[I) Call Meeting to Order and Roll Call]
[00:00:08]
EVERYONE. THE TIME IS 5:32 P.M. IT IS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND. AND I'M GOING TO CALL THIS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING TO ORDER WITH THE CITY SECRETARY. PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. HERE.
HEISER. HERE. RIZZO. PRESENT. ZUNIGA. PRESENT. HARRIS. HERE. MCKINNEY. HERE, TOBIAS. PRESENT.
[II) Citizen Comment Period with City Council]
ALL RIGHT. ALL MEMBERS ARE PRESENT. WE HAVE A QUORUM. NEXT UP IS CITIZEN COMMENTS. PERIOD.AT THIS TIME, WE ASK ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE WHO WISHES TO COME FORWARD AND SPEAK ON ANY ITEM TO PLEASE DO SO. WE ASK THAT YOU LIMIT YOUR COMMENTS TO THREE MINUTES AND THAT YOU DIRECT THOSE COMMENTS TO THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL. WE ALSO ASK THAT YOU FILL OUT A CITIZEN COMMENTS FORM AND SUBMIT THAT TO EITHER MYSELF OR THE CITY SECRETARY. I HAVE THREE REGISTERED TO SPEAK. FIRST UP, WARDEN KIRKPATRICK. GOOD EVENING. I HAVE JUST TWO THINGS TO SPEAK TO THE COUNCIL ABOUT. FIRST OF ALL, COOL SPRINGS DIVISION AND THE WOODLANDS.
THERE SEEMS TO BE A LACK OF POLICE PRESENCE THERE. AND SO THIS EMBOLDENS PEOPLE TO DO THINGS THAT ARE AGAINST THE LAW AND DANGEROUS, LIKE CHILDREN AND DRIVING VEHICLES THROUGH THE COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY IN THE DUSK PART OF THE EVENING AND IN THE EVENING. SO I WANTED TO BRING THAT FORWARD TO THE COUNCIL. THE OTHER THING IS, SOMETHING THAT AFFECTS ME ALMOST EVERY DAY IS COUNTY ROAD 158. COUNTY ROAD 158 IS HEAVILY TRAVELED. IT'S NOT STRIPED.
IT'S BEGINNING TO DETERIORATE. IT HAS NO SHOULDERS AND IT'S VERY NARROW. THAT'S BASICALLY IT. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT. NEXT UP IS GEORGE LILY. YEAH. THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. HONORABLE COUNCIL FELLOW CITIZENS. IN 1963, TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE ESTABLISHED THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL JURISDICTION ETJ, WHICH IS NOT INCORPORATED IN THE CITY. THE LEGISLATION AFFORDS CITIES, WHICH ARE INCORPORATED TO HAVE A FIVE MILE RADIUS, WHERE THEY CAN REGULATE THAT AREA AROUND THEIR OFFICIAL BOUNDARIES, AND REQUIRING THE CITIZENS OF THE ETJ TO BE BOUND TO THE LAWS AND THE POLITICIANS OF THE CITY, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME THE ETJ CITIZENS HAVE NO VOTING RIGHTS.
IN JUNE OF 1776, EARLY NEARLY 250 YEARS AGO, AMERICANS PUT FORTH A DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN WHICH THEY OPPOSED TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION. AND TODAY IN TEXAS, WE'RE GETTING A TASTE OF THE REALITY OF A FORM OF TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION, WITH THE WATER RATES BEING INCREASED JUST FOR THE ETJ, AS I UNDERSTAND IT. AND IF I'M IN ERROR, PLEASE CORRECT ME. AND THAT IS NOT INCLUDING THE RESIDENTS OF KYLE INSIDE THE BORDERS OF KYLE. SO THAT SEEMS TO BE INEQUITABLE. IT SEEMS TO ME IT SHOULD BE A UNIFORM. AND THERE IS AN OLD SAYING, DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU. AND IN MY ESTIMATE, THE CITY COUNCIL WOULD NOT BE DOING THIS IF IT WAS TO AFFECT THEM, AS OPPOSED TO EVERYBODY.
