIS FOR THE, FOR A LIVING. DON'T, DON'T TELL ME THEY'RE NOT READY. THEY'RE ALWAYS READY FOR BUSINESS. UM, THE NE THE NEXT ONE WAS, UH, BOND AND INSURANCE. ARE WE PAYING THEIR BOND AND INSURANCE? THAT'S WHAT IT SEEMS LIKE HERE. NO, THEY PROVIDE IT. UM, SO THEY HAVE, IT SAYS BID ITEM NUMBER ONE AND A CO AND A COST OF 79,000. OH, IT'S, THIS IS SOME OF THIS PORTION OF THE PRICE IS GOING TO THAT YES. LETTUCE. CORRECT. WHY AM I PAYING THEIR INSURANCE? LIKE I SAID, THEY DO THIS FOR A LIVING. WELL, THEY GOTTA MAKE MONEY SOMEHOW TO PAY FOR IT. WELL, THEY PAY FOR IT ON THEIR OWN. , THEY SHOULD BE BONDED TO DO THIS WORK. EXACTLY. IT'S A STATE STATUTE THAT THEY HAVE TO BE BONDED TO WORK WITH THE CITY. YEAH. AND THEY PROVIDE THOSE BONDS WHENEVER THEY, UH, SUBMIT THEIR BIDS. SO WHY AM I PAYING MORE? I CAN LOOK INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO THAT OUTLINE ITEM IF YOU'D LIKE. SIR. I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT ANSWER CAN BECAUSE THIS, THIS PAYMENT INCLUDES, UH, THAT, RIGHT? MM-HMM. , WELL, PORTION OF IT. I, I DON'T FEEL LIKE I SHOULD PAY SOMEONE'S BOND. MM. OR INSURANCE. I'M PAYING INSURANCE TO INSURE A COMPANY [01:20:01] I HIRED. I CAN, WE FORCE EVERY SMALL COMPANY TO HAVE AN, FOR EXAMPLE, MARKET DAYS. WE FORCE THEM TO HAVE LIABILITY MILLION DOLLAR POLICY, BUT WE WON'T FORCE THIS MULTIMILLION DOLLAR COMPANY TO HAVE THEIR OWN INSURANCE. IT MAYBE NEED SOME CLARIFICATION. YES. UM, BUT WHAT DO YOU GUYS WANT TO DO HERE UNTIL WE GET, I'D SAY MOTION. MOTION TO TABLE UNTIL WE GET BETTER CLARIFICATION. WELL, I, I THERE'S MOTION. YEAH. WELL, I MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE A SECOND ONE. SO WHAT DO YOU, I MEAN, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? WELL, I, I JUST, I, I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND THE RATIONALE OF WHY WE WOULD QUESTION THEM, NEEDING THEM, US PAYING FOR THEIR BOND. I MEAN, ANY, ANY PART OF THE PROJECT THAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE, THEY'RE GONNA COME BACK AND BILL YOU FOR, IN TERMS OF MAKING THE PROJECT HAPPEN. MM-HMM. . SO, I MEAN, THAT'S A COMMON PRACTICE AS WELL. SO I'M, I'M SURE I DON'T, I'M QUITE DON'T UNDERSTAND THE HESITANCY REALLY AT THIS POINT, BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT WE'VE PAID SOMEONE'S BOND OR INSURANCE. I'VE NEVER APPROVED THAT. MIGHT'VE MISSED IT. I'M SORRY FOR THAT. I COMMEND THEM FOR THEIR TRANSPARENCY. AT LEAST IN THIS POINT. EVERY PROJECT WE'VE HAD, THERE'S INSURANCE BONDS. YEAH. AND WE PAY. YEAH. WOW. THAT'S JUST NORMAL STANDARD. THAT'S, THAT'S PRACTICE. THAT'S JUST STANDARD PRACTICE. THAT'S JUST HOW THEY OPERATE. YEAH. AND IT GOES ALONG THE SAME, THE WRONG, THEIR MOBILIZATION FEES. WE DON'T. OKAY. SO MAKE THE RULE COMMISSIONER, NOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT, UH, IT'S A STANDARD PRACTICE, DO YOU RESENT YOUR NO, I STILL MOTION A TABLE. BEAR CLARIFICATION. OKAY. I'M JUST NOT GONNA GO BY WHAT SAID. WANT 'EM TO COME EXPLAIN IT. YES. YEAH. OKAY. AND A US ASK THEM QUESTIONS WHY WE'RE GETTING BILLED IN THAT MANNER. I'LL SECOND A MOTION TO TABLE. SO I GOT A MOTION BY, UH, BY COMMISSIONER MORALES. SECOND, BY METE DEL TO TABLE THIS ITEM. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY, ANY NAYS? AYE. YEAH. ONE NAY AND THREE YS MOTION PASSES TO, UH, THE TABLE. [24. Consideration and possible action to approve payment to Hanson Professional Services Inc., pertaining to the Landrum lift station improvements project in the amount of $15,445.21.] ITEM NUMBER 24, MR. GARCIA. VLADIMIR FOR CONSIDERATION IS PAYMENT, UH, TO HANSON PROFESSIONAL SERVICE PERTAINING TO THE LANDRUM LIST STATION. UH, THIS PAYMENT IS IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF $15,445 21 CENTS. THIS PERTAINS TO, UH, THE, THE BULK OF THIS PAYMENT IS, UH, ABOUT ROUGHLY 13,300 FOR, UH, CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT. UH, THE REST OF IT GOING TO SURVEYING AND, UH, FOR SUB SURFACE EXPLORATION AT THAT LIFT STATION. OKAY. AND $188 WENT TO ENGINEERING DESIGN. COVERED. UH, AND SO THIS IS FOR THE PRELIMINARY WORK SURVEY WORK? YES. UH, FOR, THIS IS FOR THE LANDRUM LIFT STATION OVER ON POWER STREET. YES. ALRIGHT. MOTION TO APPROVE. GOT A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER GOODMAN. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MORALES. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. MOTION. ANY NAYS? MOTION PASSES. THANK YOU, SIR. DON'T ASK HOW LONG THAT ONE'S BEEN IN PROCESS. , YOU DON'T ANYONE KNOW? OKAY. ITEM NUMBER 25. [25. Consideration and possible action to ratify the temporary road closure of a section of Robertson Street from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. for the Resaca City Food Court scheduled for October 14, 2023.] UH, MS. NIKKI. GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS. NIKKI SERRANO, PARKS AND RECREATION SPECIAL PROJECTS PLANNER. FOR THE RECORD. ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14TH, THE CITY HOSTED THE AKA CITY FOOD COURT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TEXAS JUNTO HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM. THE EVENT ATTRACTED VISITORS FROM CITIES ACROSS THE VALLEY, INCLUDING LOS FRESNOS, BROWNSVILLE, ALTON MISSION, AND MACALLAN. THIS ITEM IS TO RATIFY A TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE OF A SECTION OF ROBERTSON STREET FOR THE EVENT STAFF. AND YEAH. SO WE NEED TO VERIF, UH, RATIFY THIS SINCE, UH, THE EVENT ALREADY TOOK PLACE. CORRECT. OKAY. SO, MOTION TO APPROVE RATIFICATION. OKAY. I GOT A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER UH, GOODMAN. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MORALES. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. ANY NAYS? MOTION PASSES. THANK YOU, NIKKI. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, NICK. OKAY. [26. Discussion and possible action relating to the contract of Mercury Public Affairs.] I 26. AND THIS IS BY STEPHANIE? MM-HMM? . OH. OH. GET TO RUTH. NUMBER 26. OH. I ADDED MYSELF AND MYSELF. AND COMMISSIONER MORALE, UH, ADDED THIS ITEM NUMBER. KNOW WHAT? THEY'RE, OKAY. IT'S . OKAY. DO YOU HAVE ANY, OKAY. YOU READ IT AND THEN I CAN JUST EXPLAIN IT. OKAY. IT JUST SAYS A POSSIBLE, UH, A DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO, IN THE RELATE, UH, RELATING TO THE, UH, CONTRACT OF MERCURY PUBLIC AFFAIRS. UH, THE REASON I WANTED TO PUT THIS ON THE AGENDA IS 'CAUSE THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION IS COMING TO AN END. THERE'S ONE THIRD SPECIAL SESSION THAT THE GOVERNOR'S CALLED, BUT THESE SERVICES ARE PAID ON A RETAINER BASIS. SO WE PAY THESE FEES MONTHLY, REGARDLESS OF ANY SERVICES ARE RENDERED TO THE CITY. THE CONTRACT ACTUALLY COMES TO END AT THE END OF THIS MONTH. UM, BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S CLEAR, [01:25:01] UM, THAT I WANNA MAKE A MOTION TO, TO, CAN WE JUST LET IT EXPIRE OR DO WE HAVE TO, I'LL, I'LL, I WANNA MAKE A MOTION TO ENSURE THAT THIS DOES NOT GET RENEWED AND IT DOES TERMINATE EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 31ST. 2023. OKAY. IF I BELIEVE WE MAKE A PAYMENT AT THE BEGINNING OF EVERY MONTH. SO THERE'S NO PRORATION, RIGHT? THERE'S NO PRO. YEAH. SO WE PAID, OKAY. I, IF THERE'S ANY FEE, YOU 30 DAYS. SO WE'RE STILL . YEAH, WE COULD HAVE BEEN THERE. WE COULDN'T AS FAR AS IF IT'S IN A RENEWAL BASIS ITSELF. YEAH. I JUST WANNA MAKE, I WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S NOT ON A RENEWAL BASIS. STEPHANIE, IS THAT IN ON THE FINANCE DIRECTOR? FOR THE RECORD, I WOULD NEED TO DOUBLE CHECK. 'CAUSE, UM, MOST OF OUR INVOICE IS AT NET 30 DAYS. SO WE DO HAVE 30 DAYS TO PROCESS A PAYMENT. UH, AND IF IT HASN'T, I, I WOULDN'T KNOW ON THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I COULD, I COULD CHECK TOMORROW AND THEN MAKE SURE IF THERE IS A PAYMENT WAITING TO BE PROCESSED, WE COULD PUT A STOP AND REACH OUT TO THEM TO MAKE THEM CLEAR. IF APPROVED NOT TO RENEW IT, I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE THAT. OKAY. I SECOND. SO I GOT A MOTION BY, UH, MAYOR TIM GALVAN TO, UH, NOT TO RENEW THIS, TO STOP IT. SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MORALES. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. ANY NAYS? MOTION PASSES TO, UH, TO STOP THIS AND NOT TO RENEW. OKAY. [27. Consideration and possible action to approve the Agreement renewal between the City of San Benito, Texas, and Valley View Consulting, L.L.C.] ITEM 27, MS. STEPHANIE. HI AGAIN. STEPHANIE SOAND, FINANCE DIRECTOR FOR THE RECORD. THIS IS A CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO APPROVE THE AGREEMENT RENEWAL BETWEEN, UM, THE CITY OF SANTO WITH THE VALLEY VIEW CONSULTING. UH, THESE ARE OUR, UM, INVESTORS, ADVISORS. THEY ESSENTIALLY DO, OR, UM, QUARTERLY INVESTMENT REPORTS THAT WE POST IN OUR WEBSITE PRESENTED TO YOU ALSO. UM, THEY DID PROVIDE IT. EVERYTHING STAYED THE SAME. THEIR FEE SCHEDULE CHANGED SLIGHTLY IN HER FAVOR. UM, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU RECALL ME PASSING JUST RIGHT NOW, UM, A HANDOUT THAT, UM, I'VE BEEN REQUESTED TO HAVE A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ON HOW THEY COMPUTE THEIR CALCULATION ON HOW THEY CHARGES US. SO IT IS, UH, TWO EXAMPLES THAT ESSENTIALLY WENT FROM A EIGHT TO A SEVEN AND ALL OF THE TIERS. IT WENT DOWN ONE POINT, BUT IT, IT'S ESSENTIALLY THE SAME IN THE AGREEMENT. STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL. OKAY. MOTION TO APPROVE. OKAY. GET A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER UH, GOODMAN. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND BY COMMISSIONER MORALES. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY NAYS? MOTION PASSES. [28. Consideration and possible action to approve an extension of the depository contract between Texas Regional Bank and the City of San Benito from October 1, 2023, until September 30, 2024.] OKAY. ITEM NUMBER 28, MS. STEPHANIE, MS. THIS IS A CONSERVATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO APPROVE THE EXTENSION OF OUR DEPOSITORY CONTRACT BETWEEN THE TEXAS REGIONAL BANK AND THE CITY FROM OCTOBER, 2023, UH, UP TO SEPTEMBER, 2024, WHICH IS OUR FISCAL YEAR. UM, THIS IS AN OPTION FOR US TO RENEW THAT WE DO WANNA CONTINUE SERVICES WITH THE TEXAS REGIONAL BANK. THE AGREEMENT WAS SENT TO OUR ADVISORS THAT YOU JUST APPROVED. VALLEY VIEW EVERYTHING STAYED THE SAME. AND IF ANYTHING, WILL FLOOR CHANGE IN THE CITY'S FAVOR AS WELL FROM A 10 TO 15%. UM, YEAH, WE DID PROVIDE, WE DID SEND THE AGREEMENT FOR THEM TO LOOK AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STAYING THE SAME RATINGS. I'D LIKE TO ADD THAT THE TEXAS REGIONAL HAS BEEN, HAS BEEN REALLY GOOD TO THE CITY. THEIR INTEREST RATES ARE REALLY GOOD AS WELL AS THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE. THEY DO. THEY'RE AT A PHONE CALL AWAY, AND THEY DO SERVE US REALLY GOOD. SO STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL. OKAY. WELL, ESSENTIALLY THIS IS ALREADY IN EFFECT, RIGHT? SINCE OCTOBER ONE? YES. UH, IT WOULD JUST, IT WOULD JUST CONTINUE CARRY OVER. YES. BUT WE DO, IF WE WANTED TO STOP, WE COULD AND JUST LETTING THEM KNOW THAT WE WILL. BUT I, I DO RECOMMEND TO STAY WITH THEM. UM, THEIR OR ORIGINAL AGREEMENT ALLOWS US TO EXTEND IT FOR AN ADDITIONAL DAY, LIKE TO ADD THAT NEXT YEAR WE WILL HAVE TO GO OUT FOR BIDS WITH OTHER DEPOSITORY UH, BANKS. BUT AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE WILL LIKE TO CONTINUE WITH THEM AND THEN NEXT YEAR, SEE WHAT'S OUT THERE AND COMPARE BIDS. IT IS A HUGE TRANSITION IF WE LIKE TO CHANGE REPOSITORY BANKS, WE'VE, ARE WE REQUIRED TO GO OUT FOR BID AT THIS MOMENT? NO. 'CAUSE OUR AGREEMENT ALLOWS US TO EXTEND IT FOR AN ADDITIONAL YEAR. FOR NEXT SEATS. WE ARE REQUIRED TO GO OUT FOR BIDS. YEAH. IS IT, IS IT ON A TWO OR THREE YEAR CYCLE? IS THAT WHAT THAT IS? YES. THIS IS A, THE, IT'S IN A YEARLY BASIS, BUT THIS IS A THIRD RENEWAL. AND THAT'S THE LAST ONE THAT WE COULD DO. YES. MOTION TO APPROVE. OKAY. I GOT A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER GOODMAN. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND BY MAYOR TIM. UH, GALVAN. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. ANY NAYS? MOTION PASSES. [29. Presentation of the City of San Benito Financial Statements for the period ended August 31, 2023.] ITEM 29, STEPHANIE, [01:30:02] THIS WILL BE THE PRESENTATION OF THE CITY OF SANTO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED AUGUST 31ST, 2023. UM, SURE IF YOU ALL GOT THE ACTUAL POWERPOINT, BUT OUR TOTAL ASSETS FOR AUGUST 31ST, 2023 WAS SEVEN 17,298,000 WITH 41 COMPARED TO LAST YEAR OF 16,000,435 WITH 67 TOTAL LIABILITY LIABILITIES FOR THE MONTH OF VAGOS COMPARED TO LAST YEAR. FOR THIS, FOR THIS YEAR, WE HAVE 1.6 MILLION COMPARED TO THE 2.6 OF LAST YEAR. TOTAL LIABILITIES AND FUND BALANCE OF 17 290 8 MILLION WITH 41 COMPARED TO LAST YEAR OF 16,000,436 WITH 67, OUR TOTAL AMOUNT OF REVENUES FOR THE MONTH ARE 1,000,080 211. YEAR TO DATE, ACTUAL 14,000,400 AND 311 COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, UM, MONTH OF AUGUST, REVENUES OF 924,682. TOTAL EXPENSES FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST, 2023. WE HAVE 1.1 MILLION REVENUES UNDER EXPENSES OF 117,327 YEAR TO THE ACTUAL REVENUE ARE OVER OUR EXPENSES. 1,294,728. SO THE MONTH, OKAY. THE YEAR WE'RE DOING GOOD. THE LAST, THE LAST PAGE FOR THE, FOR THE POWER OF PRESENTATION, IT'S OUR SALES TAX COLLECTED FOR THE MONTH OF JULY OF 2023. RECEIVE, IN SEPTEMBER, 2023, WE RECEIVED 564,000 133 WITH 89 CENTS, 25% GOES TO OUR EDC AND THE 75% STAYS WITH THE CITY. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS YEAH. ON THAT, YOU HAVE HISTORICAL SUMMARY, BUT IT'S THE SAME YEAR. SO I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU HAVE 2023 COMPARED TO 2023. SO I'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO SEE 2022 COMPARED ON, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL GOT THIS ONE. THE POWERPOINT ITSELF WITH THIS PROVIDER ON THIS, I'M LOOKING AT AT THE LAST ONE WITH THE SALES TAX. OH, WITH THE SALES TAX. OKAY. YEAH, WE, WE, I, I DO DO HAVE THAT. IT'S JUST THAT IT WAS, AT SOME POINT IT WAS DECIDED TO COMPARE IT TO THE ACTUAL CONTROLLER'S WEBSITE. SO THAT WAS TAKEN AWAY FROM IT. LIKE THIS PART RIGHT HERE YEAH. WAS ADDED. AND OVER HERE. WE, WE COULD HAVE, BUT I, I COULD ADD THAT FOR YOU SO YOU COULD SEE THE COMPARISON BETWEEN LAST YEAR. THIS YEAR, I, IT IS HIGHER A LITTLE BIT, BUT IT IS MORE, YEAH, I, I'VE SEEN SOME OTHER COMPARISONS. I'LL SHARE SOME SHEETS FROM OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT YOU MIGHT FIND AS A GOOD TEMPLATE. GOOD. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE THAT. UM, OKAY. ALSO, THE, UM, THE SALARIES I'M SEEING, I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND THE GRAPHS YOU HAVE IN HERE REGARDING THE SALARIES. I KNOW THAT THAT'S NOT A REAL ELSE, BUT IT SAYS SALARIES BLUE IS BUDGETED SALARIES, AND THAT'S ON THE ACTUAL, UM, AND THEN FINANCIALS ON THE, ON THE PDF, RIGHT? NOT ON THE POWERPOINT. IF I'M READING THIS CORRECTLY, WE'VE SPENT 80% OF OUR BUDGETED SALARIES. IS THAT WHAT THAT IS? MM-HMM. , YES. WE STILL HAVE 20%. MM-HMM. UP TO AUGUST. WE STILL HAVE SEPTEMBER. HOWEVER, SEPTEMBER DID CARRY THREE PAY PERIODS, JUST FOR THE RECORD. SO WE'LL BE A LITTLE BIT BELOW WHAT WE SAID, OR A, A LOT MORE THAN OVER 10%. BUT IT, IT, THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS. YES. MM-HMM. . OKAY. MM-HMM. . THAT, THAT'S ONE OF THOSE AREAS THAT, I MEAN, THIS IS JUST A COMMENT, BUT IT'S I'S ONE OF THOSE AREAS WHICH IF WE HAVE THE BUDGET, I WANNA SPEND THE MONEY