AND I. WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE PROBLEM RESOLVED. I THINK THERE ARE TWO PROBLEMS, AND THAT IS THAT THIS IS A BAD LAW. NUMBER ONE. TWO, ALTHOUGH THE COUNCIL IS EXERCISING THEIR LAWFUL AUTHORITY, I THINK IT'S AN ABUSE OF THEIR AUTHORITY. FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED AND ARE LISTENING, THERE IS AN ORGANIZATION CALLED THE TEXAS CITY LIMIT COALITION, WHICH IS TRYING TO RECTIFY THE SITUATION. IN THE MEANTIME, MY HOPE IS THAT THE DO UNTO OTHERS MIGHT TOUCH THE HEARTS OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND LEAD THEM TO DO WHAT'S GOOD AND RIGHT, AND NOT NECESSARILY WHAT'S EXPEDIENT. AND TO PUT THAT IN A LITTLE TIGHTER CONTEXT, IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, THE FIGURE THAT'S BEING BANDIED ABOUT AS FAR AS A PERCENTAGE INCREASE ON THE WATER BILL IS 70%, WHICH WOULD WIPE OUT MY 2026 SOCIAL SECURITY INCREASE ENTIRELY AND THEN SOME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT. NEXT UP
[00:05:02]
IS KENNETH ROCHA. GOOD EVENING COUNCIL. HOW ARE Y'ALL? I'M GOING TO SPEAK ABOUT SOME CITY BUSINESS. SO I'M ASKING COUNCIL TO REVIEW THE AUGUST 28TH, 2025 DISCUSSION ON THE ETHICS COMMISSION AUTHORITY JURISDICTION, WHICH DURING THE MEETING, THE COMMISSION REPRESENTED AND STATED THEIR AUTHORITY IS LIMITED TO SECTIONS TWO, ONE, SEVEN ONE THROUGH 2182 OF THE CODE OF ETHICS. THEY NOTED THE ETHICS CODE IS CONFUSING AND ONLY SPECIFIC VIOLATIONS LIKE IMPROPER ECONOMIC BENEFITS FALL WITHIN THEIR SCOPE, LEAVING OTHER UNETHICAL ACTIONS OUTSIDE OF THEIR PURVIEW. RESPECTFULLY, THIS VIEW IS TOO NARROW AND JUST OUTRIGHT WRONG. THE CITY OF KYLE CODE OF ETHICS ADOPTED UNDER ORDINANCE NUMBER 1279 AND CODIFIED IN CHAPTER TWO, ARTICLE FOUR, DIVISION TWO, ESTABLISHES A COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORK FOR ETHICAL GOVERNANCE. SECTION 2271 JURISDICTION OF SUBDIVISION SEVEN. ETHICS COMMISSION CLEARLY STATES THAT THE COMMISSION HAS THE AUTHORITY TO INVESTIGATE AND MAKE FINDINGS ON ANY ALLEGED VIOLATION OF THIS CODE OF ETHICS OR ARTICLE 12 OF THE CITY CHARTER BY ANY PERSON SUBJECT TO THOSE PROVISIONS, INCLUDING CURRENT CITY OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES, OR ANY ALLEGED VIOLATION BY ANY PERSON OR SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 171 OF THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE. THIS LANGUAGE IS UNAMBIGUOUS.THE COMMISSION'S JURISDICTION EXTENDS TO ANY VIOLATION OF THE ENTIRE CODE OF ETHICS, NOT SOLELY THE SPECIFIC PROHIBITIONS IN SECTION 271 OR 171 THROUGH 2182. SORRY, IT'S A LOT OF CODE. THE CODE BEGINS WITH SUBDIVISION ONE DECLARATION OF POLICY, WHICH IS 2142 THROUGH 144, WHICH SETS FORTH ENFORCEABLE STANDARDS DECLARING ITS PURPOSE. AND THE TEXAS COURTS HAVE RECOGNIZED AND SIMILAR MUNICIPAL COURT CONTEXT WHERE POLICY DECLARATIONS ARE INTEGRAL TO DEFINING ENFORCEABLE STANDARDS. AND I OFFER CITY OF DALLAS VERSUS HALL. THE TRUTH IS THAT THE COMMISSION CAN ADDRESS CONDUCT THAT ERODES PUBLIC TRUST, CREATES AN APPEARANCE OF IMPROPRIETY OR CONFLICT WITH THE CITY'S INTEREST, EVEN IF NOT EXPLICITLY TIED TO FINANCIAL CONFLICTS OR THE SPECIFIC RULES. IN SECTIONS TWO, ONE, SEVEN ONE THROUGH 182, I URGE YOU TO AFFIRM THEIR FULL JURISDICTION TO REVIEW ANY CONDUCT ERODING PUBLIC TRUST AND THEREBY ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY. YOU WILL HEAR LATER THIS EVENING ABOUT THE CITY OF KYLE'S CORE VALUES, AND WHAT PERFECT TIMING TO SET THE CORRECT EXAMPLE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND FOR CONSIDERATION OF THIS CLARIFICATION. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. THOSE ARE THE FORMS THAT I HAVE. IS THERE ANYONE ELSE WHO
[III) Executive Session]
WISHES TO SPEAK? ALL RIGHT. SEEING NONE, WE'RE GOING TO MOVE TO EXECUTIVE SESSION. THE CITY COUNCIL WILL NOW GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS AGENDA ITEMS ONE A THROUGH H.PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTIONS FIVE, 51.0715, 51.0ALL RIGHT. IS EVERYBODY REA? I'M SORRY FOR BEING A LITTLE LATE COMING OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION. THERE WAS NO ACTION TAKEN. NOW, I'M GOING TO CALL THIS MEETING BACK TO ORDER. THERE WILL BE NO ACTION TAK
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.