BECAUSE WE WANT THE SERVICES. WELL, WELL, IT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY OPENINGS TOO, AND I REALIZE THAT, BUT THAT'S, YEAH. AND THEN THEY'RE HIGH PAID POSITIONS, OPENINGS. YEAH. YEAH. THAT, THAT'S PROBABLY WHERE THAT DIFFERENCE IS. THAT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE CAN, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WHAT'S NOT, THAT WE DON'T HAVE ALL THIS BUDGET TO START GIVING MR. DROWN, BO . UM, THERE'S A PAID POSITIONS, HIGH PAID POSITIONS THAT ARE NOT, THAT ARE, THEY'RE NOT. AND AGAIN, THAT'S MY COMMENT IS THAT WE NEED THE SERVICES AND WE GOT THE DOLLARS. LET'S, LET'S GO GET, HIRE THE PEOPLE AS WE CAN. THAT'S MY ONLY POINT. THEY JUST GOTTA APPLY. THEY JUST GOTTA APPLY. YEAH, THAT'S CORRECT, . THANK YOU. SO I'M GONNA APPLY. OKAY. THANK YOU, STEPHANIE. ITEM NUMBER NINE. [30. Executive Session: a) Consultation with City Attorney pursuant to Texas Government Code §552.107(1) to discuss privileged communication protected by the attorney-client privilege. b) Deliberation pursuant to Texas Government Code §551.087(2), on incentives or business prospect that City seeks to locate within City (RGV Epicenter Project) and to consult with legal counsel pursuant to Texas Government Code §551.071(2) on related issues. c) Discussion and deliberation pursuant to Texas Government Code §551.074 regarding City Manager employment applications.] OKAY. ITEM NUMBER 30, EXECUTIVE SESSION. CONSULT WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY PURSUANT TO A TEXAS GOVERNMENT, UH, 5 5 2 0.1071 TO DISCUSS THEIR PRIVILEGE, UH, COMMUNICATION PROTECTED BY THE ATTORNEY CLIENT, UH, UH, PRIVILEGE. THE ITEM 30 B, DELIBERATE DELIBERATION, UH, PURSUANT TO A TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE 5 5 1 0.0872 ON INCENTIVES AND, AND [01:35:01] OR BUSINESS, UH, PROSPECT, UH, THAT CITY SEEK TO LOCATE WITHIN CITY, UH, EPIC CENTER AND TO CONSULT, UH, WITH THE LEGAL CONSULT, UH, PURSUANT TO A TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE, THE 5 0 1, UH, 0.0712 UNRELATED ISSUES. AND ITEM NUMBER 30 C, A DISCUSSION AND DELIBERATION PURSUANT TO A TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE, UH, 5 0 1 0.074 REGARDING CITY MANAGER'S EMPLOYMENT, UH, APPLICATION. AND THE TIME IS, UH, 7 0 5. AND WE'RE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION. THE TIME IS 7 46. AND, UH, WE'RE BACK FROM EXECUTIVE STATION. WHERE ARE WE AT? SO ITEMS NUMBER 30 A AND 30 C. THERE'S GONNA BE, UH, NO ACTION. WE BROUGHT IT UP, RIGHT? MM-HMM. . OKAY. SO ITEM NUMBER 30 B. MAYOR PRO 30 30 B. MAYOR, UH, DO I HAVE TO READ THE WHOLE THING AGAIN, MS. RUTH? NO, NO, NO. JUST 30 B. UH, MOTION TO NOT PROVIDE. MOTION TO NOT PROVIDE INCENTIVES TO THE GV EPICENTER PROJECT. OKAY. DO I HAVE A MOTION? MOTION? SECOND. I GET A SECOND. SO I GET A MOTION BY MAYOR PRO, AND THEN SECOND BY, UH, SECOND. YEAH. MM-HMM. SECOND BY, UH, COMMISSIONER MORALES. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. ANY NAYES? AYE. MORNING. OKAY. MOTION PASSES. OKAY. THE TIME IS, UH, 7 47 AND WE ADJOURN. * 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.